#saw the word giants on someones top and thought it was just ants

[justtorzaplease]

So I'm going to sound like I'm crazy, buuuuut.

Giants.

GiANTS.

GI ANTS.

IF GI DOESNT HAVE SOME SORT OF SECRET MEANING IN LATIN OR WHATEVER, I'M GOING TO BE FURIOUS.

Anyway, Gi(normous) Ants.

Literally saying huge ants.

[blametheeditor]

Voretober Day 3 | Drowsy

Voretober Prompt List

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If given the opportunity, would you take the chance to go to space and travel the stars? What if the person offering to take you was someone you trusted more than anyone else?

What if that person is no longer entirely human?

MENTIONS OF SOFT VORE

Content Warnings: Soft, non-sexual vore (only mentions for now). Mentions of body horror. Mentions of experimenting on people. Mentions of death and murder, violence. Being trapped against one's will. Dehumanization. Abductions. Cursing. Darker themes/tone

___________________________________

“Scotty.” 

Said young man wanting to do nothing more than sleep groans as he attempts to ignore whoever’s trying to wake him up, turning away and curling up underneath the blanket. 

He’s rewarded with a hand shaking his shoulder. “Come on, you don’t want to sleep through the entire trip, do you?”

“You’re the one who suggested I get some rest, Vince,” Scott grouses, his eyes clenched shut stubbornly. Though he’s contemplating opening them just so he can properly whack Vincent with his pillow. 

“I said for the boring parts. I thought a refuel station would be a bit more exciting.”

It takes a moment for him to fully process the words. But when he does, Scott’s sitting up as quickly as possible, drowsiness from sleep completely forgotten. He manages to toss the blanket over Vincent’s head in his hurry, his best friend left behind to remake the bed as he sprints out of the room toward the front of the ship. 

He skids to a halt right before he enters the control room, huddling close to a wall as he stares out the window. 

Sprawled out before him seems to be one long landing strip attached to a building. Nothing that’s as sleek as the ship, but it clearly isn’t made from anything found on Earth. And it couldn’t be, because the refuel station is absolutely massive. There’s not enough time and materials for humans to build something that could wrap itself around the moon. 

If that wasn’t daunting enough, a ship currently sits on the landing strip. One that looks like it would swallow him whole. As if someone was told to make a cruise ship for giants. 

Scott feels someone walk up behind him. Sends a wide eyed stare at Vincent watching him with a mixture of amusement and eagerness. “What do you think?” 

He thinks this is amazing. “We don’t have to fight that for fuel, do we?” 

“No,” the taller chuckles. “We’re a bit too far away to see the details, but there’s a side for species our size.” 

Thank God. Scott is far from ready to encounter whatever needs a ship of that size. 

As Vincent sits down in the pilot’s chair, Scott quickly takes a seat as well. Nods at the silent question if he’s ready before they’re flying toward the station. The closer they get, the easier it is to see the landing strip on top of the building that was invisible before, meant for ships no bigger than an airplane rather than the monstrosity they saw before. 

Then they see a few others ships scattered here and there. Then what seemed like ants wondering around become walking figures. 

Scott feels his heart skip a beat as Vincent suddenly takes them nearly straight down. Has to remind himself to breathe as the ship levels out before lowering itself slowly onto the landing strip. The only way he can tell they’re really on solid ground is Vincent turning away from the controls. 

His best friend gives a hum. “We need to change your shirt.” 

“My shirt?” 

“Cotton isn’t very common out here,” Vincent smiles as he stands up, waving for Scott to follow. “And unfortunately, no one would know what baseball is either.” 

Scott suddenly feels nervous. At the thought of leaving the ship. Possibly encounter the giants who own the ship they saw, guaranteed meeting at least one alien. 

He still wants to go out. See what Vincent’s seen, explore the universe and learn about the other inhabitants. They won’t be humans, though. Most likely won’t resemble them at all. They’ll be creatures from horror movies, from his nightmares, things he never could have imagined. 

What if something manages to scare him enough he runs in the opposite direction? What if he screams? What if he provokes something into killing him in the most horrific way possible? 

“What are you thinking about?” 

Scott jumps at the question. Comes back to the present to see Vincent holding a shirt nearly identical to the one he wears. “I’m going to be surrounded by aliens.” 

Vincent offers a smile. “The good thing about having me around is that I’m an expert at it. Just stay next to me, and you’ll be fine. I won’t let anyone touch you.” 

Just like that, the terror that was slowly building turns into apprehension. He’s not scared to leave the ship, but now his new fear is somehow loosing Vincent in a crowd. 

He doesn’t hesitate to accept the offered shirt. Quickly switches it for the jersey that’s been wrinkled from him wearing it while he slept. It gets no reprieve as it’s tossed over the very bed that doomed it to such a fate. 

Scott’s head snaps toward the hallway as he hears the distinct hiss of the door opening, the one that leads outside. 

“Vince!” 

“I’m not leaving you behind, Scotty,” his best friend soothes, the perfect picture of innocence as he stands in the hallway. It’s clear he wants to leave the ship, however. “Promise.” 

Scott can trust that. Can trust Vincent to keep him safe as they walk through a space station. Meaning he nods to say he’s ready, staying only two steps behind as the taller walks out. 

Vincent stops for a moment once they’re on the landing strip to place his hand against the ship. In seconds the door reappears, disappearing from sight just like before. With that, they walk across the shimmering green landing strip onto a pure white floor. 

Scott stays glued to his best friend’s side, walking so close they’re nearly hugging. Vincent doesn’t make a comment of wanting personal space, doesn’t even try to walk too quickly to make the shorter jog to keep up. If anything, he slows down so it’s easier to match his pace. 

It was needed. Because the moment Scott realizes the grand scale of the building they’re walking through, he almost can’t help the want to simply stop and stare. 

He wants to liken it to a train station, something he’s only ever seen on TV. This has a lot more grandeur to it, a lot more fantastical. Not just by the numerous beings walking around, some with scales, others with two or three pairs of arms, one that’s at least ten feet tall. What steals the show is screen on the farthest wall that goes so far in each direction he can’t see where it ends. And covering every inch are videos of planets orbiting as symbols appear beside it, of stars exploding as large symbols flash, of comets racing past unknown galaxies. 

The only thing that keeps him standing like an idiot with his mouth wide open is Vincent, the taller chuckling as he gently nudges Scott forward. 

It manages to break him out of his daze. Remember where he is, what he’s about to walk straight through the middle of. “S-Sorry.” 

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Vincent reassures. Once he’s confident Scott is paying attention again, he begins to walk through the decently crowded station. “There’s times I just stand and watch.” 

That’s reassuring, to know someone experienced with something like this still gets amazed by it. Though it doesn’t help silence his nerves once they’ve walked a fair distance and now are effectively surrounded by dozens of creatures. All speaking in different pitches, sometimes even chirping like birds or clicking like insects. 

Suddenly, they’re stopping, Scott letting out a small ‘oof’ as he runs into Vincent. 

“I need my tank filled, spot 0-7-9,” the taller says, speaking to someone behind the counter. 

Someone with ten glowing eyes and tentacles as it gives a low hum that Scott can feel vibrating his bones. 

Vincent shakes his head. “Standard, thank you.” 

The counter in front of them glows. As he takes a card out of his back pocket, Vincent sets it down inside the small square of blue light. When it vanishes, he puts the card away. Nods his head to another hum before walking away. 

Scott’s mind does a full restart before he quickly follows. “Uh, Vince? What just happened?” 

“I paid for our fuel.” 

“You.” Scott looks back toward the counter, feeling like he missed something. “How?” 

“Every planet has their own currency, but when you’re interstellar traveling, you’ll need credits to do anything,” Vincent explains. Slowly, as if he knows Scott’s having trouble trying to wrap his head around everything. “The card I have stores every credit and any other form of currency I have. Including a few gems that can only be used on Tallian because I forgot to convert them back to credits before I left the planet.” 

Okay, he’s got that part. “So how did it understand you?” 

Vincent flashes a smile. “You didn’t think I was lying about you needing a translator installed, did you?” 

Honestly, Scott had actually completely forgotten about that. But now that he’s been reminded, he’s faced with the fact Vincent already has one. That’s been installed. And there doesn’t seem to be any kind of device sitting around his neck or in his ear. Which means it’s inside his head. 

Who put it there? Did Vincent want it, or was he forced to get one? 

...what else did they do while they installed it? 

For the first time since he found out his best friend was alive, Scott finally takes a good look at Vincent. Under the bright lights of the station where nothing can escape like it can under moonlight or the dim lights on the ship, he takes in his best friend. 

The hair that’s longer than he remembers, long enough to be tied back in the ponytail it’s in now. The amber eyes that always could look directly into his soul, though now they don’t burn as brightly as before. The features that can pull a murderous glare or a Cheshire grin haven’t changed, but now they’ve been stained purple. 

Scott doesn’t care what his best friend looks like. Didn’t blink an eye when he was told what he assumed to be paint for an elaborate Halloween costume turned out to be something that can never wash away. What matters is if it’s Vincent. The only kid in the entire neighborhood who knocked on the Cawthon’s house to ask if there was a friend he could make. The one person who kept coming back to invite him to the park, the library, an abandoned building despite the vicious insults his parents would hurl unprovoked. 

The first and only person to ever ask Scott what he thought and wanted. 

So confirming the deep purple color that covers every inch of Vincent isn’t just his imagination or the trick of the light doesn’t make him want to recoil. What does is the thought of what happened to make such a thing possible. He’s not an expert on the effects going to different planets has on the human body, but he’s confident people don’t turn colors strictly from interstellar travel. 

“What’s on your mind, Scotty?” 

Vincent watches him with interest, genuinely curious what made the shorter stop them in the middle of a busy station just so he can be looked at. And Scott knows that if he were to blatantly ask what his best friend meant when he said he wasn’t entirely human, there wouldn’t be any anger. 

“How did you manage to get back home?” 

Curiosity is replaced with a blank stare. After a moment, Vincent shakes his head as if to clear his thoughts. Gives a quiet and sad hum. “It’s a long story. Though, it might be a little easier to show than tell.” 

Scott’s face twists with confusion, unsure how to respond to such an answer. If Vincent didn’t want to tell him, he wasn’t going to demand it. But being shown how he finally managed to get back to Earth? 

...he wasn’t going to literally give his memory, is he? Please tell him Vincent isn’t going to literally show a replay of his memory. 

“Okay,” Scott agrees, taking a deep breath to steady himself. Because he’s here for his best friend. If that’s what Vincent wants to do, then that’s what they’ll do. “Whatever you feel comfortable with.” 

Vincent chuckles darkly. “That’s something I should be saying to you.” 

Scott shivers. “I take it back.” 

[elareine]

If you could, can you please write JayTim or RoyTim (whichever one you want) trying to be romantic and woo Tim (maybe with some puns, I love puns), but Tim is a bit oblivious towards it, because the other is so cool, therefore they must be trying to make friends and be nice with him and nothing more. So when he does finally realize its an italicized "Oh" moment.

Hi lovely!! Thank you for waiting so patiently for this fill. I... ended up making it JayRoyTim, I hope that's okay? It just fit so well, but I can totally write something else with JayTim or RoyTim for you if you want :)

Also, it turned out to be about pick-up lines more than wooing, sorry. I might’ve gone overboard with googling the puns. It's long enough that I put it on ao3, too. What's your username on there? Then I'll gift it to you.

if you were a transformer (you’d be optimus fine)

“Well, here I am.”

Tim looks up, utterly confused. “I didn’t call for you, but… that’s… great?”

Roy waggles his eyebrows. It looks faintly disturbing. Redheads should maybe not do that. Or, actually, Tim revises mentally, thinking of literally every other redhead Dick ever dated—that’s just Roy. “What are your other two wishes?”

“Coffee and some silence to finish working this case?”

Roy looks weirdly deflated at that, but he does get him some coffee. Tim soon forgets about it.

—

(“How’d it go?”

“Does obliviousness run in the family?”

“Yes. Yes it does. Have you met Bruce?”

“…okay, fair. Your turn next.”)

—

“Jason? What’re you doing here?”

Sure, Jason and Roy have been spending a lot more time in Gotham lately. Something to do with a case, Tim assumes. Maybe even with the one that they worked on together in Star City five months ago?

Anyway. They’ve been around, is what Tim is saying. Not at the manor, but at Tim’s apartment and his workspace, cause apparently it’s not worth rebuilding their safe house after it went up in flames, and Bruce and Damian are too often at Dick’s place. He’s not exactly surprised to see either of them anymore. (Pleased, yes. But not surprised.) However, Tim has no fucking clue why Jason is currently grinning at him from the other side of the library desk.

At least Tim has the good sense to check his name tag before he gasps: “Jason?”

“Oh, hey, Tim.” Jason’s grinning. “Guess you figured out my new job, huh?”

“Yeah.” Tim shakes his head. “Color me surprised.” So this is what Jason’s spending his days doing. He’s gotta be shadowing someone, right? Tim’ll ask him tonight.

“I’ve always liked this place.” Jason’s gaze is far away for a moment. Tim badly wants to know what he’s remembering. Then the older man seems to come back to himself and gives Tim a weird—maybe angry?—look. “It’s a good thing I’m a librarian, too, cause I’m totally checking you out.”

“Alright, I can take a hint.” Tim grabs his book and demonstratively walks over to the self-service scanners. Really. How rude.

—

(“Are you telling me he managed to resist you in your cardigan?”

“Apparently.”

“Aww. C’mere, babe.”)

—

So Roy blows things up all the time. No, really, Tim now totally understands why Dick was so happy when he heard the duo is camping out at Tim’s place for a change. His older brother even gave Tim a thumbs-up, for God’s sake. He must’ve known.

Cause yeah, there’s at least one explosion every two days. Or Roy dropping something cause he’s too focused on what he’s thinking to remember what his hands are doing. Or something dropping on him. Jason seems used to it; he just catches whatever it is or laughs at Roy. Tim… is starting to learn to do the same, actually. Whatever Roy comes up with at that moment is usually worth it, and besides, he’s kinda adorable.

Aaaaaaanyway. (He’s using that word a lot in his own thoughts right now. Almost as if he’s avoiding thinking about something. Hmm.) Tim’s not surprised when Roy walks into a room, stumbles, and slaps a hand over his eyes with a dramatic exclamation.

Tim, in shorts and not much else cause he got drenched in pollen earlier, just raises an eyebrow. “Alright, Roy?”

“Nope.” Roy’s hand is still covering his face, but Tim can still see his grin underneath. “I’m gonna need your name and phone number for insurance purposes.”

“Roy. You have both of these things,” Tim explains slowly, wondering if Roy sustained a brain injury or accidentally dosed himself on something. “And why insurance?”

“I was blinded by your beauty.”

God. Sometimes Tim wonders about the original Titans and their socialization for the two dudes if this is how they think making friends works. Then again, Kori, Donna, and Dick probably appreciated constant compliments about their beauty. It all makes sense. Roy must be so used to it that he even uses those same methods when someone unexceptional like Tim is around.

He smiles gamely. “I’m looking forward to hearing that phone call. Must be almost as great as the time Bruce tried to convince his insurance company that Clark dropping on his car wasn’t an act of God because God is demonstrably not a Kryptonian. Neither was the giant ape punching Clark out.”

Roy drops his hand at that. “…Batman did what?”

—

(“You were doing so well, too.”

“I knoooow. How much more obvious can we get?”

“I dunno, but I intend to try.”)

—

“Do you like Star Wars? Because Yoda only one for me!”

“Haha. No. Star Trek or die.” Tim’s answer is automatic. He’s had these discussions soooo many times with Kon before. Of course Jason also goes for the space cowboy soap opera.

Besides, Jason’s boyfriend is standing right next to him. He doesn’t mean to sound flirtatious with Tim. Or maybe he does, and it’s just good fun? Or maybe teasing him? Tim can’t figure it out, but he knows he doesn’t like the weird hollow feeling he gets in his stomach when he thinks about it, so he changes the topic.

And makes both of them sit down to watch some classic Captain Kirk, of course.

—

(“Should I be insulted by that pick up line?”

“Nah. There aren’t that many lines that imply a polycule, though.”

A kiss. “Alright.”)

—

One of the things Jason and Tim have in common is their predilection for motorbikes and fiddling around with them. Not that makes them unique in the batclan; Tim has never spent days quietly working side-by-side with Dick, though, the way he does with Jason. They started out with separate projects. Then Jason saw this vintage Ducati at an abandoned warehouse he was about to blow up and, well… Would be a shame, right? Tim just happens to have had one of these before—regrettably lost to one of Harley’s exploding baseball bats—so he offers his expertise.

It’s not because it means bending over the engine with Jason, closer than they ever are, their hands brushing when they hand each other instruments. It’s not.

Roy doesn’t join them. He’s too polite to say so, but he finds normal cars and bikes boring af. Doesn’t stop him from popping his head into the garage and whistling when he sees that they are shirtless and covered in grease. It’s a damn good look on Jason, so Tim can’t fault him for that.

Roy follows it up with a: “Are you a parking ticket? Cause you got fine written all over you.”

Tim can’t help it; he blushes at the suggestive tone. Those two never stop flirting with each other, do they? So far, he has managed to avoid stumbling over them while they’re making out (not that they’re making that easy—the kitchen? Really?), and he’d like to keep avoiding that, thank you very much. He’s already feeling guilty enough for his fantasies as it is.

“Uh. I should clean up,” he mumbles and flees.

—

(“Dammit.”

“…do you think that was a rejection?”

“Nah. He was definitely checking me out before you came and fucked it up.”

“That’s saying something if you noticed it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”)

—

So Tim has magically acquired cat ears and a very fluffy tail. Don’t ask. They’re gonna go away in eight hours, and until then, he’s gonna stay in the cave and work himself to distraction. Jason seems intent on keeping him company, though.

(It’s nice. Tim loves hanging out with Jason—that’s not the problem. The issue is that Tim is looking ridiculous, and Jason is being nice about it, and none of this is helping his stupid crush go away.)

They’re absently chatting about nothing until Jason says: “Kinda a pity you’re a cat, though.”

Tim looks up. Huh? Admittedly, he never pegged Jason as the type to go for catboys (though maybe… he did hang out with Kyle… perhaps it’s just that he definitely doesn’t go for Tims), but that’s still a weird pronouncement.

Jason is grinning. “If you were a chicken, you’d be impeccable.” He pauses. “Wait. Like even more than you already are. Uh.”

Tim sighs. Great. And now Jason is making fun of him again. “Whatever.”

—

(“A chicken?”

“Shut up. I panicked.” A sigh. “He was so cute with these ears.”

“…yeah, he was.”)

—

“You must be tired. You’ve been running through my mind all night.”

“I’m not tired,” Tim says automatically. Why does everyone keep asking him that tonight? Surely the shadows under his eyes can’t be that bad? He used concealer!

Something in Roy’s expression softens. “Aww. C’mere.” He pats the space on the couch next to him, and when Tim sits down, Roy pulls him half of on top of him and into a hug. “Relax for a bit, little bird.”

Tim sinks into the embrace, boneless all of a sudden. Roy just has that effect on him. Tim vaguely remembers thinking of him as his oldest brother’s cool friend and then Jason’s cool boyfriend, kind of a fuckboy but clearly good for Jay.

Now? Now, Roy just makes him feel safe.

—

(“So you spent the night on the couch just so he could sleep in your arms?”

“Yeah. Totally worth it.”

“Duh.”

“I just wish we could do that with him every night. Bet he fits perfectly between us.”

“Yeah.”

A pause.

“We might have to up the ante or switch tactics.”)

—

They’re talking about their favorite books—Tim doesn’t read as much as Jason does, but they discovered a shared love of sci-fi weeks ago—when Tim says: “Actually, that book kinda reminds me of you.”

“Oh?”

“Overly dramatic but good.”

Jason makes an offended noise, and Tim grins.

“I’m not sure which part I should argue about first.” Jason pretends to think.

Tim is always down to tell Jason that fuck his self-perception—Jason is a good man, one of the best Tim knows; that also feels too revealing right now. Instead, he gets up from their comfortable position on the couch and grabs the first stack on the table, carrying them over to the shelves to replace the gaps. “What kind of book would I be?”

“Babe, if you were words on a page, you’d be fine print.”

“Annoying and no one reads it?” Tim asks without turning around, trying to ignore the babe. That’s. That’s gotta be a slip of the tongue, right? Force of habit from spending so much time with Roy?

“No, fine,” and the emphasis is clear this time. Jason continues before Tim can reply: “Though if we’re talking books…”

Tim whirls around. “Save it. You don’t have to make fun of me just because I—“He swallows down the words.

Jason looks alarmed. “Tim—“

As if he can smell trouble, Roy chooses that moment to enter the room. Tim has barely heard him approach, Jesus. He doesn’t want to have this argument in front of Roy, though, so he just stands there in the middle of the room. Jason, too, has stopped speaking.

Roy, of course, takes one look at the awkwardness and decides to make it worse. Or more confusing.

“Did you just come out of the oven?” he asks.

“As this isn’t Hansel and Gretel, no, I didn’t.” Tim checks his shirt, just in case this is an actual conversation opener and not just a weird attempt at a distraction. “Do I have soot on me?”

“Nope.” Roy shakes his head, and he’s smiling that smile again, the one Tim is startled to recognize, the one he thought is reserved only for Jason— “Because you’re hot.”

And finally, Tim gets it. “Me?”

“Yes, Tim.” Roy’s moving in closer. “You.”

There’s a soft touch to Tim’s shoulder, and Tim whirls around, expecting Jason to be mad, cause his boyfriend is—is hitting on Tim, right, that’s what’s happening, Jason can’t be happy—

Jason is smiling down at him. His hand is still resting on Tim’s shoulder, but it slides down to his collar bone, a gentle presence as he murmurs: “You’re so beautiful that you made forget my pick up line.”

Oh. Oh.

Tim says the first thing he can think of: “Are you a raisin?”

Jason starts grinning. “I’m not even gonna qualify that with an answer.”

Tim smiles back. “Cause you’re raising my hopes for a kiss right about now.”

And he gets one. And then another, and then Roy joins in, kissing Tim’s neck and then his mouth and—Yeah.

They’re too busy for any more pick up lines right now.

[obwjam]

I don’t know why I didn’t do this before, but if you’re still writing marvel g/t could you do another Scott lang one or Bruce Banner one? Maybe x hurt!tiny? They’re both so underrated and are amazing characters. I love your writing 🙂

i’ll do you one better anon: what if i did scott AND bruce with a tiny? yeah i think i’ll go with that

———-

Bruce Banner’s morning started out normal, which maybe should have been his clue that things were going to go spectacularly off the rails. All was quiet at the Avengers complex upstate -- Tony was at some tech conference, Clint and Nat were doing spy business, Thor was in some other realm, Vision and Wanda were cooped up in their rooms upstairs and Steve, Sam and Bucky were off sparring together in a completely different wing of the building. Bruce was on his way down to the lab, and Scott was upstairs, munching on chips and watching TV.

“Chips at 10 in the morning?” Bruce asked with a laugh.

Scott shrugged, stuffing another handful into his mouth. “There was nothing else!”

Bruce, who was standing in front of an open fridge full of food, raised an eyebrow.

“...Nothing else I wanted,” Scott said, his attention turning immediately back to the TV. “Oh my god. Look at that kitchen! Man, can those property brothers design or what! I wonder if I can get them to do my house.”

Bruce rolled his eyes and grabbed the energy drink he came for. It was going to be a long, restless day of calculations and experiments without Tony around to help.

It was just his luck that he would never even get to start.

You had stayed up all night borrowing. It was rare for the complex to be this deserted, but it was your one chance to stock up on everything you needed in one big trip -- food and water from the kitchen, pieces of soap from the bathroom, and everything else you could ever want from the lab downstairs. 

Everything was going great. Nobody had infiltrated the kitchen for a midnight snack. Someone had remembered to replace the soap. And the lab was stocked full of sharp metal for building, flat metal for creating, strings for hooks, and so many screws and nails and bolts. It took over a dozen trips up and down the tables to get everything, and you were just about finished when your greed got the best of you.

You were trying to stuff the most you possibly could inside your bags. They were overflowing. You were on your way down the leg of the table when a few pieces of metal started to slip out your bag.

“No no no no no...” you mumbled. The metal falling out of the bag wasn’t itself a big deal -- it was the noise it would make when it hit the ground that scared you. As you scrambled to stuff the metal back into the bag, your hold on your rope started to slip. You didn’t realize how tired you were until right now, and what turned into you trying to pull yourself up became your muscles giving out and your hand being unable to keep its tight grip.

You tumbled to the ground, which wasn’t that far away, but when you tried to stick the landing, your legs tangled up and you crumpled down. The metal clattered everywhere, making you wince. You waited a moment. No human. Okay. They must not have heard. You sat up, using your arms as support behind you, but when you went to stand, pain shot through your leg and you fell right back down.

Your stomach fell. “No… nononono, this can’t be happening…” 

You forced yourself to stand, keeping your right leg completely straight and dragging it along as you shuffled to the table leg for cover. “No, I gotta get out of here. I can’t--”

You froze at the sound of Bruce bounding down the stairs, cracking open his drink and taking a big sip before slamming the can down on the nearest table. He blinked. Did he just... hear a whimper?

His eyes scanned the room. You were moving as fast as you could, but adrenaline could only push you so far. Your leg throbbed in pain and you cried out as you fell back to the ground again. Your shaking hand flew to your mouth. I’m done for.

Okay, he definitely wasn’t hearing things. That sounded like someone yelling. He took cautious steps forward, hoping not to make too much noise so he didn’t startle whatever he was hearing.

Your heart was practically beating out of your chest as the giant started walking toward you, clearly looking for something he had heard. He stopped walking almost right on top of you, and you couldn’t help but gawk up at him towering above you like a skyscraper. The mere thought of being discovered by the human was enough to induce tears, which you desperately tried to push away as you got back up and started moving again.

Bruce heard a choppy breath and froze. That sounded close... but he was standing in the middle of the room. Nothing was behind him, in front of him or beside him... so the only option was... below him.

He looked down and gasped. He had no idea what he was looking at, but he suddenly felt sick. “Holy shit…” he whispered, putting his hands on his knees and leaning down. As soon as he uttered those words, you whipped your head up and around to meet his gaze. For a moment, he was surprised. He felt an influx of nerves when the tiny person stared at him, completely shocked. They looked terrified. 

“H-hey, little guy--” he tried, but you had already turned around and started limping toward the table. Wait… limping.

Bruce, for his part, couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He watched as you ducked behind the cover of the table leg. You knew it wasn’t going to help, but you just needed to get behind something so you could sit down and feel like you were hiding. Bruce felt a pang of pity. Not only was this little thing hurt, they were terrified of him.

“Um...” Bruce couldn’t even begin to formulate words in his head. He bent down, getting on his hands and knees and crawling to the side so he could fully see you. When you locked gazes, Bruce almost looked more nervous than you did. Your whole body was shaking. That’s when he noticed.

“Your leg… it’s bending all the wrong way,” he whispered, almost to himself. You blinked. Even if you wanted to say something, you couldn’t. You knew this giant -- this was one of the scientists who frequented the lab. He didn’t seem as… rough as the other one, but you were pretty sure this was the one who turned into a monster when he got angry. As if he wasn’t big enough already. 

He noticed how you flinched at his words. He felt his heart swell at the tiny movements, yet guilt pierced his stomach at seeing the pure terror you exuded.

“No, no, it--it’s okay,” Bruce stammered, holding his hands up. “Who... what are you?”

Your lips were trembling. How were you even supposed to answer that?

“You’re right. Bad question,” Bruce muttered as soon as he saw your facial expression. “You can understand me though, right?” 

Meekly, you nodded. Bruce smiled softly. “Good, good. Do you, uh... do you need help? Do you...” he trailed off. He took note at how your eyes seemed to be burning as you stared at him in horror. He tried to speak as slow as possible to not startle you any more than he already had.

“Do you have a name?”

Your words got caught in your throat. Part of you wanted to say, but another part stopped you from saying anything. You didn’t need his help. You’d be fine. As long as you could make it back to base...

Pain shot through your leg and you bit your tongue, trying desperately not to make a sound. Bruce stared as you contorted your face. It was clear you were in pain.

“H-here, let me…” he started, reaching his hand out toward you. On instinct, you yelped and scooted back, hugging the table leg for support. No. You couldn’t let him touch you. He would hurt you even more.

“Sorry, sorry!” He stared at your tiny, trembling form, his mind racing. How could he help you? If he were three inches tall and incapacitated on the ground, he wouldn’t want the help of a nervous giant either.

Maybe he couldn’t help, but someone small enough could.

“I’ll be right back!” he shot up, completely missing the way you winced back at his movement. “Don’t--stay right there!” You watched in confusion and fascination as he ran up the stairs. This was your chance! All you needed to do was get up, get your rope and hobble all… the… way… across the room…

Who were you kidding? You could barely even stand without falling right back down. You were trapped. The giant was obviously going to get a jar to put you in to show you off to all the weirdos who lived here. 

This is it, you thought as you began to cry. This is how it ends.

“Scott!”

Scott coughed on his chips and turned around in surprise. “Bruce?” he asked, but it came out sounding like Brrcsh.

“Get your suit.”

“What?”

“Your suit! Your costume. Your… Ant-Man thing.”

“Oh! That suit. What do you need it for?” Scott frowned. “You don’t want to take it apart, do you? Did Tony put you up to this?”

“What-- no! I’ll explain in a minute. Just go get it!”

“Okay, okay!” Scott folded his chip bag and ran upstairs. Bruce was pacing and tapping his finger on the counter when Scott came back down, helmet in hand.

“Wow. You change quick.”

“I’ve been working on it,” Scott grinned. “Now can you tell me what the hell you’re so worked up about?”

“You’re not gonna believe me,” Bruce started, “but down in the lab there’s a tiny person who’s badly hurt but I would hurt them even more if I tried to help and they’re pretty scared of me so I need your help to calm them down.”

Scott blinked, processing what he had just been told. Of all the things in the world that Bruce could have told him, the existence of tiny people wasn’t at all shocking. In fact, Scott had pondered this possibility many times while traversing the world as Ant-Man. Some things were way too conveniently set up for it to be a coincidence. But a tiny person here? In this giant complex full of temperamental superheroes? That was no place for someone so small.

“You really thought I wouldn’t believe you? You know my thing is shrinking, right?”

Bruce raised an eyebrow. “Well, yeah, I-- you’re really just going to accept all that?”

“I can grow and shrink at the press of a button and you turn into a giant green rage monster when you stub your toe. Aliens attacked New York once. This is like, a three out of ten on the surprise scale.”

Bruce stared, waiting to see if Scott would say anything else. He didn’t.

“Well, will you help or not?”

“Of course I’ll help! I guess you need me to--”

“--yeah, if you could just--”

“--okay, okay. Here I go.” Scott slipped his helmet on, pushed the magic button and in an instant, he was three inches tall. Bruce laid his hand down and Scott jumped on, using his thumb for support as Bruce bounded back downstairs.

Your breath hitched when you heard booming footsteps coming back down the stairs. You wished so deeply that you could have escaped, but a part of you knew that could never happen. The giant would probably find you again, anyway. 

You quivered when the giant re-entered your vision. Why did he leave? Was he going to get help? You didn’t see any help. You didn’t see him carrying a jar, either.

That is, until Bruce took a knee next to you and lowered his hand. You gasped and your eyes went wide when a person wearing very odd clothes and a weird looking helmet hopped off his palm and kneeled down next to you.

“Hello! I’m Scott,” the person -- Scott -- said in a cheery demeanor. You didn’t know what was freaking you out more, the silhouette of the giant in the background or Scott sitting a foot away from you. He certainly looked like a borrower... but if there were other borrowers, you would have known about it. And no way a borrower would be hanging out with a bunch of humans. You couldn’t figure out who, or what, he was.

“It’s okay! Don’t freak out,” he said, scooting a bit closer. He felt a pang of guilt at the terrified expression on your face. “I’m--we’re here to help.” He gestured up at Bruce, who gave a small, awkward wave. “That’s Bruce. He’s gonna help us get off the ground. Can I help you up?”

You stared at him in disbelief. They… really wanted to help you?

“Here.” Scott stuck his hand out. You looked at it for a cautious moment before grabbing it and letting him do the hard work of hoisting you up.

“Ow!” you cried as Scott pulled. It was almost impossible to stand. Your face instantly flushed red when both Bruce and Scott shot you a look of surprise after hearing you speak.

“Hold on,” Scott said calmly. He slid his arm underneath your shoulder, acting as support while you tried the best you could to stay standing. You were leaning heavily on him to keep from falling as he stood up fully.

“You got it?”

You nodded, refusing to make eye contact. Your eyes were locked on your two bags beneath the table, scrap metal scattered everywhere. Scott followed your gaze.

“Is that your stuff?” he asked. You froze. You weren’t going to answer that. Scott took note. “Okay, well, we’re going to try and walk now-- woah!” One step forward and you instantly lost your footing. Your stomach dropped as he turned up to Bruce, who was watching intently. “Think you can give us a lift?”

“Oh--sure,” Bruce stammered. He was reluctant to try and bring his hand close to you again. 

“No!” you blurted, instantly regretting it. Scott turned to you.

“No? Why not?”

“B-because…” you tried, but your words failed you when you looked up at Bruce. He was gigantic. One wrong move and he could break you even more than you were already broken. “I…”

“Hey, it’s okay. He’s not going to hurt you. He doesn’t look like it, but he’s really gentle, I promise.”

“Hey!” Bruce protested.

“What? You should see what you look like from down here, man,” Scott shrugged. You were shaking, and Scott could feel it. “You can close your eyes if you want. We just gotta get you off the ground. It’s not safe here.”

You sighed. You knew you had to do this, but it certainly didn’t make it any easier. Following Scott’s advice, you squeezed your eyes tight as you felt the sudden push of a large mass behind you. Knowing this was Bruce’s hand, your arm tightened around Scott’s back as you fell down into his palm, legs dangling as he very slowly stood up. Scott didn’t blink, but even with Bruce going slow, the speed was still dizzying to you. 

Bruce was trying his best not to shake. Not only was he holding Scott, but he had this very hurt, very scared tiny stranger at his mercy, too. This is not how he thought he’d be spending his day.

He gently lowered his hand to the table, but you were in no position to merrily jump off. Scott took instant notice.

“Hold on, let me go get something for you,” he said. You blinked in shock as he jumped off the table and… grew… to full size. This human could shrink himself? Or was he a borrower that could grow? You had never seen him here before.

“Scott! Where are you going?” Bruce asked nervously.

“Just going to get his,” he said, grabbing a clean cloth from a nearby table. He folded it neatly next to you and in an instant, he was tiny again. Were you in so much pain that you were hallucinating?

“Sit on this,” he said, gently lifting you from your spot on the edge of Bruce’s hand to the cloth. You flopped down, grateful to have some soft support for your aching body. Scott took a seat next to you, and Bruce pulled up a chair and bent down to get his face to your level. You eyed him nervously.

“I hope after all this, you feel like you can tell us your name,” Scott smiled. 

You kept your eyes trained on the ground. “I’m… I’m (Y/n),” you said shyly. 

“That’s a nice name,” Bruce said, quietly this time. He frowned when you didn’t even look at him. “What… why are you here? I-in the lab? What happened?”

“I…” you couldn’t believe what was happening. Were you really about to give your whole life story to a giant you met five minutes ago? Well, giants, but one of them was choosing not to be big around you. That had to count for something. And Bruce had gone up to get his help, just to make sure you were okay…

“I-I’m… I live here,” you said so softly, you didn't think Bruce could hear. “In the complex. This is my home. I was… gathering supplies. I--I didn’t want anyone to h-hear me, but… I slipped off my rope going down the table.”

“Oh, man,” Scott muttered. He looked over to where Bruce had spotted the tiny rope contraption. He couldn’t believe he was looking at a shoelace tied to a paper clip. 

“This is what you use to get around?” he asked, pinching the paper clip between his fingers and holding it up. 

“Yeah,” you said sheepishly. It was almost scary how small your rope looked when he held it.

“That’s incredible,” Bruce breathed. “I--I mean, the ingenuity to create something like this, and-and actually use it to climb up and down? That’s really impressive.”

You blushed. He genuinely sounded impressed. “Th-thanks,” you mumbled. 

“What do you need all that scrap metal for?” Scott asked, letting his curiosity get the best of him. 

“Uhm… I use it to… build stuff,” you said plainly. “And to like, cut things and… you know.”

“That’s so cool,” Scott said with a smile. “I don’t think I could ever do what you do. You know, climb up tables and sneak around? Well, I mean, I do do that…” he stopped when he saw your confused expression. “I could never do it for a living, is what I mean.”

“How do you… you know, eat? Or bathe?” Bruce asked.

You shrugged. “I, uh, I just take whatever I can find. Stuff you guys won’t notice is gone.”

“That’s… wow.” Bruce was beside himself. This tiny person was living an entire life out under their noses every single day and he was none the wiser. As happy as he was to have made this discovery, he was even happier at the fact that you weren’t nearly as tense and scared as you were before. “I--I have so many questions!”

You knew the human would want to know everything, but the thought of answering a million questions about your secret life still freaked you out. You gave Scott a nervous glance. He instantly understood.

“Well hey, why don’t we try and patch up your leg and bring you upstairs for some breakfast?” Scott turned to Bruce. “Can we do that? Can we give breakfast to tiny strangers?” 

Bruce smirked. “We can do whatever we want. As long as (Y/n) is okay with it.”

“I can make my world-famous San Fran-cakes!” Scott said excitedly. “Well, world famous might be a stretch. And I guess they’re just plain ol’ pancakes if I’m in New York--”

“Scott…”

“Right, right. Oh, and we could watch TV. Have you ever watched TV? You gotta see what the property brothers can do to a kitchen!”

You couldn’t help but chuckle. No, you had never watched TV, and you didn’t know what a property brother was, but maybe now would be a good time to find out.

“(Y/n)?” Bruce had laid his palm down flat beside you. “We’ve got some gauze upstairs. I can try and make you a cast while Scott makes breakfast.”

You stared at his hand, and somehow, that crippling sense of fear you felt before was gone. Maybe it was all overwhelming, and you still didn’t feel like this was all real, but Bruce was kind and Scott had willingly made himself tiny just to calm you down. You were very glad it had worked.

Scott helped you up from the cloth and over to Bruce’s hand, where you situated yourselves between his thumb and held on tight for support. Bruce’s heart skipped a beat.

“Hold on, you two,” he said, slowly standing up. Scott was going on about something completely unrelated, and Bruce was smiling as he kept his hand perfectly steady. Bruce grabbed the cloth with his free hand and in an instant, the junkyard of a lab was just a background. You had never seen it from this angle before. It looked massive and uninviting.

You were glad to leave it behind. Whatever San Fran-cakes were, you were more than excited to try them. 

[onlyfortheplot]

I Don’t Know My Name?

➳ PART OF THE DADDY UNIVERSE

➳ Pairing:Habia Lev x Fem!Reader ft. Koji L/N

➳ Synopsis:

“I can give you an autograph if you want. Your kid said that you liked—“

You raised a hand to get him too stop.

“You’re Lev Haiba?“ you said softly, he gave a through nod, swiping of his sunglasses in proof.

“See?“

“See.“ you said. And you did see. Oh god.

➳ Warning: Slight language!! 

➳ Word Count: 2.4K

➳ A/N:

OMG!! I could barley focus on this because of the uwujima things (if you haven’t seen it its on my blog!). But, I am 100% gonna write a part 2/ extra for this??? Like it seems like a part 2 sort of fic??? Should I?? ANYWAY ENJOY <3

You shuffled the books on your desk, piling them on top of each other almost randomly. You had changed the order of these books five times, still bored as you gazed at the almost empty bookstore. Sure, it was still morning. And sure, maybe most people won’t plan to visit a bookshop at seven a.m, but you couldn’t help but wish that people would come. You had been sitting here, almost two hours, watching as a few people passed the windows, some stopping to wave a small ‘hi.’ Bu, you were glad that you could some extra cash, your sons’ birthday was coming up after all and you couldn’t expect his useless existence of a father to do much.

You had remembered, since you had been divorced to him, the excuses he had came up with to not celebrate his son’s birthday. On Koji’s second birthday he had made the excuse that he was too young to have a birthday party. You had looked at him angrily, fuming as you asked why he had celebrated his step-daughter’s first birthday. He shrugged, saying it was the way it was.

On Koji’s third birthday, you had asked your ex-husband to get him a present, a small figurine that Koji had begged you for. Then, on the day of his birthday, your ex had nonchalantly said he forgot, bu had bought him a gift card to his favorite store. You had grabbed the gift card, and throwing it on the ground. You swore as you kicked him out of your house. 

Koji’s fourth and fifth had gone swell. The cake was tasty, being made by your best friend and your mother. The gifts were even better!

But, Koji’s sixth birthday is when it had all gone down. You still cried at night as you remembered it. It wasn’t really your fault, or at least not fully. If anything it was your stupid ex’s fault. He had come to Koji’s party, slightly intoxicated. You could smell the dampening scent of alcohol. It was disgusting. You remembered, as he punched open the door and trying to grab Koji. You got angry, shoving him away from your son, pulling him behind you.

“Gimme my son.“he slurred, as he made grabby hands at him, “I want it.“

You gritted your teeth angrily as you slapped him, across his face. He looked at you shocked, thick tears streaming down his face. He then passed out on your living room floor.

That was the last time you and your son had seen him. Not that you tried to reach out after that. Even Koji had given up asking about his father. 

You watched, eyes thick with incoming tears and tiredness, at Koji, who lay asleep on the front couch of the bookstore. You sighed, rubbing your temples. You could only hope that his seventh birthday would go smoothly.

“Mommy?“ you whipped your head to Koji, who looked up at you with drooping eyes. You gave him a soft smile, waving him over.

“Come here, baby.“ He nodded, rubbing his eyes, as he moved from the couch to your lap. He shuffled on, wrapping his small hands on your neck. You rubbed his back as he cuddled into you.

“Are you sleepy, buddy.“ He gave a muffled response and a nod.

“Well, do you want to stay here or go read?”

He lifted his head up, looking at you.

“Books? Can I read comic books?” His eyes twinkled, even through the obvious drowsiness.

You nodded as he gave you a smile, making his way to move off your lap.

“Be careful okay?“ you murmured as you ruffled his hair.

“Okie!“ you watched as he shuffled off, behind some bookshelves. You heard the slight rummaging of books, and the shifting of papers. You listened as Koji let out a soft sigh.

You were glad he was mature—or more mature than other six soon-to-be seven year old. You reached under the stack of books for the magazine you had hidden. It wasn’t a bad magazine, but you felt slightly guilty as you flipped through it looking for a specific page.

“There it is.“ Your fingers brushed over the smooth page, as you gazed at the model.

Most models in the magazine were nice, good-looking, but this one made your stomach clench. There was just something different. Maybe it was the green, cat-like eyes that seemed to look through the paper, right at you. Or maybe it was perfectly trimmed hair, that framed his face nicely. Or maybe it was his long, lithe arms that seemed so elegant. You blushed as you looked at him. Whatever it was, it made your stomach flutter.

You flipped through the magazine resting your hand on your cheek.

“Lev Haiba” you read out-loud as you saw another picture, his name printed out right under him.

“Nice name,“ you muttered to yourself.

You continued to flip through, stopping periodically, to look over at the customers that began to file in. You gave a small wave as they grinned at you. Some came over to your desk, to which you leaned back slightly, cupping the magazine in an attempt to shield it from the customer's view. Some merely gave you a small greeting and went behind bookshelves.

“Good mornin’ L/N!“ You recognized , the smiling figure and smiled.

“Good morning,“ you replied, “How was your day?“

“Well, the day just started, L/N. It is just eight! Or did your boring job make you forget.“ she teased.

“Yukie,“ you whined as you closed the magazine, “it’s not my fault!“

“Sure,“ she smirked peering onto your desk, “Whatca got there?“

“Nothing,“ you said, stiffly, as you pushed the magazine towards you, “So what can I get—“

She didn’t let you continue, as she walked forward, swiping the magazine from under your nose.

She flipped through the pages, stopping where the pages seemed to be more creased.

“Oh?” she raised a brow, looking at the image of Lev, “Y/N you have a kid!” 

You scoffed, swiping the book back, and stuffing it in your bag under you.

“I am looking, respectfully.“ you replied to her amused glare.

“Sure.“ she rolled her eyes, as she looked around, “Anyway where’s the kid?“

“Koji?“ you asked,”Reading.“

“His birthday is coming up soon, right?“

“Yeah. A month and a half.“ you said, as you gave a small to the old man who had just walked in.

“Have you thought of a present?“ 

You bit your lips, scrunching your nose.

“I’m thinking.“ you muttered.

“Have you thought of getting him a new dad.“ You choked, gaping at Yukie. She had said it almost, nonchalantly, you had thought you heard her wrong.

“Yah? What about that model?“ she wiggled her brows, laughing at your emotionless face.

“He’s a model.“ you said before pointing to yourself, “And I’m a single mother with a degree in law, but works in a bookstore.“

“Well, he is a nice guy you know,“ you gaped at her again, jaw dropping at the statement.

“You—you know him?“ you screeched, receiving odd looks from your customers, “Yukie, why didn’t you tell—“

“I thought you were looking, respectfully.“ she said in a teasing tone. You huffed, crossing your arms.

“I was, but—“

“Crap!“ someone yelled as they ran through the door, slamming it open with their feet. You instinctively lept to your feet, at the cursing man. Your heart beat in your chest, as the man looked behind him, before walking into the store. 

Giant. That was the first thing you noticed. He had to bend under the door frame to make sure his baseball hat wasn’t knocked off. You gasped as he stretched slightly, his full height revealed. You felt small. So small. You weren’t short— or not too short, but beside this man. You were an ant compared to him.

The next thing you noticed, was his lean figure, draped with multiple layers, a hoodie being the top. His pants hung low, on his hips, the belt being useless. The sunglasses were pushed right up the bridge of his nose, hiding his eyes from you. You scrunched your nose, as you thought. Familiar.

“He told me I should have been careful, but it wasn’t my fault. This time. I think.“ he muttered to himself.

You leaned closer, as customers gave him an annoyed glance, but continued with their work.

“Can I do something for you. Sir.“ you added, to be respectful. He winced away, looking at you with eyebrows raised high.

“Wait, people actually come here?“ he asked, his voice low and gruff. You glared at him, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Yes people come to my store. What can I do to help you“

“What?“ he asked, pulling out a phone from his pocket, fumbling as he swore.

“Sir, if you could not swear, that would be much appreciated,“ you gritted your teeth. Just who did this man think he was.

You rolled your eyes, sitting back in your chair, as he walked behind a couple of bookshelves. You peered your eyes, suspicious.

“Is that normal?“ Yukie pointed at the door. You sighed.

“No?“ Sometimes it was, it really depended on the day. You just wish it wouldn’t be the day you brought your kid to the store.

“Anyway, about Koji’s birthday. Just think about getting a—“

“Cool!“ you flinched at the high voice, that you knew was your sons’.

“Isn’t that Koji’s voice?“ Yuki murmured.

“That’s so cool, mister!” 

You lept from your seat, stomping across the store.

“Thanks!“

“Are you really a...“

“Model? Yeah!“

You paused. A model in your bookstore? You slowly peeked from behind a shelf. You gritted your teeth as you saw the man from before, crouching down to talk to your son. He had taken of his hat, his silver hair tousled as he ran a hand through them. He grinned at your son, who looked at him with awe.

“My mom loves models!“

“Really? Who?”

“This one model named Lev! She looks at him all the time. She talks about him too. She—“

“Koji L/N!“ you hissed as you jumping from behind the shelf, scaring both the man and Koji.

“Mom!“ he shrieked, baching away from the stranger.

“Koji L/N, what in world are you doing.“ Heat crawled into your cheeks as you refused to look at the man.

“Mom I—“

“No excuses, young man.“ you hissed, “What have I told you about strangers!“

“But, he’s not a stranger! He’s a model!“ he squeaked under your intense gaze. You turned your head slightly, looking at the man.

“Sir, you could be a model, a doctor, or the goddamn president, but when I say—“

“I’m sorry ma’am!“ he gushed, bowing “I didn't mean to hurt anyone, Its just that the press keeps on bothering me.“

You looked at him. His silver hair falling over his head, as he continued to bow his head. You sighed, kneeling in front of him, and patting his head.

He looked up, looking at you. His glasses had slipped off, revealing his slanted green eyes. Well shit.

“I can give you an autograph if you want. Your kid said that you liked—“

You raised a hand to get him too stop. 

“You’re Lev Haiba?“ you said softly, he gave a through nod, swiping of his sunglasses in proof.

“See?“

“See.“ you said. And you did see. Oh god.

“I’m sorry!“ you sighed, as you looked at Koji, warily. “Koji, Auntie Yuki is up front.” He nodded, giving a small, apologetic smile, before he rushed off.

“Its too early to deal with this.“ you muttered, as you continued to kneel before the man.

“So Mr.Haiba?“ you asked, he shot his eyes to yours.

“Call me Lev!“ he grinned, giving you a big thumbs up.

“I—are you really Lev Haiba?” 

“Yeah!“ he looked at you, tilting his head in confusion, “I look like myself, right?“

You gave him a deadpan look.

“Okay, first of all—“

“What’s your name?“ he blurted out, blushing slightly.

“Pardon?“

“Name. What’s my—your — name.“ he stumbled over his words, as be rubbed the nape of his neck.

“Y/N L/N,“ you said.

“Y/N. A pretty girl for a pretty name?“ he sounded confused, even if it were his own words he spoke.

“What?“ you asked incredulously.

“You’re pretty?“ he said, more a question than a real statement.

You rubbed your temples, softly pinching the bridge of your nose.

“Let’s restart. Hi!” you looked up to him, hiding the wariness with a layer of warmth, “My name’s Y/N L/N, what’s yours?”

“Lev Habia!“ he said, holding a lithe hand out to you. It really was elegant. You reached out grasping it. You fluttered your lashes, as he looked into your eyes. The blush grew as you grasped tighter on his hand. He squeezed slightly, as his eyes immediately shot to your fingers. You giggled, as you removed your hand and wiggled your empty ring-finger towards him. He sighed, as if content. You smiled as you looked up at him. His eyes were so pretty. His lashes fluttered slightly, as he blinked at your face. At the awe in it.

He had lied when, he blamed their run in on the press. Or at least, he wasn’t telling the whole truth. Sure, there were a couple of crazy fan girls trying to follow him. But, he wanted to come here. Come to see you,at least. He remembered months ago, when you had screamed at a man in front of your bookstore, giving him a glare that could kill. He remembered the scoff you had given as you shrugged him off and slamming the door in his face. It was a weird reason to be attracted to someone, rather it would be something most people avoided. He remembered telling Yaku about the incident. He could feel the disappointment reeking from his senpai after he told him.

“But, senpai, she’s so pretty!“ he had whined to Yaku, who had called him a moron and promptly cut the call.

He looked at you, with your hard, peeking out from your poorly tied ponytail. His eyes trailed from your hair to your face, especially your eyes, that glowed with curiosity. He blushed.

“You have a cute kid!“ he blurted, taking in your surprised face.

“Would you—would you like to meet him?“ you asked shyly, looking at the ground.

Lev smiled, his eyes crinkling.

Yes. Yes he would.

[straydawg-writing]

𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦.

- 𝓚. 𝙯𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙮𝙘𝙠

• hunter x hunter series

⋯✰⋯

Chapter 2–

You knew that if anyone outside of this car saw you right now, you might just pass away. To put it simply: You were sitting on Killua's lap.

All because Kite's truck only fit seven people.

The way this predicament came about would have been comical if it weren't for your burning embarrassment. Unfortunately, you could remember very clearly how it all unfolded:

"Hmm, it seems that there aren't enough seats for all eight of us, so one person will have to squish in," Kite said, opening the car door to check the seats.

"Who's the smallest one here?" Gon asked. All seven pairs of eyes turned to look at you.

Great. The benefits of never having had your growth spurt.

Killua was the one to open his mouth, snickering, "Obviously it's Y/N. She's like a midget!"

"Killua, you are literally an entire 2 ½ feet shorter than Kite over there," you defended yourself.

From a distance, you had guessed Kite was around 6'3. Once you got a closer look at him, you discovered that he towered over you like a skyscraper. Your curiosity got the best of you and naturally, you had asked him what his height was. The man was a whopping 7 foot 10.

"It's okay Y/N, you can squish with me," Gon offered.

Killua shook his head. "No way. Squishing will just make everyone uncomfortable. It's better if only one person suffers. Y/N, you can sit on my lap."

He had left no room for argument. Sighing, you knew that even if you tried, you had no say in this anymore. You would just have to suck it up for the next 4 hours.

Now you were here, sitting on him, worrying about whether you were cutting the circulation off to his legs or not. Or perhaps you were too bony and it was hurting him.

You could feel his warm breath on your neck, and it sent goosebumps across your entire body. This was beyond awkward.

"Stop it," Killua muttered, right in your ear.

Oh, you'd done it now, hadn't you? Killua was gonna push you off onto Gon instead.

"Stop what?"

"You're so stiff, just...relax," he paused, "I don't mind sitting this way."

Hearing his voice so close to you sent butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

Maybe this was okay.

You untensed, trying to adjust yourself to a more comfortable position, but the bumpy car ride wasn't making it very easy. Kite ran over a rock, and without a seatbelt it sent you jerking upwards. Thanks to his fast reflexes, Killua gripped your waist, holding you tightly to his body.

"The seatbelt won't reach over the both of us, but this'll keep you from flying."

"Heh, thanks Killua. I think we should reach the beach in a bit..." you said, hoping that the thought of it being over soon might offer him some relief.

It doesn't matter who it is, being this close to someone could send anyone into a frenzy. You were hyper-aware of every one of his fingers grasping onto your waist. He wasn't lying. He was keeping you right there.

You'd just have to stop thinking about it, you told yourself. Or else you'd go crazy.

Trying to relax back into Killua like he had asked, you let your mind wander to the reason you were driving in the first place. The day before, the three of you had decided to stick with Kite and help him investigate the Chimera ants. The beach you were headed to now is supposed to have a clue about where the ant queen is located, so you could bring an end to the destruction before it starts. During the car ride, you had learned they were a truly deadly species. One bite of an innocent passerby, and they had the means to bring the entire human race to extinction.

You felt like something was starting. And your intuition was rarely wrong.

Gazing at Gon who had been talking with Kite for a while now, you noticed how his eyes crinkle into little smiles whenever he talks. You knew that having Kite around, his father's best friend, surely excited him to the bone. Gon was just oozing with optimism, without even trying. You could tell that just by being himself, he was keeping the spirits up of all eight in the group, not allowing any room for doubt or fear to creep into anyone's minds.

At that moment, you swore that whatever happened, you would be there to protect Gon and Killua. Even if it costs you everything.

Hopefully, this wasn't one of your friends' last few moments of tranquility. But if it was, you were determined to spend it well.

Resting your head against Killua, you hoped that he wouldn't mind if you indulged in this for just a moment. You were tired, having not gotten much rest since completing Greed Island and meeting Kite.

It didn't take much time for you to fall asleep to the rise and fall of Killua's steady breathing and his sweet vanilla scent. If you'd been awake, you might have even heard his heartbeat racing beneath you.

⋯✰⋯

You had finally reached the beach.

Killua had nudged you awake once you'd gotten there. You remembered how his blue eyes stared back at you as he poked your face, calling you an idiot for falling asleep, and you chuckled.

There was one thing you were clueless about; Killua had made sure not to move even once the whole rest of the car ride. He was nervous that he might disturb your peacefully sleeping form.

You were still pretty groggy as you looked out at the sea, the bright sun reflecting on the ocean's surface. You wanted to wiggle your toes in the sand, but you were there for a reason. To find anything that might lead to the Queen.

You searched in bushes, behind rocks, under seashells, and even used your nen to sift through as much sand as you could. So far, the group had ruled out the forest and deemed it difficult to know if the ant even ended up on the same island. That's when they decided to release the hellhound. Well- it wasn't a hellhound. It was the little dog you played with yesterday. Along with Gon.

Gon was following behind the dog on all floors, sniffing the ground as he went.

"He can do that?" You asked no one in particular.

"His nose is as sharp as a dog's," Killua responded, watching Gon with an amused look in his eye.

A couple minutes went by with no luck. The only thing the dog had found was a tree to pee on. It looked like the ant wasn't going to be on this island, though Kite had an idea.

"It may have washed ashore somewhere else. Which direction do the currents flow here?" Kite asked the two that had brought us down to the beach. One was short with brown skin and grey hair that sprouted up like hay, while the other had large glasses and two front teeth poking out from his mouth.

"The direction is reversed between day and night. And it also changes with the seasons. I've even heard it's different on certain days. So it'll be tough to pinpoint a location..." said Chipmunk Teeth. That's what you'd call him, since you hadn't gotten his name.

So basically, no one had any idea on how to find the Chimera Ant Queen.

"Continuing to search blindly is pointless. We should return to YorkNew and see if we can find any new leads there."

You heard the group around you agreeing with Kite. He and his friends began walking back to the truck already, but you stayed put. You would catch up to them later.

The ocean reminded you of your home. You thought you should say goodbye to it first.

Ripples of water lapped gently at your feet. You always had a connection with nature. Having lived in a small village located in the middle of a jungle most of your life, the earth had become your dearest friend. One of your earliest memories was from exploring the coves back at home. You stretched out your arm across the water, and watched the liquid softly rise to your hand as you called it.

That's why you chose this nen ability. It tied you to the elements. When you fought with it, together you were one body.

"Y/N, come on! Kite's threatening to leave without you," Gon waved you over. Taking one last look at the sea, you turned away.

The sun was already setting by the time you left for the city.

⋯✰⋯

Going back to YorkNew was the right decision. Now you all knew where to look.

Kite had discovered that the possibilities of the Chimera Ant landing in NGL were the highest. Apparently, NGL was a country populated with people who wanted to get away from machine civilization and live in nature.

You loved nature too, but you thought that was a little extreme. There was a reason you had to leave your beloved jungle behind.

"There may very well be a giant swarm of Chimera Ants already hunting humans down. If that's the case, my top priority will be saving them. You must be able to protect yourselves," Kite warned us.

"And if I am the one in trouble, you should escape without me."

At that, Gon and Killua looked unsettled. But backing down now was not an option.

"Got it," you said, breaking the silence and offering a kind nod to Kite, "and until the very last moment, the three of us will have your back."

"Yeah!" The other two boys concurred.

Now, you sat with Gon and Killua on an airship to NGL. The three of you were sitting on a bench, looking out of a window that framed velvet-peach clouds displaying brilliant silver linings.

Gon was reflecting on their last conversation with Kite.

"You said that Ging had a reason for bringing me and Kite together," he rested his arms and head on the window-frame.

Killua broke his sight from the clouds and looked at Gon.

"Yeah, I did."

"You're probably right. I don't know the reason, but I can't give up halfway, no matter what's going on. Otherwise, I'll disappoint Ging... And I'd never be able to forgive myself either. So I won't run away," Gon continued, resolved with his decision.

There was a moment of silence as the three of you let his words sink in.

You admired Gon's determination, but you hated that Ging had a son risking his life just to avoid disappointing a dad he's never met.

"Man, you had this totally serious expression, so I was expecting something big. But it's just business as usual," Killua smiled.

"Huh?" Gon's mouth hung open. "I thought about this a lot, I even ran a bunch of mental simulations! And I liked what Y/N said earlier, about having Kite's back until the very end."

"Think all you want, but you'll still be Gon. If someone said to abandon them, you'd never do it," You lightly punched his shoulder.

He pouted, cradling where you hit him, and you rolled your eyes.

"Drama queen."

Gon chose to ignore that and turned back to Killua. "Then what would you do?'"

"I'm a spontaneous guy, so I'd think about it once the time comes."

"So, you'd run away?" Gon questioned.

"Depends. I can't say until it actually happens."

"Say for instance..."

Killua threw his hands up, beat, "I can't tell you what I'd do in a hypothetical situation!"

"Then, what about you Y/N?"

"Gon!" You whined.

Truth be told, you hadn't thought about what you would do. It depended like Killua said. But you did know one thing...

"I would never leave you two behind. Even if that meant I'd have to die."

⋯✰⋯

[youarejesting]

The right to bare arms

Beta:@voiceswithoutlips​​ Rating: All Pairing: Spider!Namjoon x Reader Genre: Hybrid au, Fluff, Adventure, little spooky Words: 2.8k

Summary:  A Halloween special for the youtube channel ‘Ama-Jin Friends’ sees a group of young individuals visiting an abandoned and supposedly haunted hotel. Legend says there are evil creatures inside ready to devour those who enter. But in the depths of the building you find the supposed creature isn’t as deadly as it seems, actually he is a bit clumsy.

You were sitting in front of the camera, feeling a little nervous. Halloween was coming up and well, that meant spooky content, and you were a big scared cat. 

“Good morning, noon, or night and welcome to another episode of Ama-Jin friends, I am your host Jin, and these are my friends. As today marks the first day of the week leading to Halloween, we are going to raise the stakes with a little competition.” Jin began speaking to the camera excitedly and you fidgeted, catching Hoseok’s eye as he too looked nervously around. 

“I told you all to pack a bag with everything you would need to stay the week in a hotel, the competition is simple, the last person to leave the hotel wins.”

“That’s easy!” Jungkook puffed out his chest, his Brown bear hybrid nodded in approval. 

“What aren’t you telling us?” Yoongi asked, noticing his owner Hoseok’s nerves rising. 

“The catch, it’s not just any old hotel, it is the most haunted hotel in this town, and top three in the country.” He smiled evilly, you and Hoseok shivered nervously. “Well since we are all packed let’s all head out?”

“As usual we have the camera crew, each group will be given a cameraman, except one, now we will be drawing lots on who will be going alone.” We each picked a piece of paper from the basket. “One of the papers is marked X the rest are marked O, the X is the individual who will go through the house alone without a camera crew. “

You looked at the paper and felt your body go weak, you were going alone. Bracing yourself on the couch you took some deep breaths, “are you sure you are okay, you look sick?” Carl, one of the cameramen asked.

“I will take it if you want?” Jungkook 

“No, I will take it!” you sighed. When you arrived at the hotel, you felt like crying, “this looks like something from a nightmare.”

You were each given a tracker bracelet and a headset with night vision goggles and a mic. Strapped to your chest was a go pro and you had a 360 camera on a stick, you were told to check the equipment every five minutes, to see if they were recording properly. And finally, you were given a heart monitor. 

You each stepped in with your backpacks of clothes, some water, a torch, and your electronics. 

“Pick a room and have fun, last one out wins”

You headed in by yourself, going to the back, on the first floor. You were shaking with nerves, “I don’t think I can make it through the night, but since I am all by myself I should stay on the bottom floor near the working toilets and the kitchen.

“Since this place has been turned into a haunted house the show stuff is upstairs. This stuff is pretty clean for people to eat food during Halloween.” You informed the camera.

“I have to find somewhere to sleep that doesn’t scare the crap out of me,” you muttered, lips numb, you found the kitchen and sighed, “I can’t sleep there, I found a small office, but it was locked, So I’m just outside in this lockable infirmary, so this is where I will camp for the night”

You chose that as your sleeping place, as there was a clean bed in the cozy room, however, the floor creaked and the carpet was discolored by water damage, but it was dry at this moment, and that’s all you needed. 

You spent the night talking to the camera and trying to sleep, unsuccessfully, when you heard a sound coming from the kitchen, “I heard a sound from the kitchen, and it’s freaking me out, can you guys hear it?” you whispered looking at the small light glowing in the corner of the lense.

Moving out the door and down the hall, you saw Jungkook and V cooking Ramen on the stove. 

“You idiots! I just had a heart attack!” you walked in shaking, Taehyung rubbed his round ears, embarrassed, and hugged you. 

“You want some noodles?” Jungkook asked playfully.

“Yes please,” you whined. 

“Hey y/n, I was telling Yui that I can smell another hybrid, I can’t tell what breed it is but it gives me a weird feeling?” Taehyung spoke in a husky voice.

“What does it smell like?” You asked aiming your camera at the two men as if you were interviewing them. Before placing the camera near the ramen.

“Like a rancid, bitter smell.” Taehyung expanded on his thoughts pulling a face.

“What smells bitter and rancid, snakes, lizards?” you brainstormed animals you knew that could be considered odd-smelling

“It reminds me of Ants?” Taehyung said thoughtfully “You don’t think it is a giant Ant hybrid?”

“Ants to me have an aniseed smell” You spoke to the camera wondering if others would agree with your statement, “Do you guys feel the same way?” 

“No, not like that, it’s funky,” Taehyung shrugged

“So something maybe insecty, I have never met an insect hybrid,” you hummed

The three of you ate ramen and parted ways, you went back to your room, but your torch was missing and you were scared, someone thought it was funny to take it but jokes on you, you wouldn’t use the torch anyway, you didn’t want anything in the dark knowing where you were in the halls. 

The first night you heard a noise, it sounded like it came from under the bed, you had been suspicious for the last hour that there was a hole under the bed. You dropped the stupid stress ball Jin had given you onto it bounced two times and stopped. When you moved to sit up there was a groan in the wood, mere seconds before the bed collapsed through the floor, you lunged off the bed for the ledge, but you missed and fell into the pitch-black basement. 

You screamed, but you never hit the floor, you were cushioned by sticky rope, you touched it and realized it wasn’t rope, it was a thick wiry spiderweb. 

One could always tell the size of the spider by the size of their web, but this was too big, this spider would have to be the size of a small bear, that scared you. Taehyung had said he smelt a hybrid, an insect hybrid, what if it had been eaten by the spider. What if it was that spider?

You felt movement on the web and you froze, something big was coming, you were desperately trying not to hyperventilate. You saw black shiny eyes and something retreat into the dark. But whatever it was, it didn’t attack, maybe because it thought you were dead when it didn't feel you struggling on the web. 

You looked around slowly, a shuffling sound could be heard below, and as you hung from midair stuck in these rope-like webs. As the sounds grew louder you screamed again as a light came hit your eyes. “Hey, you alright? You fell through the floor.” A deep voice spoke making your heart explode, you were going to die.

“Who are you?” you asked mouth gone dry, looking around until you saw the torch pointed at the roof illuminating both of your figures, he was a handsome young man. 

“I’m Namjoon the security guard, I watch on the cameras to see if anyone gets hurt. I came as soon as I saw you fall” He was wearing a very large puffy security jacket, you watched him struggle up the web and pulled you free, placing you on the ground, you picked up your things and he held out the stick 360 camera. “You might need this to continue your filming, are you like a tv show or something online?”

“We are online,” you smiled taking the expensive camera which thankfully was barely dirtied and still recording, you were still moving along behind him, you were a little scared, in a movie he would either get killed for helping, or he would be the killer. 

A shiver passed through you, you whispered into your mic. He led you to the first floor and fixed the barricade and sign that said water damage, and warned occupants to not travel down that area of the hotel. 

“Can I ask you a question?” The security guard Namjoon asked curiously.

“Sure” you smiled, happy to be back on the first floor, he told you he would take a stroll to check on every floor and make sure no one else was hurt.

“Well every one of your friends has a hybrid except you, do you not like hybrids?” He said curiously as to why you were exploring alone.

“I love hybrids, I just don't want to force one to live with me, but maybe if one wanted to then that would be different,” you murmured. “It’s complicated.”

“Sounds complicated?” he laughed, “what would you like? A cat hybrid or a dog hybrid?”

“I have no one specific in mind, just someone I could connect with.” He tripped and you went to help him up but he was already scrambling onto his feet. 

“Sorry I am a bit clumsy.” He smiled and you looked at him in the light of the hall, his eyes were all black and beady. He lowered his head. “I didn’t mean to scare you or bring you any harm, I am just a hybrid, not a pretty one either.” He gave a dry laugh, “I have lived in this house all my life now, I just have to face that this is how I will live from now on, I am not upset, I just don’t know what I am.”

He went to leave and you grabbed his arm, “You are a hybrid?”

“Yes,” He smiled sheepishly, “I should go… back down there?”

“Wait, if you have lived here all your life, where do you sleep and what do you eat?” you asked curiously.

“Well, my job is the security here, so I make some money and so I sometimes eat Ramen but when I was a child, undiscovered by the staff, I would eat whatever I could find,” he smiled sheepishly, “I have my own little home in the basement”

“Can I see?” you asked, the idea that this sweet dimpled young man grew up here with no food pulled at your heartstrings.

“You almost passed out whilst we were down there, are you sure you want to go there again?” he asked and you shivered, remembering the damp basement, he laughed putting his arm around you. “It’s okay, you don’t have to go down.”

“I am just afraid of the dark,” you admitted, now he started laughing wholeheartedly “Oh yeah just laugh at the scared girl!!”

“It’s just I live in the dark so that’s kind of funny,” he grinned, “I find comfort in the dark”

“Are you like a bat?” You guessed,

“No, I can’t fly,” he chuckled, “I am evil, scary, and everyone hates me.”

His laughter died off,  he was left looking sad and lonely, you wondered if your suspicion was right, was he the spider? or something else? He was a nocturnal animal with entirely black eyes but other than that there were no distinct features about him. He was very tall and his legs seemed to go on for days but that was all.

If he was a bat or moth he would have wings and, or webbed fingers, if he was an ant, beetle, or spider, you assumed he would have a more obvious behind. But his butt was confined to his pants perfectly, he caught you staring and he looked over his shoulder. “Is something wrong?”

“I was just checking something sorry,” you blushed, he probably thought you were checking him out, the way you were adamantly staring at his butt. “Anyway, what if you come to live with me?”

“You won’t want me,” he spoke bashfully, “I am not cute, and I am clumsy and repulsive-looking.”

“I have decided that if you want a home with hot water and real food, I could adopt you,” you crossed your arms, “you have never had an owner so I will be that, I will give you a better life, how does that sound?”

He looked like he was trying to contain his excitement and be reasonable, but he just couldn’t wipe that smile off his face as he stood up, “are you sure?” 

“Let’s go pack your bags,” you grinned, “I won’t take it back, and I won’t ask you to reveal yourself, I will give you your own room and personal space so you can be yourself.” 

Namjoon seemed to like this, grinning and heading to the basement. You tried to follow him but you slipped on the stairs, almost tumbling down the steps. Namjoon turned, looking shocked, he lunged for you. There was a tear of fabric and the jacket he was wearing ripped, revealing six more pairs of arms. 

You fell into all eight arms and he stumbled backward falling onto his back, “Are you okay?” you asked,  making sure he didn’t hit his head. Obviously, you now knew he was a spider, you were a little weirded out by multiple arms; they were all entirely human just eight altogether. 

“I’m okay,” he seemed more concerned about you, “Are you?”

“I am in safe hands,” you snickered and stood up, holding out two of yours, “I only have two to help you up, but I am sure it is more than enough, let’s go pack your bags.”

It was safe to say you didn’t win the bet, leaving early but the video was a hit as Namjoon was the first spider hybrid caught on camera. He was introduced to your house where he got familiar with everything. You were quick to get custom-made shirts for his many arms. 

Namjoon was soon the newest member of Ama-Jin friends and though there were hate comments, the people grew to love him, seeing his cute side. They especially enjoyed him playing games and trying new things as he often made a mess. One of your competitions was to make coffee, he somehow got tangled in his arms and well the milk got more on the bench than in the mug.

The cutest part was how naive he was and how he never shied away, he loved trying new things and wasn’t scared to fail, and when he did fail he gave a dimpled smile. The fans fell in love with Namjoon when they saw how smart he was. They started to send him little toys and trinkets of his favorite animals. So here he was in a shirt that said ‘Crab Life’ it was a blue with a brilliant coral crab on it. The fans sometimes called him Daddy-Long-Legs, which had made the others laugh hysterically.

You finished up today’s fun episode and headed home, you decided to go into the grocery store, grabbing Namjoon’s favorite foods, at the check out you were paying the cashier talking to Namjoon. “If you want to grab some groceries I will grab the rest and we could head home and watch some TV”

But when you turned you saw each hand carrying a bag and you couldn’t stop laughing. His ears turned red and you assured him it wasn’t bad, “you just never cease to amaze me. How could anyone hate you? You are a precious and sweet angel!”

Namjoon puffed up his chest and grinned, he was happy to be wanted and useful and you were happy to help him feel wanted. “I think you are an amazing owner too, you support me in what I do and you aren’t too overbearing. Plus you cook really good food.”

“Well if you like my cooking, I should let you know tonight I am making your favorite,” you smiled, opening the front door, you sorted out the groceries and thanked that Namjoon was so tall he could always reach the top shelf. 

“Do you need help?” Namjoon asked and you grinned as he liked to participate, but you had to remind him to go slow and think about what he was doing first before he did it, you always gave him safe tasks not wanting him to burn himself. 

“I have a salad that could be made so I need you to wash the spinach and chop the avocado and just dice everything slowly okay, take your time and don’t hurt yourself,” you warned him, getting the rest of the food ready, “I will finish making the japchae.”

“I love japchae,” he wiggled excitedly and began washing the spinach, it made you laugh, he was still such an excitable young man, he never had someone cook for him or to hang out with. There was never someone to talk to or confide in, he never had a safe place to explore the world and expand his mind.

He grew up well despite living alone, having access to books, and was smart enough to teach others, he even knew multiple languages that he self-taught from watching tv in the basement of the haunted hotel. 

If you enjoyed this please LIKE | SHARE so others can enjoy it too.

[pla-teau]

LOKI EPISODE FOUR : THE NEXUS EVENT

GIF CREDIT TO: @luke-skywalker SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

SYLVIE | there's a lot to process in the short time we get of young sylvie. it didn't seem like she was doing anything that caused a nexus event. when we see her, she's simply playing with her toys on asgard. sylvie asks about what her crime was later on with renslayer but it's never clear cut as to what she did. the only thing we know is that she escaped from renslayer which is why she's so hell bent on capturing and pruning sylvie. i have a certain thought on this later.

WE SURVIVE | the words loki tells sylvie just when she’s given up and accepted that she’ll die on lamentis. that’s what makes loki a loki - yes, he fails over and over again but each and every time we’ve witnessed his ‘death’ he comes back or when things seem to possibly end for his story, loki still manages to survive.

LAMENTIS | based on the namesake of the episode, this is the nexus event that caused them to be found but what was it? personally, from watching the episode and keeping in mind that this is 2012!loki, i think that the nexus event was hope and acceptance between them. i think there’s genuine hope despite being stuck on a doomed planet about to become smaller flying rocks in space. in every apocalypse so far, we’ve seen that basically anticipating and accepting the end of the world doesn’t cause a breach in the timeline because what is there to hope for? it’s all going to be destroyed anyway no matter the little fake hope you have inside yourself telling you that everything is going to be alright. loki and sylvie up to this point haven’t had that kind of hope before ever in their lives. with the acceptance part, i think it's self-acceptance and acceptance of their roles in the universe. roll with me here, loki throughout the mcu has never accepted his fate or what's supposed to happen; he's always fighting it and trying to come out on top as a ruler of people whether it's earth, asgard and sakaar. he doesn't accept to not be a ruler or on the losing side of a battle against earth's mightiest heroes and at odds with the other marvel characters. he doesn't fully accept himself either because he didn't know he was adopted until at least one thousand years later and he couldn't accept that he wasn't destined for something other than a shadow or simply his title as the god of mischief. it made a lot more sense in my head tbh. a lot of people freaking out about this moment being loki falling in love with sylvie/himself but i don't think that's it. loki for once genuinely cares about someone else and i think it's platonic cause while i have little faith in the mouse house giving us more than confirmation that loki is bisexual, i don't think they'd make loki fall in love with himself.

LOKI'S TIME CELL | a nostalgic reveal we get is sif in this looped time cell plucked from loki's memory. apparently, he cut off a chunk of her hair because he thought it would be funny. in typical sif fashion, she proceeds to beat him up in retaliation as well of sharing some biting words. it's interesting how after a few loops and knees to the nuts, loki apologizes to sif about the prank and admits that he's afraid of being alone and acts narcissistic and like a pompous asshole if you will because of this fear. i think this is a bigger break through of his character than the one we saw in the first episode because he's admitting it to someone from his life that he highly respected but acted like a child to her to get her attention even if it was negative. i wish for more vulnerable loki moments because it continues to prove that loki isn't just the god of mischief, he can be more (as thor said in ragnarok).

MOBIUS VS LOKI | honestly, this whole interrogation scene screamed mobius being jealous of loki making pals with sylvie and i loved it. what i like is that mobius does air the sentiment that we all have in our heads after realizing that loki and sylvie did somehow click to create the nexus event. it's narcissism to the max. again, i think loki truly cares for sylvie in a platonic or even a familial sense since they both don't make connections too often with others (romantic or platonic).

HUNTER B-15 | i was wondering what happened with her after her run in with sylvie at the roxxcart supermarket. clearly, sylvie unlocked a memory within her subconscious as well and is starting to doubt herself. we don't see what memory of hers it was but it's enough to make her break protocol and go against the TVA later on in the episode. in conclusion, we have no choice but to stan this queen. also seems like she wasn't reset in that final battle so we'll hopefully see her in the next episode.

RAVONNA & MOBIUS | their friendship is put to the test in this episode. while being of a higher position than mobius, ravonna does seem to care deeply for mobius. she said so herself, she wants to protect mobius...but from the truth instead of the false danger about sylvie that she's filling his head with. ravonna clearly knows a lot more than she's letting on and that the TVA is an elaborate lie. i think she wants to protect mobius from the truth because she doesn't seem to have other close friendships like the one with him. it's also clear she cares for him when he's pruned (supposedly!) by another hunter. also, there's this other analyst/field agent mobius always brings up when we see them in her office so i wonder if it's someone who also knows about the grand lie the TVA is or is even some alternate variant of kang the conqueror who we know is supposed to be introduced in the third ant-man movie. it'd be interesting to see if kang is teased one way or another in the final two episodes.

DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU DESERVE TO BE ALONE? | the question mobius poses to loki when he starts to believe that they may be telling the truth. it's an interesting question to pose because we've been hearing it and have seen it throughout the mcu with loki. the time loop loki's stuck in, sif tells him that he'll always be alone. throughout the mcu, loki has been alone in his plans and mischief despite being surrounded by his family, his future enemies, and his people. loki has known nothing but being on his own, being his own island of chaos. as sylvie put it earlier, they're a product of the universe trying to break free, chaos. mobius knows that this nexus event has something to do with the two of them, for once, accepting that they're not alone or that they're not just a cosmic mistake, there's hope for them to be whatever they want and not just confined to their mischievous roles.

RAVONNA & SYLVIE | in the elevator, sylvie confronts ravonna about her crime as a child. it's something everyone wants to know, what does a young loki have to do to be charged and reset by the TVA? ravonna seems to know that this something she can leverage and torture sylvie with so she claims to not remember. sylvie says that it must've been important and severe enough to mess up the sacred timeline. maybe she wasn't supposed to know that she was adopted until later in her life like our loki. she's supposed to be causing trouble and be this terrible villain but what if with sylvie knowing her true parentage at such an early age, she learned to accept herself/identity and made peace with it. that's another thing that could've caused the nexus event between the two, they had found self-acceptance even at just the brink of death. maybe they're supposed to do so but later in their lives in their own timelines so that's why it's enough to destroy the TVA as mobius hinted at earlier. happy that sylvie decided to keep ravonna for information so i expect the next episode to have them in ravonna's office or still in the timekeeper chambers as ravonna tells us what is going on.

THE TIMEKEEPERS | when sylvie beheads the central timekeeper, we learn that they're mindless androids. it never ends, there's no throne to sit upon after killing them so it seems. it was all just a giant hoax but this further feeds into my personal theory that kang, one way or another, is behind all of this. what i find really interesting is how the other two timekeepers laugh when sylvie beheads one. whoever is behind controlling the fake androids, they have a way to see what is happening and communicate in real time with the TVA agents and variants. hopefully in the final two episodes we see what the hell is going on and how the TVA came to be and why.

LOKI POST CREDIT SCENE | so apparently, loki isn't reset or something of the sorts. he's actually sent to another world. i believe this is an alternate new york where we'll see president loki as you can see the remains of the old avengers tower. this makes me think about mobius' fate to be similar to loki's; possibly sent to either the same place or a similar world. we see three human new lokis here. from the credits, we have classic loki (richard e. grant), kid loki (jack veal), and boastful loki (deobia oparei). apparently there's also a crocodile!loki and i'm here for it. can't wait to see how our favorite variant gets out of it next week!

oh god, this was so rusty and unorganized but hope if whoever reads this can somewhat understand the points i'm trying to get across.

[skycollides]

Okay I’m bombarding you with these😂😂 pls ignore any if you don’t like them and absolutely no preshure or rush, and this isn’t necessarily a plot but maybe just some fluff with ez where he keeps teasing her for how short she is? Idk you can take it wherever you want, i just love the tall short dynamic!!🤗💖💖 thank you so much for having your requests open!!😊

Sorry it took me so long love! I started writing this so often but was never really satisfied.

I hope you enjoy this one. 🧡🧡

Hey Shorty

EZ x Reader

Authors note: I apologize in advance for grammar mistakes

English isn’t my native language.

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist.

Requests are still open. Feel free to send them in!

Warning: swearing , heartbreak, insecure reader, happy end

Words: 1.417

Being short is not alway easy for you. Everyone keeps teasing you for it since you were a teenager. And when I say everyone I mean everyone - your family, your friends, your colleagues. You always wished to be a little taller. It has been going on for so many years and it still bothers you. It even bothers you when your boyfriend Ez jokes about it or teases you. 

Today was another party at the clubhouse and you didn’t feel like going but you know how much Ez would love to send time with and his brothers you you decide to show up there for some time.

When you reach the scrap yard you see its already packed with people. Your first destination is Ez`s trailer but no luck its locked. So he must be inside the clubhouse you think. Once your inside you look around but don’t see him. Instead you see Angel and make your way over hoping he would know where to find your man.

You tap his shoulder and he turns around.

’’Hey shorty! What are you doing here?’’ he greets you before pulling you in his arms. There it is again the reference to your height.

’’Hey Angel’’ you reply and wrap your arms around him returning the hug.

’’You looking for Ez?’’ he asks you and you nod and let go of him.

’’He left about 20 minutes ago saying he’s heading to your place. Said you don’t feel too well. He wanted to check up on you.’’

’’I guess I’ll be leaving then.’’ you say and and around ready to leave when Angel grabs your wrist.

’’C’mon shorty I’ll walk you out.’’ he says and you look at him annoyed because of the reference to your height and also confused why he would think you weren’t able to walk to your car on your own.

’’I may be short but I’m not a fucking child Angel. I know how to walk on my own.’’ you say a bit harsher then you wanted. Angel stares at you with wide eyes.

’’I’m sorry hermana. I know you’re a grown woman but I’m allowed to be worried. There are other charters here too and not everyone knows who you are I’m just looking out for you u know?’’ he says and you kind of feel sorry for your little outburst.

’’I’m sorry too Angel’’ you say and hug him.

’’Thank you for looking out for me - You’re the annoying brother I always wanted but never had.’’

you say and smile at him. He returns the smile.

’’I feel the same about you little one. Will you tell me what is really going on?’’ he asks you after you let go of him.

’’Would you please stop referring to my hight all the time. I know you don’t think that there is nothing wrong with those nicknames but I don’t like it’’ you say and try to hold back the tears.

Angel stares at you and walks you out not knowing what to say right now. Once you both reached your car he speaks up.

’’Whats wrong with your hight hermana? I think it cute.’’

’’Well I don’t I hate it and I hate that everyone make fun of me all the time and teases me it hurts Angel.’’ your voice breaks during the last part.

’’Why didn’t you just say something - huh? If I had known that before I would have stopped. You’re my brothers fiancé and I love you okay? I don’t wanna see you upset. I didn’t know it would hurt you like this. I apologize. Please tell me the next time something bothers you okay? or someone. I know where to hide a body or two’’ he say and you wipe away the tears.

’’I love you too. Its good to have a brother in law like you - well soon to be. I just didn’t know how to approach it. I’ll keep it mind with the bodies.’’ you say and laugh.

’’Get home to your man now’’ he says and kisses your head before leaving you there.

30 minutes later you reach your house.

Once your inside you see Ez already waiting you in the living room.

’’Where have you been?’’ he asks you since you didn’t reply to his texts.

’’Having a great time with your brother’’ you say and smirk

’’Huh?’’

’’I was at the scrap yard looking for you - Angel told me you had already left. Looks like we both had the same thought here. You hungry babe?’’

’’I could eat.’’ he relies and you decide to prepare dinner for the two of you.

Once you start cooking you see that you forgot one of the spices. Once you find it you get a little frustrated since you can’t reach it. Thats when Ez walks into the kitchen.

’’Need some help shorty?’’ he say while leaning on the doorframe watching your attempts to reach the little box with amusement. He thinks it’s the cutest thing in the world. Little did he know how much it really bothers you.

’’Well not everyone can be a fucking giant you know.’’ is all you say in reply and turn away from him. That’s when Ez knows that something is wrong. He walks over grabs the box with your spices and hands it to you and leaves the kitchen after that. Once you’re done you get two plates and that’s when Ez makes a second appearing in the kitchen.

’’Let the food in the pot I don’t want it to get cold.’’

’’Why would it get cold?’’ you ask him.

’’Because you and me need to talk Y/n. C’mon.’’ he answers you before leaving the kitchen.

Once the both of you sit down Ez speaks up.

’’What’s up baby?’’

’’What do you mean?’’ you ask him.

’’You know exactly what I mean. The little outburst in the kitchen when I called you shorty. Whats up with that?’’

Since you told Angel it looks like it is know time to explain to your fiancé.

’’Well i hate - I truly do hate how short I am and it bothers me that everyone reminds me of it with the nicknames. It bothers me that everyone teases me all the time. I hurts in way.’’ you end your speech shrugging your shoulders and look ant your fiancé waiting for his reply.

’’You should have told me baby. Seriously you should have. I’m your fiancé my main priority is your happiness Y/n.

I love how short you are it’s my favorite thing about you right after your beautiful eyes and your incredible smile.

I love that you can’t reach the things on your own that you need me for that. I love the way I can lay my head on top of yours when we hug. I love the way my shirts and hoodies look on you like a dress. Don’t see it as such a terrible thing. This what what I love about you. Think about that when someone calls you little or short or whatever reference they make about your hight. Let this be a reminder of tonight - a reminder of my love for you and everything about you Y/n.

Ugly weeds grow fast and tall but beautiful lovers don’t remember that my love.’’ he says with a smile on his face and you have tears in your eyes because of what Ez just said.

You get up from the sofa and sit down on his lap looking into his eyes.

’’I never saw it that way. I always connected it to something negative. Thank you for being you Ez.

Thank you for being an amazing fiancé. Thank you for loving me and getting my head straight again when I need it. I love you Ezekiel I love you so much it sometimes scares me. I never thought I could feel so much love for a person but you’re living proof that its possible.’’ you end your speech with wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him into a long kiss.

’’I’m glad I cloud help my love’’ he says and kisses your nose.

’’I’m really up for the food you promised me darling’’

’’Looks like I gotta feed my man’’ you smile and get up to get the plates for the both of you.

The rest of the night you lay in Ez’s arms and couldn’t be happier to have someone as amazing as Ez in your life.

Taglist:

@everyhowlmarksthedead

@mayans-sauce

@justatiredfool

@lovebennycolonmiguelgalindo

@queenbeered

@spookys-girl

@charcoocheurie

@starrynite7114

[aknosde]

Okay, you know earlier this week when I dropped a paragraph of a fic? I actually finished it, and the end isn’t the best so I’m posting it here and not on AO3.

Loneliness - (featuring my HoH Percy and Clarisse head cannons)

TW for attempted self harm and a generally bad mental space

Percy’s never really had a mentor. When he was young he was put in a few organizations as a mentee. The type of organizations that are supposed to make things easier on kids like him, brown and black kids with “authority problems”. They never really clicked though, sometimes it was him, a lot of the time it was the supposed mentor. He had never cared much, it’s not like they could help him in a way that mattered.

Then there was Luke. Luke who was tall and strong and quick and really, really, really good with a sword. Maybe some of it was a crush, but he had never met someone who he was so encapsulated by. Luke was cool, intelligent, and good looking. He was everything Percy ever wanted and ever wanted to be.

Luke left a bitter taste in Percy’s mouth and a scar on his hand and a distaste for soda. Luke left Percy with an even quicker brain and a knot in his stomach that turned into a murder plot for his stepfather. He drew Percy in time and time again with a hatred that was laced with unrequited love and left Annabeth with blood stains on her dagger and both of them with salt stains on their cheeks and the taste of ash on their tongues.

After Luke was Beckendorf. Granted Percy had had a bit of a crush on him too. Beckendorf was pure, not in the way some white campers might call Hazel innocent. He was just kind, and genuine, and warm. Percy looked up at Beckendorf, big, strong, brave, caring, and he thought this, this is something I could do. I might not be able to be a big hero, but I can do this. I want this.

Beckendorf left Percy with no body for the shroud to cover. He left Percy with inside jokes that would never again be completed and a desire in his brain to constantly be in the forges and to keep as far away from them as possible. Beckendorf left a hole in Percy’s heart that was filled by blood and guilt. Percy looks at the acid scars on his foot with a longing for the time when Beckendorf was taken by giant ants.

And after Beckendorf there was no one. Suddenly Percy was one of the oldest campers. A war veteran. Supposedly the strongest demigod alive. He wasn’t just a counselor now, of his cabin that was solely him, he was a senior counselor. Jake Mason sat in Beck’s seat and Percy cried because suddenly he was alone.

He shouldn’t feel alone. When Annabeth holds his hand while they wait for breakfast he shouldn’t feel alone. When Grover makes enchiladas in the kitchen of the Big House and they eat them together in a field Percy shouldn’t feel alone. When Nico comes running into Percy’s cabin telling Percy that Mythomagic is apparently run by demigods and that they made a card of Nico he shouldn’t feel alone.

It only gets worse when he’s back at home. His mom goes through their normal post-quest routine. She gives him time and space and love. She takes him to the doctor’s. His old prescriptions get refilled, adderall, meperidine. Sally tries again to find a demigod therapist, to no avail. They don’t celebrate his birthday this year.

He’s at Goode without Rachel and he has no other friends. He’s never really been good at that, the whole friend thing, and now it’s practically impossible finding someone who isn’t uneasy around him. He sits in the back of his physics class and eats alone at lunch and sleeps in Paul’s office during breaks.

A teacher hands him back an essay and there’s a paperclip in the corner keeping all the pages together. There is a B+ on it with a smiley face, and Percy takes the paper clip and sharpens it and tries to scratch his skin. It doesn’t do anything. His skin still won’t break, there is just a faint redness. Only after scratching away mindlessly for weeks does he realize that he’s writing words. Last words. “Go!” “Don’t let it happen again.” “Tell him I’m sorry.”

He can fill up his schedule with school and homework and swim and skating and basketball. He can wake up in the morning and eat breakfast and take adderall and carry around the other small orange bottle waiting for his skin to revolt against him. He feels disgusting and empty. Like a demon in a suit of skin that used to be Percy. He misses two years ago when the war wasn’t looming over head, when he and Annabeth and Silena and Beck would all hang out, when he and Clarisse had weekly midnight basketball games.

Grover knows. Grover’s gotta know. For one thing, there’s the empathy link. And Grover is calling multiple times a week, and he always asks how Percy is, if he’s alright. Percy lies “I’m all good man, don’t worry. How’s work?” Then Grover goes off on a tangent about pollution or some shit he saw a human do and the way he purses his lips when he’s worried doesn’t come back until they’re hanging up.

He hates it, the lying. He’s only told lies to protect others, when he doesn’t have enough information yet, when he needs to save them. Now he is lying for himself. How fucking selfish does he have to be? But he’s so lonely, and he can’t bare to lose anyone else. It feels like the smallest step out of line will make his world crumble.

So he lies. He lies his ass off, and he doesn’t know if he’s good at it, but he could be. When Annabeth comes over one weekend, all the way from California, and she asks about the pill bottle rattling in his pocket he says that it’s adderall and she turns back to the tv. When his mom asks if he’s made new friends he says yes, and proceeds to tell a mortal version of something that he and Beck did last year.

One day Rachel comes into the city to visit her parents. They’re sitting on a bench in Central Park and he takes the paperclip out of his coat pocket and goes to work on his wrist while they talk. It’s habit by now. Rachel stops in the middle of her sentence and gently pries the paperclip from his hands and in its place she leaves a blue eyeliner pencil.

Soon his arms are covered in names and words and horrifically beautiful drawings. Blue pigment against brown skin and pink scars, all swirling together. The pencil runs out quickly, but a week later, just as he’s about to take the paperclip back out, an envelope arrives. Sitting in the bottom is a new pencil of blue eyeliner. Percy throws the paperclip in the trash.

By Thanksgiving break Percy isn’t feeling good exactly, he’s feeling mildly better. Loneliness still hits him, in pangs. He’ll be walking to lunch and he’ll have to jump in the canoe lake because he can’t handle it, and swimming is a good excuse for missing a meal.

He wakes up early in the morning and sits in Rachel’s cave waiting for her to wake up. She makes hot chocolate and points out drawings she particularly likes, and then he’ll wash his arms off ready to begin again.

Days are filled with meetings. Meetings with Chiron and meetings with other counselors, trying to make up for being away at school. When he’s not in meetings he trains. Sometimes himself, but a lot of newer or younger campers. The disarming technique he teaches throws him back to Luke and he gives the campers a five minute break hoping the feeling leaves.  

Evenings are being tossed between one person and another. Racing up the climbing wall with Annabeth and laughing at the top and sitting there for way too long. Stopping by the Aphrodite cabin where Drew will catch him up on everything he’s missed being away or being busy. He sits on the floor of the Hades cabin trying for the fifth time to understand Mythomagic.

Every night since he’s gotten back Clarisse raps on his door at two in the morning and they play one v. one on the basketball court until they end up on their backs under the stars. There’s rarely any talking. It’s dark outside and Clarisse has left her hearing aids in her cabin and he’s left his back in Manhattan. Not like he ever uses them in public.

He’s still lonely. 

Maybe Clarisse can read his mind because she taps his leg and they sit up facing each other. He can just barely see her fingers in the moonlight.

“Sometimes people can be lonely not because they are alone but because they miss someone. You have a lot of people to miss.”

“Thanks for reminding me.” He signs back.

“Oh be quiet punk.”

They both break into laughter then, before she continues.

“Miss them. As much as you fucking want. I was in love with Silena, and she died, and Drew is a bitch about it, but she has a right to be.”

Percy is struck again by how similar he and Clarisse are, their lives and their feelings and their actions. The only difference is that Clarisse grants herself the freedom to do what she wants, and he’s scared to death of doing that himself.

“But, and do not ever tell anybody I told you this, a lot of people would miss you. You can pull away and feel lonely but you can’t disappear. Annabeth needs you, Rachel needs you, Nico and Will and Drew need you. And gods fucking dammit, I need you.”

Clarisse stands and pulls him up behind her. They part ways, heading back to their cabins. Percy mulls her words over in his head as he finally drifts into sleep, his body completely and utterly exhausted. Suddenly there is a blue-gold light, and he remembers Annabeth, and then everything is dark and there’s the smell of pine.

[ikeromantic]

Doll

Day 9 of Ikemektober

I chose Jonah for this one. Sweet and fluffy! Approx. 1200 words.

With a title like the Queen of Hearts, you would think the eldest Clemence would have one. But no. Instead, he lords over hearts, seeing them as worthless trinkets bought and sold with fancy gifts or five minutes of faked affection. It didn’t matter that he was beautiful, with his perfect little lips. His brilliant amber eyes. Hair that fell like liquid silver. 

Alice swallowed. He was an arrogant, demanding, gorgeous, frustrating jerk! This was the bent of her thoughts as she sat and waited for Jonah in his room. 

Everything in here was so perfectly Jonah. Elaborate, over-decorous, and stiff. Except for the tray of macarons. Those were pretty good. Not a patch on Luka’s baking, of course, but still sweet. She snagged another one from the back of the tower, hoping the Queen wouldn’t notice how many she’d eaten already.

Her fingers weren’t as deft as she hoped, and one of the macarons next to her target teetered and fell. It rolled along the floor like a little puffy wheel, leaving a trail of frosting to its final resting place, just under the edge of the bed. 

Alice set the cookie she’d grabbed down and walked over to the giant four poster monstrosity. It was easily big enough for three or four Jonahs. The velvet coverlet was a deep red, and edged in little gold tassels. She could just see a crumb from the macaron beyond them. 

It was tempting to just scuff the sugary smear leading from the table to the bed, and leave the cookie for someone else to clean up. She entertained a brief fantasy of Jonah waking up to a bunch of ants in his sheets, but even though it made her smile, she couldn’t do it. 

Alice knelt down, pushing the ruffles and layers of her skirt to the side so she could get under the bed. It was pretty empty under there, and dark. She spotted some dust bunnies before her eyes landed on the cookie. And just past the escaped macaron - a, a doll? 

All she could make out was a stitched arm and leg, stuffed and stubby. It looked like it was wearing a Red Army uniform too. Maybe someone else left it in the room. A soldier’s child on a visit or - well, anyone other than Jonah. Alice snagged the cookie and then reached back under the bed for the little, stubby arm of the toy.

“What are you doing under my bed?” 

Alice blushed. Jonah had that effect, even when his voice was sharp enough to slice carrots. Without looking up at him she said, “I dropped a macaron.” Honesty was the best policy, even when it was embarrassing. 

“Just leave it. I’ll get it later.” 

The words were rushed, and . . . Alice considered this carefully but . . . nervous? Had he hidden the doll here on purpose? But that would mean he knew it was here. That it was his. She grinned wickedly, and pulled the doll the rest of the way out. 

“Oh, I already got it. And this.” Alice held the doll up, getting her first good look at it. The doll was definitely wearing a Red Army uniform, with stiff white pants, red striped, a white jacket with little, gold buttons, and little leather boots on its feet. The face was adorable - big, dark button eyes and a shy little painted smile. With purple hair, made of thin yarn and pinned to the side by two white clips. 

Jonah’s eyes went as round as tea saucers. “What? Alice! Put that down!” 

Alice declined to follow that order. She held it up, considering. “Is this - you know, I think this looks a lot like Luka.” She glanced at Jonah. His porcelain perfect face was flushed with embarrassment. 

“Just give it here. And forget you saw it.” He held his hands out for it. 

“Mmm, I don’t think I will.” Alice held the doll by its two little arms and wiggled it in front of her. “It’s so cute. Does Luka know you have a doll that looks like him?”

Jonah’s mouth opened and closed without a sound. He reached for the doll, but Alice lifted the doll above her head. This might have worked if she was taller than the Queen, but he topped her by more than a head. She backed away from him, still trying to keep the Luka doll away. Right into the edge of the bed. That didn’t stop the Queen. Jonah kept coming, and the two of them tumbled onto the the velvet coverlet.

“You are the most nosey, stubborn, irritating woman,” he growled. Jonah grabbed the doll, but Alice wouldn’t let go.

“I think most of that is true, but you’re one to talk! You arrogant, beau- beastly jerk!” 

Jonah stopped tugging at the doll and met Alice’s gaze. He was so close their noses almost touched. “Beastly? Really?”

“Well, yeah? You tackled me to the bed and now you’re wrestling me for a doll. My hair is mussed, my dress is wrinkled -”

“And you got crumbs on my bed,” he grumped. Jonah let go of the toy and sat up, still straddling the prone girl. “Will you just give me the doll? Please?”

Alice smiled. “Well, since you asked me nicely instead of ordering me around - yes.” She handed him the doll. 

Jonah smiled at it sadly and set it on his pillow. Then he stood and held out a hand to Alice to help her up. 

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, why do you have a Luka doll, Jonah? I know he’s your brother but - it just seems like an odd thing to keep around.”

The Queen sighed heavily. “Does he say anything about me? Does he talk about me?”

Alice shook her head. “Never. He looks grumpy when your name is mentioned.”

“Still.” Jonah looked so sad as he said this, that Alice felt all her built up aggravation at him drain away. “I wish he would talk to me. I want to at least understand why he left.” He looked at the doll as if it might answer him. 

“Is that why you have it? Because you miss Luka?”

“Yes. Sometimes, I really just want to talk to him. Like we did when we were little. I - I know it’s just a doll but . . . it makes me feel a little better.” Jonah looked back at Alice, his eyes shining with held emotion. “You won’t tell him?”

“Of course not.” Alice took the Queen’s hand. “Your secret is safe with me. And . . . if I get the chance, I’ll let him know you still miss him.”

Jonah’s face lit up with a sudden smile. It was so unexpected, and so different from his usual, icy expression, that it took Alice completely by surprise. Her own lips twitched into a smile, the first real one she’d given Jonah, just for being himself. 

“You know, you’re really very pretty when you smile like that,” he said. His fingers brushed her cheek.

Alice felt her heart begin to race. Traitor organ. “I could say the same thing to you.” 

Jonah gave a rueful laugh. “I am supposed to be seducing you, Alice. Not the other way around.”

Though she didn’t say so, Alice thought today, he’d made a good start.

[ihearthes]

If you had to assign the songs of Fine Line to people or moments in your life, which songs would you choose? Why?

This was an interesting thought experiment, nonnie, and it took me some time to process before I felt like I could respond.  I’m not sure I responded in the way you were expecting.  

Golden: Where I grew up, we had this hill that we used to climb to the top and then we would lie on our sides, tuck our arms in and roll down the hill.  It was fun and scary at the same time because you never knew if you were going to accidentally roll into a pile of dog poo or over a painful stick or into an ant hill.  But damn, we had fun!

Watermelon Sugar makes me think of sitting under a summer sky as the sun is sinking to the west, and everyone is laughing around the picnic table, telling ridiculous stories that try to top the previous story, but no one really cares what stories anyone else tells -- as long as the belly laughs continue. 

Adore You reminds me of a fish I saved from the ocean and raised until it was too big to keep in a fish tank in my house.  Oh, wait.  No.  That’s not my memory.  What I do remember is when I had a crush on this guy who played in a local cover band.  He went on to play in a larger, more regional band before becoming a bass player for Sheryl Crow. All I wanted was to adore him. Not that he knew I was alive.  LOL. 

Lights Up is that feeling where you get a new job that includes more responsibility than you’ve had before.  You keep pinching yourself because you cannot believe that someone has put this much faith in you. Yet you can’t stop strutting with pride as you walk to work with a giant grin on your face.  I’m forever questioning the judgment of people who hire me, terrified they will realize they made a giant mistake.  🤣

Cherry:  That petty moment when you scroll through an ex’s Instagram or Facebook page and keep driving by their house checking to see if the lights are on. It’s that shameful “I miss you now that you dumped me” moment -- even when you know that the two of you are better off apart. Back in the day before mobile phones maintained everyone’s name and phone number, you used to be able to call someone just to hear their voice saying “Hello,” and they wouldn’t know it was you because there wasn’t caller ID.  Not that I ever did ANY of these things.  Nope.  Not me. 

Falling: That moment of self-loathing when you think you’re over that person weeks or months after the break-up when you cannot stop yourself from thinking about them.  Your thoughts are full of “what ifs”.  For me, it was this guy named Andrew.  He was my “what if” for a very, very long time where I kept thinking, “What if we had stayed together? What would life be like now?” It’s a dangerous downward spiral that is hard to shake yourself out of (or always was hard for me to shake myself out of).  Dark reverie indeed. 

To Be So Lonely: Haha. This is truly the moment when I get caught by said ex by either accidentally liking a post on Instagram or driving by his house while he was actually outside and saw me.  It’s the “I’m dying of embarrassment, but I’m going to put on my bravado so you have no idea.”  In fact, I’m going to attack you for catching me cause how dare you live your normal life?!

She: This song always makes me think of this kegger I went to in college where I ended up getting into the most existential conversation ever about everything you’re NOT supposed to discuss: politics and religion.  She is that song playing in the background of that conversation as the group pretends to be spouting important ‘truths’ but really everyone is drunk off their ass.  We ended up at Village Inn at like three in the morning eating chocolate chip pancakes with extra bacon and sausage. What a night! 

Sunflower Vol. 6: Dancing in the kitchen in my socks while my sister and I bake Christmas cookies and get covered in flour and end up with tummy aches from the combination of laughter and eating raw cookie dough. 

Canyon Moon: There used to be this field behind my house when I was a kid.  It was surrounded by barbed wire, and it was home to several wild blackberry bushes.  When my mom wanted to get rid of us, she would send us out with buckets to pick blackberries.  Naturally, more ended up in our mouths than in the buckets, and we would have to watch out for the cow patties.  My arms and legs would end up scratched from the barbed wire, and my nose would end up sunburnt, but holy shit, what fun days those were!

Treat People with Kindness: July 14, 2018.  Los Angeles.  I met a bunch of amazing Harries at that show, and the mood was high and lovely.  We were all there for the same reason, and fuck -- that show was worth every penny spent to get there.  What a night!

Fine Line: Okay, so this one is going to sound weird.  It doesn’t remind me of a specific time or place, but it makes me think about the fact that we’re all dichotomous.  We think we belong in a certain box labeled with whatever society has decided (tall, short, fat, thin, smart, dumb, funny, beautiful, talented, ignorant, boring, etc.) we are.  But we’re multi-faceted humans, and we each walk a fine line between what society thinks we are based on common labels and who we truly are -- unique and lilting and perfect. 

My apologies if you wanted something different, but these are the thoughts that came to me.  Thanks for the ask.  I feel fairly confident not many people will read this, but it was a fun exercise to put into words.  

[trying-write-fanfics]

OverhaulXReader part 40

Sorry this took so so long!! It’s finally up, thank you for all the kind words!!

 Overhaul wasn’t much of a cook or knew his darling's favorite pallet. She’s always been cooking when he’d seen her eat, and all the times they went out his memory was blurred. But nonetheless he was prepping the roof top garden for his angel. He was like a bird preparing a nest. It was on top of a normal office building so she wouldn’t even know what’s going to hit her. He had to make sure all the flowers were pointing the right way, and the crew didn’t mind as long as he didn’t ruin them. 

 The couple had come so far. She’d always been there when Pops took him in, ready to face challenges alongside him. She’d sacrifice so much to be by his side, but now for her it’ll all be worth it. The ring was still in his pocket. He took a deep breath and called the car to pick him up and then Y/n. 

 Overhaul felt like an idiot though. He didn’t know what he was going to say and thought maybe to leave it up to the moment. She was going to say, he can’t imagine a world where she tells him no. 

Y/n came to the car looking gorgeous as ever. No matter what style she wore, or how she did her hair, she was always perfect, just like the day he saw her singing in a choir. In the car she told him about her day at work and how she saw a celebrity come in and eat at the wicked sparrow. 

“You’re taking me to an office building? What do they have a good cafeteria? Is this the early bird special?” She asked when they arrived.

“Old man joke or bird joke?” He asked her.

“Both, you’re my grumpy old man bird.” She told him. 

“I thought I was a pirate.” 

“You’re my love.” She told him.

This had to be easy, but why does it feel so hard? He took her inside the building and they went into the elevator.

“A gold elevator, this building is just bragging at this point.” Y/n said. 

“Y/n, for awhile now, I’ve been in a dark place. With pops and work, but you’ve always been there…” he started. 

“Well of course, you know there is not one else I’d want to be with.” She reached for his gloved hand. 

 His instinct was to pull away, but he fought through it to hold her hand back. 

“I know you don’t think you’re good at being romantic or you don’t know if you understand how relationships work, but from being with you, Overhaul, you doing a good job.” She moved her hand holding his arm. “Though we’ve both been through things no one should ever go through, we’ve really stuck together, even when we were oceans apart.”

 She was up staging him! What was she going to do to get down on one knee and propose herself like on a leap year day? He wouldn’t get upstaged! She’s always been the go-getter in the relationship, but he’s gonna let the story show that they were mutual and that he also chose her. She may praise him openly to friends, and be the one to reach out and hold his hand in public like someone always deep in love, but he could make a grand gesture too that everyone would remember! They made it to the garden.

“Oh wow!” She said in amazement with her eyes lighting up when she saw the rooftop garden.

It was a winning setting for his fairytale proposal.

“I figured I could take you somewhere special.” He told her. “I have something to show you.”

 She smiled as he led her through the greenery in the moonlight. 

“No ones here, you really planned something didn’t you.”

Was she expecting it? Throw her off the trail, perish the thought, he wants water works from her.

“Yes, to show you this charcuterie plate.” He showed her a plate of meats and cheese. She was still smiling, and he knew that wasn’t what she was expecting, but he wanted his speech with the water works and the hands over the mouth whispering the word yes. “You’re a talented chef, I figured I’d test you in your own field and ask if I had fine taste.”

“Oh I don’t know if I’m ready for a charcuterie plate.” She tried joking. “I also didn’t know you made cheese.”

“I’ll admit, these are store bought.”

 It was enough to make her laugh. Y/n had always been the funny one to the public eye, but at least he could make her laugh .

“You’re getting awful passionate tonight? Special occasion? Are you planning on running off and asking me to join you?” She asked, taking a cracker and cheese.

She was too good.

“Oh my dear, every occasion with you is special.” He tried covering his tracks just to tease her further.

“Meats, cheese, wheat crackers, only if we had some-”

“Chocolate strawberries?” he asked, taking out another plate.

 He held the green leaves and put the tip to her lips. She smiled and bit down on the fruit. Chrono gave him the tip that chocolate covered strawberries were the “sexiest food”. Rappa had the most wrong answer saying it was a rotisserie chicken because they dance while being cooked. Mimic tried to one up Chrono with a chocolate fountain, but Nemeto said if they were in a garden setting, pollen and leaves would get in there and ruin the chocolate. The relationships with his men had been strained over the last couple months, but they were still loyal to him and even wanted to help him. Overhaul didn’t really want to open up about his relationship, even though Chrono had already known much of it, he didn’t really have Pops around to ask how to propose.The conversation did help massage the sore patch because Overhaul showed his vulnerable side, and that he was still keeping it with him. 

Overhaul did have a plan. He was going to propose at the end of the date, after she would be sure that this was just one special date with a lot of effort to make up for all the work he’s been doing and then bam, a ring.She’d be shocked after doubting it, and then accept. Though he wasn’t a man of many games, he enjoyed the game of teasing they had going on. After he would propose, she would go back to his place to spend the night and gush she couldn’t believe it’s happening. Overhaul was going to give her the wedding she deserved. 

Overhaul led his date to the ledge so they could look at the night sky together. He knew he was far from a perfect man, infected even, but he would use his dieses to accomplish his dreams of eradicating every infection. Having Y/n coming across the world to go back to his side, going through the hell she went to, and even the name change made him feel unstoppable, if she was loyal to him then his dreams would always have support whether she fully understood him or not. 

“I thought you would have more questions for me.” He told her.

“I already know you’re a little weird no matter how you slice it up.” She told him. “Keep it that way.” 

“You’re the one who plays it dangerously close with public intoxication.”

“Dangerous! Mr yakuza man! And how long ago was that! I was just celebrating!” She protested. 

“Remember when you didn’t want to confess to me?” He asked her. “You were worried I was too busy?”

“I was worried it would ruin our relationship.” She told him. “But I guess I had nothing to fear after all, you’re still here.” 

Their eyes locked. Maybe he had to drop his end of the date plan, because now it seems too perfect to ignore the moment. Not only did he plan to stay by her, but he wanted her to know it was officially his plan. His hand reached into his pocket.

“Y/n, I’ve been-“

 A scream paused his words but then the whole building shook, meeting some impact. Y/n held onto Overhaul as he grabbed the ledge. He looked over to find pro hero ant Lady had been thrown into the building. His stomach tightened as he found the Gillian fighting the hero was also a giant monster. 

“What was that!” Y/n yelled. 

“Two giants decided to fight.” He said. 

 Once Mt Lady stood, here horns were visible. She yelled some fighting words over to the villain and the couple covered their ears. Overhaul knew he had to take Y/n out of where they were because they were in danger. Mt lady moved and the building collided with a force of power causing it to shake again. 

“Oh god!” She yelled as she clutched his shoulder. “I’m sorry I’m sorry-“ she continued as she realized that she was touching him while he was breaking out in hives. 

“We’re leaving.” He told her. 

Going down the stairs of this building didn’t seem safe since the structure of the building had been hit twice breaking its structure. There had to be broken glass everywhere, and who knew the building would be hit again. The building next door hadn't been hit yet. 

“Just trust me.” He told her. 

 He used his quirk to connect the two buildings making a bridge. He tried giving the bridge rails to prevent Y/n from falling if another collision was made. 

“You go first and I’ll be right behind you, okay?” Be tried explaining to her calmly. 

“Okay…” she wasn’t confident but she did everything he said. 

 Right behind her, he was trying to guide her to safety. However the girl’s stepped stopped as she was distracted at a telephone pole falling on a car.

“So we get to the other roof, but theoretically what’s next?” Her voice shook. 

“We’ll figure it out. Don’t look at that.”

They made it to the other roof. Overhaul had to use his quirk on the door because it was locked. The goal was to make their way down and get the hell out of there. He was practically dragging Y/n down those stairs, he figured if she tripped she would fall into him and stop the fall which is why he took the lead. Moments like these he was able to overcome his weakness because he had to for his goals. The building shifted as the lights flickered. They heard more glass break on the other side of the building. Y/n froze again, she held onto the rail of the stairs unable to move. 

“I can’t do it.” She whispered quietly. “I can’t move.”

Heroes, pathetic. They were the worst when it came to the infected. Villians at least knew they weren’t helping society and didn’t pretend to be a gift. Heros on the other hand were worse. They saw themselves high and mighty claiming they used their power for good, but it’s all a show. They didn’t care when Y/n and him got kidnapped all the way back then, and they didn’t care now the trauma they were causing her now. The pain they caused her for being failures at their titles. They didn’t save her, she was always at the mercy of her attackers. Course the sight of MT lady didn’t bring her joy that a hero was stopping a villain, it brought her terror of the upcoming destruction. Overhaul yanked both her wrists forward causing her to fall off the stair. He caught her over his shoulder.

“Hey! Just leave me! I’ll slow you down like this!” She begged knowing she was pushing his limits. 

“You’re not going to get crushed by a building.” He told her. 

 They made it down to ground level. Overhaul looked back and forth trying to come up where to go next. They watched people and cars going in every direction. They couldn’t come up with where the villain or the hero was at. 

“This way.” He grabbed her wrist again.

 Overhaul didn’t blame Y/n for being scared. Her quirk always made her seem inferior to the other kids growing up because her infection pretended to be nothing more. It was a dormant quirk that could only be found out through a terrible injury. Her quirk didn’t match to super strength, fire, or flying. She was just someone who was meant to be cut up. Years of pretending to be quirkless, more people must have looked down on her, she was someone to pity, because if she admitted her quirk she would have to reveal she was traumatized early on. People attacked her and thought they were lucky with someone who couldn’t fight back as hard. Heros pitied her as villians preyed on her. Her existence made her backed into a corner in fear because she would never be someone taken seriously. She was the best chef, quirkless too, but someone could just come along with a quirk that’s called best taste and ruin her hard work. Nothing that she did would guarantee her success, or safety because someone with a quirk could ruin everything for her.

 Overhaul’s eyes found a blocked off subway that no one was going into. It wouldn’t be safe, but they would be away from the fighting and reduce their chances of being trampled.  He picked Y/n up and hauled her over the yellow tape. They continued down the stairs catching their breaths.

“Wait…let me catch my breath.” Y/n said.

 He watched her sit on the step and hold her chest as she was just to catch up with herself. He wanted a world where her talent was better than any quirk she could come in contact with. A world where she didn’t have to run from heroes or villains. A world where she was safe. He wouldn’t be able to erase quirks completely, but he could give the villains claws to stop the heros from being such glory seekers. 

“I’m sorry tonight was ruined.” He told her.

“It’s not your fault. You put so much effort into it.” She said. “It sucks this happened.” 

He felt the little box in his pocket, but looking at Y/n now wasn’t the time. She was out of breath and traumatized from racing down a shaking skyscraper. More than anything she looked like she was ready to faint. Proposing now would be putting a bandaid on a gaping wound. She ended up sitting on the step putting her face in her hands. 

“I thought we were dead back there…” she whispered. 

 He was limited in their options on where to go. They could go on the construction tracks and look for another stop to go to which is a high risk situation, or go back out where MT Lady is fumbling the town. He would hunt heros and kill them, but kill one ten more to take their place because they’re just so inspired by a dead person. 

 Kai reaches out to comfort her, but had to stop himself. He was thinking about killing MT Lady, so his quirk could have activated. He took a deep breath, and then placed his hand in her hair. Y/n looked up at him and he realized how her horrors never harden her. She was shaking, eyes puffy. Her terrors never made her stronger, she was a survivor though every time she walked out her apartment door going to work. These heros thrive on chaos and traumatize their civilians. Maybe he didn’t deserve her yet until his dream was complete. People always let marriage be the stage to settle down, so he’ll settle down the world a bit so he can propose. 

 They waited for the loud rumbling footsteps to settle, it felt like an entirety, but they didn’t keep track of the time. Y/n just sat on the step, holding Kai’s leg, as he stood and listened. Today he’d play it safe doe Y/n, risking an early escape may only hurt her mental state more or even harm her physically. There are some terrible storms in life that all a person can do is sit through until it passes. Once it was over they climbed out of the subway and found a lot of police cars and ambulances. The damage had already been done to so many. They were lucky, every worker was too distracted to notice them, even the news people, they had enough witnesses. The duo managed to catch a subway to Y/n’s apartment.

 “Too bad we couldn’t call a driver, I bet that was the worst part of your night.” Y/n said burying the events as deep as she could behind her brain.

It was funny, she still was thinking of his comfort, even though she couldn’t move a short time ago due to fear. She was still worried for him. It wasn’t the worst part of his night, it was how the whole thing was ruined, the planning, the advice he got from Rappa, how he knows he has to hold back his feelings for now because his Y/n deserves a safe world.

“It’s up there.” He told her.

“At least you were there to carry me. For a shady guy, you have some white knight vibes. Is Chrono your stallion?” She tried joking. 

 “You don’t have to do that...you can cry.”  He told her. 

 Y/n’s face did lose it’s cherry funny girl composure as she covered her face to cry. Kai reached out and held her in his chest. He loathed touching her like this, but it was what he had to do. His hands to her were either for pleasure and comfort. It reminded him of all the pain she had endured and pretended it wasn’t that bad. He was no model for expressing emotions, but he wanted her to express her real emotions. Pretending it was all okay was the tactic her parents passed down to her and now she wasn’t okay, far from it. A ring wasn’t going to solve her problems, but maybe his hand could, without a quirk. 

“I’m sorry.” She sobbed. “I know you hate this

“It’s what I have to do.” She told her awkwardly patting her back. 

“Rubbing your hand in a circle is normally more comforting.” She tried joking looking up at him, smiling even though tears were streaming.

“I’m not the best at this stuff.” He told her. 

“That’s not true at all!” She perked up. “You’ve always been there for me.” She told him. 

 Though she was sweeping it under the rug once more, he took comfort in knowing she wasn’t too proud or scared to show her true emotions, even the ugly ones.

 “Are you staying the night tonight?” She asked him almost in her building. 

 He felt the ring in his pocket. He wouldn’t chance it

“I can’t tonight.” He told her. “I have an early morning.”

“You can’t do an alarm mister never sleeps anyway?”

It’s nice to be wanted. 

“I love you my angel.” He pecked her cheek.

[n8thegr8]

My Avengers Academy Chapter 2: And Along Came a Spider

“This. Is. So. Cool!” Peter couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The lobby of Avengers Tower looked like something out of Star Wars, but it still had that Stark Industries feel to it. Holographic images of Tony Stark played welcoming whoever walked through the door. The floor was gold stained marble, and Peter could see his own reflection. They probably deep wash this floor every night! He saw multiple strangers littered across the entire room: business people, the media, some students, and even some pro heroes.

“Oh my God, Ant Man is literally twenty yards away from me,” Peter mumbled, absolutely star struck.

“Jeez dude, you ‘aight? You seem really uh…” Pietro trailed off. 

“Eager, to say the least,” Wanda cut off Pietro. She planted her hand on Peter's shoulder and almost flinched; he was shaking and quivering. To be fair, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, considering how excited he must be. He was excited. Wanda would describe Peter as a young child being brought to his favorite toy store. She knew how important this was to him;it was important to her as well. She wanted to be a hero who could magically whisk away people’s problems. If Wanda couldn’t do that, then she wanted to help as much as she could. 

“I know how excited you are, but keep it down a level or two. We can talk about all this...” Wanda’s gaze scanned the giant room, “...really,'' her journey stopped when she saw golden statues of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, the first Ant Man, andThe Wasp respectively. They weren’t massive, which allowed for them to be placed near the enterence to the staff and student only elevator. “...cool,” her gaze wandered over to see a rather attractive man in a blue uniform with a red flowing cape. “Oh my God, it’s Doctor Strange.”

“Oh my God, he’s right there.” Peter pulled out his hero notebook.

“Oh my God, he really is.” Pietro’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Oh my God, shut up,” a fourth voice spoke up.

The trio turned their heads to see Flash. His face was plastered with a smug grin. Pietro stood forward, pushing Peter and Wanda behind him.

“Oh please, Eugene. You wanna get into Avengers Academy too,” Pietro spat back, “You gotta be a little excited, right? Or is that impossible for someone with a cold dead heart?”

“Tch.” Flash put his hands in his pockets and walked past Peter and Wanda. Pietro mimicked his movements, effectively acting as a wall between the two and Flash. Flash looked at Peter, “How’s the hand, wall-crawler?”

Peter closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His eyes opened back up and he pointed to Flash’s arm. “J-just fine. How’s that bruise on your arm?”

Flash’s eyes widened and lifted his left arm to inspect it. What he found was right under his short sleeve; a dark red bruise. He put his arm down and glared at Peter with a ferocious intensity. “You should get better material, Parker,” he growled, “Whatchya lookin’ at me so much, huh? Peekin’ out from the cracked closet door?”

“Enough.” The four turned once again to see their chaperone towering over them. “If you four aren’t on your best behavior, believe me, I will personally see that each one of you is punished. Got that?”

“Yes, sir…” all four replied.

Peter watched as the chaperone walked away. Yeah, just ignore the casual bullying, nothing to see here. Peter groaned in annoyance.

Flash sighed and started his walk towards the main group, bumping his shoulder with Pietro as he did. “I’ll catch you later, Wall-Crawler.”

Peter felt so helpless when he called him that. It just reminded him of that day.

“Jeez Peter, you’re so weak!” a young Flash Thompson said while on top of a wall.

Peter glanced towards the ground in embarrassment. He has been trying to climb the wall for the past ten minutes, but he kept falling. “I can’t do it, Eugene! I-it’s too, um… slippery!”

Flash rolled his eyes. “Stop making excuses, Peter! Come on!”

Peter’s mind raced as he looked upon the wall again. It towered over him, making him feel so small. He couldn’t do this there’s nothing to grab on to. “F-Flash, I’m just gonna go around.”

“Ugh Peter, don’t be such a sissy.”

“That’s not a nice word,” Peter muttered.

“Come on! Just do it!”

Peter winced at Flash’s command. Why couldn’t Flash just let him go around? Peter couldn’t climb it; it’s too steep and slippery. He’ll just fall again. He didn’t want to make Flash mad, but no matter what, Peter just couldn’t climb it. 

“Hey! What are you doing you wimp?!”

Peter snapped back into reality and noticed that Flash was gone. W...where did he go? he thought. 

A scream deafened Peter’s ears. “Flash?!” Peter called out for his friend.

“Stop! Stop please!” the screaming continued, “Daddy! Help me!” the screaming was coming from the other side of the wall. 

Peter didn’t think when he heard those screams. He vaulted himself onto the wall and started to climb. Digging his fingers into the cracks, pushing up off the ledges under his feet, reaching for the deformities to climb up. “Flash, I’m on my way!” He got to the top and then looked down behind him. He… he did it! He climbed the wall. “I… I did it.” 

“Hey, Peter-“

“-are you okay?” Wanda’s voice suddenly entered the picture, and Peter jolted out of his dreamlike state. No longer was he at a park in the year 2021. Instead,he was back in Avengers Tower in the year 2030. 

He turned his head to look at her and nodded. “Yeah… yeah, I’m okay,” Peter gave a big smile, “Let’s go and enjoy this!”

Wanda flashed a smile back at Peter. “This is gonna be great!”

The tour of the facility was structured into three sections, and each section had been allotted an hour. The first section of the tour was dedicated to the general history of the Avengers, its founders, and the history of heroism. 

“Our tour guide is Hawkeye?!” Peter gushed excitedly to Pietro, who returned his excitement.

“I know! Dude, do you think he really has a quirk?” Pietro asked inquisitively.

Peter closed his eyes and put his hand under his chin. He then went into deep thought. “I actually never considered that. If he doesn’t then it would definitely be a scandal in the superhero society. However, he claims that he never misses, and his quirk is called ‘Dead-Aim’ when he was being interviewed by the Daily Bugle top journalist Eddie Brock he has never released his blood examples to the public. It’s not like he’s contractually or legally obligated to. The Super-Human Registration Act never forces you to make anything about yourself public, and even then it’s highly unlikely-“

“Hey, kid! Yeah, you! The one next to the white-haired boy an’ the brunette, would ya mind shuttin’ ya trap? I’m tryin’ to give a tour here!”

A jolt of surprise ravaged Peter’s body as he was interrupted by the very subject of his mumbling. His gaze was met with the intense gaze of Hawkeye himself, who had conveyed annoyance from his posture. “I-I-I,“ Peter stammered as his body stiffened, and his face turned a shade of crimson red. 

“Yeah yeah, that’s what I thought, just keep your mouth closed alright?”

“Y-yes, sir…” Peter said with his face hung in embarrassment. He averted his gaze to the right and noticed Wanda gritting her teeth.

“Asshole,” Poison dripped from her tongue as she said this.

Peter let out a small chuckle and pulled out his hero notebook. He opened it to Hawkeye’s page, and added, ‘Rude,’ under his personality profile. Definitely not asking him my question… 

“Tch,” Peter looked up from his notebook to see Flash looking directly at him. He then shook his head, putting his attention to the tour.

The second section of the tour was a showcase of the academy. The group was stuffed into a large elevator and was lifted up to floor 63. From there, the tour continued to the vast array of classrooms. Peter was astonished from the sight. It was the end of lunch for the students, and they were all headed back to their classrooms. “So many students, and they’re all gonna be heroes…” Peter murmured.

“They’re all so well dressed…” Pietro added, “Ugh, do I have to put the effort into how I look when I go here?”

“The day when you put effort into your appearance is the day when hell freezes over, Pietro,” Wanda jabbed, “Maybe if you do, you’ll actually get a girlfriend.”

Peter tried so hard to keep in his laughter, but his body betrayed him. Pietro then shot Peter a dirty look that screamed, “Are you for real?” Pietro was wearing the bare minimum in terms of fashion. He bore a logoed t-shirt with bright blue jeans and basic white gym shoes. Compared to Wanda’s more fashionable choice of a black undershirt, a red jacket, ripped dark jeans, dark gym shoes, and a red bandana wrapped around her head in a nice bow, Pietro’s fashion was basic and uninspired.

“Nah, I don’t have to put effort into my appearance,” Pietro scoffed, “I’m already perfect as is. The girls are gonna run at me.”

Wanda rolled her eyes at Pietro’s egotist statement. “How am I even related to you?”

“Wanna have a detailed explanation?”

“I’d rather not.”

“Guys, Beast is in the class next to us,” Peter whispered, peeking into a classroom.

Pietro and Wanda dropped their sibling banter and joined Peter. There they saw Dr. Hank McCoy, also known as Beast. He had a heteromorphic quirk, which meant that he looked different from “regular” humans. 

“He’s huge,” Peter gasped. He stood at 6’8,” and was covered head to toe in blue fur. He had fangs, sharpened claws, and had muscles that were reminiscent of an ape. Peter pulled out his hero notebook once more, and wrote down what he was observing.

“Jeez, he’s intimidating,” Pietro blurted quietly.

“Y-yeah for real,” Wanda stammered.

Peter was writing in his notebook with a fervor that was never experienced by man before. He wrote down every detail he saw: how he was reading a book as he was hanging upside down from the ceiling, how even though he looked like a monster he still had to wear glasses to read, how he was now right in front of him? Wait, what?

Peter’s soul nearly jumped right out of his body as he came to the discovery that the Pro Hero Beast was now standing right in front of him. He looked to Wanda and Pietro, who were shaking in their soles.

Beast opened the door that separated him from the trio. “Hello! How may I help you, children?”

He’s so polite! Peter, Pietro, and Wanda had the same reaction.

Beast took a deep look at the three children that were in front of him, they all had a mixed look of terror, anxiety, curiosity, and amazement plastered onto their faces. He noticed their lack of uniform and came to the only rational conclusion.

“Ah, you must be on tour!” He clapped his hands together and laughed. “I know how overwhelming this school can be at times, with all the pro heroes and promising students treading around.” He kneeled down to be at Peter’s eye level. “But you should know that at the end of the day, we’re all human. We’re just like you, and that’s why we’ve become heroes in the first place.”

As Beast was giving his small lecture, Peter wrote every word he heard, all while maintaining eye contact with him. Beast took note of this. “Ah, a fine learner, I presume?” 

Peter stopped writing and tried to stammer out an answer. “I… I… I…”

Beast gave a hearty laugh. “Oh don’t be embarrassed, my boy! Be proud of your sense of curiosity and love for learning.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him for years!” Wanda chimed in gleefully.

“Oh, and you have support as well, young man! By just looking at you three I can tell that you are all extremely close.” Beast took a hand each of the trio and put them together, the trio now in a position reminiscent of how sports teams break in their huddles. Peter’s face was cascaded in red as he took Wanda’s hand. “Cling on to this kinship that you all have, children. If you wish to graduate from this school and become a hero, having friends you can trust is the most important weapon to fight evil that you will ever have.”

Peter, to say the least, was starstruck. An esteemed hero, such as Beast, was giving him and his best friends life advice to become heroes! He didn’t ask if he was quirkless, and he didn’t assume anything negative. Peter had to ask him his question. Beast was the right person to ask.

“D-Dr. McCoy I-” Peter felt a hand squeeze his shoulder, which shocked him deeply.

“What did I say about being on your best behavior?”

Peter, Pietro, and Wanda turned around to see their chaperone, who wore a very annoyed look on his face. 

“Sorry, sir.” The trio hung their heads in shame.

The chaperone huffed. “I apologize for the annoyance, Doctor.”

Beast laughed once again. “Oh do not apologize, my good man. These children are just starstruck!” Beast smiled warmly. “It’s not every day that you get to see a pro hero so up close.”

The chaperone sighed. “Well, you’re not wrong.” He motioned to the trio to go back to the group. “We’re waiting on you three.”

Peter, Pietro, and Wanda said their goodbyes to Beast and headed off on their way. Peter excitedly opened up his notebook yet again and turned to Beast’s page. He wrote the word “kind” under his personality profile. 

“Jesus Christ.” Yet again, Peter perked up to see Flash looking at him yet again. Flash looked away, then, as if nothing happened.

Peter suddenly had a horrible thought. Was Flash going to do something to him on this field trip? There are so many people around, though. Was Flash growing bolder? Did he think he can get away with hurting Peter without anybody noticing? No, he’s not that stupid. There are too many people, plus Wanda and Pietro are here. Peter shook his head and walked with the tour guide to the last section on the itinerary.

The final section of the tour was a scientific demonstration by Dr. Bruce Banner and Tony Stark, also known as Hulk and Iron Man. The demonstration was held in the school’s auditorium, and it was the biggest room that the group had ever been in. They sat in three seats next to each other in the front row of the auditorium.

Wanda reached her hand towards the ceiling. “It’s so tall...”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Pietro sneered, “Anything else painfully apparent that you wanna point out?”

Wanda shot a dirty look at him. “You’re an idiot who’ll run into a ditch on your first day of being a professional hero, and you’re going to fall into obscurity as I rise to the top.”

“Ouch.” Pietro dramatically clutched his chest. “These hot takes are giving me a strong case of ‘You’rejustjealousthatIhaveacoolerquirkthanyou-itis.’”

“Oh, I’ve heard of that! There’s a vaccine for it, it’s called a ‘reality check.’”

“I like Hex more than Super-Speed, I gotta admit,” Peter chuckled.

“No, not you too, man!” Pietro reached out to Peter. “Don’t tell me she brainwashed you!”

Peter showed Pietro Wanda’s page in the hero notebook and pointed to the ‘potential’” section. “I mean, Hex can probably make her fly and that’s automatically awesome.” Peter flipped the page to Pietro’s. “While your quirk is astonishing, and you’re only going to become stronger with more practice, I don’t see you flying. Sooo, yeah.”

Pietro’s face drooped with disappointment. “Yeah, thanks for the ego check, man.”

Peter smiled brightly. “You’re welcome!”

Wanda snickered.

“Oh my God,” Pietro sighed.

“Hey Pete, can I see my section?” Wanda held out her hand.

“Yeah!” Peter handed Wanda the notebook. “Here.”

Wanda flipped to her section of the notebook. She scanned the page and saw that the ‘Potential Hero Name was filled with different options. “Wow, there are a lot of names.”

Peter scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Yeah, like a week ago I sat at my desk and made all of these potential hero names for you. Some of them are cool, but the others… not so much.”

Wanda gave a small chuckle as she scanned the names. One name, in particular, caught her gaze. “The Scarlet Witch?”

“I actually really like that one!”

“Sounds like a villain’s name, to be honest.” Pietro chimed in.

“It sounds cool but…” Wanda pulled a pen out of her purse and added a new name. “How about this?”

Peter and Pietro leaned in to see the name “The Crimson Sorceress.”

“That’s just ‘The Scarlet Witch’ with different synonyms, sis.”

“Yeah, but it sounds more heroic.” Wanda acted like she was putting up a magic barrier between her and the boys. “More magical.” 

“I like it!” Peter exclaimed.

“Yeah, of course, you would.” Pietro sank into his chair. “Whipped,” he whispered. 

Suddenly, a stinging pain found its home on the backside of Pietro’s head as Wanda’s hand slapped it. “Ow! What the hell?!”

“I heard that, you dick.”

Peter tilted his head in confusion. “Heard what?”

“Don’t worry about it, Pete.” Wanda winked, but only for a moment.

The lights in the auditorium dimmed and brightened, signaling that the demonstration was going to begin. Peter put on his glasses and pulled out his camera. He wanted to take pictures of the event, and maybe get a better photo of Dr. Banner and Iron Man for his notebook.

Wanda turned to Peter. “Make sure the flash is off, okay?”

“Yeah, ya don’t wanna cause any difficulties, alright bud?”

“Don’t worry, I turned it off before we even got on the bus,” Peter confirmed.

The curtains rose, and there he stood: Dr. Banner, the Incredible Hulk. He stood even taller than Beast did. Peter’s estimate put him at least seven feet tall. Dr. Banner wore a suit that had to have been tailor-made for him, considering how buff he was. He wore heavy rimmed glasses, which Peter appreciated. Like Beast, he looked intimidating, but he emanated this feeling of kindness and sincerity. His appearance showed the strength of his character, as for many years, the Hulk was called a menace to the Earth. Dr. Banner has made many TV appearances to talk about his beginning years as the Hulk. How he fled to South America to escape the United States Military, how his childhood trauma fed into the alternate persona that the Hulk adopted, how dealing with anger management is important, and how living with a split personality disorder is just another facet of the crazy experience called Bruce Banner’s life. When he merged himself with the Hulk, he explained that he felt whole, but sometimes when pushed to the edge the other personality comes out. He went on to explain that the Hulk wasn’t a bad person, far from it. In reality,the Hulk was actually a really kind and gentle creature that just wanted to be left alone. In fact, The Hulkstill had conversations with him about the meaning of life, the ins and outs of heroism, and even what they were going to have for lunch that day. Ever since then, Dr. Banner has been a pioneer in not only the genetic and radiological sciences ,but also in mental health and the understanding of all kinds of disabilities. Whenever Dr. Banner had an interview, Peter made sure to either watch it live or record it; he loved hearing the man talk.

Peter heard the audience murmur about the missing hero who was supposed to be with Dr. Banner on stage: Iron Man. The most popular hero, not only in the USA, but in the entire world. The story of how Tony Stark, a weapons dealer and billionaire playboy philanthropist became the Invincible Iron Man. Everyone knew how it went: Tony Stark was a selfish CEO of Stark Enterprises, and only looked out for himself until he was captured by terrorists in 1998. The terrorists used missiles that were designed by Stark himself and were struck in the chest by shrapnel but were saved by a man who managed to create a magnetic field inside his body to keep the shrapnel from reaching his heart. He was forced to build a new type of weapon for the terrorists, but what he really did was build a suit of armor that augmented his quirk: Arc Reactor. He then became the Invincible Iron Man, and escaped the terrorists’ base  making it back home to the United States in one piece. He put a stop on all weapon construction, changed Stark Industries to become a humanitarian company, and registered as a hero. He became a cultural icon; everyone knew  of Iron Man and his heroism. He wasn’t Peter’s favorite hero, but he still held a place in Peter’s heart as a founding member of the Avengers, and a great hero all around. He hasn’t made a public appearance in a while, though, Peter thought.

Dr. Banner stepped up to the mic, tapped it just so slightly to see if it was on, and had to catch it because it almost tipped over. “Sorry, over thirty years of being in this body, and I still can’t gauge how strong I actually am.” The audience was filled with laughter. Dr. Banner waved his hands to signal the audience to calm themselves. “You might be wondering about the lack of an overinflated ego that’s trapped in a yellow and red suit of armor.” He took the microphone and started to walk across the stage so that he wouldn’t stay static during the presentation. “Unfortunately, about thirty minutes ago, Iron Man was called for duty, and it’s my off day.I’ll be damned if they call me in.” He played with the wire of the microphone. “I never get called into work, I mean,” he chuckled, “Would you want to be the one to tell The Hulk that he has to come in on his day off?”

The audience burst into laughter once again, which showcased how strong Dr. Banner was as an enter, Dr. Banner knew how to keep the audience entertained. Peter had a hard time getting a good shot due to his own chuckles. 

“I never knew he was such a personality on the stage,” Wanda whispered to Peter.

Peter turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “Wanda, we watched like five of his interviews two nights ago.”

Wanda’s face was struck with confusion. “We did?”

Something told Peter that Wanda wasn’t paying attention that day, and that made him a bit sad. He soon forgot about it though, considering how  the actual presentation began.

“Now, onto the real show.” Dr. Banner walked towards the podium that was on his left. “As we know, quirks are genetic in nature, but scientists haven’t figured out what they really are yet.” A projection of a DNA strand appeared behind him. “However, we do now know that the quirks have a very similar genetic make-up to that of gamma radiation.”

“Hey, is that true?” Pietro asked Peter in a whispered tone.

Peter leaned his into Pietro to speak directly into his ear. “Yeah, last year they found out that his irradiated genetics are comparable to quirks. He wasn’t born with a quirk, remember? It was the gamma bomb that did it.”

“So, to pursue the hypothesis that quirks were birthed from a gamma event, the Avengers Institute and Stark Enterprise partnered with Oscorp to explore this line of thinking.” 

A sudden thought rushed through Peter’s head, Oscorp? That’s Harry’s dad’s company… I haven’t texted him in a while. I should see what’s up with him when I get home.

“Just recently we made a gigantic scientific breakthrough, we found out how to create quirks.”

The audience erupted in disbelief. Soft mumblings filled the auditorium. Some were in disbelief, while others questioned the ethics of such a practice. 

“Nah, that’s impossible, man.” Peter turned his head to Pietro. “There’s no way that you can create a quirk just like that.ike, an actual quirk, not a superpower born from an explosion or from an experiment, but an actual quirk? I call BS.”

“Would you just shut up and watch?” Wanda spat.

“And, this, right here, is the fruit of our labor,” Dr. Banner declared as he pressed a small clicker in his hand. “Oh, it didn’t break it this time, thank god.” 

The stage floor opened up. Peter heard the machinery in the under-stage doing its work. Then, out of the blue, he saw a very odd-looking machine rise up. The machine had two parts to it: two pillars stood erect parallel to each other. Each pillar curved into each other, at the end of both points were bright red spheres. Various ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ were delivered from the audience.

“This, my eager audience, is ‘The Quirk Accelerator,’ and we are going to make a quirk, right here, right now.” Dr. Banner clicked the clicker once again and a thick sheet of glass separated the stage from the audience. “Man, I’m on a roll today,” he stated proudly. “Now, once I press this button again, we will create an entirely new quirk.” 

“Dude, you have to  get a shot of this,” Pietro demanded.

“Yeah, Pete! Ooo, this is gonna be cool!” Wanda exclaimed in a hushed voice.

Peter excitedly pulled up his camera, but not before double-checking to see if the flash was turned off. He put his eye up to the viewfinder, and pointed his shot towards the Quirk Accelerator. As he took multiple shots of the machine itself, he noticed something that wasn’t supposed to be there. It was small, but he saw it. A spider, that was lowering itself from the ceiling with a single strand of its web. Peter didn’t know why he focused on such a minuscule thing, but he took a picture of it anyway. Who knows, maybe it’ll get him an award or something. That’d be nice, he thought to himself.

“Strap yourself in folks, ‘cause this is gonna be one hell of a frickin’ light show!” Dr. Banner shouted with excitement.

With yet another click, the Quirk Accelerator hummed. All of the lights that illuminated the stage shut off, and the thick sheet of glass tinted itself to a rather dark degree. Dr. Banner’s description was very apt. In between the two pillars, extremely bright electricity flowed and clashed with the two red spheres. Muffled crackles of thunder were heard as the light got brighter and brighter. Peter, in desperation, shot a picture aimed right in the middle of the action. The sheet of glass got darker as the light emanating from the experiment got brighter. The light show got to its final performance as the light suddenly turned a bright green. The light soon disappeared, though.  stage lights were turned back on, and Dr. Banner stood there with a big smile. It faulted for a moment, before returning to a grin. “Now, the quirk will be collected. Since we don’t have any machine assistance here on the stage, I’ll have to collect it myself.” Dr. Banner took a small capsule out of his pocket and walked between the two pillars of the Quirk Accelerator. The audience immediately went into various chatter.

Pietro turned to Peter. “Hey, do you think if any of us go blind because of that, Tony Stark will pay us boatloads of money in settlements?”

“'No, we signed away our right to sue in the event of an injury. It's not like Stark would give you anything. It's better for all of us if you were blind.".” Wanda shook her head.

“It’s true.” Peter nodded.

“Aw, man, that can’t be legal can it?”

“It’s totally legal.”

“Ah, so…” Dr. Banner’s voice cut the audience’s murmuring down to silence. “Apparently, this is our first failed test.”

“Told you he was full of-” Pietro was then cut off by a swift kick to the shin, courtesy of Peter. “Ow!”

Dr. Banner walked back to the podium. “But this is to be expected with any realm of science, that is why we go back to see what went wrong here.” He clicked the clicker for the last time which resulted in the Quirk Accelerator being lowered back into the stage. “We do have various quirks in storage, but live testing hasn’t been authorized by the government yet.” He walked downstage to where the mic stood and put it back in place. “We’re getting closer to unlocking the mystery of quirks every day. Maybe one day we can even track what the very first quirk was, but for now all we can do is theorize and experiment. I apologize that this was a failure, but I’m very glad that I was able to show you our latest endeavors here at Avengers Tower.” Peter took a shot of Dr. Banner as he said this. “I hope to see some of you attend the school next yearand that I sparked a wealth of scientific curiosity within you. Thank you so much, and have a good day, everyone.”

The curtains cascaded down upon the stage, and with that, the demonstration came to end. The lights illuminated the auditorium and people got out of their seats and headed towards the exit. Some were bummed, and others were ecstatic to be in the same room as the Incredible Hulk.

Pietro snatched Peter’s camera right out of his hands. “Dude, did you get the shots?” 

Peter jumped in surprise when he realized that when he blinked, his camera was no longer there. “P-Pietro! Be careful with that!”

Pietro shot a genuine smile at Peter. Pietro was tossing the camera up and then catching it with the same hand without looking at it, showing off his dexterity. “Don’t worry, man! I’m the most careful person in the world.” 

Wanda crossed her arms. “You literally broke a plate at dinner last night.” 

“A one-time incident, won’t happen again.” Pietro tossed the camera up again and waited for it to come back down, but it never did. “Wait, what the hell?”

“Interesting camera you got there, Maximoff. I’m surprised you could afford something like this.” 

Pietro groaned as he recognized the voice, he turned around to see Flash going through the pictures on the camera. “That was a lazy insult you had there buddy. Let me guess, did the parasite come up with that one?”

“Funny,” Flash grunted. 

Peter stood in utter fear as Flash held his camera. The phrase, Why does he have it? Why does he have it? kept repeating in his mind. This was his biggest fear. 

“Here ya go, Parker.” Flash held out the camera in front of Peter. “Just wanted to make sure you didn’t have any weird pics of me.”

“O-okay.” Peter hesitantly reached out to grab the camera. “Thanks, Fla-“

A thud. A crack. The sound of plastic falling onto marble flooring. Glass shattered. Peter’s gaze peered downward to see his camera in pieces. 

A devious smile crawled onto Flash’s face. “Whoops.”

Peter was stunned. Did that actually just happen?

“Thompson!” Pietro grasped Flash’s shoulder and forcefully turned him around to face him. “What the fu-?!” 

A black tendril shot itself out of Flash’s body and hit Pietro square in the face. He backed up, holding his nose in pain. “Don’t touch me, you freak.”

“Pietro!” cried Wanda.

“That’s it!” Pietro pushed against his right nostril and exhaled from his nose, a clot of blood flew out of his left nostril. “I’ve been playing nice for Peter’s sake, but you just crossed the damned line, Thompson!”

“Pietro, stop this!” Wanda exclaimed with a desperate expression on her face. “Don’t fight him!”

Peter backed up against the wall of the stage. His legs quivered beneath him. A fight? Here?

“Nah, nah, sis!” Pietro rolled up his sleeves as he walked towards Flash. “This guy has been a pain in our asses for years, I’ve been wanting to put him in his place.”

Flash took his stride over to Pietro. The symbiote crawled itself onto his skin and up his neck. “Let’s do this, wuss. Show me you’re a real man and not some pathetic bitch.”

“Bring it on, douchebag.” Pietro leapt forward at Flash in less than a second. Fists flew, and the fight began.

“Pietro, no!” Wanda rushed towards the scene.

“Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God,” Peter muttered over and over. He curled himself into a ball. His breathing became fast and uneven. He felt light headed, too. A sensation of dread and anxiety swept up his body in a hurricane of fear. “Nononononononono.” Why did this always have to happen? Today was supposed to be a good day, for crying out loud. Why did Flash have to ruin it again? Pietro was just making it worse. He won’t be allowed back into Avengers Academy. Peter thought about his camera, and the thought alone forced him into a shaking fit. He was glued to the sight; his precious camera, it was in pieces. It used to belong to his mother. The name: Mary Fitzgerald, was written in sharpie on the side. Why did this always happen to him? Why did he bring bad luck wherever he goes? Why was he so useless? Why was he quirkless? Why am I just human? Why do I-

Peter felt a stinging pain on his right hand and slapped it. “Ow!” He looked down and his hand and saw a giant bite mark, and the corpse of the spider he just squashed. He sighed. “This day’s just getting better and better.” Perhaps the spider bite was a blessing in disguise, it broke him out of his panic attack. He sighed again and steadily began to stand back up. He started walking towards Wanda, but with every step he began to slow down. He felt as if there was a giant weight on his shoulders. His legs turned into jelly. He started to shake violently. “Wh-what’s happening to me?”

“-eter? A-e -o- oka-?” 

Is that Wanda’s voice?

“W-ah! B-o yo- goo-?”

Pietro?

“Y-! Wa-cr-ler! Th- -ck’s th- ma-er?!”

Flash?

His vision started to become blurry, and darkness crept in from the edges of his eyes. “Wanda, I… I don’t feel so good.” Peter lost all control, and immediately lost consciousness as he hit the ground. 

“Peter?!”

To be continued…

[spellbound-banshee]

Different - Michelle (MJ) Jones

Summary: You ask MJ an important question, and she doesn’t give you the answer you expected.

Warnings: fluff, swearing, even more fluff, jealousy

Pairing: Michelle (MJ) Jones x reader

Ever since Mysterio had outed Spider-Man to the whole world, you began taking the day shifts to make sure everything went smoothly in Queens, and Peter took the night shifts, making sure to stay hidden even though it was dark. So as the day was coming to an end and Peter was sure to wake up soon, you decided to come to the roof and watch the sunset from the top of the building. It was your favorite part of your shift, watching the colors blend together while you munched on your dinner, beginning to get tired.

“Hey.” A small voice echoed behind you, causing you to whip your head around in surprise. MJ stood there with her hands in her jean pockets and her shoulders hunched, her lips in a thin line mirroring something short of a smile.

“Hey, MJ.” You smiled, relieved that it wasn’t someone who was going to try to push you off the roof. “What brings you up here?”

“Well, I saw you from the bottom and I guess I just wanted to say hello.” Her voice still in a hushed-whisper, she walks over to the edge of the roof where you are sitting, but still doesn’t sit down. “How are you holding up?”

“Pretty well, tired but at least it’s safe. We’ll figure out a better method eventually, but for now this works.” You patted the concrete beside you, so she swung her legs over the side anxiously and let her feet dangle off the roof. There was a moment or two of awkward silence before you just looked over at her beautiful, glowing features, admiring the sunset just as you had been. “Hey, while you’re here, I actually wanted to ask you something.”

“Shoot.” She replied, still not taking her eyes off the sky in front of her.

“Look, I know I’ve been spending a lot of time around Peter, and I just waned to let you know that... he’s not my boyfriend, and I still really like hanging out with you.” She finally looked at you, tilting her head in confusion for a second before your rambling continued. “It’s just... I notice you’ve been avoiding me or something, and you’ve been looking at Peter a lot from across the room and I just wanted to let you know that he’s available... and everything...” You weren’t great with words, the sentences you’d practiced in your head were coming out a jumbled grouping of thoughts.

“I-I don’t... like Peter.”

“Oh come on, MJ. You can be honest with me...”

“(Y/n), trust me... I don’t like him...” A blush fell over her cheeks as she looked down at the streets below her, seeming to be at a loss for words.

“MJ, it’s super obvious-”

“I don’t like Peter, I like you!” The words came out fast, almost too fast to comprehend, but it was definitely enough to shut you up. Your face contorted into one of confusion, then into one of clarity and realization. Your eyes widened a bit and your jaw dropped, feeling a smile begin to tug at the corners. “I like... you...” She whispered, as if she was actually coming to the realization and just needed to confirm it to the ants crawling along the roof.

“Really?” You asked, genuinely surprised, a full smile now splitting your face as you look at her, trying to get her to look back. She just nodded, and you just smiled again, a light pink dusting your cheeks and across your nose, looking down with a sheepish smile. “I... uh... me too.”

Her head snapped up, wide eyes. She wanted to hear you say it again, she couldn’t actually believe someone like you could like someone like her, especially because you thought she hated you a second ago. “A-are you serious?”

“Yeah... I have for a while now honestly...” You made eye contact with her, and she was searching your eyes for something to let her know you were telling the truth. You just reached your hand over and placed it on top of hers, giving her a small smile. “Genuinely... I do.”

Another smile slowly spread across her face, and she looked down once again, then out to the sunset, breathing out a sigh of relief. You exhaled as well, keeping your hand on MJs, feeling like a giant weight had been lifted off your shoulders. Everyone thought you liked Peter because of how much you’d been hanging around him, but when MJ was staring at Peter, you couldn’t help but get jealous. But now you know she was staring at you, just the thought of it made butterflies erupt in your stomach, so much so that you began giggling at the thought of it all. MJ joined in with you, the awkward tension in the air beginning to fade away as you made eye contact once more.

“Hey, why don’t I go wake up Peter, and we can go get... like a cookie... or something?” You mentally face-palmed at suggesting that, but the endearing smile on her face just reassured you of her confession.

“I’d like that, I really would.” You nodded and swung your legs around, jumping onto the rocks and holding an arm out to MJ, which she gladly took. The two of you sprinted down the stairs, footsteps and giggles echoing off the walls. Your hands were shaking so much, you could barely get out your phone to call Peter and tell him all about what happened, but that could wait. For now, you just texted him and said you would explain later, barely even bothering to check to see if he responded.

“So, where to?” You asked, holding your arm out to link around MJs, which she gladly took and pulled you close for a second.

“That’s all part of the adventure, (L/n).”

-

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 12

Episode 12 - “One is All, All is One” We open with whoawhoawhoa it’s Beardy from the intro. Papa Elric? Do we finally get backstory on Absent Dad this episode?

Beardy doesn’t look happy about something. And Ed wakes up in shock. More points towards it being Papa Elric, and also it not being the healthiest of families. But hey, this is anime, good luck finding any Protagonist families without Drama. Al says they’re almost at Dublith, asks if Ed was having a bad dream. Then stays oddly quiet when Ed says it was about ‘him’. Jeez, what’s with this guy? In town, both boys are very unenthusiastic about seeing Teacher again. And now the screens suddenly shaking, the door creaks open ominously gah bloody knife what the Oh dear. A very very big man has just stepped outside. Seriously, this guy looks like he could give Armstrong himself a run for his money. [Ed]: “Um… hello, Sig.” [Al]: “Long time no see.” Ah, a butcher! Got it. He’s rather chill about seeing the Elrics after so long, just patting them on the head and commenting on how they’ve grown (and can I just say how it’s adorable for the Giant Fanged Suit of Armor to be happy about having his head rubbed? Daw.) Sig pokes his head through a window, tells “Izumi” that the “Elric Shrimps” have come for a visit, she puts down an Alchemy book and says that she’s feeling a little better today. You’re right Al, that doesn’t sound good. What’s wrong with Teacher? Oh. Oh dear. Ed just got done kicked in the face across the street. I believe I have a good read on Teach, now.

To menacing music, McKickyFace steps outside, looking down on Ed with shadowed face and glowing red eyes. [McKickyFace]: “Hello, my stupid pupil! I hear you’ve become one of the military’s dogs!” And then the creaky door betrays Al’s hiding spot, she turns… and Al’s cuteness factor is unstoppable, McKickyFace instantly transforms to Izumi, commenting on how Al has grown. Aw, that’s nope never mind just a ruse to easily throw Al to the dirt. Jeez, for someone “not feeling well” you’re tossing these chumps around like ah that’s blood. No Teach, I don’t think you’re “perfectly fine.” Sig tells her not to exert herself and oh they’re married. One, that’s adorable, and two, ok that explains why they went to Sig. But above all else that’s adorable. Also funny how their love is so overpowering that Ed’s just standing there unnerved, getting bumped in the head by floating hearts. Inside, the four are sitting around a table, the conversation as typical being about the Philosopher’s Stone. Teacher doesn’t know much about it though, says it doesn’t hold much interest for her. Why’s that, do you know the secret or just have that much faith in your own abilities? Sig contributes that there was one guy in Central who knew about it. A guy called Hohenheim? Whoa Ed what’s wrong? And Al, do you recognize it too? Ah, image of Beardy! Teacher asks why the reaction to the name, Al confirms that it is indeed Papa Elric. Who “ran out” on them when they were little? Damnit man, why do you have to perpetuate the trope of Absent Anime Father? Flashback! Mama and Papa Elric are standing at the door, Baby!Ed and Baby!Al happened to be up early in the morning. Mama’s of course all over her children, but Papa Elric… just glares down at Ed, that’s the only description I can use for that look. Then he turns without a word, and walks out the door. ...seriously? Dude, dick move. So Mama Elric did say later that Papa left, but not with any finality. Then we get various scenes of Mama Elric and the Babies being cute, until… Mama Elric collapsed on the floor. Back in the present, with Ed still lost in Flashback-Land, Ed asks if Papa Elric had said anything about the Stone. Teacher says it was something about a life-long dream coming true. Even happy when he said it. Then she gets up, punches Ed out his sulk, and says that they’re going to eat.

At the dinner, Sig offers Al some food… uh oh. Have the Brother’s really not explained about Al’s state? Wow, really subtle attempt to change the subject to the last episode there Ed. I can tell Sig’s not buying it, he just looks to Izumi drinking her tea. Another flashback? A big storm in their hometown, the young Elrics are looking down with the other townsfolk as men try to keep a sandbag barrier holding against a flood. The wall’s breaking, everyone’s pulling back- except for Teacher, who’s striding past them as the epic string music picks up. With a clap of her hands (ooh, so Ed picked up on not using TCs from her!), she earthbends a bunch of walls up to hold back the river. And then Sweetie Sig walks over with an umbrella as she turns to the crowd. Who don’t recognize her? Ah right, a passerby, she lives in Dublith after all. And then she vomits blood again. Oh dear. Ah, so the boys were too short to see the blood this first time, all they saw was someone being Awesome and Saving The Town. So of course they run up and ask her to be their teacher. Buuut maybe don’t call her “Old Lady”. She refuses at first, she doesn’t teach and she’s just passing through, but when she’s told that they two boys clinging to her arm are orphans? [Pretty Lady]: “How am I supposed to say no to that?” And now for the first lesson: apparently, getting dropped off on an island and left to fend for themselves. Without any alchemy, even. Lady, I have to question your teaching methods.

Titledrop! “One is all… and all is one.” They have- one month?! Good Leto woman, you’re leaving them on their own for a freaking month? Yeah, the boy’s aren’t doing too well their first night. Trying (and failing) to sleep on some palm leaves, stomach’s rumbling. A lesson in wilderness survivalism, then? Ad-break picture of Sig and Izumi looking ready for a fight, shows last name of ‘Curtis’. So what’s their story? Sig seems to be working away as a butcher, a proper butcher unlike a certain Pudgy we’ve met before. But what about Izumi? Where did she get her training, and learn how to do non-TC Alchemy? Aaand where the first picture was of them looking tough, the second is of Big Tough Sig fanning his blood-spitting wife. Lady, maybe you should get that looked at. Oh, show’s answering my question already, apparently they work the butcher shop together. Sig’s wondering if they’re doing alright, Izumi stands by her lesson as being the best way to learn the essentials of alchemy. The same way she was taught, even. Casual throw of sharpened knife to Sig who does a two-finger catch (making me wonder if he has any training?), Big Butcher says he’s more concerned about their lives being in danger. Izumi scoffs, saying her training began with fighting bears for a whole month in the mountains. In winter, no less! ...couldn’t help but notice that you look a bit older that the Elrics in that picture, Izumi. On the island itself, the Brothers have just caught a rabbit in a snare! However, it leaves them with a live rabbit, so they’ll have to kill it themse- Oh that is just not fair. Rabbit’s going full Cute Anime Mode to avoid being dinner. The Brothers are playing Hot Potato with the knife to avoid using it. Until a passing fox takes advantage of the easy meal, and runs off with the rabbit. But look! The fox took the rabbit to feed its cubs! Aw, that’s sweet. Then the cubs start eating, and the Brother’s quickly decide to try fish instead. Yep, kinda hard to fish without rods. Maybe you can carve a spear? Or just build a lean-to, and go without food for a few more days. Yeesh, Ed’s not doing too well. Had a moment where he hallucinated Al as food and chomped, and now is alternating between nomming on ants and screaming about how gross they are. Oh, turning point! Ed’s talking about how he’s alive because he ate the ants. Um, no? I seriously doubt those few bugs gave you enough calories to make up for a few days foodless. Or rather it’s a metaphorical thing, how Ed’s alive because he consumed life. And then I guess he resolves that if he’s going to eat life to live, and by Leto he’s going to be at the top of the food chain! Cue montage of the Brothers going all Lord of the Flies, fashioning tools, chasing down a rabbit and killing it before a passing fox this time, starting a fire. They even get to the point that they toss some cooked food to the fox cubs in passing. Finally, it’s the night before Teacher’s to come back. Al asks Ed if he’s figured out what she meant by “One is all, and all is one.” Ed confirms that after he ate the ants, he thought his body feeding the ants, going to earth and becoming grass that the rabbits would eat... ...if I wasn’t doing a Professor Moody theme this episode, this would be a perfect spot for a Lion King gif. So yeah, Ed thought about the food chain. But also the island, how long ago it was under water, and thousands of years from now it could be the top of a mountain. It’s an “all things are connected” lesson, how in the span of the cosmos even our Main Characters are smaller than ants are to them. Test time! Teacher arrives and asks for their answer. [Al]: “All is one!” [Ed]: “And one is me!” Teacher… bursts out laughing? But she accepts the answer, and says the real training starts now. Now in Dublith, Teach is casually reading a cookbook while she lectures about TCs as the basis of Alchemy and absently spars with the Brothers. Sick moves lady, her technique seems to be all about deflecting and redirecting their attacks. That’s Judo, I think? Reviewing the lesson, Al calls her out on not using TCs when she casts, they ask how she does it. Teacher says something cryptic about herself being the matrix, that it might be something they learn if they see the truth. Wait… truth, or ‘Truth’? And yup, Ed wakes up with a realization: Teacher has seen the truth too. The next day, the Brothers are meeting with Teacher in the front yard, presumably to ask her. But she suddenly Alchemizes a spear from the wall, strikes out at Ed who has to TC-less change his arm to a blade in defense. That, on top of Al being armor and Ed missing two limbs confirms it for her: Edward’s seen it too. Which begs the question: how did Izumi see the Truth? Did she try Human Transmutation too? Yep, she did. And the rebound struck her… stomach. And in the center… Ah. That’s who she was trying to bring back. Izumi confirms the sad tale, why she committed the taboo. And when she says that it must have been awful for them, the Elrics adopt their customary bravado about it. ‘Not a big deal’, Al’s got his list of stuff to do, ect ect... [Izumi]: “You darling little idiots. It’s ok to hurt.” ... [Ed]: “Forgive us.” [Al]: “We’re so sorry, Teacher.” [Ed]: “Please forgive us.” [Al]: “We’re so sorry.” [Ed]: “Please forgive us.” [Al]: “We’re so sorry.” Flashback to the island, the young brothers expounding on living being the deconstruction and reconstruction of old life to new life [Ed]: “Alchemy is part of that flow. And the flow is life itself.” End-credits. Oof. Started out as a mostly amusing episode, was mostly looking for details on Absent Papa Elric. But nope, Brotherhood continues to be brutal to my emotions.