#which country it was) that were then sent to that very orphanage for the kids to receive and keep

[splenderai]

absolutely criminal to leave this in the tags

cheers to anyone else getting emotional in the office on this fine thursday

For those who needed to hear it today

[emilythedog661-tf2]

My TF2 Kid AU

This is a TF2 Alternate Universe where everyone is kids between the ages of 4 to 12 and everything is different so i hope you like it and i have done other alternate universes like a fantasy one, a cowboy one, wild animals one, a bug one and other things, anyway, let's get to the universe

Backstory - In a town called Fortress Town lived 12 kids who come together and mess around together and have fun together, the kids lived in a col de sac called teufort street and it's one of the oldest streets in america, the oldest kids who live in the col de sac were the twin mann brothers, redmond and blutarch and helen, redmond and blutarch are 13 years old being teenagers so the kids don't see them much but helen who is 12 sees them all the time and she kinda of the manager of the col de sac while the mann brothers are the bosses of the col de sac, helen likes to boss and she controls on what happens in the col de sac and what the kids are allowed to do when the mann brothers aren't around, the other kids don't really mind her as she barely has any strict rules but she can be a princess sometimes which is why the other kids minus one don't really want to mess with her, when the mann brothers are around, helen sticks to them like glue and the brothers use the other kids to pull pranks on each other as they have a love-hate relationship.

Now for the kids

Scout - Scout who is 4 is one of 8 brothers with him being the youngest, all his brothers are half brothers and they are all older then him with 5 of his brothers already moved out to start their own lives while the other 3 still live at him, he has a single mother who spoils her boy equally while working a very strict job which she likes as she's a workaholic, Scout likes playing with the other kids but they don't really want him around as he's young and they don't want to be responsible if he gets into trouble or has a accident, the ones Scout likes to hang out with the most is Pyro as they get each other and Heavy who he sees like a older brother and Heavy doesn't mind him.

Soldier - Soldier who is 7 is a foster kid, he was abandoned as a baby at a orphanage and he been living in his current foster home since he was 3, his foster parents are fine but it's his foster siblings that he doesn't like as they are all boys and they all bully him as they are older being over 13, but Soldier has learnt to stand up for himself since he was 5 but more in a violent way as he ends up biting, scratching, punching, kicking and smacking his foster brothers if they bully him, his parents don't know what to do with him half the time so they put him in time out while they punish the foster brothers for bullying him making then really good and responsible parents, when Soldier is allowed out, he mainly hangs out with Engineer and he likes hanging around with him as he is calm, intelligent and patient, the pair met when soldier were 3 at kindergarten and the pair have been inseparable since.

Pyro - Pyro who is around 4-6 is a strange child, he adores fire even though he knows he shouldn't mess or play around with it, he's very artistic, he acts like a girl sometimes and he lives in a house outside the col de sac that looks run down and burnt down, when the others ask about his parents, pyro would always say that they have gone out but the kids have never seen them but they don't care as long as pyro is happy and well fed with the kids bringing him food sometimes which he is, he also for some reason sees Soldier and Engineer as his substitute parents as they always seem to care for him like parents do and they protect him sometimes too, lastly, he likes to hang around with Scout a lot as he sees him like a brother he never had and he feels safe around scout.

Demoman - Demo who is 5 is one of the kids who moved into the col de sac from a different country with him being from scotland, his a friendly kid but his parents always want him to have a job so he always gets sent around to the other houses in or out of the col de sac to ask the adults if they can let him do a job, the adults always let him either mow the lawn, clean the gutters, water the plants, clean the car and he always end up getting a good amount of money for it, also demo hasn't lost his eye yet so he has both eyes but he will end up loosing it when he is 8 to a wild animal attack.

Heavy - Heavy is the oldest kid of the 9 friends being 10 years old and he is a big guy but a teddy bear at heart, he is the second kid being from a different country being from russia and he lives with his single mom and his 3 sisters, one is 4, one is 2 and the third one is on the way with his mom being 6 months pregnant, Heavy likes to protect his family as he's the only male in the house and his dad died during the war so it felt like it was his job to protect his pregnant mom and almost 3 sisters, Heavy likes to hang out with the others kids with the ones he sticks to the most is Scout and Pyro as he has a instinct to protect the pair and Medic as he sees him like a younger brother as they get on really well.

Engineer - Engineer who is 7 lives with his dad and grandad and he comes from a line of engineers with his dad being a mechanical engineer and his grandad being a steam train engineer, Engineer hopes to be like then when he grows up so he has been working hard learning about engineering and has even built some really good inventions which both his dad and grandad were really proud of, the other kids were proud of what he could do as well so they made him the group's mechanic and they always ask him to make stuff that could help with the pranks ageist redmond and blutarch, Engineer likes to hang out with Soldier the most as he feels happy and safe when Soldier is with him, he is also the only one who can calm Soldier down if he goes into his outrage mode which what Engineer calls it when Soldier attacks someone mainly his foster brothers, he also gets Pyro hanging around with him and Soldier sometimes and Pyro can be cute when he wants to be.

Medic - Medic who is 8 moved into the col de sac from germany when he was 2, he's a single child to his parents who are both doctors and he's usually home alone due to his parents being so busy, he's learn to look after himself though and he hopes when he gets older, he wants be a doctor like his parents and he has learnt some doctor things from his parents where he's become the group's doctor, medic can be a little over the top sometimes but he loves birds mainly doves, he even has his own pet dove named archimedes who is dumb but very happy, Medic likes to hang around with Sniper the most as they have a common ground with animals and they like to lightly tease each other, Medic also likes to hang out with Heavy sometimes both having a brotherly bond and they talk about many different things with Sniper joining in sometimes.

Sniper - Sniper who is 6 moved into the col de sac from australia with his parents, his parents are older parents being in their late 40s so this makes sniper a single child due to that reason, Sniper is a introvert kid but he has really good eye sight and he is very good at climbing trees, he's also really good with a slingshot and very good at skipping rocks across the lake, Sniper also has a pet owl called Sir Hootsalot that he rescued and restored back to health when he was 4 after it had its wing almost broken as a chick, the owl has since stuck by Sniper and it's his him and Medic started to get along, He goes along with Medic the most but he also gets along with the others as he is a good listener.

Spy - Spy who is 9 moved to the col de sac from france when he was a year old, he moved here with his parents and much older brother who was 16 at the time, Spy's brother is now 25 and moved back to france to live with his grandparents which are Spy's mom's parents and the reason is that it turns out, Spy is Scout's uncle after Spy's brother had a one night stand with Scout's mother when Spy was 5 so now Spy has to hang around with his nephew half the time and he with his parents are the only ones who know about the one night stand and Scout, Spy is very sneaky and he is very good at helping out with the mann brother's pranks, he also gets on well with the others but he hangs around with Fiona Pauling the most as she has connections to helen.

Miss.Pauling - Miss.Pauling who is named Fiona and who is 5 years old is Helen's right hand assistant, she follows Helen everywhere and Helen uses her a lot but Fiona doesn't mind as she admires Helen like a big sister, Helen uses Fiona as a messenger for the other kids, a planner, a door mat and a slave and Fiona will do what Helen tells her too, Fiona is also the younger adopted sister to Helen after Helen's parents adopted Fiona as a day old baby after her mom abandoned her at the hospital, Helen was 7 when her parents brought Fiona home and at first, she didn't care about her but after she saw that Fiona admired her, she decided to use it to her advantage so since Fiona was 2 years old, she has always been in Helen's shadow and she doesn't mind.

That's all for now, i hope you like this AU and i'll see you all later 😋 also if you have any other Alternate universe ideas i should do, let me know as i have a feeling i'm starting to run out of au ideas 😁

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

What if Lily in ‘lily and the art’ was born at the same year as Tom Riddle, and for some reason, Lily and James die young again and Lily is sent to Wools?

Anon is referring to "Lily and the Art of Being Sisyphus" a fanfic that in and of itself once spanned a multiverse and I'm sure whose mention confuses this blog endlessly.

I think this is a more complicated question than you intend, anon.

It also is more or less requesting I write out the story which I'm in no mood to do. So, you just get my meandering thoughts instead.

A Lily Born in 1926 to a James Potter and Lily Evans

Lily's background is so different she might as well not be born to James and Lily at all. What do I mean by this?

The circumstances in which James and Lily got together, and then died, were extremely specific and very much shaped who Harry Potter and any iteration of him (including Lily) became. They were very young, literally just finished with their primary education, they were part of an illegal resistance movement run by their principal against the dark lord who was an imminent threat to their country/a domestic phenomenon that the legitimate powers of the country (aurors/government) seemed disinclined to do anything about. They quickly went into hiding where they were then betrayed by a close friend, murdered, and little Ellie Potter then became the close equivalent to that society's messiah.

Well, what if we put them in 1926?

The times are different, there's been no dark lord (Grindelwald himself is not in power and very likely not making any waves whatsoever even if we take Fantastic Beasts seriously). Anti muggleborn sentiment is still rampant but we're in a time period where a Potter marries a Black, it's very unlikely that James Potter's current family would approve him pursuing muggleborn Lily Evans. The depression has hit England, but it's unclear if it ever really effected the wizards who, at least economically, are effectively quarantined from the muggle world. Dumbledore is only a professor who has not yet built up his network of moles/spies/fighters that he had by the early 1980's (though per Fantastic Beasts, if we take it seriously, he does seem to have employed a reluctant and somewhat witting Newt Scamander as his agent).

My point is this world is extremely different and that Harry Potter's backstory was very important. Perhaps not so much for the showing up at Wool's bit, but certainly in being introduced to the wizarding world.

If Lily's father was a pureblood who impregnated her muggleborn mother whose family then forced him to spurn her/place their bastard child in an orphanage for the shame of it, that's a very different story.

Similarly, if both died and Lily... somehow ends up in a muggle orphanage. In this world, that's a sign that her surviving pureblood relatives were all too eager to get rid of her and chances are she'll never find out her heritage. Unless her overwhelming talent is so overwhelming that the family seeks to get her back in the fold. She may be the daughter of a mudblood, but who cares when she's the next Merlin? (Though Lily being a girl rather than a boy, makes me have my suspicions about her talents ever being widely recognized period.)

Do it Anyway, Muffin

Fine, fine, we'll do it anyways. Honestly, to save myself a lot of trouble, I'm going to say that the Lily born in 1980 does it to herself. One moment, Dumbledore places her on a doorstep, the next, poof, that baby is on the doorstep of Wool's orphanage in the east end of London.

Why does she do this? Well, she's now caught unwittingly in a paradox where if a future Lily doesn't do it to herself then she radically changes the universe she knows, rids Tom Riddle of a very important figure in his life, and the universe itself may actually collapse. In other words, she doesn't know why she does it either, she just knows that she does.

Which, of course, is Lily's constant battle with time travel and why you shouldn't do time travel, kids, rids you of all sense of free will and determinism.

Right, so Lily and Tom both show up at the orphanage in 1926. Given Tom was right at the end of the year, December 31st, that means that Lily appeared sometime before him and is weeks/months/at most one year older than him.

What Happens?

I imagine, at first, the pair don't pay that much attention to one another. Lily herself is a rather odd duck, a girl, and more than likely keeps to herself/is a bit of a space cadet. Initially to Tom, who is a hate filled ball of rage, she's not going to be that interesting. She doesn't give him any trouble like some of the other orphans but she also doesn't do much of interest either. (Remember that initially, before dying in the original story, Lily wasn't all that blatant with her godlike abilities/even used them at all. She was making a point of playing nice with reality, and reality proved to be patchwork garbage she threw all of that out the window.)

Tom, of course, discovers his own talents, though when is unclear except that we know that it was likely at least a few years before Dumbledore showed up, and I imagine Lily looks at him and thinks "huh". Now, it boggles her mind why the universe should treat one person differently than any other. Tom, of course, believes he has a gift and is superhuman but Lily would more likely believe that the universe has, for some inexplicable reason, chosen him. After all, how could a single person possibly break the laws of thermodynamics. This, I imagine, would prompt her own exploration of the decaying universe and she likely decides a lack of imagination is the problem: anyone can do this, reality itself is the problem, it's just that the other orphans accept the Matrix and Tom Riddle is only so clever as to shout "fireball, fireball, fireball!"

Well, this is a big deal, Lily says to herself. The ability to play fast and loose with the universe like this is a) terrifying b) has a lot of interesting implications. Why, for example, do people die? They could rewrite the universe such that death is simply a non-concept. Why do people have to travel through time and space to get from point A to point B? Time and space mean nothing and can be squeezed together at will. In other words... the universe doesn't have to be the way it is and perhaps there could be a path to world peace.

If, of course, human beings could get along/not abuse this tremendous power and accidentally will the universe out of existence.

(Lily then has the terrifying thought that the current universe she lives in is some wise man's compromise. The world might have once looked very different and worked in a very different way, that it has so many laws and so many internal consistencies to her now points that this was planned. Which means that whatever came before... may have been worse.)

After a few sleepless nights, Lily decides to start a religion. And a young Tom Riddle, who had previously thought he was quite grand, suddenly takes acute notice.

Lily (Master of the Universe) and Tom (Master of Fireballs)

In a single morning, Tom is completely and utterly upstaged. This girl, who he has been completely ignoring and always assumed was something of an idiot, is now claiming to be Jesus' second coming and from the looks of it she's probably right.

Mrs. Cole, who had previously thought Tom was the devil's child, changes her mind. It's this other kid, it's probably always been this other kid, and holy god she is terrified. As are the other children.

Well, Tom takes off his white glove, slaps her across the face, and challenges her to a duel.

Lily... Did not expect any of this reaction. Sure, it's a little alarming and took her a bit to get over as well, but this just appears to be how the universe works and they'd all better get used to it because it's not going to change just because they dislike it.

As for Tom, she's not even sure what his deal is. After a bit of thinking she realizes that Tom had thought he was special, that it really was him at the center of all of this, and that this was very very very important to him and Lily... sort of just spat in his face and went "EVERYBODY CAN BE A WINNER".

Woops.

On the other hand, if she does duel him, well she's pretty sure she can crush him.

Right about then I imagine the aurors show up as Lily has been making terrifying, magical alterations, to the orphanage that have got to be noticed by somebody.

In an effort to be nice, Lily blames Tom, who will surely feel special that all these funnily dressed clowns are showing such interest in him. This, of course, backfires as it turns out the clowns are there to erase everyone's memories.

"Oh dear," Lily says, and decides this whole day has been a wash and forces time and space to unwind itself such that the day never happened and she starts it lying in bed again.

She starts over and she does so by deciding that, if nothing else, she's got to be nice to Tom and maybe, uh, help him progress a little beyond fireballs.

Tom Makes a New Friend

Much as in the original fic, Tom is not a fan, especially when Lily casually reveals that he's not even a big fish in a small pond. He was a small fish in a puddle, the pond contains a whale known as Lily.

This causes him much angst and he seeks to both a) show her up b) put her in her place. This doesn't work and only convinces Lily more that he needs help. (Also, every time they go too far the clowns show up, you don't want the clowns showing up.)

I imagine eventually Lily decides that she has to offer him something useful/interesting. So she decides to take him on vacation. There's so much world out there beyond London. They take trips through time and space where Tom learns a lot of life lessons that a) he is actually quite talented, Lily's just a god b) he enjoys being friends with Lily and the most painful c) people will try to use him to get to Lily.

Tom realizes that, painfully naive and optimistic as Lily is, people will try to take advantage of her and her unlimited power (as Tom effectively has now been doing for years), and that it seems to fall to him and him alone to protect her.

Dumbledore Shows Up

What does this mean? Well, it means that Dumbledore's visit becomes very interesting.

A funny man in a yellow suit shows up at Wools. Coincidentally, he wants to meet with Tom Riddle. He tells Tom that Tom was registered to attend a magic school for extraordinary people at the moment of his birth. Unlike canon, where this was Tom's first-time meeting someone like him, he just stares. And keeps staring.

He asks where Dumbledore was a few months ago (at Lily's eleventh birthday). Dumbledore has no idea what he's talking about (Lily, being an unwitting time traveler, was born in 1980 and thus not yet recorded in Hogwarts register).

Oh, Tom sees where this is going. Dumbledore is clumsily trying to tempt Tom to attend this school, leaving Lily alone and vulnerable, and while Tom is distracted thinking mighty well of himself, someone will swoop in, run off with Lily, and convince her to rewrite the universe in their favor.

Tom laughs in Dumbledore's face and tells him to get the fuck out.

Dumbledore... is very confused, and alarmed, he writes this off as Tom Riddle being an evil gremlin. An evil gremlin he must, nevertheless, convince to attend Hogwarts.

He tries to tell Tom that magic, indeed, is real and that Tom is special. Tom presses, just how special is Tom here? Dumbledore reluctantly admits that Tom is phenomenally talented.

(Right, Tom saw that coming, this is classic 'butter Tom up to make him stupid' which has been done several times before by this point.)

Tom still isn't interested, good day, Mr. Dumbledore, now please leave.

Dumbledore then drops the bomb. Tom really doesn't have a choice here. As a magical orphan, even muggleborn, Tom is considered a ward of the state with no guardian. Tom must pursue a magical education, he has no parent to deny him admission (Mrs. Cole doesn't count and has just been obliviated downstairs), and while he can choose any alternative of magical schooling, Hogwarts is his best and easiest option.

Sorry Tom, my dear boy, you're going to Hogwarts.

Tom reads this as "you're being kidnapped" and this starts to get very real. He decides to summon the clowns (who oddly enough only ever appear to show up in London). Unfortunately, Dumbledore himself seems to be a clown (Tom should have known from the suit) and Lily is forced to unwind time.

Lily notes that it looks like Tom is going to this school. She decides that she likes this magical boarding school aesthetic and she'll accompany him. Dumbledore suddenly finds, when he arrives at Wool's, that he has two letters in his hand (which is very funny as he only left with one this morning). He meets with both Lily and Tom. Tom glares daggers at him while Lily just says, "Oh hello, Mr. Dumbledore, we'd love to attend your clown school!"

Dumbledore decides that they're both the antichrist and lights Tom's wardrobe on fire. Tom officially hates this man more than he's hated anyone in his life (and that is a high bar).

Lily and Tom Go to Magic School

Neither are impressed. Lily had always thought that Tom was on the less talented end of the spectrum. Oh sure, he's leagues ahead of people who haven't figured it out at all but-- Well, there's a lot Lily can do that he just can't wrap his head around. Tom is very much the apprentice to her mastery.

Well, these people are ten thousand times worse. They rely on these wooden sticks, and even with those, can't do half of what Tom can do (who over the years has been undergoing Rocky IV style training to keep up with Lily and not feel so incompetent/embarrassed).

Tom votes they leave: this is the dumbest waste of time they've ever embarked on. And they've done some very dumb things. Lily's curious though.

Well, Tom is undoubtedly very bored and cries at the fact that he's made top of the class (what did he expect? What did he even expect? This is just embarrassing at this point and he wishes they all would shut up and get on with it) while Lily is dutifully ignored for being weird/a woman (also expected as if they're trying to butter Tom up then they're going to do so by making him feel artificially superior to her AND GODDAMMIT DON'T THESE PEOPLE HAVE ANY NEW TACTICS?)

Now, why his roommates keep trying to steal his things and beat him up, he doesn't know. Except he assumes they're just so dumb they honestly don't know what to do with him. That or they're a sad attempt at realism to make this not look completely fake. (He still beats them up, it's the principle of the matter.)

I imagine Tom lasts until Christmas at which point he very dramatically disavows Hogwarts and tells them they should all be ashamed of themselves and dramatically drops out at eleven years old.

And Then?

Tom and Lily continue on derpy adventures, running obliviously from the law/formal education, Lily eventually realizes her time travelling past and has to send her baby self back in time to Wool's.

Lily and Tom probably save the world from Grindelwald at some point, are declared national heroes, and Dumbledore just dies inside. He just dies.

[cepheusgalaxy]

[Image description: Tags: #Sure! /end ID.]

@aromanticsky ^^

Ok, so, I don't know if you're familiar, but the Ein wip revolves around these teenagers who are trying to prevent Magical Country in a Magical Society of Hidden Magical Countries across the globe from bursting into war with other magical countries, right. Key concepts of it are the Ambues (name for the non-magicians -> comes from Guarani and it means "other") and Onemia (the main magical country localized somewhere around Brazil, where most of the characters are from). The main gal is a Patrouilleur (a job where magicians have to keep magic off of the ambue world to ensure harmony and stuff) from Onemia named Arielle (she/they), but formerly the protagonist was this guy who is now a secondary main character, Kaiki (he/him).

Kaiki is an ambue who becomes a magician because some freaky stuff is happening in the magic world rn and these new magicians are now appearing, and he is sent to this school to become familiar with his new magic at the beggining of the story, and I had so much trouble making this guy up. He went through many concepts, and his name and core personality traits (as well as his backstory in general) changed a lot. Originally this whole wip had started as a ripoff of an older story I wanted to discontinue (it came back to life anyway), so I mixed up a lot of ideas I had with that story and this thing came to be.

The story this was a ripoff of is a whole other deal, but I was looking into my old writing notebook I found some weeks ago (it's so nice to revisit all of those old ideas ^^) and then I found today the very initial idea for Kaiki's character that got merged into Ein in the initicial concepts of it too:

The placeholder title for that story that I never got to change was "The [pretty] Boy From The White House" (og: o menino bonito da casa branca). I don't remember what the plot was supposed to be about (i didn't really think of plots back then) but Kaiki's predecessor was a boy who lived in this really big and fancy minimalist mansion with a bunch of distant relatives and his family's matriarch. The house was "big and beautiful, with white walls everywhere but in the bedrooms, and many large windows, in such a way that the house was always well lit by the sun or the moon, except from when the sky was cloudy or rainy" (yea that was written there--in portuguese, but i'm taking the liberty to translate it with a slightly different wording). This guy, he was very young (like a preteen) because I didn't like writing characters much older than me as a lil' kid, and I don't think he ever had a proper name.

He never knew his parents (from what I'm reading here), and nobody in his house talked about his dad.

Taking a snippet of the notebook itself:

"He had a life just like any other kid's, and still, very different from them, just like all lives were. [...]" (here is a physical description of him) "[He had] kinda hair kinda straight, but not much. A little curly, specially on the ends. Pretty dark, almost black, and very long, reaching his feet. He had born with blue eyes so light they almost looked white, but if you had a good vision you could see they were indeed blue, which he was told belonged to his mother. But somwhere around his second week of life, his eyes transitioned to the amber hue he could always see when he looked on the mirror. These eyes, he figured, belonged to his father. Despiste nobody in the house every saying his name out loud." <- i really like this. i def was cooking something here, i just have no idea what.

The rest of what I have about it are introductions like this to the rest of the characters of the Mansion, and a rewrite tryout of this single chapter, and then plans for a reboot (?) of it I never really commited to. This story also seems to be the second phase of another idea I had, about a... (hold on lemme find it real quick)

An orphanage-ish (?) kind of house, where there was this Matron that adopted a shit ton of children of different ages, and she assured their education and hierarchy by separating them in different age categories. The matron loved all of them a lot and--oh wait it's just one page. I remember the vibes I had for it, and that was poured in the previous story or that one was poured into this.

The boy from the white house concept doesn't really sound like Ein anymore, but when we look back into the previous stages Ein was in...

Zara (ripoff name of the og protagonist from the wip this was originally cut from) was a boy living in a child shelter when suddenly a bunch of magicians recruited him because of some connection he had with magic

Ravi (name change) is a trans guy and now he lives with his aunt and sisters (Arielle is initially created to introduce him to the magical world)

Kaiki (name change) was a very closed and shy guy with little fleshing out because I couldn't figure any core traits for him aside from 'the guy who is the protagonist'

Kaiki is now more fleshed out and gives place to Ari as the new protagonist

The plot kind of changed like a hundred times as well, lmao

Anyways, I love this wip. It's a mix and match of everything I like and I love these characters on it so much. The worldbuilding is a bit messy because it's been through two versions since the Ravi Name Change stage and they both had very different indeas so now I'm still figuring how the setting will work in relation to all the elements we have now in the newer version. ^^

GUYS I FOUND THE VERY STARTING ULTIMATE INITIAL CONCEPT FOR EIN AND KAIKI DO YOU ALL WANNA HEAR ABOUT IT

[griffintail]

I had this idea, I dunno if it’s dumb or not, but I figured if anyone knew it would be you! Y’know, cause you seem like you know way more than me about all these mcyt guys and gals? Anyways, I saw that a lot of people headcanon that Shlatt was Tubbo’s dad, and seeing all those dad!Shlatt AUs gave me an idea:

What if after Shlatt’s dead, after things have settled, after Tubbo becomes president and spends most of his time cleaning up the messes and mistakes Shlatt left behind- he discovers he wasn’t Shlatt’s only child. He finds handwritten letters in Shlatt’s files from a distant village, all of them fairly recent, asking him for child support money, or asking him to take “his mistake” with him. But the last letter Tubbo finds is a typed one informing Shlatt that the woman who sent all the previous letters has died, and that he has 1 month to come collect his child, or they’ll become a ward of the state; it’s been roughly 2 and a half weeks since that letter arrived. How would Tubbo react to all of this, and more importantly, would he take on the responsibility of becoming his new sibling’s guardian?

I don’t know how I became the person to come to for this lol. I hope you enjoy!

The Girl with the Horns

Pairings: Brother! Tubbo x Child! F! Reader

Warnings: Mentions of emotional abuse, Implied Buillying, Swearing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Tubbo looked up the old White House building, taking a deep breath before going in. Inside, he immediately scrunched up his nose at the familiar smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke.

        “Damn it, dad.” He muttered under his breath before starting to clean up the building.

        He said he’d clean the building out himself as his father was the one who trashed it and now was that day. A lot of his presidency was cleaning up Schlatt’s mistakes before he even ran the rest of his new country. He sighed as he put another empty bottle in a trash bag. Schlatt had really lost it running things.

        Slowly but surely, Tubbo was able to get the White House to a much cleaner state. He was now in the main office and was searching the drawers for his father's inevitable “secret” booze stashes when he found some handwritten letters tucked in the very back of the drawer. Frowning, Tubbo took them out and saw them all addressed to Schlatt.

        Sitting down, Tubbo read the letter on top and his eyes went wide, back going straight as he reread the words before him.

        I want money for this child you helped bring into this world!

        A child?

        The rest of the letter was talking about asking for child support and Tubbo was floored. Quickly, he read the next letter and it was much of the same, demanding Schlatt to take responsibility.

        “Holy shit…” Tubbo muttered. “I got…I got a sibling?”

        He made his way through the rest of the letters, his heart clenching when the woman writing the letters called his poor sibling a mistake or made stabs at Schlatt.

        Then the last letter was a lot more formal. It was stamped with an official seal and dated. Schlatt had opened it as told by the broken seal but had obviously also put the letter back without a care after reading. Tubbo’s breath hitched as he read the letter though.

          Dear Mr. Jschlatt:

        We are sorry to inform you Miss Trentha has passed in an accident.

        Behind, she has left a five-year-old (Y/N), of which in our records has your name on her birth papers. We will give you a month’s time to make a decision; after, we will have no choice but to send (Y/N) to become a ward of the state.

                Tubbo quickly looked at the date of when the letter was sent.

        “Two and a half weeks!” Tubbo exclaimed as he jumped up. “Shit! What should I do?”

        He looked around the office he had spent time cleaning trying to process everything at once, words failing him. In a few short moments, he had found out he wasn’t an only child, that Schlatt hadn’t even looked back at this girl or her horrible mother, and that the sibling he just found out about was going to become a ward of the state! Schlatt had at least been kind enough to Tubbo to let Philza raise him but this child going into the adoption system…

        “I-I got to run L’Manberg. There’s so much to do.” Tubbo ran a hand through his hair as he panicked.

        But then Tommy’s words echoed in his head.

        You can’t become the next Schlatt.

        Schlatt was obviously going to let this child fend for themselves, Tubbo couldn’t be his father. He had to at least meet them. With a new will, he gathered around his friends, and with reassurances that they had L’Manberg covered, Tubbo set off on a horse to the village. It was a good three-day journey, so he’d only have roughly a week left to make his decision of what he was going to do.

        Coming to the village, Tubbo took a deep breath as he stared at it. What was she going to be like? She probably didn’t have the best raising based on the letters that the mother sent. Tying up the horse outside the main hall, Tubbo went in, going through the various processes to prove that he was indeed Jschlatt’s child and proving that his father was dead.

        After, they took Tubbo to a home where a bunch of children were outside playing but there was one that stood out among them and it wasn’t because she was sitting alone. It was because she had tiny horns on top of her head that were just starting to come in. Tubbo put a hand on his horns that were just starting to curl without thinking.

        “That’s (Y/N).” The man that led him here nodded to the little girl.

        “She’s five, right?” Tubbo asked.

        “Yes. She’s not very talkative, but you can introduce yourself to her.”

        Tubbo had few guesses why she didn’t want to talk. He went over, a few of the other kids were pointing at him. (Y/N) was using a stick to push images in the dirt, looking up when a shadow got in the way of the sun. Tubbo smiled when he saw her surprise when she looked up at him, he sitting next to her, wearing his casual wear rather than his suit.

        “Hi. I’m Tubbo.” He introduced himself to her.

        (Y/N) was silent as she stared obviously at his horns. “You have horns…”

        “Yeah, I do. I’m a ram just like you.”

        “Really?” She met his eyes now.

        “Mhm. I, uh, I actually knew your dad because he was my dad.”

        She shifted as she looked back at the ground. “Daddy was a bad man.”

        Tubbo winced, putting a hand on his neck. “Why do you say that?”

        “Mommy use to say that.”

        “Ah. Well…dad wasn’t the greatest, I agree. It wasn’t nice for him to leave you alone.”

        The little girl was silent and Tubbo tried to think of a subject change.

        “Do you like drawing?”

        She nodded. “Mommy wouldn’t let me use paper but I like drawing in the dirt.”

        “Oh…do you…have any friends?”

        She put a hand on one of her little horns and he immediately understood.

        “I get it.” He smiled gently, putting a hand on his horn. “I didn’t have a lot of friends until I met my best friend Tommy. I’m sure you will find some friends.”

        His heart melted as she gave him her first small smile. “I hope so.”

        He sat with her just talking away, the time passing so fast without either of them knowing as they talked. He felt like he learned so much but so little about her; yet, he loved every moment sitting with her. She had to go back with the other children of the orphanage but within a few hours, Tubbo made up his mind. He couldn’t leave this little girl with everyone else; he’d take her back to L’Manberg.

        So, in the morning, Tubbo put on his suit to be professional and he did the paperwork before waiting for them to bring (Y/N). (Y/N) came in timidly and Tubbo smiled gently as he crouched in front of her.

        “Hey, so, I don’t want to leave without you, would you like to come with me? I can introduce you to a few of my good friends.”

        “…They’re all nice like you, right?”

        He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, a few of them are pretty nice.”

        She looked around but nodded. “Ok.”

        He grinned as he stood up. “Then I’m going to take you back to my home.”

        They got the few things that she owned and Tubbo put them on the horse. After, Tubbo changed into more appropriate riding clothes before getting on with (Y/N).

        “Alright, here we go.” He muttered before getting the horse to go.

        Off they went to L’Manberg, Tubbo making sure they had shelter each night. It was a bit stressful for Tubbo on these few days. He had gotten used to not eating every day but he had to remember now to make sure (Y/N) ate. He also had to remember this was boring as hell for her so he tried his best to make little games as they galloped along. There was a point he went off on a bee tangent for half an hour after spotting one and pouted to himself when he saw (Y/N) had fallen asleep against him but he kept an arm wrapped around her so she didn’t fall off.

        As he got back to L’Manberg, he huffed as he saw Tommy and Fundy arguing as Quackity was laughing, Ranboo standing to the side awkwardly. Yeah, that’s how he expected his cabinet to act with him gone. He tied up his horse, grabbing (Y/N)’s things before taking her hand as he walked over to them. As the pair went over, (Y/N) hide behind him shyly.

        “Guys!” Tubbo called.

        “Tubbo! Tell this furry bitch—” Tommy started.

        “Oh, fuck off Tommy!” Fundy shouted back.

        They started having another go.

        “GUYS!” Tubbo shouted, making (Y/N) jump with the rest of the group. “I have someone for you to meet, so can you shut it?”

        Tommy spotted the little girl peeking out from behind Tubbo, noticing the horns first.

        “Holy shit, she has horns like yours.” Tommy went around Tubbo.

        “Yeah, this is (Y/N), she’s my little sister.”

        “A sister?!” Tommy looked at Tubbo surprised.

        Tubbo nodded. “I adopted her.”

        “I’m sorry?”

        “It’s a long story but I’m back and I’m got to bring her to my house,” Tubbo told them before walking off, feeling the little girl squeeze his hand tighter, probably getting overwhelmed.

        They got to Tubbo’s house and he looked around.

        “Er…You can have my room. I’ll need to make you a room.” He smiled at her.

        “Ok…thank you.”

        He patted her head between her horns. “I couldn’t leave you behind sis. Let’s get you settled in and I can make us some steak. Sound good?”

        She nodded.

        Tubbo knew it would be stressful learning to take care of another human while he had to run a nation but he had his friends to help him. He hoped he could do all this right.

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

In your latest post, you said that Dumbledore MEANT to put Harry in a abusive household. That, or when he found out he did nothing to stop it. Why is that?

You’re going to get a lot of people angry with me. Well, I suppose they’re already angry. Somewhere out there, on the wider internet.

Right, anyway, the evidence of Harry’s abuse is so overwhelming that it seems improbable to me that Dumbledore wasn’t aware of what was happening. More, every interaction he has with not only Harry, but characters in similar circumstances, lends me to believe that in the event that Dumbledore does know he’d take no action.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Scene 1

We start out the entire Harry Potter series with Minerva and Dumbledore waiting in the early dawn for Hagrid’s arrival and to place Harry with the Dursleys. Minerva immediately announces her discomfort with this, 

She specifically says the following:

"You don't mean — you can't mean the people who live here? Dumbledore, you can't. You couldn't find two people who are less like us."

Lily Evans’ relatives are infamous enough such that Minerva McGonagall, who is presumably not as close as her like aged peers (i.e. Sirius, Remus, and Peter) knows about them.

Granted, some of this is anti-muggle sentiment. Minerva isn’t sure that suburban muggles raising a magical child like Harry Potter is a good idea. Nevertheless, she has deep misgivings, and relays them to Dumbledore.

We know from further evidence that Dumbledore is perfectly aware of what Petunia and Vernon are like as well. He gives Harry to the Dursleys anyway.

Dumbledore, for his own reasons, chooses not to listen.

Dumbledore’s Letter to Petunia

Dumbledore writes a letter to Petunia, knowing it is highly necessary, as he gives Harry to the family. The letter is... vaguely threatening but in a very polite Dumbledore way. It pretty much implies “Take Harry, or else, also be nice to your dead sister.”

The point is, Dumbledore is aware that this letter is highly necessary. And then... other things happen.

Dumbledore Sends Hagrid

Dumbledore sends Hagrid to pick Harry up.

Ordinarily, in such circumstances, Minerva is sent to introduce muggleborn children to the Wizarding World. “Perhaps she was busy,” you say, too busy for Harry Potter? Wizard Jesus and the child of perhaps her favorite students who she openly favors throughout the series?

“Perhaps Dumbledore was being nice to Hagrid, and he had an errand to do anyway,” well, it’s all well and good to be nice to Hagrid, but is he really the best guy to introduce anybody to the Wizarding World?

This is Hagrid, the likelihood of him having taken Harry to an exotic pet shop where Harry then gets eaten by the Chupacabra is 95%. The 5% where it didn’t happen is because Hagrid went to the pet shop alone and some, distant, rational part of his brain told him that Harry would want the pretty owl vs. the one-eyed blood sucking rat demon in the cage next to her.

You don’t send Hagrid if you want a child returned to you with all its limbs intact.

So why do you send Hagrid?

When you want someone who’s so painfully oblivious, loyal, and stupid that they could stare a hellscape in the face and wouldn’t even notice.

Hagrid gets a firsthand view of Harry’s living conditions. He learns that Harry’s relatives have been actively blocking Harry’s letters, that they have run across the country to avoid them. He sees the state of Harry’s clothing in comparison to Dudley, how thin Harry is in comparison to Dudley, and the way the family interacts with each other.

Harry’s child abuse is staring Hagrid right in the face.

Minerva would demand that Harry be placed somewhere else, they can find some other means of protecting him.

What does Hagrid do?

He gives Dudley a pig’s tail illegally and proceeds to tell Harry that Dumbledore is the greatest man who ever lived. 

Other Evidence Comes to Light

Other characters start getting pretty big warning signs that all’s not right at the Potters.

Ron and Hermione know the situation is “bad” and that Harry’s relatives “hate magic”. They’re also kids and don’t really understand what this means, the idea of being abused and hated by your guardians is unthinkable to them and Harry doesn’t come out and just say it.

That said, they’ve seen enough that they drop hints to those around them. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are told about the bars on Harry’s window. Ron was so concerned about Harry in the summer after first year that he steals his father’s car with Fred and George to go pick him up. That is not normal behavior, that is deep concern for your friend.

Despite all of this... nothing happens.

Hermione spends far more time at the Weasleys then Harry ever does. Every summer, he returns to Privet Drive, and it’s likely if Arthur and Molly did have concerns Dumbledore told them off.

Arabella Figg

Arabella has been keeping an eye on Harry for years. She’s noted some very disturbing trends and been witness to years of the Dursleys interacting with Harry Potter.

She passes this information on to Dumbledore.

He knows how bad it is.

Harry Potter

Harry tells Dumbledore he does not wish to remain at the Dursleys, he notes that they don’t like him and he doesn’t like them. Now, he tries to downplay it, but this is a child saying some pretty disturbing things. You don’t brush this off.

Dumbledore does.

Dumbledore Visits the Dursleys

In book 6, Dumbledore visits the Dursleys and sees, in person, how bad it is. However, he shows no surprise, only vague disappointment in Petunia. Tsk, tsk, Petunia, I thought you were better than this.

He offers a few threats and then he and Harry go on their merry way.

Severus Snape

Snape is Dumbledore’s spy who reads Harry’s mind for half a year. Granted, Snape is a bastard who loathes Harry Potter, but he sees evidence of the Dursleys abuse of Harry.

We know, from what he relays to Dumbledore later, that he had at least some concern for Harry and was very disturbed by Dumbledore’s plan to murder him in cold blood due to the horcrux.

I think it’s very likely Severus Snape knew and told Dumbledore that Harry was being abused. I’m sure Albus’ response was, “Bitch, I know, would you like a lemon drop?”

Point being, there is no conceivable way that Albus Dumbledore, even if he was the world’s dumbest man, didn’t know exactly how bad it was. He let’s it happen anyway.

But What About the Blood Wards?

Dumbledore eventually tells Harry that the reason he can’t run away from Privet Drive is because of the blood wards created by his mother. They can only be applied if he lives with blood relatives and protect the Dursley house as long as Harry considers it home.

Now, this is a bit suspect given that Harry really considers Hogwarts his home, Privet Drive is just that hell hole he has to go back to every summer. Even the Burrow is more his home than Privet Drive so... That doesn’t sound right.

More, though, there are other means of protection.

There’s the Fidelius which Dumbledore casts on Sirius’ house in book 5. Given that, Harry really could have lived with Sirius (well, Sirius is not in a good place to have a kid around and that would be a disaster and a half). Point being, Harry could be raised elsewhere and there are wards that could protect him.

More, Voldemort and the Death Eaters are out of commission for thirteen years. Indeed, we see Dumbledore up Harry’s security detail by secretly assigning the Order to tail him after fourth year.

So, for a very long time, it’s not about Harry’s protection and when it does become that we see Dumbledore make significant changes.

So, what could it be?

Well, let’s look at Dumbledore’s other actions. Dumbledore prevents Harry from becoming prefect because “he thought it would go to his head”. Which, Harry should absolutely not be made prefect at all, and Ron’s a laughable candidate too but...

To me that’s very telling.

I hate to say this, but this is Dumbledore, but I think he has a very similar reasoning behind Harry going to the Dursleys.

He doesn’t want Harry to be corrupted by the Boy Who Lived persona. He wants him in a certain state of mind when he enters into the wizarding world and... Frankly, he wants him vulnerable. Dumbledore, in time, will need to either murder this boy or have him kill himself. If Harry has a halfway decent guardian, that task becomes a hell of a lot harder.

Harry has to love the wizarding world so much, trust Dumbledore so much, that these things are worth dying for.

You Mentioned Something About Dumbledore’s Other Actions?

Dumbledore has no sympathy for victims of child abuse.

Tom Riddle, an impoverished orphan loathed by those in his orphanage, he thinks is the very devil and sends him back into the Blitz with a smile and a wave. Enjoy the bombs, Tom, hope you die.

Severus Snape, the half blood child of an abusive muggle father and absentee mother, who is nearly murdered by Sirius Black via Remus Lupin, is told to shut the fuck up and sit down before he ruins the lives of his betters.

Dumbledore has a very bad track record with this and, well, Harry Potter is not an exception.

To be fair, I think the wizarding world has not concept of CPS or even child abuse. There’s no hint of a foster system, you go to the closest relative of the godparents. So, I think to them, you’re stuck with whoever you’re stuck with and if your uncle rapes you then it sucks to be you.

[silvertechnicolor]

Marilyn Monroe & Joe DiMaggio: A Retrospective - Part I

Monroe and DiMaggio. For some, it was a soulmate romance ending in tragedy, for others a toxic union. The truth? Most likely an extremely complex relationship of which the intimate details have now been taken to both graves, 36 years apart. The fascination surrounding the connection between two seemingly opposite individuals however remains.

Hopefully, this slightly unconventional retrospective is befitting to this peculiar couple and covers the many aspects of one of the most private relationships of the two most public figures of their time.

Note on sources: To preserve their voice, the correspondence, quotes and notes from Joe and Marilyn themselves have been given priority. Wherever possible quotes and documents used for this article have been limited to direct sources (i.e. people who knew Joe and/or Marilyn) to avoid issues linked to hearsay and author bias as much as possible.

PART I – “SOMETHING CLICKS. LIKE A DOUBLE PLAY COMBINATION” – JOE DIMAGGIO (TRUE MAGAZINE, 1954)

Shy. Anxious. Moody. Stubborn. Image conscious. Ruthless. Suspicious.

So much has been written to underline Joe and Marilyn’s personality differences, it’s hard to imagine how the two ever began a romance. And yet the above description could fit either like a glove. Their extremely short-lived marriage often overshadows two years of a cross country relationship, marred with events that relentlessly tested their commitment to each other.

“The truth is that we were very much alike.” - Marilyn Monroe to Ben Hecht for her autobiography, My Story (1974)

Born to a Sicilian catholic family in Martinez CA, Joe was one of nine children. While the meagre income from his father’s fishing boat made it incredibly difficult to rise above poverty, the sense of family was paramount to the DiMaggios. In comparison, Norma Jeane lived a childhood almost entirely removed from her own blood. This unstable environment was a struggle for Norma Jeane who never could quite fit in. Her very tall appearance earned her the sobriquet “Norma Jeane, the string bean” and the development of a stutter did not help her confidence. In this aspect Joe could relate: raised in an Italian-only speaking environment his participation in class was nonexistent. The awkward leg braces he had to wear as a child to correct weak ankles hardly made him the popular kid.

Plagued with shyness and a lack of support in their academic abilities, both dropped out of high school out of necessity: Norma Jeane married next-door neighbour Jim Dougherty to avoid returning to an orphanage, Joe was sent to work as a newspaper boy and bottled orange juice in a factory to bring money home for his large family.

This feeling of being a constant outsider isn’t something that would leave either of them. Later, as an up and coming starlet, Marilyn was expected to party and network but like many of her entourage recollects, she very much enjoyed staying home or consciously avoided being the centre of attention. Joe was rarely seen with strangers and would often remove himself from group conversations. Their common reclusive nature and childhood hardships undoubtedly created a bond which was evident to Marilyn: “he had a very difficult time growing up […] he understood some things about me and I understood some things about him and we based our marriage on that” (1960 interview with Georges Belmont).

Interestingly this connection also jumped at Norman Rosten – Marilyn’s friend and poet who would only meet Joe much later in the 1960s – “She and Joe had a similar street-smart air, a touch instinct for survival, that might have served them well in the years to come.”

*        *        *

Joe and Marilyn’s respective experiences of the spotlight brought a common ground through the stigmas associated with their public image. Joe’s fame came at a time when Italian names regularly made the papers for organised crime and mob associations. But his impeccable performances on the field soon made the public accept this withdrawn and aloof player whose steadfastness prevailed over ethnic preconceptions.

Marilyn’s image and the stereotypes associated with her “sexy dumb blonde” persona were also not the reality her interviewers faced. Journalists and columnists alike were often taken aback by the shrewdness and quick wit of what they expected to be another fame-hungry starlet with not much to say. [see her radio interview from 1955]

Unfortunately for Joe and Marilyn, they would find themselves in a constant struggle against prejudices associated with their background. Joe’s Italian origins were never forgotten, often painted in the worst light: racial slurs to describe him were common as were quips about his love for spaghetti. No level of fame or American hero status would prevent DiMaggio’s parents from being listed as “enemy aliens” during WWII – as Italian immigrants, his father’s boat was seized and travel restrictions meant the family was unable to visit the restaurant Joe and his brother Dom had opened. Marilyn’s own past was not something she would be allowed to escape from as she several times risked public scrutiny and humiliation: the media jumped on the now-famous Tom Kelley nude calendar images and the revelation of her mother still being alive and institutionalised.

It’s not surprising those repeated attempts at stigmatisation may have resulted in both Joe and Marilyn earning a chip on their shoulder and an increasing desire to show the press, the studios and the wider public how mistaken they were. The respect they both tried to establish would also take a financial tone. The studio contract troubles Marilyn was facing in 1953/1954 were something Joe could relate to. He had held out for his own Yankee contract, generating unfavourable press for himself quickly forgiven thanks to his success on the field. But his strong sense of self-worth is a trait Marilyn could be inspired by. She had most likely shared with him her increasing frustrations over the lack of dramatic roles (“From now on he wants her to seek out only dramatic roles”– Sir! Magazine, April 1954). As a savvy businessman, Joe would have had some advice for how Marilyn could handle this battle, mainly playing hard to get and refusing to take calls until a serious offer was made.  

Fighting against media pressure and expectations also meant both Joe and Marilyn hid behind public personas: Marilyn’s joyous, sexy and charismatic front and Joe’s stoic and impassive character masked much of their personal turmoil. Marilyn could work herself into panic attacks, exacerbated by her insomnia and the self-medication to overcome her natural insecurities. Joe was not immune to feeling overwhelmed himself. Always looking coolheaded on the field, DiMaggio was a lifelong heavy smoker and coffee drinker, afflicted by extreme anxiety. During his WWII service, he was hospitalised for weeks for stomach ulcers as a result of the stress from being served with divorce papers from his wife requesting custody of their son Joe Jr.

“I miss it so much when you don’t love me and hold me and cuddle me to sleep every night” - Letter to Joe, March 1st 1954

Perhaps these personal anxieties made for a couple that relied heavily on the emotions of the other. The above letter from Marilyn shows how she could be very insecure and needy, even when her partner was only away for a few days. While she may have been vocal about her feelings, Joe’s affection for Marilyn was never for the public and displays of it were usually kept hidden from others. When travelling to Banff after Marilyn sprained her ankle, he casually told reporters waiting in Vancouver: “I’m just going to Jasper to fish”. The private pictures of this trip offer a rare glimpse of Joe’s natural self with Marilyn, including an affectionate side she clearly knew. John Vachon remains the only professional photographer to capture both Joe and Marilyn in an intimate setting.

“Six at least!” - Marilyn, when asked how many children she hoped for with Joe

Joe’s stubbornness to move away from Hollywood and settle in San Francisco to start a family can often give the impression Marilyn had no say in the matter. This is somewhat true.  Marilyn did not expect to be back working so soon after her suspension and was left with managing an impatient new husband who had hoped for a quiet start to his married life. But she also appeared to have very much manifested some interest in this life. On the set of How To Marry A Millionaire, Lauren Bacall recalled Marilyn wistfully wishing she could be with Joe in San Francisco “in some spaghetti joint”. Like many of Marilyn’s aspirations, she felt torn by them: “A career is wonderful, but you can’t curl up with it on a cold winter’s night” (Sir! USA Magazine, April 1954)

Marilyn’s desire to build a family and desire for children is not questionable. She would interestingly later compare the length of her marriage to Joe as “enough time to have a baby”. Interestingly, her character of Roslyn in The Misfits, which was somewhat inspired by Marilyn’s own experience, has a line where she claims she never wanted children with her ex-husband. Marilyn herself made note of this in her script copy, adding in pencil “just like with JD”. This could have suggested Marilyn and Joe did not attempt to have children together. However this is unlikely considering how eager Marilyn was when asked how many children the DiMaggios would have (“six!”) but also much more privately in her own letter to Joe in 1954: “I want you someday to be proud of me as a person and as your wife and as the mother of the rest of your children (Two at least! I’ve decided)”.

Journalists never held back on the matter either. Marilyn would be asked the very question on 16 April 1954, to which she candidly replied: “I’m not pregnant but I wish I were. Joe and I want a lot of little DiMaggios.” As her first day back after her work suspension, this was a very bold answer but evidently a genuine manifestation of what she desired the most: a child.

Her operation to correct endometriosis in mid-November 1954 – less than a month after their divorce announcement – indicates the couple may have already suspected they were struggling to become pregnant. Joe’s presence at her side is a strong indication this surgery would have affected both of them and their future, had it not been for their separation.

For all their shared desires, background and experiences that brought them together and could have created a successful and long-lasting relationship, there were of course a number of conflicting outlooks which the traditional and expected path of marriage would fully expose.

Part II coming soon! • This is part I of a series dedicated to retracing Joe and Marilyn’s complex relationship. You can also read it here. •

[formenis]

Lesson

Anon asked: “ Can you do a scenario where L hasn't sleep in a while and it got to the point where even the Task Force is worried about him so Watari calls L's secret S/O and she comes barging into HQ and starts yelling at L that he is getting sleep or she is drugging him so he will sleep and L just follows behind her like a love-sick puppy“

A/N: please everyone, let’s give L so much love! Our best detective needs some rest sometimes.

And consider English is not my first language so I’m sorry about all the mistakes you’ll find. I’m trying to improve.

pairing: L x fem!reader

warning: nope

requested: yes

Y/A = your alias

Once Watari said: «L has no internal clockwork or any concept of time. After 102 hours of staying awake, he slept for almost 17 hours» and for him it was not enough.

If you think it's strange, well you don't know L. He goes to the toilette by himself with open doors and slightly changed sitting position. Since he likes clearness, he bathes frequently. But he never washes himself; he just sits in Watari's special "human washer" which includes drying functions.

L is rather picky with regards to clothing, there are always ten or so identical sets of clothes prepared for him. But he cannot put them on by himself…no, rather, he never feels like doing it (Watari has to say something like "banzai" to tell L to lift his arms). Most of the time, he is in his room, sitting motionlessly in that position.

But Y/N L/N knows it very well. She is L's girlfriend for a long time and she is used to L's particular (and almost non-existent) routine. That's her patience and kind personality that caught L's attention. It all started when Y/N went at the Wammy's House for a job interview. They were searching for a new teacher and Y/N satisfied all the prerequisites. During her probationary period all children fell in love with their new teacher, so patient and gentle even with the most spiteful kid.

When Roger Ruvie, the Wammy's House manager when Watari was not there, sent his observations about this new candidate, L agreed in hiring her. And when he met her in person he was hypnotised by her. The children were right, she was special: Y/N became the mother, the sister, the aunt and the friend those children didn’t have. This captured the attention and the interest of the greatest detective in the world.

It didn’t take long for both Y/N and L to fall for each other: the young teacher was attracted by his intellect and by his gaze, so deep and mysterious; on the other hand, L was mesmerized by her personality and by her smirk she had whenever she was right about something. But the thing that convinced L that Y/N was the right one for him was when she beat him at chess.

«Checkmate»  

At first, L didn’t pay attention to what she said but when he observed the chessboard he couldn’t hide his surprise. «Miss L/N…you won»  

«That's what I said»

But back to the present. Y/N was at the Wammy's House checking the homework of her little students when Roger entered her classroom.

«Miss L/N, there's a call for you»

«Ah yes, thank you Roger» Y/N answers at the phone placed on her desk. «Hello?»

«Miss L/N, it's Watari» the old and warm voice of Quillsh Wammy (as known as Watari) echoed through the receiver.

«Good afternoon Watari, I was correcting some homework. Do you need something?»

«It's about L»

.

.

.

Since the beginning of the Kira case, L moved to Japan. He changed hotel every week until Watari finished the new HQ and for the task-force was compulsory not to use any electronic devices when they were with him. This meant L couldn’t call his beloved Y/N that often and he started to miss her.

In order to solve as fast as he could the Kira case, he dived in the work for entire days and nights. Sugar cubes and coffee were his meals and he almost refused to sleep. He focused his mind and all his being to the case.

At first, the task-force wasn’t that concerned since they realised L had particular habits. But week after week, month after month, the situation got worse. His eyebags became darker and heavier, his skin became more white than his shirt and in general he looked really sickly.

«Uhm Ryuzaki? Did you sleep last night?» Soichiro Yagami asked him, there was worry on his face.

«When the Kira case will be solved I'll sleep» L replied rather tiredly despite his monotone voice didn’t express it. But Watari, who was with them serving ice-cream to everyone, noticed it immediately. He couldn’t bear such sight, he had to do something so he made a decision: if nobody could convince L to rest, then Miss Y/N L/N will.

.

.

.

«That's why I need you here, Miss L/N»

«He didn’t sleep for how much, Watari?! Are you serious?»

«Unfortunately yes. He dedicated every part of his being to the case. And by "every part" I mean literally every part of him»

«I can't believe it. I'm coming there, Watari»

«Very well, Miss L/N»

♰ TIME SKIP ♰

When Y/N arrives in Japan she was truly amazes by that country, so full of life, lights and culture. She can't believe it's the same country where Kira is killing. However, at the moment she can only think about L. She is so worried about him and about his well-being: he can be so odious and stubborn about his work that he would gladly renounce to his health if it meant to solve a case.

Y/N is boiling from rage, L went too far. If he falls ill how can he solve the case? Despite the anger she feels, she is excited too: it's been months since she saw or heard L. She misses him so much…but at the same time she wants to scold him.

«He is more hard-headed than the children at the Wammy's!» Y/N mutters at Watari, who is driving the car. With an excuse, he left the HQ to go at the airport to pick Y/N up and now they were coming back.

«Yes, I know.  It's the reason I called you…you are the only one who can convince Ryuzaki»

During the way towards the HQ, Watari informs her about the Kira case, the task-force and all L's suspects. At the same time Y/N warns him about all the new prodigies at the orphanage. The old man smiles kindly when he sees, through rear-view mirror, how Y/N's eyes shine when she started to talk about her students.

After an hour, the two of them arrives at this famous HQ: twenty-three floors aboveground and two floors belowground; Watari said there is a helipad on the roof of the building but the structure is designed so that the helipad and the two helicopters on it cannot be seen by those looking at the building from the exterior.

«Miss L/N, please use the back stairs. I deactivated the cameras so you can reach the monitoring room without being watched by Ryuzaki»

«Alright Watari, thanks»

Y/N did as instruct by him and takes the back stairs in order to reach the elevator. In her mind, Y/N is preparing the discourse to do at L: it doesn't matter if his colleagues are with him, he has to come to terms with her and starting to have a regular and healthy routine.

In the monitoring room nobody has any idea that the greatest detective's girlfriend is there in the same building as them. Actually they don’t know that L has a girlfriend either. So when the task-force see a young woman spread open the main door of the monitoring room they are quite shocked.

«Who is she?» Matsuda looked up from the papers in his hands. Shortly after that, all the other men looked up as well.

«L!»

That voice distracted L from his dossiers and through the reflection on his laptop he recognises Y/N. His lips become a thin line, a sudden rush of thoughts and emotions hits L at the same time. Why is she there? Something bad happened at the Wammy's House? Is it because he cuts ties with everyone during the investigations? Confusion, concern, worry, alarm…fear yet happiness, because he can see her after long time. L is overwhelmed.

«Everyone, please meet Miss Y/A, Ryuzaki's significant other» Watari introduces her at the task-force and each member gasped in shock.

«L! Watari told me you refused to eat properly, to sleep properly…to live properly!»

Ryuzaki spins his swivel chair towards her so Y/N has the chance to look better at him: hollow face, paler skin colour, dark and heavy eyebags. «Y/A, please, I'm not one of your student»

L is somehow relieved that Y/N was there because of him and not because something terrible happened to her or to the children at the orphanage. So he half-sighs in relief when she started to complain about is health.

«Well, you seem like one in this moment! I cannot bear seeing you like this, you know how much important health is for everyone. The lack of sleep or an unregulated diet will affect your mind and your efficiency will decrease! And how can you catch Kira if you're tired?»

Ah, how much L misses those cute "telling-offs". It is clearly Y/N's professional deformation: she worries about people and strangers as much as she does with the children at the Wammy's. So when she finishes her discourse, L couldn’t hide a wide smile.

«I guess you're right, Y/A» L pretended to be sorry but the truth is that he loves seeing that part of Y/N's personality.

«Of course I am! Now let's start from the sleeping part!» she walks closer to him and grabs the wrist. Then she drags him out of the monitoring room leading towards the bedroom. In L's eyes, admiration and love can be seen while Y/N continues with her discourse about a new healthy routine he has to start.

Right before entering the bedroom L stops and hugs Y/N from behind, his arms are around her chest now. «Y/N…you have no idea how much I missed you»

She smiles, removing her teacher mask for a moment, and looks at him. «I missed you too, cutie pie»

L rubs slightly his cheeks against hers in a cute act of affection. Having her in his arm is such a relief for him, L can sense a strong wave of tiredness on his shoulders. «Will you rest with me?»

«Of course~» Y/N caresses his dark hair, something she really misses doing. «I'll stay with you from now on»

[pridepages]

Magic in the Ordinary: The House in the Cerulean Sea

I just finished reading TJ Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea. I have some thoughts.

Here there be spoilers!

A review on the cover of my copy of The House in the Cerulean Sea equates the experience of reading the book to “being wrapped up in a big gay blanket,” which pretty much nails it. This book is pure joy, but there is a particular aspect that deserves love and praise: the journey to queer parenthood.

Queer people are no strangers to found families. To this day, many of us find that we are alienated from the ones we were born into. Even the ones of us lucky enough to still have our biological families often feel like this is a part of our lives that they don’t fully understand or relate to, and being the ambassador or educator to the LGBTQ+ community is exhausting. In the end, all of us need to find our people--the ones who make us feel wrapped up in a big gay blanket. 

But queer parenthood is something beyond that common need. Not all of us want to become parents. But for the ones who do, we often have to forge our own path. We may need donors. We may look to adopt. Our structures will not have commonly understood narratives. But The House in the Cerulean Sea offers us a version of the story that affirms our journey to parenthood and the bonds that make our families just as strong, if not stronger, than any.

The House in the Cerulean Sea follows the journey of Linus Baker. He works for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY) in an ambiguous “city” in an unidentified country. This world is one of magical realism: it is accepted that magical non-human individuals exist. When they become wards of the State, they go to facilities overseen by DICOMY. Caseworkers like Linus are sent to make sure the facilities are up to scratch. As our story begins, Linus is sent to the Island of Marsyas--and a very particular orphanage.

Linus is a gentle soul, lonely and longing for connection--even though he can’t see it yet. He revels in the simple joys of music and a plot of sunflowers in front of his home. He is a career caseworker who genuinely wants to help people and believes that in his capacity at DICOMY that’s what he’s doing. On Marsyas, Linus meets six children who force their way into his guarded heart: Talia, a gnome with a talent for gardening, Phee, a sprite honing her connection to nature, Chauncey, a mysterious slug creature who dreams of working in a hotel as a bellhop, Sal, a pomeranian shape shifter with the soul of a poet, Theodore, a wyvern, and Lucifer “Lucy,” the antichrist with a love of old records. Minding them all is the master--Arthur Parnassus who is a phoenix and was once himself a ward of DICOMY.

This is not a book of great, thrilling adventures. If anything, it is the opposite. The magical abilities the children have set them apart in the harshest way. The way “normal” humans perceive magic is a thinly veiled metaphor for racism, homophobia, and any other prejudice that sets people apart. We as readers have to learn the same thing Linus does: we are more than our extraordinary characteristics. They may be part of our identities, but what’s more important is that we cultivate love and simple joys in life. Joys like dancing in a kitchen with our friends to golden oldies. Joys like admiring the flowers our loved ones grow. Joys like hearing a poem written from the heart read aloud by someone finding their voice. And when we do, we realize “there can be magic in the ordinary.”

The ordinary is a kind of magic for queer people. Some of us dream of simple moments like making dinner with a spouse who loves us, struggling through bedtime fights with a houseful of kids. Such domestic dreams sometimes feel far beyond our reach. But there is strength and courage in pushing back, in finding partners to build those lives with and creating our happiness in defiance of expectations. After all, “why can’t life work whatever way we want it to? What’s the point of living if you only do it how others want you to?” 

We don’t have to listen to the voices that scream that who we are makes us unfit to love and raise children. Nor are those children any less ours for having arrived in our care through unconventional paths. It does not matter that Arthur Parnassus was assigned the care of the children by DICOMY: he teaches them lessons. He schedules time for his kids to explore their own pursuits, exercise their imaginations, and to learn skills like teamwork. He holds family dinner with conversations where they all communicate and share. They build up each other’s self-esteem. When the children go wrong, he quietly corrects them without making them feel like they are bad or undeserving. Arthur is always affirming his belief in his kids’ ability to choose to be better people every day of their lives--whether that means overcoming their fears or fighting their worse natures. His care is trauma-informed, respecting the pain in each child’s background while still nurturing them towards growing and thriving. And that kind of unconditional love and nurturing, Linus insists, is what makes Arthur Parnassus “the best damn father” those kids could have.

Above all, The House in the Cerulean Sea reminds us that every one of us deserves to be loved as the everyday miracles we are. Constantly, Linus’s refrain is “I don’t know how to be anyone but who I already am...It’s not much, but I do the best I can with what I have.” Which absolutely baffles Arthur, who cannot help but effuse to his love “You silly, delightful man...How I cherish you.” “You dear, dear man. How I adore you.” The love they share with each other and for each of their children--for everything they are--is the solid foundation for a home that is joyful, nurturing, and fulfilling. 

Some of us yearn for grand love affairs. Some of us long to spread our wings and have fleeting passions. And some of us hope for warm, quiet hearths with spouses and children to share them. The House in the Cerulean Sea is a love letter to this last group: someday, may we all turn “Don’t you wish you were here?” into that “life that chose you back.”

[ascendance-bookworm]

[SPOILERS UP UNTIL AOB PART 5] hold on, what happened with friday? 🤔 by the end of the main series, rozemyne has already turned 15, so frida has too. do you think she moved to the nobles' quarter as it had been agreed? there was no indication she wasn't going to, but i do wonder. what if rozemyne nullified the contract to have frida move to alexandria and educate/mobilize the alexandrian merchants? frida's family did spend a lot of money in her lifestyle and education, and frida herself has worked hard, with the idea of moving to the nobles' quarter since young. but their goals were to create a connection with nobles and to open up her own store to win lots of money, respectively. both things could be achieved by frida moving to alexandria, which would even include the perks of being given preferential treatment by the aub and having many merchants from all over the country wanting to connect with her as a store that frequently does business with rozemyne. i do consider the fact that rozemyne might not take any action towards this, as she is aware of the shortage of human resources in ehrenfest, but i imagine she will want to get the merchants up to speed asap to get her library city, and ferdinand won't be able to stop her, because it would certainly makes things easier in easing relationships between merchants and nobles in alexandria (and because he is whipped). who is going to supply frida with magic tools to get her devouring under control, you may ask. rozemyne has already mentioned wanting to create job opportunities for commoners with the devouring and grey priests before, and research that could help with that has been carried out already too, such as the small teleportation circles that use little mana/magic stones that even commoners can collect. the properties of parue fruit have been kept secret from nobles as well, and even though they don't grow in alexandria, maybe there are other similar feyplants in the territory (the creation of a tree research institute was mentioned after all). i'm getting too off-topic now uh. okay, so frida moving to alexandria would benefit both her and rozemyne, but what about damuel's brother? honestly, i don't care if he was established as a decent guy, i just don't want frida being someone's mistress. surely, rozemyne could give him a compensation or whatever. anyways, i'm thinking of post-canon today

Hmm, I always assumed that Frieda's contract with Henrik would be re-negotiated or even canceled, especially given the new advancements and opportunities by Rozemyne brought to both Henrick and Frieda. The contract / relationship between Henrik and Freida always seemed like it was the 'best case' solution given the circumstances where there was only 1 solution offered within that society. It was to the benefit of both parties, they are respectful but neither seemed to necessarily desire a master/mistress relationship, but that was the only known solution. Henrick always comes across as a decent family man, and this contract was mostly to benefit his family and help strengthen his connection to a powerful wealthy man whom he had a good working relationship with.

Rozemyne was thinking about the future of the devouring kids and low mana nobles and giving them an alternative to just being sent to the Temple or orphanage or worse dying. I'd like to think that all the changes she created afforded Frieda more options or at least got her thinking and asking for alternative options for herself, especially as she has a very lucrative business (and money) in the Italian restaurant. All she really needs is access to magical tools, perhaps by now she can afford them? Perhaps the temple could offer a magical tool program where those with the devouring are allowed to borrow magical tools to drain their mana and then exchange them when they are full or come to the temple to release their mana - it could all go to help the temple.

I would hope that some of the insights and changes being made could help Frieda to live the life she ultimately really wanted. To be fair, she did seem content in the arrangement, and was promised a store to run and more or less the life she wanted (running a business instead of being adopted and becoming a noble), but now that she has her business, I would assume Gustav, Benno, Rozemyne and Frieda herself would want her to stay there and continue to managing the restaurant.

I don't see Frieda moving to Alexandria, mainly because she seems too close to her family to move away from them. Rozemyne wouldn't want to separate her from her family, especially from her beloved and aging grandfather. She has been running the restaurant successfully for years and seems content and happy to continue working there and also with Elise to develop more new dishes and train new chefs. I think if she does honor the contract, Henrick seems amiable and I can see him agreeing to her continuing to work at the restaurant, or perhaps creating another restaurant in the noble area. If she can have the contract dismissed or a better solution offered, then I would see her wanting to continue with the restaurant because it is really hers now, it is her area of expertise.

I can also see her continuing to have a relationship with Rozemyne, perhaps eventually visiting Alexandria to help setup a new restaurant (like Lutz does for new workshops). Rozemyne is still a benefactor of the business, so Frieda has a connection to Rozemyne already, no need to move to continue the connection. Frieda doesn't need to be the go between merchant there are others like, Benno, Lutz, or her brothers who will most likely succeed her grandfather eventually. Frieda does still have the devouring, and even if a better solution is given to her to manage it, she is still smaller and weaker than the average person - a lot of travelling doesn't seem wise for her unless Rozemyne's springs make carriage travel more comfortable, or she can get a ride on a highbeast.

I will add one caveat and that is children. Frieda has the devouring and it has been stated multiple times that people with mana need to be matched with people with a matching mana level, or at least within a similar range in order to conceive children. If Frieda ever wanted to have kids she would need someone with a similar mana level, I would assume Henrick would have taken this under consideration as children with mana are desirable.

A lot of marriages (at all levels of society) are arranged or out of necessity or political - feelings doesn't always matter to the parties, that attitude isn't uncommon and Frieda always came across as very pragmatic and practical over emotional and romantic to me. So, IF she did want children, staying with Henrick might be her best option. Not sure how soon the changes will happen that would give Frieda the opportunities to meet someone else with the devouring. Also if her child did have sufficient mana, the child could even become a noble (like Christine) and that too might be desirable and another noble connection for her and her family in the future.

I guess bottom line, I don't think Frieda's situation is all that bad - her grandfather found the 'best' noble to make a connection with and one that would not only respect Frieda (not lecherous) and her wishes but was also not too greedy (asking too much of the family). I do think there are better options available to both, and that both sides would want to do what was best and continue to have an amicable relationship with each other. I think Frieda is smart enough to forge a path that she will find fulfilling for herself. If the contract bothers her she will seek an alternative, if not she will do what is required of her and continue with the plan agreed upon. She will make the best of her life either way.

[moonless-if]

The mooness are a young people in the realm, having only existed for the past four hundred years, and with many of them being born as children to human parents, most would say the moonless have no culture of their own, instead following the social structures and traditional norms of their parents and native countries.

Most would be wrong.

Though there may be similarities between moonless and human culture in Spala, due most moonless being born to human parents, the more you seek the differences between the two cultures, the more you find.

With the moonless people having spent most of their short history as outcasts within human society, few has managed to rise above poverty or makes names for themselves, which has instead caused the general moonless populace to form their own communities within the human societies. Even now, with the Regnant’s reforms, the moonless people still largely keep to their own, whether in the Enameled City, or in more rural farming villages, their stories and customs hidden from most humans.

[This post gives a small overview of the social and religious aspects of the culture of the moonless people specifically, as it would be too much to delve into the many different cultures of even just book one of The Moonless.]

the moonless underworld. 

At the beginning of their time, the only ones who seemed to want the moonless were the criminals. Humans who first saw the moonless as pawns to be used. Let kid moonless get caught pickpocketing instead of the human kids. If they didn’t get caught, if they proved themselves, they might be sent on more rewarding (as well as dangerous) jobs. Thieving. Smuggling. And when they discovered what was truly possible with the moonless’ mind-walking ability; information gathering, extortion, assassinations. It didn’t take long before the moonless equaled the humans in numbers. 

Now, moonless has all but taken over the underworld of Spala, outnumbering the few humans who still remain within their ranks. And what was once nothing more than a breeding ground for crime, the moonless people have over the centuries slowly remade it into something both similar and completely unrecognizable.

Into a community to defend and provide for any and all moonless.

found family.

With a large number of moonless being ostracized throughout history by both their own families as well as the human society as a whole, many instead seek and form connections outside of their bloodlines. Most often these relationships are formed within the moonless people, but since the Regnant’s work to uplift them within Spala’s border, bonds between moonless and humans are becoming less and less of a rare sight.

Found families has become the norm within the community. Children find each other in the orphanages, or on the streets, and, unwanted and forgotten by everyone else, forge bonds to last a lifetime - building communities of their own.

And though moonless might seem very individualistic to humans, most are in fact very generous with their own kind, sharing everything they can afford, and sometimes more - food, clothes, shelter.

religion.

Considering the very birth of a moonless was once considered a curse by the Goddess Prima, one might believe that all moonless has turned their back on Her Pantheon. And while many has, there are still those who worship the Goddess of the Moon and Magic and her fellow Eight.

Other moonless has instead chosen to follow one or more of the minor deities. A few might even follow religions and worship deities from cultures outside of Spala, if their families or they themselves are immigrants, and still wish to follow the customs and traditions of their homeland.

Then there is a small fraction of those who still believe, who has sought out The Deceiver Gods, the ones Prima Herself was said to have cast out from Her realm. The ones She demanded be forgotten, lest She bring another curse on humanity.

[Religion will be covered more deeply in its own lore post.]

education and athletics.

It is only during the most recent decades, in thanks to the current Regnant’s reform, that the moonless people has had any real opportunity to some kind of education. Before then, only moonless born into wealthy families - much like humans - would have the opportunity. Even then it was rare, as the wealthy often worried how their reputations might suffer by putting their perceived shortcomings on display.

Instead, the only opportunities they would really have to prove themselves were through their athletic pursuits - showing off their superior strength and speed in the public games hosted yearly in the capital Amelare.

The public games - commonly referred to as just The Games by most people - are a hotly discussed topic among both moonless and humans. Some feel moonless should not be allowed to participate with their obvious physical advantage over humans. Other feel that it is the humans instead who have an unfair advantage with their magic - while a third group will argue that both can compete in the Games, simply not against each other.

But however much the people might argue, the general consensus is that The Games are well-liked among humans and moonless alike.

[fantasticstoryteller]

New Amsterdam Chapter 100

Wade’s arm draped around Peter’s body as the smaller man curled up against his side while Aunt May talked. Aunt May sat in her chair, calmly stirring some sugar into a cup of hot tea, and said softly, “Phil and I have met before.”

“How?” asked Peter, clearly fascinated.

{I love how we can feel that question. Petey-Pie! You can rest your little head on our pecs forever!}

“When I first graduated nursing school,” Aunt May said slowly, “I joined a group called Help All.”

Wade winced. He’d heard far too much about that group. How they used the good natures of the young adults they tricked into working for them to drum up funds for expeditions that were little more than human trafficking research groups. Francis had gotten some of his subjects from them.

Aunt May nodded at Wade. “You know,” she said.

Peter looked up at him. Wade swallowed; he didn’t want to tell his boyfriend that his aunt had, however inadvertently, worked for a human trafficking group. “It was—uh, bad. They used legitimate people as a front for human trafficking,” he said curtly.

[Yes. Let’s spare him the gory details.]

“They pulled naive and stupid college kids who wanted to make the world a better place to act as the front of their operation as they scoped people out. The lucky ones were sold. The unlucky ones were chopped into spare parts to have their bodies sold on the black market.”

{Does she want to give him nightmares?}

“Don’t look at me like that Wade,” Aunt May advised. “I do not hide the darkness of the world from my family.”

“Hiding and not telling everything are different,” Wade argued.

She snorted and Peter gently burrowed into Wade’s side, sighing softly as Wade’s arm came around him. “What happened?” Peter asked. “How did you find out?”

Aunt May took another sip of her tea before she put the cup down on the table. “Oddly enough,” she said, “it was SHIELD. Well, technically, it was Phil, but he was working for SHIELD. They had asked our group to come to a region in another country, which I will not name except to say that it no longer exists. See, there were some serious natural disasters in the country, and there were a bunch of orphans. Smart little cusses that they were, the orphans banded together and hid on, and under the streets instead of allowing themselves to be hauled up in orphanages—where their very own government was prostituting them out.” She shook her head. “It was disgusting.”

Sounded eerily similar to what was happening with the street children of New Amsterdam, except that New Amsterdam’s children weren’t orphans, for the most part.

“SHIELD helped?” Peter asked.

{Aw! He sounds confused!}

[But why does he sound confused? All of that “SHIELDing humanity for the good of all” crap should mean that he trusts them.]

{But—his aunt clearly doesn’t trust them. Maybe she taught him better?}

Aunt May sighed. “Yes,” she said wearily. “See, they were the ones that took us to the country. They provided food, shelter, medical tools, Everything we needed to help these orphaned children get healthy. Strong.” The woman gave a low, bitter laugh. “They played us like the fools we were. Led the authorities right to them. And then? When we asked SHIELD for help? They sent us home. No explanations, no help, just deposited us on US soil with a note to remember we’d signed non-disclosure agreements.”

Wade could almost feel it when something clicked in Peter’s brain. “Is that how you met Uncle Ben?” he asked.

Aunt May’s lips quirked in a smile. “Not quite. See, one of the kids I’d gotten attached to had been taken for—bad purposes.” Her lips pressed in a thin line. “I won’t go over the details; they still piss me off and I don’t have room to vent until the you-know-what that commissioned that squid over there comes to collect it. So they took the kid.”

“And you went hunting,” prompted Peter, voice full of awe.

“Hunting?” asked Wade, startled.

Aunt May grinned. “Oh, yes,” she said firmly. “I went hunting. I hunted down the illegal side of Help All, did everything in my power to take them down—legally, I might add—while I tracked down that one kid. I’d gotten him traced to a barge in New Amsterdam when I met Ben—he was working his own case trying to figure out where all the children his team was rescuing from unsavory situations were coming from.”

“And you teamed up?” asked Wade as he snuggled down with Peter, who yawned.

Her lips twitched again and her eyes sparkled. “Hardly,” she said. “He thought that I was a loose cannon. I thought he had a stick up his ass.”

Peter buried his face into Wade’s side and Wade could feel the smaller man shaking in laughter. He stared, fascinated. Aunt May—the woman who had raised Spiderman—had been a vigilante? Maybe it was in Peter’s DNA.

{Maybe he’ll share that DNA with us.}

[That was a terrible joke.]

“What happened?” asked Wade.

“I wasn’t as careful as I thought I was. I got caught, Ben managed to rescue both me and the children, and promptly yelled at me about procedure and the importance of backup at which point I shoved him over the side of the barge. Luckily, he could swim.” May grinned. “Now, Peter, you have something to do.”

Wade could feel Peter grimace before he pulled away. “Yes,” he admitted.

“Good boy,” said Aunt May with clear pride as he shoved away from the couch and left the room. “Now, Wade,” said the woman turning that piercing gaze onto the mercenary. “You’ve figured it out.”

No need to ask what. The only thing that he could have figured out, the only thing that would have given her that look, was that Peter was Spiderman. Clearly, she knew as well.

“Man didn’t know the first thing about my boy, and then told me not to worry.”

Tony didn’t know that Peter and Spiderman were the same person, and he’d dared to tell Aunt May, who clearly knew, that Peter was going to be fine when he was in a life threatening situation.

[No wonder she hates him.]

{Why does she hate Norman then? I mean, I know why we hate him, and why Petey does, but why does she?}

“I have,” Wade admitted.

Her lips twitched. “Do you see the joke now?” she asked.

He’d kidnapped Spiderman to keep him safe. Wade’s own lips twitched. “I do,” he admitted.

“Good.” Aunt May grabbed her tea and took another drink. “Look after my boy,” she ordered.

“As best as I can,” Wade promised.

[superfamilyexchange]

Superfamily Fanwork Reveals!!

THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE!!! All twenty-six (26) gift works had been revealed earlier today! Dive right into the Ao3 collection (here) and hop on over to the Discord server to scream and cry and laugh along with everyone else!

Creator reveals will be next Wednesday, July 7th. Also check out the fanworks below the cut!

A Boyfriend for Dad for betheflame (T, 6k)

Peter wants the best for his dad and worries that he'll be alone when he goes off to college. He needs to find a boyfriend for his dad. The best candidate is Mr. Rogers, his Academic Decathlon coach, but Tony hates Mr. Rogers. Peter decides to try anyway.

A Father, a (Super)Hero. for Sprout (G, 2k)

It's Father's Day in the Stark-Rogers' household, and Tony's had to leave early in the morning for a work emergency. Steve and Peter decide to surprise him with some flowers and chocolates, but can anything be as simple as that for a family of superheroes?

A House That's a Home for Skeeter (G, 6k)

Steve and Tony go through the long process of becoming adoptive parents. It's a harder road, as far as they can see, full of bumps and potholes. It's all worth it when they meet baby Peter for the first time - who captures their hearts and refuses to release it, not that they'd want him to of course.

ace in the hole for Huntress79 (T, 10k)

Sheriff Steve Rogers falls for the new guy in town (and for the adorable boy he has with him), but when Tony's secret catches up with them, will his love be enough to save them all?

basic unit [FANART] for Perlmutt (M, art)

steve never imagined he'd have a family of his own until he met tony. first, it was just two of them, and then he knocked tony up and they had peter. when peter graduated high school, tony was in his labor month.

it was perfect.

bring him home for geekymoviemom (T, 17k)

During the clean up after the Battle of New York, Steve finds a little boy in the rubble of an orphanage. He finds out this little boy is almost as strong as he is, and he knows he can't let anyone get their hands on him. People would do crazy things for a mutant child. Steve vows to protect him so he can grow up as a child and not as a lab rat.

citrus and lavender for captainstars (T, 8k)

Tony wasn’t his. He had made it very clear that he didn’t need some alpha in his life to mess with everything he’d worked so hard to accomplish. Especially not Steve Rogers.

Dying Inside to Hold You [Art] for Infinitywrites (G, <1k)

It was his wedding day. Tony looked over the sea of people in front of him, at Steve by his side, and felt his heart clench. He wondered, for a split second, how he had even got to this moment.

Family Is... A Web of Love for crypticrose (T, 1k)

Following the sudden death of his Aunt May, Peter is, more or less, shell-shocked. Good thing he has Tony, Steve and the rest of the Avengers to catch him.

Finding home for Pookiethefrickinbunn (G, 4k)

Tony and Steve are in an established relationship or married. Peter has been Spider-man for a while, but his parents don't know/have their suspicions. I would love a confrontation scene between the Avengers and Spider-man and Peter ends up getting injured and the husbands find out who there son actually is. Tony and Steve would definitely feel guilty for what has happened to their kid, and maybe Peter would think his parents hate him. Some fluff at the end would be fantastic.

Forever and Ever for Neverever (G, 3k)

"Can I see it just one more time? Pretty please?" Peter hounds Steve, using the bigger man's knees as leverage so he could jump up and down.

"Okay, okay, one last time. But we need to be quick so your Dad doesn't see."

AKA: Steve, Tony, and Peter all go on a family vacation together, but Steve has a couple of tricks up his sleeve.

Head Full of Stubborn, Heart Full of Hope for ChocolateCapCookie (T, 2k)

In which Steve makes a decision for all the right reasons, but it still wasn't fully his to make, because parenting means discussions.

Heights in Depths, Depths in Heights for parkrstark (N/A, 5k)

"Suddenly everything that had happened prior came rushing back to him. Peter and him were going on a trip. A plane. The craft had jolted and made a loud noise before it began to lose altitude. The pilot had said something about engines failing, and because they were currently over the Rockies there was no safe place for them to land. Steve had buckled Peter up. The pilot told them to brace for impact. And then nothing." ---- Steve goes with his boyfriend's son on a trip across the country, just the two of them, to try and get some bonding time in. But this was not the kind of bonding he had in mind.

In my Favorite Dreams (I feel your heat) for wingheads (E, 6k)

Steve is on his morning run in DC when a ghost from his past comes back into his life. And he's not alone.

Just Desserts for JehBeeEh (G, 2k)

Tony grabs a midnight snack... Steve helps him finish it. There's one bite left before they read the note. They have have 45 minutes before Peter wakes up

Just the way you are for starkspangledsoldier (G, 4k)

'The view was beautiful but deafening. He could enjoy the sight in silence. But the silence was oppressive since it was not his choice. The silence did not help with the voices in his head, rather it made it worse.'

Let Your Haunted Dreams Go Tonight for UisceOneLove (T, 14k)

Tony Stark and Peter move to the suburbs to start a new life. On this journey Peter befriends resident hermit of the area, Steve Rogers. Little did the kid know it was gonna change his father's and own life upside down.

My Boys for Corsets_and_Cardigans (G, 10k)

Steve is assigned as the bodyguard to omega Tony Stark and his son. Through fluff and angst we watch as Peter subtly plays matchmaker and Steve does everything he can to keep his boys safe.

once upon a childhood for SilverDraconyx (G, 10k)

“Would it be okay to tell you a story, Pete? I hope it is. It’s the only thing I have planned for tonight. Just wake up if you want me to stop, okay?” Steve pauses, and the silence is unnerving but not unwelcome. No one stirs, especially not Peter, so Steve hums and Tony releases the breath he has been holding.

AKA

Steve, despite being a wanted vigilante, visits a comatose Peter in the Avengers Facility Medbay hoping to wake him up with stories about their past.

Six Letters for jacobby (T, 3k)

This was not at all what Steve had imagined when he’d dreamed of starting a family and being with Tony for the rest of his life, and as he drove the car up to the secluded cabin, he prayed inside that this trip could make it all better.

Sun Breaks Through the Sandcastle Walls for starksnack (G, 4k)

With the sun deciding to shine today, Tony ditched work and took Peter to the beach. What he wasn't expecting was to see his boyfriend there, too, and now his orbits were crashing together before he knew it.

The Heart of Heroes for Coffee_and_notebooks (T, 9k)

Peter has an internship at Stark Industries. It’s cool, except the most interesting thing he gets to do is be in the building. He figures that the internship is to gain good press by ‘helping poor orphans’.

That all changes, when he is sent to bring coffee to the Tony Stark!

As he spends time with Tony and Steve, they can’t help but come to love the teenage vigilante.

The Hundred Million Dollar Question for LenkaVittoriaElisse16 (G, 5k)

Maybe this was the hardest question that Tony and Steve ever had to answer. Their children's big puppy eyes surely didn't make it any easier. "Papa? Daddy? What's love?"

The Man Out of Time for sweetspiderstew (T, 17k)

For a moment, Steve is frozen, absolutely convinced that his eyes are playing tricks on him.

Because it can’t be right.  Wanda destroyed the Mind Stone, so how could Thanos have possibly gotten his hands on it?

But even besides that, there’s something else.  Something that Steve’s swirling mind and throbbing head can’t quite wrap around just yet.

He only knows that it’s wrong.

To Begin Again for IronDadStan (M, 11k)

Steve, a 35 y/o. Alpha meets Tony, a 21 y/o. Omega through an online art forum. Realizing that they lived in the same city, they decided to meet in person. And when they met in person, Steve gets instantly attracted to Tony. After all, Tony was handsome, intelligent, and has easy to be with. There was one problem though, Tony is a married omega.

You and I, we belong together for MCUKenna (G, 3k)

“What’s your name, kid?” He asked him.

“Peter. Do you…” The kid’s eyes darted around the room. “Do you not remember who I am?”

Memory loss. Tony hadn’t considered that one. It could be, he was still betting on an illusion, but (he quickly calculated the statistics in his head), it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. “Maybe. If this place is real.” He told the kid, Peter.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

if carlisle and dumbledore were put in each other's respective stories / dilemmas , how do you think they would react? how would a carlisle cullen have dealt with voldemort/grindelwald? and how dumbledore would have dealt with vampirism, etc? i almost view the two of them as a sort of foil to each other, not yet able to articulate why or how though

I mean, they'd live completely different lives, because they're completely different characters. It's very unlikely they'd end up in the same situations.

But alright.

Carlisle is Dumbledore

Carlisle's born in a working class family that quickly begins to fall apart. His father's sent to prison, his mother dies, his sister has a chronic illness that will never disappear, and it's just him and his brother left with very little chance of a future between them.

Handsome Gellert Grindelwald moves in next store with grand, new, ideas concerning the muggles.

Now, this particular Carlisle won't be Christian, he's a pureblood wizard and we can pretty safely assume that the Dumbledores were no more religious than any other wizarding family is.

It's a little up in the air whether Carlisle would be seduced by Gellert or not. Gellert is learned, foreign, and has all these radical, new, theories that weren't very prevalent at the time (well, anti muggleborn sentiment was, the facism was new). On the other hand though, Carlisle is also a man who once radically changed his own beliefs to something that went against nearly every edict of his previous religion. This is not a guy who takes things for granted and is not afraid to both confront himself and the true nature of the world he lives in.

And he has a deep respect for human life that, had it been any lesser, would have undoubtedly led to him eating humans as a vampire.

So, I'm going to say no, or if he does, it lasts up until Gellert says, "We should totally make the muggles our slaves." The muggles may have irreparably damaged Carlisle's sister, they may be hated by society, but they are free thinking beings who should be enslaved to no one. Carlsile raises his pacifism flag.

As a result, Gellert probably thinks he's a tool. Hot, of course, and intelligent, but a useless tool. Without somebody to bounce ideas off of/confirm his radicalization, Gellert has little to no interest in Carlisle or any of the Dumbledores. Gellert spends his time in Godric's Hollow then goes elsewhere, Ariana lives, at least for now, unclear how long her lifespan was going to be otherwise, Carlisle does not have the Gellert incident, and he and Abeforth remain on good terms.

Carlisle graduates Hogwarts and either is a) bullied into taking Flamel's apprenticeship opportunity by Abeforth who screams "DUDE, GET YOURSELF A FUTURE or b) immediately sets about trying to find a relatively high paying job so he can support the family. In the case of B, I imagine he goes to work for the goblins who seem to hire those straight out of Hogwarts with good enough grades. In the case of A, well, he goes to study alchemy.

Knowing Carlisle, he does a bastardization of both. He studies alchemy under Flamel and then works nights as a bartender in Paris or something to that effect. When he finishes, what career he does then is out in the air.

Given that, as a vampire, he had all the choices in the world open to him in terms of education (and tried many different things) before eventually settling on and sticking with human medicine despite the dangers, I think that's telling. Carlisle probably tries to get a job in something healing related.

However, that strays more into the "What if Carlisle was in the wizarding world" vs. "What if Carlisle was Dumbledore" so we'll say that the idea of teaching appeals to him and he returns to Hogwarts for the Transfiguration position.

This all goes well except then there's a first world war on, the muggle world goes completely insane, and no one understands why Carlisle's so upset.

And now we enter the world where Carlisle starts really making choices in Dumbledore's shoes.

First, Tom Riddle. Carlisle, I imagine, makes 100,000 times of a better impression than Dumbledore on the young Tom. He does not, for one, light his wardrobe on fire and threaten him. Carlisle might think this kid is weird, but he lives in poverty and an orphanage, much of his behavior can be explained from that. I imagine Carlisle becomes determined to take Tom under his wing.

I imagine at first Tom thinks this is excellent, LOOK HOW MUCH HE'S MANIPULATING THIS ADULT! And then he realizes that, no, Carlisle is perfectly aware he's a little shit. He just likes talking to Tom after classes about how to fit in with pureblood society/weird esoteric muggle philosophy.

Trouble is, Carlisle is so damn likeable (see his friends all over the world), that Tom can't help but like him. When the Blitz begins, and Carlisle undoubtedly offers Tom (and any other muggleborn who was not moved to the country) a place to stay, that seals the deal, the wizarding world might suck but Carlisle's a pretty cool guy.

Of course, Tom still thinks the government should be reformed or overthrown, but he and Carlisle actually sit down to talk about things like communism and facism (Carlisle's not a fan though the modern, muggle, form of democracy not practiced in the wizarding world is a weird concept to him).

My point being, it's unlikely this Tom Riddle becomes Voldemort or even really aspires to become him. You want more on that topic, check out these posts.

Grindelwald meanwhile, becomes a bigger and bigger deal, and things start looking... bad. However, it's not immediately obvious that Carlisle's the one who should do something about it. He's not a duelist, he's a professor, and his job is to teach the children. He may have been alright in school, but that was decades ago now. More, unlike Albus, he feels no personal responsibility, he knew Gellert, briefly, yes, but they had no real connection. Gellert spoke about insane things and Carlisle said, "Mm, don't like". Add to that that Carlisle's a pacifist, he's going to insist that someone trained for the position do the job.

Given canon, this means that Grindelwald likely invades and takes over wizarding England and, with a strong enough foothold, enacts his "enslave the muggles" plan. Which very well might result in a nuclear holocaust as Grindelwald was likely not keeping up with muggle technology and the muggle world war.

The muggle world collapses, which in turn causes society collapse, and the world may or may not be a nuclear wasteland that Tom and Carlisle get to wander around.

If Carlisle by some divine intervention has a prophetic dream of "YOU MUST DEFEAT GRINDELWALD OR DOOM DOOM DOOM" then he goes and tries to defeat Grindelwald. Considering Grindelwald has the elder wand, he probably needs Deus ex Phoenix to win, but if it worked for Dumbledore it might work for Carlisle.

Well. No one saw that coming.

Carlisle's an overnight sensation and a national hero, the hero of Western Europe even. He's suddenly being presented medals, honors, seats of power, and Carlisle desperately tries to refuse, feeling very squeamish that he's being given these things because he took it upon himself to murder another human being (yes, even a war lord).

Tom finds this funny and Abeforth is ureservedly proud and tells everybody.

All Carlisle wanted to do was teach children and now he has to reside over trials in the Wizengamot. This is terrible.

As for what happens to the wizarding world from there, well, inertia probably carries it along for a good while. However, antimuggleborn sentiment is still on the rise an even without Voldemort I imagine there's quite a bit of unrest.

I imagine Carlisle, not wanting in any way to be a political figure, is not nearly as outspoken as Dumbledore on anything. He just wants to be headmaster, guys, leave him alone.

Tom may or may not go into politics and do it for him. But he probably ends up teaching too and just laughs as the country collapses.

Harry Potter is an ordinary student who has no prophecy surrounding him. Carlisle did not recruit children to join an illegal resistance movement nor does he have a plethora of spies and moles in the ministry.

Harry Potter canon does not happen.

Dumbledore is Carlisle

Well, Dumbledore undoubtedly also burned witches and very much believed in their existence. An irony there. He may chase the vampire, probably isn't first in the mob, in which case he remains human or dies.

If he does survive being bitten, I imagine it pains him for a while, but I don't see Albus having the same willpower as Carlisle. Or at least, not as much, Albus probably ends up eating people. He at first probably tries to be picky and eats those who harm society in some way (pick your poison for what that means) and then over time becomes less picky.

They're just humans, after all.

Albus probably isn't invited to stay in Volterra, he's not all that interesting. He doesn't become a human doctor, he's just your ordinary vampire. He might hang around libraries as much as he can but that's about as far as that extends.

He probably turns a Gellert equivalent at some point as a mate and they have a grand time together.

Edward is never turned nor the rest of the Cullens and Bella dies in a parking lot.

[mythgirlimagines]

This week, I have a brand-new talentswap MAID especially for you! If you couldn’t tell by the pun in the first sentence, this Myth is the Former Ultimate Maid!

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BACKSTORY AND TALENT

Originally living with her sisters at an orphanage, Myth watched as both of sisters got picked up by loving families, while poor Myth was left in the dust. In order to make herself more desirable to prospective parents, Myth taught herself how to cook and clean after all of the other kids in the orphanage. Eventually though, much to her joy, she was eventually was picked up by a wealthy family that eventually ditched her, despite being great at her maid duties. Eventually, after going through many wealthy families and being tossed out/abused/ignored, without a second thought, one family managed to keep her: a warm and loving family with an artistic prodigy for a daughter. For once, Myth felt the love and affection that she was starved for, after all of those years of isolation and being tossed out like common trash. All of those skills accumulated from both helping out at the orphanage and being raised as a maid for all of these wealthy families, earned her the Hope’s Peak title of Ultimate Maid. 

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RELATIONSHIPS

Wyre Anon, Former Ultimate Artist

Born into an influential family of artistic geniuses, with their father being a master sculptor and their mother being a expert sketch artist, Wyre mainly specializes in the craft of both their parents, even though they are a master in practically every art form their parents can throw at them. When Wyre heard from their parents that someone was going to be adopted into their family, Wyre was ecstatic at the idea, and Myth quickly proved themself as a great servant and sister figure. Myth regularly serves food and cleans up after Wyre, when they gets particularly busy. Every since Wyre heard about Myth’s past with all of the other families, they claim that they are willing to fight all of them, much to the protests of Myth. 

Outfit: A brown paint-colored apron over a black sweater and matching pants and shoes, a tool belt with sculpting supplies, black fingerless gloves, glasses from original design.

Anon Scar, Ultimate Detective

Despite Scar’s eccentric behavior and constant talk of possessing an “All-Seeing Eye” under her eyepatch (which was actually lost in a battle between her and a particularly violent criminal), none of Scar’s clients can deny that she is a very competent detective, in spite of both that and her age. Her detective duties can get very stressful at times, but it seems Myth has a psychic connection to Scar’s distress, for she would always be there with whatever can calm Scar down. This has caused Scar to feel both intrigued (in regards to the possible existence of psychics) and concerned for Myth’s health and well-being (because of Myth‘s constant overexertion and overworking).

Outfit: A black and purple eyepatch on her left eye, a black jacket slung over her shoulders Yasuhiro-style, a black vest over a white dress shirt, black pants and black thigh high heels.

Fusion Anon, Ultimate Astronaut

Ever since he was little and went stargazing with his grandparents, Fusion has always showed an interest in reaching the stars and traveling beyond the boundaries. Having aced both the physical and written exams at NASA, despite his age, Fusion is well on his way to becoming a full-blown astronaut. Fusion also trains younger children who are planning on becoming astronauts just like him, via lectures on astronomy and little physical exercises to build up endurance, and he brought his astronaut-training seminars to the Kibo-Con. Myth regularly assists him in his seminars, and in return, Myth gets glow-in-the-dark star-shaped stickers and freeze-dried “astronaut grub” from Fusion. 

Outfit: A blue galaxy printed jumpsuit over a red t-shirt with a yellow star on the front, black and dark grey gloves and matching boots, glasses from original design.

FU-510-N Mk. 2 (aka. Fusion Anon II), Ultimate Robot 

FU-510-N Mk. 2 (or Fusion II as she’d like to be called) was a robot created by NASA, in order to both assist Fusion in his seminars and accompany him on his future space expeditions. Created to entertain adults as well as children during the lectures and training, Fusion II was written with more of a sarcastic edge to her dialogue with Fusion, making her a bit more of a straight man to Fusion’s cheerful and pun-loving funny man, almost like Fusion’s rebellious teen daughter. Fusion II bonded with Myth quickly over their shared statuses of being “assistants“ to others. But much to Fusion II’s dismay, it doesn’t seem like Myth is able to pick up on her sarcasm at all.

Outfit: A white exoskeleton, pink and black joints,  and four small black wheels underneath her “skirt”, clothes from original design.

Just Anon, Ultimate Anthropologist 

Running away from home, because of his massively rich, influential, and incredibly strict parents, with nothing but a backpack and his wits, Janon eventually found the one thing that actually interested him, while on his trek across the world: people and their cultures, which attracted him to the field of anthropology. After writing all about his travels and the philosophies he learned in a couple of journals he eventually published for the masses, Janon was revered as a genius in the field of anthropology. Despite planning on taking this secret to the grave, Janon has a secret soft spot for Myth, for she reminds her of the poor maids being crapped on by his influential family.

Outfit: A black facemask, a black overcoat over a pink t-shirt, a skull necklace, brown pants, black boots, a big brown backpack.

Sparkle Anon, Former Ultimate Entomologist

Specializing in lepidoptery and coleopterology, Sparkle intends on showing people all about the beauty of insects, in the most flamboyant and over-dramatic ways possible. Despite these idiosyncrasies, she is a respected figure by entomologists and aspiring entomologists everywhere. While Myth loves admiring the odd butterfly as much as the next person, Sparkle attracts insects like sugar water, and they are all a nightmare to remove and exterminate. The whole insect issue isn’t helped by the fact that Sparkle loudly and explicitly refuses to let Myth get rid of any of her “precious jewels”. Luckily, Sparkle shared some non-pesticide related methods to herd her insects, in case they get wild.

Outfit: A cape that resembles monarch butterfly wings with shoulder pads that look like rhino beetles, a green insect carrier,  a brown skirt with darker brown ant patterns, the glasses, jacket, undershirt, leggings, and boots from her original design.

Egg Anon, Former Ultimate Child Caregiver, and Wet Sock Anon, Former Ultimate Aikido Master

With a childish, immature and cursed yet caring personality, Egg was a massive hit amongst the children of the orphanage that they and their twin Wet Sock were born and raised in. In order to protect the children that their twin cared for, the brooding and cynical Wet Sock decided to pick up aikido and self-defense skills, dominating bigger foes in all the tournaments they entered. Shouldering the burden of hearing the twin’s primary defense mechanism (read: cursed comments), Myth quickly bonded with Egg, thanks to their shared interest in caring for others. Myth tried to bond with Wet Sock, but because of them being tsundere, Myth only gets judo thrown in response.

Egg’s Outfit: Part of their hair tied up with a yellow scrunchie, a green hoodie with yellow sleeves, a fanny pack colored like their original shirt, black shorts, long yellow socks, green light-up-shoes, glasses from original design.

Wet Sock’s Outfit: Same outfit from the original, but with black aikido pants and matching sandals.

Curious Anon, Jr. Ultimate Supreme Leader/Assassin

With the dubious and odd title of “Jr. Ultimate Supreme Leader” and an enigmatic and stone-faced personality, almost nothing is known about this mysterious Jr. Ultimate, not even what their talent entails. What Myth and the majority of the media don’t know, is that Curious is that his title is actually the Jr. Ultimate Assassin and is current throneholder of a secret underground religious cult that is particularly known for brainwashing and teaching their children how to assassinate potential religious rivals. Luckily, Myth was fortunate enough to not cross paths frequently with Curious, for she would definitely try to adopt the preteen assassin with a messed-up upbringing, if she ever catches wind of the truth.

Outfit: A simple white robe with a green sash indicating leadership that hides their assassination weapons.

Anon Nerd, Former Ultimate Inventor

Being a mechanical genius born in a country that was ravished by a massive war, Nerd was quickly sent to work in manufacturing and inventing brand-new weapons for his nation’s army. This past has given him a hair-trigger temper and a hatred for being interrupted, when he is in the middle of inventing. And yet no matter how many scouter-burns she suffers in the process, she never remembers that little tidbit of information about, when she comes barging into Nerd’s lab with his dinner, much to the rage of the easily-enraged inventing prodigy. But beneath the foul mouth and even-fouler temper, could Nerd have fallen for Myth’s kind and earnest attitude, despite being very annoying?

Outfit: Black armor that covers everything apart from his head, and the scouter from his original design.

Eldritch Anon, Ultimate Pianist

Videos of a person garbed entirely in black and playing self-composed pieces have been springing up on the internet for the past year or so, and despite the mysterious person attempting to make absolutely sure that he wasn’t found, Hope‘s Peak found the true identity of the online piano prodigy: Eldritch Anon, a former piano champion, who has since retreated to the shadows in growing anxiety and fear. Whenever Eldritch thinks about anything he wants or needs, Myth would always be right behind him with his want or need in tow. Because of that, Eldritch now wears a tinfoil hat on his head at all times, to prevent Myth’s psychic powers from reaching him, to no avail. 

Outfit: A black marching band outfit with white music note buttons, over a grey hood-up hoodie patterned with black sheet music, white gloves, tall black boots.

Dream Anon, Ultimate Magician

With infectious childlike cheer and unstoppable charisma on stage, Dream’s magical performances are truly a sight to behold, whether you’re a child or an adult. Dream has recently employed Myth as her magical assistant, and Myth regularly roped Dream out of trouble, just in case her magical performances go awry. But at the same time, Dream also took on sort of a mentor role to the maid. While Myth has entertained several guests with some minor parlor tricks, Myth would love to learn all about how Dream accomplishes all of her large-scale and stupendous, and how Myth can learn them herself. If Myth learns from the best, she would be able to entertain way more guests.

Outfit: A black and pink top hat, a black coat and white gloves over a pink vest, an orange bow tie and a white dress shirt, a pink skirt, grey stockings, and black tap shoes.

Iris Anon, Jr. Ultimate Cosplayer

Having been a regular consumer of fiction ever since she was little, she picked up sewing and fashion design from her parents and eventually began making accurate-to-the-show cosplay items, ranging from simple accessories to full-blown outfits. Despite being really clumsy when it comes to everything else, Iris is amazing at handicrafts. Myth and Iris consider each other “sewing buddies”, for their shared interests in sewing outfits and other such handicrafts. Iris regularly lets Myth model her cosplay, for they are about the same height and have the same proportions. Iris would be lying if she said she hadn’t tried sticking cat ears or dragon horns on Myth when she wasn’t looking. 

Outfit: Hair down with a heart barrette on each side of her head, a pink jacket with sewing supplies in her pockets and on her sleeves over a seira fuku with a red ribbon and a blue skirt, black stockings and red Mary Janes.

Purple Anon, Ultimate Adventurer

As the daughter of two famous and affluent ambassadors, Purple has been to practically every corner of the globe. Because of her travels, Purple regularly talks in archaic terms mixed with the insertion of gratuitous foreign vocabulary into her sentences, which means that the majority of the Anons can‘t understand a word coming out of her mouth. Purple is also stunningly timid for the daughter of two ambassadors, and often hides behind Anons that are bigger than her for when she doesn’t want to be seen by the crowds. Even if Myth can’t understand much of what comes out of Purple’s mouth, Myth still loves seeing Purple slowly but surely come out of her shell and talk about her travels.

Outfit: The beret from her original design, a dark purple overcoat and brown gloves over the sweater from her original design, lighter purple pants, brown boots, a brown carrier bag.

This AU will center around the maid getting helped for once, much to her protests.

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PERSONALITY

Despite her less-than-stellar past, Maid!Myth has a cheery and energetic attitude that belies (and bolsters) her sheer aptitude as a maid and her joy is described as “infectious” amongst Wyre’s family. With definite “mom energy”, Maid!Myth always comes prepared with the wants and needs for each and everyone of the Kibo-Con attendees, and seems to have an almost telepathic ability to whatever they all want, which unnerves a couple of the Anons (namely Eldritch, Scar, and Purple). Even though she overworks herself to a fault and everyone constantly tells to take a break from her work, she constantly shoulders every burden and duty placed upon her, in hopes that they won’t abandon her, just like every other family before Wyre’s family. This gave her a case of “chronic hero syndrome”.

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APPEARANCE

Maid!Myth’s naturally brown hair is tied in a prim and proper bun, complete with a white and light pink French-maid style headdress. As for the rest of her clothing, Myth wears a white and light pink French Maid dress with the only exception to the “white and light pink style” being a ribbon around her waist with a pink-to-purple-blue gradient, purple socks and red Mary Janes.

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I hope you like this AU! Let me know what you think of the AU and its roles in your reblogs!

[merakiaes]

A Second Chance - John Shelby

Pairing: John Shelby x reader

Requested: Yes. 

Prompts: None. 

Warnings/notes: This is a part two to “A Choice”. It’s not proofread and I was severely sleep-deprived when writing this so I apologize in advance if there are any mistakes or if it sucks xD 

Wordcount: 4927

Summary: Four years after leaving John and the Peaky Blinders behind to start a better life, you return to England and run into old friends. 

Part One - A Choice

Life without John was just as painful as you had imagined it to be. The nightmares about your brother’s death that only he had been able to keep at bay had returned already the first night away from him, having you wake up screaming and drenched in sweat in the middle of the night.

After leaving your shared home without as much as a bag of clothes, you had gone straight to London where Ada was residing with Karl, and she had opened up her home to you without as much as a doubt, letting you cry into her arms, listening to you as you talked about your situation and doing her absolute best to soothe you during the night.

The next day, you had sat down and talked about what you were going to do for the future. She offered to go back to Small Heath and talk to her family, get their assistance on the divorce you wanted.

But she was different than the rest of them. She was on your side, he didn’t agree with her brothers’ morals and ways to make a living.

Tommy had never liked your attitude for the business and more specifically John’s part in it, and Arthur didn’t breath without his younger brother’s consent, so you knew that that going to them for help would never be an option. 

And either way, all of them held the same belief; that no one divorced a Shelby. So Ada did the only thing she could.

She gave you some of her clothes, helped arrange your travels, gave you enough money to be able to live on wherever you ended up, until you could find yourself a job, and sent you off before John and the rest of the Peaky Blinders could come looking for you.

Ironically, they came knocking at her door only an hour after you had bid each other goodbye at the docks, John more or less storming inside the house and rushing through every room on the look for you while Tommy, Arthur and Polly tried to hold a calm conversation with Ada.

But Ada wasn’t about to give up your location, and they knew it. And they couldn’t do anything about it, because they didn’t have anything to hold against her.

All she did was tell them that you were safe, and that you were better off without the constant death and bloodshed, which only broke John’s heart even further, because even though he hadn’t been willing to admit it at the moment of your argument, he knew that she was right, and it hurt.

It hurt to know that he wasn’t good for you.

And he wasn’t the only one in pain. The nightmares of only your brother dying quickly turned into both of them dying, and sometimes, even Tommy and Arthur, too. And the dreams didn’t stop.

Even three and a half years later, you would wake up drenched in your own sweat and trembling with fear every night.

You had ended up in Australia after a long, long journey. There, you took up work as a nurse at an orphanage, managing to land yourself employment already on your first day there as the former nurse had recently passed away in very tragic circumstances.

You mourned the loss of the love of your life, even more so when you had to work with children all day, every day; children that could have been yours and his in the future.

Every time you would sign your name on a paper, your heart would break a little more, as you still carried his name seeing as you hadn’t gotten an official divorce. 

And you couldn’t be bothered to send him divorce papers, knowing very well that Tommy would most likely be able to track you to your locations by sniffing the papers like the absolute bloodhound he was.

You stayed completely miserable for six whole months, falling into a deep depression and feeling that life no longer had anything to offer as you had no one left. 

But with a bit of encouragement from your new-found friends, you pulled yourself together and sought out your own happiness, adopting two of the very children you had been caring for in the past months.

Their names were Sheryl and Henry and they were siblings.

Sheryl was a seven-year-old girl with bronzed skin and a head of big, golden curls and dimples that could make anyone melt on the spot.

They had been made orphans when their parents had passed away in sickness four years prior, but despite the unfortunate lives they held, Sheryl was one of the brightest souls you had ever met.

Henry was nine at the time, a lot paler than his younger sister and a lot more reserved and careful. 

While Sheryl never seemed to be able to sit still, always having to run around and talk to everyone she came across, Henry was quiet and loved to sit in silence and read.

He was far too mature for his age and probably smarter than you. He had an amazing way with words and wanted to become a doctor when he grew up. He was also very good with numbers, which always made you think of John.

They made your life easier, and soon, although never stopping to love John, you found yourself moving on. You packed away the jewelry you had been wearing upon first arriving in Australia, that John had gifted you throughout the years, and hid it away along with everything else that reminded you of him.

Four years had passed since you left Small Heath. Sheryl was now eleven and Henry thirteen, the three of you living an as normal life as you could get.

You had kept in contact with Ada during the first year, but after that, you had stopped receiving letters, and you guessed they just kind of forgot about you. 

But you didn’t blame them. 

You probably should have forgotten them a long time ago, too. But for some reason, despite not regretting your decision, you didn’t.

But you knew you would have been a lot more mentally damaged if you had to watch John die. So this was the best for everyone.

And you liked it in Australia. You liked the heat, the nature, the people, and most of all; the calm. Bar fights and brawls on the streets was still something you saw every once in a while, but the violence wasn’t half as bad here as it had been in Birmingham.

But you could only stand the heat and sun for so long.

Four years after your arrival, you took the kids with you and left for London, starting a new chapter in your lives.

Seeing as you hadn’t heard anything from Ada the past few years, you had no idea what she was up to these days. 

After getting settled into the inn you would be staying at for the first week in London, just until you made up your mind whether you would be staying permanently or only for a while, you headed off to Ada’s old house with the kids in tow, taking them out sight-seeing on the way.

Upon arriving, however, a woman you had never seen before opened the door, and informed you that the woman who had lived there before her had moved to America with her son a year prior.

It saddened you that you wouldn’t be able to see her and introduce her to Henry and Sheryl, but you were happy she had been able to go off into the world on her own like she had always wanted.

You could admit you were anxious to run into any of the other Shelbys, knowing you’d have to introduce them to your children, but unlike when you had first left England when the Peaky Blinders had been on everyone’s tongues, you hadn’t heard a single word about them.

It made you slightly panicked, fear that they had finally met their ruler and gotten themselves killed filling your body, but you didn’t dare ask anyone about it, scared about what you might have found out if you did.

So you just put on a brave smile, showing the kids around the capital of your home country, the three of you having a jolly good time.

You had just entered the food market, the very same one that had been there every Thursday even back when you still lived there, and Henry and Sheryl had run off to the nearby kennel to pet the puppies running around outside in a small enclosure.

While they played with the small balls of fur, you took the opportunity to stroll along the stands of food and vegetables, starting to plan dinner for the evening to come.

You collected the things you thought you would be needing and paid for them, packing them in a brown fabric bag. You turned on your heel, still fiddling with the bag in your hands, when a voice suddenly spoke from right beside you.

“(Y/N)?”

You sucked in a breath at the familiar voice speaking your name, with the same smooth tone that you had fallen in love with all those years ago.

Your heart instantly picked up speed in your chest and you breathed shakily as you slowly turned around.

“John.” You breathed, your eyes growing big with disbelief as you spotted him, your heart beating even more violently once you caught sight of him.

And he was just as shocked as you were, looking as pale as if he had just witnessed a ghost.

“(Y/N). I-“

“(Y/N)? Is that you?” Another voice joined the conversation before John had the chance to say whatever it was he had been about to say.

The shock quickly melted off and was replaced with a wide smile as a now short-haired Polly emerged from the crowd in the market.

“Polly!” You greeted her, and she smiled a smile to match your own.

“Oh! It’s so good to see you!” She said, wasting no time in taking you into a hug. 

You hugged her back, growing sad at the familiar feeling of the motherly love you had gotten from her all while knowing her niece and nephews.

As you broke apart again, she threw a look over her shoulder, waving her hand. “Boys!”

There was no doubt in your mind who she was calling for, and not even half a minute later, Tommy, Arthur and another boy you couldn’t quite recognize emerged from the crowd, as well.

Arthur was the one to spot you first, and a cheeky grin immediately spread on his face. “Well, I’ll be damned.” He cursed, shaking his head. “If it isn’t (Y/N). It’s good to see you nice and well, lass.”

“Hello, Arthur.” You chuckled, accepting the embrace he offered upon reaching you, hugging him quickly before turning to look at Tommy.

You offered him a smile and a nod of your head. “Tommy.” You acknowledged, and he tipped his head back to you, taking the cigarette out of mouth to answer.

“(Y/N). You’re looking good.”

Offering him a smile, you thanked him. “Thank you.”

You then turned to the third boy, or young man, was better suited, narrowing your eyes slightly as you scanned his freckled face, trying to find something familiar that could put a name to his person. 

And it all fell into place when you caught the small scar on the side of his lips, a smile yet again rising to your lips.

“Finn?”

The boy in question nodded his head, a faint smile pulling at his lips, and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“You look so different, I barely even recognized you!” You said, and met him halfway for a hug. He was now taller than all of his brothers, towering over them with a good margin.

“Yes, well, it’s been a while.” He chuckled, and you could sense immediately that he was nothing like his brothers. But then again, you had known that already when he was just a little boy.

“Four bloody years, it’s been.” Arthur jumped in, laughing slightly.

You stepped back after hugging Finn and opened your mouth to speak again, but before you could get another word out, a shy voice called out from behind you.

“Ma?”

You whipped around, turning to face Henry and Sheryl who were now standing behind you, watching the Shelbys with curious and shy eyes.

You put on a smile, turning to face them completely. “Yes, darling?”

Henry let his eyes linger on the strangers behind you for another moment, before turning to look at you with his soft, careful eyes. “Can we have some money for treats?”

Sheryl was smiling expectedly at his side, and you looked between them, shaking your head. “It’s a Wednesday and you haven’t had dinner yet.”

“Please.” Sheryl begged, pouting and looking up at you with her big eyes, while Henry just kept smiling shyly.

“Just this once?”

You let your eyes shift between them for a moment, all too aware of the Shelbys watching the scene unfold. You sighed, reaching your hand into the pocket of your coat.

“Fine, but just a small bag, yeah?” You told them, fishing out a note form your wool jacket and handing it over to Henry, who instantly lit up in a big smile.

“Yes!” Sheryl cheered, and Henry was quick to nod his head.

“Promise, thanks.” He agreed, coming up to you and leaving a hasty kiss at your cheek before running along to the candy store, Sheryl not far behind, yelling out a quick ‘hello’ at the Shelbys as they passed them.

Watching them disappear into the shop at the other side of the street, you turned back to the Shelbys, who were all looking at you with different expressions.  

“You’ve got kids.” Polly was the first one to speak, eyes wide with surprise.

You could only smile, and nod your head in confirmation. “I do.”

“They look a bit old to be yours.” Arthur was confused, glancing over to the shop inside which they had just disappeared.  

“I took them in from the orphanage I worked at in Australia.” You told them, and Arthur nodded.

“So that’s where you ended up, ey?”

“Yeah, it was a journey to say the least.” You turned sad at that, thinking back to how rough the first period away from your home and the people you loved had been. Quickly, you shook away the sadness and forced yourself to smile, trying to look your happiest.

“You’re all looking good!” You hurriedly attempted to change the subject. “How have things been going for you?”

“We legitimated the business.” Tommy joined in on the conversation for the first time so far, taking a drag out of his cigarette. “Everything we do now is legal. No underground work, no Peaky Blinders. Just… strictly, political business.”

To say you were shocked at this was a big understatement. Almost as if out of instinct, your eyes shot up to the peaky caps on their heads, and only then did you realize the razor blades were nowhere to be seen. Could they really have given up on the gangster way of life?

You could barely believe your ears.

“I’m glad it’s been going well for you.” You answered, quickly covering up your shock, but as Tommy’s words registered in your mind, your eyes automatically shifted to John, only to find he had already been looking at you with an unreadable expression.

The others watched as the two of you entered a staring competition, completely disconnecting from everything else going on around them – including them.

Polly smiled smugly, inspecting your facial expressions for a moment before hooking her arm with Finn’s. “We’ll leave you to it, then.” She said. “It was nice seeing you again, (Y/N). Come by for tea someday, and bring the little ones.”

You nodded your head, answering. “I will, thank you.”

But not once did you tear your eyes away from John’s as you spoke the words, barely even noticing the others slipping off and down the street again, leaving you to yourselves.

A heavy silence was left over the two of you, only standing there staring into each other’s eyes, completely oblivious to the people shoving their way past you left and right.

The sides of his head were still clean-shaven underneath his cap, he still dressed in the same grey suit, only much fancier and more expensive-looking than the ones he used to wear before you left.

He had a scar running over the side of his jaw, without a doubt created by some kind of blade, and unlike keeping his face clean-shaven like he always had before, he now had a short, short ginger stubble.

He looked much older than he had when you left him, despite only four years having passed, but you guessed the consuming line of work they had been involved in did that to a person.

He still looked good, though. His blue eyes were still sparkling and framed by the long, thick, dark eyelashes you had always loved so much, and his lips were still pink and full. He looked as dashing as ever, standing in front of you a new man.

“You’ve changed.”

John was the first one to break the silence, officially breaking you out of your trance.

But still, you didn’t move your eyes away from his.

“Time changes people.” You stated simply, blinking slightly.

He gave you the smallest nod, sniffling. “Suppose that’s a good thing.”

“Not necessarily, but in my case, yes, I would say so.” You answered, nodding your head too. “I feel very fortunate to be where I am today.”

He said nothing else for a brief moment, only staring at you and suddenly growing very hesitant.

“Did you ever…” He began, trailing off. He breathed in through his nose, his eyelashes fluttering a few times. “Did you ever settle down again? With someone else?”

You had expected the question, probably before he had even thought of it, and wasn’t shocked when it came. 

A sad smile rose to your lips at that, and a small sigh left your nose as you shook your head. “No one could ever compare to you, John.” You admitted in a whisper, and at your words, his demeanor faltered entirely.

“I missed you.” He said, taking a small step closer to you. “I still miss you. I never stopped. I never moved on. I tried to, a couple of times, but I couldn’t.”

“John…” You started, feeling your heart picking up speed in your chest again as you watched him come closer and closer. But you didn’t move.

“No, I’m sorry, (Y/N).” He interrupted you, shaking his head. “Everyone told me I would forget you with time but here we are four years later and I still love you like I did back then. And you’re standing here, looking more beautiful than ever, and you moved on.”

“I don’t regret leaving you.” The words came out of your lips before you could stop yourself. “You have to know that.”

Guilt filled your entire body the moment you had said it, only increasing when witnessing his face fall into one of sadness. But it was true what you said. He did have to know it.

“I know. And I understand.” He, surprisingly, agreed. “I started understanding the second I heard you had left for good. I tried to find you, I wanted to come after you and give you what you wanted, but Ada refused to tell me where you were. She said I wasn’t good for you, that you deserved better.”

The guilt started gnawing at you from the inside once more, your eyebrows knotting together. “John-“

“And she was right.” He interrupted again.

You sighed, finally breaking eye-contact and adverting your eyes to the ground as he came to a stop right in front of you. 

“John… I don’t know where you’re trying to go with this, but after all this time apart, we would never work. We didn’t back then, and we wouldn’t now.”

“You’re wrong.” He protested almost at once. “I can see why you would think that. But you’re wrong.”

You carefully brought your eyes back up to meet his, biting down on the inside of your cheeks. “I’m happy you’ve all turned your lives around for the better, I really am.” You told him quietly. “And I wish you all the very best, because you deserve nothing less. But I’ve got my own people to look after now.”

“What about me?” He asked. “I know you still love me. I know you better than you know yourself, and if you didn’t love me, you would have walked away long ago.”

“You knew me. Knew.” You corrected him. “But you said it yourself, people change.”

“You have your kids to look after, but you are my people. I want and have to look after you like you look after them, your happiness is all that matters to me.”

You took his words into consideration for a moment, wrapping your arms around yourself and squeezing your eyes shut. But you just couldn’t. Up until this point, you had been under the impression that you had suffered so much because you couldn’t live without him.

But you realized now, as you stood in front of him once again, after four whole years apart, that it was the fact that he had chosen the life as a thug over you that had hurt you the most.

“It didn’t matter back when it should have mattered.” You whispered back finally, having to squeeze your eyes shut even harder in order to keep the tears building up at bay.

Your heart was screaming at you to just grab his face in your hands and kiss him, forgive him for everything and pick everything up where you left off, but after being his second choice once, you just couldn’t trust his words.

Letting out a shaky breath, you opened your eyes and blinked a few times, trying your best to rid of the stinging tears. You looked up at him and gave him one last look.

“It was nice seeing you again, John.” You whispered. “Give Ada my love the next time you see her, yeah?”

He looked down at you, and you swallowed when you realized he was done talking, turning around without another word and starting to head for the candy shop.

Your feet felt like they were made of concrete as you walked, and your heart felt just as heavy in your heart, if not even heavier. 

You didn’t know it was possible for an already broken heart to break again, but here you were, feeling the already shattered organ splitting into a thousand pieces once again.

“(Y/N).”

You stopped in your tracks at the sound of his voice calling out your name, your breathing turning slightly shallow and your eyes growing wide.

You knew you should have probably just kept walking, gotten the kids and gotten out of there. You knew the only thing you shouldn’t have done was turn around. 

But as he called after you, stopping you from leaving like he hadn’t the first time around, you couldn’t help yourself, your body moving all on its own and turning you back around to face him.

Your eyes met his in an instant, and wordlessly, you watched as he brought his hand up to his neck, reaching inside his collar and pulling out a chain. He grabbed the front of it and gave it a tug, successfully ripping it free from around his neck.

He looked down at the piece of jewelry, fiddling with it for a moment, before holding it up, and your eyes instantly widened at the sight.

“Is that-“ You began, breathless, having to cut yourself short in surprise.

John nodded his head, holding the small ring in between his fingers, slowly walking over to you as he spoke.

“It’s been four fookin’ years since I last saw you but I still love you like I did back then.” He told you, his eyes never leaving your face, and your eyes never leaving the familiar engagement ring.

He stopped in front of you, looking down at you with pleading eyes. “Come home, please.” He begged. “Give me another chance. Give us another chance.”

“John-“

“Mom.” A voice suddenly came from beside you, and both you and John whipped your heads around to find Henry and Sheryl standing off to the side, each of them clutching a bag of sweets in their hands.

Sheryl was giggling quietly to herself, and Henry was smiling at you, giving you once of those looks only Henry could give; the kind that made him look so much older than he really was.

“The appropriate response when the love of your life is proposing to you is to say yes.” He spoke, and you instantly widened your eyes at his words, even more so when Sheryl joined in, nodding her head.

“You should kiss, too.” She said. “It’s in the rulebook.”

You furrowed your eyebrows lightly. “Rulebook?” You mumbled quietly under your breath, thinking to yourself, but didn’t get much time to actually form an answer as John spoke up again.

“You should listen to your kids, (Y/N).” He instructed you, causing you to turn back to look at him. “They might not be yours by flesh and blood but they’ve got your brains.”

You stood frozen, not knowing what do nor say. Were you really ready to rely on John’s promises of making a better living for himself again? After all, you had only bumped into each other less than five minutes ago.

You guessed you could take their word for it, but in reality, you really had no idea what they were up to nowadays. A lot could change for the better over the course of four years, but a lot could have changed for the worse, too.

Having gotten lost in your thoughts and doubts, you had completely missed the way his hands had raised to your face, only coming back to reality when feeling the warm, rough skin of his palms brush against your cheeks. 

And when the connection between your skin was made, it was like all of your doubts just melted right off in one second.

You had missed John this entire time, more so than you would ever be able to put into words, but you hadn’t realized how much you had craved his skin against yours until it actually happened again.

Your breath got caught in your throat and your eyes fluttered shut, and as if your body was moving all on its own, you wordlessly tilted your head up to meet him halfway, your lips pressing together within the next second.

And from the moment they touched, you were clinging to each other like there was no tomorrow, like the other would just disappear into thin air if you let go, four years’ worth of missed feeling spilling into one single kiss.

Your hand came up to grab at the back of his neck, fingernails lightly scratching the scalp of his head while his hands wrapped around your waist, pulling you even closer.

You didn’t break apart for almost a minute, lips moving together roughly and desperately. If you would have been able to, you would’ve never broken apart again, but you needed air, and soon had to do so, although very begrudgingly.

Your chests were heaving up and down violently against the other’s when you came apart, eyes opening and staring into each other’s. 

You stayed like that for a moment, forehead’s pressed together, until you turned around to look at Henry and Sheryl who were still standing to the side, now grinning like a pair of Cheshire cats.

You raised an eyebrow at the oldest at the two, taking a small step away from John. “Now, what does a thirteen-year-old know about love?” You asked, referring to his previous statement of encouragement.

At your question, his grin only widened. “You have a box labeled ‘John’ hidden at the back of your closet and you stare at it every time you open the wardrobe to pick out your clothes. I may only be thirteen but I’m not stupid.” He answered, and you could instantly feel your cheeks flushing with embarrassment as John chuckled beside you.

You didn’t get much time to dwell upon your adoptive son’s remark, however, as John grabbed a hold of your face once more, turning you back to look at him. 

“Will you come back?” He asked, looking down at you with pleading eyes.

And this time, no doubts clouded your mind, a lazy smile spreading over your lips. 

“Wouldn’t want to break the rules in the rulebook, now would we?” You questioned playfully and smiled widely as you watched him slide your wedding band back onto your finger.

He smiled, and you could just about make out the corners of his eyes starting to glisten before he wrapped his arms around your waist tightly, hugging you into his chest and burying his face in your neck, smiling into your skin.

“I have a box labeled with your name, too.” He said, voice slightly muffled.

And just like that, you went back to being lovers and remained that way this time around.