#worlds most normal father-daughter game of catch
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pyrotechnicdarts · 2 years ago
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obsessed with this comment on the beau and percy scene in vox machina vs mighty nein
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gothamusing · 2 months ago
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THE PENGUIN, EPISODE ONE. a collection of memes derived from episode one of the penguin series, for roleplaying purposes. feel free to edit as you see fit. do not steal. (18+).
i see you've made yourself at home.
what the fսck are you talking about?
you got some big shoes to fill.
you think i'm an idiot?
we keep a stash in the loft if you want a hit.
that's not why i'm here.
you know what i like most about you? you are who you are. you couldn't change if you tried.
i'm talking about revolutionizing the game.
fuck. look at you salivating.
this is power, right?
when i was kid, there was a gangster, real old-school type. he was a big deal.
you want me to be like some small-time asshоlе?
this is your dream!
you really think people'd make a float of your dumb face and march it down the street, chanting your goddamn name?
what a little bitch.
you messed with the wrong fucking guy on the wrong fucking night!
jesus, take a breath.
hey, look at me.
how far do you think you'd get?
you and me, we're in this together now.
look what you fucking made me do.
you're gonna do everything i say.
i feel better. you feel better?
you ever been to that corner mart, next to the... uh, coin-o-matic?
they still sell those slush puppies?
you alone?
i need an alibi. ideally, for the whole night.
sounds like we had fun.
i asked for extra pickles, and they give me two? so what, a normal amount of pickles is one? makes no goddamn sense.
the smart play here is to kill you and stuff you in the trunk with stinky, be done with both of youse.
if you step out of line just once, i swear to god, I'll gut you like a fսcking fish. do you understand?
we ain't got a lot of time.
we all got our own vices.
nine times out of ten, these top-tier guys wanna meet face-to-face to feel big, so i make myself small, they feel better about themselves, and i get to go back to work.
i'm messing with you.
maybe look for your sense of humor. it's gotta be here somewhere.
so, uh, we got something to celebrate, or what?
this is my operation, you can't just shut it down.
there's blood in the water, everyone knows it.
the last thing we need is a god damn gang war!
you will do as you're told.
you're free to leave.
at the end of the day, this is all about money, right?
it's good to see you.
you've really moved up in the world, haven't you?
we're long overdue for a catch-up, you and me.
let's get a bite to eat.
my father used to bring me here when i was a kid. he paid me to keep my elbows off the table.
you think they're wondering if it's really me?
what did the gazette call me?
if only i'd been a dutiful daughter.
are you nervous?
i'd hate for you to feel nervous around me.
despite what you might think, i don't blame you.
how do you know about his plan, and why on earth would you pitch it as your own?
he's keeping us both in the dark, and i don't know why.
he's got a penchant for drops. and booze and gambling. i'm pretty sure he's got a sеx thing, too.
i was actually drowning my sorrows with my lady friend last night.
i doubt anything will turn up, but it's worth a shot.
i'm probably just being crazy.
thanks for lunch, i'll get the next one.
you know. people underestimate you, but not me.
i've always known you were capable of more.
scan the code. see gotham's true face.
get the fuck outta here.
i ain't never taken anyone here before.
what're you doing here?
what do you mean what am i doing here? i came to see you.
i got you something. come here.
what did you do?
wait. was i expecting you?
we're gonna leave town for a while.
someone's here.
will you tell me first what i did to lose your respect?
it ain't safe for you here. you understand?
why'd you shoot him?
now, can we go please?
it was impulsive. it was stupid. is that what you wanna hear?
jesus, i'm trying to take care of you.
i can't risk it.
i can't risk you.
look at me.
don't you see, dear? what you did wasn't impulsive. it was instinctual.
you're so close now to having everything you ever wanted, everything you deserve.
this city is meant to be yours, sweetheart.
i've been where you are.
they don't even know what they got, 'cause they always had it.
i wanna offer my services to you and your family.
oh, you wanna throw stones?
from where i sit, and where you sit, i don't think you're in a position not to hear me out.
i could give you everything you need.
revenge don't come easy.
he was a dirty rat.
he played us both for fools.
but he's dead, and i'm here now, and i'm offering you the opportunity of a lifetime.
i know a lot more than people think.
you and me, we can tear down their fսcking empire from the inside out.
what is it you're really after?
i know who you are. i know what you are.
i don't work with people whose loyalty is for sale.
you think i forgot all the times you schmoozed me and my boys just to turn around and fսck us?
look, i can see you're upset. trust takes time. but this ain't bullshit.
it's good seeing you. you look good.
it's a terrible feeling, isn't it?
i just wonder how you see me.
that's what you wanted, right?
you are so good at talking your way out of things.
it's just you and me now, okay?
am i crazy?
tell me that i'm too emotional, and that i have an overactive imagination, and that i shouldn't take things so personally.
what the fuck is this?
you did good today.
didn't we agree the head alone would be the most poetic, and the pinky, the cherry on top?
yeah. at least (blank) got the message.
from here on out, there's no more playing it safe.
i'm gonna run this goddamn city.
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Ello!
Love your blog!
Can I request a female hunter reader where she’s looks frightening and intimidating to the survivors but she’s actually very gentle and doesn’t like to hurt them , she doesn’t talk much. She’s very curious of them and finds them very cute, due to that she doesn’t strike them down during the matches she just catches them in her arms and places them gently on the chairs, while camping she likes to examine them closer, for the female survivors she looks at their makeup and plays with their outfits while for the male survivors she likes to boop their nose and play with their hair while giggling. And *cough* *cough* when carrying the male survivors to the chairs she sneakily purposely presses them closer to her *cough* mellonsssss just to tease and see their reaction (she’s a bit of a flirt)
Wasnt sure how to write this but hope you like it.
I based this off a indie game i played lol
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It no secret among the out "gods" of your curiosity towards humans. Hastur claims they are all selfish and greedy creatures, and Cthulhu can claim the same. You, a creature formed by Azathoth, you have seen many of your Creator realms and have decided to study the reality of this world. Nightingale allowed you to see the manor, her domain as long as you respect her rules.
Though she knows a young deity like you will have no want to hunt nor kill humans, she still asks for you to partake in her games.
The last human you where with, in another reality, was detective who was solving a case about the both the death of his father and cult. His mind was amazing to lurk in, and his life exciting to shadow behind. Sadly, he died after solving the case in order to seal a portal going to allow Cthulhu to enter (know him he would have destroyed that realm for disturbing him).
The ones called 'survivors', are fascinating! None, or few, are good people. Most are mentally broken, easy to toy with; others seem to be trying to fight for future only this 'prize' can provide.
When you caught the survivor known as 'perfumer', you felt pity for her but level of shame for the woman. To kill one's kin out of jealousy is an age old tale you are aware. You then found another named 'lawyer' who you are disgusted by. His greed and selfish caused the death and abandonment of a father and a daughter.
You are quite gentle with these humans compared to those like Night Watch or The Ripper, those too seem to feed on the fear of the humans being hunted. The one hunter you enjoy the space of is 'Geisha' or Michiko as she informed you. She does not get a thrill from killing others but she cannot help herself.
You do like this one survivor, he reminds you of your detective. Orpheus, you believe his name is. The meaning behind the name is not lost to you, it even adds to the charm. Hm, no there are others you like too. Priestess and Seer, for they seem to be the only ones to know you are no normal or limited hunter like the others. You do not kill for thrills, you chair them as per the rules. The conversations with them is quite amusing. Enchantress too, though she did attempt to stab you when she thought you a threat. Another you enjoy studying is 'Prisoner' his mind is mess but it holds many, many treasures of inventions.
Oh, it so hard to claim a favorite! You love to hold them close to your chest to feel their life close to your unreal one. Flesh and blood, a heartbeat, they are alive! Though you have been told but both Embalmer and Grave Keeper not to hold them in such an improper manner-- Though you do not like using the balloons to hold them up in the air, it seems rather silly.
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malanasims · 1 year ago
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Taylor Swift Eras themed Legacy Challenge
i wanted to put together two of my favorite things: the sims and Taylor Swift. so i came up with this 10 generation legacy challenge in which each generation is inspired by a different album. I created this challenge for the sims 2 ultimate collection since that is the game i normally play, but i am sure it can be adapted for sims 3 or sims 4. i also implemented the traits project for ts2 but you can easily do the challenge without it using different personality points. i set up this challenge so that each generation alternates genders but you can switch that up. i also chose first names for each generation based on references of the album. also some of the writing is very cheesy and has a lot of references because why not go crazy. this is my first legacy challenge so if you have any critiques let me know. the rules are not strict and cheats can be used as its a story-based challenge.
Debut- Gen 1: Mary
“Take me home where we met so many years before. 
We'll rock our babies on that very front porch: After all this time, you and I”
You grew up in a small town where everyone knew each other. Your parents never had the greatest relationship and your mom was always with her best friend. Since birth you and her kid have been inseparable. Will you fall into the same patterns as your parents…or will you find a place in this world?
family/romance 
LTW: reach golden anniversary
nurturing, jealous, loves the outdoors, great kisser, family oriented
marry your first love
have 2 children (at least one son)
formal wear is a little black dress
Fearless- Gen 2: Stephen 
“You played in bars, you play guitar
I'm invisible and everyone knows who you are”
Your parents raised you well but something about the fact that they only ever knew each other scares you. You want to get out there and make a name for yourself. You know no ones coming for you on their white horse. You’ll have to be fearless to become a superstar: but for now all you have is your mothers eyes and her old guitar.
fortune/pleasure
virtuoso, charismatic, irresistible, ambitious, non-committal
LTW: become rock god
go on at least 5 first dates
have at least one daughter
date a fan
Speak now- Gen 3: Emma
“When Emma falls apart, it's when she's alone
She takes on the pain and bears it on her own”
You often felt overlooked by your rockstar father. He was always busy and you spent most of your time with your mother until her mysterious disappearance. You feel like you grew up too fast, and now you love to travel back to your youth and fantasize about castles and dragons. So you become an actress; a character. Will you break out of your fathers famously destructive patterns, or will you regain your balance on the tightrope and break out before fire can catch you?
popularity/romance
LTW: Become Icon
natural born performer, childish, bookworm, shy, hopeless romantic
your first love doesn't work out/ you break their heart
have at least one son
have a strained relationship with your father but a good relationship with your mother
meet your true love at a party and then never see eachother again
Red- Gen 4: Bobby
“How you took the money and your dignity, and got the hell out
They say you bought a bunch of land somewhere
Chose the rose garden over Madison Square”
You grew up in the starlight of your mothers fame. You two were always close but after suffering from the tabloids and the camera flashes you decide this life is not for you. You move out of the Angel City and start anew. Your mother has given you some funds and you build up a family home. You tell everyone you left because the city wasn’t right for you… but maybe it was partly to run from your playboy/girl ex who you know was trouble. Now you spend your life painting and searching for your muse. Will you stay paralyzed by time or finally begin again?
Knowledge/family
LTW: become visionary
artistic, eco friendly, night owl, loves the cold, loner
Have an on and off toxic relationship
Move out of your parents house
Settle down with someone nice
Have 3 children (at least one girl)
1989- Gen 5: Love
“You searched the world for somethin' else
To make you feel like what we had
And in the end, in Wonderland, we both went mad”
You grew up secluded from the world, surrounded by your mothers paintings. Your mom loved the environment but you couldn’t wait to get out of the woods and explore new places. Somewhere along the road, you fell into a rabbit hole of insanity: mascara running in the bathroom and rose gardens filled with thorns. You blow money and string lovers along. You have fantastic delusions until your wildest dreams turn into nightmares. Will you accept the help from your family and abandon your affinity for screaming, crying and perfect storms? Or will every day continue to be a battle?
knowledge/pleasure
LTW: Become space pirate
Insane, unstable, diva, adventurous, jealous
Join the adventurer career
Have 3 loves at once
Have children with multiple people (one must be boy/girl twins)
Lose money in poker
Reputation- Gen 6: Burton (the name is so bad help)
“I don't like your kingdom keys
They once belonged to me
You asked me for a place to sleep
Locked me out and threw a feast”
Yeah, your mother may have done a number on you, but who's counting? Maybe your twin sister… Everything you did, she just had to do better. In the wake of your mother’s madness, you turned to dancing. You found peace in swaying as the room burnt down. Your twin sister on the other hand hated how you were lit up every room you walked into, but you couldn’t help it. There's nothing she hates more than what she can't have… so she turned to sabotage. Just when you think that your life is perfect- you're at the top of your career and you finally found love- your sister starts a rumor that you cheated on your love. Your reputation as a famous dancer goes down in seconds. But to your surprise, your lover isn't reading what they call you lately and your relationship is stronger than ever. Will you get revenge on your sister and become exactly what you despise, or sit back and let karma take over?
Popularity/romance
LTW: Become world class ballerina
Party animal, irresistible, social butterfly, hot headed, unlucky
Be enemies with your twin sister
Never be unfaithful
Have a bad reputation
Have at least one daughter
Lover- Gen 7: Cornelia
“I’d be a fearless leader, I'd be an alpha type
When everyone believes ya, what's that like?”
You've always known you wanted to change the world. Who cares if you were overlooked and discouraged. Snakes and stones won’t break your bones. You never had a big family as your father walked away from his. Sometimes it gets lonely trusting the wicked, and your loyalty was often a fault. You turn to politics to combat your feelings of helplessness, but no one takes you seriously and you feel lost in the light. You have to start from the ground up with the help of your best friend. You start to build your picture-perfect life: the kids, the lyrical smiles and the power. Will you drive away your lover by searching for their dark side, or will you put aside your ways and find the daylight?
Popularity/family
LTW: Become mayor
Good, easily impressed, brave, unlucky, perfectionist
Fall in love with your best friend
Have 10 best friends
Have children (at least one son)
Folklore- Gen 8: James
“I had the shiniest wheels, now they're rusting
I didn't know if you'd care if I came back
I have a lot of regrets about that”
You grew up trying to meet the expectations of your politician mother. Everything had to be picture perfect, even your private life. So she set you up with the daughter of one of the most powerful families in town, Betty. At first you are skeptical, but over time you fall for her integrity and affinity for old cardigans. Along the way you begin to feel stuck, tired of the sensual politics and your mother’s watchful eye. That's when you meet August -the polar opposite of Betty- and some part of you has to know what she is like. You meet in parking lots and dive bars, but after Betty finds out, you realize that summer is dwindling. In wake of losing two girls, you turn to writing: poetry and sad prose. You get lost in your stories, but once you start to gain traction, you can’t help but wonder how different your life could have been. Will you rekindle your wild flame with August or go back to the peace you felt with Betty?
knowledge/ romance
LTW: Publish 5,000$ best seller*
Great kisser, coward, bookworm, brooding, commitment issues
Fall in love with Betty
Fall in love with August
Confess to cheating on Betty
Write novels
Move into a cottage by a lake
Finally choose the one girl
Have at least one daughter with her
Evermore- Gen 9: Ivy
“And the skeletons in both our closets
Plotted hard to fuck this up
And the old men that I’ve swindled
Really did believe I was the one”
You always resented your father because he abandoned the good life for a cottage in the woods and his stories. You don’t want that; you want power and wealth. You don't need love, just a fancy car. So you turn to crime, because it’s easy for you; you love the gold rush. You con men and no one will ever prove it. You marry rich men and inherit their money when their time runs out. But then one day you meet your match, a fellow criminal, and wonder if this life will really bring you happiness. But you realized this a little too late, and now you're forced to drink your husband's wine… but he was the wrong guy. Will you leave the life of crime behind or will you stay frozen in time?
Fortune/pleasure
LTW: Gold digger
Kleptomaniac, genius, charismatic, mean-spirited, rebellious
Go into the criminal career
Marry a rich sim
Fall in love with a criminal and have an affair
Have a son
Midnights- Gen 10: Snow
“And I don't dress for villains
Or for innocents
I'm on my vigilante shit again”
You knew your mom wasn’t the most ethically-correct person. You like to think you inherited her better half; but that isn’t entirely true. You are determined to be different, so you become a spy; you get the satisfaction of working for the good guys and the pleasure that comes with great wars. Being a spy is difficult though, and you never know when things could go wrong. You are constantly burning files and deserting old lives. But you’re a mastermind, nobody can deny that. You finally meet your perfect person, but it's hard concealing your true occupation from them. You have money and respect… But can all of that pay for someone to just know you?
Fortune/knowledge
LTW: Become head of the SCIA
Perceptive, disciplined, loner, proper, daredevil
Join the intelligence career
Move homes at least twice
The rest is up to you since it is the last generation 
*50 new LTW mod can be found here
if anyone decides to do this challenge tag me! i'd love to see it
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s-che · 3 months ago
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Reporting from the Dream Library: Sagas of the Icelanders
This month, the Dream Library is pairing two extremely good first(ish) generation Powered by the Apocalypse games for our TTRPG book club: Gregor Vuga’s Sagas of the Icelanders and Jason Morningstar’s Night Witches. We had our first session (of Sagas) last Friday and it was an absolute hoot — I’ll jump in to talking about everything that happened in just a moment, but first, as a reminder, if you’d like to swing on by for our ongoing RPG book club, play sessions, or just to talk games and design, you should come do that. I will kiss you on the head if you do that (I will not).
Anyway, let’s talk about Sagas.
What is this game like?
Sagas of the Icelanders is an old PBTA game — one of the first generation after Apocalypse World itself. There’s a dedicated subforum on the old lumpley Barf Forth Apocalyptica forums with posts going back as early as 2010, although the full game crowdfunded in 2013. On surface mechanics, it’s a pretty typical MCed 2d6 plus stat mechanical structure, set in the Iceland of the early 900s, a setting which is (to paraphrase the text), as dramatic as high fantasy, as lonely and communal as the post-apocalypse, and as tense with social pressure as a western. We play as a handful of people eking out lives on a broadly unpopulated island, struggling to survive far from their ancestral homes in Scandinavia or the British Isles. 
The most immediately eye-catching part of the game is it’s emphasis on gender in society in the setting: almost all of the playbooks in Sagas are gendered, and the basic moves too are divided into those available for men, those available for women, and the (very) few shared between them. It’s a hard swing for a historical game — especially one that came out in 2013 — but, for reasons which I’ll talk about in a moment, it works really, really well.
What was this session like?
Our session opened with, hmm, I would say maybe an hour of loose chatter. I would normally call this a pretty inefficient start to a 3-hour oneshot, but it was honestly worth the time. We were playing with materials designed by Jason Morningstar (of Night Witches) — a family tree with blanks left for us to slot playbooks into. Like the gendered basic moves, this felt good — it hit the right balance between suggestion and restriction — and we spent the first third of our time in what we might call idle dreaming, working to slot our characters into a community together and figure out where things stood. In a real way, the session underscored for me the value of good players — it felt collective and collaborative in a way which required a lot of trust and a good group.
Our first hour of actual play was dedicated on family drama: Vermund, the witchy eldest daughter of a recently deceased goði (a kind of local judge), watched from a cliffside as travelers from another community (a goði named Magni and his daughter, Halla, betrothed to Vermund’s younger brother) picked their way along the road towards our homestead. A wedding should be a time of celebration — yet when she read the runes, Vermund saw danger in the future: a plot by Magni to seize control of the property through this well-timed marriage. To make matters worse, Vermund knows a secret: although Bjorn is in fact her mother’s son, his father is not her father but the Christian thrall, Olan, who was brought back twenty-five years ago from a raid to Ireland.
Back at the homestead, Bjorn and Vermund’s husband, Gisli, relax in a hot spring and are briefly taunted by Egil — a foster-brother adopted by the goði before his death, and several years Bjorn’s elder. After insults fly, a holmgang (a formal duel) is planned for later in the evening, and Egil continues on his way, carrying meat for the welcome-feast for Magni and Halla. Yrsa, the goði’s widow, butchers it herself then assembles the full household to give some sage wisdom on how not to ruin things this evening.
In the last hour of our play, Magni arrived — accompanied not only by his daughter but by a priest — and revealed himself to be a recent convert to Christianity. The welcome-feast settled in more or less peacefully (with some stress over Egil’s seat, which was turned over to Magni’s priest)... although Bjorn did not hit it off with his bride-to-be nearly as well as his sister did. When Egil, motivated by drunken passion and perhaps a legitimate sense of brotherly love, attempted a toast which called more attention to Bjorn’s weaknesses than to his strengths, a brawl broke out between the two brothers which ended — tragically — in Bjorn’s accidental death. We ended our session as Magni’s priest prayed, Yrsa wept, and everyone wondered what could possibly happen to our poor community (and the inheritance) next. 
Holy shit did we have a good time. The first and most obvious thing to say — in case it wasn’t obvious from that play summary — is that Sagas of the Icelanders is a deeply social game in a way I think few other games have really successfully mastered. This is where the gendered stuff starts to really come out strong: the playbooks are full of these cascading moves, webs of insult and honor for the men, soft power and tense circumstances for the women, and an altogether sense that things have the possibility to fall apart — or spiral into a blood feud — at any moment. Of course, they eventually did — and in a way I don’t think anyone was expecting. I was excited for the potential of a holmgang, but where we ended up felt somehow more poignant, more tragic and stupid and pointless — and generally more in line with the Icelandic family sagas, the epics from which the game draws its name. 
There were friction points, of course — as we discussed afterward in the Dream Library the game, while it does a really terrific job of modeling what it’s like to participate in gendered society, has no real mechanical scaffolding  for what it might mean to see yourself outside of the role you’ve been assigned. You can fail at performing gender, of course — but never intentionally subvert it. That being said, the game has a real hack-friendly tone to it (one of the perks of being so early in PBTA as a movement, I think), and I think some custom moves would easily resolve those issues for longer-term play.
Speaking of that hack-ishness, I do also want to shout out that Sagas, like Apocalypse World, has a kind of maximalist sensibility that was eventually lost, I think, from a lot of indie RPGs and has only recently begun to be found again. In the race to prove that indie games are easier to learn than D&D, there’s a tendency to slim down as far as you can — turning thick games into zines and zines into one-pagers — which I think is, genuinely, tragic. Sagas of the Icelanders revels in bits of scale and extra content: historical information, appendices on the legal system during the period and how it changed over time, some mechanics to help ease the transition into a Christian Iceland should your campaign cover the decades that process took, and even a short essay reading Iceland as a successful stateless/anarchist society. There are names, dates, recipes, and snippets — Sagas of the Icelanders is crammed full of little details in much the same way Apocalypse World is. 
All in all, it was a really lovely game. I was glad to leave off where we did — and I could have played for another dozen sessions and told the story of multiple generations of this extended family. Sagas is simply good — and more people should be talking about it.
What comes next?
Next on the docket is a oneshot of Night Witches sometime next week as the Dream Library transitions into discussions about that game. I’m really excited — Night Witches, like Sagas, has been on my list for years and I’ve never gotten around to actually playing it. I can’t wait to see how the actual play will shake out. If you’d like to get in on playing, there’s still time! If you just want to come and chat about the game over text, that’s also good! If you’re enjoying reading along with these play reports, well... Keep reading them! 
I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with some war stories.
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thg-rcg-simps · 6 months ago
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White blossom
I just reread the Treasures story of White blossom, aka one of the prettier memorials/Treasures in the game, aka one of the Grinding suits as I like to call them.
(Spoilers for Kimi's parents and the origins of White blossom, a Treassure from Apple and a little on Sayet)
And I honestly just can't fanthom their love story, Lunette and Schiller are so...pure. We don't get the chance to hear a lot about them, besides the obvious, that their love was very strong and very big. But even after that, the game doesn't delve much into it. Which seems normal for Kimi's character, being relativly reserved in order to function. But we also find out somewhere in the middle of the game about her softer and more vulnerable sides. How much she cares for her father and how much her mother's death actually affects her. (At least I didn't catch anyone massively mention any of that, but I am behind in some of the story and lore due to grinding on things that aren't the lore, which is entirely on me and my ADHD)
In this is where White blossom comes into game. We do get the info that the suit was created for Kimi's mother, Lunette. That the suit shows and represents the deep love and affection Schiller feels for his wife. How much she just means to him.
But getting the insides of their love is just AGHH! Give me more please!
It's just so cute! I could scream! (And I did!)
Their affection and the way how natural yet strong their connection is. How neither of them expected something like this happening yet it happened like it was the easiest thing to them, like breathing. And their confession to one another that they need each other like they need air to breath? Wonderful! And so damn romantic!
Lunette is the perfect companion to Schiller. At first, you would really think that they can't work because of just how completely diffrent the two love birds are, but it feels like this is a point for them. Lunette brings Schiller much needed insight into empathy and optimism, just like Schiller is the rock in see that always seems to catch Lunette from falling to her deep end. Comforting every time she finds out again and again how cruel the world just can be. Being the realist on how things sadly work, but determined to make it better for and with her.
He doesn't think of himself like someone truly deserving or worthy of such love (as so much it seem, we don't get enough info to properly confirm my theory), but Lunette shows him just how much he's important to her. For him, she is just like a white blossom, her being as innocently pure and vulnerable as blossom petals, natural beauty, and him being the winter that causes her to die. But in reality, he is much rather her protector, the sun that makes he bloom and biggest supporter on her journey to herself and her dreams. For her, he is the designer which pieces she loves, and is mesmerized by them as if they would be woven out of pure beauty.
In her world, he was the man that hung the stars, and in his, she was the sole reason why the moons and stars exist. She was his muse, his partner, his friend, his everything.
And as a symbol of their love story, a white blossom tree was just as magical as their love. They were so much in love, they were so happy. Kimi was their most cherished token of their love.
And knowing all this, his demeanor of White blossom makes just so much more sense!
It's not simply a pretty suit he designed. It's not a Treasure. It's not a suit he crafted out of King Sayet's relic. No, no it's the embodiment of their love and their story. It's her, what he loves about White blossom.
And sure, you can criticize him massively on his behavior after Lunette died and just how much of an overworking workaholic he became. How much distant he got from his daughter, but to me, it can be forgiven due to his grief he could never really allow himself to feel. He had a country/nation to run and raise a daughter while losing the most important person in his life. So he is definitely deserving of some empathy.
But this is also exactly why he is willing to risk just about everything for White blossom. It's not about the material, it's not about Sayet's relic, it's not because of the gold the suit is worth. No, it's because this is everything he has left. This was made for Lunette, who was taken from him, it was her suit. And now, they want to take even that away from him.
What makes the suit so valuable in my opinion, is the sheer emotions he used to craft the suit as much as the memories that formed due to it. It's a visual, physical representation of their love. Kimi is much the same, yet her own person, and I think it's beautifully made clear he doesn't view her just as the daughter of the love of his life, but as their product of love, and he respects her much more her being and opinion than just because of being Lunett's daughter. But White blossom is different. It's her suit. It's her light, he used to make it.
And since we know Sayet liked to implement memories and very strong feelings into his works to make them so special and valuable, it can just very well be, that the memory of their marriage/the important life points of their love when she wore it, are implemented into the suit.
This also, to me, implies the whole Treassures entry, in fact all their entrys feel like the memories and emotions that menifested in said suits, which is why they are Treasures in the first place.
Anyways, Lunette and Schiller are super cute and it's so darn sad she has to die, but maybe there is one version of this time loop where she survives and those three are a sugar happy domestic family! And when there isn't, it's my job to make this headcanon real, hehe ^^
-RikkaCatGirl (Okami Imouto-chan)
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brionysea · 1 year ago
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⭐ sorry about this, but i wanted to ask about your allison and five fic that you did a while back; 'the garden's overgrown'? ❤️
no need to be sorry, this is what i reblogged the ask game for! - the garden's overgrown
this one was a while ago. pre-the umbrella academy season 3 (back when i still had hope, lol). my thought process for writing it was mostly wanting allison and five to have shared screentime - mostly in the badass sense, because they'd be unstoppable together, but that's not really my vibe when writing so i went for the emotional aspect instead
i think allison is always the most... determined, to have a normal life. mostly because she actually built one for herself when claire was born. i think that's a really good match for how five never really learned how to be a person, and allison's so caring that i could see her pushing him towards figuring that out (even in little ways like "taking breaks" and "eating" and "sleeping"). she realised that the way reginald treated them wasn't right when she became a parent too ("mind controlling your child is unethical," says the law - even though they didn't care about ethics when allison was a child soldier for a billionaire who bought babies and made them fight bank robbers - and allison decides, all on her own, to be better), so she's doing the thing where you become an adult, realise your parents' shortcomings, and just start raising yourself. that's where her reaching out to viktor so much comes from, because if claire was treated the way viktor was as a child, allison would probably kill someone
the thing with claire... it kind of makes sense that five tapped out of the conflict at that point in the show, because all of his siblings were alive (even ben! sort of), and he was exhausted so he decided claire's non-existence wasn't his problem, but that doesn't... sit right with me. his whole thing is family, and allison would never be happy without her daughter - yeah yeah, "i'm not looking for happy," but they're still in the wrong timeline and his perfectionist tendencies and understanding of the consequences of time travel could never accept that - so he keeps pushing himself to fix things the right way. plus, even if he did stop running, that lifetime of trauma would inevitably catch up with him. i understand why the show can't delve into that, but realistically that's what would happen if he took a break, and i think it's a really fascinating explanation for why he never stops. even when he's actively bleeding out
and back to allison! i love allison. it was really nice writing from a woman character's perspective. i already mentioned this in the fic's end note, but i had laryngitis when i wrote it (don't scream-sing with headphones on; bad), and that really influenced all the references to the bad stuff that's happened to allison's throat throughout the show (she can't catch a break - logical weaknesses for plot-breaking powers suck), and also how linguistically-focused someone with a Magic Voice's perspective would be. i slipped a little bit of her experience as an actor in there too, because come on, allison is so smart. why wouldn't that come up regularly when she's trying to manipulate her siblings into self-care?
to highlight a particular section that i always giggle about on re-reads, because i think i'm very clever:
She remembers holding a gun to her brother’s head.
She doomed the world—doomed Claire—because she refused to do what her father would have expected of her in that situation.
She chose door number three and everything immediately fell apart.
Isn’t that just typical.
this really explains everything about allison (aka Number Three) to me. no matter what she does, she can't win. she loses her childhood, her brothers, her daughter, her first marriage, her voice, her siblings, her time, her rights, her second marriage, her daughter again after giving up her second husband to come back to her, her whole world every time she rebuilds it from the ground up - she loses everything whether she uses her powers or not, whether she tries to be good or not, whether she listens to the ghost of reginald hargreeves or not. this woman can get anything she wants with just a few words, and yet she still can't have anything at all. isn't that ironic? isn't that deeply tragic?
and that is exactly why the natural direction of allison's character is going off the deep end. no more playing nice. her daughter was taken from her, allison has the ability to reshape reality, and she's going to use it. i don't believe five really has a lot of creativity or understanding of allison's powers when he says there's nothing she can do; he's been away for so long, his brain is probably fried, and she's smarter than anyone gives her credit for. she could think of something besides five's (let's face it, historically unstable) equations to get them out of this. and with allison helping five get them all to the elusive reality where their family can finally be safe and happy and together, he would actually succeed for once. which is presumably why the show has thus far refused to let this dream team happen (like powerful klaus, it fixed everything in the comics, and therefore it would break the show)
director's cut commentary on fanfiction
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daddysfangirls-marvel · 1 year ago
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Scars (5)
Chapter 5: I got a questions
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Warning: none
The next few days were great, although Alice didn't really talk. And this might sound mean, but there were moments when the team forgot she was in the room and had to catch themselves when their conversations were heading into an adult subject. She was so quiet most of the time they didn't even know she was in the room until they spotted her in a corner which always scared the crap out of everyone, Natasha joked, saying she would make a great spy, and Clint joked they should put a bell on her, Tony didn't like that and said " the minute you put a bell on my daughter will be your last," except Rhodey and Tony they always knew she was in the room. As creepy as her sudden appearance was, the team understood her human interaction had been very limited throughout her life, and she had been isolated for a long time, with her only contact being her father (or, under special circumstances, Rhodey). When she spoke, it was a single quiet word, usually 'yes' or 'no.' Even without words and at a distance, she was very sweet.
While everyone had taken pity a liking to the girl, there was also a lot of curiosity and mostly concern. But no one really questions Tony on anything to do with her, especially not with her around, but still, everyone wants answers.
Natasha looked around and saw that Alice was the only one not in the room. She didn't want to make the girl uncomfortable, so she decided now was a good time to ask.
" So, Tony"
"Natasha?" her smile was scaring him
"I've got some questions"
"oh dear," Clint whispered as he moved to the other couch
"Why did you hide Alice? Why did you hide your daughter?"
"Why is it any of your business? Why do you care?" Tony asks, eyeing her suspiciously " You know what -no. It doesn't fucking matter. Keep this bullshit away from my daughter. Keep your spy shit to yourself" With that, Tony takes his drink and walks out of the room.
"so much for family game night," Sam said. "Why are you always questioning about his daughter"
"Because she's hurt, because she's traumatized, she's mentally unwell. I just met her and can already see that she's not right. No one in the world knew this girl existed until now. She was hidden away from everyone and everything. Alone. Isolated. And it has very clearly had an effect on her... Why would he do this to her? Why would he put his daughter through this? I want to know his reason. And I hope it's good." Natasha said, getting up. She left to begin her research. 
"And you think he's going to give you one?" Bucky said, "You said it yourself. He put her away, isolated, left her alone, and made her disappear. He fucked her over for 17 years. And he has yet to see the ramifications of his action despite them right being in front of him. I can tell you right now whatever reason he has. While he might think it is good enough, it's not."
"I think you should leave it. He's not going to give any real answers. We should just try and give her a safe space for now." Steve said. He and Bucky stood up and walked out.
"What happens to having a normal family game night," Clint said, throwing his cards down.
"One, this isn't a normal family, so don't expect normal, and two, we're playing UNO. Some shit was about to go down, " Sam said, throwing down a draw 4 " Like that"
-
It was around 3 am, and everyone else was asleep While Natasha snooped around. She trusted Tony to a limit, and the fact that he had a 17-year-old daughter that popped up one day with no explanation was helping wasn't helping him gain her trust. She wanted an explanation and her where was the best place to go when you have questions that needed answers other than Tony's private office. She had never had a real reason to go through Tony's private office before today she had never ever been inside the keyword 'private.'
After going to Tony's Lab and silencing J.A.R.V.I.S., Natasha when to his Private office and hacked the keypad to two different doors walking in, she finally understood why his office was so damn private. There were pictures of his daughter all over the place and many diplomas and rewards on display. Taking a seat at Tony's desk Natasha didn't even look at the computer. Knowing Tony, she knew she couldn't even a tempted to hang his computer without him knowing, she went straight for the drawers picked those locks, and looking through the files. She found the blueprints to the house which Alice had been living in where the house was and her school files. There was nothing useful in the drawers. Natasha began to look around the room for anything to give her a clue. Finding nothing, Natasha decided this wasn't the place to look after all and puts the files away. While putting the files, Natasha found a button in one of the drawers pressing it the left wall lifted up "Bingo," Natasha said as she got in the room.
Looking around, she realized it was a monitor room there were TV and computer screens showing a different room that definitely wasn't in the tower. "That's the compound, where she lived" Natasha didn't turn around she already knew it was Tony " I never actually left her. I always watched her, always knew what she was doing, making sure she was safe. I've probably taken overprotective dad to a new level" he chuckled bitterly.
"safe from what? From what I've learned, she was in the middle of nowhere and had more security than the president and tower combined. What were you keeping her safe from?"
" The whole world
She's my little girl after her mother I knew I needed to keep her safe, but I didn't want to leave her alone. Then she started developing her abilities. She's different. Too different. I didn't want anyone to find out, anyone to hurt her. I sent her away where no one could hurt her, no one could find her. I put up cameras to watch her and ensure she was always okay, even without me there." Tony says as he takes a seat in front of one of the monitors away from Natasha
"One time, she cut herself in the kitchen. I was in LA, I never flew so fast in my life I was so scared, but it was just a small cut. In my head, she had cut off her fingers and was bleeding out on the kitchen floor. I got there, and she was on the couch, and she was watching The Lion King with a band-aid in her hand. I had left two minutes before I was supposed to receive a reward, and I didn't pick up that reward I ended up staying with my daughter and watching The Lion King. And I was okay with that because it was my baby girl who wanted to watch tv with me, how could I say no? " He rambles on about small memories with his daughter.
Tony remembers that day very well. As soon as he arrived, he rushed into the Kitchen, panicking to find out she wasn't there. Running around the whole house, not finding her, Tony nearly had a heart attack. He finally found her in the living room on the couch watching the Lion King "Daddy?" and with that, he busted into tears, ran over to the couch, and hugged the life out of her. After that, he didn't even return to work he stayed there to watch a movie with her and tucked her into bed before going to his room. He almost had a heart attack that day.
"I've never seen you like this. You really care about her"
Tony gets up "It's called being a parent Ms. Romanoff," Tony said a guided her out of the monitor room " When you can finally claim a child of your own, you'll understand" He guided her out his office, and they walked the halls
"I can't have children"
" The child doesn't have to be yours for you to fill the connection, for that little parent mechanism to kick in" They arrived in the kitchen Tony got two water bottles, two forks, and a slice of apple pie.
"I'm a godmother," Natasha said, taking a bite of pie
" Sorry to say that's not the same thing. It's not the same as claiming one as your own. Godmother, you are only needed in the worst situations. They aren't yours until something bad happens. I'm telling you, saying 'my kid did that' and' my baby' to the world is so satisfying... or at least I think it is I've only ever said that to Rhodey. Hiding her and all. Might be different for others. Point is saying those words to anyone, in general, will make you feel so proud, so wonderful." Natasha laughed at this, "And imagine when they get hurt, it'll scare you to death, you'll lose control" 
"I don't know about all that "
"yes, just ask Clint your heart will stop, your world will end, and you'll feel the pain you never felt before because you love them," Tony said, finishing the pie,
" here I thought your heart was two sizes too small," Natasha teased 
"When you're ready and want to talk, kids let me know I can set something up for you, " Tony offered, putting the dishes in the sink.
"is that why you won't tell me?" even though this whole conversation, and the pie, were lovely, this was not Natasha's goal tonight. Her goal was to find out why Alice was hidden for all these years. It was 4 am, and she still didn't have the answers she set out for. Though she did learn something new, this was not what she wanted.
"I'm going to keep my baby girl safe from everyone, including you. There is going to be a day when you find out I hope it's for a good reason, and I hope that day isn't soon. "
"you seem different when you talk about her"
"That happens when you become a parent. Now little Romanoff, it's way passes your bedtime, let's go" Natasha laughed at this but never the less let Tony lead her to bed, she had let Tony lead her a lot tonight. Arriving at her room, Tony, playing parent, did not leave nor close her door until he was sure she was in bed. Once he was gone, Natasha had a good laugh on her pillow before falling asleep.
"What abilities?"
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@lovely-lollipops-blog @totallyweirdsam @sexysamsungl @lilylovelyxo @iamwarrenspeace @geeksareunique @that-random-emu  @supreme-leader-jazlo-ren @stone2576 @lil-dino-trash @metal-armed-dino @dylanobrienmoviekid @theshortegg @dontevenblink-badwolf-tardis @mandylove1000  @isnotashtonstan @broitsmydick @onceaballeralwaysaballer1213 @mypage-myfandoms @jordynhartley2001 @midnightdream83 @cookies186 @i-am-marvel-trash-forever @marvels-queen-bee @aebeessun @gabriels-gumdrop @the-best-alchemist @smile-my-bean @valeriae2903 @cassiopeia-barrow @uberduber-loulou @spideyboiiiiiii @lookinsidemyhead @actors-hot @lokilvrr @5aftermidnightdaily-blog @captainamerica-is-bae
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@acupofhotlatte @actors-hot @drakesfiance @sambucky8
@purplekitten30 @goneghost123 @quietgeekygirl
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writingbyrenae · 1 year ago
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Omega Detective cast - An ever updating list:
Note: this is pure fantasy and kind of silly but that's part of the fun. Turn off your brain and enjoy the show
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Deisi De la Rosa aka [some cool alias] - heroine, Omega. Estranged daughter of a media mogul who pours her allowance into fighting crime. Kind of a genius, honestly, but mostly just a nice, quiet girl. Has a very strict code against killing, but for practical reasons.
Hazel Carpenter - a 13yo that lives in Deisi's apartment complex, who she babysits often. She's obsessed with boy bands, especially a kpop idol group called VI-Lains. She also loves arcades, video games, and swimming at the local pool
Owen Carpenter - Hazel's adoptive father, he was in love with both her parents before their tragic deaths. Now he fights to keep custody of her, despite being a single Omega. He may or may not know Deisi's secret.
VI-Lains - a six piece Korean idol group, all Alphas. Their MVs have a storyline involving them taking over the world, with their music on the darker, electronic side.
Blacklist - a secretive international criminal organization with eyes on infiltrating the city Deisi lives in. At the front of this mission are six masked Alphas, all from Seoul - hey wait a minute--
Kim Jun-Seo - the captain of VI-Lains and the leader of the Blacklist Pointmen. Confident, calm, cool-headed/devious, decisive and daring. The leader, the negotiator, the manipulator. Secretly has a much softer heart than he seems
Ryong Ki-Nam - second in command of the Pointmen, singer and rapper of VI-Lains. Dry sarcasm, cocky, sharp temper. Wants the job done and done well. Writes a lot of the groups music
Nang Hyun-Jae - The genius, the planner, generally acts as mission control. He figures out the information and how to use it. Normally works alongside Min-jun. The best sense of smell on the team, and can identify people with it.
Ku Min-jun - bodyguard, medic, general badass. Keen sense of direction, not afraid to use his knowledge of the human body against his enemies. Sometimes flirts with Hyun-Jae when they're alone
Kil Kyung-Sam - the playful one, he shows affection by messing with the ones he likes. Has a sadistic streak and a fondness for "playing with his food". Often the bad cop to Yong-Gi's good cop.
Nae Yong-Gi - the youngest, the sweetest, the most underestimated. A passionate lover of coffee with a tendency to worry (he swears those aren't connected!). Something of the team therapist, though none of them would call him that.
The Smugglers - the villains of the first three parts. Their attempts to make a deal with Blacklist catch Deisi's attention, leading to her heroine persona crashing their parties again and again.
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lazygirlgaming · 2 years ago
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Love & Pies
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I've been playing Love & Pies for several months now and that is, genuinely, the longest a merge game has lasted in my phone since, like, 2016. Let's get into it.
The Game
Love & Pies is a completely free-to-play mobile merge game. It's a lot like the other merging games on app stores nowadays, but there are absolutely NO advertisements! You can spend money for in-app rewards, as with most ftp indie games, but I've had very little reason to do so, and I don't think I've actually given in to any of those urges yet.
The game follows a young woman named Amelia who just moved back to her hometown with her daughter Kate. When she arrives, she finds her mothers cafe had suffered a fire, and her mother was nowhere to be found! Sounds very similar to the draw towards other games like this, right? The story of it, anyways. Well, that's on purpose. The actual game is so much smoother, cleaner, and cohesive than you can find anywhere else on the app store.
Amelia, unlike protagonists of similar games, doesn't just passively let things happen to her as she rebuilds and runs her mothers cafe. People in town come to depend on her to solve mysteries in their own lives - some of them quite dramatic! - all while she tries to solve the mystery of who tried to burn down her mothers cafe, and where in the world her mother is anyways.
I'm somewhere around Day 40 now, meaning 40 days since Amelia returned, and so far I've met her uncle, her great aunt, her childhood best friend, her high school sweetheart (+ his twin brother), a local lawyer, a local journalist, the owner of the rival cafe, and the rival cafe owners horrendous father. There are other characters also mentioned in passing, but the cast is quite diverse in both race/ethnicity and body type! They frequently have an event ran called 'Uncle Sven's Toy Shop' where you help Sven and his longterm partner Otis build toys for the children at the local children's hospital (pictured below).
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The Experience
Despite my screenshots looking low-quality, this game is of the highest caliber. The story is consistently engaging, the art and character designs are eye-catching and very down-to-earth. And, most importantly of all, the characters are human. Their dialogue reads like real conversations, and not those poorly written scraps you find in other free mobile games. It's very obvious that the team at Trailmix put a lot of time, love, and effort into this game.
Other than that, there's not much to tell about the experience of the game. You merge a couple things together to get a new thing and then you serve a customer the result to get coins to advance the story. Simple, concise, predictable. Obviously customers order different things and their orders get more complex with time, but the game is constantly supplying you with more items to merge into the suppliers that give you ingredients.
Also, many of the events run (aside from Sven's Toy Shop) can be played by playing the game as normal. The other two events that they often run are "Edwina's Coin Dash" in which you have to get as many coins as possible in 3 days to beat Edwina, the rival cafe owner. The other one is called "Yuka's Date Dash" where you help Yuka, Amelia's childhood best friend, acquire roses for a date. There are multiple levels to each of these events that you have to beat, each increasing how many coins/roses you need to advance. So, as of yet, I haven't beat either of the events, but I've gotten within 3 levels of beating Edwina's coin dash. I'll be taking that crown, yet!
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The Pies
Listen, I'd be lying if I said that there was anything totally unique and original about this game. Quite frankly, there isn't. But I think that's what makes it special! The grounded, down-to-earth nature of this game is what keeps me coming back for more. The people in this game look like people I see everyday! That's really important to me, especially because the people I see everyday aren't necessarily represented through games of any kind, let alone mobile games. Trailmix, if you're reading this, you've made something really special. I'd say mission statement successful with this one.
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The Conclusion
This is a really great mobile game and I absolutely encourage everyone to make space on their phone and download it. Decorating this sweet little cafe is something I try to make time for everyday. It brings me little pockets of joy every time I open it, and it's a great way to kill a few minutes while waiting for a class or meeting to start. It's completely free! No advertisements whatsoever! And developed by an indie game studio! Hurry up and go get it!
5/5
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niobe-loreley · 2 years ago
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Heaven Is In A Shortcake {v}
sorry for the long wait, enjoy the appetizer!
(see author's notes far below)
disclaimer: The Gray Man and the characters are NOT MINE, even the reader. I only own the plot and the reader's character lol. pictures are NOT MINE, only the edited version of it for the fic (msg me if you're the owner), credits to the rightful owners and to weheartit + canva. additionally, i am not a subic/zambales native so my apologies for any wrong, locations, or languages.
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Six x F!Reader / Courtland Gentry x Fem!Reader
warnings: moderate swear words. slow burn. fluff. comedy (maybe). trust issues. culture shock. check word count.
CHAPTER SELECTION is in the ✨Masterlist✨
Chapter 4 - previous chapter, check masterlist link
Chapter 5 - this is it
[next chapter link will be posted below for suspense & convenience hehe]
words: 2.9k to 3.2k (maybe)
(N/N) = nickname
*Kiara = Claire
*Kurt = Court
*cover names | reader doesn't know (except you do know #wreckthe4thwall
⚜🍰⚜🍰⚜🍰⚜
You look up and catch sunbeams glinting off buildings. They’re blinding, but only for a moment. For some reason, that’s how two months feel like— a moment. A very exhilarating and periodically relaxing moment. It’s as though when you stop your gait, turn your gaze down, and blink away the lingering sunlight— it’s already the next day.
You hate the irony of how time ticks faster whenever you're having fun. Quite unfair. Time should be pausing, or at least slowing down, and letting you enjoy those genuine, serotonin-inducing moments without consequences. The urge to curse profoundly at time quivers in your tongue, but you'd rather not anger it and shorten your time in this world.
Before the fear dissipates your anger, you remind yourself why you're so angry at time.
Drum roll—
Because this has been one of the most interesting summers of your life, and it's coming to an end.
Badum-tss!
You won't say it aloud, but you mentally answer Muro when he asks: why do you keep glaring at the clock?— Because it's going too fast, I don't want summer to end.
One reason is because of the incoming rainy season. Businesses slow down sometimes, but at least the cafe's hot drinks and soups are the top products. Though, people of this country still drink hot coffee on a sweltering (normal) day. And you'd be lying if you say you're not one of them.
Other reasons— yes, plural —are the father-daughter duo, who are (probably Americans) Friday night regulars at the cafe. You haven't inquired about their ethnicity, but you haven't heard any accent from them. Moving on from that, this father-daughter duo has made your summer vastly enjoyable. And if you're being more honest, they're the main reason why this summer is in your Top 5 Best Summers list.
You've only been meeting them once a week, sometimes twice or thrice when you run into them at the malls, even so, every encounter with them is delightful. Even though Court is as guarded as ever. But over the past eight weeks, he's slowly been building a window for you to occasionally look through his reinforced concrete walls. The window is heavily curtained all the time, yet you'll find a gap.
Six weeks ago, as you’re serving them their meals, Claire fixes up the board games she brought and returns them to the shelf. Court is disposing of the gum from his mouth to its wrapper.
“You can put that on the tray. I can slip it in the trash,” you quickly say when he attempts to pocket the tissue in his jacket.
“Oh.. uh,” he pauses, looking from his hand to you as you outstretch the tray to him. “It’s fine.”
“Please, sir, it’s my pleasure— wait, no. That doesn’t sound right.”
Court snorts before he can stop himself. Your genuine grimace is somewhat fascinating, probably because it instantly burns his assumptions to the ground. Isn’t it normal to think that someone wants to check on your DNA by acquiring the gum you finished chewing?
However, it appears you’re not one of those people.
“Here,” Court puts the rolled up wrapper on the tray.
“Is it the same flavor?” you ask, “Bubblicious Watermelon gum, right?”
“That’s right,” he nods, astonished at your recollection.
You chuckle. “It’s not that popular here, though I’ve seen it around S&R. I remembered it ‘cuz I like the name— Bubblicious.”
“Would you like some?”
You’re surprised, but Court is shocked. He doesn’t realize what he's asking until he finds himself fishing out the packet of gum and extending it to you. Before he can take it back, you’re already reaching for the gum.
“Thanks.. gum would be perfection.” you wink, slipping out a piece.
“Great— another FRIENDS and bubblegum addict.” Claire groans and furtively smirks at Court.
You laugh. “I didn’t peg him as someone who watched FRIENDS.”
Court opens his mouth, ready to defend himself, but Claire interjects, ready to expose him. “Watched? He’s still watching the series,” she says. “And now, when I started watching FRIENDS, he’s watching it with me.”
"Oh, wow, he is an addict." you remark theatrically.
Court sighs. "Why are you two always ganging up on me?"
"Simple, teasing you is fun." Claire states with a nod.
You pop the gum in your mouth and give a thumbs-up. "I concur."
"That's the last gum I'll ever offer you."
"Sure, sugar daddy. It's not like I can't buy my own."
You sashay away to put the trays in the tray station, next to the refill area, but not after you ram the tray through the mini-swinging door of the trashbin and slide the wrapped up gum in. You remain calm until you siddle through the kitchen doors—
"What the fuck?!" you whisper to yourself, covering your mouth, you abruptly crouch down. "What the fuck did I just call him?— Wait, no. No, no, no, no! Don't remind yourself! Fuck!"
You hop in your squatted form. You wanted to stomp your feet, but you didn't want to make any noise. But you need an outlet, or a neuralizer, so that you can forget what you said. Talk about cringe!
You'd really take a neuralizer right now.
"Ano ginagawa mo d'yan?" Mindy is looking at you like you're an animated garden gnome.
“Binubuksan ko yung lupa para lamunin na ako.” Opening the ground so it could swallow me.
Court still gives you gum in the following weeks. Though, he preferred it if he hands it to you without Claire in earshot, because she would pull teasing faces at both of you.
And as for Claire, she has been exchanging books with you all summer. Or more like, you’ve been reading the same books while she managed to read three. It took her 4 weeks to finish both TFIOS and Paper Towns after you gave them to her. She told you that she had to pause after every chapter to calm her heart down, and this temporary discontinuation typically goes as long as 2-5 hours. 
“Damn, finally!” you exclaim with a laugh, “Now that you’ve finished the books, when are you gonna watch the movies?”
Claire hands you the paper bag holding the books. “I think I need some time off from the heartache,” she sighs, softly patting her chest, where her device-assisted heart is beneath.
“That’s right, you better rest— oh?” you glimpse at something else in the paper bag, “Kiara—”
“I bought a bunch of bookmarks, but I had too much!” Claire hastily cuts you off, laughing, she gives your arm a squeeze.
Your brows leap in astonishment and you glance over to Court, who’s across the booth from her. He's sitting like usual, as though waiting for a meeting: hands clasped on the table, back straight, knees bent 90°, and soles planted firmly. He meets your eyes briefly before staring at the teenager, wondering what she's hiding.
But you decide not to disclose it.
"Well, gosh! I planned to buy bookmarks 'cuz I've been putting almost anything between pages when I don't have a real bookmark," you laugh as you shortly retract the bundle of bookmarks from the bag. You then instinctively pat the teenager's crown, "Thank you, Claire. Even though it's too early for Christmas, I'll consider it as your gift. I shall give you an extravagant one after payday!"
Claire is stunned, not just from your words, but from how you pat her on the head. It's somewhat comforting, just like Court's, except it's much more gentle and natural. She finds it silly how she feels as though the two of you were born to interact in this moment. And if she's being more silly yet honest, you remind her of her mother.
"Or you can give it to me on Christmas. And I can give something back," she blurts out, glancing at Court with glistening eyes. "It's not like we're going anywhere— during Christmas, I mean."
It's discreet, but you heard it— the crack in Claire's voice. You try not to look as though a herd of elephants is stomping around your chest. And when she looks at you wistfully as she says those words, it's harder not to look pained, so instead you think about how she resembles Court. 
"No, we're.. we're here indefinitely… I hope."
You want to ask, very badly, why they have the need to leave. The way they say it makes it seem as though they have no choice. That at one point or another, sooner or later, they're gone. No looking back, no good-byes. And no amount of promises between strangers will make them stay.
You know it. They know it. And it's not hard to understand.
But still, you say— "I'll hold you to it, Kiara."
Claire is astonished, which she immediately relinquishes for merriment. "We have each other's word, then!" she replies, beaming.
Despite the cap obscuring half his face, you spot his frown as Court casts his gaze down. ‘Yeah, I’m disappointed in myself, too.’ you mentally sigh, ‘Making brittle promises to a girl with a feeble heart is a dick move.’
For the rest of their dinner, Court is extremely passive. He only looked at you once as they're leaving. 
That's why when you arrive back at your apartment, you're having second thoughts on whether or not to use the two-way radio. Claire didn't just return your books and gifted you with a bundle of bookmarks, she also gave you a walkie-talkie with a set of instructions.
READ ME
The General Guideline To Our Secret Comms
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You glance at the wall clock, it's already 23:12. You don't know why Claire gave you a walkie-talkie, but you're more curious as to why she doesn't want Court to know she gave you one.
Is Court on channel 14? Should you tell him about this? Or will his daughter answer your questions if you figure out how to work this thing?
Five minutes before the designated time, you're already on channel 17 and entered the privacy code. You keep the transceiver on your desk while you crouch behind the other side of your bed. 
Who knows, it might suddenly explode. Better safe than sorry. Yet your subconscious is looking at you as though you've been probed by aliens.
At exactly 23:30, the device gives a crackle. You flinch and duck down, waiting for an explosion.
Fortunately, nothing happens except—
"Part Seven. Leave a fish for the lovely Mr. Worthington." Kiara's voice resounds out of the radio.
By the time she finishes the initial greeting, you're already clambering over the bed. You snatch the transceiver off the desk, pressing the talk button. "I suspect he won't be home yet." you reply and release the button.
"I hope the cops find him barefoot, frenzied, and naked in some roadside ditch a week from now."
"Remind me never to cross Margo Roth Spiegelman."
There's a beat before her voice crackles through with a laugh. "It's good to hear you, (N/N)."
"Well, it has been nearly two hours since we last saw each other. Quite a long time."
"I'm glad you figured how to get it to work. The lines are a bit.. dangerous, no?"
"It's not too out of context if you're a cultured being."
Claire laughs. "True. How about we update the lines every week? And let's take turns in coming up with the codes."
You grin. "Sounds fun! I'll buy some of the books you have, then?"
"And I'll buy yours! But the books should be the same edition."
"Copy that," you pause. "Shouldn't we be saying over or something? Or else we might be overtalking each other?— Over."
She's giggling. "I agree. Over."
"Call me childish, but I feel like a soldier or a spy. Over."
"You do sound like that. Over."
"I'm surprised the static is minimal. Over."
"That means we're less than or nearly a mile apart. Over"
"Oooh!" you exclaim and suddenly pause when curiosity bites your tongue again. You decide to free it. "Say, Kiara.. what's with the secrecy? Over."
No response.
"I'm not guilt-tripping you or anything, but it just feels wrong of me not to tell your Dad about this." you scratch behind your ear, "Don't you have SMS or Viber where we can chat freely?— Over."
"My dad's… He's a bit of a private person. Over."
"If by a bit, you mean excessively, then I agree. Over.
You can hear the smile in her voice.
"I can't help but agree."
You can imagine how the smile slowly dissipates from her lips.
"I hope you believe me when I say I want to tell you, (N/N). Because I do, and I.. I trust you somehow."
You feel a sting in your lungs. "As flattered as I am at your trust, I don't want you to confide in me if you're not ready." you pause to snort, "Or if I'm not trustworthy enough. Over."
"But you are, (N/N)!"
"Girl, you've only known me for a month. And say over when you're done speaking. Over."
"Right, sorry. But a month is a lot of time to get to know a person. Over."
You stay silent, because for the first time in forever, you don't know what to say next. This child is evidently trying to get close to you, or atleast, trying to find another person to trust other than her stoic father. But you're not the right person that she should be looking to. 
All your life, your parents have called you out for "running away from your responsibilities"— to which you reply, "I'm charting my own path for my responsibilities, thank you."
Even now, that's still your hardcore belief. Except it's currently wavering with the disapproving voices of your parents. You're not running away from deeply befriending Claire; Court obviously doesn't want you. They're just your customers/acquaintances, none of you owe each other anything.
So, why the hell do you have this urge to take care of the girl?
"(N/N)? Are you there?— Over."
You sigh. "Kiara.. you shouldn't easily trust anyone just because they're kind."
There's a moment of silence from the other end.
"Pft— sorry, but.. that was unoriginal. And no offense, (N/N), you sound like my dad."
"I'll take great offense in that because I am not as snooty as him!"
For the rest of your limited conversation with Claire, the two of you decided on what book to cipher— all the while throwing several remarks/trash-talking about Court. You could imagine all the mucus he accumulated from sneezing too frequently.
⚜🍰⚜🍰⚜🍰⚜
A/N: how have y'all been? Great! Oh? How about me? Well, my Tumblr's been buggy, I think, cuz I can't seem to comment on any posts. Anyone know what to do? I messaged the Support team already, it's been 15 hours and they haven't replied dklfjsd
Portal to Chapter 6 <-click that when it's opens later (maybe)
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@kat-thepoet
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randomshyperson · 3 years ago
Text
The Scarlet Witch Prophecy - The Fourth Year (Part I) - Chapter 04
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Series Masterlist ||  Read on AO3 || All Works Masterlist
Summary: As the youngest daughter of Howard Stark, you have ordinary expectations for your years at Hogwarts. Little do you know what adventures await you when your destiny is intertwined with the legendary Scarlet Witch.
Warnings: +16. Adaptation of the Harry Potter Saga, Magical Thematic, Prophecies, Mentions of Violence, Torture and dark magic, Language (swearing and minor/major offenses), manipulation of will, Underage kissing, insinuation of smut with minors, Smut (overage), descriptions of death, aggression, obscurity, angst, fluffy, soulmates analogies.
Chapter Words:  9.832K
Authors note: In this one I start to explore more of the magical bond between reader and wanda, and well, it will be very much about that from this one on. I need to know if you all prefer longer (and more detailed) chapters about the reader's years at hogwarts like this one (which has been divided into three parts) or if you prefer the pace of the first three chapters (with only the relevant events of the whole year). Enjoy your reading.
//-// x //-// //-// x //-//
It's very different having Nebula and Gamora at home. 
You were used to having only Tony and Jarvis, and occasionally your father, but now that you have your friends sleeping in the next two rooms, you always have someone your own age to talk to and laugh about the same things.
It took a while for things to normalize, especially the first week. Thanos was furious about the letter that Gamora sent him, saying that they would live with you now. He showed up in the yard of your house the next day, and you have never seen your father so enraged.
They talked for many minutes, and then Thanos demanded to speak to his daughters. Nebula was trembling as she walked out the door, but your father stayed by their side during the entire conversation.
When they went back inside, Thanos left. Two days later, your father signed the adoption papers.
You were surprised when you discovered that Nebula was as passionate about magical mechanics as Tony, so it didn't take long for it to become commonplace for her to disappear into the basement of the house along with your brother, both of them wrapped up in some strange invention. You and Gamora usually spent most of your time in the backyard, she reading some Arithmanian stuff you didn't understand, while you played quidditch, or the two of you tended the garden. Mantis also came to visit you in the summer, and Groot was the size of a small dog now.
You exchanged many letters with Wanda during the vacations. And when Iron brought another one of them a little after dinner, on the antepenultimate week of vacation while you and Gamora were in your room talking about the coming year, she acquired a mischievous look on her face.
"What do you guys talk about so much?" She teased as you took the letter from Iron's beak. You shrugged, feeling your face heat up, and thought it better to look at the paper in your hands than Gamora's face.
“I don’t know,. Everything i think”. You answer.
Gamora is silent as you read the letter. You smile, because it is as if you hear Wanda's voice in the words you read. 
"Can I ask you something?" Gamora speaks next, you make a noise with the little one in agreement, without taking your eyes off the paper. "Have you ever kissed anyone?
"What?" you ask in surprise, raising your eyes to her. "N-no."
Gamora's arms are crossed and she's sitting on the bed, and she raises her eyebrow in disbelief.
"Is that so?" She asks and you swallow dryly, confirming. Her expression softens. "I'm only saying that because a lot of people start dating in third grade."
You close the letter in your hands, placing it on the shelf beside you. Ignoring how the subject makes your stomach flip with nervousness, you rest your hands on your knee.
"Do you think we'll start dating too?" You ask shyly, and Gamora smiles, shrugging.
"Who knows?" She retorts. "I never thought about that either. But I do know that Pietro kissed Monica on the mouth after our leave vacation inside a cabin on the Hogwarts express."
"Are you for real?" You asked in surprise. "How did you find out about that?"
"Quill wrote to me last night." She says. "I forgot to tell you."
"Wow." You say. 
"Yeah." She agrees. "Peter told me that Pietro turned red as a tomato, but kept smiling. I thought Wanda would tell you that."
You bit your tongue to avoid mentioning that you and Wanda don't talk about such things, and cleared your throat before shrugging.
"Maybe Pietro didn't say anything to her." You say. "I probably won't tell Tony when I have my first kiss."
"You're probably right." Gamora said casually. "But you're going to tell me, right? When you kiss someone, you need to tell me how to do it."
You laughed, walking over to Gamora.
"I promise I will." You say extending your pinky to her. She looks at you confused, "It's a pinky promise, haven't you ever sworn like that?"
"That's muggles' stuff." She comments with a smile, and you laugh.
"Yeah, my dad probably learned it from my mom." You say using your other hand to take Gamora's hand. "Come on, you put your finger like this, and then we swear."
Gamora laughed as she followed your commands, and then you repeated the promise. After you yawned, she bade you goodnight and went to her room.
You fought the urge to reread Wanda's letter, and threw yourself on the bed, not understanding why your brain was replaying Gamora's questions in your mind and you kept thinking of Wanda afterwards.
//-//
The Quidditch World Cup is happening this year, and you can hardly contain yourself with excitement.
You had been to the event a few times when you were younger, but now that you actually played quidditch it was a very different feeling.
Your favorite team was the Guardians of the Galaxy, who had played for England for many years, and were also your father's favorite team. Tony stopped liking them the first year, saying that they were losing too many games, but you knew it was because Steve Rogers was rooting for the Brooklyn Soldiers team and Tony was trying to impress him.
All your friends will be at the event, including many thousands of other witches from all over the world. 
You have to wake up at dawn in order not to miss the time of the portal keys that have been scattered around the country by the Ministry of Magic, to prevent wizards from being seen disappearing into inappropriate places that could expose the magical world.
When you came down to the kitchen, everyone was already having breakfast. Your father kissed your forehead as he walked past you, a mug of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other.
"Finally awake, sleepyhead." Teased Tony when he saw you, you just yawned. 
"Are we leaving already?" You asked sleepily, grabbing some toast.
"Yes, dear." Her father replied looking at his watch. "Get ready soon, or we'll miss the schedule."
You grumble in agreement, hurrying to get back to your room and take a shower. 
When you are ready, and stretching as you walk to the outside of the house, Gamora joins you, a backpack on her back resembling yours.
"I can't wait to see the foreign wizards." She comments excitedly making you smile. Gamora didn't like the sport, and was far more excited to see the witches from the rest of the world than to watch the match.
"I bet there's going to be some Ilvermorny people's stall." You say as you catch up with your father, who was waiting next to Tony and Nebula. Jarvis waves goodbye to you from the doorway, and you begin walking toward the trail beyond the mansion grounds. "They are so show-offy."
Gamora laughs.
"I've never met anyone from the United States." She counters. "But some witches from Japan have been to my house."
You know that the mention of home or Thanos makes Gamora very uncomfortable, so you try to skirt around the subject.
"I guess Nurse Cho was from Mahoutokoro, huh?" You comment, and Gamora shrugs. "Thor had mentioned that during a class, I think."
"I wonder if the other schools are cool like Hogwarts?" She asks, and you smile.
"No place is like Hogwarts."
Gamora laughs, but agrees. You walk in silence for a few more minutes, and it is only when you reach an empty area that you stop.
"Here we are, people." Your father says next, slightly tired from the exercise. He waves for everyone to form a circle as he checks his watch. "Two minutes to go, children. Stand in position please."
There is a small cloth boot in the center of the circle, and you are not the least bit surprised because you know that portal keys are usually the most mundane things you can think of.
You all reach down and touch the boot with your fingertips. You smile at Tony who looks up at you. Two minutes later, you feel a tug, and everything spins around you. Taking a deep breath, you focus on controlling yourself as you are falling into the portal key. And then you land on the ground.
"Here we are." Your father says smiling beside you. You look to the side to see Gamora helping Nebula to stand up properly, as she had remarked that she gets a little queasy with this kind of magic. Tony throws an arm around your shoulders next.
"Ready to see the guardians lose, kid?" He teases causing you to let out a humorless laugh.
"You wish." You grumble pushing Tony lightly, who lets go as he laughs.
And then you start walking again, until you come to a place considerably noisier than where you were before.
The ministry seemed to have bypassed an area with low chains, and you notice the magical aura around the metal, signaling that everything was magically hidden.
There is a wizard in uniform at the entrance, and he collects the tickets before letting you pass into the hut area. 
There are many tents of the most varied characteristics. You laugh in surprise when your gaze catches a conjuration exactly like a vacation castle, but much smaller in size. As you walk through the crowd, your father asks everyone to hold hands so as not to get lost as he guides you to the area where you would be staying.
Your father has rented a tent in a more private area of the place, and there are hardly any witches where you are. You like the silence, but you miss how much more fun the other place seems.
"The Rogers and the Barnes should be here by now I imagine." Your father comments as he waves his wand to open the cabin. You enter the room next, it is like a small winter home inside, very cozy.
"Yes, dad." Tony replies throwing his backpack on one of the couches. "I wrote Steve last night."
Howard grumbles in agreement, walking to the kitchen. You place your backpack on the floor next.
"Daddy, can I go look for Wanda and Pietro?" You ask and your father laughs, denying it.
"You didn't eat anything before you left, honey." He says turning around. "Eat something and then you can go look for them."
You grumble, but agree. While you are making some eggs, Steve's family arrives.
"Howard, you outdo yourself every year, my friend." Joseph Rogers comments as he enters the cabin. Your father smiles cheerfully as he hugs him in greeting, then greets Sarah, Steve's mother, with a kiss on the cheek. He ruffles Steve's hair and pats his arm, repeating the same gesture to Bucky, who follows behind.
" Is your father not here, James?" Howard asks next, and Bucky clears his throat.
"No, sir." He replies. "Since my sisters can't come, he took them to a music event in the muggle world. If you want my opinion, rock concerts are as cool as quidditch."
The comment makes Howard laugh in agreement, but Steve's family doesn't seem to understand very well.
Soon they were all around the room, talking animatedly about the most varied subjects. You exchanged a complicit look with Gamora and Nebula, and you took advantage of your father being involved in a conversation with Joseph to leave the cabin.
"Do you have any idea where Professor Lehnsherr has placed the tents?" Gamora asks you once you are outside and you look around.
"No." You reply. "Wanda just wrote that she and Pietro were going to be here too, but I don't even know if it's Magneto that's bringing them."
"We're just left to look then." Nebula concludes and you nod in agreement, starting to walk.
You walk back to the common tent area, looking around.
Gamora and Nebula are easily distracted by the amount of interesting things to see, and almost lose track of you when some witches from the Salem Institute hand them some exchange pamphlets. 
It is only at the food stall that you finally find who you were looking for.
"My god, is that...?" You hear Gamora exclaim next to you in surprise. You know she was talking about Professor Lehnsherr, who is wearing jeans and a T-shirt and sunglasses and looks very well, and has a completely different posture than he usually has in class, but you are not looking at him anymore. 
Your stomach is restless because you are looking at Wanda, wearing a black skirt with knee socks and boots, and a red jacket. She looks beautiful, and you are blushing.
Gamora waves to them from a distance, and it is Pietro who notices you guys first, waving back cheerfully while nudging Wanda on the shoulder. She blinks in confusion and then smiles when she sees you.
You think your legs have turned to jelly, but you continue walking toward her. 
"It's so good to see you girls" Pietro exclaims happily as he hugs Gamora. 
"Hi, Wanda." You greet with a half-hearted smile, but Wanda's face lights up and she jumps at you, hugging you tight, and making your heart soar. "It's good to see you too." You whisper humorously against her hair, and Wanda releases you with a reddened face, smiling widely.
"I missed you." She says to you shyly making you look away clumsily, but before you can add anything else, Pietro is greeting you as well, and Wanda does the same with your sisters.
"Hello everyone." Said a male voice next, and you stared at Professor Erik awkwardly. He didn't seem bothered by being approached by any of you, however, a hot dog in his hands. 
"Hello, Professor Lehnsherr." You and your sisters said in unison, but the man had an almost friendly expression. 
"Don't worry about being formal while we're here, girls." He says. "We're just sorcerers in here, looking for a little cheap entertainment."
You and Gamora exchange a look, not knowing exactly what to say next. Professor Erik sighs, and then looks at his children.
"You can go spend some time with the Starks, twins." He says making his kids let out excited exclamations. "Be back by the start time of the match, please. I don't want to lose sight of you in a place with so many people of unreliable origin."
You don't quite understand what "unreliable origin" means, but you don't question it, excited to spend some time with the Maximoffs.
After Erik gives them a few galleons to buy whatever snacks they want, you walk back to the cabin.
//-//
You spent the whole afternoon with all your friends in the cabin, playing magical games, practicing simple spells, and trying to guess the outcome of the match. When the first warning alarm sounded, you all let out a chorus of excitement.
You ran to your room, looking for the cheerleader accessories you had obtained, while ignoring the teasing Tony was throwing at you about the opponent team's sure victory.
He and the Rogers were all wearing blue and white scarves, bracelets and hats, which represented the colors of the Brooklyn Soldiers.
Your father was wearing a big red jacket with the symbol of a gold star, the team's mark. You gave him one of the buttons you brought.
Pietro was also rooting for the Soldiers, along with Nebula and Bucky, so you didn't try to lend any of your accessories to them.
Wanda was in the room when you put a blue scarf with gold accents around her neck.
"For you to support the team." You commented excitedly, without any idea that Wanda's flushed face was because the scarf smelled like you.
"Thanks." She said shyly, and you just nodded, holding some bottons on her shirt.
Gamora borrowed one of the hats you brought.
When you walked towards the stadium area, all the other spectators were leaving their tents and tents and going in the same direction, so the crowd was even bigger. You did your best not to get lost.
Once inside the iron structure, you felt someone nudge your shoulder.
"Pietro and I need to find Dad." Wanda said and you waved, but then frowned, nodding back.
"I think he found you first." You comment while watching Erik look at you as he enters the same iron corridor. He looks at your family and friends next for a moment, his expression serious. "See you after the game, right?"
"Of course." Wanda smiles before touching your arm lightly. You still feel the touch many moments later.
//-//
The match is absolutely incredible. It is even better because the guardians win with a remarkable difference when catcher Jean Gray captures the Snitch after the second half, the stadium vibrating in celebration.
It's a complete mess after that. There are fireworks, and a lot of noise. Even though they lost the match, all the Brooklyn Soldiers fans are so impressed with the incredible match that they join the celebrations.
You stumble out of the stadium between laughter, Gamora's arm around your shoulders as she laughs at the dance that your father and Joseph are doing on the way back.
Fans of the Guardians continued to light the celebratory fireworks, and there was a huge fireworks scarlet dragon streaking through the skies above your heads.
Your dad and the Rogers family go back to the cabin while you stay outside with Bucky and your friends, wanting to enjoy the rest of the fireworks display. You also want to see Wanda again.
"The Guardians are very excited, aren't they?" Bucky comments with a laugh, noticing an increase in the volume of the crowd's screams. You laugh and you look at the sky again.
When you blink, there is an explosion noise in the distance, so muffled by the other sounds that it makes you confused. Your friends don't seem to have heard, and you step forward, watching the crowd closely.
You see a lot of people laughing, and dancing, and it takes a minute for you to also notice those who are running.
"Guys." You call in confusion, and Gamora who was closest to you turns around with curiosity. "I think there is something wrong."
Another explosion occurs and this time everyone listens. The crowd in front seems to gradually realize that there is something wrong going on. And then the firework dragon in the sky is fading, considerably dimming the lighting.
Your father came out of the hut the next moment, a concerned look on his face, and the wand in his hands.
You feel a panic rising in the pit of your stomach when people start running and screaming, and you notice spells being cast from a distance. You were thinking it might be some kind of cheering team fight, but the possibility is completely ruled out when you notice the masked men in the crowd.
"Get your things now." Order your father out loud and then you are all moving back to the cabin, picking up all your belongings quickly. You hold the backpack tightly against your shoulders when you go out again, complete chaos around you. Your father, Joseph and Sarah lead you among the people, shouting that you need to get back to the portkey. You gasp in surprise when you feel a twinge behind your eyes, and you are struck by a vision of a forest. This little delay is enough to make you stay behind and lose sight of your family.
But you are not looking for them anyway. Your feet are spinning in the opposite position, and you are pushing people to run. You need to find Wanda.
//-//
You end up at the end of the camp, the tents far behind you. The sound of confusion drowned out by the distance. Feeling a new stab of pain in the head, your knees give way and your body lowers, while you raise your hands to your face, immediately being hit by a vision. This time you see a shadow of a tall figure, perhaps a man, standing in front of you. There is a metallic taste of blood in your mouth, and you want to get away, but there is something holding you back. When you blink, you're back the end of the camp.
You don't understand what's going on, and there is a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness in your chest, but you keep walking, crossing the magical chain and moving into the forest. You fall to the ground on your knees a moment later, intense pain all over your body. Gasping, you look up, only to see a green light form in the sky.
At first you thought it might be fireworks, but it was magic. The symbol of a hydra conjured in the clouds was beginning to move, and your entire body weighed.
You looked down, and your eyes caught a figure in the woods. It was a man, but he was too far away and you couldn't see his face. He had his wand raised to the sky, clearly being responsible for conjuring it up. Your head started to spin in pain, and you rested your hands on the ground to try to normalize your breathing, and then the man looked at you.
You felt your heart race when he started walking towards you, but then there were screams and footsteps, and he ran. A moment later, your father was kneeling beside you.
"Darling! Are you okay?" He asked worriedly raising his hands to your face looking for bruises. You sighed, still in pain. Only when the aurors of the ministry of magic raised their wands to the sky and made the mark disappear,  you feel your body relieve immediately.
"I saw a man." You confessed breathlessly, and your father looked at you with confusion. But the wizards of the ministries seemed quite interested.
"Where, child?" Asked one of the aurors, you gasped slightly, feeling your body tremble a little.
"He went in that direction." You say pointing. "He was the one who conjured."
The woman nodded in understanding, and left after whistling for the rest of the Aurors to follow her. Your father helped you to stand.
"Honey, listen to me carefully." He said in a mixture of concern and seriousness. "Don't tell anyone about this."
“What, daddy? I don't.."
"Honey, please." He interrupts by stroking your cheeks with his thumb. “I will explain everything to you, I promise. But this needs to stay between us. You can't tell anyone what you saw in the sky.”
You swallow dry, but agree. Your dad doesn't let go of your hand all the way back to the portkey, and when you rejoin your friends again, you lie and say you just got lost in the food stall area after he gives a little grip on your fingers.
//-//
Your father doesn't explain anything to you.
When you return home, he receives urgent howlers from the ministry, and then he returns to the ministry of magic.
You are walking around the kitchen, outraged that you were prevented from looking for Wanda on your way out of the stadium and you have no idea if she is okay.
"What if the Maximoffs have a phone?" You grumble to yourself, but then you remember that you don't even have the number. You press your hands to your face, trying to calm yourself down. Wanda was fine. She had to be.
Gamora and Nebula are sitting on the couch, discussing something with each other, looking concerned. Tony locked himself in the room after Howard refused to tell him what was going on.
You don't understand why you have this horrible feeling in your chest, and you can't stop wondering if Wanda is okay, and then you support your hands on the table, trying to normalize your breathing and stop yourself from crying.
"Hey, breathe." You are almost startled by the voice at your side. Gamora touches your back tenderly, and you shake your head, feeling the tears flow. "She's fine, you need to breathe."
"You don't know that." You snap out of breath, and then Gamora puts her hand on your shoulder, asking you to look at her.
“We met Erik on the way out while you got lost. They left before you came back. ” She tells and you blink confused. “Wanda is safe. Breathe."
You gasp, and then your body relaxes as if a weight has been lifted off your back. Gamora looks at you with a mixture of concern and confusion, but you sigh, hugging her in appreciation.
"Thank you." You whisper against her hair. "I should have asked."
When you let go, she still looks at you with concern.
"Yeah, I know." She says assessing her face. "You should have asked how anyone else would do it."
You frown, not understanding what she is saying. But she still looks at you, suspicious.
“It looks like you were barely listening to us when your dad brought you back. And then I find you like that, and one word is enough to get you back to normal. ”
"What do you mean, Gamora?"
"I'm worried about you." She says. "I don't know what it is, but there is something strange about the way Wanda affects you."
You change the weight of your feet, uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.
"What are you talking about?"
"She's talking about you not being able to bewitch Wanda." Nebula adds by getting up and walking over to you. You blink confused, ready to say that story was too old, but the girl is not intimidated. "She's talking about the way you behave around her."
"I don `t…"
"It's not just about liking someone." Nebula interrupts and you feel your cheeks heat up. "Gamora thought it was because you are in love, but that seems like something else."
Something in your stomach falls. You gasp in surprise.
"I'm not i-in love!" You exclaim with a racing heart. "I'm not…"
Gamora sighs impatiently, messing with hair. And trying to calm you down, she puts her hands on your shoulders next.
"Listen to me, okay?" She asks. "There's something weird about the way you care about Wanda. We don't know what it is, but you need to admit that you can see that too."
Facing your friend back, it takes a moment while you think of your words, for you to speak again.
"I saw a mark in the sky." You confess, deciding to disobey your father. Gamora blinks in confusion, and you clear your throat before you clear up everything that happened. Her hands fall off your shoulders when she opens her eyes wide for your confessions.
"Are you sure it was a hydra?" Nebula asks seriously and you wave.
"Do you know what that means?" You ask, and the girls exchange a look, but before they say it, you hear another voice.
"It is the Mephisto mark."
You get scared of Tony coming down the stairs, his gaze on you as he walks over to where you are. He folds his arms when he reaches you.
"Which means death walkers are back."
"Tony ..."
"You said you saw a wizard." He interrupts seriously. "Do you have any idea who it is?"
"No." You embarrassingly deny it, feeling your stomach sink with the look Tony is giving you. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You are the one who's been weird." He replies. "I'm just trying to understand what's going on."
"What did you mean by that?"
"What did you see in your head?" He counters with another question and you start to get angry at the way he is behaving, but tell him anyway. Tony sighs impatiently, turning in the opposite direction. He circles the room for a few moments before speaking again. “Daddy is never going to let us get involved in this. Especially now that you are having visions in your head. ”
"I still haven't told him about it." You grumble and Tony looks at you in surprise.
"Then don't say anything."
"What?" You exclaim with a frown in confusion. "What you mean? I need to say. I have to find out what it is. ”
Tony laughed incredulously.
"You still don't get it, do you?" he retorted. "Dad won't tell us anything. He didn't tell us about being an Auror, or about being friends with Professor Lehnsherr. He didn't even bother to try to understand why you can't bewitch Wanda!" Tony squirms angrily, and you shrink your body to the pitch of his voice. But he sighs, running his hands through his hair, and softening his expression. "I'm sorry, I'm not angry with you. It's just... I don't like being lied to."
You looked away, feeling tired. All this talk was making your head hurt, and the previous events had affected you more than you would like to admit.
"I don't know what we can do about this." You say. "I don't understand what's going on, and Dad would be the first person I would ask something, but he's not willing to help us. I feel like I'm at a dead end."
Tony lifts his arm to your shoulder, trying to reassure you.
"Hey, don't be so concerned about it." He says. "I'll find out what I can, and well, we're going back to Hogwarts next week. You and Wanda can try to figure out what this connection is about, while I try to figure out what's going on at the ministry."
You nod in agreement and Tony smiles, hugging you briefly. You hope that despite everything, you will have a quiet year at Hogwarts.
//-//
The Maximoffs are not on board the Hogwarts express.
You are in the same cabin as your friends, squeezed in because not everyone can fit in there, and you take several turns with Peter and Darcy in turn to sit down, while you are spread out in the corridor. 
"No sign of Wanda, huh?" Gamora asked as she saw you looking around the hallway for the tenth time while you were standing outside the cabin, listening to Mantis tell you about her summer from inside.
"No." You reply. "I talked to her Slytherin colleagues, but none of them were very happy to tell me anything. Wanda didn't say anything in her last letter."
"Maybe she will arrive in a flying car, I hear they are popular." She jokes, making you laugh briefly. You can't ignore the nervous feeling in your stomach, and you sigh. Gamora places her hands on your shoulders. "Let's find something to distract you, okay? How about some explosive snap?"
//-//
Laughing at Quill's joke about the last statement in the Daily Prophet, as you walked off the train with the rest of your friends toward the castle.
A chorus of excitement coming from some students ahead of you caught your and your friends' attention, who looked in the direction curiously.
"Is that a ship?" You heard someone ask as they pointed in the direction of the lake.
There was a large old ship, right in the center, coming toward the castle. Everyone looked on excitedly.
"Students, please continue toward the castle!" Drax loudly commanded the crowd, and the students exchanged nervous whispers, all extremely curious to know who was coming to the castle. You swapped a glance with Gamora before following the crowd.
//-//
Already seated at the Hufflepuff table, you startled slightly when Mantis touched your hand.
"Calm down, you're making it snow." She asked gently. You shook your head, realizing the cloud you had accidentally conjured up above you. You had been so nervous the last few minutes, which only got worse when your gaze failed to find Wanda at the Slytherin table, and to no avail was the look of reassurance Gamora threw at you when she said she would ask her colleagues about her over dinner. As soon as you sat down at the Hufflepuff table, you played with your wand between your fingers, and before you knew it, it was snowing.
"Sorry about that." You mumble clumsily, putting your wand back away. Mantis is not angry, her look is one of concern.
"I'm sure everything is fine with Wanda." Mantis says to you, and you sigh, running your hand through your hair.
"I think so too." You say. "I just don't know why I can't stop thinking about it."
"Y/N..."
You lost your attention completely on Mantis as your gaze reached the door of the hall just as you noticed the figures entering. Wanda and Pietro, walking hurriedly to the Slytherin table, being two of the last students to enter the hall before the door closed. You made mention of getting up, but Mantis held you by the shoulders. 
You were about to complain, but she pointed in the direction of the teachers' table, and you rolled your eyes, because the welcoming speech was about to begin. Your gaze remained on Wanda, but she was looking straight ahead. The only good thing was that the feeling of worry in you diminished considerably now that you were seeing her.
"[...] and I am proud to tell you that a very special event will take place at Hogwarts this year: the Triwizard Tournament!"
You are startled slightly when Headmistress Harkness' words reach your ears at the same moment that the main hall explodes in hubbub. You lose sight of Wanda because people are moving excitedly, and Mantis is nudging you to look forward.
It is only now that you notice the large stone globet and the blue flame displayed in front of the bench. You blink in surprise, feeling your face flush because you spent all the minutes of the speech staring at Wanda without realizing it.
Then the principal speaks again.
"Of course, the ministry has determined rules for the safety of the students." She recounts. "No student under the age of seventeen will be allowed to participate in the tournament, in addition to the dueling rules..."
The principal's speech was drowned out by the chorus of protests from the younger students, especially those in the fifth and sixth grades. You raised your eyebrow slightly, because you noticed that your brother was one of the boys who was shouting in annoyance. 
Agatha then made a stern expression, clearly annoyed at having been interrupted, and it took only a few moments for the hall to become completely silent, and for her to smile again.
"Note that the other participating schools will be staying with us this year." She continues her speech. "Please welcome the students from Durmstrang Institute."
The doors to the main hall opened again, and a small crowd of students wearing thick winter coats entered. A tall, shabby-looking man with a scar over his right eye was at the front, guiding the students.
"Agatha!" Greeted the man with open arms as he reached the headmistress. Agatha smiled as she hugged him, and you tried to get a look at the new folks, as did the rest of the school, who were looking excitedly at the crowd. You let out a surprised exclamation when you recognized one of the faces. Your classmates also seemed to realize who it was, because many whistles and comments were heard. 
"That's Jean Grey, isn't it?" Peter Parker asked sitting next to you. When you confirmed it, he widened his eyes. "Wow, I didn't know she was still in school."
"She's the youngest catcher of the century, Parker." You commented with a smile. 
"She's very pretty, isn't she?" He retorted, and you made a noise of agreement.
The students reached the front of the hall next.
"It's good to have you here, Yondu." Said the headmistress. "How was the trip?"
"Wet and noisy, woman!" Rebutted the man humorously. He didn't seem too excited to greet any other teachers, focused only on the woman in front of him. Agatha looked at the students next.
"Please feel free to join any of the empty seats, all the houses were honored to accommodate you." She warned the students, but they only moved after Yondu waved lightly at them.
You bit the inside of your cheek, noting that almost everyone sat down at the Slytherin table. Yondu joined the students next, not failing to take a good look at the goblet before sitting down.
Agatha looked down the hall again.
"Let us also welcome our honored guests from Beauxbatons."
The students at Beauxbatons' institute seemed nicer the first moment you saw them, but as soon as you noticed the way their cloaks were bewitched to land gracefully on the floor as they moved, you figured they must be the kind of people who wouldn't be happy with Hogwarts' cleaning schedule.
The principal of Beauxbatons was a tall, stout woman, very beautiful. She had a crown on her head, and you wondered if the people of Beauxbatons were royalty in some way. 
"Ovette, it is an honor to have you with us." She greeted Principal Agatha, but unlike before, her smile was cold, almost fake. The other woman didn't seem happy to be there either, but returned the greeting in the same formality.
The Beauxbatons students sat down at Gryffindor's table, and you giggled when Quill grimaced at you from his table as one of the boys sat down next to him.
Suddenly you felt very hungry. And dinner didn't disappoint. 
"I think you'd better wait to talk to Wanda tomorrow," Mantis remarked next to you as soon as you finished eating. You frowned, looking at her.
"Why?"
"Professor Lehnsherr has been staring at the Slytherin table like he's going to cast a good behavior spell at them the entire dinner." She counters as she looks at the teachers' table. You look just in time to catch Erik with a stern look toward the students who were talking loudly on the end before he went back to eating his potato salad. 
"Maybe he just expects better behavior while we have guests here." You comments, glancing back to the Slytherin table. Wanda's gaze has not searched for yours all dinner, and you are starting to get annoyed by this.
"If you're going to risk it, I suggest you do it before curfew." Mantis quips as she looks down at her own lap. Groot is trying to steal her piece of chicken, and she smiles as she hands him a loaf of bread.
You look around. All the students are sitting at their respective house tables, and despite the loud buzz of conversation, no one is standing. You know that if you stood up, and walked to the other side of the room, everyone would look at you. Sighing in annoyance, you rest your face on your hand and your elbow on the table, giving up on talking to Wanda during dinner.
When dessert arrives, you become distracted.
//-//
Your best idea is to catch up with Wanda at the end of dinner, but you frown when she doesn't get up from the table along with the other students. The next moment, Professor Erik is joining her, and the crowd of Hufflepuff students pushing you out makes you lose sight of her.
You mumble softly to yourself when you have to go back to the dormitory, and Mantis gives you a short smile, equally annoyed by your nervousness.
//=//
You tried to sleep. Maybe at some point you did.
After you went back to the dorm with everyone else, put on your pajamas and turned off the lights, you think you fell asleep almost immediately. But there was no rest.
The minute you fell asleep, you were somewhere else, fully conscious.
It looked like a graveyard, and there was a lot of smog. You turned over, feeling breathless, and saw a red light, maybe it was a spell. The next moment you woke up, panting, opening your eyes and immediately sitting up in bed. Surprised at the amount of sweat on your shirt, you frowned.
The dormitory was completely dark, and everyone was sleeping around you. You felt thirsty, and as you tried to understand exactly what you had dreamed, you left the room.
The rest of the common room was also empty, and you sighed as an idea crossed your mind. Biting your lips, you shook your head. No, you were not going to sneak through the dormitory into the Slytherin hall, because that was absolutely against all the rules, and more importantly, it would be weird.
Ignoring the sudden urgency you felt to follow your idea, you forced yourself back to your dormitory, hoping that you would be able to sleep again.
//-//
The next day, you had no need to look for Wanda, because she found you first.
As soon as you left for breakfast, accompanied by Mantis, you gasped in surprise as you felt some jump on you just before the entrance to the main hall.
"I missed you." Wanda sighed as she wrapped her arms around your neck. Some students looked at you curiously, but you didn't mind, circling Wanda's waist to return the hug. 
"I missed you too." You retorted by hiding your face in her neck, feeling your whole body relax with the scent of her perfume.
But a sound of someone clearing their throat broke the moment, and Wanda turned away from you, her cheeks flushed.
"You saw each other last week." Pietro teased with a slight frown on his forehead. He didn't press the matter, however, greeting you afterwards.
You made your way to the Slytherin table, your newly awakened friends looking sleepy as they lazily enjoyed their breakfast.
After greeting everyone, you sat down next to Gamora, who was looking at the daily prophet.
"Not a word about what happened in the Quidditch world cup" She commented indignantly. The group shared the same reaction. "All the news is about the triwizard tournament being held at Hogwarts."
"Maybe they don't want to cause a panic." Quill then reasoned. You knew that he, as well as Mantis, only knew about what happened in the cup because of the letters you and Gamora sent. 
"It just seems like they are hiding the truth." Gamora retorts without taking her gaze off the paper. You glance at the figures moving around before turning your attention back to your coffee.
"Clearly corrupt wizarding ministry matters aside, is anyone here going to try to sign up for the tournament?" Quill asked next, causing you to frown as Nebula and Gamora gave a giggle.
"No one here is of age." You comment with confusion, but Quill gives a wry chuckle.
"You Hufflepuff people are adorable." He teases making you laugh. He stretches his arms out to Pietro and Monica's shoulders next as he is sitting between them. "My Gryffindor buddies have found the perfect solution to solve this problem."
You look at the three of them curiously. Gamora rolls her eyes, and turns her attention back to the cereal.
"Let me guess, aging potion?" Nebula then suggests, and Quill lets out an impressed exclamation.
"Look at you Nebula, who would have guessed?  I'll make a troublemaker out of you yet." He jokes, but Nebula just raises her middle finger at him, making the rest of the table laugh.
You are slightly distracted because Wanda asked you to pass the jelly to her and your fingers brushed against each other, and you had to keep it together, unaware because the sensation spread a tingle across your skin, so you are startled when Quill lets out an excited exclamation next.
"I just remembered!" He says. "I didn't complain enough about the cancellation of the Quidditch cup between the houses. I was sure Gryffindor would win this year."
Wanda lets out a wry chuckle, and Quill makes a mocking face at her, tossing a piece of bread in her direction. 
You like to see your friends like that, playing with each other. The next moment, Mantis asks how Quill intends to get past the goblet spells to put his name on it, and the boy spends the next few minutes arguing that the aging spell is enough to break the enchantment, and your friends seem happy to argue with him about it.
//-//
You're not sure how you're going to tell Wanda that you need to talk to her about the events of the vacations, and the cup, and well, your connection to her, so you ignore the suggestive look Gamora throws at you after coffee and decide to put it off for as long as you can.
Your classes seem to have gotten even harder and more boring, but you struggle. It's even trickier to pay attention when the whole school is excited about the triwizard tournament, and there' a lot of noise between and during the classes, after a while, the teachers give up on calming the moods.
Without Quidditch, you have free periods, and you use this time to spend with your friends, either playing witch chess or explosive snap, or even getting some practice with your broom.
The foreign students get more comfortable as time goes on. You would think that they would be sleeping in one of the dormitories, but they are staying on the ships and in the carriages that they have come on.
The only times you got a glimpse of Beauxbatons' carriages was on the way to the class on the Tract of Magical Creatures, and you weren't the only one trying to get a better look, but the guardian Drax was quick to scare off any curious people who got too close.
With three weeks of classes, the atmosphere at Hogwarts had changed a lot. You knew it was because the date for choosing champions was approaching, and everyone seemed to be holding their breath about it. 
Pietro and Quill actually proceeded with the idea of trying to fool the goblet with an aging potion. You and the girls joined them in the room where the magic object had been placed, and witnessed them try. And fail miserably. Wanda was worried that Pietro had been hurt when he was thrown across the room trying to get through the protective circle, but as soon as she saw his aged face, she laughed, and all the girls followed her.
Pietro and Quill were annoyed for three seconds before they began to laugh as well.
You fell silent the next moment, however, because Jean Grey entered the room accompanied by Headmaster Youndu, both of whom looked at you all reproachfully.
Jean placed a piece of parchment in the flame, and you all watched with some admiration as the goblet accepted her inscription.
The small admiring smile you had on your lip completely disappeared when Jean looked at Wanda on her way out, her gaze flashing in a way that made your stomach turn the wrong way.
When Pietro started talking about how amazing it was to have a famous player at school, you didn't feel excited about the idea anymore.
//-//
After your double period of potions on Thursday the last week of September, you could practically catch the anxious tension of your classmates in the air.
At dinner that night, the school champions would be chosen and even you, who were more concerned about the lack of news from home and the way Tony was clearly avoiding your presence, were curious to know who would be chosen.
The Goblet of Fire had been moved to the center of the main hall and you joined the Hufflepuff table with Mantis, noticing the warning look that Headmistress Okoye cast at anyone who was not behaving in the most chivalrous manner possible, but you didn't remark on it, noticing the wizards wearing formal attire at the teachers' table, probably being employees of the Ministry of Magic and reporters for the Daily Prophet.
A characteristic buzz was going on among the students, but the room fell silent as the students from the other schools entered the hall together with their principals.
When Headmistress Agatha began the selection ceremony, everyone seemed to hold their breath.
"[...] Tonight the goblet will choose the one who is worthy to represent their schools in the triwizard tournament. The ceremony of choice begins now." She gracefully presents, wand in hand. Agatha touches the tip of the goblet next, and the flame on the top changes to red briefly, expelling a piece of parchment through the air. Agatha catches the item between her fingers. "The champion of Durmstrang is Jean Grey."
The room erupts in applause and tears of celebration. You clap happily too, completely forgetting about that day in the hall. You knew that Jean had become quite popular among the Hogwarts gossips, especially since she is already a celebrity, so the reaction of your classmates was not a surprise to you.
You and the rest of the students watched as she accepted the parchment from Agatha before greeting the ministry wizards, and then walked into the small door behind the teachers' desk. As she left, everyone was silent again.
Principal Harkness repeated the wand movement on the goblet, and the flames turned blue again. She paused briefly before announcing the next champion.
"Beauxbatons' champion is Maria Hill!" 
You watch a very elegant girl get up from one of the front seats and walk in the same direction as Jean amidst the applause. The commotion is a little less than Grey's, but you know that it is only because Grey was famous.
A moment later it is the turn of the Hogwarts champion, and you are much more excited for this.
Agatha also seems more excited about this, a small smile escaping her lips before she repeats the wand movement.
When the parchment falls into her hands, she reads it aloud.
"The champion of Hogwarts..." She begins and her expression falls, her frown frowning. The brief suspense only makes everyone even more anxious. "Wanda Maximoff."
The crowd's reaction is remarkably different from the other champions; the hall explodes into a buzz of accusations of cheating, pointing out that Wanda was underage, and even snide remarks about a Slytherin representing the school, but you were barely listening. A wave of preoccupation takes over your body completely, and you look around the table for Wanda, but she is already standing up, her chin held high despite all the negative comments. She accepts the parchment Agatha hands her and heads in the same direction as the other champions. 
Harkness makes another movement with her wand and the flame from the goblet goes out. In the next second she is leaving the room, being escorted by the other directors and the ministry officials to the Hall of Champions. As soon as the door closes, the hall explodes in agitated hubbub, and many people stand up.
As the teachers call for calm, especially for the Gryffindor students who accuse the Slytherin of cheating, you and Mantis stand up and join your friends.
"I can't believe that just happened." Gamora comments as soon as you reach her, as impressed as she is concerned.
Your gaze searches for Pietro however, and he looks upset.
"Comrade, your sister is the champion of Hogwarts! She managed to do what we were trying to! Why the long face?" Quill asked his friend excited and confused, but when he went to hug Pietro, he pulled away, an angry grimace on his face.
"I can't believe Wanda kept this from me." He grumbled, you and your friends looked at him in surprise. 
"Come on Pietro, maybe she didn't think it would work and didn't want to say anything." Quill suggested but the boy shook his head.
"No you don't get it." He retorts. "She absolutely could not have risked doing something like that."
And then he turns away, and heads for the teachers' table. You and your friends are left with puzzled expressions, but upon noticing that he looked like he was going to be talking to his father for quite some time, you return to your conversation.
"I can't believe Wanda didn't tell anyone about putting in the name on the goblet, that's incredible." Quill adds. Nebula begins to argue how dangerous it was for someone without enough magical acquaintance to be in such an ordeal, and your stomach does a turn. You walk away from the conversation, heading toward the group of Tony's friends who were standing a few feet away from you.
"Hey, your friend just caused a stir around here." Tony jokes as soon as you reach him.
"I noticed it." You retort as you spot Professor Strange separating with a spell a student who jumped on top of another. "Everyone is talking about how dangerous it is for her to participate, can you tell me anything good about it?"
Tony laughs at the desperation in your voice. 
"I figure eternal glory and the thousand-gallon prize is the good part." He teases, and you run your hands through your hair, trying to ignore the urge to go into that little room and find out if Wanda is okay. Tony assumes a serious expression next, and lowers his tone, not that it was necessary, since everyone seems wrapped up in their own conversations. "You also find it strange that this happens after what happened at the cup, don't you?" He asks and you nod. Tony sighs. "Maybe this is a good time for you to talk to Wanda, little sis. About how you feel about her. And well, maybe as you help her practice for the tournament, you guys can figure out what that connection means."
You nod, feeling your cheeks warm. It was still strange how all your friends knew about the way you cared for Wanda.
You wanted to ask Tony if he had found out anything since you last talked properly, but Professor Strange ordered everyone back to their dormitories the next moment, and after Tony messed up your hair, you turned and headed toward the Hufflepuff students who were leaving the hall.
//-//
There was no way you could sleep without talking to Wanda, so you risked an detention by sneaking out of the dorm after curfew. Mantis grumbled at you to be careful before turning over in her sleepy state, making you laugh softly.
You used a simple invisibility spell on yourself, not so strong that you were completely invisible, but enough to blend into the shadows of the castle as you descended back into the dungeons. Hogwarts was, yes, very scary at that time.
The board at the entrance was sleeping, and after removing the invisibility spell, you poked it with your wand to wake it up.
"What, what is that?" Complained the irritated painting, looking around and acquiring an angry expression when he noticed you.
"I'm sorry. Keep your voice down please." You asked. "I need to get inside."
The painting looked at you suspiciously.
"I have seen you here before, but you are not from the honorable house of Slytherin."
"That is not your problem, Mr. Talos." You retort impatiently. "Just let me in. The password is Polyjuice Potion."
"Your friends will get in trouble if they keep sharing their password with you." Warned the painting before moving, giving you passage to enter.
"Thank you, Mr.Talos." You said with slight irony, walking into the dormitory.
You bit the inside of your cheek as you looked around at the empty environment. You were used to the place, but it was still creepy when poorly lit like this.
"We don't like intruders." Spoke a voice in the corner of the room, making you jump in fright.
"Damn, Nat, you scared the hell out of me." You complained, putting your hand to your chest and feeling your heart racing. The girl giggled, closing the book in her hand and standing up in your direction.
"Why are you here?" she asked with her arms crossed.
You gave her a lopsided smile.
"I came to check on Wanda, of course."
Nat narrowed her eyes at you.
"Why?"
"Why?" you retort after a short laugh. "Because she has just been chosen for the deadliest competition in the wizarding world, and everyone in this place wants to remind me of it!" You exclaim, and can't stop yourself. "I heard a girl say in the hallway that the tournament was banned for the number of deaths! Did you know that? Yeah, neither did I. And well, I can't sleep, because I keep thinking that something like that might happen to Wanda. And when I think about it, I can't breathe and I..."
"Stark, breathe!" Natasha interrupts you with concern, placing her hands on your shoulders. You gasp slightly, realizing that your eyes are filled with tears as you notice your vision blurring. You sigh, trying to normalize your breathing as you force a smile and wipe your face. "God, what was that all about?"
"It was nothing." You grumble. "I'm just worried."
Natasha doesn't buy your excuse, though.
"Tony told me about what happened in the cup." She says as she lowers her arms. You look at her in surprise. "He also told me about how connected to Wanda you have been feeling. I just didn't imagine that you would almost have a little tantrum at the possibility of her getting hurt."
You feel your cheeks flush, looking away to your shoes.
"I didn't have a tantrum."
"Nearly." She teases, but you don't laugh, feeling your stomach churn. Nat looks at you seriously next. "Wanda's not here."
You raise your head in surprise.
"What? Why?"
"I don't know." She replies. "Believe me, you weren't the only one who tried to talk to her. The whole dorm was wanting to know how she tricked the goblet, but no one has seen her since the selection."
You feel your heart soar, and seeing the way you react, Nat raises a hand to your arm again.
"Hey, try not to think about it so much." She says. "Maybe she's with her father. I imagine it's been quite a commotion that a minor has swindled the goblet, and the ministry must be trying to decide what to do. She must be in the teachers' dormitory, she is still a child after all."
"Wanda is already fifteen." You grumble.
"Yes, and I'm sixteen. We're all kids, Y/N." She retorts. "I don't think Professor Lehnsherr was going to leave his daughter alone at such a time."
You sigh, nodding in agreement.
"Try to get some sleep, will you?" Nat asks next. "I'm sure Wanda will talk to you tomorrow. And well, I think she's going to need her best friend to not sleep through the conversation."
"Wanda said I'm her best friend?" 
Nat laughs at the way you talk, probably sounding like a lovesick puppy. 
"God, you two are a disaster." She comments before waving you toward the exit. You bid her goodnight and thank her before walking back to your dorm.
//-//
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aliensunflower-fics · 4 years ago
Text
Marinette The Perfect Daughter In Law: A Prompt
[ I've seen a few ‘everyone loves Marinette AU’s’ and a couple Marvel DC ‘all the mentors want THEIR kid to end up with Marinette AU’s’ and well frankly! I felt inspired! So I present to you my new prompt / AU thing! In which all the most powerful / rich / popular people in Paris decide to play matchmaker… ]
It starts when Adrien and Kagami have a less than AMICABLE break up according to their parents and the media anyway in reality it was a really REALLY dull break up. The pair have been ‘dating’ (using each other as an excuse to go out and experience normal teenage stuff) since they were 15. Now at 17 soon to be 18 the pair decided to publicly break up in order to pursue other people and interests. The problem is they never told their parents the truth so both Gabriel and Kagami’s mother Tomeo feel protective and concerned about what must surely be an upsetting first heartbreak for their child. And okay maybe both parents take that out on each other and both get a bit defensive and protective. And MAYBE it ends with Tomeo vowing to get revenge for her daughter. Enter, Marinette. Up and coming fashion designer for the rich and famous! She’s single, talented, and as far as Tomeo knows Gabriel is interested in the girl for her talent. So what better revenge could exist but having Marinette take an interest in Kagami!
Kagami has no idea why her mother suddenly has an interest in Marinette but she wont complain about having more time with her very cute designer friend. And all the outfits Tomeo is paying Marinette to make for Kagami is giving the young fencer plenty of up-close and personal moments with Marinette. And okay Marinette is VERY cute and Kagami wont question why she suddenly has all this tine with Marinette, eating ice cream with the girl and having brunch. But she knows shes absolutely head over heels when Marinette shows up at her fencing tournament gives her a luck charm and cheers her on wearing HER colors. Obviously Kagami wiped the floor with all the competition she cant be seen hesitating in front of Marinette!
On Tomeo’s side of things she makes sure that the paparazzi still lurking around after Kagami and Adrien’s breakup catch photos of what could easily be interpreted as dates between the girls. After all this is a revenge ploy but also Marinette is fantastic so Tomeo is 300% down with Kagami ‘bringing her into the family’ something she tells Kagami after the first paparazzi ‘date photos’ leak into the news. Kagami still has no idea this was an orchestrated affair and just thinks her mothers caught on to her feelings and is overjoyed that Marinette is approved of because after the cheek kiss Marinette gave her for winning the fencing tournament Kagami was preparing to fight her mother for the right to pursue the young designer seriously. After all she never hesitates! 
But Tomeo never realized Gabriel isnt the only one interested in Marinette. Audrey Bourgeouis has been keeping an eye on Marinette trying to find a way to get Marinette on to her side and away from Gabriel. So when she sees the photos of Kagami and Marinette she sees an opportunity. After all if Marinette isnt exclusively into men (and those photos of her flushed cheeks as Kagami cleans ice cream off her bottom lip are a clear indication shes not) then Audrey smells opportunity. After all Marinette was Chloe’s first crush! How cute would that be! The next day Marinette is being offered yet another opportunity to intern under Audrey this time with much looser restrictions. When Marinette accepts she suddenly finds herself working with Chloe… A LOT. The pair are modeling together, often paired together for shoots in perfect complementary clothes that screams ‘opposites attract’. Chloe is also helping manage Marinette’s brand and the two start to get along very well. The model photos and their business lunches are soon plastered alongside the Kagami and Marinette outings with parisian gossip blogs finding their interest picked by this potential love triangle.
Chloe for one, was confused at first. Sure she knew her mom was interested in Marinette but she never thought SHE would be working so closely with her first crush. And Chloe tries to ignore it, after all those are dead feelings! And Marinette woud never forgive her anyway so why even- Wait. Is that Marinette in a downright gorgeous golden dress? A-and she will be posing right next to Chloe for their shared shoot? Well… Chloe always thought herself deserving of royalty and damn if Marinette aint the princess of her dreams. Sorry Adriken’s you had your chance to get the girl, but now its winner keeps all and Marinette is the only prize shes interested in. For the record Alya is freaked out by Chloe being nice, but shes more weirded out by Chloe being protective and handsy and downright shamelessly flirty with Marinette. Audrey is pleased when she hears the news and is quick to give her daughter encouragement acting as if none of this was premeditated at ALL.
Oh but they have no idea that this is just the beginning. Because guess who's moved back into town. Adrien’s favorite cousin and aunty. And Felix’s mom is quite the busybody and dammit Felix needs friends! And maybe a cute girlfriend! And oh whos that pretty girl on the magazine cover? Marinette? The one her celebrity connections have nothing but praise for? Perfect! Shes invited to lunch with Felix and herself on friday to discuss movie costumes! And oh Audrey dear dont you think Marinette would look fabulous sandwiched between TWO blondes! Felix hasnt modeled in a while but come now. So suddenly Marinette is being spotted with Felix guiding him about paris and modeling with him AND Chloe under AUDREY’s brand NOT Gabriels.
Felix thought hed really hate Marinette; he tried to ignore her he really did. But shes funny, witty and sweet. Not to mention trustworthy, so a good candidate for a business partner. And thats it, but then he has to admit hes impressed when he rolls up to a photoshoot and Chloe! The definition of brat personified is acting… Bearable. Yes, somehow Marinette has done the impossible! She has tamed the beast known as Chloe. And yes fine he will admit shes drop dead gorgeous and how intelligent of her to learn all sides of the fashion industry and boost her rep with modelling! Soon hes spending more time with her, he tries to argue he needs a guide, that shes the most bearable person to be with! That she is just a friend- Oh god. No it cant be! He sounds like-! Like ADRIEN! And Chloe already told him about THAT mess! No! Absolutely not! He will not lead on Marinette like his idiot cousin! Marinette is a rare and beautiful woman! She could be his queen! And god he has to admit it much as he loathes too Marinette’s smile is enough to make him thank every non-existent god. He will win her heart, show her that she deserves better than his brain dead cousin! Felix is sure mother will approve of his decision to pursue the girl, now he just needs to do more shoots with Marinette...
And that's what finally gets Gabriel to snap. Because REALLY Felix!? Is there no loyalty to FAMILY. Not to mention he was totally drafting a potential contract for Marinette when Audrey snapped her up the witch! But its fine! Marinette has always been interested in Adrien! Surely she still is? Surely she's not been swayed by any of her new suitors! Right? Gabriel knows he can't mess with Audrey’s contract so he goes through Adrien, freeing up his sons schedule and telling him to spend time with Marinette to help her ‘adapt’ to the harsh world of fashion and modeling. He uses Adrien’s heroic nature to make it sound like hed be saving her from Chloe and Felix. And sure enough Adrien bites, using his friendship with Chloe to worm into fittings, meetings, and photo shoots. At first hes just there to make sure Chloe and Felix arent hurting sweet Marinette. But when he sees the blondes fighting for her attention, flirting with her, posing with her in some rather romantic settings. Suddenly hes less worried and more… Jealous? No! Not him! Hes concerned, confused, suspicious! Obviously he needs to spend more time with Mari- Wait! When did Kagami get here to take Marinette to lunch! And why are they all ignoring him!!!
Now Marinette is fully in the public's eye. Gossip blogs are being fed bits of info writing up each ‘candidates’ appeal as THE romantic partner to the Marinette Dupain-Cheng paris new darling, the girl with a heart of gold too oblivious to see the trail of hearts following her around! But there is still another contender yet to enter the game! Jaggeds been away on tour teaching Luka his up and coming protege all the tricks. And lets not lie Luka has his own fans now, enough to rival all the others. Jagged sees Luka as his own son, even calling him as much! Hell hes even adopted Luka and Juleka and when I say adopted I mean Jagged literally got shared custody of the kids when their real dad tried to start trouble once Luka started gaining fame. Luka and Juleka for one love their adopted father and his wonderful fiance Penny. But back to Jagged, being Jagged. 
The moment Jagged is back in Paris he's checking up on his favorite designer and hopefully future daughter in law! When… WHAT'S THIS?! All the other ritchies in Paris are playing his game! Trying to get Marinette married into THEIR families! Not rock and roll at all! He was here first! And so being Jagged he decides to make Luka’s stake in the race for Marinette’s heart clear! By spamming social media with photos of Marinette being cute with Luka, taking his measurements, going out with him, the pair babying Fang, the two passed out against each other after a long concert. And he has photos going back at least a year or two! Soon Luka’s fans pick up the hype starting a trending hashtag finding the pair cute! Jagged feels confident that hes won! When Audrey retaliates, and from there its a complete train wreck. Before long each pair has a hashtag filled with cute moments and arguing over whos dating the model / fashion designer! 
Meanwhile Adrien is drowning in denial as he goes through each hashtag seething about how many MORE photos everyone else has with Marinette, when HE is her very good friend and was here first! Felix, Chloe and Kagami on the other hand have declared open war after they tried to talk to each other about the hashtags reasonably only for it to devolve into “so you agree Marinette is best with me!” - “WHAT! No! Thats not what I said! Besides she clearly is best with me!” - “Ridiculous!” And so on. Poor Luka is having an entirely different reaction hiding in shame unsure how to face Marinette because he WAS going to ask her on a proper date now that she seems over Adrien, because even with everything she's the melody playing in his heart and he had a plan! But now his mom and sister are texting him and teasing him and apparently he has MORE competition! Who do these people think they are to deserve Marinette! No! Luka won't lose Jagged has been teaching him to be bold and confident! And Marinette is worth all of his efforts! Jagged REGRETS NOTHING even if Penny confiscated the tv remote!
Marinette meanwhile has no idea what's going on because the whole class made a dumb bet on when the designer would notice with one of the bet conditions being that no one could tip Marinette off and that they have to keep her away from Paparazzi so they dont spoil it either. And sense Alya is helping manage Marinette’s social media Marinette hasn't looked at it yet so she has NO idea what's happening. But her birthday is coming up next week and Chloe definitely didn't get dibs on planning a surprise party for her all so she could spoil the girl and RUB her GREAT relationship with Marinette into her competitions FACES! The competition however (and Adrien JustAfriend Agreste) have decided that they really aren't going down without a fight!
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ackerfics · 2 years ago
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You know those “their kids ask why you call them daddy” scenarios, well imagine if in the lock universe they had a daughter (let’s say like 3-4) and it’s breakfast time so when eren comes downstairs from his slumber while the boys are in the living room (playing x box or something) d/n runs up to him “daddy!” she squeals holding up her arms as a signal to hold her, and dad!eren smiles picking her up and kissing her chubby cheeks, then d/n asks rather blankly “daddy is mommy your baby too?” and eren says grinning to the point his dimples are showing. “of course, she’s been my baby before you were” and gives you a semi hungry loving gaze when you turn around, satisfied with his answer; and it’s just a sweet warm moment (not counting caspein gagging in the background trying not to vomit at his parents sudden affection) and then she says in the most innocent way possible “ohh so that’s why mommy calls you daddy at night~” and giggles as a sign of relief finally having an answer to her curiosity when she woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare debating to either go to her elder brothers room (probably ezria’s) or yours seeking comfort, then finally decided on heading to your room and was about to knock but kept hearing faint chanting of your voice saying the words “daddy faster” confused, decided just to go back to her room *end of flashback* and you and eren just look at each other then look at the couch knowing that’s where your children most liking over heard there sisters all but innocent comment. watching ezria choking on his coke trying to catch his breath controller long forgotten, caspain getting up and yelling in a cracky voice looking in your direction “WHAT THE FUCK DAD WERE NOT DOING THIS AGAIN” then sped past them running out of the house crying having flashbacks on how his precious little sister was conceived *cue dramatic classical music* and aran just giving up hope on not hearing/witnessing his parents sex life anymore and not even reacting just sitting their continuing to read his book (secretly dying on the inside)
(It’s like 3:33am and I’ve been studying for the past 4 hours and, yes this just randomly occurred to me, might go anon💀)
oh my gosh, love, you need to rest :(( the best way to retain information during revisions is to get enough rest. now, we don't want you going through the day in exhaustion 😤
nonetheless, this scenario is hilarious holy shit hhhfjfj
lock!eren and reader's baby girl would be the cutest little human being to ever exist (i've named her eileen in my head), so, when she says that to her parents with the cutest head tilt and emerald irises, eren felt his entire world stop. he already went through the most embarrassing moment of his life — his sons getting a glimpse of his and your sex life — now, he felt shame sinking in because of one innocent question that led to another exposé. almost
immediately, ezra chokes and sputters out his chosen beverage because it went down the wrong pipe. he feels the strongest urge to take his baby sister away from their father and hug her, begging her to forget anything that she heard for many nights now. still in shock, he doesn't notice that caspian paused the game and stands up from the couch. "really?! not the kinks again! thank God i stopped calling you," caspian points at a very red eren jaeger, "daddy when i was in fourth grade!" you try to calm him down but he's still talking about how that certain memory traumatized him to this day. aran, bless his soul, stops reading to rub the bridge of his nose before turning to his younger brother, promising him a tall glass of ice cream sundae if he shuts his mouth. that does the trick. ezra, who finally puts a stop on his trance, stands up and walks to his father. with a blank stare, he gently takes little eileen to his arms and murmurs, "remind us to do some soundproofing in your room as our next birthday gift to you, dad."
a normal day in the jaeger home, i guess. 😭
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squishneedsahero · 3 years ago
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A Swing and A Miss
Awesomest of Them All 2.0
Part 9 of 13
Word Count: 2001
Batman x Batmom!Reader
You know what the bat family needs? Someone to pull them together and give them all the love they deserve. Who better to do that than you? An author rising to stardom in Gotham who catches the eye of a billionaire with your standoffish attitude at a huge social gathering. You are yourself and never pretend to be more or less than that. Plus you're the most stubborn person in the world, refusing to let good things go without reason.
This is a rewrite of my story Awesomest of Them All, I wanted to see how much I've improved over 3 years.
You and Bruce had been sitting on the couch together when his phone went off, it was a phone call. Who it was from you didn't know, all you knew was that he got up and went to the other room to take it. He doesn't usually do that, but on the rare occasion he does leave the room to take a call you don't mind as it's usually for a good reason.
Bruce walks back into the room, pinching the bridge of his nose, looking done. "I need to go take care of something. I'll be back later."
"What is it?" You try to ask, and aren't surprised when Bruce doesn't answer. "Okay, I'll see you when you get back," you say going up and kissing him gently on the lips. He kisses you back then heads down to the cave.
You don't sit back down, instead going to find something to do, to occupy your mind while Bruce is gone. Something had him upset but until he was ready to talk about it you weren't going to get it out of him, so that meant you got to either worry or keep busy.
Keeping busy was obviously the better option, so, you went and found the kids to sit in the same room as them. There's your two sons, Dick and Tim, your one adopted daughter Cass, plus Stephanie and Barbara who were like daughters to you.
"Hey mom," Dick says, looking up from where he was on his phone next to Babs, "where's dad?"
You shrug slightly, "not sure, he said he needed to take care of something and took off towards the cave."
"Oh, you want me to go check on him?"
"Not yet," you smile at your oldest who was always trying to take care of you, "he just left. I'm pretty sure he just needs to figure it out on his own first then he'll let me know what's going on."
"Alright," Dick concludes the conversation, but you can feel the eyes of the other kids on you.
Cass catches your attention and signs, "you can come sit with us," from her spot on the couch. She then pats the empty seat next to her.
You thank her in ASL with a hand to your chin as you go take a seat next to her. Cassandra was quiet, having an easier time communicating through asl than out loud. It always made you smile on the rare occasion you got her hear her soft little voice, and to know she was comfortable enough to talk to you, but you had learned sign language specifically for her, wanting to make sure she was comfortable all the time.
You gently put an arm around her and kiss the side of her head, then you go to remove your arm, knowing she doesn't always like to be touched. But she stops you from letting go of the hug and leans against you, maybe she just knew that you needed it at the moment to help get your mind off Bruce but either way, she didn't let go so you didn't either.
Stephanie scoots closer to you, taking the other seat next to you and offers you a controller. "We're playing Mario Kart, you want to play a few rounds Mrs.Wayne?"
You laugh gently, "I'm afraid I'm a bit out of practice, all of you would easily kick my ass."
"Come on, pleeeaaaasssee mom," Tim joins in in begging you with his ex, turned best friend.
You laugh and take the controller, "fine I guess I'll try a few rounds."
"Yes!" Dick joins in, cheering you on as Babs gets things set up.
Tim had hotwired the two Wii's so all of you could play together without having to figure out how to do it online. So, the six of you were easily able to start a game and begin racing the many different tracks just having fun together as the kids knowingly distracted you from your worries.
It's a more than a few hours later when Bruce returns home. The kids had all gone down to the cave to get ready for patrol, and you had gone with them. They were about to head out when the roar of an engine cause everyone's attention and Bruce parked the bat mobile and got out, looking stressed and tired.
Dick goes over to him and tells him they're going to head out, and can cover things tonight.
Brice nods and doesn't argue, simply turning to look at you as the kids leave. He doesn't approach you until they've all left and you don't give him a choice but to hug you as you hug him.
"Do you want to change?" You ask, knowing he's obviously upset about something, but willing to be patient while he figures out what it is he needs to tell you.
"Sure, I'll change and we can go sit in our room," he says and kisses the top of your head before turning to get out of the batsuit.
It doesn't take him long to change, and the two of you head upstairs, hand in hand and take a seat on the couch in your bedroom. He just holds you for a while, obviously thinking through what he needs to tell you, and this only causes you more worry.
"Bruce, my love, you know you can tell me anything," you try and reassure him with a kiss on the cheek.
This reassurance works, as he finally speaks up, gently saying, "I have a son, he's 9."
This surprises you, and you don't exactly have a good response, you lean back away from him to look at his face as you quietly ask, "you have a biological son?"
"Yes, I didn't know until today, but he's 9... we've been together 11 years, my love-" this is when he begins to break his normally stoic demeanor.
This is also when you catch on to what he is saying. You had been with him at the time this child was conceived. That hurt. You turned to look away from him, not moving away but taking a moment to think.
There's a few minutes of silence before you speak, "how did it happen?"
You give him a chance to explain and he jumps on it, beginning to tell you what he knows. Starting with the fact that Thalia Al'Ghul was the mother, how she had apparently drugged him in order to have a child with him. His son had been raised by the League of Assassins, taught that he was the one to inherit the mantle of Batman.
It was... a lot. And it hurt to hear, especially due to the fact that you and Bruce had been unable to have a child of your own for many reasons. But, you turn to your husband, the man you were still head over heels for and say as gently as you can, "I'm not sure what I'm feeling right now but it isn't anger."
He looks at you and brushes your hair out of your face, "are you sure you're alright?" He's clearly still worried about his standing with you.
You gently lean to kiss him on the lips, "I'm not sure I'd call it alright, but we will be fine. My husband isn't a cheater, and that would be my biggest worry."
You can see more of the stress and worry leave his face as you speak and he pulls you into a tight hug. "I am so sorry my love. Thank you for giving me a chance to explain-"
You lean back from him once again, taking your hands to cup his cheeks. "Bruce, you didn't know. She drugged you and I trust you enough to know that's the truth. I'm going to need some time to get used to the idea, and figure out exactly how it is I am feeling. But promise me that we will be open and communicate about all of this as we get more information, deal?"
Bruce sighs in relief, "Deal," with that he wraps his arms around your waist and kisses you deeply.
It's at this point he informs you that Thalia had sent Damian, their son, to live with Bruce for a time. Damian would be coming the next morning and Bruce hadn't been able to have any say in it, barely able to convince them to wait long enough for him to talk to you first. It was yet another thing you could only describe as a lot but this was life, you had to roll with the punches or you'd never be able to move forward.
Two days later you still had yet to meet Damian. You were ninety-five percent sure it was because the boy was avoiding you. You sat eating breakfast and contemplating this when you hear someone behind you say, "Tt, you must be my father's harlot."
You raise your eyebrow and turn around to face the boy, "Harlot?"
"That is what my mother calls you," Damian says looking at you disgustedly.
You are so exhausted by this entire situation that the sass just slips out of you and you laugh. "I mean, that's one way to go about saying she's jealous of me because I have a ring and she doesn't."
Damian is clearly surprised by the fact that you just laughed off him calling you a harlot. He, "tt,"s again and just walks right back out of the kitchen, unwilling to admit you had surprised him.
You watch him leave, and he passes Bruce as he does. Once Damian is gone you shake your head and go back to your breakfast.
"I see you've met Damian," Bruce comments.
You offer him a slight smirk and a shake of your head, "yep, finally showed himself just to call me a harlot."
"A har-" Bruce starts, clearly outraged by the fact that anyone would dare call his beloved wife a harlot.
"Yeah," you laugh again, "he left just as fast because I laughed at the thought."
Bruce sighs, relaxing with how you had taken it, he takes a seat next to you and wraps you in a hug. "I'm glad that you didn't let him get to you."
"Yeah, though as far as introductions go, I think he's going to take some getting used too."
"Yeah, he's quite the character after being raised by the LoA."
You smile and lean against Bruce as you finish your food, "yeah, but eventually he'll have to figure out I'm just as stubborn as him for having put up with your shit for this long," you tease and he laughs.
It's a few hours later the next time you see Damian and he tries to insult you in yet another way, "you're weak, and would never be able to take anyone down. You aren't worthy of father."
This one is creative, you'll admit that but you shake your head. "I never claimed to be a fighter, if you'd stuck around earlier I could have told you that. Though, the first time I met your 'father," you say mocking his tone, "I kicked a green haired clown in the head so that has to count for something."
Damian once again just leaves, you weren't supposed to take these things so well, you were supposed to run off crying, not agree with him.
This goes on for a while, him trying to insult you and you just not having it. It goes on until he stops, knowing he'd have to find some other way to get under your skin. Meanwhile you try to get to the bottom of his behavior. Why does he feel like he needs to put you down in comparison to his mother and how can you show him he can trust you enough to not have to do that to keep a place in this family? It might take a while but you'd sure as hell figure it out.
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sylverstorms · 3 years ago
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Donna x Elena ----From Winter to Spring
This is a commission written for the lovely @saltwatereulogies and I cannot thank you enough for all your support! I hope you enjoy the story :)
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She doesn’t know how she escaped that nightmarish inferno. How she still draws breath. Why her body keeps running despite its condition and despite the fact that she has lost everything.
The village is gone. Everyone she knew is either dead or a monster. She watched her own father growl like a beast and cleave a woman in half, then soon after wail out her name and succumb to the flames swallowing up the building. There is nothing left. There is nothing left for her.
Why? Elena wonders. A trail of blood marks her path through the snow, towards the unknown. Why still fight?
It will be easier to surrender to the agonizing burns, to the open gashes and wood splinters stuck in her skin. It will be far, far simpler to stop pressuring her rattling lungs to provide oxygen and fall into the snow, instead. It looks… peaceful. Soft. Pure.
It will welcome her to a quiet death, she thinks, so she may join her friends and her father.
Her father. The man who had never reached his hand out to help her when she fell –either on the fields or when she tripped over hardships— yet had always been there in his own stubborn, strict way, telling her to pick herself up.
“I didn’t raise no quitter.”
Ah, is that why.
Perhaps part of her feels it owes it to him to try. She did miraculously survive the fiery wreckage she’d initially thought would be her grave. But… the odds just aren’t with her.
Elena is only human. She’s lost too much blood, been through too much punishment. Her vision is growing blurrier by the second, her legs more sluggish. When she steps on grass instead of snow, she believes her mind is now playing tricks on her, too.
Something smells sweet, like wildflowers.
That is the last thing Elena is aware of, before she drops to her knees and blacks out.
-
-
When she blinks her eyes open, she is… confused.
She never thought heaven nor hell would have a wooden ceiling. She wouldn’t have guessed pain follows one into the afterlife, either, yet there she is, prone and throbbing with every weak breath on a bed too comfortable to be her own.
Unless…
Unless she’s not dead. Unless, against all odds, she survived a second time only to suffer some more. Elena wants to cry. What cruel game is the universe playing with her? The luck she never had in life is suddenly gracing her in extreme bursts now that she doesn’twant it.
“She’s awakeeee!” an overly excited voice exclaims somewhere around the room. Elena is too dizzy to tell.
“Shh.” A second presence makes itself known, calming the first.
“Who…” Who are you, Elena tries to say, but the words never make it past her dry throat.
Heels tap against the floor, until a black-clad figure comes to peer down at her. Elena expected to see the face of her savior, yet all she sees is a ghost, its visage hidden behind a mourning veil. The image is jarring; it sends her heartbeat skyrocketing, which doesn’t help her condition.
Oh, Lord, Oh, Lord what… Elena wants to tell herself she’s dreaming. It isn’t real, none of this is real—
Until a doll jumps into the edge of her bed and says something she doesn’t hear over the sound of her hoarse scream.
The ghost flinches backwards as the world turns dark once more.
-
-
The second time she opens her eyes, hours or days later, the pain has subsided somewhat.
Elena can feel her body, at least. All the wounded parts are carefully wrapped in gauzes and all her burns are covered by a soothing salve. Her lungs no longer hiss when she inhales, so long as she does so slowly, evenly.
That, of course, is not so easy to do when she turns to her left and sees the ghost sitting there, an open book in her lap. The veil is still on, obscuring her features, but Elena takes note of her fingers as they cradle the spine of the tome, long and pale, manicured black.
Appearances aside, there is a certain calm about her that doesn’t feel threatening.
“I… I’m not hallucinating, am I?” she whispers, not trusting her voice to go any higher.
The mystery woman tenses as though her voice has startled her. “…No.” she eventually replies. Her voice is quiet, like the rest of her.
“Did… you save me…?” A single nod is all she gets in return. Her company doesn’t seem very comfortable speaking, but Elena has questions that she needs answered. “Where am I?”
“The Beneviento estate.”
Elena would gasp if she could. I made it that far? And this woman… is she really Donna Beneviento? Her father told her all she needed to know about the four Lords residing at the outskirts of the village. He had also told her to avoid them at all costs.
“Um. I’m Elena—” A cough cuts her off. The sudden motion causes every injury across her body to burn.
“…I know.”
She is too much pain, in that moment, to ask how Donna knows.
-
-
In the following days, Elena comes to accept a few things that would have normally made her question her sanity;
The doll is alive. Her name is Angie and she is Donna’s friend. Donna is the adopted daughter of Mother Miranda, who, upon the former’s request, has given her permission for Elena to remain in the mansion. When she asked what would have happened had she denied, the doll only sing-songed that she doesn’t really want to know.
It still plagues her mind, probably because she has far too much time to think and this is the only thing she can focus on, lest she starts crying over and over again.
When Donna comes to change her bandages, it is a relief.
The woman sits at the edge of her bed, at the absolute maximum distance. Elena slowly brings her body to a semi-reclining position to assist. Angie hops on the bed and pulls the covers to the side… and that is when they arrive to a standstill. Donna doesn’t move, Elena doesn’t know what to do.
“Um. May I?” the veiled woman motions with her –admittedly very elegant— hands. It’s… endearing, how she approaches the subject of touching her.
Elena nods and tries to be a good patient for her. Tries being the key word. When she’s not fighting for her life, she is not nearly as brave in the face of pain. Her teeth are gritted as Donna’s cool hands unwrap the gauzes at her right arm, her eyes closed, breath held.
“…Am I hurting you?” Donna asks, quiet as ever.
“No.” Elena forces herself to exhale. “No, you’re… very gentle.”
Donna nods and continues with the same measured movements. Elena doesn’t want to look at her wounds, afraid of what she’ll find there, so she turns to the veiled visage of her companion. She wishes she could see her face. Wonders what she may look like, what flaw she’s trying to hide.
Until a bandage catches on a particularly bad burn and Elena cries out.
Her whole body jumps—
Donna’s hands fly to her shoulders, keeping her steady with surprising strength, yet she steps away the very next second as though she’s been scorched.
Elena bites her lower lip hard enough to draw blood. There you go, making her uncomfortable…
Angie takes over for a while, also quite precise. Elena peeks down to realize she isn’t in as terrible a condition as she may have imagined. Scars will be left, no doubt, but she will probably heal well enough.
Then the last difficult spot comes up. She knows it when Angie warns: “You need to stay still here.”
“No, no wait!” Elena pleads. “I—I can’t.” I can’t, I can’t deal with this again, not again—
But Donna sits back next to her and her mere presence calms her down. “You are very strong, Elena. This is the last one.” she says.
“Hold me down.” Elena requests.
Donna doesn’t seem to like the idea. Still, she slowly brings her hand back over the uninjured part of Elena’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright.” she whispers.
“On three.” Angie says. “One… Two…”
She pulls the bandage on two and Elena would jump high enough to burst through the ceiling if it wasn’t for Donna. When the agony subsidies she realizes she’s sobbing helplessly, clutching at the dollmaker’s sleeves for dear life.
“Shh, I’m sorry, it’s over now. It’s over.” Donna’s slender fingers comb through her unruly hair.
The brunette closes her eyes and lets her head drop back down into her pillow, but she doesn’t let go of the dollmaker right away. She smells like the flowers outside her house,she thinks.
She feels like a safe space, steady, in a world that’s broken and tilted for Elena.
-
-
Gradually, Donna talks to her more. Gradually, Elena tests her body’s limits until she is strong enough to walk around the house on her own.
Angie is with her, most of the time, but she knows it’s less a security measure and more one for her safety. Her mental connection to Donna is something Elena cannot grasp nor understand, but she tries to.
The first time she manages to get to the living room, Elena stops and stares at the painting of Donna adorning the wall opposite her.
“…is that her?” she asks Angie.
“Of course!” the doll replies excitedly. “I am so proud of that one, the artist did a great job! Mistress Donna looks splendid, but it is me who steals the show!”
Elena can’t look away from the canvas. Why is she so familiar…? “Is that what she looks like?”
“Well, excluding a scar she wishes to hide. Kind of like my face. We match.” Angie answers, giving her version of a grin.
For the rest of the day, Elena sneaks glances at Donna, then the painting. It isn’t proper, she knows, but she’s curious. And… surely, no scar is enough to justify hiding that cute face from the world?
-
-
Weeks pass. Elena has healed well and she owes it all to Donna.
The two of them have grown closer in the time the former’s injuries have forced them together, close enough to have tea in the mornings and brief chats over common interests throughout the day.
When the weather grows a tad warmer, Elena asks the dollmaker to take a stroll with her outside. She sees the decorated graves, of course, but she knows better than to ask. She doesn’t want their time to be poisoned by grief. The scars of losing loved ones run deep, she knows this too well and they never really heal.
The two of them are basking in comfortable silence for a while, until a thought that feels impossible not to be voiced strikes Elena.
“Donna.” she speaks.
“Hm?”
“When I first woke up and I told you my name… you said ‘I know’.”
“…yes.”
“I’m sure we’ve never met before…?” Elena stops and turns to face her companion. Donna mirrors her.
“How certain are you?” she asks. Upon Elena’s obvious confusion, she elaborates; “As a child, I used to visit the village with my father. In one of those visits, some of the kids made fun of my scar. A boy, especially, was saying some very mean things.”
Elena starts to recall one such incident in the blurry images of her childhood.
“You stopped him.” Donna says. Pauses. “…with a punch to the face.”
Elena raises a hand to her mouth, but a quick laugh escapes her anyway. “I did?” A nod. “No way.”
“You did.”
“It couldn’t have been a strong one, though.” Elena giggles.
“I don’t know. Rumor has it he still hasn’t gotten up, to this day…” The little exhale of a chuckle that escapes Donna makes something in Elena bloom and flutter.
She wants nothing more in that moment than to lift the damned veil and see the face of the gentlest, kindest woman she’s ever met.
-
-
The winter eventually gives way to spring. The earth heals from the wounds of the cold like Elena has, under Donna’s care.
She no longer has doubts about what she feels, what she wants. It is only a matter of overcoming her fears and nervousness. Only a matter of finding the right timing and the appropriate setting.
Elena has rehearsed the words she needs to say many times in her dreams and thoughts, yet she finds herself tongue-tied and completely lost on what to do in reality. She has asked Donna to walk with her, taken her to where the waterfall calms into a river… and now struggles to summon her voice.
“What is it, Elena?” Donna, ever the sweetheart, asks. “You know you can tell me anything… right?”
“What if…” she hesitantly begins. “What if I can’t tell you? …can I show you, instead?”
“Of course.”
Elena takes a deep breath and chastises herself to woman up. One little step brings her into Donna’s personal space. Her hand raises to the edge of the veil, blue eyes searching for a sign she should stop. The dollmaker is tense, but she hasn’t made a move to back away, nor lower Elena’s hand.
She trusts her.
And that’s all Elena needs to finally, finally remove the barrier separating them for months. The cute girl she defended as a child is a beautiful woman now, looking back at her with gentle, dark eyes. The jagged scar running down the right side of her face does nothing to retract from that beauty.
“You don’t need that.” she breathes. “You never did.”
Donna glances to the side, a hint of color spreading over her pale cheeks. Elena chases her chin with her fingers, then slowly inches closer, making sure the dollmaker has ample time to decide if she wants this, too.
When their lips meet, color blooms behind her shut eyelids, within her chest. Donna’s mouth is as soft and sweet as her personality, Elena discovers. It is a short, chaste kiss but it is also a promise for many more to come.
It is the gratitude Elena will eternally hold for Donna, who found her at the ending of her life and nursed her back to this,
A new beginning.
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