#like i'll put a line in my bio or something

[bandedbulbussnarfblat]

why is the first thing that pops up when i search for asexual sites an article about dating? maybe ace people just want to find their peeps. to forge friendships with people like themselves. people who understand their feelings and what it's like to live in a world that constantly forces the idea of sex/romance down our throat

(but yes, i did click the link. just in case i need to find some nice ace partner in a different country so i can gtfo of america if things start getting dire under the trump presidency)

[hyunjinsjeans]

He knows (Chan ver.)

Lee Know ver. | Changbin ver. | Hyunjin ver.

Masterlist

Synopsis: Chan is your husband and he knows you want to start a family, but how does he know? And what happens when he tells you he knows? This. This is what happens.

Type: Fluff 🧸, SFW 👍

Warnings: Mentions of pregnancy

Word count: 1140

AN: this is my first piece of writing for anything K-pop-related on this site, please be kind! No proofreading, sorry!

You are married to this man. He defines himself by his job. He lived for it though, after working so hard to get to where he is he also enjoys it so much. So you can’t complain. But he does have one more thing he wants on his instagram bio. So far he is producer, singer, rapper and dancer. As of a year ago he is also husband. He knows the time is right. He knows you don’t want to pressure him but whenever you’re together he can sense the unspoken words flying around in the air between the two of you.

Oh yes, Chan knows. He knows how to read people, and you are top of the list of his favorite ones. He will read you like a book. He will understand even the things you don’t say, he will know the second you are ready. He will, however, wait for the right moment. Sometime when he knows he will have the energy, the free time and the emotional availability to do it.

He owes you his full attention if you are doing this together.

And once he seizes the opportunity he is going in for the kill. He proposes it in a serious tone. If it asn’t just the two of you, it would seem you were having a “family meeting”. He is straightforward about it.

“We should have a kid, Y/N. I think it’s time, I’m ready and you’re ready.”

And the words get caught in your throat because what the hell? You were incredibly ready. He knew this, you knew this. Your friends probably knew this.

From the way you cooed at any and every child under 5 whenever you spotted one, how little kids gravitated toward you at the park or at the movies and you always had a kind smile to offer them along with the helping hand finding their parents, to the way you seemed to constantly be handed strangers' babies at the grocery store or at airport lines.

It was no news. You always loved kids and after getting married and moving to your own home, you made it a point to have a guest room and an empty room. Chan had noticed. Why leave a room completely empty? “Just in case we need it someday” you had shrugged when he asked. But it was painfully obvious a few months into the move that you visited that room and stared at the empty walls with bright shiny eyes, with a smile that tugged at the corners of your lips in a way so subtle it was almost imperceptible, you always left the room with a sigh and a bowed head as if ashamed to have the plans you had for that room. Chan had witnessed it enough times to have you figured out. It brought a warmth to his heart, seeing how eager you were about the subject and yet you kept quiet because you didn't want to put any pressure on him, thinking he already had a lot to deal with as the leader of a very successful group.

So of course, the second he said those words you couldn’t help yourself. “Oh I was waiting for you to be ready!”

Chan lets out a joyful laugh, his eyes become tiny as his cheeks grow puffy with the glee in his reaction.

“I know!” He exhales, “but you didn’t say anything and I’m tired of it. When you want something -anything, please just tell me!” His expression softened "I'll always have time to listen to you, and there's nothing you can ask of me that I wouldn't give you."

He is leaning on the kitchen table while you’re sitting opposite him. You push yourself back on your chair and look at him with a side smile on your face, the rice cooker making its beeping sound to signal dinner is ready.

“How am I supposed to drop that one on you?!” You laugh as well, it’s clear you are not really arguing “Am I supposed to say “hey Chan, I want a baby” or what?”

“Well… yeah.” He scratches at his neck, “that’s okay, it’s a good way to start talking about it.”

You huff and look away, but ultimately you are pretty happy he brought it up. He knows this as well; there is no hiding your enthusiasm, you're practically buzzing.

“I do want to have a baby, Chan” you lean forward on the table, your elbows on the hard surface while you hide your smile behind your hands.

Chan sighs, stilling his laughter as he pulls the chair back to take a seat and stare at you. He poses his arms and hands the same as yours, mirroring your actions.

“I want that too”, he mumbles, shy but true.

“Can we have that?” You wonder, your eyes falling on his hands, soft yet strong.

Chan has held you many times, and supported you through different times. You know he can be a perfect constant to hold on to, but you wonder if his career can take this. If he can be there for you for this. Because if you are honest, your biggest fear is that he will put too much pressure on himself if he tries to be a leader and a good partner to a pregnant wife at the same time. You have always known him to be the kind of guy to step up without anyone asking him to. You have learned from him to be the same, to grow stronger for Chan to have someone to support him as well...but this time you have to be realistic, how much can you share the weight of things once you are also worried about the safety of a baby? How much stress can you take from him while getting ready to have a kid.

He drops his hands on the table, you have moved your gaze from his eyes to his hands to the table. You are doubtful, you are pulling away from him as you speak.

“We can.” He assures you, reaching out to pull your hands in his. “We can do this.”

Chan brings you back with his words, his tone is honest and bright. His eyes are full of joy and excitement.

You feel the warmth of his skin on your skin and look up with hope, your trust in him is so complete you nod, you don’t even think about it as you reply. You would die for your husband. You would take all the pain, all the responsibility, and hardships for him. And so would he for you. This is why doubting what you two can accomplish together is ridiculous, you shake your head from all those doubts and squeeze his hands between your own.

“Let’s do this.” You whisper.

--------

Likes, Reblogs and Comments are welcome! Thank you for reading!

[kyri45]

✨ShadowPeach Bio Parents Bio AU Q&A! 28/10✨

I'll be streaming on my Twitch page TOMORROW at 1PM ET!

Welcome to the Q&A! A space where I can answer related or similar question about the Shadowpeach Bio Parents AU! If you submitted your ask anonimously, then you’ll have to check the whole post if it’s answered here, if it’s not, worry not! Your asks might have been used for a future comic or just in the queue~

Anonimo ha chiesto: Will MK have a power neither Wukong nor Macaque have ?

Probably something that is a mix of each parent power, creating something new. Like- He can hear the past, but can also use his gold vision. SO maybe he learns not only to hear to past, but also see it (but maybe instead of being gold the vision is purple)

Anonimo ha chiesto: Does MK have nightmares about LBD or Azures death or something? @the-ninja-girl-in-blue ha chiesto: I swear for some reason, even after returning back to his normal age, I still can’t help but picture MK having a nightmare in the middle of the night and just starts chirping in his sleep because of it and that ends up getting the attention of his two monkey dads. I can’t help but picture them either waking him up and asking him about the nightmare into his bed to cuddle with him to hopefully calm him down. I also kind of like the idea of them offering to let him stay in their bed with them for the night. basically, I just wanna see them comforting MK after he has a nightmare. For some reason, I could see the nightmare being about either LBD or about the ending of season five when he attempts suicide.

Yes he does have nightmares about that. He usually does, most times he's at Pigsy's, and Freenoodle is there to help him. He hasn't had a LBD nightmare at FFM yet, but even as an adult he would totally chirp without noticing it.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Angst idea what if heaven was scared of MK being the "harbinger of chaos" and took him away as a baby locking him away instead. It's up to you if wukong knew of his existence before he was taken. Eventually someone or something releases him. MK Finds out why he was locked away and just goes on a rampage through heaven bonus angst wukong has to stop him

Do heaven even knew he was the harbinger of chaos? Like seriously I don't remember if it was ever stated in the show. Honestly is crazy no one picked up that kid aurea. Makes you wonder who te fuck put such a powerful glamour on him when he was found by Pigsy.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Hi :D i wanted to say that i LOOOVE the bioparents au, it's so lovely 💖 and, i must ask, will we get more cliché scenes with our little monkeys? like accidental fall or something on this lines? i need my clichés back 😭😭

eeehhhhh maybe? I'm not too much of a fan of clichè I'll be honest, mostly bc I see them around all the time and I prefer to do something new.

Anonimo ha chiesto: I think it would be funny if MK started subconsciously mimicking things from his friends and family. little things like putting his shoes the same way Teng does. Standing in the same posture as Mei. Ext. Monkeys often will mimic each other as a sign of fondness and affection. Monkey see monkey do.

I think he already does that in the show with Wukong sometimes! It's super cute!

Anonimo ha chiesto: Okay hear me out, since mk kinda saw their past and everything. Does mk possibly have small abandonment issues (not that he doesn’t already) and does he hear little moments in the past of macaque and Wukong’s pain. By the way I absolutely love your art!!! I check your page everyday. 💕

I think if he ever said that to Wukong he'll make sure that every.single.day. he reminds him that he'll never leave his side.

@tinyplanetss ha chiesto: regarding the latest biodads update, did wukong ever know that macaque panicked and lashed out way back then due to seeing his "betrayal" in his future vision? i can't imagine it would've come up before he mentioned it to mk, unless they had a talk about it after their rooftop apology.....

I think they talked about it during the night Wukong apologized to Macaque. The comic I did stops after a certain point but they talked all night about what happened.

Anonimo ha chiesto: (Macaque on some late night mission): I've got to get back before Wukong realizes I'm not in bed. (Wukong who woke up and had a nightmare): Macaque.. MACAQUE

They can't stand being apart anymore now.

@eerieqloss ha chiesto: Wait I got a question, at the beginning of the Shadowpeach bio parent AU When they found out MK was their son biologically through Nuwa of course. But how did they get to her and ask her? I don't know why this question just randomly appeared in my head

Now that MK "opened the gate" access to other deities is much more easier.

@bottyshaker-900o ha chiesto: Wait! Does MK know they sleep together now!?

He did 2+2.

@youroriku ha chiesto: If MK monkey form is showing more or will there be a comic where he lost Control over it ?Recently, fewer people talk about it. Btw i love your art ❤️🌸🫶

mmm... Maybe not in my current timeline. Maybe more in the future. I don't think MK himself wants to loose control again like with Azure

Anonimo ha chiesto: Hii love your art! Wouldn't it be funny if someone was trying to have a serious conversation with Wukong and Macaque and baby MK is just climbing all over their shoulders and they're completely unfaced by it cuz it's like 'yeah this is normal just let him play' but whoever they're talking with can't focus on anything but MK's shinanigans.

hehehe baby shenanigans my beloved

Anonimo ha chiesto: I'll admit I'm more into the chubby, dad bod gang for Wukong but the way you draw buff wukong also makes me happy too! ^-^

Thank you!

@ketsuruithekiller ha chiesto: I like to suffer. So I would like to know if Wukong still has thoughts of guilt. If he fully accepted Mk's decision not to be his successor, without having the idea that like others he would hate it and leave at some point.

ye he does sometimes have the paranoia. But MK is there also to remind him that he'll always be in his life.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Are Wukong and Macaque, in your bio parents au, back together? Or is it a situationship? I'm sorry if it's already been stated in the story or if you've already answered something like this. I'm just a brain-dead potato who loves your comic.

Nah they still are in the progress of having to forgive each other but they are very much in a situationship.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Ello Ello, do you think any of the three monkeys would know how to take care of a sick person? Or would they just have to go to sandy or pigsy or someone?

I think yes. Canonically by JTTW, Wukong is an expert in many fields, including medicine. But I do wonder if sometimes he forget after so many years of reclusion that people can get sick.

Anonimo ha chiesto: So Wukong was stuck in the memory of MK sacrificing himself ? Was it identical to the scene in season 5 or was his dream different ? Poor Wukong looked so traumatized

It was the same as S5

Anonimo ha chiesto: I love, LOVE your bio au! I enjoy a lot!!!! Question! Wukong and Macaque have any chance to go to a date?

mmm maybe in the future

Anonimo ha chiesto: I know Is not the case but At some point, hasn't Pigsy felt a little jealous or strange of how MK goes directly to Wukong or Macacke when he has a problem?

I think Freenoodle is taking the opportunity of having the second set of parents to annoy the heck out of them and redirect all the akward questions and advices the kid ask them because "we had to do it for 21 years now you get to have the annoying part of parenting as well"

@azureandcrimson ha chiesto: Hello!! I absolutely love your art and I am currently watching your twitch (Which I can't log into and type in chat for some reason😭) but anyways. I also have a question if you ship Mei with anyone? Like a side character or Spindrax or someone else or if you make her Aroace or just don't generally ship her or smth! :) But besides that I love your art style and the way you draw everything!! Thank you for drawing this stuff and feeding my LMK hyperfixation!!

I do also ship Dragon fruit. Just in my comic I kind of had to choose one ship for now.

wolfsonic ha chiesto: Since we know WuKong is the bottom of ShadowPeach. Who's the bottom in SpiceyNoodles?

MMMMMMMMM TOO SOON TO SAY.

@draxeanlxia ha chiesto: Bio!Parents AU question, who does the laundry and who’s not allowed to touch the laundry because he’ll ruin your clothes without meaning to? For me, I think Wukong would be the one doing laundry while Macaque isn’t allowed near the washing machine. But that’s just me, what’s yours?

yeah seems fitting!

Anonimo ha chiesto: If MK started blushing when he saw Red Son in his true form I wonder how he would react to seeing Red Son shirtless with muscles and abs in that form XD

I headcanon MK as demisexual so probably he would notice and appreciate the aesthetic attraction but wouldn't be TOO flustered. In this case, it's RedSon who's the Wukong of the two of them (being flustered by like, seeing 2% of MK back or smt.)

Anonimo ha chiesto: So I wondered if Xiaotian's powers were like Steven's, since they responded to his emotions

yep.

Anonimo ha chiesto: If they decide to have a baby who will be pregnant macaque or wukong!?

I think I said it already once but I don't think that's how baby Stone Monkeys are born??? Like how would carry a stone inside your body work that's the thing. There's is to say they are demons who knows how they work honestly.

Anonimo ha chiesto:Will the calabash return ?

nope

Anonimo ha chiesto: Does Mei have a true form? Doesn’t seem fair that MK and Red Son have super forms and Mei doesn’t. I think she should be able to be a straight up dragon.

Doesn't she already goes straight up dragon in the show?

@phantom-premeir ha chiesto: Okay this is a pretty dumb question but I gotta know, out of the monkey trio whose the biggest crash out,just an absolute mess of a person?

I think Wukong

Anonimo ha chiesto: Are we gonna see a wedding of these gay monkeys?

Who knows.

@azureandcrimson ha chiesto:Oh my gosh, the new chapter is amazing, now we defiantly know Macaque has probably courtnapped Wukong >:3 I also have another question! Perhaps in the future will Macaques sacrifice be brought up? Like, yeah, he came back. But the guy was gone for days and who knows what he saw in there and/or what memories he saw because he was probably stuck in those for days. But just wondering if you might bring that up in the future? :) Make sure to take breaks, drink water and eat something!! >:(

Oh yeah that ahah. Maybe?

Anonimo ha chiesto: Imagine MK's sacrifice in season 5 would happen AFTER Macaque and Wukong found out that he is their son. This would make it even more heartbreaking

Bruh... Xiaotian wouldn't have been able to move an inch again from Wukong after he came back.

@autism-autobot ha chiesto: Wait... Is Wukong going to have to find a new successor now that MK won't be it?

Maybe what he will look for wont be a successor.... but an heir.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Is the monkey's tail sensitive or smt!? I mean what will happen if u pull it ?

We r getting into NSFW territory here...

Anonimo ha chiesto:who do u think is the fluffiest monkey? Also what happens if said monkey got towel dried and poofed up?

MK, becasue he's a cub by stone monkey standard. He would become a fur ball.

arrow-artzz ha chiesto: Hello! I just wanna say, I love your art style and this whole ShadowPeach parent au ur making and I get so hyped and excited when I see a new part/ep come out!! I hope ur having fun with it and keep up the great work, you do a fantastic job, and you also inspire me to keep trying small art projects at home!! I truly hope you’re having a wonderful night, after noon or night! also think it would be cute if the whole gang did a movie night (Halloween movie) at FFM and one scene comes up and macaque used Wukong as a shield as if the movie was real :3 sorry this was long I tap a lot “^^

I think Wukong would be the one scared. Macaque is literally has sleep paralysis monsters has pets

[dontforgetukraine]

TIFF: And so it continues...5 to ZFF

Aaand "Russians at War" is going to be at the Zurich Flim Festival. Because of course.

The Russian Canadian director Anastasia Trofimova met a soldier on home leave in Moscow's subway, accompanying him to the front lines, where she spent over a year filming unauthorized footage in a battalion near the Ukrainian border. In her film, she gives voice to soldiers who have no understanding of the war's causes and soon find themselves mourning comrades who have become Putin's cannon fodder. This harrowing and unique war documentary captures images you would never see in the news media. 'Who are the Russian soldiers who are fighting against Ukraine? What do they think of Putin? The documentary has them speak their minds. A film that revealed more to me about this conflict than 100 newspaper articles.' – Christian Jungen Anastasia Trofimova Anastasia Trofimova was born in Moscow and is a Russian-Canadian filmmaker. She first studied communications and political science and then international relations. Trofimova is a renowned filmmaker who has made a name for herself through her work in conflict zones such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Russia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In her films, she addresses social inequality and injustice. She has been honoured with the Canada Screen Award and has participated as a jury member at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards five times. RUSSIANS AT WAR (2024) / CONGO, MY PRECIOUS (2017) / VICTIMS OF ISIS (2015) / HER WAR: WOMEN VS. ISIS (2015)

No mention of RT in the director's bio of course. Same shit, different film festival.

Also, if this propaganda film reveals more to you about the war than 100 news articles, that's not shining praise for the film, but rather an indictment of the sorry state of our collective media landscape in Ukraine and the West.

The West obviously has a problem of not reporting on Ukraine as often anymore. It's not "fashionable". A lot of the reporting I've come across is superficial and there is rarely a deep dive into the Ukrainian civilian aspect of the war. It seems there always has to be either a grotesque catastrophic event due to Russian aggression (like the Okhmatdyt children's cancer hospital), or an interesting enough topic in order for something to be considered (like the Mykola Hryshko national botanical garden being in danger of losing its tropical plants due to the war causing electricity cuts.) There is a dearth of human interest stories, which is the core of understanding this war and the effects it has on Ukrainians.

When there is such a story, it falls into the situation of the "box-ticking approach", as described by Dr. Olesya Khromeychuk:

It is not enough to simply ‘do Ukraine’ by reviewing one book on the war, especially if it’s by a Western journalist rather than a Ukraine-based author. It’s not enough to host one exhibition, particularly if it is by an artist or photographer who only spent a few weeks in the country. Quickly putting together a panel on Russia’s war in response to a major development at the front and adding a sole Ukrainian voice at the last minute doesn’t cut it either. This box-ticking approach is unhelpful and insulting.

Most if not all of the quotes I pull from human-interest stories are from Ukrainian journalism. If you've been following me for the short time I've had this blog up, you'll notice I read a lot. At this point I've given up on looking up Western based English media, because the core stories that define the war are just not there. If there is an interesting article from the West, I'll usually see it pop up on my Twitter feed (like the botanical garden story) and I'll take a look then because its been recommended and has what I'm looking for.

And finally, Western media can't let go of having some Russian expert talk about Ukraine, instead of actually talking to Ukrainians.

Kate from Kharkiv: Ukrainian media, both in Ukrainian and English, must improve their regional reporting. They are increasingly resembling local Kyiv media, which limits global awareness of events across Ukraine. Consequently, international media rarely cover these regions unless we die en mass. But not too often, because if often it is not news anymore.

Like Kate from Kharkiv points out, mass-casualty events are no longer "fashionable". She further indicates the lack of essential reporting in specific regions where conditions are different from Kyiv. One such example is the Russians turning Kherson into a "human safari". Initially, only Zarina Zabrisky was reporting on how Russian drones pilots were deliberately targeting civilians, and she shouldn't have to be the only one reporting on this. While there are some Western news outlets that have reported on this situation now, it's still not enough. Zarina Zabrisky is still diligently doing the bulk of the work in reporting on this. I can only imagine what other stories in other regions are going untold because there is little to no coverage.

The other obstacle I've noticed is accessibility to news in Ukraine from a language perspective. There isn't enough English language coverage from Ukrainian media outlets. While I would love to be able to read Ukrainian confidently, I'm nowhere near there yet, and the West is collectively even further away. Google translate isn't a great substitute either for obvious reasons. The number of times I wanted to read/watch a news report, and there was no English supplement is a lot. It happens frequently with the English language Ukrainian news accounts I follow. They'll post a clip from a news report with no translated subtitles and say, "look at this!", but I can't extract the information they want to show because of this problem.

This is why I hold volunteer translators as some of the most valuable contributors in the information space, and I will always credit them.

It's a vicious cycle. If a large proportion of Ukrainian news media is inaccessible to Western media due to the language barrier, information has even less of a chance of being noticed and spreading. This is, in my opinion, the other side of the coin on issues in the information war.

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

tags: @illiana-mystery, @iobsessoverfictionalmen

warnings: swearing, guns, bank robbery

John gave me a kiss before gently pushing me around the corner of the building. I looked back over my shoulder to see him watching me, smiling. The bank wasn't terribly busy today, which was a good thing. I got in a line and waited. The sound of a door slamming open a few minutes earlier made me jump. Despite having done this what felt like a million times, I was never prepared for them to come storming in. I watched as John jumped the counter.

“everyone stay where you are.” John yelled. He grabbed the bank manager and dragged him off. Red nodded at me as he passed by, going for the drawers. I was counting down the seconds in my head. 100 seconds in and out. “If you don’t mind.” John appeared at my elbow, gun in one hand and bag of money in the other. He tossed it to red before gently taking my arm. I moved in front of him as he started walking out.

“Starting to slow down Johnny.” I whispered. He grunted in response. “110. Reds moving a little slow behind the counter.” I could feel his grip tighten in acknowledgment before we closed ranks. Red had grabbed the manager and Harry had grabbed a girl. He’d been trying to hit on her the whole walk to the car.

“Homer!” Red called, police sirens running in the distance. “Let’s go!” We climbed on the running boards, John making sure I was caged in. Homer came running as we took off. Once we were sure the police weren’t after us, John hit the roof of the car.

“pile in!” He called. Red opened the doors as the car came to a stop. Everyone climbed in, John pulling me into the front seat with him. His arm held me securely around the waist. We took off again once Homer heard the sirens again. "You alright sweets?" John whispered in my ear. I nodded slightly and he pressed a quick kiss to my shoulder. Red was distracting the girl in the backseat while Harry gave the bank manager a hard time.

"Thought you were tough shit didn't ya?" Harry teased. "We still walked off with more than half that vault." I shared a look with Homer and John turned around.

"Cut the shit Harry." He growled. Glancing at the girl, John pulled his hat off his head. "Here ya go doll. Something to remember me by." Everyone started laughing and John smirked at me. I rolled my eyes with a smile. "Don't go getting jealous on me now sweets. You know you get the rest when we stop."

"What's there to be jealous of Johnny?" I asked. Homer looked over and John nodded. "I'll be right here when you're done." John smiled at me and slid his hand around my waist, winking at me as he got out of the car. I watched as he and the others marched the hostages away from the car. John leaned back against a tree while the others tied them up. I could hear them laughing about something before John reached over and plucked his hat off the woman's head. Red took off his coat and put it around her shoulders. John slid back into the car, his hip pressed up against mine this time before leaning over and cupping my cheek. I kissed him deeply as the others piled in.

"Perfect as always (Y/N)." He whispered against my lips. "Clean get away boys! Let's head to the border and get outta here." Everyone agreed and settled in for the long ride. "And when we stop for the night, I'm gonna show you just how appreciative I am for all your hard work." I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"You charmer." I teased as he leaned in to kiss me again.

[loriache]

The world's major cities

So, Kabru copes with stress by reciting important world cities. That's very cute. Let's move on from that character beat, though, and get weird about Lore.

Cities!!

Kahka Brud and Izganda we know - Kahka Brud is the city nearest to the Island, the dwarvern port with a large population of Half-foots. It's also partially built into the ruins of a dungeon, the Brud Dungeon Cluster. That's really neat!

Senshi is from Izganda; it had mines and a large dwarvern community.

Sadena is where Daya is from - it had a dungeon. Her family were dungeon-keepers.

Dozahk is where one of Senshi's previous comrades was from; he's a "city dwarf", the son of metropolitan merchants, and so I assume it's a pretty big city.

They're all on the Eastern Continent.

Kabru doesn't list Bonnario, which is also written on the World Map, on the Eastern Continent, so I guess maybe it's not that important of a city? I don't know if it comes up anywhere in the story or extras, but I'd expect it to if it's on the map. I didn't notice anyone's bio saying they are from there, but I could have missed it.

Merini is the city on the Island, arguably also on the Eastern Continent. And, eventually the name of the country too. ...I know continents are established by agreement and not landmass, but despite what that line from the manga's ending says, I seriously doubt it will get considered a separate continent. It's big but it just doesn't seem that big... it's only my subjective & half assed calculations (in this post) that puts it about the size of Aotearoa or the UK, but I genuinely can't imagine it being so much bigger that it warrants being considered a continent as just one country that's already attached to the Eastern Continent.

Anyway based on grouping all the Eastern continent cities in here:

....I'm going to go ahead and assume this bubble is just cities from the Eastern Continent.

Then, the cities in these bubbles could be from two other continents:

Though I don't know which. He doesn't include Wa, so I'll assume not the Eastern Archipelago. If he's going by proximity, the nearest places to the Eastern Continent are the Northern Continent (where Laios, Falin, and Marcille are from) and the Southern Continent. We don't get any city names for those AFAIK, though.

If anyone has any speculations, I'd be quite curious; I can't really tell what the vibe is of these names, they mostly just sound "fantasy-like" to me. Since this panel is a throwaway joke, the ones that don't come up elsewhere were probably just transliterated literally however, so if they're supposed to sound reminscent of something it would be easy to miss.

Utaya isn't here (not surprising, if I was Kabru and trying to keep myself calm) so it's possible that he isn't listing cities on the Western Continent.

He could also have just started listing with the continent he's on, and the separate bubbles don't mean anything, but A) less fun as speculation-fodder that way; and B) he definitely switched continents at some point or it wouldn't be labelled as "the world's major cities" but rather "the Eastern Continent's major cities" or just "names of cities".

[karlachismylife]

character ask thingy for konig, thank you sm I hope your day is going great! <3

Oooh, König! I'm not talking about him much on here, am I? Might have something to do with the betrayal of my friend whom I dragged into the COD fandom for my Karlach x Soap team or at least Ghoap only to lose her to the Ghost x König gang... (I'm joking, we're still having fun, ship whomever you want). Thanks for asking!! And also thank you, my days are pretty okay lately, hope yours are too <3

If anyone else is interested, I'll be glad to talk about someone else from COD and BG3. The game itself is here if someone wants to reblog!

So, König, the big Austrian that has literally a couple parapgraphs of bio on the wiki but a ton of fans to make up for it, eh?

favorite thing about them

I'll do two, because one is mostly canon based and the other mostly headcanon, but not fully. The canon favourite thing is that he's imperfect at his job. It's not just his size that prevented him from becoming a sniper, it also says he is "unable to stay still". I think it would be easy to make him a total machine and just slap the social anxiety on top as the only "imperfection" he has, especially since he is a minor character in a fucking pew pew ka-boom game. But they literally said he's actually not that good at his job (like, if he's unable to stay still, this won't impact just his sniper abilities, you know?). So that's neat, I love when people are allowed to be not that perfect at their job. And the favourite headcanon thing is that he's a gentle giant, I just love the type. Yeah, he's huge and kills people, but he'll also cradle a little bunny like it's the most precious creature on Earth.

least favorite thing about them

Uhh apart from the fact that people for some reason (ahem, racism) replace Gaz with him instead of just adding him?.. I think he either compensates for his anxiety or just feels much more confident at work and it makes him a little too cocky without needed (for me at least) charisma/unseriousness towards himself. Judging mostly from his body language. I know he has a sense of humour, but yeah... maybe calm down a little big guy.

favorite line

Any of the few lines in German he has. Or the "pick your guts off the floor", lol. I just like German and König is a funny fella, especially when he sounds angy.

brOTP

König x Gaz! There have been a couple arts on the theme and I absolutely adore them. Stop pretending they can't coexist! Also, Kyle would definitely find a way with words to make König feel more at ease off duty or would handle the way König is in the field easily.

OTP

I don't actually have any preferences at all, I like everything I see with him simply because people explore different dynamics and it's the most fun part for me. BUT I'll say like what I saw from Ghoap x König less because everything I saw puts Soap into a position/dynamic I don't really enjoy that much. Doesn't mean there isn't something I'll like a lot tho!

nOTP

As always, nOTPs are not my thing, but toxic stuff upsets me.

random headcanon

Also giving you two: he loves wearing lingerie but is a little bit ashamed of it and definitely hides it and he's generally a sweet tooth, especially for chocolate, so a slice (several) of good Sachertorte will make him really happy.

unpopular opinion

Uhh... he doesn't have a huge dick?.. No one in my universe does cuz I don't see the appeal (we have huge straps in my universe tho. but toys are separate). I don't know what's popular opinion lmao, sorry.

song i associate with them

Oooh, I actually have one this time! It's from my favourite German band Oomph! - "Kleinstadtboy". I like the whole album it's from because they experimented with their sound and quite successfully in my opinon, and this one has both the lyrics (yeah it's about gayyyys but also toxic masculinity in general. fits him well I think) and the according sound. The overblown dry electronics crackling/rasping just suits him, I think. I think he smells of static electricity too.

favorite picture of them

I don't really have one? But I like him doing different finishers. Looks impressive thanks to his size.

[icyowl]

Idk if your taking request if not discard! lol but uh >< could we get some Vash & Wolfwood A/O/B head canons? What do you think their second genders would be? and how would they be w reader?

A/B/O Headcanons (Vash, Wolfwood)

Pairings: Wolfwood x reader, Vash x reader

A/N/: always up for ABO. Always.

As my bio says, I'm not open for requests per se, but if an ask strikes my fancy, I might get inspired!

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

WOLFWOOD

An alpha through and THROUGH

very growly. It's deep and slow and rumbly and he loves using it on others or using it on you and catching you off guard. He smells the effect it has on you through your scent glands and his eyes key in on the tiny shaking it puts in your knees. You alright there, ankle biter? Lookin' a little unsteady he says with a wicked grin. Even the cigarette bounces with mirth.

Whatever class Wolfwood was going to be, the experiments done by the Dr. turned him into an alpha. It's done on purpose because alphas are more goal-oriented and driven, and because its pretty easy to keep them in line with a steady dose of hard-core suppressants. Getting Wolfwood to detox from them was definitely an exercise in building trust. The ensuing rut you had to help him through was. . . intense, to say the least.

Puts out his cigarettes when you're around. Just because he can cancel out the ill-effects by drinking his vials doesn't mean he has to subject you to it.

Say his first name nice and softly with some of those omega hormones pushing out into the room and watch his whole shoulder line gradually slump until he's putting his head on your shoulder and licking the oils from your scent glands.

Look, its fact that at some point he will use himself as a human shield to keep you safe because, again, he's got those vials to help him recover. The first time he got, for all intents and purposes, murdered in front of your eyes was a horrifying experience. Even after he'd made a full recovery (another mildly disturbing moment when he seemingly came back from the dead just as quickly as he joined it), you'd lost many nights worth of sleep. When he found out, you had a long discussion about his ready-fire-aim tendencies.

It came as no surprise you began to have nightmares. Try as he might, he wasn't good at consoling you at first. It took time for Wolfwood to realize slapping you on the back like some bro and telling you the vials taste like candy wasn't the way to make you feel better.

Has gotten your group thrown out of a number of establishments after holding a man at gunpoint for so much as flirting with you. Very clearly used the moment as an excuse to show off in front of you.

Definitely gives you the talk about worrying about yourself before others or before you make stupid choices that might put you in harms way. Gets you a gun of some kind, something manageable, and maybe it won't obliterate some of the things that are coming after you but it'll give you a chance to get away or at least buy time until he can get there.

“Whatever Blondie does, you do the opposite, you hear me?”

Also chew you out if/when you put yourself in danger. Doesn't matter why. He'll get in your face and yell and interrupt you at every turn. “I don't care that you were saving some kid! Drop kick him out a window for all I care! The next time you do something like that, I'll kill you myself!”

Loves showing off your relationship in front of others. Favorite thing to do is, whenever you go to sit by him in a public place, his arm snakes around you (whether its your arm or waist or a part of your clothing) and simply yanks you to his lap.

This man. This man would not touch a healthy relationship with a ten-foot pole. Like, we can agree his most stable relationship is with his gun, right? So totally expect him to be a little lost when it comes to taking care of you emotionally. It never occurred to him how many days had passed without him scenting you; just figured you were dealing with something or had a change in hormones when you began to smell sour.

On your end, you're freaking out. There has to be a reason why he's not doing it. Is he over you? Do you smell bad? Is something going on in his life you don't know about? Is there someone else? How do you bring it up without sounding accusatory? Should you just drop it?

When you finally lean in and just go for it, fisting his shirt and burrying your nose under his chin, nestled right up against his pulse, and purr, he does nothing for several seconds. Meanwhile your heart is skittering wildly. What you don't realize is you've positively short-circuited this poor man. Could his heart always beat like this? So fast, so erratically? A low rumble escapes him and encases you in an embrace.

He realizes this is the first time he's ever purred.

VASH

could legit be any class. I'm sure most of y'all see him as an omega, but for funsies I'll make him an alpha for a change!

Like, come on, you can't tell me those canines from the last episode scream anything else but alpha. Plus, we all know how determined he can get. Just imagine that you're the one he can't turn his instincts away from, you're the one that makes him feel the most like a regular person, you're the one that elicits such a visceral reaction from him.

Three words: PRO TEC TIVE. If you got with him hoping to break him of his savior mentality, you've gotten with the wrong person. His habits include but are not limited to: keeping watch every time you sleep (even at the risk of his own lethargy), repositioning you to where he perceives to be the safest spot (picking dining tables closest to an exit, putting himself between you and strangers, ensuring an unobstructed path to you and his gun, etc.), scenting your clothes every morning before you wake to keep other alphas from bothering you, smiling in such a way that he shows off his canines to anyone that bothers you, and coming up with lame excuses to get you away from anyone that bothers him. Vash is mostly polite about it, but you know what't up. Nuzzle into him and watch him melt into you and purr gently.

Yo his glyphs pulse when his alpha instincts come to the surface. Defending you from another alpha? Needing to scent you to feel calm? You got him riled up? All those will do it and its sometimes been a close call to hide it from strangers. You love it when it happens in the dark of a room and he literally lights up the space.

Seeing you in his jacket sends a shiver up his spine and makes his pupils expand considerably. He's soooo attentive to you. The slightest change in your scent due to your emotions — whether they be fear or jealousy or loneliness — and he's on you, nuzzling into your scent glands to try and calm you and offering to get you someplace private for a scenting session. Don't be surprised if he completely ignores your protests and excuses the two of you from the rest of the group.

One time he was so caught up in the moment of battle, so fearful when he saw a gun aiming for your chest, that his cybernetic hand grabbed for your arm and yanked you aside. It almost hurt him as much as if you'd been shot when he realized his fingers left dark bruises on your skin, and he'd carelessly flung you into a bookshelf where you'd knocked the back of your head against the corner, causing wet blood to rush into your hair and face.

He refused to touch you for days after that. Thankfully, in the dead of night, long after everyone else had gone to bed, you found him leaning bodily against the wall at the end of the hallway, resisting his hormone-fueled delirium on sheer willpower alone, and were able to convince him to give in to the bond. Oh how he wanted to scent you and be scented, how his oil glands wetted themselves feebly, desperate to touch your scent glands. You had enough when he tried to escape you again; one gentle press to the gland on his wrist and he finally gave in — pupils expanded, eyes glossed over, canines descended. Vash pinned you against the wall, chuffing and nuzzling while you tried to keep your head on straight. His pheromones were positively overwhelming.

Vash reverently touched the bandage on your head and the bruises on your arm, apologizing with whines and whimpers. The poor man could hardly speak with the hormones buzzing through him, but he tried to convey the pain he felt at hurting you, even unintentionally. You soothed the guilt with gentle words and a steady stroke to the gland on his neck.

Because of his biology, he has a very unique scent. It's clean and fresh and everyone takes notice. You've had to fight off a few omegas during your time together. My man's totally clueless.

Like, he can smell you're frustrated, but why? Those ladies were just helping him get directions to the next town? Oh, they were holding his arm as they pointed to the horizon? He never noticed. They were just being nice. Why were you glaring at them? Whatever the reason, he can tell you need his pheromones and floods the space with them accordingly.

Sooooo hesitant when it comes to marking you, or really even allowing his mouth anywhere near your supple skin. He doesn't trust himself not to lose control or get carried away. Vash knows what being bound to him would mean; the danger, the running. To him, it's no different than painting a bullseye on you. It takes time, and a lot of trust and coaxing, but eventually he gives in to the trance tugging at his brain. Eventually, he gives himself over to it. His nibbling teeth and laving tongue don't leave your skin for some time.

[doctorbunny]

(Part 6) MILGRAM x AVOIT bluetooth earphones collab: Mikoto and Kotoko voice lines

[Brief context: On 28th December 2023 a crossover was announced for bluetooth earphones featuring original voicelines from MILGRAM characters. [Website]

PRISON.009 Mikoto Kayano Vertical text = こんなところで何やってんだろ、僕 = What am I doing in a place like this...? [the first line of Mikoto's first voice drama]

Voice Guidance: 電源オーン = Power O~n 電源オーフ＝Power O~ff 接続成功、やったね = Connection successful, woohoo! [he cheers 'yatta ne' same as Yuno did, which is a celebratory cheer, so you can imagine him saying 'yippee' here too if you'd prefer ww] 接続解除 = Connection terminated ペアリングしてるからちょっと待ってね = It's Pairing so just wait a bit, ok? ペアリング成功 = Pairing successful あれ、ペアリング失敗しちゃった = Eh- The pairing didn't work at all そろそろ充電したほうがいいんじゃない? = Shouldn't you put it on charge soon? ノイズキャンセリングオ〜ン = Noise Cancelling O~n アンビエントマイクをオンするよ = Ambient mic turned on, y'know ノーマルモードだよ = It's on Normal Mode

Random Voice: ヒトゴロシとか言われても、知らないよ･･････ = Even if they're saying I'm like a murderer or something, I don't know anything about it おつかれー。たまにはおやすみしなよ~ = I'm exhausted-. It's pretty rare that I get a good rest~ そういう音楽聴くんだ。センスいいね = The kind of music you listen to. You've got good taste マッピー、恋バナしよ、恋バナ = Mappi-, lets chat about love, girl talk! [the word Mikoto uses here is 'koi bana' which was also the name of minigram 45, it literally means a kind of light, gossipy chat about love, but officially got TL'd as 'girl talk' so I used both terms to fit it into English better] ゆんちゃん。最近JKの間では何がアツいの? = Yun-chan. What's the latest hotness amongst the JKs? [JK is a slang term short for 女子高生/joshi kousei/female high school students, closest English slang I could think of was Girliepop but it's not quite the same. Basically he's just asking her what's currently popular with teenage girls. Mikoto also filled out his interrogation questions like it was a social media bio so he's just Like This sometimes www] フータさー。そんなんじゃモテないよ? = C'mon Fuuta-. Isn't that kind of stuff cringe? [the word Mikoto uses here is motenai, which is unpopular/avoided/unwelcome, often in the sense of 'that guy is unpopular with women', its a slang term, so I extrapolated to find an English one I felt fit] 僕を守るためなら、俺はなんだってするぜ = If its for the sake of protecting Mikoto, I'll do whatever it takes! [This is John speaking, we know because he uses 'ore', in the first half he refers to Mikoto as 'boku', which is the first person pronoun Mikoto uses] ああああー! 俺をいらつかせんなぁー!! = Arghhh-! Don't piss me off- !! [John again]

PRISON.010 Kotoko Yuzuriha Vertical text = 粛清完了。当然の報いだ = Purge Complete. It's [their] just desserts. [from the second trial teaser trailer]

Voice Guidance: 電源オン = Power On 電源オフ＝Power Off 接続成功 = Connection Successful 接続解除 = Connection Terminated ペアリング中 = Pairing [on going] ペアリング成功 = Pairing Successful ちっ、ペアリング失敗 = Tsk, Pairing failed ちょっと、バッテリーないんだけど = Hey, there's no battery left ノイズキャンセリング = Noise Cancelling アンビエントマイク、オン = Ambient Mic, On ノーマルモード = Normal Mode

Random Voice: いいわ。わかる人間にはわかるから = It's alright. Because people who understand will understand エス、私はあなたの牙になろう = Es, I will become your fang 音楽で精神集中? いいね = Using music to hone your mind? Nice フータ、少しは本気で生きたら? = Fuuta, why not try living at least a little seriously? [Once more from the top- "Thank you @maristelina!"] カヤノミコト、次は仕留める = Kayano Mikoto, I'll kill you next クスノキムウ、実害がない間は見逃してやる = Kusunoki Muu, as long as there's no real harm done, I'll overlook it for that time [Maristellina also helped here. The way Kotoko says she'll overlook Muu also suggests she views Muu as of a lower status than herself ] 私が看守ならよかったのに = I think it'd be great if I was the guard さぁ、私の罪を聴くがいい = Well then, you should listen to my sins

This is PART SIX of 6 Jackalope and Es, Haruka and Yuno, Fuuta and Muu, Shidou and Mahiru, Kazui and Amane, Mikoto and Kotoko [You are here]

[rogersideup]

Nice to be Kneaded

Chapter twelve

Homecoming

Series Masterlist

Previous Part: Courage Next Part: Cardboard Castle

Word Count: 7,220

Warnings: My blog is 18+ only. All minors or blogs without an age in bio will be blocked. Minors DNI. Mentions of medical equipment, loss, abuse, PTSD, anxiety and depression.

"Alright, just a small pinch." Bruce explained to you before inserting an IV catheter into a vein in the ditch of your arm.

This moment felt a little unreal. Sitting criss-crossed in an armchair in the Avengers living room in their own compound somewhere in upstate New York. Bruce Banner, the fucking hulk, on your left giving you medical attention, and Steve on your right, holding your hand giving you emotional support.

After a whole night of Steve trying his hardest to nurse you back to health with lots of love, cuddles, and bribery in the form of your favorite Chinese food, you just couldn't keep anything down.

Even though you wanted to drink and you desperately wanted to shove Crab Rangoons down your throat, you just couldn't. Half a glass of water and two bites of fried rice had you feeling nauseous and uncomfortable. This time, the discomfort wasn't from trying to out eat a super soldier.

Steve was such a sweetheart, he didn't push it too hard, but he did push for exactly what was happening right now. Some fluid and parental nutrition through an IV to get you right on track for a smooth recovery from what the agents put you through. He could tell that although settling more and more by the minute, your nerves were still off the chart. Your lack of eating made perfect psychological sense, but he still wanted you to feel better.

So he convinced you to let Bruce do this, and you agreed without hesitation. The lack of medical environment and the never ending warmth you've felt from every Avenger you've met thus far made you feel comfortable and brave enough for something like this. Really, it was no biggy.

The IV went in without a hitch, and you barely even felt it.

"Okay, I'm going to flush this out with a little bit of saline. It might taste kind've metallic in your mouth for a few moments. That's normal." He told you while inserting a syringe looking thing into the end of the line going straight to your vein.

Just like he said, you tasted metal. "Ooh" Your eyebrows pinched together. "Weird."

"I think it tastes like expo markers" Steve commented.

"How do you know what expo markers taste like?" Natasha asked, head leaning to the side with a grin.

"I don't know... it just tastes how they smell." He shrugged.

"You're so weird, Rogers." She commented before looking back down at her laptop.

You giggled at her comment before biting your tongue considering he was right next to you.

"Come on, back me up, Sweetie." He asked.

"I wish I could" You laughed. "But I have no idea what you're talking about."

He pouted, Bruce didn't even give him a chance to rebuttal. "You're all set and ready to go. The bag should be done in about an hour then I'll come take the IV out."

"Thank you, Bruce, I appreciate it." You grinned.

"Of course, I'll be back in a bit." He gave you a polite nod before leaving again.

As Bruce left, Nat sprung up from her spot on the couch and approached you and Steve before knocking his hand off of yours.

"Let me have her" Nat said, walking around the back of your chair.

"What the f- Nat!" Steve complained.

"Stealing his girl and he still won't drop the f bomb" She teased, running her fingers through your hair that you washed yesterday but had yet to do anything with.

You had no idea what was going on, but you remembered the first warning Steve gave you about being around the Avengers, there would always be chaos. So you sat there with an uncontrollable smile as Nat played with your hair, and Steve argued with her like a child.

"You aren't stealing anyone from me." Steve whined. "What are you doing? Did you even ask?"

"She has such beautiful hair, I want to braid it." Nat answered Steve, then leaned over to see your face. "Is that alright, Cupcake?"

"That's more than alright" You grinned.

"Cupcake?!" Steve puffed playfully. "I know you're not calling my girl Cupcake."

"How is it any different than sugar cookie?" Nat asked as your cheeks blushed at Steve calling you his girl.

"I don't know, it just sounds patronizing." He complained.

"Do you feel patronized, Cupcake?" Nat asked you, parting your hair from behind the armchair you were sitting in.

"This feels like a trap." You giggled, reaching out to hold Steve's hand again. He accepted it quickly, then gave it a little squeeze.

"Smart girl" Nat smiled.

The three of you chatted away while she sectioned your hair down the middle, and worked on the first of the two french braids she was putting into your hair.

Once it was finished she tied off the end with a hair tie, then worked on the next one on the other side. You guys were so preoccupied I'm the easy flowing conversation that the opening door, and approaching footsteps went unnoticed.

"What is this?" An iconic voice asked, immediately sending a shiver down your spine.

You looked from Steve's laughing face over to the source, none other than Tony Stark. Steve's face fell into an expression that was much more guarded, and you immediately felt uncomfortable.

He warned you about everything. Talking raccoons, blue Cyborgs, bickering, weapons you might see, emergency codes you might hear. You felt prepared for every situation but this one.

You didn't know what terms Steve and Tony were on, but you did know he was one of the most powerful people in the country. Quite honestly, you didn't even know if you were allowed to make eye contact, or speak unless spoken to. So you sat respectfully quiet, and tried to keep your cool.

No one responded to Tony as he pointed to you, a measly little thing sitting criss cross in a chair wearing Steve's clothes that were far too big for you, with an IV in your arm, all while Natasha braided your hair.

"Make a wish foundation?" Tony asked again.

"Oh god, Tony-" Steve scuffed, shaking his head.

"Okay? Another super-person I need to worry about?" Tony's eyes went from Steve's to Natasha's, everyone but your own.

"Well, she's certainly super, that's for sure" Natasha smiled.

"So, no one's going to tell me who you are?" Tony finally asked you, looking at you directly.

You opened your mouth to say something, but nothing came out, so you looked at Steve to help guide you through this. He could see the worried look in your eye, so he took over.

"This is my-" Steve stared fully confident before realizing that you didn't even really have a title in his life.

Girlfriend. No? He never officially asked you to be his considering you both knew he had to leave.

Friend? Kind've, but not really?

Neighbor was an absolute no, you were way more than just a friendly face next door.

He looked at you, and you were thinking the same thing he was. The confused look on his face made you bite the insides of your cheeks to hold back laughter.

"Well I'm certainly a girl, and I'm definitely his friend." You took the pressure off of him. If the two of you were doing down, you would go down together.

"Wait a second," Tony started. "You're sugar cookie?"

"Didn't know I had a reputation around here, but I guess so." You confirmed.

"No way." Tony shook his head. "Let me see your hands"

With reluctance and no confidence whatsoever, your put your hands out to him. He walked closer and saw the scar on your palm.

"Well no shit!" He enthused. "A baker who caught a falling knife, you're real! That's incredibly stupid by the way, you should always let the knife drop."

"Why are you here, Tony." Steve redirected him, you could hear the annoyance in his voice and feel the tension in the room.

"Just here to grab some stuff then I'll be out of your hair." Tony addressed him, then immediately started pestering you again. "So, what's wrong with you?"

"Oh, I just- I was arrested and it's bee-"

"No" Tony cut you off. "I mean which wires are loose in your head that makes you want to play stuffin' the muffin with Rogers?"

"Enough." Steve put his foot down.

"Leave her alone, Stark." Nat sounded from behind you.

"Damn, tough crowd. Reminds me of exactly why I'm leaving for the woods and never coming back." Tony quipped. "Peace out."

You watched as Tony left, and Steve let out a breath of annoyance. You didn't need to see Nat's face to know she was holding back a smile.

Silence fell over the three of you for a little while, it seemed as though Steve was steaming in a lump of his own negative emotions over the billionaire while Nat kept her mouth shut as to not fuel the fire.

In attempts to calm him down without even needing to use your words, while simultaneously comforting yourself, you pulled his forearm onto the arm of the chair you were sitting in. You played with his fingers and rubbed his soft skin.

When the second braid was done, Nat tied off the end then hugged you from behind while excusing herself to get some work done.

Still feeling emotionally and physically exhausted from the past few days, you readjusted with your IV arm out where it should be, but curled your legs beneath you and rested your head on Steve's arm.

You could feel him relax under your touch, and his hand moved up to gently cup the side of your head before placing a kiss to your temple.

"M'sorry about that" Steve apologized quietly. "Really wasn't expecting him to be around today... or ever."

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault." You reminded him. "Never thought I'd be here, but this is definitely a story I'll tell my grandkids one day."

Steve giggled at your comment, the thought of you old and grey with grand kids running around with endless cookies in their hands made him smile. "I never really thought you'd be here either but I'm glad you are."

"As cool as this is though, I can't wait to get back to Greenwood." You explained, feeling homesick. You barely ever left the small town, so being away combined with the three most terrifying days of your life, you were longing for your own house.

"I can't even tell you how much I miss it." Steve shook his head in disbelief. "I miss the bakery."

"The bakery misses you too, she told me every day." You joked.

"I wonder if Bruce can make this IV drip faster so we can leave sooner" Steve pondered.

Unfortunately for Steve, he had to wait the full hour before he could take you home. But luckily, getting you home was a breeze.

You were a rockstar in the Jet, to Steve's surprise, you found in interesting. Tiny bits of your personality were starting to shine back through as you asked him a million and one questions about what everything did on board. He was more than happy to answer every single question, and let you push every single button so long as it didn't interfere with a smooth flight.

Sometimes he found it really easy to normalize these aspects of his life that were completely out of the ordinary to the average civilian. He didn't know if it was because it was a survival tactic of his own, or because he so desperately craved to feel normal even when most of his life was everything but average, but he found so much happiness and beauty in sharing moments like this with you.

You quickly brought him back to earth, and your childlike curiosity and amazement for even something as simple as transportation that was a normal part of life as a superhero reminded him of all the ways his life was enriched.

This time bringing the Jet to Greenwood was a lot more welcomed with a lot more accommodations. The police department cleared Steve to land in their private runway and store it in their hangars. Immediately upon exiting, you were met with the chief and a few officers who came to check in on you and make sure you were okay. And for the first time ever, you saw Steve hold himself high and be greeted with respect by anyone in Greenwood.

The police escorted you two home, which lead to more fascination by you because you had never been in a police car before. Steve reminded you more than once that it was a really great thing that this was a whole new experience for you, but once again he couldn't stop smiling.

Both of you had never felt more relief than when he opened the car door and helped you out. Waiting for you in your driveway was a handful of your friends and neighbors who were worried sick about you, and had heard about your arrival back home.

While each one greeted you with long, tight hugs, hair pets, back rubs, and cheek kisses, Steve watched from a slight distance while he sorted out the rest of the information the police needed to make sure you were as safe as could be.

His heart was happy knowing you were so loved by your community, and when he caught a glimpse of all the flowers and letters and pictures in his own driveway that you had told him about, he couldn't help but to feel loved as well.

After Steve introduced himself to everyone at your homecoming, he got you back in your house safe and sound. Right back where the journey started, you picked your phone up from underneath the couch and plugged it in.

He could see it on your face that you were still drained regardless of the excitement of getting back home. Some of your employees and friends had promised they'd be over at your place tonight with dinner and good company to try and ease up the hardship of the past few days, so now was a good time to leave you alone.

You were thankful to have someone like him who understood your needs without even having to express them, someone who understood the value of processing your thoughts by yourself without being offended.

So he tucked you into your bed, then sat next to your hip before giving you a series of sweet kisses.

"Are you doing okay?" He questioned genuinely.

You grinned and nodded, feeling relaxed and relieved. "thank you for rescuing me, Stevie."

"That's what I'm here for, Sunflower." He rubbed your cheek with his thumb. "I'll be back here in a few hours, but if you need me before then you know where I live."

A smile took over your face, then a thought occurred. "Hey, can I have your real phone number now?"

"Are you hitting on me?" Steve questioned cheekily.

"Of course I am" You confirmed. "What's a pretty boy like you doing all alone in this part of town?"

He shook his head at your antics, before giving you another kiss. "Yes, you can have my real phone number now."

"I'm really moving on up in this world." You celebrated.

"I'll put it in your phone on my way out." He assured you. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay" You agreed as he tucked you in tighter.

"I love you" He reminded you sincerely.

"I love you too" You happily wrapped your arms around him in a goodbye hug, this time you kissed him. "So so much."

He said goodbye then put his real personal phone number in your contacts just as promised before making his way to his house. Checking the inside before dealing with the fanfare in the front, he found something he suspected, the loss of some of his clothes.

But, everything else was just as he left it but tidier. He could tell you had gone in there a few times to clean up and make sure everything was as it should be.

After checking upstairs he made his way back down to the garage to open up the big door to make clearing out the front of his house a lot easier. The pile of broken down cardboard boxes neatly stacked against the wall reminded him that he still owed you a cardboard castle.

Steve opened up the door and spent hours picking up each letter and reading every word, looking at every picture, saving every little shield and stuffed animal that was left for him. Some of the kind words brought tears to his eyes, most of them were words of thanks for what he and the Avengers did and how they continued to be a beacon of hope during uncertain times.

It reminded him of how much had changed since he was in Greenwood last, it looked a little different, felt a little different, but now it was a little different. Because as neighbors walked by they finally made it a point to introduce themselves and apologize that they had never come by before now.

The a few of the neighbors kids even came out to talk to him, their parents pulling them away after asking for a picture. This time around, the eyes on him felt starstruck rather than judgmental.

Although some of it felt hypocritical, he was happy to be back and involved in a community rather than having to isolate himself and hide from the world. Every word, every picture, every dead flower and passing neighbor felt bitter sweet.

That was until he was in the middle of reading another letter he had picked up from the ground and he could hear footsteps approaching behind him. He stopped what he was doing and looked back with a friendly smile, only for it to drop when he was met with Georgia rather than another new friendly face.

She wasn't worth his time, he didn't even want to hear her out after what she did to you. Yes he heard all the awful things she had said about him. Terrorist, war criminal, out of control, selfish, manipulator, but he didn't care. He could let all of that go, in fact, sometimes the avengers needed to be criticized by civilians. But what she did to his love was unforgivable.

So, he ignored her and proceeded to read the letter right where he left off. This one was from a 17 year old named Jack, currently telling him all about how his plans for the future. He wanted to go to school to become a fire fighter and a paramedic as the avengers inspired him to save lives ever since he was just a little ki-

"You killed my husband." Georgia's voice sounded from behind him.

Ah yes, another thing Steve has had to come to terms with. People directly blaming him for the loss of people he had no control over. Guilt ate him alive over the blip every single day, but he was working on it and this simply wasn't helping.

"I'm sorry?" Steve turned around, eyebrows furrowed.

"Michael is gone. He was blipped." Georgia explained.

"I'm very sorry for your loss." Steve monotoned, turning around as to end the conversation before it got out of hand. His heart was beating out of his chest.

"You don't even have remorse." She practically spat. "Do you even care? Look what you've done."

Steve took a big deep breath before he bit his tongue and turned back around to face her. "Last time I checked, I was trying my absolute hardest to make sure nobody had to go through this. My hand isn't the one that snapped."

"How hard could you have possibly been trying? I have to live everyday without the love of my life because the Avengers can never get their act together."

"Well if it's any consolation I lost a lot of people that I loved too." Steve scoffed, heart beating even faster, trying so hard to push down the guilt.  "People I loved died trying to keep this from happening. So I'm sorry for your loss, but we really did all we could."

Georgia rendered silent for a few moments as she could unexpectedly see the pain of what he had gone through in his eyes, and the faded scar on his forehead. But it wasn't enough to appease her anger and hatred. Nothing was. "You took my sweet baby away from me." All he did was cock an eyebrow and tilt his head to the side, not understanding who she was referring to. "She was nothing but kind, all she did was mind her own business and run the bakery but you swooped in here and you changed her."

"I didn't take her away from you" Steve shook his head. "You pushed her away. That was your own choice."

"I pushed her away because I already knew what was going to happen and I was trying to spare her." Georgia explained. "Has she even told you anything about what the last men like you did to her?"

"I have an idea, yes." Steve nodded. "I understand and appreciate that you're trying to look out for her, but I would never hurt her. She's a grown woman, she makes good choices, and you went about it all wrong."

"Oh? Really? You'd never hurt her?" Georgia scoffed.

"Do you understand how traumatic the passed few days have been for her because you reported her to the government?" Steve questioned. "They hurt her, you hurt her, and now she has to pick up the pieces all over again. I don't want to hear anything else about how much you care about her, because someone who cares wouldn't cause her even more pain."

"Had you never been here, I would've never had to report her." Georgia pointed out. "And you know what? If I put the pieces of this stupid little puzzle together and I didn't report her, then I would be a criminal too. So guess what? That's also your fault."

"Her criminal record is completely clean by the way, but I did notice that assault charge on yours from a few years back." Steve chirped. "Spitting on an officer is not a good look."

"You killed her mother." She barked. That statement took Steve down a notch... or two. "She just lost her dad not too long ago, and now her Mom is gone. Of course she didn't tell me that, I found out on a Facebook post she was tagged in. Did you know about that?"

"We haven't talked abo-"

"Of course you didn't, and guess what? She's never going to tell you that. You know why? Because she's incapable of healthy relationships."  Georgia ranted. "She's going to love you so hard but emotionally shut you out whenever things get hard in her head so much so that it'll suffocate you. I'm the only one who knows what really happened between her and her ex, she didn't even tell her Mom. Wherever her Mom fell flat in the emotional support department, I picked up that slack. And guess what? She doesn't have either of us now. And that's your fault."

Once again, Steve was speechless. He wasn't sure if it was from her words or her audacity, but either way he wanted to throw up.

"I don't care who you are or what you've done. I see past the whole superhero facade. You say you'd never hurt her and she believes it, but I don't because you've already hurt her in the worst way imaginable."

"But you've done nothing wrong, right?" Steve questioned. "You're just this perfect person who's done nothing but improve her life?"

"I know what I did wrong, the difference between you and I is that I can admit that while you sit here and act like you're better than everyone else because you wear stars and stripes."

"Georgia, I've felt unimaginable guilt every single day of my life since I became Captain America." Steve admitted. "Survivors guilt. Guilt that I haven't done enough. Guilt every single time I try to relax. Guilt that I put the kindest person I know in a tough situation. And though I don't need to explain myself to you, you have to understand that I'm human too. I try my hardest to be the best that I can be and make good choices, but sometimes I mess up. Should I have just left her alone at the start? Yeah, probably. But she was the only person I could connect with after almost a whole year on my own. She made me feel like I could keep going when I was about to give up. Yes, she knew who I was, but she chose to stay by my side. Do I regret letting her do that? Absolutely not. Do I feel guilty about everything I've put her through? Every waking moment."

"So why do you continue to be in her life when you could so easily just let her go?" Georgia questioned.

"Because I love her, and the one thing I will never allow myself to feel guilty about is staying with someone I love." Steve explained. "She was loyal to me at my lowest and I intend on being there for her whenever she needs me. So I'm sorry that Thano's blipped Michael, and I'm sorry for unintentionally driving a wedge between you and her, but her and I have enough on our plate at the moment so please just give her some space."

"I don't hate you, Captain Rogers, but I will continue to be your harshest critic."

"I don't need you to like me, and I am my own harshest critic." Steve stood his ground.

"Take care of her, treat her well." She lectured. "By all means, you've got to do better than this."

"I'm not interested in continuing this conversation."

"I'll be praying that she tells you the whole truth about what happened with her last boyfriend, and that her love doesn't suffocate you into insanity like it did to him."

"I know gods, ma'am. Your prayers don't mean anything to me." Steve sassed, throughly annoyed by Georgia's comments. "The only person I feel suffocated by is you."

"So be it."

She walked off back to her own house, Steve let out a puffed breath, trying his hardest to remain composed regardless of the nausea and anger settling into the pit of his stomach.

Luckily, reading the rest of the letters and clearing off the rest of the driveway did wonders to improve his mood. Though he still felt awful for the reality of what he did to you, he felt better nonetheless.

Even better after a shower, a change of clothes, and the promise of you behind your front door when he made his way back to your house half an hour before everyone else said they were going to arrive.

"Stevieeeee!" You cheered enthusiastically, opening your arms wide for him.

"Baby! It's been so long!" Steve cheered with your same enthusiasm, accepting the hug after stepping into your house.

"It should be illegal for a man to look this handsome in a t-shirt and jeans, you heathen!" Your smiley face did wonders for his mood.

"Says you, pretty girl." Steve said before kissing you. "Ooh, you smell so nice."

"Thanks, I tried." You shrugged. "How's it feel to be back?"

You started walking further into your living room, Steve trailed behind you like the big dog he was.

"Feels great" You could hear the smile in his voice. "I cleared out my driveway. Surprisingly, a lot of people are actually happy to have me here."

"I could've told you that, you should see how insane the bakery has been since everyone found out you were hanging out there."

"What?" Steve questioned, wanting you to elaborate.

"A line wrapped around the building every morning" You nodded proudly, gracefully plopping down on the couch. "Everyone from every surrounding town wants to try the same treats Captain America has been eating. We usually sell out around noon, but haven't had the hands or kitchen capacity to keep up with the demands."

"Oh gosh" Steve sat next to you, welcoming your legs being thrown over his thighs as he threw his arm around your shoulder. "I'm glad business is going well, but you and your poor employees must be exhausted"

"I was pretty worried about it when I was in custody, but I talked to the head baker not too long ago. She held down the fort perfectly."

"Has there been press?" Steve asked. "I haven't been checking local news at all, it's been a little overwhelming."

"I understand" You placed your hand on his chest to feel the comforting thumps of his heart against your palm. "Yeah, there has been. A lot of people try shoving cameras in my face or try asking me about you. I try my hardest to just be polite while not saying anything about you. Which is really hard by the way, you're my favorite person and I could talk about you for hours."

"I'm sorry that's happening" Steve sighed, gently running his knuckles down the side of your cheek.

"Don't be sorry" You grinned, reaching up and grabbing his hand. Guiding it to your mouth, you kissed the back of it. "If anything, you've brought in a ton of business and new customers. The store has never been so busy even with the other half of the population still around, so thank you."

"Nope, uh-uh." Steve denied. "The line is wrapped around the building because you're amazing at what you do. You're not allowed to accredit your success on anything other than that."

"I'd be ignorant, and it would be a disservice to not acknowledge everyone who's helped me get to where I am, I certainly didn't do this on my own." You grinned, both of your connected hands now resting in your lap as you squeezed and massaged his lovingly yet absentmindedly. "I think that's a beautiful thing, by the way. I really cherish the love and effort it takes to keep the bakery running. Every person who adds to its success story makes me love it even more."

Steve squeezed your hand and let out a sigh. "You're heart is too good for this world."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." You raised an eyebrow.

"No, it's definitely not." Steve grinned even though the residual guilt was pounding at the forefront of his brain, "Sometimes I just have a hard time believing that I deserve so much grace for everything that I've put you through."

"You're far too hard on yourself, Honey." You told him sympathetically. "You know what you've put me through?"

"Hmm?" He questioned.

"You've put me through one of the best friendships I've ever had. You've put me through facing my fear of being trusting and vulnerable to new people in my life, less lonely hours by myself in the kitchen, more time smiling and laughing, so much more time loving." You reminded him. "But you also did put me through that five mile run that one time and I'll never forgive you for that."

A real laugh escaped his throat, and you smiled in accomplishment. "That was your idea."

"I don't care." You denied with a giggle. "I didn't even know who you were yet, and I signed myself up for a run with Captain America. I deserved a warning... or an Advil... or like, a gallon of caffeine first."

"Well now you know for next time!" His cheeky smile poked through.

"Yeah... next time!" You said super sarcastically. "My point is, I can tell you feel guilty, but I don't blame you for any of it. I love you, I love that you care so much, but I just want you to relax."

Steve closed his eyes for a moment to try and get your reassurance really sink into his brain.

"We both deserve to enjoy each other without all the weird emotional strings and heavy baggage we've had with us before, and now we have a whole month together."

He leaned closer to you and laid a loving kiss on his lips. They were as sweet as him, it lasted a while, but you were perfectly happy to kiss his brain noise away.

"You always know how to make me feel better." He stated, your two foreheads pressed together.

"I'm my happiest when I'm with you." You smiled against his lips.

"I love you, baby" He stated before reconnecting your lips for a little while. The two of you stayed like that for a while, holding each other close and exchanging slow, romantic kisses. But it wouldn't be Steve if his mind wasn't always one step ahead of himself, so he pulled away when a piece of information came to the forefront of his mind. "Would this be a good time to tell you tha-"

He was cut off by the doorbell.

"No, actually, now is a terrible time to tell me." You joked with a giggle as you slowly got up off of him and the couch. "You should hold onto that thought for a few hours while we socialize then just hope you remember it later."

"Yep, I'll just live with this information for a few more hours, no problem." Steve laughed, getting up to follow you, hoping it didn't look like the two of you had been making out for ten minutes.

Company filled your house and warmed the inside of the walls alongside the parts of your soul that had felt so cold and dark for months. Friends, neighbors, and coworkers alike, you all ate dinner together while exchanging stories and laughs.

After dinner everyone squeezed in the living room around the coffee table. Uno cards and wine glasses occupied its surface while everyone sat shoulder to shoulder on the couches and on the fluffy rug. Occasional competitive shouting sounded from the area while a few of the bakers in the group had snuck into your fully stocked pantry to provide a tray of brownies and a batch of warm chocolate chip cookies.

Steve was almost overwhelmed by the sense of comfort and familiarity he hadn't felt in a long time. It was this small town magic he had always heard about. A group of people, most of whom had never met each other before, coming together and truly enjoying each other.

Just for you, there were strangers sitting together on your living room floor, a shared blanket across their laps, and giggling together after a glass of wine. Your sweet employees in the kitchen teaching your neighbor the secret to the perfect chocolate chip cookie with a gooey center and a crispy edge. You snuggled on the couch with your head resting on one of your best friend's shoulder, while Steve made his rounds and got to know everyone as much as he could.

Each one was kinder than the last, and each one asked him questions about himself. They weren't about the Sokovia accords, or what Thanos had ripped away from everyone, they were about his interests and hobbies, what he did to occupy his time, and how long the two of you had been together.

Through a mixed group of people, the one thing they all had in common was their love for you, and that was more than enough for them. Strangers became friends, and Steve finally felt like he might've been part of the small town community.

Steve's mind ran back to that same night you suggested a cardboard castle. You invited him to the neighborhood game night at Georgia and Michael's place, but rather than attending, he watched the lively get together through a double pained glass window and open sheer curtains from across the street. He remembered how isolated he felt after all that time on his own, how badly he craved to be surrounded by people who cared.

And now here he was, inside the four walls, surrounded by people who cared, and right on track to getting all he's ever wanted since his mom passed leaving him on his own at 18 years old. A family.

The Avengers were a little less than put together at the moment, and that wasn't their fault as a collective, but he was happy to have some real, normal people in his life to keep him grounded. The only thing that could've made him feel complete was if Nat, Sam, and Bucky were here.

But he had you, and you were more than enough.

Committed to forcing you to relax and enjoy yourself after all you had been through, he helped the girls clean up the kitchen, refilled wine glasses, and did all the dishes.

Then when the time come and the grip was dropping like flies, he offered rides home just in case anyone was too sleepy or had one glass to much, and stood in the driveway to make sure everyone got to their cars safely in the dark.

Of course it was a safe neighborhood and everyone lived on the block or just a few minutes away, but who would Steve Rogers be if not a protector.

As he leaned over the porch railing watching the cars drive away and enjoying the fresh, crisp air, you came out to join him. You wrapped the blanket around your shoulders around his too, and your arms snaked around his waist in a side hug.

His arm was quick to sling around your shoulders and pull you in closer before pressing a kiss on your forehead. You couldn't help the invasive smile tugging on the corners of your lips. He was happy, you could tell he was, and you were happy too.

An easy, simple, small town life with Steve was something you could imagine for yourself. Blanket covered snuggles on the porch under the stars, a house full of people you cared for, the man you loved dearly in your arms.

"How are you doing, my love?" He questioned above you, both of you looking out into the neighborhood.

"Good; happy." You said confidently. "You?"

"Good and happy." He copied your answer.

"Even better now that you finally got a homemade cookie?" You questioned knowing it was one of the things he had missed the most in his time away.

"I think I ate five, no joke." Steve smiled.

"You deserve them all." You squeezed him tight. "Will you stay over tonight?"

"Of course."

"Or we can go to your house? Whichever one you want." You threw out there. "Fist night back, we can be wherever you missed the most."

"Well I missed you the most, so I'll sleep whenever you want to sleep."

"Well we're already here, so might as well." You shrugged. "Hey, what we're you going to tell me earlier?!"

"Oh! Right!" Steve perked up. "So, remember how you like... hid me away for all that time and like... made me so happy and took good care of me and then you were abducted by the government and I yelled at them really bad?"

"Yeah," You laughed at his means of explanation. "I think I remember that."

"Okay good." He smiled. "So I thought the government owed you for A, doing super illegal stuff to you and B, doing them a favor by keeping me safe and sound so I bargained a deal with them as reparations of sorts."

"What was the deal?" You asked, eyebrows furrowing together.

"Well for all the time you spent with me and kept me from losing me mind, I made them pay off your mortgage. So, your house is completely taken care of." He smiled.

You turned to him, shock smeared across your face. "What?!"

"It's done." He reassured you. "No more home loan, you owe nothing else. It's all yours."

"Steve-" tears welled in your eyes, feeling the weight of the world slip off your shoulders.

"And for the time they took you away for the bakery, your business rent was payed off for the rest of the five year contract." He explained the kicker.

"No way." You shook your head.

"Yes way." He nodded in assurance.

"That's too much, you didn't have to do that." A tear slipped off your cheek.

Thought business was doing well again, those few months of being closed were weighing on you. Once again, this was a huge relief.

"I didn't do anything other than get you want you deserved." He reminded you. "All it took was some glaring and some yelling."

"Damnit, Baby. I didn't want to cry anymore!" You playfully yelled at him, very gently hitting his chest before he pulled you against him and you hurried your face in it.

Gently swaying you from side to side, he continued to explain. "I can't imagine life has been easy for you since we met or even before then, but any chance I have to make it better I'm going to take no questions asked."

"But this? This is a lot Steve, that's a lot of money. And the business?"

"Use the rent money to give yourself and your employees a raise. You all work hard, you deserve it." He suggested. "I told you, the Avengers are yours now and you'd get everything you deserve because of what you did. You were here exactly when I needed you. You took good care of me, so now I get to take good care of you."

"I'm so grateful, thank you so much."

"No, thank you." He kissed your forehead before you looked up to kiss his lips.

"Wow, I'm going to sleep so well tonight" You laughed, wiping the tears off your cheeks. "I'm back home, I'm feeling better, I get to sleep in a completely paid off house, and my favorite person is back here with me alive and well. That's all I could ever want."

"What if we throw in a bag of spicy Doritos?" Steve questioned playfully, raising an eyebrow.

"That's too much, that would be an embarrassment of riches." You laughed, a yawn taking over.

"Alright, let's get you to bed, Honey." Steve giggled before kissing you and sweeping you off your feet like a groom carrying his bride through the doorway.

You shrieked before laughing and tightly wrapping your arms behind his neck, peppering kisses all over his face.

Right before bringing you inside and closing the door, Steve caught a glimpse of Georgia staring at them through her window.

Now she was the one watching game night through the windows, watching love after her lover was gone, and living an isolated life away from the people she once loved.

Maybe now she'd understand Steve a little better, everything he had to go through, all the choices he had to make, the extreme isolation through the hardest part of his life.

He made eye contact and gave her a friendly grin, empathizing with the feeling of loneliness. But now he knew better, and now he felt better than he did before.

He would never feel guilty for loving you.

Next Part: Cardboard Castle

Tag list: @patzammit @bemysugarbean @buckymydarlingangel @happinessinthebeing @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory @differenttyphoonwerewolf @themotherof10 @lokislady82 @talesofadragon @spikeluv84 @xxxalicerogersxx @avid-fic-reader-05 @royalwriteroftheuniverse @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @bitchy-bi-trash @crazyunsexycool @openup-yourmind @selella @kattreffic @benedict-squirtle @magnificentsaladllama @natashassandwich @theroyalmanatee @calwitch @avengersinitiative2012

[sapphos-corner]

As the Seasons Pass Ch. 1 "Mid-July" ☆ A sapphic fiction story

Synopsis: Genie has been struggling with a homoerotic friendship. She meets a girl named Valerie through this friend. Tonight is the first time she's hanging out with Valerie one-on-one. Platonically of course. This story is gonna be a very slow burn, so this chapter surrounds the first stage of building the dynamic that Genie and Valerie will have. This is part one, but there is a background chapter that surrounds the homoerotic relationship Genie has. If you'd like to check that out, it's linked in my pinned post.

Contains: Nervous Genie. Car ride. General sapphic nervousness and awkwardness. Concert. Slice of life. Indirect kisses:p

Warnings: Although there isn't smut in this chapter, this story as a whole is not for minors. If you're not 18+ you are not welcome here, I mean this in the nicest way.

Word count: 1.6K

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I wake up to another instagram notification, a DM from Valerie.

@/Valthehuman: Wait would you want to hang out? Like before the next group hangout? There's a show tomorrow night at that bar you were asking about, if ur free/interested in going. I have an extra ticket too?

@/Geniesirius: Yeah omg, that sounds so fun, just let me know what time! :)

There's a bubbly, fluttery feeling rising in my chest that actually makes me excited to get out of bed. I head out to the kitchen and make breakfast.

My phone lights up and I pick up my phone with a record amount of speed. It's not Val. It's one of the scam texts about the election. I roll my eyes and put my phone down.

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I'm in the middle of drawing a cute little neurographic-style page when my phone lights up again. This time it's her.

@/Valthehuman: Awesome! It starts at 7:30, do u wanna meet there or I can pick you up? It’s kind of a hard place to find unless you know what you’re looking for.

@/Geniesirius: Yeah that would be so nice actually, i hate driving into downtown :)) I'll send my address over in a sec!

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I'm really anxious getting ready. Val's so cool and effortless. I've gone through three different outfits, I probably should have asked about the vibe.

I grip my phone and start scouring Val's page in an attempt to find the band that's playing tonight. I click on her tagged photos and scroll a bit, revealing a picture of a crowd with Val front line and center. Her eyes were wide and she had the biggest smile I've ever seen on anyone's face.

The caption reads: "So lucky to have had some of my closest friends at my first show." Posted by @/jennadummy.

After going through her feed, I see she's the drummer of this band. I watch a few of the reels and it seems to be a pretty eclectic alternative band. This is good. Everyone at the shows dress pretty casual and the crowds run pretty small.

I settle on some black cargo pants and a lavender babytee. I accessorize with some silver jewelry and spritz some peach perfume on my neck and wrists. She's picking me up in an hour and I feel a ball of anxiety building in the pit of my stomach.

I keep telling myself it's not a big deal, because it's not. I'm just hanging out with a new person and making a friend. It's not like im going on a tinder date with a stranger or something. It's literally not even a thing it's just a stupid little hangout in a public place. Oh and a forty-five minute drive with someone that's had maybe six minutes of screentime in my life so far. Fuuuuuck fuck fuck fuck fuck what are we even gonna talk about for forty-five minutes?

I pick my phone up again and start stalking her socials again, I have to find at least one thing I can resort to if things feel too quiet and weird. She has the link to her spotify in her bio, truly a godsend. She only has one playlist titled 'everything' and it's over two thousand hours long. I scroll through and see we have a ton of bands and artists in common, I click through and sample the songs and artists I don't know. All niche, obscure bands that have under a thousand monthly listeners.

In the middle of my venture, a random number texts me.

234-555-6789: Hey it's Valerie, I was wondering if you wanted to pick up some food or snacks or something to eat on the way? If so, I'll probably be on my way now, if that's okay?

I forgot we exchanged numbers earlier, my heart almost jumped out of my chest when I saw it was her. The stress I'm feeling is borderline ridiculous, but no matter how hard I try to overcome it, I can't help but turn into a puddle of nerves before I hang out with literally anyone, even (correction: especially) Sabrina.

Me: Yeah, that sounds awesome actually. I'm ready to go too so just lmk when ur on the way:))

She leaves a heart on the message and lets me know she'll be here in ten minutes.

It feels like a mass of knots are winding and tightening in the pit of my stomach. My hands are shaky and my breath is shorter than it usually is when I get nervous before going out.

I head outside two minutes before her ETA so she won't have to wait on me. She pulls up and her car is insane. It looks brand new, and it's a dark blue color.

I walk around to the passenger and open the door.

"Heeeeey, You look good." The smile on her face is major and she reaches over for me and pulls me into a tight hug.

"Hey, thanks for inviting me, it's good to see you again. You look really good too." I find that last part couldn't help but come out fast paced and slightly jumbled. She's wearing an olive green oversized button up, which is of course, unbuttoned. Underneath is a white tank top and her pants are dark and baggy. Her hair is shaggy and reflects the light, complimenting its natural black color with an orange and yellow shine. Her eyes are decorated with smudged black eyeliner, and her lip tint is a neutral brown color. If her appearance could be summed up in one word, it would be 'androgynous.'

She drives with one hand and sings under her breath so softly you'd never know she was doing it unless you paid attention. Which I'm totally not, by the way.

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"My passenger door is kinda fucked up right now, so I gotta open it from outside."

She turns the wheel so smoothly, and she purses her lips as she parks. When she stops the car she develops a wide smile.

"Parked right on the first try swag"

I feel my face scrunch as I laugh through my nose. "should we call bella hadid?"

Mutual laughter erupts and she opens the driver door and steps out of the car. She speed walks over to my side and pulls the handle with a slight urgency. She walks a little quicker than me, opening the door to the gas station before I can reach it. As I walk past her, I am greeted with a lightly cologned smell. It's very woody with some light notes of vanilla.

"Thanks. You're so chivalrous."

"You gotta be while courting."

I turn my head towards her and we make eye contact. She starts shaking her head quickly. Her eyebrows lifted, her eyes squinted, Her lips upturned and pushed together awkwardly.

"I'm.. kidding.." She says semi-convincingly. For some reason a slight sense of grief stirs in my chest. Random.

"I wouldn't be mad if you were."

"You're bad at flirting."

"Me? You're...awful. Jesus. What kind of trouble are you trying to get into in the seven eleven, though?"

"Oof i don't know. Perhaps an energy drink and something sweet. How 'bout you?"

"I think I'm gonna opt for the same."

I settled on the cherry limeade celsius and dark chocolate covered pretzels. She got the sour patch kids 'ghost energy' and a bag of jolly ranchers.

"Do you like these?" She gestures to her drink.

"I've never tried it, but sour patch kid flavor is...borderline unhinged."

"Wanna try it?" She cracks the can and hands it over to me. I reciprocate the gesture and we switch cans.

"Wow this is actually really good." She lifts her eyebrows and nods her head in approval.

"This tastes radioactive. I'm getting one every time I go to the gas station now."

We re-swap and she starts back on the road.

"Would you mind handing me a jolly rancher?"

"Yeah, of course. What's your favorite flavor?"

"Blue raspberry! How about you? You can have as many as you want, by the way."

"Cherry for sure. Blue raspberry is up there too, obviously."

I grab one of each and slip hers in between her pointer and middle fingers on the wheel.

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

She opens the door for me as we step into the club. The entire place is consumed by red lighting, the walls are covered in art and it's a pretty good turnout.

"You wanna drink!?" She nods her head towards the bar

"Yeah for sure!"

She grabs my hand as we walk through the crowd. Her hand is cold and soft.

"So how do you know the band!?"

"I've known the drummer since second grade! we're still good friends!"

"Do any of your other friends from school come to the shows!?"

"Yeah, our friend group from high school comes to the shows, the ones that still live nearby, at least! They should all be here tonight though!"

"That's pretty cool!"

"What do you want to drink!?"

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

She insisted on covering the tab. I got an amaretto sour and she got a lemon drop martini. We walk over to the crowd and she scans the area.

Val leans in close to my ear "They're over here."

She grabs my hand again and leads me to her friend group. She introduces me, and then tells me everyone's name. I repeat it to myself in my head until it sticks. Serena, Polly, Annie, Jolene, Belle, Bridget. Serena, Polly, Annie, Jolene, Belle, Bridget. Okay, got it. I think. The group and I exchange hellos and I catch Belle smile and raise her eyebrows at Valerie. As subtly as possible I look to Val, who blushes and slyly shakes her head.

The band comes out and the crowd 'woos' in encouragement. Jenna starts screaming, which absolutely catches me off guard. The group laughs along with the rest of the audience and the singer steps up to the mic. Val turns to me and whispers in my ear. "She's just like that, it's part of her shtick."

After a short and sweet introduction, the music starts.

I catch a glimpse of Val dancing. I can't help but smile, she looks so happy. Her black eyeliner is a little more smudged than before and her eyes glitter in the red lighting. I think this has crossed the line from a glimpse to a stare as I notice Polly in the background furrow her eyebrows and cross her arms.

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

"You came on the right night, that was one of their best sets ever."

She speeds past me as we get closer to the car, opening the door for me.

[velvetvexations]

yall should always imagine being as being at a cafe

I'll also ask my queer Jewish friend!

I can't think of an answer to this that isn't mean to the multiple Vriska kins I know and am fond of, including my partner lol.

a lot of it does indeed come from misogyny and resentment at people who they see as tossing away something the resenter would abandon every other trans woman on the planet to the wolves for

Wild how people consider a trans woman's feelings on a word for transmascs remotely relevant.

Also, HAS she said she doesn't support those terms?

I get where you're coming from, but I still don't really care. The whole point of putting our pronouns in our bio is because you're not supposed to assume in either direction, but no one would say anything at all if he assumed she was a trans woman.

Hard work, anon.

solidarity!

I don't really blame people for getting the wrong idea, but the reminder that people who present femininely but don't identify as women exist is sorely needed because it's not any better to erase them. Still, it would have been best of all if the other guy in the comic did not assume gender at all.

Because of woke.

Ideally people should at least approximate the character's category, like when George Takei gave his blessing to a Korean playing Sulu. For trans women I'd say the equivalent of "Asian" in that scenario is "a person who gets called a faggot when they wear a dress" and I would consider anyone who meets that definition acceptable.

It sucks she's probably going to be killed off, but not liking the intense emotional turbulence of shows like that are why I don't watch them lol.

lmao yeah I did misread that

thank you for the further information!

Thank you for the support, anon. <3

it's plenty'a both

they've been saying that for ages

if they want to suck my dick so bad they should get in line instead of doing all this tsundere shit

I do my very best.

I love you, anon. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

I also have an extremely bad memory because of brain damage lol wild how much shit I get for it

You as well, anon!

Apparently!

author is a severely obnoxious tankie overly proud of knowing more words than everyone else

[underwaterbanshee]

I love your post about Tula, I just finished the latest ep of burrows end and I am SCROUNGING for theories.

What do you think she was ‘fundamentally lying’ about?? I’ve seen a couple posts floating around:

- one was how maybe Geoffrey could’ve been a bad husband and Tula didn’t save him because of it (maybe killed him?)

- Another was, maybe the Blue (radiation?) is killing her to use it?

- Another good one, was maybe Tula isn’t their (Jaysohn and Lila’s) bio mother.

I don’t have a very good or original educational guess, but I don’t think she killed Geoffrey. I do think she knows what did, and she’s lying so her children aren’t vengeful. She doesn’t want her children chasing power, to avenge their dad, or getting caught up in what he was deeply in.

I think it’s been said before, but in some of Geoffrey’s art he has a little grass belt, and the only other stoats we’ve seen have tools/clothes, was in Last Bast. (I can see the connection there, but we’ve also seen Viola have ‘accessories’, so it could just be a red herring.)

I think maybe Tula knows more about Last Bast (or humans) than she lets on, possibly from Geoffrey (if the grass belt is a connection.) I think Geoffrey saw something, or knew something in Last Bast, and ran. Eventually, he found the red Warren, fell in love, and started a family.

Now with an invested interest to keep his family safe, he’s using what he learned in Last Bast in the Red Warren, which somehow got him killed. (By a human? Maybe? The humans that saw Thorn seemed more interested than expressing a want to kill him - maybe humans want to test the stoats for radiation sickness, or something like that?) it’s giving watership down meets Chernobyl, the natural world clashing with human disasters.

Just some thoughts! I feel like there’s so many clues and pieces on the board, but no lines connecting them. There’s an allegory that I’m not catching, and it’s driving me NUTS.

What do you make of this? :)

(sorry for the long ask! Just excited!)

omg this is my very first ask and I'm trying to be normal about it

So, it's been a few days and I've been going over this in my head and here are my conclusions to your lovely, lovely ask <3

The lie is probably something incredibly mundane.

Adults lie to children all the time. Lila is going through what every child goes through as they become a teenager--she's starting to see the cracks between reality, truth, and the fictions adults use to process an unfair world.

I think it is entirely possible that when the lie is revealed, an adult audience might go, "Oh, that's not a big a deal," while Lila overreacts with betrayal.

It's entirely possible Geoffrey is from Last Bast.

The only thing I'm basing this on, besides character art, is that Tula is based on Mrs. Brisby from Secret of NIMH and Last Bast is giving me Rats of NIMH vibes, not secret authoritarian cult vibes (which is an entirely different post that I'll probably never write). I mean, the Rats had magic and electricity.

Also, Brian might be analogous to Jenner, the power hungry Rat, the First Stoats might be like Nicodemus, just like Bennett is probably Justin.

Did I want Bennett to be a fuckable version of Justin for Tula? Yes. But that's only because my childself wanted Justin and Mrs. Brisby to end up together. Baby Banshee didn't understand why that wouldn't work. She wanted love to win.

Anyway.

Based on how much the Red Warren Family popped off against Last Bast during this episode, I don't know if there will be more Secret of NIMH elements playing out. It's possible Tula could bring up Geoffrey and get confirmation on that but I don't think it's important to our stouts anymore.

But wouldn't it be interesting if Tula knew about Last Bast before they arrived? Didn't someone say something about lies of omission?

Mrs. Brisby's character arc is about having enough courage to move her family while her son has pneumonia. She confronts an owl, a cat, and a power hungry rat who deliberately puts moving the mouse family's home in jeopardy, in order to keep her family safe.

During most of the story, her children are in the dark about what she's doing to keep them alive and protect their future.

What an amazing archetype as Tula's touchstone.

One of the great things about the d20 campaigns is not only the mashup but how the players resolve the mashup after making a mess. I might be seeing lots of NIMH being laid down, now that the Watership Down portion is somewhat resolved but I'm prepared to be totally wrong as maybe our vicious varmints take us in a new direction.

Like I said--obsessed with Tula =^_^=

[analligatorr]

opinion on the porcelain Graves skin???? I don’t hate it but I’m mad it’ll take another year or more until we get another one and porcelain is such a boring theme. Stick him in an interesting skin line for once riot.

Sincerely? I tried to like this skin, I really tried, but.. :/

Well, on twitter I compared Porcelain Graves with the WR exclusive skin Dragon Lantern Graves (not the special edition) I'll transcribe it here.

Let's start with splasharts. Wild Rift's Splash arts are generally criticized, many times I don't agree, some of them are of even higher quality than those of League, which is the case of Dragon Lantern Graves. Even though it's not Graves' best splash, or the best skinline splash, it's pretty and pleasant, my only criticism is that it's a little too static, there's not much movement

the Graves porcelain splash has some problems, at first glance it is.. pretty, but whenever you look at it, there seems to be something wrong, it really is a strange splash, and it's not the fault of the artist who made it.

Porcelain Graves Splash Concepts by Santiago Parra

in the end, they(riot) decided to increase the proportions and add a lot of texture, to achieve this result, so... yeah, it's not the best splash. but it's pretty

Dragon Lantern: 1

Porcelain: 0

About the VFX, let's be honest, they tend to do something very mediocre with Graves when it comes to visual effects, apart from his legendary skin (which it would be stupid of them to do something too simple) Graves' recent epic skins haven't received as much love.

Even though the Dragon Lantern skin has basically the same sounds as the base skin (i guess) the quality of the VFX is absurdly good (better than his legendary if you allow me to say). The Porcelain one.. is... mediocre.. ofc they couldn't put something cool like Lux and Lissandra's skins, right?

I can't post more than one video in a post, so here are the links so you can see the difference between the VFX of Dragon Lantern Graves and Porcelain Graves.

Dragon Lantern: 2

Porcelain: 0

Ok, let's get to the part that irritated me the most. The narrative..

Yes, we agree that Graves is not a big "important" character in Runeterra, he is not there to be a protagonist. That doesn't mean he can't cause real chaos, and set Bilgewater on fire just in an attempt to get revenge on his current partner. Why did I bring this up? because it is absurd to portray Graves as a pathetic and irrelevant character.

With that in mind, read Porcelain Graves' bio:

Not long after gunpowder was invented, the Zodiac searched for a new protector of the Dragon Relic. Though ancient and wise, the gods struggled to find someone worthy, so they settled for Malcolm Graves. Eventually his expertise in firepower was pointed in the right direction (away from all the breakable vases)

It's ridiculous, don't you think?

They are so fond of abusing the fact that Graves is, in some ways, a comic relief, that they make him the real joke, to the exclusion of everything else about him, and making him "unworthy". It's like they're saying "ugh, should this guy really be here? Who called him?". Whoever wrote the narrative of porcelain skinline seems to hate him, for real..

Now let's go to Dragon Lantern Graves' bio:

Graves, a free-spirited mercenary from a foreign land, can hardly wait to join in the fun at the gala. For this burly maverick, harmless ol' lanterns are no more than impractical ornaments—he much prefers filling up massive dragonflame cannons and setting the night sky ablaze with 'em booming explosions and dazzling lights!

1000% better, right? It's almost a delight. It's fun, brings out a little of who he is, and doesn't degrade his image :D

Dragon Lantern: 3

Porcelain: 0

AND WE HAVE A WINNER

[2346khith]

AU retcons

So I decided to make a few retcon to my au either because of new ideas or past mistakes.

Sub Zero family name change: So I've been referring to my version of the Sub zero sister as Lisa Liang as I though that was her canonical name and that Liang was the family name. However I was just confused as Conquest Lisa last name was never stated and I just thought it was Liang from an unreliable source on reddit, @Laismoura-art aus and my own imagination because as stated in my bio, I'm a dumbass. So in order to avoid confusion with my version of Lisa I'll be referring to her as Kuai Lisa, using the Chinese tradition of putting the surname first though I may change this later down the line. Also, also, @laismoura-art, if your seeing this I just wanted to say that I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience. While my version of Lisa was inspired by yours it was never my intention to copy her nor is it my plan too. You've work so very hard visualizing Lisa into your own image, making her into such an amazing character and I don't want to ruin that for you. If you have anymore grievances about my version of her please let me know and I'll change them right away.

Sub zero's personality: Okay, this technically not a retcon but more like addon I forgot to mention in a pervious post So I made this long ass post about how my version of sub zero's personality is different from canon.

Check it out for better context. Everything said in there is true though there are some slight changes/add ons I'm here. Sub Zero personality is exactly the way I describe it in that post but basically, when I talk about my version of Sub Zero I want you guys to picture his personality as a combination of Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes(specifically Falcon and the winter soldier era) and Tom Ellis Lucifer Morningstar.

Basically he would have Bucky's tired of everything mentality, sarcastic wit, headstrong fortitude, loyalty, emptiness, major guilt, distance from others and Lucifers charm, impulsiveness, curiosity, insecurity, brutal honest, aloof of certain social cues, and persuasive nature mixed in with a calm demeanor, diplomatic mentality, calculative mindset and chameleon like acting skills. Again not exactly a retcon but something I wanted to mention.

3. How the reunion went. So originally had it so that Sub Zero reunited with his sister after he ran away from the cyber initiative, fled to America to find the other Earthrealm fighters, got jumped by the black dragon and left for dead in an ally way, until he was found and nurse back to health when Lisa found him. However after I wrote my Bi Han Irony and Pain, I wanted to implement some parts of Iwhat I've wrote there into my au so now in this timeline Bi Han was the only one who remember their childhood in America and told Liang about it and even told him about his plan to run away with him also wanting Liang to run away with him too though he didn't pay much attention to it, since he didn't have any attachment to his mother or sister that Bi Han would gush about. When the cyber initiative happened though, it was the only place he though be safe to go to so he actively search for it. This time he bad hurt from the Lin Kuei Cyborgs but he was saved by a mysterious figure(spoiler it scorpion) and manage to escape though still very injured and made his way to an address that Bi Han kept saying was there childhood home, lying there on the door step bleeding out until the door open and his sister rescues him. I not only wanted to change this because A. it wouldn't have made sense for sub zero to be taken down by a bunch of black dragon goons and B. I saw more story potential in this as unlike the previous concept he has no real connection towards his sister so there could be an ongoing arc from the start to the end of the story with them growing as siblings originally only be family through blood but growing into a true family.

4.What Bi Han gets up too. As stated before I wanted to implement some of my og timeline Bi Han theory into my au so I had to change Bi Han mentality and motives here.

Check the post I linked for more details about what I meant. But the long story short of it is that I thought Bi Han as a mama's boy that hated working for the Lin kuei and was going to use bounty money to run off but got "toasty" by Scorpion and is butt hurt his baby bro decide to stay with the Lin kuei. In this au his origins is the same as the irony and pain theory, being raise in America for most of his childhood until he and his baby brother were kidnapped by the Lin Kuei and forced to be assasins until Bi Han decides to plan that he would use bounty money he collect to save up on necessities and possibly property in America so he could run away and find his mother. Just like in the original timeline however he fails and gets killed by Scorpion. Just as he was previously in my au he was worked on Quan Chi to be revived as the perfect weapon only to get out of hands and escape though this time it wasn't because he remembers Scorpions killing and was pissed but because he the resurrection process alter different aspects of him including his desire for freedom causing him not wanting to be a slaved for Quan Chi. He still has scattered and altered memories but this time his motive is to find out who he is and the most common memories in head just so happen to be from America. So basically he goes off backpacking across the U.S.A hitch hiking through the states which could make for some funny moments. I also wanted to mention a way to explain why the lin kuei wouldn't play a big part in the first act of this au as in this au they do search for Liang in the U.S.A but they don't know where exactly he at and occasionally they end up running into Bi Han who just so happens to remembers hating people who wear the same symbols as these flying machines and so he ends up taking them down over and over again. One day he walking along the street until he walks past a cemetery and spots a name on a tombstone. He walks towards the tombstone to see it has his mother's name on it. All his memories end up rushing back towards him. And then he kneels, lay his head on the tombstone and cries. And cries. And cries. And cries. And Cries. For days on end he just cries at his mother's resting place never moving until one day Lisa is doing her daily visit towards her mother's grave until she sees a man crying there. She assume that it an old friend of her mothers and goes up to ask who is until she actually sees him. His skins gone dark, he thinner than he was and he was way older than the last time she saw him. But she knows what her brother looks like. The two lock eyes with each other. Then the hug and collapse. And they cry. And cry. And cry. And cry.

5. Black Dragon territory expansion. Originally I stated that the Black Dragon was spreading simply because they wanted more territory. However now I made it so The Black Dragon form an alliance with outworld for power and so the territory expansion is actually just a set up for preparing station for outworlds invasion.

So yeah those are all the retcons I wanted to make in my au. Again if you have any concept ideas or constructive criticism, I'm all too happy to take it as stated over again, I'm not a professional writing and I lack writing knowledge.

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

tags: @illiana-mystery

request from @onedirectionlovers2014

request: So when Tony has to push the middle up towards the sky at the end of the movie and goes into space and blows that up, when he's calling pepper, that can be changed to the reader, the reader actually answers and hears everything so they're worried But the avengers bring Tony home afterwards and the reader basically takes care of him by feeding him and running him a bath

warnings: Avengers 1 spoilers, mention of death, Battle of New York, swearing

I raced back to New York as quickly as possible. Images of Tony flying through the wormhole played through my head as pieces of the phone call he made repeated themselves over and over again. When Happy could no longer get the car through the city safely, I told him to just meet me at Stark Tower when he could.

"He's going to be alright (Y/N)." Happy said, squeezing my shoulder before letting me take off in search of Tony. Police, SHIELD agents, and everyone in between gave me strange looks as I went racing through the city. I kept trying to call Tony but I didn't get a response. It wasn't until I tried calling Natasha that I felt like I was finally able to breath.

"He's alright. We're on our way to Stark Tower now." She said. "One last...back off Stark...no I'm not giving you...HEY!"

"(Y/N)?" Tony asked. I put a hand on my chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank fuck." I breathed out. Tony laughed on the other end. "Don't you ever do that again Anthony. You scared the crap out of me."

"I know. I'm sorry." Tony said softly. There was some teasing from Natasha in the background and I could hear Steve trying to keep the peace. "We're almost back at the tower. We got to grab Loki and then we're good. Thought about going out to try shawarma. Wanna join us?"

"No. And you're not going anywhere mister." I said. I could hear Tony gulp on the other end. "You are going to stay at the tower and wait for me. Then we are going to eat actual food and I am going to make sure you are alright." The line went silent for a second. "I saw you fall Tony. The suit powered down didn't it?" Silence. "Tony." I breathed out, looking up at the street sign. "Listen ETA ten minutes. I'll wait in the lobby. Come get me when its safe."

"Will do. Love you." Tony said before handing the phone back to Natasha. I hurried through the destruction to the tower. Fury was already there and ushered me in.

"I told Tony I'd wait here for him." I said. "What the fuck happened? Sending a nuke..."

"Security counsel." Fury said. "I was the only one who vetoed." I stared at him for a second before nodding. "(Y/N), you should know...and knowing Stark he won't tell you..."

"He called me. I know he went up. I know the suit powered down. That suit wasn't meant for space travel. Which is what I'm assuming he did." I said. Fury nodded.

"He was dead when he came down." I paused and looked away. "Rogers and Banner were with him. The Hulk actually. Thor too. But Rogers wouldn't have known the first thing to do and Thor was going to light Stark up to bring him back. Hulk did something and it brought him back." My eyes found Tony as he walked out of the elevator, Loki surrounded by the rest of the Avengers. "He's too proud to admit it, but he needs you. Especially now." I nodded.

"He was going to go out with the team for food. I'm making him stay in." I said. "Did someone look him over?" Fury shook his head. "Course not. Send someone up to the penthouse. Or what's left of it. Tony and I will meet them up there." Fury nodded once he saw Tony making his way over to us.

"Thank god you're safe." Tony breathed out as he hugged me. I hugged him back, finally feeling all the anxiety leave my body once he was back in my arms. "I'm so sorry for scaring you. I shouldn't have done that." Tony rubbed my arms as he pulled back.

"Called me?" I asked. "Or taken the missile up?" Tony dropped his gaze to my shoulders. "Because we both know that if you were faced with that possibility again, you wouldn't change a thing about how you handled it." Tony nodded and leaned in to bury his face in my neck. "Just make sure you have a better suit next time. One designed for wormhole based space travel." Tony let out a quiet laugh before pulling away to lead me back upstairs.

"Its kind of destroyed. But the bathroom still works. And the bedroom is fine." Tony rambled.

"We can rebuild. Its fine." I assured him. "I'm going to order food from that one Italian restaurant in Queens. Assuming its still there. We can have a bath while we wait for it." The doctor that Fury had sent up came into view and Tony paused. "But before all that, you are going to get checked out." He looked over at me with a frown. "Fury told me your heart stopped. You were dead Tony. Neither of us know what Hulk did but he brought you back. You owe Banner for that by the way. It was Rogers and Thor and we both know neither one of them would know the first thing about getting you out of that suit or the help you needed. So you are going to get looked over," I pointed a finger in Tony's face. "And I am going to assess the damage to our private area. Then we are taking a bath and eating and going to bed." I patted Tony's shoulder as the doctor came over before walking away to see if we would need to get a hotel for the night.