#no stoppping threats to her

[gardengnosticator]

while I understand DE has kinda softened if not outright disproved the idea, I'm never going to stop believing the storm is a manifestation of Rachel's anger at Arcadia on a whole and to the people who failed her and let her die alongside a warning to Max.

it's telling then, when you consider the contrast of Max's first nightmare of the storm and when it occurs. this unrelenting force of will, unable to be reasoned with or stoppes, bent on a path of destruction that will uproot and tear away countless innocent lives in a violent display of control and then realise that it was happening IN Jefferson's class just before he makes his incredibly unsubtle threat about trapping his students in a dark room like...

Rachel was trying to warn her, show her what her final moments were like and get max out of there and direct her to meet chloe

[australet789]

TLK: The giant of The Outlands 

It has been a short while since Ngoa and Tabibu have found Zira. She had been surprised of seeing her old pridemates from her homeland, but has opened her paws to them, since she needed help if she wanted to defeat Simba. For now, Zira was worried about checking this new land -The Outlands, it was called- and take care of any threat for the 3 cubs that were under her care, specially Kovu.

Ngoa and Tabibu looked for any other predators, and apart of some jackals, they didnt seem to track any smell.

Until they saw it.

A lion bigger than Mkuu and Mtemi. With fear, the lionesses approached the stranger. The friends were two, this one seemed to be alone. For the scars showing on its body, it didnt seem to be a good fighter. And it was sleeping so they could take it very easy. “Hola”, the lion said, opening their eyes. “Uhm, I mean, hello! This is your land?”

The two stoppped in their tracks. What should they do??

“Perdón! Sorry! I didn’t wanted to scare you!” The giant then stood up and Ngoa and Tabibu had to stop themselves to opening their mouths in surprise.

Because they weren'r scared.

It was…something else.

“I…ehm…yo…I will just…leave…”

“NO!” the two shouted, and the red one just looked at them with surprise. Then it smiled.

“O-ok?”

“Sorry,” Tabibu started, “we have never seen someone like you and we were…” “It’s ok. Other animals always…uhm…look at me weirdly.” Sadness clouded its eyes. Ngoa and Tabibu looked at the stranger with understanding.

“We know.”

“We are not exactly beautiful lionesses, you see?”

The stranger tilted its head.

“I may be big”, it said, “but the beauty of you two surpase any mountain I have ever climbed”.

BADUM, BADUM

“Was it too much? Por mi mae juro, I mean, I promise-”

“WHAT’S YOUR NAME!” Ngoa shouted.

Tabibu only nodded, her face flushing red.

“Oh, este…” the lion smiled brightly.

“Margarito. My name is Margarito. Nice to meet you”. ————————————————————————————————

Say hello to Imara’s and Shabaha’s parent. I named them Margarito, in reference to the tallest man in Perú, Margarito Machacuay. I based their design in the Panthera atrox species, aka the American lion (for the whole continent, not just USA)

They are non-binary and use they/them pronouns!

[alexbkrieger13]

Magda and P are their two most expensive players. Non of these defenders is a threat for her. Players need time to adapt and she only played 45 minutes with her new team. So stopp complain anons and chill.

yea exactly let's just get through the game and go from there

[gaylaughingdoves]

@devsweirdblog Madame Dare in a suit for you!!

I have not read the short story she’s in yet but I Refuse to believe that she will ever look Neat and unscruffy by choice so she does not look very snazzy here

[ID: Two sets of digital drawings of Virginia Dare from The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel wearing suits, drawn in a loose sketchy style but colored and shaded regardless. Although to clarify she is really wearing a blazer, a button up shirt, and some slacks in all drawings except for the fourth. In which she is wearing a white tie tuxedo. Added to her design in all drawings are claw-like nails, scars across her face, two tufts of hair on each side of her head that look like wolf ears, and sharper teeth. The drawings are on backgrounds that have mixes of greens, purples, and browns. The first drawing has her sitting down casually with two chickens on each side of her. She is looking towards the viewer and saying “your chickens are much kinder than you”. In the second drawing she has a hand raised to chest level, palm out towards the viewer, and her eyes closed calmly with a smile. She is saying “I literally don’t care who you are you crusty old man”. In the third drawing her hair is cut chin-length, and she wears a cowboy hat. She has a hand raised to the brim of that hat and is saying “howdy cowboy“ with a grin. She wears a bolo tie in that drawing. In the fourth drawing she is glaring off to the left with her nails bared like claws. She is saying “John I’m going to strangle you”. In the fifth drawing, she is sitting on a chair with her elbows up on the back of it and grinning to the right. A black bow tie is untied around her neck, and her left leg is resting with it’s calf of her right thigh. She wears fairly nice shoes. End ID]

[criminalamnesia]

Even If It Kills Me

warnings: blood, angst, death, f!reader, callsign is ‘Angel’, not proofread

summary: a mission goes wrong.

author’s note: back with some soap angst, don’t hate me too much. also alejandro and rudy are part of the 141 because I said so.

“Angel, how copy?”

No response.

“Angel,” Soap’s voice was laced with worry, brows furrowed as he spoke into his radio. “How copy?”

Again, no response.

“Anyone have eyes on Angel?”

It was Price now, his voice gruff over the radio. Voices chimed in then– Gaz, Ghost, Alejandro, Rudy. All negative.

Soap cursed, running a hand through his damp, unruly hair. The 141 had been sent to a compound deep within the forests of Russia to apprehend an arms dealer. It should have been easy.

Ghost was up high, perched upon a rooftop with his sniper rifle at the ready. Price and Gaz were after the target. That left Soap, Rudy, Alejandro, and Angel to sweep the streets and take out any stragglers.

They had split off from each other to cover more ground. Angel had been joking– smiling and laughing before she sobered up and stepped down an alleyway.

Now, she wasn’t responding, and no one knew where she was.

“I’m gonna look for her,” Soap said into his radio, eyes scanning his surroundings as he stepped out from behind a counter. The house he had taken cover in was dilapidated. Cracks in the linoleum floors. Dust covering every surface, at least two inches thick. Windows shattered and doors missing.

“Negative, Soap.” Price was speaking again. “Stay on mission.”

“She’s missing,” Soap spoke through gritted teeth, raising his gun as he moved towards the street. “She may be hurt.”

“Or captured.” Ghost. Always the optimist.

“Complete the mission,” Price ignored the both of them. “Rescue will come in after.”

Soap didn’t reply. He was torn– follow orders, or look for her? Price had never led him astray. But she was his lover, his best friend– how could he abandon her?

“Negative, Price. I’m goin’ after her.” He made his decision, already moving to where he had last seen her before she disappeared into that alley.

No one responded on the radio. Soap knew he’d been in for it later. Even if Price wanted to look for her himself, he was bound to duty. As was Soap.

Mission first. The mission above all else.

Screw the fucking mission.

His hands were steady as he held his gun level, sweeping the streets and each building he entered with skill that earned him the call sign ‘Soap’. Fastest at cleaning house, they’d said. Getting in, getting out. Neutralizing threats. Squeaky clean.

Sweat trickled from forehead to his chin. It got in his eyes. It was salty on his lips. He ignored it in favor of thinking of her.

How she smiled at him– wide and amused. How she blushed when he swung an arm around her, or when he called her ‘lass’. How he had taken her on a date to some shit-hole bar, and she’d spent the entire night beating him at pool.

How she had pulled him into a kiss outside of that bar and acted like it was the most normal thing in the world.

They had only been together a year, but Soap knew. He knew he wanted her for the rest of his life, if she’d have him. If they made it out of their service alive. If they ever settled down.

He made his way into the next building. Another run-down house. It smelled of mildew and rain.

He cleared the downstairs, mind on autopilot. The stairs were wooden, rotted and broken in places. He moved carefully up, creaks sounding from under his feet.

A door on the left. It was cracked. He pushed it open quickly, one hand still on his gun. Scanning the area, clear.

No. Not clear.

His eyes caught on a body slumped in the corner. A man’s– probably one of the target’s men. Shot in the chest. Soap almost turned and left, but then he heard a whimper.

He crept forward, his heart hammering in his chest. Panic crept up his spine.

She was behind an overturned chair, flat on the ground. A knife was lodged deep into the side of her neck, thin trails of blood creeping out of the wound.

Soap stopped. His world stopped. His heart nearly stopped. He had found her– his Angel. But she was dying.

“Hey, hey,” his voice sounded too calm as he dropped to the floor beside her trembling frame. He holstered his gun, his hand reaching towards the knife. “It’s alrigh’ lass, I’m goin’ ta get you out of here.”

Her eyes were wide. One of her hands was at her neck, fingers spread to try and stop the blood from escaping the wound. The other shook as it raised, reaching for him. Soap grabbed her hand tightly, squeezing it so hard it had to hurt.

“Stay with me, hen. Y’hear me?” He was nodding his head, as if trying to convince himself of his own words.

His free hand reached for his radio, fingers slightly shaking as he pressed the talk button.

“We need medevac immediately. Angel’s down– I repeat, Angel’s down.”

Voices chattered over the radio, but Soap couldn’t hear them. All he could hear were her small noises of pain. Tears streamed from her eyes. Soap gently wiped them away, leaning his head down closer to her.

Red spotted her lips. Blood trickled from her chin. She was drowning in her own blood. She couldn’t breathe.

“You’re goin’ ta be okay, you hear me?” His voice was low. He hoped he didn’t look as terrified as he felt. “Jus’ hold on, okay? Hold on.”

She nodded as much as she could. Her hand still clutched his. He wanted to scream. He wanted to kill the bastard that did this to her ten times over. He wanted to curse Price for splitting them up. He wanted, he wanted, he wanted.

He wanted her to live.

“When we get out of here, let’s settle down, aye? You an’ me. Maybe get a dog. Big yard. In some countryside far away from here.”

Her mouth opened as if she was going to speak, but all that came out was a gurgling sound as she choked on her own blood. She coughed, red spraying across his face. He gripped her hand tighter as his free one came up and ran through her matted hair.

“You an’ me, hen. Jus’ you an’ me. So don’t go, okay? You gotta stay with me now, alrigh’?”

He leaned his head down further, pressing his forehead to hers. He closed his eyes tight, as if he could will this away. As if he could make her stay here with him.

He didn’t move until someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Johnny,” it was Ghost. “It’s time to go.”

He opened his eyes to meet hers. They were closed. That’s when he realized that her hand was limp in his. She was dead.

She was dead, and there was nothing he could do. There would never be a house in the countryside with a big yard and dog for him, because she was dead. What was the point if he couldn’t share that with her?

“Johnny.” Ghost again, his hand tightening on Soap’s shoulder.

Soap inhaled shakily, slowly moving away from her. The knife was still lodged in her throat. A pool of blood had formed around her head, soaking her hair in some kind of sick halo. She was so pale.

“How long?” Soap asked, not bothering to turn his head.

“Ten since you called for evac. She was dead nine minutes ago.”

He inhaled. The copper smell of blood filled his nostrils. It was a smell he’d grown used to– but now it made his stomach turn.

“We’re taking her with us.” It was a statement, not a request. Ghost nodded, even though Soap’s attention was still on her.

He slowly brought the hand still clutched in his up to his lips, brushing his mouth over her pale knuckles. She’d always laughed when he did that.

“Such a gentleman,” she would giggle.

He ached to hear that laugh again.

He released her hand and pushed himself off the floor.

[lokisprettygirl]

The Bodyguard (Loki x Female reader) (Au) (18+)

Read Chapter 14 here// Series Masterlist

Chapter 15

Summary : You tell loki about your past and why Steve hates you.

Trigger Warning : 18+ , Rape, abuse, sexual violence, Harsh language, bodyshaming, fatshaming, mention of neglect and abuse, emotional abuse, Unhealthy Eating Patterns, blackmail, starving and under eating, implied smut, mention of drug use, some weird feeding kink I'm (loki is) developing

Loki placed his hand on Suzannah's waist as they entered a restaurant where she was meeting her friends for a get together, since the news of her engagement with Rocky came out she had received multiple death threats.

"I might just have to appoint you as my permanent guy" she smirked at him and the thought scared him.

"I am appointed to miss y/n mam" he told her and she chuckled

"Well once she's hooked to Steve, she won't be our responsibility, as her husband he would be the one looking out for her safety right?" she winked at him and his jaw clenched. This whole family was the weirdest family he had ever known, everyone so selfish and stuck up but they all pretended to love each other, he also never had so many inappropriate conversations with his employers in his previous job.

He stayed around as she gelled with her friends, he missed you but he had to stay alert so he couldn't even talk to you.

After the get together she took him on her shopping trip and then dinner which was a highly inappropriate thing to do but he couldn't have said no to her.

"Awh future wifey were you expecting someone else?" You took a step back as he moved towards you.

"What do you mean and why are you here?" You asked him and he grabbed your hair and pulled you closer to him, making you wince. His grip was too harsh, such a contrast to how Loki held you in his arms. Before it didn't bother you because you were used to Steve's fit of anger but now after bathing in those soft caresses and gentle hugs his touch hurt you more than ever.

"Why am I here? I can come here whenever I want .. didn't you hear what daddy said ?" He planted a sharp slap on your face and it made your eyes tear up.

"Stop hitting me you bastard good for nothing piece of shit " you punched on his chest and he snickered,

"Yeah you think all those weights you lift will make you stronger than me? Keep dreaming baby keep dreaming" the name hurt too coming from his mouth. You wished Loki was here, all you wanted to do was hide in his safety.

Steve locked the door and took off his belt,

"Now now now I can't hurt your face too much, wouldn't want your dad to see that right, so be nice, take everything like a good fucking wifey and I'll leave you once I'm done ..sounds right?" He pushed you on the bed and you tried to struggle, that earned you a lash from his belt right on your torso

"Pleasee stopp I'll be quite just don't hit me" your eyes welled up and he snickered again

"Awhh look at you, where is that ugly attitude now hmm? If Rocky would have fixed this attitude when he should have I wouldn't have to" he lashed you again then threw the belt in the corner of the room.

"Let me see my handiwork" he pulled your dress off your body and there were two red burn marks on your torso

"That part already was as ugly as it could have been, but I made it worse" he chuckled and you couldn't do anything but weep. You couldn't even scream or call someone for help, he would shift the blame right on you like he did before.

"You fat fucking whore, you think I don't see the blooming friendship between you and that bodyguard of yours?" Your eyes widened as he said that. How did he know?

He didn't actually know but Paris told him this morning after you fired her, he had fucked her before and he asked her to keep an eye on you.

You winced as he thrusted inside you, each and every cell of your body wanted to fight but you could do nothing. You just wanted it to be over.

"You think he wants you hmm? Are you really that naive to think that a man could actually care about you? He just wants to fuck you I'm sure of it. That's all they wanted right? All those bodyguards, my colleagues. Your dad's Best friend, they all wanted to fuck you that's it, they all know your worth y/n and you are worthless" he chuckled as he finished his sentence, he didn't have to bring his father into the conversation. You were drunk and upset, he took advantage of you and your issues, it wasn't your fault. But they all blamed you, they all said that you came onto him.

"You almost ruined the friendship between my dad and yours, ruined my parent's relationship, our families, honestly how do you sleep at night? You should kill yourself"

Tears dripped down your eyes as he came inside you, he loved hurting you, and humiliating you brought him pleasure, just to take out whatever frustration he had in him he slapped the other side of your cheek before he left.

That's when you broke down finally. That's when you couldn't stay strong anymore. This was the man you were about to get married to in few weeks.

It was around 11 when Suzannah finally was done with her sauntering and returned to the mansion. Loki saw Steve stepping downstairs as he fixed the collar of his shirt, did he go see you? The thought bothered him, what if he hurt you?

"Suziii" Suzannah ran into Steve's arms as soon as she saw him.

"Oh my god how are you sweetheart?" Suzannah asked him and he winked at her then he looked at Loki

"What are you looking at? Go keep her bags in her room" Loki nodded as Steve commanded him, all he wanted to do was punch this bastard.

As soon as he reached his room he texted you, he sent you back to back texts

You didn't respond so he called you but you didn't pick up his calls either.

He showered, changed and waited for midnight to pass so he could go see you. He was terrified, his gut feeling screamed at him that something wasn't right with you, the way Steve stepped down the stairs was already an indication that he had something to do with it.

He knocked on your door but you didn't open up, so he twisted the knob and it was unlocked. He didn't find you in the room, he heard the shower running so he sat down on the bed and waited for you, but even after ten minutes when you didn't come out, he knocked on the bathroom door, you didn't answer him so he opened the door.

The sight broke him down, he found you all naked under the shower, you sat with your knees up and had your head down between your legs. He could hear you crying and that immediately snapped him out of the shock that he felt. He picked up a towel, opened the shower door, turned the water off and bent down so he could wrap you in it.

You winced as soon as you felt his touch, the look on your eyes killed him.

"Loki" you whispered softly and he wiped his tears before he picked you up in his arms, being as careful as he could be, he didn't want to slip down and hurt you both. Your arms curled around his neck, you hid your face between the crook of his neck and he heard your cries. He placed you down on the bed, then he brought another towel because your hair was dripping all over. He also took out your underwear and bra from the closet to put it on your bare body. That's when he noticed the red mark on your torso,

You looked up at him as he wiped your hair with the towel, his eyes were red and teary, his nose was flaring because of how enraged he was. He wanted to hurt Steve, he wanted to kill him for hurting you like this. You wrapped your arms around his waist and placed your head on his torso as you sniffled,

"I'm okay..I'm okay don't worry, please don't worry" you mumbled over and over again, breaking his heart even more if it was possible.

"Lay down baby let me see that mark okay?" You nodded as he said that, he pulled the cover on you to hide your bare thighs, then he took out the medicine box from the dresser and applied an ointment that he knew would soothe the burn, you winced as he rubbed the cold gel over your skin.

"What did he hit you with?" He asked you in a very stoic manner, he was furious, bubbling with rage and anger,

"It doesn't matter"

"It matters to me okay?" He raised his voice a little and that made you flinch, that's when he broke down into a fit of tears. He should have protected you but how could he when you got hurt by the man you belonged to? You sat up and pulled him in for a hug, his arm wrapped around your waist and he embraced you in a warm hug, he just wanted you to feel safe for now.

"I'm going to hurt him, he can't do this to you"

"You're not going to do anything, you listen to me okay?" You told him sternly and his eyes teared up again

"They don't care, they never did, and I belong to them, I'm their own so they won't hurt me but they won't hesitate to kill you, you can't fight them all so don't do anything rash. I don't want to lose you, you mean so much to me and I can't lose you, you hear me??" You told him so he nodded.

"Darling I'm so sorry, I'm sorry I wasn't here when you needed me" he mumbled softly as he caressed your head. Even if he was here, what he could have done in that situation?

"He knows about us" you told him and he pulled away, looking at you shocked.

"Paris said something to him, she must have" he shouldn't have fucked her, he brought this on you. He was feeling guilty for so many things at once.

"Why would he hurt you like this? Why..how could he do this to someone he has known all his life?"

Your eyes teared up as he said that. You wanted to tell him the truth but you were afraid that he'd judge you too.

"He hates me"

"Whyyy?" You looked down as you contemplated whether you should tell him the truth and even though a part of you felt scared that he'd judge you you trusted him to not do it.

"I was twenty when he returned from England, before that I only saw him occasionally. He tried to flirt with me and as attractive as I found him at the time my feelings never evolved for him, so we just fucked each other. There was something off about him that I couldn't figure out. I had lost my mom just a year ago and I wasn't doing well. I felt broken every second of my life, my dad took me to a vacation along with Steve s family..that's when things changed for worst" your eyes teared up more and more so he pulled you in for a hug

"I don't want you to judge me for what I did there" he kissed the top of your head as you said that.

"I'll never judge you baby, you can talk to me" he whispered in your ear and you sniffled.

"I was drinking a lot, his dad Mason, he.. he comforted me, told me that if I was his daughter he'd never make me cry so much so I hugged him, and then I felt..I felt him touching me, this was the man I have known all my life. But I was drunk, delirious, a soft loving touch made me feel things that I craved. Then he unzipped my dress and kissed me, he kissed me and I went along with it. I shouldn't have…I shouldn't have done that, I never would have done it in my right mind, but I wasn't thinking clearly then we had sex" you looked at him as you finished, you looked for him to be disgusted, to jump off from the bed, to call you names but he only kissed your forehead in response.

"Next morning when I woke up, I felt so awful, so disgusted, I felt horrible that I'd ruin his relationships with everyone, before I could react I was called for an intervention by my dad, Mason told him that I entered his room late at night and forced him to fuck me, that I was so out of control and had no modesty, I still..I still hate myself for that but he lied, that wasn't the whole truth I knew that but nobody believed me" you broke down into sobs and he tightened his grip around you .

He couldn't even imagine you going through this, he was disgusted by that monster taking advantage of a young girl like that, he used you, it wasn't your fault. Now Steve was doing the same thing with you. Using that night to hurt you more and more, this doesn't justify his hatred for you, nothing would.

He was also right about people taking advantage of your trust and innocence.

He wasn't saying anything and you weren't sure what he was thinking of at the moment, by now you knew that Loki would never hurt you deliberately and maybe that's why he couldn't be upfront about how much he hated you now.

"Lokiii?"

"Babyyy I'm sorry baby come here I'm so sorry..I'm sorry" he mumbled softly as he held onto you as tightly as he could.

"You.. I don't want you to judge me.." you sobbed furiously, your voice cracked and you couldn't even speak anymore because of how hurt you felt in the moment.

"Never, never, I'll never judge you darling, you will never ever lose me I promise ..I promise..I'm here okay? I won't leave I'm here" you clutched onto him tightly as he said that. He kissed your forehead and he didn't let go of you until you fell asleep in his arms.

He stayed there all night with you .

He told you that you'd never lose him so why did he ignore your existence the next morning? Why did he get back to being just your bodyguard? Why did you lose him after the ugly secret that you shared with him?

You knew the answer, but for once in your life you believed when someone said that they won't leave you or hurt you.

You believed him and that was your mistake.

💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

[championofnyx]

@windona Prompt: AU where Gregor found out about Tara being a double agent during s3 from Markovian intelligence

Gregor was pulled out of the mindless cycle of paperwork that had laid in stacks across his desk by a knock at the door. He barely looked up as he called for whoever was on the other side to come in, expecting that it was a currier with more seemingly never-ending papers needing his signature or a servant that was sent to remind him that food was not optional and that the kitchens had lunch waiting for him in a room that was purposely far away from his office and work. But when he looked up and was greeted by the looming figures of General Ivanov of special military operations and Minister Arpa of Intelligence the young man was left fumbling for a moment. 

The general was a familiar face he had grown to trust in the weeks following his parent’s assignation, his uncles attempted to grab at the thrones, and the unpleasantness that followed both and left this too large castle impossible silent. However, the Minister was a less familiar, less comforting presence. 

The thing about Minister Arpa is that the man had as much of a personality as you would imagine the head of a country's intelligence organization would have and must have spent so much time shifting through the shadows of this world that he looked much like he hadn’t touched grass since the Cold War. And he didn’t wander far back into the world of the light unless catastrophe was at hand. “What’s wrong?” Gregor asks, getting to his feet as he tries to steady the rapid beating in his chest. “Did something happen?” 

“It’s more of a personal matter, sir.” General Inanov said, almost trying to reassure the young king. 

The Minster let out a short grunt, “Yes, his personal matter had the capability to severely threaten the security of Markovia.” 

“We don’t know that,” The General retorted, “Mans Karalis, we have some delegate information.” 

“I’ve gathered,” Gregor said, pressing his palms into his desk, trying to wrap his head around what the two men could be arguing about. What in his life could possibly be a threat to his country? “What is it?” 

“We followed your orders to look after the Princesses' activities while she was in America.” The Minster said quickly. 

“Is she ok?” Gregor asked, panicking to be acceptable for someone in his position. “She hasn’t been hurt, has she? She’s safe?” 

“She’s unharmed.” General Inanov said, “Over the past months our intelligence services have been going over the information provided by the Justice League on the Princess’s captures, and have taken a particular interest in Slade Wilson.”

The name ranges through his head, pulling at the memories of the phone calls with his brother that have come more naturally and frequently to the rescue of Tara. His sister hadn’t told him much of her life when she was under the control of the shadows, but that one name stuck out to him as the only man he knew hurt her, and as such, became the sole product of his resentment. 

“He's a former US special forces officer but our American counterparts have been resistant to tell us more about his service record.” The minister added. We have had little success tracing his movements until satellite imaging spotted him in Hollywood near the princess' new residence.” 

Gregor straightened, fear making home of his bones, “Are they trying to take her back?” the words fumbled haphazardly from his mouth. 

The Minister shook his head. '`We have proof that he has been in conversation with the princess, who appears to be doing so willingly while accepting some form of technology from him, similar to a controller chip.’ 

“He’s still controlling her though those infernal devices?” 

“No, Mans Karalis, he was giving it to her to use later. Personally, someone else.” Arpa laid a manilla folder on his desk, pulling out imagery that confirmed his words. “We think that the Princess is willingly engaged with him.” 

The heart that had refused to settle in his chest stopped for a moment. “I need to call my brother.” He whispered.

“Mans Karalis?” The general asked but Gregor had already moved to his feet and from the desk, rushing past the men and towards the door, trying his best to steady his body and mind as both threatened to give out as he tried to process this information. 

“We just got her back.” He muttered to himself. “I thought we had gotten her back.” 

[connabeth]

50. “Every time I think I’m close to finally figuring you out you end up surprising me.”

percabeth // here, have some engaged domestic fluff where they just bully each other

“What’s the worst thing you ever did at school? Like, on purpose. Stuff that happened because of monsters doesn't count.”

Annabeth hummed, thinking. “One time in eighth grade Thalia and I broke into every teacher and dean’s office and stole their middle desk drawer and replaced it with someone else’s.” She let a low whistle, “Monday morning was chaos. But they had it coming. They were all such assholes that past week.”

Percy blinked, uncomprehending. “Did you ever get caught?”

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Who do you think you’re talking to right now? Hat or no hat, they would’ve never known it was me.”

Percy held his hands up in surrender, lips twitching in mild amusement, “Remind me never to cross you.”

“I thought you already figured that out a long time ago.”

“I did, I did,” he acquiesced. “But every time I think I’m close to finally figuring you out, you end up surprising me.”

“I’m an enigma,” she said simply, shrugging.

“I’m an enigma,” he mocked in a poor imitation of her voice.

She laughed, head thrown back, shoulders shaking. “Shut up.”

“Never.”

With that, he launched himself from his position on the couch, landing on her body with a thud. He reached for her stomach, fingers dancing across the skin where her shirt had ridden up, a devious little smirk growing on his face as he heard her tell-tale shriek of laughter. One would say her fatal flaw was pride, but if you asked Percy, it’d have to be her ticklishness. She’d denied it—a little too vehemently—when he’d first asked her if she was ticklish, which was enough to raise his suspicions and get him to try and tickle her the next time they cuddled. He was merciless but Annabeth thought it was quite easy to get him to stop with the threat of revoked kissing rights hanging over his head.

“Percy,” she giggled, digging her fingers into his side to make him squirm, in a weak attempt to stop his attack. “S-stopp.”

Her head was turned to the side, buried into the couch cushion, muffling her laughter. He took the opportunity to press sweet kisses to the column of her neck, behind her ear, along the line of her jaw—a sharp contrast to his ruthless assault on her stomach.

“I’m—I’m going to kill you,” she wheezed, pulling back her knee and hovering it above his crotch as a threat.

“Murdering the love of your life on your monthaversary? Romantic and a great way to get TV exposure. Maybe you’ll end up on Dateline if you’re lucky,” he teased, face resting in an easy grin.

Her mouth dropped open in indignation and he paused his attack in hesitation. “I am offended you think I’d get caught. Have you learned nothing? We both know no one would suspect me. And planning is my middle name.”

“Wow, planning is your middle name?” his eyes widened in faux-admiration, voice dripping with sarcasm. “That’s so badass.”

“More badass than the time you hung off a billboard in Times Square half naked in those boring blue boxers,” she sniped back, lightly kneeing him in his most sensitive spot and taking advantage of his momentary release on her body to flip them over and hold his arms above his head with one hand.

He let out a huff of surprise. “A little eager, don’t you think? I thought we could wait until tonight to use those new handcuffs but at this rate—”

He cut himself off with a sharp intake of breath, chest rising and arching at the movement of her fingers at the small of his back. It had always remained sensitive, particularly to her touch, and he trusted her to not use her knowledge for evil but sometimes she wasn't immune to the appeal of payback.

“That’s not fair. I did not tell you about that for you to use it against me.”

“Says the man that literally tickled me for a minute straight.”

“Touché.”

Her lips pulled up into a smug smile, that enchanting glint in her eye directed at him in a way that never failed to suck the breath out of his lungs, and he knew there was no such thing as losing with her. The idea that he’d be sprawled out on the living room couch, the love of his life grinning down at him, the smell of her favorite rose candle wafting through the air, all within the confines of their apartment—a place sacred to the love for each other that clung to their skin like an eternal armour—the idea would’ve been so pathetically laughable to his fifteen year-old self. But here he was, by all odds, his lifeline now a pleasant weight on his chest, and he knew that this was what he was built for. Loving and loving and loving until he couldn’t love anymore. She makes it so easy, he thought.

Annabeth shifted her weight atop his torso, leaning back at the faraway look on his face. “What?” she raised an eyebrow. “You’re doing that thing again.”

“What thing?” his lips rested in a gentle smile, fingers slipping underneath the hem of her his loosely-fitting Fall Out Boy t-shirt to slide over the smooth planes of skin he had memorized long ago.

“You look like you’re daydreaming—” she paused for a moment, then laid her body flat against his, placing her head atop her overlapping hands that rested on his chest, “Or remembering.”

His grin widened as he pulled her closer to him in response, until it felt like there was no room for the smallest molecule of air to pass between their bodies. She turned her head and let it fall, her cheek pressing against the faint thrumming of his pulse.

“I just—I have rotten luck.”

She laughed—a beautiful sound that sent warmth curling through his body, from his cheeks to his toes—and pressed a soft kiss to the underside of his chin. “Understatement of the century, baby.”

He grinned wryly. “Maybe, in some ways. But no one can deny I’m one of the luckiest sons of bitches out there.”

“How do you figure?” she asked, eyes trained on the sleeve of his shirt as she fiddled with it. She knew. And he knew she knew.

“I’ve had the weight of the world on my shoulders,” he began, moving one hand up to brush through her curls, “in more ways than one. And you have, too. Often times worse than I did. But I have something to call home.”

“The apartment isn’t that gorgeous.”

“I wasn’t talking about the apartment.”

“Oh.” She went silent.

He relished in the dusting of pink across her cheeks. “I get to walk through that door and come home, everyday. I have an amazing mother, sister, step-dad, and—” he took a shaky breath, gently pushing the hair back from her face. “a best friend and partner rolled into one who just so happens to be the most important person in my life and the entire reason I’m laying here right now. It doesn’t get better than that.”

She’s quiet for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts, a little surprised by his sudden touching words. He fills in the resounding silence, continuing, “And I guess I’ve just been thinking,” he finds her hands and clasps it firmly within his, “that people like us aren’t supposed to get lucky. So many of us didn’t. Jason, Beckendorf, Silena, Michael—” he swallows roughly. “Luke, in a way. And that’s not all. We’ve arguably been through the worst of it and made it out on the other side. Together.”

He pulls their intertwined hands to his mouth, peppering sweet kisses on each finger, lingering on her ring finger. “There’s a lot to be angry about, a lot that we can never forget, a lot that we can’t undo no matter how much we want to. But I was lost, and you were lost, and we found each other. And the best part is we got to stay.” He tried his best to blink back the water that blurred his vision. “It’s so hard to wrap my head around sometimes, to believe all of this isn’t just a foolishly hopeful daydream—a figment of my imagination. But it’s real. It’s really real, and I’m forever indebted to the universe for that. I know I should’ve gotten used to it after all this time, but I haven’t.”

She let that sink in for a moment, breathing him in—his words, his scent, the love emanating from his touch. “Fuck, you can’t just do that,” she whispered, voice cracking, as she turned her head away.

“Do what, baby?” he asked gently, hand reaching up to tuck a curl behind her ear and cup her jaw so that she face him.

“That! Be the most romantic guy on the planet out of nowhere. You gotta give me time to prepare for these things.”

“Sorry,” he apologized in a matter anyone would’ve thought was sincere if not for the little quirk of his lips. “I’ll be sure to email you my calendar of big romantic gestures before the next time.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything for you. So you still wanna risk ending up on Dateline?”

“Shut up,” she weakly laughed, burying her damp face into the crook of his neck. “That little speech definitely rivaled your proposal, by the way. Your vows have a lot to live up to.”

“Oh, man,” he sighed, head plopping back onto the arm of the cushion. “I think I’ve used all my material.”

“Sounds like a you problem.”

“Sounds like a you problem,” he mimicked again, blowing a raspberry into the skin of her neck he could reach.

“Percy!” she pushed him away, lifting the hem of his shirt to wipe away the saliva he’d so maturely left at her throat. “That’s it, we’re getting a divorce.”

“We’re not even married.”

“You know what I mean,” she said, shoving his chest. “We just won’t get married, then.”

“That big rock on your finger says otherwise.”

“I am keeping the ring, it’s prettier than you.”

“Is this the treatment I get for sweeping you off your feet on a Tuesday evening?”

“All you’ve done is tickle and insult me.”

“Wow, you have really selective memory,” he responded, squinting his eyes in scrutiny.

“I’m known for my memory, actually.”

“Is that why you couldn’t remember the last line of that prophecy that one summer?”

“Shut up, I just chose not to tell you.”

“Because you were in love with me,” he teased, fingers toying with a loose curl hanging in his line of vision.

“A very regrettable decision it seems,” she muttered, drily.

“You’re being awfully mean today.” A pause. “It’s hot.”

She rolled her eyes. “You keep talking and I will actually take this ring off.”

“We both know you’re all talk.”

“Yeah?” she got up off him and slipped her ring off. “What if I just flush it down the toilet?”

“It would end up somewhere in the sea and I’d just find it and put it on your finger again.”

Annabeth’s eyebrows scrunched together in that way he loved as she pondered, twisting the ring between her fingers. “Could you actually?”

Percy quickly got up and plucked the ring from her hand and placed it back on her finger, pressing a kiss to it. “Baby, we are absolutely not trying that.”

“You must not be confident in your abilities then.”

“Don’t goad me,” he warned, reaching his arms out as if to tickle her again.

“But it’s fun,” she said innocently, closing the distance between them, and the press of her lips against his momentarily vanquished any train of thought running through his mind. That’s one thing that hadn’t changed after six years together.

“I’m glad you get off on torturing me,” he pulled away after a minute and whispered against her mouth. Her eyes twinkled mirth and were somehow even more mesmerizing up close.

“Someone’s got to keep you on your toes.” She captured his resounding laugh with her mouth and he decided he wanted her to make fun of him every night.

[dancingintheraindreamingonday]

A little wicked - Chapter 9

Author’s note: This will probably be the last chapter of my Bucky series. What a journey. Thanks to everyone!! 

Warning: Huge plot twist, that even I haven’t seen coming when I first wrote the story.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

„Do you wanna live in Delacroix?“, You ask Bucky as you set the table for dinner. 

“Why are you asking?”

“I saw how much you enjoyed your time there and we’re still looking for a house. So...why not looking there?” 

After you got kidnapped in your old house, Bucky refused to live there again. 

“I thought you loved the city life.” 

“I don’t really care anymore where we live as long as we live together.” 

„I’m really lucky to be your husband.“, Bucky kisses you but stoppes as he receives a call from Sam. „There was an attack at the GRC conference. Sam needs me.“

„Go. Be safe. And kick their asses.“, you smile weakly as Bucky leaves your flat. 

As soon as he left, you check your phone seeing the messages you received, warning you about the upcoming attack hours ago. 

After making sure that Alex is safe and he’s taken care of you leave your apartment as well. A car is already waiting for you, taking you to the building where the conference is being held.

~*~

You’re standing in the shadow watching Sharon, Bucky and Sam talking. You know that Sam and Bucky will have each other’s back. That’s why you only observe Sharon and eventually follow her. 

Batroc points a gun at Sharon demanding more money. Morgenthau points her gun at her too. 

You curse under your breath as you come out of your hiding and without any warning you shot Batroc straight in the head without shaking. Sharon and Morgenthau shot each other while the later is deadly injured. 

“You are a great actress, Sharon. I’m really impressed.”, you say as you put your gun away. 

“Why didn’t you tell me your plan? I warned your days before the kidnapping that they will come for you. I don’t understand it.”, Sharon got shot in her stomach, breathing hard. 

“I knew Hydra would come- sooner or later. They wanted Alex to experiment with. And I also knew Valentina would think you’re the Power Broker and wanted to work with you. Thats why I spoke on your answering machine. So that you could gain her trust. That James and Sam found it was a coincidence but you played along. Really good. So when they came to kidnapp me, I offered myself. And they couldn’t believe their luck. Pregnant, vice-director of Shield and the wife of the winter soldier. I knew they would take me and experiment with me with their last serum they got. The last serum because the others got stolen and I knew Zemo would kill the doctor eventually. They wasted their last serum on me without knowing I’m immune. And when they think you’re dying they tell you everything. I needed that information about Valentina. It was definitely worth it.”

You look on your watch.

“Sam will be here any minute so I better be going. You...” you look at Sharon “will stay here in the city. I have a little present for you in the next days. And you...” you look at Karli “You shouldn’t have stolen the serum from me. And you shouldn’t have fight James. Killing the other super soldier wasn’t my plan in the beginning. You’re just a means to an end.” 

You walk away and leave the hall before Sam sees you. 

~*~*~

Cameras and lot of people were standing and watching Sam reasoning and convincing the GRC. You pass the police officers as they prevent the crowd to come even closer. „Did you write that down first or was it off the top of your head? Spoken like the true Captain America.“, you smile as you walk to the men. „Ah. Director Barnes, good seeing you here. There’s lot to talk about after todays event.“ The man says after he shakes your right hand. „And we will.“, you lay your left hand on top of his while still shaking. „(Y/f/n), what are you doing here? Does Bucky know you’re here?“, Sam looks at you suspiciously. „SHIELD is always there where bad things happen.“, leaving the equivocation unanswered. 

„Excuse me, I need to make sure that the remaining terrorist are safely escorted to jail.“, and with that you turn around but not walking to the cars where the rebels are in but to another car in the shadow. A man walks up to you with a little device in his hand that looks very similar to a remote. „Thanks, Stan. Good work. See you later.“ You say as you take the device and walk further. You knock at the car window and open it. „Do you want me to press the button or do you want to do it yourself?“, you say in perfect German. „I’ll do it on my own.“, answers the man in the car, taking the device and presses the button. The explosion is huge and lightens up the inside of the car your inside. „Good. Very good. We’re even.“, says the man. You smile knowing that James is finally off Zemo’s list. You sacrificed the flag smashers for James, but you don’t feel any remorse. You would do anything to protect your family. 

~*~*~

„(Y/f/n)!“, James shouts. He’s running and looking for you in panic. „James, I’m here.“, you scream back as you run in his direction. „God, (y/f/n), what the fuck are you doing here?! It isn’t safe here for you. For you both.“ Bucky looks at you and on your stomach. „When Sam told me you were here and the car exploded, I thought… I thought…“ He can’t finish the sentence and you hug him tightly. „I’m sorry. I didn’t want to scare you. I’m here as a representative for SHIELD.“

„Sharon’s here. I’ve heard she will stay in town.“, Bucky grunts still not forgiving her. „I know. I forgave her. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trusting her, but I know the bad influence Madripoor has on people. Maybe she will change.“, you lie.

„Your kindness always amazes me.“, says Bucky as he kisses your head. 

~*~*~

Three days later you open the door to your office. A small brown package is on your desk. You open it and as you realize what it is you can’t help but smile. Inside of the package was the book „The prince“ by Machiavelli. It’s the same book you sent Zemo some time ago. You open it and see Zemo’s graceful handwriting One is controlled but the other is still standing

You know immediately who Zemo is referring to. Bucky and Walker.

When you found out that HYDRA is working on the serum again, and when you stole it and then the flag smashers sole it from you, you knew it was just a question of time till Zemo will be out of jail and take a side. And you wanted him to be on yours. So you visited him and made sure that you both are on the same page- that the other super soldiers have to die but not James. You made clear that Bucky wasn’t a threat. That he’s broken trying to make amend for his killing. That he has settled and there is no need for Zemo to kill Bucky. And Zemo liked you- you were both born in Leipzig and you both had difficulties to cope with loss. Two smart minds wanting to destroy the serum.

You take the book to your bookshelf making a mental note to visit Zemo in the Raft.

Someone knocks at your door. Sharon Carter. 

„They offered me full pardon.“, says Carter as she walks into your office. „I know.“ You say. „I wrote the text that the senator read aloud.“ 

„So, I’ll be working in my old division?“, asks Sharon. „No. Thats not happening, Sharon.“, you laugh.

„But I’ve got you a job that’s even better. You will work for SWORD. Its an extra-governmental intelligence agency. Probably you’ve heard about them. Their former leader Hayward was a pain in the ass. Like Pierce 2.0. I’ve heard Fury wants to work there and because of his relationship with Valentina, I’m not trusting him at the moment. So you will work there and keep an eye on everyone. Oh and I hope you told your assistant that the super soldiers are off the menu. But there are other things we can offer.“

„I already called her about that. But there is still one question I have. How did you become director?“

You smile wickedly. „Well, the arrogance of men never ceases to amaze me. When Sam gave the shield away it was just a question of time till they demand a new Captain America. And everyone wanted John Walker. Received three Medals of honor, good looking and a soldier who does everything  what is commanded than rather what is right. I didn’t like him. James told me years ago, that you can see madness in people’s eyes and man, his eyes were full with madness. So I didn’t agree with the board but the director and vice-director both has to agree. So I made them an offer. I told them that for this voting they can outvote me if everyone on the board agrees with our director. And if Walker does his job well I will leave my position. But if he fails, I will be the new director. All they did was laugh at me. They of course outvoted me and they even planned my goodbye-party. And I just waited and waited. And with Walker being so unstable I didn’t waited for long. And now I’m here and the director is gone and most of the board members as well. Arrogance is dangerous. Never estimate your opponent.“

„So where is Walker now?“

„I’m not sure but I’m pretty certain that he’s with Valentina and they are up to no good. Valentina wants James dead and Walker wants Sam dead because Sam is the new and definitely the better Captain America.“

~*~*~

A week later, you, Bucky and Alex are sitting in the car heading to Sam’s home town. The letter from Tony is laying in your purse. The envelope is still sealed but the answer in it isn’t unknown to you. You’ve known the answer for years, never telling anyone, not even James. People would be intimated if they’d known your heritage- your dad’s and your mom’s. And you learned that being an intimating woman only makes men defensive and its hard to work with them. Men need to feel strong and useful and that’s your strength. You always know how to make men feel that way around you, even it it’s just an illusion and even now that you’re the director they don’t feel intimated and that makes them careless and easy to read. 

„I never felt so much happiness than in this moment right now. It feels like a new chapter is starting.“, you grin at Bucky caressing his cheek. His five o’clock shadow tickles you and he leans against your hand. 

„Falling in love with you in Bucharest seems like so long ago. It’s been so difficult, James. This is a dream come true. Having a normal life with you is all I’ve ever wanted.“

Bucky stops the car in the middle of the road. He bends over you, kissing you possessively and pressing you against your car door. „You’re my home, (y/f/n). You’re my constant, my hope, my life and my family. Being loved by you is the greatest gift.“ He kisses you again, trailing soft kisses on your neck. 

You giggle freely and even though it arouses you tremendously you stop Bucky. „No sex in the car, while Alex is still here.“

Bucky grins playfully as he starts the car. „We will continue this later.“ 

~*~*~

Sam’s hometown celebrates the new Captain America and as Bucky arrives they also celebrates him as the white wolf. 

You danced and talked and ate and forgot everything you’ve ever done for the sake of your family until you receive a text message from Stan, who is securing the surrounding. Fury’s on his way to Delacroix. Accompanied by Hill and Dave. 2 minutes.

Dave is a co-worker of you. Of course he doesn’t know anything but his betrayal angers you anyway and there will be consequences.

„Is that Fury? What is he doing here? And why does he look so angry?“, asks Bucky Sam. Bucky hands you Alex over, who was relaxing on Bucky’s shoulders and both men are walking up to him, ignoring or maybe just forgetting that it is you who holds the most power and the reason for Fury’s visit. 

Everyone is underestimating you just like you’ve always wanted. 

  @inlovewith3 @jackiehollanderr @homesicam@dreamydreamerwriting @losers-club6 @gengen64@agentsofsheilds @crimson-darling @akkinda10 @xemine@bubblegumholland @chipilerendi @iamasimpingh0e @bbmommy0902 @madddiiee26 @teenagedreams-bucky @aya-fay @idontknowwhatthisisfam @w-wolfhxrd @useless-creature-213   @angywritesstuff @supernaturalcat7 @harrys-stan @geek-and-proud @pastel-boy-sungjae @austynparksandpizza @maxsaturdayhatesnarwhals  @teenagedreams-bucky @auds24 @ah-blossom @supraveng @lady-loki-ren @freakyhood96 @bbl32

[agentrouka-blog]

When Jon think about wanting winterfell and it's Lord he felt hunger which he later connect with ghost's hunger. Do you think that passage is implying something?

Hi anon!

I think the passage has many layers when it comes to symbolism and foreshadowing.

ASOS, Jon XII is a fun chapter. Jon’s been through a lot. His trip North of the wall left him traumatized and disillusioned in a way that’s hard to sum up. Anything he had hoped to be proud of in life was obliterated, he suffered serious injury, has been separated from ghost, learned that all his family are dead or missing, fought a viciously cruel battle, feels responsible for the death of his stockholm-syndromy abuser, was stripped of all respect and honor by his superiors, and he got to see a woman die in childbirth. Now Stannis and Mel are squatting at Castle Black, and the threat to the North keeps looming.

Life sucks. 

We’d been introduced to some options that were denied to him in life:

His lord father had once talked about raising new lords and settling them in the abandoned holdfasts as a shield against wildlings. The plan would have required the Watch to yield back a large part of the Gift, but his uncle Benjen believed the Lord Commander could be won around, so long as the new lordlings paid taxes to Castle Black rather than Winterfell. "It is a dream for spring, though," Lord Eddard had said. "Even the promise of land will not lure men north with a winter coming on."

If winter had come and gone more quickly and spring had followed in its turn, I might have been chosen to hold one of these towers in my father's name. Lord Eddard was dead, however, his brother Benjen lost; the shield they dreamt together would never be forged. (ASOS, Jon V)

or

“If the boy shows any skill with sword or lance, he should have a place with your father’s household guard at the least,” Jon said. “It’s not unknown for bastards to be trained as squires and raised to knighthood. But you’d best be sure Gilly can play this game convincingly. From what you’ve told me of Lord Randyll, I doubt he would take kindly to being deceived.” (ASOS, Samwell IV)

One fails because of the seasons, the other was prevented by Catelyn. The Watch has been a soul-destroying nightmare, Ygritte’s offer of taking over a Tower “after” is not even worth a moment’s consideration to him. Every hope he ever had about his life has been disappointed. 

Jon’s just about sixteen and is completely done. Sam notes how much time Jon spends in the training yard, even though he’s injured and off-duty for the title of turncloak. He does not bother voting in the Lord Commander election. A maligned outcast again. Forever. 

The warg, I’ve heard them call me. How can I be a warg without a wolf, I ask you?” His mouth twisted. “I don’t even dream of Ghost anymore. All my dreams are of the crypts, of the stone kings on their thrones. Sometimes I hear Robb’s voice, and my father’s, as if they were at a feast. But there’s a wall between us, and I know that no place has been set for me.” (ASOS, Samwell IV

He is lonely. Even Ghost is gone, his one proof that he belongs to something.

Stannis alienates Jon by talking ill of Robb, but he offers Jon recognition for the things he did right, a rare thing, and then he offers him legitimization. Basically, “You proved your worth and you have the Right blood. All you ever wanted can be yours. For the small price of breaking your oaths for real and of your own volition and forsaking your gods.” Downright mephistophelian.

Jon is torn, can’t sleep, fights. For the first time he has a real choice. He remembers the traumatic incident where his bastardy became a true concept to him.

That morning he called it first. “I’m Lord of Winterfell!” he cried, as he had a hundred times before. Only this time, this time, Robb had answered, “You can’t be Lord of Winterfell, you’re bastard-born. My lady mother says you can’t ever be the Lord of Winterfell.”

I thought I had forgotten that. Jon could taste blood in his mouth, from the blow he’d taken. (ASOS, Jon XII)

And Jon’s response is a near black-out rage against his sparring partner. All his suppressed feelings of grief and anger and longing and loneliness are just broiling inside him.

Why am I so angry? he asked himself, but it was a stupid question. Lord of Winterfell. I could be the Lord of Winterfell. My father’s heir.

Jon soaks in the hot tub and thinks of Winterfell, mulls restoring it versus not belonging and destroying its soul in the process

When Jon closed his eyes he saw the heart tree, with its pale limbs, red leaves, and solemn face. The weirwood was the heart of Winterfell, Lord Eddard always said … but to save the castle Jon would have to tear that heart up by its ancient roots, and feed it to the red woman’s hungry fire god. I have no right, he thought. Winterfell belongs to the old gods

The tree is almost described like a person. A person with Tully coloring, like all his siblings save Arya. Like Sansa. The hot springs in Winterfell have a potential link to his decision to join the Watch, or at the very least to his siblings in general. The castle of Winterfell is juxtaposed with the heart, with the purpose and point of it all. Save a structure by destroying what made it a meaningful place? Betray his family in his heart, the person whose castle is truly is, betray all his values and his gods?

He takes a walk past sites of all his recent experiences and North the Wall over the recent battle field and just sits to think. 

Ygritte wanted me to be a wildling. Stannis wants me to be the Lord of Winterfell. But what do I want? The sun crept down the sky to dip behind the Wall where it curved through the western hills. Jon watched as that towering expanse of ice took on the reds and pinks of sunset. 

There’s an essay I could write about walls, Tyrion, Jon and Sansa (the sun to Arya’s moon) and how they all interact in the books, but let’s say just like this word play, the fact that Jon answers his own question is not an accident:

"Close your beak, crow. Spin yourself around, might be you'd find who you're looking for."

Jon turned.

The singer rose to his feet. (ASOS, Jon I)

The singer rose. Lyanna, his mother, the riddle. But also Sansa, who unwittingly took up her mantle. One unlocks his path to the other and everything that follows in his imagination:

I would need to steal her if I wanted her love, but she might give me children. I might someday hold a son of my own blood in my arms. A son was something Jon Snow had never dared dream of, since he decided to live his life on the Wall. I could name him Robb. Val would want to keep her sister’s son, but we could foster him at Winterfell, and Gilly’s boy as well. Sam would never need to tell his lie. We’d find a place for Gilly too, and Sam could come visit her once a year or so. Mance’s son and Craster’s would grow up brothers, as I once did with Robb.

He wanted it, Jon knew then. He wanted it as much as he had ever wanted anything. I have always wanted it, he thought, guiltily. May the gods forgive me. It was a hunger inside him, sharp as a dragonglass blade. A hunger … he could feel it. It was food he needed, prey, a red deer that stank of fear or a great elk proud and defiant. He needed to kill and fill his belly with fresh meat and hot dark blood. His mouth began to water with the thought.

Jon paints a picture of recreating his own childhood with his wolf pack at Winterfell, only this time there are no outcasts, and he is the Father. He gets to be Ned. The Lord of Winterfell with a lady’s love. And a son, something he had, apparently, dreamed of until he stoppped. 

He has always wanted this thing that he has no right to and it filled him with a guilt strong enough to concern the gods. But he admits it to himself, lets himself truly feel it. The feeling flows through him the same way the rage did earlier. powerful and all encompassing. 

Like a dragonglass blade. There we have some lovely foreshadowing for a) potentiall the origin of the Others, b) Jon’s paternity, and c) his own death when his desire to abandon his vows and head to Winterfell is met with, you know, some blades. Not to mention d) his desire to have these things.

Each of these is answered by his primal hunger response. Which is of course, his connection to Ghost. The wolf he has so woefully said goodbye to, that he missed deeply and bitterly, chooses this moment to reappear. This moment where Jon returns to his own feelings, his true self.

a) the answer to the Others are the direwolves, the Starks, their magical connection to Winterfell and what happened way back when.

b) the answer to Jon’s paternity is a violent embrace of his mother’s side.

c) the answer to his own stabbing will be warging into Ghost and biding his time in there, becoming more wolf than he ever anticipated.

d) the answer to his heart’s desire...

It was a long moment before he understood what was happening. When he did, he bolted to his feet. “Ghost?” He turned toward the wood, and there he came, padding silently out of the green dusk, the breath coming warm and white from his open jaws. “Ghost!” he shouted, and the direwolf broke into a run. He was leaner than he had been, but bigger as well, and the only sound he made was the soft crunch of dead leaves beneath his paws. When he reached Jon he leapt, and they wrestled amidst brown grass and long shadows as the stars came out above them. “Gods, wolf, where have you been?” Jon said when Ghost stopped worrying at his forearm. “I thought you’d died on me, like Robb and Ygritte and all the rest. I’ve had no sense of you, not since I climbed the Wall, not even in dreams.” The direwolf had no answer, but he licked Jon’s face with a tongue like a wet rasp, and his eyes caught the last light and shone like two great red suns.

Red suns. Arya’s wolf has golden coins (haggling for death, faceless men coins, spinning fates), Grey Wind has molten gold (like a crown that kills you). 

Jon’s wolf has red suns. Like the colors that the sun painted on the Wall. The direwolf in heart tree colors, inverted bastard colors of house Stark, Tully colors, Sansa colors. 

Red eyes, Jon realized, but not like Melisandre’s. He had a weirwood’s eyes. Red eyes, red mouth, white fur. Blood and bone, like a heart tree. He belongs to the old gods, this one. And he alone of all the direwolves was white. Six pups they’d found in the late summer snows, him and Robb; five that were grey and black and brown, for the five Starks, and one white, as white as Snow.

He had his answer then.

Not the red gods, not fire. The old gods. the heart tree, the wolves. He may be a Snow, but the old gods gave him Ghost. His own wolf. His white wolf. His place was made by their will. 

There is honor in that choice. No matter what anyone else says, Jon knows who he is and he has that power: to reject betraying his heart. 

How does this choice led by Ghost fit the layers?

a) The answer to the Others: don’t steal, don’t trick. Be honest. Accept what was painful. Not the Wall matters, the answer is in the heart tree.

b) The Dragon father does not Need to guide his decisions. He can let that go. He is a Snow.

c) Being in Ghost will lead him back to himself. Not fire, not Melisandre. The old gods.

d) Well... What does Jon want? What IS his answer?

Jon is filled with sudden energy. He strides back, rejects Val in his mind, stalks dramatically into the dining hall and is suddenly voted Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. We close on this:

So Jon Snow took the wineskin from his hand and had a swallow. But only one. The Wall was his, the night was dark, and he had a king to face.

Jon’s answer? We never hear it in this chapter. 

We hear it in ADWD, Jon I:

"By right Winterfell should go to my sister Sansa." 

And ADWD, Jon IV:

Jon said, "Winterfell belongs to my sister Sansa." 

The chapter is followed by? Sansa. Rebuilding Winterfell out of snow. 

When Jon lets go of pretense, honestly asks himself what he wants, shame or not, his wolf takes over and helps him find the answer and the path. The answer is not in taking the Castle and creating a mimicry of what it was, it is in honoring what it truly was and truly means. The heart over the structure. 

And in giving supremacy to the heart, to the red-white heart, he unknowingly paves the way for his own place: Winterfell built of Snow. He doesn’t have to steal the castle, he will be invited to belong.

That’s my own humble interpretation, anyway.

[emily-strange]

Sparks Fly

Thank you for all the feedback on chapter 2! I hope you like this one.

Still a lot of talking but the action is coming in the next chapter haha I promise!

Chapter 3

Pairing: Billy Butcher x OFC

Warnings: Swearing, Mention of Violence, *very* mild mention of child abuse (very very small), Mention of Drugs and Weapons.

…………………………………………………..

Emmy lies on the ratty old sofa and dozes.

After Butcher left, she went exploring and found a shower with some clean (she hoped) towels. The water was freezing but it meant she was able to get the dirt and grime off of her. She grabbed a tank top from her bag but after looking at her hoodie decided that she didn’t fancy putting the gross thing back on.

In one of the dingy bedrooms she found a short-sleeved shirt with a ridiculous pink pattern on it. She gave it a sniff and after determining it was cleaner than her hoodie, she put it on. It swamped her smaller frame but it kept the chill off. After finding an in-date energy bar, she collapsed back onto the sofa and eventually dozed off.

This is where she is when (who knows how many hours later) the door of the safe house bashes open.

“It’s done MM!” Butcher shouts as he comes stomping into the livingroom. MM follows carrying a woman over his shoulder as he grumbles. Emmy bolts upright and is ignored by both men when they storm into one of the bedrooms.

As she sits, calming her breath from the intense wake up, a third man comes hurrying into the room. He secures the door and mutters to himself in French. When he spots Emmy sitting wide-eyed on the sofa, he straightens himself out and rushes to sit next to her, extending his hand.

“Bonjour.” he says delicately and takes her hand, giving it the briefest of kisses, “You are, the…”

Emmy smiles and takes back her hand. Something about this man puts her at ease, his demeanour is calm despite his rapid breathing and dishevelled appearance.

“Um, Emmy.” She answers and he smiles widely.

“Un beau nom!” he says and Emmy shakes her head laughing a little, “Ah, uh, beautiful. Beautiful name. I’m…”

“….FRENCHIE!” Butcher shouts, interrupting the quiet, “Get tha fuck in there ‘nd help MM restrain ya girlfriend.” He watches Emmy smile genuinely at Frenchie and after the night they’ve had it pisses him off. A lot. Frenchie’s caused too much trouble!

Frenchie smiles warmly at Emmy and glares at Butcher before going to the bedroom where MM is. As the door closes, Emmy catches sight of the woman they’d carried in.

“What happened?” she asks quietly.

Butcher takes off his coat and tosses in onto the sofa next to Emmy. He runs a hand down his face and ignores the question. Before she can ask again, MM and Frenchie come out of the bedroom. MM making a beeline for the fridge.

The tension is thick as Frenchie moves to another corner of the room, his hands in his pockets. He looks down at the ground while MM downs a bottle of beer. Butcher heaves a big sigh and puts his hands on his hips, looking like a teacher about to scold his students.

“We have a fuckin’ long day t’morow alrigh’? Last thing I need is you at each ovas throats. We lost tha female ‘nd now we have tha female. So end of.”

Emmy points to herself and queries, “Who, me?”

“No not fuckin’ you.” Butcher growls and Emmy sarcastically throws her hands up in fake surrender. He then turns to MM.

“Go home. Get some rest.” he then turns to Frenchie, “You, make she’s definitely secure before hittin’ the hay.” Both men nod before moving to leave. Suddenly Butcher shouts, getting everyone’s attention again, “OH! And no more fuckin’ strays alrigh’! I didn’t think I’d actually haveta say it but…..fuck. Come on.”

MM scoffs and leaves with a shake of his head.

Even though Frenchie looks like he wants to have his say, he doesn’t. He does however look between Emmy and Butcher before shrinking into the bedroom housing the female.

Butcher checks his phone and collapses into a ratty chair that matches the sofa. He tiredly hangs his head back and closes his eyes.

For a moment Emmy just sits and waits….but that grows old very quickly.

“Okay, look, I don’t know what’s happening here oooor who that girl is but…..enough. I’m not a fucking stray and I definitely won’t be ‘restrained’ so…either let me leave or kill me.” She says sternly. Anger and annoyance bubbling up inside her.

Butcher doesn’t move. And for about 30 seconds Emmy wonders whether he’s actually asleep. Then he opens his eyes and looks at her.

“Wanna beer?” he says airily. Catching Emmy off guard.

“Um, no I’m good.” She says, “What game’re you playing?”

Butcher pushes himself up from the chair and grabs a beer from the fridge, taking a long swig.

“Oh luv, this ain’t a game. That girl in there is doped up to her fuckin’ eyeballs in summit called ‘Compound V’. Know anythin’ about that?” he asks, watching her face carefully.

“What? No. Why would I?” Emmy replies getting up from the sofa.

Butcher takes a second to look her over. She’s cleaner than when he left, she obviously found the shower. And she’s changed. He smirks a bit to himself when he sees how big his shirt is on her.

“You said ya family pushed drugs. They’re also on Vought’s payroll.” He states, keeping his mind on track.

“Yeah they do. Did.” Emmy says, quickly catching herself, “But like, Coke you know. Sometimes Meth if the money was right. Never heard of…whatever V.”

Butcher eyes Emmy and takes another swig of his beer. She can see that her answer has satisfied that part of his questioning. She groans, “Look. I’m losing it here okay? You gotta tell me what you want man.”

“That’s my shirt.” Butcher says quickly gesturing to Emmy.

“Oh..” she stutters, looking down at the shirt, “Did you…is that okay?”

Without answering, Butcher pulls out the piece of paper he took from Emmy earlier, putting it down on the table in the kitchen area.

“I sent a copy to a cop mate of mine. She’s gonna look inta it.” He grabs three more beers from the fridge and hands one to Emmy before collapsing into the chair again. Emmy stands for a moment with the beer, unsure what to do next. Butcher sees her hesitation and can’t help but chuckle.

“Look luv. I’m bloody knackered. No ones dyin’ t’night....well….unless that thing in there gets loose.” He says gesturing to the room with Frenchie and the Female.

“Fine.” Emmy says with a sigh and drinks some beer. She starts to sit down but stops herself, “You know what?! Not fine. No. Why are you keeping me here?! I don’t know anything. But I DO know what you’re doing. Keeping me off guard, on my toes, hoping I’ll slip…..well there’s nothing to slip!”

Butcher smirks, he’s always liked a feisty woman.

“I get that you hate people with….powers or whatever but like I said, I didn’t know I had any until recently.”

“Right, so what ya sayin’ is, you’ve not hurt no one wiv it yet?” Butcher asks knowing the answer.

Emmy stutters for a second, then drains more than half of her beer before sitting to perch on the edge of the sofa cushion. She squares her shoulders and looks at Butcher.

Butcher smiles and even though he’d never admit it, he’s impressed with how together she seems. Frazzled, sure, but she’s a far cry from the girl in the alley.

Emmy basically growls and shoots daggers at Butcher saying, “My names Emmy by the way. Not ‘luv’ and definitely not ‘sparky’.”

“I know.” Butcher answers quickly with zero emotion on his bearded face. Emmy can’t help the roll of her eyes and that only makes him want to annoy her more. He knows he can be such a child sometimes.

“Look. The family…..they were bad people. Are bad people…..” Emmy starts and mumbles the next part, “…I didn’t get them all” She drinks the rest of her beer and Butcher gestures with his bottle asking if she wants another. Which she does.

With another beer in her hand, Emmy turns and sits cross-legged on the sofa. She looks at Butcher and agrees mentally with his earlier statement. He looks exhausted. She knows she should be scared but from a young age Emmy’s always had this feeling that she’s been through worse. She’s survived worse. “Look, what do you wanna know?”

Butcher narrows his eyes at her and hums audibly, “Tell me about this family….mafia shit.”

“Um, okay so like I said. I grew up with them and you don’t just get to walk away when you’re 18….by then you know too much. About the weapons, the drugs, all that stuff. Every couple of years they’d take in another kid and sometimes they stuck and sometimes...they…didn’t.” Emmy pauses to have some of her new drink and grows uncomfortable under Butcher’s penetrating gaze. He takes note of her tense grip on the bottle and the darting of her eyes. She won’t focus on anything for too long. It seems that she may not be afraid of him and The Boys, but she’s scared of something.

“What happened when they didn’t stick?” Butcher asks when he senses her getting agitated. Better to have her focus and get it over with.

Emmy swallows, “Well. Sometimes a van would pick them up randomly one day. Or…they just disappeared. I’m pretty sure they’re dead. I have zero proof of that but it was always a bit of a threat you know? If you acted up. If you didn’t want to work.”

Butcher nods and the grip on his own beer intensifies. He grew up in a house run on fear. Imagining all those kids dealing with the same thing, without anyone to stand up for them. It makes him see red. Before he can dwell on it too much, Emmy continues.

“I wasn’t great with the books. Maths isn’t really my thing...” She laughs humourlessly, “…but when they showed me how to make the drugs and put together the guns, I just put my head down and did it. I planned to run a few times but always chickened out.”

“You were’a kid.” Butcher says resolutely.

“Yeah” Emmy nods, “But I’m not anymore…was still afraid.”

For a few seconds the two of them just watch each other in silence.

Butcher recognises the same self-hatred he sees whenever he looks in the mirror and Emmy, for once, feels no judgement directed towards her.

“I was weak. I didn’t help anyone but myself…About 10 years ago kids stopped getting dropped off. That was a fucking awful time. They were pissed. That’s about the same time Vought stopped the payments. From what I could tell from the paperwork anyways. I didn’t have that much time to peruse.”

Emmy hadn’t noticed but while she was talking, Butcher had swapped out her now empty beer for another one.

“I think that’s why they started shipping…people” Emmy grimace’s, “more money I guess? Anyway. When I found out I broke into the head office and just…..”

“Snooped?” Butcher finishes and gives Emmy a smirk that makes her stomach flutter. Maybe it’s the beer…

“Yeah, snooped. I found the Vought accounts. I was transferring the PDFs onto a drive but was…interrupted…”

Butcher gestures with his bottle to Emmy’s face, “That how you got the bruises? The ones I didn’t give ya.”

“Yeah. Boss and two of his sons. He has a few. While his sons were…giving the bruises, the boss just sat back and lit up a cigarette. I hate him…so fucking much.” Emmy stares off past Butcher and he smiles to himself. The type of rage she has is something he hoped Hughie would show signs of by now. He knows she said she can’t start fires but if asked, he’d of put money on her eyes shining red with flames.

“He always did that you know. Lit one up while someone else did the dirty work. No matter what it fucking was…those fucking white sticks poking out of his fat, ugly face. Then all of a sudden, that fat face was on fire. And before I knew it, everything was on fire.” Emmy laughs, “But I was just stood there…in the fire and not burning. It didn’t hurt at all. Before everything went completely to shit, I managed to print off one of the account files and ran….and then some asshole kicked me in the face!”

Emmy finishes her story by raising her bottle to Butcher in a ‘cheers’.

She laughs again before drinking but Butcher doesn’t join in. He looks at the fresh bruises blooming over her cheeks and jaw and internally flinches. Emmy notices his grim expression but before she can say anything, it disappears.

“Look, we’re bad guys. But we’re not that.” Butcher says leaning forward, putting his elbows on his knees, “Whatta you willin’ to do to get answers?”

Emmy drains her beer and rubs at her tired eyes. Damn she feels tipsy.

“Umm, I dunno. Burn people alive apparently.” She answers, louder than anticipated and giggles. Butcher shakes his head and finishes his own bottle. Putting it on the ground by his feet.

“The girl in there was kept in a cage and pumped with some kinda supe speed…my job is to find out why…” Butcher begins but is cut off by Emmy’s hand throwing itself into the air.

“I’ll help!!!!” she says enthusiastically.

“Alrigh’ then.” Butcher nods and gets up, “Get some rest. N stay outta that room. Fucker killed many people t’day. Probably best you don’t run inta her until Frenchie can calm her the fuck down again.”

Butcher scoffs when Emmy salutes him. For a supe, she sure can’t handle her drink.

He watches her lie down and snuggle into the uncomfortable sofa like it’s a 5* mattress. He grabs his coat and throws it over her before making his way to the other bedroom. He stops when Emmy quietly calls his name. He turns and can just about see that her eyes are closed and that she’s pulled his coat up around her.

“…..I’m not sorry. About them. I’m not sorry.” She whispers.

Butcher turns the lights off and makes his way to bed without answering.

But he does smile.

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

Non-Sequential [Ch. 17]

Pairing: Pre-Serum Steve Rogers/Steve Rogers x Reader

One night, Steve Rogers met a beautiful dame named Y/N. He hadn’t intended on letting her get away. But fate had other ideas. Y/N appeared and disappeared in his life so hauntingly that Steve started to wonder if she was an angel meant to watch over him.

Word Count: 3,400

Chapter 16

“She hates me,” Steve whispered the moment they were alone.

Bucky sighed.

Before calling Steve, Bucky hadn’t realized his actions would put him between Y/N and his best friend. He wanted to be there for both of them. Except he couldn’t side with Steve when he had been a complete and utter idiot. And he had no problem saying that to the punk, either.

“You know Steve…” Bucky sighed again. “You got pumped full of glorified steroids that made you grow a foot and gain over a hundred pounds.” Then he shook his head. “But it clearly didn’t do a thing to that head of yours, because you’re still shit with women.”

Despite the truth behind the insult, Steve still glared at Bucky.

“Thanks. Real helpful.”

Bucky took a step toward him. “She doesn’t hate you, Steve.”

He dipped his head. His newly shaggy hair fell a bit in front of his face. “She should.”

“You messed up,” Bucky told him bluntly. “So, fix it instead of feeling sorry for yourself.”

Steve gave him a little side smirk. “When did you get so harsh?”

Bucky scoffed, knowing Steve was only trying to tease him. “I happen to like Y/N a lot. Always have. But I’m done watching you hurt her because you’re an idiot.”

He started to walk away. His gut was telling him to go check on Y/N. But she had Steve now. It was his place now.

“Hey, Buck?” Steve called out before he could make his leave.

He turned around.

“Thanks for taking care of her,” Steve told him softly.

Bucky just stared into his eyes, trying to find a hidden message in his soft blue eyes. Was there jealously lingering? A subtle threat to stay away from Y/N?

But all there was in Steve’s face was sincerity and gratitude.

So Bucky just nodded awkwardly and continued on his way.

———————————

The next morning, Y/N heard a light tap on her door. She opened it to see a guard waiting for her on the other side.

“His Majesty has breakfast waiting in the Great Hall. He wished for me to ask you to join him,” the Kingsguard asked her carefully.

Y/N narrowed her eyes. “Is…” She had to stop herself from saying ‘Steve’. “Is Captain America attending as well?”

The guard seemed to have been prepared for such a question. Still, he shifted his weight uncomfortably and then nodded.

“Send His Majesty my apologies, but I have to take a raincheck.”

The guard wasn’t surprised by her response. T’Challa must’ve given him the heads up about the current situation.

Y/N gave him a forced smirk before slowly closing her bedroom door again. She’d hide out there for the rest of Steve’s visit if she had to.

————

Bucky sensed a presence heading towards his farm and somehow just knew it was Steve. He kept doing his gardening.

Before their little fight, Y/N had recently made a comment about how much space Bucky had on his property and what a shame he didn’t use any of it to plant flowers or fruits and vegetables.

“So, this is how you been spending your days…” Steve said as he looked around at Bucky’s farm, all the animals, and newly planted crops.

Bucky glanced up at him, wincing as the sun hit his eyes, but continued gardening. “Pretty much, yeah.”

“You seem to really like it here,” Steve sighed.

Bucky paused to look into his friend’s eyes and nodded, “I do, actually.”

“I’m glad, Bucky. Really glad.” His words couldn’t be more sincere.

“You talk to Y/N yet?” Bucky had enough of the small talk.

Steve shifted his weight and stared at the ground. “She won’t see me.”

Bucky wanted to say, ‘Maybe you’re not trying hard enough.’ But he refrained from doing so.

“Has she….” Steve put his hands on his hips and took a breath. “Has she said anything to you? About what happened? About me?”

Bucky finally stopped gardening. He plunged his trowel into the dirt so it stood up straight, half buried in the ground. He brushed his hand on his Wakandan tunic and finally got to his feet.

“Why do you think I called you, Steve?”

No response.

“She’s not talking to anyone. She won’t even talk to herself.” Bucky shook his head. “Yeah, Y/N’s mad at you. Real mad. But she doesn’t hate you. She could never.”

Steve never looked more guilty.

“The two of you have already been through so much. Hell, you guys fought time to be together. Yeah, you fucked up and Y/N’s not making it easy on anyone. But you can’t just leave her when things get tough because you think that’s what’s best for her.”

Steve smirked. “When did you get so wise?”

Bucky punched him lightly in the shoulder. “When my brain finally got cleared up with a little help from a Wakandan princess.” Then he gestured around them. “All I do is sit alone with my thoughts. Kind of hard not to get perspective on things.”

Steve just nodded in understanding.

But Bucky’s face had now gone dark and serious. “This is the hard part.”

Steve squinted, but just waited for him to continue.

Bucky ran his hand through his sweaty and knotted hair. There was no easy way to say what he was about to say. “I…I know what happened to Y/N.”

Steve took a step toward Bucky with a glare. “You just said she refused to talk to anyone.”

Bucky rubbed his face. “She didn’t tell me anything.”

Steve waited.

“I know... because I was there.”

Steve swore his blood ran cold. He immediately started pacing, distressed with all the directions his mind was going, all the scenarios he was imagining.

“Was it you?” Steve finally rasped.

“What?” Bucky blinked.

“Were you the one that did all of that to her?” Steve had never used such an angry tone toward Bucky before. And quite frankly, it was catching Bucky quite off guard.

“No! I would nev-” But Bucky stopped himself short, because who knew what he would’ve done to Y/N had he been ordered to?

Bucky sighed and shook his head. “Just…come inside, will you? I’ll explain everything that I know.”

An hour later, Steve was clenching his hands together into a fist. He had to do something to stop them from continuing to shake with pure rage. He was seated, forearms resting on his knees.

His eyes were glossed over with tears.

Bucky just watched his best friend like a lost puppy.

He hated being the one that had to tell Steve everything that happened to Y/N. But she showed no signs that she’d ever open up and talk about it.

“I’m-I’m sorry,” Bucky finally whispered with his head hung low.

Steve blinked at him.

“I should’ve done more,” Bucky continued.

Steve should’ve stopped his best friend’s guilt. But he was dealing with his own emotion, still shocked by everything Y/N had been through. He didn’t have it in him to talk down Bucky.

“I know you stayed away because you think being near her makes her travel to dangerous places in your life,” Bucky went on with a quiet tone, like he’d break something if it he spoke any louder. “But if you’re using that logic… it was me that nearly got her killed, not you.”

Steve sat up straighter, but still couldn’t find any words.

“You truly believe that loving her is what puts her in danger. But just being friends with me put her into the hands of Hydra.” Then his sad eyes met Steve’s. “Still think you’re the worst thing to ever happen to her?”

——————————

Y/N was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling. It was a screen display of sorts, making it appear as if she were on a jungle floor, looking up. It was almost disturbingly realistic.

Her mind is racing with both how to approach Steve and how to make sure she never has to see him again while he was in Wakanda. It was strange to want nothing more but to run into his arms while simultaneously wanting to slap him across the face for abandoning her.

Just when she was in the heat of her turmoil, she started feeling that tingle that had conditioned her blood to run cold with fear.

Her eyes widened as she sat up in bed, quick as a whip.

She swore under her breath as she tried to work the Kimoyo beads around her wrist just like Shuri had taught her.

A wave of relief washed over her when a hologram of Shuri projected from the bracelet.

“Finally using your Kimoyo beads, I see.” The princess beamed.

“Shuri! It’s happening. I don’t have much time. I just needed someone to–”

But she was already gone.

———————————

Bucky and Steve quickly turned to the door when they heard multiple people approaching Bucky’s hut outside.

Bucky put a palm on his friends chest, silently telling him to tease at ease.

“Bucky! Captain Rogers!” Shuri called in a panic as she knocked on the door.

Bucky rushed to the door and flung it open. Shuri was on the other side, with half a dozen Dora Milaje in tow.

“It’s Y/N.” Shuri said, clearly out of breath. She must have ran all the way here.

Steve now jolted forward from Y/N’s name alone.

“She’s traveled,” Shuri quickly added, not wanting to add any more suspense.

Then the princess held up a bracelet of Kimoyo beads. “But I’ve finally gotten a reading of when she travels.”

———————

The first thing Y/N heard was crickets. By some miracle it was warm and dark. There was a relaxed feeling in the air. Dare she say it was even a little soothing?

Y/N looked around, quickly taking in her surroundings. It looked like she was at a fort – no, not a fort. It was a camp.

“Camp Lehigh!” Y/N gasped, remembering Steve telling her about the place he had trained for the army, before he had even received the super-soldier serum.

It seemed to be late enough in the night that no one was wandering the camp.

Her observations were halted when she caught a figure through a window.

It was Steve. Pre-serum Steve, to be exact.

He was sitting on a cot, alone in a cabin.

His hands were fidgeting in his lap. Anyone could tell – even watching through a window – that the boy was nervous.

Y/N’s chest tightened when she realized this must be the night before the procedure.

She took a step toward the cabin, but then quickly stopped herself.

She didn’t have to go to him. She could easily find some extra clothes or a military blanket and hide this out until she returned to the present.

But it was in that moment that Y/N realized how much she missed Steve. But it wasn’t just Steve, it was their past. Believe it or not, even with her time traveling, it seemed like she’d been brought back to simpler times. Times when Y/N was just a friend visiting Steve. This was before they fell in love, before Steve took responsibility to ever single bad thing to ever happen to Y/N.

And Y/N realized she missed it.

She missed the innocent way young Steve used to look at her and talk to her.

So, Y/N found herself tiptoeing toward his cabin now.

Her fist hesitated above the wood before knocking lightly.

“Come in,” Steve answered.

Even those two words were unable to hide his nervousness.

Y/N slowly opened the door and slipped into the cabin.

Steve jumped to his feet when he realized it was not a comrade or scientist entering.

He quickly looked away from her and even shifted his body so he was angled in a different direction than her.

Y/N smirked, forgetting for a moment how shy and innocent this version of Steve was.

It was strange to know there could ever come a time when Steve didn’t avert his gaze. That he would drink in her naked body, claiming it and taking in every detail as if she were the most beautiful being in the world.

“Sorry,” Y/N quickly muttered, not wanting to make the poor boy uncomfortable. She quickly whipped a blanket off one of the extra cots and wrapped it under her arms, almost like a strapless dress.

As soon as he knew she was covered, Steve quickly turned back to face her. He was beaming at her.

“What?” Y/N asked, almost with an accusatory tone.

“Nothing. I…I was just thinking how much I wish you could be here. And then you just – you appeared. I feel like I just got a wish granted by a fairy godmother or somethin’.”

However, Y/N didn’t find it as amusing as him.

Her response made Steve’s face drop slightly.

“You OK?” He asked.

She just nodded. Then she moved to sit on a cot. But she didn’t choose the one that was right next to his. Instead, she chose the one that was opposite of his, on the other side of the room, putting unnecessarily extra space between them.

Steve didn’t miss it and hesitantly sat on the edge of his own.

Y/N was grateful that her bruising was basically entirely gone. She didn’t feel like answering questions.

“Y/N?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you alright?”

Y/N finally looked into his eyes.

“It’s just…” he continued, “You won’t even look at me. And you’re so… You’re so far away. Did I do something wrong?”

Y/N swallowed and looked down at her bare toes.

“Not this version of you,” she finally muttered without even meaning to.

But even with his bad hearing, Steve still caught it. His eyes widened.

“What did I do?” Steve whispered.

She just shook her head and shrugged. “I shouldn’t – I can’t tell you things like that.”

Steve sighed and nodded, understanding why she couldn’t say more. “Well, I’m still sorry. I wish I could say I’d stop myself from clearly being an idiot. But we know that I can’t really change the future.”

Then he looked up and gave her a sheepish smile.

Silence settled in the cabin and once again their ears were filled with the sound of crickets outside in the summer air.

“Maybe I shouldn’t go through with this tomorrow,” Steve mumbled, eyes refusing to leave the ground.

Y/N instantly stood up. “What?” She gasped and then moved to sit on the edge of Steve’s cot. “Why would you ever say such a thing?”

“Maybe I’m not as good of a person as everyone believes I am,” he mumbled again.

Y/N reached under his chin to make Steve look her in the eye. “That’s impossible. Steve, you’re the best man I’ve ever met.”

“Are you sure? Because I’ve never seen you like this, so certainly I messed up big time.”

Y/N sighed.

As soon as she started thinking of how to handle this situation, her eyes became coated with tears. “Yeah, you messed up. Big time.” Then she let out a laugh as she wiped away some tears.

“Are you going to forgive me?” Steve asked, clearly scared of her answer.

Y/N’s gut reaction was to say, ‘Of course. You’re the love of my life.’ But Steve didn’t know that yet.

She sniffed and rubbed away more tears. “It’s going to take some time. But I know we’ll get through it.”

Steve seemed relieved by that. “I’m sorry…for whatever I did.” He told her again. Then he shook his head. “But I do know - not matter what - if you’re mad at me, I’m real bent out of shape about it. Can’t imagine anything worse, really – you being mad at me.”

Y/N couldn’t help but giggle at it.

Seeing and hearing the sound made Steve lighten up a bit and smile at her.

And just like that the tension seemed to be released from the cabin.

“Are you nervous for tomorrow?” Y/N asked him softly, bringing the attention onto him now. She moved to the cot next to his so she could face him. 

Steve winced at the question, but then reluctantly nodded.

Y/N reached over with the hand that wasn’t holding her blanket up and squeezed his hand. “It’s going to be fine. I know, because I’ve seen it.” Then she winked at him.

Steve swore his heart stopped from the gesture.

“Does it…Does it work?” He asked.

She gave him a side smirk and nodded.

“You’ve always had a big heart, Steve. I didn’t think it was possible for it to get any bigger. But soon you’ll get to act in the name of it. If you’re doubting Dr. Erskine’s decision to pick you… you shouldn’t. He couldn’t have chosen anyone better.”

Steve blushed at the compliment. “Thank you for saying that.”

“Now…enough of all this. We need to talk about something more important.” Y/N told him with a newfound mischievousness.

Steve tilted his head to the side. “What’s that?”

Y/N smirked, “That new crush you have on Agent Carter.”

His eyes immediately widened and he blushed. “How-What-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Y/N laid down on the cot and faced him, like a giddy teenage girl at a sleepover.

Steve laughed and did the same, laying on his side to face here.

Their faces were barely two feet away from each other.

Y/N asked him questions about Peggy, loving to see what Steve was like with a schoolboy crush, especially knowing that soon it would be more than just an innocent crush. No, soon Peggy would be his first love.

They giggled and joked around. Steve’s mind was taken off of the experiment that was just hours away.

In return, Y/N was reminded of how Steve and Y/N’s relationship started. Before The Avengers, before Hydra, before Steve put saving the world before anything and anyone… Y/N and Steve had merely been best friends.

It was silly to think that ending her relationship with Steve would magically stop her time traveling. Because even if they weren’t in love with each other one day, Y/N realized she would always love Steve.

As the sun was just about to hit the horizon and make its way into the sky, Y/N had fallen asleep on the cot across from the Steve. She couldn’t remember the last time she had fallen asleep so easily. So deep in a sleep, in fact, that she didn’t even feel the extra blanket Steve had draped across her before he too tried to get some sleep.

When Y/N awoke, she was in her bed back at the Wakandan palace.

She jumped up and quickly moved about to find clothes.

She rushed out of her room so quickly that she even startled her own guard, who quickly muttered into his Kimoyo bracelet that she had returned. Y/N didn’t know who he was talking to, neither did she care.

Y/N only cared about one thing right now.

When she finally arrived at the door, she stared at it for a moment.

She took in a deep and shaky breath. But she finally found the courage to knock.

The door slowly opened and revealed Steve giving her a surprised look from her standing outside his bedroom.

Y/N still wasn’t used to his beard and long hair. It almost made him seem like a stranger.

“Y/N,” Steve gasped in both surprise and relief from seeing that she’d returned from her travels unharmed.

Y/N took a hesitant half-step forward. “Hey,” she whispered.

“Hi,” Steve whispered back.

Then Y/N couldn’t control herself any longer. She flung herself at Steve, closing the couple of feet left between them.

Steve seemed utterly relieved by the gesture and didn’t miss a beat with wrapping his arms tightly around her. She buried her face into his neck and took in his scent.

Steve didn’t know when he’d be able to let her go again.

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

Chapter 18

Ehhhhhh??? Let me know what you think. 

[alkhale]

Nascent A/B/O AU (Ko-fi request)

hi i’d love an a/b/o au for nascent i’m absolutely in love with these characters and would love to see them in this universe pls pls pls

Once, Damian Wayne had cared about the topic of second genders.

Back when he did not just consider himself simply a son of his father. Back when being heir apparent and young emperor of the League of Shadows was his title, his life, and his purpose. Back when Damian was proud to have the blood of al Ghul running through his veins, when he was groomed from birth to grave to be the greatest assassin, the greatest leader, and eventual conqueror of this world and the next over. Back when the scent of blood was comfort and the easy grip of metal between his fingertips was the same as holding a fork, raising a gun to someone’s temple or slicing through bone and flesh like cutting weeds.

The idea of second genders was just a small addition to that grand scheme.

His mother was an alpha. His father was an alpha. His grandfather as well. Strong blood ran through their veins, dominant blood that was groomed and inherently bred to conquer and control. Alphas stood at the top of the hierarchy and living up to inherit this gene seemed only second nature on his quest toward the top. His mother had taught it to him, simple.

“Omegas are at the bottom,” Talia said. “They are weak and must be protected by nature. They are of little threat to you aside from the power their own instincts may have over you. You will train to combat this. To be above your natural instincts so as not to fall prey to an omega’s whims. Their best purpose is for breeding, but you must not cast them aside. Any threat is available in any shadow,  no matter how weak.”

Betas were the general population. The normal. Insignificant. Betas could try and fight but odds were they would never hold a candle to danger in his life. Other alphas, however, were his greatest concern. People genetically on level with his own status, but not level with his skill, his grit, his everything. He would make sure of that.

Damian attended his lessons, understood the properties, trained to hone in his own pheromones and senses, remained rigorous against the omegas his mother would bring into the temple to train him how to combat their own advances, remain calm and lucid even under the most powerful scents.

Damian presented young—at nine compared to the usual ten to twelve. His mother did not praise him, simply nodded, satisfied. Being born an alpha was the least he should be able to do. She’d kill him otherwise.

Second genders were simply a small addition to his life, they were nothing in the bigger picture, just as always.

And then his life changed.

“Justice, not vengeance.”

His life with his father changed him. His life with them changed him. These long, age-old beliefs of second genders were not...erased, but Damian learned to adapt and tweak the small bits his mother had instilled into him with an iron grip. Betas were still subpar, he still stood at the top of the food chain, and omegas were minute concerns.

Grayson was the only exception. Drake lived up perfectly to the beta ideal of not enough compared to his own skills. Grayson, however, had come across to him as nothing but pure alpha material and had still revealed himself to be nothing more than a humble beta. He was the anomaly, and he made Damian rethink his own earlier thoughts on what it meant to be a beta, to be anything in this world.

“Why weren’t you born an alpha?”

Grayson smiled, bright blue eyes shining.

“Does it matter?”

Todd was the only one of his predecessors to have presented as an alpha, but he was a dark, complicated stain and unwinding thread in the history of Robins that still brought a quiet look to his father’s face, and Damian usually preferred not to have much to do with him. Given the nature of that half-dead idiot, Alfred had said he was never one to care much about being an alpha or otherwise.

En route to becoming a hero, not quite washing the blood from his hands, never anything as easy as that, but on his way to trying to never have blood on his hands again—Damian was confronted with a force far more dangerous than anything he had ever faced before.

“Hiya! You’ve got pretty eyes—wanna play the piano with me?”

Pandora Jayes, stupid, strange, bright-eyed and horribly… cheerful, ten-years old, sweet smelling (he figured it was the nature of her home, a bakery) always… smiling, that strange, strange girl, and currently unpresented.

Pandora Jayes, after trial and error, after time, time, and time, after being with him, slipping her tiny fingers into cracks no one else should have fit into, politely leaving her shoes outside his chest before slipping into his heart—Pandora Jayes, his precious, precious friend.

In all their time together, she never asked what his second gender was. 

Soft blue eyes, like frost, thin slabs of rounded ice that always looked so warm. They blinked at him, curious. A warm sweater hugged her shoulders, mottled brown hair pulled away from her face into a small braid that curled over her neck. Her beaming smile, even when he wasn’t doing a damn thing.

“Well, that stuff’s not even important,” Pandora sniffed the air experimentally. “You’re a big strong alpha, sure. But who cares about that?”

Her stupid grin.

“You’re Dam.”

Not Damian, conqueror of worlds. Not Wayne. Not Robin. Not alpha. Not anyone else.

Just him.

Throughout their years together, Pandora’s unpresented state worked as a strange sort of time bomb for his nerves. Yes, with Pandora, Damian had begun to wrap his head around a different notion of second genders, one he’d never quite considered before—a lack of thinking about them. And yes, he did not care about what Pandora would present as, he would find… favorable thoughts of her regardless. He was Dam, she was Pandora.

Mine. A quiet, rippling growl in the far, far, abyss of his chest. It pressed against his throat sometimes, threatening to intoxicate the air. My Pandora. My beloved.

Damian Wayne had been trained in his youth to be able to press and control his pheromones better than anything else. He knew how to use his scent, heavy and powerful to his advantage and he knew when to tamper it down onto a tight lid.

...sure, on the occasion, the rare occasion, when sweet-smelling, soft, warm Pandora beside him… happened to spur a scenting or two, then by all means. Pandora did not mind, so there was no problem if he was rolling his fingers against the barely noticeable scent glands on her wrists. Pandora didn’t seem to mind or notice otherwise unless that stupid Mary happened to complain about how Pandora reeked of him. That was perfectly fine, in his opinion. Pandora was his. She should smell like him.

Pandora’s scent didn’t stick long. He could barely catch it on his clothes or against his skin, sniffing in vain and ignoring a faintly bemused Alfred. Because she hadn’t presented, it had little power or effect.

 Damian would often find himself pressing his face into the crook of her neck, waiting there, wondering as Pandora babbled on and on beside him.

At fifteen years old, Pandora had yet to present.

It wasn’t particularly uncommon, but it wasn’t normal either. Most presented by twelve, but the latest account of presenting occurred somewhere at eighteen. He could not quite imagine what it would be like to wait three more years to know the turn Pandora’s scent would take, the way her body might shift, the small turn of those eyes and the way—

Lucy Jayes was a beta. He did not know what Pandora’s father was but she said she thought alpha. Odds were Pandora herself would present as a beta. It only made sense.

And yet…

There was something to Pandora’s scent that always tugged at his senses, pressed hard at his throat and flooded his chest. A promise in her scent. A promise he wanted to see fulfilled. Damian Wayne was a man with many secrets and while he bared many openly to Pandora the same way she bared her heart so kindly to him—so good, so good, just the way it should be, that’s it—there were some… occasional musings Damian found himself considering.

Yes, he would love Pandora no matter what. Yes, no matter how she presented, she would remain by his side, that would never ever change. Never. Never. Never. A fiercer voice growled, snarling and fangs bared to the world.

But there were moments. Slim, small moment where Damian allowed himself to wonder, eyes drifting to the smooth skin of Pandora’s neck. About a Pandora with a certain scent. A Pandora with the ability to meet his own a way only two bodies could. A Pandora whose neck would allow his fangs to sink in, to forge and uphold the promise he wanted to exist. A Pandora who—

Was an omega.

Damian Wayne no longer believed omegas were to be protected. They were not spineless, crawling beings. They were people, one in the same, he was wrong to have ever thought otherwise. And while he knew better than to live into stereotypes and prejudice, he couldn’t help but imagine, that soft Pandora, a Pandora as an omega would fit so… so right.

“I’ll just be a beta,” Pandora said, licking her lips as they shared another cone of ice cream. He watched the action in slow fascination. “No biggie. Presenting as an omega isn’t bad, but it’s too much work.”

No. A quiet, low growl in his chest. You’ll be perfect.

“Whatever you are,” Damian said, raising his voice above the growl. “You will be perfect.”

Pandora flushed, looking stupidly pleased with herself as she mumbled incoherencies at him. Damian took the moment to scent her again. She spoiled him and he refused to let her stop.

He meant it, he really did. No matter what, nothing would change the way he felt. He just… could dream, couldn’t he?

Pandora suddenly stiffened beside him. Damian paused, catching the shift in her language in a second. He raised his head from her neck, watching her face, pulling away to guage her expression. What had happened? Did she see something? “Pandora?”

“I just,” Pandora stopped. She touched her forehead, touched her neck. Sweat was beginning to gather along her brow and something was starting to stir, slow and heavy in the pit of Damian’s stomach. He gripped the bench tighter, inhaled the air, something sharp and sweet. His eyes went wide. “Yikes. I don’t feel so hot, Dam. I think—”

“Presenting?” Damian said, cutting quick.

Pandora froze, looking at him with wide eyes. “Is… you think so?”

I know so. His heart thrummed to life, steady against his chest. Damian quickly stood, dumping the cone into the trash and grabbing his coat. Pandora’s scent was growing thicker, heavier, sweeter. That low voice in his chest was beginning to growl, harder, louder.

Pandora’s eyes were round with disbelief. She was panting now, soft, quick little breaths. She kept smelling the air, rubbing her wrists, looking uncertainly at him. She rubbed her jaw. She’s not comfortable. It’s happening too fast.

I don’t want anyone else to see.

The park was practically empty. A couple sat a few benches away. Damian’s inner voice barked out a rough order.

No one else but me.

“Quickly,” Damian swallowed, hard. Calm yourself. Calm. She needs you more than anyone else right now. Get her home. Move from there. Think later, plan later. Now is just for her. Damian reached for Pandora’s wrist. “You shouldn’t be out and about—”

Slap!

For a brief second, Damian’s world came to a screeching, abrupt halt.

Pandora’s hand trembled in the air for a second, fingers shaking before they curled quickly into a tight fist. Her eyes were wide, staring at him in disbelief, one of her hands now cupped over her mouth, over her nose. Her eyes watered and—

Damian blinked, unable to process his hand hovering in the air, slapped aside and—

The scent hit him, heavy and—

Damian slapped a hand over his own nose on reflex. It came, raw and sharp, like fresh cut ginger and pure vanilla extract. But it cut into the air, sweet and forceful. There was power to it, pulsing and stinging his nose in a way he was only familiar with—

“Oh,” Pandora gasped, both her hands over her mouth, hiding what must be her now prominent fangs. “Oh. Oh, my… damn.”

It was uncharacteristic of Pandora to curse in such a manner.

What on earth?

Tentatively, unable to mistake the smell, Damian sniffed the air. He looked at Pandora as though she’d decked him across the face and told him she was running off to the League of Shadows.

Two raw, wild balls of energy pressed hard into each other. Their scents battled in a way only two similar scents could do. The low, threatening growl in his chest and the way Pandora had nearly lashed out at him.

Pandora gaped, jaw dropping and Damian almost, almost did the same.

Pandora Jayes, fifteen, his beloved, precious friend—

Had presented as an alpha.

“Scheisse,” Damian said.

- scheisse means shit in german, damian just defaulted to any random language because he’s .-. rn and pandora is :0

(I HAD A LOT OF FUN WITH THIS, THIS WAS THE TWIST I ALWAYS WANTED TO TAKE I HOPE THAT’S OKAY)

[danganronpaheadcanons]

ooo why do you dislike maki?

Like for all of the other characters on that list it boils down to, they started to annoy me later on. But I’ll explain it a bit more because you asked.

It’s not that I hate Maki, and after my first playthrough I still liked her, but after several replays I started to become kinda frustrated with her because some of her actions are so... irrational and do others and her self only harm.

For example, she lies about her talent. While I understand her fear that people would hate her for who she is, lying is not really the best option here. An assassin mostly works from the shadows, being an assassin does not really work if others know that you are one, so telling them right of the bat that she is one would be the better choice, but lying here isn’t really my problem with her.Its’ her brilliant /s reaction to Kokichi revealing the truth.

Like, Maki did not tell them that she is an assassin because she feared that the others would hate her because they will think she will harm/kill anyone... so what is the first thing she does AFTER the secret is out? Right, she attacks Kokichi and threatens to kill him.Because that will NOT cause people to think you will harm/kill anyone because??? It’s the worst reaction she could have. After replaying the game I realized what a dumb reaction that is. I understand, that she is angry, but really? She totally proofs her own point with this.

“Now people will fear/hate me”, yeah, maybe they wouldn’t if you hadn’t STRANGLED someone right after he told everyone your secret. Good job, Maki.

And well, it’s also everything related to Chapter 5 because she totally does what Tsumugi wanted. Kokichi kidnappes Kaito and tells them the “truth” about the outside world so they would become so hopelessly lost they would stopp the killing because why would they even want to escape, right?Tsumugi needed a reason someone will start killing again, so she plants another Flashbacklight that says Kokichi is a Remnant of Despair.Apart from the fact that I don’t really understand how that makes Kokichi worth killing more than before since he already reveales himself as “the mastermind”... really Maki? Instead of thinking about a plan together to rescue Kaito you go on a solo mission to kill Kokichi and as it fails you even try to pin point the crime you thought you committed on him so he would be killed with everyone else. No matter the collateral damage, at least Kokichi is dead.I mean, I can’t be the only one who thinks this is realy fucked up. What is the reason to kill Kokichi than in the first place? Shouldn’t it be to save everyone from the mastermind or something? How do you save them if they die as well? You are fine with the death of three (potentially four if you count Tsumugi because she doesn’t know about her being the mastermind yet) innocent people, who you consider your friends just to kill one person and... for what reason even? Because he is The Mastermind™ or maybe because he is a Remnant of Despair™? Maybe, but what does his death brings you if everyone else is dead too?

And the worst thing about this is, her plan to kill Kokichi is the whole reason Kokichi and Kaito had to die. Apart from the fact that they would’ve died from the poisen anyway, the only reason Kokichi came up with that crazy suicide plan is because Maki doomed them. It was never part of his original plan.I mean, well played Tsumugi, I guess? Your plan worked, your Flashbacklight caused the death of two potential threats.

But it’s so frustrating to know, that they maybe had survived until the end if Maki hadn’t do this, if she just had thought about some plan to rescue Kaito or something, but no, she had to ruin it.

Well, yeah, these are the things that make her really frustrating for me.

Mod Byakuya

[originalhybridloverfics]

You’re Not Broken, You’re Stronger Than You Know Ch2

A/N: I am finally updating this story. I hope you like this chapter!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Felicity shifted on her feet, feeling a little nervous. Oliver wasn’t here to do this, and she thought he should have been. Felicity didn’t begrudge him for needing to take some time to himself. After everything he’d been through, she believed he earned that right. 

Still, it didn’t change the fact there was a city, his city that needed him. His best friend just lost his father. Malcolm was the worst, but he was still Tommy’s father. 

Tommy, who had been seriously injured, hospitalized and was looking at a very long road to recovery. Moira was in jail. Walter was doing his best to keep QC afloat. A near-impossible task considering the scandal behind Moira and Robert Queen’s involvement in the Undertaking that had leveled the Glades and killed over 300 people. Thea was on her own besides Walter and Tommy, her brother up and left, her mother was in prison and her boyfriend, Roy, was having constant run-ins with the law. 

Felicity felt like it was up to her to pick up the fractured pieces of Oliver’s life, his family. At least she still had Digg to talk to and help shoulder the burden.

Felicity took a deep breath and nodded to herself. She walked forward not paying much regard to the man in a black suit standing guard. 

“Miss, you can’t go in.” his hand shot out blocking her. 

Felicity pursed her lips. “I just want to check in on a friend.” 

“I understand, but I’m under strict instructions that unless you’re Thea Queen or Laurel Lance, you are not going in there.” 

Felicity glared, she wanted to yell at him, but she knew he was just doing his job. “Fine, could you tell him Felicity stopp-”

“Wait, you’re Felicity Smoak?” The guard’s stern tone change, becoming more friendly. 

“Last time I checked that’s what it says on my birth certificate,” Felicity responded with an arched brow. 

“Sorry about that, ma’am.” he apologized, stepping aside to let her pass. 

“I thought I wasn’t allowed unless I was Thea or Laurel?” She questioned. 

“Mr. Diggle gave one exception to that order,” he answered. “With Felicity Smoak being the exception. Again, I apologize, Ma’am.” 

“It’s okay, Mr..” Felicity trailed off expectantly. 

“James Evans.” Evans supplied. 

“It’s okay, Mr. Evans, I know you’re just doing your job.” 

Evan’s nodded in reply, and she smiled politely moving past him and pushing her way into the room he was guarding. Her eyes taking in the white walls, the beeping monitor and the man hooked up to it with an IV drip. 

His skin was pale, his lips cracked and dry with dark circles under his eyes, his hair was unruly and spiked up in a case of terrible bedhead. Honestly, Felicity had never seen Tommy Merlyn look worse for wear. 

He looked up as she entered his room, registering surprise. “Felicity?”

“Hey, I brought you some get well flowers. I figured they could brighten up your room a bit.” His room was pretty sparse of get-well cards or flowers.

“I’m afraid all I’m getting these days are death threats calling for a Merlyn’s head. It’s why your friend Mr. Diggle thought it necessary to have security stationed at my door.” 

Felicity frowned, placing the flowers on his hospital tray table. “The city is looking for someone to blame. Mrs. Queen is in custody, but Malcolm is dead, and because Mr. Merlyn is dead they’re looking for the next scapegoat, so they figure why not the last remaining Merlyn. Still, none of that makes it right. What your father did isn’t on you. None of this is your fault.”

Tommy’s eyes shuttered at the mention of his father. “Oliver promised me, he didn’t kill him. He lied.” 

Felicity pursed her lips. “He thought you were going to die, and he didn’t want that to be your last memory. I know it doesn’t excuse his lying, but he was trying to give you peace of mind in what he believed was going to be your last moments.”

Tommy frowned at her. “You make it really hard for a guy to be mad when you make his actions sound rational.” 

“Things look rational from an outsider's perspective. I’m not saying you can’t be angry or mad at him. After everything that has happened between the two of you in the past couple of months, I think you deserve to feel; however, you want.” 

Tommy’s brow furrowed. “What are you saying then?” 

“I’m saying if you’re going to be mad and blame Oliver at least look at it from a clear perspective and make sure it’s for the right reasons.” 

A silence fell over them as he considered her words. A part of Tommy knew she was right. He was angry with Oliver, but it wasn’t all about his dad. It was about Laurel, about Oliver’s willingness to kill. It was about the secrets and lack of trust. It was the fact that he no longer knew who his best friend was. 

Yes, he blamed Oliver for all of it. But how did he stop blaming Oliver when he was at the center of it all. 

“I hear you, but I don’t know how to not be mad about everything and being stuck in this hospital doesn’t help any,” said Tommy doing his best not to take his anger out on her that he felt for Oliver.  

“Maybe what you need is time,” Felicity said quietly. “Time to work through your anger and time to heal.” 

“Maybe,” Tommy said though he didn’t believe it was that easy or that simple. 

“In any case, I’m here if you need anything,” Felicity smiled. “Even if you just need a substitute friend.”

“Substitute friend?” Tommy repeated, he felt his lips tugging up into a small smile despite his bad mood. 

“Yeah, you know, like a stand-in friend. Since I would be subbing in for Oliver, filling in for him since he decided he couldn’t be here right now.”

“Felicity Smoak has anyone ever told you, you’re a little on the weird side?”

Felicity smiled wryly. “You wouldn’t be the first to say that.” 

“All the best people are,” Tommy continued flashing Felicity a small grin. 

Felicity smiled and shook her head just as the door to Tommy’s room opened again, Tommy’s face lighting up with his latest visitor. “Thea,” he greeted. 

“Hey, I was going to come by sooner, but it’s tough avoiding the media right now. It’s a shit show out there.” Thea greeted, her eyes moved to Felicity, her brow furrowing. “Hey, don’t I know you. You’re Oliver’s friend, right? You came to the hospital when Walter came back. Felicity, I think it was?

“Yes, that was me,” Felicity nodded. 

“I didn’t know you were friends with Tommy, too,” Thea glanced at Tommy. 

“We met through Oliver and the club. She set up the club’s Wifi, and she’s been a good friend.” Tommy told her. “You should get to know each other. I’m sure the two of you would hit it off.” 

“I’m gonna go, but I’ll see you later. Tommy.” Felicity interjected. 

“You don’t have to leave.” Tommy protested. 

“Yeah, stay, if you’re going to be hanging around Tommy and Oliver, I definitely think we should get to know each other better.” Thea took the chair next to Tommy’s bedside, leaning back in the seat and crossing her legs gracefully. “So Felicity, just what kind of friends are you with Tommy and Oliver?” 

“The usual kind?” Felicity said she hadn’t meant to sound so unsure, but she suddenly felt like she was sitting in an interrogation room, and Thea Queen was her interrogator. 

Her flight and fight instincts were kicking in but how the hell was she supposed to just walk out with Tommy looking at her like he was looking for acceptance and Thea like she was her new project. 

With a sigh, she settled into the second chair. “What do you want to know?”

Thea leaned forward with keen interest. “I know how you and Tommy met, but how did you meet my brother? How long have you been friends? Or you really just friends or something more? Just how close are you to Tommy and Oliver?”

Felicity’s eyes widened as Thea fired question after question in rapid succession, Tommy snickering in the background. 

Felicity didn’t know where to start answering Thea’s question, and all she could think was...

What did she just get herself into?

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

A/N: Thanks for reading!

If anyone wants to be tag for this one let me know!

[protagonistprepblog]

Protagonist Prep Ch 14 Team Alien’s Mission: Seeing Double

Just a few miles away from Beach City everything seemed to be peaceful and calm with nary a worry in sight. Until a massive rainbow sized portal ripped through the fabric of reality, out of the portal five figures walked out. One was gigantic nearly the size of a Jasper, one was a small boy with a strange haircut, a girl with purple hair, a insect like creature, a pudgy boy and finally a girl with long hair tied in a ponytail.

             “Alright, team,” the giant man said in an authoritative tone, “let’s go over the mission objective one more time to make sure everyone’s clear.”

             "Zim knows what to do!" The insect like figure exclaimed his voice filled with arrogance.

 "Then please explain what we are doing?" The giant figure asked Zim who quickly clamed up, the giant figure just nodded and turned to the chubby boy.

 "Steven could you explain what the mission is?" The giant asked the now known Steven.

 "We're going to stop a bad guy from disrupting this dimension?" Steven suggested still new to this interdimensional work.

 "Good job!" The giant figure told Steven who smiled at the praise.

 "Why does this place look familiar?" The ponytail figure asked rather confused by this.

             Steven agreed with her sentiment, he looked around and it looked familiar to him as well. He looked further down the beach and noticed a massive monument of a multi armed woman.

 “Connie,” he addressed the girl with the ponytail “This is Beach City. We’re home!”

             "How is this possible?!" Connie asked in bewilderment as she stared at the familiar statue.

 "The multiverse is full of possibilities, so it's not out of the realm of reality for us to come upon a similar dimension." The giant figure told the young girl as he began to rub his chin in thought.

 "New plan, Steven, Connie scout ahead and see if there's anything here that's unusual. Signal us if you need back up." The giant figure told the two as he tried to channel what Sir called his inner boss.

 “Will do,” Connie said as she and Steven ran into the town.

 “So, what’re we going to do?” the purple haired girl asked in an apathetic tone.

             "Look around the area, if Odchodnik has operations here then it must be close somewhere." The giant figure answer, he began to walk fowards to what scent he could catch.

 "Come know accolytes an adventure awaits!!" The giant figure exclaimed and the three kids began to follow him. Meanwhile, in a house resting at the base of the massive stone monument.

 “Come on, dad,” Rose exclaimed, “why can’t we come with you?”

 “Because,” Steven replied with crossed arms, “we’re coming to be investigating a recent rash of child abductions, and we don’t want to risk you getting taken too.”

 “Then wouldn’t it make more sense for us to come with you,” Vihaan asked.

             “Not if the kidnappers return to the scene of the crime,” Connie added, “besides, Jasper will be watching you.”

 “I’ll watch them like hawks,” Jasper reassured them.

 “Steven, Connie,” Garnet called to the couple, “let’s go! We’re burning daylight!”

 Steven and Connie Hughes the kids, “We’ll see you when we get back."

 Steven, Connie, and the gems then ran out of the house, leaving Rose, Vihaan, and Celeste alone with Jasper.

 “You guys wanna get some training done while the others aren’t home,” Jasper asked the youths slyly.

 “Yeah,” they replied enthusiastically.

 They then grabbed their weapons and raced out to the beach to get some training done. As young Steven and Connie were walking through Beach City they noticed that several things were off, the Big Donut had new workers, there seemed to be no sign of the cool kids and Onion wasn't in sight doing anything anarchist.

 "Wow, Beach City really changed while we were gone." Steven joked trying to make the situation light.

 "Well this is different from home, I wonder what's different about it?" Connie mused as she looked around the boardwalk.

             “The rides are all the same, but they look even older,” Steven observed as they walked around.

 Steven then accidentally walked face-first into a statue, since he wasn’t paying attention. He fell backwards and Connie quickly helped him back up. “I know that wasn’t there.”

 The pair looked at the statue curiously, it seemed familiar to them, but they just couldn’t figure out why.

 “Hey, Connie,” Steven asked, “does that guy in the statue look familiar to you?”

 Connie noticed an inscribed plaque at the base of the statue, “Aha! Maybe this’ll shed some light on the subject.”

 She then read the inscription aloud for them both to hear. “Steven Quartz Universe: Beach City’s Greatest Hero?” Connie and Steven gasped, Steven started to read the rest. “He and his Crystal Gems have not only kept Beach City safe from various threats, but have also touched the lives of many of our residents. “

 Steven and Connie looked at each other. “Steven”

Connie got the attention of her friend. “I think we’re in the future.”

 "That's impossible, how could that happen?!" Connie wondered as she pressed a hand to her forehead trying to wrap around the situation.

 "Well maybe interdimensional travel sometimes accidentally sends people into the future." Steven suggested as he was surprised by this as well but that meant there was a silver lining.

 "Connie if the gems are here that means they could help us!"

 “Yeah,” Connie agreed, “let’s go to the temple.”

 The pair then ran back to the temple, hoping for answers and assistance. As the other members of Team Alien were traversing the area Behemoth began to pick up something on his ISO sensors.

 "Children I suggest we proceed with caution there's something up ahead." Behemoth told the trio which some of them began to take out their weapons. As they went further Behemoth saw what set off his sensors, it was a tall Amber colored woman with dark orange stripes, a wild mane of white hair and burning molten eyes.

 "Stay here, I'll try to talk to it." Behemoth told his acolytes and walked out of the cover.

 "Greetings and good tidings, may ask what you are doing?" Behemoth asked the Cheeto woman. Jasper looked at the tall Samoan man, she was surprised to see someone as tall as her.

 “Just getting some training in with the yungins’ here.” Jasper informed the massive man.

 “Don’t turn your back to the opponent Jasper,” Celeste shouted as she fired a blast of magic at jasper, knocking her and Behemoth to the ground. However, from farther away the kids took this as a sign of attack and quickly sprang out.

 "Meteor Strike!!" Gaz yelled out as she swung her meteor hammer down at the one who fired the spell. Celeste quickly jumped back, and just narrowly avoided being hit.

 Rose saw her cousin being attacked and used her scythe to pole-vault herself into Gaz, knocking her away. Dib grabbed one of his bolas and swung it around as he did it began to spark and crackle, once he had enough momentum he threw straight at Rose with enough volts to stun an elephant. Somehow the bolas wrapped completely around Rose like a python around its prey. Rose screamed as the bolas sent electricity surging through her body.

 “ROSE,” Jasper screamed in horror. She quickly ran over to Rose, grabbed the bolas and tore them apart, freeing her.

 Rose fell to her knees. “You okay, kid,” Jasper asked, her voice laced with concern.

 Rose used her scythe to hoist herself back up to her feet and gave Jasper a half-smile and a thumbs up. She wasn’t out of the fight yet.

 Jasper sighed with relief, then flared at Dib. She summoned her helmet, rolled into a spin dash, then charged at Dib with all her might. Before Dib could process the fact an alien Amazon women was charging at him something sped forward and blocked the attack with one arm, and that someone was Behemoth. As easily as one would throw a water bottle, he smacked Jasper away causing her to slide into the sand leaving a 20ft long channel in it.

 “Of course you realize this means war,” Jasper grumbled, her face still buried in sand. Jasper then stood up and dusted herself, Rose, Vihaan, and Celeste stood with her, each holding their weapons. The two teams stood there for a moment, glaring at each other, then charged at each other. Behemoth went with Jasper each of their blows shaking the earth; Gaz and Celeste trying to sneak in some devastating hits on each other; Dib and Rose where playing a game of cat and mouse each of them avoiding each other's attack; finally, Vihan and Zim were going at it like a like two angry wildcats.

“Let’s see what you’ve got, big guy.” Jasper taunted Behemoth. He responded by punching her in the gut, knocking the air out of her. Jasper fell to her knees with a gasp.

“How’s that even possible, I don’t have lungs!” She then pulled out a small communicator, “Steven, Connie, we need you back at the temple. NOW!”

 Meanwhile young Steven and Connie arrived at the scene of the fight with wide eyes.

 "What happened while we were gone?" Connie questioned as they ran down to the  fight and pulled out her khanda ready to fight. Young Steven ran over to Dib and used his shield to deflect one of Rose’s attack.

 Rose stopped fighting when she caught sight of Steven. “Dad,” she said, utterly gob-smacked.

 Vihaan threw his clackers at Zim, only for Connie to deflect them. He gasped at the sight of her, “Mom?”

 Connie on the other hand was rather confused by what Vihaan told her.

 "Ummm, I think I'm a bit too young to be mom yet." She Vihaan and then proceeded to side kick him away. While Steven decided to make a joke about what Rose asked.

 "I guess your Dad must be pretty handsome." Jasper finally noticed the younger Steven and Connie.

 “WHAT THE HECK,” she shouted. That proved to be a bad time to look away as Behemoth charged towards the tiger striped gem and delivered a powerful uppercut to her face. So powerful that it caused a sonic boom and sent Jasper flying through the air until she was nothing more than a speck in the sky.

 “I’LL BE BACK IN A COUPLE OF MINUTES,” Jasper called out as she flew through the air. The kids looked at what happened in shock s briefly stopped fighting for a few minutes and Behemoth turned to them and said.

 "May we try to talk peace now?" Before anyone could say anything, a colossal pink shield zipped through the air, and dug itself into the ground, separating the two groups. Upon further inspection, Team Alien noticed the pattern on the shield was identical to Steven’s. A figure then leapt onto the beach, creating a huge cloud of dust. As the cloud dispersed, they noticed some key features about his appearance; he had dark curly hair a bulky frame, and a light red trench coat. It was Steven, the older Steven from this reality.

 "Woah!" Young Steven gasped at amazement at he just saw while Connie felt something but wasn't sure what it was. Cautious Behemoth put himself in front of the kids and spoke to the future half gem.

 "Be thee friend or foe, choose the answer correctly." Steven glared at them, “Depends on your explanation for attacking my kids.”

 While Steven was dealing with Behemoth, Connie checked on the kids.

 “Are you kids alright,” Connie asked worriedly.

 “We’re fine, mom,” Rose said, “but I think there’s something you and dad should see about those guys.”

 Connie then glared at Team Alien and began to march over to the group, intending to give them an unfiltered piece of her mind. Behemoth stood tall as he could and began to explain what had happened to cause these unwanted events.

 "Well first I began to try and talk to a Jasper, was it, about this town. Unfortunately I did not realize this was a training session and one of the children casted a rather explosive spell, my acolytes took this as a sign of attack and one thing led to another I'm afraid."

 “Then where’s Jasper,” Connie asked irritably.

 "Ummm, somewhere in the upper atmosphere I fear." Behemoth told the older Connie, and oddly enough not afraid.

 “WHAT THE HECK, MAN,” Steven roared.

 "To be fair it was a heat of was most would say." Behemoth told the older Steven with a stern voice and glare. Steven and Connie didn’t back down, nothing was more important to them than their kids. They were about give him an earful, but they finally noticed the younger versions of themselves.

 “And now there are younger versions of us,” Steven said in shock. He then pinched the bridge of his nose, “Alright, who’s been messing with time travel?”

 “Don’t look at us, we’re innocent this time,” Celeste replied.

"I can actually answer that, these two are from a Dimension not so different from yours." Behemoth told the Older Steven. Steven breathed a sigh of relief.

 “That’s a relief, I was worried we were all in danger for a second.”

 The kids joined Steven and Connie. “Since no one appears to be asking the big question, I’m just gonna come out and say it,” Rose said, “who the heck are you guys?”

 "My name is Behemoth and I shall let my acolytes introduce themselves." Behemoth told the future crowd, first went the insect like figure.

 "I am the glorious Zim!!" He yelled out at the top of his lungs, next went the girl with purple hair.

 "I'm Gaz, got any food." She lazily told the group with disinterest, finally the boy with a strange haircut.

 "I'm Dib." He shyly introduced himself.

 “I guess you’re already familiar with my wife and me,” Steven said before gesturing to the young ones next to him, “these are our kids, Rose and Vihaan, and our niece, Celeste.”

 "So I'm guessing that you are wondering why we're here." Behemoth said as began to move slightly away from the kids feeling that they weren't in danger. Young Steven and Connie’s eyes shot wide open and their jaws dropped to the ground.

 “WIFE,” they exclaimed in unison, “KIDS?!”

 "Ok, I believe we should hold off on the potential space time continuum destroying information for now." Behemoth told his two older versions of his students with a stern serious voice.

 “Why not,” Rose objected, “it won’t affect our timeline, and it could help you guys out a lot down the line, probably even prevent a couple of mistakes.”

 “Yeah, but we learned from those mistakes,” Steven explained, “some of them even helped shape us to become who we are today.”

 "He's right telling someone an excessive amount of future information could have dire consequences." Behemoth told Rose but currently Dib was getting a little anxious.

 "Ummm, don't we have a mission?" He asked his teacher.

 “Why are you guys here anyway,” Vihaan asked.

 "We're here to arrest an interdimensional crime Lord known as Odchodnik, he's a notorious drug king pin." Behemoth informed the young boy.

 Rose looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “Chokesonwhatnow? That name is going to be impossible to remember.”

 "Here's what really makes me mad, he takes kids from their families and forces them to work for him. All because of some stupid drug called regunitavium." Young Connie scowled as she said that but Behemoth was slightly impressed.

 "Someone’s has been paying attention in Villains 101." Behemoth praised proud of Connie.

 “We were just investigating a recent spike in child abductions around here,” Connie explained.

 "Where there is smoke there is fire." Behemoth told the two groups but that just got him several looks of confusion.

 "What I meant to say was that if there are child kidnappings Odchodnik might be behind this." He explained to the crowd.

 “Well what are we waiting for,” Rose exclaimed as she held her scythe aloft triumphantly, “let’s nail this guy!”

 "Ummm, actually that's going to be a bit difficult." Connie slowly told the daughter of her older self, which felt stranger than everything she's seen.

 “And why’s that... mom,” Rose felt even stranger after stranger after saying that.

 "Well Odchodnik is smart, he's able to hide in plain sight and look like a philanthropist. When he is arrested or something else a mysterious beneficiary somehow gets him off the hook." Connie explained to Rose and slightly caught off guard by the mom statement.

 "She's right, he usually hides his operations quite well meaning we're going to look for a weak link." Behemoth added on to Connie's statement. They all then heard a buzzing coming out of Steven’s pocket.

 “What’s that,” young Steven asked.

 “It’s my communicator,” Steven explained, “one of the gems must be trying to call me.”

 He then pulled out the device and pressed a button on it. “Steven,” a woman’s voice with a British accent came out of the device.

 Young Steven instantly recognized the voice. “Garnet,” he said softly.

 “Everything okay, Garnet,” Steven spoke into the device.

 “We found one of the kidnappers,” she exclaimed, “but we’re having trouble catching him, we need you and Connie, right now!”

 “Thank you, authors,” Rose said softly.

 Vihaan quickly shushed his older sister, “Shh, they may not know about the fourth wall.”

 "Actually my kind not only has knowledge of the fourth wall but we regularly break it, just look at the first few chapters." Behemoth whispered to the sibling pair.

 "Ummm, even though I'm ok with some humor shouldn't we focus on getting the Gems some help?" Steven asked the future versions of his family.

 “You’re right, me,” Steven said awkwardly, “we’ve got no time to lose!”

 He and Connie then latched onto each other. “Let’s go, hun,” Connie exclaimed.

 Steven leapt into town, with Connie holding onto him tightly.

 The kids and Team Alien watched the couple fly through the air. “I guess we’re running then.”

 They quickly ran towards the town, knowing fully well that time was of the essence. As they ran into down they saw the reason why the Gems were having problems catching the kidnapper he wouldn't stand still. Everytime one of the gems would make a move he would either speed out of the way or somehow it wouldn't be able to hit him. He almost got away at one point, but his path was blocked when Steven threw down his shield.

"Woah!" The perp yelled out as he began to skitter across the boardwalk and began to move in a rather discord pattern. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl cornered him on one side, Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth on the other. Steven and Connie landed on his only means of escape, he was surrounded on all sides. Team Alien and the kids soon arrived, standing behind the Gems.

 Pearl glanced back at them, “Rose, Vihaan, what are you doing here?” She then caught a glimpse of young Steven and Connie. “WHAAA?!”

 "No time to explain, right now we got to focus!" Young Steven told the gems as they began to help surround the perp. Who was trying to look for a way out but he quickly gave up when he saw Behemoth. Upon further inspection, they all saw that the kidnapper was a giant cockroach. Pearl gagged at the sight of him.

 Steven grabbed the bug by his antennae, “Alright, buddy, we’ve got a couple of questions.”

 "If it's why am dealing on your turf the DJ guy told me that you guys wouldn't mind." The bug creature told Steven as he began to move his limbs nervously.

 “Alright, everyone,” Steven said “let’s get back to the temple.”

 ***

 The two teams found themselves standing in the living room of the temple, with the bug villain chained to a chair. Young Steven and Connie were surprised to see not only how the house had changed, but also how the gems had changed, especially Jasper.

 "So Jasper how exactly did I--- I mean he help you?" Steven asked the former mad warrior Gem of Homeworld, hopefully he won't get too beat up.

 “Well, he and Amethyst fused and beat me in the beta kindergarten,” Jasper explained, “and good thing too, I was so desperate to win that I was willing to fuse with a Corrupted Gem. I mean, who knows what could’ve happened to me if I did. After that, they bubbled me and I stayed in the burning room. Soon I was unbubbled in healing fountain, though I did try to attack you and other stuff I realized something. You kept on trying to help me and heal me, somafter everything was explained I decided to join you.”

 "Wait me and Amethyst fused!?" The young half asked and Behemoth just internally facepalmed at what just happened.

 "Another question what about Blue and Yellow Diamond?" Connie asked as she remembered the stories about them, and from when Blue Diamond was called to the school.

 “I think it’s best we don’t spoil any of that minefield right now,” Steven said. He then turned to the villain, “Now where’s your boss holding the kids!!!”

 "Hey I'm be a coward but I'm not an idiot, if I spill my guts to you no one will hire me and not to mention my head will be on a spike!" The bug creature exclaimed as he tried to wiggle out of the chains.

 “Oh you’re gonna tell us,” Steven said aggressively.

 “And why should I,” the overgrown cockroach exclaimed.

 “Because,” Steven said as he shape shifted his mouth into that of a Predator’s and hissed at him. He then turned his mouth back to normal.

 Young Steven watched with a shocked look on his face. “When do I learn to do that?” he asked Amethyst.

"Ha, please a Yajuta? I've seen more than a hundred of them in a week so unless you got something else, I'd suggest you do better." The bug creature taunted the older half gem with his senses of bravado growing.

 "I know a way to make him talk." Behemoth informed the group as he began to walk towards the bug.

 “Okay, but if this doesn’t work I’m going with plan D,” Steven said as he turned his hand into a drill.

 "It will but I'm going to need someone to take the children away from here." Behemoth told him but his students started to get upset.

 "Come on we want to stay we're heroes too!!" Steven exclaimed feeling a little angry about this.

 "Yes Zim wants to see him squirm!" Zim yelled out in bloodlust.

 "No, this not up for debate." He told them his eyes steely, voice strong and held fast like metal. Steven turned to the kids, “Celeste, take them up to your room.”

 “But we wanna stay too dad,” Rose complained.

 “No ‘buts’ young lady,” Connie interjected, “except for yours going up stairs.

 Rose grumbled as she and the other children walked upstairs to Celeste’s room. Behemoth sighed as he got ready for what he planned to do.

 "You may come out." After that sentence Behemoth's body went slump seemingly lifeless, but that would soon change. His body began to spaz out of control; his suit ripping as he grew bigger; next in some places his skin ripped showing muscle but soon metal filled in the gaps. As he rose, he opened his eyes showing nothing more than swirling metal orbs with unreadable emotions.

 “Reminds me of the first time you entered Diamond Mode,” Amethyst said to Steven quietly. The new Behemoth just looked at the now shivering bug creature and smiled, he stomped towards him and ripped him out of the chains.

 "Fresh Meat!!"

 Connie nudged Steven “Don’t you think you should... you know... just in case he goes overboard.”

 “Oh right,” Steven said, “Diamond Mode.” He then closed his eyes and his gem started to glow under his shirt. He reopened his eyes revealing them to have turned pink with Diamond-shaped pupils.

 "Come on Shrapnel, do we have to do this?" The bug creature asked the new Behemoth in fear as he could feel his thorax being crushed.

 "I haven't been out for a long so I'm going to do what I want." Shrapnel told the roach as he opened his mouth ready to eat the bug creature.

 "Alright, alright I'll talk!!!" The bug creature screamed out.

“You can let him down now,” Steven called out.

 "No, I want to taste his fear!!" Shrapnel yelled back as he began to lower the bug creature into his mouth. He only stopped when a large hand grabbed his arm and stopped him from eating the bug. He turned to see a giant shirtless Steven with pink eyes and Diamond-shaped pupils.

 “I said that’s enough,” Steven ordered. Then in a surprising twist Shrapnel grabbed Steven's hand and began to do something shocking to the Gems. He made the Diamond mode Steven bend to his knees in pain, Shrapnel hissed to the half gem.

 "You have no power over me all you are is vulnerable." Steven looked up at him with a pained smirk.

 “So are you,” he said as he turned his other hand into metal and grasped Behemoth’s throat, choking him.

 "Hahaha!! You think I need air all I need is metal, which you gladly gave." Soon the metal fist collapsed on itself causing a scream of pain from older Steven, Shrapnel seemed to love the sound until.

 "Stop!!" He turned to see younger Steven with his eyes full of horror and terror, soon the metal orbs flashed a seas blue. Then Shrapnel's body began to contort and pulse as he began to turn back to normal.

 "No, no, no I won't go back!!!" Shrapnel yelled out as he was now trapped again. The kids rushed over to Steven and Behemoth.

 “Are you okay, Uncle Steven,” Celeste asked worriedly.

 “I’ll be fine,” Steven panted, “Just need a little time... and some of mom’s healing tears.”

 Connie pulled out a bottle of healing tears and poured a drop on him.

 Amethyst walked up to Behemoth, “YOU WANNA TELL US WHAT THE $&@# THAT WAS?!!!” Behemoth gasped as he was extremely tired from the transformation.

 "That was Shrapnel a being of pure evil, I had to trap him somehow so I chose my body. I only use him for more desperate situations but he's been going out of control." He explained to the purple gem.

 “Ya ever think of freezing him and punching him into deep space,” Vihaan asked.

 "He is not the physical plane but the mental, if I did that, he would just find another host. So, he is my cross to bear." Behemoth explained to the young child.

 Nows not the time for bickering,” Steven said as he put his shirt and trench coat back on, “we have a roach here ready to spill his guts.”

 As the adults listened to the bug squeal on his associates, Steven had a question or two for his hypothetical children.

 “Why was older me giant just now,” he asked.

 “I’m not sure we can tell you that,” Rose explained, “because that would spoil a major revelation about grandma.”

 “That’s kinda ominous, but what about the tattoo,” he asked remembering he saw a tattoo of a rose bud on his older self’s left shoulder.

 Rose crossed her arms, “How are we supposed to know that, you’ve had it ever since I was a baby.” Steven just felt like he now had more mysteries that he would experience in the future or maybe not. Anyway he turned to the bug who was so scared he didn't realize he could've just escaped a few minutes ago.

 "So where are the kids?" Young Connie asked the venom in her deadly enough to kill an elephant.

 “I’ll tell you whatever you want,” the bug screamed, “where my boss is, where the kids are, even my bank information!”

 “We don’t need that,” Rose said annoyed, “we’re filthy stinkin’ rich.”

 “YOU GUYS ARE RICH,” Young Steven and Connie exclaimed.

 ***

 After learning everything about Odchodnik’s operation, they made their way to his base of operations. Soon they were outside a large construction site with a sign that read 'Bright Minds School: For The Future'

 "Well this couldn't be any more obvious hideout." Gaz sighed out at the disguise.

 “Here’s the plan,” Steven said in a demanding tone, “We’ll sneak into the compound and take out all the guards without alerting any of the others. After they’re knocked out, you kids need to lead the kidnapped children to safety. When all the kids are out, then we can take out Odchodnik. Hopefully this’ll be easier than the time I met Peter Griffin.”

 ***

 Peter Griffin walked up to Steven and threw a suction cup dart at him. “I’m really into suction cup darts now,” Peter said without any emotion.

 Steven just looked at him with an unimpressed glare, “You really have run out of ideas, haven’t you?”

 “YES,” Peter exclaimed with eyes full of tears, “And the network just won’t cancel me!!!” Peter then broke down and started crying on the floor.

 ***

 “What was that?” Young Steven asked.

 “A cutaway,” Steven explained, “I was thinking maybe we could try doing them from now on.”

"Ummm, I hate to say something negative but I think the cut away gave us away." Dib told the group as they began to notice the large group of thugs around them. Everybody pulled out their weapons and leapt into battle. In a few short minutes the thugs were unconscious, too injured to move or knew better than to run away; next they began to walk towards the inside of the construction site.

 “Well that was easy,” Pearl remarked, “maybe I will be able to join Mystery for his book club tonight.”

 “Who’s Mystery,” Young Connie asked.

 “A friend of hers,” Connie explained to her younger self, “he and his family moved to Beach City a while ago. If you guys end up meeting them, you’re really gonna like them.”

 While Connie talked with her younger self, Rose walked up to Behemoth. “So why does Chodnodik want that ‘reguvinatum’ stuff?”

 "It's a highly addictive drug similar to human stimulants, reguvinatium can make someone feel young and full of energy again. The odd thing about is the fact it can only affect adults, children or those with long lifespans are unaffected." Behemoth explained to the daughter of the older versions of his students.

 “So then that means Uncle Steven and Aunt Connie are in danger,” Celeste cut in.

 "Yes, that is true though I theorize that Steven may be fine due to his alien half." Behemoth told the magic girl as he put a hand to his chin.

 “Well I don’t wanna take any chances,” Celeste said as she pulled out her wand. She then said a little incantation and a pink light appeared around Steven and Connie.

 “What was that, Celeste,” Connie asked.

 “Just a little protection spell,” Celeste replied.

 “Hmm, you’re getting pretty good with the wand,” Steven remarked.

 "I have to ask a rather obvious question but are of the Butterfly line?" Behemoth asked the young girl while the other kids soon paled.

 “Yeah,” Celeste replied cheerfully, “I’m the daughter of King Marco Butterfly and Queen Star Butterfly.”

 "Well it was nice to know Marco." Dib whispered to Steven who just glumly nodded about what they just heard.

 "Let us focus on the mission, and hopefully Sir won't be too mad." Behemoth ordered his students while muttering the last part of his sentence.

 The heroes quickly and quietly made their way through the base disabling every guard they came across.

 “Well that was quick,” Rose remarked.

 “Alright,” Steven said in a demanding tone, “now you guys need to lead the kids out of here.”

 “But I wanna help,” Rose replied.

 “No ‘buts,’ young lady,” Connie said firmly, “except for yours running out of here with all the other kids.”

 “Ugh, fine,” Rose sighed, “Everyone, follow us!!!”

 All the kidnapped children followed her orders and followed the young heroes to freedom.

 "Seriously the is a breeze!" Amethyst exclaimed but the universe decided to make things a bit harder.

 “Amethyst, no,” Steven screamed.

 "Oh really lassie?" An Irish voice asked the purple gem, soon as the group turn they could see a group of ten all ranging in heights and looks giving them the death glare.

 "Oh dear." Behemoth muttered out in worry.

 “So I take it these guys are the big bad’s closest lackeys,” Steven asked Behemoth.

 "Yes and whatever you do never make fun O'Riley." Behemoth whispered to the older Steven his voice dead serious.

 "So how'd ya like to die?" A short red haired man wearing dark shamrock green clothing asked the group. Amethyst started laughing uproariously.

 “What’s so funny lass,” O’Riley asked confusedly.

 “It’s just– I didn’t expect to be fighting a leprechaun,” she tried to say through her laughter. She then turned back to the others, “Hey! Ya think if I punched him in the gut he’d puke Lucky Charms?!”

 Bismuth raised an eyebrow, “That’s just dirty.”

 ‘Boy am I glad Rose isn’t here right now,’ Steven thought to himself, ‘knowing her she’d add to it and make it worse.’

 The red man quickly began to huff and puff, his face went red, and steam seemed to be coming out from his ears.

 "Ya making fun of me ya dafty little blighter!!?!!?" The leprechaun yelled out extremely angry at what the purple gem said. Meanwhile Behemoth just faced palm at the action of the purple gem. Amethyst started to wheeze, she had laughed too hard. “You’re really not helping your case dude.”

 “Any specific powers we need to worry about here?” Steven asked Behemoth.

 "He's a leprechaun, cousins of dwarves let's just say it's going to be a mess." Behemoth answered and soon older Steven saw why, soon the man launched himself in Amethyst's gut causing her to go flying.

 “They’re aiming for the gut guys,” Jasper exclaimed, “get ‘em!”

 Soon the field was in chaos with everyone trying not to get squashed, impaled or possibly eaten. Garnet was facing off an octopus like creature always having a limb up on the situation. Pearl was facing what seemed to be in a fencing metal man who seemed to be disinterested in the fight.

 "Yeoch!!" The octopus creature yelled out and then sprayed a navy blue liquid at the fusion. Which caused the fusion to let go and try to clear her vision.

 Meanwhile with Pearl and the metal man fencer was a rather strange with the metal man talking while attacking.

 "I must say your style is rather unique if not crude.” The metal man commented on Pearl’s sword fighting.

 “I may be a little rusty,” Pearl said with an upturned nose, “but training isn’t the first thing you think about when you’re raising a child.”

 "Hmm, never understood why people have children to my life givers just think I'm a mistake." The metal sword fighter told the alabaster gem seemingly upset.

 "I'm a general of an interdimensional crime Lord yet they still want me to be a miner." He added as he blocked a swing from Pearl. The metallic man then lunged at Pearl, but she quickly leapt back and sliced off his arm.

 “And I used to be considered a living purse,” Pearl replied, “we decide who we want to be.”

 "First I made from metal remember, and besides I chose to be a general." The metal man told her as the limb soon moved and grabbed Pearls gem. Seeing that Pearl needed help, Amethyst quickly grappled the limb with her whip and swung it around, smacking O’Riley in the face.

 “Thank you, Amethyst,” Pearl exclaimed.

 Amethyst nodded her head ,“No problem, P.”

 Meanwhile Jasper was fighting a four armed creature with only three fingers on his hands and seemed to be doing good at holding the gem back. Peridot was currently having difficulty with a small creature with gravity powers. The small creature smugly chortled at Peridot.

 “You won’t be laughing for too long, clod,” Peri roared.

 She made the index finger of her right limb enhancer spin rapidly. She then pointed it at the wall behind her and fired the finger like a bullet.

 The small creature laughed uproariously, “Ha! You missed!”

 Peridot adjusted her visor, “Did I?”

 Her finger ricocheted around the site before finding its mark in the back of the small creature. It felt like a dull drill was trying burrow it’s way into his back.

 "Ow, you know what no more misses nice girl!!" The creature yelled out and decreased her gravity field causing Peridot and the finger to float in the air.

  “A little help over here,” Peridot called out. Steven quickly threw his shield at the creature, knocking her down. However that distraction caused a huge elephant like creature to try and stomp on him.

 "Look out!!" Behemoth yelled out as he pushed the older Steven and took the stomp. Steven growled at the creature, “Looks like I’ve got to teach you how I earned the nickname, ‘The Forest King.’”

 “I ain’t interested in a long story, old man,” the elephant creature said in a booming voice.

 Steven smirked, “It’s more of a demonstration, really.”

 He plunged his fists into the ground. Colossal vines then shot out of the ground and wrapped around the beast. A small bud appeared around it’s face and released a cloud of spores. The elephant creature then fell to the ground, knocked out by the spores.

 Steven rushed over to Behemoth, “Don’t worry, I’ll fix you.” He quickly spat on Behemoth. Actually, surprisingly Behemoth seemed to be alright despite the fact that he was spat on.

 "I'm believe that my human for might not be a spectacular choice for this fight." Soon Behemoth began to grow as his skin changed to dark greens, two arms sprouted from his sides, a huge tail sprouted from his end, and soon he was no longer human but a 40ft tall crocodile like creature.

 “Oh, I see what you’re getting at,” Steven said with confidence. He removed his shirt and trench coat, and then a light enveloped his gem. When the light faded, his gem had shifted it’s position to point upwards. He opened his eyes, revealing them to be pink with Diamond shaped pupils.

 “Let’s do this,” he said as he grew to the size of Behemoth. Meanwhile Amethyst had O'Reilly cornered and ready to hit him in his lucky charms.

 "So any last words little man?" Amethyst asked really tired of the little man, who looked up and gave her a grin.

 "How do you like kebobs lassie?" The leprechaun asked the purple gem, who looked confused. Until an arrow with the shaft covered in strange runes shot through her head. Amethyst’s form the dissipated, and she retreated into her gem.

 “Amethyst,” Garnet exclaimed. She then launched her gauntlet at O’Reilly, pinning him to a nearby wall. She then raced over to her comrade and picked up her gem, inspecting for cracks and breaks. Unfortunately that proved to be a terrible idea as she was then dropped kick by the archer. Who was a tall human like woman with long silver hair, cold icy eyes, pale snow skin and ears that ended in a slight point.

 "My, my what interesting little trinkets. I wonder how you'll look in chains." The woman said as she withdrew a slender scimitar. Before she could attack Garnet, Connie threw her sandal at the elf’s hand, knocking away the blade.

 She quickly grasped her hand in pain, “Who throws a shoe?! Honestly?!”

 "A mother who has to take care of three kids!" Older Connie yelled back as she dodged a punch from a four armed red alien creature, but she just gave the elf woman an idea.

 "Her nightmares sanda, her fears realitime, care- mana se dreads truth." She whispered under breath, and soon wisps of dark lilac magic flowed from her finger tips into Connie's ear. The sword fighter felt pain but ignored it but as she looked back to face her adversary the environment was different. The sky was darkened blood red, her children hollowed out and stuffed, the gems shattered, and worst of all a huge heart shaped figure was standing above her holding Steven's dead body.

 "Did he honestly think I could be trapped forever?" The heart figure mused as she squeezed the body to pulp.

A chill ran down Connie’s spine, but she still stood tall. “You think this is the first time someone’s tried to pull this stunt on me?”

 She then pulled out another sword and threw it at the figure, causing her, and everything around her to vanish in a puff of smoke.

 The elf stood there, stunned by Connie’s indominable will. “That was your worst nightmare,” she said, utterly agast, “you should be a quivering mess right now!”

 Connie picked up her other sword. “It’s like I said; I’m a mother with three kids to take care of, I don’t have time to be scared.”

 She then pointed one of her blades at the elf. “Now I thinks it’s time I send you back to Middle Earth... crying!”

 As Connie began to rush towards the elf the ground began to shake and rumble, and the higher ups began to smile. Soon a enormous copper colored drill pierced the earth followed by a futuristic drilling vechile. The elf woman kneeled down to it and began to speak a strange language.

 "Λυπάμαι το βασιλιά μου δεν θα μπορούσα να τα καλύτερα." Then something odd began to happen, the vehicle began to shift and change like it was alive. In the vehicles place was a Titan of metal, 50ft tall, shoulders wider, heavy tred like feet, red glowing eyes, and one of his arms was the drill.

 "Don't worry Rania, I'll handle this." The massive machine told his Commander as he stomped towards the group. He pulled out six strange spike like devices from his shoulder and whispered.

 "Seek them out." The six devices then shot out like misses impeding themselves in each of the gems.

 "Ha, what was that for?!" Jasper called out hurt but not poofed yet, the robot just smiled as he pressed a few buttons on his arm. Which caused black hole like portals to open up in the gems sucking all their light into the mini black hole. Amethyst’s gem then flowed and she popped out of it.

 “What did I miss,” she gasped as she saw the state of the other gems.

 “Don’t know,” Steven said quickly, “and I don’t really want to find out!”

 He then turned to look at Connie, “You two take the others and get them to safety!”

 “I’m not leaving you behind, Steven,” Connie exclaimed.

 “He’ll be fine,” Behemoth said, “he has me.”

 Steven looked at his wife, with sincerity and confidence in his eyes, “Trust me, I’m not going anywhere this time.”

 Connie didn’t say anything, she just nodded, grabbed half of the gems, and retreated with Amethyst, who was carrying the other half of the Crystal Gems. "Odchodnik, surrender peacefully and no further harm shall come to you and your family." Behemoth tried to negotiate with the massive machine who just glared at the two giants.

 "Ha, like I would listen to someone of your status Mangler." Odchodnik mocked the two as he walked up to the two as he signaled the others to escape.

 "Oh then eat this!!" Steven yelled out as he threw out an enormous version of his shield, which did nothing as Odchodnik revved up his drill arm and shattered the shield to dust. Steven pulled out two more shields,

 “I’ve got plenty more where that came from!”

 Steven and Behemoth then charged at the titan. Behemoth led first with a hand strike aimed to Odchodnik's shoulder, while it sped towards him the Cybertronian grabbed Behemoth's arm and preformed a Judo throw. Older Steven followed up with a right hook but was foiled when the robot delivered a side kick to his side. Odchodnik laughed, “You organics just don’t know when to give up, do you?”

 “We call it ‘tenacity,’” Steven said as he spat out some blood, “it makes giving up hard for us.”

 “Well then it looks like I need to teach you,” Odchodnik said as he cracked his metallic knuckles, “and after that, I’ll take back my slaves, and add your kids to my collection!”

 At that moment, something inside Steven snapped: everything went red, and the only thing he could see was the transforming robot.

 In his intense rage, Steven raced over to Odchodnik and punched him in the face so hard, he created a dent that crushed his eye.

 “I’LL KILL YOU,” Steven roared. Odchodnik placed his regular hand in his face and felt the energon drip from his face, the crime boss just grinned at the prospect at this.

 "Finally an organic that can actually fight!" He exclaimed as he began to charge towards the half gem with impressive speed and began to deliver a devastating blow. Odchodnik revved up his drill and stabbed it into Steven's upper chest.

 "GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!" Behemoth roared out as he tackled the cybertronian and the two Titans began to shake the Earth, with each punch creating shockwaves.

 “Behemoth,” Steven called out, “keep him busy, I have an idea!”

 He then put his hands together in front of his chest, as if he were praying.

 "I'll try!!" Behemoth bellowed as he began to try and wrestle the giant metal man into submission, but it seemed to be like trying to grab a hold of a slimed hagfish. Odchodnik noticed Steven and tried to get out of Behemoth’s grasp, but every time he got free, he was pulled back in.

 "Are you really willing to risk you're life for this mudling and this planet?!" The metal man roared out as he began to try and stab Behemoth with his Drill arm. Behemoth grabbed the appendage and bent it the other way trying to hold it still.

 "If it means to extinguish the flames of villainy and tyranny then so be it! Steven do it know!!!" Behemoth bellowed out to the half gem. Steven opened his eyes, revealing them to be glowing white. Bright light then surrounded his hand as he pointed his palms at Odchodnik.

 “I call upon Butterfly’s Decree,” he said, voice echoing throughout the facility.

 Odchodnik pushed Behemoth away and charged at Steven, but pillars of light surrounded him then engulfed him.

 ***

 Meanwhile, outside the site, Connie and Amethyst dragged the gems away from the battle.

 “Mom,” the pair heard as they lugged their companions around.

 They looked up to see the kids running towards them.

 “What happened,” Young Steven asked.

 “The guy in charge appeared and attacked them,” Connie explained.

 “Well that explains that,” Dib said, “but WHAT’S HAPPENING THERE?!!!”

 They then turned to see the mine was glowing.

 Celeste gasped, “Butterfly’s Decree.”

 “What,” Rose asked.

 “That’s Butterfly’s Decree, my mom’s most powerful spell,” Celeste explained, “it drains an enemy’s power and will to fight with magical light.”

 "Behemoth!!" Young Steven, Young Connie and Dib yelled out and raced to the mine; fearful for what might've happened to their teacher.

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

 Back at the mine the light faded away, revealing a still standing Odchodnik and a frozen in place Behemoth as if something was going on in his mind. Suddenly the Cybertronian took a step towards Steven it's face contorted in anger and rage. But before he could get further he fell to one knee and warned Steven.

 "You may've beaten me now, but barely. Next we met and I will be free you and your family are going to be working for me for a millennia." The bot's optics then slowly faded showing that he was unconscious.

 “You’ll die trying,” Steven said softly. Soon the kids arrived at the scene and the the students saw their frozen teacher not even moving a muscle. Young Steven zoomed to him in worry ready to spit on him to try and heal him, The reptile then shook himself awake, as if a chill ran down his spine.

 “What happened,” Behemoth said with his hand on his forehead.

 “Sorry,” Steven said apologetically, “Butterfly’s Decree only hurts the enemies of the user, but for some reason it temporarily stuns anyone within a close proximity.”

 "Are you ok?" Steven asked hoping that there wouldn't be anything too bad.

 "No, just a tad stark but nothing a good rest will fix." Behemoth answered as he began to stretch trying to loosen his muscles.

 "That's good but what about tin man?" Amethyst asked staying away from the unconscious robot.

 “He’s down... for now,” Steven said.

 Celeste look at Odchodnik with a puzzled expression. “That’s weird; people hit with Butterfly’s Decree usually end up pale, quivering, traumatized messes. Why didn’t it do that to him?”

 “Maybe it’s because he’s a robot,” Young Connie supplied.

 "That is a feasible theory, magic tends to effect beings differently. Now all that is left is to take this scoundrel to jail." Behemoth added on to Young Connie's theory and told the group as he walked to Odchodnik.

 "Wait what about the others?" Dib asked looking over his shoulders trying to see any other being. Behemoth was quiet for a bit thinking how to deal with this problem.

 "Nothing right now, we don't know where they could've gone but without Odchodnik they won't get the operations running. We could ask for some assistance but I do not want to bother them." Behemoth answered his young student. The other gems then snapped awake. “What happened,” Garnet asked, very groggy.

 “We won,” Rose explained, older Steven sighed a breath of relief, happy to see his family was okay. Later, the two teams stood in front of the temple, bidding each other goodbye. Steven put his hand on Behemoth’s shoulder.

 “You take good care of me, alright.”

 "Oh don't fret I'll try but you have an aptitude when it comes for finding it." Behemoth assured the older version of his student as he began to open the portal. Young Steven approached his older self.

  “There’s still so much I want to ask you.”

 Older Steven knelt down to his young counterpart. “Now I can’t tell you anything major, but I can leave you with this.”

 He then closed and reopened his eyes, revealing that they had turned pink with Diamond-Shaped pupils. “Not everything is as it seems.”

 Young Steven just quietly gasped in wonder at what he just saw and began to think of the ideas that those pupils meant. Young Connie then came up to her older counterpart with her eyes looking down to the ground.

 "Am I really going to be this great or this just an outlier dimension?"

 “I think you’re on the right track to becoming me,” Older Connie said confidently, “just keep training and talking to Steven, it’ll be very helpful down the line.”

 The young girl just gave a hopeful smile at what her older version said and quickly looked at the two children.

 "I have to say you two are amazing, and I'm lucky to be one of the few people to actually meet their kids before their born." Rose and Vihaann blushed. Without saying a word, Rose hugged the younger version of her mother.

 “Thanks, mom.” The girl told the younger version of her Mom. Young Connie was surprised by the hug bit returned it.

 "Thanks dear, I'm already proud of you." Connie then slowly let go of Rose.

Vihaan then turned to Dib, Zim, and Gaz.

 “Ya know,” he started, “I think I’m gonna try to find out if you guys exist here. Maybe see about meeting up with you.”

 "Well prepared to be amaze by this version mighty me!!" Zim called out his pride echoing in his voice.

 "Just try not to be disappointed too much ok." Dib informed the child, feeling like this world's version would probably be a joke.

 "You probably won't find me." Gaz deadpanned as she began to pull out her game system. As the team began to walk into the portal Behemoth stopped for a bit.

 "I'd feel rather discontented if we did not do anything to mark this chapter of our lives, how many of would like to partake in a picture?”

 Older Steven chuckled “Sure.”

 Team Alien and the Crystal Gems quickly began to get into picture ready group but there were a few problems.

 "Zim desist from using your arachnid legs, and stand with the children." Behemoth sternly told Zim like a parent to a child.

 Zim grumbled something (most likely alien profanity) and joined the other kids.

 Behemoth pressed the timer button on the camera and ran to join the others.

 “Everyone say ‘Future,’” older Steven said jovially.

 “Future,” everyone repeated as the camera flashed.

 After flash died down one could see a picture of mismatched characters of various sizes, shapes, and tones. Some would be a little weird out by this but others would call it friends or family. When Team Alien received their copy of the picture they went back into the portal waving goodbye.

Thanks @ask-sfsf