#that reason being so that the energy and force of a crash doesn't turn the occupants into paste

[liquidmooniight]

saw a real cybertruck yesterday and it looked as stupid as they do in the pictures. it looks like a child's first attempt at drawing a car. its geometry would make hp lovecraft piss himself in terror. I was riding backseat to my older brother and his boyfriend and so when we saw it we all turned to rubberneck at Silly Fucking Idiot McGee, riding the Griftermobile.

[shebeafancyflapjack]

Moonah Girl

Some details about Silver (my Ghosts oc's) curse and her connection with the moon(ah). It's more than just a cute nickname given to her by Robin.

- It's unclear if Silver's curse to only be awake during the three days of the full moon was always going to be part of her as a ghost given the time that she died and her Esbat ritual, or had something to do with Robin placing her in the bed of cornflowers. At least, that's a thought that often plagues him, if he is somehow at fault for what was meant to be a sweet gesture. Silver, on the other hand, likes to believe that he 'saved' her by placing her on that bed, and that she might have just been trapped in sleep forever as a ghost if he hadn't.

- As a Pisces, Silver's main element is water. The moon is connected to her as it is the tide. Canon Silver doesn't have any powers but Gore Silver has the ability to summon mist, as a shield and a veil to confuse and distort people. The land outside BH is nearly always coated with mist, which if Livings stare hard enough they can see her dancing upon the field.

- The moon charges Silver as the sun does a solar powered battery. The moon is to her what Monster drinks were to her best friend. Even though she only gets three days a month, she takes advantage of every minute and is always hyper and positive - that is if she's slept during a month of clear skies and lots of moonlight. As much as Mary would have preferred her darling girl to sleep inside where she was sheltered and close, Robin explained to her that it's important for Silver to always rest in moonlight. Not only does it refuel her energy but it also makes her dreams more pleasant. Only during a new moon does she suffer either way, the lack of moonlight giving her bad dreams or night terrors at worse. During this time, either Robin or Mary stay close to try to soothe her through them, Mary sometimes bringing her inside to cuddle her in her room.

- Even when awake, Silver feeds off the moonlight. As much as she will come inside the house to visit her friends, at night when they're asleep, she'll mostly wander outside, usually alone or often with fellow night owls Robin and later Amy. The one time Silver attempted to spend her entire three days doing a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon, she ended up regretting it, as trying to stay indoors for too long made her drained and sickly, and her dreams for most of the month after were unpleasant to say the least, until she was 'recharged'. As for what would happen to Gore Silver if kept away from the moonlight...well. 😬 👿

- Speaking of Gore Silver, moonlight is one of two things she can 'see' through her blindness, the other being her "Mummy's" fire, at least until Mary 'turns the lights on' for her - ie, casts her magic over her mind to see her surroundings as a fantasy world.

- One of Silver's patron deities in her practice was Artemis, who is not only a lunar deity but also was known to live in the woods and be surrounded by her nymphs. Basically one of the reasons Silver is so chill about her situation - for the most part - is she sees it as being one of her godddess' chosen maidens.

- Though usually happy and upbeat, partly from the moon and also the mushrooms consumed before her aneurysm ruptured, several things can cause Silver's mood to crash in the opposite direction. Either being indoors or weather covering the moon or just something genuinely upsetting her. This is exaggerated more so with Gore Silver, who will be happy and friendly and childlike most of the time, but her 'crashes' can result in tearful meltdowns while being forced to keep smiling, or laughing hysterically and causing the brains of those around her to suffer instead - either intentionally or not. But if she seeks vengeance and justice, she will get it. She's a Guppy after all.

[darlingdawnauryn]

My Most Memorable Spirit Encounter

I said in my pinned post that I haven't officially started studying death/spirit work, but that's not entirely true. Between watching Poltergeist for the first time, buzzing with anticipation on the way home from school because I knew A Haunting would be there waiting for me, and the general paranormal-leaning landscape of early/mid-aughts subculture (I plan to make a post about the latter), I was pretty obsessed with ghosts and spirits as a preteen and ready to dive in in whatever way I could -- and there weren't a lot of ways, since my mom forbade me from using Ouija boards, conducting seances, etc. But that doesn't mean I wasn't capable of doing something.

To start, I was a pretty emo, anxiety-ridden adolescent who'd already had a few near-death experiences under my belt. Though I'd in no way call myself a medium, I believe this thinned the veil for me, giving me the chance to come across things from the Other Side that my able-bodied peers wouldn't have happened upon so easily. Couple that with the layout of my bedroom, which had a walk-in closet and a glass door leading to a fenced-in sideyard that let in the cold during winter, not to mention the huge mirror connected to my vanity dresser, and it's a wonder my fucking around didn't lead to a finding out period where I accidentally opened a portal to hell.

My room was at the end of a sizeable hallway off the dining room; I don't know if it actually gave me the amount of privacy I remembered, but despite both my parents using the glass door to go out and smoke, I could basically lock myself in and remain undisturbed for hours at a time. This gave me the opportunity to try and contact whatever the fuck was in my room -- because despite being undisturbed, I never felt truly alone. I was always aware of a heavy presence, throughout the whole house but seeming to be concentrated in the place where I slept. Again, I blame the three doorways and giant mirror. At this point I'd tried everything I could, including a homemade pendulum and a lowkey, makeshift seance with my sister (which turned out to be a bust because she didn't take it seriously and turned it into a game). So one evening, when the atmosphere felt particularly weighted, I just decided to start talking.

"I know there's something in here. Can you make yourself known to me, please?"

Nothing. No creaks, groans, taps. It's also worth noting that I didn't know homemade boards were an option; for whatever reason, a pendulum that was just a necklace that belonged to my great-grandmother was common sense. But a homemade, hand-drawn Ouija board slipped my mind. (It also felt a little bogus, honestly. I wanted the real deal.)

"Please make yourself known to me. I just wanna talk."

I also had a tall dresser that wasn't a combination vanity, and since this was around 2007 I had a five-disc CD player with a speaker on either side. Nestled between the player and one of the speakers was my MP3 player, which I always took out of my backpack after school because my dad hooked me up with an aux chord and I thought it was the coolest thing. I always kept it plugged in, and when I wasn't using it, it was pushed into that impromptu cubby. This was at least six inches back from the edge of the dresser, meaning it was in no danger of falling off the thing.

It took a few more minutes of prodding on my part, but all of a sudden the MP3 player flew from the dresser. It didn't just fall -- it was launched from its hiding place with enough force to make the aux chord grow taut, creating some resistance that probably stopped it from crashing into the opposite wall and breaking. But it did end up landing on the floor.

Like I said, I didn't have a Ouija board and at the time I didn't know pendulum boards existed. I had no way of knowing if I'd contacted a ghost, a house spirit, something else, or if my hormone-addled brain concentrated energy in an already off-putting room and made something cool happen. The good news is, that's all it was. It never veered into dangerous territory and we moved out of state shortly after anyway. Still, I would've liked to know what I'd been talking to.

Since getting into witchcraft a little over a year ago, I've felt it almost necessary to find a mentor before actively practicing spirit work; obviously this is serious shit that takes a lot of energy, and I don't wanna irreversibly mess anything up, especially since I still live with people who aren't keen on spirit communication. But reliving this memory by typing it out has made me reconsider, at least a little: if nothing bad happened back then, when I didn't know nearly as much as I do now and had no protections in place, maybe I already have a better grip on this than I thought.

Feel free to share your own experiences/opinions in the replies!

[funnuraba]

I feel like I need to be talking about the specific symptoms of ME/CFS, because I really, really wish I'd known what all my snowballing symptoms were pointing towards before I became 98% bedridden. So, here's the brain fog:

Starting in mid to late 2020 (I believe my Covid infection was in March; the only symptom was a mild sore throat that I worried about but then brushed off because no respiratory symptoms developed), I started having trouble finding words, and making spoonerisms where I'd never done so before. I nervously put this down to turning 30, but wondered if it had really started this early for the family members who had similar issues in their 50s.

Now, as a result of pushing myself through fatigue for three years, I have full-blown ME that's finally presenting unmistakably, with Post-Exertional Malaise: if I use too much energy, I pay for it the next day with flu-like symptoms, and more often than that with a mental crash. In these mental crashes (I also get them before it rains), I can't speak. I can't think in full sentences, and it's prohibitively difficult to think in words of more than one syllable. Even one-syllable words with complex sounds are too much sometimes. Something like "please let this end soon", which tries to pop up a lot, is impossible to finish because the "pl" diphthong takes too much effort to think and to form with my mouth. I was able to entertain myself through a few crashes by noting these things, to the limited extent that I could put anything into words.

There's also some unusual linguistics at work. I can't, for example, put a pause between syllables except with great effort, but I can replace a two-syllable word with two or even three monosyllabic ones! For example, I can't manage "always" no matter what I do. I have to turn it into "all time", which is the same number of syllables, but for some reason takes less energy. I can't put a long pause into "always" and get it out that way. An example sentence I have to settle for during a mental crash would be, "This hard. Me want think big all time."

During one of these crashes I was thinking of Flowers For Algernon, and all I could manage was "rat brain book". "Me cry at rat brain book when kid. Now look at me. Life is shit. Ha." (Even in that state I had to force out a few more sentences clarifying that the part I cried at wasn't him being disabled to begin with, but that he had to go back to being bullied with no way to defend himself or understand what was happening to him. Why did I need to make sure I knew this, within my own brain that already knows my own thoughts? This is a long-standing impulse of mine that doesn't make much sense.)

Now, I could mentally picture a book cover that had the words Flowers For Algernon on the cover. I could see the F and the A, and the articulation of the full title was just out of reach. But reaching out and "grabbing" it was physically painful. I had to give up, despite being aware that the knowledge was in my brain. By a strange coincidence, the very next day brought a post on the r/CFS subreddit by someone comparing their own situation to Flowers For Algernon. As much as I believe people with brain damage and intellectual disabilities should be treated with dignity and not like a tragedy for existing, the loss of myself as someone who's always prided myself on my facility with words is beyond my ability to describe. These crashes, which also bring extreme sensitivity to other people's touch or presence, to light and sound--all light, all sound, including your own breathing--are like experiencing your own death, over and over and over again. You don't know if or even when it'll stop, because some Very Severe people are stuck like this, and every crash is the one that could be permanent.

All of which goes to say, you have no idea how much energy it takes to even think. When your mitochondria physically can't recharge, every scrap of energy is used up on things like breathing, seeing, hearing, digesting food. Your conscious thoughts are one of the first things to fall by the wayside so your body can keep doing those. And for people at the most extreme end of ME, they can in fact lose the strength to even breathe.

[toastess-with-the-mostess]

Let's Rewind! Toast watches Voltron: Defender of The Universe (1984)

Season 1, Episode 31: The Sincerest Form of Flattery Season 1, Episode 32: A Transplant For Blue Lion

Episode 31: The Sincerest Form of Flattery

Lotor made the mistake of trying to boss Zarkon around and immediately was greeted with robeasts to "escort" him away from Zarkon's presence I'd ask if you even understood what you were doing, but the answer is a resounding no

The fight seemed so weird until I realized dotu cut out a handful of scenes because they were gory, Lotor definitely stabbed one robeast through the chest and maybe beheaded another

Oh shit! Zarkon v Lotor but for real this time! Lotor obviously is going to lose, but this should be fun to watch him fail at

AN ANIME FREEZE FRAME?? I KEEP FORGETTING THIS WAS ORIGINALLY AN ANIME AND HAS THAT KIND OF STUFF ZARKON JUST CUT LOTOR'S HELMET IN HALF AND MADE THE GUY BLEED

I'm so mad that the main antagonist for the team got switched to Lotor instead of being kept as Zarkon, he feels like a better villain than his overgrown pet sperm

Haggar to save Lotor's life, though she should've let Lotor get turned into a robeast like he himself suggested lol instead we get an ACTUAL mech for Voltron to fight this time, the rest have usually been cyborg type deals

Back on Arus, the team formed Voltron to help out with reconstruction after the last attack on the city that happened We really should see that more often tbh, nice to see the team doing humanitarian (Arusianarian?) work

HUNK I DON'T THINK BEING ABLE TO PUNCH THROUGH A TABLE AND THEN RIP YOUR HANDS OUT FROM IT ALONGSIDE A CHUNK OF WHATEVER THAT TABLE IS MADE OF IS NORMAL

Ooh new defense system, Ad EAS i think Coran said, stands for Advanced Early Alarm System which isn't a bad acronym Apparently the regular defense system detects when an enemy gets within 50 tyketes(?) of Arus but the new one detects and attacks enemies that enter 200 tyketes this definitely won't go wrong

And it immediately gets destroyed LMAO Lotor showed up and decided to mess with it before getting pissed and shooting one of the command ship's lasers right through the satellite maybe the castle should've deployed more than 4 of those things

Actually though, Ad EAS is a good early detection system to help stall for time while the teams gets up to space, Arus IS rebuilding after all so even if it doesn't do much time is precious

The team is NOT having a good time up there, again I know it's for the drama but c'mon guys if you were already freaked out by the legitimate giant robot you have to fight why not even it up with your own giant robot

HOLY SHIT A ROBEAST ACTUALLY ATTACKED THE TEAM MID TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE?? INCREDIBLE IT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING BECAUSE THERE'S A FORCE FIELD OR LIKE TOO MUCH ENERGY OUTPUT SO IT JUST SENT IT FLYING BACK

It's cool to know that voltron has more than one weapon at their disposal, but I wish they were used more sparingly just because I want Voltron to start throwing hands LMAO

OH SHIT THE ROBEAST ACTUALLY MANAGED TO KNOCK VOLTRON BACK INTO THE ATMOSPHERE It pierced through blue lion, getting real close to Allura, so she freaked out and lost control of blue's thruster so Voltron isn't doing so hot

aaand all that hard work for the city has gone to shit, Arus can't catch a fucking break huh, maybe the people should just move further away from the castle, so they don't get hit, assuming this is the nearest town

I'm sorry the joint above blue lion is where most of Voltron's energy is stored?? Absolute bullshit reasoning, the writers could've done better by literally reminding Lotor that blue's already weakened

DID VOLTRON JUST GET STABBED IN THE CHEST?? EXCUSE ME?? WHAT IS HAPPENING THIS EPISODE robeast defeated, hooray!

Voltron just became a cripple omg, blue lion still as a foot btw just DROPPED so confused as to how voltron still existed after that, but the boys disbanded anyway to protect Allura who's out cold after a crash-land

They're still fighting holy shit, usually the episode ends after the robeast gets fucked and the lions are getting beat up too, castle defenses had to chase away Lotors command ship what a wild turn of events

Into the hospital Allura goes, she had an injury on her shoulder, she's fine though as always

/episode end

Episode 32: A Transplant For Blue Lion

WOAH CONTINUITY?? They're picking up this episode with a bit of a time skip to remind viewers that Lotor actually did something right for once

Allura's still hurt, but that hasn't stopped her yet, what a good princess

GOD DAMN IT ALFOR WHY ARE YOU BACK

I always liked the idea that the boys didn't see Alfor as often as Allura did so they just think she's still grieving for him but every time this show uses Alfor as a crutch it hurts ME

Keith being a poetry nerd is such an on brand thing, I'm so sad they removed all this personality he had in preference for making him emo and solitary This man is goofy as hell! He's optimistic and happy-go-lucky, where did it all go

Keith getting angry out of nowhere is wild, he's never done that before especially towards Lance and yes it's out of nowhere because it's not like Lance was being a dick he was just being lazy AND THAT'S HIS NORMAL

Allurance moment though not super convincing to me because other Allurance versions have insane chemistry, dotu lance is for my mutual thank you

A militia! Good on the nearby townsfolk for choosing to fight against Lotor on their own grounds, I mean they will probably get DECIMATED, but they've got the spirit

Training time, the blue lion has been repaired fairly quick actually and Allura is having a tough time with keeping up I do like that this show shows her struggling and actively working to do better but like a little more continuity please? I say as it's a show aimed for children

NANNY I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DON'T GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD THAT NOBODY CAN REPLACE ALLURA ANYMORE I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF, GOOD GOD I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF IT CAME OUT THAT SHE WAS A DRULE SPY ALL ALONG BUT SHE'S NOT EVEN SMART ENOUGH FOR THAT ROLE NOW IS SHE

Animation error? Is that Keith the blue pilot uniform

Some Hunk focus! I wonder if he has some kind of rejection sensitivity because he just started bawling when as the left leg of voltron got hit and fell off like allura's did last episode, very much doesn't like making mistakes

And the attack begins! As I thought the town is burnt to hell though the people did fight for a while so good for them EXCEPT HUNK IS STILL THINKING HE'S EXPENDABLE LIKE SIR THOSE ARE NOT GOOD THOUGHTS SUICIDE IS NOT THE WAY

Looks like the training actually helped! They blew up the robeast's head without forming Voltron, though they still formed up because they have to double tap the thing to make sure it isn't still kicking

ALFOR WHY ARE YOU EVEN BACK AGAIN, STAY DEAD ASSHOLE

Robeast defeated and a pregnant woman from earlier in the episode gave birth by the end! How cute, though using Voltron or Voltrisha as a name for an actual child is literally setting them up for bullying OSIDN

/episode end

[thatgirlkalani]

bye?

I'm at a point in my life where I'm in full blown self destruct mode my life is a series of unfortunate events and it Dosent seem to be getting any better I have no will to live but I'm scared to die..not really scared to do but scared to do it myself...every couple of weeks its something new and fuccin terrible its been like that since the car crash I literally can't catch a break I can't win and I'm so mf tired of it after all the shit I been thru I still care too much I still love too hard I still give too many fuccs and I don't know how to turn it off I Juss wanna be numb or not exist or some shit I'm always seeing the good in people when the human race is literally shit. I feel like everybody in my life currently doesn't fwm as much as I fw them and I'm over exerting and ppl don't actually like me and I know they don't care how I do I can tell by little things...not answering a text..a call. bluffing on a link...and I just sense energies ... I don't have friends that are like me and I haven't in years and the one I did have. I lost at no fault of my own all of my friendships and relationships go to shit anytime somebody makes me happy they leave or get taken or change but something always goes wrong I find somebody I actually care or want to care about and get traumatized by it I have horrible taste in men bc. I seem to only want the ones that are gonna ruin my life stress me out or could give two fuccs how I feel and its crazy because they seem to be the only ones I relate or feel close to then its alll down tf hill from there. Idk if my poor choices in men comes from wanting to get as far from people like my family or from my long ass list of SA history but either way its gone to shit all these niggas do is hurt the feelings that I barley have , disappoint me, not give a Fucc inconvenience me or all of the above....the hyper sexuality has calmed down for the time being but the hyper fixation has kicked in there's no in-between I'm either completely cool on everybody, hyper sexual because I need to be in control of my body or I'm hyper fixated... normally on somebody who could give two shits.. and can't find interest in anybody else which is where I'm currently at...and I have every reason to be obsessed with this man even tho I know I shouldn't but its too late bc I genuinely fwh again I know better but currently I'm stuck and at a point where I hate myself because I watch him want/give everybody a chance but me then I'm forced to hear about it but have to play it cool bc I Juss want to keep him in my life atp bc. I don't have much... I don't really know how to pinpoint where all my abandonment issues came from but at the same time I can point out specific situations that have added to them because everyone that I attach myself to leaves.. and or hurts tf out of me and its been happening since I was 14 friendships and relationships alike.....why I really Juss wanna disconnect from everybody and I do ever so often but I get lonely and I hate that I wish I didn't need anybody.. I wish a lot I wish I didn't hate myself..I wish I didn't give so many chances.. wish I didn't love people who don't love me bacc...wish I could go numb, wish I didn't have mommy and daddy issues mannn fml. the. mommy and daddy issues is a whole other story because they weren't abusive in anyway except emotionally and I don't think they meant it but I just can't get past it... its hard to show affection to them and shit of that nature I wish we were closer I wish we shared similar views I wish I was comfortable going to them but I don't..im the. blacc sheep of the family and even if they wont admit it they know and I feel it.. I'm honestly tired of existing tired of the panic attacks tired of the manic episodes tired of the abandonment issues tired or the attachment issues tired of it all I really don't wanna be here doing this atp I'm only living for my grandmas...and. I guess my parents idk bc I don't wanna be here but I don't wanna hurt them..but I feel like I have nothing and no one anyone I had anyone I related to anyone that was my..

[starrymused]

Im Cheon-sa was born to single mother, Na-yeong. He has a unique name that means ‘angel’ but it’s one he grows up to hate. His mother is one of those pushy “Stage Moms.” who comes from a wealthy family — her parents give her anything she wants. From the moment Cheon-sa started walking, she enrolled him in ice skating lessons. She also made sure he attended a private school so that he could get time off whenever he needed — she made sure he had enough time to properly train to become a figure skater. Despite his mother pushing him into it, Cheon-sa had a lot of passion for ice skating. He had big dreams of one day being an Olympic gold medalist.

Cheon-sa's training years were tough due because of how intense his schedule was, but also because of how overbearing his mother was. She always inserted herself into his activities and kept tabs on other kids training. She told Cheon-sa that he shouldn’t make friends with any of them because they were his competition. Because of this, Cheon-sa had a lonely childhood and adolescent years.

Cheon-sa got an amazing coach called Vidal Clemente when he was nineteen who, while strict, was known for producing results. Cheon-sa's mother and him don't see eye-to-eye. He's actually threatened to kick her out on many occasions and even once locked her out of the ice rink.

Over the next couple of years, as Cheon-sa continued to train, he grew up to be quite a volatile young man, no doubt due to his mother's constant influence over him. He's able to channel that passion and unpredictability into his skating, which causes him to win many competitions early in his career. He even sometimes purposefully lets himself be disqualified from certain competitions so that he can show off his skills by doing "illegal" moves. Cheon-sa reasons that it's more impressive to show that he's capable of doing such insane moves and gaining fans that way than to win every single competition. As long as he makes it to the Olympics, he doesn't really care.

Cheon-sa and Vidal are quite unhinged together. While other skaters might have tense moments with their coaches here and there, these two are wild. It isn't uncommon for people to wonder if they should call the cops on the two because of some of their fights, but most of the other competitors and coaches are too afraid to do so. This is just how they communicate, though, and Cheon-sa actually feels way more at ease this way than being forced to keep his mouth shut.

At some point, this strange relationship of theirs turned sexual after one of their big fights. It wasn't something either of them planned, but one minute they were at each other's throats and the next they were in the back of the coach's car. This, of course, is not professional and could completely ruin them both, but it's an easily kept secret since nobody would ever suspect it. Cheon-sa thinks it's amusing, figuring that it's a good way to get his energy out. Anyway, he isn't allowed to date and his coach is hot (and only, like, eight years older) so what is he supposed to do but climb him like a tree? Funnily enough, Cheon-sa doesn't label his sexuality — he always said he'll do whatever he wants and it just so happens that was his coach ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyway, enough of all that, Cheon-sa made it to the Olympics when he was twenty-two and things are looking great for him. Until it came time for his performance. Over the years, he made quite a few enemies just from his general behavior — he is a bit of an asshole — and one of the parents of a fellow competitor took it upon themselves to wait until he was about to do a big jump. When he did, they flashed a light in his eyes from the stands, which threw him off balance. He crashed into the ice, landing on his head. This caused his Olympic dream to come to a swift end as he was rushed to the hospital. Cheon-sa was in a coma for two weeks but pulled through. Fortunately for him, he had no lasting damage and was expected to fully recover.

While he recovered, he heard about what happened and vowed to make a grand return to the Olympics in four years. He promised Vidal (who he was surprised still wanted him) that he would win the gold medal and would do so by landing a quadruple axel. However, during his recovery period, Cheon-sa also had time to reflect on himself as a person, realizing that perhaps he had to make some changes to himself. He promises to be less manipulative and act more maturely.

With that plan in mind, he continues to work hard in training, hoping to achieve his dream.

[knickynoo]

Because this whole thing is something I've only recently noticed and I continue to be amused by it, here is a list of Alex and Steven plot lines that I think display this similarity between them most.

Steven

• Feels threatened by Elyse's old flame and proceeds to lose his mind for the entire episode, convinced he has to do something to keep her from like...losing interest in him or something. In reality, there's no risk of that happening at all; Steven is just being an obsessive, anxious mess.

• Is deeply upset at the suggestion that they remodel the kitchen, because, as Elyse notes, he doesn't handle change well (this is where she drops the story of him developing a rash after she once bought a new brand of napkins). Steven expresses his theory that the reason the family has had so many happy memories is because of the current design of the kitchen, and altering it will result in no future happy moments for any of them.

• Reconnects with an friend from college, with whom he starts working on their old political magazine. Memories of his previous years of activism cause him to go a little overboard, and he starts imposing strict rules on the family, such as a ban on eating English Muffins while the British are occupying Northern Ireland.

• Is accidentally mistaken for a model at a fashion show Mallory is part of. His momentary confusion and brief protest very quickly give way to the belief that he is, in fact, a very skilled model, and he goes ALL IN. He spends the remainder of the show walking on the runway, develops a sudden sassy attitude to match, and considers going into modeling full time, which necessitates an intervention of sorts from Mal and Jen. He just. Does not know how to enjoy something a normal amount.

• The very emotionally heavy "Spring Reminds Me" episode is balanced with the delightfully silly plot line of Steven becoming consumed with performing birthday party magic tricks. He recruits the whole family (against their will) into being his assistants, believes at one point that he's made Jennifer vanish for real, obsessively makes balloon animals, and has to be snapped out of it by Alex.

• Decides that managing the family's energy consumption is his new life's purpose and spends the whole episode making charts, graphs, timing how long people are taking showers, and checking every room to turn off lights and unscrew bulbs. Literally all he can think about is which family members are using the phone or the stove or have had the audacity to flip a light switch. Very normal Steven behavior.

• Buys a medical book and makes himself an anxious, paranoid mess reading through it and convincing himself he has Every Disease And Disorder. Among the various ailments he believes he has are malaria, mumps, chicken pox, and post-partum depression. Oh, he also thinks he's molting. Elyse should get an award for putting up with him in this one.

Alex

• In a rare moment of self-awareness, Alex actually realizes that he's very stuck in his ways and inflexible when it comes to his routines and interests and fears his girlfriend Ellen will soon grow bored of him. In an attempt to prove he's capable of branching out, he takes up dance (her main interest). Except this is Alex, so he doesn't go about it normally. Cue Alex throwing himself full force into the arts and making a fool of himself with his interpretive dance routine depicting the stock market crash of 1929.

• Alex's friend announces he's getting married, and the changing dynamic immediately ruins Alex's whole life. To ensure nothing else changes, he writes up a contract for the rest of his friend group, which binds them into a 7 year agreement in which they're all required to meet up at the same time every week for a card game. When that (surprisingly!) doesn't work out, he becomes ultra clingy to his family, asking if he can join his mother for her pregnancy exercises, offering to play dolls with Jennifer, and interrupting Steven's shower to give him a hug.

• When Steven suffers a heart attack, the resulting stress drives Alex into such a state of anxiety over his own health. At first, he's panicked because his heart rate is too fast, and then he later believes he no longer has a pulse at all. The guy with a genius IQ spends the whole episode trying unsuccessfully to locate his pulse and he just. Accepts that as a thing that can happen.

• When Andy (Alex's 6 year old brother) makes a new friend his own age, Alex's life--you guessed it--falls apart. Suddenly, Alex's strict routine of brotherly bonding spent watching Wall Street Week and teaching Andy about history and economics is gone, and he doesn't know what to do with his life without his best buddy. Actually a very sweet episode but, wow, it sure doesn't take much to crumble Alex's world.

• The "Alex grows a mustache" storyline.

• Alex's post-breakup-with-Ellen slump, where--after weeks of moping--he finally goes out on a date with a new girl and spends the whole time trying to mold his date into acting and looking like Ellen.

So, in conclusion, political opinions aside, Steven and Alex Keaton are basically the same person. They're just sort of floundering through their days, being ridiculous and dramatic, and I like them both very much. Thank you.

I think one of the more interesting things in Family Ties, in regards to the personalities of the Keaton family, is how extremely similar Steven and Alex actually are.

Like, despite them being close and having an overall great father/son relationship, so much of the dynamic between them is built on their differences. There's a lot of mention of how they don't agree politically, often have conflicting priorities, are on very different levels emotionally, etc--and all that's true--but they're also SO ALIKE that it's comical when you really start to notice it.

I mean, you sit there watching Alex, going, "What is up with this guy? Why is he like this??" but then you really look at Steven and it's like, "Yeah, okay. Makes sense." And I'm mostly referring to Alex's quirks here because...he absolutely got them from his father.

Alex's "all or nothing" way of handling things? Steven is the same way. When he goes all in on something, he is ALL IN. And when he doesn't like something or is upset? He's all out.

The way that Alex goes from zero to completely obsessed, unable to think about or do anything else except for his current fixation? There are literally Steven-centered storylines about him doing this exact thing. (The episode where all he does is obsess over the family's energy usage, and one where he has his very intense "magician" phase are just 2 that come to mind)

The fact that Alex cannot handle any change in his life, big or small, and needs very structured routines? Yeah, hi; let me introduce you to Steven Keaton--who also gets immediately weird at even the mention of a potential change. There's a whole two-part episode where his storyline centers around his life basically falling apart when Elyse and the girls decide to remodel the kitchen. The man also once broke into a rash when Elyse bought a different brand of napkins. So, suddenly, Alex's whole, "Something in my life is slightly different, and I am DYING," mentality makes a little more sense.

And I love noticing all those things that connect them in that way and the fact that it makes you go, yeah, they are definitely related. Like father, like son. Lots of Brain Weirdness between those two.

[phoenixcatch7]

Just had an idea earlier that spiralled into a stream of consciousness huge story plot and I thought the svsss peeps would appreciate: might edit for clarity later I'm up late.

So

System uses masks ala majoras mask. When sy dies is forced into sjs body turned mask. Sqh recalls same when he arrived. With mask seam visible unless covered by makeup and his body being physically brought into pidw feels a lot more vulnerable. Possession tests still fail, given sj is technically possessing sy not the other way round. Can remove mask at will but doesn't unless really feeling rotten or system mandated, or with sqh (who feels REALLY weird doing it when someone else is nearby). Sy struggled a lot around yqy especially, the one person picking up the vibes.

When sy dies in sower central sqh manages to steal both the og mask and the new sy mask when he brings system to perform song of healing (severely creeped out by it) and replace with the false body they both made to cover their tracks generally (breaks into huan hua? Just gets there before lbh? Sy crashes on a roof and it hides the switch?).

Sqh takes 2 years to get the combined mask to the seed body and an extra 3 for it to bind to the empty body and provide enough energy to awaken the masks dormant soul (sy). Trying to steal his soul to the mausoleum fails, sqh gets killed!

Sy immediately does the same for him, and knowing what to do sqh is revived in mere months. Both hiding the og masks pose as rogue cultivator scholars, forming bestiaries and travelling to the places both have only dreamed of without worrying about plot (they're worrying about plot).

With lqg given the extra time manages to beat lbh on the sixth year and return Sqq's false body, only for it to turn to dust without spiritual energy to keep it stable (the bodies having been made with burial/destruction in mind and not long term). Furious, cq launches full scale attack on lbh, who responds with equal ferocity for same reason (also mbj is feral and long past mad with cq). This drags sy/sqh back, system forcing them to try and save the tatters of the plot.

Sy manages to self sacrifice yet again by performing song of healing, purifying lbh of xm influence while also ""purifying"" - removing - both masks from his seed body (grand reveal). In the ensuing chaos sqh reveals himself trying to get to sy, and mbj drags him off.

He manages to call for yqy to save sy to save the world, but... there is a sj mask too.

Yqy is forced to choose in front of a crowd of everyone important (who almost all have very strong opinions), with a time limit of a rapidly decaying plant body. He puts sy on at the last moment, but steals the sj mask to try and resurrect himself.

Sy manages to descalate the war by revealing the truth of the false body and lbh, freed from xm, is able to not immediately try and kidnap him. Sy hauls him off to the bamboo house to heal and his army is sent to the base of cq. Lqg gets closure and the realisation his sis is dating shl. Sqh is already back in the North clutching his og mask. Yqy is slowly slipping into desperation until sqh and sy regroup and provide a possible answer - there are still seed bodies.

With the vow (lqg enforced) that the 'new' pl won't lose their positions, sqh and sy bring yqy to the seed garden, where they spend several panicked hours searching for unrotted bodies. Sj gets the one intact adult one, and sqh (with mbj agreement) finds an unripe seed for, possibly, a bby og sqh down the line (its removed for stasis until they're ready, or if they decide to adopt him out. Sqh thought it was only fair for the soul to get a proper childhood).

A year later, sj returns, and yqy digs him out of the dirt himself. Sy and sj come to an agreement on sharing qj (to the disciples excitement) and talk lbh down (more time to spend at lbh Palace!) HEA.

[writingintheshadowsforever]

Wanda/Yelena x Reader Happier

Summary: You use to have it all with Wanda but then that all came crashing down with one huge lie. For a while you were broken but then Yelena Belova just showed up in your life and made you happier than you ever been. But Wanda still hasn't move on part of her hopes that you haven't either. She can't help but think one day Yelena will mess up to just like she did.

Warning: Angst, some fluff

Wanda heard a familiar scream as she walked past the training room. There was no mistake it was yours and she was racing back. She reached the doors ready to burst in one of her hands already glowing with red energy. But then your screams turned into squeals as you shoved at Yelena's shoulder trying to get her to let go. Her arms were wrapped around your waist pulling your body up against hers. Usually you wouldn't mind but her hands were a bit busy targeting your sensitive sides and ribs. There was a huge grin on her face as she watched you laugh so much till tears welled up in your eyes.

Wanda paused with one hand on the door the other one still glowing with power. After a couple of minutes she dropped it, so she could grip the door with both hands. Her grip so tight that her knuckles were starting to turn white. She watched as you laid on the blonde's shoulder your laughter going silent. Yelena chuckled finally stopping the tickle torture and her fingers massaged your sides. You lifted your head up to gaze into her eyes. Both of your arms wrapping around her neck.

Wanda decided it was time for her to go because she knew what was coming next, and didn't want to stick around for that part. Her Heart still yearned for you even though it'd almost a six months. Since the two of you broke up at first she was able to convince herself that it didn't hurt that much. But that was before Yelena showed up and showed interest in you. Before the new Black Widow managed to find her way into your broken heart and shattered thoughts. Wanda knew she still had a chance to win you back.

Even though she was the sole reason your heart was broken, and a your mind was filled with the thoughts of. Not being good enough because before she ripped your heart out. You and Wanda had what you had with Yelena right now. Nothing killed her more inside than knowing she caused destroyed her relationship with you.

You were the one who pulled Wanda out of that black pit of despair. She was drowning in after Thanos was finally defeated. You were the one who came running when Monica reached out to what was left of the Avengers, and told them about Wanda's massive breakdown. When you found her curled up in her bedroom in her home. You didn't reprimand her about taking over an entire town, or forcing a whole population to live in her dream world.

You just pulled her into your arms and she clung to you harder than she'd ever clung to anyone. Because in that moment you were her lifeline holding her and reassuring her that it was okay. That you understood why she did it, and most importantly you told her that she wasn't a monster.

Wanda paused in the hallway her back hitting the wall. As she remembered how you tucked her hair behind her ear, and took her face in both of your hands.

"Wanda Maximoff I've seen a lot of monsters in my short time in this world, and I promise you are the farthest thing from it. Your actions wasn't because you had the power to do it and wanted to. Your actions stemmed from grief. A grief so strong most people never experience it. That doesn't make you a monster it makes you human."

With those words said you leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. Just like that you became her rock for moving on from what happened, and letting go of a life she couldn't have. Eventually the two of you fell for each other and started dating. Things were great in the beginning Wanda was starting to learn how to control her new powers. You were right beside her training just as hard, or just cheering her on. Late nights were spent tangled in the sheets with each other no clothing between your bodies. Morning showers were even better, and she would give you mini cooking lessons afterwards.

Both of you were in Heaven and y'all stayed there for a very long time till. One question brought it all crashing down. And it hurt you to even ask it but you needed to know. If you were still going to continue on this path with her.

"Do you think that you will try to bring them back?" You asked your tone nervous and cautious.

Wanda was using your stomach as a pillow as the two of waited for the sunset. Everything about this moment was perfect. Why did you have to ask such risky questions? But she knew why you were asking because she increased her training sessions with Dr.Strange, and they were starting to go into multiverse territory.

It was only fair that you wanted to make sure that she wasn't just using you, and was going to toss you a side. The minute she brought Vision and her kids back. But this moment was to perfect to ruin, so Wanda told you what you wanted to hear.

"No I don't think I will. I mean they will always hold a special place in my heart." She paused to roll over onto her stomach, and scoot up so her face was close to yours. "But you are my future Y/N, and I don't want to go back. Just forward with you my love." Now her body was on top of yours her arms holding her head above your face. But then your arms wounded around her neck yanking her down into a fiery kiss.

That kiss she holds onto more than any other memory of you. Because that was her last kiss with you, before everything came crashing down. A couple of weeks later you were cleaning the room when her training journal fell off the dresser. Wand thought it would be a good idea to track her improvement with her powers. You weren't trying to snoop but then again she always let you read it. But when you turned over and saw her latest entry. Your heart dropped into your stomach, and you dropped to your knees.

You tried so hard to keep the tears at bay until the flood was impossible to hold back anymore. Sobs were racking throughout your entire body so loud it brought Wanda running. "My love what's wrong?" She looked like she wanted to say more, but then her eyes landed on the journal. Wanda turned pale holding up her hands surrendering. "Sweetheart just listen please."

"No I listened before and you lied to me Wanda."

"Because I wasn't sure on how to answer I was still hurting Y/N"

"Why didn't you just say that I would've understood."

Wanda was silent looking away guilt all over her face. You walked over to her and placed a hand on her cheek caressing her. Until she finally lifted her head too look you in the eyes. "You had every intention on bringing them back didn't you?" Your voice was just a whisper but she heard you.

Wanda gave you a tiny nod.

"You never stopped thinking about them, or wanting it all back, and you know you have the power to do it. Why hurt right?"

"Y/N it's not like that I just wanted the kids back okay. Vision I moved on from him okay it's you."

But you shook her head turning the journal so she could see her own words. Wanda refused too look taking your face in her hands.

"It's you my love I promise it's you" she insisted tears spilling from her eyes.

It took everything in you but you stepped back out of her grasp. "You wrote about Vision to Wan how much you want him back. How much you need him back. Your life wouldn't be complete without him."

"You didn't have to lie if I was just a distraction you could've just said that. I wouldn't have left you because I care about you too much to do that, and I cared before our relationship started."

"Then where were you when I broke down?" Wanda shot back. The pain in her voice evident.

"I tried to be there you told that you needed some space. I gave you my number all you had to do was call Wanda‐" You cut off refusing to say anything else . You weren't going to do this with her there was no point in going down this road. It wouldn't change anything.

You walked over to her placing the journal into her hands. "It's okay I promise I'm a little hurt but I get it. How could what we have compare right?"

Wanda open her mouth to protest but a finger on her lips stopped her.

"Don't try to stop this because you know that's not what you want. You just don't want to hurt me, and the truth is. It's too late for that but we should let each other go before it gets worse. I understand my love I promise you I do."

You leaned forward pressing a kiss to her forehead. This would be the last time your lips touched her and she knew it. Wanda held the journal to her chest crying as you walked away wiping your own tears away.

Indeed Wanda did want her family back including Vision, but when the time finally came to bring them back. She just couldn't do it thoughts of you filled her head. No matter how hard she tried to make them go away. They stayed your smile, your laugh, the way you held her when she was scared or hurting. The way you protected when General Ross showed up looking for her. He just found a good reason to lock her back up. But you made it very clear that wasn't happening. The way you kissed her grabbing her by the waist to pull her close as possible.

Just as Wanda was so sure she could feel you here with her right now. A familiar voice called out to her.

"Wanda are you okay?" You asked standing a few feet away. You saw the red energy emanating on the wall outside the training room. You knew it was her and decided to check up on her.

Her eyes flew open at the sound of your voice, and she pushed back from the wall. "Um hey Y/N yeah I'm good just thinking."

"About what you looked pretty gone there."

Wanda just turned away deciding there was no point in telling you. Because it wouldn't change anything. Yelena had your heart now and she felt as if she didn't deserve you anyway. But then a gentle hand on her arm stopped her, and she was being turned around. You slowly pulled Wanda into a hug and at first she just remained there stiff. But it only took a few seconds for her to give in. Burying her face in your shoulder clutching your shirt. It didn't matter that you were a little sweaty from training.

"I'm sorry your plan didn't work Stephen told me it couldn't be done. Not without disrupting the whole universe I'm sorry Wan you deserve happiness."

Wanda pulled away to look at you, and you gazed right back at her. This whole moment felt so normal somewhere deep inside. Maybe you still loved her and was hoping she would say something. But just as she opened her mouth to say it.

Yelena appeared out of nowhere beside you. "Hey I'm heading to wash up then we can go out."

You turned to her your eyes lighting up as you put your mouth to her ear. Whatever you whispered to her made the blonde's face turn crimson. Yelena nodded then turned to Wanda.

"Hey Wanda how are you?"

Her eyes looked back and forth between the two of you. She didn't need to look into your heads to know what you were thinking. You were happy with Yelena maybe a little happier than you were with her. Because the blonde didn't come with any past lover baggage. There was no competition Yelena loved you completely. She couldn't ruin that by getting between the two of you. Wanda couldn't be the reason for anymore of your pain.

"I'm fine you two can go."

Yelena shifted not really believing her and neither did you. But she held up her hands "seriously you two go I'm fine I promise."

You nodded and took Yelena's hand but you reached back out for her's as you walked away. Wanda let you take her hand in yours. Your thumb rubbing circles on her palm. Your grip only loosened when you got too far to hold on. Your message was clear "I'm here if you need me."

It was sealed as you looked back at her one more time giving Wanda a reassuring smile. She smiled back waving at you to go, and watched as you disappeared with Yelena.

The truth was while she still missed her family, and wanted them back. She was happier with you in those few months. The two of you were together than she'd ever been in the world she created. That's why it was so hard for her to bring them back. Stephen told her that she couldn't rely on that grief to get them back, or her powers would go out of control again. Whatever was holding her back was what she needed to let go.

But Wanda couldn't let you go no matter how she tried. Because maybe one day Yelena would mess up like all lovers do, and it would be too much. Then she could pursue you again tell you the real truth. But right now she was just satisfied to see you happy even if you were happier without her. Wanda could wait as long as it took to be that happy with you.

With the thought of your lips on hers filling her head. Wanda turned around and walked away just as you walked out of your room.

Taglist: @wandanatvoid @yelenabelovasgf @ironscarletwidowsoilder

[erwinsvow]

𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞.

summary: he wasn't always alone. in fact, there was a time when levi had you.

warnings: angst, fluff, mentions/description of injury and patching up, levi needs sleep

author's note: been in the works for a while because i couldn't figure out what i wanted to do, but this takes place after levi & zeke's conversation and there will be an angsty part two, i hope everyone likes it! it doesn't really make much sense but bear with me :)

listening to: don't let me go

“I bet you’re not popular with the ladies. Don’t act like you know about someone’s feelings.”

He pauses, feeling his heart skip a beat.

“I know. And I was… popular enough.”

He lets his mind take him back, back a time before everything in the world was so messed up. When he knew what his responsibilities were, and when there were clear orders to follow. He can’t seem to recall when everything went straight to shit. It feels like it’s been a long time coming.

He knew he was screwed years ago, when he was trying to stitch up the deep gash on his shoulder by himself, sitting in his quarters with a bowl of warm water and bloody bandages. You had been helping the others, a traumatized recruit with a concussion and broken leg, courtesy of the fifteen meter that had overwhelmed him.

There were a few others too, especially a familiar face that seemingly always needed your assistance after a mission. He wondered just how many times the boy—because that’s all he is, a boy, and that’s all you are, a girl—could get away with the same old ruse.

Regardless, he wouldn’t be visiting you tonight. Never mind that the cut he’s trying to nurse by himself is nearly impossible to properly reach, and that he feels dizzy from consistent bleeding and lack of energy in his body. The alcohol he ingested to calm his nerves doesn’t really do anything, either, since there isn’t nearly enough of the stuff in his room to actually have an impact.

He’s going to crash soon, he knows, and even though sleep always evades him, he just wanted to get this wrapped up and lay down without making a bloody mess everywhere. He releases a deep breath he didn’t know he was holding. The very thought of you is enough to tense up every muscle in his body, and the idea of you being alone with that idiotic, improper recruit makes his fist tighten around the needle. Sewing himself up tonight is a lost cause. He finally decides a bandage, no matter how bloody it might become, will have to do.

He stands up, slowly because he doesn’t want to pass out from a head rush, when there’s a knock on the door. He groans a little too loudly at the sound of it. He doesn’t feel like talking to anyone tonight, especially in this condition, wearing a torn scrap of a shirt and blood trapped underneath his nails.

“Who is it?” he calls out harshly, wondering if maybe they’ll just leave if he sounds scary. The other scouts knew he didn’t like to be bothered, and wouldn’t have come unless there was an emergency. If it was Hange she would have barged in already, and he would have recognized Erwin’s heavy footsteps from down the hall. No, he knows who it is. He just wishes that he’s wrong.

“It- It’s me. Petra said you were hurt earlier and that it looked bad. I just wanted to make sure it was okay…” Your soft, hesitant voice trails off, and he knows how much courage it took for you to knock on his door.

What he doesn’t know is that there was no way you were falling asleep tonight without making sure Levi was okay, no matter how angry he would get at you for bothering him at night.

You’re bracing for that reaction when the door opens, but when your wide eyes meet his tired grey ones, you feel yourself melt and all the words in your head disappear. There’s only one fragment of a thought left, the fact that Levi’s bleeding, and a lot, at that. You don’t even wait for his permission to step inside, suddenly energized by anger and mumbling to yourself as you set down your supplies and rummage through them.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?” he questions quietly. He tries to line his voice with steel like he always does, but the facade is fading with every passing minute.

“I have to clean out your wound, captain, before something festers. If you had told me about this, say, right when we got back, it would have been fine by now, but now I have to rush because you’re too proud to ask for help-” You still and silence yourself.

It was out of line to enter without permission, but this is something else all together. Caring too much is one thing, you know, but insubordination is not tolerated, especially not by Levi.

You pick up a clean needle and thin silk thread that you need to patch up the wound, while searching for the jar of boiled water you need to clean it out first. Alcohol would work too, and you can smell it in the air, but you can’t find the words to ask for it.

Levi’s hands are unusually still, you know because you always notice them, and it’s a stark contrast to the way you’re shaking right now. It’s strange, because you stitched up a handful of others earlier today, and you were completely fine. Even Gunther, who you had always thought was handsome and could make you blush with an off-hand smile, never incited this kind of reaction from you.

You’re silently praying that Levi doesn’t comment on the tremor, but since you’re about to dig a sharp point into his shoulder to tie the skin back together, it would be idiotic if he didn’t say something. You turn to look at him, but it feels like he’s not even there.

His head is hanging down, propped up by the single functional arm, as the other one continues to bleed. You know it’s painful and that he should be saying something, something that makes you stutter and stumble over your words like he always makes you, but he’s just silent.

“Well, get on with it then. If that’s really why you came here this late.” His voice makes you tremble even harder.

There’s so much you try hard at. You try to be the best soldier you can be, even though both you and your superiors know you weren’t meant for this. Sometimes you can fool your fellow soldiers, and the handful of people you can call your friends, and with a few years under your belt, it seems like it’s getting easier to live this life. But you know deep down that it’s not. The one person who always sees right through it is Levi, though.

It’s part of the reason why you’re such a damn mess around him, because there’s no reason to present a false veneer if he knows the truth. You’re not a real soldier, not a real fighter, and you’re more useful as a medic stitching people up than anything else.

And yet, it’s always him who saves you. Him, who makes sure that any threat in between you and the scout you’re trying to rescue from the brink of death is eliminated. Him, that keeps one eye on the target and one eye on your back just in case. And every time, every goddamn time you need to be rescued, he rescues you.

But now, with his head hanging low and any semblance of not knowing why he always saves you gone, it feels your chance to repay him has finally arrived. The shaking stops when you go to sit down near him. Maybe it’s the sudden rush of energy in your body, but you find yourself unbuttoning his shirt to remove whatever remains of the cloth.

His body tenses further, but he doesn’t stop you, and he doesn’t say anything. You’re as gentle and careful as you can be, and once you’re successful, you drop the mangled shirt on the floor. Taking the water, you pour it over the wound as Levi releases a soft hiss at the feeling, for which you’re apologizing before you can even realize the words have left your mouth. He doesn’t say anything, but his shoulder relaxing encourages you to keep going.

You take your time, trying to clean off all the blood you can. You think he’ll protest when you pick up his hands, and wash those too, but he doesn’t. It’s not until you run your own hand over his softly, squeezing the top of it because you don’t have any words to express the thoughts going through your mind, that he finally speaks up.

“Thank you.”

It’s so quiet, you could swear that you had imagined it. He doesn’t look up to meet your eyes like you wish he would, but a smile forces its way onto your face regardless. You focus on the hard part now; stitching up your captain and making sure your work doesn’t leave him with any scars. You focus on your technique, fingers working nimbly and mind focused on this, and for a short time, it doesn’t feel like you’re with your captain, your superior. It just feels like being there with Levi.

All the while, his brain is working overtime to figure out why you’re like this. Why you’re treating him so carefully and gently, when you have no reason to. He doesn’t pick favorites, and even if he did, you wouldn’t be anywhere near that list. You’re not the fastest, you’re not the most lethal, and in fact, he could count on one hand your titan kills and assists. You help people. You save people. But most of the time, you’re just recovering a half-dead soldier so that their body can be buried at home and not forced to remain out there, alone. You’re just there so that parents can have a grave to mourn at, instead of an empty tomb.

He doesn’t treat you better than anyone else, and most of the time assigns you more cleaning duties than the others. You always take it and never complain, something else that he always wonders about. He had come to the conclusion it was because he’s saved your life countless times, and the fact that he isn’t going to let up soon. So you take everything he gives you with a polite smile. And for some goddamn reason, he can’t get that smile out of his head, no matter how hard he tries. You don’t even know how you make him feel; like he’s special and that he deserves these attentions.

A particularly painful turn of the needle makes him flinch, and brings him back to reality. You’re apologizing again, murmuring how you’re almost done, but he doesn’t want you to leave yet. He lets his mind flicker over how you’re always apologizing, and how much he just wants to tell you that you don’t have to, not for anything. Not for having to come and save you, not for stitching him up, not for trying to fix him.

You let out a sharp breath once you finish, getting back up to fetch a dressing, but his hand grabs yours before you can get too far. Levi looks up, grey eyes full of an emotion you can’t exactly pinpoint, one you have never seen before from him.

“Will you stay a little longer?” And just like that, everything in the world seems to fall into place.

“Of course. Let me just wrap it up, first. I’ll stay as long as you want.” You’re surprised at yourself for finding the words so quickly, because your heart has never pounded so fast in your life. You fumble around, trying to find the right thing, hands shaking again, and you can’t seem to get them to stop.

You go back to Levi, wrapping the cloth around his shoulder and securing it around his arm, suddenly hyper aware of the feel of his skin. It’s softer than you had imagined it would be. Both of you sit in the silence for a while, your hand finding a place over his and rubbing soft circles on his knuckles with your thumb.

You want to say something, anything, but there aren’t any words that seem right. His fingers deftly work their way around yours, and you honestly wonder if he can hear your heartbeat or the blood rushing to your cheeks. It’s past midnight now, and you have a feeling dawn will be approaching before long.

“You should really sleep now. It won’t get better until you rest a little.” You’re speaking because his actions gave you a little bit of confidence, but he interprets it wrong almost immediately.

“Of course. You’d like to go now?”

“N-no! No, I just thought that, that you would be tired now. I can go if you want, I-”

“I don’t get much sleep anyways.” He doesn’t even mean to sound so dejected, but it comes out before he can stop himself. He’s spent too, too many nights laying awake, sleep ever-evading him, wondering how it might be to sleep besides you. Would he get some rest? Would he be able to close his eyes and not open them an hour later with a pounding chest? He can’t remember the last time he was able to fall asleep, and stay asleep. You don’t make any movement to get away, and he notices your hand twitch and wonders why.

You have to fight yourself internally to keep your hand down, and not wrap your arms around your captain as you process his words. Your heart feels strangely heavy at the thought of Levi laying awake, all alone, exhausted but unable to succumb to the ease of rest. He’s on guard, all the time, every minute of every day, and half the time he’s expending his energy on saving you.

You’re not confident, like some of the others. You never have been. But in this moment, you feel something rushing into your body and coursing through your veins, something close to confidence but slightly different. The feeling makes you release Levi’s hand and shed your sweater, and crawl into his bed. It’s almost exactly as you expected, and not nearly as soft or warm as your own. But you think about Levi sleeping soundly beside you, him peaceful and content, and it doesn’t matter how comfortable his bed is. You just want him to fall asleep.

He looks at you with a mix of emotions, surprise being mixed in with them. He hadn’t been expecting that, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t appreciate it.

You’re sitting under the covers now, waiting expectedly for something. A part of you fears that this wasn’t what he meant, or wanted, but your racing heart calms down a little at the sight of him coming in to get settled beside you. He releases a sigh when his shoulder hits the mattress, at ease finally, and so exhausted that every muscle in his body is about to give out.

He sleeps on his back, you note, before shifting your gaze to the ceiling quickly. You certainly don’t want him to notice that you’re staring, or that you keep fingering the soft sheets between your fingers to remind yourself this is real and really happening.

“Stop fidgeting.” His voice is quiet, and even, and stills you instantly. You finally lift your head to look at him, letting out a breath at how he looks. Eyes closed, almost peaceful, laying on his back with his hand resting right near you.

You’re not sure if it’s the confidence from earlier, or something new entirely, but you adjust the sheets to cover him more, pulling them and letting them rest on his chest. He doesn’t open his eyes, but you notice the way he jerks a little at the motion.

“Sorry, Levi,” you whisper, trying to remain as quiet as possible. You lay your hand on top of his, intertwining your fingers and letting your own eyes close. You can hear his every breath, the scent of his skin taking over and clouding your mind as every sense slowly focused on one thing; him. “Let’s sleep now.”

[purityoflust]

The Smile [Jeff The Killer X Victim!Reader] [PART 2]

Jeff the killer X Victim!

WARNING: Yandere. That's it. Yandere.

I finally decided how I would write part 2 to The Smile, which is my first and most popular post on my account so far. Anyone new who has come to read this, check out my other posts as well if you'd like. I'll post more like this. I also have a Quotev account with more fanfictions.

9/12/20, 3/4 days after the top part: God, AFTER SO LONG, I FINALLY DID IT! Took me days! I'm so sorry if this is a bit lazy, it is a tiny bit rushed by the end but how would you guys feel about a detailed part 3? I'll probably go as far as a part 3 or part 4 for the final part.

The vibrations in your brain felt warm and numbing - almost like when you have a horrible migraine and you can finally feel it subsiding with your eyes closed and your fingers gently holding down onto your eyelids as if you're holding your eyes into place to prevent them from bursting out of your skull. Upon waking up you can feel cold air settling into your skin. You haven't been awake 3 minutes and you already know what you're resting on; an extremely uncomfortable metal table. You've only seen them in movies but this was real.

The sound of a singsong voice just slightly echoing through what seemed like a moderately empty room. You groaned softly as you turned your head to your right, very slowly opening your eyes. Your vision blurred in and out, which, you wanted to rub to clear it out but as you went to lift your wrists, you felt pressure around them.

Something was holding your arms down. This catches your attention, blinking multiple times while turning your head back up straight and attempting to sit up. You were hardly successful with that, struggling while grunting under your breath to pull your hands from under what seemed to be a thick rope. As you pulled harder, you sucked in your stomach out of habit before immediately coming to a halt and choking up in pain.

This whole time you were ignoring the voice that was singing eerily nearby, "You and me, always forever~"

The voice was of a male. Scratchy, shaky. Familiar.

Familiar.

You could feel a string of your heart pop out of place as your breath stopped. That's when you knew something was wrong, but it just doesn't add up. You gulp while your eyeballs vigorously glance around to see where the source was coming from, only to see a figure in a corner. It was doubled over and it was sitting down on a simple wooden chair. Doubling over a...table? An average male figure, nothing unique. Although, the clothing style was unusual. At least what was on the clothes. He wore a fluffy white hoodie and what seemed to be black pants and black-and-white converse. The problem wasn't the outfit, no. His hoodie was spotted and had patterns upon patterns of darkened and more fresh-looking blood splatter. He had long black hair down to his shoulders. And luckily, his back was facing you.

You were dumbfounded. How did you get here, why are you restrained, and why is there a blood covered man near you? Is that even blood? Maybe it's paint or a design? Some people do wear clothes that have different kinds of blood splatter designs on them. Hm. Or he's an actual murderer about to gut you like a fish.

You wanted to speak. You wanted to speak so badly but you just couldn't. As you parted your lips, your throat went dry while your gaze stayed locked onto the bloody male that sat before you. The singing made you shiver as you tried so hard to remember where you could have heard or seen him. Why can't you remember?

The male then turned around to look at you. His singing had come to a gentle halt. Your mouth closed as he did so, your throat going completely dry and your whole body feeling like an ice cube. You were greeted with cold blue eyes. They looked hungry and bloodthirsty, yet they held a warm affection as they looked into your traumatized eyes. It was almost comforting until you saw the rest of his face. His skin was snow white and his lips looked dry. That's when more attention is drawn to his lower jaw. He's smiling. Too big for a normal person.

That's when you realize. He has a large smile carved into his cheeks going from ear to ear while his own lips were curled within a smile as well. And that's when it hits you.

And it hits you hard.

The memories of hours prior start brutally crashing into you, flooding back into your numb brain. All of the realization replaced itself with agonizing anxiety, your heart starting to race at speeds that felt impossible. You could pass out, but something inside you kept you awake. Something about him and about this whole situation was making you dizzy. The male slowly stands and turns his body all the way to face you. He seemed deranged, yet, he had a very relaxed stance and body language.

Uncomfortable silence loomed in the air.

He kept staring at you before slowly taking steps forward. You watch him carefully as your head feels like it's spinning, which you could notice your vision blurring a little bit here and there. The silence is suddenly disturbed with the male speaking up again, choking up in giggles. "Oh my sweet Y/N, you're awake~" He cooed, now standing over you. He leaned himself down and reached his hand to your cheek, gently brushing your skin with his surprisingly soft thumb. He leaned his face closer to yours. The smell of booze, blood, & smoke overwhelmed your nostrils. Yet it didn't seem to bother you that much.

His touch almost kind of made you feel...at ease. Your heart slowed itself and your breathing went back to pace. You felt fine, somewhat, but something in your stomach was still sore. The more you stare at him, the more memories come flooding back. The more memories flooding back, the easier you fit the puzzles together.

"M-my...stomach..--" You stutter out painfully.

In response to this, the male turned his head over to your abdomen and gently rested his other hand onto your bandaged stomach, applying very gentle pressure on it as to not hurt you. It was still slightly painful, causing you to groan under your breath.

"Oh, this...I'm sorry, my sweet butterfly. I had to make sure you wouldn't get away, and you didn't! Don't worry, Jack patched you up, so you'll be just fine!"

You remember now. You remember it all. The chase, your friend, the salty kiss before what you thought was your demise.

You naturally wondered as well; who's Jack?

"Wh-.." You weakly force air out of your throat again to speak, "why am I..tied-?"

"Oh, so you wouldn't be able to get away. I knew you would run away, or struggles, so I had to make sure you wouldn't do that!"

He was right. You would run away and struggle to get out of whatever the hell kind of place you're in. Well, knowing what he looks like. He DID stab you, after all. Who knows what this sicko wants.

He lifts his hand from your stomach and turns back to you, gently placing both of his hands at each side of your face. "You're so beautiful, Y/N. So sweet and so innocent. I couldn't keep letting the others eat you up like candy. You're mine and only mine. I need to protect you."

"Wh-who- are you?" You weren't really all too scared for some strange reason now. You were pretty calm. Probably from all of the energy this is draining.

"His name is Jeff." A deep and gruff voice cuts in.

The both of you turn your heads to the door of the room where a tall figure in all black stood. He was about 6"4 wearing heavy boots, black jeans, and a black hoodie. His hair was a dark brown though while he wore a mask. The mask was a dark blue with black goo oozing from the eyesockets. He was pretty intimidating even just by standing idly like a character waiting to be loaded in.

"And I'm Jack." He continued, "I'm the one who took care of your wound."

Jack stepped closer, soon standing at the other side of the table. He stood at the left as Jeff stood at the right.

"He wouldn't stop insisting I help."

You just blink, unknowing of what to respond with. He pursed his lips under his dark mask, in his own thought for a moment while staring down at you. You seemed calm enough, and your still pretty fresh injury was gonna hold you back anyway.

"[P]-[Pronoun]'s gonna-!" He attempts to blurt out, only to be stopped by you.

"I won't."

You were untied at your wrists and ankles, allowing yourself to pull your legs up and rest your feet at the top of the table, propping your knees up. It made your stomach feel weird, but it felt kind of nose and felt like it was easing the pain. You wrapped your arms around your knees, looking around the room more. "What is this place?" You ask.

"It's a medical room."

"Huh.." You shrug it off. Your anxiety levels had died down and the more you actually think about it, this isn't the worst thing that's happened. Your life has been pretty fucked up and you have damaged relationships everywhere. Honestly, being around new people and being far away from others sounds not too bad right now. Not like anyone would care anyway.

The next few hours, you're introduced to everyone else at the Mansion. They've been so...unique and honestly, you're surprised some people and beings like them even exist. They were all equally surprised with how little fear you showed.

You actually got along with most of them.

The others have taken a liking to you and hope you hang around longer. Alone in the living room, you, Jeff, Jack, and others sit at the couches and chairs in the living room, chatting away and getting to know them as they get to know you.

You feel Jeff wrap his arms around you and place a gentle kiss on your forehead, making your heart skip a beat.

You found out Jeff has been stalking you for months at a time. Watching your every move, eliminating anyone in the way. Huh, no wonder so many people in your life kept disappearing. You...couldn't bring yourself to be upset or scared, let alone even sad. You felt kind of at ease.

And far from uncomfortable. Someone loved you. Maybe more than they should, but they love you.

You didn't even feel upset at the fact Jeff had murdered that friend earlier. I mean, you just met the guy, so he wasn't even a 'friend'? So you paid no mind to it.

If anything, you really liked the thrill of someone being obsessed with you. A serial killer being so infatuated with you. He could be so protective of you and get rid of anyone you asked him to! There's is an advantage here. You knew he could snap and probably kill you intentionally or unintentionally, but you didn't mind. You really had no one else, technically speaking. No one that really cared. Not as much as he did.

Maybe he isn't so bad.

[compassionatereminders]

i hope this doesnt come off as like enabling anything that might be hurting you but lowkey i find it kind of validating that you are open about those bender experiences yet are just you and the you i know is someone who (from a far ofc) is also a kind gentle person who makes a cnsistent effort to make the world a kinder place. And just seeing that is very important to me, some dork still too anxious to not be on anon. I'm a polysubstance user and im pretty sure i will be forever bc i'm not sure i can rawdog the concept of reality daring to continue after some stuff that happened. And until I found your blog that alone jsut made me feel so shitty and dirty. God, I was honestly so ashamed of what I thought i was to such a depth that it should be silly that your blogging uprooted that shame so effortlessly. I really thought there was no possible way for me to not be a daily polysubstance user and not be a stereotypical manipulative, mean, etc etc person. I would legit argue with my friends and spouse who have all shown me nothing but immense nonjudgemental compassion and support that they were wrong - I was a garbage human being because total sobriety is unbearable to me.

But then I saw you existing and creating and maintinging this little corner of the internet to be like a gentle warm safe haven no matter how dark the rest of the world is and I saw you've also had those nights and you have reasons why those nights happen and most importantly i saw that you are also what i consider to be a good person - you seem to live your life consistently with the goal of leaving the world a better place than how you encountered it that day. And the first time I saw you bender posting it literally just shifted my world and self view 15 inches to the left. It's dumb but like, I had never been able to observe someone who was able to hold within themselves such continued compassion and energy to strangers in tandem with the stuff most of the world likes a lot less so it was just something that never occurred to me. And god I'm getting too sappy and being weird over something that's probably silly and small to everyne else but seeing you do it through the highs and lows literally made it possible for me to accept that being a drug user (and by extension a survivor) is something that does not preclude me from being the person the people who love me think i am or make me lesser in any way shape or form. Your drug use does not make you any less valuable as a person or worthy of being loved and cherished (if you aren't or feel like you arent I hope every force in the universe turns to give you that), and thus i can no longer justify believing my drug use makes me less than worthy of all that too.

And I hope this isn't too offputting. I saw some of your posts and am in just squishy enough of a headspace to feel safe letting you know how much you being open about this has made this weirdo stranger's life much more worth living. Like, fuck homie. Ever since you gave me what i needed for that paradigm shift sometimes i just go and hold the love of my life's hand while they sleep because i want to make up for all the time wasted holding their hand and feeling like i was going to ruin them.

nyways, thanks for listening to me and all the other strangers of the internet. I hope your coke crash recedes quickly and smoothly. and may the grocery store never be out of your favrite things.

Addiction doesn't make you a bad person and I'm happy to be a reminder of that. Even while being reliant on drugs, it's entirely possible to be a good and kind person who does their best to treat others right. Obviously addiction isn't a good thing, but it doesn't invalidate your humanity and it doesn't make you a bad person. I'm proud to remind you of that fact!

[wrathevil]

Magolor and Bandana friendship: explain plz

WAH OKAY this will be slightly condensed just because uh I could be here all day. Also lots of headcanon/interpretation ahead which should be a given heart emoji

during the events of krtdl I do think magolor was "friends" with everybody. i put friends in quotes because uhh the reason should be obvious, but also because each of the four heroes are quite different from each other when it comes to their friendship with magolor i think. 

kirby has a massive amount of friends and I think if you aren't actively trying to hang out with him, he probably loses track of you. it isn't on purpose! he tries to spread his time out evenly but sometimes its kinda hard and seeing as magolor didn't crash his ship for friendship, kirby and him dont interact quite as often

meta knight is, well, meta knight. probably tries to get to know magolor just enough to have some information on him, but other than that he doesn't care. he'd probably stay quite suspicious of him though, who wouldn't be if a kid crash lands on your planet claiming to be from another dimension?

i think dedede is in the same sort of boat as meta knight too, maybe knows a bit more about him because he is low-key a #fatherfigure, but also is a little bit wary.

now! Bandee is, to put it bluntly, gullible. not stupid by any means but in their eyes someone is either bad or good, of course there are some exceptions, but generally somebody falls on some end of the spectrum. magolor having crashed his ship and just wanting to get back home obviously falls on the good side of the spectrum.

now what actually got them talking? being a part of a team consisting of the actual king, a renowned warrior, and also the hero of dreamland can set some pretty high expectations. they’re all basically micro celebrities which means they get put on a pedestal WHICH probably means some people might be hesitant when speaking to them. not being able to talk to people normally ESPECIALLY when you are still kind of young can be damaging, but also kind of lonely.

enter stage right: magolor. crash landed on a weird planet has no idea who anybody is (except for kirby somewhat apperently) and also seems kind of friendly. he’s got cool stories from another planet, he knows a lot about machines and history and he’s also about the same age as bandee (maybe a tad bit younger). bandee finally sorta gets to experience a “normal” friendship (even if it is completely one sided). bandee does have the other three and hangs out with them quite often, but it would be nice to have somebody disconnected from all this world saving business.

so in between going out and finding the energy spheres for magolors ship, bandee hangs out with him, they listen to stories (probably made up), they watch him work on little trinkets, they ask about his ship etc. in turn, magolor asks how life is like in the castle, asks about the other waddle dees etc. after everything is said and done Bandee truly believes that once magolor makes it home maybe he could come visit, of course that unfortunately doesn’t happen.

magolor was there for selfish reasons, and he would get back out of there with selfish means. magolor may have have shown interest and he may have felt slightly bad for what he would do, but in the end his first goal would be the master crown. 

It’s hard for bandee to trust people again. the betrayal stung, they thought they had found somebody who was sorta normal, that they could talk to about anything.

magolors return is met with opposition from everyone, but especially bandee. they actively ignore him, no matter how much they actually do miss him. they never truly forgive him, however, they do slowly start hanging out again, star allies kinda forced them to. magolor actively tries this time, actively seeks friendship, they’re still a selfish bastard to some extent, but he did truly like hanging out with bandee

anyways they make me ill (lovingly)

[mostlikelytofangirl]

Reincarnation Concept #3.5: Just as JGY and NMJ are getting to grips with reincarnation and the return of their past memories, NHS starts getting his. His relationship with his brother's boyfriend is about to get 10x more complicated.

(I'm basically writing out a whole AU here but I refuse to put pen to paper and make a fic. Headcanons are so much more fun ^^)

Lol I totally feel you! Sometimes an idea is so much fun to discuss and play with, but there's just no energy to get an actual fic out of it XD.

ANYWAYS, more feels :').

I'd imagine NHS and JGY's relationship being very amicable and close pre-memories. They just have so much in common, a manipulate dramatic twink kinship, if you will.

Just like the others, I can see his memories coming back slowly, maybe even feelings and cryptid dreams too. Like, he could have nightmare of sabers and music and fire, and while normally his first instinct is to go to his brother and his boyfriends for extra spoiling and coddling... there's just something stopping him from sharing with LXC and JGY. Especially with JGY and that's what makes it all the weirder bc he's particularly close to him; in fact, more than once he had gone to JGY instead of da-ge knowing the smaller man would understand him better.

At first, 3zun would rationalize NHS' behavior as a reaction to their own; they are still learning to cope with regaining their memories, and some days are better than others. Much like parents going through a rough patch, they imagine NHS is just picking up on it and doesn't know what to make of it. It even works with NHS' sudden clinginess to his brother and distance from xiyao. NMJ is his brother, after all, it's only natural that he would pick his side in whatever issue they are having.

But then NHS is not only not as close as xiyao anymore, but he is turning particularly wary of JGY. It started with him rejecting JGY's offering to go shopping or getting coffee to gossip like they used to; and then it escalate to not being physically able to be close to him, and sticking to NMJ like glue when JGY is around, not out of fear, but rather out of protectiveness.

It all comes crashing one afternoon when NHS is checking on his brother again right when they are having a rough day of painful memories. Nieyao are both snappy, albeit trying to hide it, but when JGY tries to reach out to NMJ for whatever reason, NHS grabs his wrist with a force that no one would suspect from him. NHS would be almost feral, and for a moment he's out of himself. It all dawns in 3zun then. NHS remembers.

It is one more complication, but in a sense also a blessing. Having to focus on NHS, explain to him what is happening, how have things changed and how they are dealing with it, serves as a distraction to their mess. Yes, JGY killed NMJ, but if NMJ is handling it and learning to move on, then NHS has no reason not to. Yes, he tricked LXC into killing JGY, but that's ok; it's in the past now, LXC has his bfs now, all fogiven. Yes, he lied to JGY all those years, but hey, he would have done the same! In fact, now that it's all said and done, JGY is actually impressed.

It's all a therapy session, really, and while they know logic and reason can understand all of that, emotions are another thing, and they all have work to do, but they'll get there. NHS was a key element, after all, now that they can be open and honest with him too, it's all a tad easier.

[poppinisperfection]

Peter Maximoff x Reader // Hello, Monica // WandaVision // Part 2

Part 1

Post Dark Phoenix X-Men & WandaVision fanfiction. FemReader and Peter Maximoff dating when he suddenly disappears.

Xavier returns and a plan is formed.

Word Count: 1892

Warnings: Emotional distress, mentions of violence, blood, gun wounds etc.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

(Y/n) sat by the screen, her vision blurring and bags forming under her eyes. The analog clock ticked with each second as Hank fiddled around with some tech, and the others sat on the floor half asleep. They had eventually contacted Xavier, and he promised to travel back to New York as fast as possible. That was hours ago, and now it was the middle of the night.

There was nothing they could do, even discussion led to nowhere; nothing about the situation made sense. Metal crashed on the floor, causing Scott to Jolt awake and Kurt to bamf in surprise as Professor McCoy gave a frustrated grunt at his clumsiness. The disturbance didn't phase (Y/n) though, as she read the line for the thousandth time,

"Please stand by."

She was somewhere between breaking into tears and punching every wall she saw. In short, (Y/n) was desperate. After hours of thinking, she finally allowed her eyes to close for longer than a short blink. Her mind was crashing around like a restless ocean, and she found herself drowning inside endless possibilities. But at the centre of it all was his face, his smile, his voice... him.

Suddenly the doors opened with a whoosh, and (Y/n) turned her attention towards whoever was entering the labs. A determined looking man wheeled in, locking with (Y/n)'s blood-shot eyes. An alabaster-haired, umber-skinned, and confident woman followed him; shooting a look of concern towards the group.

"Xavier-" Hank exclaimed with some relief at the Professor's appearance. The bald man gave a small hum in response, but he continued to near (Y/n) instead of making conversation. He placed a hand out and gave her a kind look.

"May I?" he crooned in his English accent, as the (h/c) lady nodded and placed her head forward. Closing his eyes and placing two fingers on her temple, and another on his own - Xavier began to see the whole story, without anyone saying a single word. After a few seconds, his pulled back and gave a sharp sigh.

"(Y/n), I am so sorry." the wise man's voice faltered after feeling the gut-wrenching fear that swept through her mind. The worried girl said nothing, but just tried to keep the strength on her face instead of breaking down into tears. "You've got a location?" Xavier turned to the beastly professor, trying to solve the mystery.

"Sort of- I mean, it's unbelievable Charles." he grabbed some pages and handed them to his colleague, "It's like he's traveled to another universe; I've only heard about theories of multiverses, but this- this is more evidence than anything I've ever read..." Hank rambled on, as even Charles Xavier- telepathic mastermind- look on in shock.

Before anyone could say anything, the old computer screen buzzed and the image shifted. (Y/n)'s tired eyes widened as she sat on the edge of her seat. Even Kurt teleported closer in an effort to not miss a second of the developing situation. A lead guitar began to play, and the opening credits rolled...

The group we're unsure if it was the same show, as it looked completely different in style. But their doubts were cleared when that same woman showed up, slamming the door using some sort of powers.

"She's a mutant..." (Y/n) mumbled, as the others looked on in confusion. The opening continued to play on as more characters were shown - most of which they had never seen before. Then finally, a speedy friend appeared.

"As himself?" Scott added, reading the credits. (Y/n) stared at the title and mentally recorded it.

"It's like they're a family." Kurt noticed as Peter integrated himself so naturally with them. The pair of young boys started to monologue about halloween.

"Halloween? This just gets more and more confusing." Scott rubbed his forehead in bewilderment. Ororo stood beside them, barely comprehending what she was watching. She had previously offered to look after the students while the situation was being investigated, and that lost time had undoubtedly caused her to miss a lot of information.

"So Pete's on TV?" Storm questioned in a baffled tone. The silver haired fellow lay on a couch as the twin boys discussed him, and they referred to him as their uncle. "Okay, somebody needs to expla-" she began, but was cut off as Xavier placed a finger to his temple and transferred the information she had missed. Ororo gave a soft gasp, but ultimately was relieved to be filled in. Since the professor had learned about the situation from (Y/n), some of the grief in her mind was passed to Storm; so the loyal mutant placed a caring hand on her friend's shoulder in comfort.

Xavier chatted behind the group of young mutants who watched the show play out.

"She suggested that maybe Kurt could go in, I told her-" Hank whispered to his friend.

"That would be dangerous..." Charles finished his thought, "But dangerous doesn't mean impossible." the telepath looked towards the blue teleporter who stared at the computer screen.

"You can't be serious, Charles." Hank furrowed his thick brows and stared in disbelief.

"Kurt, (Y/n)," the professor called out, catching the pair's attention,

"Come with me."

-------

The small group trailed down the metallic hallway and approached the familiar doors to Cerebro. (Y/n) looked back at the room they had left, still hearing the distant sounds from the broadcast. Her mind travelled to what she was missing; was Peter still okay?

The circular door released and slid open, and the group followed Xavier's lead towards the machine at the end of the walkway. Kurt's tail wrapped around his leg in fear, as he fiddled nervously with his hands. Placing the silver helmet over his head, Charles nodded for the intellectual beast to flip the switch. Immediately, the room lit up and images of people flashed around. A million conversations ran through the professor's mind, but he was only searching for one person.

"Turn it up." Xavier requested as his eyebrows knit together in concentration. Reluctantly, Hank did as he said. Soon the voices faded and a only a muffled conversation echoed through the large room. "The whole way, Hank." the british man added.

"Charles that's too mu-"

"Do it!" Xavier demanded his face contorting with the amplification. (Y/n) gave a soft gasp as the voice grew clearer.

"I think mom and dad would've loved it."

Peter's words reverberated, as tears formed in (Y/n)'s eyes. Despite Cerebro being on full power, the only thing that Xavier could access was the detached audio of the mind he was connected to.

"Where were you hiding these kids up til now? I assume they were sleeping peacefully in their beds."

"Can you speak to him Charles?" Hank asked.

"Something's... Something's not right... It's too powerful to see..." Xavier stuttered out, trying not to loose his connection. Peter's voice continued, as the group wondered to who and what he was talking about.

"I'm not some stranger and I'm not your husband, you can talk to me."

"There's something... dark... clouding his mind." the powerful telepath explained, "but he's still in there, somewhere." he added. The group began to notice a purple hue clouding the entire room. The clearer Peter's disembodied voice became, the more the mysterious smoke descended. Kurt and (Y/n) stood back slightly, scared of what it could mean.

"Don't sweat it sis, it's not like your dead husband can die twice."

The sentence rang through their ears, before the whole room erupted in a blast of ruby red energy. It was exactly like the force that 'Wanda' had used earlier. Energy passed through the mutants, as images of terror entered their minds. Fragments of memories flashed; glowing stones, broken families, and piles of ashes.

Xavier groaned with pain, but he kept the connection despite the immense power that surged through his mind. (Y/n) grasped her head and panted heavily. The image of a young man lying cold, bleeding through bullet wounds, on a pile of rubble haunted her. She didn't know who it was, but he seemed familiar for some reason - and her heart broke at the sight of his lifeless form.

"He's slipping... I- I can't hold on..." Xavier cried out through gritted teeth, "I can't latch onto anyone!" the room filled with a booming static noise as the bald man searched though all the available minds in that reality. Hank writhed on the floor, clutching his ears with the horrible sound. Soon he gained the strength to pull a hand up towards the switch and slowly tune down the settings. The din faded, and the only noise that could be heard was the heavy breathing from the group that tried to recover from the experience.

"I didn't tell you to turn it off." Xavier pulled off Cerebro's helmet and placed it harshly on its holder.

"It would've killed you." Hank rebutted, standing on his feet.

"There was something forming, a gap in the reality, I could feel it!" Charles placed a hand on his forehead in frustration, "It's like all the minds were under some sort of deep control - but I could sense other ones... ones that were free."

"But what can we do about it!?" the beastly Professor retaliated, annoyed at his colleague.

"If I can find the free minds, I can see where they are; exactly where they are." Xavier began to ramble, "Then I can show Kurt, and you can get there." (Y/n)'s eyes grew wide at his suggestion. Even though she had considered it earlier, she now began to doubt her logic. If it were just her, then she wouldn't hesitate to risk her life for Peter - but she couldn't ask Kurt to do it too.

"Professor, what if... What if it doesn't work?" (Y/n) piped up, looking to the powerful telepath with concern plastered all over her face.

"We can't risk more of our lives, Kurt you don't have to do this." Hank tried to assure the German mutant.

"Nein." he responded, "Peter is my friend, I vill not leave him in danger. I vill do it." Kurt nodded his head as he stood confident in his decision. Despite the hatred that Kurt Wagner had received his whole life; he was always the most selfless person in the room. (Y/n) shot him a weak smile, thankful for his kindness.

"This isn't just about Peter. Somebody brought him there. Somebody, or something, has a power that could change everything we think we know." McCoy warned, trying to convince the group of the dangerous situation.

"Which is why we need to know more." (Y/n) interjected.

"I will be able to communicate with you, as long as you don't go under this person's control." Xavier explained, deep in thought. Hank looked at the trio, and finally gave a deep sigh.

"There's no talking to you people." he shook his head, "I'm sure travelling across the multiverse will be a cinch." his tone dripped with sarcasm as Charles placed Cerebro back on his head.

"Have a little faith, Hank." Xavier joked stiffly as he flipped the switch to the machine. McCoy reluctantly turned the power knob and soon the static noise returned, causing a grimace to appear on everyone's faces. The noise flickered as Xavier passed through more empty minds, searching for one that would work. The sensory overload build up in a crescendo, until everything stopped to a halt.

"Hello, Monica."