#i start to stand similarly and place my hands in similar ways at rest

[izvmimi]

yk how couples start to resemble each other after a while or pick up each other’s habits? what do you think you pick up from your f/o and vice versa?

[jozor-johai]

Understading Sansa: how Songs make Culture in Westeros

Or: Life is not a Song, Sansa & Littlefinger, Part 0.

I'm working on something about Sansa and Littlefinger, but I realized: before we even start talking about Sansa, we have to understand where she's starting from. So this is sort of a prologue to that post (or posts), but this really stands alone as its own idea, so I'm doing something unusual for myself and sharing this before I finish the rest of it.

This examination of song could be a series in its own right, and maybe it should be, and perhaps even this is too quick an overview. Nevertheless, understanding Sansa requires at least a brief exploration into the place of songs in Westerosi culture. Besides Mordane’s intentional training, Sansa, like all people, is also surrounded by passive societal training which describes the roles she is supposed to play in life, even when not explicitly. This is culture, and the songs of Westeros all collectively build it, establishing expectations and defining what is “normal.” 

long-ish post so rest is under the cut

Tyrion even notes the way that children’s media helps form and reinforce cultural knowledge, though not directly in regard to song. He points out that the game “Come-into-my-Castle” is one way to passively introduce social lessons and cultural information into children's lives:

Come-into-my-castle was a game for highborn children, one meant to teach them courtesy, heraldry, and a thing or two about their lord father's friends and foes. (ADWD Tyrion IX)

But this is happening constantly, and even when the lessons are not being intentionally considered.

The Dornishman's Wife

The Dornishman’s Wife, for example, contains the encoded information that a man would kill another man for kissing his wife; therefore the song builds on the idea that wives are expected to be physically loyal to their lord husbands. Also, that for some reason (likely their status as effectively property), a woman's lack of perceived agency means they lack culpability, and that such infidelity is therefore justly punished through the killing of the other man involved—and so normalcy is regained and the story concluded. We might even say that because the characters are only the “Dornishman” and the undescribed protagonist, that the song is based on the idea of an otherized “Dornish.” (ASOS Jon I)

Off to Gulltown

Off to Gulltown tells a similar tale about women’s agency: it describes a man who will visit “Gulltown to see a fair maid” from whom he will “steal a kiss with the point of my blade” and then he will “make her my love.” (ASOS Arya II) All of these, again, are demands of the man in forming relations with a woman, and once again, this song explicitly combines the threat of violence with that of love. Here, there is no other man—the subject of the man’s violence is the woman herself. So, this song teaches that a man will threaten a woman with violence in order to get what he wants, and offers no information whatsoever about the intentions of the woman. The desires of the woman in this story are effectively irrelevant, which is messaging in itself: the man wants what he wants, and the woman comes with.

Knights

The preoccupation with knights in song similarly comes with this implicit threat of violence—knights carry swords, and when swords are not busy standing in as metaphoric phalluses, swords are... swords, and anyone around them need beware.

Any story of a knight that rescues a maiden carries with it the combined messaging of the previous two songs. On one hand, any sword and any knight potentially provides protection against other men, keeping the maiden from other, future violent advances. In practice, as in song, this is more for the man’s interest than the woman’s, as evident in The Dornishman’s Wife, which also makes no mention of the woman’s desires (though the protagonist of that tale certainly believes she was asking for it). On the other hand, that same sword can be used against that woman, as is the case in Off to Gulltown, and so that ‘rescue’ may not be so safe after all (much like Sansa's own trip to the Vale... hmm...) The songs reinforce the truth of the world. For men, knights make for great stories if you can be a knight. For women, the lesson is what to expect: being with a knight means accepting certain realities. 

Which perhaps creates a void to be filled by songs that reinforce “normal” by recounting the abnormal.

Florian and Jonquil

We don’t get any text from the tale of Florian and Jonquil, but the distinctive thing about that tale is that while Florian is a knight, but he is also a fool, first. This contradiction, in being a contradiction, also reinforces the “normal” state of things: if it is special that Florian is a fool, then the default circumstances are for knights to be… well, simply knights. Here, it’s significant the ways in which Florian is less than the average knight: he is not of noble birth, he dresses in iron motley. This affects how he is perceived as a knight. He perhaps seems less threatening—but is that a bad thing, for his perceived reduced ability to protect? Or is that a good thing, for his perceived reduced capacity (or reduced desire) to harm Jonquil after saving her? Of course, his magic sword probably helps too—no matter whether that’s a magic sword or a magic sword (wink wink). Florian is a different kind of man: he is as chivalric as a knight, with all the associated honor, but perhaps without the same menacing air of presumed violence.

The Bear and the Maiden Fair

Similarly, The Bear and the Maiden Fair helps shape the narrative of “normal” by describing a situation which is anything butl:

Foremost, The Bear and the Maiden Fair stands out as a particularly unusual song by the standards of Westeros because the end of the song is told from the maiden’s point of view—and the female gaze in Westerosi stories is a rare thing indeed. In this son, the maiden explicitly explains what is normal what isn't: “I called for a knight, but you're a bear!” (ASOS Sansa I).

This song is built on—and in being retold, further reinforces—the idea of a maiden who must normally want a knight... and yet knights come with swords, and so come with risks as well as rewards. The Bear, like Florian, is not the usual kind of savior, but in the opposite way as Florian: the Bear has taken no knightly vows of chivalry, and is bound by no code of honor. In fact, the Bear appears is in every way more violent than we might expect a knight to be, not just for his lack of knightly code but also for his… animal tendencies.

Considering that, it’s paramount that here we’ve been given—for once—the insight into the Maiden’s perspective: by the end of the encounter, she comes to trust the Bear, despite her initial misgivings, and goes with him willingly. This factor alone makes the story of the Bear stand out against any stories we’ve heard about men with swords, and the sexual undertone of this song is no less an essential factor of this scenario than it is in Off to Gulltown. The Bear does not need to have a sword, metaphorical or otherwise. (This is why Brienne makes for such a good Bear to Jaime, too). The Bear is powerful enough to protect the Maiden… and, despite lacking a sword, is capable enough to please her, too. Rather than ending in penetration, this song ends in cunnilingus: 

She kicked and wailed, the maid so fair / But he licked the honey from her hair / Her hair! Her hair! /He licked the honey from her hair! / Then she sighed and squealed and kicked the air! / My bear! She sang. My bear so fair! / And off they went, from here to there

Which is both an assertion that the Bear can provide in every way that a knight could, sword or no, and is also a willing act of deference, rather than demand: the Bear wins over the Maiden by giving, rather than taking—a far cry from Off to Gulltown, where the man "steals" a kiss at knifepoint. But again, because the Bear is so expressly not a knight, and because the Maiden asked for a knight, this is not the “normal” expectation for a maiden.  

The Mother

Finally, in in another field entirely from these tales of knights and maidens, Sansa herself provides the song that encodes the expectation and desires of a Mother:

Gentle Mother, font of mercy, save our sons from war, we pray, stay the swords and stay the arrows, let them know a better day. Gentle Mother, strength of women, help our daughters through this fray, soothe the wrath and tame the fury, teach us all a kinder way.

This song in particular comes at a significant moment for Sansa, but even without that context this corroborates our expectations from the other songs about men—this song too is helping to build the total unified culture for Westeros to be learned and understood by those who live within it.  

Mothers have the “strength of women”—a strength that this song clearly delineates as separate from war, and rather of peace and the promise of something “better.” In the second verse, this is also the strength of mentorship, because this still will not change, nor does the song expect it to. Part of the Mother’s task is to teach her daughters how to exist amidst the “fray” of life.

While it is a noble and strong pursuit to “how to live a kinder way,” the fact that half the song is dedicated to relaying this skill to the next generation implicitly signals and admits that despite the Mother aiming for a “better day" and despite the Mother’s desire to “stay the swords,” the daughters are inevitably also going to have the same exact task when they themselves become Mothers. Like all of the other cultural touchstones I’ve discussed, this is a song which maintains the status quo; this is the eternal task of Mothers, and it will be the future for their daughters.

With that interpretation, there is also a subtle message about a woman’s ability to enact change in the world: they will "pray" for their sons to stop fighting but "help" their daughters to last through it anyway. The men, ultimately, are not beholden to the wishes of the mother—these are just prayers—and the daughters must be prepared to practice the same mercy as their mothers, because the men will never learn it from them.

Olenna Tyrell has lived long enough to know the truth of it:

All these kings would do a deal better if they would put down their swords and listen to their mothers. (ASOS Sansa I) 

But Catelyn understands the futility of this:

He wants me gone, Catelyn thought wearily. Kings are not supposed to have mothers, it would seem, and I tell him things he does not want to hear. (ACOK Catelyn I)

Kings are not supposed to have mothers... because the idea of Kingship has already been encoded and disseminated across the kingdom in the form of song and story. No king in song can have a mother, because it's tantamount to the institution of monarchy that the cultural perception of a King is omnipotent with no need to heed to anyone. Here, this cultural understanding of what a king is supposed to be supersedes the actual, lived reality of Catelyn and her son: despite being mother to Robb, it is impossible for either of them overcome the culturally enforced impossibility of being mother to a king.

Conclusions

It's not only Catelyn who struggles against the inability to cope with the fact that her lived experience is being altered by the perception of what is supposed to happen. Cultural expectations of "normal" work for some and not others. Those underrepresented in song are undescribed, and as a result, not understood. Sansa, who does identify with the songs and culture of Westeros, has no foundation for understanding Arya, who has always existed outside of those cultural expectations. 

This struggle to exist against the collective mythologies that constitute culture remains omnipresent throughout the books. It is a factor in everyone’s story, and though most songs give men agency where women have none, men are no more able to escape the limitations of song than women are.

Jon and Robb experiment with the future ramifications of their differing status through the legendary roles they adopt in play—Jon can’t be Lord of Winterfell, neither in make-believe nor in reality. Bran, now unable to walk, is therefore unable to meet his own expectations that he believed possible based on the stories he was told, and these stories of knighthood are such an integral driving force in his real life that he travels north of the Wall for the express purpose of regaining his legs so he can be a knight. Brienne lives the worst of both worlds—she does not believe she can be a traditional mother, but no more can she replace Galladan, her perfect brother made perfect by never truly existing except as his perfect namesake, the knight of song. These are not the only examples of characters struggling against the expectations that common culture has dictated for them, and several characters in ASOIAF parse their ability or inability to relate to these expectations through the lens of song. The list goes on—Victarion and his reaving songs; Euron and his pastiche of piracy; Sam, who sings to Gilly, fighting against his father's ideas; the impossible weight of the legendary predecessors to Jaime, Barristan, and Arys.

Sansa

The only thing setting Sansa apart from everyone else in this regard is the intensity of her belief in the actual truth of these songs and the degree to which these songs and stories guide her actions and expectations. In this way, though, Sansa is not unique in her belief in the power of songs, she is simply the story's quintessential explorer of this theme.

All of this analysis of song is just context for Sansa's world when she meets Sandor Clegane and Littlefinger in the early chapters of AGOT. For rest of her story, Sansa goes on to interpret King’s Landing—and her place in it—through her knowledge of songs, and these songs are so familiar to her that she “knows all of the words,” as Sandor says. From the very start, though, she knows what to say, how to act, and even more importantly: what to want. 

And yet Littlefinger tells her “life is not a song.” How could that possibly be, after all this? These songs may be a misinterpretation of life in some ways, but at the same time, life is made by songs.

[shoechoe]

King Crimson: The Good and Bad

(This is part of a series of posts about Diavolo’s character, though they can be read in any order. The links to the rest are here.)

Here, I will talk about King Crimson as a Stand, the historical confusion surrounding its ability, and my simultaneous adoration of and frustration about it.

Word Count: ~2100

One thing that makes Diavolo unique from most main villains is that he does not receive any kind of final-fight powerup. (The only other villain who doesn't is Toru, but unlike Diavolo, his Stand was not revealed or used until the final fight.) This makes sense, because out of all the villains in the series, Diavolo really did not need a powerup.

King Crimson is arguably one of the most powerful non-upgraded abilities in the series, and it's one of Diavolo’s biggest points of intimidation. It is explicitly stated that no other Stand in Vento Aureo, save for Requiem stands, would be able to beat it in a one-on-one. For most of the story, Diavolo stands alone in his power, the material representation of him being the sole one at the top. Nobody could threaten him or attempt to find out his identity without meeting a horrific fate.

Out of all the aspects of Diavolo’s character (besides maybe the death loop), King Crimson is what generally sticks in people’s minds the most. But it was also kind of doomed from the start to be poorly understood.

So... How does King Crimson work?

King Crimson’s ability is most simply described as “erasing time”. It is part of the series of Stands wielded by main villains with the ability to alter time, but it is unique with how it is tied to the way fate works in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

In the series, fate is completely predestined. Every action and event is laid out for souls to obey and experience. King Crimson can take time and jump it forward for up to ten seconds, similar to a skip button; therefore, the result of everything that was fated to happen during that time will occur, but nobody will have memory of it happening.

The only exception to this is Diavolo himself, who becomes unable to touch or be touched by anything while time is erased. He can witness everything that happens during the erased time to position himself in an ideal place to attack, and he can avoid any attacks that come his way, effectively skirting his own fate.

It is often questioned how Diavolo is unable to touch anything in erased time but still seems to output effects, such as Trish’s hand being cut off in the elevator and Narancia’s impalement. This is because Diavolo is only able to change his own fate, not his fate on others; they will still experience the results of his actions on them, regardless of if he actually does them in erased time or not.

(For example: If Diavolo was fated to impale Narancia during erased time, the result of Narancia being impaled will still happen even if Diavolo erases time and doesn’t actually “do” it. Think similarly to the Bites the Dust arc where Hayato becomes spontaneously affected by Heaven’s Door regardless of Rohan actually encountering him since it became “fated” to happen).

---

Communication Troubles With King Crimson’s Ability

King Crimson’s ability has a long history of poor communication by the series. On the English side of the fanbase, for years, attempted explanations of King Crimson’s ability were long, confusing, and often inaccurate. It’s only until updated translations came through that things started getting better on this end.

Though, this isn’t just the fault of poorly worded translation. I would say the biggest fundamental roadblock to King Crimson’s understanding in the fanbase’s older years would be that the ability itself is incredibly difficult to communicate in manga format. A Stand with the ability to jump time forward would be hard to communicate in a medium that naturally progresses itself by literally “jumping time forward” from panel to panel of still images.

When I read the manga, I had the feeling that I would be struggling to understand the fight progression when King Crimson is in action if I did not already have a visual conception of the ability. Not only is it hard to grasp through a purely text explanation, in the manga, it is hard to comprehend when the ability is even taking effect.

As cool as I find King Crimson, it is, in some way, inherently confusing in its original incarnation. This is sort of the intent, as confusing the characters and attacking while they’re distracted is its nature. However, I do not believe the intent was being incomprehensible to the audience, and this is where the problem lies.

It also just adds to the difficulty of verbal explanation as the characters themselves often cannot define what is happening. (The way Diavolo can still output results in erased time despite becoming untouchable goes unexplained throughout the whole story, which is frustrating).

This is an area where the anime adaptation of Vento Aureo is a big improvement over the manga. It communicates King Crimson’s ability far clearer partially because the medium itself is simply better at showing it. I find that King Crimson is far easier to communicate visually than verbally, and this shows in the way questions about the ability decreased significantly upon the anime’s release.

---

King Crimson and Diavolo’s Character

King Crimson has many direct connections to Diavolo. Its power to leap past fate represents his desire for dominance and control, and its power of “erasure” is very similar to Diavolo’s characteristic of “erasing” himself. Its nature of confusion is likely connected to Diavolo having a misty and confusing background as well as a contradicting nature. Its ability to alter fate being limited to just Diavolo shows his self-centeredness, and its inability to change the past coincides with the past being Diavolo’s greatest fear.

Its ability to negate “effects” and leave only “results”, as Diavolo words it explicitly, reflects (or perhaps created) his value of pure results and brutal efficiency. And of course, the double-face feature of King Crimson and Epitaph represents Diavolo’s split soul (though it is a misconception that Epitaph actually “belongs” to Doppio; there is no evidence or suggestion that this is the case. Diavolo refers to Epitaph as “his” just as much as King Crimson’s arms, and he is still in possession of it after Doppio dies.)

(Side note: Epitaph is also a reference to the mutants from Total Recall.)

Note on the King Crimson Music Reference

I’m not going to go in-depth about how the band King Crimson relates to the Stand and Diavolo’s character, but there are many likely connections you can easily make between Vento Aureo and songs from King Crimson’s discography. I have already done this in a previous longform post with In the Court of the Crimson King (though some of my opinions have changed since then as I wrote it a long time ago). I believe their debut album shares many themes of isolation and loneliness that parallels Diavolo’s character strongly and that is likely not coincidental.

---

Was King Crimson too powerful for the story to handle?

King Crimson’s power makes it so that fights with Diavolo are not really “fights”. Its ability renders it almost impossible to even land a hit, and Diavolo’s enemies are often dead before they even realize they’ve been attacked.

This is similar to a lot of other main villain abilities, like Kira and DIO, but unlike Kira’s nonconfrontational nature and DIO’s tendency to stall and play with his enemies, Diavolo is extremely quick and direct with his murders. As a result, a lot of Diavolo’s screentime has to be managed by forcing him into situations where he can’t bring out his ability (like, for example, Doppio only being able to use portions of King Crimson so the encounter with Metallica could be an actual fight).

Even then, he has no apparent honor system beyond granting quick deaths and respecting when people pose a challenge to him. Even when he can’t use King Crimson, he will cheat, harm innocents in his way, and sneak-attack. A lot of people criticize the Metallica fight’s ending as feeling cheap, but I would argue that feeling cheated is the intent; Diavolo is the villain, so you are not supposed to like seeing him win.

Though, King Crimson’s ability seems so insurmountably powerful that it leads people to ask whether or not it breaks the story by being “unbeatable” for the protagonists. To that, I would answer “kind of”.

The story itself seems to conclude that King Crimson is too powerful to be surpassed by default and pivots to the plotline with Requiem stands. I will not argue that the concept of Requiem is inherently bad as the idea of upgrading the protagonist’s Stand to match the power of the villain is theoretically fine, but I do think Requiem’s implementation in Vento Aureo is poorly executed.

As I have said previously, being so suddenly introduced and immediately taking the spotlight of the story, all Requiem does is upstage King Crimson and destroy Diavolo’s feeling of threat as soon as the final arc begins. There is some attempt at tension with Diavolo fighting to gain the Requiem arrow, but the fight is so messy and unfocused that it’s hard to feel any of the intended suspense or satisfaction.

You could attempt to justify how Gold Experience Requiem is a fitting defeat for Diavolo due to some background symbolism, but I don’t think that fixes the weak surface level. Despite Diavolo being one of the most interesting characters to me, I always sit through the final battle feeling bored, and no matter how many times I watch or read it, I come out barely remembering its events.

---

Could This Have Been Done Better?

I do think there are tangibly better ways that King Crimson could’ve been handled in a final battle scenario. To start, I do not believe that King Crimson is actually “unbeatable”, and there are several weaknesses in its ability hinted at to demonstrate this.

As explicitly described, King Crimson is bad at handling larger groups of enemies all at once. This is likely symbolic to the way Diavolo does not value or understand allyship and explains why he has to isolate his enemies to pick them off.

And since there’s only so far Diavolo can go in ten seconds of invulnerability, a way to damage him is to attack in a circle, as we see Polnareff do. Diavolo was able to dodge this attack enough to where it only caused a slight cut, but it was the first time we see him sustain injury even with King Crimson at full power.

If you asked me to reimagine what a final fight against King Crimson could look like without Requiem, I would say that this is a valid start. We are given fairly laid out methods to plan an attack: form a group, create some situation where Diavolo cannot run away, surround him while he’s trapped, and overwhelm him.

Not only is this believable, I feel like this would be in-line with many of Vento Aureo’s themes. In fact, it seems pretty clearly built-up, so the pivot to Requiem almost seems like an abandonment of initial plans.

I do think Requiem could’ve worked fine with more buildup, though. It has the potential to be an interesting reversal of the “villain gets a powerup at the final battle” formula where, instead, the powerup is gained by the hero. In this case, I would’ve rearranged it to be established or at least hinted at closer to the beginning of the story, and I would’ve likely cut out Polnareff so the discovery had to be made by the protagonists instead.

With all of King Crimson’s potential and how it was set up as a major threat, it’s very disappointing to watch it dissipate right at the most crucial moment. It feels like it was built to feel unbeatable with no specific goal for defeat in mind beyond inklings of an idea when it was created. By the time it needed to be defeatable, the story couldn’t figure out how to do it and rushed to a poorly executed conclusion. Considering how Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is written with very short deadlines that often require rushing plotlines, this makes sense- but in the end, a messy story is a messy story.

---

I have similar contradicting feelings with King Crimson that I have with Diavolo. Its ability is fascinating, but it is inherently confusing in its original media format. It doesn’t appear to be a truly insurmountable threat, but the story seems to treat it like it is, and that leads to awkward implementation of powerups and messy endings. It has potential that is just not reached. In conclusion, while it is my personal favorite Stand in the entire series, I cannot say it is one of the best.

[sankta-wraith]

I Can See You

A cute affair era masriel moment from before Lyra is conceived. Happy Valentine’s Day masriel nation! Title is a Taylor Swift song.

Their eyes meet from across the crowded floor of the Royal Arctic Institute. Even after nearly a year of their dangerous little game, Marisa’s eyes can still knock the breath from him. Those eyes flick towards the door, twinkling playfully. Asriel nods, feeling a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. He mutters some feeble excuse to the man attempting to draw him into a conversation, and slips out into the nearest hallway. Five minutes later, he’s standing in the small alcove that had become one of their many secret places.

Marisa is waiting for him. She smiles at his approach and he kisses her. It’s a deep, sensual thing. The kind of kiss that speaks of longing glances and charged stares. She slips her fingers into his hair and he knows, without looking, that their dæmons are similarly intertwined. He runs his hands down her body, letting them rest at her hips. Her dress tonight is bright red silk, and, like most of her dresses, it walks the delicate line between modesty and impropriety. With its long sleeves and squared neckline, it’s less revealing than many of her other outfits, but the fitted silk puts her curves on full display. Asriel wanted to tear it off the moment he saw her. The little smirk Marisa had thrown his way as she entered told him that was the desired effect.

Marisa’s back is against the wall now, and her legs are wrapped around him. She lets her head fall back, baring her throat to him. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Stelmaria do the same to the golden monkey. The similarities between his soul and his heart make him smile. He presses his lips against her pulse point, and he can almost taste the speed of her heartbeat. She moans softly and reaches for the buttons of his shirt, but he pulls back, shaking his head. “Not here, Marisa. Too risky.” She glares at him and huffs out an irritated breath, blowing away a stray curl. Asriel wants to have her right there, caution be damned. “Since when have you been the careful one,” she asks, raising one perfect eyebrow. He grins back at her. “Since you started getting more reckless. One of us must be cautious, my love.” That makes her laugh. “I fear the day when you are the cautious one, Asriel,” she says, but her eyes glitter with mirth, and the insult has to bite.

They kiss again, soft where the first was passionate. The golden monkey strokes Stelmaria’s neck, and she purrs. This time it’s Marisa who pulls away first. “I suppose I should return now,” she says, regret heavy in her voice. “Edward will start to wonder where I am.” Asriel scoffs at the mention of her useless husband, but he knows she’s right. She gives him one last quick kiss, and then walks away, smoothing her dress and hair as she goes. Asriel watches her, and an idea begins to trickle into his mind.

He returns to the party and forces himself to make polite conversation with a few important people. He bears it for nearly half an hour before his mind starts to go numb. Impressive by his standards. A few people give him dirty looks as a slips out, but most are used to it. He has left nearly every party early, and he doesn’t intend to stop now.

His chauffeur is already waiting for him, spaniel dæmon curled up in his lap. She lowers her head respectfully at Stelmaria when they approach. Asriel gets into the car, and shuts the door behind him with palpable relief. “Back home, sir?” The chauffeur inquires. “Not tonight,” Asriel responds. He gives the man a set of instructions that make his brow crease in confusion, but he complies without question. They go first to the telegram office, and then to a large house that Asriel is intimately familiar with, but his chauffeur doesn’t recognize. “You may leave me here,” he says, getting out of the car. “I’m meeting an old friend. And do tell Thorold that I won’t be back till morning. I wouldn’t want him to wait all night.” The poor man looks confused and mildly concerned, but he asks no questions, and Asriel is grateful for it.

Once the car is gone, Asriel walks around to the back of the house. Stelmaria is a shadow at his side, and her superior eyes scan the night, ready to alert him if anyone happens to be around. They’re lucky tonight. The grounds are empty, and they make it around the house without incident. “Which is it?” Asriel asks, looking up at the numerous windows and balconies of Marisa’s house. “Third floor, farthest on the right,” Stelmaria responds in a tone of fond exasperation. “Honestly, Asriel, you should know this by now.” He rolls his eyes at her and she gives him a look of feline superiority. He’s climbed this way enough times that he no longer needs Stelmaria to scout out handholds and footholds, and in no time they are standing on Marisa’s balcony. The French windows are locked, but he has a hairpin, Marisa’s, for this very purpose, and a few moments later he’s standing in her bedroom.

He closes the French windows behind him, and breaths in the scents of the room. Expensive perfumes, old books, and fresh ink combine into something quintessentially Marisa. Stelmaria glides over to the thick rug in front of the fireplace and sprawls inelegantly on it. Asriel raises an eyebrow at her, and she gives what he assumes is the leopard equivalent of a shrug. “We have at least an hour before they get here. We might as well get comfortable.” Well he can see the wisdom in that, so he selects a book from one of Marisa’s shelves, and settles into the nearest armchair.

Nearly two hours later, he finally hears the door opening. He can make out Marisa’s voice, but not what she says. Stelmaria, whose ears are considerably better than his, goes to the door and presses her head against it. “She’s calling for a servant,” she says, voice low so as not to disrupt her hearing. “Any sign of Edward?” “No. She says he won’t be home tonight.” Asriel smirks at that, and Stelmaria gives him a chiding glance. “That was dangerous, what you did.” “Ah, but it worked, didn’t it?” She has no reply to that, but she gives him another look. The sound of footsteps breaks their staring contest, and Stelmaria darts back to his chair. “They’re coming.” “Even I heard that, Stelmaria.”

The muffled click of heels on carpet gets louder, and Asriel feels himself tense slightly in anticipation. Marisa enters, speaking softly to her dæmon, but the moment she sees Asriel she freezes. Wordlessly, she closes the door behind her. Asriel hears the lock click, and she turns back to face him. He stands, smiling. “Hello, Maris-” She’s in his arms before he can get the words out, fingers laced together at the back of his neck, holding him so tightly she may as well be trying to fuse them into one being. His arms come up instinctively to encircle her, and they stand like that for a moment, foreheads pressed together, cradling each other.

Marisa pulls back suddenly, as though remembering herself. “Have you entirely taken leave of your senses? I thought we had agreed that you don’t come here unless I confirm it’s safe. If Edward had been here…” She looks at him severely, but he just smirks at her. “Ah yes, your husband. Isn’t it awfully convenient for him to receive a telegram telling him he simply must come to Geneva, just as I planned to break into his house? We have such luck, don’t we, Marisa?” He can barely contain his glee as he watches her puzzle it out. Her mouth falls into a small o, and he knows she understands. “You forged a telegram from Geneva? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? What happens when Edward arrives and finds that there is no ‘urgent business’ for him to attend to?” “It’s Geneva, Marisa. There’s always some urgent business. And I have no doubt that your husband will be eager to stick his nose into it.” “Still,” she says, worrying at her lower lip, “it was a dangerous thing to do. If anyone realizes that the telegram was false…” Asriel rolls his eyes. “Now you sound like Stelmaria,” he says. “Good,” she replies. “At least she has some sense.” Marisa turns towards the snow leopard, who’s lying on the floor, curled around the golden monkey. “And you let him do this? I thought you were supposed to prevent him from doing foolhardy things like this.” Stelmaria raises her head, and fixes Marisa with her amber eyes. “You try and stop him once he has his mind set on something.” Marisa makes a small noise of agreement, and the two share a long suffering look. Asriel decides this is the moment to cut in. “Are you quite finished?” Marisa turns back to him, eyes twinkling. “I suppose so.”

Asriel smiles and pulls her close. “I must know,” Marisa says, “how long have you been planning this little stunt?” Asriel glances at the clock on the mantle. “Oh about…three hours?” Marisa huffs out an incredulous laugh. “You decided, while at the party, that you were going to forge a telegram, have it sent to my husband, and then break into my house, and didn’t bother to mention it to me?” He replies, attempting nonchalance, “Well the idea didn’t occur to me until we’d parted ways.” She shakes her head in wonder. “And why, pray tell, did this idea occur to you.” He grins. “You called me the cautious one. I simply had to do something drastic to remind you of my recklessness.” She laughs, and he swears it’s the sweetest sound he’s ever heard. “You’re a madman,” she murmurs. “Perhaps,” he replies, “but I’m your madman.” She laughs again and he kisses her. She feels soft and light in his arms, and together they fall back onto the bed, limbs intertwined, and aglow with love.

[my-brain-on-hold]

Friends with L

On school oval

start to drift apart

In platformer type place, sort of train/steam themed

It's like we're playing a videogame, but I am there

We are jumping, moving around. surviving

threats, obstacles

One is a large sledgehammer -like thing, that swings down into you

In another place, we are both looking for work.

I get an offer, I hesitate and don't take it

L is frustrated with this, he is still looking and here I am letting an opportunity pass me by

The hammer swings, I jump to pass it

but my timing is off, L launches himself into me and pushes me past the danger of the hammer.

I watch him get taken by the hammer and into the dark abyss of its path, and I scream

I land safely on the other side, and pick up L's phone. All that is left of him.

In another place I'm back on the oval, L is not there

I ask the others about this and they don't seem too bothered. I check L's phone,

Last active, yesterday

Time passes and I continue to check the phone

Last active 1 week ago

Last active 10 days ago

Last active 3 weeks ago

Last active 2 months ago

It seems like his existence is beginning to fade more and more, even for me.

No. This can't be it.

I return to the platformer place and the hammer.

I stare at the dark abyssal space that had swallowed him that day. Where does it go? where did he go? Is it a hole?

But it has a surface. Is it a solid wall and he just got obliterated?

No, it has soft edges and an indistinct surface. Like a blur. Like something not meant to obstruct, but to obscure!

I stand up and brace myself before jumping into the black space. I feel nothing besides my feet land on the floor.

It's just an empty space!

There's nothing in here, L isn't here either.

Actually there is, a small black object on the floor.

It's another phone, an older flip phone. L's actual phone!

I look through the contacts and find all kinds of information. Including numbers of people at a job I have never heard of.

It's an theme park/chocolate factory-esque/film set. I arrive and immediately recognise the tall, large person in a themed costume who is welcoming guests. It's L

He has a maroon coloured vest, and dark button-up shirt. Long, baggy, silky pants in maroon and gold stripes in a way that appears that he is on stilts to people who don't know his regular height. He wears a themed mask and a top hat with the same colour scheme as the pants.

It seems he did get an offer, but he didn't tell me.

Maybe he felt he could only succeed in this if it was without me?

I wonder if he notices me as well, I am in a costume too, dressed to look like a young english boy from the victorian age, similar to Oliver twist, complete with a flat cap.

I am also here because I have been cast for a part in a film that is being made by the park. I move past L and continue to the set.

At the set I sit in an anachronistic, bronze coloured wheelchair that looks more steampunk than authentic to the era. We rehearse and I play my part.

I do my best to use the wheelchair, but the handles on the wheels which are used to move it along are tricky.

The first take I turn around with far too wide of a turning circle.

The director is a little frustrated but I think she can see I'm improving with each take.

I turn well this time, much cleaner and more believable for someone who uses a wheelchair. She seems happier now.

On one take I fall out of the chair and stand up to stope myself from hitting the ground.

The director chuckles and stands up with her hands in the air

'It's a miracle!'

We all have a laugh and the mood feels lighter now. she smiles and sits back down

'Alright, back to your places!'

The rest of the day goes well. After filming I go with some castmates to one of the theme park's cafes.

I ask for some drinks and some food at the counter

I turn back to my new friends and see one of the other employees working behind the counter, a tall man with striped pants and long blond hair coming down out of a similarly striped tophat.

This time he knows. I know.

I watch him move to to the cakes and pastry shelf as he takes out the muffins I have ordered.

Through the glass I see his eyes in the eye slots of his mask. They are slightly red, and in them I see tiredness and some pain. But not for himself; I also see fulfilment. It's the same look I realise I had seen on L's face frequently enough before he disappeared.

END OF DREAM

[ranaissingle]

Coffee or Tea pt. 3

Part 1 Part 2

Part 4 Masterlist

Summary: Coffee Shop AU where the reader goes to the same coffee shop often to read books, study, or just drink tea and stare at the walls lol. The reader is a college student majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology at UCLA. (you are planning to work in the medical field so be prepared for classes and activities related to that).

Rating: T (for now) Pairings: Austin Butler x Fem!Reader Word Count: 1.5k ish Warnings: mentions of sexual assault, stalking A/N: I tried to make this chapter over 1k words because I feel like the others were a little short. I also have an Elvis birthday request in the works it's just taking a minute because school started back up and I'm already swamped lol. Thank you for waiting I hope you enjoy the chapter!

★──────────★─────────★

Austin and Y/Ns interactions were similar each time. He would walk into the coffee shop, get his drink, and spot her in the corner of his vision; either engrossed in a book or swamped with homework from whatever classes she was currently taking, then he would make his way toward her and they would sit and talk for hours or just sit in silence while Y/N slaved away over her chemistry problems and Austin reviewed lines for whatever blockbuster he was currently filming.

This routine continued for 7 months before something changed. Both had feelings for each other but were too insecure to think that they could ever be loved by the other. Austin's newfound popularity came with its fair share of criticisms of his looks, voice, acting, and every other minute inconsequential detail about him. Similarly, Y/N could not comprehend how a celebrity of Austin's status had any interest in speaking with her, let alone building a 7-month friendship. But she was willing to take what she could get.

"I told you 'you should read that book'. It's a Masterpiece I'm telling you!" Austin had walked into the cafe earlier and they were both currently engrossed in a conversation over both of their latest reads. Y/N had been begging him to read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and he had finally caved into your demands.

"You're right I stand corrected," he held his hands up in mock defeat while he smiled lazily. God, he was beautiful, she thought as she felt his leg press against hers. The size of the table they always occupied didn't leave much room for both of their legs so Y/N had grown used to Austin's legs surrounding hers under the table.

Y/N looked down at her watch before she spoke "I've gotta get going I still have to make dinner." She could've spent the rest of her life in that coffee shop, but her real-world responsibilities were calling and she had to get home.

Austin didn't want her to leave. He wanted to keep talking about books and 'accidentally' knock his knee against hers and feign innocence.

"Oh I can walk you home if you like, my place is in your direction anyway." Austin tried to keep the excitement out of his voice as he asked. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with her before they had to part ways.

" Are you sure you want to? I can get there myself I don't want to be a bother" She tilted her head in a quizzical manner and it took all of Austin's strength not to kiss her right then and there. The supple pout of her lips and her downturned eyebrows mesmerized him.

"It's alright, really, and I need some more book recommendations from you anyway." Following his reassurance, they both gathered their things and started the walk home.

Whilst in the midst of a conversation regarding various literary pieces, Y/N saw the flash of a camera shudder in the corner of her eye. She abruptly turned to see who had taken a photo of them, but the culprit had already retreated behind the wall of an alleyway.

Austin had noticed her turn and the abrupt end of her sentence

"Are you alright?" He leaned his head down to get a better view of her face. Her eyes were wide as she bit her lip and knit her eyebrows together.

"Y-yeah I just thought I felt someone taking a picture of us." She faced her head forward again. Austin looked behind them only to find the culprit slowly sneaking their head out from behind the wall with a camera in tow.

He grits his teeth only to loop his arm around Y/N and position his large hand to block her face from the side. She looked up at him and he knelt his head down to speak in her ear while he tucked her head further against his chest.

"We are gonna have to walk a little faster okay? He probably wants a picture of your face or something like that."The annoyance in Austin's voice was palpable. Here he was trying to spend some time with the girl he liked and the paparazzi had come to ruin it.

"Okay, yeah I get it." As soon as her meek reply came Austin began walking briskly with Y/N in tow. She steered them in the direction of her apartment and Austin kept scanning behind them to see if they had been followed. Once he confirmed they were not, they both walked into the apartment building and up the steps. Y/N opened the door to her apartment with Austin's hand still wrapped around her shoulders. He had not yet realized that his arm was still wrapped around her and although Y/N wanted to speak up, she was not willing to risk losing his warmth. Instead, she turned around in his arms, lifted her head, leaned against his chest, and spoke.

" Do you want to stay for dinner? I can make us some tea after too? I have quite the assortment to choose from." She laughed as she spoke and although Austin wasn't exactly a tea person, he was willing to drink swamp water if it came accompanied by a home-cooked meal from Y/N.

"Yeah sure as long as you don't have anything else to do." Austin would find any excuse to stay if he had to, but he was glad this one had fallen right into his lap.

Y/N dragged herself away from his embrace and made her way over to the kitchen to get the kettle warming up so she could get started on dinner.

"You can come sit at the barstools while I make dinner if you want? Dinner is gonna take me at least an hour." Austin was practically bouncing. He was in her apartment, about to drink tea on her barstools, and eat dinner that she made for him. His heart was going to burst and he couldn't bring himself to be angry over it.

Austin sipped his tea while he watched her walk around the kitchen cutting vegetables and seasoning meat. He had asked to help her several times, but each time came with an even firmer denial and a deeper frown on her lips. As much as Austin wanted to help, he would rather die than be the cause of a frown on her face.

The next hour passed with them conversing about books, music, and every other interest they seemed to have in common, which they had found to be numerous.

Y/N stirred the last of the sauce and bowtie pasta together as Austin set the table. After copious amounts of begging, she had finally offered him a job to do, much to her dismay.

Y/N plated the food and they sat in comfortable silence before Austin bit the bullet on the question he had been meaning to ask for months.

"Do you have a boyfriend Y/N? I know we've talked about my PR relationship with Kaia but we haven't talked about you." Her eyes rounded as she put her fork down to look up at him. Austin had tried to be casual about his question but the truth was he was dying to know. His insides had twisted as he awaited her reply.

"Um no, I'm not in a relationship. I haven't done well with them so I've been single for a little over a year now." She felt her cheeks warm and averted her eyes as she spoke. She hoped he was asking for the reason she thought he was. Austin was so relieved he felt a 1000-pound weight lift from his shoulders.

They made small talk as Austin tended to the dishes from dinner and Y/N made tea for the both of them. With tea in tow, they sat with stretched legs on the couch and put on a movie as white noise while they resumed their conversation.

"What did you mean earlier when you said that you 'hadn't done well' with relationships?" Austin's curiosity was eating him alive.

"You don't have to answer of course I was just wondering is all." He traced her fingers where they rested on her knee. Her eyes looked every which way before eventually landing in his.

"I guess you could say that I haven't always been lucky when it came to boyfriends. Granted I have only had 3." A hollow laugh left her lips, almost as if she was trying to cope with the reality of a situation that only she knew.

"Most of them have been... pushy about the " She paused and turned her face downward before finishing "they've been pushy about the sexual aspects of a relationship and they made me do stuff I wasn't really comfortable with." She looked at the wall behind Austin's head and avoided his gaze.

oh

Oh

He fucked up. He had royally fucked up. He had fucked up so bad there was no conceivable way of coming back from this. It was over for him. Everything he had spent the last 7 months doing was all ov-

"But, I like spending time with you Austin." She smiled so brilliantly his heart hurt. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes crinkled in the most endearing way the wider she smiled. She was breathtaking and she had no idea, and that made her all the more beautiful; to Austin at least.

★──────────★─────────★──

I hope you guys enjoyed this part! I'm gonna try to get the next one out tomorrow and I'm pretty sure it will be the last one in this series. No promises though because I'm also working on the other requests that I was sent as well as school work. (Yes I am writing fanfiction instead of studying. What's your point?) Until next time!

[thebeautyoffanfics]

*breathes* okay i saw you write for kny so 👁👁

may i request muichiro , genya and zenitsu with a s/o whos super touchy ??

Tysvm !!

muichiro tokito x gn!reader, genya shinazugawa x gn!reader, zenitsu agatsuma x gn!reader

a/n: of course!!! Aaah you requested 3 of my favorites :DD!!! One of which is my absolute favorite, Genya- really, he’s so underrated, I love himmm- ANYWAY! Thank you so much for requesting, and I hope these are alright!!!!

warnings: none <3

word count: collectively, 1,157

Muichiro Tokito <3

Honestly, he’s relatively unphased. Sure, he’s not huge on things like PDA or affection in general, but it’s not as if he doesn’t mind it. Plus, the warm feeling he gets when you hug or touch him is something he’s grown to find very nice.

The poor boy doesn’t feel many emotions, so the butterflies you sometimes give him even doing something as casual as patting his shoulder or hugging his arm are strangely appreciated. In return, he tries to be at least a little affectionate.

Muichiro’s attempts at being affectionate may not line up with others’ though- he considers headpats and leaning against you as his way of showing that he loves you. In return, you show him you love him.

The one time Muichiro won’t appreciate touchiness is in public, especially at the pillar meetings. He won’t mind as much if you’re necessarily touchy in front of a pillar, but the meetings have too serious of a feeling to them. That and, should (for some reason) the two of you be in Ubuyashiki’s presence outside of a meeting. No touchiness then, please. Ubuyashiki wouldn’t mind (he… can’t even see said touchiness-) but Muichiro does (and you probably do as well).

While he doesn’t typically go out of his way to get you to show him affection, nor voice his opinion on your affection (he assumes that, since he doesn’t complain, you’re aware that he doesn’t mind since he wouldn’t hold his tongue otherwise), he really enjoys it when you play with his hair. Braid it, brush it, just overall mess with it, he doesn’t mind. It’s honestly really comforting, and is a really easy way to make him feel really loved.

Playing with his hair is one, but he also really likes when you lean against him or rest your head on him. Be it placing your head on his shoulder, in his lap, or on his chest when he’s lying down. None of those acts are very bold or noticeable to him, but that’s just what he likes about them. It’s gentle but still caring. They still make him feel loved.

Genya Shinazugawa <3

SO FLUSTERED, MY POOR BOY-

(Y/N), you’ve broken him. You’ve gone and broken Genya, what are we gonna do- who’s gonna tell Sanemi???

Genuinely, even just having your arm brush his sends him into a slight panic mode- like, he’ll feel your arm and instantly be like “oh no, (Y/N)’s arm touched my arm, their arm touched mine, stay calm, don’t freak out, don’t be weird, it’s fine.” and he ends up standing there awkwardly looking exactly like that man standing emoji.

Before he grew up a bit and was in his “I hate everything I’m going to start fights” days, if you’d touch him, he’d probably not hesitate to punch you. HOWEVER, Genya’s a real sweetheart now. He would never dare lay a single finger on you, nor get angry with you. You’re too cute to get angry at-

You’re also too cute for him to handle you being so affectionate. He short circuits nearly every time, tensing up and kinda fidgeting as he sits there. No matter how small the act of affection may be, he’s got the same reaction. He’s like a deer in headlights, but make the deer shakey.

Despite his reactions, he doesn’t necessarily mind your touchiness. He just doesn’t know how to respond to it. He admires you so much, plus you’re actually interested in him, so he hopes that it’s normal that he gets so nervous.

He rarely has moments where he doesn’t react like that, but, when he does, it’s when he’s really sleepy or really injured. Heck, even when really injured, he’ll still get a bit flustered. However, it’s during those moments that he appreciates your affection the most. Genya dislikes the fact that he can’t even hold your hand without feeling as if his face is on fire and entire body is shutting down, so the moments where he’s actually able to calmly hold you are the moments he treasures most.

On the very rare occasion, if you approach Genya as if he’s a stray cat, he’ll have a calmer response to your touchiness. However, doing so is a bit of a pain, and his reactions are constantly priceless, so you may as well just continue on with flustering the poor boy.

I feel as though Genya, like Muichiro, enjoys when you play with his hair! It’s not like he’s got as much hair as the previous boy, but it’s still really calming. Other than that, he also loves simple hand-holding. It’s easier for him to feel less embarrassed over, and casual.

Zenitsu Agatsuma <3

Similar to Genya, he gets absolutely, completely flustered. Unlike Genya, though he also forgets how to function properly, Zenitsu is able to react to the touchiness. His reaction is, as expected, loads and loads of compliments and such. Screaming as well. High-pitched, girly squeals- it’s… something you’ll have to learn to love about him.

Out of the three, I feel like Zenitsu both appreciates and reciprocates your touchiness the most. Even if you weren’t, Zenitsu would already be a touchy boyfriend- he considers himself extra blessed to have a s/o that is as touchy as he is.

Between the two of you, I feel like the others will quickly get bored of so much… affection. Zenitsu won’t get bored of it though! Every time, no matter who initiates it, he’ll blush like crazy, and squeeze you a bit, squealing compliments like a schoolgirl in love. And he lives for it, because he’s just!! So happy!!! He feels so loved!!!! He loves you so much!!!!!

Similarly to Genya once again, he’ll be a lot calmer when he’s sleepy or injured. Even still, if you give him a hug/kiss/hold his hand in those moments, he’ll get a little blush on his face. No matter how badly he feels or how sleepy he is, those acts of affection will always be reminders that you’re there for him. That’s another thing about it that just… makes him unbelievably happy.

If someone were to ask him what kind of affection he preferred, he’d have to say he couldn’t answer!! Honestly, he enjoys every bit of it! From your arm linking with his, to little kisses pressed to his face, he can’t limit himself to one favorite!!! His favorite is (Y/N), and that’s simply that!

But actually, he does favor two things a tiiiiiiny bit over the others- hugs and kisses. Hugs are so comforting, so warm. so safe, it feels like nothing can get either of you! And kisses are the only thing that the two of you can exchange that you can’t exchange with other people. Hugs, hand holding, hair ruffling- it’s affection, but it’s affection that can be shared between friends. He doesn’t know of any friends that kiss each other, it’s a couple-y thing to do!! :)))

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Chapter 4: Unexpected (Bonding)

Prev

AO3

Bruce Wayne felt lost. This wasn’t an unusual feeling for him, but he wasn’t particularly fond of the events that led to him feeling lost. First, he found out he had a daughter. Yet another child that he hadn’t known of their existence. Then, he acted as Batman. He researched the girl and found that her school situation was...less than ideal. As was the supervillain situation in Paris. The girl- his daughter- had been targeted several times. Sometimes the Akuma went after her from the start. Other times, she was unfortunate enough to be in its line of sight when it was on a rampage. Any way you looked at it, she was in danger. No, the biggest mistake in researching her came with the phone number for the bakery run by her parents. Two lovely people who had raised her and taught her right from wrong. Something he hadn’t done. Their phone call was what left him feeling lost. They hadn’t demanded that he stay away from his daughter- from Marinette. No, on the contrary, they thought it was a great idea for the two to bond. Especially once Bruce had mentioned his other children. 

“Marinette was distraught when the only information we could give her about her birth father was his name.” Sabine had said, adding to Bruce’s confusion. 

“You had my name but didn’t reach out?” Bruce asked, trying (and failing) to figure out the situation. 

“We didn’t have much to go on. Just your name and that you were American and worked in business. Bridgette didn’t give any specifics, and back then it didn’t really matter. I assumed Bruce Wayne was a common enough name, especially in the US.” Sabine replied simply. The rest of their conversation had gone similarly, with Bruce growing more and more lost until the end. They hadn’t even suggested a DNA test (though he was planning on asking Marinette, just so that they could be completely certain). They just wanted Marinette happy. Even if it meant meeting and bonding with the man who hadn’t known about her existence. 

---

Marinette Dupain Cheng was not having an easy week. No, her week was sucky. In fact it was beyond sucky, it was shitty. So many things were happening at the same time, and she was just grateful that she wasn’t currently in Paris, since she was certain she’d be akumatized. From being attacked by the Joker for simply looking like a Wayne, to meeting Batman who was just as angry in person, and then figuring out Bruce Wayne really was her dad and accidentally calling him Batman, to fighting an Akuma by herself (one that she could barely handle) and then to top it all off, Adrien is Chat Noir. And Adrien has a crush on her, as Marinette. And apparently has for at least a month. Oh and now he knows that she’s Ladybug and so last night was filled with her Chat Blanc nightmares all over again. The cherry on the top of this mess was the fact that the class was practically ignoring her. She was sure they weren’t doing it intentionally and that they were just kinda distracted by Lila’s tall tales of Gotham. Tales that include her dating one of Bruce Wayne’s sons. She wouldn’t clarify which one, which was probably for the best. They two closest to their age were 12 and 19. Neither a great option for the 15 year old Italian. A shrill ringing tugs Marinette out of her thoughts. Glancing down at the unknown number attempting to call her, Marinette silently prayed that this would turn her shitty week around. 

“Hello?” She answers, wincing slightly at the way her voice sounds after a night filled with screaming and crying from nightmares. 

“Is this Marinette Dupain Cheng?” A deep voice asks. Marinette frowns. 

“Um, yes?”

“Good. This is Bruce Wayne and well, I’m not sure how to-”

“You’re my dad.” She blurts out, face instantly heating up. “Oh crap, I mean, um-”

“Well yes. I do believe I may be your father. I was in contact with your parents earlier, to ask about boundaries and such. Your mother says that you had shown interest in meeting me and seeing how we’re similar?” He says, the question clear in his voice. Marinette opens her mouth to respond, then frowns. 

“Just like that? We’re gonna meet, just like that?” She asks, hoping that her distrustful tone doesn’t push the man away. 

“I’ll admit that I was going to ask if you would mind a paternity test. After speaking with your mother, I have no doubts, but I thought it might make you feel better. And of course, if you would prefer to just act as though I didn’t speak to your parents and go on with your trip, we can do that as well. I just- I was caught off guard, if I’m being honest.” Bruce Wayne- her father- says. 

“I’ll do it. I- I would like to get to know you. I can’t have a relationship with Bridgette, but if my parents are okay with it, I do want a relationship with you.” Marinette admits, holding her breath as she waits for an answer. There’s silence on the other end for a long moment, but just as Marinette’s about to apologize and tell him he can go and pretend she doesn’t exist, he answers. His voice a little softer this time. 

“I would like that.” 

---

The paternity test came out positive, to no one’s surprise. Bruce had given Marinette the option of meeting somewhere more public (like a restaurant or museum) to bond, or coming over to the manor. Not quite ready to deal with the possibility of paparazzi and the rumors (no matter how true they may be) that would stem from a public visit, Marinette agreed to going to the manor for dinner. Which is how she ended up sitting in silence in a town car with a man who seemed like he knew more than he was letting on. 

“So, you’re the one who raised Mr. Wayne?” Marinette asks, not quite ready to call the man “Dad” or any variation of the word. The man nods and she meets his eyes in the rearview mirror. 

“Indeed, Miss. I am Alfred Pennyworth.” The man, Monsieur Pennyworth, says calmly. She tries not to let the frustration that she feels building show on her face. She feels like she should know this man, like there’s something important that she’s just barely missing. 

“Have we met before?” Marinette finally asks, racking her brain as she tries to figure out why this man is so familiar to her. 

“I don’t believe so, Miss Dupain Cheng.” He says, and for the first time since meeting him, it doesn’t feel like he’s all knowing. Instead, it feels like he’s just as confused as she is. Drat. She opens her mouth to question him more, when the huge manor becomes visible in the distance. Eyes widening, Marinette forgets everything else and turns her attention to the beautiful architecture. The giant fence and metal gates do little to hide the massive house. Sections of the house rise above others, almost as if there are towers. Dozens of windows are visible, as is the giant fountain at the front of the house. Ripping her sketchbook out of her bag, Marinette immediately starts sketching out the ideas that attack her mind. Dresses and suits and skirts, all using the architecture in front of her for the basic shapes of the outfits. As the car goes past the gate and the gardens come into view, Marinette can’t hold back her shocked gasp. Shaped hedges and flowers, hundreds of different colored flowers, and trees and- it was beautiful. Almost too perfect. Like something that belonged in a movie. She jumps slightly as the car door is opened, Alfred standing on the other side with an eyebrow quirked up. Right. She was actually getting out of the car. And going into this massive house. And spending time with her biological- nope. She can’t do this. She can’t- 

“Miss Dupain Cheng, if it makes you feel any better, Master Bruce seems to have run into some traffic on his way back from the office. You’ll have a few minutes to gather your bearings inside before he arrives.” Alfred says softly. Relief washes over her and she nods, finally moving to get out of the car. 

“Thank you, Alfred.” She says, smiling at the man. He nods back at her before leading her up the steps to the door. He opens it and then steps back, allowing her to take a tentative step into the house. Her previous panic is pushed aside as she realizes the inside is just as gorgeous as the outside. Immediately turning back to her sketchbook, she tunes out the world around her and just stands in the foyer, scribbling furiously into her sketchbook. 

“Um, hi?” A voice says, making Marinette yelp and jump, eyes scanning her surroundings until they fall on a guy. A pretty tall guy. 

“Hi.” She says softly, also confused as to who this guy was. Not her- dad-biological father-other part of her DNA-father-Mr. Wayne- not anyone she had ever met, that’s for sure. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Dick Grayson.” The man says, extending his hand, a smile on his face. Anyone else probably would have thought the smile was sincere, but Marinette had always been good at reading emotions. And she could tell that he was wary of her. Why would he- oh. Grayson. As in, Richard Grayson, as in this man was her brother. Or, well, maybe he wouldn’t want to be. Maybe he would think that she’s ridiculous or that she’s just here to get money or here to try and pull apart Mr. Wayne’s family or maybe he would think that she was trying to take his place and she would never but maybe he would hate her and- She takes in a deep breath, trying desperately to ground herself and wishing she’d taken up Adrien’s earlier offer of him coming with. 

“I’m Marinette. Marinette Dupain Cheng.” She finally says, reaching out and shaking his hand. He nods, obviously still confused. So Mr. Wayne hadn’t mentioned her. Did he hate her? Did he ask her here to have her sign a NDA? Did he not want anything to do with her? Of course he wouldn’t, he obviously already had a family. A family that he chose, not one that he had by accident. His name was on her birth certificate, surely he would have found her sooner if he actually wanted anything to do with her? He chose Dick Grayson to be his son. He wanted him. He didn’t want Marinette. He-

“Ah, Marinette. I see you’ve met Dick.” The last voice she needed to hear says calmly as he walks through the door. Marinette swallows back the thickness in her throat, the one that tells her the tears will be starting soon. 

“Uh, yes. Mr. Wayne. Um, hi.” She says, flinching slightly when he winces. What did she do wrong this time? Was he really going to tell her to take a hike? If he didn’t hate her before, he surely did now. 

“Bruce, what’s going-” Dick starts to ask but is cut off by screaming voices getting closer to them.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Demon Spawn?” 

“Not my fault your blocking skills are subpar, Todd.”

“Sub- you almost stabbed me, you little shit!”

“Almost, yes. But I didn’t. I’m sure Father will be pleased with my restraint.” 

“You little fu-” “Boys!” Mr. Wayne finally yells as the two screaming walk into view. Both freeze and the younger one’s eyes instantly fall on Marinette, narrowing as he takes a defensive position. 

“Another one, Bruce, really?” The older one asks, making Marinette flinch back. Of course. Two more of his sons-her brothers- who he chose. Another two that he wanted. Not like her, someone he was going to be forced to know. Unless he told her tonight that he never wanted to speak to her again and made her sign a paper saying that she would never contact him again and then they would never have to worry about seeing her again and- oh this is a lot. 

“What were you two doing?” Mr. Wayne finally asks, and that’s when Marinette sees the weapons in their hands. And the blood on the older man’s shirt. The man turns slightly so that that part of his shirt is hidden when he notices her staring. 

“Uh, bonding?” He says, not at all convincing. 

“Who is that, Father?” The younger boy asks, the utter distaste clear on both his face and in his tone. And this is it. This is where he’s going to say that she’s no one, she’s nothing, and then he’s going to make her sign that stupid piece of paper and the last chance she has at knowing one of her biological parents is going to fly out the window. Poof. And then she’ll be so embarrassed, she won’t be able to go back on the trip and then she’ll have to change her name but she can’t completely run away yet because of stupid Hawkmoth and-

“This is Marinette, my daughter.” Well that was unexpected.

Next

Tag List: @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @jayjayspixiepop @jjmjjktth @mizzy-pop @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @waiting247 @laurcad123 @toodaloo-kangaroo

[nocapesdahling]

Sweet

Helmut Zemo x GN! Reader

My Masterlist

Summary: You own a bakery and develop a crush on your new regular. 

Warnings/Tags: Fluff; Shy! Reader; Introverted! Reader; Soft! Zemo; Google Translate used for Sokovian (aka Serbian) translation, so sorry in advance; Timeline what Timeline?; Featuring Turkish Delight

Rating: T

A/N: There will be two versions of this one shot because I could not decide on an ending, so they will be similar but with different endings. This one is fluffy with soft Zemo and the other will be more angsty with manipulative Zemo. The latter will be called “Bitter” and will be linked to this one once it’s posted. I’m still new when it comes to posting fic, so would love to hear what you think.

Word Count: 1.7 k

You wondered sometimes about the man who came in most mornings. He had only been a regular for a little less than a month, but he tipped well and had manners the majority of your customers didn’t. There were only one or two other exceptions to the rule, but the majority were unfortunately ruder than you would like.

This man stood out and not only because he seemed to be a gentleman. You noticed right away how handsome he was. You didn’t make a habit of checking out your customers as a whole with one or two other exceptions (the same exceptions as before), but he was worth a second look.

He also had an accent that you couldn’t quite place, but there was a quality to his voice that made something inside of you stand at attention whenever he spoke. You had imagined cooking or baking together, his hands holding yours as he guided you at the stove or you showing him the best way to mix, and his voice reading a recipe aloud to you more times than you cared to admit.

And the nicknames. You had only known the man for a couple of weeks when he’d started calling you draga, sometimes mixed in with other words you couldn’t quite make out and would not be able to pronounce. After some small talk about the best kind of cookies, he said it for the first time in farewell with a smile touching his lips as he’d departed with his chocolate chip cookies.

After you stopped internally hyperventilating, you’d looked up what it meant.

Darling. Darling.

You had finally deciphered the other words too and realized that he was calling you, “my darling baker”.

This man.

You couldn’t believe he was now one of your regular customers. You were unsure what had made him decide on your bakery out of all the others in the city, but you were glad that he had.

You had a big enough crush that you were baking desserts specifically to match his tastes. You had even started to perfect a Turkish Delight recipe after he mentioned one of your desserts tasting similarly in the hopes of a smile or even a little moan. What you wouldn’t give to hear a moan from him.

You had it bad. Let’s just say you had a new favorite regular and you didn’t even know his name. Until the day you mustered the courage to find out.

That’s it. You were going to talk to him today and have an actual conversation and not just about desserts or what cookies were the best that day. Talking about baking was easy. It was talking about everything else that was hard.

You were wearing your lucky apron, you’d mustered your courage, and you had this. That’s when you heard the bell signaling a customer and you saw it was him. Never mind, you didn’t have this. You couldn’t do it. He was too attractive. It was intimidating.

You were tempted to drop a cookie or something, so you’d have the excuse to clean it up and duck behind the counter but you didn’t want to waste any. You took a deep breath as he stepped up to the counter and raised your eyes to meet his. You had never made direct eye contact with him before and now you couldn’t look away.

Why didn’t it surprise you that his eyes were as captivating as the rest of him? It wasn’t fair.

He showed a slight bit of surprise before smiling, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Good Morning, dragi moj pekaru. I see I’m early this morning.”

“Good Morning. Yes a bit, but I’m glad to see you. And everything for the day is out already so I’d say you’re here at the perfect time.”

Was that flirting? You hoped it was. You never knew if you succeeded at flirting or not, but you were trying.

“I’m glad to see you too. You are always a bright spot in my mornings. You and your treats.” His voice was teasing as he stepped closer to the counter to start surveying what you had in the display case. You thought that you had finally perfected the Turkish Delight, enough to put them in the case this time, so you hoped he went for those. You wanted to see his reaction.

“Oh, thank you. It makes me happy when people enjoy my baking and I’m so glad you started coming here.” You smiled at him and glanced away.

He was dressed impeccably as always with his hair a bit windswept, strands of hair falling on his forehead. You took another deep breath and knew if you were going to do this then you had to do it now, before another customer came in and you lost your nerve.

“I’m sorry if I’m overstepping my bounds, sir. But you’ve been coming here most days for the past couple of weeks and I was just wondering if I could know your name?”

“My name?” His tone was surprised. “Yes, of course. My name is Helmut, dragi moj pekaru. It’s lovely to meet you officially. And you? May I know the name of my favorite baker?”

Helmut. Helmut. You tried it out a few times in your head. It suited him, though knowing his name now made you imagine giving him a nickname of your own. You told him yours, trying not to let your nervousness show in your voice.

He repeated it almost to himself. Hearing your name in his voice and how he lingered over it made you shiver as your brain couldn’t help but picture hearing him rasping it in more intimate situations. “What a beautiful name for a lovely and talented individual.”

You smiled at him. “Thank you, Helmut.”

You didn’t want to cut the conversation short because you were talking to him and having an actual conversation about something besides desserts, but you didn’t want to drag this on for too long either. You were certain that he was a busy man as he hade never lingered in the bakery before. This would have to be enough interaction for this morning. You knew you’d be spending the evening alone wrapped in blankets to relax after today, though you wouldn’t mind spending an evening with Helmut. He seemed the type to sit with you in the quiet and read or watch a movie with you.

“Have you decided what you would like this morning?”

“May I sample a Turkish Delight?”

You contained your excitement. He was going to try one.

“Yes, of course you can. I can’t wait to hear what you think of them.” You picked a pomegranate one out of the case with a small piece of parchment paper and handed it to him.

He accepted it and your hands brushed. You watched him avidly and hoped you weren’t making him uncomfortable. He smiled at you and popped it into his mouth, chewing it slowly and almost thoughtfully before letting out a slight involuntary moan as his eyes closed.

You were glad his eyes were closed as you froze. He actually moaned. As much as you’d hoped for one, you hadn’t expected it to happen. It was even better than you’d imagined. You composed yourself as he opened his eyes, wiping the excess sugar off his lips with his thumb.

“Hmm, irresistible. You have outdone yourself.”

You smiled at him, “Thank you. I’m so happy you liked it.”

Helmut smiled back. “I enjoy Turkish Delight, especially when they are as good as these. I know what I’m ordering today. I’ll take ten in assorted flavors please, draga.”

You started taking them out of the display case and putting them into a paper bag for him.

“Would you bake for me privately?” You froze, wondering if you’d heard him correctly.

He cleared his throat. “Do you cater events I mean? I am hosting a party soon, a reunion of sorts, and your desserts would be essential.”

You hadn’t done much catering before, but you were not going to mention that to him. “Yes, that sounds amazing.”

“Wonderful. I will come in with more details and we can plan out what I am thinking. Turkish Delight must feature of course.”

“Of course,” you smiled and did a happy dance inside. You got to spend more time with him and he liked the Turkish Delight. He’d moaned. This day was going so much better than you’d imagined.

“Just wait until you see my estate’s kitchen. It is one of a kind.”

His estate’s kitchen? So he was wealthy, which somehow did not surprise you. He gave off that air without trying.

You wondered again, Was this flirting?

Because for you, his offer to show you his kitchen had come off as almost romantic. A beautiful kitchen with quality ingredients was the way to a baker’s heart. You’d also be alone together for the first time in a setting where you were truly alone. Being in the bakery, always keeping an eye on the door for the next customer, wasn’t the same.

“I can’t wait to see it.”

He accepted the bag of Turkish Delight from you and paid, tipping well as usual. “Good, good. I will see you Monday, dragi moj pekaru. Until then.” With that, he strode out the door.

You watched him leave, excited by the thought that he’d be in on Monday and you could talk to him more then. Once you’d spent some time alone of course. You wanted to be at your best and you needed to recharge this weekend to be ready for Monday.

You’d be spending time with him to plan the dessert menu and would be going to his house to cater an event. Maybe, you’d find out where his accent was from and get to hear him say your name again. Maybe, he’d even ask you out after tasting the cake you planned to make for his party. You hoped so and smiled to yourself as another customer came in, and you put thoughts of Helmut aside for the moment.

Meanwhile, Helmut Zemo contemplated the best way to ask you out. After the party would be best if he could bring himself to wait that long. That decision made, he planned where he’d like to take you on your first date if you said yes. With today’s conversation, he now had higher hopes that you would.

Monday could not come soon enough.

Likes, comments, and reblogs are much appreciated. Thanks for reading!

According to Google Translate, dragi moj pekaru = my darling baker

I have an ongoing series for Helmut Zemo and have written for a few other fandoms if you’d like to check out my masterlist.

[queeranarchism]

Hey! I saw your post about how hiveminds are represented poorly, where you then talked about how anarchists form a consensus among large groups. I was wondering how this process of forming a consensus typically works, because I always thought people did have a vote.

Most anarchist communities don’t vote. Because whenever we vote, a majority gets what they want and a minority doesn’t. And this could mean there is dissatisfaction, which leads to internal strife, anger, bitterness, mistrust. Or worse this could mean there is injustice when a minority doesn’t get the safety, resources, access, fulfillment, they need. And that’s not what we want. For many anarchists, voting is a tool of injustice through which minority interests are suppressed. Instead, anarchists use:

1. Consensus: decisions that impact everyone are made by using a variety of techniques to get to an agreement that everyone can agree on. Consensus processes often consist of small gatherings in which affinity groups and minority caucuses talk among themselves, followed by large gatherings in which the conversation goes on until there is agreement among all (established through hand-raising or some other technique. Basically a vote that requires 100% yes).

2. Autonomy: decisions that mainly impact you and your affinity group can be made without consulting anyone. Decisions that only impact your neighborhood require a consensus within the neighborhood, etc. Basically no one not impacted by your decisions can get in your way, unless you start harming and oppression others.

3. Emergency agreements: most anarchist communities have some system in place through which some people can make fast decisions. When there’s a fire, or a flood, or an eviction, you gotta act fast. Often a what-if plan has been made in advance using consensus and that what-if plan is implemented with the use of temporary leaders or temporary voting followed by a review and re-establishment of consensus.

Consensus is the least understood of those 3 concepts because very few people can imagine acting in a community based on good faith, where no one wants their favorite option to win and everyone wants an outcome that works best for everyone. Consensus requires trust, flexible positions, really listening to minority voices and being able to settle for a less than perfect option because you recognize the needs of other people.

Electoral decision making cultivates competition, only listening to large groups who have the voting power to achieve a majority, encouraging faithfulness to a fixed position to build a majortiy and basically the opposite of all these cooperative attitudes. So if you’ve raised in majority decision making, it’s not surprising that it’s difficult to imagine people acting differently.

Seeds for Change described the consensus process as follows

The problem, or decision needing to be made, is defined and named. It helps to do this in a way that separates the problems/questions from personalities.

Brainstorm possible solutions. Write them all down, even the crazy ones. Keep the energy up for quick, top-of-the head suggestions.

Create space for questions or clarification on the situation.

Discuss the options written down. Modify some, eliminate others, and develop a short list. Which are the favourites?

State the proposal or choice of proposals so that everybody is clear.

Discuss the pros and cons of each proposal — make sure everybody has a chance to contribute.

If there is a major objection, return to step 6 (this is the time-consuming bit). Sometimes you may need to return to step 4.

If there are no major objections, state the decisions and test for agreement.

Acknowledge minor objections and incorporate friendly amendments.

Discuss.

Check for consensus.

Seeds for Change mentions that when despite multiple attempts there is no consensus, the group as a whole can:

Allow the person most concerned to make the decision.

Leave the decision for later or take a break.

Ask everyone to argue convincingly the point of view they like the least.

Break down the decision into smaller areas. See which ones you can agree on and see what points of disagreement are left.

Identify the assumptions and beliefs underlying the issue. Get to the heart of the matter.

Imagine what will happen in six months, a year, five year’s time if you don’t agree. How important is the decision now?

Bring in a facilitator. If your group is unable to work through conflicts or if similar issues keep coming up, think about bringing in a professional facilitator or mediator who is trained in conflict-resolution techniques.

& when consensus can’t be found at all and a few people consistently disagree, those who disagree with the most popular option can choose:

Non-support: “I don’t see the need for this, but I’ll go along with it.”

Standing aside: “I personally can’t do this, but I won’t stop others from doing it.”

Veto/major objection: A single veto/major objection blocks the proposal from passing. If you have a major objection it means that you cannot live with the proposal if it passes. It is so objectionable to you/those you are representing that you will stop the proposal. A major objection isn’t an “I don’t really like it “ or “I liked the other idea better.” It is an “I cannot live with this proposal if it passes, and here is why?.!”. The group can either accept the veto or discuss the issue further and draw up new proposals. The veto is a powerful tool and should be used with caution.

Leaving the group: If one person continually finds him/herself at odds with the rest of the group, it may be time to think about the reasons for this. Is this really the right for them to group to be in? 

Consensus decision making is tricky and can be flawed. Conversation facilitators often hold more power than they’re willing to admit, talented public speakers can have more impact than those anxious about speaking in a group, long crowded meetings are not accessible to all, dogmatic cliques can sabotage the process by misusing the veto, etc. Measures need to be in place to counteract this, or true consensus becomes impossible.

It’s also important not to let consensus eclipse ‘autonomy’ or to nitpick every minor decision. The answer ‘what are we having for lunch?’ shouldn’t be a consensus process. It should be ‘whatever people want, & those who want the same thing can make lunch together’. Similarly, if the question is ‘do we want a new water filter in the community garden?’, you might wanna avoid long conversations and rephrase that question to ‘Are there enough people here willing to help me build a water filter in the garden and no one who objects to a new water filter?’. Let enthusiasm to do new things thrive.

This is doubly true in a situation like an occupation, blockade, autonomous zone under pressure, etc. Resistance requires flexibility and surprise, which can not come from consensus. A resistance movement that doesn’t allow its affinity groups to roam free and exploit opportunities won’t live long.

Your movement will die if you try to do everything by general assembly and limit the power of autonomy. In my opinion, one of the most common failures that I’ve seen in anarchist organizing in Europe has been to try to limit the autonomy of its affinity groups, try to do everything by large scale consensus meeting, and when that got too time-consuming and had authority issues, switch to more voting instead of more autonomy and better consensus processes.

Some reading:

Peter Gelderloos - Consensus:  A New Handbook for Grassroots Social, Political, and Environmental Groups. (print)

Seeds for change - Consensus Decision Making https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/seeds-for-change-consensus-decision-making

C.T. Butler and Amy Rothstein - On Conflict and Consensus: a handbook on Formal Consensus decisionmaking https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/c-t-butler-and-amy-rothstein-on-conflict-and-consensus-a-handbook-on-formal-consensus-decisionm#toc8

The Inefficient Utopia or How Consensus Will Change the World        https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/curious-george-brigade-the-inefficient-utopia-or-how-consensus-will-change-the-world        

[peachscribe]

peach’s summer book list

i had a lot of fun compiling the list of books i read during the 20-21 winter, so i decided i would do a summer one as well! i still have a lot of books i own but haven’t read, so im definitely not lacking in material

if you didn’t see my winter list, how my book list works is basically like this: i read a book that i own but have not previously read, write a short summary immediately after finishing the book, write down my thoughts on the book, and then provide a rating for the book. i also might include background info on why i read this particular book/feelings about the author, but that depends on the book. that’s how each entry works

without further ado, let’s get started!

1. Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

okay so i absolutely adore another book by andrew smith (written after grasshopper jungle) called the alex crow. it’s one of my favorite books of all time, so naturally i wanted to see if grasshopper jungle would make me feel similarly. just like the alex crow, grasshopper jungle’s plot is. so fucking weird. it stars austin szerba, a teenage polish kid who lives in ealing, iowa, and is often sexually confused regarding his girlfriend shann and his best friend robby. and in ealing, iowa, austin and robby accidentally and unknowingly unleash an unstoppable army of huge six-foot-tall praying mantis bugs that only want to do two things: fuck and eat. and i just have to say: andrew smith’s got an absolutely dynamo writing style. alex crow is similar, where it’s a book about kind of everything all at once, framed in a moment centering around teenage boys. it’s fantastic, and it’s more than a little gross, and i love it. this book made me feel so many things, and i thought austin was such an amazing narrator and main character to identify with. this book has it all: shitty teenage boy humor, fucked up science experiments, and poetic imagery that will make you want to cry. and explicit lgbt characters.

412/10 andrew smith what do you put in your water i just want to know

2. Burn by Patrick Ness

patrick ness has written a plethora of some of my favorite books (such as a monster calls, the chaos walking trilogy, and the rest of us just live here) so when i saw this one in the store i knew it would be a great one. burn is an alternate history fantasy that takes place in 1957 frome, washington, during the height of the cold war, and it begins with a girl named sarah and her father hiring a dragon to help out on their farm. but there’s not just dragons, farm living, and cold war tensions; there’s also a really shitty small town cop, a cult of dragon worshippers and their deadly teenage assassin, a pair of fbi agents, and a prophecy that sarah’s newly hired dragon claims she’s a part of. i think eoin colfer’s highfire was on my winter list, which also featured a story that included dragons and shitty cops, so when i first began burn i thought it was funny to have two books that had both things. you know, if you had a nickel etc etc. but that’s really where the similarities end because burn is entirely it’s own monster (dragon). burn is entirely invested in its world, and its fascinating. not only that, i had no clue where the book would take me next. there were so many surprises and amazing twists that honestly just blew me away. this book also includes beautifully written complicated discussions on family, race, and love - it features interracial and queer romances as the two most prominent romance plots which was such a nice surprise from a book i wasn’t expecting to have that kind of representation. this book is witty, fast-paced, and a very heartening read - i absolutely adored it.

9/10 dragons and becoming motivated by the power of love and friendship are so fucking cool

3. As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann

i hate this book! as meat loves salt is a historical fiction novel which takes place in seventeenth century england, which is going through a grisly civil war. the protagonist, jacob cullen, is a servant for a wealthy household and is engaged to another servant in the house. but due to certain events that are almost entirely jacob’s fault, he flees the house and is separated from his wife. from there, he joins the royal army and meets a kind soldier, ferris, and the two become fast friends. jacob and ferris’s relationship begins to bridge past friendly, and jacob struggles with his homoerotic feelings as well as the growing obsession and violence inside him. also, they try to start a colony. listen, i don’t know how to describe the book because so much happens, but it basically just follows jacob and all the terrible decisions he makes because he is, truly, a terrible person. ferris is kind and good, and jacob is scum of the earth. he sucks so bad. the entire time i was reading this book (which took absolutely so long), all i wanted was for jacob to just get his ass handed to him. i wanted to see him suffer. and it’s not like i just personally don’t like him - i believe the book purposefully depicts him as unsympathetic even though he is the narrator. i did enjoy the very in depth and accurate portrayal of what life would’ve been like in seventeenth century england, and i think it was interesting to read a character that is just the absolute worst person you’ve ever encountered and see him try and justify his actions, so if you enjoy that kind of thorough writing, then this book would be perfect for you. however, i did not see that bitch ass motherfucker jacob cullen suffer enough. i’d kill him with my bare hands.

2/10 diversity win! the worst man on earth is mlm!

4. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

i know ive had a friend tell me how great one of schwab’s other book series is, but truthfully i bought this book because the cover is sick as hell and it was on a table in the store that advertised for buy two get one free, i think. something like that. anyway, this savage song takes place in a future in which monsters, for whatever reason, suddenly became real and out for blood in a mysterious event nicknamed the phenomenon. august flynn is one of these monsters, but he takes no pride in that fact and only wants to feel human. kate harker is the daughter of a ruthless man and is trying her hardest to be ruthless, too, but deep down she knows it’s just an act. their city, verity, stands divided, and kate and august stand on either side - but when august is sent on a mission to befriend kate in the hopes of stopping an all out war, the lines begin to blur. this book rules. august and kate are such interesting and dynamic characters, and the narrative is familiar while still being capable of twisting the story around and taking the feet out from under you in really compelling ways. this savage song is part of the monsters of verity duology, and i can’t wait to dive into how the story continues and finishes.

11/10 sometimes you can judge a book by it’s cover

4a. Our Dark Duet by Victorian Schwab

this is the sequel and finale for this savage song and i’d figure i’d update everyone: fantastic ending, beautiful, showstopping, painful.

12/10 loved it and will definitely be keeping an eye out for schwab’s other books

5. White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

oh boy. okay. white is for witching is about a house, and it is about the women who have lived inside of it. when her mother dies abroad, miranda silver begins to act strangely, and there’s nothing her father or her twin brother seem to be able to do about it. she develops an eating disorder and begins to hear voices in the silver family house, converted to a bed and breakfast by miranda’s dad; and she begins to lose herself in the house and the persistent presence of her family legacy. white is for witching switches perspective dizzingly and disorientingly between miranda, her twin eliot, miranda’s friend from school named ore, and the house itself. this story is a horror story as much as it as a tragedy as much as it is a romance as much as it is a bunch of other things. oyeyemi brings race, sexuality, nationality, and family into this story and forces you not to look away. this book is poetry.

(like i mentioned briefly, this book heavily deals with topics of race and closely follows miranda’s eating disorder. read responsibly, and take care of yourselves)

15/10 this book consumed me and i think i’ll have to read it another 10 more times to feel it properly

6. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

okay. okay. strap in for a ride. these violent delights is a romeo and juliet style story, taking place in glittering 1920’s shanghai. the city stands divided - not only between the foreign powers encroaching on chinese land, but also between the scarlet gang and the white flowers, who are at the height of a generations-long blood feud. juliette cai, heir to the scarlets, has recently returned from four years abroad and is determined to prove herself ruthless enough to lead. roma montagov, heir to the white flowers, is standing strenuously on his place as next in line due to a slip up four years prior and is desperate to keep hold of his title. and in the midst of juliette and roma’s burning history with each other threatening to combust, an unnatural monster lurks in the waters of shanghai, loosing a madness on scarlets and white flowers alike. this book has it all - scorned ex lovers, political intrigue, deadly monsters, and all set on a glamorous backdrop of the roaring twenties. i absolutely was enraptured by this book and the way it plays around the story of romeo and juliet so well that it easily became it’s own monster, but with the punches and embraces of something classically shakespearan. gong does just an absolutely breathtaking job of fitting this fantastical story amid the larger world of shanghai and the real life historical events that had shaken the city to its core. completely immersive and outstandingly heart racing.

17/10 i was chewing on my fingernails for the last thirty pages and will continue to do so until the sequel is released (our violent ends, 16 nov 21)

7. The Antiques by Kris D’Agostino

you ever heard of the american dysfunctional family story? this is most definitely that. at the same time george westfall’s cancer takes a turn for the worse, a hurricane hits the east coast, and suddenly all at once the issues of his health, the hurricane, and all three of his children’s achingly dysfunctional adult lives are crashing into each other. reunited by george’s death, the westfall siblings have to face their grief, each other, and the problems in their own lives they attempted to put on hold while planning their father’s memorial. this is a nice story about grief and loss and love and somehow finding the humor amidst it all.

(this book does include a depiction of an autistic child who does experience several pretty bad meltdowns due to ignorant people around him not understanding how to cater to his needs. im not an authority on what depictions are or are not harmful, but i do believe this depiction is ultimately loving and well-intended.)

7/10 it made me laugh and cry and was generally one of those books that somehow hit you close to home

8. Fierce Fairytales by Nikita Gill

fierce fairytales is a poetry anthology that reimagines classic fairytales from a modern, feminist viewpoint, acknowledging that the line between hero and villain, monster and damsel, are not as clear cut as the classics try to make you believe. this book also includes illustrations done by the author herself, which i think is really cool. my personal favorite story reimagining was the story of peter pan and captain hook, called ‘boy lost’ which looked at how peter and hook’s relationship began and rotted. all in all, i think this collection of stories had a lot of important things to say and said them in frank, easy to understand poetry and prose.

7/10 beautiful message and pretty prose, but at times a little cliche

and that’s all from the summer! my fall semester starts tomorrow, and overall i feel very good about all the reading i did this summer. i even read four other books not on this list for work! so i definitely feel like i made the most out of my time, and im really glad i was able to read so many stories that made me feel a variety of different things

thanks so much for reading this list, and let me know if you read or have read any of these books and tell me what you think of them!

happy reading<3

[the-witches-you-couldnt-burn]

When it all falls down

Guys! I have 69 followers and I couldn’t be happier! Here’s the next chapter of ‘When it all falls down’ and I hope you enjoy it! There are some inspiration links to things I’ve described if you need visual images

Ao3

Story Masterlist

———————————

CHAPTER ONE: Everything I never wanted

The ballroom was lit with torches and shimmering crystal chandeliers. A buffet table lined one wall and the other held a stage with an orchestra. The doors were wide open but only a select few were invited. Those that chose to dance did so with ridged backs, like an invisible knife would stab them at a single misstep. Nobles gathered at tables conversing, smiles plastered onto their painted faces.

Guards dressed in dark navy and dyed leather lined each window and entry. They stood, watching the crowd, surrounding them, prepared and ready. It was dark out, the glass panes showed the opaque inky night.

“The king has yet to arrive to his own party.”

The man next to her snapped his head in her directions, eyes narrowing and his goblet brought up to his pursed lips for a sip. Swallowing, he cleared his throat, “You of all people should know that the king is dead.”

She turned away from the dazzling reception and sent him a smirk. “And you should know that I don’t believe lies.”

Before he could reply, two hands clasped his and the bride’s shoulders, his mothers head appeared between them. “Go dance!” She hissed, pushing them towards the stiffly dancing nobles.

Damian looked at Marinette who shrugged. As husband and wife they walked arm-in-arm to the dance floor, guests scrambled out of their way, an empty space was left for the couple. The two separated and turned to face each other with a bow. Mari picked up her skirts as she strutted, they both circled to their right slowly then to their left until they returned to their starting positions. Damian extended his hand and Marinette, with her free hand accepted it. The two closed the circle until they were standing palm to palm.

Now up close they could better view their partner in dance and life. The prince wore a black kurta pajama with a wrapped button neckline and gold embroidery. The kurta’s buttons were made of diamonds and it’s squared hemline stopped mid-thigh to reveal he wore white cotton pants underneath. His belt consisted of solid gold ovals, embedded with obsidian, opals and an emerald in each centre. A golden crown with another emerald rested on his forehead, it’s intricate moulding wrapped around his skull and the centre piece pointed downwards.

Marinette remembered her tutors teaching her about the Empire. The opals and obsidian represents a new era of the kingdom, it was the royal families signature colours. This was reinforced by their clothes only being at the extremes of the shade spectrum. And at birth each member is given a specific stone to represent their life and role within the kingdom. Lady Talia’s was Tiger’s Eye (quite fitting), and it seems that Damian was blessed with Emerald.

Marinette was dressed similarly to Damian. She wore her own familial colours, like Damian’s birth jewel, Marinette was given her own sigil. When she entered the order and rose through the rank, the elder guardians awarded her with the Ladybug mantle. Her wedding garb (along with all her other clothes) consisted of hues of red and black. Her cheongsam was sleeveless and it’s neck was high. At the nape of the neckline, similar to that of a cape, a translucent blue material stitched with shimmering silver threads trailed down her back. It fluttered as she moved, making her presence look ethereal and that of an Angel.

The main body of the dress was a deep red silk, that hugged her curves and the skirt slowly transitioned to black. The gradient was further detailed with small beads of sparkling black gemstones. It’s petticoat was made of the same translucent blue material and could be seen from a high slit. In the bodice of the dress there was another slit that went down her sternum, the skin of her chest peeking through on occasion.

Her waist length hair usually hung freely down her back unless she was in training, was now tied into a bun by multiple braids. Silver hairpins held the do together and they were inscribed with incantations of protection and luck. Although she was the Miraculous Order’s princess she didn’t wear the headdress they had given her, she felt as though she didn’t deserve it.

Two steps, two steps. Her skirts swished with movement, the noise of the clicking beads filled her ears. The two were the focus of the entire party, as it should be due to the fact that this was their wedding reception. The violins high pitched cry signified the climax of their dance, Damian held his arm out and spun her before drawing her back into his embrace. This dance, much like their marriage was nothing more than an obligation to their clans.

As the music died down, the young couple were ushered into their new living quarters. The room was moderately sized and minimalistic style of furnishing, coloured a deep blue with gold trimming. Other than the front door, there were 3 others leading out of the room. The first being next to a curtained window, it lead to a balcony with granite carved railings. The second lead to the bathroom and the third linked another smaller bed room to theirs. When the couple discovered the smaller room they were confused, but Lady Talia quickly provided an explanation.

The connected room was for their future heirs.

The newlyweds froze at the older woman’s declaration. They struggled to process the depth of her words. Oblivious to the awkward atmosphere she created she swept up her skirts and pranced out of the room, leaving two sets of eyes trailing her figure.

They distracted themselves by unpacking the trunks containing their belongings, neither had much. This was because of being constantly on the move (Marinette) or not being allowed to have materialistic pleasures (Damian). Blue eyes avoided green and vice versa. Once complete they prepared for slumber, but there was one issue to be addressed... the consummation of the marriage.

Tremors shook Damian’s hands at the realisation of what was expected of him. She saw his shaking form, the elders had always complimented her observant nature. He hid his distress poorly. “I can sleep in the other room if that would make you more comfortable my prince.” Her soft voice was sincere and free from any jest that it held from earlier this evening.

He looked towards her, his exterior hardening, protecting himself against this stranger. “No.” He gruffly replied, “I’ll take the other room.” A smaller room meant less places for enemies to hide. Yes the smaller room would fit him better.

He turned towards the door but her statement halted his movements. “I do not wish to tie you down with these bonds of matrimony. As long as no harm comes to the Order or I, you can do as you please.”

He made no move to turn, only shifting his head to stare back at the small figure that sat upon the too large bed. “Why are you offering this?”

She couldn’t provide him with anything more than a small smile, upon closer inspection sadness was clearly evident within her eyes. “If we cannot marry for love then we should at least marry someone we do not hate.” She said before laying underneath the blankets, her eyes fluttering shut as her head hit the pillow.

For a moment he stayed there, standing; but eventually he made his way into the conjoining room and bedding down for the night. If he had stayed living with his mother he probably would have deemed her as weak and insufficient to be his bride as soon as she joined him at the altar. But his time with his father and siblings had shattered that perspective. Her words repeated within his mind, ‘If we cannot marry for love then we should at least marry someone we do not hate.’ There surely was a hidden meaning but Damian was too exhausted from the day’s events to scrutinise. If that is her wish then he would gladly accommodate it.

Taglist:

@thesunniestdays @jayjayspixiepop @toodaloo-kangaroo

[marveldc-imagines-hub]

Subtitles: Episode 3, Now in Color

Subtitles Masterlist

Summary: Things are going well between [Y/N] and their new partners but what shenanigans will ensue as the Maximoff baby’s arrival quickly approaches and they’re pulled into the throughs of building a nursery and… child delivery?

Word count: 10,640

Warnings: Cotton candy fluff, chaos, baby. So the usual, plus babies.

Tag list: @madamevirgo​ @ravennight41​ @multifandomgirl16 (It won’t tage you for some reason, I’m sorry ;-; ) @cyanide-mustard​ @badasspolygenderfriend​

~~~

    You huffed and sat back on your heels, slipping a sore finger into your mouth. “Stupid bird.”

    The bird in question, a pink flamingo made of plastic and wire, seemed to sneer at you from its position sticking a few inches farther out of the grass than it should be. Because of this, you could still see the main stake sticking out of the bottom of the bird’s standing foot, which, much to your distaste, made the pink plastic-feathered creature look like it was trapped on a piece of wood impaled in its foot rather than lounging on one foot in the lush green grass of your yard. 

��   You had spent a good portion of today working on your yard and garden and waiting for a member of the household across the street to step outside and beckon you over. Dressed in overalls stained by grass and dirt, a brightly colored T-shirt, a sun hat, and working shoes, you forced yourself to keep busy by planting new flora and putting down new garden fences and decor while Vision and Wanda were tucked away indoors, preparing for a baby. You were the only one so far to know about the Maximoff bun in the oven outside of the parents and although it seemed like just last week that Wanda had gotten pregnant, the baby had finally big enough that the couple had to involve a doctor to make sure all was going well.

    It also felt like not long ago that the couple had asked you out for the first time. Both of them. At the same time. It was news to you that they had felt even remotely felt the same way about you as you had about them but the rest of that conversation had gone swimmingly with you being too nervous and dumbstruck to do much more than blubber questions. The first date and then the second went a similar way, with you not being completely sure that you were on a three-person date or even awake. Luckily, your new partners were just as unnerved as you were and the three of you agreed to simply play it by ear and communicate a lot. 

Some time and a few sporadic dates later and things were going smoothly. Almost every bit of free time was spent at either their place or yours; if it wasn’t free time, you were giving Vision rides to work and leaving cute messages in the files you left at his desk—you always hoped they were cute, anyway, and not annoying, only to be reassured when you got a smiley back or your favorite treat from the breakroom left with the file when it was returned—or trying to help Wanda clean or cook or take a break despite her stubborn fussing against it. Vision was the first to give you a pet name, Wanda was the first to hold you in place when you attempted to pull away from a normally quick handhold or hug, and you were the first to press kisses to both their cheeks after walking them home from dinner. Wanda fell asleep on your couch first, you on theirs second, and Vision went ahead and turned cheek pecks into lip kisses. You weren’t quite ready to initiate them yourself yet but you hadn’t been complaining when Vision caught you on your porch steps and kissed you on the mouth; the rain that had just started had either been just a bonus or his initial inspiration.

    As nice as everything has been, though, you were still worried about overstepping boundaries with the married couple so when Vision invited you over to be a part of the doctor visit, you politely declined. Instead, after the doctor left, you were to head over and bring your tools to help set up the nursery; it was also your joint job with Vision, who was now a baby book reading master but also increasingly bugged out about Wanda and the baby’s health, to try and convince said woman to relax for once in her life—a task difficult enough to be on the list of Hercules’ Twelve Labors, you were convinced at this point.

    For now, though, you were sitting with your feet beginning to cramp and your knees getting damp and most likely more grass-stained, glaring at the devil in pink whose foot-stake had left your finger with a prick from a splinter and whose one visible dark eye stared at you with sadistic mirth.

    “Oh, you wanna go, Bernard?” you scoffed at the bird-shaped plastic, dropping your hand from your mouth and pushing yourself up into a squat. “I’ll call you out. Let’s go!” You raised your hands in a fighting stance and bounced on the balls of your feet as you prepared to strike.

    The sound of a chainsaw starting up caught you off guard mid-bounce and you lost your balance but what caught your eye when you twisted around while rubbing your now-bruised tailbone was Vision walking outside his front door with an older gentleman, presumably the doctor. However, you paid very little attention to said other man as you laid in the middle of your yard, twisted into what was probably a partial yoga pose, resting your chin on your arm and making lovey-dovey eyes at the former.

    Not that it was surprising at all, Vision looked very nice today. He was wearing dark blue pants and a similarly colored sweater over a collared shirt and tie, with a honey-brown jacket topping everything off; you couldn’t imagine wearing a shirt plus two outerwear items in the heat of the day but you certainly didn’t mind seeing him all dressed up. His hair was somewhere between jaw and shoulder length and wavy as ever and while you weren’t a fan of the popular 70s cut, he not only pulled it off but made it look incredibly attractive. He greeted his next-door neighbor Herb, who started up the chainsaw, then spoke animatedly, as he always did, to the doctor. Talking about keeping the baby news to themselves, no doubt.

    Vision watched as the doctor walked off down the sidewalk and as he happened to pass in your direction, Vision’s gaze refocused to settle on you instead. The expression on his face changed from purely friendly to something deeper and you felt the familiar flutter of butterflies in your stomach as he waved over to you.

    “Hello, perfectly platonic neighbor!” he hollered, to which you responded in kind after snorting and then disentangling yourself from your strange position.

    No response from Herb about the odd greeting. The cul-de-sac, and in Westview in general, people didn’t seem concerned with your trio’s out-of-place shenanigans as long as it didn’t directly affect them, you had noticed over time. You could have probably walked over and planted a brazen smooch on Vision’s perfect mouth while out in the open, with other neighbors milling about, and no one would bat an eye.

    But that’s exactly what we’re not going to do, you thought stubbornly as you stood and brushed yourself off. Not yet, anyway. I want to make sure they’re both comfortable with it first. 

    Vision seemed to grasp what your plan was because he waited for you as you gave Bernard the flamingo a fight postpone notice and then a light kick before walking across your yard and heading across the street. If you had been more rational, you would have grabbed your tools so you could have just come inside when you reached the Maximoff house but your brain, muddled with the pink mist of freshly requited affections, could only think of getting closer to the man, maybe even holding hands or nuzzling noses. 

    A sound that was equal parts loud and awful caught both your and Vision’s attention as you reached the sidewalk on the other side of the street. Looking over, you both saw Herb cutting away with his chainsaw, only now he wasn’t cutting through bushes but the stone wall separating his and Wanda and Vision’s homes. The stone blocks of the wall weren’t super heavy-duty, you supposed, but the sound made you cringe, and the sight was a little jarring. Herb didn’t seem to realize was he was doing despite the lack of hedges in his path.

    “Hey Herb,” Vision yelled over the noise, “think you might’ve taken the hedge trimming a little too far there, old chum!” As he spoke, he glanced over at you and, seeing you nearby, instinctively shifted in your direction; you moved to meet him halfway and you each gave the other’s hand a quick affectionate squeeze, though both pairs of eyes were trained on Herb.

    Herb, who looked up, smiled, and responded, “So I have! Thanks, buddy.” Despite saying this, he continued to cut through the bordering wall and stare glassily ahead as if none the wiser. 

    The expression gave you an unnerving sense of familiarity but you couldn’t quite put a name to the vague memory of a person you’d seen wearing it. Acquiring a migraine medication and forcing yourself to not look too hard into every strange thing that happened in this town helped but your headaches appeared to never quite go away. This was proven by the muted throb across one side of your head that came with looking at the bizarre scene.

    “Yeah,” Vision said a little quieter, “don’t mention it.”

    The action only happened briefly but when you caught him chewing his lower lip, you felt your innards tie themselves in knots and had a particularly hard time tearing your gaze away. Now that you were closer, you also noticed that the blue and brown ensemble he wore perfectly matched his hair and eyes. That hair that you always desperately wanted to brush your fingers through.

Fingers carefully slipping around your hand, like if they held you any tighter your own would break, managed to catch your attention as Vision turned to lead you inside.

    “Oh,” you chirped, tugging your hand back to point a thumb over your shoulder, “I forgot my tools. Meet you in a minute?”

    Vision seemed persistent to bring you inside, even going so far as to catch both your arms and doing a playful series of shimmies and sways to dance the two of you closer to the front door. Now that you were out of Herb’s frozen line of sight, the two of your found yourselves standing so close together that there wasn’t a single pocket of space between your bodies. When you inhaled, you smell cologne that wasn’t too light or too heavy and a scent that you could only describe as the heat of a warm, sunny day. Thinking as he would only smell sweat and dirt and grass if he did the same, you blushed and made a note to change before you came back over.

    Whatever Vision thought about how you smelled or the clothes you wore, he didn’t seem to care enough, if at all. He took advantage of being out of sight to move his hands from your hours to your waist—a much more convincing position indeed—and nuzzled his nose to your hairline, now exposed as your hat rested farther back on your head.

    “You know very well that you can use ours,” he said.

    You felt his warm breath on your forehead. If you weren’t standing up and didn’t have the nagging feeling that you were getting dirt on his nice sweater, you would have been perfectly comfortable simply hugging him and dozing off in the cozy embrace right there.

    Vision continued in a lilting voice and with an added shimmy that brought the two of you directly to the front door. “They’d love to see you, you know.”

    They? Your brows furrowed a bit, then rolled your eyes. Oh, Wanda plus baby.

    Still, you steeled your resolve and leaned away from him. He looked at you like he was a puppy that had been kicked, to which you responded with a faux scowl. “Mr. Vision Maximoff, I said I was going bring my tools, and [Y/N] is no flake. Besides,” you paused as your scowl melted into a smile, “I don’t want to get dirt and grime all over the new room. It’ll only take a minute; you act like we can’t see each other through our living room windows if we wanted to.”

    Making his last attempt, Vision leaned into your arms, which were now around his own, and pressed his cheek against your temple. Still pouting, he muttered, “It only took Wanda and I going around a few times before we moved in together.”

    The idea of you living under the same roof as your couple and their new baby made you giddy as much as it made you feel like you wanted to throw yourself into a lit fire pit to save yourself from embarrassment. 

    “Ah, yes, a spectacle to behold,” you said as you leaned away again, “A new baby and a new roommate!” You saw Vision open his mouth to speak, no doubt to respond with a quip, and quickly continued, disentangling yourself from him as you did, “Gotta skitty, I’ll be back momentarily!”

    “Well,” Vision replied, dragging out the last consonant as if you were going to change your mind if he did so long enough; when you didn’t, he huffed a bit. “Alright then. Hurry back!”

    You gave him a smile and two-fingered salute then bounded down the steps and back across the street. You only stopped once on the quick trip back home and that was to give Bernard another swift kick, which somehow lodged the bird the rest of the way into the ground, and a “Fuck you, Bernard!” You heard sputtering laughter from across the street that made you grin as you marched inside to change and grab your toolkit. 

    The tools were the easy part; they had been sitting out on the table in your dining area since last night when you’d originally suggested the idea so you were sure to not forget them. It took a bit longer to struggle your way out of your clothes, especially while simultaneously trotting to the bathroom to wash your hands and splash water on your face. It took longer still to jog back to your bedroom without slamming yourself into an end table or plant along the way and then also go through every piece of clothes you owned; when bright colors and eccentric outfits came into style, you were, for once, ahead of the fashion game with your regular closet, and your wardrobe only continued to grow as the rest of the country’s interest in the style did. You were particularly interested in peacock fashion and it showed in your array of ruffled, brightly colored, and loudly patterned shirts and blouses. 

Of these blouses, you threw on one in a burnt orange and yellow paisley pattern, choosing one without ruffles in fear of ripping them while working. You paired the shirt with matching yellow walk-shorts that ended just above your knees and a pair of honey-brown clog sandals whose color made you think of Vision’s outfit. Thinking about this further, you decided to accent your ensemble with a touch of blue, wrapping your hair that was still damp with sweat back with a satin scarf that was a vibrant blue and some handmade jewelry pieces in the same color to match. Finally, you added a woven belt and, after looking in the mirror for a moment, decided to tie your blouse off an inch above the waist of your shorts instead of tucking it in before booking it back across the street.

    Standing at the door of your couple’s house, you took a final glance at yourself in the reflection of one of their windows before knocking. You let yourself in after Wanda invited you with a holler through the door and you were greeted with the interesting sight of Wanda, in all her stunning, colorful, mother-to-be glory standing by the long dark-wood dining table; Vision, half-hidden behind her belly that seemed significantly larger than the last time you saw her, was taking an awkward knee while holding up a variety of fruits.

    “I’m never not uniquely surprised when I walk into this house,” you said mostly to yourself and you made your way over. Reaching Wanda, you sat your bag of tools on the floor by her feet and gave her a gentle hug. “Hey, sunshine, you’re looking foxy.”

    You certainly had gotten a lot more comfortable with them recently. 

    Wanda visibly blushed, giving you one of her signature fake irritated looks—a tilted head with tight-knit brows and tight lips that broke into a smile less than a second later—and lightly swatted your arm before carefully returning the hug. “Hey sunshine yourself. Look at you, you’re glowing! And those threads, you’re a regular Casanova.”

    She made a point of eyeing your partially exposed midriff and you almost blushed—but not quite.

    “Glowing,” you repeated, playfully patting your face, “I’m not even the pregnant one! Thank you, though. Some of the colors were inspired.” You took your turn eyeing her, particularly the bright red of her striped dress that was a common color in her palette, then you caught Vision’s bright blue gaze as he stood and placed a couple of fruits back in their rightful place in the basket on the table. You moved to Wanda’s other side to help him. “Why the fruit?”

    “Oh, well, the doctor said it helps the mothers keep track of the baby’s progress.” Vision explained. He added another fruit to the basket’s tower, although he was giving the last one in his hand an odd look.

    “What he actually said was,” Wanda added, grasping your shoulder and tugging you over two put an arm around your waist and give you mildly strained look, “it helps make things ‘simple’ for us ‘little ladies.’”

    You recognized the glint in her eye and nodded understandingly. “Well that’s mildly condescending, must’ve been just groovy.”

    “Out of sight,” Wanda agreed in the same tone. She then looked in Vision’s direction with raised brows; you followed her gaze and saw the man toying with the large green fruit in his hand. “Hey, honey? What’cha doin’?”

    Vision met both of your equally puzzled gazes with barely contained glee. Voice tight from holding back a giggle, he raised the fruit and pointed at it. “I can’t wait… to be… a proud… papa-ya.”

    Wanda looked amused at the future father’s pun and Vision grinned, clearly happy with the reaction. You actually laughed before quickly throwing up a hand to cover the titter.

    “Well, that just proves it,” you said after composing yourself even though your company seemed perfectly pleased with your reaction to the joke, “you’re going to be a wonderful one. Look at you, turning into a proper one already.”

    Vision went from smiling to flusteredly chewing at his lip quite quickly; he would always get easily flustered but never enough to blush. Instead, he’d twist his head a certain way and rub his neck and shoulder, maybe even avoid eye contact if he was embarrassed enough. He’d always tug his bottom lip between his teeth too, something you couldn’t help finding just a touch more endearing than the other mannerisms; at least it gave you a much more rational reason to stare at his lips for longer than generally accepted.

    “You really think so?” he asked.

    You scoffed as you moved to pick up your tools again. “Of course, you and Wanda will make absolutely stellar parents. The two of you are more prepared now than I’ve seen some people after they’ve already had the kids. Now,” you paused as you stood up straight and looked at your couple with a cheerful smile, “shall we head to the nursery?”

    You were partially convinced that you had been invited solely to help Vision wrangle his wife. You certainly hadn’t been invited to help decorate; even pregnant, Wanda made faster work of your tools than you did. You were huffing while maneuvering a rocking chair in the room and by the time you got it settled in the corner, Wanda had already pieced together the changing stand that was to sit next to it. You turned to grab a tool to open the cans of paint only to turn back around and see all of them opened and Wanda with a brush in hand, painting away. You managed to get the crib up before she could get her hands on it but when you looked around for the yellow mattress and bumper cushions, you looked up to find Wanda already putting on the finishing touches.

    Now, you were kneeling on the ground by the crib and painting a delicately rendered stork while Vision was getting to his feet after reading all the reasons Wanda should be resting instead of doing what she was doing, which was pulling a mobile of colorful plastic butterflies out of a box and shifting ever so closer to a stool so she could hang it.

    “Darling,” Vision tried, shifting ever so closer to her, “you should probably sit down.”

    “You really should,” you offered your help, almost half-heartedly because you already knew the outcome before she said it.

    “Don’t be silly,” Wanda assured him, “all I feel is excitement, happiness, and— huhnf! Oh!”

    You were on your feet and spun around to give her a wide-eyed stare before her gasp even finished, but instead of pain or worry, Wanda’s face was lit up with wonder as the hand not grasping a plate fluttered around her stomach. Vision also moved quickly, to step forward and pressed his hand on her stomach.

    He breathed, “Kicking already?” and they shared an excited stare.

    You stared awkwardly from the side with a paintbrush in hand, feeling more out of place you’ve ever had in your life.

    Until Wanda, without missing a single beat, turned her head in your direction and grinned. “[Y/N], you have to feel this!” Then she spoke to Vision, “Oh, it’s such a strange sensation, it’s kinda fluttery!”

    She was breathtaking. Then her nose scrunched up and she giggled in a way that could also be described as fluttery, and you were wondering in which states polygamy was legal and where was the best jeweler to get a ring.

    Still, you were trying to refrain from overstepping boundaries.

    “Oh, I don’t know…” you mumbled, shifting your weight from foot to foot and glancing around the room. You noticed the mobile she had been retrieving the last time you’d looked at her was already hung up above the crib; of course, it was.

    Wanda scoffed and made a gesture at Vision, then he was walking over and coaxing you to her side with an encouraging nuzzle to your temple.

    “I just don’t want—” you started.

    “To overstep, we know,” Wanda finished, the giddy look on her face replaced with a scowl. “Trust me, this is probably the one and only time I’ll ask for someone to feel my stomach while everyone else in the town just does it willy-nilly and besides, you are a part of— Oh!” 

    Her gasp and glance over your shoulder, combined with the sound of movement behind you was enough to make you turn your head, only for Vision to catch your attention in the opposite direction.

    “Another kick!” he exclaimed, just a little too loud. You thought you caught his gaze flitting over in the same direction as Wanda’s but then he was grasping your wrist and placing your hand against Wanda’s stomach. At the same time, his arm that was hovering politely around your back pressed against the naked small of your back as he pulled you closer into the little triangle of space you, Wanda, and he made; the sudden heat there made your blood boil in the best way and when his hand accidentally caught on the hem of your shorts and dipped a little lower over the fabric, you choked while sucking in a breath.

    Vision’s hands flew up to the sky and he scrambled away, apologizing profusely. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see his hands fluttering around, could imagine his eyes doing the same, and you were vaguely aware of Wanda moving at your other side, the fabric of her sleeve brushing against yours as she waved her arm. You also heard a sound that you chalked up to being a breeze coming from the open window and rustling the drawn curtains. You, usually the final piece of the chaotic puzzle, were instead staring down and softly gasping as the sudden tap against your palm. 

    “I felt it,” you whispered and the chaos that was happening around you seemed to still in the same moment as Wanda and Vision settled back around you to feel themselves. You repeated the phrase, brushing your thumb across the patch of clothed skin, and the baby responded with another kick a moment later. You couldn’t help looking up at Wanda a face frozen in almost childish wonder, and state the obvious, “You’re gonna have a baby.”

    Wanda nodded at you with shining eyes and a wet smile. She wrapped her free arm around her midsection and looked back down on her belly. The expression on her face radiated an intense, loving tenderness and you felt a billion non-plastic butterflies make a comfortable home in your chest.

    You followed her gaze and felt your face break into a grin so wide that your cheeks started to hurt almost immediately. Your hand, along with Wanda’s own and Vision’s, created a loose but ever so protective triangular shield over the place where you had felt your first baby kick, promising to move the universe for them should it ever be required. Despite the overlapping mess of fingers, you noticed how Vision’s hand was the perfect size to envelop your own and that even with a ring on one of them, Wanda’s fingers fit perfectly in the spaces between yours.

    The nervousness and insecurities that seemed to bounce around your head whenever you observed your couple, in their perfect world with their perfect dynamics, melted away in the comfortable warmth that came from your trio’s cozy huddle. This wasn’t a story about you or them separately but the three of you together and it was a wonderful one in the making.

    Then, “Oh.”

    Wanda looked up at her husband and echoed, “Oh.”

    You looked up second, adding your own questioning “Oh?” before your gaze settled on the butterfly lightly perched on the tip of Vision’s nose. “Oh!” Watching the monarch’s delicate wings fluttering, you were surprised he hadn’t already sneezed. 

    “Hello, little fella,” Vision softly said. He was the first to separate your group, stepping away and leaning down a bit for your and Wanda’s better viewing. His smile was blinding for the brief moment you caught it, before tilting your head away to snicker at the way his eyes were crossing to view his insect passenger.

    Wanda gently coaxed the butterfly onto her fingertip and walked over to the window to release it. That’s when you noticed a group of the bug type coalesced around the same area; the sudden visit from Mother Nature must have been what she had seen earlier.

    “Oh, my,” you said, “that’s something you don’t see every day.”

    The smile on Wanda’s face tightened for just a moment as her gaze jumped around the baby room, then relaxed as she maneuvered the various colorful butterflies outside. “Bringing good vibes, hopefully. They must have been enticed by the mobile; why, they even tried to free their plastic friends!”

    You looked towards the crib curiously and saw that the mobile hanging above it was only a series of transparent hanging strings. Walking over, you found the butterflies that had once been attached to it scattered around the mattress. You picked a couple of them up and carefully pinched the thin material between your fingers. “Hm, strong butterflies.”

    “Clearly,” Vision agreed. He walked over to the rocking chair he had been sitting and reading baby books earlier and picked up his most recent read.

    Meanwhile, you began gathering up the scattered butterflies, then climbed up the nearby stool to retrieve the rest of the mobile. “You wouldn’t happen to have a good adhesive laying around, would you? I can have this fixed up and rehung lickity-split.”

    “Not laying around but I’m sure there’s one in the cabinet under the sink.” Vision seemed to find the page he was looking for. He glanced over the words, tensed up immediately after, and paced over to Wanda’s side as she shut the window. “If that was first kick, that puts you at about six months! Why I can’t keep up!”

    Has it been that long already? You silently wondered as you made your way over to the exit, careful not to crush any of the delicate pieces you were holding. While Vision was thinking in terms of babies, you were surprised that you had already been dating him and his wife for almost half of a year.

    In a signature dad-to-be fashion, Vision waggled his head down to give Wanda and the baby a kiss. Then he said in an equally identifiable dad’s voice, “Please don’t misinterpret. I can’t wait you meet you, little Billy!”

    You leaned against the doorframe as you offered Wanda an amused look; you had been previously graced with the conversation of baby names and Billy wasn’t exactly on her roster.

    “Billy?” she questioned, to which Vision gave a smile and an affirming noise. Wanda continued, “Well I was thinking Tommy. Just a nice, classic American name.”

    Vision gave an exaggerated, head tilting nod that suggested a mild disagreement. Then the higher-pitched tone he took when he replied confirmed it. “Hm, Tommy! Hm, mm… then there’s Billy, isn’t there? Named after William Shakespeare, all the world’s a stage, all the men and women many players!”

    Wanda went to speak but you beat her to it. “You’re sure it’s a boy, then?”

    Your partner seemed mildly embarrassed as she turned her attention to you. “Strong intuition?”

    You offered casually, not thinking about your lack of say in the matter, “What about Victor? Vin? Little Vinny’s certainly a cute nickname.” Almost immediately after you finished, it was your turn to be the embarrassed one. You stumbled over your words a bit as you started to apologize, only to falter when you saw both Vision and Wanda’s gleeful stares.

    “Well, those are wonderful names too,” Wanda assured you, clearly pleased you had chimed in, “but I’m not hoping for quadruplets. I guess we’ll need the next best thing— A girl.”

    Your shoulders relaxed from their hunched places that you hadn’t noticed they took. You chuckled and strolled out the door, throwing a couple more ideas over your shoulder, “Vivian! Virginia! Nadia!”

    Vision’s voice floated after you as you walked to the kitchen. “Ooh, Vivian’s quite good…”

    When you returned to the bedroom with good-as-new mobile in hand, only final touches needed to be added to the nursery, and Wanda and Vision’s excitement over the baby’s coming was suddenly amped up to eleven. The two were pacing around and frantically listing off the all things that they had left to do or buy. It was a very drastic change from the casual playfulness that you had experienced between them earlier, as the new parents were keeping themselves—and you—busy with a thousand new tasks. Eventually, Vision had a list about as long as he was tall of every bottle, diaper, blanky, binky, children’s book, and stuffed animal that they had yet to get.

    Deciding you were now the more sane member of the group, you decided to take the list and go shopping for them; if you didn’t, Vision may have been swept up in the baby section of a clothing store and never return. That’s how you ended up where you were now, at the front of an ever-growing line of department store customers, waiting anxiously as the workers tried to get the lights back on and the cash register back in working order.

    You rapped your fingernails on the countertop—not intentionally, just out of worry about how your parents-to-be were managing at home—and glanced from your bloated shopping cart to the cashier, who was talking quietly with a manager then back several times. You were antsy about being stuck in a store when you were much useful elsewhere and being concerned about whether you were making the cashier uncomfortable with your mannerisms, for they were probably three times as unsettled as you were, wasn’t doing anything but adding on to the stress.

    Finally, the cashier turned back to you and the rest of the shoppers and announced, “Good news, everybody! The register is still down but it’s a quick switch to manual; we’ll have each and every one of you checked out and on your ways home soon!”

    A cheer erupted around you but you were too frazzled to join in.

    “Unfortunately,” the cashier continued as the noise died down, “we’re not the only store experiencing this. It’s the whole town.”

    While the crowd’s disappointed “Aww” only appeared mildly disgruntled, you went rigid and your mind began racing, all thoughts revolving around a particular household.

    One random thought of wondering What if Wanda went into labor right now? had the hair on your arms sticking straight up.

    You slammed your hand down on the counter, spooking both the cashier and yourself.

    “Ma’am,” you started, then paused to quickly apologize for your rudeness before continuing, “I need you to check me out as fast as humanly possible; I think my—” Wife seemed way out of line but girlfriend felt too out of place. “—pah-art-ner’s having a baby.”

    You were struggling to your car with a small mountain of baby items in the arms in a matter of minutes, mentally kicking yourself for being bad at talking the entire way there. You threw your bags in the back, scrambled into the driver’s seat, and were getting ready to pull away from the curb when a ringing from your mobile phone sounded.

    “Goddammit,” you huffed. One hand was pulling up an antenna and pressing the technological brick to your ear while the other gripped your steering wheel so hard that your knuckles turned three skin tones lighter. “Yeah, hello?”

    “[Y/N]?” Agnes’s voice was a welcome surprise but her worried tone wasn’t.

    “No, it’s your husband, I’m on my way home now, dear,” you snarked, then mentally kicked yourself again. “Sorry, that was rude, I’m in a rush. What’s crackin’? Besides the town going into blackout, that is.”

    “The neighborhood’s flooded,” Agnes said simply.

    You blanched. “I’m sorry?”

    “The cul-de-sac? Something’s happened and all the pipes have burst. Mine, Herb’s, Dotty’s, everyone’s!”

    How on earth the day’s mood has changed so quickly, you had no idea. What you did know is that you desperately had to get back to Wanda’s side, your house be damned.

    “Thanks, ‘Nes, good to know,” you hissed through clenched teeth. You rested your phone between your ear and shoulder as you put both hands on the wheel and started driving.

    “Do you want me to do anything?” Agnes asked; her voice sounded as frazzled as you and the rest of Westview looked. “Go over to your place, grab anything important?”

    You huffed out a sigh as your car flew around a corner. “Agnes, you know I adore you, but I really, really have to go.” 

    “[Y/N]—”

    You hung up and tossed the shoe-sized device in the passenger’s seat.

    Vision met you on the curb as you were parking your car and he had the doctor from earlier that day in tow, now dressed in vacationing attire and very seeming very underprepared. Within a few words and as if you had accidentally wished it into existence back at the department store, you were informed that Wanda was in fact about to have little Billy or Tommy or who-have-you. Of course, this messy day would come to a peak in such a way.

    The taller man was half-escorting, half-hauling both you and the doctor to the door, and the bags in the backseat of your car were completely forgotten as concern chewed away at your insides. Loud, strained sounds coming from inside only added onto it.

    As the three of you reached the front door, Vision flung it open and pressed the doctor inside. Then he grabbed your wrist and began tugging you in after himself.

    You couldn’t help your feet freezing to the concrete. “Vis, are you sure?”

    The distress on his face softened just slightly and he pressed the back of your hand to his lips. “Of course we are.” Then he wrapped an arm around you and properly, albeit quickly, brought you into his and Wanda’s home—

    —where Wanda was laying on the floor, panting and shimmering with sweat and holding a baby wrapped in a blue and white dishtowel while Geraldine perched awkwardly over her.

    You and Vision shared a bug-eyed look before Vision’s turned into one of sadness. You wanted so badly to hug him and tell him it was alright but he was already releasing you and slowly walking over; you trailed a couple of steps after him.

    “Oh no,” he murmured, “I missed it?” However, when he took a look at Wanda’s softly smiling face and their happily cooing baby, whatever brief grief he was experiencing was replaced by a proud smile and new fatherly glow.

    “Hey, doc,” Geraldine spoke suddenly, “why don’t you help me out in the kitchen there?” She nodded in your direction as well.

    You wondered why she was there, in Wanda’s home or Westview, at all. The idea made your stomach flip but you just couldn’t place why.

    The only response the doctor gave was blubbering about speeding as she took his arm and led him away. You began to follow when Vision stopped you with a gentle tug on your arm.

    “No, [Y/N],” he said, “it’s alright. Stay and come see.”

    You didn’t even think as you smiled and took his hand. You took a glance towards the kitchen to make sure the other company was occupied, then kissed the back of his hand as he had done only a moment earlier. Squeezing it and letting it drop, you responded, “Go say hello to your baby. I’ll always be here.”

    Given the current situation, Vision wasn’t up for arguing much. He gave you a quick peck on the temple before gingerly making his way over to where Wanda rested happily on the living room floor.

    You made your way to the kitchen, where you slumped against the kitchen counter as exhaustion overtook you. You were close enough to both parties to hear Geraldine’s blatant attempts at distracting the doctor to your left and Vision and Wanda’s cozy rumblings to your right, but too out of sorts to make out anything tangible. You didn’t realize until now how badly your feet ached from the combination of gardening, decorating, and running around and how your outfit had lost its cute playfulness in place of wrinkles and feeling slightly damp from sweat. You were sure you were looking more worse for wear than Wanda, despite Wanda having had a baby, but when you thought about it for more than a second or two, you felt like you wouldn’t trade the day for any other in the world. 

    Especially when thinking about that cutie patootie, you thought with a tired smile. He’s gonna have such good parents. Such a good life.

    Suddenly, your train of thought was stopped by the sound of Wanda yelling and your whole body jerked in her direction, energetic as ever.

    Wanda was going into labor a second time, you could see easily see. Something somehow more surprising was going on in the living area, though, and that something was Vision’s skin. While he still wore his regular clothes, that was the only normal thing about him. Instead of light skin, his flesh was a deep red and you weren’t even sure it could be called skin; it looked more… mechanical than that, with symmetrical lines etched into some places and silver plating covering others. Instead of a full head of wavy hair, he had none, and his ears and parts of his bald skull were also covered in silver. Silver came to a peak at the top of his forehead and at the end of it was a golden gem.

    Vision was holding his baby and yelling along with Wanda as she began pushing a second time. He happened to glance up and catch your bewildered eye and then he started yelling because of you.

    You stood frozen in place, not sure what to do until you heard a commotion behind you.

    “Well, what’s going on now?” Geraldine started.

    Your brain kicked back into full gear and thinking quickly and somewhat stupidly, you yelled and pointed in the opposite direction, “Jeepers creepers, is that a stork?” You couldn’t imagine why your poor attempt at a distraction worked but you considered it a success as Geraldine and the still-disoriented doctor’s attention settled elsewhere. Not missing a beat, you grabbed another cloth from the kitchen and raced to Wanda and Vision’s aid, skidding to a halt on your knees.

    “[Y/N],” Vision said, though nothing else followed. He stared at you in pure shock, mouth flapping and the bright blue irises of his eyes twisting and shifting like a camera lens as he looked at you. Still, his body worked despite his befuddled mind as he took the cloth you handed him and offered you a newborn baby to hold instead. 

    “[Y/N],” Wanda gasped through her current endeavor. When you dragged your head to look at her, she was staring at you with a clenched jaw and equally wide eyes, which were filled with a mixture of surprise, horror, and… relief? Then she was screaming and pushing again, eyes squeezed shut, and her hand flew to your own.

    You grabbed it and held on tight, even when her fingernails dug in enough to leave marks for days. While a red and silver-skinned Vision handled the delivery like a champ—a bugged out, stammering, robotic champ who couldn’t figure out whether he should be looking at you, his wife, or the baby he was helping into the world but a champ nonetheless—you switched between offering encouraging words to the tiring new mother and cooing calmly at the newborn swaddled and resting cozily in the crook of your arm. Soon enough, Wanda was slumping back into the pillow behind her head and Vision was sitting back on his haunches with another quiet baby snuggled against his chest; your taut muscles sagged and the exhaustion you hit in the kitchen came rushing back. 

    You made sure Wanda was lucid enough to take her baby back and carefully transferred from your arms to hers. It was only after he was safely in his mother’s grasp that you were able to fully relax, tossing an arm around Vision’s shoulders and leaning heavily against him while you shook out your other hand, which was red and covered in deep, crescent moon-shaped marks.

    “So,” you puffed, “Billy and Tommy?”

    Wanda’s tired face lit up as she nodded her head towards her baby. “Tommy.”

    Vision, who was leaning on you as much as you were on him—something in the back of your head noted that the two of you held each other very well and that something sent a little pang of affection straight to your pounding heart—used his turn to nuzzle the forehead of the baby he held and grumble in a half British, half baby-talk accent, “Billy.”

    You hummed while stretching a hand down to give Billy a very ginger boop on the nose; he didn’t seem to mind. Then you said, “Vinny and Vivian will just have to be next time.”

    Your group shuddered with a mess of tired, soft laughter. Then you began to relax further but as the excitement of childbirth began to wear off, you a new variation of tension settling into your couple. The new parents were sharing increasingly worried looks and if they were communicating telepathically, and it was then that you remembered that the man sitting next to you was for less human than you’d previously made him out to be.

    The realization seemed to hit him at almost the same time because his head swung to look at you just as you had turned to observe his new appearance. On his robotic face—was robotic even the word; was he a robot?—was an expression of outright fear but also something that looked like he was mentally being torn in two different directions. He went to speak several times—his mouth and teeth looked the same, perfect and familiar—only to verbally scramble and backtrack, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders since his hands were too occupied to scratch his neck. Finally, he appeared to get himself in order and he started, “[Y/N], I can— we can explain—”

    You ran your hand over his scalp and down to rest at the base of his neck; the silver plating felt like metal, while the thick red epidermis was warm and softer to the touch. Not only warm but damp from exertion, and pulsing softly to some form of a heartbeat where you ran a finger over a common pulse point. 

    While your mental energy was rapidly declining, you still managed to quip at the man, “As much as loved the idea of running my fingers through your hair, I think I prefer this over that awful cut that’s in style right now.”

    That left Vision dumbfounded and silent, his mouth flopping open and closed like a fish out of water. On your other side, who had been otherwise quiet and already snoozing as far as you were concerned, broke into a burst of loud laughter that was music to your ears.

    You grinned in response but your muscles were too tired to make it reach your eyes. You shifted over slightly to be closer to Wanda now and brushed your thumb over little Tommy’s cheek before resting doing a similar action to his mother’s. Wanda relaxed her head against your palm and the way she looked up at you from under her lashes made you do mental gymnastics about the ethics of blurting out the L-word then and there.

    Unfortunately, the moment didn’t last much longer because then Geraldine’s voice floated over from the kitchen, getting louder as she and the doctor made their way back from the wild stork chase you sent them on. You quickly looked to Vision, only to see him looking as human as the day you first met him, and noted the sad little string you got from seeing simple blue irises instead of the intricately shifting blue ones that swirled mechanically as he focused on something. It only lasted a moment, though, before you and your trio were busy readjusting yourselves into what you considered normal poses but in reality, probably made the three of you look much more awkward than you previously had.

    You’d just finished settling as Geraldine and her companion walked into the living room and, thinking tiredly and definitely stupidly, you blurted, “Jeepers creepers, another baby!”

    “Twenty fingers and twenty toes, you’ve got two healthy baby boys on your hands.”

    “Thank you, doctor,” Wanda responded as the man handed Billy back to her. Vision stood watchfully next to her, holding Tommy.

    You poked your head up from behind the second crib you were finishing assembling and as the doctor turned to thank Geraldine for her delivery help, you said to the Maximoff couple, “And a second crib all ready to go. If they’re not fans of sleeping separately, let me know and we can exchange the ones you have for one big one.”

    Wanda held out her hand to you as you stood and you walked over to hold it only briefly as she thanked you before leaning over and crooning at Billy and Tommy in turn. You were in the company of others, after all, and there had been enough excitement for one day without revealing your polyamorous relationship to a neighbor and a random doctor.

    It was weird how different the energy felt standing with them now than it had earlier just that day alone. Things still felt new and strange but you no longer felt like a separate unit from the household you were standing in or the people standing and smiling oh so sweetly at you. Then again, maybe that’s just what being involved in the arrival of an unexpected set of twins and making a superhuman discovery about one of your partners did to all blossoming romantic triads in the seventies. 

    Speaking of the doctor, as he began to finish up chatting with Geraldine, Vision beckoned you closer, and after getting an okay to do so, he carefully laid the baby he held in your arms. He gave Tommy a nuzzle and a light tap on the nose, then straightened up and headed towards the door.

    He said to the other man, “Allow me to walk you out, doctor.”

    “Oh, alright,” the doctor responded with an odd quiver in his voice. Said quiver was confirmed to be restlessness, which you had no doubt was attached to some sort of superhuman business Vision had involved him in when picking him up, when he continued, “As long as we actually walk this time?”

    You would definitely have to delve into the mystery of Vision’s sometimes inhuman appearance at a later date but at that moment you were remembering how the entire neighborhood’s pipes had burst. The neighborhood of which your house was a part of and an event you were sure you hadn’t been lucky enough to avoid.

    “Oh, shi—oot,” you stammered, “I should probably get back to my own pad and save what I can from getting water damage. I haven’t even been home to see how bad everything is.” You provided Tommy with a very important explanation in very serious baby babble terms before placing him in his crib. “I’ll just leave my car on this side of the street and bring the other stuff in sometime later this evening if that’s alright with you, Wanda?”

    When you looked at her, she was giving you a confused head tilt. She blinked, then her eyes shot wide open. “Oh, the pipes!” She paused and turned her gaze to the far wall of the living room as if she could see your house through it, then looked back at you with a smile. “Your house should be fine. In fact, I think the entire neighborhood is back intact!”

    Something about the way she looked at you assured you that she was right. You wondered whether Vision wasn’t the only one with a unique secret under this roof and if all the strange happenings that had gone on today couldn’t be traced back to Wanda herself.

    Not that any of that really mattered in the grand scheme of things.

    “I should still go,” you insisted, “You should really rest for a while, and I am a mess for the second time today. Maybe I can pop back over in a little bit?”

    Wanda pursed her lips in a subtle doubt before giving in. She nodded and after taking a glance around to make sure the company was occupied, she grasped your hand and leaned in closer. “Come over for dinner tonight. Stay and help us get the babies settled in? We can talk about today.”

    “Wanda, you need rest—”

    The woman interrupted, a teasing look making her eyes glitter. “Which is why either you or Vision will be doing the cooking! And you know how much I love the man but there’s a reason the only thing he handles in the kitchen is water from the faucet.”

    You had to nod in somber agreement at that statement, then sighed and gave Wanda a pout of your own. “Fine. Now, is anyone looking?”

    Wanda was smiling triumphantly. She took another quick look around, then shook her head; her silky hair fanned out slightly from its position perfectly framing her head as she did.

    You shuffled a little closer and slipped an arm around her waist in an intimate hug. Leaning in, you gave her one quick smooch on the cheek and another on the forehead then mumbled against her skin, “You did amazing.” Another kiss. “And you’re going to be a wonderful mother. Please, though, promise me that you’ll rest, at least for a little bit. The world will not crumble around you if you take one break.”

    Wanda, who had immediately leaned into your embrace and giggled as you kissed her, scoffed slightly. She gave you a tight squeeze and murmured back, “I suppose you’re right. Fine, but only because you promised to cook.”

    “Well, technically,” you said as you broke away from her, “I only said I’d come over. I can’t wait for Vision to make us burnt water and boiled bacon!”

    Wanda stared after you, frozen in a mock gasp. “[Y/N]!”

    You grinned and waved before spinning on your heels and trotting over to where Vision was perched, holding the door. “Bye!”

    When you got to the door, Vision’s hand played lightly down your back as he followed you outside after the doctor. 

    “Well, Dr. Nielson,” Vision said, “I hope you’re still able to make your trip.”

    The doctor, apparently Dr. Nielson, slowed as he stepped off the porch and onto the sidewalk. He turned towards Vision with a glassy look in his eye that he hadn’t had before but you’ve been seeing more and more often in Westview residents these days. When he talked, his speech became slower as well. 

    “Ah, yes, about my trip,” he drawled, “I don’t think we’ll get away after all. Small towns, you know. So hard to… escape.” 

    You frowned, suddenly uneasy. Glancing at Vision, the man just looked confused.

    Dr. Nielson’s glassy gaze shifted from Vision to you. He spoke deliberately to you, “Don’t you think, [Y/N]?” Then he blinked, turned, and walked off down the sidewalk.

    You weren’t sure exactly why, but you flinched and reeled back. You would have tripped and fallen up the porch if it weren’t for Vision catching you. Then the two of you stood gripping each other and staring as the doctor disappeared around the corner. 

    You didn’t even realize that your ears had started ringing until the sound began to fade. You started, “Well, that was…”

    “Yeah,” Vision said with a slow nod. “Very. Are you alright?”

    “Fine, I think.”

    “No migraines?”

    “No migraines.”

    The two of you stood holding each other for a moment longer before you forced your fingers to loosen their death grip on Vision’s jacket. As the two of you relaxed slightly and readjusted yourselves, several questions rushed through your head, like why was that so unnerving and why did the doctor speak directly to you.

    How had he known your name?

    A particularly sharp pain made your vision swim temporarily but it was gone as soon as it came. Before you think any further on the subject, other voices floated into your range of hearing.

    “What is she doing in there?”

    “I don’t know.”

    You followed the voices with your eyes and found Agnes and Herb talking quietly by the wall Herb had been cutting into earlier; actually, Herb looked like he’d barely moved an inch, still standing in the gap between his wall of shrubs. At least he appeared more lucid, but now he and Agnes were huddled together like they were having a secret meeting. Neither of them noticed you yet.

    Vision decided to change that by throwing up a hand and hollering, “Howdy neighbors!”

    Agnes spun around so quickly you were wonder if she’d given herself whiplash, but the strained greetings and even more strained expressions that both she and Herb gave were what really piqued your interest.

    Well, not so much piqued your interest than their actions gave you a second dose of uneasiness that made your head spin and filled you with a sense of somewhat morbid curiosity.

    Then they stuck their heads back together and continued muttering.

    “Did you see her go inside?” Agnes questioned.

    Herb responded, “She went right in.”

    Vision leaned his head closer to yours; he didn’t seem to catch what they were saying. “Do they seem… a little off to you?”

    “Just a tad.”

    You silently deliberated with each other before casually strolling over.

    “Remarkable day we’re having, no?” Vision tried again.

    Agnes and Herb looked up again, also trying to look casual but there was something definitely worrisome about their equally strained smiles.

    Vision continued, “Did you lose power too?”

    You snapped your fingers, joining in. “That’s right! Agnes, you called me about the pipes bursting. I hope nothing got too damaged?”

    “Oh, sure did,” Agnes said to Vision, “but Ralph looks better in the dark, so I’m not complaining. And you’re right, I did, [Y/N]! Luckily, everything’s just fine.”

    There was an awkward pause and even though you were out in open air, you felt like you were struggling to breathe in a sauna.

    Vision said, “Hi, Herb.”

    Herb responded, “Heya, buddy.”

    More awkward silence. 

    “Well,” Vision said slowly, lightly clapping his hands together, “I’ll get back to Wanda. [Y/N], you’re heading home?”

    “Right,” you affirmed, a little too quickly.

    What is going on?

    Vision placing his hand on your back brought back some sense of normalcy as he began escorting you to the curb.

    “Vision,” Agnes abruptly said halting your exit. You and your partner turned back to her and Herb and she continued after a long-winded pause and adjusting her awkward stance leaning against the low wall, “Is Geraldine inside with Wanda?”

    “Yes. Why?”

    Herb piped up, “She’s new to town. Brand new.”

    Wait, that’s not right. Your brows furrowed and you felt the sting of your own bite as you chewed your bottom lip. You felt pressure in your skull as you tried to recall where you’d previously met the woman, because you knew you had, but trying to do so had a similar feeling to trying to grip water as it rushed through your fingers.

    Agnes went on, “There’s no family. No husband.”

    You would have scowled, said something in defense of your circumstances of moving to Westview without a family or marriage, but you were too busy trying to clear away the fog that quickly encroaching your headspace. Vision, on the other hand, was able to say something, “Well there’s nothing wrong with that.”

    Agnes hummed, gave a half-hearted nod, then steadily met his gaze. “No home.”

    Come to think of it, you knew very little about Geraldine. While you were positive that you’d met her before today, you couldn’t for the life of you place what she did for work, when she first appeared in Westview, what house in the cul-de-sac she lived in—

    You could list off the names of everyone who lived in your neighborhood. Geraldine wasn’t one of them.

    Your brain felt like it could expand and explode from the intense pressure at any moment but the dread pooling in the pit of your stomach from the idea of not being able to retrieve memories bothered you far more. You couldn’t bring yourself to push the thoughts away and instead mentally leaned into the pain. The harder you pushed, the more pressure pushed back, as if you were fighting against an invisible barrier that was barring you from your own memories. 

    At the same time, you attempted to keep yourself grounded by staying tuned into the conversation at hand. Vision asked Agnes what she meant by Geraldine having no home and Herb kept stumbling over the same beginning of a sentence—She came here because… She came here because… She came here because we’re all…—like he was a record on a broken player that just wouldn’t let him get out what he wanted to say. 

    Vision tried to urge him on. “She came here because what? What are trying to tell me?”

    With Agnes and Herb bickering briefly about whether or not to tell Vision whatever it was they had been speaking about, Vision completely tuned into them, and you fighting to remember things without succumbing to your migraines, you had an underlying feeling of being out of place. You’ve felt out of place before, of course, but this was something different and weird and wrong. Your entire perfect—but not so much, you were gradually learning—little town suddenly seemed like it was out of place in its state, its country, its world, its reality. Out of nowhere, Westview felt like it was trapped in a claustrophobic little bubble that wouldn’t let anyone escape and the longer anyone was here, the warped things would become—

    A memory came rushing back of a black and white talent show and a smashed mirror and an arm oozing blood and color and Geraldine was there but she was an eerie Geraldine, out of place and time and reality and asking if you knew who she was or who you were and you didn’t know the answer and then Wanda and Vision appeared and everything was okay again, and now the name Monica throbbed against the base of your neck and the air around you radiated electricity and it was itchy and no one around you was noticing anything and instead of darkness, a weird bright light was tinging the edges of your vision white and—

    There was a crash coming from the house and none of the people standing next to you were any the wiser but even though you felt like you were swimming through honey while doing it, you turned just in time to see a portion of a nearby wall explode as something shot out from inside and continued flying until it disappeared into the distance. Then there was a sound similar to a sonic boom that followed and a wave of nausea crashed over you as the electric air rippled and distorted right before your eyes, and then you could see the dome of TV static-looking energy that encapsulated your town and the dome seemed to peak directly above the Maximoff house.

    Your ears rang. Your mouth flapped open closed but you couldn’t force a single word out. You looked around and everyone else in your group seemed trapped in a strained conversation that they couldn’t escape from if they wanted to.

    You didn’t so much walk as you floated over to the gaping hole in the side of your couple’s house, or at least, that’s what it felt like as the ground grew soft and wobbly under your feet and you swayed as you moved. You reached the hole and peered through it, then waved aimlessly when you saw Wanda staring wide-eyed at you from a couple of demolished rooms away. She said or mouthed something—she’s sorry? Why?—but you couldn’t tell which it was over the thrumming of your own pulse in your ears. You cocked your head, more out of curiosity than confusion, then blinked and stared glassy-eyed as the hole in the house reversed itself.

    “Huh,” you said dumbly as the last brick fell back into place. “Cool.”

    Then your body felt as if it were slammed back onto very hard, solid ground and that’s because it was. You weren’t sure if you whined or groaned or screamed as you collapsed to the ground, succumbing to your worst migraine yet. 

[lizbotw]

Would you do Haikyuu headcanons for Daichi, Akaashi and Kuroo when their s/o surprises them at training camp?

Daichi, Akaashi, and Kuroo When Their S/O Surprises Them at Training Camp

yes, i would and i did! ;) i loved this idea plus you chose some of my all time favorite characters!!! also, i keep getting a little too carried away with these “headcanons” and they basically turn into scenario/one-shot outlines so oops? i should probably stop doing that or else it’ll keep taking me forever to finish them. i hope i did these how you wanted though and please enjoy them~ i spent a little too much time on making them perfect so please let me know if you like them! ♡

Sawamura Daichi

Listen, Daichi is EXHAUSTED and it’s only what? The third day of camp?

Karasuno is as lively as ever, pumped up with the desire to improve their techniques and win, and of course he’s in charge of keeping them all in check.

Late night practice after a grueling day of losses followed by even more losses during practice matches against the other schools, with dinner right after filled with him having to make sure everyone was eating enough to refill their bodies, but also not overeating (Nishinoya and his bottomless pit of a stomach). Please give this man a break.

In between practice matches when he’s feeling a little dejected with how the week is going so far and just how good all the other schools are, he’ll send you a message. And of course you have free time for him since it’s summer break and all that so you reply almost instantly! Especially because you know he doesn’t have that much time to text you before he has to get back to training.

Throughout the day you guys continue your little conversation and you don’t mind much if he can’t reply for a few hours since when he does get the chance to answer, his replies are sweet and filled with lots of information.

He obviously doesn’t care about double texting since he’s dating you and you guys are so comfortable with each other, and he’ll honestly send five long ass messages in a row without caring because he hopes that’ll be enough to make up for his long stretches of not being available.

If you asked him a question before, he’ll answer it, plus ask what you’re doing. And if you tell him what you’re doing, he’ll ask for more details, and then let you know what he’s doing as well, plus maybe even snap a few quick pics of the gym so you can see. He’ll make sure there’s lots of content for you to read and reply to whenever you want!

Right before he goes to bed, while everyone else is showering and getting ready to sleep, he’s the most available so you have your longest conversations then and he feels like it’s the perfect way to finish off such a hard day of practice.

Your conversation is just one continuous stretch throughout the day with long breaks in between, but with lots of meaningful content as you guys try to make up for the distance.

Similarly, he assumes you’re busy hanging out with your friends and enjoying summer break like everyone else, so if you take a little while to reply it’s fine.

However, what he doesn’t know is that you and your friends decided to take a trip to Tokyo for part of the week and hang out. After all, who wouldn’t want to go exploring in the big city with their best friends? Plus, it does get a little boring in Miyagi, being in the quiet countryside and all.

To pull off this idea, you enlisted the help of none other than Daichi’s right hand man—Sugawara!

You demand all the details from him and he gladly supplies them. Where exactly the training camp is being held, specific directions to get there in case you get lost, what the schedule is like, when the boys are dismissed for free time, and, most importantly, Daichi’s routine for the day so you know exactly where to expect him to be.

Suga finds the whole thing hilarious and tells you he feels like a detective stalking following Daichi around and documenting his every move to you. Hmm, he seems to be getting a little too into it but honestly you two love scheming together about how to bother Daichi so whenever you’re texting Suga about your plan you can’t help but giggle at how much effort you two are putting in to make this perfect.

Suga mentioned the idea of you coming to Coach Ukai and although he thought the idea was cute, he initially wasn’t sure if it would be okay with the other coaches since they had been the ones to so graciously allow Karasuno join their training camp.

Coach Nekoma overhears their conversation in the hallway and startles Ukai when he appears behind him and claps a hand on his shoulder with an eye crinkling smile, telling him it wouldn’t be a problem at all and he’ll let the other coaches know. As he goes to leave, he turns back to get in one last taunt, saying that maybe you being there will do some good for the Karasuno’s team spirit and they’ll actually win the next practice match, and then walks off with a hearty laugh as Ukai is fuming and shaking his fist saying that they were going to win anyway.

Suga, having stood there watching the whole thing unfold, is ecstatic and practically sparkling as he quickly texts you that your plan is a go! You can basically feel his blinding white smile through your screen and you’re sure your face looks similar when you read his message.

The day finally arrives and you and your friends are all packed up to head off to Tokyo and stay in a small motel for a few days. You choose to make a detour to head over to Shinzen High where the training camp is being held and are positively bursting with excitement at how surprised Daichi is going to be, plus you really miss him and can’t wait to finally be in his arms again.

At Shinzen High, you get a little lost as you explore the new place, weaving in and out of unfamiliar buildings and peaking your head inside gyms only to find them empty. After a while of this, you’re feeling pretty defeated and text Kiyoko to please come save you. She tells you what gym they’re in but you still have no idea how to get around this place and you can tell she’s laughing at you when she texts you back that it happened to her when she first arrived as well, but not to worry because she’s coming to meet you after you tell her which building you’re standing in front of.

As you stand there waiting and hoping you don’t look too suspicious (feeling awkward just being at a strange new school), you realize you can make out the faint sound of yelling somewhere in the distance and decide to walk towards it. As you get closer, it’s clear it’s the telltale sound of volleyball teams getting way too into their matches, and you smile, knowing that you’re almost to Daichi.

When you round a corner, you run right into Kiyoko, who went looking for you because even though she told you to stay put in one spot, you couldn’t help but go investigate the voices you heard. After a quick hug, she leads you back to the gym where everyone is practicing and you slip in unnoticed, the teams too focused on their matches to pay you much mind.

It seems as though Karasuno was on break, which was why Kiyoko was able to leave on such short notice, and you easily spot your boyfriend giving a pep talk to the team.

When they separate to go grab their water bottles, you sneak up on him.

“I hope you’re winning, captain,” you purr as you wrap your arms around his middle, leaning up to whisper in his ear.

He’s in the middle of taking a sip of water so he chokes, sputtering at hearing your voice so close. He coughs and wipes his mouth his the back of his hand as he turns around to face you, eyes wide.

“(Y/N)?!”

That seems to get the attention of the rest of the team and before you know it Hinata and Nishinoya are jumping around you and bombarding you with questions about what you’re doing here.

Daichi is watching this all unfold speechless when Suga comes up and claps a hand on his shoulder, grinning. “You’re just going to stand there and watch this? Your girlfriend came all the way here for you, go give her a proper hug! Or else Noya probably will.”

Oh wow, Daichi sure does not like that visual, and he marches forward, shooing Hinata and Nishinoya away from you.

You giggle at his sternness, but once he turns to face you, his eyes are soft and he reaches out to grab one of your hands and play with your fingers between his.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to surprise you, silly! Why else would I be here!”

You’re giving each other lopsided grins and he just can’t take it anymore, and pulls you into a hug. “Well, I’m glad you did then.” He usually tries to keep PDA at a minimum in front of the team because he knows how immature some of the underclassmen and Suga can be, but he doesn’t care much now and gives you a peck on your cheek.

You smile and bury your face in his chest as he shoots stern glares at the rest of the team who started to cheer for you two.

During the rest of the break, he keeps an arm around your waist and you two sit together, watching the other teams as he rests, and you talk about what you’ve each been up to the past few days, even though you basically already know from all the texts you two exchanged. You just want to enjoy each other’s company for now. The other Karasuno boys come up to talk to you once in a while too and everyone’s mood seems to be improved seeing you cheer up their captain so quickly.

Eventually it’s time for the next match and he has to go, but you tug on his arm and stop him before he leaves. “Make sure to win. I’m watching this time, don’t forget.” You throw in a wink for good measure and suddenly his cheeks are dusted with a light pink.

Karasuno ends up winning that match and puts up a good fight in the ones afterwards too, not letting any losses get them down. It seems having you there really motivated the entire team, especially a certain captain.

After the practice matches when the whole team gathers up, you reveal that before you left home to come to Tokyo, you had baked cupcakes for everyone at Karasuno as a reward for their hard work. Sure, they’re supposed to be eating healthy and what not in order to get their bodies in shape but no one can resist your sweet gift.

You’re pretty sure you see Tanaka and Nishinoya getting a little teary eyed at your kindness too, but you’re honestly not sure.

Daichi makes sure to let you know how much he absolutely loves your cupcakes and when he gets you alone outside of the building he’s giving you lots of kisses and telling you how much he’s missed you.

You hang around for late night practice and dinner too, cheering Daichi on as he works on his synchronized attack with the others and sitting with him as he eats with them later. You plan to head back to the train station to meet back up with your friends in Tokyo afterwards, and even though it isn’t far, Daichi absolutely refuses to let you go anywhere that late. Even if he walks you to the station, you’ll still have to take the train alone and walk in the dark to the motel your friends are staying at, and if anything were to happen to you during that time frame he would never forgive himself.

So you’re basically forced to stay the night and although you pretend to be all pouty over it, it secretly seems really exciting to spend the night hanging out with all the cool people you’ve met that day from the other teams. Kiyoko lends you an extra pair of pajamas since your friends had carried all of your stuff with them to Tokyo—because you had thought you’d be spending the night with them as originally planned—and you hang out with the managers in the girls’ room, playing games and talking about life.

In the morning, Daichi wakes up extra early so he can walk with you to the cafeteria for breakfast, and after you’re done eating, Coach Ukai allows him to walk you to the train station before training for that day starts again.

As much as you’d like to stay for the rest of the week, you don’t want to get in the way of their training either, plus you already have a ton of plans to explore Tokyo before you have to head back to Miyagi.

Before you leave though, Takeda and Coach Ukai let you know that they and the other coaches are inviting you to come to the barbecue they’re having at the end of the week—which just so happens to coincide with your last day in Tokyo and when you were going to leave to head back to Miyagi—and that you can even bring your friends too if you want. They also tell you it’s a secret and that they haven’t told any of the boys yet so you shouldn’t say anything. As you’re walking with Daichi, you can’t help grinning at the thought that he has no idea what’s going to be at the end of the week and when he asks you so funny, you just shake your head.

At the station, he gives you a kiss on your lips, hands snaked around your waist and foreheads leaned together, and tells you to make sure to text him every thirty minutes until you get to Tokyo otherwise he’ll assume you got lost. You know he will leave camp to come find you so you have to agree.

As you wave goodbye to him and head off to board your train, you’re already planning how you’ll tell your friends about the exciting new plan to end off your week, what you’ll wear, and what you’re going to do next time you see Daichi (hint: it involves sneaking up on him and surprising him with your arrival again).

‘Things couldn’t be any more perfect,’ you think as you unlock your phone and see a text message filled with hearts from him, your fingers already swiping across the screen to reply.

Akaashi Keiji

You knew about the volleyball team’s training camps with the other schools that are a part of the Fukurodani Academy Group, but it doesn’t hurt any less when Akaashi has to leave for a week.

A whole week of not being able to go to his house, hang out at your favorite cafe, or have picnics at the nearby park that consist of him making and packing for your favorite snacks like the thoughtful boyfriend he is, long walks by the lake, and playing catch with a volleyball in a sunny field? Not on your watch.

That’s why you concoct the master plan to sneak into the camp! Or, er—visit it. “Sneak in” is how Bokuto puts it when you tell him your plan, knowing that the help of the captain would be good because he understands the pain that comes with not seeing Akaashi for extended periods of time (yes, you also bribed him a little with the promise of you baking him a cake).

Bokuto, always with Akaashi, has been relaying what the two have been up to since the week started.

Of course Akaashi also texts you, especially late at night while he’s finishing off his dinner and winding down for the day, telling you about what all the other boys are doing because the dining room is always pure chaos when you put a bunch of hyperactive teenage boys together.

Bokuto will sometimes snap a picture of Akaashi when he thinks he’s not looking and text to you. [Pssst, (Y/N)! Look at what ‘Kaashi is doing now! He’s texting someone 👀] is what his messages accompanying the picture usually look like.

You text back, [Yes, I know Bo. He’s texting me.] And then you’ll look a little closer at the picture he sent, maybe even zoom in a little because Akaashi is BEAUTIFUL. [Thank you for the picture tho, keep them coming.]

Meanwhile Akaashi, basically sweat dropping as this all is happening, is texting you, [(Y/N) help, Bokuto is taking pictures of me when he thinks I don’t notice and is then typing frantically on his phone. Do you think he’s selling them on the black market?] This poor boy. The amount of convincing it takes to tell him no, Bokuto is not selling pictures of him eating on the black market is a little concerning but that’s just one part of the silly, lighthearted conversations you two have over text while he’s gone and you can’t stop giggling as you’re texting him. He’s definitely smiling at his phone too and taking forever to finish eating because he keeps stopping to text you back.

(To this, Bokuto snaps another picture to send to you with another over enthusiastic caption. [He’s smiling now!!!])

(You reply, [Yes, I know, I just sent him a joke.] Then you proceed to save the picture he sent and demand more because even though this isn’t really part of your plan of crashing the training camp, you can’t turn down free pictures of your cute boyfriend that you haven’t seen in a few days FOREVER.)

(Bokuto keeps the pictures coming, thinking he’s helping you somehow with your plan and you don’t have the heart to tell him that this part is purely self-indulgent and a way to fill up your “Akaashi photo album.”)

(Essentially, Bokuto seems to be a little confused about what his exact job as your spy entails, but he’s got the right spirit.)

It’s the middle of the week when you plan to show up, deciding to appear as the boys are eating breakfast and just waking up for yet another long day of practice.

It’s perfect because you had just sent the night before texting Akaashi very late as he got ready for bed and the conversation only ended when you demanded he go to sleep like Bokuto was telling him to. And now you get to see him bright and early the next morning? This plan couldn’t be any better.

When you arrive, you ask Yukie and Kaori to meet you at the entrance to the school because you have no idea where to go and they happily comply, chatting with you the entire way to the building where the boys are eating. You ask them about the training camp, even though you’ve heard most of the details from Akaashi and Bokuto, and in turn they ask you how are things back home and what you’ve been doing for summer break while Akaashi’s been gone. They know that if he was there, you guys would be spending practically every day together.

They tell you how they and the other managers were just making and serving breakfast to the boys but they managed to step out for a bit to come get you.

You’re having so much fun talking with the two managers that had quickly become your friends back in school when you started showing an interest in the boys’ volleyball club that you almost forget why exactly you were there in the first place. However, soon you arrive at the building and you have the sudden realization that Akaashi is right inside there, just a few steps away.

The three of you are giggling and shushing each other as you get ready to make your grand entrance.

You’re a little nervous because everyone else at the training camp was in there eating as well and would also surely be looking at you once you walked in. You were starting to wonder if this was really a good idea, but then Yukie pushes you into the doorway before you can back out and all heads swivel in your direction when you let out a little squeak.

Well, it’s now or never.

A deep breath and then you briskly walk over to Akaashi, who you had spotted after a quick sweep of the room, your eyes drawn to him as they always were. He had glanced up at your arrival at first like everyone else, but did a double take when it realized who it was, squinting a little to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him. Now he was staring at you like he was still dreaming, lips slightly parted and head titled a little to the side as he took in the sight of you.

The Fukurodani team, breaking out of their initial shock of seeing you, started cheering and teasing Akaashi as you headed over to him, and that seemed to wake up the rest of the room too as the other teams were now very much interested in who this mysterious girl could be. Some of the members from the Fukurodani Academy Group knew a little bit about you from the games they’d seen you attend, always cheering on your setter boyfriend, but Karasuno didn’t know you at all and Kageyama had to hold Hinata back from going up to you to ask who you were and what you were doing here.

As you got closer to his table, Akaashi blinked and managed to stutter out a few words. “(Y/N)? What- How-“

You couldn’t help but smile at how his morning brain was struggling to comprehend the sight of seeing you. He looked cute all dazed like that, eyes wide. “Yep, it’s me in the flesh.~”

You were rounding the corner around the table to go to his chair when you said that, and somehow that seemed to be all the confirmation he needed before he was springing up, taking two long strides towards you, and enveloping you in his arms before you even had the chance to react.

If anyone in the room hadn’t been paying attention before, they sure as hell were now as good natured jeers and teasing comments erupted. You were so embarrassed and buried your head against his chest, feeling him laugh at the whole situation and give you a small peck on the top of your head.

Bokuto decided to join in on the hugging fest and enveloped both of you in his arms, squeezing you two a little too tight. “(Y/N)! I can’t believe you’re here! Akaashi couldn’t stop talking about how much he missed you!”

“Um, Bo, you knew I was coming,” you manage to get out as you’re crushed by his giant bear hug.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot,” he says, but his grip barely loosens.

Akaashi’s face is red from Bokuto’s comment about how he was always talking about you, but since you didn’t say anything in reply to it, you hoped you hadn’t heard it. “Bokuto, we can’t breathe. Please release (Y/N).”

Bokuto quickly lets go when he hears that and starts apologizing, but of course you just laugh and say it’s fine. Akaashi decides that you two need some alone time from the rest of the team though and leads you out of the room to the hallway where you tell him why you decided to visit and show him the convince store snacks you had brought in your bag for him as well, knowing that he wouldn’t get anything to eat like for a while. He also gets you to confess that you and Bokuto had been working together to set this up, although he already suspected that something was up with how weird Bokuto was acting.

You guys talk in the hallway for a little while longer, smiles stuck on your faces, but you eventually tell him he should get back and finish eating since he still has a long day of practice ahead. He invites you to eat with him but you decline since you ate before you came.

Right before you guys head back in, he stops you to press a soft kiss to your lips and tucks a stray piece of hair behind your ear, then walks off, leaving you dumbfounded and wide eyed. You had definitely missed things like that.

For the rest of breakfast you help out the managers with serving and cleaning up after the boys since you felt bad that Yukie and Kaori had to leave their duties to come help you earlier. Even though all of them insist that it’s fine and that you should go spend time with Akaashi instead, you still remain in the kitchen with them, having way too much fun talking about random topics, and playing around and slashing each other with water as you wash the dishes (the water also helps you cool down because it’s way hotter here than it was when you were all comfortable in front of your fan in your room back home, although you wouldn’t trade this experience for the world).

You help out the rest of the day with manager duties too because 1.) you don’t want to feel like you’re in the way and 2.) it’s fun hanging out with the other girls. Refilling water bottles and keeping track of the scores isn’t too hard, plus you get to see all of Akaashi’s practice matches up close, cheering for him and pressing small kisses to his cheeks when Fukurodani wins. He has to deal with a lot of teasing from his team but he secretly loves the fact that everyone is seeing how much you love him.

Hinata also manages to escape Kageyama at some point to come talk to you because he’s still brimming with the questions from earlier. You think it’s cute and slightly use the opportunity to brag a little about Akaashi. When Kageyama comes to drag Hinata away, he sees that you don’t seem all that bothered by the orange-haired boy’s presence and decides to join in on the conversation, interested in knowing more about Akaashi since he looks up to him as a setter. Daichi calls them back once their next match is going to begin but you decide you definitely like the duo that make up the infamous quick attack of Karasuno. Plus you met Kiyoko and Yachi earlier when you were with the managers, so, all in all, this team was looking pretty interesting.

At night, when everyone is dismissed for free practice, you finally get to meet the infamous “third gym squad” Bokuto was telling you about, and get to know another member of Karasuno’s team, a tall blond middle blocker named Tsukishima that Kuroo seems to have too much fun teasing. You also see what Akaashi has to deal with as the rowdy group is constantly bickering and playing around off the court, but it’s also a lot of fun watching them so you can’t complain much as your sides hurt from laughter at the pure chaos going on. Sadly, you have to leave partway through to finish helping the other girls with dinner, but Akaashi offers to walk you there.

After practice and dinner are both done, Akaashi waits for you outside of the girls bathroom after you finish showering and getting ready for bed, and walks hand in hand with you back to the girls’ room where you’ll be sleeping. He gives you a goodnight kiss—lips soft as always—as you’re about to go in and your heart practically leaps out of your chest because he looks so good in the moonlight that’s coming through the hallway windows.

You can barely sleep that night, excited for what the next day will bring. You were planning to stay for the rest of the week and the managers seem grateful for the extra help so you know you’ll be around him a lot more until the end of camp. You’re looking forward to lots more wins during matches, walks during the night between the different gyms and other buildings, and stolen kisses in the dark as everyone else heads to bed.

Kuroo Tetsurou

Kuroo always rants to you about the woes of being volleyball captain and being in charge of a bunch of unruly boys, so it’s not exactly a surprise when the training camp day approaches. You’d been hearing about it for weeks after all and how excited he is to train with Bokuto and the others, but also how much he really doesn’t want to go and leave you all alone in Tokyo.

He comes over to hang out at your house a few days before the training camp and arrives and as he sprawls our in your couch, head in your lap as you two watch a movie, he’s lamenting about how much he’s going to miss you and how he just wants to stay here. He’s all pouty about it but you manage to convince him that you’ll be fine without him, even as you can barely hold back your laughter at how overdramatic he’s being.

The day for him to leave comes way too soon and just thinking about him being away for any amount of time is making you sad.

As his team is about to board the bus to head over to Shinzen High, he FaceTimes you so you can say hi to everyone and wish them luck. The whole team loves you because Kuroo always likes to bring you to practice matches for motivational purposes and you bring them snacks whenever you know they’re going to have a particularly intense day.

The boys are jumping around and all trying to talk to you, but eventually Coach Nekoma forces them all to get on the bus.

While the others are getting on, Kuroo finally gets some time to talk to you alone and gives you a proper goodbye and tells you how much he’s going to miss you even though you both know you’ll be texting and calling every day no matter what. You blow him a kiss through the screen and he pretends to catch before he has to hang up because Kenma is poking his head out of the bus window and telling Kuroo if he doesn’t get on right now they’re going to leave him.

Once Kuroo hangs up, you get back to packing and stuffing things into your suitcase.

Oh? Packing for what you ask? Well, unbeknownst to Kuroo, you’re heading out to stay with your relatives for the week in the Saitama Prefecture and they coincidentally live fairly close to Shinzen High. It took a little convincing to get your parents on board with the idea, but before you knew it everything was confirmed and your relatives were more than happy to have you visit.

You were meant to leave for their place the day after Nekoma left for the training camp, so you would have to spend one day away from Kuroo unfortunately. On the bright side, that gave you the extra time you needed to finish packing as you put the finishing touches on everything the day before you had to go.

That day, while you were still stuck in Tokyo, Kuroo made sure to text you constantly about what was going on and how Nekoma was absolutely crushing all the other teams. He even sent some pictures of him and the other players, namely Kenma (who looked annoyed) and Bokuto (who threw up a peace sign with a bright smile). Akaashi was usually dragged into the pictures with Bokuto against his will it seemed.

He also made sure to send lots of complaints about Lev but also how funny it was to see Karasuno react to their newest and tallest member in action.

Whenever he mentioned Karasuno, you were even more intrigued to know more about them. Based on what you had heard about Nekoma’s practice match with them a while back, they seemed to be an interesting bunch. You made a mental note to make sure to see them in person when you got to the training camp. You had a long list of things you wanted to do there actually because it was a lot of fun observing the other volleyball teams.

At night, Kuroo let you know that they had time for free practice now and let you know what he was up to with Bokuto and Akaashi. Since he had the time now, he managed to sneak away from them and head outside for a bit so he could FaceTime you again. He was giving you a mini-tour of the surrounding area and you were trying to remember all the buildings he was showing you so you didn’t get lost once you arrived. You also made sure to remember Gym #3 was where he seemed to like to spend free practice.

The video call came to an end when Bokuto, deciding that Kuroo was taking too long to come back, came out of the gym to look for him. Once he saw that Kuroo was on a call with you, he made sure to butt right in so he could talk to you too. Dating Kuroo came with the perk of getting to know the Fukurodani captain (and, by extension, Akaashi as well) pretty well.

Despite Kuroo’s best efforts at fighting back, Bokuto had already captured both his phone and your attention and was telling you all about his day at training camp. You found the whole thing hilarious as you watched Kuroo struggle to reclaim his phone in the background while Bokuto just kept talking to you.

Once Bokuto starting talking about how Nekoma had lost a match against Fukurodani earlier, that seemed to be the tipping point for Kuroo and he snatched the phone back, giving you a quick goodbye and promising to text you later before hanging up. Obviously he couldn’t allow himself to look uncool in front of you and let you know if he had lost any matches, even if it hadn’t been that many compared to the likes of Karasuno.

Even if it was one day you guys were separated, the way Kuroo made sure to keep you updated throughout the day and always stay in contact made it clear that even if you weren’t going to surprise him at training camp and had to stay home for summer break like everyone else, he would still make sure you felt loved, even if it wasn’t in person.

The next day you finally got to go to your relatives’ house. The drive there was pretty boring even though it was short, so you had a lot of time to text Kuroo whenever he had time in between matches and although Coach Nekoma kept telling him to stop spending so much time on his phone and smiling at it, Kuroo made sure to tell you that it was all worth it to talk to you.

By the time you got to your relatives’ house, it was already evening and getting pretty dark since you had left Tokyo so late. You bid your parents goodbye and headed inside to unpack some of your things.

After a while, you checked the time and, based off of what Kuroo had told you before, you knew it would be free practice soon so you got ready to go and let your relatives know you were heading out for a walk.

Google Maps saved you from getting lost in the unfamiliar area and once you got to Shinzen High, you did your best to remember the buildings Kuroo had shown you on FaceTime and navigate around the campus.

Somehow you managed to find Gym #3 on your own without getting too lost and you could hear the sound of volleyball players practicing inside.

Grinning to yourself, you peeked into the gym through the entrance since the doors were wide open and instantly spotted Kuroo talking with Bokuto and Akaashi. His back was to you and that gave you the perfect opportunity to sneak up on him.

When Akaashi spotted you creeping up behind Kuroo, you made a shushing motion so he wouldn’t say anything and paired with the fact that Akaashi was good at hiding his surprise, Kuroo was none the wiser to what was about to happen. You were lucky that Bokuto also had his back to you because you’re not sure he would have been to stay quiet or not give away that there was something behind Kuroo.

You contemplating jumping on Kuroo’s back but you were also pretty sure he would accidentally drop you if you did that because he would be so surprised.

That would definitely ruin your exciting entrance so you came up with a slightly anticlimactic alternative.

You wrapped your arms around him from the back and squeezed hard. “Boo!”

His reaction was priceless even though you hadn’t done much and he jumped out of surprise, screeching. You and Bokuto were rolling around on the floor in laughter as Kuroo whirled around, gaping at the sight of you. Meanwhile Akaashi watching all of this and once again wondering what he was even doing here and how he dealt with you three for so long.

“(Y/N)???” Kuroo kept opening his mouth like he was going to say something else, then closing it, then opening it again.

“Kuroo, stop that, you look like a fish.” He immediately stopped but you and Bokuto were howling with laughter again.

By now Kuroo has finally come to terms with the fact you’re here (he just needed a few minutes okay? you can’t blame him for that) and is smirking. You could recognize that look anywhere and stop in the middle of your laughing fit. “Kuroo, whatever you’re planning, don’t d-“ You don’t get to finish before he reached down to scoop you off the floor and into his arms, and you’re once again in awe of his strength.

“I’ve missed you so much, baby. I can’t believe you came all the way here to see me,” he said with a teasing tone and he’s kissing you all over your face as you struggle in his arms. Your face was hot with embarrassment and you know Kuroo was trying to get back at you for scaring him.

Now Bokuto is laughing at your expense and Akaashi is silently judging the chaos your arrival brought.

At some point you manage to wiggle out of Kuroo’s arms and once everyone calms down you tell him how you’re staying just a few blocks away for the rest of the week so you decided to come visit him at camp.

Obviously he’s happy and secretly he’s really touched at how you would do something like that for him. Definitely expect him to try to make it up to you once you get back home in the form of gifts, physical contact and praises, and lots of dates whenever you have time.

You hang out with the boys for the rest of the night and cheer them on as they practice.

Kuroo is NOT shy AT ALL about PDA and is constantly giving you kisses on your forehead and wrapping his arms around your shoulders if you’re next to him because he still can’t believe you’re here!!!

When it’s time for bed, you bid them goodbye and even though Kuroo insists on walking you back, you force him to stay at camp because you know he’ll get in trouble if he leaves, plus he’s obviously really tired. It’s not too far so you say you’ll be fine and promise to text you when you get back home. That’s not enough for him though, and although he agrees he’ll stay at camp, he still wants to talk to you on the phone as you walk to make sure nothing happens on the way.

You’re really tired when you finally get home because dealing with a bunch of energetic boys is a lot, but you’re still excited for the next day.

You had told Kuroo you would come over every night to hang out during free practice, but he managed to convince you that no one would mind if you came over during the day too. He also tells you you’re his lucky charm and he needs you to cheer him on. Yes, he included a lot of winky faces with that message.

When you show up during the practice matches the next day, all of Nekoma is happy to see you because Kuroo had kept your arrival a secret from them so that they would be surprised as well, and even Coach Nekoma is glad to see you, having become familiar with you ever since you started dating the team’s captain.

For the rest of the week, every morning you head off to the camp and every night you head home, making it full day adventure whenever you go. You’re actually really glad that they let you spend all day there because you would probably be bored if you were stuck at home all day. Your relatives don’t mind either because they’re very much fine with the “freedom of youth” concept and all that, and as long as you get home in one piece and don’t do anything your parents will get mad at them for, they don’t care too much. Plus it’s summer break! It would be cruel of them to try to keep you inside.

During your nights with the “third gym squad,” you get to know Tsukishima—who was forced to become part of the group and who Kuroo seems to have way too much fun teasing—and you ask him lots of questions about Karasuno. How he deals with the combination of you, Kuroo, and Bokuto is still a mystery to this day. You still like hanging out with him despite his salty attitude though and find it funny to poke fun at him just like Kuroo does.

Lev shows up sometimes too when he’s trying to escape receive training, although Yaku always comes to drag him back, or Kuroo—like the good captain he is—makes him practice until he’s too tired to stand.

You even get to know another member from Karasuno better later in the week when Hinata shows up in the third gym. He’s way more excited to talk to you than Tsukishima and you can clearly tell why Bokuto likes the short middle blocker so much.

You had heard a little bit about Hinata from Kenma and had talked to him a few times, but it seems you get to spend most of the time forming friendships during the free practice hours since the boys are constantly busy with training throughout the day.

Speaking of Kenma, he can’t tell if he’s happy you came because you take up all of Kuroo’s attention so he can’t reprimand him for playing games, or if he wished you stayed home because Kuroo has way more energy whenever he’s around you. Jk, Kenma loves you and is always glad to see you. Finally he has someone else to talk to at camp.

Overall, the whole week feels just like when you attend Nekoma’s practices back home since you’re still spending so much time with them and helping Kuroo keep them in line. You guys are sort of like the unofficial mom and dad duo of the team and you both absolutely love it.

In other ways, it’s way more fun than just attending normal practices because 1.) you don’t have any school work to do so you can spend all day goofing off and 2.) you get to meet so many new people from other schools!!!

It feels like a dream how much time you get to spend with Kuroo, and even when he’s busy training, just watching him do what he loves is enough.

Kuroo even sneaks out a few times to walk you home despite you telling him you can just walk alone like you did the first night.

He walks you just about everywhere actually, whether it’s between the gyms, or to the cafeteria, or to any of the other buildings, he’s always there holding your hand.

You best believe he’s giving you lots of kisses when there’s no one else around and even if there’s people around.

If your relatives cooked anything tasty that day, you sometimes bring him some of it as a reward for his hard work when you come in the mornings (you have to be careful that the other boys don’t see though because they’ll definitely be jealous).

Kuroo’s captain duties can be really stressful, but having you there always keeps him grounded and helps him get through anything that’s bothering him. He had resigned himself to just focusing solely on training this week and working hard to make sure his team got better until he could go home and see you, but with you showing up at the camp and taking care of him throughout the week by just being there, he remembers to take it easy and just do his best. You definitely made the training camp a million times better for him and the rest of Nekoma.

When you guys get back to Tokyo, he’s going to make sure to show his appreciation for all the big and small things you did for him throughout the week so he prepared to be spoiled galore. ♡

[paintedsolariums]

whose child is this? - levihan crackfic

Levi heads to his room to grab a document from his desk, but all thoughts of bureaucracy and paperwork fly out of the window as he finds a baby sitting and blabbering to itself on his bed. The baby looks up at him in the doorway and exclaims “papa!” upon seeing him.

He frowns. Very few of the survey corps have children, and so he’s familiar with how those look like. This brunette child is not one of them, “whose brat are you?” he asks, as if it is capable of answering him.

Did a governor or someone from the inner walls visit? It’s probably someone’s child that wandered off. He sighs, closes the door, and goes to ask the guards stationed at the headquarter doors about any recent visitors. The answer is “no sir, only the supply carts have come today,” he nods in thanks and deliberates on what to do.

On his way back to his room, Levi passes by Hange’s lab. He can hear them sorting through their books, probably looking for some obscure fact to back up a working theory. He knows that Hange is friendly and on talking terms with all of the staff, so they may recognize the tiny intruder.

(continued after the cut)

He knocks –to announce his presence– and enters the room. He finds Hange scanning a book with one hand and jotting down notes every other second with the other, all the while muttering to themselves. For a split second there’s something comforting about the sight; about seeing them be at some level of peace doing something they love. But he pushes the thought away into the forbidden corner in his mind where all similarly sentimental thoughts go.

“Hey four-eyes,”

Hange looks up, “hm? oh hey Levi! i didn’t hear you coming in”

“I’m not surprised. Anyways, did one of the supply staff have a brat recently?”

They look thoughtful, “..no i don’t think so. Why do you ask?”

It’s an expected question; he’s never expressed an interest in the detailed lives of the staff, but given his current predicament, he’s sort of forced to know more.

Levi also realizes that there’s no way to explain the situation in a way that will make sense, but then again, Hange has never needed things to make sense to take them seriously.

“There’s a... baby in my room, and i don’t know whose it is,” he looks away and doesn’t mention that said baby thought he was it’s father.

“What?!”

“I don’t know! Why do you think i’m asking you?”

He must look visibly flustered because Hange laughs and puts down their book, “alright, maybe if i see this mysterious baby i’ll recognize it,” they get up and –presumably– head to his room. He spares a glance at the lab before he follows; it’ll need a dusting soon.

Once he catches up to them, they ask, “what does it look like?”

“Brown hair and grey eyes, you’ll see for yourself,”

“Grey eyes huh? I don’t think I know of anyone who has a grey-eyed baby,”

Levi wearily hopes that Hange unlocks that memory once they see it; this whole situation is starting to take a lot longer than he’d like it to.

They reach his room and find the baby looking around in wonder at its surroundings. It’s quiet. He remembers that this is unusual for babies but doesn’t know what to do with that piece of information.

Hange giggles as they approach the tiny creature on the bed, “who are you, you little cutie?”

The baby raises its arms and says “mama!”

Hange complies with the request and lets it wrap its small arms around their neck and rest it’s head on their shoulder.

“I’m not your mother though,” a small pause as they notice something on the baby, “aww you have a book with you?”

It does? Levi hadn’t seen if it had something in its hands, but going off of the small yellow cardboard square it’s holding, it apparently does. He plucks the item from its hands, and reads the title out loud, “The Bumblebee and The Tulip”. The script on the cover is legible but strange.

Hange smiles, “it’s been ages since i’ve seen a children’s book, I’ve only ever found them in Sina,” they glance back at the baby, “so you’re a rich kid, huh?”

“Doesn’t look like one though. No fancy hair clips or jacket. Not even expensive shoes,”

They hum thoughtfully, “true. What a strange little specimen,” they take a look at the baby’s clothes, “speaking of strange, these clothes are weird too. Simpler yet somehow more complicated than usual,”

Well. This isn’t going great, “I don’t think there’s anything “usual” left in this situation,”

The baby, which has been sitting contentedly in Hange’s arms this entire time, now reaches towards him and says, “papa,”

He narrows his eyes at it, “why does it think we’re it’s parents? And can it only say those two words?”

Hange laughs a little, “I don’t know, but babies can only say so much. Do you know how to hold one?”

The answer must be on his face because they just continue, “you basically have them sit on your arm, and you support their neck or back with a hand as well, here try it,” and they offer the baby to him.

“I think i’ll drop it if I try to carry it,”

“You won’t, this one’s quite light so you’ll be able to handle it,”

Levi shoots them an unimpressed look but hold out his arms anyway. Hange hands the small thing over to him and arranges his arms so that they look like how Hange’s did. He’s still a little worried that he’ll accidentally hurt the child even as it just sits there and stares at him with strangely familiar grey eyes.

Hange tilts their head to the side and smiles, “you look kind of adorable together,”

He glares at them with no real heat, “no we don’t”

“It’s true! You know what? Actually..” but they trail off.

That’s weird. Hange never keeps an observation to themselves, “what is it?”

They look kind of sheepish, “okay, well, it’s ridiculous, but the baby does look a little like both of us,”

“What,”

“I know it’s impossible, but it has your eyes and it’s nose looks like what mine did when i was that age,”

Levi looks back at the baby and a weird feeling blooms in his chest. Hange’s observation explains why the eyes were familiar; he’s seen them everyday in the mirror. He also notes that even the baby’s hair is of a very similar shade to Hange’s, but that doesn’t mean anything; brown hair is very common.

“Right, well. This brat might look like us but that doesn’t mean shit. It’s not our child and we don’t know whose it actually is,”

Hange sighs, “I’m sure we’ll find it’s parents once we ask around, but it is confusing. You said you just found it on your bed?”

“Yeah,”

“No disturbance around it? Any footprints or signs that the window was open or anything?”

“I wasn’t really focusing on that when I found it,” but he does take stock of his room now and notes that nothing seems out of place; as if the child simply manifested into existence.

Just as they’re contemplating on who to ask, they hear voices. But not from the hallway.

The sound of two voices in conversation came from the wall to the left, the one that has no door or window and just connects to more stone. Yet it sounds like someone is coming from there as if through a hallway.

Levi and Hange glance at each other, “Levi do you have a secret corridor attached to your room?”

“No. why would I-“ but he stops short as the voices become clearer.

Because if this entire thing wasn’t weird as fuck already, it’s their voices that are coming closer, and he starts to be able to pick out the conversation:

“Four-eyes i swear to god if our child is in the universe of the cannibal-murder-giants,” that’s his voice. What the fuck. To make matters worse, the baby he’s holding turns towards the voice with excitement.

Someone, no, Hange laughs. That’s their laugh, but Hange is standing right next to him staring wide-eyed at the wall.

“There’s nothing to worry about! the drop range I set for here is limited to only the building where our parallels work at, so Kora should be safe. what I’m really hoping for is to find her alon-“

Two people materialize as they step out of the wall, and freeze upon seeing them.

Two people, may he add, that look and sound exactly like them.

A very thick silence suffocates the air, and it’s only broken when the baby squirms in his hold, reaches out towards the other two and says “mama! papa!”

The other Hange awkwardly waves at the child while the other Levi simply says “shit,”

Other-Hange tries to smile, “uh hi. can we have our child back, please?”

“your child?” the real Hange chokes out.

“Yes, she accidentally wandered here while we weren’t paying attention,” other-Hange replies as if answering a normal inquiry about the weather.

This other-Hange approaches him with their arms out to receive the child and he instinctively steps back. The other-Levi laughs, “we’re not gonna bite,”

His own hold on the baby isn’t going to last while she’s trying to jump into her mother’s arms, so he tentatively hands her and her book over lest he drops both.

He notes that other-Hange wears a wedding ring, and when he glances over to his apparent twin, he’s wearing a matching one too. Great.

“You just caused a huge mess, you know that Kora?” the other-Hange tells the baby with a fond smile.

Kora simply laughs in response.

Levi’s fairly sure that his brain short-circuited, because he asks “who are you?”

“Damn I didn’t think I would be this stupid” other-Levi says.

other-Hange laughs a little, “hey be nice! you weren’t the brightest bulb when you learned of this either,”

“Yeah whatever, we gotta head back anyway before we break this universe,”

“Right. Well, it was interesting meeting you two. Try to convince yourselves that this was some weird fever or lucid dream, things will go smoother that way,”

And with that, both Others turn back to phase through the stone wall they came from. Kora waves at them both as she disappears without a trace, just like how she appeared in the first place.

It might have been minutes or hours that Levi and Hange just stood there gaping at the wall, but eventually he says “what the fuck?”

“I have so many questions. I’m going to be thinking about this for the rest of my life,” Hange says as they sink down to sit on the floor.

Levi joins them and thinks that maybe one of the new recruits snuck something into the tea.

–––––––––––––

thanks for reading! 

this fic can also be found on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31065770

please don’t repost or upload on another site :)

[cheri-translates]

[Analysis] S2 Gavin’s theme song

The music used in MLQC is incredibly evocative and carefully constructed, so I spent some time analysing S2 Gavin’s theme song because I find that it sums up the relationship he has with MC very nicely!

Music is highly subjective, so don’t worry if you have a different view from me :>

🍒 Warning: Contains tons of S2 Gavin spoilers! I’ve tried to make things really clear in this post so you wouldn’t have to read through the entire swamp of S2 Gavin translations to understand what’s going on, but I’ll still include links to the references made! 🍒

INTRODUCTION  [ 0:00 - 0:12 ] - Reuniting as adults

I received a jump scare the first time I played the theme song LOL

It starts off abruptly in two ways - (1) the sound effect resembling a puff of air, and (2) the fact that it mirrors the 0:38 mark of S1 Gavin’s theme.

The sound effect resembling a puff of air essentially captures how S2 Gavin and MC reunite as adults -

Before I take a step forward, there’s a sudden tightening on my wrist.

My hands are firmly clasped behind me. Before I can get a proper look at the person’s face, my whole body is pressed against the glass behind me.

??: What are you doing here?

A familiar voice enters my ears, reminiscent of wind from the past awakening my memories.

The fact that S2 Gavin’s theme starts around the halfway point of S1 Gavin’s theme is pretty significant.

On a superficial level, this could reflect how there’s both a sense of familiarity yet foreignness to their dynamics. But this isn’t limited to S2 Gavin x MC, because the dynamics between the other love interests and MC do see a slight change as well.

But what’s perhaps more unique to their situation is that back in S1, Gavin and MC didn't get to know each other properly until they became adults. In contrast, when S2 Gavin and MC reunite as adults, they already have a shared past in Loveland High.

While we don’t know how their lives in Loveland High played out in detail, it’s inferred that they had meals together frequently:

Boss: Then, do you remember that lady who often came here with you back then? She still visits, and also likes to have her beef noodles with extra chilli.

Also, Mr Keller knows that the two of them are somewhat close and are still in contact, since he gets MC’s help in passing Gavin some old photographs, and invited the both of them to visit Loveland High for an activity. In contrast, back in S1, MC didn’t even know that Mr Keller knew who Gavin was until Campus Date.

Just as we’re thrown into the halfway point of what resembles the S1 soundtrack, we’re thrown into an iffy, halfway point of their relationship. In Chapter 1 of the main storyline, we can tell that they know each other well enough, but they aren’t as close as we’d expect ex-schoolmates to be.

Their meeting comes across slightly antagonistic on Gavin’s part, and he even straight out lies to her that officers are approaching, in order to force an answer out of her. Similarly, in Stray Date, Gavin uses his Evol to send her hovering over the ocean, once again trying to force an answer out of her.

Thankfully, this antagonism fizzles out very quickly as we learn that this is just Gavin’s tactic to squeeze the truth out of MC for her own good. And that he still cares about her deeply (evident in Dangerous Night Date).

Aside from the abrupt start, there are three other things to note:

The S2 soundtrack is much slower, and the notes are drawn out as compared to the S1 soundtrack. I’m inclined to viewing this as a representation of Gavin’s self-assuredness and pure confidence as the Commander of the STF and leader of the Special Operations Team

The piano chords. It’s probably just me, but I feel that they resemble the chime of a school bell. This point becomes significant in the analysis of the bridge, which we’ll get to later

There’s a somewhat grating, scratchy sound which I see as a representation of the tension between S2 Gavin and MC. There are only three places in the song where this scratchy sound isn’t present - the first verse, the bridge, and the outro

-

FIRST VERSE [ 0:12 - 0:38 ] - Gavin the student

This part likely represents the time Gavin was still in Loveland High, because the grating, scratchy sounds mentioned earlier (which I associate with the tension between Commander Gavin and MC), aren’t present.

At 0:24, individual piano notes come in. Even though they sound careful, they aren’t played in synchrony with the firm and resolute guitar notes. Sometimes, the piano notes are played alongside the guitar notes. Sometimes, they don’t.

I’d say that this represents missed opportunities. Despite S2 Gavin and MC meeting earlier in S2, MC ended up re-living one of her main regrets - not getting to read Gavin’s letter:

MC: They said Minor left a bloodstained letter on my desk and thought it was a threatening letter, so no one dared to go near it. But by the time I returned to the classroom, the letter was gone. I searched for such a long time… but couldn’t find it… I thought I accidentally threw it into the dustbin, so I looked through it for a long time. But… I couldn’t find that letter anywhere.

My voice grows even softer at the end, and I don’t dare to lift my head to look at him.

Even if this world were to be reset, unexpected events still present such regrets.

Like a merciless joke, an antithesis to my unwillingness to be powerless.

Even if she had read the letter and gone to the meeting spot, it turns out S2 Gavin didn’t even stay long enough to meet her at the arranged time:

Gavin: That’s not important anymore. Back then, I had already left before the arranged time. So it’s all right.

-

SECOND VERSE [ 0:38 - 1:04 ] - Gavin the Commander

The grating, scratchy sounds come in, injecting a metallic feeling which is in line with how S2 Gavin is often described as a “sharp blade” numerous times. As mentioned earlier, these sounds could also be a depiction of the layers of friction between MC and S2 Gavin.

MC is on her guard around S2 Gavin at the start, such as in R&S [Reunited Yesterday] where she thinks of leaving Lynn’s Kitchen the moment she sees that Gavin’s there too, and how she was genuinely fearful and trembling when he used his Evol to send her hovering her over the ocean in Stray Date.

If you listen carefully, you can hear that the individual piano notes are somewhat copying the upward climb of the guitar we’re used to hearing in the S1 bgm.

This could represent MC holding on to her memories of S1 Gavin as she navigates the new dynamics she has with S2 Gavin, which gives her the courage not to get intimidated by his cold exterior, and to trust him completely.

Gavin: I haven’t even rescued you out yet.

MC: With you around, there won’t be a problem.

-

FIRST CHORUS [ 1:04 - 1:28 ]

From 1:19 to the end of the chorus, the piano keys go off on their own, and they come across much more confident and complement the guitar notes much more than in the first verse.

I see all the choruses as instances where S2 Gavin and MC are given opportunities to work together, and we witness how well they gel as a pair. The best examples so far would be Stray Date and The Guardian Project.

I’m no longer that person who only knows how to let you stand in front of me. This time, I’ll stand beside you, and will not back down.

-

THIRD VERSE [ 1:28 - 1:56 ]

Nothing to say here, similar analysis to the second verse!

-

SECOND CHORUS [ 1:56 - 2:22 ]

Same analysis as the previous chorus.

-

BRIDGE [ 2:22 - 2:47 ] - Reminiscence

This part is breathtakingly beautiful. It’s obviously in stark contrast to the rest of the song as the piano takes the stage here. Even though you can still hear the electronic guitar in the background, it’s incredibly muted and mirroring the melody of the piano.

The instrument complementing the piano (it sounds like a harpsichord?) sounds like a middleground between the sharpness of the electronic guitar and the gentleness of the piano.

And here’s where the piano chords I mentioned at the start are significant. This is the only part in the entire song where the piano chords aren’t played. Rather, the chords are broken up and played as individual notes.

This part gives me the mental image of S2 Gavin and MC on the rooftop of Loveland High, reminiscing on their school days when things were simpler. It’s a moment where they peel away their roles as STF’s Commander and Black Swan’s Nox, and are simply Gavin and MC, old friends from school.

It basically represents the rare, precious moments of reprieve S2 Gavin and MC get in the ever-looming danger of S2.

Yet, even outside this safe bubble, the chords continue to be played consistently. They may be subdued in certain parts of the song, and louder in others, but the chords are always there. Their shared past in Loveland High isn’t something S2 Gavin can just ignore. On the contrary, it’s something that likely supported him through his time in the Police Academy:

Gavin is standing underneath a tree, holding a photograph in his hand.

Gavin doesn’t notice Tang Chao. All of his focus is channelled onto that photograph. In this moment, he seems to have unloaded all his defences, becoming a Gavin different from his usual self. Those perpetually stern eyes have grown dim, bringing with them a twinge of fatigue.

Tang Chao holds his breath, subconsciously squinting his eyes to identify the photograph. On it seems to be… a female? Could she be Instructor Gavin’s…

-

THIRD CHORUS [ 2:47 - 3:13 ] - The power couple

The chorus returns with incredible force, and it’s slightly different from the first two choruses. In the first chorus, the piano is subdued. In the second chorus, you can hear the piano, but it melds into the melody.

In this chorus, the piano is clearly audible, but it doesn’t disappear into the melody like in the second chorus. It goes off on its own, yet blends with the music at the same time.

I’m given the image of a power couple who complement and fight alongside each other. We see this very clearly in The Guardian Project), where S2 Gavin sees MC as an equal to the point where he readily agrees to go along with her plan without having to hear it first.

MC: I have a plan. It could lure the suspect out without requiring more manpower. Would you like to try?

Gavin turns his head to look at me steadily.

Gavin: What do you need me to do?

MC: You’re agreeing just like that?

-

OUTRO [ 3:13 - end ] - The future

As mentioned at the beginning, the introduction mirrors the middle portion of S1 Gavin’s theme. Here, the outro mirrors the first few notes of S1 Gavin’s theme...

We see S1 Gavin in S2 Gavin. His clumsy way of showing concern, his protectiveness over MC, his jealous tendencies, his handsome face, etc.

Gavin: But protecting you - this won’t change.

His expression is very cold, and a certain emotion seems to be restrained in his voice.

What he says is reminiscent to words being tossed out in a fit of anger. At the same time, it’s also reminiscent of a vow he has always been fulfilling.

Gavin: Regardless of position, I’ll never let you get caught up in danger.

The tune draws to a close with a crescendo which ends abruptly yet on a hopeful, anticipatory note. Their story is far from over, and I can’t wait to see what this undefeatable tag team will accomplish together.

-

Final thoughts:

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this even though S2 is still very far away LOL And special thanks to @ginkgomoon​ who has been waiting patiently for this analysis T^T♡ If you enjoy reading Gavin-related analysis, do check out her blog!!

I wish I were a better writer so I can fully convey why the S2 Gavin x MC dynamic is so incredible, and quell the worry most Gavin stans have about S2.

Relying on my translations is a completely different experience compared to hearing the emotions in the voiced lines and seeing the sprites, so I can understand why it might be difficult to feel as much for them as I do T-T

The thing I love most about the S2 dynamic is that the relationship between them is much more natural. Instead of S1 Gavin falling head over heels for MC the moment he saw her in the rain and started following her around, S2 Gavin and MC already established a friendship in Loveland High in S2. And they tease each other so much more HNNGHGH SLOW BURNS HURT SO GOOD