#people call them wonder twins. they are not. they're not even twins. nor are they related

[blueflipflops]

Sometimes I dream up a fic So Good that I go to my ao3 then realize FUCK I haven't written all that shit yet. Then FUCK I have write all that shit. Then I just cry

[gay-dorito-dust]

hi!! could you maybe write for being the younger sibling of dipper and mabel? maybe the reader is like, 9/10 y.o i wonder what they're sibling relationships would be as well as they're relationship with stan and ford

They say a bond between twins is a bond unlike any other, but didn’t mean that dipper or Mabel cared about you any less then they did each other, you were their baby sibling and they were always going to have your back no matter what.

Dipper would be the protective older brother who’s sometimes come across as strict and would often forbid you from joining him and Mabel on monster hunts, stating that you were too young to be doing something as dangerous as hunting monsters.

You’d naturally respond with the fact that technically he and Mabel were also too young to be going head on into monster hunting too, so thereby making the statement redundant and him look like a hypocrite. To which Dipper would agree with you on but still would tell you it was too dangerous for you, he only wants to keep you safe but you had too much of a stubborn spirit to be easily swayed into staying put.

Mabel on the other hand was the chill sibling who’d let you join in the monster hunting any day because she didn’t want you feeling left out. After all it was kinda a family thing to hunt the unknown of gravity falls at this point, so she didn’t see why you shouldn’t come along with her and Dipper because as long as you had the journal with you, you were fine.

You tend to argue with dipper more than Mabel but that’s because dipper tended to take himself too seriously as your older brother while Mabel doesn’t take herself seriously enough. So whenever you and dipper did argue, Mabel tended to be the peace keeper between the two of you or use Waddles as a distraction from your arguing to come together.

Despite all this you, Dipper and Mabel were loyal and faithful to one another that there wasn’t anything any of you wouldn’t do for the other.

Dipper would give up everything to keep you and Mabel safe as he knew you and her would do the same and you did on multiple occasions, saving each other’s lives and so on. You all headed into the unknown together, never once thinking of leaving the other behind because if one of you were to go down, the other two would rush to your side and pick you back up.

You helped dipper decode stuff and listen to him drone on about Wendy from time to time while playing dungeons, dungeons and emore dungeons with him and Grunkle Ford.

You’d help Mabel bedazzle everything in sight and spend time with her, Candy and Grenda on the odd occasion of doing karaoke with her and grunkle Stan whenever the occasion calls for a bit of fun.

You were best friends with Dipper and Mabel as much as you were siblings and that was the best kind of relationship you had.

Also if Mabel had waddles then you have a pet raccoon or maybe an axolotl like Ford once did.

If dipper was similar to Ford

And if Mabel was similar to Stanley

Then you were the perfect balance of both of them. Stubborn and sometimes silly like Stan but curious and observant like Ford.

Stan and Ford could clearly see bits and pieces of themselves in you like they could with Dipper and Mabel, with the only difference being that you weren’t a twin nor had a twin but that didn’t stop either Grunkle from wanting to spend time with you.

They had to play rock, paper, scissors against one another to see who’d get to spend time with you first, only for Stan to come out the victor.

Stan would teach you how to box first and foremost so that if anyone tried anything with you, they’d get decked in the face from a vicious right hook. He just wants you to be able to protect yourself even if you were only 9/10 it didn’t make a difference to him really.

Teaches you on how to con people out of their money, lie effortlessly and make quick get aways or even how to get out of handcuffs without trying. Did he once give you a fishing hat with your name stitched on it for the soul purpose of taking you fishing with him when Dipper was with Ford and Mabel was with Candy and Grenda? Yes, he wanted something only you and him could do together that was just yours and his.

Cuz it was either that or commit arson and or property damage to other competitors.

Now with Ford he’ll probably have you be outside with him and documenting strange looking mushrooms and or flowers that you’d come across. It sounds boring but it’s quite fun if you came across fairies and the like, however the moment Ford sees that you were about to fall into a Fae trap, he’s picking you up and getting you as far away from it as he could.

Just like Stan, Ford wanted something that was just for you and him, sure he and Dipper go monster hunting, and he and Mabel dressed up as witches once, but he wanted something he could do with just you.

You’d bond over the fact that you both had/have a pet axolotl.

You and Ford probably took a break from your joint documenting to make flower crowns for one another while having a small picnic in the woods. It was peaceful and relaxing to you but Ford was keeping an eye out to make sure nothing would disturb your little picnic, while looking as menacingly as he could with a cute flower crown on his head.

If you both found a flower that was never seen before, you can bet your ass that Ford is naming it after you, no questions asked.

Stan and Ford are just as protective of you as they are the twins and they can and will step in between you and whoever is making you uncomfortable, all the while keeping you safely behind them as Stan whips out his brass knuckles and Ford shows off the gun on his hip in a silent threat.

Nobody messes with their family and they’ll make sure that message is loud and clear.

Bonus; Bill would probably try to manipulate you into thinking that neither dipper, Mabel, Stan or Ford cared about you cuz twins will look out for each other always but you were the spare sibling that gets forgotten, Insisting Stan and Ford’s brother as reason as to why but you knew your family better then a sentient one eyed triangle did and know that your family would always come through for you time and time again.

And they have and they always will no matter what.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: Something Extraordinary by Alexis Hall

4.25/5. Releases 12/17/24.

The Vibes: queer found family, true love, calling HER daddy

Heat Index: 7/10

The Basics:

Horley Comewithers (or, as he is known for much of this novel, Rufus) is set to marry a woman of his aunt's choosing, despite the fact that he is a) gay and b) in love with someone else. In swoops Arabella Tarleton, twin sister of the man he's pining after. Arabella will secure her own freedom through marriage, and she has a fat dowry—but she knows she's no good for anyone who wants true love. So she proposes a scheme: why not run away together and marry?

What neither Rufus nor Belle realize is that there's a lot more to love than storybook romance, and sometimes the person you're meant to be with is the one you least expected.

The Review:

What an exciting, unique, heartstoppingly lovely book. Do Horley and Belle suddenly fall into the kind of m/f relationship you normally see in romance novels? No. But I would call this a romance nonetheless, because, despite Belle being on the aromantic spectrum (I'm not sure if you'd call her totally incapable of experiencing romantic attraction? I'm not educated enough on the aromantic experience to be certain, but based on what I've read, grayromantic may be a way to describe her?) there's just this like... sense of two people finding each other's soulmates in a way that isn't sexual, and isn't conventional, but also goes beyond standard platonic friendship.

Because Rufus and Belle have friends. They actually have a lot of them, even if the relationships aren't always easy or straightforward... and we see several of them in the form of couples from the two previous books in this series. So I would say that it's best to read Something Fabulous and Something Spectacular first. They're great books anyway, but you pick up on some dangling emotional threads from them and get resolution.

But no, what Rufus and Belle mean to each other is such a special and intense yet soft dynamic... They're truly husband and wife by the end of this book. Their future is together. They also enjoy sleeping with other people (though sex isn't out of the question for the two of them—there's a rather beautiful thing Rufus says about the capacity in which he would enjoy sex with Belle, if it ever happened, that I found remarkable).

What I find so smart about this book, the way so many Alexis Hall books are smart, is that she does confront the way something could be "missing" from Rufus and Belle's marriage. But it's not to do with Rufus's lack of sexual attraction to Belle. That's really not seen as an issue. It's not to do with their lack of monogamy, either (they both sleep with other people, on the page and off). It's to do with Belle feeling that, because she can't experience the type of romantic feeling that she's seen idealized in books, or within the sweepingly romantic relationships she's surrounded by... She is essentially depriving Rufus of finding the thing that she believes he needs.

Belle has been a polarizing character for readers throughout this series. Not for me, personally; she's flawed but hilarious, and clearly has had a good heart from the beginning (even if her choices aren't always... the best). She gets a bit of karmic retribution in this book that I feel some of her haters will enjoy, but it's not over the top, and she's not "redeemed", because there's... no need. But being fully in her head allows us to really get into why she is the way she is, and so much of it is like... Kinda meta?

Like—what would it be to be aro or on the aro spectrum in a fucking romance novel series? What would it be like to clearly love someone and not feel like you can ever love them in the "right" way? I will say, I don't consider myself on the aro spectrum (though shit, this book has made me wonder) but I did relate to Belle in many ways. It put her experience in a very "layman's terms", approachable perspective, which could be less than what the aro community could want? I can't speak for them, again, I do not identify on the spectrum. BUT I do think that if you've literally never read up on it at all, this book probably won't confuse you.

Rufus's development is probably a little less significant than Belle's, but it's still a breath of fresh air to see someone who's like... a bit lost, a bit sad, but also so funny and so willing to fully embrace "the difficult one" for who they are. He really rolls with the punches without ever seeming like a doormat. I also feel that his relationship with Belle would have fallen into "gay best friend" in a lesser writer's hands. But he's given such agency and such determination, even as he's initially drawn into this admittedly kind of zany plot.

No, this is a true queerplatonic relationship, and I love that it's given the space to be that while also receiving a classic historical romance novel treatment (albeit with the same degree of hilarious self-aware commentary this entire series has had—at one point we get an entire 1800s version of like, the Google review system for inns, and it is INCREDIBLE). Rufus does a run for your love. There's only one bed (and like, they are naked in the bed together, but no sex). There's an anvil marriage. It's great.

The only reason why I won't rate this a little bit higher is that I would've loved a teeny bit more Rufus and Belle together on the page, but I also deeply appreciated the roles Bonny and Valentine and then Peggy and Orfeo from the two previous books played in this one. Especially Orfeo. My kingdom for Orfeo, would die for them.

The Sex:

HOT. KINKY. SUPER GAY. You get several on the page sex scenes in this one, and they're all great (and not a one involves Rufus and Belle together, and they're so good with that). You have one f/f scene involving a sort of like... baby lesbian "it's giving missionary as in God" but in a funny way girl...? An m/m scene with a would-be highwayman bookseller guy and his MASSIVE SEA SERPENT (and some role-playing! Of the "oh no, I've never touched one before, you show me how" variety).

And... A spanking scene. Which is the first time I've ever read a man call the heroine "daddy". I was VERY pleased.

This may be the most unique romance novel I've read yet, and I'm so impressed with it. Would recommend to people interested in expanding their horizons (as readers, as people, whatever) or like, just interested in a hot, literally laugh out loud book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[jedimaesteryoda]

It will never not be funny that in spite of all the complaints of people slighting his house, Lord Walder slights his own family more than anyone else.

If I'd known how they'd shame me, I would never have troubled myself to make the journey. Why did I need to ride all that way to see Hosteen knocked off his horse by that Tyrell whelp? I ask you. The boy's half his age, Ser Daisy they call him, something like that. And Danwell was unhorsed by a hedge knight! Some days I wonder if those two are truly mine. My third wife was a Crakehall, all of the Crakehall women are sluts. Well, never mind about that, she died before you were born, what do you care? -AGOT, Catelyn IX "He picked her because she's fat," Lord Walder said. "You think Bolton gave a mummer's fart that she was your whelp? Think he sat about thinking, 'Heh, Merrett Muttonhead, that's the very man I need for a good-father'? Your Walda's a sow in silk, that's why he picked her, and I'm not like to thank you for it. We'd have had the same alliance at half the price if your little porkling put down her spoon from time to time." -ASOS, Epilogue

You can tell he actively hates his family, giving his son a demeaning sobriquet and literally calling his granddaughter a "pig." He doubts whether his sons are his for being unhorsed when he was never renowned himself for his skill at jousting. He knows they're waiting for him to die, and trying to earn his favor since he controls the purse strings. That just enhances his contempt for them.

What's he got to be so puffed up about anyway? Only two sons, and one of them's a twisted little monster. I'll match him son for son, and I'll still have nineteen and a half left when all of his are dead!"

Yet, he never blames himself for creating the situation. He sees them as disappointments when none of them were ever bold enough to ask what his accomplishments were prior to the Red Wedding? For all his remarks of Tywin being so puffed up, while true, Tywin at least had accomplishments he could point to. He fought in the War of the Ninepenny Kings, won battles, crushed rebellions, served ably as Hand of the King and became father to a queen. Walder on the other hand never won any tourneys, or performed well at the tilt or even melee. He never personally fought in or served in any distinction in battle as far as we know, and his only distinction was getting the title "Late Lord Frey" for his sons showing up to support his liege lord after it was clear who had won. Nor did he ever have a position at the royal court. His biggest victory was a massacre in violation of guest right, the Red Wedding that earned widespread condemnation and contempt.

He had all those children as a vain way of overcompensating for his insecurity over other houses looking down on him, ie he's more manly for his fertility and fathering more sons than any other lord in Westeros. But with having all those kids, his younger sons and their progeny have valid concerns over what happens when he dies. They have no lands or incomes of their own, and that would leave them in precarious positions. (Also, somehow, I think Tywin's sons will outlive all his.) He treats them more as pawns and tools giving them less reason to love him.

His parenting style ultimately resulted in a dysfunctional house riddled with factionalism with every Frey looking out for himself as Merrett put it. Once he dies, the powder keg is going to go off and the Twins will be rife with civil war. None of his progeny will likely mourn him or at least not for long.

[where-are-the-spooky-gays-2]

*materializes into existence*

I've been inspired by 👑 anon talkin' about trans!Virgil, and so I present to you... transfemme!Remus.

This is all in a highschool au setting bc Brainrot (lol).

Remus, who keeps her name but usually goes by "Re" or "Rem" bc well her closest friends and her brother call her that anyway. Rem that's like "gender is a fuckin' puddle on the damn floor, it spilled and it's sticky and it get fuckin' everywhere like juice and glitter" and dresses whatever fuckin' way they want to (which can be inconsistent styles). Rem who feels she/they is the best fit for them. Rem who has a very supportive twin brother, and Roman's first question when she came out to him was "Can I still call you Re?" and Rem was like "yeah :,)" and thus some happy tears from Rem because, oh hey my brother's really there for me oh oh okay, akdjasdasjd.

Rem who has a very supportive and chill-about-gender-because-screw-gender-roles type of boyfriend.

Virgil is that boyfriend who gives a death glare to anyone who even looks like they're about to be mean to his partner about her being trans. He went on anxious autopilot once when Rem wasn't feeling well and asked them if they needed period stuff. It took both of them a second to be like "wait" and they laughed about it bc Rem doesn't get periods nor have they ever gotten them. Virgil is that boyfriend who sees Rem in literally anything and gets this lil awkward blush. His joyfriend is pretty and he is very queer, thank you very much. Rem always teases him when he blushes at her, but she feels secure in the fact that her partner finds her pretty in anything she chooses to wear.

Omg, the amount of fuckin' jokes Rem would make out of being trans. They won't ever stop. They see a semi-truck on the road that has the "trans-" prefix in its name and makes a joke out of it. Roman and Virgil will laugh and snort and snicker with her about it. Trans jokes are fuckin' hilarous (says a trans person), especially when you're making it with fellow trans peeps (*cough cough* trans/nonbinary!Janus is here too *cough cough*).

When Rem is feeling dysphoric, or when she sees herself in the mirror and can only see a him staring back and it feels off? Well, ya see, their brother is always there for them when they're feeling low or bad. They're twins; they've been through thick and thin, even through all of their arguments and bickering, they always make sure the other knows they won't leave. And of course Virgil is there for his wonderful girlfriend and her friends (Janus, especially) are there within seconds. They've got an entire squad of supportive and genuinely caring people by their side.

Rem who likes being called partner/girlfriend but joyfriend is her favourite.

And so yeah: transfemme!Remus :3

T4T Dukexiety my fucking beloved I fucking L O V E this!!! It's S O fucking sweet at how supportive Re's boyfriend and twin along with their friends are <3 She's a transfem baddie who doesn't give a fuck about how she dresses and their Emo boyfriend won't hesitate to sock a bitch if they even dare try to fuck with his joyfriend (Also unrelated note I am literally giving you the title CEO of Wholesome Creativitwins Oatmeal because oml /positive)

[olliesxcorner]

when u want to tell me anything and everything abt ur insert

Alexis it is three in the morning for me meaning that it's like. o. on.. e... one???????? for you go to bed

Oliver's always had trouble expressing herself and dealing with emotion, despite having gotten better at that when she turned 19

when she was little and still trying to get over her abuse (which she physically got away from at 11), despite having four other siblings (and being directly in the middle) and a present mother, she really depended on her big sister, Cecilia

who, mind you, was 13 when Oliver was 11. Cecilia officially went missing at 13

thay being said, when dealing with her PTSD and oftentimes breakdowns (due to PTSD and things unrelated), none of her other four siblings (one of which being Cecilia's twin brother) or mother could help her. mostly because Oliver refused it, not because they didn't know how

she was used to Cecilia, and she didn't like the change nor the fact that Cecilia wasn't there with her to help her

so by the time she was almost fourteen, she went into what us gacha children call an "emotionless frenzy;" not knowing how to handle or deal with her own emotions, not allowing other people to help her, it took a toll on her mental and she eventually shut herself off completely

ended up getting a girlfriend ... who reminded her of Cecilia (bear with me)

but she didn't... want her. she thought she needed her support to piece herself back together, overall leading into a toxic dependency, as well as a generally toxic relationship that her girlfriend willingly stayed in, as she wanted to help Oliver, for better or for worse

that girlfriend would end up becoming Oliver's fiance, but... things hadn't really started to get better. not to say things got worse, but it didn't get better.

and to think that all it took was Oliver being too late for her to open up her eyes—which were now less dull and devoid of a shine—and get her shit together

she still doesn't like accepting help ... but she doesn't flat out refuse it either. she's more open with herself and tries her best nowadays

that dependency is still there, and it becomes evident once she ends up getting attached to someone. for instance; she tried to kill Ajax on multiple occasions,,,, but if she's not at home sleeping with family, she cannot and will not sleep unless that fucker is in bed with her

- "... princess? why are you awake? it's late, I said not to wait up for me." "... I wasn't tired." "you absolutely are, I can hear it in your voice." "..." "heh. hold on, I'll sleep with you after I shower." (he knows)

due to how she was most of her life, even at the age of 23... she still can't handle affection when it's given,,, pls don't ask why she's so hot (your fingers touched her arm when reaching behind her)

she's actually not as quiet and scary as she makes herself out to be (typically, with her partner(s)).. no, if you ever catch her with any of her siblings, you'll find that shes the silliest of the sillies. actively engages in petty arguments (she knew she was wrong twenty minutes ago. she's just pissing them off now), insitgates, DRAMA QUEEN,, her and Cecilia are literally

- "AHH. godDAYUM-" "om.." "it's so fucking hot augh... (has a pyro vision), I'm sweatting...i can't BREATHE" "I lost my vision,," "omg she lost her vision. how many fingers am I holding up 🖕🏻🖕🏻" "... ten" "oh shit she did MOOOOOMM"

ever wonder where "princess" comes from? well, her and the family's youngest (Miles, 15) are what the others perceive as the "golden children" (there are no favorites... they're both just silly brats who like demolishing people)

- "... Oliver, you see this shit?" "that's..." "I know right. God. get a grip, PEOPLE." "ew don't call them people. they're not like US" "no one is... we're awesome. even though in slightly better in every single way"

- "this... this is my sister, Oliver. s-she... she suffers from autism—" "I don't suffer from it, I just HAVE it. you stupid fucking blonde this is exactly why you got your Vision so late"

she's actually >:3c,,, she just pretends not to be in front of certain people

like, for instance.... (in her mind) if ajax fell for her because of her bitchy personality... why would he like her silly? he loves her wanting to kill him he won't accept this change

basically "if you initially started liking me for THIS... I'm only going to be this around you"

she's the type of person to laugh at dick jokes

Vallen (her older brother) could be talking about something, and she'd start laughing

- "Oh, if you see this bean, don't eat it. This bean is—" " pfft. " "... what?" ".. you said penis." "Oliver I swear to god shut the fuck up" "I'm literally going to tell Mom you told me to hang myself in the shower oh my g"

it's very convinent that Valores (her little sister) is with diluc and she's with Kaeya... like

- "hi diluc" "yes?" "pls get your girlfriend. she kept me up until five talking about you. I'm tired. i want ten beers and a vodka shot" "... I'll pick her up.. but ONLY if you get Kaeya out of my establishment. please."

there's a joke I can't say it's inappropriate but she's actually very unashamed

- "oliver... that's. that's not right. that's spreading misinformation." "I know. it's funny seeing other people spread it. it'll be fucking hilarious when the truth is found." "Oliver no—"

^ that is SO much different than the joke but it's the most appropriate way I could show it

Miles oftentimes joke about her and Cecilia's being literally just Kaeya and Diluc (Cecilia and Oliver, respectively),,, they'll fight about anything and everything for no reason either

very messy sleeper... not even messy, she's just the type of person to wake up across the room or under the bed (she isn't a sleep walker. she just cannot fucking stay still)

so you either have to be holding her, on top of her, or have her in between you... Kaeya and Ajax learned this the hard way.. why was she under the bed SNORING

obsessed with flowers and nature overall. has a journal dedicated to that stuff where she draws in it, info dumps, n what not ... only certain siblings (on certain days) can access it, and her boyfriends too because they're special :3c

it's like that one picture

- "hi, Oliver!" "........." "... oh my god this flower is so pretty I wonder what it—" "that flower is called Datura stramonium, known by the common names thornapple, jimsonweed, or devil's trumpet, is a poisonous flowering plant in the Daturae tribe of—"

I've worked on this fr 45 minutes... yeah. time to post what the fu

[theloneliestaquarian]

Howhowhowhowhowhow can you watch this, and then call people disgusting for shipping it ? The show shipped it, they did this to us, they're the reason we can't not ship it, this ain't a one off, there's scene after scene after dialog after intentional acting choice after Canon soulmates shared heaven there's nothing past nor present they'd put in front of each other its always been you and me the siren episode Sam dating girls that look like act like big brother even one with the same birthday as big brother even demons that weaponized this fact to keep Sam compliant to Dean purposely making Sam jealous by finding men to become his new little brother but he always goes back to his original baby brother he didn't really even enter heaven until his baby brother showed up to Dean always wanting to be his Valentine to Dean trying to get Sam to fuck girls with sisters with him even fucking literal twins while his baby brother fondly watched from their CarHome that has their initials carved into it like Dean was dying for Sam to join him with those twins Dean literally has an incest kink I wonder why......it keeps on going it's already so much that it all just blends into Supernatural is Wincest, platonic or romantic

But on a serious note:

There's this puritanical hatred specific to wincest and I don't get it, it's just fiction

I'm a product of multi-generational incest, the last 4 pairs of my great grandparents on my moms side are all first cousins and I'm a victim of it, my older brother and cousins did things to me as a toddler I won't get into, that's something to get upset about, not the fake brothers on a fictional show, people shipping them doesn't hurt me or offend me, there's a big difference, it has nothing to do with promoting actual incest, it didn't make my family the way it is, or what happened to me happen.

This is shot like a porno

[eddiesguitarpic]

Heyy, I was wondering if you can do a Mike Wheeler X Henderson!Reader. Where she’s Dustin’s Twin or Younger Sister by a year, and like a little Enemies to lovers thing. She wants to join Hellfire but Dustin is against it and Mike agrees and says some things that hurt her feelings so she runs out of the room and he feels bad so he goes to look for her and you can do the rest? Thank you!! I love your writing btw!!🥰

love this :) and ty! means a lot to me <3

warnings: mike is kind of an asshole, the reader cries, one kiss

i made is so the reader isn't explicitly his biological sister to be more inclusive! and the reader is 16 & they're 17 :)

Before Dustin joined Hellfire, you and him were inseparable.

You two did everything together. You shared a room when you were kids, enjoyed most of the same food, had basically the same music taste, and even wore similar clothes! You were like two people in different fonts.

But after they met Eddie Munson and joined his Dungeons and Dragons club, he started getting distant.

One thing you didn't have in common was that game. You didn't dislike it, you just weren't interested in it. You occasionally watched them play and knew enough about it to understand what was going on, but definitely not enough to actually play.

So when you proposed joining the club (with secret intentions to spend more time with your brother) you were turned down.

"But why not?" You're nearly whining, eyes pleading as you stare into your older brothers.

"Y/n, you barely know how to play." He sighs. "Eddie probably wouldn't let you join the club."

"Probably? He definitely wouldn't let her join."

Speak of the devil.

Mike Wheeler, one of your brothers best friends and your arch nemesis. Your six-year-long feud had started back when he spilled cranberry juice all over your favorite dress, and ever since then, you were sworn enemies. He was a grade-a asshole, always teasing you and talking down on you, if he weren't Dustin's friend, you would've kicked him in the balls a long time ago.

It didn't help that you had the tiniest of crushes on him, but that was neither here nor there.

"Can it, Wheeler." You snarl, not even bothering to look over at him before going back to your conversation. "Come on, can you just talk to him, please?"

Your puppy-dog eyes make him surrender, letting out a huff before silently nodding. You cheer, pumping a fist in the air excitedly.

"Really, that's all it takes?" Mike scoffs, head tilted as he turns back to meet your eyes. "Why do you even want to join? You can't even play."

"The game seems interesting." You shrug, picking at your nails. You weren't in the mood to deal with Mike and his attitude.

"Like you could even understand it."

You swiftly turn toward him, eyebrows furrowed as you stare him down.

"What's that supposed to mean?" You huff.

"Cut it out." Dustin groans, plopping down on the couch between Lucas and Max, settling-in when he sensed you and Mike were starting to get at it.

"It means that you couldn't comprehend a game as complex as Dnd, that's all." He smiles sarcastically.

You feel a lump forming in your throat, swelling thick and constricting your airway. You blink rapidly to beat away tears, not wanting to fuel his fire by crying in front of him.

"Are you calling me stupid?"

"Surprised you noticed." He mutters, going back to building whatever Lego-set he was working on.

"You're a jerk." You spit.

His eyes meet yours right as the first tear falls, but you're quick to turn, rushing up the basement stairs and slamming the door behind you before anyone could get a word out.

"That was a rude thing to say." Lucas chimes in.

"Shut up." He huffs, head dropping into his hands as he thinks over how badly he fucked-up.

You sniffle wetly, wiping your nose with the back of your hand. You're curled into a fetal position, hugging your pillow to your chest, wetting it with your tears after what happened.

Your intelligence was always one of your biggest insecurities, and to hear the boy you liked confirm it was heartbreaking for you. You just wanted to sink into your bed and disappear.

But right as you're about to will yourself to sleep instead of having to think about it, there's a soft knock at your bedroom door.

"Go away!" You shout at who you think is Dustin, but only receive another knock in response.

With a huff, you climb out of your bed and trudge to the door, swinging it open to reveal none other than Mike himself. You go to shut it in his face but he pushes past you before you can.

"I know you don't want to talk to me, so I'll just talk and you listen, okay?" He doesn't get an answer, but continues anyway. "I'm.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset, I was just kidding around, honestly."

There's a beat of silence before you speak.

"It wasn't funny." You don't look at him, can't look him in the eye when it's obvious he thinks you're an idiot.

"I know, fuck." He huffs. "I didn't realize you'd take it so seriously."

"Well I did, and it hurt my fucking feelings." You snap, and he looks taken aback by your raise of volume. "All my life I have been told I'm not smart enough, that I wont understand things because of my intelligence. Hearing the one guy I've ever... never mind."

"No, what were you going to say?" He walks closer, eyes wide and curious like they always were.

"It's nothing, Mike." You shake your head, sitting down on the edge of your bed.

"It's not nothing to me. The one guy you've ever what?" He continues to push, typical Mike Wheeler, never one to let things go unsaid.

"The one guy I've ever... had feelings for."

You hear his sharp inhale, and you think the worst. Maybe he's going to laugh, or make a joke. What you don't expect is for him to sit next to you, and put his hand on yours.

"Are you being serious?" He asks, not rudely, which you appreciate.

"Yes." You whisper, gazing longingly into his big brown eyes.

You don't get a verbal response, but what you get is much better.

Instead, you get a kiss. A sweet, albeit short, but nonetheless wonderful kiss from the boy you've been fancying for years. It makes you glad Mike wasn't good with words, because otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten this.

"I.. I feel the same way, and I'm sorry for implying that you were stupid. I don't think you are, you're one of the smartest girls I know. I was being an asshole, okay?" He says.

You nod. "I understand, thank you for apologizing."

"Of course." His hand comes to lift your jaw, stroking along the bone as a smile quirks at his lips. "Why don't we tell the boys we have a new member joining Hellfire?"

You can only grin, jumping in his arms while peppering kisses all over his face.

He laughs, and it's the most beautiful thing you've ever heard.

[kalims]

AYO I LOVE THE MOTHER READER W/ AETHER AND LUMINE OF ITS ALRIGHT WILL YOU DO MORE ??? MAYBE MOTHER READER TRAVELLIN WITH THEM? maybe them goin to mondstadt this time- (pls i just love it dont mind me)

fluff, platonic relationships.

the bright lights of the sun peaked through the fluffy white clouds upon the light blue sky filled with wonder. If you looked closely, a rainbow shall be seen standing tall and proud in it's beautiful glory. Tevyat had been seemingly went back to normal, the people that shared home's in it were all able to go out of their safe house's ever since the twins had confronted each other thus they finally reunited.

There was no more abyss, no more organization that wrecked chaos and struck fear amongst the seven respective nations. There was no more princess to lead the group of the monsters brimming with evil, they'd finally been freed from the curse they've had for hundreds--thousands of years. Their soul can finally rest in the heavens in peace, shall they watch over the current generation.

All thanks to the two wonderful twins, that had saved them from their demise. Alas the so called monsters had finally found their eternal paradise.

Her yellow pools flashed in guilt, yet her heart warmed, knowing that she'd guided them to their happiness. Just the sight of the familiar block of metal and wires brought back both many unpleasant memories and joyful one's.

A hand planted itself on the smooth skin of her shoulders, gently squeezing it affectionately. lumine glanced back. Her eyes trailing across the hand that sat atop her shoulder before her orbs locked with yours. You sent her a reassuring smile, eyes shining with understanding.

"Don't worry, they're all in a better place now." You spoke slowly, making sure to choose your words carefully to ensure that the blonde female wouldn't feel an ounce of guilt nor break down in sniffles and tears.

Your daughter laid her eyes on the ground, however her blonde locks bounced as she nodded her head. "I know..." She whispered under her breath, her lips thinned. You frowned lightly, it wasn't like her to feel and look so depressed. It can't be helped you supposed.

But still, the fact that you weren't there for the twins, your twins while they were experiencing events that teens shouldn't even go through. It hurt you a lot, especially knowing that they've been damaged both mentally and physically. It made your thoughts race with guilt.

"Hey! What's the hold-up! Paimon's hungry for some sticky honey roast, and we aren't gonna get in mondstadt if you two just stand around!" Paimon whined, rubbing her stomach area to emphasize how hungry she was truly feeling, you spared lumine a glance, giving her one last squeeze on the shoulder before turning to the small floating child.

"Now, Now... We'll get going then!" To this, the girl cheered loudly, she gripped aether's arm before she yanked it as strong as she could. The said boy who was previously napping with his back against the tree woke up, startled.

"H-Huh.. Oh, it's you paimon." Aether deadpanned, watching as the girl panted. Paimon wiped a stray droplet of sweat that threatened to fall down her temple with an exhausted huff. "You're really heavy, y'know that?!"

Aether raised a brow. "That's probably because you're really small." He smirked lazily as her face twisted into one of defeat and irritation.

Your hands raised into a loud clap, the sound echoing around the small forest and effectively gaining the (family's) group's attention. "That's enough chatter everyone, let's get moving before night falls!" None of them really wanted to sleep in the middle of the night, especially if a few of them thinks that there are monsters amidst the darkness.

The group ventured into the city of freedom in a rather fast pace, even after their reuniting the beautiful wings had yet to return, along with their powers. You, of course still have your very own wings since 'the unknown god' never sealed them in the first place.

"Oh wow... Is that it?" You mumbled in awe, your eyes skimming over the large gray walls of the city. It was absolutely beautiful, the walls were inspired by a castle of some sorts, you can already see the large statue of the anemo god above. It was just that large.

"Yeah."

Aether nodded, smiling at your expression. Lumine stood by her side with a wide grin, she'd never personally been in the city itself. To say she was excited to explore the depths of the city was an understatement.

"Ah! Traveler, you've returned! :D" a rather high pitched voice spoke, you all turned to the right. A boy, looking more younger than you. However you know not to judge appearances, a strange thing a certain golden eyed man told you.

The boy's green eyes shifted onto yours. He wore a cheery smile, his carefree demeanour defined shone through. "Oh, and with new company too! I am venti the bard!" He introduced, the arm that held a wooden lyre laid in his side while the other was on his hip.

"I'm lumine.🙂"

"You can call me, (Y/N)! 😊"

"you already know paimon! 😋"

"You didn't need to introduce yourself, he already knows you paimon."

"Shut up Aether. 😐"

Venti chuckled at the now bickering group, to be more specific. You and lumine watched as aether and the small child argued back and forth. Aether with reason and paimon with stubbornness.

"What a lively group!" :D

[doitwritenow]

Supreme Super family gets sucked up into WandaVision(let's imagine Tony's alive in this or is from the multiverse). Ironstrange think they're married with a high school kid. Tony is a science teacher, strange is town doctor, and peter is a regular kid. No memories of they're real life. Rhody, Pepper, and Aunt May and Morgan could be added to this too if you wanted.

OHHO! Sorry it took me so long to reply to this; I had to finish the show, for one thing, and then my brain started going all sorts of places with the prompt... and well. I have on heck of a ramble coming, so buckle up! 

(Also, spoilers through the series, so watch out!) 

— — —

It starts with a question on Vision’s job application.

That’s all. So simple, so innocuous, so innocent. Vision is casually recording information that he doesn’t yet realize he can’t remember, and he arrives at a line that asks his family history. It’s nothing complex, left on the application only because Wanda’s subconscious had glossed over the question. So does Vision’s, as a result. But he wants this job. They want to fit in, and so they answer the question truthfully.

Vision writes ‘Stark’, unaware. ‘Tony Stark.’

And pop. Just like that. 

On the edge of Westview, there suddenly is and has always been a small, well-kept mechanic’s shop. It’s run by an aging man with a bright mind and a brighter smile. He’s lived here since he came back from the war, but no one knows for how long. And he has no memory—no memory at all—of what came before. 

Of the round scar in the center of his chest. 

He doesn’t need to know. No one needs to know; he’s just a side character, after all. Just the answer to a line on a job application.

Just so that something, anything, about Vision’s life here isn’t a lie. 

-

Yeah, so Tony gets manifested within the Hex—but because he’s one of Wanda’s creations and not someone being mind-controlled, he is able to exist with agency within Westview. He has no reason, however, to believe anything is amiss; he’s been resurrected only to play a character, and his memories and surface-level motivations only extend to the limits of that character.

But Wanda has other regret. Wanda has other anger and understanding and forgiveness and gratefulness, and she knew Tony Stark, once. 

She knew his worst nightmare—and it’s easy to craft a soul from that, really.

(But it’s fine, of course it’s fine. Tony has no reason to pull down the walls of that hidden spirit. He’s content in his role, just like Vision. So it’s fine. 

… Right?) 

-

Agatha stands at the base of a towering barrier with her hands on her hips. One side of her mouth is quirked up into a considering, scheming smile, and her magic probes out around her curiously. This is the source of the power she’d felt; she’s sure of it. The spell work… the instinctual, unconscious spell work is so intense she can almost taste it.

How is it possible? What’s the secret? 

Agatha must know. And besides; this is the most interesting thing that’s happened to her since the seventeenth century. 

She’s about to reach out, about to cross into the heart of the magic, when she hears it. A footstep. Quiet and dark and making no attempt at stealth. 

Agatha grips her magic. “Who’s there?” she demands. 

Someone steps out of the trees. A human, Agatha thinks, though you can never be sure nowadays. He wears a hood of green and his hands are dark where they hang at his sides. 

“Witch,” the figure declares.

Agatha raises an eyebrow. “Can I help you?”

“Yes,” says Karl Mordo. “I rather think you can.”

-

Okay, cut to New York. Stephen Strange is exhausted, wrung dry trying to keep the edges of the universe from deteriorating now that the stabilization factors of the Infinity Stones have been destroyed. One task runs into the next, one morning into the night. One future into all the others. 

But Stephen likes the work; it keeps his mind in one place. He’s always alert these days. Always listening. 

So when someone calls out to him from New Jersey, he can hear.

It’s Mordo luring him in, of course, but he doesn’t know that yet. After Dormammu, and certainly after all those futures, Stephen has too much experience for Mordo to hope to get the better of. The old Master is still dedicated to his ‘too many sorcerers’ shebangerang, though, so he’s employed help. Maybe he can kill two birds with one stone. Two world-threateningly powerful magic users with one stone. 

Stephen follows the call, because of course he does. It sounds like a call for help; what else is he supposed to do? The kelpie situation in the Thames can wait. Wong waves him off, tells him to be careful without much hope of Stephen listening, and takes over the Sanctum for the few hours Stephen intends to be gone.

(It’s not for a few hours.)

-

But there’s someone else we should mention before we see what Westview has planned for Stephen. See, a certain spider-kid has just had his identity outed, and his only allies once called themselves Nick Fury and Maria Hill.

Nick Fury and Maria Hill, Peter discovers, are not Nick Fury and Maria Hill.

“You’re aliens?” Peter demands, his hands warding the space in front of him. 

Of course they’re aliens, part of him sighs. Of course. Why wouldn’t one more thing just go crazy in his life? Why let him remember what ‘normal’ even felt like? Why the hell not? 

“Er, yes,” says not-Fury. “My name is Talos. But we do still want to help you.”

Helping Peter doesn’t go according to plan. See, the Skrull try to approach SWORD for Monica Rambaeu’s help regarding the kid who saved their lives, but Monica has disappeared. 

Talos only turns around for two seconds. Really, it’s only a moment. But when he turns back, Peter Parker has disappeared, too.

-

“Woah.” 

Stephen stops, a hand coming up to shield his third eye as he squints into the absolute maelstrom of power swirling in a hexagonal wall in front of him. It doesn’t feel like the Order’s magic—not like something of the Mystic Arts. It’s something far more human and gritty. Stephen’s perception can’t extend through it. He frowns.

He takes a step forward, the Cloak swirling around his ankles, and begins to stitch his mental walls into place. His wards are strong, even unconsciously.

That’s probably what saves him, in all honesty. 

Two strong, human hands plant themselves in the small of Stephen’s back and shove him into the barrier. Stephen opens his mouth to yell, raises his hands to cast a spell— but blue and red are surrounding him now. Devouring him, now. They lick at his mind, slamming against unbreakable walls.

But they are unbreakable too. 

Stephen disappears. 

-

(Mordo used a portal to get behind him and knock him into the Hex, btw.) 

It’s those hasty mental walls that keep Stephen from being completely consumed into the Westview spells. He is not fully mind-controlled, nor is he left half-animated and frozen like most people near Ellis Avenue. But there is one main rule of Wanda Maximoff’s Westview, and that, Stephen can’t escape completely. 

‘No one remembers outside.’

Stephen doesn’t. In fact, he doesn’t remember anything at all. 

-

Tony Stark finds the man lying on the side of the road. He’s just finished dropping his kid Peter off at the Westview high school (it hasn’t occurred to him that it’s weird how he never sees the boy’s classmates. Or that Peter never seems to have stories from school. Or that the kid is always waiting in the exact same place that Tony dropped him off at whenever Tony comes to pick him up. Tony has no reason to think too hard; he’s just a side character—right?). 

“Uh, hi?” Tony pauses, the car puffing it’s irritation when he stops it too quickly. He cranks down the window and leans out. 

The man blinks, slowly, at the sky. He sits up hesitantly, like he hasn’t noticed Tony, and rubs his hand across his face. He pulls it away after a moment and frowns at it. Tony wonders why he looks so confused—it’s not like there’s anything wrong with the man’s hand. No scars or anything. 

“Hi, sir,” Tony says again. “Are you alright?”

The man jumps. He looks over at Tony—and there’s something weird about his eyes. Something… really weird. (Color, says a voice in the back of his mind that he hasn’t heard for a very, very long time. That’s color.)

“Who are you?” Tony asks. He parks the car completely now. 

The man looks down at his hands again. “I’m—” he begins. He’s frowning again.

“Come on now,” Tony encourages. “How hard can it be?”

The man tugs at the scarf around his neck—and it must be windier than Tony thought, because the edges of it are swaying as if of their own accord— and swallows. 

“I don’t know,” he says.

-

So of course Tony brings Stephen back with him. He prods at the man until Stephen manages to blurt out ‘Doctor Stephen Strange’ for no reason either of them can remember. But it makes Stephen relax, a little, to have it on his tongue. 

Tony catches Stephen staring at him after that. A lot. When he asks him why, Stephen has no clear answer; just a vague “you remind me of someone.” For Stephen’s part, all he knows is that seeing Tony gives him an indistinct sense of relief. Like he’d been missing someone deeply, and has now found it again. 

Still. He can’t quite put his finger on it. Just like he can’t quite put his finger on why his hands don’t hurt when he tries to write…

-

Vision visits Tony, sometimes, whenever he remembers, or whenever someone in the town mentions the old mechanic. He brings Wanda. They have fun, but Vision always goes home feeling slightly baffled. And Tony always feels like something hurts, deep in the center of his chest. 

Vision likes his adopted younger brother. (And Peter gets along just fine with the twins, too, when they come along, so Wanda doesn’t change anything about it). But when the man with the bright eyes stares at him with just a bit too much calculation on his face, Vision starts to be reminded of… things. Of suspicions. Of Geraldine and how she had no home and no history. And he doesn’t quite look Wanda in the eye that dinner. 

“What do you do?” Wanda asks, her voice a little hard, a little suspicious. Vision tries not to wince. Whatever it is she’s not telling him, this man at his father’s dinner table reminds her of it. 

Tony flips his fork, balancing it like one might a wrench. “Stephen’s a doctor,” he says.  

Wanda’s face flickers. “That’s funny,” she says blankly. “Because no one in this town ever needs one.” 

-

For a while, Tony Stark didn’t see anything amiss here. He was created, was consistent, was emptily and vaguely pleased. But Tony Stark is Tony Stark, whatever character he’s been told to play. Tony Stark wants to help people. 

And this man, this strange doctor with the eyes that would sometimes go blank for long minutes and the tears that would stain sharp cheeks for a reason he claimed not to remember, needs help.

So Tony Stark begins to scratch at Wanda’s walls. 

-

 “What do you mean he’s here?”

“I mean your little plan didn’t work,” Agatha says. She stands on the edge of Westview, speaking through a mirror of magic to the man outside. She’s liking this sorcerer less and less the more she works with him—but he has been rather helpful so far, so she continues to put up with him. 

“Does he remember?”

“No,” Agatha says. “The dad that Wanda made up for Vision has taken him in. It’s kind of adorable, actually.”

“Hm.” Mordo’s mouth twists. “You’ll finish the job?”

Agatha shrugs nonchalantly. “Sure. When I get around to it.”

“You don’t want to wait. Deal with Strange now, before he remembers how to be a threat.”

Agatha laughs. It’s brittle, fully conveying her hostility. “Ha, my good sorcerer, listen. Unless you want to come in here and do the job yourself, you’ll let me handle this my way.”

Agatha’s way involves getting to the bottom of things, of course. And that’s rather convenient… because Vision has begun to try to do the same thing. 

— — — —

Okay that’s all I have for now? The other bits are still solidifying in my mind, and it’s basically all Horrible Angst. I hope this scratches a little of the itch of your ask, though! Feel free, anyone, to add onto this if you’d like! I really enjoyed the show, and I think it has some really awesome AU potential. 

Thanks for the ask!!!

[noirapocalypto]

🌳 for all of the gang

Thank you 💕 @freckledsweetpea

From this ask game

🌳 Compare your OC to themself from 10 years ago. How has their mental state changed since then, how have they aged and grown up? Would they say they’re in a better place than they were back then or do they need help? What advice would they give their younger self? What advice would their younger self give to them now?

Renato: Twenty year old Renato was not in a good place--physically, mentally and emotionally. He bounced around from couch to couch, living recklessly, not having a care in the world for his well being. His crew that he ran with weren't the best influence. They enabled each other's addictions. His mother willingly cast him aside and he had no contact with any other family. Life appeared bleak for him, and he gave zero fucks if he woke up the next morning or not.

Fast forward ten years later, Renato is holding down a steady job. He's been clean and sober since his Uncle Pepe took him in. He now has a family (albeit extended, a lot of them are through marriage rather than biological, but a family none the less) that love him dearly. He has a positive support group among his friends (the twins and Embry), who make damn sure that Renato is cherished and appreciated the way he deserves to be. Out of all my characters, Renato is the one that really turned his life around for the better.

The best advice he can give his younger self is to be strong and preserve. His real family is waiting for him at the end of it.

Embry: Twenty-one year old Embry was dating someone that he loved deeply and was completely devoted to. Someone that would eventually reveal did not share the same devotion. He wasn't aware of this at this point though and had really high hopes for a wonderful future with them. This was also the time around his accident where he lost his arm. Despite his accident, he was still pretty hopeful and content and would even call himself happy.

Unfortunately, a few years from then would be his own personal hell.

Fast forward ten years later, thirty-one year old Embry is no longer facing his self-exile. He found a home within Night City, he found a new family among his friends and he's enjoying his life once more. He still deals with his trauma and he still has his moments of mental breakdowns, but he now has a positive support system that helps him through it.

The advice he would give to his younger self is, his past does not define him. He is a good person, and he tried his best.

The Twins (answering together since their story is heavily intertwined): Seventeen year old Paola and Poalo were still roaming the streets together, bouncing around from couch to couch. They didn't have a stable home nor did they have a stable job. Around this age, they started taking on small tasks for anyone who needed a pair of sticky hands. They weren't technically mercenaries, but if someone needed something done, the twins were usually the first to accept.

They were young, carefree, wild and reckless. They didn't think all too negatively of their lifestyle. In fact, they tried to make the best of it. They weren't happy, they weren't even content, but they made peace with the cards that fate had dealt them. They grew up desensitized, having accepted that this was just how things went for people like them.

Fast forward ten years later, the twins are FAR more stable in terms of living conditions. Both have made a decent name for themselves as mercenaries, maintaining a good reputation. They're not rich by any means, but they can now each afford a roof over their head and no longer go to bed hungry.

Unfortunately, at this age, both of them have suffered terrible losses once again, with Paola's partner being killed, and Paolo's constant and frequent heartbreaks. But like Renato and Embry, they have both found love among friends.

Their advice to their younger selves would be that as long as they're together, nothing can break them. Family comes first, always.

Judah: Nineteen year old Judah was a shithead college boy, cruising through his classes with relative ease because of his family name, while also partying and splurging on 'Spring Break' getaways. He was just as brash, obnoxious and manipulative, still very cocky and smug. At this point in his life, he had zero care to work in his family's corporation. He just wanted to have fun and enjoy the luxuries he was lucky to be born to, his birth right.

However, it was around this time that he truly began to notice the obvious favoritism his parents showed their children. Their opinion was often taken into consideration, while Judah was often cast aside and given whatever menial tasks he would take.

Fast forward ten years later, twenty-nine year old Judah is holding an executive position in his family's corporation as Chief Operating Officer (despite being babysat constantly by his father's right hand man to make sure he doesn't fuck it up). He's proud of his position and he's very good at his job, but he's fully aware it was just something his parents gave him to keep him out of trouble and to keep him pacified. He knows they have zero hopes for him ever becoming CEO and taking over, no matter how hard (and often desperately) he tries to prove his worth to them. Judah tries so hard to get their validation and approval, but often fails.

His advice to his younger self is, prove everyone wrong. Success is the greatest revenge.

[dreamiesdotcom]

complicated (slow spin-off) | z.cl, h.rj

Summary: Think of heartbeat, only a little faster. And more demanding. Afraid? Hurt? In love? How different are they supposed to feel? Free fall. Stardust. Rose. "Perhaps, everyone just falls in love with their best friend," Renjun drawls out, "Even just a little bit, from time to time."

Word Count: 2.9k

All Renjun ever wanted was peace, an alien friend, and a book that hits him right in the gut.

The thing Jaemin does where he's hopelessly in love? None of that — they're almost always falling for each other in such different times that they never align, and when they do overlap, one's feelings is already dying down.

The thing that Jisung does where he looks at Jaemin like he's terrified? Terrified because of how much he loves him in the way he shouldn't? Yeah, Renjun wants none of that as well.

Chenle, too — this boy, how Renjun doesn't want to feel whatever hell it is Chenle goes through every day.

Watching the boy you adore, who happens to be your best friend, fall in love with your other best friend who's in love with your other best friend just sounds like an experience he doesn't want to have. Pining is one thing. Pining this aimlessly is another.

Looking through a classmate's camera as he finds the shot the other asked him to look for? A whole new level of complicated feelings and friendships and he doesn't even want to know. They have a project and that's about his business — so he doesn't judge nor pry, but he chuckles, "Jeno-ssi, did you give me the wrong camera, or am I only supposed to see candids of Donghyuck?"

Jeno blushes red, stutters an apology. He fiddles with his gadget a bit, messing with cards. For the meanwhile, Renjun decides to go and buy coffee for the both of them. It's trouble, really, since he already can't feel his legs from sitting so long but then it might be for the better.

It's less of a drag from when the other sweetly mutters a thank you, and it's a pity that Renjun didn't really get to focus on that.

"Hey, you're welcome and sorry to interrupt you but... Jeno?" he squints at the street outside. He carefully, slowly, sits back down on his chair and gets a clearer view — he can't believe the sight in front of him. He calls the other again, "Am I seeing this wrong, or is that Lee Donghyuck?"

Jeno raises a brow and looks to the side, the park opposite the store they're sitting at — certainly, at 3 a.m in the morning, the boy at question is there. He's walking past streetlights, a cup of coffee in his hands, and now he just sat at the swings.

Now, Renjun isn't his friend; he's not interested in him one bit, but he's not blind either. At one glance he knows that Jeno likes Hyuck, and at one glance, he knows that the person at the park is definitely the said boy.

Again, that's not his business, but that's also not what he's looking at.

Lee Donghyuck seems to be giggling, the brightest smile on his face as he gently swings — only he's not alone. He's with a very familiar person, one of Renjun's best friends, the subject of Na Jaemin's love.

"Uh. Yeah," Jeno nods, turning his head back to his laptop one beat late. He hands Renjun the camera, this time with the appropriate card. Renjun doesn't miss the dull sparkle in his eyes as he forces out a laugh, "Let's get back to work?"

They're not particularly close friends, so Jeno's feelings are not his business; he doesn't think he should even know about it, but hey, it's either that he wasn't so discreet or that Renjun's just observant — it's not his fault that he hesitates a bit, especially when Jeno blinks away his tears like that.

He doesn't want to make it awkward, still, so he nods.

Questions flood his mind as they work silently, questions much like 'Why do people do this to themselves? Of all the people you'd fall for, why your best friend? Is it because you're always close? Is it the mutual understanding?' He doesn't understand at all — looking at Jeno, he's really, well, an elegant person. Not to mention, kind as well. To be realistic, most people fall in love with looks at first so no doubt people adore Jeno, and yet... yet he's here, waiting on a possibly unreturned affection.

But then to consider, Jisung is stunning. That didn't make Jaemin love him the same way. What the hell is this mess?

"It's already 4:30, so what do you say we head home now?" Jeno proposes, and he snaps out of his stupor. Renjun absentmindedly nods.

They walk side by side in peaceful quiet until they part to the direction of their own homes. Before he reaches his, he remembers the pictures from Jeno's camera: snapshots of Donghyuck's sweet smile occupies the camera's memory — one where he's dressed up as an angel, one where his eyelids glimmer of gold eyeshadow and glitters, many of where he's laughing and not looking at Jeno's direction. Some of where he's wistfully staring at his phone.

It kind of reminds him of Jaemin to Y/N, or Jisung to Jaemin, or Chenle to Jisung. Now, whenever he looks at lines that never meet, he'd think of Jeno and Donghyuck as well — because Jeno doesn't need to say it, but his eyes do the work for him. Renjun doesn't need words to figure out that Jeno's in love.

Renjun worries about him a little.

####

Whenever something intriguing happens, he's almost always accidentally there — back then, when he and Jeno saw Hyuck and Y/N, and now, standing a few meters away from Chenle and Jisung.

He doesn't understand — all he wanted was peace, an alien friend, and a book that hits him right in the gut. Watching his friends do this thing they're so bad at is easily not something he signed up for.

He could look away. He could turn and walk the other way since obviously, Jisung and Chenle would feel awkward if they realized he's there, but then he heard it. Chenle's question. It makes his heart miss a beat.

"How many times are you gonna keep on breaking your heart?"

Renjun furrows his brow. Could Chenle even answer his own question? It's all too ironic. It's none of his business, but it's all too ironic.

He realizes at that incredibly strange moment that Jisung and Chenle appeared like a movie scene, or a drama, whatever works. Something in the way they stand in front of each other is oddly pleasing, an aesthetic so hard to get enough of. If not for the anguish in Jisung's eyes as he falls on Chenle's arms, Renjun would say that it's the perfect sight.

Before all of that, Jisung had smiled and answered the other's question: "How many times can your heart break for the person you love?"

Chenle only stretched his arms as a reply, an invitation for a consoling hug. "Never too much," he wanted to say.

Renjun could see.

How in the world they don't notice him there, Renjun doesn't know. By now, he figures he should be used to his friends being dense. He means, well, they had these feelings for each other for as long as he can remember and if Huang Renjun, Mr. It's-None-Of-My-Business-So-I-Didn't-Know, noticed whatever the hell this mess is, surely they should've known long ago, right?

Chenle stands there alone. Jisung must've left earlier during the time he spent spacing out. He stands behind the other, a reasonable distance away so he still doesn't figure out he's there. He waits for him to resume walking; for five minutes, he doesn't. Renjun makes himself known by rushing and cheerily slinging an arm on the other boy.

"Hey, Zhong Chenle, whatever it is you've been doing these days, how did it go?"

"Same old, I'm amazing," he airily says, startled but comforted at the knowledge that it's a friend and not someone trying to kill him. "Haechan hyung wrote a song. I'm certain it's for Y/N."

"Really? That's sweet," Renjun can just begin to imagine the blush at that friend's cheeks if Donghyuck decides to sing the song on the school showcase. It should be a fun night for them! Jisung is performing, Chenle too, Jaemin as well... his smile dies down a little at the other's name.

"But... Jaemin, though."

It's something he shouldn't know — pretty sure Jaemin thinks nobody knows about his feelings, but then again, how can he hide anything from anyone when he looks at that person with hearts for eyes?

"Yeah. I'm worried for Jaemin hyung and Jisung," the younger wistfully sighs, tugging the other to walk on his pace. He sighs again. "You know how he is."

"I do. In fact, I'm worried about all of you," Renjun hums. Chenle raises a brow, but Renjun makes note of the split-second panic in the younger's mask of faux confidence. Renjun smiles, "I'm worried about you, Chenle-ah."

He makes an odd sound aiming at nonchalance, and it scares him how natural he sounded as he fakes a laugh. He slings an arm on Renjun, making them walk the opposite direction of where they should be going, "You've been working hard and you're saying nonsense now. Let me just treat you ice cream — trust me, hyung, you need it."

The older of the two sighs and decides to let it go. Before that, though, Chenle smiled at him and shook his head, "What's there to worry about me?"

Internally, Renjun wanted to pull him into a hug. In his mind, he'd held his friend and answered, the heartbreak you feel in silence.

###

Back then, Jaemin told Renjun something very interesting — something about the way he glances at people.

As an example, Jaemin had said then that Renjun looks at Y/N like he does to his favorite book, full with wonder — Do you know how loved you are? How many people love you... how many hearts broke for you... how beautiful and conflicted you are — and well, he agrees. He does feel like that.

Jaemin said Renjun looked at both him and Jisung like twin stars, as if the world is never correct unless they're side by side. One is always beside the other, even when one is shrouded behind clouds.

Secretly, Renjun disagreed: he feels like he looks at them like a scene that was supposed to be but never was. An accidental masterpiece that never occurred because the artist was too careful.

Jaemin said Renjun looked at his almost acquaintance Jeno with a strange kind of familiarity, like they knew each other for several lifetimes but never dared to actually get to know each other; he stared at him as if they were identical. As if somewhere in the boy with hopeless love beating in his heart is a part he relates to.

But Chenle... Jaemin said he looked at Chenle like his heart broke. He didn't go into detail, he refused to, and it left him confused.

A year, seven months, and two weeks from that event, Renjun realizes just why, and he figures out that after all, most things in life are not a choice. Maybe that's why people continue to adore hopeless cases.

All Renjun ever wanted was peace, an alien friend, and a book that hits him right in the gut. He never asked to realize that all those years, he refused to acknowledge something, a big part of him. He never asked to be one of those people who couldn't control their feelings.

"You were a dream that shined brightly above me..." Renjun reads, the words more saccharine and dreamy when it's spoken in his voice, "and just like the fate of a gazer and a star, you are so far from my reach. But still, you've had me at first sight, and all I wanted was for gravity to let me fall from Earth and then into your hold— this doesn't even make sense."

"Yeah, but only because you skipped to that chapter, dummy." Chenle grumbles, stealing back his book, "These are references. They're referencing to the past events you didn't get to read."

"Yeah, but still. It's unrequited love." Renjun answers, "It's way too complicated for me."

The wind blows, an addition to the cold lingering in the air. Jaemin isn't present tonight as he's dealing with the consequences of procrastinating essays for weeks, so naturally, his best friend Y/N should be there too. Renjun wishes no heartbreak to his pure, lovesick heart — something in him knows that it's where everything will lead to, but he hopes it'll go easy on him. Jaemin deserved the world, none of the painful side of it.

Jisung didn't come today, too. He's busy with his performance, perfecting every snap and every turn, every single move that completes his routine. Maybe it's a diversion for him. Renjun prays he doesn't overwork himself, and he hopes the younger doesn't go harsh on himself, he hopes he doesn't beat himself up for falling for someone who was too busy hoping to catch somebody else.

Jisung deserved the world, as well. All of his friends did. Renjun finds himself quickly growing fond of them all from their most lovable traits down to their unnoticeable flaws. He loves them all each a different way, all with the same intensity.

This one, though. This one might just be a little too special.

A deep frown leaves him as he decides to lay down the grass he's previously been sitting on, and Chenle bemusedly laughs, a small sound compared to his usual.

"You're smart. That's why everything is way too complicated for you."

And it's there again, the longing in his gaze, the one Renjun knows is for someone else. The omnipresent feeling of telltale heartache signs floats around him like lustrous fireballs, but the boy beside him seems iridescent, each a different color on every side. If Renjun closes his eyes long enough, he could just imagine himself having control and not fading at the sight of every view.

"You know, don't you?" Chenle asks, turning his head away from the other and staring up at the sky instead. He compares to an epic painting. "I'm in love with Jisung."

"And Jisung is in love with Jaemin, Jaemin who is in love with Y/N," he adds in affirmation, knowing it's what Chenle wants to hear but his mind is far away from being lucid to that thought.

In his mind, he adds, but me? Do you know that I'm in love with you? He shakes that thought away, "I know. I know you guys, and it's not hard to see."

Carefully, Renjun adds, "The words each of you refuse to say... they're in your eyes. All the time."

With him laying down like this, the other resembles the Little Prince from the book Renjun always loved. His blonde hair sways with the wind and the things it does to Renjun makes him heady of stars. Chenle shrugs, "I thought you'd be mad. It could've ruined our friendship."

Think of heartbeat, only a little faster. And more demanding. Afraid? Hurt? In love? How different are they supposed to feel? Free fall. Stardust. Rose.

"Perhaps, everyone just falls in love with their best friend," Renjun drawls out, "Even just a little bit, from time to time."

Now, he gets a little bit of what Jaemin was trying to say but refused to explain: Renjun looked at Chenle like his heart broke. He looked at him like that, and a thousand more unsaid ways he didn't even know existed. He looks at him like all he wanted to do was tell him his feelings, but he was so afraid. He looked at him like he's afraid that he won't fall in love as hard as this anymore, like he's scared that one day he'd be unable to adore someone romantically because they're not this boy, his greatest love.

He looks at him like all he wanted was a sight so beautiful he overlooks the other, and arms so warm he doesn't seek this one-sided fire, like he craves for a drink that'll burn away the confessions stuck on his throat and trapped on his lips.

He looks at the boy he loves with lenses of blue, that in a way where he isn't really sure if he wanted to forget or remember. All that he knew was he wanted to be loved.

Chenle chuckles again, but this time he lets himself fall down and lay beside Renjun. He reaches his hands to the stars, dwelling on how much smaller he is than these speckles of lights, and swears on each and every one of them — "Friends forever?"

"Best friends," Renjun corrects. "You, me, Y/N, Jaemin, Jisung — best friends forever."

And he said it a hundred times, he wants to say it a million more. He wouldn't wish any other way for all of them but always; there is so much he wants to share, so many things he wants to experience with all of them.

They're best friends forever, they've said that a hundred times. He wants to say it a million more.

But somehow, sitting underneath the stars with only his favorite book and Zhong Chenle beside him, it doesn't feel right.

It doesn't feel right to be just best of friends.

[hanadoesstuffbadly]

Daughter of Giants

"You should move along, Giant, we don't want your sort around here." The bartender's voice was low and authoritative, the voice of a man not easily ignored, but one didn't need the ears of a bat to make out the tremors coursing through it. Everything about him was a well made manor with good foundations, but Aravis could tell it was built on sand. Give him a little shake and everything would start slipping.

Aravis smirked and tapped her fingers idly against the bar's puckered wooden surface. A part of her cursed  how ineffective her disguise had been proving recently, even after she's taken to covering her folc markings. The last thing she needed now was to have word of a nomadic folcwoman travelling the Engle Lands like a sad silk trader. Her tankard's rim just brushed her lips as she held it there and she concentrated on the fact that the man had not moved along, still standing just out of sight behind her mustard coloured hood. If he just needed a shake, why was she feeling inclined to rattle him until the very bricks of his character were dust to be scraped off of her heel. Maybe she was too tired for this today, too done with walkers and their sloppy, indelicate ineptitude. But at the same time, her ichor was roaring through her veins, violet and rushing. It made her lungs burn like magma beneath the island's crust. Her titanic heart yearned for a fight. It had been too long.

"My sort?" Silk dropped into her tone inadvertently, turning her deep, hoarse, broken voice into an almost mechanical purr. Fear rippled through the room like ribbons. It was a cool breeze in a suffocating glare of self-importance and Aravis breathed it in.

"You're a bounty-hunter!" Not the bartender, but a nasal, underdeveloped voice called from the crowd of patrons that had interrupted their own meals to gawk like a gaggle around what had been a peaceful evening drink. Aravis didn't bother seeking out the speaker (though she suspected one of the pasty, mealy shepherds seated closer to the entrance. An easy escape, she mused, smart choice.) Her brow, however, creased at his choice of words. Bounty hunters were perhaps the lowest of the low creatures grovelling on the earth's filthy surface. Turning in fellows of your kind for the reward of others? Had they no sense of honour or kinship at all. Had a folcman or woman acted in such a way, they would be plunged beneath the clouds to the endless oceans below and ripped to shreds by the wild, Bacchic merpeople of the depths. Honour, trust, loyalty; mere dramatic concepts to be learned and forgotten by those thugs like poor poetry.

"Now what would give you that idea?" Likely her stature or lack of ladylike grace. Maybe-

"The ends of your hair. They're white." The thought died before it even took shape in her mind. A chill crawled up around her shoulders, turning the thick muscle there into cold stone. She was frozen in place, barely able to open her mouth to reply through gritted teeth, her head bowed lower toward the counter and her tankard rested against her suddenly ringing forehead.

"Why," she ground out, "would that," turning slowly like a tin doll, her eyes flashed, "mark me out?" Moonlight flashed against a bronze knife behind the bar and it set the room aflame. The man- boy really- stood and quaked like a tethered kite before the entrance like it was a headwind. He had a round, dark, unfinished face; the face of a scholar or bard, not a warrior. Nevertheless, Aravis wanted nothing more than to turn it blue with bruises.

"I've heard stories," He shuddered and searched any face but hers for help "my father's a pepper merchant, he told me about you and your kind." The idea of some miserable, slimy, slithering underwalker's tongue speaking of her ‘kind’ made Aravis' fists curl. "Your hair is dark and- and blue, right?" He was slipping, but didn't run. Yet. "He used to say, when- when what was inside your head became darker, your hair literally started paling in comparison... Making the tips turn white... And- I-I thought..."

"Tom Tom, that's enough." Hissed the bartender.

Aravis was very still. Whispers are meant to be lost in the chaos. Aravis’ words were like breaths, yet each one rang in the floorboards and out of the door like the echoes of screams.

"Your father is well-learned. Darkness seeping into every crevice of the mind, turning you into a miasma veiled in flesh? What better fits that description than a callous, underhanded criminal? What could be so dark, so evil, as to turn the tips of my hair so pale?"

With one hand she tore the hood from her head. And not a breath was drawn as their pathetic faces took in the blank, dull cascades, the colour of new snow. Cold and dead. White to the roots.

She closed her eyes when the whispers started seeping into their fear, and as always, before her there stretched a great gash in the clouds on which she, still an adolescent wrapped in sunlight, stood. Beneath that crevice she saw the island of the underwalkers. But she wasn't looking at them. Instead, all that filled her vision was the great, massive warrior lying like unwanted venison beside the hulking, grotesque, monstrous corpse of a Beanstalk. And the underwalkers were dancing. At their head, leading them on there stood a creature of pale flesh and golden hair. To others he might have looked like a child, beautiful and beaming. Aravis knew what he really was. The axe was still in his hands. That smiling, glittering face was the last thing she saw before the vision cleared and Aravis opened her eyes to the bar counter. 

Shards of metal and broken wood lay before her. Her hand was bloodied by purple ichor. Still lodged within the cut were some remains of the crushed tankard. But it was her eyes that were burning with pain.

The whispers had ceased. And so had the roar in her veins. She was ice.

Standing, she swept her cloak aside to rest both hands on her hips, her feet apart. She was taller now than she had been when she entered, and now the crest of her ringed headband just skimmed the ceiling. Everybody in the room cowered below her. It felt right.

"Indeed. I am a hunter. But what I'm after is not the reward of a slippery, stupid nobleman. It is justice. And it is mine alone." the low rasp of her voice grew full and round as pride swelled within, "as a daughter of the mighty Laestrygonians."

At the name of her folc, new horror trickled into slow running red blood all around her. So many eyes darted to the door, for escape. Many more became fixed on her lips or, more specifically, on the teeth that lay behind them. Aravis didn’t need to be a mind mage to know they were wondering how much mortal flesh had been shredded upon them. That stout bartender was the first to finish quivering.

"Who do you seek, great Giantess? I will tell you all that I know, just don't hurt any of my customers, I beg of you!" Ugh. Begging. Typical underwalkers.

"I'm hunt Prince Jack of Gaul. As I have for almost ten years." Voice rising such that everyone might hear, she let fear carry her words. "He has taken something very precious from me, many things in fact, and I intend to exact justice."

“But, he’s been missing over three years! Many young princes have been.” Aravis was well aware of that. So close. She had been so close she could see the ridiculous peak of his hair, illuminated under dragon fire. But the presence of one of the more powerful fae had forced to keep her distance. But she had him cornered. It was almost over. And then he was gone.

“Haven’t you heard? They’re back, now.” Every head turned back to the scholarly boy by the entrance. “Yeah, the entire Fearless-”

But Aravis was deaf to the world.

They’re back now. He’s back now. He’s back. Again, and again, and again. The sound of clouds being split down the middle and the shining eyes of the blonde, beautiful murderer. And dancing. Aravis’ eyes were filled with axes, ichor and dancing.

Her bident spear was in her hand one moment and whistling across the room the next. The boy- Tom Tom he’d been called- was pinned between its prongs like a fish, flailing and panicked. He grasped at the twin spikes which were twice as thick as his arm. As Aravis strode over, he just resisted going limp.

With her feelings crashing and shrieking in her head, Aravis paid no attention to the fact that the ceiling had splintered around it. She didn’t notice the splinters to timber that clawed at her waist, nor the frigid night air whipping her face as she waded through the bar like mud. People the size of dolls scurried for the exit, while the one she wanted remained pinned. Until she knelt down and gripped the long handle of her weapon, pushing it closer into his throat.

“Where?” Was all she managed. Everything inside was a storm that even she herself was becoming lost in.

“I- I don’t know! I was told by a friend!”

“WHERE?!” Her bellow ricocheted off the dark sky itself like thunder and the bident spear-head pressed harder against his trachea until he gasped for air.

“STONEBURY!” Violent sobs wracked his body but Aravis did not relent, “GLASS STONEBURY! MY FRIEND HORNER IS IN GLASS STONEBURY! HE CAN TELL YOU!”

Only then, with a grunt of dark satisfaction did she pull the spear from the wall, releasing him. With the first real, tangible feeling she had felt in years melting into her veins, she shrank back down until she was practically the same stature she had been when she had arrived. The bar’s roof was gone, allowing freezing wind to howl through. She cared not.

Aravis finished a drink that had been abandoned on a table in the panic. It was revolting, crude stuff, typical for underwalkers. But a smile was curled on her face regardless.

"What will you do once you find the prince? He's a hero, and has many powerful friends!" So the bartender had stayed, she hadn’t counted on that. She graciously turned to look at him, feeling lighter than she had in almost four years.

"Simple. I will rend his arms from his sides. I will cast his broken body across the air until each and every bone is ground into dust."

"They'll see you coming, people have already run to tell others of you."

"You speak as if I’d intended this to be a slaughter. You are wrong.” Aravis’ hood fell to the floor and her hand reached into her satchel. She sighed softly when her fingers met the gentle, rippling fabric of her cloak. Her mother’s cloak. “It’s an execution.” she pulled it free, letting it grow in size until it could wrap around her completely. Her legs and torso disappeared from sight. “And I must have him know his sentence.”

Turning, she vanished behind the concealment of the cloak and into the darkness of the night. The Engle Lands were solitary, located deep in the marshes of Fairytale Island. 

It wasn’t far to Glass Stonebury. And then all that was left was to find this Horner.

Just an intro that I couldn't get out of my head since creating Aravis (her name was Astrid originally). I kinda want to write a whole fic about this but I'm not sure since it would be pretty much all my ocs... I'm imagining basically zootopia but with a Giant princess and a bounty hunter.

Also ive already started about two big projects with no third chapter soooo.....

[thedyingmoon]

~ A V X Reader set in an Alternate Universe wherein Nero supposedly beats Urizen that 16th of May. 🖤

~ This chapter is dedicated to the 49 people who liked the first chapter, especially @acieoj and @heaven-on-a-landslide . Thank you so much! 🖤

~ Cover made by yours, truly. 🖤

***

II

"Break this heavy chain

That does freeze my bones around!

Selfish, vain,

Eternal bane,

That free love of bondage bound."

The female tourist guide, who had been anxiously glancing at V from a distance, finally mustered up enough courage to approach him with a nervous smile. She cleared her throat, hoping to get immediately noticed without ever having to call his attention in a not - so civilized way.

Fortunately for her, her heavy and noisy footsteps against the rocky pathway proved to be very efficient for gaining attention.

V looked up from the wonderful world of William Blake's book of poetic sketches and smiled at her, adding to the poor woman's already escalating discomfort.

"Ahh, I,..." the lady stuttered, not sure how to address the dire situation to V.

He graciously decided to end her conversational torture. "You do look like something has been bothering you. How can I be of service?" he said, his low, raspy voice not helping with the lady's nerves.

"Yes, well." she began, then inhaled sharply through her nose. She then pointed at the bird on V's left shoulder, and the huge cat lying on his feet. "The other guests are getting anxious of your,... ahh,... pets."

Immediately picking up on the woman's concern, V nodded and actually laughed. The first time in about three weeks since that day. "I see. Don't worry." He stood up from the comfort of the wooden bench near the ruins of the temple, making his "pets" move away from him. He strode towards the woman, lips curled up in a devilish yet adorable smirk. "These are my loyal,... companions. They would bring no harm to any of the innocent people here. That,..." the tone of his voice suddenly became lower as he twirled his metal cane playfully. "I can assure you."

The lady let out a helpless laugh, then nodded. "Okay. Whatever you say." She hastily moved away from him to give herself a safe distance from V's famliars and clumsily pointed at the breathtaking horizon. "Well, now, enjoy your stay here at Delphi!"

As Griffon watched the retreating form of the tourist guide with laughter in its devilishly yellow eyes, V's green ones scanned the beautiful place. Delphi really was a marvel, an ancient beauty that must've took even the most vile of the Demons' breath away.

He closed his book, put it away for a while, and proceeded to explore the place, particularly the ruins of Apollo's temple, where the tourist bus dropped him.

"So, V,..." Griffon said, catching up to his master. "Are we going to look for that thing there?"

"Not this time." V answered. "For now, I need to take a rest and reflect upon our journey, so far."

It's true. V, and the rest of his familiars, have been on a vagabond tour around the world, visiting places like Delphi. First, he visited Egypt's infamous pyramids, then he proceeded to China's mysterious terracotta tombs. He also went to the Himalayas ( he didn't stay there for long, considering the weather ), then Norway. He had been to such places in just three weeks that he had to keep a separate journal where he logs in about the details of his journey.

It's not like he just wanted to or anything.

The truth was - he failed in his initial mission to merge with Urizen that fifteenth of May. Who knew that boy Nero had enough power within him to beat his demonic half? So, thanks to the boy, he could no longer regain his full self.

But, it wasn't entirely the boy's fault. As a matter of fact, it all rooted from one foolish decision that changed his life forever.

It was all because of his desire to gain more power in order to defeat his twin brother.

And now, he had no choice but to search for a different kind of power - any kind - this time, to save himself.

To prevent his human flesh from crumbling.

Thus, started his vagabond ways alongside Griffon, Shadow, Nightmare, and -

"The Yamato really does wonders, huh?" Griffon said, then chuckled, ruffling his own feathers in delight with tiny shakes. "Who knew it would go directly to you and not to that kid Nero?"

"For one thing, I' am the rightful owner of the Yamato, not the boy Nero." V answered as he skipped some rocks along the pathway that led to the ruins of the temple. "I think it was fitting that it answered to me. But, as grateful as I' am that it was returned to me," he said, stopping at what looked like the remains of an altar. "I must not abuse my fragile body by using it over and over to transport us. You see," he began tracing the remains with the tip of his cane. "It consumes way too much of my,... demonic power. I must be wary of that fact."

"Aha, so that's why we had to hitch that stinkin' bus ride with that awful bitch! Didn't know how to keep her mouth shut!" Of course, Griffon was refering to the tourist guide who called him a pet earlier.

"Now, be nice to our little human." V reprimanded the demonic bird. "We will 'hitch' on the same vehicle on the way back."

"Ugh! Not again,..."

As Griffon threw tantrums for every tourist in the remains of Apollo's temple to see, V's eyes wandered at the altar and thought of that beloved story his mother read to him a very long time ago. He closed his eyes and searched through his tired mind for the right words, finally arriving at some that gave his heart a little ache of nostalgia.

"As she comes to the city, hollow hands empty,

Eyes open to what lies in wait for her,"

As V recited the very few lines he could remember of that beloved poem from his childhood, Shadow started purring, rubbing his legs with her huge form like she was a normal house cat. V smiled, knowing that he had, at least, one interested audience. Then, he went on.

"She does not weep nor wail,

In her eyes, home has always been burning."

All of a sudden, Shadow stopped purring. In fact, she stopped moving. She has become rigid, looking like a statue in front of V. He and Griffon noticed this and took note of her glowing red eyes that slowly turned bright blue.

V's eyes widened in surprise.

"Curious." He muttered under his breath.

Griffon flew towards him and whispered, "She's acting hella weird. What do we do to her?"

V smiled and took a sideways glance at Griffon.

"Then, we'll have the perfect opportunity to put your new skill on display for the audience."

"What?! Right here?!"

"Right here." V answered, not once losing his resolve. "Right now."

"And what's in it for me, huh, Shakespeare?"

"I will,... forever be,... in your debt." V said, holding up his right arm and using his cane to point towards the bright, sunny, sky.

"Okay! As if I could refuse."

"I' am truly grateful."

"Yeah, yeah." Griffon huffed, then flew towards the sky, high above the ruins of Apollo's temple.

As V watched the demonic bird flew around the air, he could not help but regret his decision. He yearned to see this place. It was, after all, the place from that precious story, as told to him by his beloved mother. Of course, he wanted to stay, to bask in the warm, sunny weather, to learn the ways of the locals, to be able to speak their native tongue, to know the rich history of the land, to dive into the hidden knowledge and wisdom Apollo has to offer,...

But, as the situation called, they, he, must act immediately.

And as V glanced back at his dark, petrified familiar, he noticed that the atmosphere was slowly turning heavy. Griffon was beginning to work his new magic.

"Alright, you weird folks!" The bird said as he flapped his wings, summoning all the power he had. "Party's over! Go home!"

Griffon spread his wings, letting power in the form of electricity run through them, and folded them once more. As he let out a guttural sound, he spread his beautiful blue wings once more, releasing a different kind of power that made his eyes white. But, this time, the electricity didn't land on the ground like what always happens when they're fighting against other Demons. The almost unnoticeable currents reached the clouds and crawled throughout the sky, instantly enveloping the immediate vicinity with darkness.

As the people looked up, they realized that it was going to rain. But, another flap of Griffon's wings summoned numerous lightning bolts from the sky that crashed to the ground, narrowly missing everyone by mere inches.

After a minute of his stormy display, Griffon flew down back beside V, knowing that his mission was a success, which was an understatement, considering the fact that none of the tourists were hurt.

"Okay, Shakespeare, coast is clear." He said to the man, feeling proud of his new skill.

"Thank you." V smiled at the bird, then turned back to Shadow, who was literally melting. "And now, for the task at hand,..."

V closed his eyes, then held out his left hand in front of Shadow. The action instantly triggered a reaction from the rigid Demon, making its form disintegrate and fall to the ground like shattered glass. With a different gesture of his hand, V made the shattered glass rise up once more from the ground, letting it take shape, forming jet black vines that grew and grew until they were as tall as the pillars of the temple. One last hand movement from V made the vines grew equally dark roses of all sizes.

As Shadow morphed into multiple vines, V took a step back, waiting and waiting, until the largest rose sprout out from one of the vines. He and Griffon watched in awe as the black rose opened, revealing something inside. He took a step forward and pulled it out of the flower. It was the Yamato, and it was glowing in a very unusual way.

"What is wrong with that thing?" Griffon asked as he looked at the Yamato and its radiance. "Did that thing go like that before?"

"If memory serves me right," V began, unsheathing the sword and letting the blinding blue light from the blade splash around his surroundings. "It did so, just one time when,..."

All of a sudden, the light became even more blinding as the sword became warmer and warmer in V's hands.

"Whoah! No wonder that cat's acting weird!" Griffon shrieked, hiding behind V. "You made her eat a laser sword!"

"Hush." V said, seemingly unaffected by the light of the Yamato. "It beckons me. It seems that it wanted me,... someplace else."

"Will you go, V? You still haven't recovered from your last journey!"

"I know." V answered as he positioned the sword high above the air. "But, I also know not to ignore the Yamato's call."

And with two clean swipes, V managed to create a portal that led to some place that seemed to softly glow, like a warm sunset. Or sunrise.

"Let's go." V said, calling both Griffon and Shadow back to him and entering the portal.

***

🖤🖤🖤

[hinshinotsuki]

🖤 Switched 🖤

***

***

(F/N) watched as the new recruits train with their assigned Squad Leaders.

And the (F/N) from their world, being AWOL, had to be replaced by a balding Squad Leader named Ness. He was tasked by the Commander to train and brief (F/N)'s new recruits regarding the next sortie.

Her eyes widened as she saw them get on their horses to participate on the scouting exercise. She had never seen such a scene, and she was compelled to take out her phone to whip up some dashing photos of the "Old - World Soldiers" in action. But, then, a short reminder from Hange stopped her from even taking her gadget out of her pocket.

"You must never take your phone out on public, nor use it in front of others." Hange explained to her last evening before going out. "Also, you must keep your act as (F/N)'s twin."

"When will you be back?" she asked.

"Tomorrow, at the latest. See you, (F/N)!"

(F/N) sighed. She slid her phone back into her pocket unceremoniously and continued watching the others train. And, as she did this, she got noticed by Jean, the same teenager from the canteen the other day. He's wearing his uniform this time and not his apron. To appear as pleasant and as friendly as she could, she smiled and waved at him, which only made him even more suspicious. She got a bit nervous as he went towards her.

What to do? What to do? What to do? thought (F/N) hysterically as Jean went closer and closer to her. Okay, girl. Relax,...

"Hey, there." Jean said, his lips forming a quite charming smile.

"Hi." she answered.

"So," Jean began. "Your twin sister, she really couldn't make it to the sortie, yes?"

"Oh, I'm afraid to say so, but, yes." she said, managing a decent conversation with him.

But, then, things were bound to get complicated from then on.

"You know, she never once mentioned that she has a beautiful sister." Jean said, his smile ever so dashing.

Was this teenager flirting with me? "Is that so?"

"Yeah. But, then again, she never tells us things, anyway. She just orders people around. She's actually worse than the Captain, really." Jean said, then laughed.

(F/N) had to get along and forced a chuckle, which sounded a bit off, considering her current mood.

"Oh! I forgot to ask your name."

"It's (N/N)." (F/N) answered, offering her nickname and remembering what Hange said about concealing her real identity.

"Nice to meet you, (N/N)."

"You, too."

As (F/N) was about to take Jean's outstretched hand, he was called by one of his comrades, who looked far larger and intimidating than the rest of the new recruits.

"Jean, we have to go back to training!" his comrade called. He had blonde hair and a strong - looking square jaw.

"A second, Reiner!" Jean said to him. He faced (F/N) and displayed his smile once more. "So, see you later at lunch, then."

"Okay, go. Or else, your friend will get mad."

"Reiner? Oh, he's not - "

"JEAN!"

"OKAY!"

The smooth teen waved at her and rejoined his group. And at the thought of his slick moves, (F/N) had to giggle. She just couldn't help but think of his modern counterpart who was so different than him.

But, what (F/N) really noticed was the look this Reiner person gave her. Did he just scowl at her? Or, maybe it was just her over - active imagination?

She was still thinking about it a few hours later during lunch. In fact, she was so deep in thought that she, at first, didn't notice the fully grown, bearded man behind her, who kept sniffing her hair.

And, the moment she did, she literally screamed, making the whole cafeteria silent, drawing people's eyes, and undivided attention, towards her.

However, that did not stop the man from sniffing her. And when he finally stopped and grunted like he was truly satisfied, her instinct told her to take the fork and gouge his eyes with it. She really was considering doing it, if it weren't for the stunning female officer who told everyone to go back to their own business and waved the man away like it was nothing.

"Sorry about that." the female officer apologized, taking a seat beside her. "That's Squad Leader Mike Zacharius. He sniffs people he sees for the first time, then grunts."

"Why would he do that?!" (F/N) asked, still calming her senses.

"It's just a habit of his. Don't worry. He's actually quite harmless." the woman was about to eat when her eyes lit up in excitement. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Nanaba, one of the Squad Leaders here."

Do people here always forget to introduce themselves? "(N/N)."

"Nice to meet you, (N/N). Actually, I was told by the Commander to accompany you while Hange is away."

"Where did she go?" (F/N) asked as she accidentally took a bite off the hard bread, just like the other day.

"The old SC HQ. She met up with the Special Operations Squad. She said it was for experiment purposes." Nanaba said as she took a bite off the hard bread, as well.

"Oh." (F/N) uttered as she watched the stunning woman eat her almost tasteless food like it was the most delicious thing in  the whole wide world.

They're Soldiers. Why would they settle for this kind of food? (F/N) wondered as she began eating, only to realize that almost all of the occupants of the room, including Jean, were all staring at her. Feeling her cheeks heating up, she looked away and pretended she did not see their curious faces.

"Don't mind them. They're just curious about you." Nanaba whispered, then smiled. "Who knew (F/N) had a well - bred sister?"

"She really never tells you things?" (F/N) asked, wanting to know more about her counterpart through Nanaba.

"Oh, yes. She only ever tells them to Hange, or Levi, when they're still, you know,..."

"Okay." (F/N) answered, confirming that her counterpart and the Levi here did have a relationship. "Why did they break up?"

"She never told you about it?" Nanaba asked, surprised.

"Well, she never tells me things." (F/N) said, making a quick getaway.

"I don't know the full details, but," Nanaba began. And in an even lower voice, she said, "After their breakup, Levi seemed off. Like, for a full month. But, who knows how? Maybe longer? I don't really know."

"How off?" (F/N) whispered, lowering her head.

"He seemed grumpier than usual."

"And my sister?"

"She looked normal, actually. Like nothing ever happened, at all."

So, she was the one who broke up with Levi in this world. I have to ask Hange for that later on. "Oh, I see."

"But, enough about her! I want to know more about you." Nanaba said, smiling earnestly at her.

"Oh, there's nothing to know about me." (F/N) said, then smiled.

"But, surely! How come you seem more reserved than her?"

(F/N) laughed at this. "Is that what you mean by saying I'm well - bred? Actually, no. I'm just like anybody else. I'm normal."

"And smaller, at that."

"Oh." (F/N) uttered, then looked down on the clothes she borrowed from her counterpart. They really looked big on her.

Does this mean that she's bigger here?! "I, ahh - "

"I know!" Nanaba said, her face lighting up in excitement. "Let's borrow some clothes from my new recruit. I'm pretty sure she's the same size as you."

"Really? Thank you!"

"Christa?" Nanaba said, calling for a petite, blonde girl sitting not far from where they were. The girl heard her name being called and stood up.

"Squad Leader?" the girl squeaked. Aww, she's so cute,...

"Can you come over here for a second, please?"

(F/N) watched in amusement as the girl, who was more suited to be called well - bred, went over to their side.

"(N/N), this is my new recruit, Christa Lenz." Nanaba introduced the girl. "She's from the 104th, just like those guys who kept staring at you for a full hour,..." They all looked at the place that Nanaba was gesturing and found several adolescent males, including Jean, himself, staring at (F/N), then looking away with cheeks red with embarrassment. Nanaba laughed and went on. "Christa, this is (N/N), (F/N)'s sister."

"Oh, pleased to meet you, Miss (N/N)." Christa said and smiled. She really looked like an angel.

"You, too, Christa."

"I have a favor to ask." Nanaba said.

A few minutes later, they found themselves on the female recruits' dormitories. Nanaba and (F/N) were waiting for Christa, and when she finally came, she was holding a full set of fresh clothing.

"I'm so sorry," Christa began. "But, these are the most decent ones I have." she said, then handed the clothes to (F/N).

"Ah, that's alright, Christa." (F/N) told her. She really felt that they were going to be the best of friends. "I'm the needy one here."

"What are we waiting for? Try them on, (F/N)!" Nanaba half - urged, half - ordered with a huge, sisterly smile on her face.

And that's when things got five times more complicated than earlier. For, when (F/N) walked out of the dormitory towards the training grounds, wearing Christa's clothes, things went completely haywire, especially for the male population.

"... and, so, we make a full circle around the Forest of Giant Trees, and,... what in the actual - ?!" Ness, the new Squad Leader for (F/N)'s team, stopped talking, dropping his chalk and making a complete fool of himself.

"Jean, don't go easy on me! For crying out loud, don't treat me like I'm an id - whoah!" Jean's sparring partner, a teen with a booze cut, completely lowered his guard, enabling Jean to utterly throw him off the ground.

Faces got punched. Horses got forcefully halted. Boxes got dropped on unsuspecting feet. The whole world abruptly stopped.

For, there, right before their very eyes,...

... was the actual, same girl they never knew they'd ever meet,...

***

🖤🖤🖤

***

[falling-red-petals]

What I think happened to Wally (if he isn't actually dead)

(This is going to be messy because I'm tired and will have no time to edit)

So I keep seeing a lot of people saying that Wally is in the Speed Force. This is highly unlikely unless Greg changed his mind between seasons, as he said the Speed Force doesn't exist on Earth 16. While it's entirely possible that he meant that the Speed Force doesn't exist yet, I highly doubt that that's the case.

I also doubt that Wally is actually dead.

It's pretty clear that in S3 that Darkseid and the New Gods of Apokolips are going to play a big role. Likely culminating in the last 4th of the season, as is common in this show. We already have Darkseid, Granny Goodness, and Glorious Godfrey as confirmed characters.

There is one other New God that I suspect will appear.

The Black Racer, the embodiment of death.

Yes, one of the DC universe's embodiments of death is a man on skis with twin sythes. Just role with it. Comics are strange and wonderful.

In the New 52 continuity there was a plotline called "Darkseid Wars." Without getting too into the plot several Leaguers ended up becoming gods for brief periods of time, with Barry Allen becoming the new Black Racer.

(BTW I think Black Racer-Barry looks sick af)

Of course, status quo is god, so they all return to being mortal by the end. The major reason this storyline is notable aside from the connection with the New Gods is that this was the major storyline proceeding DC Rebirth, and the return of Wally West.

Interestingly, the Speed Force also has it's own grim reaper in the form of the "Black Flash." original name, I know

Now I'm going to change subjects here for a bit. In "Nightmare Monkeys" Gar experiences hallucinations due to the VR headset that Granny Goodness made, primarily relating to past traumas he went through. In one of his hallucinations he sees Wally, and several heroes who have died. (Aside from Wally, Jason Todd is likely the only one that Gar had enough time to get to know on a personal level).

Fairly abruptly, all the heroes die (presumably in the order they died in canon) with Wally saying "(S)he's dead, Tork" grimly each time. Then Wally turns to Gar and asks, "Who's next?"

The scene that plays next is bizarre. The screen in front of Wally and Gar begins playing the moment where Wally "ceases." Wally becomes glum at this, and notes that it's him that dies next and he sits down. He doesn't get shot. The screen then shows Artemis' reaction to it. Gar gets distracted by the monkey. An amused Wally notes that Gar is "tired of the show already," and then changes to channel to "Doom Patrol Go!"

There's two reasons why this is so absolutely bizarre.

One, Gar should have NO MEMORIES of this event. Yes, he knows of Wally’s apparent death, but he wasn't there when it happened. Not during Wally’s final words, which only Bart and Barry would have heard, nor when Barry told the team (and most importantly, Artemis) what had happened. Gar would have only learned of this after the fact.

Two, Wally never gets shot down by the clam-alien-soldiers. He just sits there and "changes the channel" to transition the audience into Gar's next hallucination. So we see three characters who are established to have died previously get killed once more, and the one who was stated to "cease" being left alive.

"Wow! We're losing everyone! A good thing they were already dead." (Um, I'm sorry? WHAT???)

So let's look at all this together. In the comics there's many embodiments of death, including the Black Flash and the Black Racer. In the comics Barry briefly replaced the Black Flash and ended up temporarily merged with Black Racer. The latter storyline being a direct lead up to Wally's long awaited return to Prime Earth.

Wally appears in Gar's hallucination alongside three other heroes who died, but is the only one to speak, is the one to declare them dead after they're killed, and is the only one to not visibly die despite implying he was suppose to be next.

The hallucination is brought on by the VR goggles that Granny Goodness, A New God, has made. The Black Racer is also a New God. Presumably, other New Gods would have access to the goggles mind controlling elements. So, theoretically, if Black Racer was once a certain someone, he could use the goggles to reach out to the minds of his old loved ones, which would also have the side effect of revealing the true nature of the goggles. Therefore making them a known threat to the team.

Side Note: Even after Wally’s part of the hallucination ended, he still wasn't entirely gone. His voice continued on through the monkey. The same monkey that claims to be a God of sorts. Granted, it could have been (and likely was) The Red manifesting in a form that Gar "would be more comfortable with," but perhaps it was both of them. Or, as a third option, Wally was the one initially making contact, but then The Red hijacked it.

Tl,dr: Wally has become Earth-16's Black Racer and was trying to use the goggles to reach out to Gar, a person who's been surrounded by death since a young age, to both inform the younger hero that he's still out there, and let the Team know that Granny Goodness is a threat.