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quodekash · 2 years ago

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Why The Entire Harry Potter Epilogue Sucks

most of this has definitely already been said before but I have Thoughts™️ and I need to get them all out in one place. also warning this is very long because my thoughts are big and i talk too much

first, the overall problems (and everything im gonna talk about is the author’s fault cos she wrote it, but this part is more directly her fault so this section could also just be called Me Hating A Bigot):

Why did she make them all end up with their high school sweethearts? just to satisfy the shippers? i mean i dont entirely hate it that much, like its fine, book hinny actually have chemistry and i can imagine book romione going through a lot of bumps in their relationship but smoothing it out and figuring it out after a few years. and yeah they’ve all been through a lot together, and that creates a really tight bond between two or more people, but the point still stands. (my point being: high school relationships are stupid and pointless. (if you want to debate me on this, go ahead. try and change my mind. (this is genuine, i want to hear your reasons and give you my reasons, debates are fun)))

Draco’s wife. Why. Like, i have absolutely nothing against Astoria Greengrass, I’m sure she’s lovely (we never meet her other than like maybe in Cursed Child at some point? but i read that once and am electing to ignore it forever so lets imagine i never said that). it’s not even a problem with how the author made him marry a woman even tho he’s very much a gay man, it’s the problem that he didn’t get the redemption he very much deserved. he had like two or three shining moments. and even then they weren’t so much shining, more... glistening like sweat. but she couldve tried so much harder with him. she wouldnt even have to change the plot of the books at all. just make him marry... not a pureblood. dont make this character have to continue the legacy of purebredness that he almost definitely despises. instead, let him marry a muggle. or a muggleborn. or a half-blood chosen one who defeated the dark lord with draco’s own wand. or just anyone that isnt a pureblood, cos we dont know much about it, but we can only assume that it was an arranged marriage and neither of them actually wanted it, they were just doing it for the sake of their families. which sucks. and also all the purebloods are already related so just... dont make the incest continue, no one wants it.

the names of the kids... i dont like it. well, most of it. naming your kids after your dead parents? that’s fine. it could be a little confusing at times, but they’re nice names and its sentimental. and james’ middle name? i have no problem with it. james sirius potter is a perfect naming choice. definitely not a PREfect naming choice, but absolutely a PERfect naming choice. -and lily luna potter has a ring to it. and i know luna is important, and i know we love luna. but it couldn’t have been like... lily molly potter, so that ginny’s side of the family could be part of it? it couldn’t have been lily minerva potter, to honour the greatest character of the series? it couldn’t have been... other names i cant think of that wouldve been better than lily luna? but overall i dont hate the name lily luna that much, i can deal with it. -as for hugo and rose, as far as i know they dont have middle names? but i just want to know where the names come from. were they just names that they picked out that Felt Right? cos if so i have absolutely no problems with that. it may be that theyre hermione’s parents names? (speaking of which did she ever get to take them back from australia? adding on to that, did her parents know they were from britain when she erased their memories? cos i highly doubt they wouldve magically gotten aussie accents and their voices wouldve stood out pretty clearly, so would they just be Very British but think they’re perfect bogans and never understand why people look at them funny?) But i dont think it is cos ive always assumed that hermione’s mums name is jean cos it’s hermione’s middle name. also i did some extensive research (*cough* a quick google search *cough*) and the name Rose means flower, femininity, that kind of thing, which is sweet, and Hugo means mind or intellect or something like that, which reflects hermione being smart. so those make sense. -but then we get to albus severus. i love the character, he is pure and must be protected. however, the name... no. harry decided to name his kid (the middle child, aka literally the most overlooked one, so there’s the neglected feelings that generally come from being a middle child there already) after two dead guys. “but egg”, you may be thinking, “james sirius was named after two dead guys, too.” Ah, very astute, dear reader, but you’re missing two crucial pieces of information: james and sirius were excellent people who positively affected harry’s life in a lot of ways. Albus and Severus, on the other hand, were people who: emotionally manipulated him, abused him, hated him, raised him as a pig for slaughter, one of them killed the other, and they were both old and sad cos their loved one is gone forever. great idea to name your kid after that. so smart, hazza. absolutely genius.

“19 years later” means, if you do the maths, the epilogue is set in 2016. surely some things would change. like, would they still use a steam engine train? would there be too many people (gotta love overpopulation), so would the place to get on the train (or whatever mode of transport it would be by then) change to fit everyone? why don’t we see queer couples in the background? why isnt there any mention of phones? i just- i have questions, okay? i mean, i guess the book came out 9 years before 2016. but some of these things were still in play in 2007 and it feels like pollution and overpopulation and queer people and smartphones just dont exist i guess.

this is a very small one but i would also like to know how draco and harry and ron all happened to have a child go to school in the same year. like yeah, it happens, but sometimes its like a year or two apart. but nope, they all must’ve f***ed their wives on the same night i guess (i know that’s not how it works, but STILL)

related to the point about it being 2016, but there wasn’t any deamus???? just a tiny mention would’ve been fine. just so that queer readers dont feel so alone. so that queer readers can feel like they’re actually part of this world, that they can feel included and loved, which are the major themes of the series. all we wouldve needed is “Harry saw Dean and Seamus, holding hands and waving goodbye to a little crying girl leaning out of the train window. Seamus tried to conjure a handkerchief to clean her face, but it set itself on fire as soon as he tried, and the girl laughed through her tears.” Or even just that first sentence wouldve been okay. or even a third or fourth sentence where dean sighs into his hand to hide his smile, shaking his head, and either stamps out the fire with his foot or uses aguamenti to put it out but misses and Seamus frowns at him as droplets of water fall down his face and cling to his eyelashes and dean smiles lovingly and kneels down to mock dean’s height and uses the end of his sleeve to wipe off the water and their daughter is laughing really joyously and the train starts to take off but she’s still laughing and smiling and she waves at her weirdo dads until she cant see them again and im sorry im getting carried away, basically what im trying to say here is just one sentence wouldve been all we needed just to feel included

ron being an auror makes sense i dont mind that.

but hermione. why is she in magical law enforcement. i know she cares about justice, but she absolutely would not enjoy sitting behind a desk, she would rather being there, out in the world, helping others because she can, not because it’s her job. she should be a teacher, whether at a muggle school or magical school, i dont flipping care, but she enjoys sharing her knowledge with harry and ron and literally everyone, and that’s what a teacher does. plus, she really looks up to mcgonagall, so you’d think she’d want to be like her: a teacher. and hermione LITERALLY SAYS, out loud, in the books, to rufus scrimgeour, that she doesn’t want a job at the ministry, “i want to make some good in the world”, but then that is just scrapped, never thought about again, and she becomes the flipping minister. she couldve even been an auror, she wouldve been a BOSS at figuring out the target’s next move and how to fight them and bring justice (and i am aware it sounds like im describing her as a batman-like superhero, i dont care, MAYBE HERMIONE IS BATMAN, OKAY?), and working with ron, they would’ve been UNSTOPPABLE. hermione couldve worked at flipin flourish and blotts, she could’ve become the new librarian at hogwarts. i know neither of those are making good in the world, but she wouldve been surrounded by books ALL DAY. honestly she couldve worked with dragons with charlie in romania and it still wouldve been better than stuck behind a desk at the ministry

i love ginny as a quidditch player, that one is excellent and perfect and i cant think of anything better.

like. lupin was great. but harry taught a whole bunch of teenagers - at the same time - to conjure patronuses within a couple of lessons, when it took lupin months to teach harry. (granted, harry was depressed and was both trying to learn the charm and going against a boggart-dementor, so they’re both impressive, but still)

he taught them heaps of spells he’d only learnt the previous year while practicing for the third task, and only out of books, which is really bloody impressive.

and, again, he could conjure a patronus at thirteen years old, when most wizards cant their entire lives.

and he taught them the only useful thing lockhart (kind of) taught him: expelliarmus.

as for moody’s/barty crouch jr’s classes, we dont know anything about them other than the first one where he did the unforgivable curses on spiders, and that other one where he put the imperious curse on the students. and harry just wouldnt morally do any one of those things so he technically didn’t beat those classes but also he did because harry didn’t perform illegal curses on his students, so.

idk about quirrel cos i have no clue what he actually taught them (WHAT WAS THE DEAL WITH THAT REPTILE IN THE MOVIES? (was it a lizard? iguana?? i think it was an iguana but idk)), but he literally bested every single one of the teachers he’d previously had for five years in a couple of months.

also he really enjoyed teaching. he found himself subconsciously planning lessons. he gave them things to improve on, started small and got bigger, gave encouragement, made sure everyone was included, and so many other things i just cant think of right now. and those are all awesome teacher traits. he would’ve loved being a teacher, would’ve loved helping kids reached their full potential.

and thats why he shouldve been a teacher, but heres why he shouldnt have been an auror: hes not invincible. the only person who couldnt kill him at all was voldemort. if voldey had let one of his death eaters step in and cast the spell, harry couldn’t have done anything, he wouldve actually died that time and voldemort wouldve won. and that still applies in the future. and harry’s gonna be fighting dark wizards just about every day. and guess what? he’s the owner of the elder wand. and book harry didnt break it. no no, book harry was sure he’d die a natural death and the wand would lose its power. and im not saying i want harry to die on work, im saying he was pretty reckless because he could get killed by dark wizards (aka people wanting to start their own cult similar to death eaters; death eaters on the run; death eaters put in azkaban who manage to escape; etc etc) on any given day and then they would have the elder wand and it would all turn to sludge.

but also if he couldn’t have taught dada, then surely he couldve at least been a quidditch player like ginny. that would be so much fun. their team would be basically unstoppable, having a bad*ss married couple working together.

just dont have him as an auror, please, im begging you, it doesnt work

and neville being herbology professor is perfect, end of story.

okay and now specific moments

some things that bother me are: albus not wanting to be slytherin, and james making fun of him for maybe possibly being sorted in slytherin. like, shouldnt the problems between the houses have been resolved?? it’s been 19 years since the war people, lets finally resolve some conflict here, pick up the pace guys. but not only that, albus’ fear of slytherin and james’ apparent dislike of slytherin tells us that harry hasn’t told them that slytherins can be good and that all the stereotypes of slytherin aren’t true for everyone and kggkfjgkjgkjfgj

harry hears percy talking about broomstick regulations and is glad to not have the excuse to stop and chat. i dont like that. why doesn’t he want to say hi? percy isnt that bad. i know he’s annoying at times but broomstick regulations would be important, and wouldn’t harry be at least slightly interested in it because quidditch and flying???

it sounds like ron’s saying he only recently passed his drivers test. he’d had 19 years. why did it take him that long. this one isnt big it just bothers me a little bit

why did draco nod ‘curtley’? curtley means rude briefly according to google. that doesnt feel right after everything that’s happened. like, harry literally destroyed the darkest wizard of all time, holding what had previously been draco’s wand. surely that makes some kind of connection. and the trio saved dracos life twice in one day, and saving someone’s life is a literal huge deal, it creates this unspoken bond between you. literally the only reason harry ron and hermione are friends is because harry and ron saved hermione’s life. and saving dracos life, someone who, up until then, they hate? and there’s no mention of any kind of bond or unspoken alliance or anything? they just... go on hating each other? and draco didnt sell them out to his family. which basically means draco saved their lives (BEFORE they saved his), so again theres that connection, that bond, where is it? SURELY it wouldnt be a rude nod?? couldn’t it be an awkward smile? a friendly wink (that could have a double meaning *cough*drarry*cough*)? there would sruely be some kind of connection over the 19 years, like i dont believe that they have never met draco’s child before, i dont believe that the trio and draco havent caught up at some point to say thank you or go out for coffee or whatever functional adults do in their daily lives.

‘dont try to turn them against each other before they’ve even started school.’ YES GOOD EXCELLENT GOOD JOB HERMIONE- ‘dont get too friendly with him tho. granddad weasley would never forgive you if u married a pureblood’ nO. do NOT imply that there’s going to be a romance. this is the fault of the author and also of ron. you should almost never ship people in real life (with few exceptions. like jokes with friends. or larry. or if theyre already a couple.), and ESPECIALLY not LITERAL CHILDREN! being an embarrassing parent talking to your teenage child about their crush or significant other? that’s fine. mortifying in the moment for the child, but funny to look back on. implying that your ELEVEN YEAR OLD CHILD who was probably told about sex and hormones like three weeks ago, is going to MARRY another ELEVEN YEAR OLD CHILD whom they have NEVER INTERACTED WITH is absolutely NOT FINE. and also DO NOT say that your father is NEVER GOING TO FORGIVE THE CHILD. it might seem funny, but this kind of thing could stick with the child forever and, if their hormones do end up making them fall for this other child in the end, they might be terrified of telling their family and might want to keep any potential relationship a secret and that could eat up at them completely and it could result in repression and depression and a whole bunch of mental health problems that wouldve been avoided if ron had just ✨shut his mouth✨. it wouldve been better to say something like ‘“you’re right, sorry”, said ron. but unable to help himself, he leant down and added in a whisper, “we’re counting on you though, Rosie. the family honour rests on your shoulders. but no pressure.” he stood up, grinning, and winked at his daughter.’

i have no problems with teddy and victoire. nor do i have any problems with james’ reaction. nor do i have any problems with what the adults say and what the children say in response to that, i actually like this part.

‘he checked the battered old watch that had once been fabian prewett’s’ IMOKAYIMFINEYOURECRYINGNOTMEHAHA

why is it that both with james and albus, their mother kisses them and their father hugs them? why didn’t ginny get a hug? why couldn’t harry kiss his sons goodbye? bloody stereotypes and raising boys as people who cant show emotion and affection and not letting fathers be intimate with their sons because showing compassion isnt “manly”. it makes me angry.

yOu WeRe NaMeD aFtEr TwO hEaDmAsTeRs AnD oNe oF tHeM wAs A sLyThEriN aNd hE wAs BrAvE HARRY I LOVE YOU BUT THATS NOT WHAT ALBUS NEEDED IN THAT MOMENT. he doesnt care about these dead dudes he’s named after. he doesn’t need to know that slytherins can be brave sometimes like a gryffindor. he doesn’t need to know only one example of a slytherin being a “good person”, especially not when it’s an abusive person who is a terrible example in this situation. what albus needs is reassurance. comfort. “albus, whoever you are and whatever house youre put in, we will still love you and support you. slytherin house is not inherently bad. none of the houses are inherently good or bad. people arent inherently good or bad. it’s almost impossible to fit someone into a box of “good person” or “bad person”, because people are complex. there are always reasons behind our actions. and those are only things that are good or bad. our decisions make us who we are.” thats so much better than a couple of sentences of 'i mean you can choose i guess. cos obviously we want you in gryffindor. but like it doesnt really matter. not that much. also youre named after a manipulative gryffindor and an abusive slytherin so have fun with that, k bye see you at christmas’

basically the author sucks and i need to sleep more

#hp #harry potter #19 years later #harry potter thoughts #hp thoughts #the hp author sucks #drarry #draco malfoy #romione #hinny #lily luna potter #albus severus potter #ALSO SORRY FOR ANY SPELLING AND GRAMMAR MISTAKES ETC #ily all have a great day

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denimbex1986 · 10 months ago

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'Claire Foy has shared a message for parents of LGBTQ+ children while speaking to PinkNews about what it was like to play a prejudiced mother in Andrew Haigh’s new LGBTQ+ drama All of Us Strangers.

Loosely based on Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel Strangers, All of Us Strangers stars Fleabag’s Andrew Scott as Adam, a queer, depressed writer in his mid-forties who ventures back to his childhood home after trying to write about his parents. While there, he reunites with the ghostly apparitions of his mother (Claire Foy) and father (Jamie Bell), who died when he was 12.

In the weeks that follow, Adam gets to have heart-wrenching conversations with the two ghosts about his life now, including coming out to them as gay.

While Foy’s portrayal of the mum is brimming with warmth and tenderness, the character is at first shocked to hear of her son’s sexuality, worrying intently about whether he might contract Aids, as the crisis was at its height at the time she died.

In one comic line, she questions whether her son should be open about his sexuality “on the high street, at WH Smith,” afraid he will be attacked.

At a time where LGBTQ+ youth are still being rejected and disowned by their parents, Foy’s character sends a powerful message.

“A lot of the time, as a parent myself, I do understand how difficult it is to not see that your child is basically a criticism [of] you as a human being, and understanding you don’t own your kids and your kids will be whoever they’re going to be,” Foy told PinkNews.

The Crown star believes that her character’s opinion of homosexuality comes from a place of fear.

“The hardest thing for a parent is giving [your children] away to the world because the world can be an incredibly cruel and dangerous place for [the] beloved little thing that you’ve created.

“I think it does all come from love and it also does come from fear – fear of what you don’t understand and fear of somehow that you are not right.”

Foy urged those who do not accept their children for whatever reason to look inward, and shared her hope that All of Us Strangers highlights how our time on Earth is finite, and shouldn’t be spent judging others.

“One of the greatest things I’ve learned as a person is that often the criticisms and judgments you have of other people, you need to repeat back to yourself because they’re the things you’re most afraid of in yourself.

“Hopefully, the film will just teach people that life’s too short to be confused by one another. Just ask and be told, and listen and understand. Then [we’d] get there a lot quicker.”

Although she handles the quietly poignant role delicately, Foy admitted she was concerned about being able to step into the role of a mother with discriminatory views, however ‘well-intentioned’ they are.

“There was a small, at the back of my brain, concern about how honestly we were portraying it, I suppose,” she said, “but at the same time, we had to be brave about not trying to soften the reality of what that conversation would be like.

“I think [her character] is very much stuck in a period of time and you have to have compassion for the understanding that at that time, what she was being fed was a particular view of what it was to be a gay man in the world and the risks that came with [it].”

Foy’s character would have been alive during Thatcher’s time as prime minister; an era full of intense homophobia and disinformation regarding the LGBTQ+ community.

“I definitely felt we had to honour that, because it seemed so important that history is understood, and not try to make it modern in any way,” Foy added.

She had crucial conversations with director Haigh and co-star Scott about making sure the relationship was being depicted in a way that reflected the reality for gay men.

“I felt I was there to support Adam’s character come to some sort of conclusion with his parents, and you have to go through those difficult moments to get to the end of the story.

“I loved her as a character… I feel as if she’d been given that education [and] given the opportunity to grow up with her son, if she was a parent of a 46-year-old gay son, she would be an amazing mother and would love it – and probably love it a bit too much.”'

#Claire Foy #Andrew Haigh #All of Us Strangers #LGBTQ+#Andrew Scott #The Crown #Fleabag #Jamie Bell

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captains-simp · 3 years ago

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Yelena Belova + Fake dating Au!! pls 🥲 :)

I've been waiting for someone to pick the fake dating one *fist pumps air* I'm gonna combine this with your other request if that's okay

"I think I'm inlove with you."

Warnings: shitty family and homophobia

7.7k words

A/n: if y'all want me to do this oneshot again but with Wanda (cos I'm a lazy hoe) just lemme know 👀 I think it would work pretty well 👀

[ masterlist ]

Buy me a coffee ☕

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Pleeaasse, Lena." You pouted once again. You had been begging Yelena for the favour for an hour now; her stubborness was proving hard to overcome.

"I'm busy." Yelena said, her accent strong as she walked around her appartment to collect things for her next mission.

"But will you be busy on the 10th?" You asked from the couch where you watched her disappear into various rooms as she talked.

"I thought you said it was a few days." Yelena quipped, seemingly only giving you half her attention.

"It is." You confirmed with some hope.

"So I'd need to clear my schedule for more than just the 10th." You huffed and rested your head on the back of couch.

"Yes you would. I'm sure Natasha can manage without you for a few days."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." She muttered.

"Please, Lena." You tried. "I need a win." Yelena stopped by the kitchen counter and gave you a long, considering look. You had long given up on your puppy dog eyes and instead copied her expression as you chewed on your bottom lip.

"I'll think about it." Yelena finally said before grabbing something from the cupboard.

It was the best response you had gotten all night and you knew you wouldn't get anything more. So you accepted it and hoped for the best.

Your parents had invited you to their cabin for a few days just like they did every year. It was a beautiful place. You could spend your whole visit in the forest along the back. Or swimming in the clear lake that was a short walk away. The cabin itself was the cosiest place you had ever been and had been where some of your best memories had happened as a kid.

As you got older things changed. Being around your family, especially your parents, wasn't as enjoyable. They had high expectations for their children, expectations that your siblings had met without a problem but ones that you had struggled with.

You enjoyed your life. You had the kind of relationships you had always hoped for, you loved your job and you had the perfect balance of the two. But you could never shake the feeling that you had failed.

Your brother was a surgeon who always told you all stories of the lives he saved and the close calls he had swooped in to save people from. One of your sisters was some hot shot lawyer who had done great things like help people wrongly convicted but still put dangerous people back on the street. And your other sister was the CEO of an energy company that you never quite understood. They even all had equally successful partners who loved to talk about themselves as much as your siblings did. You didn't have any of that. But you did have Yelena.

Knowing the Avengers was the only thing about you your family took interest in. They were always subtly hinting at wanting to meet your friends. But you knew the Avengers had to endure enough fan service and didn't want to push your family onto them, especially with how annoying they all were.

However as your family's unrealistic expectations reached their all time high you were sure you wouldn't be able to handle another trip with them without a win, and you were far too petty to take the moral high ground and just not go. Not to mention that was a huge part of you that was dying to see what the Yelena girlfriend experience would entail. Yep, that was what you were asking of Yelena. To pretend to be your partner for the duration of the trip.

"When are you going?" You asked, changing the subject in hopes that Yelena wouldn't suddenly conclude she didn't want to do it (then you really would have to ask one of the others).

You knew it wasn't a smart choice. That if Yelena agreed your crush on her could get out of hand. You knew you would end up getting too caught up in the act. You could have, no - should have - asked Natasha or Wanda or even Carol if she was around. But your family knew you were the closest with Yelena and she would be the one it felt the most natural with, and the most believable. At least, that was what you told Yelena.

"Tomorrow." Yelena answered, keeping her focused tone.

"When will you be back?" You attempted to keep the concern out of your voice but the glance Yelena gave you told you you hadn't done a good job.

"The day after." She said, softer this time. You nodded as you looked down at your lap and tried not to think about everything that could possibly go wrong on her mission.

"Be safe." Yelena strolled over to you and placed her hand gently ontop of yours and gave it a quick squeeze.

"Always."

"Got any plans Saturday night?" Natasha smirked knowingly at her friend as they preped for their mission.

"No." Yelena replied as she slotted a spare gun into her leg harness.

"Nothing with y/n then?" Nat asked, partly genuinely but mostly knowing Yelena would still say no.

"No." Yelena said again, biting the inside of her cheek in consideration before speaking again. "Not this Saturday."

Natasha raised an eyebrow in surprise and interest. Yelena rarely made any kind of special plans with you as you would always hang out casually so it was never anything fancy or different that needed planning. She had always wanted to though.

"Plans for another time?" Nat continued as she double checked her pack.

"Maybe, I'm still thinking about it." The redhead turned fully to her friend at her words, confused at why Yelena was hesitant to spend time with you. "She wants me to go to the cabin with her and her family." Nat had heard all about the infamous cabin and your family.

"That sounds fun." Nat nodded. The cabin sounded fun. Your family did not.

"As her girlfriend." Nat's eyes widened excitedly but before she could speak Yelena clarified. "Her pretend girlfriend."

Nat paused and looked as though she was going to speak for several seconds until she stuck to just giving a confused look.

"Yeah." Yelena sighed. "Thinks it would seem impressive." Yelena had tried not to be hurt over that. She knew you weren't just friends with her to show her off to people, because you never did. But it hurt her to think the only time you could see her in a romantic way was when you were pretending.

"Well," Nat muttered as she adjusted the zip along the front of her catsuit. "Fake it till you make it." It was Yelena's turn to give Nat a questioning look. "Maybe it'll be an eye opener for her."

"You think I should do it?" Yelena asked, fully open to hearing and accepting her friend's advice in that area.

"Definelty." Nat confirmed. She wasn't sure about it for the reasons she said though. Yelena's crush on you was obvious to everyone except you, just as it was vice versa.

You had been overjoyed when Yelena told you she would come with you to the cabin and play along as your girlfriend. She had told you when she came back from her mission, in fact it was the first thing she said after she had let herself into your appartment.

It was never really brought up after that, but you couldn't deny you were incredibly anxious on the week leading up to the visit.

On the drive up to the cabin you and Yelena stayed in a comfortable silence most of the time, clearly both lost in thought. You had the radio on for background noise more than anything else, but you would occasionally lightly tap the steering wheel if there was a tune you recognised, oblivious to Yelena's acknowledging smiles.

"So what's the plan?" Yelena asked as she looked at you expectantly. Right, of course the spy wanted a strategy.

"Keep things simple, I guess. They know how we met already so we can just say at some point we took things a step further than friendship." Yelena didn't seem convinced at the simplicity of that. "Look they're not going to want to hear about us, not much at least. They prefer the sound of their own voices, they'll be trying to impress you is all."

"Impress me?" Yelena asked.

"Yeah, hope you warm up to them so one day they can invite you to their snobby parties." Yelena chuckled as she glanced out of the window, knowing there was a lot of truth to what you said.

"And what are those like?" She enquired curiously.

"I wouldn't know, I've never been invited." You said simply. You had gotten over that a long time ago, gotten used to being forgotten. Yelena clearly hadn't though.

"It will be an honour to turn them down." Yelena said. You shook your head and smiled at her. That did sound pretty nice.

When the cabin came into sight between the trees your nerves spiked. You figited in your seat and bit your lip when you saw some of your family gathered outside, their attention instantly on you. You shot Yelena a quick smile which she returned before you got out of the car.

"Y/n! So nice of you to come." You mum said as her eyes flickered to Yelena more than you. She opened her arms for the shortiest hug in human history before turning to Yelena. "You must be Yelena, we've heard so much." You mum insisted as she brought Yelena in for a hug too.

The blonde raised her eyebrows at you over your mum's shoulder and you bite back a laugh. The others came over to greet you and mainly Yelena in a rush, overwhelming both of you.

"You too will be in the upstairs bedroom on the left." Your mum told you as you went to grab your bags. You did a double take, convinced you had heard her wrong. That was the best room in the house. A big difference from being in the small room in the basement every other time you had been there.

"First one on the left." Your dad confirmed. There was no way your parents were going to be in the basement so you wondered who else had been moved around but didn't ask, knowing whoever it was wasn't going to be happy.

You and Yelena made your way up to the room and you couldn't help but smile at the sight of the spacious room and the door you knew led to your en suite.

"That was...a lot." Yelena summarised as she said her bag under the bed.

"I would tell you it gets better but I don't want to get your hopes up." You sighed as you got a couple of things out.

"It's just a few days." Yelena said despite the fact you should have been assuring her.

"Yeah." You nodded and stared down at the floor. "Now c'mon." You suddenly said as you took ahold of Yelena's hand and laced your fingers together. You missed the startled blush that crept onto her cheeks when you turned around.

Your family were sat outside whispering amongst themselves when you returned. Their interested gaze fell to your entwined hands in an instant.

"So you work with the Avengers?" Your brother, Dalton, said as soon as you both sat down.

"I do." Yelena said as she continued to hold onto your hand.

"Must be crazy, what are they like?" He enquired.

"They're good." Yelena said simply. Everyone clearly expected something more but Yelena pretended not to notice making you smile.

"I almost did business with Stark once, decided against it in the end." Claire announced proudly. You and Yelena exchanged knowing glances. Stark had told you all about his encounter with your sister, it definetly wasn't her turning him down.

"I was invited to one of his parties." Anna said quickly. "I was busy that night unfortunately."

Bull. Shit.

"Yes I remember working with Doctor Strange when he was still in the medical profession." You gave Yelena an I-told-you-so look as your family erupted into conversation over who had the most contact with the heroes. That had to be a new record of how quickly they started talking about themselves.

They continued like that until your mum called everyone in for dinner. The food smelt undeniably amazing as you took your place at the table next to Yelena and eyed the dishes infront of you. Your parents efforts to impress the blonde weren't all that bad.

Your family continued to catch up and and you and Yelena half listened as you ate. They were all doing as well for themselves as ever and still hadn't learnt any modesty.

Although you were proud of your siblings for what they had all achieved, Yelena had stopped four potentially devastating bombs going off in the space of half an hour a week before but she wasn't going to bring that up anytime soon. Eventually though, the attention turned to you to bring you out of your silence.

"And you're still working in that little café, y/n?" Your mum asked curiously.

"I own it, mum." You corrected quietly as you stabbed some pieces on your plate.

"Ah yes, quite the contrast though, isn't it. Between you two." She said as she pointed at you and Yelena with her fork. You didn't say anything to that because you felt there really wasn't anything to say in response. It wasn't like you hadn't thought that exact thing every now and then.

"The team loves it." Yelena said suddenly making everyone, including you, look at her in slight surprise from speaking up. It hadn't taken your family long to learn Yelena wasn't much of a talker, not to them anyway. You couldn't get her to shut up half the time. "At least one of us goes everyday. If we're lucky we all can. Nothing beats it." She defended simply before turning back to her food to show she wasn't going to say anymore. You smiled down at your plate at her words and the truth of them.

No one said anything in response, clearly shocked from this new information until Dalton spoke up.

"But doesn't Stark like fancy, top of the line, restaurants? I can't imagine him in some random coffee shop, no offence sis." He nodded towards you though you knew he didn't mean it. He couldn't let you have just one win.

"That random coffee shop has catered some of Stark's parties. Not that many though." A smug smile crept onto Dalton's face as he opened his mouth to make a snarky remark but Yelena cut him down again. "Because y/n's invited to the rest as a guest and a close friend." Your family stared at you with open mouths.

"You've been invited to Stark's parties?!" Anna exclaimed. In your defence, your family never wanted to hear about your life so you never got the chance to tell them anything.

"It's not really my crowd." You shrugged. "I just go to hang out with them after." Dalton's jaw clenched in annoyance and he didn't say anything for the rest of dinner. It was only really your mum who kept talking. Telling everyone about her latest travels that fell on death ears.

It was certainly a first for your family.

When everyone had finished their food you and Yelena excused yourselves and said goodnight before retiring to your room. Yelena shut the door gently as you collapsed onto the bed on your back and glared at the ceiling. The blonde shuffled around quietly to get her toothbrush and toothpaste and some other things you weren't really paying attention to and went into the bathroom.

When she came back out she was in her bedclothes and lifted your feet off the floor to turn you so you could fully lay on the bed. You smiled at her weakly.

"You should go get changed." Yelena said as she got her laptop out her bag. "Then you can pick a movie." She announced when she had gotten under the covers and started her laptop. You smiled more and nodded.

You tried not to think about your family and everything they had said at dinner as you got changed but it proved difficult. Everything they had said echoed around in your head but most of all you couldn't shake the disregarding ways they said it. It was as though you could do no right with them. Maybe they would never be proud no matter what you did.

You placed your toothbrush back I'm the holder and rinsed your mouth before heading back into the bedroom to an awaiting Yelena.

You got under the covers next to her and rested your head on her shoulder as you glanced at the Netflix screen and pointed to one of the comedy movies. About ten minutes into the movie Yelena spoke. "You okay?" She whispered as she continued to look at the screen although that wasn't where her focus was.

"Yeah." You whispered back.

"Promise?" She said after a second." You moved your head away so you could see Yelena clearly.

"I'm so glad you're here." You said honestly. She smiled and nodded as her eyes searched yours.

"I'm glad I'm here too." You knew Yelena wasn't glad she had to spend the time with your family. She was glad that she could support you despite their efforts to bring you down. You were incredibly lucky to have her.

You rested your head back on her shoulder and neither of you spoke for the rest of the movie. Or the rest of the night. You must have fallen asleep about half an hour in.

Yelena wasn't much of an intimate person. She made the odd exception with you and Natasha, but always seemed to refrain or hold herself back from being too close to you. So when you woke up and couldn't tell where your limbs started and Yelena's ended, you were surprised to say the least.

You were resting your head on her rising chest and had your arm slung across her stomach. Your legs were tangled together and her arms were holding onto your waist. A warmth spread through you and you decided to settle back into her hold and closed your eyes with a content smile.

You had about ten minutes to enjoy that before Yelena woke up. You could feel the moment she realized you were so close, she physically froze. You waited in anticipation for something for several moments until your friend very slowly unhooked her legs and guided your body to lay against the mattress and pillows as she slipped out of bed towards the bathroom.

You sighed when you heard the door close and rubbed your eyes slowly, knowing you should get up but wishing more than anything that you could return to how you woke up.

"Morning." Yelena croaked when she left the bathroom and saw you sitting up in bed.

"Morning." You said back with a smile and tried not to focus on how ridiculously attractive her voice sounded.

You gathered some random clothes into a bundle and went into the bathroom to change again and brush your teeth. When you came out Yelena was pulling her shirt over her head and gave you a generous view of her toned stomach. Your face heated up when you saw it and you turned away to pretend you hadn't seen when Yelena noticed you.

"Don't make a sound." Yelena warned. You glanced up at her with some confusion. "I don't think your family's awake yet, that means we get the kitchen to ourselves." She grinned and you did too.

You and Yelena had gotten so used to getting up early for your jobs you forgot other people would still be sleeping. It was hard to break out of the habit but it proved useful.

The pair of you made a quick breakfast and ate it outside thanks to the warm weather even at that time. But soon enough your parents came downstairs and ruined the peaceful atmosphere with the clanging of pots and loud convosations.

You wandered around the side of the house and saw the old table tennis table that bad been folded away years ago and hadn't been set up since. You went over and started setting it up when Yelena joined you and eyed the table with a glimmer of mischief.

The blonde was the most competitive person you had ever met, you learnt that over a simple game of snakes and ladders years ago.

"You played this before?" You asked convosationally.

"I have." She said as you both automatically took up your positions of opposite ends of the table.

"Me too." You said confidently. "A lot." Yelena hummed in acknowledgment and swivelled her bat in her hand and stood ready. You smiled at her seriousness for the game.

You served surprisingly well for someone who hadn't played in a few years and Yelena was able to hit it back with ease. Once you had developed a steady pace you started hitting the ball more daringly to Yelena who was caught off guard before she started doing the same.

The moment you missed the ball a smug grin started on Yelena's face, her arrogance stopped her being aware of you suddenly sending the ball back her way until it was too late.

"That wasn't fair!" She exclaimed childishly.

"That was tables tennis." You said seriously but started smiling again. Yelena rolled her eyes and flipped you off as she trudged back to the table and served the ball with force. You managed to send it back but took a step away from the table in caution.

You continued like that for a while. The competition tension rising as you picked up the pace, one of you occasionally getting a point before the other evened it out.

At one point you were vaguely aware of Dalton sauntering over to see what you were doing and arched his brow at the sight of the table.

"We still have this thing?" He questioned and you hummed quietly in response, too focused on the game.

"Hey Claire! Get over here, we're playing table tennis." You rolled your eyes at the intrusive and could sense Yelena refraining from doing the same until an idea popped into your head.

You caught the ball in your hand and smiled at Yelena's protests as you moved round to her side of the table just as your sister came out.

"I didn't even know we still had this." Claire laughed as she picked up another bat from the box.

"Maybe we should take it back with us." Yelena whispered to you and you bit your lip to contain your smile because yes, yes you should. Inevitably, your siblings sucked at table tennis.

You had suspected as much you just never thought they would be as bad as they were. They missed almost every hit and everytime they did they got increasingly angry, which meant they ended up flaring their arms around like idiots. It was a memory you would be sure to treasure.

"Stupid game" and "probably broken" kept echoing across the table until your siblings finally stormed off to throw a tantrum.

The rest of the day went by quietly. You and Yelena sat by the lake for most of the afternoon to enjoy the sun and heat. You reveled in the most recent memories of your siblings embarrassment and had to keep hushing down to childish whispered whoever one of them was nearby.

Surprisingly, dinner went by peacefully too. You weren't asked anymore questions at the table. Instead, your family were content with talking about their upcoming plans between stealing glances at you and Yelena that the blonde never failed to notice.

The pair of you slipped off to your room the first moment you got and easily fell into bed besides one another. Yelena picked out a horror movie instantly making you groan into her shoulder as she giggled.

She settled down beside you and within the first few jumpscares she slowly wrapped an arm around your shoulder so you could sink into her further. You were barely paying attention to the film after that.

Despite the chilling scenes of the film, you couldn't help but want to melt under the warmth of your best friend. You hoped it was something you got to experience more, you felt safer than you ever had in Yelena's arms.

Little did you know that having you in her arms was the most comforting feeling Yelena had ever experienced.

You had thought waking up in Yelena's arms the morning before had been the best thing to awake to. But that day when you woke up not only were your legs tangled together again but the blonde was slowly stroking your hair while your head rested on her chest. It was a gradual gesture that maintained a perfect rhythm and made you want to fall back asleep. But you were afraid you would mistake it for a dream later on. No, it was definitely real.

Luckily, your head was already tilted upwards slightly so when you secretly opened your eyes to risk a peek at your friend you saw her staring out the window as though she was in a trance. She was clearly so deep in thought she hadn't noticed you wake up, you had never seen her like it. But the feeling was too good to ignore, too compelling.

Soon enough, you found yourself drifting off back to sleep.

When you woke up again Yelena was gone. Her absence left am emptiness you knew wasn't good for you. As the days of your visit went on your fake relationship with Yelena was going to effect you even more when it was over.

Over...you couldn't think about that.

Once you got up and got changed you found Yelena in the kitchen looking at the news on her phone as she sipped her coffee.

"Morning, honey." You grinned. Yelena blushed slightly into her coffee, something you thought was undeniably adorable.

"Morning yourself." She tried to play off smoothly making you grin more.

You made breakfast for you both just as your mum came into the kitchen and greeted you both with an overplayed smile, already talking to Yelena about an upcoming party that she should go to. Yelena mumbled something about a full schedule as you managed to whisp her away outside with your food.

Eventually, you and Yelena became bored with sitting around in the house when you had such amazing surroundings on your doorstep. You declared that you were going on a walk with the blonde and left before any of your family could invite themselves to go with you. Especially as you had told your friend to wear her swimwear underneath her clothing as you had a surprise for her.

You made a point of holding Yelena's hand as you left and once you were far away from the house went to take it back only for her to hold on tighter.

"You never know where they could be lurking." She joked as an excuse, so you starting swinging your arms playfully as to assure her you wanted your hands to stay linked together too.

You spent hours in those woods and was thankful for having a spy best friend who of course knew to pack the essentials like food and drinks so you could stay away from the house as long as you wanted. The blonde brought so much you were able to have a small picnic on top of a hill that overlooked the large lake that stretched out all the way back to the house. You remembered thinking up stories as to explain the strange shape and curves to it as a child.

"It's beautiful here." Yelena said as she picked some grapes from the bunch between you.

"It is." You agreed with a fond smile.

"I used to want to live in a place like this." She muttered, sparking your interest.

"In the woods?" You asked curiously and she nodded.

"I thought I could retire to the woods and get a small cabin and I could grow my own food and that was all I needed." You hummed with a smile as you studied Yelena's features.

"Sounds lonely." You thought aloud.

"I'd have a cat." She said simply making you laugh. "I never used to think that but now when it crosses my mind and I picture that life... I picture someone else there with me." You knew she was imagining it as she spoke and you wished you could see exactly what it was she wanted.

"We could always downgrade the holiday house." You half joked as you nodded in the vague direction of the house. "Make it a simple cabin."

"We?" Yelena asked hopefully, the emotion clear before she had a chance to conceal it.

"There's no one I'd rather run away and live in the forest with." You joked although there was a lot of truth to your words. The blonde considered you for a while before smiling and nodded as though she had reached her own internal conclusion.

"Come on." You said suddenly as you stood up and dusted yourself off.

"You want to go back?" Yelena asked and you grinned.

"I'm going to show you that surprise." You declared and packed the remaining food away. Yelena did the same, eager to see the surprise you kept secret the whole way.

It was quite a way back to the house. The whole time Yelena kept asking more questions about it but you wouldn't say. She could only make guesses based on the swim wear which should have left only a few options, non of which she got right.

Finally, you arrived where you wanted to and grinned at Yelena before starting towards the edge. The blonde frowned as she watched you approach the ledge and became worried when she invisioned the steep slope that didn't always lead to water straight down. If you were to fall... your friend didn't have to wait long to see that. You slipped along the edge and disappeared from her view as she gave a startled cry and sprinted towards the edge and knelt over with wide eyes, expecting to see something that could haunt her forever but instead she saw you on a wide ledge but seven feet below her.

To your left was part of the ledge that had been dug into randomly and acted as perfect aid to get back into the woods above.

"Come down here." You beckoned as you starter to take your top off. Yelena's eyes widened more and quickly turned around and dropped down next to you steadily.

She glanced over the side of the small ledge to glance at the fifty foot drop into the water. There was nothing in the way to fall onto but there was no telling how deep that water was.

"You can't go in like that." You laughed as you kicked off your shorts and pushed them to the side. Yelena's face heated up at the sight of you in your y/f/c bikini as you assessed the view. But even in her flustered state she was able to put it all together.

"You want to jump down there?" She exclaimed making you laugh.

"I've done it tones of times." You assured. "It's fun."

"It's a death wish! What if the waters not deep enough?" She questioned making you laugh more.

"Are you scared, Lena." You teased as you took a step towards her making her avert her eyes from your form. She scoffed to play it off.

"Of course not." You hummed in faux belief.

"Well then I'll see you down there." You grinned and took a couple of steps back until your feet were no longer on the platform and you were plummeting down towards the water where you landed with a splash.

Yelena held her breath as she waited for you to resurface for a few agonising seconds. When you did with a gasp and started kicking around frantically to keep yourself afloat with your built up adrenaline the blonde sighed in relief and started taking off her own shorts and shirt and placed them next to your things.

You've jumped from higher. She told herself as she rocked on her feet. With a harness! She argued back before she shoved those thoughts aside and threw herself off the ledge and into the water below.

You laughed as she came back up and pushed her hair away from her way. You swam closer to her and saw her wide smile.

"Fuck." Yelena whispered with a laugh as she looked back up from where you had both come.

"Told you it was fun." You teased as you tried not to focus on the low cut on her bikini bra.

"Yeah yeah." She laughed and adulterer when she looked past you and saw you were surprisingly close to the house. She could see the outline of your family sat outside.

"They're looking." Yelena muttered. You could tell by the look on her face who she was talking about. It wasn't like there was anyone else around either.

"Do you think they've caught on?" You asked nervously as you stared at Yelena's grey eyes to stop you looking at your family.

"Maybe..." She considered and glanced around. "It's not like we've been acting like that much of a couple." You scoffed at that.

"At home everyone assumes we're dating and the one time we need it be believable it isn't." You rolled your eyes but couldn't help the smile.

"I know." Yelena laughed for a second but then paused. "Then let's give them something believable." She gently placed both her hands on your waist and pulled you slowly towards her. You let her guide you and took extra notice of the water droplets across her face. You almost trembled when your bare stomachs pressed together in the water lightly.

Yelena's soft hands left your waist and gripped your thighs to pull you up to wrap your legs around her own waist. You couldn't help but giggle at the gesture as you wrapped your arms around the blonde's neck and held onto her waist with your legs in a lock.

"Can I?" Yelena whispered when she lifted your chin with her finger and her other hand came round the back of your neck.

"Just shut up and kiss me." You demanded with a playful smile and leaned in to do it yourself.

You smiled into the kiss and felt Yelena do the same. It was everything you had ever imagined it to be. Her lips were soft and fell into place perfectly against your own as they moved together.

You mind was hazey and your stomach was doing flips at the realisation that you were actually kissing your long time crush. You forced yourself to remember that it was all a show. That Yelena didn't mean it. But she put on a believable act and kissed passionately, even slipping her tongue through your parter lips to explore your mouth further.

When she eventually pulled away you rested your foreheads together to catch your breath and grinned as you closed your eyes.

"You're a really good kisser." You blurted out making Yelena chuckle.

"Not too bad yourself." She teased.

"I hope not, we're gonna have to do that again." You smiled and instantly realized that sounded like a confession you desperetly wished you could claim. "You know because...Once probably wasn't enough to make it entirely believable." You rambled and Yelena nodded somewhat stiffly and let your legs drop back down.

You wanted to say something to her, anything but it was all stuck on the tip of your tongue.

Just as you opened your mouth to speak, a small murmurarion of starlings flew across the lake, some of them skimming the water then gaining height again as they got closer to you and Yelena.

You both ducked instinctively as they flew over your heads and off towards the forest again as you watched them in awe until they disappeared. You glanced up at the sky and noticed the sun had gone behind a cloud, ableing you to continue looking up at the other birds higher up.

You kicked your legs up slightly so you could lay on your back and outstretch your arms to keep you afloat in the water so you could stare up at the sky without hurting your neck.

You didn't realise Yelena mimicked you until her hands brushed against yours. She withdrew it as soon as you touched and went to murmmer an apology but you smiled and held onto her hand as you both lay watching the birds.

Neither of you had to say anything. It was a comfortable and peaceful silence that was occasionally filled with birds chirping or the sound of a calm breeze. Of all the things you expected to feel on that trip, relaxed was not one of them. You stayed like that for a while until you were both snapped out of your daydreams by the distant yell that declared dinner. Well, you had to go back to them eventually.

Both of you took your time swimming back to dry land and only felt a shiver when you left the water and the breeze hit you. Yelena spotted and reached the towels before you and wrapped yours around you tightly. You thanked her with a small blush as you both sauntered up to the house where the mouthwatering smell of a barbecue greeted you. Your dad was leaning over it while shooing your brother away as he tried to offer his 'help'.

You and Yelena went inside to change swiftly and came back outside as the food was being placed on plates and your mum finished setting up the buffet.

Everyone starter helping themselves and you piled as much food as you could onto the plate. You parents had asked what food Yelena liked and when you gave them a brief list you added in a few things you knew you both loved.

"You gonna eat all that?" Anna asked as she eyed all the food on your plate. Guilt and insecurities washed over you until Yelena purposefully grabbed a large handful of small sausage rolls and put them on her plate that was piled with a considerable amount more food than your own. You smiled at the reassuring gesture as she sat down with a satisfied grin on her face when she saw Anna close her mouth to stay quiet.

"Thanks." You whispered to her as you sat down.

"If you don't eat all that I will." She declared. You were pretty sure she went back for seconds.

Instead of disappearing back to your room like you did the previous nights, you and Yelena stayed with your family for a while after dinner. It wasn't to do with their company, more the mesmerising fire in the firepit you all sat around. You were cuddled up into Yelena's side with a blanket over both of you as you stared at the flames, smiling at their small flickers and dances.

"So Yelena," one of your sisters began, "are any of the other Avengers...you know." She nodded her head in the direction of you both.Oh boy, you though.

"I don't think it's my place to say." Yelena said because yes, a lot of the Avengers were queer.

"Oh come on, you can tell us." Anna encouraged as she sat forward eagerly.

"I could, but I'm not going to." Yelena continued to defy.

"Lay off it guys." You mumbled but was ignored. Your family took it in turns saying her teammates names in hopes of sparking a reaction, clearly forgetting they were facing a spy.

"Stark!" Claire said but was instantly shut down by the others.

"He's married!" Dalton objected.

"Could still be bi though." Claire tried but Dalton just scoffed.

"I suppose there's going to be more surprises."

"What does that mean?" Yelena asked with narrowed eyes. Dalton met her gaze with his own challenging one.

"I just never thought one of the Avengers would be a dyke." You felt Yelena stiffen as you all held your breath. There was no way to tell what was going through the blonde's mind, especially as after all those years of friendship you still didn't even know what team she batted for. She was an ally at least, but would she see this as her battle to fight?

Upon getting no reaction, Dalton continued. "It makes sense why you'd hang out with y/n though, we always knew something was wrong with her but-"

"That's enough." Your mum snapped with a guilty expression she failed to mask. You swallowed hard and moved to get up, deciding you had heard enough.

"Then you're idiots." Yelena stated as she glared daggers at your brother while you sunk down.

"I'll have you know I have a doctorate-"

"Your idiots." She repeated. "There's nothing wrong with y/n, which is impressive considering she's grown up around you lot." You looked at your friend in awe as she continued.

"She's the most amazing person I've ever known, including any of the Avengers. She's everything that you're not and I'm lucky to call her my girlfriend. It doesn't matter what any of you think of her, I love her and I always will." She declared as shot daggers at each individual family member who had fallen silent. She took your hand and pulled you up from your seat to take you inside.

You couldn't get her saying she loved you out of your head. You reminded yourself over and over again on the way to your room that it was just an act. That the blonde was making her point. But God, how you wished it was real.

She was so gentle with you as she guided you through the house. When you got to your room and broke down sobbing she held you on the bed for a long time until your cries turned to sniffles. The thing was, you weren't sure what you were crying over. Sure, what Dalton had said had hurt. As did the confirmation that your whole family had always looked down on you. But you had known that was the case for a long time, you had moved on from it.

Instead, you may have being crying over what you didn't know and didn't have. How much of what Yelena said was true? It was all based off of something that wasn't real. What if she saw you the same way your family did?

When you stopped crying you became aware of Yelena gently stroking your hair as she rested her head on yours and held you close to her. You remembered the memories you had accumulated over the past few days with her. The kisses, the hand holding, the nights together, how she stood up for you like no one ever had. You loved her so much.

"I think we should go tomorrow." Yelena mumbled and you nodded into her shoulder.

"I'm not going to leave you though, you know that right? You can stay at mine and we'll watch more of those crappy American movies you like." She mocked lightly making you chuckle against her. "Whatever you want."

"I just want you." You said honestly. You knew you shouldn't have said that, but you were too emotionally drained to care.

"I just want you too, y/n." You pulled away from the blonde to look at her clearly.

"I don't think you know what I mean." You sniffer and she smiled at you fondly.

"I mean what I said earlier, around the fire." Your eyes widened slightly and you held your breath.

"It was all an act though." You whispered and Yelena chuckled as she exhaled sharply.

"No y/n." "I think I am inlove with you." She said as she took ahold of your hand and searched your face for any signs of a reaction to her confession.

"Me?" You questioned, not quite believing it.

"Yes you, idiot." You smiled and sighed in relief, not being able to find the words to express your overflowing happiness and numerous other emotions you couldn't quite pinpoint. You let go of Yelena's hand and brought them both up to cup her cheeks. You had done a lot more handholding than kissing in the previous few days. It needed to be evened out.

You closed the gap between you and kissed Yelena with just as much passion as you had in the lake, except all hesitation and questions were gone. Because you knew she loved you. Oh God she loved you. You grinned into the kiss at the thought and felt her hand fall to your hip while the other caressed the side of your neck in the most gentle manner you had ever seen from her. When you eventually pulled away you rested your forehead against hers, a smile still playing on both your lips.

"Told you we'd have to do that again." You said and and laughed. "I love you too."

"Well I hoped that wasn't a pity kiss." She joked and you smacked her arm playfully.

"It definetly was not and I'll prove it to you by taking you on a date when we get back." You promised as you sat back to look at her clearly.

"Oh yeah?" She asked with a playful smirk and leaned over so her face was inches away from yours.

"Yeah." You said back.

"Well until then, my real girlfriend should definetly just keep kissing me." She said as she pushed you down gently and kissed you again. You smiled against her gleefully.

"Your girlfriend would love to."

#yelena belova oneshot #yelena belova imagines #yelena belova imagine #yelena belova #mcu #marvel

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absolutepokemontrash · 3 years ago

Text

MC’s Half Demon and They Look Awfully Familiar Lessons 18-20

Series Masterlist

T-the season finale… *sniffle* it’s been a wild ride y’all… I’ve never actually written and stuck through with something for so long, so this is a real achievement for me! I really hope you guys have enjoyed this completely weird fluffy/angsty/mildly crackhead adventure! Please enjoy the last part!

All is well, the family is back together, everyone’s fine, the school year is almost over-

Wait, the school year is almost over?

Upon realizing that, everyone settled into a state of mild panic.

MC couldn’t just leave, they were part of the family! An integral part! They were the only thing keeping everyone from murdering each other during family game night!

As for Lucifer’s personal feelings on the matter, things were… tough.

When the exchange program was announced, Lucifer expected it to end like most of Diavolo’s ideas: annoying to clean up, it certainly couldn’t have ended worse than when he and the Crown Prince ended up getting cursed to hold hands for 25 hours straight. What Lucifer didn’t expect was for a child he didn’t even know he had to end up as the human exchange student and for his entire life to be thrown out of whack. That child of his was busy finishing up their final paper of the year.

“Hey, father,” MC looked up from their paper with a cheeky smile. “Do you think that the next exchange student will be as fun as me?”

“I sincerely hope not.” Lucifer sighed, continuing to sift through his paperwork on his desk. “Your kind of ‘excitement’ has completely worn me out.”

“Aw,” MC giggled, then went back to work. “So you don’t want me to stay here then?”

Lucifer stiffened and looked up from his paperwork. “Don’t put words in my mouth, MC.”

“So you do want me to stay. Interesting~” MC said as they began to sweep the eraser shavings off their paper. “Well, if you want me to stay so badly, you could have just asked.”

“P-pardon?” Lucifer blinked a few times to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. “You want to stay?”

“Since you’d be so sad without me, I guess I just have to don’t I?” MC stood suddenly and slapped their finished essay on Lucifer’s desk. “The sacrifices I make for this family, I swear!”

We stand with you, MC, sacrifice your sanity for your weird-ass familia.

Anyway, Lucifer was thrilled that MC wanted to stay with him in the Devildom, the problem was… MC’s other parent may not have been too keen to just give up their baby.

You know, the demon child they raised all by themselves, with no help from Lucifer because he didn’t know MC existed…

Someone get MC’s ren on the phone! Stat!

“Alright dear little brothers of mine, listen closely because I’m not repeating this.” Lucifer looked over the living room couches at the other six rulers of hell. Belphie was sprawled out on one of the couches and was drooling all over Beel’s lap, Satan was making a point to look as disinterested as possible and kept sneaking glances at the book he was holding, and Mammon was wrestling Levi dangerously close to where Asmo was filing his nails.

Sighing in defeat, Lucifer continued. If any of his brothers misbehaved he couldn’t say he didn’t warn them. “MC‘s parent will be coming to visit.”

Everyone’s attention snapped to Lucifer. Wonderful.

“They’ll be staying for a few days and will decide if it’s in MC’s best interest to primarily stay in the Devildom from now on.”

Asmodeus slowly raised a hand. “Luciiiiiiferrrr!”

“Asmo, is your question overly personal in nature?”

The Avatar of lust brought a manicured nail to his cheek and daintily tapped it. “Mmm… I don’t think so.”

“Ask.”

“How long were you and MC’s parent dating for? Won’t it be awkward to be around your ex?”

Lucifer dragged a gloved hand down his face. “It was a one night thing.”

“Really?” Asmo knitted his eyebrows in confusion. “It wasn’t a long drawn out forbidden romance? You must have had some Olympic swimmers down there!”

“Okay!” Lucifer clapped his hands. “Add that to the list of things Asmo is not allowed to say.”

“We have to take something off the list then…” Beel said through handfuls of chips. “The list’s full.”

“Fine,” Lucifer grumbled. “He can say [CENSORED] again.”

“Yippee! [CENSORED] [CENSORED] [CENSORED]”

The group collectively groaned as Asmo continued to spout his profane nonsense.

“What did I just walk in on..?” MC stood in the doorway to the living room, still in their PJs.

“Oh, MC, your parent’s coming over to stay for a few days.” Lucifer quickly explained.

MC’s face morphed from confusion to horror. “What does that have to do with [CENSORED]?!”

This house is a FUCKING NIGHTMARE-

Anyway, after the initial confusion/horror, MC got really excited and rushed off to get ready. Meanwhile, the boys solemnly swore that they would be on their best behaviour!

Everyone needed to convince MC’s parent that everything in the Devildom was perfectly safe and that their little hellspawn was in good responsible hands.

Mammon tried to come up with a plan in case MC wasn’t allowed to stay with them, and let’s just say it involved kidnapping. But like- a chill kind of kidnapping where MC would be totally fine.

This idea was immediately shot down in favour of Beel’s plan B.

Beel would just… eat MC’s parent. No biggie, right?

Lucifer shot that one down the moment he heard it.

The only accepted plan for if MC wasn’t allowed to stay was just letting them go. They’d visit the Devildom. A lot. Many visits would be necessary.

So, the hour of MC’s ren’s arrival had come, and the student council assembled to greet them.

Greet the human. The completely non magical human. Greet them and then let them see the Devildom…

Was this exchange program really that good of an idea..?

MC frantically attempted to do some last minute fixes to their hair as they sat themselves down in their seat in the Assembly Hall. Ugh… stupid hair…

“Why are you so nervous?” Satan asked. “Is our visitor a neat freak basket case?”

“No!” MC huffed. “They’re not! I’m just making myself presentable so they don’t think I’ve gone completely feral down here.”

“Well, feral no, crazy, yes. Have you seen yourself lately?” Belphie snickered.

“SHUT UP BELPHIE.”

“Would you all be quiet?” Lucifer snapped. “You’re all acting like children.”

“I am a child.” MC snapped back. “What’s Belphie’s excuse?”

Belphie’s retort was cut off by the portal opening and a figure leisurely floating to the ground. They had an open parasol in their right hand that seemed to be aiding their gentle descent, and a large container full of what smelled like cookies tucked into their left side. The moment their toes touched the floor, the human gracefully closed their parasol and gave the assembled demons a sparkling smile and a polite bow.

“Thank you for allowing me the honour to visit,” the human’s voice was as soft and sweet as Cotton candy. “It’s a pleasure to officially meet the princes of hell themselves.”

:D yay!

After floating down from the sky like Mary Poppins, MC lost all sense of propriety and ran over to tackle their ren into a hug. It was that kind of thing where you really miss someone but you don’t realize exactly how much until you get to see them again.

Lucifer was, of course, the picture of elegance and “this isn’t awkward at all”-ness.

MC’s parent didn’t even seem to be all that concerned with the fact that their baby daddy was, y'know, LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR. THE MOST POMPOUS FUCKWAD IN THE DEVILDOM.

Please don’t tell him I said that, he’s still mad about the Go Fund Me…

MC was absolutely ecstatic to finally show their parent how much they’ve grown in terms of their demonic powers and all the friends they had made, but MC’s ren was more concerned with how much they had grown in terms of their height.

“You’re just so tall now,” MC’s ren giggled as they fixed their child’s hair. “You’ll get things off of shelves for me, won’t you?”

“Yeah yeah,” MC said, rolling their eyes good naturedly. “Like you can’t reach anything in your kitchen.”

“Okay,” Mammon, Satan, Levi, Belphie, and Beel were lagging behind Lucifer, MC, their parent, and Diavolo. “Change of plans, we ain’t eatin’ ‘em, we’re keepin’ ‘em.”

“We were never going to eat them in the first place, idiot.” Satan sneered. “And what’s with the change of tune? You were ready to wage war on the human world fifteen minutes ago.”

“…cookies happened.” Mammon mumbled. He had only gotten one of the human’s totally amazing offerings before Beel proceeded to eat everything. The cookie was perfect… so delicious…

“I say we keep the human.” Beel put a hand on his stomach. “I want more human world cookies.”

“They’re so cute too…” Asmo cooed. “A solid 10/10, and that’s such a rare ranking coming from the only 20/10 in existence!”

“Asmo, your vanity never ceases to make me want to roll over and-” Belphie’s insult was interrupted by him passing out and letting out a cartoonishly loud snore. It was a good thing Beel was able to quickly catch and throw Belphie over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

“Asmo has a point, they’re just so totally moe! Kawaii to the highest degree! That parasol, the homemade cookies, it’s just like something from a slice of life anime!” Levi squee-ed.

“So it’s settled, we treat ‘em nice, then we get ‘em to stay.” Mammon nodded to the rest of his brothers, who for the first time in the Demon King knows how long, his little brothers nodded back in full seriousness. They were actually doing a Mammon plan! Holy shit!

So, the brothers liked MC’s ren, what about Diavolo and Barbatos?

Well, MC’s ren had heard all about Barbatos’ amazing cooking from MC and Barb’s totally outstanding reputation, so the two got along swimmingly.

Dia. Loved. That. Human. They’re cute???? They’re sweet???? They brought COOKIES???! They don’t seem to be afraid of him at all????? Please be the exchange student next year :D

Oh yeah… he made a rule that said they couldn’t summon someone with kids… it would be cruel to rip a parent away from their child…

But apparently not a child away from their parent cough cough

Other than the uncle squad, MC’s ren got to meet the Purgatory Hall gang too!

MC was being just the most adorable tour guide, but that didn’t stop Lucifer from having a miniature heart attack any time a demon even looked at MC’s parent the wrong way. If MC’s ren got attacked or felt threatened in any way shape or form, he could say bye bye to his time with the one person in the HOL that didn’t live to make him pop a forehead vein. The human seemed outwardly unconcerned with any Devildom oddness and was amicably chatting with Diavolo while MC pulled them from place to place.

“And that’s Hell’s Kitchen, they have good sandwiches, and that’s Madame Scream’s, they have really good macarons.” MC helpfully pointed out the places as they passed them.

A much to familiar trio of voices called out from down the street. Father dammit, why were they here..?

“Hello Lucifer, what are you all up too?” Ugh… Simeon…

“From the sight of the rest of your brothers skulking about, it appears like they’re acting as bodyguards.” Solomon…

“MC? Who’s that?”

Oh good grief… that nasally little voice… the chihuahua was near… Now… Lucifer was a respectable demon… respectable demons don’t tease children in front of the parent of their child…

“Hello chihuahua.”

DAMN IT HE COULDN’T HELP HIMSELF!

“I’m not a chihuahua you demon!” Luke yapped.

MC’s parent daintily tilted their head and looked over at MC. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”

“Right, Luke, this is my ren, ren, this is a chihuahua.” MC grinned cheekily as they gestured between the two. Lucifer suppressed a laugh which resulted in a very ugly snort. It was a good thing the sound was drowned out by Luke’s exclamations of betrayal.

The chorus of “how could you?!”s and “I thought you were over that awful nickname!”s was put to an abrupt halt when the visiting human elegantly offered a handshake to the fuming angel.

“MC spoke very highly of you,” they chirped. “It’s very nice to meet you, Luke.”

Luke blinked a few times, then quickly straightened his posture, adjusted his hat, then shook MC’s ren’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“That’s Simeon.” MC jerked a thumb in Simeon’s direction. “And that’s Solomon.”

“Luke got a whole introduction and we get that? Come on MC, I thought we were friends.” Solomon fake pouted at MC after giving a polite nod to MC’s parent.

“We stopped being friends after one of the potions you had me test out turned me into a-” as quick as lighting, Mammon had shoved his hand into MC’s face.

“A-ah, MC’s rememberin’ stuff wrong, nothin’ potion related happened to ‘em. Right, Solomon???!”

Taking the hint from Mammon, Solomon smiled and nodded. “Nope, nothing related to turning MC into a frog for a few hours.”

“Hm, well I’m quite happy that absolutely nothing frog transformation related happened.” MC’s parent said.

“Yeah, must’ve hit their head on somethin- YEEEOW!” MC had bitten down on Mammon’s hand and slapped it away from them.

“I did not hit my head on anything!”

“Yeah,” Beel nodded. “Nothing’s hit them since the Fangol ball.”

“The what ball?” MC’s ren asked.

“The Fangol ball that hit MC a few months back and broke their glasses.” Five of the brothers slapped their hands to their foreheads.

“Oh my…”

“Eh,” MC patted their ren on the arm. “That’s nothing compared to the giant snake at the retreat.”

“Oh! Do you mind letting me tell that story, MC?”

Lucifer was frantically signalling for Diavolo to stop talking but the crown prince was already beginning his retelling of the events. Luke would chime in with an anecdote from an even worse misadventure the two had gone out on every once and a while. This… this wasn’t going well at all…

MC’s ren was… weirdly chill about the whole thing…

“Oh, it’s so nice that you’re having fun, sweetheart. That reminds me of when I was young and your aunt Clytemnestra and I would go out and have adventures.” “Really? You went on weird adventures too?” “…what kind of adventures could possibly compare to being chased by a giant snake in an underground labyrinth..?”

The side characters ended up needing to abscond for various reasons and all that was left was the brothers, MC, and MC’s parent.

They made it to the HOL without issue, which is when Lucifer remembered that he did not put all the cursed objects out of reach… shit.

“Asmo… Asmo!” “What is it?” “Take MC’s ren out of the house in half an hour, keep them occupied in the living room!” “What? Why?” “I need more time to human-proof the house! Distract them, but no funny business!” “Dear brother, for the first time in a very long time funny business is the second thing on my mind! Wait… no, it’s the third… what have I become..?”

Asmo and Satan, super graciously by the way, led MC and their ren to the living room to distract- I mean entertain them for a bit!

Lucifer and the rest of the gang got to work moving certain things around and closing certain doors- shit where was Cerberus?! Did Lucifer forget to walk him that morning?!

So much to dooooooo…

So maybe bringing a human into Majolish and letting them roam around unsupervised wasn’t the best idea Satan and Asmo had, but it sure as heck was an idea. MC looked through shelves of hairpins and bracelets while their ren disappeared around a corner to look at scarves.

“We’re doing such a great job babysitting!” Asmo clapped his hands. “If MC had just been a normal human I bet they’d last the entire year under our care.”

“Hm, you might be right.” Satan smiled and nodded. “Humans are surprisingly entertaining.”

“Yes… speaking of, where exactly is the human?”

The sudden sound of metal slamming against flesh and the delayed sound of something incredibly heavy hitting the floor jolted Asmo and Satan from their conversation.

“Honestly, some people have no fucking manners!”

It was such a different voice than what Satan and Asmo were used to that the only thing that tipped them off to it being MC’s ren was the fact that MC began to giggle. MC’s ren stepped back into view carrying a metal staff that quickly transformed back to their parasol.

Asmo and Satan rushed over to check if their defenceless little human guest was okay, only to find some lesser demon passed out on the floor with an incredibly nasty bump on the side of their head.

“I’ve heard that humans are apparently quite delicious to demons but I didn’t expect someone to actually try and eat me.”

“I-um…” Satan sputtered, looking from Asmo to MC’s parent. “We’re uh…”

“You alright, ren?” MC called from over by the bracelet shelves.

“Yes, I’m alright.” MC’s ren gave the fourth and fifth born a calming smile. “No harm done, well, except to that poor bastard. I do hope I haven’t killed him… that would be such a nasty thing for the poor sales associates to find.”

Okay so maybe the defenceless human wasn’t so defenceless. That was a good thing… right?

“So where exactly did you manage to get your hands on such a weapon..?” “Ah, I come from a family of witches. This was a college graduation present.”

…doit doit seems legit.

The four made it back home just in time, Lucifer and the others had finished human proofing the house.

Yay!

The house tour went by smoothly, everything was all well and good until Beel and Belphie asked MC’s ren to make more cookies.

Oh god dammit the human said they would.

“Oh Beel, you shouldn’t eat the cookie dough raw… the eggs and raw flour will make you sick!” “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. Besides, it’s best not to interrupt Beel while he’s eating.” “Yeah it might end like the custard incident.” “Custard… incident?” “MC and Mammon ate my custard and I ended up breaking the wall that connected to MC’s room.” “Hunger tantrums, am I right?”

After that it was Mammon and Levi’s turn to babysit. It went about as well as you’d think.

Levi explained some anime plot in an attempt to make it seem like the Devildom was totally safe and that MC and their ren could stay forever no problem, while Mammon desperately suppressed the urge to swipe the cool parasol.

Finally, it was time for the verdict. Would MC be allowed to stay in the Devildom..? Or would they go back to the human world..?

“Lucifer?”

The demon in question looked up from his paperwork and tried to nod in the most casual way possible. MC’d ren was standing in the doorway, Lucifer must have missed their knock. “Yes? Do you need something?”

MC’s ren smiled and nodded. “It’s about MC’s living situation going forward.”

Lucifer stiffened and got up from his desk. “Y-yes… what about it?”

“MC has expressed that they want to stay here full time with frequent visits to the human world.” The softness that their voice had earlier in the day was completely absent as the human stepped forward into the study and closed the door behind them. “I want to know what you think about that.”

“Well,” Lucifer cleared his throat and tried to shake off the stupid sense of nervousness that had wrapped itself around him. A weak little human’s decision should not make him so anxious! “I would like for MC to stay here as well, I think it would be best for them.”

The human raised an eyebrow and twirled their parasol in their hand. “Really now? In your year with them you truly believe you know what’s best for them?”

Lucifer’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. I do.”

MC’s ren went quiet for a few seconds before replying. “I see.”

“And that means..?”

“I knew this day would come, but I didn’t think it’d be so soon.” MC’s ren sighed, and for the first time all day, they actually let their exhaustion show. “I raised MC knowing that one day they’d end up in the Devildom. They’ve told me over and over again how much they like it down here…” the human took a deep breath and slowly shook their head. “If this is what they want… then I give my permission for them to stay with you.”

A wave of relief swept over Lucifer as he finally took a breath. “Thank you.”

“Mm… I’m going to have to use my favour though.”

The relief completely vanished as the Avatar of Pride’s blood ran cold. Memories flooded back from the one night the pair had spent together, the human had offered a cursed record to him that he had spent decades trying to find, in exchange, Lucifer let them have one favour. A favour from a demon was like a single pact order, Lucifer had to do literally anything this human wanted.

“Protect MC, even if it costs you your life.” The human’s words were careful and measured as Lucifer felt the order sink in. “You’ll do that for them, right Lucifer?”

Lucifer nodded as life flooded back into his limbs. “I would have done it without the order.”

So, the brother’s plan to make MC’s ren stay forever failed because they were going back to the human world with MC for summer vacation. Listen, it was needed, MC needed to see the sun lest they shrivel like a sad houseplant.

At least Lucifer technically had primary custody of his little heathen! Victory!

MC said their goodbyes to the friends they had made over the year as they prepared to leave for the next two months, it was filled with so many bone-crushing hugs that MC was surprised that their spine didn’t snap.

MC and Luke had lagged behind the much larger group as they made their way to the assembly hall. MC’s ren was dazzling the miniature crowd with stories of just how adorable MC was as a little kid. The half demon rolled their eyes and silently mourned the loss of any cool points they had gained over the year. Their little companion was oddly quiet, MC lightly nudged him and smiled.

“Aren’t you happy to be going home? You’ve been griping about being stuck down here the entire year. Don’t tell me you’re getting sappy, Luke.”

Luke puffed his cheek out and crossed his arms. “Of course I’m happy to be leaving, the Celestial Realm is the best place ever, the Devildom is completely terrible in every way.”

MC smirked and rolled their eyes again. Just let the little guy go on his rant…

“But… I am going to miss you…” Luke mumbled, MC’s eyebrows shot upwards as they turned their head to look at him. “Th-thanks for being my friend down here… MC. You’re… you’re really nice.”

To their absolute horror, MC felt a lump form in their throat. Oh dear Grandfather… the chihuahua was what broke them?! They quickly looked around to see if anyone was paying attention, then quickly pulled Luke into a hug. The hug was over as fast as it began, but it seemed that Luke didn’t particularly care and was more shocked at the sudden bout of affection.

“If anyone, and I mean anyone asks, I didn’t hug you.” MC murmured, quickly swiping at their eyes.

Luke nodded, a small smile spread across his face. “Got it!”

So the side characters left… *sniffle* everything’s okay… the DDDs work in any of the realms… they could still talk.

Soon, it was time for the final sets of goodbyes…

“Come on, Bean, we’re going to the human world!” MC tried to take the cat from Satan, who didn’t move a muscle.

“If you think you’re taking the cat from here, you’re delusional.” Satan’s smile didn’t leave his face, but the force behind his words was almost enough to make MC back off. Almost…

“My caaaaaat!” MC whined, they ended up getting lightly pushed away by Satan.

“Remember, the summer’s a good time to catch up on anime!” Levi advised. “There’s 24 hours in a day, and an average anime episode is 22 minutes long, you have loads of time!”

“I’ll keep up with my anime only if you promise to listen to the Death Note musical, Levi.” MC giggled and patted Levi on the shoulder.

“Remember MC, take care of your cuticles and your skin.” Asmo took MC’s hand and checked their fingernails. “They were an absolute mess before you got here, so I expect you to keep up your routines this summer!”

“Yeeeeeeeeeeees siiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrr.”

“Bye MC,” Beel handed MC a half opened cup of custard. “I almost ate it, but I didn’t. Make sure you don’t skip any meals this summer.

MC jumped up and gave Beel a quick hug. “Thanks Beel! I’ll be sure to enjoy the custard!”

“Bye, MC. See you next year.” Belphie stood awkwardly stiff, not exactly sure what to do. MC pursed their lips, then quickly wrapped him up in a hug.

“Bye Belphie, I hope all your pillow forts are structurally unsound.”

The avatar of sloth snickered and rested his head on MC’s. “I hope you get really comfortable and are fully ready to go to sleep, then realize you have to pee.”

MC gasped in fake offence and swatted Belphie on the arm.

Mammon put both his hands on MC’s shoulders, his face unusually serious. “Do ya remember what the great Mammon took painstakin’ effort to teach ya?”

“Payday loans are scams, witches are scary, bowline knots are the easiest to undo, don’t wear reflective sunglasses to a poker game aaaaaaaand…” MC grinned mischievously. “Any plan thought up by the Great Mammon should be subject to intense revision.”

“That’s ri- hey!” Mammon laughed and shoved MC towards Lucifer.

MC looked up at Lucifer, the pride demon looked down at them fondly. He reached out and gently ruffled their hair. “I’ll see you next year, MC.”

“Y-yeah…”

Lucifer crouched down slightly to get to their level and gave MC a smile. “I’m very proud of you, you’ve been an immense help this year. Thank you for everything.”

“Thanks for not being a stereotypical supervillain dad, father.” MC smiled softly and fixed their glasses. “Loveyoubye!”

MC turned and rushed to their ren’s side as Lucifer let out a soft chuckle.

“I love you too, MC.”

As Barbatos readied the portal to send the pair to the human world, MC couldn’t wipe the grin off their face. Geez, if this year was a metric mess of fun and insanity… what was the next year going to be like? The half demon’s grin morphed into a bit of a smirk. No way in hell their next year in the Devildom was going to be as insane as their first year.

MC almost giggled as they gave their family one last wave. That wasn’t the time to think about the future, besides, MC knew that it would take two insane chaotic humans to be summoned into the Devildom to even come close to the chaos MC managed to create, both on purpose and by accident.

And what were the odds of that happening?

——————

Authors Note: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ITS DONE SEASON ONE IS DONE!

I wasn’t able to fit the Anti Lucifer League stuff into this one, I’ll put it in a separate fic later!

I NOW NEED TO WORK ON GETTING THROUGH SEASON 2 IN THE ACTUAL GAME. To get mildly serious for a second, thanks to everyone who has stuck around to listen to me spout my fic-y nonsense, you all are nerds (affectionate) and I love you.

#obey me #obey me!#obey me! shall we date?#obey me shall we date #Obey me Headcanons #Obey me fic #Obey me! Headcanons #Obey me MC #Obey me Lucifer #Obey me Mammon #obey me beelzebub #Obey me Belphegor #obey me leviathan #Obey me Asmodeus #Obey me Satan #Obey me Luke

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amjustagirl · 4 years ago

Text

Being the flower girl at Uncle Omi’s wedding, Age 8

Summary: Miya Atsumu watches as his daughter (the apple of his eye, the princess of his castle, his perfect little angel) grows up far too fast.

Warnings: Fluff. Fluff. Fluff.

Wordcount: 546 words

Previously: First day of School // Meeting her little brother for the first time

Link to Masterlist

In the same universe:

Storm Chaser - Deals with Atsumu’s marriage and the birth of Shino

Broken Compass - Sakusa finds love slightly later in life.

A/N: Shino ( 篠 ) means ‘stem of the bamboo’ the reference to this can be found in Storm Chaser (see above), and Shoma (翔真 ) means to soar and to be true.

Posting this tonight cos I’m still having a case of the dreaded writer’s block...so be patient and wait for me to be back!!!

“Ya can watch two episodes of Detective Conan if ya promise to sit still and not crumple yer pretty dress til the wedding starts”.

Eyes alight with mischief peer into his.

“Three or no deal.”

At eight, he can already see the keen edges of her personality that she’s very clearly inherited from him. He encourages it, especially when snot-nosed kids challenge her in the schoolyard and she sends them all packing with ferocity in her fists that the other parents whisper about, but he sure wishes she doesn’t turn it on him.

Atsumu groans. “You drive a hard bargain, princess.”

Shino smirks. “Take it or leave it, daddy.”

It’s the lesser evil to let Shino spend an extra hour in front of the television rather than brave his wife’s wrath should she find that he let their daughter walk down the aisle as Omi-omi’s flower girl with heaven forbid - a crumpled dress, but he knows he’s going to catch hell regardless if he’s caught making bargains with his princess again.

“Fine, ya win this time. Deal, ok? Now shush and don’t tell your mama about our little deal.”

She shakes his head gravely and proceeds to perch herself primly on a chair. At least that’s one little devil settled. He turns his attention to Shoma, barely a year old and deceptively calm despite being strapped to Atsumu’s back.

“Ya ain’t gonna give me any trouble, ya heard me?”

Shome gurgles in response. He’s easy enough to settle, promptly falling asleep after he polishes off a bottle of milk in record time. It’s eerie how much he resembles ‘Samu sometimes.

“All good?” Kaiyo asks, flitting over from her duties as the matron of honour.

“Yep?” He answers with a reassuring grin and a thumbs up, though she doesn’t seem convinced.

“Omi not startin’ to panic yet?”

“Tsumu!”

“Please - that sap is gonna worry until the ring is on his finger, and they’re officially married, ya know that worrywart”.

“Shush. Rude.”

She flutters away with Shino in tow as the organ music swells. Atsumu is pretty sure Omi’s about to hyperventilate from his nerves, but Komori seems to have the situation in hand, palm against Sakusa’s back as he tugs him around to get his first look at his blushing bride.

The bride is beautiful, but Atsumu only has eyes for his princess tossing rose petals as she trips her way down the aisle like the perfect angel she is, and his wife of course - gods, has it already been eight years since they were married, the years fly by, don’t they -

“Dearly Beloved”, the officiant drones. “We are gathered today - “

The wedding ceremony concludes without any mishap. Shino behaves herself, sitting in the pew next to her mama. Shoma stays asleep throughout. Atsumu heaves a sigh of relief. Nothing else he needs to worry about. He’s free to kick back, have a beer and maybe dance with his beautiful wife.

His night however is ruined when Meian Makoto, only eight years old himself, ends up catching the bride’s bouquet and presents said bouquet to Shino.

“You could get worse in-laws”, Meian Shugo comments with an amused curl of his lips.

Atsumu just drops his head in his hands and groans.

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in-retrospeck · 3 years ago

Text

so i have very messy thoughts on the backlash to turning red, and i’m not really sure if i can articulate this well, but let’s just see how this goes

i’m becoming more and more uncomfortable at the reaction to turning red, especially from conservatives and parent groups and conservative parent groups, many of whom are white christians. i’m chinese (granted, chinese diaspora) and a christian, so i wanted to just talk about the nuanced differences in the concept of “honour your parents”

in the opening monologue, meilin’s narration underpins the theme of honouring your parents. immediately i understood it from the standpoint of chinese culture, which is rooted in confucianism and really means filial piety, or 孝 (which can be seen written in chinese calligraphy in the background of the first shot!). i don’t really know how to define it on my terms but let’s just say that it’s mostly referring to respecting your parents. a lot of this is rooted in realising how much your parents had sacrificed for you and treating them with respect. and this idea is reflected in the rest of the monologue!

and another form of “honour” in chinese culture also means saving face, or avoiding shame. so if you do something wrong or don’t meet the standards set for you (such as, but not limited to, disobeying your parents) you’ll bring shame to the family

i also wanted to highlight how important this value is to chinese immigrant families, where you have to contend with the fact that your parents/grandparents sacrificed so much to bring you a new land and give you the opportunities they never got. also, saving face wasn’t just about putting on appearances, it was a matter of survival.

so this is where the bible comes in. i personally interpret the “honour your parents” verse (exodus 20:12) along the lines of the first definition, where i show love to and respect my parents because 1. that’s how i show God’s love for me to them and 2. i know how much they have done for me and how much they love me. even when we disagree, i respect them and try my best to understand their intentions, because i know they’re never coming from a place of a lack of love.

but a lot of conservative christian parents interpret this verse as “do NOT disobey your parents, or you’ll be disobeying God and that’s a sin”, and i get kind of uncomfortable, because the “honour your parents” in the bible is not the same as the “honour your parents” of chinese culture that turning red is demonstrating. to these conservative groups, failure to honour your parents is disobeying God, but for chinese culture, it’s bringing shame to your family. the consequences involved are different.

so i get more than a little jittery when i see white christians co-opt the value of “honour your parents” (alike in name but different in its nuance) to argue for why their children should obey them without question or defiance. they’ve turned what could have been a much-needed discussion for chinese kids like myself (or any kid who relates, really) about what it means to honour your parents, in all its highs and lows, into an aggressive push for absolute control over their children, justified (falsely, i might add) by their religion.

give turning red back to the people who actually feel seen by this story.

#turning red #boy i really hope this is coherent #speck speaks

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lvlyhao · 4 years ago

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『127′s ideal type』

headcanons, NCT 127

A/N: je suis back~ in these headcanons i talk about the type of person i imagine each member with, along with some of the traits i think they wouldn’t be too fond of. i did NOT include physical traits (ex: “would like a short/tall/blonde s/o”) because i really don’t know them??? lmao also that kind of thing could be a bit damaging to someone’s self esteem, and i want yall to know ur perfect & beautiful so

mark and hyuck will be included in dream’s version of this, and sicheng will be in wayv’s :)

today’s gif theme is just random gifs i like bc idc, there’s no aesthetic

as always, this is gender-neutral

IF YOU LIKE MY WORK PLEASE REBLOG IT AS WELL AS LIKING IT T^T

𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓻𝓮𝓼: fluff (♡) and if you squint really hard angst (❆) bc of some REALLY small things that for me are not actual angst but oh well

𝓦𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼: i think none?? if you read this and find something you think should be here let me know please!!!

word count: 1.5K

pairing: nct 127 members x reader (includes taeil, taeyong, johnny, yuta, doyoung, jaehyun, jungwoo)

disclaimer: the characters in the story below do not reflect real people or present real facts. this is purely fictional, and you may not copy, change, translate or repost my work in any way. all rights reserved © cherry-hyejin 2021.

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

Taeil

I see Taeil getting with someone who’s not only mature (personality-wise, actual age doesn’t matter) but also very determined and decisive. He’d like a person that doesn’t change their mind about things too often, learns well from their mistakes and is just all-around balanced. Other traits that I think he’d look for: politeness, a MUST; grounded; good at giving advice. Pretty much a twin-flame of his.

I think he’d find it cute if they think in a detail-oriented way and appreciate the small things in life. A positive, grateful mentality would be SO attractive to him, I swear.

One of his deal breakers would most likely be excessive jealousy and possessiveness. He trusts you and your love for him, and I think he’d feel distraught if you were constantly questioning the relationships he has with other people (friends, co-workers, fans, etc.)

Last important thing: needs a person that can take a hit. He’s probably looking for someone he can spend the rest of his days with, so a quitter just isn’t good for that. There will be difficult moments in the future and he needs to know they won’t give up on him and on the life he chose.

Taeyong

I think Taeyong would like a calm person that knows how to take control of the relationship. He probably feels tired sometimes from leading a group of 23 people, so I can imagine he’d be thrilled if he was able to not worry at all when he’s around his partner. He trusts they’re capable of dealing with any problems that may arise and keep their feet on the ground. Bonus points if they have a good relationship with themselves.

By that I mean: you know how people say you can’t truly love others until you love yourself? Yeah, that. He’s a person like any other, and there are times when he struggles with self-love, but he needs someone that doesn’t hate themselves, or he’ll simply go crazy. With his career come so many rumours and moments that tear at his confidence… he just doesn’t need a person that has to be convinced every single day that they’re worthy of the good things in life.

I’d say, in general, all he asks for is someone that can watch out for themselves. He’d take care of them too, but he’d like it SO much if just for once in his life he’s the one being cared for. Would just melt on the spot if you have that caring, almost parental instinct in you. Gods, yes. That’s all I can say.

Johnny

I can see him being with a very bright, smart person. He’d like someone that comes from a different background so he could learn more about their life—whether that means the country they were born in or their field of work. I think he would appreciate a very laid back person that doesn’t get stressed too often and won’t make fun of him for his bad jokes. Also, doesn’t like people that try to play him. Honesty above all.

He’d like it if they are super curious and creative, too. Picking up new hobbies and interests is something he’d be up to anytime, and it doesn’t matter what it is either. He’d give anything a try—from knitting to marine biology, no questions asked.

Something he’d dislike is if the person is too materialistic. It’s not like he’s a completely spiritual being and lives with 0 detachments to objects but he’s a firm believer in what Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said: what is essential is invisible to the eye. And, you know, what you truly find essential is up to you; it can mean family, friends, love, hope, all of that… he just wants you to love life itself as much as he does.

Yuta

He’d probably like one of the two drastic variants: a very gentle, sweet person or someone who’s on his level of flirtatiousness and boldness. Wouldn’t mind any, but he needs a strong personality, either way, you know? No blandness here.

Something very attractive to him is being involved in social issues and caring for the world around you. Very sexc, yes, and also likes people that make others smile.

Something that would make him quite literally give up on someone is the excessive fear of change, or just the will to remain in their comfort zone at all costs. He earns for a person that wants to live life to its fullest. If not they’re not ride-or-die to that level, then he hopes they at least accompany and support him in all of the things he wants to do.

One thing that is very tied to that is his dislike for know-it-alls. He lives in such a diverse scenario that it’s just dumb for him to think someone would ever be capable of knowing every piece of information on everything that’s out there. He’s fine with people making mistakes, but if they can’t admit to that or admit they don’t know something he just gets pissed off. So, yeah, he’d avoid stuck-ups.

Doyoung

He’d like someone very loyal and fair, who treats people with respect but calls them out if they ever have to. I think he’d prefer a person that is naturally a deep thinker and wouldn’t lose their mind over small disagreements.

Much like Johnny, he likes that intellectual side of yours, and when I say that I don’t mean like “ah, he’d want to date a math genius” or something. No, no. I’m referring to all types of intellectuality and intelligence. The thing for him is simply using your brain and being proud of it. He would just dislike a person that kind of lives life on autopilot, you know?

He’d like it if they’re interested or professionally involved with music somehow and would consider their opinions in his career. He wouldn’t mind if their taste is hugely different from his, though. It’s alright if pop music is not your favourite or if you have no idea who EXO is (lol). All he wants is to see the world through your eyes too, in all aspects of life including this one.

Will also love you forever if you side with him when he’s being teased by the others, because, c’mon, it’s always 22 people against poor, defenceless Doyoung. Please don’t join them, he’s begging you—

Jaehyun

This is very, very clear to me but he needs to be with an independent person. He’s quite sentimental and he has his more romantic moments, sure, but he wants someone that can give him the space he needs when he needs it. A person that’s constantly begging him for attention would be way more of a burden than anything else.

Also, he’s 100% alright with someone that has a very explicit and loud love language (like saying “I love you” 300 times a day) but he’s not like that, and he needs them to see that. Jaehyun could NOT be with a person that doesn’t appreciate the love he shows in the little things, like making coffee in the morning, and if they ever question the way he feels… yeah, not good. He’d feel misunderstood and that’s a big no-no.

He’d find it cute if they’re bubbly or just very youthful but is also capable of falling for an old soul that shares his interests in things like classical music and vinyls. I don’t think he’d ever get with someone that's kind of a tech addict, though, idk why but that’s quite clear to me. Always being on your phone or caring too much about social media would probably make him feel like you’re not grateful for the things you have around you, in real life. So, yeah, not attractive, bestie.

Jungwoo

Jungwoo is a very, very, very sweet person and he needs someone who’s also like that. He wouldn’t care if that’s there for everyone to see, in the sense that they’re not shy about it, or if it’s a part of them that only a couple of close people know. As long as it’s there, he’s happy.

Aside from that, I think he’s fully capable of falling in love with quite literally anyone. He can see the beauty in all types of people, from all places, backgrounds, races, and just—anyone. He’s just so full of love for people, ah I can’t even. He’s too good for this world.

Some things that could, however, push him away from getting to know someone: a negative way of thinking, being too traditionalistic, and too much scepticism. He’s fine with people that like to honour the past and their roots but like, you’ve gotta keep up with the world you live in and accept that things change. I think that’s very tied to how much he likes defying masculine standards, too.

The scepticism thing is quite simple: he can handle teasing just fine but if they’re constantly making fun of him for wearing his heart on his sleeve or being a bit goofy, he’d feel kind of betrayed.

---

final notes: this is the 3rd nct work i’m posting here and i’m already writing more, so i think it’s time i set up a masterlist, a fic rec blog and a tag list. if you want to be tagged in my future fics, let me know (dm, comments, anything) :)

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woodelf68 · 4 years ago

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“THOR”/LOKI FIX-IT FICS

In honour of @backtoasgard month, here is your one stop shop for fics in which Frigga lives, Loki lives, they’re dead but reunited in Valhalla (because we take what we can get around here),Thor is a good bro, and Odin is doing some Improved Parenting. Also, more time travel fix-it fics than you can shake a stick at. Feel free to send me suggestions for fics by authors not listed here; I will continually update this as I find more fics that soothe the wounds left by canon. (Fics listed by author in alphabetical order.)

*****

Growing Pains by Aloryshannon -- Loki is told of his heritage as a boy, but Odin gives him the choice of when and if he will ever tell Thor.

Before My Time To Go by @ark -- Time travelling to undo the damage that Thanos has caused in the present, Loki goes back too far and encounters a young Thor who hasn’t yet confessed his feelings to Loki. Infinity War fix-it, Thorki.

His Mother’s Son by @ayankun -- Loki arrives in Valhalla.

Yggdrasil Dreaming by Barkour -- Loki fell, and sleeps at the root of Yggdrasil, dreaming of his childhood and of Sif, while Sif dreams of the lost prince, dreams that do not feel like dreams.

Small Changes and Second Chances by @bereft-of-frogs -- Malekith kidnaps Frigga instead of killing her, and there’s someone around to heal Loki of his wound on Svartalfheim. The Dark World fix-it. Also:

Like A Tear On A Cheek -- Heimdall sees Loki alive and wounded on Svartalfheim, and goes to his aid. TDW fix-it.

Troubled Spirits On My Chest -- Newly imprisoned Loki is easy prey for a vengeful ghost in need of a body. The ghost didn’t count on Frigga.

Only Mostly Dead by blameitonvortices -- Odin felt Loki die on Svartalfheim, but the body that guards bring back still has the smallest spark of life left in it. (WIP)

Waste No More Time by burning_nova -- Set pre-Thor, Odin realises he’s fallen out of the habit of spending time with Loki and that he’s allowed his sons to grow up hating the Jotnar, an attitude that pervades most of the realm. He sets out to do something about both things, including giving each son a chance to rule as co-regent with Frigga while he sets out in disguise to see the state of the realm for himself. (Incomplete at 39 chapters, but it ends at a good place and was an extremely satisfying read.)

Undetermined Intervention by @camomiletea -- Infinity War fix-it. Loki wakes up in the past in Asgard, before Thor’s coronation, and realises he has a second chance to prevent his future from going wrong.

Castles In The Air by cosmic_medusa - Loki is not the one to sabotage Thor’s coronation, and his first act as Regent is to recall a mortal Thor from Midgard to help him uncover a tangle of political treachery.

Heart of Darkness by @delyth88 -- Just a tiny fix-it. Frigga still dies, but at least Loki is there as she passes.

Bring Me Home by @doubletan -- The Tesseract takes Loki back to Asgard. Post Endgame.

Closest Kept by @eienvine -- When Loki is wounded beyond Eir’s ability to help, Frigga takes him secretly to a blind healer on Jotunheim, where Sif and Loki learn of his heritage together and gain a new understanding of the Jotnar. Also:

Here at the end of the world -- Post-IW fix-it. Sif hears the Asgardian distress call and finds Loki floating in space amidst the wreckage of the destroyed ship, his magic just barely keeping him alive

The Child-King of Asgard by @898700 (ghost writer) -- Thor AU. Loki is much younger than Thor, there were no Frost Giants being let into the Vault, but Thor was still banished after his interrupted coronation for another reason and someone still had to take the throne. Kid Loki does a fantastic job of ruling Asgard by day and Odinsitting in the evening. He’s there for cuddles and praise when his father wakes and asks if Loki would one day like to be the king of another realm -- Jotunheim.

The Try, Try Again Series by @enchantedlokii -- What if Frigga kept looking for Loki after he fell into the Void? What if she found him? Frigga and Thor go to rescue Loki from Thanos.

Start From The Beginning by Everanon -- Time travel/time loop fix-it. Thor is sent back to the day of his coronation. He has that one day and one day only to fix what was broken and save Loki’s life.

Turn by @flaignhan -- An unlikely friendship begins when Natasha is asked to spend an evening ‘babysitting’ Loki in his cell. When Loki’s behavior improves when she’s around, it becomes a regular thing and slowly she encourages him to hope for a better future, one that is nearly ruined when she’s sent on a dangerous assignment and an old foe plots Loki’s downfall. Post Avengers.

A Queen’s Gamble by for_darkness_shows_the_stars (aka @stars-and-darkness) -- When Loki is discovered to be alive and on Midgard, Frigga is the one to go to him. This changes things.

Chaos Reign by @fourthrose -- Post - Endgame: When the Tesseract lands at his feet, Loki transports away to safety on Vanaheim, returning to Asgard only when the Dark Elves attack, leaving Thor and Odin dead in their wake and Loki to take up Gungnir and turn the tide of the battle, slaughtering Malekith and his followers and finding himself the new king of Asgard with his mother at his side.

The Tales We Tell by fuzzy_paint -- Day after day, Thor reads to Loki in his cell from the book of Norse myths that somehow came back from Midgard with him.

Few So Generous by @galaxysoup -- Frigga takes up the rule of Asgard instead of having Gungnir handed to Loki.

Withering Away by Galaxythreads == Thor makes a deal with the Avengers -- he’ll help them gather the Infinity Stones -- if he can bring back the Tesseract and Loki from the Statesman. (Includes Loki/Frigga scene on Asgard!)

Whose Prayers Would Make Me Whole by @gaslightgallows -- Loki and Frigga through the years. Death isn’t the end. Also:

The Art of Spinning -- Loki is given the chance to bring Frigga back from the brink of death following Malekith’s attack when the healers see the only thing tethering her to life is her bond with her son.

The Convalescent Way -- Post Ragnarok, the Asgardian refugee ship lands on Vanaheim to re-supply, where old secrets come out and Thor and Loki’s family grows. Includes a visit to Valhalla and Loki and Frigga getting some time together. Guest starring Garm the Mystery Dog.

Seal My Heart and Break My Pride -- In Valhalla, Odin gives Loki a choice -- stay or go back to aid Thor in the fight against Thanos.

The Cruelty of a Brother -- Thor forces Strange to restore Asgard and her people to a point before the Convergence. But he and Loki still have to live with the past and what they did.

Green and Bright -- Thor is back from a year’s exile on Midgard, a year in which Loki ruled and gained the respect of the court. Frigga/Loki fluff.

Loki Odinson by Livin4Jesus -- When Loki is brought back to Asgard after the events of the Avengers, Odin uses a spell to see into his son’s memories, resulting in Loki being pardoned of all crimes. As Loki struggles with nightmares and rebuilding his family relationships, Thanos approaches Asgard with a score to settle. Will Loki be able to defeat the Titan with the support of his family and friends?

Loki and the Cosmic Cube by goddessofstories -- The Tesseract knows where Loki needs to go. It takes him to his mother. (”Variant!Loki/the Loki from Endgame)

Memento Mori by @gwendolynstacy -- At the moment of Thanos choking him, the time stone sends Loki back to his cell not long before the Dark Elves’ attack. It’s up to him to save his mother from dying and stop Thanos.

The Very Best of Us String Ourselves Up For Love by halcyonidae -- Loki finds his parents and a bitchy older sister in Valhalla, but he seeks a way back. For Thor.

To Remake the Universe by @independence1776 -- Odin arrives at the Bifrost in time to stop anyone going to Jotunheim and attempts to course correct his relationship with Loki. Thor AU.

Peripeteia by @infinite-monkeys -- Thor is made regent when Odin falls into his Odinsleep before he can banish Thor. This leaves Frigga to confront Loki in the Vault, which is good. But it also leaves a war-hungry Thor who ends up thinking Loki is a shapeshifting Jotun who killed and replaced his brother, which is bad, since he promptly tries to murder his brother in truth. Loki must use all of his magic to save himself and play dead, hiding under a glamour until Odin awakes and stops a Thor bent on destruction.

Hope For The Hopeless by @jaggedcliffs -- Thor visits Loki daily in his cell to read to him. The ending is open but hopeful with Odin revealing that Loki’s cell is bespelled to release him as soon as he comes to regret his actions against Thor and Midgard. The fluffy epilogue!

Let her Know by jar_of_stars: Loki arrives just in time to save Frigga’s life when his magic allows him to see Malekith’s attack. But, panicked that he will be dragged from her side before he’s ready, he continues to pour all his life force into the shield keeping others away... (Angsty/possibly open ending if you squint)

The Binding of Loki by @kadorienne -- Odin waits for Thor to bring Loki back from Midgard, knowing what he has to say and do.

Til the Casket Drops by kaoticloki -- Banished to Earth without his powers to pay for his crimes, Loki huddles outside a homeless shelter, cold and sick and hungry. Luckily there are people who want to see him safe and warm inside, where a chance to prove his worth awaits him.

Everything’s Better With Bunnies by khilari and persephone_kore -- Loki turns into a bunny when stressed. A crack idea that actually deals with all the events of the first movie in a much better way and where everyone ends up in a much better place.

Also: Overlapping Spaces -- While visiting Asgard, Jane runs into a Loki under psychiatric care and a friendship develops. Long fic, Fosterson endgame.

Stormbreaker by @ladylapislazuli -- Time travel fix-it for Infinity War. Thor must hide his true identity when the Infinity Gauntlet sends him back to an Asgard where he’s still a brash youth and young Loki yearns to be noticed. (On hiatus)

Life’s Great Lie by laeveteinn -- Loki series AU/time travel fix-it. He doesn’t have a Gauntlet to allow him to wield the Infinity Stones safely, but some things are worth sacrificing for. And sometimes heroes get rewarded with a second chance.

I Am Sorry, Brother by LedaSF (aka @iamhisgloriouspurpose) -- A grieving Thor haunted by nightmares of his brother falling into the Void seeks help from an Asgardian priestess. A little bit of magic and the Norns listening in allows him to go back in time to make things right.

It Slips Between My Fingers Now by Lise (aka @veliseraptor) -- Post Endgame fix-it. While cruising with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor sees Loki’s ghost...or perhaps it’s a little something more. Also:

The Breaking Light -- When guards cannot wake an unconscious Loki, Odin goes to his son’s cell and plunges into Loki’s mind, horrified to find him being tortured by the Other and discovering just how much he still cares about his youngest son.

Road To Nowhere -- Loki enlists Thor’s help to bring Frigga back from Valhalla.

The Tapestries series -- Dying from the beating given to him by the Hulk, Loki is brought back to Asgard’s Healing Rooms. The evidence of past torture on his body gives him a second chance, and his family trying to make things right. But his body is more easily fixed than his mind, and Loki struggles to find a reason to want to live and accept their forgiveness.

Bring Back What Once Was Mine -- Future!Thor shows up in the Vault before Loki picks up the Casket of Ancient Winters. Don’t, he says, not alone. Urged to seek his answers from their mother instead, and assured that it changes nothing between them, Loki agrees, if only because he does not want to see ‘his’ Thor to turn into this battle-scarred weary wreck of a man who is hugging him so fiercely. (Open, hopeful ending)

What Grows Beneath the Nettle by @lizardbeths -- Sif discovers that Loki is ruling Asgard while Odin sleeps in a cavern far beneath the palace. Not for power, but for duty, because there is no one else -- Thor has gone missing. But as Loki intends to sacrifice himself to seal Thanos in a pocket dimension after finding and saving a captive Thor, Odin wakes in time to go to his younger son’s rescue and take his place while he sends Loki back to safety. Also:

Cut and Reweave - Post Infinity War, Loki wants to fix everything that went wrong by altering his timeline so that Odin and Frigga don’t adopt him as a baby. He doesn’t succeed, but changes things anyway. Beautiful Loki/Frigga scene at the end.

A Thorn Saves the Rose -- Loki saves Frigga’s life at the cost of his own

To Walk The Path of Hope -- IW/Endgame fix-it. Thor travels back in time to enlist captive Loki’s help in the Avengers.

Understanding the Storm series: You get *deep breath* Loki fighting Thanos’s control from within his cell on Asgard with the help of Frigga and Thor! Shadowpath gates under Thor’s bed! Odin trying to be a good dad! Ice sculpting on Jotunheim! Loki getting kidnapped and tortured by Malekith! Sigyn Malekith’s daughter falling for Loki! Frigga rallying the Jotnar to stage a rescue and meeting Loki’s birth mother! Thanos taking over Malekith’s body and shoving an unconscious Loki through a portal to Midgard with an open Casket of Ancient Winters! Earth plunging into a new Ice Age! Rescue by the Avengers! Road trip on Tony’s yacht to evade SHIELD! Munin, Prince of Ravens stealing scenes left and right! Lost ancient Egyptian cities! A battle to the death with Thanos in the desert! Loki being lauded for his deeds on Asgard and getting to incinerate Thanos’s body with Gungnir! Things wind down with Odin making sure that Loki feels a part of their family and Loki going away to a secluded estate with Frigga and Sigyn, who has become part of the Asgardian court, to rest and heal. A separate ficlet has them married and having a baby boy.

From the Shattered Stone -- When Loki is impaled by the Kursed blade on Svartalfheim, Sif calls for Heimdall to bring them home, despite Loki’s protests, thinking even if he could survive, he’d just be put back in his cell. But with Sif making sure Odin hears of Loki’s heroic actions, Odin is willing to offer Loki a second chance.

A Seed In Barren Lands -- Sifki cell!sex with Loki in Jotun form, followed by Loki confessing a secret from his past -- he was sexually abused by Tyr as a child, leading to the death of his pet wolf when Fenrir tried to protect him. When Odin confirms this with the sharing of memories via Gungnir (also showing Odin what happened to Loki after he fell into the Void) Loki is freed to make right what he can. Continued in A Crocus in the Snow

The Littlest Star - a night of passion leaves Sif pregnant when Loki falls into the Void. When Ullr is born, pale blue and red eyed, Sif refuses to let Frigga glamour him and they reveal to all of Asgard Loki’s heritage in a hope that Ullr will be accepted there. When Loki reappears on MIdgard, Sif goes to him and tells him he has a son. Doubting, he returns to Asgard with her and is shocked to see Ullr, obviously his. Frigga figures out his scepter holds the Mind Stone, and knows Thanos last had it. But Loki has no memory of him, or the last several months of his life. The scepter is taken away, leaving Loki alone with Sif and Ullr and a chance at a new beginning.

Ragdoll -- Severely injured by the Hulk, Loki is brought back to Asgard to fight for his life. There, scans reveal the damage done by Thanos’s torture, and a memory loss means he doesn’t yet know of his heritage. His family vows to do better with this second chance that they’ve been given.

Revival by longforgottenhymn -- In the battle against Thanos, Thor rips the time stone from the Infinity Gauntlet and wishes to go home. He is sent back to the past on the day of his aborted coronation and realises he has a chance to fix the past. He tells them who he is and stresses that they must not invade Jotunheim, and that their parents must tell the younger Loki and Thor about Loki’s heritage and Hela. As the younger brothers forge a closer relationship, a way is found to open a portal in the palace to retrieve and revive the dead Asgardians floating in space in the other timeline with the use of the Time Stone. As the exhausted mages holding the portal open falter, the portal shifts to the battle in Wakanda, and Thanos comes through, only to die by Thor’s hand. The portal is shifted back into space and the final bodies are retrieved, the last being Loki. All are given succour and housing till future Sif arrives, saying she’s been sent back to lead them to their new home in their own timeline. This time, they go well provisioned with supplies and books that Loki orders, to teach the next generation of Asgard’s heritage.

Can We Start Over Before It’s Over by LRRH17 -- Endgame fix-it. Future!Tony sneaks into 2012!Loki’s cell, and tells him he needs to tell the Avengers about Thanos, and stop the future he knows from happening. Also:

Bleeding Out -- Endgame fix-it. Undestroyed by Ragnarok, Hela wants revenge against Thanos when the souls he promised her aren’t killed in the Snap, merely trapped in the Soul Stone. She returns Loki to life with the tools to go back in time and stop Thanos when it started, during the invasion of Midgard. This time, he will answer Thor’s question and reveal who controls the would-be king.

His Birthright by madwriter223 -- Odin didn’t mean his words to Loki when he was brought home to Asgard, But he knew Thanos could be watching, knew everything that Loki had gone through.

Litost by melonbug -- Thor AU. Loki makes better choices (mostly) than in canon. It’s still angsty as he struggles with the revelation of his heritage, but first Frigga and then Odin makes sure that he does not doubt that he is loved and their son.

Changing Fate by @melWinter -- When Loki finds an abandoned Dark Elf baby on Svartalfheim, he claims it as his own, and hides away to raise his son in peace. Meanwhile, Odin watches his son from afar, seeing Loki slowly healing and learning to love and trust again, and hopes that he may one day come home. Eventual Lokane.

Leave Out All The Rest by niori -- Instead of interrupting Thor’s coronation, Loki absents himself to Alfheim immediately after, leaving Thor to show how unready for the kingship he is as he turns the first few weeks of his reign into an absolute train wreck of poor decisions and rash, arrogant behaviour. Also:

All the King’s Horses -- Heimdall makes sure that young Loki grows up thinking of the Jotnar as a race of people, not monsters. When he learns the truth of his heritage, Loki understands why.

In that Bright Land To Which I Go by 100indecisions (aka @thelightofthingshopedfor) -- Loki dies in Infinity War and wakes up in Valhalla with Frigga

Also: Now All The Tendons of the World Are Loosed -- after killing He Who Remains, Sylvie feels the need to fix one Loki’s timeline. She chooses Avengers!Loki, still in his glass cage with the Other’s hook in his mind and a head full of false memories.

Even That, I Could Not Say (mother) by Ordis -- Odin needs someone to take the throne while he goes off to bring Frigga back from Valhalla; when Loki returns home from Svartalfheim before Thor, he gets the job.

Queen Regnant by @peaceheather -- After Loki’s fall from the Bifrost, a weakened Odin must return to his interrupted Odinsleep and Frigga takes the throne. She does not let those who betrayed Loki go unpunished. Also:

Fate’s Guardian -- Post the Dark World, Loki must, at the Norns’ bidding, relate all that happened to him starting with his fall into the Void to Thor, Odin, and the Avengers, for allies will be needed in the war against Thanos.

Bargaining by proantangonist (aka @proantagonista) -- Thor is dead. Loki makes a deal with a witch to go back in time to fix things, at the price of his own life. Now reposting on AO3.

What More Could I Lose by rosebudmoonseidr -- When Thor strikes the Time and Mind Stones together on the Infinity Gauntlet, his deepest wish is granted and he is sent back in time to an Asgard before his coronation, with a second chance to save all that was lost.

Loki’s Christmas Carol by sarah1281 -- Loki gets a chance to do things differently. With a delightful appearance by Grandpa Bor in the place of Jacob Marley.

At The End Of The Day by @scioscribe -- Loki finds himself flung from the Statesman back in time to Asgard before Thor’s coronation. He has a few things to say to his family, and a need to get back to his Thor.

Time and Trouble by @shinyopals -- Frigga foresees her own death and seeks to change her fate, with a little help from Jane Foster. TDW AU.

Thinking Makes It So by snek -- Endgame time travel fix it.

Saving Amma by Soul_Darker_Than_Night -- Loki is freed along with all the other prisoners during the Dark Elf attack.

The Detente series by StarflameNightfury -- Odin confronts Loki in his cell after realising that the sceptre holds the Mind Stone. He refuses to leave until he gets some answers.

If I Could Start Again by @taaroko -- Infinity War AU -- After slaying Thanos, Thor rips the Time Stone out of the Gauntlet and finds himself flung back in time to right after his failed coronation but before the trip to Jotunheim. Also:

Interventionism -- When Heimdall sees Steve Rogers go down in the ice, Thor and Loki are sent to retrieve the body for a proper warrior’s funeral. There, they run into a few Jotnar left stranded on Midgard after the war, and Loki learns of his heritage earlier than in canon. Things go rather better for all concerned. WIP.

Child of Winter, Child of Summer -- When kids!Thor and Loki sneak back into the Vault for a nighttime adventure after their earlier visit with Odin, Loki touches the Casket, transforms, and is unable to shift back. But when Frigga finds him the next morning, what began as a horrible day ends with Loki learning the truth and feeling more loved and valued by every member of his family.

All That Matters by theavengersmascot (aka @theclassicblunders) -- a series where Odin realises he and Loki have grown apart and seeks to correct that. Starts with a young teen Loki and continues through a Dark World fix-it.

Good Mother by @theotherodinson -- Frigga rides down to the Bifrost while Odin sleeps on. Things go rather better. Also:

There’s A Land That I Heard Of -- Infinity War fix-it. Is Loki dead or isn’t he? Trapped in one changing dreamscape after another, his memory uncertain, he seeks for a way out.

The Shining Sun -- Loki is happy and at peace in Valhalla. But Thor wants his brother back.

Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood -- In which Odin is getting chewed out daily in Valhalla by Frigga, until Loki’s arrival saves him. They had once agreed, after all, never to argue in front of the children.

Standing Still -- Post Avengers, Thor shows up at Avengers Tower begging sanctuary for Loki.

The Lullabye Singer -- Avengers AU. Odin goes to Midgard to bring Loki home himself, determined not to fail his son again. WIP

Teenage Dream -- In which Loki’s parents show up and ruin his invasion. He is so grounded. (After his welcome back feast, of course.) Crack.

That’s What (Anti) Heroes Do -- Loki is sent back from Valhalla to set Thor back on the right track

Picking Up The Pieces by Thursdays_Angel -- series that begins where Loki’s body is recovered from space and revived. Along the way Thor and Loki become part of Tony’s and Pepper’s family and honourary uncles to Morgan. Special shout-out to Asgard, in which Loki accompanies Thor back to Asgard of the past to retrieve the Aether and gets to have a talk and some closure with both of his parents and Endgame: In which things get even better. The fixiest fix-it ever.

Waking the Dead by @tirsynni -- Loki steals the Time Stone and returns to the past before Thor’s coronation, intending to fix the chain of events that led to their meeting Thanos in space. Infinity War fix-it. WIP Also:

Never Doubt -- an older, war-torn Thor, clutching the Time Stone, drops out of thin air at the feet of young Loki in the palace garden, right before young Thor’s aborted coronation. Know that I love you, he tells Loki. And you must get Father to tell you his secrets or Ragnarok itself will unfold. Loki promises, wondering where this Thor’s Loki is, and guessing the answer.

Hold Sacred -- The Kursed frees Loki from his cell as well, and Loki finds himself following along in its wake, to where Frigga is facing her death.

Eternal Hope and Majesty -- When Thor aimed for Thanos’s chest, Loki -- a subtly different Loki -- is there to aim for Thanos’s wrist, severing the hand wielding the Infinity Gauntlet and giving Thor and all of Asgard a second chance. IW fix-it.

Chaos Theory by Unforgotten -- Endgame fix-it. Studying the Tesseract after having escaped with it, Loki sees something within it that hadn’t been there before, the traces of the years of the original timeline. A little bit of magic later, and everyone now has memories of both timelines, and Loki returns to Thor on Midgard, suggesting they go home -- to an Asgard that still is.

Ásgarðrian Galdr by Valerie_Vancollie -- The Loki that fell into the Void and was imprisoned after Avengers manages to magically contact his younger self and gives him explicit instructions on what not to do when certain things happen. This leads to Loki having a successful reign as regent where he earns the respect of the Asgardian populace. Meanwhile, the Warriors Three, Sif, and Heimdall are punished for their treasonous actions and Thor’s journey towards becoming a better leader takes a lot longer than in canon. This fic does a fantastic job in bringing Asgard to life as a fully functioning society. If you like long fics that will take over your life, this is one of the best I’ve read.

Another Sleepless Night by wedgetail -- Odin visits Loki in the dungeon, wishing he could comfort his restlessly sleeping son. Also:

Above All Shadows -- In a present where the Avengers failed to vanquish Thanos and Loki cannot see a captured Thor escaping Thanos with his life, he crafts a time travel spell to take him back to the past to save his brother’s life. Finding himself back in Asgard on the day before Thor’s coronation, however, he realises he can fix everything. Events start to spiral out of control, however, when a crowned Thor invades Jotunheim and is taken captive by Laufey, Odin is gravely wounded and falls into the Odinsleep, and a coup staged by one of Odin’s counselors ends up with Loki in the dungeons, his magic bound and his Jotun form revealed to all. (MIND THE TAGS ON THIS ONE)

Those Yesterdays Bleeding Through by wnnbdarklord -- Loki’s stuck in a time loop, trying to make the events of TDW not end in Frigga’s death

No Such Liberty by Xparrot -- Post Avengers, Loki continues to scheme from his cell, but Thor refuses to give up on his brother. Things come to a head when Thanos threatens the realm to claim his lost prizes. Loki redemption and reconciliation with his family

A Mother’s Love by Yeziel_Moore -- Frigga follows Loki’s trail through the Void after he falls.

A Break In The Silence by Zaan (aka @zaan-zaan): TDW AU. Badly wounded after Svartalfheim, Loki is returned to Asgard for healing and a second chance with his freedom and titles restored and Odin determined to be a better father.

#miscwoodelf #loki #frigga #thor #odin #marvel fic #loki fic recs

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rebouks · 3 years ago

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hiii! for noah and/or oscar (your pick!), some character qs (sorry i went wild dSDJSD): 6, 13, 16, 23, 24, 31, 36, 53, 64, 70, 91, 92

Good lord Catii, you're insane.. I'm also insane, cos I'm gonna answer them all for both of them. This is gonna be looong...

6. How much thought does your oc put into what they wear/look like? Any reason why?

Oscar - He's subconsciously made himself look as unapproachable as possible. Although he just has a penchant for anything kinda grungy or dark. His piercings started as a rebellious act toward his parents when he was younger but he ended up liking them so got more and more. He just loves tattoos because they're neat, he wishes he had room for more.

Noah - A bit simpler, he dresses smartly because he likes it. Though he's super easy going, so he still loves his scruffy hippie pants if he's at home.

13. What is your oc’s confidence like? Are they self-confident to the point of being arrogant? Are they terribly self-deprecating?

Oscar - On the surface he comes across super self assured, most likely to the point of arrogance to most people and he does know what he's good at. But underneath he's crippled with self doubt and seeks praise/approval from anyone willing to give him even a hint of it.

Noah - He knows what he's good at and what he's not. He's extremely humble, perhaps even to the point of ignoring his own achievements. Praise makes him uncomfortable.

16. How affectionate is your oc? How do they convey their affection? By being touchy, or through more subtle ways?

Oscar - Very touchy feely, loves a good cuddle. He's not so great at putting his feelings into words so he's very tactile to make up for it. He doesn't often get to show this side to anyone though.. and you're honoured if he does. Only a select few see it!

Noah - More subtle, think making you a coffee or breakfast in bed. Drying your wet coat you left on the floor on the radiator so it's warm when you put it on. Small acts of kindness.

23. How graceful is your oc? Are they elegant in their movements, or more clumsy?

Oscar - Heavy handed and brash, though not lacking in finesse.

Noah - Very graceful, slow, methodical.

24. Is your oc a romantic, or are they grossed out by the simple mention of anything romantic?

Oscar - He can be pretty romantic if he wants to be, though prefers to keep it private. Not against public affection but he'll save anything too sappy for a more personal moment.

Noah - He's quite affectionate too, but it's subtle and classic. A sly arm around you in public, a bunch of flowers when you don't expect them.

31. What inspired the creation of your oc? Any specific things, a general aesthetic or idea, or something completely random?

Oscar actually came from the Not So Berry challenge.. he was Gen 6 who was supposed to be evil but kinda bad at it. Noah was actually going to be this gen but he just looked too innocent so it eventually turned into a; golden child who can do no wrong vs the problem child who ends up unfavoured and rebellious sort of situation and has just snowballed from there.

36. What is your oc’s fight or flight response like? What sorts of things provoke it the most?

Oscar - His instinct is to fight, unless it's anything to do with his family, then byeeee. Other than typical violent situations, criticism really gets his back up and provokes his fight response. He's quite likely to push that feeling down though and shut down instead.

Noah - Pretty sheltered, hasn't really had to deal with any real fight or flight situations. I think he'd be quite calm and collected though.

53. If your oc was to host a podcast or TV show, what would it be about? Would your oc actually be good at it? What sorts of guests would appear?

Oscar - He'd totally have a baking show with celebrity guests. He'd roast them relentlessly for their baking ineptitude.

Noah - Probably some artsy/music type podcast that came across as pretentious on the surface but is actually pretty good and well informed.

64. Which of the seven deadly sins does your oc fall under most? What about the seven heavenly virtues?

Oscar - Envy for sure. The seven heavenly virtues are a bit less known I think but he'd probably fall under Liberality/generosity. Willingness to give.. although he doesn't exercise this one very often, it's a closely guarded secret.

Noah - A tough one, since he's such a good egg. Probably Pride.. he struggles with this a lot and it's now a habit to be overly humble since he doesn't want to shove his achievements in anyone's face. His virtue is Kindness, sympathy and compassion without prejudice.

70. What about your oc’s lifestyle would they change if they had the ability? Why?

Oscar - Everything. The sad thing is, he does have the ability. He just can't see it.

Noah - Not a lot. Except maybe to sort his families issues out. He just wants everyone to be happy.

91. What is your oc’s typical posture like? Do they slouch, or stand straight? How much space do they usually take up, both physically and figuratively?

Oscar - He slouches all the time and likes to hide himself in corners or up against things (he's actually a cat). He's not one to make himself the centre of attention on purpose.

Noah - Stands tall and proud, although he's an expert in blending in and keeping himself to one side.

92. What trait does your oc appreciate or admire the most in others? Why?

Oscar - Innocence & hope. He's just in awe of anyone that can maintain this outlook in such a cruel world.

Noah - Tenacity. Noah knows life isn't always easy but admires peoples ability to keep going despite that.

#ranswers #oc ask game #extra #anyone that reads all this is also insane but ily

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vanessakirbyfans · 4 years ago

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Vanessa Kirby suggests we meet on the Mall, the central location for her on-screen triumph as the young Princess Margaret in The Crown. I’m standing outside the shuttered Institute of Contemporary Arts when she strides into view, a slender, leggy figure with bleached hair and brilliant blue eyes, clad in trademark black, but for her gleaming white Converse trainers.

"I haven’t been here since we were filming!" she marvels through her mask, gazing up the processional avenue towards Buckingham Palace. "I was whizzing up the road on a motorbike, holding onto the back of Matthew Goode [as Antony Armstrong-Jones] and feeling so exhilarated about what on Earth was happening to my life – being in a job I loved, playing someone I loved."

Her ebullient mood was dented when Margaret’s handbag, into which she’d put her own phone, was blown away from between her feet, and an opportunistic passer-by ran off with it. "By the time I could check Find My iPhone, it was already in Leicester Square," she says. "Of course, the costume department were furious because the bag was vintage and a one-off." We both laugh, rather ruefully, for such anecdotes already seem to belong to a more carefree time. This bright, crisp lunchtime in lockdown, the Mall is all but deserted –there would be no need for roadblocks or filming at dawn today – while the roles Kirby is here to discuss are light-years away from her embodiment of a pampered royal party girl.

The morning of our meeting, Pieces of a Woman has launched on Netflix to rapturous reviews and critical acclaim that has seen Kirby, in her first lead role, picked as a front-runner for the award season’s most coveted best-actress gongs.

It is not, however, an easy watch. Kirby plays Martha, a first-time mother whose baby dies moments after being born; the film follows Martha’s subsequent disintegration, alongside that of her close relationships. Her labour, which comes at the start of the film, is some 26 minutes of one unbroken take that manages to be simultaneously intimate and menacing as the camera swoops around the apartment and hovers beside the traumatised protagonists.

Kirby’s performance is astonishingly unselfconscious, which is the more surprising since she never went to drama school (turning down the offer of a place at Lamda in favour of stage roles at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre) and says she couldn't bring herself to dance in front of her friends. "I’m the one who sits in the corner and watches." She describes seeing herself on-screen as "disconcerting", and "not a very natural human experience", and indeed even finds making Zoom calls a trial. "There’s nothing to hide behind!"

For Pieces of a Woman, the director Kornel Mundruczo decided that the birth scene would be the first to be shot, she tells me, as we stroll around St James’s Park, conducting ourselves like a couple of spies in a Le Carré novel. "I knew I’d have to be naked, and literally open my legs and give birth in front of a group of strangers I’d only met that morning. I was actually quite thankful – I thought, the rest of it’s going to be a lot easier."

In fact, she says, she found herself swept away by the emotion of the story. "Normally, it’s so hard to forget there are machines in your face, but I had no idea that a camera was even there." Was it traumatic to act? "The first time we shot it, I was literally sobbing for 10 minutes afterwards. I couldn’t get out of it. My brain was telling me it wasn’t real, but my unconscious didn’t know the difference, especially with having a real baby in my arms.

"Kornel came over onto the bed and held me so tight. He didn’t let go of me for five minutes, and he said, 'Just remember this feeling.' That really helped me for the rest of the movie, when the character doesn’t express anything, but almost has to be doing the howling without speaking a word."

Kirby took her research seriously, even asking a mother-to-be –a total stranger – to allow her to be present in the delivery room at the birth of her son in a north-London hospital. "I remember every single second of it," the actress says emphatically. "I was there, glued to my seat, for seven hours, not even a loo break! I was just amazed, in awe. I saw a woman completely surrender and go on this spiritual journey, which involved indescribable pain, clearly, but also ecstasy. It gave me a whole new respect for women and how powerful they are, and a new empathy for men, because they feel so helpless. And obviously, seeing the baby come out was the most incredible thing in the world I’ve ever seen, by far. After he was born, all of the mother’s colour returned, she looked like an angel, she had a kind of holy glow." Bathetically, it was only then that the couple recognised Kirby. "They were going, 'Oh my God, it’s Princess Margaret! This is so weird!'"

The experience has given her a new philosophy on life, she says. "I was watching the mother go through these contractions, which were excruciating, and the pushing, and then there was a moment of calm, and of expansion. And so, when I’m going through things in my life, I say to myself, this is like a contraction, surrender to it, because there might be something born from it. Sometimes we don’t want that; when we’re feeling something horrible, we want it to pass as far as possible. I’m teaching myself to allow it to be there and not resist or push it away, and that’s because of that woman."

But her character’s storyline also demanded that Kirby understand the experience of stillbirth. A friend introduced her to a woman who had lost her baby Luciana under eerily similar circumstances to those in Martha’s narrative. "She shared everything with me." They have become close friends, and the film’s ending is dedicated to Luciana. Kirby continues to work with Sands, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity, and is voluble in her admiration of the Duchess of Sussex and Chrissy Teigen, both of whom have recently spoken out about their own experiences of miscarriage.

"I feel so close to them and so proud of them for breaking that silence," she says. "Meghan is probably the last person who would feel comfortable sharing her very personal, intimate feelings. It’s that courage that I want to continue to honour. What they’re saying is, if you’ve been through it, we have too, we share your story. I think that makes you feel less lonely. But one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage, which is far more than I knew about. Society finds it difficult to hold space for that kind of pain."

Her parents, to whom she is very close, have both seen the film and wept throughout, she says. As if on cue, her phone pings, and her eyes soften when she checks the message; it’s a childhood friend who herself miscarried, getting in touch to say how much the film has meant to her.

The integrity of Kirby’s performance has already netted her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. "It doesn’t seem real," she says. "I have it in its case – I wouldn’t have it on display, it looks like a football trophy – but occasionally I glance at it and think, 'Did that really happen? Or did I make it up in a weird dream?'" In a similar vein, she is reluctant to engage with the Oscar buzz surrounding her. "I don’t even know when they are," she admits. "My 13-year-old self would have a heart attack. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it!"

Kirby’s other film, The World to Come, is set in mid-19th-century America but touches on the same themes of bereavement and redemption. The central character Abigail, played by Katherine Waterston, has also lost her young daughter, and in her grief, turns away from her husband to have an affair with Tallie, her free-spirited, flame-haired neighbour. "I was glad I was playing Tallie rather than Abigail, because it might have been a bit too much," Kirby confesses – though without giving away spoilers, that role is pretty traumatic too...

The screenplay is taken from the short story of the same name by Jim Shepard, which was inspired by an entry he found in an antique diary: 'My best friend’s moved away, and I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again.' "It was one woman’s voice, like an echo from the past, and we’ll never know who she was," says Kirby. "The World to Come really educated me about what life was like for women not that long ago. They didn’t have a choice about anything they did with their time. You were owned by the house, and the man, and you had no freedom outside that. The best thing about doing this mad job sometimes is having your ignorance illuminated. I gravitate towards things that push beyond my experience, I want to go to places I don’t know, I’m not familiar with."

The experience of making both films has changed her profoundly. "I can’t do anything unless it means something to me now," she says. "It’s a better way to work, because you’re not focused on yourself at all. So maybe I’ll only work once every 10 years!"

To ensure that this is not the case, and in order to find more untold, female-led stories, her ambition is now to set up her own production company. "Even a few years ago, a film about a woman losing a baby would have been unthinkable. There are so many voiceless people, and I have a voice in this industry, and I want to make sure the tribe is represented properly."

It is undeniably awkward, therefore, that her male co-stars in the films, Shia LaBeouf and Casey Affleck, both of whom play violent, abusive husbands, have been called out for their treatment of women. In December, the British singer FKA Twigs filed a lawsuit against LaBeouf, her ex-partner, alleging that he "hurts women. He uses them. He abuses them, both physically and mentally". While LaBeouf largely denied the accusations, he admitted in a statement to The New York Times: "I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I’m ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt. There is nothing else I can really say."

Meanwhile, Affleck was sued by two female crew members working on his 2010 film I’m Still Here, one of whom accused him of sexual harassment. He denied the allegations, and the lawsuits were settled out of court, but he later told the Associated Press: "I behaved in a way, and I allowed others to behave in a way, that was really unprofessional, and I’m sorry."

Kirby is understandably reluctant to get into any of this. "I can’t comment on a legal case that’s going on in someone’s personal life," she says. "I feel really protective of Pieces, so that’s what I want to speak about. Because it came out at eight this morning, all I can think about is the mothers I spoke to, and wanting them to be my focus. I just know my job is to honour them."

Perhaps counter-intuitively, starring in Pieces has awakened in her the desire for a family of her own. "It’s definitely made me want a baby, for sure," she says; but she hasn’t currently got a partner, having split up from Callum Turner (Frank Churchill in last year’s Emma), whom she met when they co-starred in the 2014 film Queen & Country. "This year has made me think a lot about the home I want to create. I like the idea of inviting someone into a space that’s mine, preferably before I have kids."

In the near future, however, Kirby has nothing on her plate except for getting through a third lockdown. "I’m free as a bird! I’ve read a lot of stuff, and said no to a lot of stuff..." She currently shares a flat in Tooting, south London, with her sister Juliet, an assistant director, and two friends. "I was just about to move out to live on my own in north London – my God, I would have been so lonely! My sister saved me. It was so nice to have routines together. We were trying to take a bit of exercise, cooking together, watching films that made us feel better, drinking wine on Friday nights..."

By now, having circled St James’s Park several times, we are strolling back towards the Corinthia Hotel, where Kirby has a full programme of Zoom interviews lined up for the afternoon. "That’s why I’m so happy to have actually had the chance to go out and meet you in real life," she says enthusiastically. "It’s funny when everything in your life closes down, and you have to sit with yourself, and you suddenly notice all the things you have and you’re grateful for. I hope that feeling never goes away – I will never underestimate how lucky I am."

#Vanessa Kirby #Pieces of a Woman #The World to Come #Interview #Articles

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lyranova · 3 years ago

Text

Leon and Alistar

Hi guys! So here’s Part 1 of a co-op fic of mine and @thoughtfullyrainynightmare ! We had to split it into 2 parts because it was so long 😅! Anyway hope you all enjoy~! Also this isn’t edited very well my apologies!

Word Count: 3,034

Taglist: @eme-eleff @jovialnoise @simpingforthisonedeer @succulentsunrise

Warnings: None

———

Clouds floated through the blue sky as people started gathering at the training grounds of Magic Knights' headquarters. New squad members had been admitted to the squads once more this year, but for most of them it was a day off.

However, that wasn't the case for these knights, who had been off on the evaluation day, since their parents had admitted them to the squad even without partaking into the exam. And this training took place for the purpose of bringing together the next generation of potential squad captains, or those who'd otherwise most likely end up in prominent roles in the kingdom.

The young knights were no strangers to each other; having passed each other by because of their parents' relationships, but this would be the first day of properly training together. Training and building towards a a more unionized generation of Magic Knights, where the robe you wore wouldn't be a stigma, creating "us or them" mentality within the knight ranks.

The Wizard King and Magic Knight Captains considered it one step closer to realizing their dreams of making one unified society. Alistar Vangeance, son of the Golden Dawn’s Captain, was the first to arrive at the Magic Knights HQ for this ‘bonding’ exercise. He admittedly thought it was a good idea, but he was a little hesitant as he didn’t know much about the other children except for Hikari. He leaned against one of the walls in the room as he watched the other children enter one by one, the Captains were all seated in the gallery above so they could get a bird’s eye view of the exercise.

“ Hm I wonder why the Vermillion kids are?” Hikari asked suddenly, making Alistar look at her. All the other children were there except for them.

“ Maybe they’re just running late?” He shrugged simply before the doors opened to reveal the Vermillion twins. Leonidas and Cyraleona.

“ Sorry we’re late, we got held up in the city, it won’t happen again.” Leonidas promised as his sister nodded in agreement. Fuegoleon sat down in his seat quickly as well.

Alistar admittedly had only met the two in passing and was usually very polite. As the orange haired young man walked past him Alistar nodded politely.

“ Leonidas.” The young man turned and nodded politely as well.

“ Alistar.”

Cyraleona quirked an eyebrow at her brother. He was keeping it civil, but there was something about the exchange that seemed tense, more so than usually. It was supposed to be about building better relations, but instead it seemed, at that moment, more as if both of them being prepared to defend their family honour.

"Hikari,"" she acknowledge with a smile while glancing at the raven haired girl next to Alistair, in the hopes of gently nudging her brother.

"Hi," Hikari greeted back. "Nice day, isn't it? Training is much more fun when it's not pouring down."

"Yes," Leonidas agreed with a small nod, glancing at Hikari and giving her a polite smile.

"Indeed," Alistair agreed as well, doing the same.

A moment of silence hung in the air as the grown-ups talked amongst themselves on the balcony; probably going through the day's agenda.

"I wonder what will be in store for the day," Hikari pondered out loud. "I can't imagine we'll be sparring for the whole day."

Alistar shrugged as he also looked up toward the adults. He was sure they probably had more planned then just fighting, especially since they kept calling it a ‘bonding’ experience. He noticed the Vermillion twins doing the same.

“ I would like to think it’ll be more than training. But who knows with our parents, especially since they do like to surprise us every now and then with something unexpected.” He chuckled and Hikari nodded.

“ They’ll probably have us start out with sparring and maybe even have us go out on a mock mission or something to test our skills as a team.” Cyrleona said softly as she turned to look back at the small group. Leonidas nodded.

“ That would be the smartest move, pair up two people to spar against one another and then make them have to work together.” Alistar placed a hand thoughtfully under his chin.

“ You sound like you know a lot more about this than you’re letting on.” Alistar meant it to come off as a joke, but it came out more like a serious statement. He watched Leonidas’s eyes narrow a bit before Hikari sighed beside him.

“ Well if that’s the case I hope I’m not paired up with you Alistar,” Hikari said quickly changing the subject. “ As your bodyguard I’m meant to protect you, not hurt you.”

As Alistar went to open his mouth to reply he watched as all the adults stood at the balconies edge and faced their children

"Listen up you brats," Yami was the first to speak up as he let his gaze travel around the room freely, but still looking at Hikari fondly for a brief second. "We have a full day planned ahead for you, so listen first and ask questions second."

Charlotte glanced at him from the corner of her eye, clearly disagreeing with his choice of words. But. He had always been like that, and though he was much more gentle around their kids, he hadn't changed the way he spoke to other's kids.

"Thank you Yami," William smiled at him. "I believe we all know why where here, so we can skip right through to the events of the day. You can probably guess that our aim isn't to only have you train in combat, but also grow in other areas of life."

Hikari could see a faint smirk pass over Alistair's lips as his father spoke the word 'grow'. But the moment only lasted for a fraction of a second, and no one else had noticed.

"You will begin the day by sparring in pairs, and to avoid our personal opinions on who should train with whom, we'll be drawing lots for the pairs," Fuegoleon continued. "And after you have sparred, you'll be partaking on a treasure hunt with your peer."

"A treasure hunt?" Cyra mumbled to herself. Her voice was full of surprise and spoken with a delicate tone, one that no one but the four of them could most likely hear.

“ Now,” Charlotte began as she stepped forward with a small goblet full of lots with the childrens names on them. One by one the Captain’s pulled out the names written on them. Alistar partially hoped he would be training with Hikari, but a small piece of his heart protested; he didn’t want to fight her, ever. Because that meant he could possibly hurt her.

“ Alistar Vangeance,” Yami suddenly announced as he looked at the lot with the white haired boy’s name on it. He hoped beyond hope the next lot would be Hikari’s, but his hopes were dashed when Yami read. “ Leonidas Vermillion.”

The two teens looked at each other with wide eyes as did the young girls. None had been expecting that. Alistar couldn’t even remember what Leonidas’s affinity was and Leonidas happened to be thinking the same thing.

Leonidas and Alistar quickly looked up towards the adults and saw the looks on their father’s faces; there was no way out of this.

“ Which leaves Hikari and Cyraleona as the last pair, we’ll be calling your names randomly to start the sparring matches.” William announced and the kids went off in their pairs. Hikari looked at Alistar apologetically and quickly mouthed ‘you’ll be ok!’ before going off with Cyraleona.

“ Well you were right; our parents do like to surprise us.” Leonidas told him before walking away and Alistar nodded in agreement before following after him to a nearby corner where they stood somewhat uncomfortably next to each other as they watched the other kids spar when their names were being called.

They walked up to the training grounds, standing on opposite side of the arena and looking at each other. Alistair took out his grimoire, leaving Leon wonder if he should do the same.

‘I've just finished crafting it, and I've been fine until now... But mom always says that I shouldn't rely on more simple spells at all times.’ He thought to himself, seeing Alistair frown.

‘Why isn't he taking out his grimoire? He does intend to use spells, right?’ His gaze shifted for a moment to the adults who hadn't yet given them permission to start the battle.

At the side of the field, Cyraleona couldn't help but lean a bit forward, while trying to keep herself otherwise composed. Leonidas hadn't yet shown her his grimoire, and he had used a good while in the process of making it in the first place. Thus, she couldn't help but feel the flicker of excitement of probably seeing him fight with it for the first time.

‘No... I think I can manifest it during the battle if need be. Because your grimoire is your lifeline, right? Any attacks to it would mean certain death, right? Because Cloverians' life is connected into their grimoires while for Theans it's a manifestation of their powers, right? And I'm both, so I can't say for certain.’ He took a deep breath and set his mind to the task.

"Oy-oy Vermillion. What's up with your boy?" Yami asked on the balcony. "He's not taking out his grimoire."

"It's something he gets from his mother's side," Fue only commented. "I can't say that I agree with it, but it's his choice to make."

William frowned at Fuegoleon’s comment but didn’t say anything, he just turned to look back at the battle. Alistar looked calm and relaxed, but those that knew him knew better; he was anticipating his attack. Possibly even trying to guess what the young Vermillions first move would be.

“ You may begin!” Nozel shouted suddenly just as Alistar tilted his head curiously.

‘Let’s see what you’ve got, Vermillion.’ He instantly flipped through the pages of his grimoire as he finally landed on a spell. He smiled slightly before it disappeared, this would probably be his safest bet to try since he didn’t know what magic to use.

“ World Plant Creation Magic; Ice-Plant’s entanglement!” He watched as the fire resistant plant began to spring up from the floor and tried to wrap around Leonidas.

The boys began to dodge and maneuver around the arena as they cast offensive and defensive spells at one another. Hikari watched with a smirk on her face; he was giving Alistar a run for his money, the only one she had seen ever give him this much of a challenge was herself.

‘Come on Alistar you’ve got this! Push past your limits!’ She cheered internally, she wanted her best friend to succeed.

“ Your sons doing a very fine job Fuegoleon.” William complimanted, Fuego smiled and nodded.

“ As is yours. We raised two very capable mages I think.” Fuego said as his son sent another spell towards the young Vangeance

"Burning Sun Magic; Sunrays!" He called out while shooting scorching rays at Alistair.

‘Damn it! I can't win like this. This isn't Thea so I don't have a nearly endless pool of mana from which to draw. He's going to run out of mana too if we keep this up, but then it'll be a question of which runs out first. And relying on the 'chance' that it'd be him, would be just bad tactics.’ He took the moment he had while Alistair was dodging his attack to collect his mana, and manifest his grimoire before him.

"Hm?" Yami hummed while leaning closer. "He's creating a grimoire?"

"'Creating' wouldn't be the correct term to use here," Fuegoleon commented. "He has had his grimoire for a few months now, but for some reason he refuses to use it."

William glance at Fuegoleon, unsure of how to feel because of the explanation. But if Leonidas indeed refused to use his grimoire freely then that must've meant that Alistair had forced him to do so. And that could be counted as a compliment, right?

Leon collected mana, as if waves of pure energy collecting in his hands. And as soon as it had formed into a shape of a book, he let the pages flutter open as he called out: "Burning Sun magic; Heat wave!"

The arena became flooded with scorching, burning mana, while Leon spoke out: "I might not be able to burn your plants. But they can still wilt, right? And even if your magic won't, the 'you' can get dehydrated, right?"

‘This is my safest bet. I might not be able to hit him, but if he can't get far enough from my spell's reach, then he has to go all out and maybe, maybe exhaust himself.’ Leonidas thought.

———

Alistar and Leonidas stood there listening as the Captain’s explained the Treasure hunt. Both had fainted from excessive mana use, which was somewhat embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as Hikari chewing Alistar out for it in front of everyone, while Cyraleona had gently scolded her twin. Fuego and William both shook their heads in disapproval, but their battle ending in a draw meant two things; one, that they were evenly matched, and two they both still had a lot to learn.

“ Now the rules are simple; each team has a map and a compass, you are not allowed to use mapping spells as not every mage has one. You have 2 hours to find the treasure, if no one finds it then it will be a draw.” Vangeance explained quickly.

“ Your time begins now.” Fugeo announced and each team went off in different directions.

Alistar glanced over at Leonidas as they went off in the direction the compass led them, he gave Leonidas the compass while he held the map. They walked silently for the most part, saying a few coordinates here and there.

“ What does this thing even look like?” He muttered and the orange haired male shrugged.

“ Like a box I assume.” Leonidas muttered as well, both were feeling a little defeated at their sparring match, but maybe if they found the treasure before anyone else would make up for it. Alistar for sure wanted to find it before Hikari, they had made a small bet that the losing team would have to do whatever the winning team asked for an entire day.

"I really thought that they would have had something more... intellectually stimulating in store for us...." Alistair muttered to himself as they continued forward.

"Yeah..." Leonidas agreed. "Something more than travel an X amount of miles to a given distance and dig up a box would have been nice."

"If it even is a box," Alistair frowned while looking at the map in his hand.

"What else could it possibly be? It has to be something small enough for us to carry, right?" Leonidas shrugged again while looking at the white haired male.

"That's true," Alistair admitted. "But the girls went to the opposite direction, so we aren't competing for the same treasure. That has to mean something."

They shared a glance as they both thought about what it could possibly mean while a silence settled into the air.

"How far is it supposed to be?" Leonidas asked after a while of pondering.

"Well, given how much we've moved during this time, I'd say half an hour more," Alistair commented.

"You think it could be a dungeon, or is it an open area?" Leonidas asked, wanting to have a better idea of what they'd be instore for.

"I don't think it really qualifies as a dungeon, but there might be a structure nearby it."

“ Hm,” Alistar looked around before he started walking again. “ they would want it to be concealed but not too concealed where we can’t find it.” He muttered looking around.

“ How about that building over there? It looks like the perfect spot.” Leonidas pointed toward a small, half standing building in the distance. It was in an open area but behind it stood dark woods, an ambush could easily be inside. The two boys quickly made their way towards it slowly.

“ Be cautious; we don’t know what we’re in for.” Alistar said and the orange haired boy nodded in agreement, Alistar and Leonidas stood still for a few moments. Both trying to sense if there was mana inside the building.

“ It’s faint, but it’s there.” Leonidas said as he looked towards the white haired boy who nodded.

“ Yeah, someone’s in there. But it feels like one person so I think we can take them.” Alistar said thoughtfully before the two boys rushed in and saw...nothing?

“ Hm this is odd, why do we feel mana but there isn’t a single person here?” Leonidas mused as he looked around, Alistar shrugged as he walked to the center of the room where the “treasure” sat.

“ Well, this is anticlimatic.” Alistar chuckled. “ I was hoping it would be something *more* then just a box-.” He didn’t get to finish his sentence as they were attacked suddenly by people in bandits robes.

“ Ah I should’ve know; our parents wouldn’t make getting the treasure that easy.” Leonidas chuckled as he and Alistar began to fight off the “bandits”.

Luckily it was the two of them against three, and since they knew it to be a fake fight, the battle didn't take long. And, as suspected, the "bandits" turned out to be members of their parents' squads. ‘Too easy’ Alistair and Leon thought to themselves.

They were able to grab the box, which was a simple wooden one, seemingly nothing much on it. There was only a faint glow of mana from it, almost as if long forgotten, dormant mana.

"Should we still see what's inside of it?" Leon thought out loud.

Alistair turned his head for a moment before shrugging. "Well it's not against the rules, so suppose there's no harm in it."

The two halted their steps to inspect the box. The lock of it didn't pose any problems to them, so it didn't take long for the two of them to crack open the lid to reveal... an image of a red herring.

———

Part 2 will be posted shortly! Thank you guys for reading and I hope you all have a good day~!

#black clover fanfic #oc fanfic #oc; alistar #oc; leonidas #leonidas is not my oc #oc; hikari #hikari is not my oc #oc; cyraleona #cyraleona is not my oc #william vangeance #fuegoleon vermillion

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