#this is such an evil post but also. news flash you should not be surprised at this point we are in fact evil

[rqslasher-sequel]

logged into our main account to immediately see that one of our old obsessions kind-of-does-kind-of-doesn't have a boyfriend now and that was a weird feeling that got instantly overshadowed by finding out it's not the guy we were insanely jealous over and lowkey hated. genuinely started giggling rlly hard

feeling a weird sense of? pride? like "lol you get ZERO BITCHES ‼️and are probably still hung up over him meanwhile we are simply thriving and totally over him and have the best most perfect obsession ever that actually likes us back‼️L L L L"

[erin-rosita]

Risk it All

Hey there! this is my first post writing a fanfic about the one and only, Miguel O’Hara. Enjoy! 

Summary: You are Eliza Dela Cruz, Spiderwoman, and Engineer. You are new to the spider society but a crucial member on stopping the multiverse crisis. Miguel O’ Hara seems to like your dedication, but is cautious of the mystery behind your genius. 1 LET'S START AT THE BEGINNING

A universe where you worked so hard on protecting, a lot of sacrifices, but you've earned the recognition, now, everything is at peace. Or is it?

Earth 1012B Spiderwoman 2089

My name, is Eliza Dela Cruz, and I am the one and only spiderwoman, at least I though I was. Some may think I'm latina, but nah, I'm Filipino, Fil-Am to be exact, but I'm sure I have some latino blood somewhere.

I was bitten by a radioactive spider, got affected by the explosion of kingpin's collider, which granted me the power of travelling the multiverse. I'm an engineer/ inventor, a former gymnast and a great masseuse. But most of all, I have a great sense of humor (like every spidermen). I'm not much of a romantic, that's why when someone says they like me, I'm as awkward and clueless as I can get. That's why I'm basically living in my lab most of the days. 

Anyway, protecting a futuristic world fighting futuristic villains is what I signed up for, what more can you ask?

"I cannot believe you did this!" Mary Jane exclaimed.

"Just doing my job. Besides it's all part of my schedule remember?"

"I mean seriously, inventing stuff, saving the world, giving massages, comedy how do you even do it?"

"I don't know, I guess if life keeps giving, that means I gotta keep moving."

"That's a great philosophy, I definitely should add that to my song."

"Great, knock yourself out, and see ya on your next tour ok? Text me!"

"Thanks, I will bye!"

MJ is pretty much the only friend you have in your world, compared to the lot of universes you've been to, or barely even peeked at. It's hard to have friends with the size of my ego, I'm surprised I even have a friend like MJ, she is the complete opposite of me. Sweet, considerate, but also a badass. I may be spiderwoman, but that's just half of who I am which nobody (except MJ) knows about. An incredibly accomplished woman, nerdy, but has one friend is a massive imbalance if you want a stable life. Eitherway, I've always managed, and by that I mean get copped up in my lab for ages inventing stuff that are deemed unnecessary for me yet still get profited by corporations for the sake of market or personal interest. Booster springs, wanna look silly as you walk around new york, but still get to work on time? (what a joke)

Love? why even bother, might as well just invent a robot that will cater to my frequent temper tantrums and breakdowns and questioning of my self worth. 

Ever since then, my eye has been acting up because of the stress I've been through, maybe? Or is it that I foresee something that can either threaten my universe or just another villain who I need to have some heart-to-heart talk to? I mean seriously, I may as well have a blind date with every one of them, and still get some interesting facts about their personality. 

This was different, I've managed to conceal my universe from every other universe but somehow a version of some spiderman persists to breakthrough...Blue-ish Black suit with red markings flashes in my head. Gotta take note of that. He maybe evil or good who knows, but looks more like he's evil, I'll lean on that. 

Eitherway, I don't want to deal with anymore multiverse phenomena ever again. 

Peter made sure of that. It was the day Captain Guerrero (Stepdad) would be sworn in as captain, and I tried to save him from an assassin, but failed to do so, because of some anomaly that wandered in my universe, Peter says the canon is still intact, and I brought justice to the assassin, but that didn't bring my dad back. I told him to never mention my universe again to other spidermen, and I would do everything I can to do so. So I came up with a barrier that shields my world from multiverse phenomena that is immune to spidey sense and unknown entities that try to enter my world. It worked for a while, but I guess it wasn't enough.

"Lyla, what's that empty space?"

"What about it?"

"Every multiverse connects to one another, but this is a huge gap, huh.""I'll go check on it to ease your anxiety sir."

"Don't call me Sir."

"What? Not formal enough for you?"

"Just go check on it Lyla.."

"Okidoke, my main bloke!"

Miguel rolls his eyes.

 "Okay, I've checked, and it seems like a hidden dimension is concealed with some pretty high barrier tech if you ask me."

"Hidden? why?" 

"I don't know, but you're welcome to speculate, didn't do much to ease your anxiousness huh?"

"I have a feeling we can use this tech or whoever invented it to help us on our missions. We just have to figure out how to get past the barriers and enter it.”

"Lyla set a diagnosis on the status of the barrier so we can see if there's a weak link."

"You got it boss."

End of chapter 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------At first I was just considering doing a one shot fic of his character x reader, but  then when I started writing I just kept going making a plot and everything. I’m still not sure if I want to add any smut on this fic, but there will be romance I am sure of that. Anyway, I’ve really enjoyed writing a story about this man, It’s too bad if I don’t share it right? So this is all for y’all. 

[iihauntedmuffinii]

SUMMARY

Daphne Bennett is a psychiatrist for kids in the foster system. She relies on her powers to help her clients unlock their traumas and emotions in a safe space. Unlike most superheroes, her powers come with a price. She is losing control of her body's health and mental state and sadly, her usual tricks aren't working. When the fluctuations in her powers are too painful she decides it's time to try and find a cure. A cure that she thinks resides center focus on The Seven. Through odd circumstances she is placed near the famous superhero team and their loose cannon of a leader, Homelander.

I have a Spotify playlist associated with the story, so if your interested, and don't care about chapter title spoilers I recommend checking it out.

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST:

CHAPTER SIX: False Pretenses

Perscilla convinces me with her level ten charisma to help the volunteers clean up, and she gets photos taken of it as well. For reasons I don’t want to know. What type of photoshopping or Vought social media post I was going to be composited in makes me shudder at the thought. My white sundress came out spotless, a miracle, and as I grab my clean Tupperware from the kitchens I gracefully dodge the more dirty volunteers on my way out. I grab my phone from my large leather purse having a needling suspicion Ashley may have texted me. My intuition was right on the money.

Ashley called me twice within the hour and left me four texts. I have over a dozen unanswered texts from Olivia and two voicemails from my parents’ landline. Marie also left me a Facebook message, probably to ask how I was fairing knowing her worry-wort disposition. With a shaky hand I press Ashley’s contact, looking over the text, apprehension as sharp as a knife twists tightly inside my gut. 

As you should be aware your new schedule has significantly crunched your time and availability for therapy sessions. So, in order for you to take on all responsibilities your weekends may be impeded on. If you need to discuss this further you can sign a complaint form to HR or talk to Stan Edgar, who has personally added this new change, you must also make an appointment beforehand. 

This text was sent to me at five in the morning and I didn’t even see it in my dazed state, too distracted with my plans–and my dad’s surprise visit–to think about texts. Looking at the next one, sent only thirty minutes ago, but much more aggressive in tone. 

I’ve been hearing down the Vought grapevine, Mrs. Bennett, that you have a social media campaign going on without running it by me first. Your insubordination is seen and heard. With it comes a report to your boss, Mr. Stan Edgar. Luckily for you his outright faith in you surpasses all else. But that doesn’t mean you can go over my head like you did this morning. If this campaign doesn’t go well you will be the one under fire, understand?

I gulp down the crawling feeling of dread seeping into my core, resting inside my belly like a heavy stone. I look at the last text and it's short but just as poignant as the previous message.

Get your ass to the In Depth talk show before Homelander and Maeve arrive.

I send a one word reply back, and the taxi drives over a pothole and my headache throbs.

Understood.

The bumpy ride wasn’t helping the injuries, but the taxi driver had to go through the construction site that was the apartment building and street avenue, so it was a necessary evil. Reaching Vought Headquarters was easy to see as the traffic built up and street lights flickered brightly with ever changing ads. Mostly based around superhero brand deals and future Hollywood projects. The shimmering fake smile of Queen Maeve, Starlight, and Stormfront all pose together in unison as the flickering title ‘ Girls Get it Done’ flash across the screen. It would be nauseating if it wasn’t so impressive looking. The false positivity and fake messaging was something to get used to now, but it didn’t stop the stinging in my heart. 

I scramble out of the taxi, running with my empty Tupperware under one arm and my other hand trying to cover my curly hair from the drizzling rain. My curls were now going to be a frizzy mess, great. Hurrying inside the Vought building’s front entrance through the ever revolving doors was a relief for once. My white dress barely got wet and didn’t leave it see through–thank god. I didn’t think to look at the weather report before getting dressed this morning too. Just the cherry on top of the crap cake. 

Trying not to slip on the hard tile floor with my wet kitten white heels is difficult, but I think I manage it. Struggling to not look like a clown as I slip around the busy lobby towards the elevators I’m barely aware of my surroundings. I’m shoved down to the cold floor–the withering draft worse than ever gives me an uncontrollable chill as I land flat on my butt. 

“I’m so sorry!” The goth girl from the required HR Employee video viewing stares down at me with large purple eyes–contacts I presume, a black lip lined smile graced her cherub face. Behind the smile her aura bursts with the strong flavor of wild berries, it coated my tongue like a homemade jam. Her purple and black aura is shifting constantly under my scrutiny, as if not wanting to be pinned down. Her Kuromi inspired nails dug into her cocked hips, confidence oozing off the young girl. Her spiked black hair didn’t shift an inch as she clambered to my side on the floor, helping me gather the items that fell out of my purse. 

“I-it’s okay I should have watched where I was going. I was scrambling without looking at my surroundings, it’s something I need to work on…” I ramble, hurrying to try and shove everything inside my purse. Ashley’s threats about being late ringing in the back of my mind; a chilling death toll. 

“Well, it takes two to tango as they say…wait don’t think that's right. It doesn’t matter any way I wasn’t paying attention either. No biggy.” Her voice always had a hint of mischief I couldn’t decipher, beyond it being a facet of her personality. She hands me my bag as I balance all my Tupperware under my left arm. 

“Thanks, um, actually I never got your name before.” 

“Oh, wow I’m rude, sorry. Its—” The beginning rift of Killers by Iron Maiden blares out of her purple Kuromi covered phone. “Oh my gosh so sorry I have to take this!” She says with immediate distress scratching at her vocal chords. Her ever evading aura of swirling wild berries was just as we first met, distressed not even a little. Odd. 

“O-okay.” I stutter out; I’m left behind by her disappearing figure. Turning a corner outside my view with her phone held to her ears, looking ready for an argument, and she blends into the crowded lobby. Shaking my head from the fog taking over my brain I shakily enter the elevator pressing the golden button, 99.

The three people crowding the elevator and their loud clamoring feelings makes me break out into hives. No matter how much I try to ignore the vile bitter taste of poorly made tea on my tongue, jealousy, all three of their feelings at once were too strong for me to bear. They leave one by one taking their jealous thoughts with them, and my nausea thankfully. If only they knew how horrible and precarious my current position truly is.

I run out of the elevator; sweat dripping down my brow as I scramble. Quickening my steps past the expensive busts and impressive muralled halls, A-Train comes storming out of Ashley’s office. He T-bones me as he scrapes by in a flurry, I slam against the side wall, thankfully missing Queen Maeve’s marble statue by a hair. 

I slide to the floor, leaning heavily against the wall thinking it could help dampen the pain radiating off my shoulder. For the second time I was shoved around like a rag doll today.  A-Train’s tightlipped sour expression at my sudden nuisance of a presence changes quickly when Homelander comes out of Ashley’s office. Ashley is on Homelander’s heels, surveying the situation, calculation sparkling in her crystal blue gaze. My Tupperware was splayed across the floor. I look over my dress hoping it didn’t rip in the collision, luckily for me it's still intact. 

“Daphne, you're finally here.” Ashley’s cold tone didn’t bode well for me, crossing her arms across her beautiful blue suit jacket. Her judging look was soon drowned out by Homelader’s invasive presence intruding on my peripheral vision. He kneels in front of me but his eyes are pinning A-Train to his spot. A-Train puts his hands up, brown eyes looking between Homelander and I, he arches his defined eyebrow. 

“You okay, Daphne?” Homelander’s question is clear and his eyes don’t deter from his current target, A-Train. A-Train’s gulp was loud enough for all three of us to hear, no super hearing necessary. His sharp steel blue aura that was as stiff as metal crumbled like aluminum foil, not able to bear the weight of Homelander’s glare. His lips tremble and his left foot taps as the tension.

“Y-yes of course.” I take my eyes off their ensuing glare off, grabbing Homelander’s shoulder for some semblance of balance. Understanding my gesture, Homelander decides to ignore A-Train in favor of helping me off the floor. Homelander’s large hands grab me by the waist, the warmth seeping through my damp sundress, with such grace he pulls me up off the floor as if I was a ballerina mid plie. 

The magic of it disappears as A-Train’s growing fear bleats out my thoughts. A-Train’s terror encroaches upon my senses like acidic lemon juice shooting down my throat. Awful and tart, so much so I quiver at the impactful. 

“You're not a member of The Seven for very long, A-Train, act like it. Walk on egg-shells around me, before your necessary departure, ‘kay? Also, maybe, don’t attack actual Vought employees while you're still here. That’d be good too.” Homelander’s dark tepid voice echoes across the halls, leaving them eerily silent; it feels like the hall is holding its breath with me. 

“R-right of course Homelander.” A-Train braces himself, his metaphorical tail tucked between his legs, ready to high tail it out of here in a speedy fashion.

“Wait.” Homelander’s stern no nonsense tone hovers on the fringes of sounding sinister. “Apologize to Daphne, now.” A-Train only hesitates for a second before training his eyes to my feet.

“I’m sorry Daphne.” His dead tone didn’t feel the least bit sincere and the fear wafting off of him made it so much worse.

“It's o-okay A-Train. I’m fine, really.” I wave off his piss poor apology that was coated in lemon sour. My sense could barely handle standing this close to him, the lemony pungent fear made me want to pass out.

“Now scamper off A-Train, and don’t forget about your Dawn of The Seven shooting. Your last shooting.” He adds that tidbit with a growing smirk so sharp it could cut flesh. His canines shine at his cocky once over of A-Train. It was demeaning and humiliating. All over a clumsy accident. Homelanders’ cinnamon flavor of pleasure mixed with domination hovers in the air–a nice if unsettling reprieve from A-Train’s sour coated terror.

Like a bullet shot through his mask, A-Train’s proud expression cracks under Homelander’s taunt. His eyes shimmer and the corner creases of his eyes tighten, as if trying to hold back his tears. He turns away leaving the halls to go to who knows where. The urge to catch up with him echoes inside my soul, I take a step on instinct.

Homelander catches my wrist before I can move another step.

“Where are you going?” Homelander’s stormy eyes glare down at me, his grasp tightening. His domineering stance and sharp smirk was still plastered across his face. The confident clawing taste of cinnamon overtakes me, now fully making room for his aura to dominate my own. A-Train’s fear must have been close to panic if it was strong enough to cover Homelanders’ dominating presence. I can’t decide which was more discomforting.

“I-I thought maybe A-Train may need to talk to someone, after all I am his therapist.” I shrug, a weak smile I struggle to put on, which only makes Homelander’s angry red aura twist more chaotically. 

“Not anymore. He just got fired. So, don’t focus your attention on him.” His tone left no room for argument. His gloved hand wraps entirely around my forearm now, making sure to keep me in place.

“B-but he’s still a part of the Seven until his last shoot, right?” I ask, my eyes drop to the floor from his persistent glare. 

“Right.” He grits out through a tight jaw and grinding on his too sharp teeth. A frustrated breath escaping his flaring nostrils. “Don’t you want a flight to the In Depth talk show?” He asks, confident my response will be a yes. I hesitate to do just that. Behind his dismissive bravado I can see beneath the armor, and it whispers the word hope . He clings to my arm more tightly, as if he knew I could see the crack. 

Dashing his hope feels wrong and so I can’t get myself to say no.

“Okay.” I squeak out, sighing in defeat. I promise I will find time to talk to A-Train before the end of the day. I will not let myself hinder other clients all because my attention was focused elsewhere . I won’t let myself be sucked into his gravitational pull, sadly that seems to be Homelander and I’s relationship in a nutshell. 

His all encompassing satisfied smile was enough to let me know I lost this battle. My left eyebrow twitches in annoyance, but I roll my shoulders back to release the tension, trying to let another thing go. Homelander is used to steamrolling over everyone, getting great satisfaction from it. Luckily for me Ashley coughs, interrupting our battle of wills.

“Better get to it Daphne. I would have preferred if you were there before Homelander and Queen Maeve, but that doesn’t seem possible since you are here. ” Her sparkly white smile and large eyes were hyper focused on me not letting me move an inch from my spot. It's similar to how A-Train was with Homelander. Sadly, I’m A-Train in this scenario. 

“R-right, I just have to go to my office and I’ll be right back for—”

“Daphne! Don’t stall anymore than you already have and get to the shoot. Don’t let Homelander wait any longer.” Ashley’s condescending tone and her chin thrusting upwards, looking down her nose at me.

Her smokey aura filled my nostrils with the awful notes of burnt hair and the taste of charred food. Her superiority over people morphed her into something much worse as more time went on, but the clouded aura could still be salvaged. Like any of us we have to try to fight our instincts to lash out, but the only way to help people like this is to be the bigger person.

“I’m sorry for not getting permission for the social media campaign. I didn’t run it by you first and I should have—”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Homelander’s booming voice echoes across the empty and overly extravagant halls. He drops my arm–I completely forgot he was holding me back—and his loose confident stride towards Ashley became more intimidating with each approaching step. Ashley’s already pale complexion goes ghostly white. “Ashley, am I forgetting our previous conversation? My numbers have skyrocketed in just short of an hour since what’s her fucking name, Penelope–”

“Perscilla.” I pipe up. Homelander pauses, giving me an exasperated eye roll before taking another intimidating step forward. His silhouette’s large shadow envelopes Ashley's small frame. She shrank back, bumping into her office door in her desperate urge to flee. Ashley did not dare run or take her eyes off him.

“ Perscilla , posted those videos. Daphne has done more than you have since taking on Madelyn’s title, so I would be careful how you talk to her in your current, very replaceable position.” His voice is now just above a whisper, but we can hear his threat within his derisive words. The off-kilter change in Ashley’s aura when mentioning Madelyn makes her aura’s cloud of smoke burn black. The taste of ashes on my tongue has me cringing in disgust.

Is he going to do to me what he did to Madelyn? N-no, he can’t possibly be that mad about some counselor…

Ashley’s loud terrifying thoughts crashes into my skull and leaves me feeling winded. I can feel my blood sugar drop and my legs tremble, barely keeping myself up. I-I can’t be doing this right now. No telepathy, no mindscapes, and no passing out for just one day. Please, that’s all I’m asking for! The blood streaks dripping down my nose and to my utmost horror lands on my sundress’s neckline. After all of this effort to keep it clean this morning just for my own powers to damn me. I ignore both Homelander and Ashley’s tense debacle, instead focusing on rifling through my purse. 

“O-of course Homelander I didn’t mean to discredit her helpfulness–”

“Uh-huh.” His bullworthy snort interrupting her feeble attempts to backtrack the conversation. “Remember your place next time, Ashley. Apologize.” He grabs her by the shoulders, clenching them tight, Ashley flinches. They both turn to me in unison to see me bleeding from the nose while my shaky hands shove a blue pill down my throat. I glance up–my expression reads guilty like a kid's hand caught in the cookie jar, as I’m finding my handkerchief to clean myself up.

“S-sorry, I sometimes get nosebleeds.” I fill the awkward silence while I try to rub the blood off my neckline, it was a fruitless effort.

Homelander drops Ashley and he’s in front of me in a flash, a swift breeze following his capes’ trail. He snatches the handkerchief from my fumbling hands and starts wiping my face clean, if roughly, mimicking his previous kindness from last night. Frozen still I look up to meet his dark stare directly, he looks grim and his eyes hold a storm I didn’t wish to decipher.

“I didn’t forget about you Ashley. But did you forget what I asked of you?” His sardonic voice boomed, his actions felt almost like he was playing with his food. It was frightening. I instinctively flinch away. His eyes flash and his other hand grips my chin tight, continuing the meticulous process of cleaning my face.

“I’m so, so sorry Daphne. I will defer to your opinion from now on about future campaigns for The Seven . Add that to your long list of responsibilities.” Ashley’s sharp tone was chilly and the usual fire was cooled. Making more enemies than friends was not something I wished for when taking on this job, but seems to be the result every time. Associating so closely with Homelander might be a part of this reason, from the way everything's been panning out. I shake his hand away from my chin, he lets me go this time, giving me a glare but nothing more. 

“It’s okay Ashley. I understand, from now on if I have any future ideas I will still run them by you. To at least have a professional opinion on it would be for the best.” I step around Homelander trying to attune back to Ashley’s psyche. Her calculating stare flickers between the two of us, she was analyzing the best course of action, in survival mode at this point.

“No, Daphne, you don’t have to do that.” He snatches my arm pushing me back towards himself, as if he was afraid Ashley was going to hurt me. 

“I don’t have to do it, I want to do it.” I stubbornly push myself out of his hold, again. 

“T-thank you for understanding Daphne. Now, I have a meeting planned with the Dawn of the Seven script writer in fifteen minutes and I don't wish to be late.” Ashley’s too high squeak in her voice gives her fear away, but she tries to defuse the situation nonetheless. The reminder of being late alerts my brain to the tight schedule both Homelander and I share now. 

“Right, okay. Homelander, I will meet you in the lobby. I have to drop these off in my office.” I motion to the Tupperware on the floor and he crosses his arms sighing in resignation. 

“Fine, go. Don’t take longer than ten minutes, got it?”

“Gotcha!” I salute him, a small smile flashes before he smothers it back with a blank expression, switching to the safer bet of glaring at Ashley. I leave him to his glare off and scurry to my office as quickly as my shaky legs allow. I place my Tupperware under my desk, a safe place for now. Quickly exiting back out and locking the door I turn back to sprint to the elevator doors; five minutes left before Homelander comes hunting me down, I'm sure.

I wait impatiently wait the elevator to glide down to the lobby’s floor level. Running out, Homelander waits in the center of the Lobby, the crowd giving him a wide berth. The circle of people walking around him, almost comically mimicking the sun and the planets. Him being the sun and everyone else just revolves around him. Poetically sad. He was at least easy to find, if nothing else.

“Homelander! I didn’t make you wait long, did I?” I say out of breath grabbing his arm to keep myself from stumbling over my own two feet. I interrupt him staring off at the horizon peeking out through the large window view. He finally deigns to turn his intense stare onto me. 

“No, less than ten minutes, like you said.” His eyes grow warm and his aura was calm–just a red dust storm rather than the usual tornado. The trepidation crawling down my spine makes me wonder if I had been just a minute later, would he have been angry? I think it's likely. “Okay, have you ever been flown by anyone before?” 

“U-um no. Actually, I’m quite scared of heights.” I shyly admit, feeling my face turn beat red under Homelander’s growing smirk. 

“Perfect.” He chuckles and without any warning gathers me up in his arms bridal style. Handling me as gracefully as a toddler would a rag doll. I can hear in the background gasps from multiple people, crowds not only walking around us, but now gathering to see us. Flashes from cameras went off and before I could cover my face and complain, Homelander vaulted off flying out of the building.

I scream, high pitched and directly in Homelander superpowered eardrums. I embrace him tightly like a spider monkey clinging to their mom, instinctively trying not to fall to my death. His laugh is drowned out by the speeding winds, he’s going faster than most cars on the highway, and I know he can go slower! Is he trying to scare me into having a heart attack?

His glee over my fear filled squeals and pathetic clinging doesn’t stop him from slowing down to a more relaxed pace. Taking my face out of the crook of his neck to finally look at the sight, I can’t hold in my gasp. The clouds were surrounding us like the city smog does in the April’s dewy mornings. The surrounding city skyscrapers that usually seem so intimidating now look like looking into a tiny snow globe. 

“Wow! This is amazing.” I gleefully gush at the view. His eyes widen in surprise but his smile stays firm in place.

“I thought you would still be screaming. Not so afraid of heights anymore, huh?”

“Still scared, but I can appreciate its beauty even if I’m terrified.”

“Hmm.” The flight towards the studio on the outskirts of the suburbs was a short silent flight of me gasping and pointing at different locations like he hadn't seen them from this view before. I can’t help the excitement though, it's an amazing experience I never thought I’d get or even want, until now. Surprisingly he never gets annoyed; he doesn't even glare!

We land gently onto the studio’s front parking lot, making a scene of course, because that’s Homelander’s specialty. People gather around us flashing photographs without permission and chanting “We love you Homelander!” to “Can you autograph my face?” It was all quite discombobulating. He steers me, with one hand on my lower back, to the front entrance and waves off the adoring crowd. He flashes a Hollywood smile that makes the crowd cheer louder and their mob like happiness makes me feel like I'm high. I try to shake my head, but the feeling was still persistent. 

Entering the studio with Homelander beside me was a completely different ball game from when I would visit Olivia alone. I decidedly miss being an unnoticed fly on the wall. People with badges and black clothing–crew members and security included enter the scene to block people from getting closer. 

“This way Homelander.” A crew member with a headset and flat stare directs Homelander with a hand gesture towards a roped off hall. Another person in black appears at my side silent like a ninja. 

“I can show you to the green room Dr. Bennett.” The small girl with the ninja-like abilities, black attire included, states plainly. 

“Thank you for showing me–”

“No, wait Daphne, you can come to the studio set with me. She can sit at the stage wing.” Homelander swirls back towards me and away from the stage manager, his commanding tone leaving little room for arguing. He walks back to my side glaring at the small girl. She does not flinch under the intense glare, courageous if she didn’t look so dead inside.

“No, no it's okay Homelander. I can wait in the green room. I don’t want to get in the way of anything or anyone important.” I wave my hands at him, trying and failing to shoo him away. He gaps at my gall but doesn’t fuss for long letting me win this argument, for once. The crew doesn’t even blink at the celebrity outburst–obviously very used to it. The crew member with the headset directs him back to the roped off hall, Homelander begrudgingly follows a step behind, he looks back toward me. Maybe to check if I ran? Instead of running, I wave; he smiles before turning the corner and out of view.

“Alright, now let's get you to that green room. There are refreshments prepared there, if you want anything.” Her flat tone may be grating but her words were still comforting. She directs me through the wide open white walled halls and through a few confusing turns we land at a simple gray door with a plaque labeled Green Room on it.

“Thank you!” I shout at her quickly retreating back before opening the bland gray door. The green room had a gray couch, gray coffee table and a small buffet prepped to the side. A large flat screen television was in the center of the room directly across the couch. It was hooked up to the show’s camera feed so anyone can watch directly from here. 

I attack the buffet table like a starving gremlin not needing to act with any decorum while alone. The tiny cupcakes are all mine! I pile four on my tiny plate and grab a Fiji water to wash the sugar down. Glancing up at the screen there seem to be sound checks going on before they air, which will only be a few minutes from now. The studio murmurs from the audience could be heard through the set-up. The small talk between the show host, Queen Maeve, and Homelander could also be heard.

“It’s so nice to see you two again.” The show host, Maria Menounos, greets them standing up from the red plush chair and shaking their hands. Much more respectful than Cup of Joey’s host by miles. 

“It’s lovely to be back on your show Mrs. Menounos.”

“Call me Maria, Queen Maeve. You too Homelander.” As Maria schmoozes the two I stuff my mouth with pink frosting covered cupcakes. 

My phone rings the familiar tune of A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton jolting me away from my cupcakes. Olivia’s name flashes on my phone’s home screen and I take the call without thinking. 

“Olive?” I whisper into the receiver as I stare uninterestedly at the TV screen. Homelander’s sharp smile and tight hold around Maeve didn’t feel much different from how they were at Morning Cup of Joey’s . 

“Daphne! Oh my god it feels like forever since we talked. Do you know how long it’s been? At least a week.” Olivia’s whiny tone squeals out with full gusto.

“A day and a half.”  I interrupt mid tantrum.

“Ugh, Daph you know what I mean. You’ve been dodging my texts and don’t deny it, I know.” Olivia’s threatening tone was washed out by her worried sigh at the end of every word.

“Olivia, I’m sorry I just didn’t know how to talk to you about…everything.”

“You mean your parents? Have you talked to any of them since the news broke?”

“My dad came by this morning.”

“And?”

“He helped me get my Tupperware into the cab. He also gave me a file with the name Sage Grove Center. I haven’t looked at it yet.”

“Maybe it's the hospital you were born at?”

“I don’t know if it's a hospital. He was being, I don’t know how to word it, emotional about it. You know my dad, he doesn’t emote a lot so seeing him close to tears just made everything weird. He said he wanted me to talk to them once I looked through it. ”

“You haven’t read it yet? I would be tearing through that thing the first moment I could!”

“I-I I’ve been busy literally non-stop. Honestly, this is the first breather I’ve had in the last forty-eight hours.”

“Where are you?” Olivia’s inquiry is almost muffled out by what sounded like traffic.

“Green Room of the In Depth with Maria Menounos.”

“Oh! She’s a lot less catty than Joey. Did you know she got a journalism degree from Dartmouth college. She a real one.”

“I didn’t know that. Maybe this will go without a hitch.”

“Well, now you jinxed yourself Daph.” Olivia’s quip is fast and cheerfully bright. I give out a long tired sigh. That would be my luck. “Oh, Daph question? How would you feel about our Friday plans turning into a double date?” 

“W-what?”

“Okay, before you outright say no. Let me tell you just who asked me out. Guess.” Olivia’s serious tone left me no other option but to play her game. I nibble on my third cupcake, choosing to ignore the growing stomach pain.

“Did you relent and say yes to Randal? He asked you out after the third rejection?”

“Not Randal, ew.” The gagging on the other line only emphasizes her dramatic disgust.

“Oh, wait did Monica ask you out?” 

“Ding! Ding! Ding! Winner, winner chicken dinner! Yes, Monica finally asked me out after I gave her ten million hints.” She gripes, but underneath her easy complaining I can sense a nervousness beneath her voice-fry.

“That’s great! But why do I have to go?”

“Because Monica didn’t want to do the date without another couple. She thought it would help break the ice. I just may happen to offer you on a silver platter and she so happened to agree to the date because of it. Please! She’s never been out with a girl before and she’s shy. You know how much I like—” The guilt train would not leave the station until I relented.

“Okay, okay I’ll do it. Just tell me he’s not thirty years older than me or anything else I cannot abide by.”  I grit out, wanting to take the words back the moment I said them.

“He’s really handsome but apparently kind of shy. I’ll send you a pic of him. You are a lifesaver my dear! I owe you one.” Olivia sighs through the speaker.

“I guess I could break out into the dating scene again. Now that my powers are public knowledge there isn’t really anything holding me back, right?”

“That’s right!” Olivia’s hypeman persona comes out with a bombastic cheer. “Oh shit I gotta go Daph, apparently there’s an emergency hair care situation going on at Morning Cup of Joey’s . Dammit I just left to get lunch, for the love of—” The phone hangs up leaving me with the dial tone. I can’t believe I willingly signed up for a blind date. I shutter just at the idea of it.

Finally taking the last tiny cupcake in one bite I glance over to the large screen to see they’ve already started the show. And I haven’t been paying attention at all! 

“Is the supervillain threat real?” Maria Menounos’ clear and concise question is asked with pleasant but vacant expression. She gives nothing away to her guests nor the audience members.

“Hundred percent. Very real. But The Seven will protect you.” Maeve's strong declaration is paired with her scowling fiercely into the cameras. Making promises to America directly, I presume.

“That's right. Always listen to Maeve. She always tells the truth.” Homelander's nonchalant tone gave the audience a contrasting partner to Maeve’s intensity.

“On a related subject, Compound V. Did either of you know about it before the news broke?”

“No. Absolutely not. Madelyn Stillwell, she lied to all of us. Turns out she was a monster. We're just as hurt and upset and confused as everyone else.” Homelander’s unattached tone stays firm and his emotions are held close to his heart like a gambler with a good hand.

“Let's talk #HeroesSoWhite. The numbers are rather startling. 92% of heroes are Caucasian. African American, six percent. Latin and Asian, each one percent. Why doesn't Vought want diversity?” Maria’s voice transforms the audience’s dull murmurs into a thick silence. 

Even through the cameras I can feel the tension, or maybe that’s because I’m only a few rooms away from the set. Maeve gave nothing away in Maria’s prodding, her stern intense expression not moving a muscle, but Homelander’s tells are there if you know how to read him. His too tight and sharp smile and his eyes are wide open, glassily vacant, with there is a thunderstorm of emotions brewing just above the surface. 

“Wow. These are real hardballs, Maria Menounos. But check your facts. Let's, uh, take The Seven , for example. We've got A-Train. He's a black man. We got Black Noir. He, um… Well, he doesn't identify with any race, really, so... they're covered. And... we have a gay hero.” 

“Really? Who in The Seven is gay?” Maria’s befuddlement is clear to everyone watching.

“Queen Maeve. Mm-hmm. Scoop for you, Maria. Maeve here is a strong, proud lesbian with a beautiful girlfriend, Elena. Hispanic girlfriend. And I, for one, am so proud of her.” His voice is loud and clear as he outs Maeve to the world. Maeve is frozen still, her pallor resembling a corpse; she’s left speechless. Homelander crushes Maeve to his side, as if trying to show some form of camaraderie. Her frozen dead state changes in a blink and she’s smiling again. The cameras are still rolling after all. 

The audience is applauding–Maria is standing from her seat and clapping too. The show cuts to a commercial break with that new revelation as their finale for the episode.

My stomach turns and twists into knots—and I don’t think it's because of my over indulgence in sugar.  Homelander’s constant need to attack others is not what I wanted to see today, displayed for millions to see. Poor Maeve got caught in the crosshairs, too. Why would he do that? Because Maria bated him? Was mentioning Madelyn the trigger? I would have to confront him on this. I need to talk to Maeve first! This had been the time a therapist on set would have been helpful. Dammit! 

At that thought I jump to my feet not able to stay here when I’m needed elsewhere. I can feel Maeve’s echoing aura, the flavor of vodka and mothball foaming down my throat. Maeve’s signature fear and sadness felt the same when I first met her.  The subtle feeling was getting closer. I speed to the door and open it just an inch. I peak out just as I hear Maeve and Homelander’s voices echo down the bare halls.

“Where’s Elena? What did you do to her?” Maeve shouts trying to keep in step with Homelander’s long strides.

“She’s fine. What did I do to her? I set her free. And you. You’ve been living in the shadows so long, doesn’t it feel good to be out in the sun?” Homelander quips candidly.

“ Hold on. Me and Elena are just friends.”

“Oh. Just friends?” The Homelander took one whiff and smells that blood was in the air.

“Yes.”

“Because, see, I heard you two talking on the phone, and it sounded a little more than friends. So, I did a little digging, and imagine my fucking surprise.” Derision and hate drips from his voice like a broken faucet that couldn't stop weeping. 

“Okay. We had a relationship once.”

“Hmm.” He nods with a flat expression.

“Once!”

“Once. A relationship…relationship. That’s such a vague word. What does that mean to you? Long walks in the park? A shoulder to cry on? Scissoring each other raw?” His questions grew more tense and his rough aura’s swirling winds cut across mindscapes to scrape by my own in angry retaliation. The intensity of the conversation made me want to melt into the shadows and never leave. 

“I ended the relationship when I joined The Seven. When I met you.” Her cold voice had little emotion attached when responding to the rabid, pacing tiger that is Homelander.

“Stop fucking lying to me!” He punches the air forward, an inch from Maeve’s face. Her lack of response makes his scowl turn retched. “I am at my wit’s fucking end with the lies.”

“We're together.” She grinds out through tight pale lips, fear dripping the pungent lemonimes, only the smell of vodka permeates the air. 

“And you love her?” She merely nods at the question. “Hmm. I see. Well, best of luck to you both.”  He sighs out looking almost relieved with the sentiment, and Maeve’s face gives away her thoughts plainly. “Oh, is it so hard to believe that I want you two to be happy? And in love? Honestly, Maeve, I am really, really happy for you.” He struts away with an unsettling confidence that could not be ignored. Maeve stood frozen to her spot, not able to move after the encounter. 

Feeling like a coward, but safe with him gone, I quietly slink up behind Maeve. She seems hypnotized, or lost in thought, but I can see both of her fists are clenched tight. I tap her shoulder before chickening out.

“Maeve, I’m sorry about what happened. Out there…” I quietly trail off not knowing how to express the unfairness of it with words.

“Nothing happened that I can’t handle.” She looks me up and down assessing with a steely gray glare. Her face resembles porcelain, still and unchanging but beautiful. Sadly, her thunderstorm of an aura now shifts from lemony fear to ozone.  The fear is gone but the anger stays rooted deep inside her, an overflowing boiling pot of righteous indignation. The smell and taste of it inflicts my senses with a whooping rush. Like speeding winds during a tropical cyclone, a force of nature, that was Maeve. 

“Well, if you ever want to talk about it you’re always welcome in my office. Or if you need someone to talk to you outside of normal hours you can call my personal number.” I provide my business card to her, offering a small smile as well. 

She grabs my card from my hand and looks at it with a critical eye. She turns it over and over as if it may be bugged. Paranoia may be a Superhero thing then, makes sense with all the head trauma involved. Just a theory. After looking it over extensively she places it between her breasts staring me dead in the eyes, asking for a reaction. I don’t take the bait.

“Please, I hope you do take the time to see me. At least give it a chance.” I fill in the silence, not willing to walk away without a confirmation of some form from Maeve.

“I’ll think about it.” She smiles through what feels like a platitude, but I take the scraps she gives.

“Thank you, Maeve! That’s all I’m asking is you give it a chance.” I cheer, not able to help myself from jumping in the air with a little hop. Maeve cracks a small smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. 

“I didn’t promise anything.” 

“Daphne, what are you doing here?” Homelander’s voice bounces across the halls where he pops back in from where he just dramatically exited. He storms towards me ignoring Maeve altogether.

“I was in the green room.” I point to the door behind me. He shakes his head, as if I was some inconsolable toddler, and grabs my hand without restraint or permission.  

“Let’s go.” Homelander's stiff upper lip and the fearsome glare directed at Maeve makes me queasy. I swipe my hand away just before Homelander can grip it tight.

“Are you sure you're okay?” I look into Maeve’s steely eyes and place my hands on hers. I can’t help but feel the suffocating depression that oozed off of her. I just wanted her to feel alright, just okay enough to survive to the next moment. We can talk about the next step when she is ready, if she just gave me a chance.

Her eyes flicker between me and Homelander; I can’t help but cringe under her glare. She shakes my hands off by crossing her arms across her chest. She turns her back to the both of us. 

“Thank you, Daphne. If I have time maybe I’ll take you up on the offer.” She turns her head over her shoulder, directly looking at Homelander while saying this. She struts out of the halls with confidence I couldn’t comprehend. Queen Maeve must be used to his chaotic and vicious games and was only moving her own pieces. The fog that was her aura evaporated as she got further and further away, finally leaving me with a clear head. Other than Homelander’s viscous cinnamon flavored satisfaction that was annoyingly present. 

“So, are we going or not?” He puffs up his chest as he laments this.

“Yes, going to a therapy session like you promised, Homelander.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“Well, I meant what I said. You promised me if it all went well you would try therapy, right?”

“Yes, that's true. My viewership and ratings have gone up since this morning.” He says this with a tired sigh, as if he wasn't happy about his newfound favor.

“So, let's do it!”

“Really?” Exasperation is clear as he grits out the one word.

“What do you mean, ‘really’?” I admonish him shaking my finger at his childish protests.

“Fine.” He sighs out with a loud huff. He thinks he's indulging me, but all he is doing is keeping his word. I swear this man will be the end of me. But gosh I can't hold in my excitement when he finally agrees. 

“Really?!” I scream out jumping up in the air with a little "whoop!" coming out of mouth. I can't help shaking his arm over and over in obvious glee. He smiles but tries to smother it with a not so believable scowl. 

“Yes…” He grinds out, barely audible enough to understand. He stiffens under my attention but as I move away he grabs my arm. Without a word he wraps my left my arm with his, he does all of this without looking me in the eye.

“Okay, well first you need to change into civilian clothing.” I say, pointed ignoring his odd body language.

“What, why?” He sputters out stopping mid-stride, which in turns stops me in my tracks.

“‘Cause we're doing therapy outside at Riverside Park.” I say with confidence I don't have, as if this was the plan all along.

“Why can’t we be in your office like a normal therapist?”

“Because being outside is healthy for you that’s why.”

“Uh huh–” I interrupt him mid’ eye-roll.

“Now who’s the therapist Homelander?”

“Don’t give me that shit for the love of god.” He groans.

“Fine, but you know I’m right.” I point up in the air, chin up and proud, finally I’ve won this battle. “I know the costume coordinator here, I’ll ask if there is anything you can borrow.”

“You mean have.” He says smoothly, almost like he wasn’t acting like a brat. I put my hands on my hips glaring daggers at him. 

“Don’t just assume, it’s rude.” 

“Are you more pushy than usual or is it just me?” Homelander chuckles as he tries to slow his long strides to keep in pace with me. I struggle to find any sign of where the fashion coordinator could be in this plain white maze of a studio.

“Well, you haven’t known me for that long. I can be quite pushy when I want to be. You feeling threatened?” I joke, arching an eyebrow at him. He pshaws at me, seeming exasperated with my entire being, but his attention was focused solely on me. My hyper awareness of it made the hairs on the back of my neck standup. I pointedly ignore the tension brewing between us, even with the blush crawling up my face. Instead I focus on finding my old friend.

Thankfully, the room I was looking for was wide open and the vanity mirror with the hollywood bulbs framing it was a beacon for its location. The plaque on the side reading The Rack . I politely knock on the open door not wanting to interrupt anything that may be happening inside. Sadly, I had a much ruder companion at my side who strolls right in without a second thought, his cape trailing behind him like a shadow.

“Oh! Homelander it's amazing to see you. Is there anything we can do for—Daphne? I haven’t seen you in forever! Not since you were stuck with us and that horrible teamster getting us lost in the Jersey suburbs. God, Olivia still hadn’t bought me dinner like she promised.” Eli’s huff of indignation is lost in my curls as his long arms wrap around me, lifting me slightly up in the air. He lets me go with a boisterous playful laugh that makes me feel nostalgic.

His smile shines bright and wide, matching his sharp jaw and high cheek bones to create a handsome but androgynous profile.  His dark locks coiled into gentle curls ending just above his ear, and his hazel colored eyes always held this twinkle within as if he had a secret he couldn’t tell. He was just as fashionable as Olivia, wearing peak condition black Gucci loafers with gold chains. His long lean body matches his soft slick style as well, he wore black slack perfectly tailored to him and what looked like a Ralph Lauren cashmere taupe turtleneck. His notorious bright red rain coat from his and Olivia’s favorite brand Dolce & Gabbana was sitting on a makeup chair in the back of the room . 

He was Olivia’s right hand man for a few years when her company was just a fledgling. Eventually, after some time he wanted to pursue other opportunities to try and blossom outside of her shadow. They are still close, even if they are now competitors in the same field. 

His aura was just as bright and creative as Olivia’s, only his was pearlescent, almost shimmering and changing hues under certain lighting. The taste of bubbly champagne foam around my lips, which was pleasant but surprising. The taste helped dull Homelander’s growing impatience and cinnamon flavored dominance. 

“I’ll be seeing Olivia Friday night so I’ll tell her she owes you one.” I quip easily falling back into the friendly candor we had when we were in our early twenties. He fiddles with a few baby curls that were a frizzy mess at this point, I did get rained on this morning after all. Eli grabs a butterfly clip that was bedazzled encrusted and clips it into my hair, helping it stay out of my face. I’m jerked back suddenly and Homelander’s hand has a vice grip on my wrist. His other hand is placed at the arch of my back, as if wanting to make sure I knew of his presence.

“Good! Now, why have you and our esteemed leader of The Seven  come to my abode?”  Eli recovers quickly from the abrupt change in the atmosphere. Homelander’s glare only makes it much, much worse. The writhing indignity seemed to come off of him, waves rippling across my mind, giving me enough of a warning. I have to stay on my toes. Homelander has been on the attack since we’ve been on this set and I’m not willing to risk it with an old friend. 

“R-right, I wanted to know if you had some outfits prepared for Homelander if he needed an outfit change.”

“Sure, Vought always sends extra suits just in case of anything happening to the originals.”

“No, no I mean regular civilian clothes. Do you have outfits prepared according to his measurements?”  I ask, going into assistant mode—not something I thought I'd be doing with my twelve years to get a doctorate, but ya’ gotta do whatcha’ gotta do. “Is there anything you have in mind, Homelander?” I look back up to Homelander, feeling the need to be deferential to appease his ego, for now. His hand was still wrapped tight around my wrist and he crowds over me in the small room, his whole body crushes me against him in our closeness—it felt like I could fit in his pocket. The absurdity of it all would be funny if it wasn’t so worrisome. 

“You can pick it out, Daph.” He declares just above a whisper, a breath in my ear. The closeness of the action makes me grow anxious as Eli silently scrutinizes us, a knowing look gracing his chiseled features. Eli’s eyes were sparkling with amusement as his eyes flicker back between us with an raised eyebrow, making my tomato red blush spread across my whole body.

“O-O-Okay.” I stutter out, before taking a shy step out of his tight hold. 

“We have this rack that fits his measurements.” Eli’s tone is casual as he strolls near the lounging area of the small room. The styles were limited but all of the brands were from high fashion designers, this one rack was at least worth twenty five thousand dollars. That’s not including the shoes in the back. 

Trying to bring my inner Olivia fashionista out I grab the rack and drag it to where Homelander decided to sit in the far off corner. Trying to ignore everyone and everything I think. He has fallen into a melancholic mood, toiling and turning inside, dark red clouds clinging above his thoughts. My body moves before my brain can tell me no. I grab his hands making him jump from whatever thoughts had him trapped inside his head. 

“Can I take these off?” I gently pat his hands looking directly into his piercing blue eyes. He looked vacant from within, and it made me shudder with a new fear I couldn’t comprehend. The cloying cinnamon flavor had just a hint of pine, reminding me of something buried deep inside. The conflicting emotions and aura made my head spin and my stomach twist into knots, but I didn’t, no I couldn’t look away.

“Sure.” He is dismissive, giving a slight shrug to pair off with his uncaring tone. I gently pry off his blue leather gloves, making sure to pay attention to any change in his expression. He only flexes his hands as I place them on the side table; he continues to look bored as ever. 

“What’s your favorite color?” I burst out awkwardly, not able to sound casual. 

“Huh? I don’t know, blue.” He shrugs, trying to participate as little as possible.

“Like the blue of your suit?” I look over the rack again trying to find similar colors to his supe attire.

“No, no more of a light blue, like…” He trails off now, not able to look me in the eyes. His usual overbearing confidence seemed to have left the building the moment we walked into The Rack .  It felt like there was a storm on the horizon and I was left out to sea with only a buoy to cling to. His mood swings were becoming harder and harder to understand even with my powers to help me.

“Well, here is this beautiful light blue jean jacket. Oh, feel this Homelander! How do you feel about this material?” I grab a soft cashmere Gucci white tee, simple and with no logos attached. He gently rubs it between his fingers, and a small smile peaks from behind his once placid expression. 

“I like it; it's…soft.” I can’t hold my excitement in as I rush to grab another item off the rack with Eli indirectly helping me. 

Through a few shrugs and an actual happy “That’s not bad.” we achieved a final look that Homelander couldn’t complain about. Eli even threw in a wide high-bridge set of black Dolce Gabbana sunglasses to ‘complete’ the look, Eli’s exact words. Homelander ignores the both of us as he shyly walks into the changing room with the outfit in hand. 

“I saw the social media posts on your Instagram. Didn’t know you had so many followers now, but I guess it makes sense with the new fame.” Eli hugs me from the side and I lean into it, enjoying the friendly contact. His aura alway has a soft relaxing touch, like the feeling of drinking a perfect cup of hot chamomile tea during a rainy night. 

“Ugh, I didn’t even post those. One of my coworkers just used some of my photos and made it into a social campaign.” I sigh, feeling drained just talking about it.

“Well, I could see your curly blond head in some photos. So, now you're famous. Get used to it and take advantage of the perks.” He wiggles his eyebrows looking between me and the door Homeladner was changing in. I smack his shoulder giving him my best death glare. He laughs freely and his smooth baritone is as pleasant as ever to listen to. 

“Now you sound like Olivia. No thank you, I'm going to try and be as anonymous as possible. I don’t need that kind of attention, ever. I’m a therapist . That’s it.” I mutter out feeling a throat tightening worry claw at the back of mind like a persistent draft.

“Got it, got it. Saint Daph over here, of course you’d say that. I knew from the beginning you wouldn’t be happy about it, but I still had to tease you. For old times sake.” He chirps pinching my cheeks as if I was some snot nosed baby. I blow raspberries at him like a snot nosed baby, just to show him. He bursts out into full blown belly laugh not holding anything back, his joy sparkling atop my senses like a happy haze. 

The changing room door flies open, looking like it barely held onto the hinges it was nailed down to. Homelander struts out one long leg at a time showcasing the outfit itself, even paired with his scowling face, he looked handsome. His anger was so fresh and rushed over me like a heat wave. The burning sensation of drinking something too hot coated my tongue with a flash of pain searing my tongue. 

Though the heated pain searing my mouth was a distraction I still couldn’t take my eyes off him. He wore the white Gucci white shirt and the light blue jean jacket frames the shape of his shoulders perfectly. The well fitted jeans that had a bleach splash pattern paired well with his steel colored Jimmy Choo oxfords. His shades rest on top of his head as a perfect accessory to cap it all off. 

“You look great!” I rush to his side grabbing him by the arm, steeling myself against his volatile aura. Twisting and turning into a red dustbowl of anger that attacked my mindscape without abandon. The taste of ash mixed with cloying cinnamon left me feeling light headed. I held up my defenses and kept a pleasant smile on my face under Homelander’s scrutiny.

“I agree, very sharp but still casual. I think the shoes help elevate the overall look.” Eli adds looking over Homelander’s whole outfit.

“No one asked you.” Homelander bluntly says without missing a beat. It leaves Eli sputtering, choking to find the right words to appease Homelander’s ego.

“Homelander!” I yell out admonishing with a little slap to his shoulder for emphasis. Homelander only scuffs at me, not bending to any sort of retaliation, rolling his eyes to prove my point. He grips my arm tight, not letting me out of his hold. “Sorry, Eli. I’ll talk to you another time, and I won’t forget to remind Olivia about that dinner she owes you.” Homelander steers me out of The Rack as I’m finishing my sentence, waving Eli goodbye with a twinge of guilt gnawing inside my stomach. Eli waves back politely, not seeming offended by any of it at all. I rush to throw Homelander’s suit and gloves into my large bag before he can storm off with me in tow.

The agitation was radiating off him like a broken heater, it was making me sweat under his dominant aura. As if being pinned down by an instrument, like a bug under an entomologist’s needle. Without a forewarning he’s grabbing me like I’m a sack of potatoes and he’s flying off. I scream as I clutch his shoulders so tightly I could feel my bones pop under the pressure. I close my eyes tight and I can feel my stomach doing a billion summersaults. The slicing sharp wind cuts at my skin, it leaves me feeling uncomfortable and achy. The only thing keeping me from passing out is Homelander’s warm arms holding me firm to his body, not showing any signs of letting me go.

What felt like hours which was probably only minutes, he finally lands on solid ground. Riverside Park looked like its usual busy self, and oddly enough no one took notice of the person arriving by flight. A lucky break. 

“Do you know what Stormfront’s been saying since your campaign?” Homelander’s chilling question strikes fear into my heart. Like being struck with lightning; my eyes dilate and can’t stop my abrupt inhalation of breath. I can barely get my heart to calm before he’s towering over me and looking me over with a conspiratorial paranoia haunting his eyes. 

“No, and I don’t care what she’s saying and neither should you.” I swallow down my fear, wipe away the sweat on my brow and interlace my arm with his. “Now you need lunch before we start. Let's get you a hotdog. Luckily for you I know the perfect place.”

“I don’t want a hotdog.”

“You’ve never had a hotdog from the vendor stationed at Riverside Park, have you?”

“No, but before you try to tell me–”

“Well then you have to try it!” 

“No, no Daphne hotdogs are disgusting.”

“Not these hotdogs. Now stop complaining and follow me!” I pipe up steering him inside the park through the cobbled paths that showcased the famous cherry blossom trees. We quickly step in line with the rest of the sparse crowd, no one giving us a second look. The disguise if you want to call it that was a success. 

“Sammy!” I squealed out from a few feet away. A hotdog vendor, Sammy, stood at the corner of the central fountain. The large bulky man in a bright red polo and slacks, resembling a Wells Fargo agent, waves jovially at me.

“Why isn’t it pipsqueak in the flesh!” His thick Brooklyn accent was accentuated for the tourists, I know this for a fact, but he hasn’t broken character in front of me once. Homelander trails a few steps behind me as I excitedly bolt to hug the large man. His bursting reddish orange aura shimmers bright with a homemade smell of dinner made with love. The taste of my favorite dish when I was a child sits at the tip of my tongue, like a nostalgic dream come to life. He noogies my curls into a complete disaster; Eli’s sparkly butterfly clip hangs on by a thread. “And is this your new boyfriend?” He asks with fatherly affection while he continues to noogie me into an early grave. I shove his beefy hand off my curls with an exaggerated huff, retreating to Homelander’s side. 

“No, no he’s my friend…” I stammer off looking at Homelander to save me from complete embarrassment. It's not like we discussed a code name when going out all incognito. 

“It's John, nice to meet you.” Homelander introduces himself with a charming but too wide smile and handshake that would make most fathers proud.

“Handsome boyfriend you have there Daph. Got to keep him close before you get too old to be a young pretty wife. Then you'll be crusty like all of the other spinsters out in this little city.” Sammy quips with a rumbling chuckle, this takes the air out of me, making his chuckles turn into a full blown belly laugh. Homelander bursts out into an unattractive fit of laughter, almost choking on his hysteria. 

“What do you mean spinster? This isn’t the 1800s old man!” I squeal out feeling my entire face light up into a flaming red shade, all from his prodding nature. That was just Sammy for you and I should have been used to it.

“Okay, okay do you want your usual?”

“Yes, plus add one for my friend.”

“I’m not really—” Homelander tries to intervene.

“He hasn’t eaten all day. He’s probably starving honestly.” I stop him before he can inadvertently–or overtly, offend Sammy. Homelander glares daggers into the back of my head, but I’ve gotten good at ignoring him. 

“Good! This is the food of champions my man, your little lady knows it well. Good customer she is.” Sammy boasts making his famous hotdogs with quick ease, placing the complete order in two red checkered paper trays. Homelander doesn’t take his, so I take it for him, holding onto it for safekeeping. And to not look rude, which seems to never be an issue for Homelander.

Luckily the rain from this morning has cleared away to make room for a clear blue sky. The sun was bright, a beacon of cheer in this beautiful park setting. A relaxing setting that shouldn’t raise his hackles while we talk. Hopefully. I wave to Sammy as we stroll off, not letting Sammy’s embarrassing implications linger in my mind, I continue to hold onto Homelander’s arm. 

I shove the hotdog in Homelander’s ungrateful hands, he gags at it in his usual dramatic fashion. I happily take a huge chomp of my own plain hotdog. I steer him towards an offshoot path where trees seem to take over, obscuring the view from the cityscape. It's a more private trail that's perfect for what I need it for.

As we silently follow my favorite trail I can hear birds chirping around us, and two squirrels are chasing each other across the path; not giving us a second glance or any mind as they play.  Now if by some miracle we found a deer I would proclaim myself Snow White . Sadly, they weren’t residents of this park. If we wanted to see them we would have to go to the Bronx. Stealthily taking a glance towards Homelander without his notice, I can see him sneaking bites of his hotdog, not giving any sign if he likes it or not. But he continues to eat, so I call that a win.

Definitely a childish and prideful streak of his.

“How about we sit here?” 

“I don’t care.” He shrugs, looking almost calm, in comparison to an hour ago.

“Perfect!” I drag him to sit besides me, which he relents, he graces his arm across the bench as he swallows the last of his hotdog. I hope my dress doesn’t get stained while sitting on the damp wooden bench, but it's my own fault for wearing white, so I sit without complaint. 

“What would you like to talk about first?”

“Isn’t that your job to figure that out?”

“I want to talk about what’s concerning you, and the only way for me to know that is to ask you.”

“Well, you know what’s been bothering me. Stormfront and my numbers dropping, not much more to it.” He mutters out with derision, putting his shades on to pointedly glare into the bright sky.

“Well those are definitely things we can talk about, but I was thinking more about your personal life.” 

“Hah, that part of my life is not so complicated.” He sounds like he means to say this as if it's a good thing, but his words are all pointed and coated with bitterness he couldn’t hide.

“I want to know if you’ve done anything for yourself recently?” His posture stiffens up like a rubber band pulled back so tight it could just snap .

“I-I saw my son recently.” His eyes moved rapidly across the room finally landing back on me with a pointed and cold glare. He obviously didn’t mean to say that. He was trying to be difficult no matter how far we’ve come. 

“How was that?” A simple question, but a loaded one.

“He didn’t know I was his Dad and I didn’t know he existed. I didn’t even know I could have a kid until they told me.” ‘They,’ the word he spat out with such derision that goosebumps ran down my spine. A sharp chill in the air as if the winter season decided to come visit. The taste of hate always was the same to me no matter who it was. This hate felt different though; something about Homelander’s hate tasted darker, akin to coffee grounds. He’s looking down at his hands, his cold stare gone but not the chill. I felt my powers a-light within me, a yearning to smooth his frayed edges out.

“I pushed him off the roof. He doesn’t exactly want to talk to me after that, either.”

“A roof?” I hold my expression still, giving nothing away.

“I was trying to teach him how to fly.” He stares at me with a coldness I haven’t seen before, as if waiting for me to attack him. Without a second thought I grab both of his hands and place them in mine. He flinches away, like a trembling foal, but relaxes into my touch after a few seconds pass.

“What happened after?” My calm aura overtakes his own, focusing all of my willpower to embrace his own chaotic energy and turn into something less painful .

“He fell, didn’t fly. Surprisingly, I thought he would be scared of me when he failed the attempt, but instead he was angry at me.” He huffs, blowing out an ungraceful snort, a scowl morphing his handsome features. 

“Hm, why do you think he would have been scared rather than angry?”

“Huh, oh, I don’t know. It's just…” He trails off, his aura twisting quickly, sharp pain shooting down my head at the impact. His blue gaze now looks vacant as he stares off into the distance. I continue to wait, holding his hands, as I decide to turn my eyes to the horizon too. “Dr. Vogelbaum would have been angry.” He whispers just on the cusp of sounding fearful, stressed notes twinging his voice; his admission was taken with the breeze.

“Well, you're not Dr. Vogelbaum and Ryan’s not you.” I say simply with a shrug. The lightness of my response takes Homelander out of his dark stupor, finally deigns to look me in the eyes. Even with his shades now covering his eyes I can still see beneath his bravado. Something soft flickers beneath the surface and his aura stills, the scent of pine embraces my senses.

“Yeah, I guess not.” He murmurs looking away again, quickly. He is acutely aware he showed too much of his hand, all the chinks in his armor in full view.

“Well, like I offered before I can help mediate a session with the both of you. If you’d like?”

“I guess that wouldn’t be too awful.”

“Hey! I resent that. I’m good with kids, you know.” I puff out in indignation, my cheeks full of air. He laughs at me, not with me that’s for sure. To my alarming disappointment my phone rings a blaring horn sound, representing Erving’s contact. My attention diverts completely to my phone as I quickly grab it from my bag. Homelander watch me without blinking, not giving me any room for privacy. I click on the single text message from the contact labeled under Black Noir.

There was a singular photo of Black Noir giving a peace sign to the camera with a computer techie behind him, surrounded by Redbulls . It looked like they were inside the Vought building, maybe the tech-security room, but I’m not hundred percent sure. The woman who seemed to be working under duress, she just looked plain uncomfortable, but she gave a peace sign to the camera as well. Maybe to appease Black Noir’s odd sense of humor. I chuckle at the ridiculous image. I was worried about him all this time for no real reason it seems.

“Black Noir is texting you?” His question was burning hot off his tongue as he screwed up his face in disgust.

“Oh, yeah just wanted to make sure he was okay while he was out on a mission.” I heart the picture, but decided not to reply. Not wanting to be rude to Homelander I put my phone back in my purse. “Sorry about that. I just wanted to make sure he was alright.”

“Hm.” He grits out through a grinding jaw. His veins throb in his neck and the red storm that is his aura twists chaotically. He stands abruptly from the bench. I gasp not able to hide my surprise from his whiplash of emotions. “Well, since you’re so busy with Black Noir I might as well leave.” He barks, I can’t stand up fast enough before he's storming off. 

The whirlwind of emotions and burning anger that tasted of coffee grounds lingers on my tongue even with him gone. I can’t believe I was left behind. We didn’t even get very far before he bailed. What could have changed his mood so suddenly? I sigh, feeling my whole body ache with residual pain from the last few days. Oh man, I have his suit too. 

I riffle in my bag and my hand freezes, there resting gently in the center pocket was the folder. I slowly take it out, as if it would bite me, looking over the label, it stares back. The feeling of trepidation swelters like a feverish nausea festering inside my belly. I swallow down the bile and open the folder.

S age Grove Center:

REPORT #132 for PROJECT CONTROL CENTER: 

September 2nd, 1993

Eight years of service to Vought before consenting to giving us a specimen for this honor. Dr. Bennet goes under the procedures just like the volunteers, including after pregnancy. The genetics of both spouses should present genetic markers we are looking for. Though the hypothesis proves correct–as you know, the parents of the experiment have gotten attached, it seems. 

(NAME REDACTED), I know you are prudent about how this will unfold, but Dr. Shetty is holding her ground on the subject. Though the experiment was doing better than others before her, her declining health under the more strict testing has given us little hope. We have to push her further to see how far we can go with this one. She will at least be another step forward in the right direction, even if she doesn’t pass. 

CONTROL CENTER should be a success with a few more babies like this one, as long as the parents allow us a few more samples. I see in a few more months we will have a breakthrough on this serum. Your husband would be quite proud, if you don’t mind me saying.

From,

Dr. Alfred Leeman

REPORT #133 for PROJECT CONTROL CENTER: 

October 2nd, 1993

Daniel Bennet is becoming more of a problem by the week, and he is dragging the “good doctor” down to his level. (NAME REDACTED), I feel it is time we terminate his contract before he decides to pull something similar to when he was out in the field. Dr. Shetty will have no qualms with this, she wants the “good doctor” to be compliant after all. That we can all agree on.

The good news is the experiment’s genetic markers have now fully integrated with the Compound V serum. Her genetics are changed into something completely different from the original serum. Certain powers may not even affect this experiment, but more testing is needed for this hypothesis. 

We will have to ask for people to interview for the head of security position soon before Mr. Bennett becomes a real problem. We cannot let this precious time be wasted on regretful sperm-donors, but I know you know that.

From,

Dr. Alfred Leeman

REPORT #134 for PROJECT CONTROL CENTER: 

November 2nd, 1993

Informing Stan Edgar was a regretful but necessary decision I had to make in order to preserve as much of the research as possible. I hope you can forgive this inconvenience, as you find Stan Edgar unsavory, but again it was required. To my chagrin Stan Edgar found the new side project a profitable endeavor. 

He especially loves the concept of the central nerve system being the genetic identifier for their powers in contrast to the original’s going through the spinal-cord. His added interest has helped recover our extreme monetary losses since the silent lawsuit. The Bennetts have gotten away with not only screwing us but also Vought Co, which means Stan Edgar. So, we can be happy about one thing (NAME REDACTED).

Their supposed official adoption was only granted if they signed off on the gag order, and they had to agree, of course. Oddly enough I don’t see that whole situation working out. The experiments we still have are being burned now as I write this. They were all given a “mercy death,” for they failed quickly. Your husband would have agreed with the sentiment, (NAME REDACTED).

We will have to start fresh. 

From,

Dr. Alfred Leeman

That was the last journal in the folder, but there were a few articles from 1994 to 1996. The small cut out articles all contained pictures of my parents holding me as an infant in front of a picket fence home. The article explained their normal cookie cutter stories out, her a school teacher, and my Dad the war hero. They were given a spotlight in the paper in a small town I can faintly remember. I’ve only moved twice in my whole life, and that was the first home I lived in. The blurry old photo didn’t show enough details for me to recollect much, but the nostalgia hit me like a freight train.

The articles were paid off backstories for my family to fall into. They were Vought employees and they didn’t just give me Compound V, they agreed to an experiment. Something different and from what I just read, deathly. My whole body is shaking as if I am sitting in the middle of a snow storm with no jacket to fight off the chill, but the storm is inside my heart.  Skimming through the journals over and over the sun begins to set in the background though my obsessive spiral.

Dr. Shetty, as in famous behavioral scientist and Dean of Godolkin University, Indira Shetty. My hunch might feel like a conspiracy, but at this point I have nothing else to go on. Though, it is documented that she has worked under Sage Grove Center when researching her job history. With gut wrenching bravery I didn’t think I have I dial Dean Shetty’s office.

“Hello, this is Dean Shetty’s office, how may I help you?” An elegant and cheery voice on the other side asks.

“Who may I be talking to?” I whisper through a gravelly throat. I try to hold back my tears, but it seems I’ve no control of anything these days, my tears slowly trail down my face.

“Dean Shetty’s assistant Erica, so how can I help you?”

“U-um I would love to set up an appointment with her, tomorrow if possible. I’m a psychologist for The Seven currently. Because of this I’ve been wanting to speak with more like minded people who work to service Superheroes’ mental health.” I push out with an obviously forced cheery voice.

“Oh, Dr. Bennett, you’ve been the talk of Godolkin University as of late. I’m sure she will be able to fit you in her schedule tomorrow. Let me see…” She trails off with the clickety clacking of a keyboard on the other end. “Yes, yes does one in the afternoon sound good to you Dr. Bennett?”

“That’s perfect. Thank you Erica.”

“Of course, Dr. Bennett.”

That was too easy. The chills of foreboding wracks my body once again, the urge to flee rattling in my bones. I look up to see it's night already, almost no one is in the park. The day has flown by before I even knew it. I walk tiredly out of the park’s entrance and stumble inside a cab. I decide no detours is for the best. I know my dad said I should talk to them right after reading the file, but I just can’t. The day’s drained everything out of me and I need my bed pronto.

I sleepily stumble into my apartment in a zombie-like state and I ready myself for bed. I turn my phone off needing a break from everything . Now in my pink silk pajamas I embrace my soft bed with complete glee, curling into it with a content sigh.

“John, of course you can have a hug.” A soft warm embrace before the warmth felt sticky and oozed. The cloying pressing fear clogged my senses, my heart wouldn’t stop beating a mile a minute.

“ Not so tight, John.” Crack. Snap. The sharp hollow feeling inside me feels insatiable. “J-John, please!”

The crash of glass wakes me up from the foggy nightmarish memories I’ve had locked away in my head. I jump from my bed, stumbling and tripping from being entangled in my blankets. I squint in the dark as a big figure moves, I scream. 

“Daphne! It's me…” Homelander’s deep timbered voice seems far off and his voice holds a note of embarrassment. I decided to ignore the broken terrace door and focus on slowly turning on the lights, not giving him my back, as if he was a wild animal. He kind of is in a way, at least as unpredictable one. I got to the fridge and got two glasses out with a silent patience I knew would grate on his nerves. I grab the milk and pour it in each glass with as much grace as my groggy sleep-addled brain could muster. 

I finally look him over, he’s in his suit again and the scowl he wore now reminded me of when I first met him. He looks like he’s in a state of flux. His red sand dune of a mindscape couldn’t decide if it wanted to destroy everything around it or be still and silent. I place my hand on his, trying to quiet the storm inside him so he can just breathe.  

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you think I’m pathetic?” Homelander’s question makes me jump, as if burned.

“You're not pathetic, John. I think you're strong, and not only on the outside, on the inside too.” I say with the full force, yelling in indignation for him. I hand him a warmed up glass of milk as I do this, a small smile breaks his dark expression. Relief floods my soul like no other as he sips the glass, his tense shoulders relax.

“Do you want to sleep here?” I offer, his eyes flash and leave feeling like a bug pinned to a board.

“Yes, but I want the bed.”

“O-okay let me get you something comfortable to sleep in.” I leave Homelander standing in the center of my open floor plan, awkwardly sipping on his warm milk. I came back from the cubby closet with a similar outfit I gave him last time, courtesy of my dad again.

As he changes I grab an old afghan that my grandmother made me over ten years ago from my closet and lay on the top of my bed. I curl the blanket around me, mimicking the look of a caterpillar. He comes back in with his changed attire, but he stops mid-step looking at me with amusement sparkling in his eyes.

“Are you okay sleeping in the same bed?”

“Yes, it's fine. I’ll sleep on the top of the covers so your virtue may stay intact.” I yawn out feeling loopy tired at this point. Homelander snorts, slowly sliding into the bed, looking ready to bolt if needed. Silence surrounds us like the comforting dark, and what feels like an odd dream, I relax into Homelander’s presence. I can feel my eyes slowly close.

“Daphne…” I jerk up surprised to hear Homelander’s faint voice through the darkness.

“Yeah?”

“You can call me John when it's just us.”

“O-okay. Goodnight, John.” I whisper back, just as sleepy as a second ago, but for some reason my heart would not stop pounding in my chest.

______________________________________________________________

Visit the AO3 website if you want to keep up to date with the most recent updates!

[measuringbliss]

Spider-Man Read-Through 031: Tarantula and Kraven (SSM 1-3, plus -1)

MASTERPOST

In this batch, I make a mistake, someone gets to have creamed filling and big cats show their teeth!

That's heavily relatable to me. My grandparents would force us to go outside instead of letting us read or play inside. Some things never change?

HE'S GAY. HE'S BISEXUAL. HE'S QUEER. MAY SENSED IT. Like it's RIGHT THERE. COME ON. WE ALL KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. "He's a bit fragile." We all knooooooooow!!!!

And Ben really wants Peter to be straight.

Oh. That explains things...

Not only do we get backstory for Peter, but we also get it for Flash! He's an asshole as a kid, but when you see his dad, things make more sense.

I'm putting this without context because it's funny. The facial expressions are on point, though, I'm very impressed.

Wow, Uncle Ben sucks. I get he has good intentions, but no no no, argh.

He gets better.

I don't have much to say, because the issue is very unlike the rest that has come before. It's dramatic, ironic, well-written, dark...

Not what I expected. Hm!

And... that's partly because I just read issue #-1, not #1. That was an issue published in the 90s.

WHICH MAKES MUCH MORE SENSE. Turns out my site redirected me to -1 instead of 1... but I'm still gonna read what I'm here for!

That's more like it! Oh, hey, Flash! That's, uh, awkward.

Classic situation: Spidey's taking pics of an event on the campus, a big bad (The Tarantula, my beloved) attacks, Flash tries to fight his goons off and fails, and the Tarantula escapes with a nice guy.

IN OTHER NEWS...

So Gloria's gonna throw a surprise party for Peter, nice! I'm getting spoiled, but oh well, I prefer to read several issues of the same series at a time.

I think Peter, MJ and Flash should hang out together. They should date and snuggle. And maybe I should write that. I just posted on AO3 today for the Threesome prompt of Kinktober, but nothing stops me from posting more stuff!!!!!

I feel like there's a decent chance MJ would be polyamorous, especially those years. Nowadays, she's busy adopting fake children and getting with guys from another dimension.

Turns out the Tarantula's obeying someone's orders, as usual! I wonder who that is. It feels so great to be lost like that!

The ads are bonkers too.

Spidey saves the mayor, but the Tarantula gets away. It's a fun issue, I don't know why, but I'm very attached to the Tarantula.

That makes sense!!!!!! So we still have Conway, nice <3 Sal Buscema and Mike Esposito did a great job with the visuals, too.

SSM #2 starts... Well.

I have no idea what the first yellow text in the middle panel means, but I'm here for it. At least we're not forgetting the Kinkpin's son, and it makes the concurrent ASM storyline quite intriguing!

Somewhere else, the Tarantula surprises Kraven and they fight. I hope we get to see Kraven's nipple lasers!

Someone interrupts them, sadly.

Hmm! So mysterious!

While both evil guys get to know each other and kidnap a guy, Peter has an idea. Gloria is looking for a job, and he knows just where they can try.

"Peter, you're my friend, why are you doing this to me?"

Great comedy.

Turns out Gloria and Jameson hit it off spectacularly. Gloria might have used some of her charm... Good for her!

Spider-Man has a job of his own, of course.

Kitty kitty!

The Tarantula is a smart one. I'm glad that Conway gets to play with his characters a bit more <3

...That said, considering our mysterious figure assaults the Tarantula precisely for knowing too much, I'm not sure he's gonna stay alive much longer.

Oh, they want the money. Good for them! I'm not gonna read Jessica Drew's adventures, though.

Lasers!!!!! Kind of. Better than nothing.

#SSM 3 time!

I love that Peter's unmasked on his picture <3

Imprisonned with the mayor, the Tarantula frees himself... but the Lightmaster, aka his boss, was expecting this!

Peter has more important business, though, namely: getting back home in his costume and avoiding being seen by Gloria and Flash, who're playing music in his flat.

He succeeds. Flash invites him to eat with Gloria, but he has a surprise when they get at the restaurant...

Remember her?

She runs away, and Flash decides he needs to be alone for a while. I never expected to see her again!

Peter decides to investigate a flashing light and finds he's not welcome there.

I snorted. The Lightmaster knows what he wants! And he hurts Peter pretty bad.

A good excuse for a new fit.

He eventually unmasks the Lightmaster as a physics teacher at university! Alright, sure. The bad guy ends up fried similarly to Kraven, nicely closing our batch.

Next time: The Vulture!

[b-yeonder]

Bringing Them Breakfast in Bed (Brothers + Undateables)

LUCIFER:

When you walk in balancing the breakfast tray Lucifer is already sat up in bed checking his D.D.D for any important news from RAD, but his attention is quickly diverted to you. The spread you offer him? Buttered toast, two different types of jam in cute little decorative jars, a full wine glass, and a cup of tea. "Wine in the morning? What do you take me for," he chuckles putting his phone down. Grinning you tell him that it's just grape juice to which he laughs and accepts the tray from you with a sincere thank you. Finds it incredibly endearing and can't stop smiling - calls you his good girl/boy with a wink. Will definitely put him in a good mood for the rest of the day.

MAMMON:

"For me? All of it? Really?" Yup! He's flabbergasted, blinking stupidly with his mouth hanging open as his cheeks redden before eventually catching himself and clearing his throat, putting on his usual bravado. "Well damn, I definitely deserve this huh, being the Great Mammon after all!" Cheeks are still red despite his demeanor change. Takes the tray and starts tucking in with gusto. "Ya gonna help me with this right? Here, I'll feed ya a pancake look--" He does, insisting on feeding it to you by hand and is a happy bubbly fella all morning. Why? Because his human pampered him and he feels s p e c i a l. (Because he is, of course.)

LEVIATHAN:

Shakes off his tiredness in an instant when he realises what you're handing him. "Is this that Limited Edition Ruri-chan cereal!? WHOOOAAH!" A million thank yous before he takes a million pictures to post on his social media and is loathe to eat it but it looks so good and ohhh man he's caved already and it IS good! You can't help but laugh at him as he eats it with his eyes closed, humming happily. "I can't believe you got these. Just for me? Really? Like, the whole box, you don't want any at all?" Blushes reaaal hard once it dawns on him how difficult it must have been for you to get and that you made all the effort for him and him only. "What if I feed you a spoonful? They're really good." Blushy blush, hide behind that fringe cutie pie.

SATAN:

"Ohh well well well, what have we here?" A smirk as you hand him his tray. Freezes when he sees what's on his plate and his cheeks redden quickly. You can't help but grin as he just stares. Cat pancakes. Cat-head shaped pancakes with syrupy faces. "You okay there?" "I....they're..." He clears his throat and blinks up at you. "Cute right?" Your grin widens as he nods. "I don't know if I can eat them..." At his mumbled confession you laugh and plop next to him on the bed, offering to feed them to him which has him blushing more. What can I say, sleepy morning bedhead Satan is easily flustered.

ASMODEUS:

"Oh darling this is amazing! But really all you had to do was show up nude and that would have been all the breakfast I need--" "ASMO!" He giggles and licks his lips at the delicious looking spread laid before him. "G A S P, is this GLITTERY JAM!?" "Yes! Isn't it cool?" Squeals and tucks in, rolling his eyes in his head. "Oh my gosh it tastes as good as it looks. This would make a good lipstick colour, we should go looking for one later." Uses it as an opportunity to gossip and get a few little flirtatious moves in before the day has even started. Dabbing jam on your nose just to lick it off making you snort with laughter and shove him away.

BEELZEBUB:

Presented with a full English breakfast, a giant stack of pancakes, and orange juice his eyes are the size of saucers as his pupils flick from the food to you. "What's wrong, handsome?" "I'm trying to decide what I want to eat more right now - the food or you." Because yes the poor sausage is overwhelmed and gets hard with excitement over all the deliciousness before him. Ends up shoving some egg in his gob followed by a pancake and half of the orange juice before pouncing on you. "Lemme love you!" "BEEEL-!" He's grinning and smothering you with breakfasty smooches leaving you a giggling mess. (Would want to finish his breakfast with you wrapped in his arms after he’s had his way because hugs and food are the best.)

BELPHEGOR:

"I've never seen you eat breakfast so I didn't know what to make you therefore I am serving myself," you say, gesturing to yourself with a flourish. "Perfect." Instantly grabs you and starts biting and gnawing at you making you erupt in a fit of giggles and try to push him off. "Mmmm human, so delicious!" Keeps going, pinning you down and climbing on top. "BELPHIE STOP THAT TICKLES." Evil grin plastered on his face, eventually ends the antics with a kiss on your nose. Then bites it. "Just for future reference though, I love a good omelette. Make me one of those and I'm yours forever." "You're not already mine forever?" "No, you suck, make me an omelette." Collapses on top of you so you can't go and make one even if he wasn't just winding you up. 

DIAVOLO:

Has a massive grin on his face the moment you set foot in his room, getting even bigger when he sees you've brought food. You serve it professionally, pretending to be Barbatos and making him laugh. "Your breakfast, young Master."  "Ooo, my birthday must have come early?" Devours everything eagerly, insisting on sharing with you no matter how much you protested. "Come now, you deserve to taste the fruit of your labours. It's wonderful!" Like a big kid, smothers you with kisses when he's done. "I'll have to think of a proper way to repay you..."

BARBATOS:

Completely taken by surprise - it was usually him that was serving meals after all and here you were up at an even earlier hour than him handing him a breakfast tray? Doesn't know what to say at first, eyes roaming over the food you'd prepared for him until he spots the little flower-shaped strawberries you'd cut for him - something he'd done for you once to cheer you up when you were sick. "Seeee," you say with a playful nudge as you settle next to him. "I've been learning." "You have...this looks wonderful, thank you." He leans over to press a delicate kiss to your lips and you mumble a quiet you're welcome against them. The two of you share a rare moment of solitude chatting idly and enjoying each others' company before another busy day at the Palace begins.

SOLOMON:

Eyes you and the food suspiciously. "You trying to poison me again?" "Dude it was just gone-off milk it wouldn't have killed you. Also that was a whole year ago why are you still holding that against me?" "Yeah well..." Sniffs it just to be sure then flashes you a playful smile. "I'm just messing. This looks really good - thanks." Halfway through tucking in: "Y'know I'd offer to return the favour but you'd probably die so I won't bother." "Yeah please don't," you laugh, resting your head on his shoulder. "Although....what if you were my breakfast next time? Worth a thought," he mused, tapping his spoon against his bottom lip as you rolled your eyes.

SIMEON:

Oh...this is awkward... You both are bearing breakfast trays intended for the other. Burst into laughter you make your way to his room where you swap trays and tuck in. "I can't believe this..." "We're too in tune with each other," Simeon smiles, sipping at his tea. "Yeah, I guess we are." The food was delicious - heavenly even and you found yourself closing your eyes from pleasure while eating it. "This is amazing, Sims." "Glad you like it," he replied with a grin. "You've made these eggs perfectly." "I'll have to make them for you more often." "I'd like that a lot." Simeon definitely tries feeding you at one point, laughing sweetly at your eagerness to take it from him.

[violetsoju]

snapshot

miya atsumu · fluff · 1.9k

muse: highlight - not the end

a/n: my ultimate boys are finally back after three and a half years, and my inner fangirl that has been asleep for way too long has been unleashed for the past few days. hence, this impulsive piece. do let me know if you enjoyed it ❤️

It’s time.

After a year or so, there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel. Cherry blossoms are in full bloom again, gracing the pathways with shades of light pink and white.

It’s the beginning of a new year, of new beginnings, of new hopes and dreams. A time of renewal and rebirth. When cherry blossoms are in full bloom, the future is bursting with possibilities.

What better way to start off the new year with something that makes your heart blossom with love and joy?

You’ve been deep in slumber for the past year, so it’s about time to be awaken and open the curtains for the sunlight shine in.

Your planner is inked with colourful notes and doodles, laptop reformatted with an empty recycle bin, camera equipment cleaned and dusted, phone storage deep-cleaned.

It’s hard to not notice the bright smile tugging your lips even without the mandatory cup of morning coffee, greeting everyone in the office like a ray of sunshine. Even your supervisor notices it and is surprised with the increased efficiency of work from your end. Perhaps he’s more surprised with your razor sharp accuracy in clocking out every day, disappearing in a flash once the clock strikes 6.

Your colleagues can’t seem put a finger to the recent change in your behaviour. What’s an afterwork get-together without you and ridiculous tipsy antics? Not even your favourite yakult soju or the summoning of your supervisor could drag your feet to the dinner place.

“Do you have a boyfriend? That’s why you’re so busy recently?” They would ask. Or they would try and wiggle their way by asking “Is there someone waiting at home for you?”

No matter how tactfully they twist and turn their words, they were all futile attempts. Because all they would get was a sickly sweet innocent smile that never met your crescent-shaped eyes, and an automatic response. “Thank you for the invite, but I’m afraid I’ll have to pass tonight. Have fun!”

They had their bets that you were wrapped up with your secret little love life, spending nights over at your lover’s place, whispering sweet nothings into the night. “Ah, young love.” They would sigh. “Remember to stay protected!”

Your tight lipped smile fuelled them further instead. Why don’t you say anything, they wonder.

To you, why waste your energy explaining something that is incomprehensible to them and risk having yourself being the centre of gossip? Not that you are already the recent centre of gossip.

Because they won’t understand the surge of excitement flowing through your veins at the ping of notifications popping up on your phone screen during work. They won’t understand the of anticipation for the timer on a video screen to turn zero, whether on the way home or while having dinner. They won’t understand the happiness of late night chats with likeminded people online, sleep washed away while gushing and typing in full caps with each other. They won’t understand the buzz of giddiness with just one post, one picture or one sentence. They won’t understand the little squeal behind a picture or a minute-long video unexpectedly appearing on screen. They won’t understand having the same song or same album on loop for days, weeks, or months. They don’t understand the dilemma of choosing a wallpaper or lockscreen for your phone. They don't understand how by remembering a person or something they have said before drives unimaginable motivation and makes the toughest circumstances bearable and possible to overcome. They won't understand how a person who doesn't know your existence personally can be a source of comfort and happiness.

They won’t understand the real reason why you’re smiling like a fool at your phone.

Maybe if they peered carefully at your phone screen, they would know why.

And it’s not what they had in bet.

Well, they were partly right if you were to be completely honest.

But if you were to place your bets, you’re sure most of them would still be scratching their heads in confusion at the black, gold and white logo.

It may be foreign to them, but you swear that you can see those colours even if you’re blind.

MSBY. The 8 member boy group. Worldwide superstars. The whole damn package. Boys made for the dazzling stage. Boys that deserve the whole world. Boys whose talent knows no limits. Boys that you hold dear to your heart.

Ever since Hinata Shouyou, the youngest of the group had injured his lower back and knee during choreography practice (in which was revealed with a slip of a tongue in a livestream that Bokuto and him were so engrossed with a certain acrobatic move which involved a backflip from a higher ground, they begged their choreographer to add it into their new choreography. Instead of showing a clip of the move, they decided to give it a shot and perform it live spontaneously for everyone, where too much adrenaline and a small slip had him lying in the hospital bed for weeks), the group had collectively come to a conclusion to halt their activities until he was fully recovered and ready to roll. There were no solo activities, solo promotions or unit activities despite the attractive proposals or invitations. Such a waste of talent and time, many said. What is their company thinking? Letting their cash cow go to waste like that. But they tuned out all the crap, and firmly held to their resolve of being together as a group; all for one, and one for all.

“We’ll be back. And we know you all have our backs.” Meian Shuugo, the leader of the pack assured, eyes filled with resolute and confidence.

So after a draught of 456 days to be exact, an oasis finally appeared in the burning desert sands. When the notification titled ‘MSBY is back’ appeared on phone and laptop screens alike, it took a few seconds for everyone to blink and make sure it wasn’t a mirage. But the small tick was unmistakable. Then the whole fandom lost their shit.

This isn’t a drill. MSBY is back. In full swing.

The black jackals are ready to hunt. Their hunger has been supressed long enough. They’ve been starved for too long. They’re out for blood. They’re ready to pounce at any moment. They’re back in the game.

(If you were to be real honest, everyone should have saw this coming after that particular livestream where Bokuto, the renowned king of spoilers, animatedly announced that “We’ll be seeing you guys soon. Like real soon!” with his wide toothy smile, to which Inunaki Shion ferociously slapped him in the back with a cramped broad smile plastered on his face. “In the next livestream, of course! Can’t wait to see you guys soon!” The mom of the group added through gritted teeth. Adriah Tomas choked on his water and sheepishly grinned, while Sakusa Kiyoomi stared ahead unfazed, like this was a daily occurrence.)

Which means it’s time for you to get back to work. Which is also no surprise why you’ve been so occupied these days, having two schedules to work with: your personal schedule and MSBY’s comeback schedule. Which also means, your weekends are MSBY’s weekends.

Fangirling is a job to be taken very, seriously.

Change of word choice for the better. Supporting your idols is a job to be taken very, seriously.

So on a pleasantly warm Saturday afternoon with cherry blossoms petals dancing in the wind, as you try your best to stable yourself on the ground with the huge ass DSLR in your hands, you scan for a specific person among the sea of people ahead. A specific blond, to be exact. But lucky you, because even if you don’t scan for him, he finds his way to your camera lens. Which is why your pictures are one of the most sought after and anticipated of the idol Miya Atsumu, lead dancer of MSBY.

It’s like he has antennas on the top of his head. Despite the flurry of cameras flashing at him, confessions and screams drowning out his surroundings, rapid camera shutters going off like woodpeckers drumming relentlessly on a tree, he somehow, always manages to locate you, to look right into your camera lens, giving you his million dollar smile or infamous grin with small fangs peeking from the sides. The cherry on top? His top-notch fanservice. He never, never fails to give a reaction to you. Be it a small wave, a heart shape with his arms bent over his head, or a flirtatious wink that would combust hearts right on the spot.

You’re beyond grateful for his attentiveness and recognition towards you. It’s not like you’re on his heels. Hitting the shutter button is just a pastime of yours when your schedule allows. In better words, you’re just a random potato popping up occasionally with a camera. Plus, it’s no easy feat to pick a specific person out among a sea of people, especially with tens or hundreds of faces flashing before his eyes in one go.

Truth to be told, you’re thankful for the special attention too, because you get to share the fun and playful side of him with everyone, to light up everyone’s day with pictures of their favourite golden boy. Sharing is caring, and in this big close-knitted family, everyone deserves to be well fed.

However, the good things in life are never free.

Jealousy is a bitch, and bitches need to get well soon. Rumours are born out of wicked tongues, and wicked tongues are born out of the evil fire of envy.

Baseless ridiculous tales circulate among the community. How you’re the daughter of some big-shot of the company or political figure, using, or abusing your privilege connections to gain his favour. How you’re an obsessive fan who has intruded your way into his life, holding his career by the reins out of corrupted love by stalking and threatening him to pose for the camera, your camera specifically if he wants to keep himself and his group safe. How it’s a business relationship between the both of you: you as his private photographer, him paying you to get perfect shots of him to boost his popularity, to outshine his members, to feed his monstrous ego.

But do you care? Of course you don’t.

Because between this jam-packed schedule, this is the only time you get to see your boyfriend in real life, and you want to keep a record of his amazing journey through your lenses. It’s a diary of his growth, the beautiful moments in his life. A diary for him, you and his fans. To also show him that you’re here with him, here for him, no matter what.

And does Miya Atsumu care? Of course he doesn’t.

Because what more can he ask by having the opportunity to see you in flesh, even if it’s just a few seconds amidst his hectic back-to-back schedules. You’re his serotonin, the one that he misses holding in his arms after a long tiring day, the one that keeps him going, the one that he can count on for being there.

Knowing that you’re there at every step of the way makes him take each step with more confidence and pride.

So as Miya Atsumu exits the broadcasting building, he searches for a familiar camera lens among the sea of similar looking cameras shoved in his face. He sweeps his gaze from left to right, and grins when he spots the one he’s looking for.

A face sculpted by the gods with a boyish grin that could lit up the world graces the cameras of many, but only one captures his eyes gleaming with delight head on.

There was a really cute fanart of idol! Atsumu but the artist has closed her twitter account so I can't link it here T_T but if you do have any idol! Atsumu fanarts do send them in hehe

[telli1206]

The Heart Will Follow (Chapter 2)

Jay’s never had a crush...until he met Carlos. And now he can’t stay away.

Carlos doesn’t know what to make of Jay’s presence, yet. But what should he do, exactly, about a boy that’s both cute AND terrifying?

A collection of Jaylos isle meetings, inspired by this beautiful headcanon I came across randomly that I can’t get out of my head. And thank you to @hersilentlanguage for motivating me to post this!

AO3

Chapter 1

Chapter 2: It Was Only Me And You

Evie tilts her head slowly, trying ever so gingerly to cast a subtle glance over her shoulder. Once she catches a flash of dark eyes, she whips back around. She tries to keep her actions as casual and composed as possible, but Carlos quirks a brow when he notices her mouth tipped open in surprise.

“He’s looking over here again. He’s-yeah, Jay’s definitely staring at you.”

Carlos sighs deeply and scrunches his eyes closed, letting his body slink back lax in his chair.

“Really? W-why do you think he keeps, doing that?”

Evie chews on her lip for a moment, examining Carlos carefully as his eyes flutter open to meet hers.

“Who knows.” She waves off the topic, leaning forward to help Carlos tackle the massive pile of books on his desk. “But there’s no point in worrying about it right now, is there? We have to get you home so you can catch up on these assignments.”

Carlos blinks, staring at her with a surprised look. He starts to turn, as if debating a look behind him, to see what Evie saw, but instead shifts back quickly and straightens up in his seat.

“O-ok. I guess. There is a lot here for me to do.”

He grabs his bag, smiling gratefully as Evie starts to stack his books so he can easily slide them in.

“Thanks, Evie.”

Evie feels a warmth bloom in her chest, and she has to fight down the happy curl that’s making its way across her lips. She only officially met her new friend a couple of hours ago, and already she feels giddy with excitement to have found a fellow kind soul on this dump of an island. She only wishes that she had a chance to meet him sooner. The fact that Carlos was hidden this whole time in the mansion just across the way from her seems like a travesty - a friendship that she’s really needed, and been deprived of.

Her resistance to smiling ebbs away the more she watches Carlos. He’s stopping every time he picks up a book to let his fingers trace across the letters on the cover, brown eyes alight with wonder, before carefully tucking his new treasure safely into his bag. It’s definitely slowing down their exit from class, but Evie can’t help but marvel at how excited Carlos is for school. It’s adorable. 

And she finally has someone she can ask to study that won’t look at her like a complete freak for actually wanting to do her school work.

Evie’s knocked out of her thoughts by a loud snort from behind, obnoxious enough to startle her and make Carlos flinch. Her eyes narrow at Mal, who flashes her a steely glare while dragging Jay along past her and Carlos. 

Jay’s constant presence makes Evie uneasy. Even as Mal pulls him by forcefully, he’s still staring at Carlos. And now he’s close...too close for her comfort. She tenses when she sees the thief leaning in even closer to her friend, only relaxing when Mal firmly yanks him away, earning space between Jay and Carlos. 

Evie comes around the desk to stand by Carlos, making a fuss under the guise of helping him more, but secretly hoping for protection for him that can come with her proximity. Carlos smiles gratefully at her, happy for her help, but also glaringly oblivous to the fact that he’s still in the sights of his dark-haired classmate.

“Come on, Carlos, we should head home. By the way, can I tell you how excited I am to have someone to walk home with? Especially since it’s you.”

Carlos ducks his head, hiding a shy smile as he slings his hefty backpack over his shoulder. Two books are still in his hand, and he ignores Evie’s comment (other than the light flush dusting his cheeks, which Evie still notices) in favor of chattering excitedly about his first Poisons and Potions class tomorrow.

His animated talk is the perfect distraction, allowing Evie to guide them quickly away from prying eyes. She hooks a hand under Carlos’ elbow the second she sees Mal and Jay lingering against the lockers. She isn’t sure why they’re still hanging around nearby, but she’s not about to stay and find out.

“-so I know we probably can’t bring materials home, but do you think the teacher might make an exception if I offered to clean up the room for them or something? Because there’s an acid that’s good for cleaning concrete that I could really use. Mother would love-”

Evie’s half listening to Carlos, nodding and humming accordingly so he continues while she’s keeping a watchful eye. She fixes as heated a glare as she can muster when she catches Jay’s eye, feeling mildly satisfied when his eyes widen slightly in surprise.

She lets her glare shift then to Mal, hoping for a smiliar reaction, but is less than surprised when instead the girl’s face scrunches in anger, and a mocking tongue pokes from between her pinkish lips. 

For a second Evie thinks how much fun it would be to just bite at that offensive pink tongue, and to bruise those small, pouty lips with pressure from her own. Mal would be shocked, no doubt, and the painful groans would be music to her ears...

Wait...painfulshrieks. Why is she thinking about Mal’s groans?

Evie shakes her head dismissively, returning her focus to Carlos and his chemistry babbling. She’s having trouble holding onto his elbow as his gestures become more wild and exagerrated. His nose is scrunched and his cheeks are flushed and red from barely taking a breath between sentences. It makes his freckles stand out so much more against the brightening skin. 

He’s so cute, Evie thinks, stealing peeks at him as they walk. With beautiful brown eyes and lips like his, she has no doubt her friend will have at least a few of the kids at Dragon Hall crushing. Hard.

Her thoughts suddenly shift to Jay, and the looks he was giving Carlos. His stares. The creepy closeness. And her breath hitches in her throat.

Maybe she’ll have more to worry about with Jay than she originally thought.

———

“Evie? I appreciate you walking with me, but isn’t your home...right there?”

Carlos points back to the dusty sidewalk Evie had just hurried past. It’s dirty and quiet and isolated like it’s barely even looked at, let alone used. And yet, there’s still a light disturbance in the softly settled dirt that bares an eerie resemblance to Evie’s high-heeled shoes.

Yes, Carlos surmises. Those are definitely her heel prints and that’s most definitely her turn off to get home.

But her fingers are fidgeting and her gaze is scattered. She’s quietly shaking her head No but refusing to look at him at the same time.

“Evie? Is...is something, wrong?”

She finally looks up at him, her bottom lip pulled tight between her teeth. Carlos catches a look of concern before Evie relaxes and flashes a toothy grin. It seems...forced? But Carlos decides not to question it.

“Of course not, Carlos! I’m fine,” she chirps, still smiling at him. “I just want to make sure you make it home ok.”

She covers Carlos’ hand with her own and smiles warmly, and Carlos is practically beaming from the attention. 

He was overjoyed when his mother finally agreed to let him attend school. But he had never imagined that going to Dragon Hall would benefit him even more than just advancing his education. 

But now, he has his first...friend. And it’s already better than he could have hoped for.

“Evie, how do you think I made it home before today?” he teases with a little smirk. “I’ll be ok, I swear. Besides, if your mom’s anything like mine, she’s going to be royally pissed if you’re late. Am I right?”

Evie sighs, casting a troubled glance towards her castle, and Carlos knows his assumption was spot-on. Not that he’s surprised, really. He would have been more shocked to find out Evie had kind, loving parents than the latter.

But to Carlos, that only begs the question why Evie would want to go against her best interest to stay with him.

“Get going,” he urges again, pointing towards her castle. “I want to walk to school with you in the morning, so don’t go getting yourself in trouble, ok? I’m not about to lose a fr- uh, person, I just found over something so trivial.”

Evie cracks a smile, clearly not missing Carlos’ almost slip-up. Evil, hopefully he didn’t already ruin things by flat-out announcing his desperation by using a word only saved for the weakest of islers.

“Ok, I guess you’re right,” Evie chirps, and Carlos breathes a sigh of relief at the smile still bright on her face. “You’ll be careful though, right? Just...watch your back.”

Carlos raises a brow. “Of course. But...what do you think’s going to happen, Evie? I’m like, 50 feet from my front door.”

Evie bites her lip again, letting her eyes scan behind them, over alleyways and their quiet, abandoned path. She pauses for a moment to narrow her gaze on one darkened corner, and Carlos can feel his heart thudding harder in his chest as he examines her movements. But she finally eases her stance and turns back to face him.

“It’s...nothing. Really. It’s just - anything can happen, right? I worry about everything,” she dismisses with a chuckle. “I’ll..um...I’ll see you tomorrow, ok? Do you, want to meet here? At 7? And...walk to school, together?”

Carlos immediately brightens at the idea, Evie matching his wide smile with her own. 

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

Evie presses her smile down, offering a short wave before turning to follow the path towards her castle. Carlos watches for a moment, instinctively checking to make sure she’s safe before heading his own way. But he can’t help noticing her eyes continually darting back to that corner, as if waiting for something...or someone to emerge from the darkness.

Carlos tries to shake off his nerves as he watches Evie’s figure disappear around the mildly crumbling brick of her castle. After a final pause to listen for any sounds of distress, he takes a deep breath and starts the rest of his trek to Hell Hall alone.

At least, he thinks he’s alone.

And the muted silence deludes him into believing that that’s the case...for a while, at least. It’s not until he’s just about to ascend the steps to his front door that a distinct crunch of dry leaves behind him leaves him frozen in his tracks.

“Heh. Shit.”

Carlos spins on his heel, and comes face to face with...Jay? 

“Um..what’s up, short stuff?”

Carlos huffs at his words, his fists clenched as he tries his best to stare down one of the most intimidating boys at his new school. There’s no way he’s about to show fear when Jay’s right in front of his own home.

Wait, why is he at his home?

“W-what do you want?” Carlos presses, keeping his voice as steady as he can. “I-I know my house looks...big, but I don’t have-”

“Is the bitch home?”

Jay takes a slow step forward, and Carlos swallows. He’s barely a foot away now, and it feels so close. He can almost smell the sweat beading on Jay’s brow. He keeps his eyes trained down, with a blurring focus just below Jay’s chin, so as not to concentrate on the smirk he knows he’s giving him right now.

“Y-yeah. And she’ll probably beat my ass, a-and yours too, if I don’t get inside right away. I-I need to make...h-her dinner.”

Shit. That sounded so weak. Carlos dares a peek at Jay’s face, and it surprised to see the smile wiped away, and Jay chewing on his lip. He looks almost...worried.

And he surprises Carlos further by taking a generous step back, his arms raised in surrender.

“Well, wouldn’t want that now, would we?” Jay teases, and Carlos curls a sneer at his mocking tone. “Now, now, calm it down freckles. I’m not gonna get you in trouble, ok?”

Jay drops his hands into his pockets, hunching over to rock on his heels some.

“Doubt those eyes of yours would be so pretty with nasty purple bruises around ‘em. Until next time, then?”

Jay pulls out a hand to issue an awkward salute, quirking a smile as Carlos tilts his head, eyes narrowed and confused.

“Bye bye, Carlos De Vil.”

Jay turns and shuffles slowly down the path, kicking at random pieces of dirt and rocks on the way. He keeps his head down, refusing to look up or even cast a single glance behind him.

But Carlos stands unmoving, still staring at the weird thief with long, dark hair that’s tangling in the dry heat. He’s trying to make sense of what just happened, but all logic that could explain what just happened is lost on him. 

Did Jay just say his eyes were pretty?

[phoenixyfriend]

The “Momma Sturmvoraus was Literally Satan” AU

As requested by @spazzbot​. This AU was initially brainstormed on the GG fanworks server almost a year ago. Specifically, on the first day of 2020.

[ID: a truncated discord message by “Miss Nixy, Gay for RoboLadies” posted 01/01/2020. The message reads “I need to sleep but please for the moment consider:” and ends there.]

So. Let’s get to it.

Satan took a human form because why not see what's going on topside, live like a human, and “Oh shit is this pregnancy? This is pregnancy. Fuck, that's a tiny human. Which is now half demon. Am I supposed to take care it? Wonder if retconing this form into that Valois family was a bad idea. They do have SO much money though, I get to live like a queen. I suppose another child shouldn't hurt, it wasn't that bad. Oh, he's cute, this is actually making sense, why humans do all the sinning. Not counting dear Aaronev's murders, of course, those are just evil, but I did search out the worst of the humans to pair myself to...”

This is literally just "Tarvek and Anevka's mom was low-key Satan on a bored “let's be human for a decade or two to see what happens” jaunt, consequences happen because these kids are LITERALLY half-demon and arguably anti-Christs."

Also it's just Very Funny for Tarvek, ineffectual sexy lamp fashion twunk extraordinaire, to be an antichrist

Jeff thinks he’s pretty. Jeff keeps describing features that don’t entirely make sense. (Jeff’s canon name is Karl Thotep but they spent so long unnamed that the server collectively named them Jeff.)

This is not a crossover with anything, btw. Ambiguously Pop Culture Satan just got bored and went to have babies with a serial killer.

They’re just kids! That are vaguely demonic. So. Moreso than the rest of the Valois.

Sometimes "mom" comes back from the dead and visits Anevka and Tarvek to impart Wisdom and possibly magic lessons The rooms always smell faintly of sulfur after that...

They try to put Anevka in the machine but SHE isn't hurt and the MACHINE just melts

So that's the end of that.

It's very awkward for everyone, but the paperwork isn't too bad. It's very easy to write "incidental fire began during late-fugue experimentation, resulted in fire spreading through six rooms and several casualties, including Prince Aaronev Wilhelm Sturmvoraus."

As per @atagotiak​, “I feel like if we’re going in any way dimensional weirdness with thing, Tarvek got so good at exploring bc he could just clip through walls.”

With image provided by @thisarenotarealblog​:

Tarvek in Paris: My dead mother keeps showing up in my dreams to tell me I need to seduce my way out of my problems and also she looks like Satan. Tarvek's Voltaire-Appointed Therapist: I still don't know what that means. Just like the last five times. Tarvek: I keep telling her that I can’t seduce Colette, if seduction is that important she should get Anevka to do it.

Like he probably wouldn’t say most of that in front of any Voltaire-approved individual, but still.

Tarvek is still very good at self control but there's a Special Edge to his rants.

(Derailed in the moment to me thinking about Anevka in a sfw-but-concerningly-deadly succubus getup, because... yeah.)

Aaronev dies and goes to hell and his dead wife is just there like "hi! Time to be tortured for eternity!" He wasn't a good husband so. He can't exactly sentimentalize his way out.

“In the sexy way?” “... not for you, no.”

Mostly I just want the BULLSHIT that is "Storm Mom was actually just Satan getting bored and going on vacation as a retconned Valois girl, the kids are half-demons and sometimes it Shows."

To clarify: the Satan bit isn't the retcon. Grandma used to have one daughter. Now there are two. (Seffie and Martellus's mother doesn't remember being an only child, but sometimes...)

Satan retconned a new daughter in, which included a Valid Valois Venusian Vestment, so the blood tests play out.

The subtle signs of wrongness would be fun too. Anevka tends to smile a bit too wide and sharp for a human face. Inexplicable uneasiness, here you can’t point at any specific thing that’s wrong but it’s uncomfortable. Uncanny valley prettiness, almost like the porcelain she became in other timelines. Skin isn’t supposed to be that smooth.

My brain's pre-nap contribution at that point was "Satan's pronouns when not pretending to Human are sin/sinself" which is! Certainly a thing.

Tarvek, at some nebulous future point: I mean, your ancestors were monsters, but my dad was a serial killer and my mom was literally Satan, instead of just figuratively like Lucrezia, so. I mean. I kind of get what you're going through.

Per @firebirdeternal: Tarvek and Anevka growing up with "you're allergic to holy water" and not questioning it until a little later because What.

And then they test it and it's like "yeah, no, there's a rash now. That stung. What the fuck."

It INFURIATES Gil in Paris when Tarvek tells him that's a thing, because there's nothing chemically different about Holy water and regular water. But no, this is somehow happening.

It gets logged in medical journals as a Valois genetic thing because, well, Mom was like that too, right?

One time they both go into a church for an Adventure and Gil is very annoyed to find that Tarvek is like. Faintly smoking. It smells like burnt hair in here.

Gil: What smells like burnt hairgel? Tarvek: [glares]

Gil decides that it must be something particular to the church, like a fungus or something in the stone, contaminating the air and water so it only LOOKS like the holiness is what's setting off reactions.

It is not.

Tarvek once got into an argument with someone and ate a slab of raw, completely uncooked meat as a power move.

SVV seems to work perfectly. Everyone is fine. We get the ‘you fight like ducks’ moment.

And then Tarvek bursts into flames, and everyone panics because no they fixed this what the fuck is he still infected with Hogfarb’s oh my god... and then everything settles down and he's perfectly fine. Not a scratch on him, no longer turning funny colors. Completely unharmed. He's in a nicely tailored suit and looks faintly stunned

"I just met my dead mom, who's apparently Satan. She told me that after I died the first time just now, I should be harder to kill later, especially with fire, because now there's more demon and less mortal and guys I think I'm going crazy." "Is that a martini?" Tarvek looks down. "Apparently."

Tarvek starts just. Randomly setting things on fire by glaring too hard and has to tone it down. Meanwhile, Agatha and Gil are having crises about how he's somehow getting PRETTIER.

Is he faintly glowing? Maybe!

Gil handles it by angrily sniping at Tarvek about how of COURSE he's an evil little rat with a background like that.

Tarvek just wants a nap and to forget this ever happened. Many people are sworn to secrecy. It's very awkward.

Still, SVV did something, for handwave-y reasons, and so they're linked now. Gil and Agatha both getting tiny flashes of the same shenanigans.

They get none of the powers. They just keep getting Weird Shit.

Other characters with divine influence are like "Did you.... did you make a pact with a demon?" "What no that's our boyfriend."

Tho tbh I wouldn’t be surprised if a Heterodyne did sign a contract with a demon at some point in exchange for like. Materials. A hundred souls sacrificed in exchange for some succubus blood. Thanks!

Tarvek and Othar: Falling out of CW as in canon. Tarvek: WHAT THE HELL SINCE WHEN DO I HAVE WINGS HIDE THIS BEFORE I GET BOOTED FROM THE LINE FOR THE THRONE

IDK where Anevka is during all this. I think she might have decided to go sleep her way through the courts of the Ice Tsars. Vacation, y'know?

Othar after he's decided to make Tarvek his new Heroic Apprentice: AH, my poor afflicted young friend, it's noble of you to go against the dark nature of your tragic heritage like this. Tarvek: I hate you. I wish I could hate you to death. But you have a point. I shouldn't let my father's blood limit what I strive for in life. Othar: I... I thought your mother was... Tarvek: I know what I said.

Tarvek: Also you can't tell ANYONE about that, I can't have them thinking I'm not actually in line for the Storm King's throne.

He does admittedly have to like. Explain things to Grandma.

Terabithia is Tarvek’s maternal grandmother so this is supremely awkward. That said...

Grandma fondly remembers her pregnancy cravings; bone marrow and sulfur.

"Yeah so, my mother, your daughter, was... maybe actually Satan? But retconned into your life?" "Tarvek, darling, please. I figured that out half a century ago."

TARVEK ACCIDENTALLY FINDS HIM HIMSELF WEIRDLY INTENSE AT CONTRACTS

I mean that honestly just Tracks about Tarvek anyways? But like moreso.

He just. Writes something up and there's things getting signed or shook on and then the person tries to break the contract and either suddenly catch fire or are deeply unlucky for a set amount of time.

And Tarvek's just standing there like "how in the FUCK did I do that?"

Severity of infernal punishment depends on the severity of the breach of contract.

Tarvek finds out that Anevka's been convincing rich people to sign their souls over to her. It's a fun challenge. She keeps them in jars.

They can still remotely pilot their bodies but like. They can't TELL anyone what happened.

Satan: I'm going to go make babies and now everyone else has to deal with the consequences.

Anevka's living up to that whole "princess of hell" vibe. Tarvek's just like "nope nope nope I want the storm throne, not the hell throne, BYE MOM."

Satan's just feeling sinself down in hell like "awwww look at my babies go, aren't they adorable?"

Tarvek: Anevka, what... first off, how did you figure it out? Anevka: Well, I temporarily died when father put me in the machine, and... I can't say that hell kicked me out because they were afraid I'd take over, but mother DID say she'd rather I play about with human governments instead of Hell's. Tarvek: Okay, cool cool cool. What after you planning to DO with all these souls? Anevka: They make for some lovely reading lamps, don't they?

(Anevka absolutely sets herself the goal of acquiring new titles that rival her old ones, or even surpass them. She just black widows her way through Europa.)

I just want someone (probably Snackleford) to ascend, take one look at Tarvek, and run SCREAMING.

Tarvek still needed to be anchored to Higgs, because Tarvek is Baby.

Gil is eventually in a relationship with an Eternal God Queen and the Literal Son of Satan.

Family dinners can include ALL the in-laws if you duck down to hell! - You borrow Bill from... probably heaven, maybe purgatory. - You have Lu and Aaronev and Satan already there, though the first two... well. Aaronev and Lu get invited to dinner but they have to eat by themselves at the kiddy table and nobody talks to them or acknowledges their presence. After all, this is hell, and what better punishment for Lu than to be completely ignored, and for Aaronev to see Lu at her worst and be reminded that he gave everything for this horrible, horrible person who isn't even pretending to care about him anymore. - Zanta and Klaus get invited via portal. - Anevka saunters in with a blood-soaked dress and a complaint about militant demon-hunters refusing to let her go shopping for a new pair of shoes. - Zeetha tagged along with the OT3. (She can't wait to see this situation explode.)

Oh God, Satan is actually second place as far as good parenting goes.

Well, actually, fourth. Because Adam and Lilith. But second as far as bio parents go. 1. Zanta 2. Satan 3. Klaus 4/5. Lu and Aaronev N/A. Bill

Someone (Anevka) decides to stir the pot and invites Von Pinn, Terabithia, Bang.

Bang is basically Gil’s older sister, right? Right.

This is Zanta meeting Bang for the first time! Zanta is just: "It's so nice to meet my husband's adopted daughter." Klaus freezes. Bang freezes. Gil is the only one who is just. "Yeah." Meanwhile Zeetha is crying with laughter off to the side because both of them deserve this. (Zanta would legit love Bang though.)

Agatha: Tarvek, I think DuPree is-- Tarvek: Hitting on my sister? I know. Agatha: On your mom, actually. Tarvek: NO!

Also I do love the idea of like. Nobody tells Bang they're inviting her. She just wakes up in Hell like. "Ah. Yes. Fair enough."

Satan: Oh no no no my dear, you're here as a guest. Besides as well as you'd fit you're not one of mine, you've got other things waiting for you. Bang: Okay, but I love the decor. And is that Cheesecake?

Bang’s family has their own evil god in the novels, but! Bang DID pick on Tarvek a lot in Paris. Satan cares more than Anevka does. Bang might get the sexy punishment.

I feel like the fact that no permanent damage was done and it taught Tarvek a lot of things means Satan isn't gonna be all that upset about it.

And let's be real, if there's a character in GG who could look the literal Christian devil in the eye and be like "Yeah I tortured your kid, what're you going to do about it?" it's Bang.

Even Satan doesn't know what to do or think about Othar.

He sure is here! As Anevka’s arm candy! Nobody knows what to do except Anevka herself, who just wants to be Smug.

(What's that scene from Phineas and Ferb that's the mad scientist trapping the platypus within the rules of polite dining at a fine restaurant? Like he can't make a scene because that would be rude?) (That. Othar would dearly love to start a fight, but it's a Family Dinner. You're only allowed to fight verbally at those.)

(Othar isn't even fighting Satan, he just wants to argue with Klaus.) (And maybe fanboy in Bill's direction a bit).

[fieryhonesty]

The life of You

[AO3]

“I’m deeply sorry for not posting for a while. I hate to admit it but it took me over a week to think for a decent name for this and next chapter. But good thing is I thought of this whole fic and came to an end? Like I’m no longer aiming at an invisible finish line. All what’s left now is write it down and serve the main dish.”

Words: 2462

Today was one of your free days which you had decided to spend by exploring eastern area of Mondstadt. It was mostly just a walk for you. Except one time where you had to draw your blade and deal with a dozen of hydro slimes. 

They appeared out of nowhere. There was not even water around to attract them to. Well you wouldn't call yourself an adventurer, a swordswoman or a cryo wielder if you couldn't deal with a few slimes. 

You had spent most of the time hiking. Sometimes stopping and looking behind, enjoying the view at the city of freedom from distance. The huge windmills are probably the signature thing for it. One doesn't need to know much about the area. But if they are told 'go after the big windmills' they won't get lost that easily. 

Well, unless they decide to take it through the forest nearby the city. Getting lost in there is not hard. Fortunately the forest is not that huge and getting out shouldn't be a problem. The forest is relatively safe as only boars and other wild animals appear there. 

The forest is also having a small mine. Which means the city of freedom has to assure miner's safety, thus planting traps around or sending in several soldiers to deal with issues. Or at least that's what you have heard from a local miner with whom you shared a few drinks a while ago. 

As you climbed high enough to look over the entire eastern area something caught your attention. Shielding your face from the sunlight with your left hand, narrowing eyes. Why are there several hilichurls dancing in circles around something? Right in front of a temple?

This area should be clean from them. Did they build a camp nearby? Should you go back to the city and report it? It's just a bunch of hilichurls. It doesn't seem like an issue. You have dealt with much worse. Perhaps you could check it out. But first you'll have to descend again. As you feel sick while using a glider you refrain from using it at all. Which of course brings difficulties here and now. Fortunately you never got into trouble where you would be forced to use it.

Taking your time to carefully get down on the road. Walking in the direction you saw the monsters. Sneaking behind the trees and bushes, getting close as much as you can. 

Indeed, they are dancing around something that looks like a campfire. That would be alright, perhaps a ritual of theirs. But you had noticed the Abyss spell hovering just above the fire. Even if you wanted to ignore it at first, now you are obliged to check what's going on. 

The spell wouldn't appear out of nowhere. However the creature which casted it is nowhere to be seen. It's probably in the temple. There are four hilichurls, one of them is a shaman. Even if it didn't have a different appearance, you would be able to tell the difference from the rest as it was waving around with its staff.

Summoning your sword, giving it a quick glance. You still can't believe Diluc got you such a fancy looking sword. The blade have engraved runes close to the guard. The steel is a slightly blue shade and the hilt is so comfortable to hold. You do not need to be an expert to know this weapon is such a high quality. 

Mentally shaking your head as you remembered your scarlet hair friend's smug expression when you showed him the weapon. He rather seemed satisfied seeing you holding it. You didn't question him any more about the sword. You knew it would be pointless. Instead you flashed him a quick smile and thanked. 

You take a deep breath before dashing out of your cover. Using the momentum of surprise and bashing the closest hilichurl's mask. It didn't break but you could see the huge crack on the mask. Smirking for yourself and avoiding one of the monsters which attacked you from right. 

You thought of taking down the shaman first. As you tried to make a step you noticed how you are being pulled backwards. 

‘Shit!' 

It already casted one of its spells. You know it doesn't last long. But that doesn't mean you are not bothered by the fact how the other three hilichurls were also sucked into the vacuum. Attacking you.

Sending one of the monsters fly as you hit it hard with all your might. Blocking your side with a cryo wall. The hilichurl landed behind the shaman, making an unpleasant noise. 

The vacuum finally stopped and you can move from the spot. Slashing chest one of the attacking monsters. Ignoring its pained cry. As you knew the shaman would try to run away, you used your elemental powers to freeze it on spot. Sending it down with one swing. 

You are aware of that one hilichurl which landed behind the shaman. It's about to hit you with its club, clearly angered. You managed to manifest two of your cryo blades. Parrying its attack.

The blades disappeared as quickly as you made your next move. Feeling like it would be under your level to rely on your cryo powers to deal with a few weak enemies. Quickly finishing the remaining two. Wiping out the blood off your sword before making it disappear again. 

You glance at the campfire. The marking is gloving. Maybe it's a defensive mechanism, letting its caster know somebody neutralized the guards. Well if you can call a bunch of weak hilichurls as guards. 

You are not wasting any time and sliding into the temple. With careful steps you had passed through several corridors, avoiding any contact with hilichurls. You had expected the temple won't be empty. Those annoying Abyss Mages never leave anything unnoticed. If there are no traps then a ridiculous amount of brainwashed monsters delaying any intruder. 

If you are glad for something, it's the fact how agile and flexible you are. With some parkour tricks you managed to move across a huge part of the temple. Rather not looking down. You had learned it's a bad thing unless you want to feel dizzy. It reminds you of gliding, minus the weird feeling being carried to the side you didn't even mean to. You never said you are good with gliding!

However, in the next room you couldn't avoid fighting. Dealing with archers and one big mitachurl swinging its huge axe left and right was not fun. You were forced to use your ice spear in order to quickly deal with them. You felt like the Abyss Mage was behind the corner. The evil presence was strong.

With the sword in your hand you pressed forward, looking around for any possible trap. 

"Aha!" 

You whispered for yourself as a marking on the ground appeared. Being glad those traps can be easily discovered if one is careful enough. Also can be triggered by using magic. However you never can be sure what kind of trap you are dealing with so it's better to avoid it.

Carefully walking around, eyes glued at the markings just in case it would seem to activate. Pushing the door open and you find yourself in a bigger room. There's a petrified tree in the middle and the little furball was waving with its staff in the air. Casting something at the tree, making it glow. 

It knew about your presence. If the campfire outside has not alarmined it, then the loud battle before surely did. With one quick motion it casted a protective barrier around its body. Evil laughter escaping it's lips. Fortunately for you it's just a hydro mage. Annoying to deal with but also you know about how easily the shield can be broken if it's frozen.

"Stupid human, thinking you could outsmart me?!" 

The blue mage yelled at you, waving with its small fist in the air in a threatening manner.

"Ha. Trying to look dangerous are we?"

You taunted it. You can't help it but grin when the mage says something in its own language. No idea what it says but you are sure it's nothing nice.

Summoning your cryo blades. Chuckling a little. Certainly this is an interesting situation. Your day off was supposed to be just enjoying nature. Yet you find yourself facing an annoying problem. Whatever it was doing there, you will end its plans. 

Dashing forward, swinging your sword. Sending out a freezing surge of energy. The mage has quickly teleported away before the cold could reach it. Snapping your fingers and several blades fly its direction. One of them actually hits the shield right before it again teleports away. However it's not enough to completely freeze it. The frozen part quickly disappears as it gets canceled by the mage's own magic. Cryo or not, if they use enough power they can change the energy flow. Which makes it easier to remove the bad, frozen part, and reapply the hydro again.

"Persistent fool. You should have never entered this temple! You can't oppose the Order!" 

"Oh? Are you new or you really never heard of somebody blowing up an entire hideout in Liyue? Well let me just say one thing: having explosives RIGHT next to some highly explosive substance was not the brightest idea."

The mage cursed and hurled its hydro spell at you. You avoid it and dash closer to it. Your sword gets blocked by the shield which was expected. You can't get through it. Not unless you infuse your blade with cryo. As the mage chuckles at your 'stupidity' a sudden burst of cryo energy emerges from your weapon. Freezing the entire shield.

“Hmph.”

You can hear the mage’s panicked voice, it's trapped in its own shield. It will take a while before it can get rid of the frozen part. You swing your sword several times, slowly chopping away the shield and then it breaks. With your free hand you punch the mage, making it fly. Getting a second hit from the wall. Letting out a pained whine. You see how it raised its staff. It's about to teleport away again. 

'Those mages are such a nuisance all they do is running.'

You are about to give it a chase but several bubbles appeared around you. Trapping you on spot. They are about to burst. You quickly freeze them and get out of the trap. At first you didn't even notice but the little thing was celebrating, jumping from one leg to another. Sometimes you wonder how smart those things are. 

Before you could get closer to it, its shield regenerated. Great. Another cat and mouse play. At some point the roles of mouse and the cat were switched as you were forced to retreat and lure away one of its homing spells. 

When you finally break the shield again, having a tight grip on its throat. Finally you can just slam it and erase it from existence. If you have to compare dealing with Abyss Mages with something. It's probably as annoying as killing mosquitos. 

"So. What are you doing here?"

You snarl at it. You know it can't speak as you have quite a firm grip on it. Its hands are trying to free out but if there's something you know the best about them. It's the fact they lack any physical strength. They rely purely on magic. It's like dealing with a kid. But you don't want to choke it so you let it fall on the ground, pointing the tip of your sword at its face.

"Well? How many of you are here? What were you doing with the tree?"

"You think I'll tell you? Ha! Stu-" 

You kicked away it like its a football ball, your left eye is twitching.

It breathes heavily, crawling away from you. You summon a cryo blade, pinning the mage at spot. Scared shriek comes out of its lips, looking back at you.

"F-Fine I'll tell! I-Infusing a huge amount of elemental energy into those petrified trees have a negative effect-"

"Negative effect on what?"

"On the surrounding area of course!"

Narrowing your eyes and giving the mage a long look. For some reason you don't trust its words and it pisses you off even more. It's lying you think. Perhaps it would be better to just get rid of it. Rising your sword up to the air before swinging it down. Freezing the mage into a huge chunk of ice. Glaring at it for a brief moment before you get startled by a sudden clapping. 

Looking in the direction it's coming from. The Captain of Cavalry himself.

"I never get enough. Seeing you fight is exciting~" 

You roll eyes at his remark.

"Let me guess: you were here for a while but decided to just enjoy the show instead of helping me." 

You say in a nonchalant voice as you make your sword disappear.

"Correct."

"I guess I get what Diluc means about you guys are inefficient." 

You chuckle as he makes a hurt expression.

"Don't tell me you are gonna side with that grumpy guy. Anyway I was observing that Abyss Mage for a while. Been curious what it is up to and then you appeared. Technically you interfered with an investigation of the Knights."

You raise your hands up in a defeat. You know he is just joking but decided to play along. 

"Well what now, Captain? Will you arrest me?"

"Ah, no, no. Nothing like that, Sweetheart. I know what you did was purely in a good will. Besides you managed to get something out of it before..." He looks at the frozen mage. "You created an ugly sculpture."

"Pardon me? Ugly?"

"I jest. Although..."

You raise an eyebrow at him. 

"I wanted to ask you a while back but. Would you be willing to, you know spar with an old friend of yours? Like in the old days~"

His tone is smooth as always and his usual smirk is not missing. You ponder over the question. Can't help it but you feel like he is scheming something. Kaeya is always scheming after all. 

"Huh? If you want your ass getting kicked why don't you ask your brother."

His expression stiffens for a while. You actually managed to remove the smirk out of his face. Even if it's for a while, it still makes you feel satisfied. 

"If I lose I pay for a king sized dinner just for you. And perhaps some drinks at the tavern if you'd like."

King sized dinner? You realize how much you are hungry right now. Pressing your lips together. Considering the offer for a few more seconds before you agree.

Previous ✨ Next

[mamahersh]

The Road to Hell (is Paved with Good Intentions) Chapter 2

“Season 8 was well underway, and the server’s first conflict is bubbling just under the surface. But BDoubleO can’t worry about that right now because he has an Etho to find so they can work on the Horse Course together. However when Xisuma calls a surprise server meeting on behalf of EvilXisuma, BDubs gets his answers about where Etho’s been in the worst way possible.”

(CW: angst, blood, gore)

Chapter rating: M

Now in Etho’s POV

Chapter 1 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4

Welcome to my first attempt at Ethoslab angst! I wanted an nHo-centric fic with a heavy dose of Etho angst. I have nowhere else to post this, and fair warning I am terrible at characterizations, so everyone will probably be a bit OOC to some extent; but for sure EvilX will be very OOC in how evil he is in this one. The Rating for this and later chapters is a solid M, so be warned about that. If y’all have suggestions or feedback, feel free to come and say hi!

P.S. I got my inspiration for this fic from this fic over here! Give them some love too.

Chapter 2 (below the cut)

The first thing Etho noticed when he awoke was that his mask was still in place on his face.

The second thing he awoke to was a sharp throbbing in his arms and legs. Biting back a hiss of pain, he opened his eyes and looked around to figure out why he was in such pain and sitting upright.

He appeared to be in a dark room, plain stone walls on all sides he could see, and a stone floor. The roof above seemed to be some basalt variant and a darkened redstone lamp was above his head, implying an almost spotlight effect on where he was sitting when turned on. Looking more at himself, he could see that there were spiked cuffs on his wrists, ankles, and neck; spiked in such a way that the spikes were on the insides of the cuffs, so that each movement of those affected body parts dug them further into the spikes and causing him more pain. Admittedly, the ones on his wrists and ankles were already in fairly deep due to how tight his captor had adjusted them. A further perusal of himself, led him to believe at least one of his ribs was broken due to how painful it was to breathe at the moment. He also seemed to be covered in a plethora of bruises and scrapes, indicating either an altercation or a bad fall.

Etho took a moment to collect his thoughts and try to remember what had happened before he had fallen asleep. Last thing he remembered, he had been out on another midnight deal making spree with Xisuma and Evil Xisuma. Admittedly, Xisuma had been acting a bit off since the last server meeting, asking for midnight anything was fairly out of character, and his sudden complete trust in EX was somewhat concerning even in the best of times. But this certainly hadn’t been the best of times. Their midnight haggling had been slowly getting more antagonistic over the last couple of weeks and Etho had been planning on cutting off any further dealings with the Derpcoin pioneers to keep both himself and Iskall’s diamond investment safe. However, last night the haggling had gotten quickly out of hand, EvilXisuma not taking any of his excuses for why Iskall and himself couldn’t actually use Derpcoin in their shops.

The last thing Etho can remember is EvilXisuma yelling and angrily gesturing before there was a sudden pain at the back of his head, and the world going black. ‘Well that explains the headache and sudden displacement from our weekly meeting place,’ thought Etho, idly flexing his fingers and toes to make sure that everything was still working properly. (They were). Didn’t explain the broken ribs and looking (and feeling) like he had been through a wood chipper, but that could be written off as EvilXisuma wanting to rough him up for some reason. Which was weird, because last Etho had checked, EvilXisuma had claimed that he had turned over a new leaf. Not to say anyone trusted him when he said that, particularly Etho, but over the opening couple of months on the server, EvilXisuma had kept true to his word. He had kept to his Derpcoin empire, and kept a ruthless rapport going with his business competition; but he’d never resorted to the violence and underhanded villainy that had characterized his previous attempts at taking over the server before he was banished to the Void. Except for now apparently. 

Which led to the next question of why? Why Etho? Why would EvilXisuma desire to kidnap and rough up him? He certainly didn’t have important connections with any businesses this season. He also didn’t have any close partners this season outside of Iskall. Well, ok, he had that deal with Doc recently, and he was building the horse course with BDubs; but neither of those could possibly have anything to do with EvilXisuma’s Derpcoin empire. Plus, the people who were resisting Derpcoin, had nothing to do with him, and cared for him only as Hermits care for their own. (Which was a lot admittedly, but in this case, it didn’t seem like a logical choice. They all cared for each other, and there were far better bargaining chips on the table than him.)

A sudden bang of an iron door behind Etho startled him from his reverie, along with a flash of the overhead light as the redstone activated. Jerking his head to the side to see who it was, caused a stab of pain in his neck and a sudden wet sensation on his neck and shoulder. He instantly jerked back into place, silently hissing at the sudden pain. “Well, well, well,” started a familiar evil voice from behind him. “I see you’re awake!” With a final tap of his boots, EvilXisuma stepped into Etho’s visual range. “I hope you have found your accommodations suitable?”

Etho rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure, I love being tied up on a chair in a dramatically lit room with no explanation as to why.”

Evil Xisuma chuckled, and leaned forward to trail his hand along Etho’s forearm. “I’m glad they did what they were meant to then. Can’t have you too comfortable for my upcoming show, now can I?” With a sudden tightening of his grip on Etho’s forearm, he quickly twisted it and pulled the arm closer to Etho; tearing the skin and one or two of the outer tendons in his wrist due to the spikes in the cuff, causing Etho to yell in pain. Etho bit down on his tongue to cut off his yell, though he couldn’t quite mute his own whimpers of agony as EvilXisuma let go of his arm. 

“Th-that…”, Etho managed to hiss out between his teeth. “That w-as compl’tely unnecess’ry.” 

EvilXisuma hummed beside him, a long thin sharp bit of metal suddenly in EvilXisuma’s hand. “Perhaps,” he mused, seemingly eyeing the arm he hadn’t touched. Etho’s anxiety spiked as EvilXisuma slowly paced his way around behind and to the other side of Etho’s chair, lightly dragging the piece of metal along Etho’s arms and shoulders as he went. Then, as suddenly as he had clutched Etho’s right arm, he stabbed down with the metal stake into Etho’s left forearm, impaling it to the chair. Etho yelled again, but quickly silenced himself, unwilling to show the sadistic bastard just how much pain he was in. “However, that was entirely necessary, as will be the next 3.” Etho felt his heart stop for a moment as he looked over to see if EvilXisuma was in an uncharacteristically joking mood. 

He was completely serious. Oh Lord, he was completely serious.

“Nonononono, n-now come on Evil X, my guy, this is all very unnecessary,” stuttered Etho, fingers rapidly flexing despite the pain both his arms were now in as EvilXisuma pulled another long metal stake out of his inventory.

“Hmm, I disagree Ethoslab. But if you continue to be excessively disagreeable, I shall have to take steps to make you more agreeable.” EvilXisuma lined up the stake on Etho’s upper arm. Then, with a sudden lunge, EvilXisuma pinned Etho’s upper arm to the chair; making it so his entire left arm was basically unusable. Etho yelped and the rest of him squirmed in subdued agony as he tried to block out the new pain in his arm. His yelp morphed into a whine, but he pushed through the pain to try and pay attention to what Xisuma was doing as he moved around the back of the chair.

“W-what do you even accomplish w-with this stunt anyways?”

“What do I accomplish? Currently I’m making sure you won’t get away. It’s imperative you don’t escape during the stream after all.” Most of that went over Etho’s head, pain addled as it was. But what stuck out to him the most was the “stream” part. He had heard of those from some of the other Hermits, BDubs and Doc the only two from the old NHO that had picked up the habit. However, what mattered to him, was that it was a way to show other people something at the same time you were doing it. Meaning that EvilXisuma wanted to accomplish something for someone in real time, and Etho was being used for it.

His thoughts were once again cut off as another spike was jabbed through his other lower arm. This time, he was able to keep his vocalizations to a minimum, only whining in pain as the new wave of agony overtook him. But before he could completely acclimatize himself, the final spike was shoved through his right upper arm. He screamed, and the edges of his vision went dark as his right arm was immobilized completely. His scream petered out, and sat huffing as Evil Xisuma stood in front of him, staring impassively down at him.

“Hmmm, I just don’t know…” mumbled EvilXisuma, continuing to stare at Etho. Etho continued huffing through his mask, though the bad feeling from earlier hadn’t left, and only seemed to be increasing and he began to take more notice of his surroundings. He really didn’t like how EvilXisuma was staring at his face. “It’s so hard to read your expressions with this mask on your face. What do you think? Should I take it off now or later?” Etho did a full body twitch, agony lancing across his arms as he instinctively went to reach for his face to protect his mask.

“You absolute asshole,” Etho hissed, head cringing as far back as he could pull it into the seat to get away from EvilXisuma’s wandering hand that had started for his mask. (This despite the sharp spikes that were actively digging into the back of his neck causing blood to layer into the back of his shirt). “You touch my mask and you won’t like what I do.” EvilXisuma chuckled at that, clearly amused that Etho thought he would be able to do anything to him. 

“Oh I’m sure someday you’ll ensure I’m fairly miserable.” EvilXisuma reached forward and slowly began lowering Etho’s mask. However, EvilXisuma was unprepared as Etho twisted his head and snapped up at EvilXisuma’s hand, biting through the protective gauntlet and into the hand beneath. EvilXisuma flinched back, ripping his hand out of Etho’s now exposed mouth. However, as Etho pulled back himself, he began to shake as the fresh pain of deepend wounds on his neck overtook him.

“Th-that’s what you get…” he rasped, energy waning as EvilXisuma continued to stay away. “Try that a-again, and I’ll r-remove a f-finger.” For a moment, EvilXisuma was still, his own mask making it impossible to tell what he was feeling. Then he began to laugh, a deep full bodied laugh. He cackled and wheezed, and Etho grit his teeth, because this would not end well.

“Oh Etho, your sense of humor never ceases to amuse me.” EvilXisuma turned away, and began to fiddle with his communicator. Suddenly, a floating box appeared in the air in front of him, a circular glass piece embedded in the side facing the two of them. Etho gave it a curious glance, but kept his focus otherwise entirely on EvilXisuma, too worried about the backlash to his comment. He knew how this worked, and he knew EvilXisuma was not going to take his threat lightly, despite how he had initially reacted. He watched as EvilXisuma turned back to him, and went back to making considering “hmm”-ing noises. “You know Etho, I don’t know what I want to do first once the livestream is up.” He walked up again in front of Etho and crouched down into a squat. “After all, I was initially planning on just roughing you up a bit, do something memorable to start it off.” He then reached out and trailed a finger along the back of Ehto’s left hand. Etho tried to suppress his instinctual flinch, but it was in vain as the twitch still caused agony to lance up his arm and forced a whimper from between his lips. EvilXisuma smirked at this and continued, “however, you threatening my fingers got me thinking, that maybe I could remove one or two of yours…” He gently trailed down Etho’s middle finger before jumping to the upper arm’s stake and lightly circling it. Etho took a shaky breath, the pain slightly easier to ignore now, perhaps because his mind was starting to block most of it out. “But you’ve been very mouthy, and I’m not feeling particularly generous about your speaking and biting privileges right now.” EvilXisuma had by this point circumnavigated the chair, and was back to standing ominously in front of Etho’s line of sight. “But all this is idle speculation. We shall find out what I’ll do momentarily.”

With that, EvilXisuma stepped off to the side, and began typing frantically into his communicator. At this point, Etho was just distanced enough from himself that he idly wished he had access to his communicator to find out what Evil Xisuma was typing into chat. Then he realized if he had access to his communicator he could call for help. But he didn’t know where he was. But his communicator would have exact coordinates. But he didn’t have his communicator. But if he did, he could let Iskall know he’d be late getting back to the base because some asshole had tied him up in their basement. Which looped him back to his surroundings, which had EvilXisuma suddenly leaning down next to his ear and saying, “Now behave Ethoslab, you’re the star of the show after all.” And then with a surprising lack of further fanfare, a light on the box blinked  on, and EvilXisuma began his speech.

[agentnico]

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) Review

It all started with Sonic’s teeth. Ever since fans successfully bullied a studio into reanimating their titular hedgehog character after the abomination shown in the first trailer, fans realised that rallying together (on Twitter) can make a difference. So you’d think it would mean we could all come together to restore world peace and get rid of racism, injustice, poverty, war and negativity of all kind? Nope, nope it does not. But at least we get a better version of a bad DC movie that came out in 2017. I mean, baby steps I guess.

Plot: Fuelled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists newfound ally Diana Prince to face an even greater threat. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to recruit a team to stand against this newly awakened enemy. Despite the formation of an unprecedented league of heroes -- Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and the Flash -- it may be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.

I recall my younger simpler self in 2017 at the early age of 20 soon to be 21, sitting down and watching the new Justice League film with zero to no expectations, as by that point the DC Extended Universe was a trainwreck and was a franchise that was literally falling apart before out unblinking red hay fever filled eyes. However, after watching Justice League I was baffled at the fact that I still managed to be disappointed after having zero expectations! With zero expectations this film took me into the minuses, and we all know I’m not great at mathematics so boy are we in the danger zone when we hit the minuses! Looking back at my review of the film back then, I used extreme yet fitting comments like “generic”, “predictable” “messy” and plain “dogsh*t”. Which is what it was. 2017′s Justice League is exactly how I’d imagine a dog’s poop would look if it was turned into an abstract film! It was truly abysmal. After that I thought I’d never have to talk about this film again. How wrong I was. But, in a rare turn of tables, I am glad that I was wrong...

A little history lesson first. Alright, settle down kids, settle down.... Rob, put the paper plane down, do not throw it, I said DON’T THROW IT! NO! Stop! Stupid child!! Headteacher’s office right now! Also, say hi to your mother for me, okay? I’m having brunch with her on Saturday and you better not be there as you should be doing your homework watching the 4 hour cut of Justice League and questioning your life choices!! Anyway, now let’s have ourselves a history lesson. The topic is - What In The Flying Fudge Happened Behind-The-Scenes Of Justice League For DUMMIES: Condensed Edition. A really condensed version as honestly none of us have the attention span to read loads and I’m probably losing the vast majority of you due to this overlong rambling session. So anyway, to the last couple of readers left, here we go! Following the success of Man of Steel, Warner Bros. gave Zack Snyder the reigns to oversee and create a DC cinematic universe to rival the success of Marvel. And so came Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, which turned out to be a bit of a hodgepodge, receiving mixed to negative reviews and though was a box office success, earned diminishing results to what Warner Bros. originally anticipated. However, by the time Batman V Superman released, Zack Snyder was already hard at work on the big superhero team up film Justice League (which was meant to set up many characters and future films for the DCEU) with a lot of filming already underway, so Warner Bros. couldn’t particularly pump the breaks on it by that point, even though they evidently lost trust in the Snyder formula. To be honest, at that point I too lost trust in Snyder’s vision and the DCEU as a whole, but my opinion doesn’t class for a single dime, whilst the opinions of Warner Bros. executives make millions, so there aren’t any hard feelings on my behalf for them not enquiring on my thoughts. Anyway, midway through production Zack Snyder was hit with a family tragedy with his daughter committing suicide, so Snyder naturally had to depart the project to be with his family during this grieving time. Warner Bros. had the option to pause production and await for Snyder’s return, or progress at their own accord. Naturally they decided to do their own thing cause they are a business and want that dollar dollar bill baby!! So they hired Joss Whedon who was riding fresh off the success of two Avengers movies and obviously had experience in cinematic universes and such, to rework the Justice League movie by condensing it into a 2 hour film (from the over 4 hour material that Snyder shot) and reshoot scenes to fit the smaller runtime. So you cannot particularly blame Whedon for taking out so many great scenes as he had a contract to fulfil with Warner Bros, but then you look at the many forced jokes and unnecessary reshot scenes and you realise how self-indulgent Joss Whedon was during filming, as he basically was spitting on everything Snyder did and was trying to do his own thing. Low and behold, the mess that is the 2017 movie is created, where its the visions and creative minds of two director with evidently different styles clashing and not really mixing well at all, and as such we have a messy movie that doesn’t really make sense and is a bit of a middle finger to DC fans and honestly everyone and all. Also, there was that little aspect of Henry Cavill’s deformed upper lip due to the fact that during reshoots he had a moustache that he’d grown and was contractually obligated to have for his Mission Impossible role, so the visual effects team had to digitally remove it in post production and the result is, well, see for yourself...

Yes, they made the dashing handsome my-sexuality-questioning Henry Cavill look stupid, and that is UNFORGIVABLE. Funny, yes, very funny but unforgivable!! So for this and many other reasons the 2017 film turned out horribly. Then after that many months later, Zack Snyder and cast and crew members began teasing of this mythical version of the movie that was befit of Snyder’s original vision. You see, apparently before he left the project, Snyder actually filmed everything he wanted and it was only awaiting to be reworked with visual effects and edited properly, but then Whedon came in with his scissors and cut everything mercilessly with a cheeky grin and his ginger beard. Speaking of his ginger beard, is Joss Whedon Irish? Or has Irish roots? Honestly, I would Google it, but wait, I don’t think I really care. So anyway, Snyder still had all of his filmed scenes saved on his ridiculously oversized hard drive just waiting to be looked at again. This is where the fandom did its magic by creating a Twitter hashtag #ReleaseTheSnyderCut and began spam posting for Warner Bros. to let Zack Snyder release what he originally intended to. Honestly, who would have thunk it, but this actually worked!! Warner Bros. allowed this, and not only that, but gave Snyder an additional $70 million to finish up the visual effects as well as to film a couple of additional sequences and gave it the prestigious honour to debut it on HBO Max, so as to boost the subscriber rating on Warner Bros. new streaming service. And here we are.

Honestly, I thought seeing this Director’s Cut of sorts wouldn’t bring much to the table as I didn’t believe that a film that was so broken had originally been in any way good. After finishing this 4 hour Snyder vision I must admit though that I was pleasantly surprised. Completely baffled by the studio and Joss Whedon, but really happy for Zack Snyder. The guy was fighting for it and finally was able to accomplish and bring out his true original vision, and though Zack Snyder’s Justice League has its flaws, its so much better than what we got in 2017, and in fact is a soaring science fiction sci-fi epic that literally feels epic!! It takes time establishing the characters and every single plot point as well as building out this rich mythology of this world of the DC Extended Universe, and so as you move into the second half of the film, there’s a feeling of pay off. You actually care about the characters and understand the plot points and it doesn’t feel rushed. Its truly astounding that there are producers out there who thought it was a good idea to get rid of all of that and instead bring out whatever the heck Joss Whedon did with the 2017 version. Look, I quite enjoy Joss Whedon’s work, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel to Cabin in the Woods and his work on Marvel, the guy obviously has a talent, but also he obviously does not belong to the dark and brooding style of DC. Zack Snyder on the other hand, though makes his mistakes, truly embraces the epic feel of the DC material. And it seems once you give Snyder enough time and space, he can actually bring out something like this:

The main characters are all given so much more to do, or at least those that got side-lined in the 2017 version are given more to do here. One of my complaints with the original was how pointless the League turns out to be. Basically in the theatrical version the main team all end up being useless and only once Superman shows up he saves everyone’s asses and literally does EVERYTHING. Might as well have called the film Man of Steel 2 (feat. Justice League). However in this new version, every main character serves a purpose. Well most of them do at least. Cyborg and Flash are much more compelling characters with more layers and backstory, and in fact are a prime reason to defeating the great evil in the end. You now understand why Cyborg actor Ray Fisher was pissed at Joss Whedon, as the guy literally got rid of his best stuff. Superman strikes a cool black suit and is still powerful, however as the finale shows, he isn’t all-powerful and does need the help of the rest of the team. Wonder Woman gets a lot more to do in this theatrical cut, and in fact this is probably Gal Gadot’s best performance as Wonder Woman and she really shows herself as a powerful female superhero! Aquaman’s role stays largely unchanged, however to be honest Jason Momoa’s character was one of the only ones who didn’t suffer in the theatrical cut. That’s unsurprising seeing as Jason Momoa is such a naturally cool dude! A big panda that is friendly in real life, but when necessary can turn into a roaring bear. To be honest, the only League member that ends up a bit pointless is actually Batman. He still serves a purpose in the film in that he’s the one who assembles the team, but otherwise the rest of the group is so overpowered compared to him that in the end you do kind of think that he doesn’t really belong there. Still, Ben Affleck is great in the role and it’s a shame we won’t see much of him past Flashpoint film that will be released in the next few years.

There are a lot of characters in this film and one can still say the movie is overstuffed, but also seeing as the movie was originally intended to spring board the DCEU properly, all these teases are actually welcome. There are an abundance of cameos, and to be honest so many characters are so well cast that you do end up wishing that Snyder was given the opportunity to make his entire Justice League planned trilogy, but nevertheless at least we have this. There are truly an abundance of cool appearances here, from the menacing villain Darkseid (played by Ray Porter) to Willem Dafoe doing what Dafoe does best, only in this case underwater and I’m certain that’s gonna span many comparison memes with The Lighthouse. Joe Morton as Cyborg’s dad is given a lot more to do here and in fact is pivotal towards building up Cyborg into the important character that he is. There’s also a cameo from Jared Leto’s Joker, who in some ways redeems himself after his appearance in Suicide Squad. Also, we need to talk about Steppenwolf, who’s the main baddie in this film. In the theatrical cut the guy was the most generic one-note villain who also looked like a PS2 character. It was honestly embarrassing the way he was animated. Luckily in this version he’s been put through enough Skyrim mods to looks much more intimidating and is also given a better motivation. As we find out, the reason he does what he does is because he wants to go home. He’s been banished and he simply wants to earn his place back home, so it’s actually kind of sweet. Steppenwolf is a sweetie. I mean, yeah, he wants to destroy half of the world to fulfil his dream, but hey, haven’t we all taken something extreme measures to get what we want?

The film is far from perfect though. At the end of the day, the movie is just about a guy hunting down a bunch of magical boxes. That was the premise of the theatrical cut and its the same here too. Yes, there is more substance and gravitas to the proceedings, but at the end of the day the story doesn’t really surprise much. And with the entire thing running at 4 hours, it is definitely too long and there is the element where there is simply too much in this thing. Also visually, though the movie has plenty of gorgeous shots and Zack Snyder’s signature slow motion sequences are on full display here, there are still many sequences where the CGI and green screen are super obvious and look really fake. That being said there’s still so much visual goodness in this, and also I have to mention Junkie XL’s new music score that does reiterate the epic feel of this movie, in comparison to Danny Elfman’s weak uninspiring notes in the theatrical cut.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a massive surprise and completely changes the perception of what we saw in the original 2017 theatrical cut. It’s a sprawling massive adventure that’s a dream come true for any comic book fan. It shows how vital film editing is, and how important it is to have a cohesive plan when making a movie. Gone too are the silly forced jokes, and though there is still some humour here, it feels more grounded and fit of the setting and scenario. This is Snyder’s vision through and through, and though at times it is clunky, it overall is incredible to behold, as it’s this one guy’s mind and his love for the DC lore. It’s a credible achievement, and I’m actually sentimentally happy for Snyder that he finally managed to complete this. He even during the credits dedicates this to his daughter Autumn that passed away, and I found that to be truly bittersweet. Justice has indeed been served.

Overall score: 7/10

[coreastories]

Corea News: Another grey day in Corea

APRIL 17, 2021

The palace has confirmed that Her Majesty the Queen has been admitted to CorGen today at 10:17 A.M.

This follows nationwide curiosity when news crews now on round-the-clock surveillance of the palace and CorGen spotted one of the royal helicopters landing on the CorGen helipad

His Majesty the King is still in the UK 

The palace website has been updated with a note that His Majesty has been informed and is on his way back. 

Not mentioned in the note, but we can properly deduce the king is no longer attending the funeral of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday, April 17. If that confuses you, it’s still Saturday in the UK

Is the queen in peril?

Corea’s online communities are fairly screeching because the palace website has since removed the static banner saying the queen and the baby are both well. 

Why the brouhaha over that? After all, an update is imminent, isn’t it? 

This author, as should all of you, take comfort from the fact that if the queen had been in less than perfect health, the king wouldn’t have left her side. 

The queen is young and was a former officer in the police force, not counting her position in the kingdom’s classified investigatory services. Both posts have vigorous physical qualifications. That should assure us, too. 

Until we have statements from authorized sources, why should we conjure panic and outcomes none of us want? 

Well-meaning ahjummas I otherwise adore and respect are understandably shaken after the queen’s accident in November. (See our coverage here and here). They wonder if the queen was injured somehow in the palace or elsewhere. 

Several spring and flower festivals are ramping up across the country in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society’s Annual Flower Show. (See the royal floral mystery attached to the Show here). Her Majesty’s last public appearance was on White Day, but today’s report had Corea’s citizens posting their photos of the queen with messages of support hoping she’s okay. 

Here’s one such photograph from user JungjeonTaeEulah, posted on the palace website’s update comment section, and with 450,000 hearts as of this writing

It turns out the queen had popped up for a surprise incognito visit here and there, and it really drove up morale-- and the Corean spirit of excellence. 

Not only is the kingdom absolutely bananas over their king and queen, they’re also excited about this royal baby. Add to that a queen whom you never know might drop in on your town’s festival preparations and I’ve never seen a lovelier country in all my years as a nomad correspondent. I might stay here. 

But I digress. Aside from acknowledging that this is a day of suspense for all of us, this author will refrain from--and condemns-- sensationalist hysteria. 

Don’t think I’m made of stone. I’m barely hanging on to my training as a journalist by my fingernails. And I just had them done. 

Is the queen delivering the heir?

The Royal Public Affairs Office has declined to give any statement at this time, except for announcing that Mo Jin-ha, the private secretary to the sovereign, will hold a press conference, time to be determined. 

The media and all members of the press (and all Corean citizens) are requested to stay clear of the roads between CorGen and the airport. (My team is stationed in several spots with telephoto lenses the size of small cannons). 

CorGen and the office of Doctor Chae Song-eun, the queen’s OB, also decline to comment. 

This is speculation on this author’s part and by no means should my dear readers take this as reliable information even if we do have confirmation from past releases: The queen is within thirty-five to thirty-six weeks. At most, barely thirty-seven weeks. 

If she delivers, the royal prince or princess will be considered late preterm or early term. 

As far as we’ve been told, the queen reaches full term in the first to second week of May. This means the baby would be born 3 to 4 weeks early. 

A kingdom expectant

As we wait with bated breath for updates, here’s what we know: 

This is the kingdom’s first royal baby since the king himself was born in 1987, also earlier than his due date, but only by four days. 

This baby will immediately bump the Lady Se-jin from succession, and if a princess, will not be displaced as heir apparent by male siblings. The king has done away with male primogeniture in succession, recognizing it unconstitutional alongside the country’s laws on equality. 

Across the kingdom, bets have been placed on the baby’s gender. Boy and girl have equal odds, with some bets on multiple births (twins). 

Unlike in other royal pregnancies you might know of if you love royals, the name has been left well alone in Corea. No bets about the names here. No Corean citizen is willing to place bad luck on the baby. In Chinese and Corean tradition, you call the baby by a “milk name” to confuse evil spirits who might...well, spirit it away. 

We will receive an announcement within 24 hours of the birth, although the king and queen might decide to wait. It’s their prerogative. 

When the king was born, his birth was announced within the day. His name followed a day after. 

Because the king was the first Catholic heir apparent, the Catholic churches throughout the kingdom rang their bells on the day of his birth, ranging from peals that lasted three hours,  shorter songs that lasted five minutes, to joyful rings of three every minute. 

The current royal baby will also be Catholic. The Royal Court still hasn’t issued any standard protocol for the bell-ringing, but they do have specific rules for the gun salute, a long-standing tradition since the 1900s. 

If you want to go to one of the royal palaces and residences to watch the gun salute, see our report here.

Unlike other royal families, Corea doesn’t release portraits of their royal babies. 

Unless the current king and queen breaks tradition and recognizes our need to see their baby, we’ll see the prince or princess in the official portrait of the royal family when it’s released for the kingdom’s textbooks. 

FLASH UPDATE:

The king has arrived in the kingdom and is on his way to CorGen. 

Photographed here on his way to his car. His Majesty was immediately escorted to his awaiting convoy. (Telephoto lenses pay for themselves. This author is willing to do endorsements wholeheartedly).

It hasn’t even been six hours since we knew of the queen’s condition. Either the king’s jet made the flight in half the time, or the king had already been on his way before the queen was even taken to the hospital. 

Stay tuned for updates. Our thoughts and prayers are with Her Majesty and the baby. 

[pinkykitten]

everything stays

chapter 1 - blood on her hands :: gisela klein [ an aot oc story ] 

note: hey guys i know its been a rlly long time since ive posted anything and u may be rlly let down and underwhelmed that ive chosen to write a aot oc instead of fanfic but its what i want to write and i rlly love my oc and wanna give her some love and some praise and let u a little in how i see her. im sorry i havent posted a lot im going to try to write more and who knows i may or may not finish this but its ok imma try lol but life sometimes is a butthole. i hope you love her as much as i do an tysm for taking time out of ur day to read this story. enjoy!

Even though she knew that this day would have to come and that it was near, it still was a surprise for her. She was taken aback. It didn’t make sense and add up to her; she was trained for this since she was little; preparing mentally and physically for phase one of the plan; and the day appeared through the trees; past the wall; the opportunity was present; the fate of the people were waiting in their hands; and yet she felt a sense of evilness within her heart. Was this right? But there was no time. 

The day was written down in history. The stories were spread around like a disease. Heights, jaws, teeth, feet, stench, the screams. If they survived that nightmare they were seen as a tough soldier; as someone that was applauded because they probably had PTSD and had to see everyday as a reason within themselves or God that they were alive. That maybe just maybe they were saved for a reason; for a purpose. That is what Gisela Klein thought. Maybe there was something greater out there for her to do, to accomplish and that was why she saw another day; breathed another breath. 

But one thing was for sure. Forgiveness would never come her way; she would never expect it. To be a warrior she had to endure the horror; the pain; feelings of worthlessness; and friendships lost. 

This is the story of the 10th finding titan; the Slash Titan.

The pounding of her heart rang through her ears. It had taken everything for her to keep going on this journey; to continue on the path to and through Hell. She felt a loss within her and the light in her eyes died out. The loss of her friend made it hard for her to function. To keep her head in the game and in the plan. 

She sighed as she stared at her hands. Broken and bruised like her heart; scars and scratches scattered on her skin. Her bite mark deeply engraved into her flesh. She heaved a huge sigh. Ready to give death a handshake and make a deal with the devil. Panic was rising in her chest from her stomach, almost ready to throw up. 

As she thought about her family back home she realized there was no other way; she had to do this. In order to be with her family, to save them she had to do the one thing she was trained to do. 

Kill.

A lightning strike shot over the wall. The wall that kept the monsters away and at bay. Something was wrong; the air seemed to change. The lightning strike caused a boom, clap and the ground started to shake. 

Bertholdt drew his leg back and with full force swung his leg forward, knocking a hole into the wall that was impenetrable. Many people flew back from the wind of the blow and some were crushed by the debris of the wall. 

Many were going to die; but it’s what needed to be done. 

The titans were called. 

Finally the titans entered the devils homes and started to rip up their lives. “This is right, this is right.” Gisela had to keep reminding herself. “For my family.” And something snapped within her. The image of her mother, tortured, flashed in her mind. And suddenly everything was worth it. “No regrets.”

Gisela eyed Reiner, an agreement, a sign. She exhaled and in a quick motion placed her hand to her mouth and bit into it. In a spark she transformed into her titan form. Her eyes were much like a cats, sharp. She was made into the slash titan, she was chosen for this program. Her titans fingers were like sharp knives, able to cut any object or person. They hung a little past her knees. 

Reiner then transformed and both stomped past the hole. Many citizens glanced up, horrified. Gisela and Reiner were titans never seen before. 

She nodded to Reiner, bent down and started to pick up debris and pieces of houses to throw over the bigger wall. The chunks started to smash against people. Blood splattering everywhere. Gisela almost wanted to close her eyes from the immense amount of dead bodies piled on top of others, graves upon graves. 

She was hauling boulders as high and fast as she could. Her titan held a high amount of power and strength. Being slim, muscular and as tall as the armored titan and female titan. Reiner took a step back and gained his speed to go onward to destroy the bigger wall. 

“Fire!” Their soldiers cried out. Fear evident on their face. They shot their cannons, not even slowing down Reiner. Gisela continued flinging, wanting to create a path for Reiner. She was faster than before and many of her hits flattened the men in the front lines. Their screams and cries loud. 

“Close the gate!” They tried, it was their last hope to save humanity. But it was not enough. Reiner broke the wall and killed those running and they went flying. They reached even higher than Gisela. It astounded her almost, they seemed like helpless birds flying high in the sky; but that thought was quickly wiped clean because the second they flew up in the air they came straight down with much force that many parts of their bodies broke. 

Reiner did what he needed to do, he opened up a way for the titans to get in and they were swarming by the bunches. 

In the distance, the survivors fled in boats across the river to get into the other walls. Gisela put herself in their shoes for a second. They had reason to be scared. Everything they have ever known was gone; their houses, loved ones, food, a place to feel the most comfortable you can feel despite situations; it was all gone. Gisela shook the thought out, not caring about these cruel humans feelings. They had none. No emotions. Gisela had to believe that thought; what she was told, she had to believe it with all her heart, or else what was real?

They waited till they were able to not be seen and Gisela turned human first and then so did Reiner. The four of them hopped on the boat. Talking amongst themselves. The wind howled through the vacant homes. Destruction everywhere. Gisela looked around her setting and saw a little girl had been crushed because a tree fell on her, her doll mere inches away from her grasp. She died with her eyes open; almost looking into Gisela’s soul through the eyes. Gisela’s body trembled and she threw up. 

“Don’t.”

Gisela looked up to see Reiner wiping blood and debris off his clothes. He picked his sleeve and turned Gisela’s head to look away, he wiped her chin and mouth off the puke. He saw the trauma in her eyes and felt guilty. But it’s what needed to be done. He kept telling himself that the more he did this the more he would understand and get used to it. It was still all new to her and he had to be strong for her. He knelt in front of her small frame. “It’s not your fault. They needed to die. We are in this together. You don’t need them. Look at me.”

Gisela looked into his eyes, away from the sadness. His eyes carried the feeling of wanting to be wanted. That was always what Reiner wanted. But they also had fear in his eyes. 

“Stop acting like you’re in control when I know how sick you feel. I know how afraid you are Reiner.”

He paused and took a look at his hands and others surrounding him. “You’re right. But I made a promise to Marcel.”

They joined the other citizens arriving at the food reserves. The master of disguise was needed in this mission. People needed to see four hungry, depressed children that survived the fall of their homes, not mass murderers. 

Annie was only able to fetch two loaves. “Alright, who's the most hungry?”

“You girls should eat, you’re more feeble.” Bertholdt sat on a crate, pointing to Gisela and Annie. 

Annie tsked, moving a bang from her eyes, “who says girls are more feeble? I recall kicking your ass all those times in training.”

“You guys can eat it, I’m not hungry.” Gisela sat on the other crate and saw the chaos of the crowds. A boy caught her interest. He had dark brown hair, tan skin, and light blue green eyes. He was having bread shoved in his mouth and he seemed to have such a strong personality to him. If only Gisela felt so strongly about her motive and her placement in this life. 

“You really should eat, you need your energy after all you did.” Annie broke all the loaves in half and shared it amongst the four of you. “It’s not much but at least it's something.”

Gisela sighed, “you’re right. Thanks.”

After that day there was land given to only a few refugees but there were too many of them. Luckily the four of them had a piece of land that was enough until further inching themselves within society. Through that whole span each day was getting easier and easier living with the lies and day by day Gisela felt more at sure with herself and knowing that she could fulfill this mission. Pills and alcohol helped the pain and ease the thoughts. She taught herself to put a gap between what she came here to do and feelings. She told herself every day that nobody else mattered except her family and Reiner. She trained her brain to not care, to not have strings attached or any love for anything. It was all a play, all a rehearsal for when the curtain would fall. She was readying herself for that fall. Everyday she educated herself more on these scums. What they liked, wanted, needed, craved for, and what they craved more than ever in their life was freedom. 

She trained her body as if it were her last day, barely getting sleep. The face of her mother haunting her every night making her get up at three in the morning to do pushups or sit ups. Not only was her mind getting stronger but also her body. Even Reiner would make jokes noticing the muscles that would appear. The six pack that formed on her stomach. Her thighs growing tight and firm, her arms growing stronger. The sweat growing on her forehead longer. 

With her body growing her relationship with Reiner also changed. They no longer were the tiny children that didn’t understand anatomy or the air between two people. Reiner and Gisela’s relationship was of being flirty, sharing a few kisses here and there, trying to be a couple but then yelling at each other and breaking it up and realizing maybe this isn’t right a million times. Even Bertholdt and Annie were getting tired of their outbursts. But each time they made up to be friends only and then the cycle started where the feelings came in the way and they wanted to be more. They would tease each other, especially Reiner. They were each other's best friends. Gisela was like one of the boys, loud, obnoxious, burping all the time, Reiner would get a look at her and smirk thinking he taught her well. When Reiner looked at her he felt at home and that everything was going to be okay. Her nightmares continued and each time Reiner would come to her room and hold her, let her cry into his arms. She felt he was the only person that knew her pain. 

Gisela understood many things in life and for once she understood her life here, she understood why she was born and chosen. 

It was the following year and in order to get closer to finding the founding titan the four became part of the 104th cadet corps. 

“Are you ready to train more?” Gisela nudged Reiner, eyebrow raised.

“What do you mean train more? This is going to be a new but scary experience honestly.” Reiner spoke as if he was a different person. As if he didn’t have a life outside of the walls. 

“Reiner?” Gisela placed her hand on his shoulder, steadying him. He looked fine on the outside but Gisela knew the issues were inside, his mind. She knew this was becoming disastrous to him, he was starting to have almost two personalities, two lives, two worlds, two people. Gisela tried to tell Annie or Bertholdt, they saw it too but there was nothing they could do. 

All that Gisela could do was smile as they made their way to the first day of training. 

note: again ty y’all sm!!!! If u liked it lmk and this is kinda new for me cuz I usually don’t post my ocs stories here or much at all but I’m rlly excited for y’all to see her and for y’all to know this oc of mine and hopefully accept her ❤️

Taglist: @witchofinterest @chlobenet @eddysocs @fpxloomis @whctsherncme-archive @ocfairygodmother @fandomchick80 @ocappreciationtag

[all1e23]

Honey & Whiskey [Pt.1]

Pairings: Alpha!Billy Russo x Omega! Reader

Summary:   Falling was sweeter than honey and warm as whiskey.

Warnings: None for this chapter. Typical A/B/O dynamics.

A/N:  I know I am your dealer for soft Bucky but I’m trying out some new product. Soft Billy Russo. Just take a little taste. I promise It’s worth it. This is largely a self-indulgent fic and also for my beautiful beta @moonbeambucky​​. If you like it write me a book report, sing me a song or come scream at me.

***My fics are not to be saved or posted on any other sites without my written permission. Reblogs are my jam, though! Thanks!****

You heard his car in the driveway before you caught the sound of the front door. This probably wasn’t the way to handle something like this. Prominent families didn’t behave like this. They didn’t cause a scene, and they certainly didn’t question a match this good. It was hard enough to find an Alpha that came from a good family, but one who wasn’t a complete knothead and genuinely cared for you? That was next to impossible. You managed to find that one in a million, and here you were pulling a stunt like this.

When you were a little girl, you read stories about the princess finding her prince, being saved from the tower, and living happily ever after in a big castle. So, you waited for your very own to come. You waited and waited by your window, but your prince never showed. You stayed locked in your tower with no sign of a savior. As you became older, you realized you didn’t want to be rescued, taken from one dungeon, and moved to another. You could take care of yourself without an Alpha there to defend your heart and fight the evil queen on your behalf.

Turned out you could handle her on all on your own.

Then you met James one evening at a friend’s wedding. He was sweet. Dark hair, blue eyes, and a charming crooked smile. He offered to buy you a drink and didn’t flinch when you reciprocated with the second. It was easy with James right from the start, and your parents were thrilled. They were simply over the moon. He came from a long line of senators, and his family were members at the club where your father plays golf. Everything was perfect. It was all working out the way it was supposed to, and in one short week, you would be married and bonded to James.

In the two years you’ve spent together, James has done everything he could to make you happy, not once has he abused his authority over you or made you feel as if you were less than him as his Omega. James has never given you a reason to fear him. Everything on the surface was perfect, but if you looked close, the cracks were easy to spot. Your heart had never had cause to race when he was near, and you never did learn what it would feel like to go weak from his touch.

It was doubtful you would ever know what it would be like to tremble from the brush of your Alpha’s fingertips. The odds you would find that love in this lifetime were slim, but if you stayed where you were, there would be no chance.

“Uh, Y/n…’ James stopped in the doorway to your shared bedroom and looked fairly amused, albeit confused by your attire. “What’s going on? Isn’t this bad luck?”

You glanced down at your wedding dress and grimaced. It wasn’t that the dress wasn’t beautiful, it was. It wasn’t you, though. It was huge for starters. Your mother had insisted this was the one from the moment it graced your frame. The skirt was so large you weren’t sure you would make it into the limo Saturday morning, and the bodice and lace sleeves were covered in so many crystals it felt like you were carrying an extra thirty pounds of glitter. This wasn’t the dress you pictured when you spent your days playing princesses in your bedroom, and all of this felt wrong.

You looked back up at your fiance, who was by your side in an instant when he saw fresh tears falling down your cheeks. James quickly wiped them away with only his thumbs. No tender kisses brushed them away, his touch was gentle but not in a way that soothed the restlessness in your soul.

“Do you feel something seeing me in this? I mean, really feel something? Because I don’t feel anything when I put it on. I’ve been trying so hard to feel something, anything but... I don't."

James tossed his keys on the dresser and stuffed his hands in his pockets now that he realized what this was. It wasn’t a simple case of cold feet or some cute moment you were going to bring up at the rehearsal for a quick laugh during toasts. He didn’t look mad, he was disconcerted, and you couldn’t blame him for that.

You didn’t fully understand why yourself, so you couldn’t expect him to.

“Okay. What is this, baby? What’s going on?”

As good and kind as James was, it wasn’t there.

“I’m not in love, and I don’t think you are either.”

The confirmation you needed flashed in his eyes. He didn’t feel it either. You stepped forward and held your hands out for his. James placed his hands in your hands without any hesitation, his fingers tightened around yours the longer the silence stretched between you. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when his eyes opened again, there was something different about them. They were filled with acceptance and a little bit of relief you knew he wouldn’t want you to see.

“I do love you, and I would take care of you,” James offered as if he was giving you one last opportunity to change your mind. One more chance to do the right thing.

You kissed his cheek and pulled your hand back from his hold, leaving the three-carat oval cut diamond resting in his palm. People lived that lie every day. Your parents, James’s parents, and you wouldn’t be surprised to find out it was the foundation on which most of the marriages you knew were born. Its prevalence among your social status was hefty and typical, but that wouldn’t be fair to either of you.

It wasn't a lie you could spend the rest of your life telling.

“I know, but I want more than that. I want to feel it.”

-----------

“Okay, May. I am out of here,” You chirped. It had been a long, exhausting day. You worked a double shift after one of the other waitresses, an Omega, called out claiming she was in heat, but this was her third heat in four months. It was entirely possible that she was being truthful and not using her designation to get extra days off so she could play house with that Beta she’s been dating since Halloween. Maybe she was a medical marvel, and her heats really did come three times as often as every other Omega on the planet.

All you knew for certain? Your bed was calling your name, and you could not wait to get out of this diner.

“The rush seems to have died down, and I am dead on my feet, so I’m leaving before we get the late dinner crowd, and you beg me to stay.”

“Yeah, yeah. Always complaining,” May teased with a grin and a motherly gleam in her eye. “Take your cut from the tips, and then I want you to eat and get some sleep. You can come in for the dinner shift tomorrow.”

“You gonna clear that with Roger?”

May rolled her eyes at the mention of your boss; Alpha and every bit the knothead prick.

“I’ll deal with him. Don’t you worry about it.”

"Hey, Y/n.” You glanced at Karen, who had a taunting smirk making her pale cheeks flush, she was pointing to the far back of the diner with her order pad, and she mocked with a teasing grin, “Look who it is! Your boy arrived just in time to see you off."

Your eyes followed her bright purple pen, and your knees went weak the moment you laid eyes on him. You didn’t know he was coming tonight. It’s been four days since you last saw his pretty face (not that you were counting or anything!), and you hadn’t realized how much you missed him until that moment. The handsome, dark-haired Alpha was sitting at one of your usual tables and looked uneasy, his leg was bouncing up and down at a vigorous pace, his dark blue hoodie pulled up over his head, and he was wringing his hands together as he scanned the small diner for you -- what you hoped was for you anyway.

"Don't get any ideas about that, Alpha." May Parker huffed.

The older Omega was a little cynical from the cards life had dealt her, and from the second you showed up looking for a job, she took it upon herself to look after you the way a mother would. It wasn't as if your mother had any interest in your life at the moment, not after you embarrassed her and left a black smear on your family’s name. A mark didn’t suffice for the choices you made. Your actions affected everyone in the family, bled onto the very fabric your ancestors stitched together, and made a tear that thread and needle could never mend. Apparently, you should have married even though you weren’t in love and simply found a way to fall in love with James after vows and rings were exchanged.

At least May understood your choice, and you couldn’t blame her for the fire in her eyes and the ice in her touch when it comes to Alphas; life had not been kind to her. Despite losing her true mate at a young age, only to end up with a sad stand-in for the man she lost. He abused his designation and using it to control her and her son. It took years to rid herself of him, but she built a nice life without him. She obtained assistance from an Omega Shelter, went through therapy to break their bond, and even bought a place of her own. Even after all the good that has come over the last seven years, the clouded memories have left her jaded and wary.

"You need to find someone that will take care of you, and he's not it. You stay away from Billy Russo, you hear me? He's not a good Alpha. I’ve known him longer than you have.”

That was true. You’ve only been in the city for eight months and working at Sunrise Diner for seven. Billy was a customer long before you came around, but according to Karen, he would pick up an order to go, barely spoke to anyone, and never tried to get a table. May didn’t know him any better than you did. It wasn’t as if they had some long-standing relationship or history. You were grateful for the advice, but you could make your own judgments.

You’ve let someone else be your eyes and voice for far too long, and you weren’t about to allow yourself to repeat past mistakes.

Billy finally found you standing behind the counter, and the second your eyes locked his own lit up, his legs settled, and the smile on his face just about knocked you over. Your smile widened as you stared at each other for what felt like ages.

"Y/n, are you listening to me?” May snapped her fingers in front of your face, forcing your eyes to focus on her.  “He's trouble. Ex-marine with more issues than one person can handle."

You tossed your apron under the register in the black bin that held all the dirty smocks for the night. You glanced at your reflection in the silver napkin holder, resting in the order window and swore under your breath. Your hair’s frayed and sticking out every which way, and your lip gloss faded the first hour into your shift. It was too late to do anything about that now. Not with May watching your every move and Billy sitting so close, his eyes trained on you now that he found you.

Having Billy watch you fix your lipstick because he came in would be an embarrassment you wouldn’t survive.

"That's why he should have someone he can lean on. We are friends. I have a feeling he needs someone that won’t judge him for a past he can’t change.”

"Trouble,” May huffed. “You're asking for trouble."

You practically skipped over to the table Billy sat at. Same one as always. The booth at the far back of the bright restaurant where he had a view of the bathrooms and the front door. He always sat with his back against the wall, and every few minutes, his eyes wandered over to the exit door on his right. You didn’t know what happened, but you knew it was enough to keep him on edge at all times.

"Hey, Stranger."

Billy's near-black eyes looked brighter now that you’re near, and he gave you that toothy grin that made your stomach flip.

"Hey, sunshine.”

Sunshine.

Billy has called you that from the moment you met, you weren’t sure why, but it made your heart race every time it rolled off his tongue. You have to admit you didn’t hate the feeling.

"You haven't been in for a few days. I was starting to think the mac and cheese scared you off."

That wasn’t really true. Though, you did question the state of the mac and cheese on a regular basis. The way the noodles all stuck together in that round ball wasn’t natural. This was more about you than sticky elbow pasta goop. You were slightly worried that he may have started seeing an Omega and would no longer be coming by for these late-night visits. Not that it was any of your business. It’s not as if you’re bonded or even potential mates. You haven’t spent a moment with  Billy outside this diner. You had not an ounce of claim on him, and you certainly didn’t have a say in who he spent his days with -- or his nights.

Billy let his hood fall back, and he ran a hand over his buzzed hair. His scars were no longer as angry and red as they were when he first came in on that rainy Tuesday afternoon seven months ago. You can still recite every word he said to you that day like some silly school girl daydreaming about the cute boy in study hall. Some nights you did just that, on evenings when he didn’t come by or stayed far too late and left your heart aching for another ten minutes.

Scars or no, he was still the most handsome Alpha you had ever seen.  

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I, uh, it's been a tough few days is all, and I haven't had a second to come in."

You eyed him for a long minute, and you realized what he meant by a tough few days. More like it smacked you right in the face -- rut.

Did he share his rut with someone?

No. No, probably not.

Billy didn’t seem to give his trust freely, so you doubted he called a Service Center to help him through his rut. That didn't mean he didn't have an Omega in his life, one he trusted enough to share it with. It shouldn’t matter if he did, so why did you want to know so badly? It would be easier if you could simply scent him to find out. That’s what you wanted to do. You were aching to scent him right there in the middle of the damn diner in front of Karen, May, and anyone else that wanted to stare. You wanted to be sure there wasn’t a hint of another Omega anywhere near him, maybe leave a little bit of you on him.

What the hell was wrong with you?

You’ve never been this possessive before. Even with James, you never cared if he came home smelling like another Omega. Hell, you never gave it a thought. Billy wasn’t yours, and you needed to remember that.

"I’m glad you’re back. I missed you."

Billy tried to fight off his grin. He tried hard, but it still showed up brightly enough to make you simper. He must have liked that because his scent sweetened, and it was so thick it had your knees shaking. You stood up as straight as you could and locked your knees. Letting your legs give out over some handsome Alpha like a stereotypical Omega would be a shame you could never come back from.

"Is that right?" Billy drawled, smirking as he took in the tremble in your knees and the honey sugaring your scent.

"Yeah, you're my favorite customer,” you answered with a slight shrug. Billy chuckled and ducked his head to hide the pink spreading from his cheeks down his neck, but you caught the rosy hue regardless.

"Favorite." He recited the word as if he didn't like the way it tasted on his tongue like he was confused as to why you would use that word in association with him.

"Without question,” you assured him.

The hesitation in his eyes and confusion had your heart breaking. Someone along the way, recently or long ago, made him feel as though he wasn’t worthy of being someone’s favorite, of being that important to someone. The thought made your gut clench in the worst way. Billy was more than deserving of that title.

"So, I'm about to get off. My shift actually ended about ten minutes ago. Well, technically, my shift ended at two, not eight, but one of the girls is out making medical history, so here I am."

"Oh,” Billy murmured. He was disappointed, that was plain to see. The light in Billy’s eyes instantly faded, and he began to slide out of the booth. You had a feeling if he left now, he would end up picking tacos off the dollar menu at some fast-food chain, eating all alone back at his place. You couldn’t have that now, could you? Besides, friends have dinner together all the time. Isn’t that what Karen told you every time she had dinner with Frank?

Yes, friends could have dinner together, and it didn’t have to mean more than noodles and cheese.

”I can- I'll go eat somewhere else. I don’t want to keep you if you’re going home.”  

You rested your hand on his shoulder to keep him from sliding out past you and shook your head, still smiling down at him. "Oh, no, you don’t. Unless you want to leave, of course. Food here isn't great."

Billy looked up at you, and his eyes have gone dark again, but it wasn’t in the way you liked. He was struggling to figure out what he wanted to say. You could see the moment Billy gave in to whatever it was, he was wrestling with and confessed, “I don't come here for the food.”

Your heart was pounding so hard you swore you could hear it in your ears. No doubt, Billy could pick it up in your scent. You never considered buying suppressants until you met Billy Russo. Then again, there were a lot of things you never considered until you met him. You blew out a shaky breath, and your words came out in as a stuttering mess, "Then… w-why do you come h-here?"

Billy held your gaze but didn’t elaborate further. It was probably for the best. If he had said what you thought could be the reason you might have melted right there at his feet and would have been forced to quit your job citing irremediable humiliation.

"Okay, um, well, I maybe thought I could eat with you? I haven't eaten since this morning, and I've been working all day, so I’m starving."

Billy frowned at that, and he quickly pressed for more, "You haven't eaten all day? So, that means you worked all day without taking a break?”

"Yeah, it happens. Some days it's really busy, and I don't get a second. Roger, our boss, he’s not great at following labor laws. If things get busy like they were today, there is no way he’s letting me take a break.”

If it was possible, Billy’s eyes blackened, and his normal candied scent turned sour. It was a subtle change to the whiskey and brown sugar scent you’ve come to know. He wasn’t on blockers, nor were you, it made his feelings easy to read. You weren’t sure he liked that fact at the moment. The scrunch of his nose and the wrinkle in his brow said he was trying to control his feelings to keep them hidden from you, or maybe he was attempting to understand whatever feeling was jumbled in his head.

“I don’t-- I don’t like that. You should be getting breaks so you can eat. You have to eat.”

You didn’t like it either, but there was little you could do. You had no way to prove that Roger refused to let you take breaks, and it wasn’t like he said he would fire you if you went on break. It only was heavily implied, and he knew when to use an Alpha command, with the tiniest drop in his voice, he had Omegas scampering to do as he wished. Thankfully, you have yet to be on the receiving end, and you had no intention of experiencing it. You needed this job whether or not Billy approved of your break schedule. You couldn’t do anything about Roger or your schedule, but you might be able to fix Billy’s spoiled mood and catch another glimpse of his pretty smile.

"How about you feed me then?" You suggested with a grin.

Billy’s frown quickly faded into a crooked smirk, a gentle chuckle followed, and everything turned sweeter. Whenever Billy was smiling, there was a little more sugar and a little less whiskey floating nearby, and it often left your head spinning for days after. You’ve never been one to fall for a sugar rush over a whiskey high -- until now.

"Okay, Sunshine. I can do that. Do you want to eat here or somewhere else?"

"Where are you most comfortable?"

"Where am I most comfortable…” Billy repeated the question, brows furrowed in thought, and he responded without thinking, “I’m most comfortable when I’m with you."

Billy quickly realized that was not what you meant when he looked up to see your eyes widen.  He cleared his throat and sat up straighter as he tacked on an addendum, hoping you would ignore his first admission. "Nowhere that’s loud. Or, um, crowded. I’m not great in large rowdy groups. I need a place I can sit like this. My back against the wall and know my exits."

You knew that already and now you were mad at yourself for making him admit it out loud, but you had to confess not all of his revelation sounded so bad.

"I'll tell you what I live right around the corner. How about you come over, and I'll make you dinner?"

Inviting an Alpha you barely knew back to your place wasn’t the smartest thing you’ve done. Everyone knows, Omegas at least, you never tell an Alpha your address until you’re courting, and you know what kind you’re dealing with. You couldn’t explain why but your heart and your head were telling you to trust him and when they agree on something you listen.

“You want me to come back to your apartment?”

Billy seemed to be questioning your judgment, but nothing felt wrong about having Billy in your home.

“Only if it will make you feel more comfortable. If not, I know a pizza place a few blocks away, but we will have to catch a cab.”

You truly didn’t mind either way as long as Billy was comfortable. He took a few thoughtful seconds before he nodded. “Your place is okay. If you’re sure, you want me to know where you live.”

You grinned and stepped back so he could stand. “Let me grab my purse, and I’ll meet you by the door, okay?”

Billy didn’t have a chance to answer because you were bounding off towards the counter and the group of nosy Omegas watching you both with interest. Billy stuffed his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, watching you share a few hushed whispers with the older woman behind the register.

“You’re leaving together? Y/n, this is not a good idea. Why can’t you stay here together where we keep an eye on you? It would be safer that way.”

“I said I’m fine. I don’t need you to look after me just because I’m an Omega. I can handle myself, and I can handle Billy.”

“He’s not what you think. I only want you to be careful.”  

You jerked your jacket out from under the counter and slipped your arms into the black puffy arms. You were already done with this. She didn’t know Billy any better than you did. Maybe she saw some things, or he came off like a typical asshole Alpha once when they first met, but the only conversation they have had revolved around grilled cheese sandwiches and you. You stopped in front of May, and you couldn’t keep the ice out of your voice even if you had wanted to. “Did you ever stop to think that maybe he’s not what you think? I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night, May.”

Billy glanced over your shoulder and back at you as you approached. “Everything alright over there?”

“Oh, you know.” You shrugged as you stepped out the door Billy was holding open for you. “Co-worker drama.”

There were tiny bits of moonlight shining down on the sidewalk next to you. It was awkward at first. This wasn’t your normal dynamic. Billy came in and ordered the same grilled cheese and fries every night; not that you could blame him for that, it was probably the only edible thing on the menu. You would make some cute comment about melted cheese and Billy would give you that smile that set skin on fire, he left a tip that was always triple the cost of the tiny sandwich and promised to see you real soon. You knew the risks that came with what you were doing. You are breaking the first rule they teach you in Orientation class, but you didn’t care, and it didn’t scare you.

Billy didn’t scare you.

“You know you really shouldn’t invite Alphas you don’t know back to your apartment. It’s not safe. I could be anyone. I could be some asshole Alpha using that sweetness in your heart to take advantage of you.”

Maybe that was the thing that should scare you -- your blind trust for an Alpha you barely knew.

“No, you’re not, Billy.”

“Yeah? How do you know that, Sunshine?”

Billy was teasing you, the mile-wide grin on his face told you so. You shook your head and matched his smile. The answer was pretty simple, really. It was the one thing missing with James. You felt the tension in your shoulders lift, and you told him the only thing about tonight that mattered.  

“I can feel it.”

Masterlist // Part 2

[fallenflowersfromgrace]

Lilith Rant (Nothing bad, I promise.)

SPOILER WARNING

Not sure if this is a popular opinion or not, but I'm like super glad Owl House didn't leave Lilith questioning her loyalty. She went straight up, "Okay, you piece of shit, so you f*cking lied to me. And now I gotta go save my sister from my mistake."

There have been shows I've seen where it takes a like a whole season to change a character, yet in the span of like 5 minutes, Lilith turned around and actually did the right thing.

I still can't believe she was so hell bent on believing The Emperor was actually gonna follow through.

The fact Eda tells her not to let him touch Luz, even though Lilith tried to murder said child, got me. Eda, despite what just happened is more concerned about her kid and is trusting her sister to protect her.

Love Lily's face in all screen shots, though. Her wide eyed at panic of her sister being hurt had me smiling because I knew she was going to find out she had gotten played. Also the first two made it seem like she genuinely had no idea it would go this far. And her face in the last one was her realizing what horrible of a mistake she made.

She flat out admits to Luz it's her fault. That she should be the one getting turned to stone because she's feeling guilty as HELL.

It was actually so nice to have her feel remorse for it. She knew what she did was wrong because it backfired in a way she didn't expect and thought, "Hey once I get my sister to join the coven I can fix this." But news flash, big NOPE.

She isn't actually one-sided evil. Yes, she did terrible things, but she truly does care for her sister, which was actually a surprise. I wasn't expecting her to be so genuine. I thought it was more of an act, but nope, it was her trying to fix a mistake she made in childhood. I mean she went about it the wrong way, but at least she tried.

And then the fact she was going to fix it from the inside. She was going to make sure it wouldn't go this far ever again, despite the fact she betrayed a very unforgiving system. And at that point, I was worried it had been the typical stereotype of: "villain teams up with hero to save something they love only to revert back to their ways." And like, IT DOESN'T HAPPEN. HOLY HELL, IT DOESN'T HAPPEN.

SHE DOESN'T GET THE CHANCE. The Emperor sends her to get turned into stone along with her sister and then Luz breaks them out and they fly outta there.

I'm like so glad for that. Words cannot express how much I love it. Lilith can't follow the stereotype if she's a statue, or if she's with her opposite side. So thank you Owl House for not giving us another typical trope. Lilith's development will probably focus on her learning to live outside of the Coven, being the sister she wanted to be while repairing her broken bonds. I'm like actually super excited for what they plan to do with her.

And I knew it was coming, but still, she took part of her sister's curse. Not sure how to feel about that, but I like her grey strand.

Also, now that the two of them are probably going to be living under the same roof, that means we will probably be getting more moments like these next season.

I was actually hella worried the Lilith who almost killed herself with a tree, (and accepted her sister's challenge to a game instead of flat out arresting her) wasn't going to be the same, yet here she is making faces at her sister after literally saying she wasn't going to. Deep down, (well probably not that far down) Lilith's a total dork. I can't name any other "villain" off the top of my head that acted this way.

So, I'm not going to delete my old posts about my previous rants, because I think it's better to show how I felt in each moment and I can see how my opinion changed over time. This is mainly just a rant that Owl House didn't keep Lilith as the main villain with shifting loyalties. She still has some things she needs to take care of before I call her a protagonist, like apologizing to Luz for the previous incident and 100% anti-coven, but nice to know she didn't follow the trope I was expecting. Shows how damn good Owl House really is.

[darkshadow90]

Loki Episode 6: Could the villain be an Evil King Loki?

Hey guys. As we get closer to the last episode of the Loki show, I thought I would share my thoughts about who I think the villain of the show is. I’m hoping I’m not the only one who’s hoping for this to happen. I think it would be fitting. So let’s get going.

I’ve seen a lot of people hyping up Kang the Conqueror making a possible appearance in the last episode, and while that would be interesting, and there are plenty of references to suggest he might show up, I don’t think it’s likely. Kang is supposed to be in the next Ant Man movie and it’s not coming out for at least another two years I don’t think they’d put him in the last episode. There’s quite a bit of lore to him in the comics. There are so many different versions of Kang that trying to make sense of him is kind of a mindfuck. I don’t know how they would explain him and what he’s about in one episode. It’s too soon of a reveal. Keep in mind, if people haven’t read the comics, they’re not gonna notice the references to him and they probably don’t know who he is. The show has been all about Loki and his journey, so putting Kang as the villain doesn’t make sense.

I’ve heard people say if there’s an evil Loki variant, he could be working for Kang. It’s possible but I don’t really like that idea. If we’re gonna have a Loki as a villain, particularly an evil Loki, I would want him to stand on his own. I think it’s possible we could be dealing with an evil Loki variant, an evil King Loki. I don’t think it would be out of the question. @marvelbeingmarvelous made an excellent post called What did you Expect? They talked about how President Loki had the potential to show a dark, more twisted version of Loki, and I thought they were right. I won’t explain the whole post, but I highly recommend you go read it for yourself. But they talked about how interesting it would be if Loki met a version of himself that are the worst parts of who he is. Honestly Loki facing himself because he’s his own worst enemy would fit perfectly with the show.

So here’s why I think it’s possible the villain could be an evil King Loki. Aside from the wonderful points made  in the What did you Expect blog post, I think it’s possible Evil King Loki is the villain because the TVA has gone after so many Loki variants. I think what may have happened is Evil Loki ended up being caught by the TVA at some point, and he discovered how much power it has. Loki is drawn to power, so I don’t think Evil Loki would be content with just ruling Asgard. Our Loki told Mobius that he was planning on becoming the God-King, well what if Evil Loki succeeded?

I think the TVA may have actually served to protect the multiverse, but once Evil Loki discovered it, he killed the real Time Keepers and took over the TVA.  He had everyone’s memories erased so that they wouldn’t remember their past lives and worship the TVA’s new purpose; protect the “sacred timeline” that timeline being one where Evil Loki can keep ruling over all time and space, a timeline where he could keep his victory. He has all the Loki variants or any variants he may consider a pest pruned because he doesn’t want his power challenged or his “worshippers” questioning things too much. Evil Loki  doesn’t believe it’s possible for him to change, so he doesn’t want any of the other Loki variants to have an opportunity to change. And he knows that a Loki variant would be  a threat to him because any of them are cable of surviving through so much, and could make their way to him. If a Loki is to be a ruler it will be him, and he will ensure that he rules them all. He is the God-King. It doesn’t get much more royal than ruling over time, space, and the multiverse alone for eternity.

Evil King Loki would probably all the worst things about Loki in one package. Maybe we might see a truly menacing, cruel Loki. Another possible hint for Evil King Loki is there is a very small glimpse of Loki in the trailers. He appears to be in a throne room dressed in armor similar to the armor he wore in the first Thor movie. It could just be a flash back or an illusion, but I hope not. I really hope he’s an evil  King Loki. Not only would it be a cool ending, but it would also be a cool reference to Evil King Loki from the Agent of Asgard comics. Yes, I know he’s much older in the comics, but maybe a possible reason why he’s older than our Loki  but looks the same is because he’s pretty much outside of time and space, or the flow of time works differently. And honestly if anyone is gonna play an evil King Loki, it should be Tom Hiddleston. How fucking amazing would that be? I’d love to see it. I’m probably putting way too much thought into this, and I could be wrong. None of us will know who the villain is until next week, but regardless if any of us are right or wrong, we’ll probably be surprised.