#took me years to figure out it was wrong because the only accessible anime was the german dub which uses Ruffy too

[midydoof]

"I want to reread one piece from the beginning but the old scanlations are potato quality and I don't want to deal with Viz's 'Zolo' translation more than necessary"

"I know! I'll read my danish tankobons from 2003 that'll be cozy"

.....oh yeah I had almost forgotten the dark times

[kaonarvna]

Going through so much right now. Barely have the capacity to do much of anything aside from work and take care of myself and my spouse.

Autistic burnout is truly a cruel mistress. As is having undiagnosed ADHD, knowing what your unmet needs are, and not having the means to access the support you require.

Big vent below. Workplace ableism. ADHD/AuDHD vent.

My spouse is quitting his job again. It happens every year. We've only just now realised "oh my god, it's the autism. It was always the autism" for why he keeps hopping.

He's leaving the current job because they're failing to give him what seems like the most basic accommodations (written instructions, scheduled meetings/literally any notice instead of impromptu "informal chats" in hallways with no record, basic empathy).

He's being told off for "speaking too loudly" and "speaking too enthusiastically" even though all he's talking about with his colleagues is work. They took away his office to turn it into a meeting room, forced him into the communal office space, and have now told him to stop talking to himself or his colleagues.

It's heartbreaking. It's been slowly creeping in for months and it's taken too long for us to realise "oh my god, you need a diagnosis, this is just fucking discrimination, you need formal accommodations and support".

So he's off on the sick now because his stress has become so severe that he just can't function. Before he got the sick note he'd come home and crash every day, and dreaded going to work. He role-played being a warhammer 40k servitor (lobotomised and obedient worker drone, basically) to help him get through the day of staying quiet and doing nothing but work. He'd come home and need so much sensory input and support. And he slept so much, and so poorly. He started to "fail the speech checks" (massively miss social cues and say the wrong thing) with colleagues at work, and came home embarrassed in ways he never was before. He's a very very social animal, and didn't think he had social difficulties, but now he's so worn down that he's realised he does.

He can't mask anymore. He's so tired.

And now that he got that sick note, and plans to leave, he's not dreading waking up each day nearly as much. He's still in the sensory sock every day, and he's still sad and overwhelmed, but he's feeling better.

We've started the process of getting him a diagnosis, but it's going to take months and months and months. We don't really have months. We're going to start applying for new jobs for him, and hopefully get him out of labs. You'd think a chemical laboratory would be the perfect place for an autistic man who loves STEM, but management has always made it unworkable for him. He's always slowly forced out.

And I can barely take care of him, between working full time and having EDS. And I've finally realised I desperately need that ADHD diagnosis, and I need meds. I haven't felt like a person in so long. I haven't felt like myself in years. I feel like this abstract creature inside this horrible prison, and the controls don't work anymore.

Every mental health professional I've seen has asked me, "Have you ever been assessed for ADHD? You've already adopted all the coping mechanisms and lifestyle changes I could recommend. I can't diagnose you, but yknow, think about it."

I've always suspected it. I know I'm autistic. All signs point to ADHD too.

I looked back on every stimulant I've put in my body, and realised that all of them made my brain emptier. They all gave me more control. I was always more able to make choices and act upon them. But I used to associate that with the pain relief (think kratom, nefopam, etc) not the stimulant.

So when I got my pain mostly under control, and I manage it now, I couldn't figure out why I still had so little control over myself.

It's the fucking ADHD.

How much time have I lost to being undiagnosed and unmedicated? How much of my life has slipped down the drain while I paced back and forth, or laid in place "stuck", or ping ponged from incomplete task to incomplete task until I crashed? How much more pleasure could I have experienced if my brain wasn't full of constant noise and thirty different versions of the same thought?

How much have I hurt myself by going "you're fine, you don't need meds" for so many years?

I don't know how long it's going to take to get diagnosed. I've started the process and now we just...wait. But all the evidence points to "yes", and that "meds will probably work and make a massive difference for your quality of life". I might get to be a person someday, or at least a more fulfilled creature.

[liquid-luck-00]

Where There Is Change

Last Name Wayne

@maribat-bdbwm

First *** Previous *** Next

Okay so I know I diverged from cannon, but I think you’ll all like this.

~~~~~~~~~~

The moment that Damian agreed, they left.

She immediately placed their phones and electronics into storage, so this game would be a little more fun.

Mari "chose" the first place that they teleported to was Paris. The irony was not lost on her.

The place that kicked her out was the first place that would open up to her. But then again most of the city adored Marinette they loved Lady Scarlet even more, but that wasn't general knowledge.

She and Damian know it is a matter of time before B figures they left the country, but hey. They mostly stuck to going between super cities in the U.S. before. But right now, it mostly was her showing him around the city the museums and then getting really inspired by the scenery.

If she was prepared with several different sketch books and pencils for both of them it was an added bonus.

She knows she subconsciously picked Paris and after a few hours it might be smart to jump again. So, she let Damian decide on a place where he wanted to go. He did warn her that if they were spotted, they need to leave immediately, but she didn’t really see a problem with it.

Because granted they’re both Wayne's, and Wayne's if you know them well enough, they will be able to hand your ass back to you on a silver platter smiling as if it was the greatest thing in the world.

So, they jumped again.

This time it was her turn to be awed by what they saw.

They were in a small alcove completely hidden; in the cave they were in the face of it was covered by bushes. But looking out she saw the mountains in the far distance it appeared to be a lake no it was larger maybe it was the ocean. Right below her was a lush courtyard filled with plant she's only seen and one other place, but the heat here was tremendous, and the sea that she could see was in the wrong direction. Apart from being far, far, far too close to where she originally thought they were.

She was going to lean forward a bit and completely break through the bushes that were covering them when a hand pulled her back. She looks back and sees her little brother holding onto her.

"We have to stay hidden Nettie, are above the League of Assassins." He whispered so quiet she could barely hear him about ten inches away, so she’s not taking this lightly.

She nodded, and they stayed there, silent. The only sound was of graphite on paper.

Then everything changed.

On instinct Marinette shot out her arm, a wooden imperial yo-yo appeared in her hand, with a quick flick of her wrist she stopped the projectile, lodging it within the wood. A quick glance at her brother and she opened up portal behind him and pushed him through without a word, closing it behind him.

She knows that it’s more dangerous if they find him here than her, so she stayed behind.

She removed the projectile and examined it, a blow dart likely with poison, seeing as a liquid was seeping into the wood of the yo-yo. She created a replica of the dart and stored the poisonous one and her yo-yo back in storage.

She took a quick breath and punctured her arm where the dart should have originally landed. And fell to the ground, slumped down.

She kept her face relaxed her body limp and she felt three, four, five separate sickly deathly auras around her. She kept her breathing at minimum, light, almost as if she was asleep. They picked her up and moved her. She realized immediately that she was being taken down the mountain, taken deeper into the League of Assassins.

Five assassins she can take them. But the one thing repeatedly crossing her mind was one phrase.

'How dare these assholes mess with her family! Her little brother! They are going to pay!'

Because she is a Wayne, and Wayne’s protect their own.

She was eventually dropped in a large room, from what she can tell, if the echoes were any indication to what she was thinking the size of the room could be. There were three more auras in this room, aside from the ones she passed to get here. What surprised her was she recognized all three.

Still acting unconscious, she heard a woman’s voice, Talia Al Ghul, speak. "What business do you have to bring this child here?" It was phrased as a question but seemed more like a snarl or demand than anything else.

"She was captured on the grounds. She’s an unknown." Was what was reported by one of the people in who had dragged her down here.

Then she heard a chuckle.

"She’s awake." That voice, she recognizes that voice. Her entire previous plan was now completely out the window. So, she lazily pushes herself up, pulling out the dart once she was on her feet.

"Damn, I thought that would last a little longer." She finally looked up and saw Damian's clone, Heretic, Talia, and Al Ghul. But something was wrong, it was bothering her. Al Ghul, he, he… he wasn’t Demon, he wasn’t her Demon anymore. All she recognized now is his voice, at least that’s what she told herself, nothing else was the same as a person she once knew. The question now is why. "I really shouldn’t have introduced you to the Order, if the result would have been this?" A smirk on her lips and now standing cocky in the middle of a room full of assassins, she is stalling. He is acting like he knows her, but his aura is indecipherable, familiar, but not.

"You should not have, but then I wouldn’t be here today, to thank you, would I? After all you allowed our family to find these pits." ‘Our Family’ she dove into her memories, but now that she needed them, they were far away and fuzzy, God damn it.

"Hmmm, I suppose not. Right now, I really wish I had turned you into a cat permanently. I found the correct spell, so I actually can now." This elicited yet another chuckle from Al Ghul which had everyone else in the room on edge.

"Really now I love to see it, after all I wasn’t able to experience it before you vanished." She quirked an eyebrow at this response, but she didn’t care about his mind games, she was stalling, trying to find out what caused this change. All her mind supplied were the plants outside. Demon wasn’t good with plants, but he was with animals, so how.

"Really you don’t wanna know why am actually here?" She asked, looking so innocent, one might believe that she was there merely an accident or coincidence.

She then turned towards Heretic, death in her blue eyes was all anyone could see, but she didn’t kill him. No, she couldn't bring herself to kill him. He may have killed her baby brother, but he is

Damian’s clone, but that clone was nothing but a poor imitation of her brother. With a snap of her fingers, he transformed into a statue of a panther, mouth opening for a roar. In all accounts looking intimidating, but there’s no way to be scared of a statue.

"That was for killing my little brother." She crossed her arms now glaring daggers towards Talia.

"I wasn’t aware you had a little brother, Lady Cheng." Demon never called her Lady Cheng, no to him she was Malak (Angel), but…

That was when the pieces fell into place. That’s why the older Damian looks like a cross between Demon and Bruce. That’s why Damian turned into a panther cub. Damian is Amir’s reincarnation, the true soul of the black cat. That means, in front of her stood Ra’s, Amir’s older twin brother. That’s why he could read the journal, he is a miraculous soul. And only miraculous souls know the language of miracles, without decades of studying the script. It’s ingrained in them but only accessible after coming in contact with old magic, miraculous magic.

"One, the name is Wayne. Two that’s because at the time that I met the both of you 600 years ago, I didn’t even know I had siblings. So, get this through your head, I don’t care that he is your son or your grandson. He is my little brother. Nothing will stop me from making sure my family is safe." Her voice stayed level, emotion flitted in and out of it, in such a way that it almost seemed inhuman. For more reasons than one, she just sensed one of the Lazarus Pits.

"Scarlet." She heard gasped by the woman next to Ra’s.

"Correct." She glared at them walking closer as she said so. "My name is Marinette Wayne, and you best remember to never mess with creation. I would have thought you would remember that little Lǎohǔ (Tiger)."

By her walk over a sword had appeared in each hand, which she was now holding up to Lǎohǔ‘s neck, while the second was held right at the base of Talia's spine, almost daring her to move. The threat hung in the air, and both knew she was capable of following through.

"Well, I do believe it’s best to catch up over some tea." Lǎohǔ offered, many would have taken his offer. Because if the Demon’s head offers it, it would be your funeral if you refused, but she wasn’t just anyone. "After all we haven’t seen each other, in nearly 600 years, now have we, much must’ve happened to you."

"Hmmm... not really you’d be surprised. By what has become of my life been since meeting you." She decided to put away her blades, for the time being. Seeing as she couldn’t leave without destroying the Pits. The only surviving consequence of the Miraculous wish, cast ages ago. Now time to come up with a plan.

---

"Are you sure about this Pigtails?" Plagg spoke up.

"Ancient magic like this calls for a price." She sighed.

"We know, Marinette, but your little brother." Tikki voiced.

"I'll do everything I can to keep all of them safe." She spoke resolutely.

"But can you live with this?" Tikki asked.

"I have to be able to. Besides I'm pretty sure he is your true kitten, Plagg." She reassured.

Tikki and Plagg united their powers, and were able to destroy the pit, and every other one on Earth. Then disappeared. She opened a gate knowing what is coming.

---

Somewhere in the league of Assassins was the Demon's head and his daughter, looking royally pissed as they watch a timer tick down. Seeing as Marinette decided to freeze them with venom, so she could destroy the Lazarus Pits.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

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[waywardstation]

One of the reasons I headcanon Akari’s journey took mutiple years is because, well, it’s not streamlined. Way I see it most Pokémon Journeys are to last only a few months. 10-15 year old kids go out to explore on what’s basically their summer vacation or something and come home with awesome Pokémon and badges and it’s a seasonal thing where a badge is good for like a year. With most MCs their journey is extended due to the mess the various evil teams keep causing. With Akari she has to walk throughout the entire region, and her version of a bike is a living, breathing creature that canonically has duties outside of her and therefore might not always be available. In a world where something is going wrong every five seconds and no set decisions to make, no reliable adults, and a seemingly immense task. On top of that, even if she met Arceus that doesn’t guard her return home so after all that, she has to somehow figure out how to go home

Continuation of this

I like your thinking with this OP, it feels really natural. (Though haha if these journeys were chronologically as fast as we get through them in the games, finishing the journeys in days, or even hours if you’re a speed runner, it would explain why anime’s Ash is like still 10 lol)

Akari’s journey definitely feels like it should take a while. The region is HUGE, and the in-game map really makes it appear giant. The different areas’ exits have trails leading to the village when you go to return to Jubilife, showing you aren’t even seeing the entire route you took to even get to that part of the map, and the different areas seem to be downscaled a little more just for in-game easy access purposes (to get from one side of the area to another relatively quickly). I feel like the traveling aspect alone would take DAYS for places as far away on the map from Jubilife as the coastlands.

(Talking about this makes me realize I would like to write a fic including this at some point. Traveling from Jubilife to another area on the map, and creating a new environment we don’t see in the game just for that trail.)

But you are right OP! It seems like it should take a while, especially for a kid. Your vision seems very realistic!

[aitarose]

SUNSHINE | MAKO

PAIRING: Mako x Kya’s Daughter!Reader [fem]

PLOT: Mako’s always had a little crush on Y/N. After all, who wouldn’t? But admitting it to himself? Yeah, no. Just the thought of admitting it to her? Even bigger no. He’d never consider confessing..right? based on these requests by anons

WARNINGS: fluff, mutual pining, friends to lovers

WORD COUNT: 2.3k

A/N: i love mako sm like you guys don’t even know. this man OWNS me fdjafdlsjk. also i got a little carried away with these requests and i took them to the next level so please enjoy :)

MY MASTERLIST

Mako was living his absolute worst nightmare. 

Stuck aboard an airship with his two exes, his brother, his boss, and his boss’ ex with no opening window to jump out of?

The day was definitely not in his favor.

Every hour seemed to be the same.

Radio a call..hear about a new airbender..find the map..use the map..go to the town..get kicked out of the town..return to the beginning.

While Mako did love having a routine—he was bored of this one.

The only thing that made his day even slightly interesting was Y/N.

It wasn’t long ago when he had met the water tribe girl. They’d first spoken during the Glacier Spirits Festival in the Southern Water Tribe.

He had been introduced to her mother, Kya, through Bolin. His younger brother was so starstruck by Avatar Aang’s only daughter, that he couldn’t help but drag along her own daughter with him for the entirety of the festival.

Bolin spent the rest of the night proudly walking alongside the teenage girl, who had to have been at least two to three years older than him.

He went around and showed her off to all of their friends from Republic City, even if they already knew her.

“Don’t make a show of it, but I know the Avatar’s granddaughter. You don’t need to be wowed or anything, it’s no big deal.”

“Bolin, I’m literally her uncle.”

Mako was one of the very last people to meet the infamous Y/N.

It was right after his argument with Korra about the situation between her father and Unalaq. His emotions were all over the place, confusion and annoyance dominated his mood.

But all of his anger dissolved with one look at her smile.

It was at that moment when Mako decided that Y/N had a gift.

She could lift someone’s spirit with a single glance. Her eyes always glowed with positivity and her soul was the purest one he had ever come across.

Y/N could be compared to the rising sun. Just by existing, she radiated more light and goodness than the greatest man on Earth could ever achieve.

It had been a very brief introduction. 

“Mako, my man!” Bolin slapped his palm over the firebender’s shoulder, a cheesy side smile pointed at the teenage girl standing next to him. 

“This is my good friend, Y/N. Y/N meet my big bro!”

Y/N beamed, her teeth sparkling under the moonlight. She held out her hand in a friendly manner and looked straight into Mako’s eyes, unafraid of making eye contact. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Mako.” She spoke whilst shaking his hand. “I’ve only known Bolin for an hour and I feel like I already know everything about you.”

Mako groaned in embarrassment. He was always flattered by how much Bolin looked up to him, but sometimes his little brother went a little too far.

“You had an hour? Let me guess..” Mako pointedly looked at Bolin, shaking his head in amusement. “He must’ve told you our entire life story by now.”

When she laughed at his blunt attempt at a joke, Mako’s heart soared right then and there. 

It was like the fire inside of him had been ignited with gasoline. but instead of her water smothering his flames..they made the grow. Made them stronger.

Though Mako hadn’t realized these lurching feelings at the time. He did have a girlfriend after all, and he liked to think he would never intentionally cheat on her.

That didn’t stop him from admiring her from afar.

Platonically of course.

There weren’t many moments after the festival where Mako found himself alone with Y/N. 

He had chosen to follow Korra to open the spirit portals and Y/N went off to tour the air temples with her extended family—and if he was being honest, he hadn’t had much time to think about her between fighting off evil spirits and breaking up with his girlfriend.

It wasn’t until after Team Avatar defeated Unalaq and Vaatu, that Mako’s mind returned to his unresolved and unrealized feelings.

With the spirit portals open, the world was new again.

Thousands of people were traveling, discovering places they never knew existed, and migrating to different nations.

Luckily for Mako, Y/N had been one of those people.

It had taken her about a week to move into her apartment in Republic City.

Her flat was quaint but cosy. It had views overlooking the busy downtown and bustling people, and she had easy access to stores and shops in the neighborhood.

There was nothing wrong with her new home, but it wasn’t like the South. In fact, it was nothing like the South.

Y/N missed her friends and colleagues. She missed the chilly wind that would slice through the air and freeze her cheekbones. She missed the animals and the overall energy that the South had.

But she was open to new beginnings and new friends—and her open mindset was exactly what led her to join her family and Team Avatar on the search for new airbenders.

Which is right where Mako had left off. 

The airship was dreadful, dreary, and just plain boring. 

His main source of entertainment was watching a cloud disappear from his view, and then preceding to find another one for his eyes to chase.

Luckily for him, Y/N was also bored out of her mind. She had no one to talk to on the ship.

Korra? Tempting, but intimidating.

Asami? Sure if Y/N was less hippy and more business mogul.

Bolin? Yeah, she didn’t want to go down that path again. 

Lin? No way.

Her actual family members? Good option—but Tenzin was boring and all Jinora did was read old scrolls.

Y/N was at a loss, and the only person that seemed remotely interesting was the brooding firebender staring out of the window.

When she approached him, Mako was at a loss for words.

He had been thinking about this moment for awhile now, and had a pun filled pick-up line ready to go, but when it came down to crunch time, he stalled. 

“Hey,” Y/N smiled, gesturing to the seat next to Mako on the iron bench. “Mind if I sit?”

Mako’s mouth opened to respond, but no words came out of his mouth. He sat there like a fish out of water, nodding his head silently.

Y/N shrugged her shoulders and happily sat next to the nineteen year old. 

With her being so close in proximity, Mako’s brain flashed exe.error messages through his thoughts.

They sat in a comfortable, yet also awkward silence for a long time. 

Every time Mako tried to get a word out, he stumbled. His nerves overcame his speech, preventing him from sounding the least bit cool.

Scratch that. They prevented him from sounding like an actual person and not a toddler that just learned how to speak.

After what felt like generations, Mako was saved by none other than his ex-girlfriends.

“We just landed,” Korra said, waving to the former probender and his companion. A confused look flashed across her face at the sight of them so close yet so uncomfortable.

Asami then poked her head around the corner, coming into view. “Are you guys going to come out or what?”

Y/N was the first to jump up, nodding her head enthusiastically.

She nearly sprinted to the exit—not because she wanted to get away from her encounter with Mako, she was just really excited to meet new people.

Mako heaved a deep sigh when she was completely out the door and out of earshot. It felt like he could finally breathe again without the stress of being in her presence.

“You like her?” Korra crossed her arms over one another, leaning against the wall as Asami stood by her side.

“What?” Mako stuttered, his face flooding with hues of red and pink.

“Why would you say that?”

“No Way!”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”

Korra and Asami loudly laughed at Mako’s rambling, while they had both been hurt by his actions in the past, they had come to forgive him—and they wanted nothing more than for him to find his special someone.

“Okay, then.” Korra shrugged, pulling Asami out of the room with her, “Whatever you say, Mako.”

Mako dropped his face into his hands, pulling at his hair as he mentally beat himself up.

“But if it matters,” he looked up to see Korra still standing at the door. A genuine smile shown on her face. 

“I think you two would be perfect together.”

As Korra finally left him to himself, Mako couldn’t help but think about how lucky he was to have a friend like her. 

She was everything he didn’t need in a relationship, but everything he could’ve ever wanted in a friendship. 

Eventually, Mako did manage to force himself off of the airship. He helped with the little show the airbenders put on to influence others to join the nomads and even fought a few bad guys while he was at it. 

He was finally having a good day, until the little punk tried to steal his wallet.

“Wait,” he ordered, pulling Kai back by the neck of his shirt. Mako held out his hand expectantly and gave the younger boy a hard look. 

“I think you might have something of mine.”

Kai smiled sheepishly before pulling out the firebender’s stolen goods. 

“It must’ve fallen into my pocket, my bad.”

Mako glared at the new airbender. The stare he was giving Kai was so cold, it could intimidate a pack of polar bear dogs.

“Now listen here,” he bent down to Kai’s level. His tangerine eyes meeting Kai’s green ones. “I know your game. I used to be the master at it, actually—and let me tell you that it gets you absolutely nowhere.”

Mako sighed, he already saw so much of himself in the kid that he didn’t want him to go down the same hard path that he did.

“All I want is the best for you, kid.” He patted Kai on the shoulder before sending him off to join Jinora on the ship. “Don’t mess up this opportunity.”

There were times where Mako enjoyed being the big bad cop or the authoritarian figure, but this was not one of those times. 

He just wanted Kai to have the best life he possibly could.

The life he had always wanted for himself.

Unbeknownst to Mako, his secret crush had witnessed the whole ordeal.

His pure-hearted intentions touched Y/N. Acts of kindness and wellbeing always found their way into her heart, and his act of good caught her attention in a very positive way. 

It caught her attention enough, that she found herself standing right behind him.

“That was really sweet what you said back there.” She told Mako, who jumped in surprise at her soft voice.

“Yeah, I tried. I’ve been where he is before. I know how it ends.”

Mako felt much more comfortable now that Y/N had started the conversation. He wasn’t afraid to give his thoughts knowing that she was the one who wanted to talk to him.

Y/N let out a low breath. Her hair willowed in the breeze, her eyes shining under the sunlight. She looked like a lost spirit.

A beautiful lost spirit, Mako thought. 

“I try, too.” She whispered to him. Mako could barely hear her voice, it was so faint.

“Sometimes being there for everyone else has its downfall.” Y/N’s sparkling eyes turned dim, sadness drowned her usually uplifting features.

“I spend all my energy making sure that everyone I love is happy, but then there’s never anyone looking out for me, you know?”

Mako did know.

He knew exactly how she was feeling. He’d raised Bolin since they were children. 

If anyone knew the pressures of holding onto another person’s burdens, it was Mako.

“I’ve noticed that,” Mako said, stepping closer to the girl. He could see that her eyes were welling with tears, all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and make all the negative energy go away. 

So that’s exactly what he did.

Y/N melted into Mako’s embrace. She felt his body radiate heat, he warmed not only her body, but her heart in an instant.

“I see you, with Tenzin’s kids.” Mako ran his hand down her back, comforting Y/N as best he could. “They look up to you more than they do anyone else. You’re really amazing, Y/N. I’m surprised you don’t hear it more often.”

Right then and there, Y/N realized exactly what she needed in her life—and it was Mako.

If she was being honest with herself, he hadn’t exactly caught her eye before.

She thought he was somewhat bland at the Glacier Spirits Festival and the whole double girlfriend situation definitely didn’t spark her interest in the firebender, but now here she was..

Crying in his arms, confessing her insecurities, and feeling heard.

She had never felt heard before.

“I think you’re really amazing.” Mako blurted out. 

He cringed at his confession, hoping that she didn’t take it the wrong way. If there even was a wrong way to take it.

Mako felt Y/N grow still in his arms. His heart pounded in anticipation for what her next words would be.

To his surprise she pulled away..

Before pressing a deep kiss to his lips.

Mako immediately responded. His mouth moved languidly with hers, connecting in the most perfect way, as if they were meant to be.

His entire body nearly combusted. Her bright spirit combining with his fiery one.

Mako felt like sunshine was running through his veins.

She pulled away, giving him one last chaste kiss.

“I think you’re amazing, too.” 

i love feedback pls give me some

[biggest-stupidhead]

Bad Timing (Levi x reader) Part 10

Summary: How do you tell your friends that you’re falling for your big brother’s best friend? 

Word Count: 4.9 K 

__

The loud buzzing of the tattoo gun was beginning to annoy Levi. The little pricks less annoying than the drone of the machine. He winced as the needle skimmed over a sensitive bit of skin.

"Try not to flinch." Farlan scolded as he readjusted his grip.

"Tch, sorry." Levi apologized through gritted teeth. Farlan reached for a wipe to clean off the excess ink, revealing the nearly finished piece. Like his other tattoos, this one was no different, the design was drawn out in thin delicate lines of ink. He had chosen to get this one on his tricep. Farlan spun his chair around to show Levi the design in the mirror, a flower, more specifically a lily of the valley. More specific yet, the flower for the month of May, the month his mother was born.

He nodded in appreciation a she admired the thin stem that led up to delicate bell shaped petals. The stems faded into a two leaves at the base of the design, they were all that needed to be filled in before the piece was complete.

"It looks good." Levi mused as he stared at the aggravated skin, the black lines were outlined with red angry skin.

"Thanks, I must admit I'm a bit rusty." Farlan chuckled as he leaned in with another wipe to clean the tattoo.

"Could've fooled me." Levi muttered as he turned in his chair to give Farlan better access.

"Let me finish this up and then we can go grab some lunch." Farlan gave the tattoo one last wipe down before he wrapped it in sandiderm. Once he was pleased with his work he tugged off the gloves and tossed them into the trash.

"Sounds good." Levi grunted as he stood up from the chair. Farlan had picked up tattooing as a side hustle, not that he booked many clients. It was more of a hobby for him, but he was rather good at it. As Farlan cleaned up the equipment and packed it back into his bag Levi went into the bathroom to wash up before they left for lunch. Isabel was out with friends, she hadn't been particularly interested in visiting the University with Levi and Farlan.

____

Levi trailed a few paces behind Farlan as they wondered through the sprawling campus. The campus had a dark academic vibe to it, with all the gothic architecture and the snowy lawns. Levi's trip was coming to a close, and he was glad that he had managed to squeeze in the visit. He spoke to an advisor, who was very enthusiastic about him applying. He figured that him coming from a single parent home, being an orphan with dual citizenship and good grades probably looked good for their statistics. So Levi and Farlan left, packets of information that they would need to apply. He decided that he should give Erwin a call, since he would be coming back home on the 26th, he originally intended on coming back after the new year but Hange had convinced him to come back early. Of course it was intended to be a surprise for Erwin and (Y/n), he felt bad for leaving Farlan and Isabel early but he figured that he could make up for the lost time when he got accepted into the University. They would have him all to themselves for four years if everything went according to plan.

"This place looks as good as any." Farlan paused in front of a small pub not too far from campus. Levi shrugged and kicked a chunk of ice out of his way. Farlan held the door open for him as they ducked into the dimly lit bar. The two settled into the barstools facing an impressive stock of alcohol, since it was about three in the afternoon the bar was basically empty save for a scraggly old dude that was mumbling to himself in a booth.

"Come here often?" Levi huffed as he inspected the sticky bar top. Farlan chuckled and waved for the bar tender.

"No actually, but I've heard that it's popular with the uni students." Faralan explained as he waited for the bar tender to finish counting the money in his hands.

"Two gin and tonics please." Farlan asked politely, the bar tender nodded and began to make the drinks.

"So you leave in what five days?" Farlan asked as he grabbed his drink and took a long swig.

"Yeah, sorry it was kind of last minute." Levi apologized, Farlan waved him off dismissively.

"Wait what did you get Isabel for Christmas this year?" Farlan asked as he slammed his already drained glass onto the counter.

"I bought her the DVD set for that one show she likes." Levi answered as he nursed his gin and tonic.

"Ah no way! That's a good one! The veterinary show right?" Farlan gushed, clearly impressed with Levi's choice of gift.

"Yeah that's the one." Levi nodded, a small smirk spreading across his lips.

"She'll love that. I got her some new jeans and a stuffed animal." Farlan shrugged, as he motioned for another drink.

"Not the shittiest choice." Levi mumbled as he brought his glass to his lips.

"Thank you Levi." Farlan held his glass up for a toast, and Levi indulged him, gently tapping his glass against Farlan's. Levi knocked back the rest of his drink before pulling out his phone to check his messages.

"What time should I pick you up from the airport?" Levi pursed his lips in thought before responding to Hange's text.

"Six in the morning."  he typed his response quickly and sent it. He had already planned on arriving early to give himself plenty of time to prepare himself for the annual post Christmas party that your family hosted.

"See you then, don't have too much fun in France!" Hange's reply was instantaneous,  Levi hated to admit it but he missed four-eyes and bushy brows. Hell he even missed Erwin's bratty sister.

_____

You draped your arm over your eyes in a feeble attempt to block out the blinding light that was flooding your living room. Although the snow was pretty, it sure was a bitch when the sun hit it, causing the light to reflect sharply in through the large windows in your living room. It was finally Christmas break, and you were enjoying it to it's fullest, basking in your sweats on the couch. Your mom had just gotten back from grocery shopping and was beginning to set out ingredients for the baking that she had planned to do for the rest of the afternoon. Erwin and Hange had gone ice skating with Mike and Nanaba, and planned to all meet up back at your house to assist your mom with the seasonal baking. Your phone chimed on the coffee table and you stretched to check it.

"Coffee and chill? 🥺" You rolled your eyes at Jean's message. He had been trying to contact you relentlessly for the past week. You had evaded him, not quite ready to confront him about his wrong doings. You ignored his text and instead favored to ask Mikasa if she wanted to come over to bake.

"hey I know it's been a while, but want to come over to bake cookies with me today? You could bring Armin and Eren if you want!" You sighed and dropped your phone back down onto the table with a sigh. You were pleasantly surprised by how quickly she responded.

"What time?"

"an hour?"

"See you then :)"  You smiled at the screen as you read her response. You always thought it was cute how she preferred to use characters instead of emojis when she texted. You decided that a shower would be a good idea since so many people were coming over now, so you hustled up stairs. You were thankful that Hange and Erwin weren't home because they had made a habit of interrupting your showers. Whether it was Hange trying to join you in the shower to "save water" or Erwin coming in to take a massive dump while you were in the shower. So you fully took advantage of your uninterrupted shower time while you could. You took your time, washing your hair and the rest of your body and enjoying the hot water. By the time you were finished the bathroom was cloudy with steam from the hot shower. You wrapped yourself in towel and scurried to your room to change. You pulled on a pair of leggings and a cropped fitted turtleneck. You then proceeded to tug on a faded crew neck to complete the look. You loped down the stairs, but paused about half way down. The sound of shoes being toed off and a coat being hung up made you rethink your decision.

"Oh Kenny! I'm so glad you made it!" Your mom gushed and you bristled. It wasn't that you didn't like Kenny, it was just that you weren't expecting him. It seemed that your house needed to keep an Ackerman on hand at all times because as soon as Levi left Mikasa and Kenny began coming around more frequently. Your mom invited Kenny over for coffee on Sunday mornings and you invited Mikasa over for sleepovers and craft nights.

"Hey sorry I'm late, I brought booze though." Kenny's rough voice felt foreign to your ears. Despite his sudden presence at your house he still felt like a stranger to you. Of course you could only blame yourself here, you tried your best to avoid him and his questions, not sure how you felt about the gruff man. He seemed nice enough but you weren't quick to trust him, Erwin certainly wasn't either.

"Ah (Y/n)! Perfect timing! Come down stairs and say hello." your mom called out, you winced but obeyed, descending the last few steps.

"Hey there kiddo, how's it hangin'?" Kenny drawled as you slunk into the kitchen sheepishly.

"Hey Kenny, I'm good how are you?" You asked politely, aiming to please your mother more than Kenny. The man smiled triumphantly and leaned further back into his seat.

"I'm fantastic." he stated with a smug smirk plastered on his lips.

"Mom, I invited Mikasa, Amrin, and Eren over is that alright?" you asked, dismissing Kenny.

"Yeah of course baby, the more the merrier!" she cooed as she continued to set up the mixer and prop up the cook book.

"So my little niece will be joining us tonight?" Kenny affirmed as he stood to help your mother untangle to cord of the mixer.

"Yeah." you trailed off, not sure if this was good or bad. Although the pair had both been frequenting your house recently, they hadn't run into one another yet. You knew that Levi had a bad relationship with his uncle, so you could only assume that Mikasa's relationship was also just as rocky.

"haven't seen that brat since she was in diapers." Kenny mused as he flipped through the cook book.

"really? Well she sure has grown. Such a lovely young woman." Your mother sighed dreamily as she thought about Mikasa.

"Glad to hear it.." Kenny mumbled as he paused on a gingerbread recipe. Before you could decode the meaning behind his bland tone, the door flew open and Hange sauntered in. Today she was dressed for the weather in a downy parka and leggings with a thick crewneck. Erwin followed close behind, dressed in joggers and a t-shirt, he tended to get hot easily. Mike however was different. Mike was dressed for Arctic temperatures with a thick quarter zip underneath his north face and a pair of denim jeans on his legs. Nanaba wore a quarter zip as well but leggings instead of jeans. You rushed to help them shove their coats into the cramped closet and put snowy shoes over vents to melt off the ice. Soon they were all crowding into the kitchen, Mike was quick to help your mom set out ingredients while Erwin went to light the fireplace. Hange was rushing up the stairs and Nanaba was skimming through the cook book.

Ah yes such a familiar scene. You immediately felt better in the presence of the upperclassmen, Kenny seemed to melt into the background as he watched you all fall into a familiar rhythm. Erwin returned to the kitchen, dusting his hands off as he entered.

"Hey." He greeted you with a slight nod before he stooped to pull a baking sheet out of the cabinets.

"How was ice skating?" you asked as you leaned against the counter near Erwin.

"Cold, we saw Petra and Oluo there." Erwin mused as he sat the sheet down with a clatter.

"Really? Are they a thing?" you quizzed, your interest piqued.

"Couldn't say, wouldn't surprise me though." Erwin shrugged, his large frame pressed against the counter opposite to allow Nanaba to squeeze through.

"I don't know Erwin, last time I spoke to her she seemed pretty fixed on Levi." Nanaba interjected as she stooped to pull out a bowl.

"I thought she was over him. He left her hanging at my house a few months back remember?" Mike reminded Nanaba who pursed her lips in thought.

"Oh yeah I remember that...she was upset." Nanaba agreed as she sat the bowl in front of you on the counter.

"Then why was she with Oluo huh riddle me that." Erwin challenged, a sly smirk on his lips.

"Oh they've always been close, doesn't mean she likes him or anything." Nanaba scoffed.

"Well he sure likes her, saw him checking out her ass." Mike chuckled, your mom gasped and hit him upside the head.

"That's enough you guys! (Y/n), Kenny mix cut this butter up." Your mom ordered, grabbing you by the bicep to drag you over to Kenny at the island. She dropped a huge brick of butter in front of the two of you along with two butter knives.

"Oh I can do it on my own mom." you insisted with wide eyes.

"Nonsense, show Kenny how it's done." she slapped you on the back and turned to help Mike crack eggs into the wet ingredients bowl. You and Kenny shared an uneasy glance, you took the knife and sliced the chunk of butter in half. You slid half to Kenny and took the other half for yourself. You began to slice the butter into thin chunks and drop them into a bowl. Kenny watched with raised brows, the knife hanging loosely in his hand. You spared him a glance and an amused huff.

"Just slice it into chunks and drop them in this bowl." you instructed, pushing the bowl closer to him. He chuckled and then began to tediously cut the butter into uneven chunks. You nodded in approval as he began to gain confidence.

"Where does this go once it's done?" Kenny asked as he finished chopping the butter.

"In the mixer." You directed, as you wiped your hands on a damp rag. The doorbell chimed and you weaved through the kitchen to answer it. You were greeted by the familiar faces of Mikasa, Armin, and Eren. The trio piled into the house and kicked off their shoes and shrugged off jackets.

"Perfect timing guys, we just started making cookies." You said as you helped Armin out of his coat.

"Great! We brought our piping tips." Eren said, holding up a plastic bag filled with piping equipment.

"Oh yeah I forgot that you're a natural at cookie decorating Mikasa!" you complimented as you guided them into the kitchen. You placed the bag next to Kenny who was staring at Mikasa with slightly widened eyes, she returned his gaze with a surprised expression.

"Hey hothead!" Hange called out to Eren in a sing song voice as she descended the stairs.

"O-Oh Hange!" Eren cringed at her volume as she swang into the kitchen.

"Hange!" Armin cried out excitedly, you'd known that Armin looked up to the brunette due to her intelligence.

"Aw hello coconut head." she cooed as she ruffled Armin's blonde mop of hair.

"And baby Ackerman!" Hange giggles, turning her attention to Mikasa who was scowling at the brunette.

"So nice to see you all!" Hange gushed as she pulled on an apron.

"That was an awful long shit. You constipated or something?" Mike scoffed as he whisked the eggs.

"Ha ha very funny Mike." Hange scoffed as she sidled up next to Erwin who was crushing almonds loudly with a rolling pin.

"I'm just trying to pick up the slack. Someone needs to make Levi's crass jokes for him." Mike sighed, setting the whisk aside.

"Ah I'm sure he will appreciate the sentiment." Erwin approved with a chuckle and another jaw-rattling smash of the rolling pin.

"Kids why don't you start rolling this dough out and cut them with these." Your mother instructed as she thrust the large mixing bowl into your hands and pointing over to Kenny. You led Mikasa, Armin, and Eren over to the open counter space. Mikasa was side eyeing Kenny as she sprinkled some flour out.

"I want to make a penis." Eren remarked, a stupid look on his face as he looked to Armin for approval.

"That's inappropriate Eren." Armin chided as he reached for the dough in the bowl. He dropped the heavy ball of dough with a thump and a whoosh of flour.

"Hah! I'd like to see it!" Kenny chortled as he brushed some flour off his shirt.

"See he gets me!" Eren chuckled as Armin began to roll out the dough. Mikasa and you both rolled your eyes at the boys. Nanaba breezed by and brushed her hand across both yours and Mikasa's shoulders as she passed.

"You girls want pizza?" She asked with an angelic smile as she stopped by the landline.

"Yes please!" Eren answered before either of you could.

"Shut up Eren!" You snapped before turning to look at Nanaba who was holding the phone up to her ear already.

"Yes please Nanaba, can you put pineapple on one of them?" you asked with a sweet smile.

"Ew pineapple on pizza are you insane?!" Hange screeched from across the kitchen.

"Now now, if you order one with pineapple I'll eat it." Kenny agreed as he pressed a cookie cutter deep into the dough.

"Ugh, you guys are disgusting." Mike shook his head in disappointment as he poured the liquid ingredients into the dry ones for the next batch of cookies.

"Alright everyone be quiet while I order this." Nanaba ordered as she pressed the phone between her ear so she could jot down the orders on a pad of paper. The volume in the kitchen fell from a roar to a soft murmur as Nanaba placed the order. Once Nanaba hung up the phone the bustle picked right back up. The cookie hustle only stopped once all the dough was in the oven and the pizza had arrived.

When it was all said and done you all settled in the living room to watch christmas movies and eat pizza. As the movie began to play you finally took some time to check your phone for the first time all afternoon. You were surprised to see at least twenty messages on instagram from a swagmasterfarlan. You clicked on the first message and your frown deepened.

"cutte assf."  

"Let me show you parish"

"I cantreat you right."

":)"

The seventeen other messages followed a similar pattern. You noticed that the last message that had been sent two hours ago. You glanced at the clock and frowned, it was already eight pm. You considered blocking the account but upon checking, you realized that it was Farlan's  side account. You'd seen drunk texts before and these were no different. You glanced up to see Kenny with his hat over his eyes as he snored on the arm chair. Your mom was already dozing off on the couch with her feet in Erwin's lap, Erwin had an arm around Hange who was babbling about special effects to no one in particular. Nanaba and Mike were in their own little world on the floor as they watched the movie. Eren and Armin were joking in hushed voices as Mikasa's head lolled against your shoulder. Yeah you could use some entertainment.

"I would love to see parish."  you smiled at your response as you sent it. Not two minutes later a new message appeared.

"Woh, I'm durnk as shit."  

"yes you are swagmaster ;)" you responded with a giggle.

"Let facetime before levi punches my face."  Farlan's words were becoming clearer so you figured that he must be sobering up to some degree.

"Alright."  as soon as the read receipts confirmed that he had gotten the message your phone buzzed as he called you. Mikasa grunted as you shifted to answer the call, you answered on the third ring, thankful for the darkness in the room which concealed your features for the most part.

"Heyyyyy kid!" Farlan drawled, you could tell he was in his apartment, the surroundings familiar due to the times you had facetimed Levi.

"Hey Farlan, nice to finally meet you. I've heard all kinds of things." You chuckled as he squinted at his screen.

"No kidding! Hey what time is it over there?" Farlan questioned as he brought his phone closer to his face, giving you a perfect view of his eyebrows.

"It's about 8:30 here, what time is it in perish?" You mocked his blunder from earlier and he gasped in offense.

"That's cold!" he moaned, playing along with your joke.

"Spell it right next time!" you snickered, you glanced up from your phone and met Hange's curious gaze, her head tilted to the left. When you returned your attention back to your phone you were surprised to see the camera was no longer on Farlan's face. Instead it was spinning, the sound of grunting and shuffling was deafening. You winced the struggle continues for a few moments before there was a thud and a deep groan.

"Get into bed now before I punch your lights out." Levi's voice was gravely and strained with exhaustion as he spoke. Hange's ears were still perked as she tried to figure out who you were on the phone with. Once she heard Levi's voice she stood up and skipped over to the sofa to sit next to you.

"I'm serious Farlan this isn't cute get the fuck in that bed or so help me-" the phone clattered down to the floor, and you could make out the sound of stumbling footsteps.

"What is going on?" Hange asked as she leaned on your free shoulder to see the screen. You shrugged and bit your lip as you tried to decipher what was going on.

"No Levi, I've got to talk to her, she's still on the phone!" Farlan grumbled, his voice sounded a bit far away.

"You can talk to her tomorrow just go lay down already." just by the tone of his voice you could guess that he was pinching the bridge of his nose the way he did when he was frustrated.

"nah I'll just go grab my phone and-"

"No." the sound of bed springs creaking and Farlan grunting hinted that he had been pushed onto a bed. After a few more moments of the bed creaking and incoherent mumbling, the sound of footsteps approached the phone and then finally the camera was turned back towards the ceiling as it was picked up. And then Levi's face filled the screen, his eyes widened in surprise, you snapped a screenshot of the moment much to his displeasure.

"What the fuck." he huffed as he took in both you and Hange's amused expressions.

"Hey Levi! How's it going?" Hange cooed as she angled your wrist to show more of her face.

"How-"

"He called me." You answered quickly as you angled the phone back onto your face.

"why?" Levi interrogated. You simply shrugged as you took in his face. You were relieved to see that he looked the same, maybe his eye bags were a bit darker, and his hair a tad longer. But otherwise, he was the same.

"What are you doing?" Levi continued to grill you, to answer his question you panned the camera around the room, sure to not linger on Kenny who was snoring in the chair across the room.

"Thrilling." he scoffed when you brought the camera back to your face.

"Yeah, we spent the day baking. What about you? Seems like you guys are busy." You began your own interrogation.

"Yeah, Farlan had one too many at the bar." Levi agreed as he dropped down into an arm chair with a heavy sigh.

"And you? Did you have anything to drink?" Hange asked with a sly smirk. Levi's brow creased at her suggestive tone.

"If you must know, no I did not drink.... a lot." he answered.

"Lucky, I wish I was drunk right now." you sighed wistfully.

"I never said I was drunk." Levi clarified.

"Any big plans for your birthday Levi?" You asked, quick to change the subject.

"No, just dinner and gifts." Levi replied with a shrug as he sank into the chair.

"That sounds nice." you smiled, Hange dropped her head to your shoulder, her chin digging into your shoulder as she did so. Levi shrugged and averted his gaze for a moment.

"Where's Isabel?" Hange asked as here eyes scanned the background, which was too dark to really reveal anything.

"In her room playing some stupid video game." Levi scoffed as he cocked his head in the direction which you assumed Isabel's room was.

"Fun." Hange mused as she closed her eyes.

"And you? What are your plans for Christmas?" Levi's question surprised you, but you still answered.

"Same as always, gifts in the morning, breakfast, hopefully be plastered by 2." you sighed, Levi scoffed at your answer but seemed satisfied.

"What about the 26th?" Levi asked carefully. you pursed your lips as you thought about your schedule.

"Hmm well I'm not sure, probably-"

"Oh I forgot to tell you, Annie is hosting a party and asked me if you'd come." Mikasa's sleepy voice startled you.

"Really? Huh that's weird. Are you going?" you asked, tilting your face down to speak to her.

"Yeah. We're smoking weed." Mikasa mumbled, her eyes still shut.

"Guess I'll go too." you shrugged. Meanwhile Hange and Levi shared a wide-eyed glance, this could throw off their plans. More specifically Hange's plans, even more specifically her plan to set you and Levi up.

"Weed?" Levi asked, clearing his throat after the word fell from his lips. You knew that he had smoked the stuff in the past, but recently he had stuck to his juul and the occasional dab pen.

"yeah, Annie has like 30 grams right now." Mikasa answered.

"I've never smoked weed before." you mused, excitement bubbling up in your chest at the thought of the chance for a new experience.

"Eh it's okay." Mikasa shrugged.

"Guess I'll just have to try it for myself." you teased, nudging her with your shoulder.

"Guess you will." Mikasa mumbled before falling silent once more.

"Well there you have it. I'm going to Annie's on the 26th." you smiled as you answered Levi's original question. With the 26th only three days away, it gave you something to look forward to.

"Fine. Do  what you want." Levi rolled his eyes and stood from his chair, his whole vibe seemed to change. You wondered if it had been something you'd said or if he was just growing bored.

"I've got to go. Farlan's phone is almost dead." Levi said as he walked through the apartment.

"Oh well it was nice-" before you could finish he had already hung up, or the phone had died.

"Classic Levi." Hange chuckled as she rose up, stretching her stiff muscles before returning to Erwin's side. You rolled your eyes and sat your phone down in defeat. You reached behind you for a throw blanket to cover you and Mikasa, you shuffled over a bit so you were snuggled between the arm of the couch and Mikasa, who had followed you. Using the arm as a pillow you lied down as much as you could with Mikasa still using your side as a pillow, she had stretched out as well to prop her feet up in Eren's lap. Eren was already passed out, his head leaning against Armin's shoulder, who was in a similar position to you. It was nice, you hadn't made much time for nights like these recently. Since you had spent most of your time with Jean you had neglected your friends, and you felt awful about it.

You had missed them deeply, in fact this had probably been the longest you'd gone without a weekend like this. Your family had been close to the Jeagers since you were babies. Your mom and Dr. Jeager both worked at the same hospital and often worked together, they had only grown closer when your father died of cancer when you were 9. Grisha and Carla had helped your mother our a lot the months following his death. Meaning you spent a lot of time with Eren and Mikasa, and by extension Armin. That same year was when they took in Mikasa since Kenny had been deemed "unfit" for a second child in his care. You assumed that the Jeagers would be coming over for Lunch like they always did on Christmas, as well as Armin and his grandfather. You felt your eyelids grow heavy as you thought about all the preparations that were needed for you to host this year, and before you knew it you had fallen asleep.

[queen-lucy-the-valiant]

I’ve been meaning to write this for a weeks and I finally did so yay. This is a somewhat analysis of the symbolism of the planning scene in Prince Caspian. I’m going off movie verse here because they changed so much I feel it’s not completely accurate to apply book details to the movie, although there are a few references that I feel could still be accurate in the movie verse.

To begin, let us lay our scene. They’re in the stone table room, the narnias are in a circle around the room, encompassing Peter, Caspain, and the stone table, which holds both Lucy and Trumpkin. Both Peter and Caspain stand a little bit away from the stone table. While Edmund and Susan are there, they’re both a part of the circle, sitting on stones directly across from each other. 

First off, their placement tells us a lot about their relationships with Aslan. Since the Stone Table is where Aslan died, it in some way represents him. At the very least it's an ancient object of religious significance and holds some kind of power, if only in the figurative sense. We know that in the book the Narnias hold the table in high regard and this is something that isn’t specifically touched on in the movie and there's no reason to change it, since that would diminish the importance of Aslan in the narnias' eyes. So that explains why the narnias are gathered on the tables. The smaller animals have climbed on other stones, presumably to put themselves on a more even playing ground with the humans and other creatures. So, as the highest, easily accessible stone in the room, the Stone Table would be a good choice for giving yourself more height. But if they do hold the table in that high of a regard or place some religious significance on it, then it would be basically blasphemous for them to sit on it when it was the place that the Lion died and rose again.

Moving on to the Pevensies and those that are also in the circle.

We’re shown a few times that Peter is having issues with his faith with Aslan during this trip to Narnia. First at the train station when he expresses his frustration at Aslan making them wait, and again when they first get the how and go into the room, when he says something like “I think we’re on our own this time.” So while there are practical reasons for Peter not being extremely close to or on the Stone Table, his standing a couple yards away from it does a good job at representing his distance from Aslan at this point in the movie. Later, when he’s contemplating his relationship with Aslan and wishing that he would give him proof, he’s sitting on the Stone Table, which up until that point, he hadn’t been near, let alone on. 

We don’t get much of Edmunds relationship with Aslan in this movie. He believes Lucy at the gorge, but that has to do more with his faith in Lucy than his faith that Aslan will be there. With this in mind, it would make more sense for him to be sitting next to Lucy during the meeting. She is after all the youngest and he already knows that the others are going to be patronizing to some degree if she should choose to give her opinion. So why isn’t he? Well it probably has to do with the fact that the reason Aslan died on that table was because of him, it was meant to be him on the table that night and Aslan took his place. It probably brings those memories closer to the surface and could potentially be triggering for him, since I think we can all agree that he had PTSD from his time with the witch. There's also potentially some awe for Aslan mixed in there, and respect, he might feel like it would be disrespectful to Aslan's sacrifice for him if he were to treat the place where he died like a chair.

We also don’t get much of Susan's relationship with Aslan in this movie. Like Peter, she wishes she could see him as easily as Lucy does, but she also only believes in him when he does something, like she tells Lucy when they’re sleeping by the fire, where Lucy's like “you believe me” and Susan says “well we got across the gorge didn’t we” or something like that. We also know that Susan's relationship with Narnia and Aslan is strained. She’s practical, she probably assumes that this trip to Narnia is probably going to end once they’ve fixed the problem, she’s not wrong of course, but I think that of the four of them she’s the only one who's thought about it at this point, since Peter and Edmund are probably focuses on how they’re going to defeat the telmarines and Lucy is living in the moment and enjoying being home again. So I think that Susan not sitting by Lucy on or near the table signifies that she’s distant from Aslan. 

Lucy is obvious, she’s sitting on the table because it’s the closest thing she has to Aslan at that moment and she has the most faith in Aslan.

Trumpkin is interesting to me because we know from the gorge scene that he doesn’t believe Aslan exists because he says “I’m not about to jump off a cliff after someone who doesn’t exist.” But before that, when they’re in the boat and Lucy says “how could Aslan have let this happen,” Trumpkin responds with “though he abandoned us when you lot left,” he partly sounds scornful, like how could you believe in a talking lion, but at the same time I think it indicates that he, on some level, believes in Aslan, even if it’s only to hate him. But even if he doesn’t believe in Aslan, based on the fact that he isn’t sitting next to Lucy on the table itself, but on one legs, I think that that indicates that he does have some respect for the significance of the table itself, and while he might not fully believe in Aslan, but this might indicate that he’s slowly moving towards believing in him.

We’re going to ignore Caspian because there is no reason for him to be on the table so yeah.

So where the characters are in relation to the table symbolizes their relationship to Aslan. That's the first layer of symbolism in this scene. The second is how much this scene represents and sets up the dynamics between our main six characters (the Pevensies, Caspain, and Trumpkin).

Starting with Peter and Caspian. This scene builds upon the tension that’s sort of set up when they first met, they don’t like each other. Peter probably thinks of Caspain and an immature kid who doesn’t know what he’s doing and Caspain probably thinks Peter is trying to take his place as leader of the narnias. Caspians only experience with kings is Miraz and Miraz is not a good example, he took the power and then he got rid of or tried to get rid of everyone that would get in the way of his keeping the power. Caspain probably thinks that Peter will do the same, since he doesn’t know any better. So he fights back against Peter and his ideas, which clearly annoys Peter, a) because he’s the high king and he's actually getting into that role again, plus he’s been dealing with not being listen to in England for the past year and he’s in Narnia now, he’s supposed to be listened to here but apparently not, and b) Caspain is the one that summoned him for help, he should be listening to him. 

Moving on to Peter and Edmund. This scene shows that Edmund is on Peter's side and has his back. This is shown before, when he jumps into the fight at the train station. But this scene backs it up and establishes Edmund as someone whose opinion Peter respects, because he doesn’t just echo what Peter says, he backs it up by using a logical reason for why they shouldn’t stay in defense mode, while Peter just pointed out that the How is a tomb not a fortress.

Peter and Susan. They’re fighting, and Susan is mad at Peter for some reason. This isn’t the first time this has come up in the movie, first it happened at the train station when Peter was going into a fight and then it happened again at the gorge when Peter appeared to take them out of the way. But this scene does indicate how serious it is, because she sides with Caspain over Peter and that is Not Good. Because they ruled together for 15 years, and they didn’t just rule together, they ruled together so well that the period when they ruled was known as the Golden Age. I’m not saying that they never disagreed on issues during that time, of course they did, but I doubt she ever did it in public and with someone she’d only known for less than a day. She shouldn’t trust Caspians opinion more than Peters, even if Caspain knows more about the current Narnia than Peter does, Peter definitely knows strategy better than Caspain, he definitely has more experience and Susan knows that.

Susan and Caspain. I can not express how much I hate the romance between Susan and Caspian in the movie, if you like it, that’s fine, it’s just really not my cup of tea and I think it’s a fairly useless addition to the story. That being said, this is the scene that establishes it. The movie makers use Susan taking Caspains side in this argument as a starting point for their later romance. 

  Finally Trumpkin and Lucy. I personally believe that Trumpkin sitting next to Lucy at the table is meant to indicate their friendship and such, because why else would he be there and that's really all I have to say about that.

And this isn’t part of the actual analysis because there's literally nothing concrete to back it up, but I like the idea of Lucy being someone whose opinion Peter values. I thought of this because of two particular points in the movie. The first being when they walk into the How for the first time and Lucy is the only pevensie on Peters right side and you know, right hand person and such. The second is that Lucy is the only other Pevensie actually in the circle during this scene, both Edmund and Susan are part of the circle and the only other people in the circle-besides Trumpkin and I’m ignoring him here-are Peter and Caspain, the two main leaders. So yeah there's that, do with it what you will

Thank you for reading this, I’m sorry if it’s long and complicated and possibly confusing with many run-on sentences, I’m reading Jane Austen right now and I tend to semi copy the writing style of whoever I’m reading at the moment.

@confessions-of-a-bookworm, @fandomblr, @czytling

[ravs6709]

Kwami Sitting- Alya and the Kwamis

Alrighty, major spoilers from Gang of Secrets! Like, major.

But yeah, I've been having feels for that entire episode and because there was the reveal, it means kwami sitting! So here's some kwami content featuring platonic alyanette. Mentions of food.

Ftr, I made the zodiac kwamis all use they/them pronouns, though I don't think it ended up being too relevant in this fic. The main ones though do have genders.

Enjoy!

•~•~•~•~•~•

It had only been a day since Marinette had revealed her identity, and Alya liked to think that she was taking the news well. After all, that was Ladybug, the superhero that she'd wanted to unmask for so long, until she realized that it would hurt more than help. She still couldn't believe that she also happened to be her best friend.

But it made so much sense though. Both Marinette and Ladybug were strong, courageous, intelligent, and incredibly good friends. It explained why Marinette was always late to class or making excuses.

It also explained why she looked so broken. Because she wasn't just Ladybug, the only person who could undo the damage caused by Shadowmoth. She was also the Guardian of the Miraculous. She was someone who hated lies, but had to lie in order to keep everyone safe.

But she told her secret to Alya, and Alya vowed to help ease the burden that she was carrying.

"See this?" Marinette pointed to the large pink box, before it expanded to show dozens of coloured bottles. "This is where I keep the miracle box. And this is how I open it."

She then pressed down on a bunch of the bottles, before a drawer opened.

"Woah!" Alya gasped, before remembering that Marinette had been defensive about the dollhouse. "It took you less than a day to make that?"

"Uh... yes?"

"That's so cool!"

"Focus, Alya." She picked up the miracle box. "Each of the miraculous are stored in here, but the kwamis don't have to stay inside of it. And-"

She was interrupted by both her and Alya's phone buzzing. There was a notification about an akuma attack.

"You go, I'll look after the box! I'll also cover for you in case your parents come!" Alya told her, and she nodded.

Marinette transformed- woah it looked so cool!- and made her way to the roof. But before she left, she turned back to face Alya.

"If things get dangerous, I might have to come for one of the miraculous. Keep your phone in case I need to text you."

"Got it! I won't let you down, Marinette!"

Even though she would be missing out on a chance to film for the Ladyblog, this was an opportunity to properly meet the kwamis! She'd seen glimpses of them before, but her priority had been comforting Marinette over her curiosity. But now she actually had the chance to meet them all.

"Alright!" She called out. "You're all under my watch now! Can you like up so I can figure out who is who?"

She knew about the main miraculous, and some of the others, but she wasn't prepared to see just how many kwamis there were. She only recognized four. Trixx, Tikki, Wayzz and the bee whose name she didn't know. Others looked vaguely familiar, like the snake, horse and dragon. But she didn't know there was one for the pig, rooster, tiger (wait were they for the zodiac?).

"Ooh, you're Alya, right!" The pig kwami asked. "I'm Daizzi! It'd be really cool if you were my holder!"

"I told you, she's already taken!" Trixx replied.

Alya looked at the two kwamis. Were they fighting over her? It took all of her willpower to not scream, only because she didn't want Tom and Sabine to hear and get concerned. Then she'd have to explain why she was screaming, and Marinette's sudden absence. Yeah, she definitely should not do that.

"I'm very flattered that you'd like me as your holder, Daizzi" she said instead. "But as Trixx said, I'm taken. I like being Rena Rouge."

The other kwamis began to introduce themselves, and a brief summary of their powers. There was so much to take in and she wished she could talk to someone else about it, but knew that she couldn't, and wouldn't ever betray Marinette's trust like that.

After that, she sat on the bed and pulled out her phone. The kwamis were insanely old, so they'd probably be well behaved, and she could start writing down notes for her next Ladyblog article.

Or well, that's what she thought. Apparently all those years of living meant nothing, because as soon as she got distracted, she heard something fall to the floor.

It was a good thing that Alya had two devious sisters that had a tendency to cause destruction, otherwise she'd be fuming.

But because she had the experience, all she did was casually look back at her phone as if nothing had happened.

"Oh," she began, faking sweetness into her voice. "I was planning on getting you all some snacks, but I guess not."

The twins were starting to grow old enough to not fall for the tactic, but she suspected that the kwamis would. As expected, they turned towards her with wide eyes and sad expressions. They whispered amongst each other, before they moved to start cleaning up.

Trixx seemed to be participating half-heartedly- he probably knew what she was trying to accomplish, he was perceptive like that.

"Okay, what are your favourite snacks?"

She already knew that Trixx liked fruit, but she was not prepared for the variety of foods listed. Pollen liked peppers, Wayzz liked drinking tea, and there was a lot.

"Okay, I can't say that I'll be able to get food for all of you, but I'll do my best. Wayzz, I'm leaving you in charge."

She figured that since Wayzz was the previous guardian's kwami, he would be the wisest.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Alya took a deep breath, then tip toed down the stairs. The bakery wouldn't have everything, but taking a large variety of stuff would be weird. If it was just sweets, it'd be fine. But to take fruits and crackers and popcorn? She had to sneak the food back upstairs.

She looked into the kitchen and didn't see anyone.

"I haven't seen you in such a long time!" Sabine said from the front. "How have you been?"

Perfect! While they're distracted with the customer, I can get what I need.

Surprisingly, the kitchen raid went better than she'd expected. She managed to find even more food, and was able to carry it upstairs with ease. When she opened the trapdoor, the kwamis all beamed.

There was also no damage, fortunately.

"Before you eat," she said, chanelling all her authority into her tone. "I'm going to set up what we humans call a movie. Let's watch the Ladybug and Chat Noir movie."

It was easy to access it, since she already bought it online with an account. She got comfortable then started the movie.

The kwamis were fixated on the movie, impressed with the animation and the capabilities of the computer. However, there was a slight problem.

"How did they get the idea of the miraculous so wrong?" Baark asked.

"Remember, humans don't know that we exist. They have very little to work with," Wayzz answered.

Except that the others ignored him, and started critiquing the movie even more. Alya groaned. She was never going to be able to enjoy the movie again without thinking of the conversation going on around her.

•~•~•~•~•~•

There were footsteps on the roof, and then the trapdoor opened. Alya didn't look back at Marinette, even when she detransformed.

"Oh wow, you're good at this," Marinette remarked.

Alya only hummed as a response, and reached for the last of the popcorn. "I like stole a crap ton of food from the kitchen though. Hope you don't mind."

"Are you kidding me? I haven't seen them sit still in ever!"

Alya felt arms wrap around her from behind, and she smiled. "I told you. If your load gets too heavy, I'll carry it with you. Even if it's by doing something as simple as babysitting these cute kwamis."

"Thank you Alya, thank you! I don't know what'd I'd do without you."

"I love you too Marinette."

•~•~•~•~•~•

Ml taglist- @subrosasteath

Want to be added/removed from the taglist? Just let me know!

[secretsniper2]

Podlock

Waking up on the cold stone floor of my cell im already shivering, they had taken me from the markets and planted food on me to frame me and take me away, my bag only had a few coins in it, no food at all! and yet when they checked they pulled out 3 apples.. this is a bad place to be sent to for a trial, mens punishments were a piece of cake, public services like cleaning the streets mostly, but for women, and especially attractive women the punishments for any crime is usually cruel and in almost every case, sexual..

Hearing the hallway door open and some footsteps i knew my trial was mere minutes away. Standing in my cell in what rags they forced me to wear i did my best to cover my exposed body. The “clothes” they put me in were little more than tattered rags that barely reached over my nipples, they claimed it was because of my large D-size breasts but i know they have actual shirts.. at least for the men. My skirt had holes and stains all over it, more of a belt than a skirt as it barely covers my ass and pussy! 1 hand over my breasts and the other over my pussy as the Guard opens my cell door.

“Get over here Prisoner” is all he says, i can see cuffs in his hand, im not going to enjoy this..

Walking from the cell my hands are locked behind my back, pushing my breasts out and forcing my nipples to push against the shirt more than it already did, at least its still covered for now, but 1 bad step and my tits will pop right out! A hand pressing on my back signals i need to move, the men in the other cells all whistling as i walk past, i can feel their eyes all over my body, their desire to use me in horrible ways, if they could reach me im sure my rags would be torn off in seconds. Passing through the double doors at the end of the long hall im led to a podium and i see 2 dildos on the floor surrounded by chains, resisting the pushes at first im forced to kneel as my legs are locked down. A metal belt is locked on me and chains linking me to the floor are pulled, slowly im forced to sink onto the 2 toys.

Feeling the dildos sink inside my pussy and ass the chain keeps pulling me down, further and further until my ass hits the cold floor. they are long, too long.. my ass is already sore and my pussy throbbing as the guards attach more chains making any effort to get off the toys impossible, 1 of the guards even reaches around and gives my clit a hard pinch making me shudder as he laughs. Eventually they return to their positions and the corrupt judge walks in and takes his seat. Reading out the charges the old man looks down on me with a smile.

“how does the girl plead?” he said, almost laughing!

“I have done nothing wrong!” i scream out, “im innocent! i didn't steal anything!

A tingling feeling in my pussy made me notice the dildo is moving around slightly, when i noticed that the anal toy was moving around too i heard the guard behind me chuckle lightly. Looking back i see him, he looks like a cross between a pig and a man! and hes holding a control box with a dial on the top, he turns the dial and the dildos speed up, making thinking very difficult! Raising the speed more and more your more mad that the chains are very effective at keeping your body down on the tormenting stimulations, the sound from the vibrators is filling the room but noone cares!

“We have eyewitnesses that saw you stealing young lady!” the judge yells over the loud buzzing coming from your ass and pussy!

“The.. Their WROOONNGGGGG!!!” i scream as the first orgasm hits!

“you accuse these 5 men of lying?” he says with a laugh! “impossible! iv known these men for years, they never lie!”

“NNNNGGGG FUUUUUUHH” your voice breaks as another harder orgasm rips out of your pussy! the stimulation is already too much but the guard behind you is still raising the speed!

“I will not have my friends mocked in my courtroom! i sentence you to life in Podlock!” the judge yells!

The few women in the room gasp at the words, my own eyes open in fear at the sound of my sentence!! the only punishment that men never get is the Podlock, noone really knows what goes on in the pods but noone ever leaves them. Tears swell up in my eyes as the guards gag me and detach the dildos from the ground and lock them inside my body with a chastity belt. A collar is locked around my neck with a leash following suit, im forced from the courtroom still screaming into my gag about my innocence, the few women i pass are covering their mouths knowing ill never be coming back, a few tears in their eyes but nothing like the tears from mine.

Through the doors im pulled, each step moves the toys locked inside me more and more, pulling another orgasm from me just from the movement alone! Moving through the crowd of people men grab and tear the rags off my body exposing my bare breasts as more hands began grabbing my nipples as i walk, the guards doing nothing to stop the mens assaults on my body. As more men grab my ass and breasts tears continue to run down my cheeks, im at least glad my pussy is covered so they cant grab my clit, even though the toys are still rocking around inside me.

Walking through a rather large and dense crowd of men the leash is pulled from the guard and im forced into the large crowd by a mystery man, if the men grabbing me before were rude, these men wernt even men, they were animals! hands from every angle squeeze my breasts, my nipples being fought over by several hands as my nipples pass from hand to hand. My ass has hands on every piece of skin available and i can feel a few hands trying to push under the belt to touch my drooling pussy, at least they cant get far.

A surge of guards storm the area, men being arrested for their sentence of community service likely cleaning the slave pens your leash is taken by another guard and your lead back on the route to the Podlock processing site. Its a large metal building that only officials are allowed inside, through the doors your leash is taken by a woman, shes dressed a black latex bodysuit, with ballet boots padlocked on and latex hood around her head, only her eyes are exposed. with my leash in the latex hands of this woman im led through another door and what i see made me cum on the toys lodged inside me.

10 women with their limbs in special holes in the wall so escape is impossible, they are completely nude and have large toys deep in their ass and pussies, the bulge is visible even from my point of view, 10 feet below the women, the bulge is moving in each woman, clearly vibrating their fluid runs in a constant stream down their thighs and covering the wall in their slick cum. This is a lighter punishment that women can get, i prefer to join them over what im destined for..

“this her?” a man said, the latex woman nodded and the man took the leash and continued leading me while the woman followed.

“Podlock huh? im sure youll learn to love it eventually, its a life sentence so youll be living with it for a long time!” the man said with a laugh at the end.

Continuing the walk to my new life the woman in latex behind me began grabbing my ass! her latex covered hands moving up my body caressing me everywhere she went, matching my pace exactly she would massage my breasts with skilled ease, playing effortlessly with my nipples making them stand out hard against her latex touch, the man looks back and smiles as he sees my reactions to the latex assault on my breasts. Pushing and pulling my tits i moan uncontrollably into my gag making her grab harder and pull faster, if i wasnt already filled with 2 large toys rocking side to side as i walk it would be tolerable, but because of the constant stimulation inside me and now my tits i cum hard and stumble a little.

Walking past a series of gold capsules i can kind of make out figures inside, but through the orgasm i just had my eyes are a little hazy, but i eventually stop in front of a open pod.. my pod.. A table next to it with a bench under it with fabrics on it, pulled to the table im told to lay down and i do as im told, cant get away now. A quick injection into my neck is all it takes and my arms are unlocked, i try to move, to get away now im unbound but i cant.. im completely immobile, my belt is removed and the woman begins fucking me with my dildo as the man pulls my arms to my side and begins wrapping me in a latex fabric. Wrapping all the way up my arms he looks into my eyes .

“Your paralysis will only last 5 minutes, more than enough to get you ready” he says with a smile

Continuing to wrap up my arms he stops to place some pads on my nipples, and then wraps across my shoulder and down my other arm, sealing my arms off. Starting again at my neck he begins to wrap down my body, neck, shoulders and breasts are wrapped up tight, Wires poking through 1 of the seams of the latex as he wraps further down my body trapping my covered arms against my body in a tight layer of latex. The woman finally stops fucking my cunt with the dildo and removes both from my holes and replaces them with even harder toys, my pussy and ass are filled once again with large dildos and another thin tube is pushed up my urethra, a cup is placed over my clit and the man wraps further down my body. Tubes are attached to the dildos inside me and are wrapped up tight, latex swallowing me up with its tight embrace, seemingly flowing down my legs as the man continues his work. Pulling the tubes between a layer he ensures they are accessible as my feet are coated in the tight latex sheets.

More and more latex sheets are added to my already tight bondage as my gag is removed only to be replaced by a latex hood over my head, covering my ears and face with another dildo pushing into my mouth as the latex now around my head gets tighter again, being wrapped with more sheets as its clearly not tight enough, i plead with my eyes as best i can given my circumstances but they dont care. Lifting me off the table im placed in my pod carefully and restrained further with straps a tube is attached to the mouth piece of my hood and the other tubes and wires are placed in the pod at my sides, locking into place as a blindfold is put over my hood locking me in darkness.

a dull sound of locks clicking is all i can hear aside from my own heartbeat and my breathing as tubes are pushed in my nose to allow air in, soon ill be all alone till i die someday.. no idea when that will even be now. Feeling a tingle between my legs my eyes shoot open in the darkness of my bondage as the new inserts make my body their home as the begin vibrating at a fast pace, worse still my urethra insert is following suit and buzzing away bringing new sensations to my mind! im going to cum! oh god please no..!

Electricity begins flowing in my nipples and my clit. teasing my body as a orgasm slams into my mind, pushing me further into my binding if that is even possible! it only takes a few seconds before a second orgasm is pulled out of me, its clearly going to keep me cumming for a very long time as minutes turn to hours as my mind blurs as orgasm after orgasm is pulled out, a injection of fluid in my mouth brings me back to reality, it must be feeding time or something as the cock in my mouth begins pumping large amounts of a mixture which its key ingredient must be cum, it tastes like it at least! You hear a tap in your ears and a man speaks.

“enjoy the slop slut, youll be living on that cum filled creation, itll keep you full and alive, youll be with us for a very long time so enjoy the orgasms while you can, your waste will be cleared 2 times a day so you dont have to worry about that, other than that, welcome to your new life.”

And with that click your world shrinks to a latex prison full of orgasms and nothing else.. you now know exactly what happens to all the other women who got sentenced to Podlock, and your the newest prisoner.. New life? more like new hell..

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch56: Worthy

Intro: A few weeks post the Time Heist the team are finally ready to reverse the snap. The only problem is, when you mess with time it tends to mess back…

Warnings: “Language!” 

Pairing:  Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: Another huge thanks to @angrybirdcr​ for her edits…

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 55

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

October 2023

Katie walked over to the dresser in Nat’s room and smiled at the photos that stood on the shiny, dark wood surface. There were a few shots that stood in frames, one of Nat with Clint, Laura and the Kids, one of her, Katie and Pepper at Tony’s wedding, but it was the biggest one that she reached out to pick up. It was a photo that Katie had taken in her and Steve’s back garden a few months before on Jamie’s third birthday. Nat had Jamie balanced on her hip and Emmy to her other side, arm round the teens shoulder. She was smiling, happily at the camera, almost like she had no care in the world.

“Hey.” A soft voice spoke behind her and she turned to look at Steve, already dressed in his Captain America suit. “I’m not even gonna ask how you got in here.” “I already had access.” Katie shrugged, replacing the photo back down. “She had access to ours as well, although she never used it much, especially not after that time she walked in on us on the couch and got an eyeful of your ass going ten to the-“ “Yeah, yeah, I remember.” Steve snorted, leaning on the doorframe, the pink tinge spreading up his neck to his cheeks as he recalled the incident. They’d been going at it pretty furiously when Nat had walked in. There had been a lot of yelling, shrieks, giggles and one strategically placed throw cushion as he had stood up and reversed hastily to the bedroom out of view. “She told me she needed four bottles of bleach for her eyeballs.”

Katie sniggered before she sighed. “I miss her, Steve.”

“I know.” He said gently, walking into the room and she melted into his arms. “I wish I could tell you it goes away but it doesn’t. You just learn to live with it. I promise it will get easier though.” Katie smiled at his words. She knew full well what living with grief was like, they’d done it enough over the past five years but he wasn’t trying to be patronising, merely trying to lend her some comfort and she loved him for that.

“Given that Halloween isn’t for another two weeks I take it you’re dressed in your Spangles for a reason?” She pulled back and Steve nodded.

“We’re ready.” He gave her a significant look.

Katie let out a breath. They’d been working on the gauntlet now for the past few weeks. Thor, Rocket, Tony and Banner all spending hours at a time in the lab. Given that the Time and Soul stones were the only ones they had in their true gem form the first challenge get the others into the same state. For the most, all that meant was smashing open the various items they were contained within- namely the Tesseract, Sceptre and Orb. But even that had to be done in a controlled way so no stone was damaged or disturbed. Then, a slightly trickier task, they’d had to figure out how to solidify the Aether. Thor had been extremely nervous about this given his history with it and how it was able to “consume” people it decided to use as hosts. After days of brainstorming and various ideas they dismissed, Tony had come up with the idea of using the 3D printer to create a vessel, using a scan of one of the other stones.

“So, err…it’s time?” Steve nodded. “Everyone’s meeting in the lab.” He nodded to the photos on the side. “Time to make her sacrifice worthwhile.”

Katie followed his eye line and nodded. “Yeah,” she turned back to him, “I’ll go grab my suit.” He bent down to give her a soft peck on the lips and watched her go before he cast a cursory glance around the room. It was a little untidy, but that had been Nat all over. ‘Organised chaos’ she had described her nature as.

“You weren’t wrong, Widow.” Steve smiled gently, before he turned and shut the door behind him, striding back to the lab.

He arrived just in time to see Tony stood by the glass case housing the Gauntlet, his hand carefully manipulating the machines to cautiously place all six stones in their respective places within the glove.

“Boom!” Rocket let out a yell and both Tony and Bruce jumped a little. Tony turned to glare at the raccoon who was sniggering at his joke.

Steve rolled his eyes, he still wasn’t sure about the animal but he couldn’t deny he’d been useful, his knowledge filling in a lot of gaps they had.

“Asshole.” Tony grumbled as Steve crossed the room to pick up his helmet which was lying on a desk. Tony looked up at him. “You find Kiddo?” “Exactly where I thought she’d be.” Steve nodded. “She’s gone to suit up.” It wasn’t long before she returned with Clint and Scott. Scott was already in his Ant-Man suit, Clint in his Hawkeye get up and Katie in her leathers, the bangle that contained her Supernova suit gleaming on her wrist. Steve’s eyes travelled over everyone as they checked their various bits of equipment, and he took a deep breath, nervous excitement coursing through his veins.

Everything they had been through over the past five years and, more recently, the sacrifice their best friend had made all came down to this. A literal snap of the fingers.

Eventually, a silence fell over the room as everyone crowded round the gauntlet. A quick headcount told Steve they were one short, and he didn’t mean Natasha either. Nebula was absent but he assumed she was elsewhere at the request of Tony for some reason, maybe doing some checks in other areas. He was about to ask when Rocket spoke up.

“All right. The glove’s ready.” His arms folded across his chest. “Question is, who’s gonna snap their freaking fingers?”

“I’ll do it.” Thor spoke immediately and they all turned to face him, Lang speaking the words at the forefront of Steve’s mind.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s okay.” Thor nodded, heading towards the gauntlet where he was immediately met with a barrage of protests from around the room.

“No, no, no, whoa.”

“Stop. Stop.”

“Wait a sec. Hey, hey!”

“Wait, wait, Thor, just wait.” Steve shook his head gently, his arm reaching out to stop the God before he put his arm in the glove. “We haven’t decided who’s gonna put that on yet.”

“I’m sorry. What, we’re just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?” Thor snapped back.

“We should at least discuss it.” Katie nodded, trying to appease him.

“No, no, sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back.” Thor looked at her, shaking his head. “I’m the strongest Avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls upon me. It’s my duty.”

“It’s not about–“

“It’s not that– Stop it! Just let me!” Thor pleaded as he started to get teary eyed. Katie took a breath as she could almost feel the guilt that was radiating off him in waves. “Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something right.”

“Look, it’s not just the fact that that glove is channelling enough energy to light up a continent, I’m telling you, you’re in no condition.” Tony shook his head.

“He’s right, Thor.” Katie looked at him. “Let’s just think about it, please?”

“What do you-“ Thor shook his head as he looked at Katie, his blue eyes then flicking to Tony “What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?”

Katie took a deep breath and crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking at Steve who mimicked her action subconsciously, shaking his head slightly.

“Cheez Whiz?” Rhodey supplied from the side of the room. Thor pointed at him, shooting him a glare but all Rhodey did was shrug.

“Lightning.” He stated simply.

“Lightning won’t help you, pal.” Banner spoke softly, as everyone turned to look at him “It’s gotta be me.”

Katie glanced at Steve who was frowning a little, his attention completely on the large hulk of a man who gave a small shrug.

“You saw what those stones did to Thanos. It almost killed him. None of you could survive.” Banner’s eyes were focussed on the red gauntlet as he walked towards it.

“How do we know you will?” Steve questioned as Banner passed him by.

“We don’t. But the radiation’s mostly gamma,” he stated, in a matter of fact way, his eyes still on the gauntlet, as he clearly contemplated. With a smile he turned to look at Katie, then Tony as he spoke again. “It’s like….uh…I was made for this.”

Katie’s head whipped round to look at Tony, before they both glanced back at Banner who smiled at them again, the siblings instantly understanding what he was referring to.

“You know, I’ve got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart.” Tony said, pointing at the Arc-Reactor in his chest as he walked towards Bruce “But this- this stops it. This little circle of light”

“Because that’s the same…” Katie said sarcastically rolling my eyes.

“The point is its part of me now, not just armor.” Tony ignored her as he stood opposite Banner, looking at him through you clear screen as lines of data swam across it. “It’s a… terrible privilege.

“But you can control it.” Bruce pointed out.

“Because I learned how”

“It’s different.” Bruce returned back to the computer screen but Tony slid the data aside with his fingers so the two could see face-to-face without interruption.

“Hey, I’ve read all about your accident. That much gamma exposure should have killed you.”

“That’s true…” Katie said, watching the exchange.

“So you’re saying that the Hulk…” he paused, smiling sadly as he correcting himself whilst Tony raised his eyebrows “The other guy saved my life?”

Katie looked at Tony. His eyes were flashing bright as Bruce looked back at him. Tony gave him a significant look.

“That’s nice, it’s a nice sentiment.” Bruce said as Tony moved back to his computer. “Saved it for what?”

Tony hesitated and looked up, “I guess we’ll find out.

And it seemed they just had.

Unlike Steve, Katie did believe in fate and destiny, certainly to an extent anyway. After everything she had seen and experienced over the past twelve years or so she couldn’t help but consider there was an element of truth in the fact that they were all pawns in a bigger game.

She glanced at Steve who was studying Banner, but made no move to stop him. He couldn’t argue with the man’s logic. So, as no one else protested, Tony moved to remove the gauntlet from the casing before he handed it to the Doctor.

“Good to go, yeah?” Tony asked.

Bruce nodded. “Let’s do it,”

“You remember. Everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bring them back to now.” Tony reminded Bruce. “Don’t change anything from the last five years,”

Bruce nodded again. “Got it.”

“Good luck.” Katie encouraged before she twisted the star on her bangle causing her suit to flow over her body, Tony doing the same with his chest piece whilst Steve gripped his shield on his arm. Katie’s own shield beamed out of the suit and she held it in front of her, glancing to Steve where he stood to her left. He flashed her a small smile which she returned before her helmet slid round her head.

“FRIDAY do me a favour and activate Barn Door Protocol” Tony announced as he stepped in line with Clint, a shield springing from his suit. Thor stepped in front of Rocket whilst Rhodey and Scott also fully engaged their suits.

“Yes boss,” she replied and around them all the facility went into lock down as shutters closed over the doors, windows and roof.

Katie engaged her scanners, checking the heads up display which was monitoring the energy levels on the stones and she moved her feet slightly apart, adopting an almost identical stance to Steve, their defences raised in front of them.

 Bruce looked at the gauntlet in his hand for a second. “Everybody comes home,” and with that he slid his fingers into the glove which nanobotically expanded to fit his hand. There was a sudden whoosh, and as they watched, the stones lit up in different colours, tendrils of bright light spreading up Bruce’s arm as their power surged up towards his shoulder and neck. He cried out in pain, almost falling and Katie watched worriedly as the man continued to shout and groan, his teeth grit together.

“Bruce?” She asked as Steve shifted besides her, his legs apart ready to dive in if he had to. Bruce then crashed down to his knees, his face contorted in pain.

“Take it off. Take it off!” Thor cried out, starting towards him.

“No, wait!” Steve urged, holding his hand up. They knew something like this was going to happen, they’d seen the mess left of Thanos’ arm. But they couldn’t quit, not now. “Bruce, are you okay?“ 

“Talk to me, Banner.” Tony demanded.

“I’m okay, I’m okay!” Bruce grit out through his teeth, giving a jerky nod as Thor gave him two thumbs.

After what felt like hours, Bruce slowly raised his arm. With a final grit of his teeth, he moved his fingers and everyone braced themselves. Steve moved himself in front of his wife with his shield raised, even though she was probably more protected than he was, such was his force of habit. With a loud yell, and a laboured effort, Bruce snapped his fingers. Steve’s shield raised automatically over his face in an attempt to shield himself and Katie form the blinding white light that pulsed out from the Gauntlet, filling the room.

But it was gone as soon as it had appeared.

Steve had to admit he had expected more, but his concern at the moment was Bruce who collapsed backwards to the floor and the gauntlet slid off his hand dropping to the tiles with a clang.

“Bruce!” He called, kneeling down beside him as Clint booted the gauntlet across the room away from them all.

“Don’t move him.” Tony instructed as he dropped to his knees besides Bruce who was gripping onto Steve’s arm with his left hand, blinking in pain. Tony opened his palm, spraying Bruce’s right arm with foam to cool him off.

“Did it work?” Bruce breathed out, blinking slightly.

Katie glanced around, her helmet retracting as she did so. “I don’t know.” As she continued to look around for a clue, anything that would indicate if they’d been successful, she spotted Scott walking towards the windows of the facility, the blinds sliding back as the lock down reversed.

“Worth a shot.” Thor sighed, clearly having already decided it hadn’t. He knelt down besides Banner “It’s okay…”

As Steve, Tony and Thor tended to Bruce, Katie continued to watch Scott who stood by the window, his mouth forming a little O of surprise. She squinted, wondering what it was he had seen, and then she spotted a few birds in the tree on the patio area. She swallowed slightly, whilst birds hadn’t been uncommon in the five years, they had certainly been down in numbers, and it was unusual for four of them at once to be in a tree that small.

She was then distracted by Clint who had given a sharp intake of breath and she spun to watch him as he picked up his phone from one of the desks with a shaking hand.

“Honey?” He croaked, and Katie watched as his face contorted into raw emotion, his words failing to form out of the sheer emotion he was clearly feeling. “Honey?”

There was only one person that could be, and if it was her then…

“Guys, I think it worked,” Scott spoke from his spot and Katie took a deep breath as her own tears threatened to overwhelm her. She locked eyes with Steve, who glanced up at her, his own eyes shining as he smiled.

“We did it.” Katie breathed out, looking round as she gave a watery laugh, wiping away her tears. “Son of a bitch, we actually-“

But she didn’t get chance to finish her sentence as suddenly there was a huge explosion, and the ground fell open beneath her.

*****

Smoke. Fire. Ash. Gushing Water.

That was all Katie could see, hear and feel. She was vaguely aware that FRIDAY was yelling something in her ear. As she shook her head slightly, she groaned, waiting for her senses to catch up with the rest of her.

Then, she heard Tony, and as she moved to get up, she realised she couldn’t. There was something crushing her into the ground, something ridiculously heavy which was pressing on her back. She tried to push herself up, but the weight was too much. 

And then it was gone, and a strong arm was hoisting her to her feet.

“Little Stark?” Thor asked as Katie gave another groan, retracting her helmet. “Are you okay?”

“No serious injuries detected.” FRIDAY informed her, and she nodded to the God.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” She blinked, looking around as she tried to figure out what the fuck had just happened. “Where’s…”

“I take it that wasn’t the snap.” Tony mumbled, distracting her as she glanced down to her left as he blasted away a piece of concrete that had been pinning his legs down. He stood up, and the three of them took a moment to look around where they were stood in the ruins of the compound, before Thor gave a lowly growl and walked to the edge of the blown apart building, looking down into the huge crater.

“No, it was him.” He nodded. Katie and Tony both walked towards him, drawing up on either side, and Katie gave a sharp gasp as she saw Thanos in a distance, sat on a rock.

“Where’s Steve?” Katie’s brain suddenly remembered who it was she’d been looking for earlier, and she, glancing round furiously. She engaged her helmet again and FRIDAY scanned the piles of rubble but she needn’t have bothered, she spotted him almost immediately. She quickly moved towards him, kicking some more rubble and wreckage out of the way before she dropped gently to Steve’s side where he lay unconscious, FRIDAY informing her that his life signs were fine.

“Stevie?” She he said gently, shaking his shoulder. “Come on honey, wake up.” With a sharp intake of breath, Steve’s eyes flew open and Katie let out a sigh of relief, as she looked up to see Tony smiling, Steve’s shield on his arm.

“That’s my man.” Tony nodded, leaning down towards Steve who glanced up, his breathing evening out. “Lose this again,” Tony held out the shield, “I’m keeping it.”

Steve grimaced and turned to look at his wife. “You okay?” “Yeah.” She nodded, “turns out Tony’s suits are pretty good, who knew huh?” Tony scoffed as Steve blinked, getting his bearings, taking in the debris and rubble of the compound. “What happened?” 

“You mess with time it tends to mess back,” Tony spoke gently, glancing at Katie sniffed a little, wiping at her nose, fear flickering across her face. “You’ll see.”

“Thanos?” Steve swallowed, and Katie nodded. Steve exhaled again as Tony helped him to his feet and the three of them walked over to Thor, who was stood exactly where Katie and Tony had left him earlier.

“What’s he been doing?” Tony asked, standing to Thor’s left as Katie stood to the God’s right in between him and her husband as the four of them glanced down at the Titan.

“Absolutely nothing.” Thor’s voice was low.

Steve had no idea how the Titan was there, but he didn’t really give a shit either. There was one thing they had to do, and that was all that mattered.

“Where are the stones?” He asked.

“Somewhere under all this,” Katie gestured to pile of ruins under their feet. “All we know is that he doesn’t have them.”

“So we keep it that way.” Steve spoke simply, steely determination lacing his voice, his eyes not moving from the Titan.

“You know this is a trap, right?” Thor asked, his gaze also locked on the large warrior.

“Yeah. I don’t much, care.” Tony replied with a shrug.

“Good. Just as long as we’re all in agreement.” Thor nodded, and with that there was a large crack of thunder. Bright beams and shards of lightning surround the God as he stretched out both his hands to summon Stormbreaker and Mjolnir. His casual clothes transformed into his armour and cape, his beard flowing into a braid, giving him a distinctive Viking Warrior look as his eyes glowed bright white, every inch of his face lined with fury.

“Good to have you back, Thunder God.” Katie smiled at him as he took a deep breath, the lightning dying down as he looked over her shoulder at Steve, who nodded at him.

“Let’s kill him properly this time.” Thor’s voice was a low growl as he jumped off the edge of the ruins they were stood on, landing with a loud crash on the ground. Katie moved to one side of Steve, wrapping her arm around his as Tony did the same, the three of them flying forward and landing with a little more grace than Thor had done.

Once more the four of them exchanged looks before the started to walk cautiously towards Thanos, but Katie stopped as Steve pulled on her arm.

“You need to promise me.” He looked at her as her. “If this starts to go sideways…” “I think we’re a bit past that.” She breathed out and Steve shook his head, looking down.

“Baby, the kids. I need you to promise me that if it looks like, well, you need to go back for them.” “Steve.” Katie took a shaky breath, her eyes filling with tears. “There’s no point making me promise anything like that, because if we don’t get rid of him, then there might not be anything to go back for.”

Her words hit him harder than any punch could, and Steve felt his chest contract, painfully. He tore his eyes off her which were now full of tears as he looked up at Tony and Thor who continued to advance ahead of them, his hand running down his face.

She was right and whilst he wanted her as far away as possible, with their kids, safe, he knew it was futile because nothing was safe now. He could send her away, get her out of the fight, but if they failed then she was as good as dead anyway, they all were.

Because Steve didn’t believe for a second that Thanos would make the mistake of leaving who died this time round down to chance.  

“If we go, we go.” Katie’s voice ripped him from his thoughts as he turned back to her, the tears in her eyes dancing with the flames that reflected from the various fires dotted around. “We have to try or they don’t stand a chance. Whatever it takes.”

Steve couldn’t bring himself to reply. Instead he gave her a curt nod and the two of them strode forward to confront the man who had haunted their dreams for the past five years.

“You could not live with your own failure,” Thanos spoke for the first time as they drew closer. “Where did that bring you? Back to me. I thought by eliminating half of life the other half would thrive. But you’ve shown me that’s impossible.”

The four of them split up, as they began to surround Thanos, circling him, whilst he spoke.

“As long as there are those that remembered what was, there are always those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist.”

“Yeah, we’re all kinds of stubborn.” Tony continued his pacing to stand behind the Titan.

“I’m thankful, because now I know what I must do,” Thanos stood up, “I will shred this universe down to its last atom.” He reached for his helmet which had been propped up on the edge of his double edged blade where it was stuck into the ground in front of him. “And then with the stones that you’ve collected for me,” he placed the helmet on top of his head, “I’ll create a new one, teeming with life,” he pulled his weapon from the ground, twirling it in his large hand, “that knows not what is lost, only what has been given,”

There was a rush and a flash as the lighting flew round Thor’s axe and hammer, his eyes flashing as he stood to Thanos’ left, Katie now to his right.

“A grateful universe.” Thanos concluded.

“Born out of blood,” Steve glared up at the man, anger lancing through every cell in his body.

“They’ll never know it,” Thanos cocked his head to the right, “because you won’t be alive to tell them.”

At that, having heard enough, Thor gave a loud cry as he surged forward, beginning the fight. Tony and Katie both launched into the air and Steve threw himself in, shield first, as the four of them began to work in tandem.

Lightning flashed, shots fired, metal clanged on metal as they all deployed their various weapons. It was brutal, hard, just as Steve had remembered from Wakanda, only this time they were engaged directly with the Titan, and it was fast becoming apparent that this Thanos was equally as vicious an opponent than his future self had been. 

“Okay, Thor. Hit me.” Tony’s voice rang over Steve’s comms as Katie flew up out of the way of the Titan’s sword as he swung it at her, deflecting the shot she’d taken at him from her repulsors.

As Steve launched his shield again, Thor banged his axe and hammer together, charging Tony’s suit with lightening. Tony then shot the extra energy out using his hands and body, Katie joining him as she hovered off to the left. Thanos twirled his blade in front of him, diverting the energy and Steve gave a yell as it rebounded back to Katie, her suit taking a full shot causing her to fly off to the side, colliding harshly with a huge piece of the compound structure, falling to the floor.

With a roar of rage, Thor grabbed Stormbreaker and used it to bat his hammer to hit Thanos, who used Tony as a shield, casting the man aside where he too landed harshly, remaining motionless on the ground.

Steve launched forward but was flung away, landing and taking a heavy thump to the head. With a groan, he blinked away the spots of light that had formed in front of his eyes from the impact of the blow, and glanced around, giving a sigh of relieve as he saw Katie was pushing herself up on her hands, rising to all fours. With the ringing still in his ears, he then saw Thanos pounding down on Thor, Tony still motionless in the background.

With a loud grunt, Steve ground his teeth together in stubborn determination and reached out to push himself up, but he paused when a sudden shock of warmth vibrated up his arm. He instantly glanced down at his hand and realised he’d flattened his palm against Thor’s hammer, not the ground. He frowned for a moment, as the vibrations continued. It felt like the throb of his motorbike engine, a warm purr. The last time he had tried to move, sure, it had given a little, but he hadn’t felt anything like that…

Could he? Was it possible?

With an automatic movement, one that seemed completely out of his control, Steve rose to his feet and reached out, gripping the handle. He sucked in a breath and as he pulled up his arm, the hammer came with him.

**** With a groan, Katie blinked, shaking off the daze that had descended over her thanks to the heavy blow she’d taken from Tony’s deflected fire. She looked around, the ringing loud in her ears as she saw Thanos flip Thor to the floor, pressing him back up against a rock. Thor reached for his axe, and as the pair of them grappled, Thanos gained the upper hand and began to attempt to push Stombreaker through Thor’s chest. 

Immediately, Katie took off and began to fly towards Thor, raising her palms to shoot a beam at Thanos, but as she neared something whizzed straight across her path and she stopped dead in the air, her sight focussed on Mjolnir as it soared towards Thanos, where it whacked him harshly in the side of the head, sending him flying away. It carried on for a while before it stopped, and boomeranged back right round but it didn’t stop at Thor.

Instead it continued, and Katie felt her mouth drop open as she followed it with her eyes as it flew into Steve’s waiting hand, his fingers curling round the handle as he caught it.

“Holy shit…” She spluttered at the same time as Thor breathed a little smugly into the comms.

“I knew it!”  

Steve was wielding the hammer. Steve Rogers, the kid from Brooklyn that was too dumb to run away from a fight was worthy.

But then, as Katie watched him turn to look at Thanos, hammer in hand, that determined expression on his face as he sized up his opponent, she realised there was no one else more worthy than the man who had done nothing but continually put his life on the line for others.

Thanos kicked Thor harshly in the chest sending him straight through the rock he was up against and then Steve proceeded to charge at Thanos, swinging Mjolnir. He caught Thanos perfectly on the chin with an upper cut from the hammer, which sent him flying through the air, where he landed, and jumped up.

Katie took off towards the two, as Steve launched his shield, but Thanos deflected it easily. As it swung back towards him, Steve threw the hammer straight at it, creating a shockwave which knocked Thanos back off his feet.

Then, the Captain went completely on the offensive, shield and hammer flying through the air again and again before he lined his arm back up and summonsed the lighting. Shooting a shock at Thanos he blasted the Titan off his feet before Katie landed in front of him giving a yell. Just as Thor had done before to Tony, he charged up her suit and she powered everything she had into the Titan as he lay on the floor.

Steve drew to her side as she unloaded, but before she could say or do anything else Thanos’ sword flew back at her and she dodged out of the way, but wasn’t quite quick enough. It hit her hard in the chest and sent her skidding backwards against the floor where she collided with a metal pipe.

Thanos advanced on Steve, menacingly swinging his weapon and, one on one, Steve was no match for him. He lost the hammer and, after receiving a nasty stab to the leg and gash to his arm, he could do nothing but hold his shield up to deflect the blow that was coming his way.

Only it didn’t. Thanos’ double edged weapon sank straight into the Vibranium like it was butter.

Steve looked at it in shock and horror, never once had anything ever penetrated the metal, but he didn’t have chance to think about it as the blows continued. Pieces of his shield were shearing away left, right and centre and then Thanos picked him up by the front of his suit and tossed him aside like he was a rag doll.

He landed harshly a few feet away from Katie and rolled onto his back, his eyes closing and his chest heaving with exertion. He gave a little gulp, a low gasp that was almost a cry flew from his mouth as he felt sheer desperation flood his system, the faces of his kids and his wife flashing through his mind.

Steve Rogers might be worthy, but he was beat.

**** Chapter 57

 **Original Posting**

[minettestan]

Do you have a tag for games you recommend? I'm always looking for new games and my experience with point and click or 90s computer games is sorely lacking.

💕My favorite question💕 I took one of my old posts and updated it, so here!

💕 Personal Favorite

💀 Scary Content

👧 Female Protagonist

✨ Important to the genre’s history

📚 Tricky for new players, look up controls or a walkthrough to get started

❕  Difficult

👿 Potential insensitive content

The Colonel’s Bequest (1989) $5.99 💕✨👧💀❕📚

“It is the year 1925, and the roaring '20s are well underway. As Laura Bow, young college student, you've been invited to visit the Colonel's isolated estate. Watch as the Colonel announces his intention to bequeath his millions to all present!”

The classic Sierra murder mystery game, developed by the mother of the genre Roberta Williams. Laura Bow is a sorely overlooked female protagonist. The game works by navigating Laura and typing in commands, kinda of tricky at first. Tons of game overs are a hallmark of a Sierra adventure game so save often! If you play the GOG.com version you get the benefit of autosaves. This game runs a timer, the events of the night will unfold with or without you so stay on your toes and keep moving! The game can be found for free here, but imo the $5.99 is worth it for the easy of access.

The Dagger of Amon-Ra (1992) $5.99 👧✨❕📚👿💀

“Laura Bow, intrepid heroine of The Colonel's Bequest, is back! This time she's trapped in a huge, imposing museum in the dead of night, surrounded by socialites, miscreants, thieves...and a cold, relentless murderer.“

Roberta Williams is back! Iconic game, iconic heroine. It’s still a Sierra game so like TCB there are tons of (iconic) game overs, so save often. Solving puzzles in this one gives me a great serotonin rush. Unfortunately, this game has some racism issues, particularly with the characters Lo Fat and Ramses. While an important game in the genre take it with a huge grain of salt and maybe turn of the (kind of awful) voice acting and enable text-only mode and you’ll avoid some awful accents.

Sam & Max: Hit the Road (1993) $5.99 💕✨

“Sam (a canine shamus) and Max (a hyperkinetic rabbity thing) are hot on the trail of a runaway carnival bigfoot across America’s quirky underbelly in this deranged animated adventure!“

Sam & Max are truly my favorite characters in all of fiction. I have the box art to this game as my phone case. I have Sam & Max action figures, a plush Max on my bed, a print edition of Sam & Max Freeland Police Special #1 framed on my wall. From comics, to games, to cartoons I love these guys. Sam & Max: Hit the Road is a classic of the Lucasarts adventure games. That being said, it’s the least user-friendly of the Sam & Max adventure games and the slowest. I still love it to bits and it’s important to the genre’s history imo.  

Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (1993) $5.99 💕💀👿

“The adventure of Gabriel Knight starts with gathering materials for his new book, and ends up becoming a fight for his very soul. He must now face countless dangers in New Orleans, Africa and Germany, each bringing him ever closer to unraveling the mystery behind suspicious voodoo murders. Haunted by nightmares, he won't give up until he reveals the truth. “

Another Sierra game directed by a woman, Jane Jenson. Gabriel Knight, voiced by Tim Curry, is one of my favorite adventure game protagonists of all time. This game is scary and gory so enter at your own risk! I love the gameplay in this one, I love the narrator, I love the puzzles. But it seems Sierra games have some problems with the representation of minorities. The game is set in New Orleans and focuses on a voodoo cult. Which means consequently the game's major antagonists are all black. Unlike the Dagger of Amon Ra, Sins of the Fathers actually employed black actors to play black characters. There’s a lot to be said about the ways in which white media demonizes voodoo and those who practice it. If you play this one, remain critical. And for the love of god, don’t play the 20th anniversary version.

Day of the Tentacle: Remastered (1993/2016) $14.99 ✨👧❕

“Originally released by LucasArts in 1993 as a sequel to Ron Gilbert’s ground breaking Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle is a mind-bending, time travel, cartoon puzzle adventure game in which three unlikely friends work together to prevent an evil mutated purple tentacle from taking over the world!“

Another classic LucasArts game! This was the first game co-headed by Tim Schaffer who would go on to make the outstanding Grim Fandango! This one is exceedingly wacky and the remastered version has made it more user-friendly than ever.

Toonstruck (1996) $9.99 💕

“Drew Blanc is a cartoon animator and the original creator of the Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show.. Drew's boss, Sam Schmaltz, sets him the task of designing more bunnies to co-star in the Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show by the next morning. However, the depressed animator soon nods off, suffering from acute artist's block. He wakes early the next morning to inexplicably find his television switched on, announcing the Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show. Suddenly, Drew is mysteriously drawn into the television screen and transported to an idyllic two-dimensional cartoon world populated by his own creations, among many other cartoon characters.“

If you’re a fan of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? you’ll love this. Christopher Lloyd is Drew Blanc (ha) trying to save a cartoon world through inventory item puzzles. Truly wacky, zany, and ani-mainy. I played Toontown as a kid so I’m predisposed to like this one. This is also the only game with Full Motion Video I’m putting on the list because FMV games can be an acquired taste.

Grim Fandango (1996/2015) $14.99 💕✨

“Something's rotten in the land of the dead, and you're being played for a sucker. Meet Manny Calavera, travel agent at the Department of Death. He sells luxury packages to souls on their four-year journey to eternal rest. But there's trouble in paradise. Help Manny untangle himself from a conspiracy that threatens his very salvation.“

Yesssssssss! I LOVE Grim Fandango! The iconic game directed by Tim Schaffer has received the best remaster I’ve seen a point n’ click receive. I cannot recommend Grim Fandango enough! Stick with it through the forest section, trust me.

The Last Express (1997) $5.99 ❕ 📚

“Paris, 1914. The world is on the brink of war and this train could push it over the edge. You are Robert Cath, a young American urgently summoned by your old friend Tyler Whitney to join him aboard the Paris-Constantinople express, departing from the Gare de l'Est on July 24th. Arriving late, you discover something has gone terribly wrong. Now you must untangle a complex web of political intrigue, suspense, romance, and betrayal. Every move you make could bring you closer to the truth or your own demise. Bon voyage! “

Ooooh I love a murder on a train! This game features rotoscope animation, which I love. Like The Colonel’s Bequest this game runs in real time, meaning the events of the game will unfold with or without you, depending on where you are at what time you’ll receive different information or see/miss different events. Very replayable with several different outcomes.

Sam & Max Save the World (Remastered) $19.99 💕

“ Sam is a six-foot canine detective with a love of justice. Max is a hyperkinetic rabbity-thing with a taste for mayhem. Together, they're the Freelance Police. And they're about to save the world.”

Sam & Max Save the World, originally released in episodes from 2006-2008 has been remastered and looks AMAZING! After LucasArts was shut down their game devs formed Tell Tale Games and produced three seasons of Sam & Max sequel games, all of which are great. But TellTale was shut down (and screwed over their employees) in 2018. Since then some of their devs have formed Skunkape Games and are currently remastering all of Tell Tale’s Sam & Max series (I’m thrilled). They’ve also adjusted some aspects of the game to make the game more inclusive and less **offensive. So imo it’s worth it to wait for the release of the other seasons to experience Sam & Max in pristine condition. Save the World is the only season out now, but you can get the non-remastered versions of Beyond Time and Space, and In The Devil’s Playhouse, here and here.

 **I should note the “offensive” material in the original is not as egregious as say, The Dagger of Amon-Ra, but it’s just a nice change to see especially in a game I hold dear.

Emerald City Confidential (2009) $9.99 👧

“Explore the underbelly of Oz as Emerald City's most cunning detective! As Petra, you'll be lured deep into mysteries involving new foes and familiar faces; Scarecrow, Lion, and Toto included! This is Oz as you've never seen it before! Solve the mystery and unravel a conspiracy of magic and intrigue! Follow a case through five chapters full of puzzles, witnesses, suspects, and allies in this twist on a timeless classic! “

We’re moving out of the 1990s now. Emerald City Confidential is the Wizard of Oz meets film noir. I played this as 13 year old and have revisited it as an adult and I still eat it up. Wadjet Eye makes consistently good adventure games so check this one out!

The Blackwell Series (2006) $14.99 💕👧

“Meet Rosangela Blackwell, an embittered writer who just found out that she is a medium and that it’s her mission, whether she likes it or not, to assist tormented spirits and investigate other supernatural goings-on. She is assisted by the sardonic Joey Mallone, a ghost from the 1930s.”

Another Wadjet Eye game! I’ve seen these games recommended amoungst the Clue Crew before and I’ll just throw my own endorsement on the pile. Yeah I’m in love with Joey Mallone. What about it?

The Charnel House Trilogy (2015) $5.99 👧💀

“Witness The Charnel House Trilogy, the chronicle of one fateful night aboard a train bound for Augur Peak. Three thrilling, horrifying adventure games in one, from the depths of the Sepulchre.”

Plays like Blackwell, has a Blackwell reference at the beginning, okay you got me. This is a good, if kinda short, game. It’s very creepy, involves murder and has some gore/violence so watch out! I’m still waiting on the sequel Owl Cave!

Thimbleweed Park (2017) $19.99 👧

“A haunted hotel, an abandoned circus, a burnt-out pillow factory, a dead body pixelating under the bridge, toilets that run on vacuum tubes... you’ve never visited a place like this before.“

Made by Ron Gilbert and  Gary Winnick the creators of the classic games Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island Thimbleweed Park is a love letter to the classics of the point and click adventure genre. Features 5 different playable characters, ala Maniac Mansion, who and how many you play is up to you! This one also has stand alone DLCs!

Unavowed (2018) $14.99 👧

“ A demon possessed you one year ago. Since that day, you unwillingly tore a trail of bloodshed through New York City. Your salvation comes in the form of the Unavowed – an ancient society dedicated to stopping evil.”

Okay I haven’t actually played this one, but I want to. Its a Wadjet Eye so you know it’s good. From the reviews I’ve seen this is the Blackwell Series meets Dragon Age. A point and click that incorporates RPG elements, I love that.

I also have a love of the more, strange, and unusual adventure games that I can't necessarily recommend with good conscience. So if you want bizarre 90s and early 2000s games of dubious quality hit me up.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh Ep33 S4 pt 2: The Best Storyboarder Came Back Just so They Could Draw Tristan Getting Hit in the Nuts

OK lets just get to the good stuff.

God bless you, storyboarder.

(read more under the cut)

The team has entered the Atlantis lair of Dartz, which is also accessible through Paradius in San Fransisco, but youknow...we don’t have magic so it’s not like we could’ve skipped like 10 minutes and just done that instead of the helicopter escape, the Military moment, and the ride through a hurricane.

Oh wait, we do have magic, that’s right...well...for now, pretend we don’t.

Enjoy the snakes.

Strangely, Kaiba does not feel comfortable with the snakes, when snakes really just a smaller and cuter dragon. I love snakes. Never owned one...but I trust em.

Dartz has the Yugioh “old guy” aesthetic of “We just really like yellowed sandstone”

I get that they want this place (and also Yami’s house) to look like a tomb so there won’t be any paint on the wall but this is just a pet peeve of mine that Ancient times freakin loved garish colors on the wall in layers and layers of patterns and yet in fiction we never show that.

But...it doesn’t go with the vibe. I’ll let it go because it would absolutely ruin the vibe to have a bunch of swirly stuff in neon orange and green.

Before we have a chance to grab a step stool and just kinda yoink Yugi Muto, Dartz shows up, and this shot happens.

I couldn’t not grab a cap of that. I mean...look at it. It is SO HARD to foreshorten hands so it looks right and then bam they just did that. It’s just...

...I’ve been breaking down foreshortening in Yugioh shots for a while now trying to figure out why when I do it, it looks like a busted huge hand, but when they do it, it looks really good, and I’m starting to realize that maybe it’s more than just stacking but also...the composition?

You can’t really look at this picture as a whole. The hand is such a strong focal point that you must start there, and then follow down the arm to the face. I think when I do these foreshortening shots I make the hand the same weight as the face, and that’s my downfall. You gotta let the composition force the viewer to slow down and take time in order for the optical illusion to happen...maybe? I’m like over 30 now, you’d think I’d figure this out by now.

Whatever, that’s another post.

So like...what happened to those two people who used to be there????

And now prepare thyself for my lazy math. I know this math is bad. For people out there who feel like working out the geometric growth and calculate just how many souls Dartz slurps up--feel free to tell me. If I like the explanation, I will adjust the Death Count to match it. It’s just too 2020 for me to do more than multiplication at the moment.

Did I count how many people would have existed 10,000 years ago? no. Did I account for plagues? No. Like this math of 4 a day is bad...but eh it’s all I got right now in my mental ammunition.

Something that we did think about was...

Why not slurp up the Pharaoh soul when Yami was still alive? Like we assume the puzzle existed in the past but like...did Yami not get superpowered until Yugi woke him up? Was he in fact useless until he got a little bit of a battery charge during Season Zero when he was dumping people off of bell towers?

And like I get not knowing about the underground Ishtars, and not being able to get a hold of Shadi because Shadi is a lazy ghost, but Bakura was RIGHT THERE. You can’t munch up Pegasus off screen and then say “eh but Bakura’s kinda low tier” we know for a fact that Bakura is not...so like...there must have been some copyright situation where they couldn’t use certain characters. This is a filler arc--but it would have been nice to have at least some explanation as to why it took Dartz so long to finally murder the hell out of Pharaoh.

Which is me expecting way too much out of this show. Just something I was really hoping would get addressed but leave it for the headcanon.

It’s at this point that Mokuba realized he’s standing on top of people.

A crypt made out of human souls! Crazy, usually we’re in a crypt made out of one single human soul....and both of these crypts have Yugi in it.

In Raphael’s storyline, he’s been busy just cleaning up after everyone else. It’s supposed to come off as very serious but I was totally busting up when he’s just dropping bodies into the back of this jeep.

And in the Kaiba Corp plotline, Roland is anxiously wondering if he should be a Dad and save the kids or if he should be a dog and stay in the plane.

He stays in the plane.

Strangely this was the right call. (And this is why Roland has never died)

So they start throwing around cards, as you do, and Dartz puts down his Orichalcos, has he does, when suddenly...they started seeing stuff again. Can’t have a single card game without it.

So the Orichalcos is just a backstory device? For reals?

Something I alluded to quite a few episodes back with Valon was just...wondering why the hell the Orichalcos crew had so much freakin magic as to make all these visions during duels. Turns out...it’s just a thing to occasionally trip on Oricalchos juice. I’m not sure why we never had a vision with Mai, Weevil, Rex, or Gurimo, but at least we now know that Raphael and Valon weren’t as magical as I thought they were.

So we’re in like...outer space. Kind of the last place you’d expect out of ancient Atlantis and Dartz isn’t having ANY OF IT.

And honestly that makes sense. Imagine giving someone 10,000 years ago the run down on outer space. They’d freak. They’d definitely think you’re talking about demons.

If space is an elaborate analogy, we don’t know that yet. For how this is presented, it’s just an old man hootin and hollerin about how much space sucks, and I love that.

PS how anime is this shot of the earth behind the orichalcos symbol and the dude in the middle with the ass length blue hair--really damn anime, right?

Like at least one of you has this wall hanging, right?

For those that are too tired to look it up, Pangea was 280-230 million years ago.

THAT REALLY CHANGES MY MATH.

AND I’M TOO TIRED.

So my thoughts are...either the math is wrong and I’ll fix it eventually in post, depending on my mood come next Wednesday, OR...humanity was deleted and then came back later??? (because the dawn of mankind was 7 million years ago)

OR...

They just felt like drawing Pangea 10 million years ago. Maybe that’s all. Maybe I don’t have to fix anything. I dunno.

Maybe this isn’t Earth.

Maybe Yugioh Earth never had Loma Preita because it isn’t actually Earth. And, like a Final Fantasy situation, is a second planet on a parallel plane of our own?

Either way, I’m not redoing the math because I actually don’t know how to change it anymore. I’m v undecided of the timeline now......maybe the next episode will tell us more? (I doubt this very much)

RIP deathcount.

Yo Atlantis!

I have a lot of questions!

About Atlantis!

And the purpose of the aqueduct going the wrong direction.

Is that in fact the poop shoot?

But wtv it looks neat.

So anyway, that’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed my bad math, and I hope you enjoy your Halloween. Ours is a whole lot of nothing. I’ll be watching lots of Phasmaphobia streams while eating Butterfingers that I legally can’t give to children because it’s an epidemic (butterfingers is like the last candy that my old 30 yo ass can handle without passing out or gagging. Weird how getting older makes me hate all the good things I couldn’t eat when I was younger because I was too young to be allowed to eat them.) and that’s about it.

WHY did Halloween finally fall on a Saturday DURING an epidemic? I only get so many Saturday Halloweens in my youth...just why.

(and here’s a link to read these in chrono order)

[lyssismagical]

take a look at me now, there’s just an empty space

For @ironxprince !!!  (@friendly-neighborhood-exchange)

Thank you so so much to my beta Rrobrien 

Read on AO3

Taglist: @littlemissagrafina  @spideygirl2003 @romeoandjulietyouwish @c-artara @shadedrose01 @likeaphoenix13 @pj-hermes-tonystark-obsessed  @you-get-killed-walk-it-off @kitkatwinchester  @emo-girl10 @justme--emily  @hold-our-destiny @imalivebecauseirondad @spiderman-peterman @dykeragee @maryserrao 

*

Hurt people hurt people.

Ben used to say that after fights with May. He’d get back late at night to find May in the kitchen, stress cleaning as she does, with Peter sitting on the floor by her feet, refusing to go to bed until he knew his aunt and uncle were okay. His face would fall, tears filling his cried-out eyes, and he’d sweep May into his arms, pressing kisses to his forehead and cheeks.

He wouldn’t use it as an excuse, he was better than that. But it was a reason why, a soft explanation as to why he’d gotten angry about the little things. He was hurting, that doesn’t make it okay, but May always expected it like it was an apology.

Peter didn’t realize how close he kept those four words to his chest until he lashed out at Ned one day.

There hadn’t been anything wrong in particular. A regular lunch day, years after the death of his parents, something he thought he had mostly gotten over. As much as he could, at least.

But Ned had started complaining about how overbearing his mom was being, how much his dad would pester him about his homework.

“At least you have parents.” It was meant as a joke originally. A way to lighten the mood a little bit, but it came out bitter and Ned had flinched as though Peter had shouted it.

“You have May and Ben. They love you loads, Peter.”

“They’re not my parents.”

Added to the bitterness was a hint of jealousy, of longing. He knew it was unfair to May and Ben who loved him to the moon and back, they cared for him like he was their own. But as much as they loved him, they still weren’t Mary and Richard. They weren’t his parents.

He remembered them pretty well. Better than May thought he would. She lost her parents at a pretty young age too, but she only remembers them in snippets, in photographs, not in the specific details Peter remembers his.

Mary wore lavender perfume that would hang in the house no matter how long she was away for business, though Peter suspects Richard would spray it just to make sure it didn’t fade.

Richard had an obsession with old baseball cards. He kept them in photo albums, ones Ben kept in his closet after.

When Peter was really little, they used to make sure to take alternating business trips so Peter never had to stay with May and Ben for longer than an afternoon. His aunt and uncle never minded, but Peter was a clingy kid and would get fussy if he was alone for too long.

The fight with Ned had escalated until Peter cried, which made Ned, ever the sympathetic friend, cry too. And they hugged it out.

But what Ben had said hung in Peter’s head.

Hurt people hurt people.

Peter tries harder to be the hurt person that helps people.

No matter how heavy the hurt gets, stuck in his chest with nowhere to go because burdening others is hurting them, he won’t be that person.

*

 When Ben dies that fateful night, Peter keeps up that mantra in his head. Hurt people hurt people.

He writes off every fight with May, every night she doesn’t come home, every plead to the landlord when May doesn’t make the bills on time, as just a byproduct of her hurting. He never complains, does all his chores, and convinces Delmar to give him a job after school to help take care of the finances.

The call isn’t much of a surprise.

 *

 It’s not like Peter ever had much family.

May’s parents died when she was young, Ben’s dad was never really in the picture and his mom had been in a home for a while. There weren’t any other aunts or uncles or cousins. So they shipped him off.

It only took a surprisingly short number of weeks for him to be shifted up to the high-risk category. Everyone thought his late-night escapades superheroing was him being a rebellious kid. They started putting bars on the windows and locks on the door, but he needed to go out as Spider-Man. It was the only thing he had that tied him to his old life. He wasn’t allowed to keep anything, most things went ‘into storage’ which essentially meant that he’d never see them again.

Sneaking out at night, always ending up with cuts and bruises after his late nights, and his never-ending metabolism made it hard to find anything close to a permanent placement.

Weeks turn to months spent bouncing from home to home of people who don’t care. Who will come up with any excuse for his social worker to take him elsewhere. Who will lock him in a storage closet that barely passes as a bedroom like he’s some kind of dangerous animal.

As much as he missed May and Ben, and the safety they had provided, he understood well enough that they weren’t going to rescue him. Who he really missed, was Ned. He didn’t even have the chance to say goodbye before he disappeared nearly nine months prior. He hasn’t had access to a phone or a computer, most foster parents don’t even have the time to get him enrolled in school before they were giving him away.

The only upside is that his social worker, a younger woman who’s obviously in over her head with his case, actually seems to care about his well being. She does weekly check-ins and she always answers the calls to get him removed from homes.

He’s heard from other kids in group homes that most of them don’t care as much about them. That it ends differently for them.

He supposes he should consider himself lucky.

 *

 “They’re saying they don’t have any problems, Peter. That’s a good thing,” Elaine, his social worker, says. Her eyes are all wide and hopeful like she thinks this will be the permanent placement she’s been searching for.

He tries not to roll his eyes, shifting on the old dusty couch with a grimace. “The only reason they’re saying that is because they locked me in a room about the size of a pantry and haven’t spoken a word to me in the past week.”

Somehow this makes her light up even more. “But that means they aren’t mean to you, doesn’t it? They’re planning on enrolling you into a nearby high school and they’re financially stable enough to afford to feed you and everything. This is good!”

“It’s good that they pretend I don’t exist? That they didn’t actually feed me despite having the food? It’s good that they lock me up from six pm until six am every day?” Peter doesn’t miss Elaine’s flinch at his harsh tone. “I know how hard you’re trying, but is this really the best you guys can do?”

Elaine sighs, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “There’s a lot of kids, Peter. And not a lot of people who really want to foster a fourteen-year-old kid who’s got a spotty history at best. Unless you want to go back to a group home until I can find a better placement, this is going to have to do. They already want me to give up on your case because of how much trouble we’ve been having. My bosses want to blame you for this.”

“Right.”

Peter wonders about the kid from before, the version of him that was cheerful and gentle and innocent. The kid that would’ve never been so short and hostile with a woman who was only trying to help him.

He wonders if it’s only going to get worse. Even if this particular foster home keeps him around until he graduates, another three and a half years, he’s never going to have a family again. He’s going to be kicked out at eighteen with nothing more than the clothes on his back and hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to whatever university he applies to.

Whatever happens, he’s never getting May and Ben back. He’s never going to have his family. He’s going to have to resign to living unhappily with these people who are never going to love him the way his old family did.

“Peter-”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m going to suck it up and deal with it. Congratulations, I’m officially off your plate until they get bored of me.”

 *

 Mrs. and Mr. Williams were dedicated to their jobs as salespeople, Peter guesses. They needed the extra money from the government, fostering a kid, to pay for their long trips worldwide for business purposes. They didn’t want kids, never did, Peter was like an insurance policy. Which meant he was left home alone pretty frequently.

It also meant that they were stressed pretty much all the time. They’d yell at both him and each other. He supposes that’s another reason why they chose to foster him, it takes a lot of the strain off their marriage if they have somebody else to shout at. So they shout, and they insult him, and they get angry over every little thing he does.

Which is fine, really. He’s been through a lot worse than shouting.

He stays quiet whenever Elaine drops by, he doesn’t speak more than a few words to his teachers or to his classmates. He figures it’s easier to stay quiet. It means nobody will yell at him for disobeying or talking back. There’s no risk of getting hurt because he said too much. It’s easier to keep his mouth closed.

And then the few words he speaks, here and there, slowly taper off until he doesn’t talk at all.

It’s easier.

Especially when there are words always on the cusp of being spoken. Words like I miss May, and it’s all my fault, and help.

If he were to complain to the faculty about what was going on behind the scenes, he’s sure he’d be taken away.

And taken away meant taken somewhere worse.

He was lucky to be living with people who didn’t hit him very often, who had the decency to enroll him in high school, who were rarely even around anyways, like Elaine said. He was lucky and he couldn’t risk messing up the placement.

If he keeps quiet, he’ll make it through high school, graduate, and get out of the system. He just has to wait it out.

Hurt people hurt people, anyways. So it’s better if he stays quiet, stays small, to prevent the risk of hurting somebody.

So he stays quiet.

 *

 Peter shoves open the front door, dropping his bag onto the floor. He’s going to be home alone all week and he’s trying to come up with some plan to make it to Midtown and back without his foster parents finding out. He just wants to see Ned again.

“I was starting to get a little bit worried about the absence of a certain spider around the city, but now that I’ve seen this, it’s really not too much of a surprise.”

Peter freezes in the hallway, hands curling into fists as he tries to prepare himself for a fight. He can’t see the owner of the voice, but he’s sure it’s bad if they know his alter ego.

And then the person rounds the corner.

Tony Stark.

The Tony Stark is in his house.

“Now, I was a little confused as to why you were swinging around Queens or Midtown or even Manhattan, when you lived so far away. And then I did a little digging on one Mister Peter Parker. Can you believe the kinds of things I found on you?” he continues. He’s dressed in an outfit more expensive than everything Peter owns, he guesses, though it’s not too hard to do that. And he’s tapping at his watch like he doesn’t even care to look at Peter.

Though he looks up at Peter’s silence.

“A lot,” Tony says. His mouth creases into a frown and he leans against the wall across from Peter. “You’ve been through quite a rough two years, hm?”

Still, Peter doesn’t open his mouth. He doesn’t want to explain to Tony fucking Stark the kind of year he suffered through. More than that though, he doesn’t want to accidentally say too much. He’s worried that the moment he started speaking, he’d never be able to stop. Instead, he simply squints his eyes up at Tony and lifts an eyebrow.

“I’ll cut to the chase. I can’t have vigilantes running around New York unsupervised. Especially not children. So I’m here to offer you a place at the Avengers Compound. Train with the team, come on missions, you know, the whole shebang.”

There’s a lot of questions Peter thinks about asking, answers that he needs, but he just watches as Tony moves from the wall into the kitchen nearby.

“You’re coming with me, kid. End of story. It’s either that or Ross takes you to the Raft, which I���m not going to let happen,” he says, barely glancing over his shoulder. “You’re really not going to talk to me?”

In response, Peter runs a hand through his hair, longer than he normally likes to keep it and choppy from his own haircuts, and heads to his room to grab his belongings.

It’s not like he has much. Over the years of moving from house to house, starting with only a duffel bag, he’s down to just a few things. Things get lost, things get taken, things get confiscated. It’s just the way it goes.

“Imagine if they’d sent someone like Barton here to deal with this,” Tony’s mumbling under his breath when Peter returns with his plastic bag. “Or worse, Barnes. I don’t think you’d be quite so willing to go with anyone less famous.”

Peter ignores him and grabs a loose sheet of paper to write his note. Not that it matters much, but I’m headed off to live elsewhere. Everything (including Elaine) will be taken care of. -Parker

“Social worker?” Tony guesses, peering over Peter’s shoulder at his scrawling chicken scratch. “If so, yeah, I’ll take care of it.”

 And that’s it. It’s strangely simple, Peter supposes, but he’s gotten a little too used to being yanked around from house to house by strangers. He’s learned to keep his head down and stay quiet, because it’s never mattered what he thinks or wants, so there’s no point in voicing it.

He slips into the backseat of an overly flashy car, plastic bag clutched to his chest, and he tries his best to keep from crying.

He hugs the plastic bag to him and pretends the weight against his chest is somebody else. He pretends it’s May holding him close, or Ben tugging him into a hug, or Ned’s arm slung around him. He pretends he’s not desperate to be hugged, to be touched even fleetingly, accidentally, by anyone. He pretends that everything is fine as the house falls away behind him and his life changes again.

 *

 Tony disappears only minutes after the car is parked outside the Avengers Compound, leaving Peter in the hands of Happy.

Thankfully, Happy barely says a word to him, meaning Peter isn’t put in any awkward situations when he doesn’t reply.

Apparently, Peter gets half a floor to himself, shared with Bruce Banner though he hasn’t lived in the compound in years. After so long being given poor excuses for bedrooms, normally shared with at least a few other people, it’s shocking to have a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and office all to himself.

The space, despite being like heaven compared to the closets and basement he’s used to, makes the emptiness of it all the more apparent.

He’s living by himself.

It’s like Elaine had told him about emancipation. It might make him feel like he’s in control, it might give him a permanent home, but it takes away any possibility of a family.

He finds himself ignoring the freedom of the situation, and instead, curling up in the huge bed, tucking a pillow to his chest and wrapping himself in blankets. Finally, in the safety of a bedroom with no threats, no responsibilities, no fear, he lets himself cry.

 *

 Tony comes up to find him later that day with general rules and information. The school he’s enrolled in, when Elaine will visit, what times Peter has to meet in the gym with the team for training, what parts of the tower he’s allowed in, curfew, etc.

It’s all pretty basic.

With how often Peter’s been jerked around from home to home, rules get kind of repetitive. The only difference between the Compound and other homes is instead of bars on the window, the Compound has FRIDAY who tracks his every move.

The only positive is that Tony doesn’t seem too bothered by Peter’s silence. He talks enough for both of them.

Until he gets to the end of his speech and sits down across from Peter at the dining room table.

“I know you’re into this whole mysterious silence thing, but I’m going to need you to at least nod so I know you’ve understood. Now that you’re under my roof, you’re my responsibility. I can’t have you running around the streets of New York unsupervised and making mistakes when your actions reflect on me.”

And Peter nods, refusing to meet Tony’s eye, and keeping his arms crossed over his chest defensively. Apparently, it’s enough because Tony sighs and his shoulders relax drastically.

“Alright, well now that we’re through with that, I’m going to make dinner here for both of us. I don’t care if you retreat to your room until I leave, I’m going to make sure you’ve got food to eat tonight.”

As much as Peter does want to disappear to his bedroom and avoid the awkward attempts at a one-sided conversation or inquiries about the life Tony’s read about, he craves the closeness to another person.

The last time he felt properly close to someone was May. Every home in between had people who tried or people who didn’t, either way, it never felt the same. He was just another mouth to feed, another set of house visits and questionnaires from Elaine, another troubled kid under their roof. He was never treated like a human being, like a kid.

Yet Tony’s in the kitchen, muttering to himself about potential allergies and groceries, someone who’s let him under his roof and is cooking with him in mind. Somebody who chose him. Even if it might be for his alter-ego.

It still feels good.

It feels good to be wanted.

“Hey, kid?” Tony calls out from the kitchen where he’s ruffling through one of the pantries. “You allergic to anything I should know about?”

Peter shakes his head, mouth opening to give an explanation of how the spider-bite was the reason he’s no longer allergic to tree nuts or shellfish, but he quickly clamps his mouth shut. As much as he likes the feeling of being wanted, as much as he wants to fall into the safety of having Tony around, he can’t let his guard down. All it’ll do is hurt him.

“Good,” Tony says without realizing Peter’s near-slip. “I can make a pretty mean pasta dish.”

They fall into silence, the most comfortable silence Peter can remember having in a really long time. Tony cooks and Peter watches him, trying not to look like he cares too much, and it’s fine. Good, even.

And when Tony sits across from him again, setting plates down in front of both of them, it feels so much better than the simple, probably thoughtless gesture Tony was going for. He hasn’t had somebody make him dinner and let him eat with them in what feels like ages. Normally, a plate is left in the microwave for him and he’s watched until he’s finished so they can lock him in his bedroom for the night.

“I know you’re not going to talk to me,” Tony starts quietly, eyes narrowed in thought, “And I know this isn’t fair, none of it, but just know, I didn’t want to take you away without your permission. Ross is technically the boss and he was planning on locking all mutants and vigilantes up. I convinced him we could use you on our team instead of on the Raft.”

Peter nods and tries his best to offer a small, comforting smile in return.

He wants to reassure Tony that this is better than every house he’s lived in for over a year, that his past houses were probably closer to whatever the Raft is like than the luxuries of the Compound, even if it means following the strict schedules and conditions.

“And I don’t want you to think that just because you’ve been given this whole floor with all this freedom that you’re alone, alright? You’re always welcome up onto my floor, I’m just as lonely as you are, kid, and I’d always enjoy your company in my lab or kitchen.”

It’s a small olive branch, an optional opportunity to make this arrangement a little more personal, turn it into a friendship or something of the sort, and Peter’s whole chest warms at the idea of having somebody like that in his life.

They fall into silence while they finish eating their food and Tony clears their plates away. On his way to the elevator, he stops at the last second.

“Seven am, Happy will be waiting in the garage for you tomorrow to take you to school. And he’ll be in the parking lot at two-thirty to collect you in the afternoon. If you can’t meet your conditions for living here with the Avengers, there will be consequences, so please, just go to your classes, don’t cause trouble.”

Before Peter even has the chance to nod, the doors are sliding shut behind Tony, leaving Peter alone.

 *

 The first week living with Tony is strange, to say the least.

Peter doesn’t have the confidence to try anything outside of the schedule he’s been set, going to and from school with Happy, and staying cooped up inside his room for the rest of the afternoon and evening. And then, Tony comes down to see him in the late evening to cook them both dinner and to make one-sided small talk.

No Spider-Man, no secret trips to try to find Ned, no sneaking out or skipping class, nothing. He tries his best to be a model student and child.

At school, he keeps his head down, mouth shut, and doesn’t give anybody any reasons to pick on him.

Elaine shows up on Saturday morning, early enough that Peter’s just barely woken up when FRIDAY alerts him about the elevator arriving at his floor.

He greets his social worker with a small smile and sits down with Tony on the couch across from her, trying not to let the blush that creeps up his neck be too obvious at his old Thor pyjama pants and t-shirt with a science pun.

“The move was… unexpected to say the least, but I’m not too surprised. I didn’t think your last home would last much longer as is,” Elaine starts, looking down at her binder. “Well you’ve easily passed the house inspection and there are some things I want to go over with your lawyers, but the most important part is what the two of you think.”

Tony immediately jumps to answer. “He’s a good kid. Independent, smart, nice. I like having him around.”

“Peter?”

Unsurprisingly, Peter stays quiet. He feels frozen with his fear that if he says anything wrong, Elaine will deem this unfit and take him away, whisk him away to another group home or somewhere else with people who don’t want him.

Elaine gives him her binder, a lined sheet on the top with a pen clipped to it. “I need you to be honest, okay?”

Better here than most places. Tony’s nice. Going to school and being fed.

He knows exactly what he needs to say for her to check off the boxes. Education, food, and his approval. Simple and easy.

Tony’s leg is bouncing when he passes the binder back, though he shouldn’t have a reason to worry. If Peter said something bad, Ross would hunt him down and lock him up, that much Tony had made very clear.

“Good, good, good,” Elaine mumbles, tucking the paper away. “Well, that’s enough information for now, I think. I’ll give you more time to settle in and get comfortable together.”

Peter stays sitting while Tony escorts Elaine to the elevator and he looks relieved when he returns to find the teenager still waiting in the living room.

“Listen, kid, I know this isn’t the easiest for you. I know you’ve had a really tough year. And believe me, I’m awful at trying to talk about emotions or feelings or anything like that, but you’re one of us now. You’re part of the team and I’m technically your foster parent right now, so if you need anything, and I mean anything, you can come to me, alright? Even if you don’t want to talk out loud.”

For the first time in a very long time, Peter’s smile feels genuine.

He pushes down the urge to hug Tony, to give in to the cravings for physical affection, and ducks off to his bedroom, trying his best to hide the pleased blush on his cheeks.

 *

 His opportunity comes on a Friday afternoon when one of his classes is let out early, a few months into his arrangement with Tony. He’d spent a better part of his night scrolling through social media on his brand new Stark Phone and found out which high school Ned was attending. They’re both sophomores now, but they haven’t seen each other since middle school.

He made sure his spider suit, made of an old sweater, fingerless gloves, and sweatpants, was tucked into the bottom of his backpack.

Nobody noticed him sneaking out through the back doors, changing into his suit in a nearby alleyway, or casually swinging through the streets of Manhattan on his way to Midtown.

It’s pretty obvious that Tony will find him eventually. He has the best technology on his side. But Peter’s banking on having at least an hour before Tony finds out. It’ll give him enough time to let Ned know he’s alive at the very least.

Ned’s the same as he always was. Smiling brighter than ever and answering every question the teacher asks, chatting quietly to everybody around him.

“Holy shit,” somebody stage-whispers. Suddenly, everyone’s eyes are on him, leaning against the lockers opposite the classroom door, back in his civvies. “Is that Stark’s new project?”

Ned’s head jerks up and his eyes go comically wide as he sees his best friend in the hallway. “Peter!”

Thankfully, the teacher doesn’t even try to stop Ned from barreling out of the classroom and right into Peter’s arms.

“God, I was looking for you for months after you left school that one day and never came back! I called you and May like a million times before I saw the newspaper.”

There’s something about Ned and his overflowing optimism and kind wide-eyes that makes Peter feel safer than he has in a long time. It makes him feel safe enough to finally open his mouth.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get in touch with you,” Peter says, not even surprised by his constant apologies. His voice is hoarse and low from disuse, but it’s obvious how happy he is. “May got in an accident after work, she started working such late hours that she wasn’t as careful as she should’ve been. I got put in the foster system.”

Ned’s jaw drops and he grabs Peter’s arm, leading him down the hallway until they reach an empty bathroom to give them a little bit of privacy.

“I’m just so glad you’re okay!” Ned quickly drags Peter into another tight hug like he has to check and make sure Peter’s real. “You disappeared and I had no way of knowing where you were. Where do you live now? Is everything okay? How’d you get here?”

Smiling, Peter leans in closer, voice dropping low. “You’re never going to believe me, but I swear, it’s the truth. One, I’m Spider-Man. Two, I live with the Tony Stark. And three, I’m an Avenger.”

As soon as Ned pulls back, frowning in disbelief, Peter puts his hand on the wall to prove his stickiness. He even crawls up onto the ceiling to prove it before dropping back to the floor in front of his gaping best friend.

“Oh my god.”

“I- I’m going to get in a lot of trouble for coming here, I’m on a very strict set of rules, but do you want to come back to the Compound with me? I’ll catch you up on everything when we get there.”

Ned, practically bursting at the seams with enthusiasm, agrees heartily before pulling out his phone to call his mom and let her know where he’s going. While he does that, he texts Happy the address of Midtown High without any context. He figures there’s no way around getting in trouble for ditching school, so he may as well own up to it.

And at least this way, Ned can explain everything to Tony while Peter continues to deal with his inability to talk to adults.

 By the time they slide into the backseat of the expensive car, Peter’s exhausted. The emotional toll of seeing his best friend for the first time in a year paired with the anxiety that eats away at his insides is enough to make him crave a nap.

Happy stares at Ned for a long time through the mirror, eyes narrowed and mouth set in a frown, before he finally starts driving.

“Uh, sir?” Ned squeaks, eyes wide. “Peter said he was going to get in trouble for this, but I feel like you deserve an explanation for-”

“One, I’m not the one doling out punishments, I’m just a glorified babysitter. Two, Peter said?”

Peter swallows thickly, turns his attention out the window, and tries his best not to curl even smaller in his seat.

Ned’s eyes dart over to him before focusing back on Happy. “Yes, sir. I was just-”

And then the glass slides up between the seats, effectively cutting him off.

“It’s okay,” Peter murmurs without looking at him. “He doesn’t mean any harm. You’ll have to appeal to Mister Stark, not Happy.”

Ned, forever the great friend that he is, reaches out and grabs Peter’s hand, linking them together in a small gesture of comfort. 

* Tony’s waiting at the dining room table for them and he stands when they walk in. He’s obviously angry and Peter knows how this story goes. Maybe he gets sent away to another foster home, maybe he gets sent to the Raft with Ross. Either way, he’s just glad he got to see Ned.

“Mister Stark, sir?” Ned starts before Tony can. Peter admires that kind of confidence. “Before you say anything, I just want to explain.”

Tony’s eyes narrow, but he still waves a hand for Ned to continue.

“I’ve known Peter since we were seven. We went to school together.” There’s no good place to start a story like this, one that ends sad no matter where it begins. “After May’s accident, he was sent away and he had no way to contact me. I spent the better part of a year wondering where he was, what happened to him, why he wouldn’t answer my calls and texts. We were best friends for eight years, and then he disappeared. He just wanted to see me.”

It’s a simple way to put a tragedy.

“Is that true?”

Peter nods, trying his best not to look incredibly defensive but crossing his arms over his chest anyways.

“It is. And it would’ve hit the news eventually, Mister Stark. If Peter hadn’t come to me, I would’ve been trying to break in to see him.”

As kids, Ned was the least confident person Peter knew. He never stood up for himself or even tried to explain himself, he’d take every punishment he didn’t deserve, he’d keep his head down and accept whatever came to him without question.

Now, Ned stands tall and strong in front of Peter, easily defending him to their childhood hero.

Tony sighs harshly, sliding a hand over his face and finally sitting down in a chair at the dining room table. “Sit. Both of you.”

They do as told, both of them expecting a punishment of some sort for the rules they’ve broken.

“I don’t want to be the villain here,” Tony says. He’s watching Peter who’s leaning back in his chair nonchalantly, arms crossed, and eyes focused on the table like none of this matters. “I don’t want to make you feel like you’re not allowed to do anything but stay cooped up here like this is prison. I don’t want you to feel like you’re not allowed to try to get your life back. I don’t want you to feel like you have to walk on eggshells to ensure your safety.”

Peter forces himself to nod. The anxiety still thrums in his veins, stomach twisting and knotting, but the more Tony speaks to him, the more inclined Peter is to trust him.

Beside him, Ned’s shoulders slump noticeably. “So Peter’s not in trouble? He told me that he’s on a very strict set of rules and that there would be consequences if he broke them.”

“He told you that?” Tony’s eyebrows have lifted, eyes flicking between the two of them. “He said that? With words?”

“Well yeah. He said that you’re keeping him here to train Spider-Man.”

Tony’s eyebrows lift even more. “He said that. He hasn’t spoken a single word to anybody in months according to his social worker, and he tells you every secret he’s got within a couple hours?”

Underneath the table, away from Tony’s view, Ned links their hands together again. “I’m his best friend.”

It’s so simply put that Peter can’t help the smile that ghosts over his face, squeezing Ned’s hand.

Tony sighs again, running a hand through his hair. “You’re both off the hook, but please, for the love of god, text me or Happy the next time you want to do something. Don’t just run off.”

“Yes, sir,” Ned says on Peter’s behalf who can’t seem to get the smile off his face. “Oh! I don’t know if this is what Peter wants, but he’s a genius and I really think he’d be happier at my school.”

“You break the rules, plead forgiveness, and when I, out of the goodness of my heart, let you off with just a warning, you want to ask for more?”

Ned winces, eyes round and hand sweating in Peter’s, but he plows ahead. “Midtown High is a great school. I’d be there, so Peter wouldn’t have to run off anymore, and in case you weren’t aware, Peter is really smart. Like crazy smart. He’d be properly challenged at Midtown.”

With a roll of his eyes, Tony waves his hand at them. “Get out of here before I change my mind.”

They both hurry up to their feet, prepared to make a run for Peter’s room if need-be, but Tony stops them at the last second.

“Ned?” The poor kid’s eyes look like they’re seconds away from popping out in fear, but Tony smiles fondly. “You’re welcome anytime. Let me know if you two want snacks or anything.”

They both nod, grinning unashamedly, and take off for Peter’s room before they can get stopped again.

* Peter finally bites the bullet after Ned goes home.

He takes the elevator up to Tony’s floor.

It’s not like he hates Tony or anything. He’s been idolizing the hero for as long as he can remember and Tony’s been nothing but welcoming since Peter started living with him. It’s been weird, sure, but Tony seems to genuinely care about the kid under the mask.

“Kid?” Tony’s bent over one of the lab benches in his giant lab, goggles sitting lopsided on his face, and grease staining his old shirt. “Everything okay?”

Peter realizes belatedly, frozen in the doorway to the lab, that he wants to talk to Tony. He craves normalcy and he’s desperate for an adult in his life. An adult who supports him, who wants him, who will take care of him. It’s all he’s ever wanted since May died.

Tony’s still watching him, almost like Peter’s a wounded animal, hands suspended in the air like he wants to comfort him but doesn’t know how.

“Mister Stark?” His voice isn’t as hoarse as it had been after his afternoon talking to Ned, but it’s still weak and shaking, more with trepidation than anything. “Is it, um, is it okay if I hang out in here for a little bit?”

The billionaire’s whole body sags with relief, expression softening and a small smile lifting his mouth. “Of course it is, kiddo. And if your friend’s right about what a genius you are, you can even help me out with this.”

Slowly, Peter shifts into the lab and up to Tony’s side, trying not to show how badly his hands are trembling. He also tries to hide how much the small nudge of Tony’s arm against his soothes his anxieties.

Almost as much as he craves an adult who wants him, he craves affection. May and Ben used to hand out affection like it was nothing. Hugs were given at least twice a day, Ben would blow raspberries against any piece of exposed skin, May would give out kisses especially to his forehead constantly. It was normal. But he hasn’t gotten any of that in what feels like forever.

He helps Tony with his projects, hands clumsy and voice wobbly, relaxing more and more the longer they work together.

Despite how much he craves all of this, it still doesn’t feel like enough. It’s like putting a bandaid over a wound that needs twelve stitches. It’s like writing one word of an essay that needs pages filled. It doesn’t work, it barely helps, the gaping hole in Peter’s chest still feels empty and cold.

And then Tony makes a stupid pun that borders on a dad joke, and then suggests they order some pizza for dinner. Like they’re a real family.

An hour or so later, they’ve got pizza on the coffee table and Netflix on the TV, trying to find something to watch.

Peter feels happy for the first time in a long time. Ned’s back, he’s got Tony who seems to already want to be here for the long haul, he’s got a roof over his head and food on the table, he’s laughing quietly over Tony weighing the pros and cons of the movies he’s stuck between. It’s nice.

Later, when the movie finishes, he drifts towards Tony, almost subconsciously, until his head lands on Tony’s shoulder, eyes already slipping shut. Tony’s arm wraps around his shoulders and he presses a kiss to Peter’s temple.

“Can I ask you something?” Peter says, voice barely above a whisper. He keeps his eyes closed, not wanting to see the way the question will make everything change.

“Shoot.”

“Is this… Is this for real? Will I get to stay forever?”

Peter can feel Tony’s smile against his hair, and his hand squeezes Peter’s shoulder. “You’re part of the team now, kiddo. And I hate to say it, but I’ve grown particularly attached to my Spider-Kid. I’m going to talk to Elaine and see what I can do to make this official. I’ve got a new and improved Spider-Suit waiting for you. And I’ve enrolled you in Midtown starting Monday.”

“So you’re going to be like my dad?” His voice is barely there, insecure, small.

Tony swallows audibly, nerves evident in his voice. “Yeah, I suppose so, bud. Is that okay?”

“More than okay.”

Hurt people hurt people, Ben had said.

But maybe that’s not the case. Peter’s hurt, he’s always been a hurt person, but he seems to be doing a pretty good job at not hurting the people close to him. He can talk, he can feel, he can be, without worrying about the consequences, without worrying about everyone leaving him. Tony’s promised to be here and that’s enough to make Peter feel safe.

“Thank you,” he says, blinking back tears. For the first time in a long time, they’re happy tears. There’s more he wants to say, more he needs to say, but he knows Tony understands. After all, Tony’s been through a lot too. He knows more than he lets on about pain and hurting people.

“Things will get easier.” It’s said with such simplicity, such confidence, that Peter can’t help but believe it. Things are already easier, he’s no longer as scared about falling because he knows Tony will catch him when he does. As Spider-Man and as Peter Parker. Because Tony wants him and that’s all that Peter’s ever needed.

Tony’s arm is tight around Peter’s shoulders and his voice is sure as he murmurs a goodnight into Peter’s hair, and the cold, empty hole in Peter’s chest finally feels full and warm with love.

[border-spam]

Leech Lord : Jak-Knife

JK belongs to / is written by / designed by @godkingsanointed​

“That Bandit’s a ghostwalker, my God-King. You don’t want ‘em here, trust me. Sometimes dead clans leave corpses behind that aren’t straight in the head enough to know that’s what they are... Crawl across the plains looking for somewhere else to belong, looking for a new family clan ‘cause all that’s left of theirs are Rakk picked bones. Seen plenty over the years, and they trail bad luck behind ‘em like a disease. That one’s marked like a Hellion, those got slag-burned into the ground by Atlas back in Old Haven. Your majesties weren’t here when that happened, but we were, and I remember. Leave them to me, the scout teams always need fresh meat for replacements.

They won’t stay alive long enough to be a concern.”

- Mouthpiece

Whether death follows JK or they sprint after it in pursuit is something they’ve never really been sure of. It could be either - some great predator snapping at their heels while they grew up in a Bandit clan that wasn’t kind to the small and gentle, or a force they are drawn to effortlessly like the migratory animals that follow Pandora’s monsoon seasons.

Could be either.

Could be both.

Same outcome they figure, so why would it matter.

They'd been a kid when it happened, well, a kid to anyone not a Bandit. In that life 16 years old is more than enough to run with a raid party, adult enough to work yourself to the bone, to show you can earn your keep when your brother is "useless" and you've got to be worth 2 bellies of food or watch as one of you goes hungry. Jak-Knife and Gutpunch, one a runt squinting up from under a stolen warrior's mask crafted for someone twice their size, the other a gentle giant born into a life that no aspect of their soul suited. They'd protected him, them with their little body and dull pocketknife versus the sometimes cruelty of a clan who's survival was based around only the fittest, only the strong staying part of it.

Not evil, just living as was needed. Pandora is harsh, there is no room for softness if you want to stay alive on her rocky flats, that's just the way things are. Nature isn't cruel, it simply is.

They were 16 when the Lance came.

16 years they'd lasted in the Hellions, till the day the gates of Old Haven had been opened for the Crimson Lance's money carriers. They'd done their job, they'd cleared the town at the request of the white Siren, been promised a home for the clan, a place to belong, and in the end, their payment came in bullets sprayed from Atlas gun barrels.

By the time JK had woken up and tried to heave Gutpunch's corpse off their back from where he'd shielded them, it had been two days. Groggy and confused, they'd panicked, desperately trying to scrabble out from under his bulk as the remaining Lance stopped piling bodies to burn and ran towards the sound of gunfire outside the gates.

Vault Hunters. Worse than the lance.

They couldn't take him with them, he couldn't move now, but they couldn't leave him like this, not a brother. Not when he was all they had who'd understood when they'd try and explain why their meat was wrong, how the flesh didn't sit right, when he was who would help them tighten rags around their chest and listen as they ground their overly developed canines and growled to the stars at night when it got too heavy to bear. They couldn't leave him behind after a life together, so they took his mask. Scrabbled at the bindings and peeled the effigy from what was left of his head. They realised as it separated from flesh that it had been all that was holding the remnants of skull together... but this was his face. The meat under it was Gutpunch, but the mask... they'd wear it now. He'd still be with them.

Jak-Knife had ran from the massacre of Old Haven on shaky legs, ducking as bullets whistled through the air around them as Crimson Lance and Vault Hunters traded fire in panicked waves. No hits, not directly, but a spray of Slag from a barrel ruptured by a narrow miss had sliced across their right, thick and acrid in the air as it burned through skin and into muscle. There had been no time to feel the pain, no time to stop, JK had run till their feet bled and the weight of Pandora's inky night blanketed them in exhaustion they couldn't fight any longer.

They'd started to stumble forward once they stirred in the morning. Like Mouthpiece said, a ghostwalker. No clan, no brother, no belonging. They walked and didn't stop for a long time.

Walked to New Haven, to the walls outside the town and a woman with her own terribly scarred face masking a heart softer than others would guess. Not a home there, not really, but allowed stay. A kid is a kid, even when wearing the blood-streaked mask of a Bandit. She couldn't turn them away.

They were 18 when Hyperion came.

Ran again amidst the screams to do so, ran into the wastes of Pandora and a world that made more sense to them than the town being torn apart behind them. Missed her though, Pierce. She'd been kind. A lot of those people had been kind, and now they were dead. Hyperion, Atlas, same thing. Just monsters lead by monsters.

They'd walked to the Slabs, to a jovial King who mocked their size with a tone that both bristled their muscle and left them feeling... welcome. Not a home there either, not really, but there had been jobs to run and food to earn. They'd been allowed stay, and so they did. Stil a Hellion though, still Slag-burned and covered in their clan's flame emblems and splashes of neon across their gear.... still wearing Gutpunch's blood coated mask.

The Slab king had heaved himself into their cramped sleeping quarters one night and whispered that there was a funeral for her soon, Pierce. They could go if they wanted, he'd whispered from under that massive helm. Told them with a gentleness they'd never heard before that he understood loss, having things you loved taken away from you for no reason bar cruelty. That he remembered Old Haven and wished he didn't. That they should go. They'd be welcome there.

So JK had walked again, out of Thousand Cut's Slab fortress and to a somber funeral in the icy fields of Three horns that was filled with Crimson Raiders - a mix of Vault Hunters and ex Lance, and stood in memorial amidst people that made the blood under their skin burn, all to show the respect she'd earned to a woman who'd treated them like a human.

A merc now they figured, easier than being a wanderer and Sanctuary needed mercs. Found themselves in the bar some nights, wary eyes glaring from mismatched lenses as they sat silently at corner tables while watching the rest of the loud patrons, back against a wall and a clear exit always planned.

She'd noticed. She liked big 'n mysterious. Liked how her flirtations rolled off them and were replied to with genuine questions about her. Quiet, gentle-voiced comments about the drinks, how well she played her marks, how clever that gunbelt around her thigh was positioned for quick access if she needed to control a situation with more than just her looks.

Moxx liked this one, and a friendship slowly bloomed into something beautiful.

It had been her who had put their name forward when the leaders of the Raiders had become concerned over the darkness slowly seeping across Pandora's horizon, of the bizarre war cries of fanatics leading raids on smaller Bandit camps and shanty towns...

The "Children of the Vault" was a name being passed through hushed whispers in slums and rot-dives, and Lilith had rolled "Calypso" across her tongue enough times when reading scout reports to know the taste it was leaving behind wasn't anything good. They wanted an in, and what better spy to infiltrate a Bandit cult than a Bandit. Someone who understood clan hierarchy, who could report back in words she could understand from a viewpoint she could never see.

JK had been... wary. To say the least. The Raiders weren't friends, they'd filled their ranks with ex Crimson Lance like they hadn't committed atrocities, they mowed down Pandora's natives like mad Skags who needed extermination, and Krieg...

They all knew of Krieg. Everyone had seen how he'd been really treated. JK certainly had, but they also knew Krieg had been one foot into the great hunger, that he'd been so close to the flood that he'd spoken in half Psycho-cant and half Bandit, and tore at his skin to sate the itch of the song that the mad ones screamed about. That the raiders would let him burn alive in a fury if it meant a successful mission, and they couldn't help but wonder how respected he'd really been. Some kind of mix between respect and pity they figured, mocked behind his back as "Just another Psycho", someone who got the job done even if he limped back covered in blood and bullet holes, but was whispered about as needing to be watched.

He had been called a Raider, and yet - masks like his and JKs covered the command room's wall like trophies. Murderers of their clans walked Sanctuaries halls and narrowed untrusting eyes even at Krieg's hulking silhouette as he passed. It wasn't right, and JK struggled to feel as welcome as the others insisted they were now that they had a use.

But they'd taken the job, because Moxxi said they should and Moxxi was clever, Moxxi cared about them and wanted to see them be happy, so they'd agreed. She had whispered in an accent they’d learned from long nights in her company was for real things and not her act, that this would help people, that the COV was worrying her more than she was concerned about getting intel to Lilith, and they'd nodded in agreement.

Bandits don't congregate, Bandits don't merge clans under one banner... they wanted to know what this beast clawing into Pandora's soil was capable of. They'd heard the rumours like everyone else, twin Sirens apparently. Bullshit, everyone knew Sirens were women and there were only 6. Jack had hammered that information through Bandit clans and across Pandora's E-Com network clear enough. These were obviously frauds using trickery to control those eager to believe, wouldn't be the first time a Siren cult had used Bandit clans as a personal army, and JK had felt roiling disgust at the realisation what they were agreeing to do for Lilith? Just another shade of the exact same thing.

Funny, wasn't it. Very funny.

So they'd walked out of Sanctuary and towards the hub of the birthing COV.

They'd been 20 when they had first seen a real God.

The Holy City didn't exist yet, just a pile of rickety buildings thrown up by worshippers that surrounded an old Dahl fortress bleaching slowly in Pandora's sun. They called it "The Cathedral", but it looked like the crumbling bones of some great dead thing jutting from the red sands like a cracked skull. Maybe those were the same thing, JK had thought. A cathedral, and a beast of the flood. Both seemed like something that should be worshipped to them. They liked this place.

Neon paint and rusty metal spines were everywhere among the shantytown, raucous laughter cut through the clang of metal, and the air itself was heavy with an unmistakable stink of unwashed bodies and leather. They felt it so quickly as they'd crunched through the dirt paths that split the weaving rows of scrapped together tents, making their way to the recruitment line. A fleeting tickle of a sensation that hadn't filled their belly in so long. That this was like...

home.

The twins themselves were cagey and difficult to pull usable intel about. They gave sermons from the crumbling balconies of the fortress to the swathes of screaming acolytes below, too far for JK to get a clear eye on them but dressed like Sirens at least. Swirling loops of pacifying blue along the woman, and the man... jagged lines and curved whorls of a vicious red they'd never seen on any living or dead Witch. He was off. That one was wrong, and his sister made her agreement on that clear enough in how she acted next to him. She was the star, she was in the limelight, and he was relegated to a place behind her when she spoke to her worshippers and basked in their screeched worship. Odd for a "God-King" to be left in shadows, they'd thought.

Odd indeed.

They reported back to Lilith in Sanctuary whenever the opportunity arose to leave the growing "City", cult movement, basic info on what they could see as a blossoming threat to raiders, and it was always met with sneers of disgust and pity. Monsters, she'd sighed. Just using the bandits as fodder. JK's eyes flicked to the masks decorating the trophy wall behind her.

"Whatever you say, commander".

Mouthpiece had kept his word. Fully aware of what had happened to JK's clan and uncomfortable with seeing something he believed to be a walking curse among the COV's war parties, he'd purposefully sent them on suicide runs with some of the less physically capable recruits. "Trial by fire" he saw it as, simple logic when it came to survival on Pandora. Let the weak earn their place - if they die, they die. That's the law of the land, and losing the soft only leaves the clan stronger. Except, JK' scout parties just kept coming back. It had seemed almost a fluke the first couple of times, scouts didn't last long after all, but as it repeated again, and again, Mouthpiece and higher members of the raid parties began to notice.

A combination of Hellion war training and their years of working side by side with their brother had left an understanding of why having others watch your back was more beneficial than only caring about your own neck, especially when you weren't as big as the next guy. JK was a survivor, they'd never been willing to lay down and die so the rest of the clan could be down a "weak link", and their knife-edge instincts merged with a care for the other scouts not usually seen amongst Bandits meant they were teaching the team. Unifying them as a group who responded to signal whistles, barked cant, warcries that triggered defence formations and eyes on flanks. They were leading without being called a leader, and as that first year slowly ticked by, they were being noticed.

Sharp eyes that scrutinised numbers and statistics were watching the growing ratio of successful raids to lost bodies from the recessed shadows of the looming Cathedral while Jak-Knife trained and barked orders at recruits in the garrison that sprawled in the white hot sunlight below, and eventually, the day came where the God-King knew their name.

They'd stood shoulder to shoulder with their boys as they lined facing the burning light at Mouthpiece's demand. The mask lenses had done barely anything to block out Pandora's vicious sun as he'd approached, and they'd shuddered at the warchief's hissed warning to show due respect, or die where they stood. He wasn't accepting of failure, they knew that from the hushed whispers that spread across the camp at night. He expected perfection, and word from within the now sprawling architecture of the growing Cathedral was that neither twin took insult lightly. She sucked the life out of the undeserving and he, well, he supposedly just ripped heretics clean apart.

Father Troy had been all sharp angles and gaunt bone as he'd stopped his slow pace in front of them and hunched to lean down to their eye level. They'd realised how wrong they'd been about his appearance as the heavy furs that splayed across his shoulders like a mantle blotted out the sun behind him and framed his jagged silhouette in light.

Tyreen wasn't short.

Troy was a monster.

It had been hard to pick up on his scale when they'd only seen him next to his sister, they'd just figured she was a smaller woman and him a tall man, but the reality of his size was beyond intimidating now that they could see with frightening intimacy that the scrapped together prosthetic that he held at his side so effortlessly was as long as they were tall.

A glint of gold teeth through a smile they'd thought more Skag than human snapped them out of their shock, and he'd congratulated them. Thanked the "Jak-Knife" he'd been watching so closely for their excellent work on the field, waved the disturbingly proportioned metal claws of his arm towards their team and praised their group promotion, slathered honey-thick words from a barbed tongue about how they'd be blessed by being the honour guard for a God now - a fine reward for their outstanding work... yes?

The others had gasped in stuttered praise and whimpered thanks while Jk had nodded respectfully, knowing damn well that Calypso wasn't really asking at all.

The newly titled vanguard escorted him everywhere, and that meant a shift in JK's life within the blossoming city that they could not have prepared for. They no longer slept on bare ground when not visiting Sanctuary for updates, they were brought into the twin's cathedral, were able to see its glory with their own eyes for the first time. The inside wasn't anything like the still decrepit outer walls surrounded by scaffolding that workers scurried across like ants, it was like nothing Jak-Knife had ever seen.

A bastion of worship, vast cavernous stone halls spread with clan banners in colours they'd almost forgotten, neon blazing lights framing sprawling stained glass windows depicting Saints and Clergy who's names they'd heard but never put a face to.

Ur-Aurum, scowling from under heavy brows, framed in monochrome and gold. Coins and bullets pouring from his open palms.

Ur-Machina, sharp and vibrant in reds and coppers, oil-stained hands resting gently on the slab of gilded war tech she rested daintily against.

Ur-Vendit, pristine in parallel lines and perfect angles, sneering through a swathe of shining colours as numbers and cash totals ran like ivy through the window's frame.

And something new that had been being assembled along the great hall when they first entered, a half-finished window titled "Oracle" - just the fine lines of lead and a great, staring eye all that they could make out as they followed the priest irritably urging the vanguard group to hurry as they were lead to their chambers.

For the first time they had experienced, JK not only belonged, but they were envied. Their gear was decorated, armour and weapons upgraded at the Father's blessing, and the titles that came with the role were impossible to avoid, whispered in reverence by warriors who would have spat at their feet only a few years ago.

God-King's chosen, God-King's first, God-King's hand, the nods of respect passed to them by warlords like Mouthpiece in passing filled their chest with pride under the weight of its binder, and the trips back to Sanctuary became... harder.

For all they had achieved within the now monstrous in scale COV, the Raiders saw them no differently than they had when they'd first sat alone in Moxxi's. They were still a Bandit, and nothing more. JK was side-eyed, muttered about, treated like an outsider who needed to earn their keep by passing on intel they were risking their life for, all while in the back of their mind being more than aware that they could have this place raised to the ground with a damn WORD. Lilith didn't understand what it meant to be as close to Calypso as they were, that they were beginning to earn his ear.

She wasn't aware that a fucking God cared about their opinion enough to ask for it on long technical rides or when escorting him between meetings, to her, and to the rest of the Raiders, they were still simply a lost native behind a mask that was being handed scraps of decency by people better than them - and the strain of that reality was difficult to ignore. Moxxi tried her best, always there to console and remind them she valued who they were, the beautiful mind they had shared with her in tender moments and long intimate conversations over the last few years, but the insult burned in their gut still.

They weren't just Jak-Knife. They were the God King's chosen, and they were betraying someone who valued them to share internal information on Saints and departments, cashflow and raids, with people who willingly partnered with the Crimson Lance, people who just plain did not seem to understand who they were, what they had earned through sacrifice and blood shed.

But Troy? The longer they spent around Troy the more his own mask began to slip, and the harder it came to see him as any form of enemy. The blessed Father couldn't hide his weak spells or the times illness left him barely able to stand from a bodyguard who was at his side almost every waking moment, there was no way to do so regardless of how much he clearly wished there was. JK saw everything... the spasms, the fainting, heard the whistling of weak lungs when in silence next to the damaged God, saw the black circles under his eyes that the expertly applied makeup he wore could hide at a distance. He'd been aggressive about it at first, vicious and hurtful in his reactions when they'd try and assist, but over time, as they made clear that the mockery and pity he was expecting was not going to come, he'd softened. He'd thanked Jak-Knife one night as they scraped together a fire on the salt flats to chase the bitter cold away and keep their king warm.

A God had looked at them with ice blue eyes that reminded them of a face they could no longer remember, and whispered genuine appreciation for them. How could they continue to betray him. How could they hurt him for people who didn't even count JK as human?

They saw a delicate and sickly side of one of the twin God's that felt wrong to share with the raiders, that left a bad taste in their mouth to discuss with Lilith, so they simply didn't. The rationalised that the raiders did not need to know about the self-doubt or painful loss JK saw crack through Troy's facade in private, the raiders didn't need an update on how one of the twins wasn't healthy, that he could struggle sometimes to get to his feet before an audience, or would need a discreet support from the solid weight of their muscle next to his spindly frame after some events.

Lilith didn't need to know it, and as time passed, JK found they were beginning to keep secrets. Little ones at first, justified under the intel not being valuable, but the ease of witholding useful data only increased. Their position, the growing camaraderie with the COV's grunts and militia, the respect in the eyes of worshippers who looked to the Vanguard all fed into the slow realisation that their loyalty simple did not belong to the Vault Hunters, it was to Moxxi, who loved them. It was to Troy, who every day became closer to the memory of Gutpunch they'd try and visualise on lonely nights, see his crooked smile and cool eyes flicker across a face they could no longer place.

The closer JK got with the man behind the King's mask, the harder it became to give over information to the raiders that had any real tactical value...

And that had been Troy's plan, ever since the day he'd discreetly planted a tracker on them while they'd squinted against the blinding sunlight to first look into the face of a God.

[harley-style]

@hiccups-peg-leg, this is for you (your fuckin username man, its glorious)

HI AND WELCOME TO 100 + 1 REASONS I'M BEGINNING NOT TO LIKE HTTYD:THW

Disclaimer: It might not actually reach 50 reasons because I have a healthy amount of concern for my fingers

​It makes sense as the final part of a trilogy, for them to separate, but the whole set up of how the separation goes was...blargh.

​Hiccup was not acting like himself.

​Neither was Toothless, actually.

​Astrid was weaker in supporting Hiccup. I mean, don't get me wrong, she was still as badass as always, but never have I been more uncomfortable with her way of "supporting" Hiccup throughout this entire movie.

​"You gave him his freedom, what did you expect?" BITCH WHAT

​THIS IS NOT SOME CALL OF THE WILD BULLSHIT WHAT THE FUCK

​part of the reason Toothless STAYED even when Hiccup presented him with an automated tail was because he preferred BERK. you know, a civilised, NOT WILD settlement even if Toothless himself was a wild dragon prior

​in fact NONE of the dragons were being forced to stay there. Which means they CHOSE to stay with humans.

​Why was there no internal conflict between Berk? Why are they all just following Hiccup after some discussion about "Berk is not a place, its the people and our dragons!"??? Just???? They didn't feel like a village at all, is what I'm saying.

​For the record, I think Valka and Cloudjumper would have been harder to separate because these two were together for like twenty years why wouldn't they stick together???

​Toothless should not have been the King of the Hidden world. there are several reasons.

​1 - he was already a bad fucking leader when it came to priorities. he chose his MATE over his FLOCK. what the absolute fuck. 2- in coming to the hidden world, he promptly forgot about the BERKIAN FLOCK THAT HE HAD RESPONSIBILITIES TO. 3- it just doesnt make sense for all dragons to have bowed to him accepting him as their king. Night Furies are deadly, but they are not of the Dragon king breed. Toothless only managed that title because he FOUGHT a fucking dragon of that SPECIFIC breed. 4- he's horny as fuck. I'm sorry, it had to be said. He and the Light Fury have met for, what, a week at most? And already he's in love? Give me a fucking break. but anyways, my point is, if he dropped EVERYTHING HE KNEW AND LOVED for a person he BARELY GOT TO KNOW, then he should not have been made leader in the first place. 5- this is more personal, but fuck the fucking fact that he left hiccup for this unknown stranger. its like his human didnt even MATTER to him at all. which brings me to my next point.

​why the ever loving FUCK did the team EVER imply that hiccup and toothless were SOULMATES if all they were gonna do is separate them and have toothless forget hiccup entirely.

​are the dragons intelligent, sentient creatures

​or are they just wild animals capable of replicating human behavior without understanding the deeper implications of it

​because if the latter was true, then what the FUCK was the first two movies for?

​the hidden world cannot exist in a geological scale. it cannot sustain itself either. if toothless did somehow recall EVERY dragon, then the ecosystem of the hidden world is suddenly shot to fucking hell.

​the movie basically spat to our faces that romantic love is stronger than the power of friendship. and family.

​im pretty sure GOTNF was canon, and THW just spits all over its message and story.

​what happened to my badass dragon riders, dreamworks?

​okay ill be honest A LOT of my issues with this movie are centered around toothless and hiccup

​berk did not need to be separated from its dragons. in fact, dragons leaving berk, realistically speaking, would actually be detrimental to berk.

​for one thing, theyd be totally cut off from the rest of the world -- they suddenly relocated without any warning, to a place where no one had actually explored thus far. traders would not have known where to find them and, if they were in the merchant thinking mode, would cut their losses and find some other village to trade to. so new berk isnt gonna get any support for a long while.

​berk chose an island than can only be safely accessed via dragons. do you see where im going with this?

​by choosing to LET DRAGONS GO, hiccup and toothless have now condemned Berk into a generation of hardship, one that will make its people struggle with getting supplies, rebuild their homes, and basically a lot of their basic survival needs.

​and MIGHT I ADD, hiccup has REVOLUTIONIZED the viking way of life by INCORPORATING dragons into it. what happens when that system suddenly loses a big chunk of what made that system work?

​may i also add that hiccup has also REVOLUTIONIZED the term BIG DUMBASS when referring to decisions that were made.

​im also salty about how quickly toothless forgot about hiccup when entering the hidden world. like, holy fuck, i cannot even begin to explain how dreadful i felt when toothless was just "oh fuck yeah" in that glowing neon underground while poor hiccup was like "do you think he's okay?"

​if it were me, toothless would at least be having a moment to himself, looking at his tail, and you can clearly see in his eyes, "what about my human? what about berk?" before getting distracted. I would have accepted at LEAST that.

​nope. we get a toothless reluctantly going back to hiccup and new berk, resentful and somber as he longs for, what, a home?

​goddamn it i hate the hidden world in the movie the hidden world. i like the movie, i really really do, but that fucking plot device grates my fucking brain.

​RTTE handled a dragon haven a lot better.

​Vanaheim was a perfect place for wild dragons to settle but dreamworks fucking abolished that idea

​i KNOW vanaheim is like a resting place for sick dragons but like

​if hiccup was half as smart as he was the first two movies thw wouldnt have been a thing in the first place.

​its really, really hard for me to defend a movie i liked the first time i watched it when the only things i can see from it are toothless not caring enough about hiccup and hiccup making the niggest mistake of his life.

​this movie honestly felt like emotional manipulation. watching it i always remembered the other two movies, which should NOT have happened. when i watched the second movie (and may i add i barely remembered a thing about the first movie at the time) i was so MOVED to the point of TEARS. i had no context and i was moved to tears anyway. THW constantly pulled at my nostalgia strings and indirectly and directly called back to the first two movies and that just....what???

and that's it.

i mean if youd like to add more feel free to, probably missed some there

and there are a couple of ao3 essays that depict the same reasons i have. just put the tag "the hidden world" in your filters uwu

one last thing: despite the reasons i mentioned above i did enjoy watching thw, im just sayin it took me a long time and a lot of reading to figure out that, no, thw wasnt as great as the hype made it seem.

this isnt meant as an attack to people who like THW. i understand that this movie is special to you and I have no right to take enjoyment from you. im just laying out the reasons of why I personally don't agree with what happened in THW.

[kwrittink]

Making Sure

Pairing: Human!Reader x Werewolf! Bangchan

Genre: Fluff/Smut

Warnings: language, mentions of intercourse, mentions of pregnancy, mentions of knotting, intercourse, mentions of overstimulation

You stared at the bright pink paper in awe, heart thrumming with force inside your chest enough to make your fingers tremble with the echo.

That was impossible. You couldn't be-

Well, it wasn't exactly impossible and you actually would very much like to be- Sigh. You were scared to even complete the thought. False hope after all those years would break your heart.

The issue to trust that thin strip of testing paper was that everything you convinced yourself to be conformed with, every built hope after all these years would crumble to dust. Because history haven't been kind to some beings in matters of love.

And it wasn't a problem of your own body, gods forbid. It was because of who you loved - what he was.

Christopher Bang - your Chris, your Bangchan, the love of your life - was a werewolf, coming from a secular pure-blood family, to top. It didn't bother you the kind your boyfriend, actually was even something you've pointed out as a joke for him being from Australia, a country that withheld the most dangerous animals in the whole world.

The only thing that was surprising was the incompatibility of genes between his kind and your simple, feeble human species. Of course, there was a reason for that, which when you first decided to go steady and live together, he made sure to explain, in a way giving you option to back up from the whole relationship. So silly of him. What mattered that humans had, over the centuries, developed their genes in a way that made it almost impossible to be mated with other species that not their own? You loved him, anything else was manageable. If you or him wanted kids in the future you could always adopt, was it a little were-baby or a human one. Or both.

But it was weird. You had an irregular cycle naturally but didn't really worry about that - for obvious reasons - and maintained a really healthy sexual life with your mate, for his instincts of breeding you couldn't be suppressed, and you wouldn't want them to for the world. The weird thing is that you haven't been late for this long ever. It's been four months already and not a sign of blood.

At first you didn't pay any mind, only sighing at the thought of the cramps that would come once your period decided to show up - the longer it took, the worse they were - but no more of that crossed your mind. But after the third month, it started worrying you, and you went to the doctor but nothing was wrong with you, apparently.

One day, you started piecing some things together. Christopher had been away for around two months - three actually, with a little break he took to see you for anniversary - and you were already late for close to a month at that time. You had sexual relations as usual and, as always, he had 'impregnated' you, just for the sake of his instincts, nesting with you afterwards. The memory made you smile sweetly, even if you felt a blush creeping up your neck at the replay of that afternoon in your mind.

Either way, it was impossible. Wasn't it?

So there you sat atop of the toilet, staring at the former white strip of paper you had peed on almost with sarcasm, watching as it turned a hit pink shade gradually, eyes widening at the same rate. Still, you couldn't believe it.

A ping echoed through the bathroom and in the back of your mind you recalled the date, your birthday, and also the date that your boyfriend would be arriving from work, for a well-deserved break. And you weren't exactly sure of how to breathe, what to say act. Not wanting to believe a blessing but desperately wanting to be proved wrong, for once.

---

When Chris arrived home, it was quiet. Of course, he could clearly feel your presence in the house - probably napping - and smiled to himself while placing the bag on the floor, right behind the door. "I'm home," he whispered to himself, chucking his shoes off.

It wasn't till he reached the corridor, stripping off his coat that he smelled it. The scents of jasmine, orange and... Something else, a sweetness he couldn't quite place filled his nostrils and made him halt, right in front of the bathroom door. Whatever you were planning, Chris was already enjoying it a lot.

"Take off everything before entering," your voice instructed as his fingers barely touched the door, bringing a shudder through his whole body. Not hesitating he practically tore his clothes off, excitement coursing through his body heating immediately like a fever, then pushing the door open at once, eyes zeroing on your figure, sitting inside the tub in your birthday suit, water the only cover around your body. As he breathe in again the scents, it almost made him dizzy, that unknown particular tang stirring something inside of him.

"Hi handsome," you smiled at him, and his heart leaped, grin widening and shoulders relaxing, thought his gaze grew hungrier at the sight of your bare skin. "Are you going to stand there the whole night or come bathe with me?"

And that prompted him to move with a small grunt, seeing the glint in your eyes as the now full-standing need hit his navel with every step. But that could wait, he needed to feel you in his arms again, it had been so long. Too long.

"How I've missed that smart mouth," he said, dipping into the warm water right in front of you, hands immediately reaching for your sides and pulling you towards his body, happy with how your legs instantly wrapped around his waist, skin meeting skin almost merging together, lips connecting with yearning after a chuckle had escaped you at his response.

And then you was everything he could taste, everything he wanted to drink, to drown in, all he could feel. Your hands on his body were soothing, fingers mapping territory already claimed, grounding themselves back into their place. It was you, but... This time it was more, for some reason. He knew you inside out and was deeply familiar with all your scents, capable of recognizing your presence a mile away. And it was present, but had something that made his nose itch a little. Wasn't a threatening scent, just... Different. Nothing bad, his gut told him, just unknown. Later on he'd dwell on it further, now he had a different task in mind, and from the way you were teasing him, hands roaming downwards often, you too were focused on something more interesting.

Carefully, you were lifted from the bath and carried to the bedroom, not minding the wet state of your bodies as he laid you on the bed, hovering over you with adoring eyes roaming your figure. It always made you flush, just at if it was the first time, the first encounter.

"Hi," Chris once again smiled, your heart stuttering at the sight of his beautiful face, knowing you were the cause of the expression. "Happy birthday, beautiful."

At that he leaned, pressing his lips back to yours rather briefly, before nuzzling his way to your neck and downwards, tongue laving at you mating scar, nose pressed, inhaling deeply and a low, pleased rumbling inside his chest that somehow only made the inside of your thighs damper. Your eyes fluttered close when one of his hands that supported his weight at either side of you went to tease your chest, fingertips running as light as a feather over a nipple and coaxing a hum from you and a sniffle from Chris, still amazed at how he affected you.

Eyes trained on you he kept silently tasting you, pushing your body towards madness and reveling on your noises, almost torturing himself on the process.

"Chris, I need you... Please-" your breath hitched as finally, his fingers reached the scorching heat between your legs, parting them to give him better access and instantly intoxicating Chris with your needy scent, vision almost blackening and mouth salivating. He too, needed to be sheathed inside your warmth, but not yet. There was a process to avoid hurting you with his girth, as it had been a while since you two were together and barely could fit three fingers inside your wetness.

"Shh love, I know. I too need you terribly, but I don't want to hurt you, babygi-" He felt choked up as he, after retracting his fingers from you, to pop them in his mouth, the instinct in him needing to taste you to know if you were fertile. You always though it was hot and had your eyes wide open to look at the scene, so witnessed the reaction he had, brow furrowing with worry.

"W-what's wrong, Chan?" You tried to ask, voice practically lost and hoarse, hearing a growl starting at his chest, eyes closed and body tense. He'd never growled at you, certainly not in the bedroom, so the behavior was preoccupying to say the least.

At the other hand, Chris was trying to deal with the unknown, at first the scent and then the taste, anxious enough to break into a low growl right in front of you. He couldn't ignore that change anymore. But what was it? It wasn't another male, completely out of the question - you both loved each other to bits - but somehow it was another being.

Another... Being?

"Christopher Bang what is going on?!" You were starting to get annoyed at his lack of response, getting up to your knees to cup his face and maybe snap him out of the trance he found himself in. "Chris-"

"...nant?" All of a sudden Chan stopped growling, choking up half a word that somehow you were able to figure, eyes meeting yours with such intensity and emotion that it felt like a punch to the gut.

"Say it again?" Still you insisted, wanting to hear the truth from the only one that could give you that assurance, that could be sure there was a life growing inside of you.

"You're..." Chris breathed out shakily, as scared to speak as you were to hear it, a rare whimpering undertone to his voice that broke your heart, but made you understand instantly how emotional that made him. "You're pregnant, love. With my pup." Chris broke the news with a cracking voice and teary eyes, arms snaking around your waist to pull you flush to his body, the inferno that was his skin feeling soothing against yours, body relaxing instantly.

"Are you sure, Chan? Is it really true?" You dared to ask, breathless as you hugged him back tighter. While nuzzling your neck he nodded, giving the sensitive skin a peck that made you hum, happy and calm.

"But I," and he had to lean back and look at you, lustful glint back on his deep brown eyes. "I wanna make sure... That you're full of me," Softly, he pushed your body back down to the mattress as you chuckled, predicting that as much. You wanted too, to be sure you were positively pregnant.

"Then by all means, Chan... Knot me." You gave him the push needed to start moving again, palms previously holding your hips sliding further down to knead plumper flesh, the previous worry of stretching you out beforehand flying off the window as you teasingly ground up to his crotch, prompting a pleased hum and a quick pump just to coat himself further with both your juices and lining to yearning entrance, sluggish movements covering for the eagerness you could see stamped on his face.

"You know better than to fuck- Than to say those things to me babygirl," with one push he entered your heat at last, the pain of the stretch always there and present, but something you secretly loved so much it took your breath away, eyes rolling back as he moved, pounding your insides slow and deep. "I'll fuck so many more babies into you Y/N, do you want it?"

"Yes Chris- I want you to keep fucking pups into me," you breathed out, feeling his fingers sink on your butt cheeks as the words sank in. It was so much more than some fetish coming true, it was almost a miracle. Something he had inwardly wished to come true, even if settled with the knowledge that it would probably never be achieved. But the chances weren't zero, as it turned out.

Hips snapping, Chris drew out a loud groan from you as he started a faster pace, your walls clamping around him claiming his seed and from the way the was wound up, it wouldn't take so long.

"Fuck- I c-can't wait to see you so round and plump with our ch-children," you noticed that it was starting to get hard for Chris to speak, the stutter of his voice a clear telltale that he was about to spill at any second, and you probably never wanted his knot so much in your whole life.

"Then - ah! - cum and p-plug your mate... your mmh b-bitch," his whole body shuddered at your words, a grunting mixed with a moan bouncing off the walls as he pushed himself one last time deeply inside of you, hitting that one spot inside so perfectly that it made you see stars the next second, growing orgasm released just like that, in waves of heat that made you blind. Chris, further coaxed by your orgasm, couldn't help the howl that left him while cumming, so hard his whole body shook.

As his knot started to swell, doing exactly its work of plugging you so none of his seed escaped, Chris maneuvered your body from underneath to on top of him, with the pretense of serving as a pillow for you, as always. But even feeling weak, you weren't having it and, at the mere feeling of shrinking you sat up, grinding down to Bang, trying to get him ready for the next round.

"Whoa, I'm still a little sensitive love, just wait a little bit-" you pressed a finger to his lips, dealing with your own sensitivity, but used to the feeling already.

"Weren't you the one wanting to make sure I was full of your pups?" A twitch inside of you made you grin, and you watched his face blushing slightly, grinding again. "Besides, it's time you pay for all those times you fucked orgasm after orgasm out of me."

Biting his lip to stifle a whimper, Chris grinned at you. "Oh but that's just because my mate loves it, right?"

You snickered, leaning to quickly peck his lips. "Yes, and I'll make sure you love it, too."

___________________

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