#also. kinda torn between picking a father for her

[teapartycryptid]

Since I did one for my first farmer, I obviously had to do one for my second. We don’t play favorites in this house (except we totally do, I love her sm)

Her name is Jeannie, and she’s a half vampire on her dad’s side. Other than her appearance, vampirism hasn’t really affected her life that much, she just has to deal with a mild garlic allergy and getting sunburnt real easy. She also ages a tad slower than a normal person, but she does still age

[ofbatsandballads]

so it’s a day early but have a little Valentine’s Day with Jason drabble except reader is a bit unhinged and very in love with Jason. inspired by me getting split knuckles and thinking “wow this would be so much cooler if I got them from punching someone.” also idc if damian is ooc here bc you can pry good brothers Jay and Dami from my cold, dead hands.

Jason Todd is used to fighting. He knows thrown fists, black eyes, and bloodied hands better than he knows himself. He’s been fighting so long that it’s second nature; sometimes he tires of the fight and sometimes he aches for it. It all depends on the day and his mood. Sometimes busted knuckles are a pain in the ass to clean and sometimes he enjoys the sting of a job well done.

Jason is used to seeing other people fight. It was the one constant in his formative years. He saw Gotham’s worst fight daily when he was a little kid doing his best to survive the city’s unforgiving streets. He saw Gotham’s best fight nightly and fought alongside him as a bright-eyed teenager. He sees his siblings fight routinely, knows how they do it like he knows the back of his hand. Dick is graceful; he floats through the air before he kicks you in the face. Tim is practical; he hits you where it hurts, seeks to destroy. Damian is ruthless; he toes the line between life and death like he was raised on it. He was; they both were.

Jason has not, however, seen you fight. Until tonight that is. Oh, he’s seen you argue before. You’ve got a smart fucking mouth—he loves it, even when it gets you both in trouble. But physically you’ve always been nothing but gentle and calm. He’s the one that intimidates, that scares off anyone who tries to flirt with either of you with his crossed arms and his face that screams “I’ll kill you”. Yet there you are in the middle of the ballroom where he left you, clutching your fist that has just connected with the nose of some CEO’s son. He freezes for a split second in pure shock. Then his brain comes back online and he’s trying to push through the crowd of people to get to you. His brother beats him to it. Dick picks you up around the waist and swiftly hauls you out of the ballroom.

Jason’s torn between running after you and cornering the guy you just punched to finish what you started. He doesn’t get to make that choice because a small but strong arm grabs him and yanks him hard toward the door that you just got dragged out of. He looks down and sees Damian, and something instinctual about this situation makes him follow wherever the kid goes. It wouldn’t be the first time Damian led him away from a fight and it probably won’t be the last.

“What the fuck just happened?” Jason asks his youngest brother as they wind through the mazelike halls of the penthouse.

“Well, akhi, your beloved just assaulted a man in the middle of father’s Valentine’s Day gala,” Damian responds coolly.

“Yeah, I kinda picked that up, saghir. Why did she assault a man in the middle of the gala?” Jason presses.

Damian bristles at the term of endearment. Jason can tell he’s about two seconds away from arguing that he’s not little anymore, Todd. He seems to consider your hitting a man a more pressing matter, though, because he starts to explain what happened. The guy you punched—some dude named Prescott—had decided it would be a good idea to flirt with you. You turned him down quickly and bluntly with a simple “No, I’m here with my boyfriend.” It all went downhill from there.

“He then asked who her boyfriend was, and when she said you, this imbecile asked why a girl such as herself would be with, quote, ‘a charity case like him’,” Damian relays with thinly veiled disgust.

Jason was used to comments like this. It was all he heard during the three years after Bruce adopted him. It used to make him mad or insecure, like maybe Bruce never truly wanted him. Maybe he just wanted to feel like he was doing something good. But then he died and came back. And he hated B for so long. Until he didn’t. Until he realized that maybe he never did, maybe he just wanted proof that his dad loved him and maybe he felt like he didn’t have it. But with time and patience and a lot of pain, he’s now reasonably assured that he’s not just some billionaire’s charity project. If that were the case, then Bruce would’ve stopped trying a long time ago with him. So the spoiled brat’s comment doesn’t really bother him. He knows that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t bother you, but he can’t figure why it would make you angry enough to deck the guy in the middle of a full ballroom.

“That’s it? She punched him for that?” Jason asks doubtfully.

“No. She first told him that he clearly lacked the empathy to even know what the word charity meant. She also made a snide comment about how his gala attire could, however, be seen as a charity case,” Damian chuckles, clearly amused by your silver tongue.

“Well what’d he say that made her hit him?” Jason demands, his anxiety starting to spike.

He had seen it happen, but he’d been mixing you your favorite cocktail and had missed the actual inciting comment. Damian pauses like he doesn’t want to tell him. All it takes is one hard look with those sea green eyes and Damian finds himself caving like he did as child in the League when Jason would catch him hiding from his newest (and soon to be deceased) sparring partner.

“He said that her tastes shouldn’t be counted considering she was with—” and Damian grits his teeth, forest green eyes absolutely seething, “damaged goods.”

Now that’s a different story. Jason doesn’t care what some privileged rich guy thinks of him, but the idea that other people could see what he already knows hurts. Jason knows he’s damaged goods, knows that you deserve far better than him. And apparently so do total strangers. So how long until you finally see it and leave him like you should have a long time ago? How long until the one truly good thing he’s ever had the pleasure of holding in his hands slips through his fingers and leaves him broken again?

“And then she broke his nose.”

Damian’s jubilant laugh shakes him from the angst he finds himself descending into.

“She what?” Jason asks dumbfounded.

“She broke his nose. I was standing right next to her, Todd. I heard it crack. You’ve trained her well,” Damian says proudly.

Jason’s in awe. You broke someone’s nose. For him. And you did it in front of a room full of people on Valentine’s Day. Jason’s sure this is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for him. And either your love for him has finally settled into his bones or his new therapist is actually doing some good, because he’s suddenly not so worried about you up and leaving him because he’s damaged. You fucking clocked a guy for pointing it out.

Finally after what feels like far too long, Damian leads him to a bedroom tucked away in the penthouse. And there you sit, giggling away as Dick wraps your hand in an elastic bandage. You must’ve sprained your wrist breaking poor Prescott’s nose. Jason is by your side in an instant.

“Jason, there you are! Did you see what I did? Did you, Jay?” you ask enthusiastically.

“Yeah, I saw. Think you might’ve broken his nose, baby,” he teases.

He takes the bandages from Dick and starts to wrap your wrist himself. He gestures for his brothers to get the hell out and hopefully go clean up the mess that’s waiting down the winding hallways.

“That piece of shit deserved it. I would’ve hit him again too had Dick not dragged me away. Think I would’ve gone for his throat next,” you muse.

Jason wants to think he’s above finding this new violent streak of yours sexy. He’s also self aware enough to realize that he’d be deluding himself if he said it didn’t make him want to kiss you senseless.

“I’m sure he did, doll. That was very sweet of you, defendin’ my honor ‘n all,” Jason praises you.

“That was nothing. Child’s play, really. I would do anything for you, Jason. You’re my whole world.”

You say it with such sincerity, with so much love that Jason swears your eyes gleam with it. It makes his heart jump into his throat, makes his chest ache with the need to love you until the day that he dies. And if that day comes too soon? Well, he’ll drag himself out of the grave and come back home to you no matter what it takes. He’d like to tell you all that, but he thinks it might be a bit much. He settles for kissing you instead and nudging his nose against yours when you finally break apart to breathe.

“And you’re mine. C’mon, honey, let’s go home. Valentine’s Day isn’t over just yet.”

[atelierlili]

ok besties, i'm planning to make a major arcana tarot card collection for the THG, but I need some help because 1. i'm kinda stumped and 2. I havent finished TBOSAS so maybe area i'm missing have characters that suit them well. Anyway I'd love some feed back to bounce some ideas around. I don't mind if some characters are used more than once, but Im trying to limit to 2 cards per character.

The Fool (Beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, a free spirit); Effie Trinket. The unaware, optimistic character of the fool, feels fitting for Effie. As for most of the series, she goes around somewhat unaware of the hurdles and dangers that lie before her towards the end of the trilogy.

The Magician (Manifestation, resourcefulness, power, inspired action): Cinna (and Portia??). The magician manifests his goals into the real world. This feels self explanitory.

High Priestess: (Intuition, sacred knowledge, divine feminine, the subconscious mind) UNDECIDED. But I am leaning towards either Mrs. Everdeen or Finnick Odair. The High Priestess provides deep intuitive understanding  and awareness via hidden/secret information. These are the two characters that a lowkey guide us throught Katniss' inner state. Finnick does it more openingly in the story, but its through her mother and her failings that we true see and understand Katniss' character.

The Hierophant: (Spiritual wisdom, religious beliefs, conformity, tradition,institutions) UNDECIDED. But maybe Plutarch or Caeser Flickerman? As they both have a hand in imparting knowledge (from a higher authority) to the people via their platform. Oh maybe I can use them post. One to represent the Heirophant upright, and the other to represent it do downright. Reversed, it represents Personal beliefs, freedom, challenging the status quo, which I think aligns more with Plutarch.

The Empress: (Femininity, beauty, nature, nurturing, abundance) UNDECIDED. I'm so torn. This feels like a good fit for Katniss, BUT I already have plans for her in the other cards and I want other characters to have representation. My other picks are Lucy Gray and Prim/Rue, but like I said I haven't finished TBOSAS yet. lol

The Emperor: (Authority, establishment, structure, a father figure) It's Snow. lmao

Lovers: (Love, harmony, relationships, values alignment, choices) Of course. It's Everlark

The Chariot: ( Control, willpower, success, action, determination) Alma Coin. Feels very fitting considers that the rebels one and she tried to take full control afterwards.

Strength: (Strength, courage, persuasion, influence, compassion) Prim and Rue? But Johanna feels like a good fit too.

Hermit: (Soul-searching, introspection, being alone, inner guidance) Haymitch Abernathy ))))):

Wheel of Fortune: The reaping bowl.

Justice: Gale Hawthorne

The Hanged Man: (Pause, surrender, letting go, new perspectives) UNDECIDED. I'm kinda torn between Peeta, Prim, Johanna and Cinna for this. The Hanged Man is the card of ultimate surrender, martydom and sacrifice for the greater good. Katniss would also be a good pick too.

Death: (Endings, change, transformation, transition) 74th Games bloodbath?

Temperance: (Balance, moderation, patience, purpose) Finnick Odair. The Temperance card is stabilize you with patience and moderation, not force or resistance. It's fitting for a character who was helping Katniss ground herself during Mockingjay.

The Devil: (Shadow self, attachment, addiction, restriction, sexuality) MJ Johanna feels fitting for this. Not because she's the evil, but because she's kind of represents the dark and more negative side of Katniss. As she engages in Katniss' worst habits, such as anger and isolation. And would choose short term gratification and the expense of long term prosperity. But Snow (as the symbol of the capitol) would fit as well. Which is like duuuuh

The Tower: (Sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation, awakening) Blowing up the 75th Arena or maybe the Capitol bombs??

Star: (Hope, faith, purpose, renewal, spirituality) It's the boy with the bread! Peeta. Originally I was going to give him the Sun, but I felt like Primrose fit better over there. The star brings hope, love and purpose after great turmoil and challenges. And its fitting that Katniss' lover is the star in the sky that guides her.

The Moon: (Illusion, fear, anxiety, subconscious, intuition) Katniss! This is Katniss. All her main motivations in the story are fueled by these factors.

The Sun: (Positivity, fun, warmth, success, vitality) Primrose. The sun card radiates optimism and positivity. Which is fitting for someone who brings so much warmth into Katniss' life.

Judgement: The Mockingjay

The World: (Completion, integration, accomplishment, travel) Toast Babies. Children and children death and suffering. Are the core subjects of the book. The toast babies exists represent the wholeness and achieve of everyone Katniss and the rest of Panem has to suffer to end the games.

[judgeanon]

So about that DETECTIVE COMICS #1084...

As a big Shiva fan, I really, really liked that. Maybe my favorite issue with her since Hill's Outsiders run. I made a thread in another site about it but I liked that issue so much that I'm gonna take a sec to repost it here too, so hit that jump if you wanna read an in-depth analysis of 'Tec #1084... or at least, its backup feature!

I'm kinda kidding, I actually enjoyed the main story too. I liked seeing Bruce and Talia reunited in a very touching moment of romance that gives way to grim tension as the unfortunate complications of the strange and violent world they live being to slowly rip them apart once more... and then Shiva happens. For one panel and in a flashback but it was really fun to see Talia call her a friend for a bunch of reasons.

The most serious one is that I genuinely think that, given enough room to work with, Talia and Shiva could be a very compelling pair. Shiva is known to be interested in people who are in a state of flux, who find themselves in crossroads trying to figure out where their true path really lies. And Talia, for better or worse, has been there for, like... years now. I've always thought that Talia, endlessly torn between her love for Bruce, her love for her father, and her love for the world, might even find something tempting about Shiva's absolute detachment, about her comparative freedom from all connections. Which would be fun to explore.

The other reason comes from the issue's backup story by Alex Paknadel and Robbi Rodriguez, which I didn't expect at all but ended up being a huge treat for me, since it aligned so much with a lot of what I consider the most interesting elements and perspectives in Shiva and Cass' relationship.

Right from the start, we have Shiva being able to read Cass and figure out what's wrong with her just from a couple of fighting moves, which I absolutely adore. What looks like a fight is really just them having a conversation, at least for Shiva, who is very quickly able to get at the deeper emotions troubling Cass and holding her back.

(Also, that one panel of Snake Style ThodThodThod's really made me smile. I love the idea of Shiva using stranger, more exotic martial arts than anyone else, especially in Gotham)

On my first read I wasn't really onboard with Shiva's words about not killing Cass, like there was something about them that didn't quite click, but after mulling them over for a while I feel like they can be read as Shiva intentionally picking at Cass' perfectionist nature and competitive spirit. It's less "I spared you and now you owe me" and more "You trying to be Batman makes you suck, here's why, now be better." But I might be reaching a bit there.

Still, it does work, which I really enjoy. I like Shiva being able to prod Cass into reaching deep within her, figuring out what's wrong and improving herself. And we get a lot of that in the next couple of pages, where Cass grapples with the Azmer while also grappling with her own nature. Cass' training with David is an extremely defining element of her character. It's her instincts, her mother tongue, her main method of expression, but it's also something that causes her a ton of inner turmoil, due to the intentions of that training.

Cass is presented in this story as someone inwardly ashamed by her nature, worried of the assassin skills that are weaved into her very nature and what that may say about her. Of course, this is something that Cass has been through before and has developed quite a bit, maybe even outgrown but with Batman dead and gone, it probably makes sense for her to lapse a bit back into self-loathing without that symbol to guide her and with her failure at trying to emulate it. Which I think is a very human thing to happen. Your worst traits are never really gone, and tend to slip back into you when you're at a low point.

Which is why I really like the last few panels of this story.

Although first, Shiva calling Talia an "associate" makes me giggle a bit. C'mon Shivs, don't be so tsun-tsun... anyway.

On the most basic level, we have Shiva offering Cass some solid advice that ties the whole story in a neat bow. But it takes on an even stronger quality when you remember this is Lady Shiva talking here. Shiva, who we know wants Cass to be more than just a Bat. Shiva, who understands the strength that comes from finding your own path and following it. Shiva, who maybe more than anyone knows exactly how strong Cass can be once she embraces all aspects of her own nature and finds harmony in herself.

From almost any other character, that last phrase would just be a nice little canned moral. From Shiva's lips, it carries the weight of decades of character work for both Cass and Shiva. It's a solid ending that's elevated by the history between its characters. It hits SO many of the notes I want to see, the things that I think make Shiva's relationship with Cass genuinely compelling. Shiva being able to "read" Cass through a fight, her wanting Cass to be herself more than anything else, and all of it unhindered by any kind of easy moral judgment from Cass or the story itself.

Shiva is not presented as a monstrous villainess who Cass must reject, but as her own character with her own story that happpens to cross with Cass' for a moment. And from Shiva, there's no berating Cass for being a hero or choosing not to kill. There is berating, sure, but it works because it speaks to something a lot more personal for both characters than generic notions of good or evil. It speaks about Cass' need to find and be herself and stick with it no matter what.

(Which this arc also touched upon a couple months ago in 'Tec #1082, which very elegantly made it clear that Cass had the heart of a hero before she even knew what a Batman was -- an incredibly powerful statement made in just two captions)

So this is a story that hits pretty much all the right notes for me. I wish it would hit them a bit longer, or in a few different ways that didn't involve Batman, but it's just a perfect example of most of the elements that I think make this relationship worth exploring. Even the fact that this makes it the sixth major appearance of Lady Shiva in a row that is ultimately dedicated to her relationship with Cass doesn't bother me because this is precisely how I want this relationship to be written. If they were all this good, I wouldn't even mind.

And on top of all that, this issue is also a good example of something I'm always thinking about: tempting as it is, you don't need to make every Shiva appearance be huge and bombastic and lead to some massive story arc. It can be something small but meaningful, a quick appearance with some very choice words, Shiva walking into an ongoing story to, in her own way, help others get through an inflection point.

If I had to say something I disliked about it, I do think it's a little blunt in its themes and execution. Paknadel has Shiva quite literally spell out the problem for Cass, which I guess is fine given how short the story is, but it does lose a bit of elegance because of it. Still, it was a great little treat and while I know Ram's 'Tec run is coming to its end, I do hope he'll find a place for one last bit of Shiva in it.

And I also hope he gets to write her for more than just one wordless balloon because Ram V's Lady Shiva is a dream book in my book.

[annachum]

Look I think what can happen with Wish is this :

. So Asha still is a lady in waiting to Queen Amaya in that AU. And then clashes between King Magnifico and Asha ensues

. Asha naively thought all dreams can come true. It turns out later, that some dreams......are nightmares

. It turns out King Magnifico bore the brunt of that magical book as a way to ward Rosas of the spirit of Nightmares

. And then Asha and her friends soon have to team up to fix the mess they inadvertently ( and unintentionally ) caused

. They meet Estrello aka Star Boy and then Asha and Star Boy have an Aladdin/Tangled like romance

. Amaya in this AU is still at first loyal to Magnifico. Yet she becomes torn between Magnifico's slipping of sanity from the book and also Asha's naive but well meaning intentions to have more dreams coming true

. It tunes out Asha and Magnifico both have their flaws and valid points.

. Amaya being this oracle like figure and is the one to tell Asha and her friends to help clean up the mess they unintentionally and inadvertently started

. It be kinda like a mix of Brave and Tangled in vibes in spades - Merida and Elinor learning to listen to each other better, and Merida learning to fix the mess she inadvertently and unintentionally caused

. After all the chaos is over, Magnifico and Asha became wiser - Magnifico becomes braver in confronting even his own worst nightmares, and Asha learns better that, while wishing dreams to come true is not bad fundamentally, one has to dream carefully

Bonus on that AU :

. It turns out Star Boy is a long lost son of Amaya and Magnifico whom they believed is killed by the Nightmares. Yet it turns out he escaped and is under recovery care of the Star Spirits before Estrello first meets Asha

. Estrello willingly gains Star powers as a way to help those in need. Bless

. And then eventually Asha and her friends bring Estrello to reunite with his parents and OH BOY THE WATERWORKS ENSUES

. Estrello is free spirited, brave and witty - kinda reminds me of Aladdin and Flynn Rider in some ways. He's got his dad's creativity and his mom's ability to see perspective of things

. Similarly with Asha, before his disappearance, Estrello also had conflict with his own father about the whole Nightmares spirit, where Estrello naively believed he can take them down like his own father did. But trouble is, Estrello lacks experience in comparison to his father.....and Estrello soon got lured to be captured by the Nightmares as a hostage

. Magnifico can never forgive himself for his son's supposed death, and he and Amaya became closer over the shared grief of losing their son ( at least for a time )

. It turns out Amaya picked Asha to be an apprentice because Amaya believed that Asha can be a worthy successor of the Oracle book of dreams

. Yeah in that AU, Estrello is more like his mama but one can see elements of both of his parents in him

After the whole first encounter, Asha and her friends became like bodyguard like figures to Prince Estrello, and teaching him ways of how to life a lifestyle without much luxuries

So unlike Asha and her fri3nds, Estrello grew up in the luxuries of the Rosas Royal Court, which prompted him to be rather sheltered at first. But he got better later on

No srsly I see the concept arts of Star Boy and found he had a similar hair line as Magnifico AND I THINK HE LOOKS A MIX OF YOUNGER VERSION OF QUEEN AMAYA AND KING MAGNIFICO

So I was like, ' I can't lose. '

And that's kinda how I got this idea of where Estrello is son of Magnifico and Amaya in a Wish AU

My voice headcanon for Estrello aka Star Boy is Antony Ramos from In the Heights movie

Also Prince Estrello's fashions have some nods to the styles of :

. Pedro III D'Aragon

. Sir Lancelot

. D'Artagan from The Three Musketeers

[darkandstormyranger]

ok now i can try to review my opinion, after having finished ROTE altogether so hey complaining round two

(and yeah, i complain, but i still love those books. i'm actually really happy that i found a book i care about enough to complain :3 )

[fitz and the fool spoilers]

logically, i kind of get why the author chose to have fitz and molly get back together, bee needing to happen and all but still.......... there must have been a better way

firstly, again, i still think a huge part of fitz's character development should have been him letting go of his childhood crush and accepting the fact that she's happy without him - i think the first trilogy twist where it turned out that molly wasn't actually going to stay single forever mourning him but moved on with her life was brilliant, 10/10 no notes AND it should have made fitz reconsider his view on their *ended* relationship in the following years (following sixteen years might i add)

secondly, it was kinda fucked up how they started picking up their relationship 0.034 seconds after her husband, father to her half a dozen of kids (and basically fitz's adopted father???) died. like, fitz's first thought after learing that burrich died is "COOL MOLLY IS SINGLE AGAIN" dude what. and also how everyone is really cheering him on? "HER HUSBAND IS DEAD DUDE GO GET HER TIGER!" guys?????? i feel maybe fitz and molly's relationship would have felt less like a slap in the face if it was moved to the beginning of the third trilogy and took place years after their reunion. maybe burrich is still alive for a while, maybe after his death fitz and molly have a random one night stand bc they both feel lonely and need someone who understands their pain and it ultimately doesn't lead to them getting back together, bc they're too much of a different people to rekindle their relationship and they're still grieving the loss of their loved ones BUT in the end the weird years-long pregnancy still happens and the events of the fitz and the fool carry on as they do

third, and i think my main issue is that robin hobb does a great job of writing interesting relationships both romantic and platonic (fitz & the fool/nighteyes/burrich/lady patience/ketricken/verity, verity & ketricken, kennit & winntrow etc..) and yet somehow molly and fitz imo are nowhere near as interesting and feel nowhere as deep as the aforementioned. i was looking forward to the reunion between fitz and burrich or fitz and lady patience. i couldn't care less if molly and fitz never spoke until the end of the story.

fourth, i kinda get now how it was supposed to be a bit of a bittersweet ending, where fitz loses the two most important people in his life BUT technically gets the life he always wanted, a bit of a glinda's I couldn't be happier moment buuuuuuut idk i still feel it could have been done better, i didn't really feel him being torn that much

five, bee. the main reason, i guess, for fitz and molly's reunion. true, getting them back together was the easiest way to have her happen, but definately not the only one and others wouldn't probably leave one with bad taste in their mouth. bee could have just appeared spontaneusly out of nowhere (if we're doing the whole triple parenting thing, why not a kid appearing out of a thin air? why not???), bee could have actually been the fool's kid (i think it would be funny if for once fitz had to deal with the fact that his friend/love/half of his soul actually had a relationship with someone else at some point).

all in all, the ending did make up for that odd romantic detour, fitz reuniting with the fool and nighteyes, but i guess that's the best thing that can be said for it. and i just really like to complain

final verdict: i get the reasoning behind it but im still going to be a little bitch about it

tawny man trilogy spoilers

i was in the middle of writing an essay on why i found the endgame relationship of the fool's fate a bit annoying and i realized it boils down to two issues:

fitz and molly's relationship never felt to me like it was supposed to be endgame - i think it was a pretty cool failed relationship, which was supposed to serve as a lesson to fitz and a bitter reminder that he cannot always take what he wants regardless of the consequences; furthermore i never felt molly was that important of a character in the later books, compared to nighteyes and the fool. she doesn't appear in the second trilogy at all until the very end come on...

(and i joked about how the fool is getting so much description in fitz's pov BUT SERIOUSLY, all i rememeber about molly is that she's a woman and has hair , while the fool is getting extensive descriptions almost every chapter, and that kind of sends the message on whom the reader should focus on more no??)

fitz has been childishly feeling wronged for sixteen years and the ending seemed to confirm his belief? - i genuinely thought that the punchline of fitz feeling jealous and angry that the two people he cared about fell in love because they were good for each other and they also thought he was dead would be him moving on and accepting the fact that he can take a different role in their life and appreciate it AND NOT "sometimes if you love someone, and wait long enough, and remind yourself that they are meant for you, and are probably waiting for you, regardless of the life and relationships they built for themselves, you will be rewarded by getting them back". everything seems to confirm fitz's conviction that molly was somehow wrongfully stolen from him and they can finally be together? nighteyes dying (when it was said at some point that molly wouldn't accept his bond with fitz and would make him choose), burrich dying and the fool leaving (bc he knew molly wouldn't accept his friendship with fitz) seem to all be obstacles conveniently moved out of the way of fitz getting back with his ex-girlfriend as though that was the reward he's been working for all this time?

i guess what im trying to say is, even though i as a reader don't have to be (and shouldn't be) on board with every decision a character makes, you'd think that his happy ending (mid-ending?) and the endgame (mid-game?) relationship would at least not make me want to write an angry essay on tumblr dot com yet here i am

(look at me, writing a whole ass rant when it was supposed to be just two bullet points)

[oivsyo]

Hyūga men chilling on the hot springs [censored|sfw ver.]

For uncensored version go to my Twitter =)

ok, let me introduce them>>>

this is an adult Neji who survived the war, hope it is obvious bc of his scars. Along with Hinata Neji is the main POV in my HC.

Kō Hyūga with my redesign. I got so used to this appearance on him, so I have to remind myself that he doesn't look this way in the canon and other people may not recognise him.

He is 2,5 years older than Neji. In my HC his B-day is on 31 December because this day is Bertolt’s (AoT) b-day and my HC Kō has many things in common with Bertolt. His temper is soft  and is much like Hinata's, only that he is rather strong and is confident in his skills. His problem is the unhealthy desire to meet other people's expectations, the fear of accepting himself as he is.

He was the younger son in one of the main house’s families, but his elder brother was killed during Orochimaru invasion, his eyes torn out and stolen. It happened 2 weeks before Kō’s 17th birthday, so he didn’t get the seal. But it makess him miserable, he would happily bear a hundred seals if only it could turn his brother back to life. He has always been on good terms with Hinata, he looked after her and was supposed to be her guard. After the events of OG Kō gradually makes friends with Neji and eventually becomes one of the closest ppl for both Neji and Hinata. Kō is one of 4 POVs in my HC.

Kō is a sweet cinnamon bun and just perfect, I want to marry him but he is 2D and gay :(

Hiashi Hyūga. My fav part of this art.

Hiashi is DILF.Don't judge me.

I hc him being rather young, so that he is around 31-32 yo during Chunin Exam Arc I gave him background story and better developed personality in my hc so he turned out to be a very interesting and contradicting character.

Hiashi is one of POVs in my HC, through his character the clan’s story, traditions, political relations with the village, with Uchiha clan and inside the clan are told.

Tokuma Hyūga a.k.a Neji's main rival for the title of the most handsome Hyūga man. In my HC Tokuma looked after Neji when his father died and his mother was away on missions so he is kinda brother for Neji even tho they are not that close related. Tokuma has a rather difficult and heavy character, Neji picked some of his traits up. He is not too tall, around 175cm, and looks really young being one of the eldest among Neji, Kō and the next character. 

This one is my OC. His name is Yojiru.

At first I wanted him to be more like RtN Neji, but gradually he switched to Dandelion from the Witcher saga. He is Neji's first cousin, their mothers were sisters, so they look alike. He is almost 10 years older than Neji. He is a poor fighter and  medic-nin, but is rather well-read and knows a lot of things. He is also a talented musician, he plays some musical instruments, sings and even writes songs. He likes to tell jokes and fool around, he has a playful and carefree nature.

In the time skip period between OG and Shippuden he gets acquainted with Ko, they quickly become friends. Yojiru teaches Kō to live for himself and not to look back on other ppl opinion. Later they become lovers.

Hoheto Hyūga. He was a background character in the canon and for now he is only a background character in my HC. He is the oldest man on this art, he is around 5-7 years older than Hiashi I think he is a real clan's patriot judging from the scene with him on the war. Probably he is Hiashi’s guard and assistant.

This one is a rather new OC that is based on one of background Hyūgas from the anime. I HC that he is Natsu's older twin brother. They are from the main house so he doesn't have a seal, and Natsu being the younger twin has it. At the moment I don’t have any ideas about his personality, I'm choosing a name for him from Aki and Haru.

****

This is my first drawing for Naruto Horny ASK, that I've joined recently, and it is kinda redraw of this mangacap. I liked the composition I decided to finally draw all my handsome white-eyed men together

[kaiisers]

BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA ꒰ dabi ꒱

none of the following works belong to me. credits to rightful authors. contains mature content, aimed for +18 audiences. reader discretion is advised. most of these works are f! or afab! reader. ALSO! minors + blank + ageless blogs will be blocked.

⿻ last updated: jan. 09, ‘23

⌕ LEGEND

personal favorites : ♡

reader discretion advised, read content warnings : ✧ 

a burnt rose. ──── complete

⌜ ୨୧ ⌟ You and Touya parted on bad terms. Six years later, he spots you visiting his father, a red-headed kid in tow. He’s determined to find out what you’ve been up to while he’s been gone.

cw. angst. single parent au. single parent, angst, violence, child loss, implied drug use

an ode to winter. ──── 14.1k

⌜ ୨୧ ⌟ touya todoroki had broken a lot of things, your heart, promises, your window a few times, but you swore he’d never leave your child feeling that way. but when he wants back into your life, will he take no for an answer? And do you even want to say it?

cw. angst, fluff, smut. MANGA SPOILERS IN THE EXTENDED ENDING. manga war arc!au, single-parent!au, unplanned pregnancy!au. heavy smut, ( literally 5k of it ),  mentions of pregnancy, mentions of semi-toxic!relationships, struggling with parenting, blackmail ??,  unprotected sex ( wrap it before you tap it, losers ), handjobs, oral sex ( female receiving ), fingering ( female receiving ),  choking, branding, squirting, spit!kink, needy touya

♡ antecedent. ──── 16k+

⌜ ୨୧ ⌟ following Touya’s arrest you try to navigate the world as it is flipped on its head. torn between your loyalty to him and what’s best for your son, new family is formed and hope is found.

cw. angst, hurt/comfort, sorta fluff. single (?) parent au. canon divergence:spoilers for touya backstory and chapters 349 onwards. AFAB reader (referred to as ‘mama’), established (kinda toxic) relationship,secret family au (post arrest), original child character (‘Kaiyo’; he is your shared biological child), parent todoroki touya, mentions of canon attempted suicide and canon child abuse, themes of generational trauma, family feels, todoroki family centric, villain rehabilitation, dealing with trauma and recovery, second chances

autumn chill. ──── complete

⌜ ୨୧ ⌟ You find yourself needing a place to stay after setting an apartment on fire.

cw. angst, smut. villain au, blood, panic attack, death (not main characters), 18+

biting down. ──── 5.3k

⌜ ୨୧ ⌟ He’s fast as he weaves through the trees, breath hot against your neck as he runs as if he has any need for breathing at all. You feel your shoulders drop in relief, tucking your head into the crook of his neck, the texture of his skin a comfort to you as you think about what could have happened if he hadn’t found you. Dabi is a vampire, a real, live (debatable), blood-sucking, sunlight-repulsed, creature of the night. You think you might be in love with him.

cw. f!reader, explicit content, some angst, violence, vampires, Dabi picks reader up, detailed descriptions of blood and gore (lots and lots of blood), blood kink, self inflicted harm (reader cuts her palm open), Dabi is a little mean sometimes, biting (he bites ur neck, thighs, chest he drinks ur blood he’s a vampire), pain play (biting to puncture skin, biting and drinking from already open wounds), drinking each other’s blood, fingering, (bloody) oral f!receiving, bloody sex, unprotected sex, marking, bruising, corny vamp dialogue

touya dabi isn't as smooth as he thinks he is.

can you feel my heart beating like a hammer? ──── 5k

⌜ ୨୧ ⌟ You watch from your spot, shoulders tense as you anticipate the arrival of yet another creepy clown or zombie when you see him.

He’s not like the other actors. He’s not quick with his movements and doesn’t yell or jump at anyone. His terror lies in the fact that he does none of those things, that he stands across from you and stares.

And then he grins.

Your stomach turns but not in fear.

cw. f!reader, explicit content, scare actor!dabi, Dabi is touya (quite literally he is not called Dabi in this at all ajhssjsjjss), sex in public, fearplay (kind of), multiple orgasms, overstimulation (very brief), oral f!receiving, fingering, multiple instances where Dabi rests his hand on ur neck but never chokes u, biting (shoulder, neck), ‘baby’ and ‘angel’ as pet names, use of ‘good girl’, frightening (debatable im not that good) depictions of scare actors and haunts, one description of gory makeup, fake weapons

✧ count for me. ──── 3.8k

cw. punishments, shibari, blowjob, face fucking, rough sex, squirting, degrading, some praise, dabi is mean to reader, spanking, minor burning/branding, it's all consensual.

hardly human. ──── 3.2k

cw. Touya x Cisfem Selkie!Reader. degradation (slut etc), praise, fingering, unprotected sex, maybe slight coercion but not really, maybe a little angst but mostly smut, bit of plot.

♡ heaven for nonbelievers. ──── 11k

⌜ ୨୧ ⌟ Fire is many things – forgiving is not one of them. Dabi finds absolution elsewhere. Allusions to domestic abuse(not to y/n), mentions of sexual abuse (not to y/n), mentions periods, mentions of food, explicit content, y/n can’t catch a break; sharing space, strange domesticity, gray morality to less gray morality, sometimes grief has teeth

cw. angst, smut, hurt/comfort. villain au + strangers to lovers

♡ I’m melting in your eyes, like my first time that I caught fire. ──── 13k+ (½)

cw. pro hero!au. explicit language, fluff, angst, shouto is a menace, touya has tattoos instead of scars

kingdom of ashes. ──── 12k

⌜ ୨୧ ⌟When you are suddenly uprooted from your life to enter an arranged marriage with Prince Touya you are unprepared for how greatly he defies your expectations, nor for how quickly you fall for him.

cw. AFAB FEM reader (referred to as ‘wife’ ‘daughter’ and 'my lady’), royalty au, prince todoroki touya, arranged marriage, no quirks, historical setting, perceived unrequited love, fictional contraceptives, horseback riding, fluff, angst, protected vaginal sex, vaginal oral sex (reader receiving), dubcon, strangers to lovers, loss of virginity, hurt/comfort, canonical child abuse, bathing together, outdoor sex, talk of not having children/preventing pregnancy

leather cushions. ──── 6.7k

⌜ ୨୧ ⌟ touya hates the couch in the living room, but for you, he’d sit on it every second of the day.

cw. smut. quirkless au, college au, roommates au, best friends to lovers. shitty frat/rich boy!keigo, reader tells keigo no & he ignores it, soft, sweet, consensual sex w touya.

♡ legacy of hurt. ──── 4.5k

⌜ ୨୧ ⌟ touya has enclosed his heart behind a thick wall with refusal to let anyone see it. but you are an unrelenting storm, and damned by your persistence, even the strongest cliff can break if weathered enough.

cw. NSFT, GN reader, friends to lovers, Dabi POV, pre-LOV, implied PTSD, mention of child abuse, angst, hurt/comfort, blood (he cries during sex), spit, unprotected sex, emotional sex, no power dynamic

secrets. ──── complete

⌜ ୨୧ ⌟ Life isn’t a fairy-tale and you find your soulmate through unconventional means.

cw. angst, smut. soulmate au. death mention, violence, spoilers (?) – set in PLF arc, abuse mention (not directed at reader)

she washes all of my wounds for me. ──── 15.2k

⌜ ୨୧ ⌟ “I called you by your name. Is that okay?”

“I don’t know.”

And it isn’t because he doesn’t want you to know his name. He’s already announced it to the world. Of course, you’re going to know it. It certainly isn’t because he hates the way your lips so easily form the two syllables. It isn’t because he no longer wants to associate himself with the name.

He’s simply afraid of his greedy soul becoming attached to the way you somehow manage to make something that used to cause his skin to crawl to now bring his heart a peace he’s never known before he saw your face.

cw. fem!reader. Smut (18+ only, minors DNI), fem reader (AFAB anatomy, femme pet names/pronouns), major spoilers for manga chapter 290, heavy religious imagery of angels/gods/heaven, one (1) instance of sir kink, so so much hurt/comfort, several mentions of past family abuse and trauma, mild blood and gore (Dabi tending to new burns/scars), verbal argument that has Dabi breaking furniture (reader does not get hurt) and being an overall asshole, alcohol use (Dabi is drunk and emotional), soft desperate-to-be-loved-but-too-scared-to-ask Dabi, oral and fingering (f!receiving), unprotected sex, creampie, very soft and emotional smut

soft interlude. ──── 1.4k

cw. AFAB GN reader (called ‘angel’ once), NSFT, established relationship, fluff and smut, bath sex, vaginal fingering (mostly clit stimulation; reader receiving), heavy petting, quirk use

unprofessional. ──── 5.1k

cw. smut. modern / business au. fem! reader, blow jobs, cum swallowing, humping, natsuo walking in on yall lmao, unprofessional work relationships, ceo’s son! dabi aka touya

[chubearr]

MY JWCC S5 REVIEW ♡ SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

》 you have been warned ⚠️

》 to start off, WHAT A RIDE THIS SEASON WAS!!! theres lots of opinions, like the finale pacing etc, but tbh; with 12 episodes i think they did pretty well ending the show with the time they had! to me personally it didnt feel rushed at all, i actually wanted everything to pick up the pace so the kids could be happy and safe again 😭 with that out of the way, lets get to it!

》story & mr.kon

- s5 continues off right from the end of the previous season, where the camp fam meet Mr. Daniel Kon, Kenji's father!!!

- right off the bat mr.kon seems pretty trusting and relieved to see his son, but theres still hesitancy to trust him from the kids and quite frankly, the fandom as well. the kids out kash on all of his BS and mrkon rightfully so punishes him, and gets the kids to safety with food and SHOWERSSSS YESSSSS THEY CAN FINALLY SHOWER!! (kenji shaved and also brooklyn redyed her hair idk how) but at what cost.... its just too good to be true! ep1 is pretty tame, it gives the kids a break FINALLY and mae gets patched up!

- the story from then on goes to the kids doing their thing, sussing mr.kon out, rightfully so, while being torn on breaking kenjis heart abt the truth abt his dad and saving dinos, usual jwcc shenanigans ensue.

- I THINK MRKON WAS WELL DONE. his manipulation game is off the charts and he knows how to act fr, the way he can flip sides when hearing things he does not like in a second, he does it to kenji too. and hes not unhinged like kash, mr.kon IS the mastermind, hes very smart and knows how to manipulate kenji— its so heart breaking. in my s5 predictions post i said it could go two ways; mr.kon as an ally to the kids against kash, or mr.kon being the real enemy. LOOKS LIKE THE LATTER...

- my only gripe is i wish they showed more abt how mr.kon got this way— like was it the mothers death, or is it a trait that got passed down by his own father, or is it just simply greed?? who knows. its never really answered if he does care for his son or not? to me i think it was just convenient at the time for kenji to be around— i didnt see any signs mrkon ever showed affection for kenji when it didnt benefit him 😭😭 which is DEVASTATING. mrkon was out of the parenthood game fr...

- as usual, all the adults die fr but theyre badguys and death-by-dino is sick asf so i love it! EVEN KASH GOT GOT and that was sooo satisfying. mae was safe tho and as she should!!

- ok so apart of me really wanted mr.kon to get a redemption arc or smth— like a bigger bad makes him ally with the kids and he really bonds with kenji.. but then kash dies so im like "WELL there goes that possibility" and then i had hope for the investors to turn on mr.kon— nope they all died except for the lady IN WHICH the antagonist from jw:dominion comes in (the guy who runs biosyn i forgot his name) but then obv cant be possible bc they cant kill him off since he has to appear in his own movie... IN THE END, no redemption for mr.kon and fine. thats fine im fine.

- OK ill be honest MR.KON IS KINDA.. BAD OK? LIKE.. 😳 HELP  IM SORRYYYY its just the way he grabbed kash by his the back of his neck and was "go back to whatever hole u came from" IT MADE ME FEEL SMTH A LITTLE OK.. he lookin for a stepmom for kenji or... 🤭.... IM SORRY HES AN ATTRACTIVE SINGLE DAD ALSO A VILLAIN, WHAT DO U WANT FROM ME 😭😭 i was taking notes while watching the season and if you see them its just me simping for mr.kon HELp

- ok ANYWAY the fact that he was legit willing to let the kids die and even LET DARIUS GET KILLED in front of kenji i knew... it was over..

- final confrontation between kenji and mrkon was sad😭 HE LEGIT JUST LEFT HIS SON ON AN ISLAND THAT HE BELIEVED WAS GONNA GO TO SHIT... apart of me wants to be like "oh he probably thought kenji was better off with them" but its pretty much apparent ig that he does not give a shit abt kenji— which is why i wish theyd spent some time showing kenjis history w/him bc we know mrkon was not present most of his life, but there SEEMED to be something more. oh well. bye bye mrkon!! AND HE GETS ARRESTED OFFSCREEN TOO, which is just sad for kenji 😭

- THE LAST EPISODE is absolutely my favorite and the ENDING is amazing ill tell u why in a sec just u wait!!

》kenji vs campfam

- ill say it again KENJI IN A SUIT AND BETRAYAL I FORSEENT ITTTTT

- to start off I THINK BOTH SIDES HAD THEIR FAULTS AND RIGHTS BUT ohh my godd kenji deserved a break ok.. i may be biased bc he is my favorite son

- IT WAS SO OBVIOUS HE WAS MANIPULATED and has daddy issues, and im so glad brooklyn saw that. I WAS PISSED that no one else did, like ur telling me ben and yas couldnt see it? i think they were a bit dramatic on their hatred for kenji but ig its understandable bc out of everyone they arent that close w/ him....  BUT STILL. messy.

- I WAS SO PISSED AT SAMMY AT FIRST FOR BEING INDECISIVE bc shes torn between her bestie kenji, and her other besties+yasmina. tho i do believe she never blamed kenji by the way their reunion went (she was just happy he was back w/them) so ill give her a pass.

- IM CONFLICTED ABT DARIUS bc i thought originally he was just too heartbroken abt kenji yet hes not used to talking abt his feelings hence needing the dinosaur interaction. but he just said he didnt care??? like bro... why r u lyin.

- darius at least shouldve stepped up a little bc other than brooklyn, he knows kenji had issues with his dad... oh well.. dino lovers are crazzzzy

- im at least glad he was the one who stayed mad at kenji for the longest #payback my broken boys... BUT it paid off when darius forgave kenji THEY BOTH CRIED?! i cried. it was so sweet and idc if anyone thinks "kenji was forgiven too early and it was rushed", bc truth is hes a kid with dad issues and the others are kids and they are family and they! need! each other!!

》yasammy (& kenlynn)

- CAN I JUST SAY LETS TAKE THIS W YASAMMY FANSS YESSSSSSSSS  also BISEXUAL YAS RIGHTS?!?! sammy is the lesbian this is so true

- yasminas whole crush arc was just adorable and so fitting for her to open up to ben 😭 bc ben is like so chill right

- i like how they didnt make it a big deal, it was just abt yasmina figuring herself out and when she made her move, IT WAS REWARDING!! i screamed at the kiss... they r so adorable.. silly gfs 💖

- im so glad they didnt shy away from shoving it in our faces bc THOSE GIRLS DESERVE ITTTT FRRR,, THE KISS!!! THE KISSSSSSSSS

- as equally cute as kenlynn, they both have equal screentime which was a blessing!

- kenlynn pained me so bad when brooklyn was broken abt kenji 😭 its what i love, angst, but gdi i wish she held on a little longer but understandble bc kenji was kinda wack himself for staying with his dad that long...

- THE DATE THING WAS SO CUTE KENJI IS SO SOFT, ,HIS SUIT AND THE FLOWER.. I SCREAMED!!

- AND YET IT WAS HEARTBREAKING...he got stood up... smh... its fine.. it all got healed when he gave her the flower fr <3

- THE LAST EP KISS... i cried and threw up i love my kids... HOW COULD U HATE THEM THEYRE SO SOFT AND SWEET im holding them both in my arms 💖💖

》timeskip

- THIS WAS THE ABSOLUTE BEST PART. WHEN OLDER DARIUS SHOWED ON THE SCREAM I YELLED (INAUDIBLY BC IT WAS 4AM)

- THIS IS LEGIT ALL I WANTED, A TIMESKIP TO END THE SHOW (u can see my previous posts i mention this shit a lot and i even have my own au and older designs for them..)

- YASAMMY IN TEXAS THIS IS SO TRUE.. STAY SAFE GFS... im so mad sammy didnt change her clothes HELP shes still wearing thay goddamn shirt and has similar length hair but its fine yasmina being gorgeous made up for it 👍

- KENLYNN GOIN STRONG longdistance relationship goals, i love their designs so much😭😭 kenji w/his hair down AND brooklyn short hair?!?! short haired women rights its all i wanted 💃

- in my timeskip au i had darius work with dinos back on the island but its more fitting that ben has that role (working w/mae) which is so adorable...

- IM GLAD I PREDICTED BENRIUS WOULDNT HAPPEN bc theyre too innocent and busy being dino obsessed obv!! we didnt get timeskip benrius but theres still hope 😌 theyre just both aro-ace theyll work smth out..

- they fact they keep in touch is so sweet HELPP in my au they all drifted apart 💀 it was for the angst im sorry

- KENJI GETS ADOPTED INTO THE BOWMAN FAMILY SO TRUE... its so sad that with no mom or dad (jail) hes p much an orphan but at least he got darius,, it was so sweet when the mom hugged him at the mainland reunion 🥲 ALSO KENJI STILL OWNS MANTAH CORP?? OR SMTH LIKE IT BC ITS MENTIONED HES KEEPING THE PRIVATE ISLAND RUNNING so mae n ben can work there... SO TRUE

- LETS TALK AGES:

ok so from my research since the show goes alone the movies timeline, s1 takes place in 2015!! fallen kingdom is 3yrs after, and dominion (which i assume begins when darius sees the dinosaur outside his house) is 4 years later making the year 2022.

》so its like jwcc s1 age/ fallen kingdom(s5 timeskip) age/ dominion age

• darius: 12/15/19

• brooklyn: 13/16/20

• ben: 14/17/21

• sammy: 14/17/21

• yasmina: 15/18/22

• kenji: 15/18/22

- me sobbing.. they grew up so fast.. i love my kids... my age theory also may be sooo wrong but it makes more sense if theyre all in their 20s by the end! livin the adult life #goodluck

》final thoughts and thanks

- THIS SHOW IS LEGIT THE BEST AND A GODDAMN BREATH OF FRESH AIR COMPARED TO OTHER SHOWS coughMLBcough what who said that 🤨😳🤭

- from s1 to the end i never got tired of it or it never swayed from my interests, i drew fanart so quick, more than ive done for a lot of other fandoms i was in 😭💖

- i wouldnt mind a sequel with the older camp fam, but if its thats it thats okay too!! lets not get greedy guys...

- EXPECT GIFSETS AND FANART IN THE FUTURE!! my life is so busy crazy rn but i will make time for jwcc shit if its the last thing i do!!!

- lastly, thank you for joining me on this ride! jwcc brought me lots of new tumblr followers which was a surprise! 💖

i know somehow toxicity will find its way to this season, but what else would i expect LMAO idc i will fight with all ive got as usual 😉

- lets all take this W fr, this show was so good. also, sorry for any spelling and grammar errors in the review!

[shima-draws]

Part of me really wishes they’d focused a bit more on Varian’s redemption arc;; they kinda wrapped it all up in one episode and it felt sort of rushed? I would have loved to see more of Varian coming to terms with the things he did and realizing how wrong he was and how awful he’d treated everyone in Corona--but he’s still holding onto that pain and the betrayal that turned him into a villain in the first place. That sort of torn feeling between “Yes, I need to take revenge for what they did” and “No, I’ve gone too far, I need to make up for my mistakes”.

Clearly this is something Andrew could take advantage of, because Varian obviously hadn’t made up his mind yet, and dangles the “Obviously you’re conflicted about this so you can still be friends with everyone after we wipe their memories and start fresh” option in front of his face. And Varian, alone and trapped in a jail cell, probably wouldn’t have hesitated to go along with Andrew’s plan, being so young and impressionable and ready to please just about anybody. And when he was presented with the option, with the chance to be friends with the people he once loved so dearly...of course he would go for it, because deep down he’s still desperate for their approval. It’s a win win, he can take revenge and then wipe the slate clean.

By the time Rapunzel comes back to Corona Varian already seems to have fully accepted that he messed up, badly, and he wants to make up for it, but doesn’t see any other way around it other than going to the extremes again. I would have liked to see this inner conflict pushed even further, maybe with Andrew taunting Varian that listen, we’re all you have, we’re all you have to turn to, we were the ones that picked up the pieces and gave you a new purpose and if you betray us here you’ll have NOBODY, and be all alone again. And Varian knows this because he firmly believes Rapunzel and the others won’t ever forgive him, so he’s caught in a battle of morals, “Do I help the only people that actually ever LISTENED to me or save the kingdom at the cost of being abandoned again”. And in the end his good side wins over the bad, and he decides that hey, everyone may still hate me but I won’t make the same mistake twice, I’m going to make the right decision this time. And that in turn moves Rapunzel into forgiving him and knowing that he truly regrets hurting her, and that she can start to trust him again.

Another thing that they really glossed over was Quirin’s rescue;; I know the fans hypothesized for AGES what the note he wrote said, only to have it be an anti-climactic “I’m proud of you, Varian” when it could have been SO much more than that. Maybe information about the Brotherhood or some ancient secret kept about Zhan Tiri, maybe even any of Quirin’s knowledge on the black rocks and the moonstone. It felt really disappointing when it was just oh yeah Quirin’s proud of Varian but we all knew that already! And ofc that’s a driving factor to Varian’s character arc, wanting his dad to be proud, so being told that was definitely important, but there could have been more.

And I guess his rescue was sort of a let down too since it’s been building for an entire season, and then Rapunzel just swoops in and gets him out in two seconds flat and is like welp. That was easy. IDK I just think there could have been more drama around it--I would have loved to see an episode focused solely on Varian and Rapunzel, maybe they have to venture out and get a special artifact or something that works with her hair incantation to break the amber, and during that time they start to rebuild their friendship and actually talk things out fully. (I mean they kind of hit on some of those points in Be Very Afraid but not ALL of it.) They’d probably bring up Cass, too, and Varian tells Rapunzel if there was still a chance for me after all I did, then there’s a chance for her, too. And after lots of danger and perils they manage to get what they need, and by then they’ve completely mended their friendship, and Raps comments on how grateful she is that Varian’s back by her side again and it’s SOFT. And then after that they free Quirin--something that came of teamwork, something that would feel a lot more satisfying than what we were given. That would round out Varian’s redemption as a whole, helping Rapunzel, giving her advice, and taking his own part in saving his father rather than just having Rapunzel do all the work. 

TLDR Varian’s redemption felt really rushed ESPECIALLY considering how much work they put into his story arc in the first season so it wrapped up in a really anti-climactic way (and there’s also the fact that he’s such a big fan favorite so we would not have minded a longer redemption arc for him?) along with Quirin’s rescue and the note being kind of a letdown and this is how I would have made it better

[soupzardous]

oh my gosh really!!! i remember, i think a few of mine were like, in love. it was so funny. thats so cool, we have our stuffies in common :0 - c.a.

Mine were absolutely in love. The first was Sparkle who got with Max, then Max also got with Glamour and Cookie. eventually Max’s best friend, Brownie also joined in. Ig they were polyamorous but I was five and just thought they were being silly. Cookie, Glamour, and Sparkle were actually best friends. A packaged deal. They came with me everywhere.

Then was Cocoa who I got for 49¢ in the grocery store clearance bin because I had strep and I required a new stuffed animal to feel better. Cocoa actually is the one I’m most attached to. Cocoa was married to Marshmallow, who I got as a Valentine’s Day gift from my parents. But they didn’t get married until a solid year after I got Marshmallow. They had kids and grandkids until Marshmallow cheated and ran away.

I also had Lapis who got married to Diamond and I remember that was a whole event. All the stuffed animals showed up. There was a big ceremony and reception.

Dill Pickle, one of Cocoa and Marshmallow’s kids, also got married to their best friend named Pablo. Pablo was the son of Nacho. He was a single father. Although later on Nacho did get married to Pinky the Penguin, but Pinky the Penguin left him for Halo. (Halo ended up having an affair with Lime but it didn’t last long since Lime was married to Camila. They decided it was best to end things and stay loyal to their partners. Pinky the Penguin eventually did find out, but thanks to what is technically considered abuse (the church made them do it) they stayed together.)

Dill Pickle and Pablo were actually spies. They sometimes teamed with Isabella, Sparkle, Chico, and Max. Idk why but I was convinced chihuahuas were the best spies. That’s why all the spies were chihuahuas. It probably had something to do with my obsession with the Beverly Hills Chihuahuas movies.

Btw, the Cookie, Glamour, and Sparkle trio had so much drama with Lapis, Jewel, Dr. Pepper/Soda, and Diamond. It was because Glamour was a cheetah and so were Lapis, Jewel, and Dr. Pepper/Soda. Diamond just supported her wife. Diamond was a gray cat. But they were mad at Glamour because she was a cat and she hung out with Cookie and Sparkle who were dogs. Which was a heinous crime in their opinions. There was a whole fight between them.

Sparkle actually got mauled in the face by a dog I was fostering when I was 13 and I was so distraught. She’s missing her nose, her left eye is severely scratched, one ear is partially torn, and stuffing peeks out of the holes in her face. But I coped by saying it was caused in the fight between her and the cats.

There was also this unicorn I got as a gift for being so brave and playing with the other kids at a kids club thing my mom made me try out when I was in second grade. My dad gave her to me at child pick up. Her name was Rainbow. I had two other unicorns I got after that named Glitz and Lucky. The unicorns were pretentious as fuck and had some cult thing going on. Only magical animals were allowed to join. The cool thing about the unicorns was that they had the power to magically switch between being a boy and girl. I thought that was very cool when I came up with it.

Later on Cocoa actually became like. I guess the respected leader of a bunch of the stuffed animals. He was kinda like a father figure to them. He would give them advice and help them solve problems. He was ordained so he could also marry people. And he was the President. He was everything honestly. At one point I’m pretty sure he tried to fall back in love with Marshmallow but it didn’t work out well because she was always late to their dates, was clearly in it for the popularity, and not to mention her wandering eye.

Cocoa eventually found happiness though, when he met Nacho. He and Nacho were both heartbroken when they found each other and they learned how to love again together. They even had a son together named Nacho Jr. And yes. There was mpreg. I didn’t realize mpreg was like. A whole thing I just assumed that was how gay people had kids.

There’s more but this is what went down with my absolute favs. Sorry for infodumping so much I forgot how much I can talk abt this shit

[babymetaldoll]

Family probation period (Matthew Gray Gubler/ Reader)

Requested: Yes 

Summary: Matthew Gray Gubler meets his girlfriend’s family on Christmas eve. Just one detail: none of them knew she was dating. 

Warnings: Cursing, mentions of abusive relationships 

Category: Fluff

Pairing: Matthew Gray Gubler/ Reader 

Wordcount: 3,5K

A/N: A late Christmas story, but I think we are still in the holiday season... right? also: requests are officially open

Masterlist 

- 

- "Are you sure about this?"- (Y/N) looked at Matthew and he nodded with a huge grin on his face. They were parked outside her parent’s house. They had driven from Los Angeles to San Francisco to spend Christmas Eve with them. 

- "Why not? I bet they are gonna love me"- he answered with his “Matthew Gray Gubler’s certified to make you drop your panties smile.”

- "I don’t know, I’m nervous"

- "Well missy, it was your idea to drop by your parents and surprise them with the news of your adorable boyfriend, so?"- (Y/N) smiled and nodded. 

- "And you thought it was a great idea, by the way, that's why you are here"

- "Yeah"- Gubler sighed and looked outside- "Why do you still trust my good judgment?" 

- "Well…"- (Y/N) looked at me and bit her lips- "You are very convincing"- he smiled and kissed her lips softly.

- "It's gonna be ok, they love you, I love you, which means we are gonna get along"- she nodded and smiled. 

- "Alright, I'll pretend that makes sense"- Gubler chuckled and kissed her again

- "Let's do this, Bunny".

-

Matthew and (Y/N) had been dating for over ten months. At first, they decided to take things slow, get to know each other better, try to make things work with their crazy schedules. But soon, they realized they had fallen in love, and “taking things slow” was not their thing. 

(Y/N) had decided to wait for the right moment to tell her parents she had found someone. Her last relationship had been a nightmare, and she knew her family (especially her brother) was going to be apprehensive about her new boyfriend. However, she was eager to tell them how happy she was with Matthew and how great he was with her. 

He was, hands down, the best boyfriend she had ever had. He was sweet and thoughtful. Sure, he wasn’t perfect. He would forget many things 'cos his head was in hundredth places at once (she was almost sure he had ADHD). And sometimes it felt she had a boyfriend and a son all wrapped in the same 6 ft adorable manchild she was dating. But still, he was the best boyfriend.

She was hoping her parents and family would see he made her happy.   

-

- “Ok, here we go”- Matthew rang the bell and turned to (Y/N), excited. She laughed and opened the door.

- “I still got my key.”

- “Right.”

- “Hello? Mom? Dad?”- she took a step inside and looked around. Her father stood up from the couch quickly and nearly ran to the door.

- “Peanut! You are home!”

Matthew smiled and held their bags staring at the scene. In all the time they had been together, he had heard a lot about (Y/N)’s parents. She loved them deeply, and he knew she wanted to share their relationship with them.

Her last boyfriend was an abuser, he hit her, and she kept it from everybody for months before breaking up. That’s why he could understand why her family would be apprehensive. And he was ready to show them how much he loved her.

- “My baby is home!”- (Y/N)’s mom appeared from the kitchen and hugged her daughter, who was still wrapped in her father’s embrace. 

- “Guys! I can’t breathe!”- she pretended to be suffocating and giggled. 

- “Too bad! You are never home! So bear with it!”- her father chuckled and kissed the top of her head 

- “By the way, (Y/N), who’s the man standing by the door?”- her mother asked and frowned, looking at Gubler. He smiled and waved, making his best to look as nice as possible. 

- “Guys, I want you to meet Matthew Gray Gubler… my boyfriend.”

And the silence in the room was as thick and uncomfortable as possible.

- “Hello”- Gubler smiled and shook their hands- “It’s a pleasure to meet you, (Y/N) talks so much about you”- but neither of them knew what to say. 

- “Guys, it’s ok, he is a good guy”- (Y/N) wrapped an arm around Matthew, and he immediately kissed the top of her head. 

- “Did I hear my sister has a new boyfriend?”- footsteps coming down the stairs surprised the couple, and (Y/N) wide opened her eyes immediately.

- “Adam!! You are home!!”- she hugged her brother so tight, he couldn’t help but laugh.

- “I’ve got the feeling you missed me.”

- “So fucking much!! When did you get home?”

- “Last night, mom said you’d be coming for Christmas, so I thought I could surprise you.”

- “And where are my nephews? I wanna spoil my babies!”

- “With Emma getting the last few things mom needed from the grocery��s, but they should be here any minute. I missed you, kitty.”

Adam kissed her forehead and looked at her sweetly. It was clear he loved and cared about his little sister. But as soon as his eyes reached Matthew, his whole face changed. 

- “And who is this?”  

- “This is my boyfriend, Matthew”- (Y/N) walked back to Gubler and held his hand- “He is awesome, so be nice, ok?”

- “Nice to meet you, Adam. (Y/N) talks so much about you. I was looking forward to meeting you”- Matthew shook his hand and smiled. 

- “Funny, she never mentioned you.”

- “Yeah,”- (Y/N) explained- “I wanted to give you guys a surprise, and I knew if I told you over the phone, you were going to stress out, so I thought it would be better if you just met him”

Her family nodded but didn’t look pretty convinced. 

- “I know you are all real apprehensive about (Y/N) having a new boyfriend, but I promise you, I’m nothing like her ex, and I wanna show you how much I care for her if you let me.”

Gubler was sincere and upfront. (Y/N)’s parents nodded, but her brother just crossed his arms and frowned.  

- “Adam, be nice”- she warned and grabbed her bag- “Let’s leave these in my room, Gub.”

- “You are not sharing rooms with a boy!”- her brother instantly replied, but she ignored him and walked upstairs. Matthew took the bags from her hands and followed her.

-

- “Sorry”- (Y/N) whispered and closed her eyes, embarrassed. Gubler left the bags on the floor of her room and walked towards her to hold her hands. 

- “Hey, it’s ok, they are just shocked,”- he whispered and smiled at her, trying his best to make her feel better. 

- “I would be shocked too if our daughter walks into our house and tells us she has been dating nearly a year with some guy I’ve never heard about.”

(Y/N) chuckled and sighed. The words “Our daughter” had been enough to make her forget everything that troubled her. The idea of a future with him was too sweet to worry about anything else. 

- “Now, back to what really matters here”- Gubler took a look around and pointed at the walls- “Did you have some kind of obsession with My Chemical Romance growing up, or is it just me?”

- “Eh… nope”- she simply answered and laughed. There were many posters of the band on every wall in that room. 

- “I don’t know, I’m getting the vibe you had a thing on that guy… he kinda looks like a vampire.”

- “Gerard? he was…”- (Y/N) made a pause and looked at the walls- “I had a little crush on him”

- “Little?”- Gubler raised an eyebrow

- “Yeah, just a little, nothing to worry about… I just wanted to marry him, that’s all.”- he chuckled and leaned in to kiss her.  

- “I guess you never know someone until you walk into their teenage room.”

Matthew was nervous, but he was never going to face it. He wanted to make a good impression, and he wanted (Y/N)’s parents to like him. He was in that relationship for the long run, and it was important for him to have her parent’s approval. And clearly, now her brother’s too.

-

- “So, Matthew, what do you do?”- Adam asked him as everybody gathered in the kitchen, drinking eggnog and setting the last few things for the Christmas dinner. 

- “I majored in film directing in New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts"- (Y/N) bit her lips and smiled. She was torn between feeling embarrassed and enjoying the moment.  

- “Film directing”- Adam looked at him and raised an eyebrow. 

- “Yeah, I always loved making movies and telling stories”- Gubler sipped his cup of coffee and smiled. 

- “But, do you have a regular job?”- Adam asked and raised an eyebrow- “Making movies doesn’t sound like a real job to me.”

- “Adam!”- (Y/N) looked at her brother with daggers in her eyes

- “What? I’m getting to know your boyfriend, isn’t that what you wanted?”

- “Yes, but you don’t have to be a dickhead”- the young woman walked a few steps closer to her brother and raised an eyebrow- I haven’t seen you in six months. Can you just be nice?”

Adam meant no harm, but he was worried. He had been the one his sister called after her ex-boyfriend hit her. He had been the one who took her out from that apartment, picked up her things, and took care of her. Of course, he was scared she might get hurt again. 

-

- “And where are you from?”- (Y/N)’s mom asked him as they all walked to the living room and sat down. 

- “Las Vegas,”- Matthew answered and smiled- “My family still lives there, and we visit as often as we can.”

- “So, you’ve met his family”- Mrs. (Y/L/N) looked at her daughter and raised an eyebrow, surprised. 

- “Yeah, they are the best! We spent Halloween with them this year. We took Matthew’s nephews trick and treating. It was really fun!”

Mrs. (Y/L/N) nodded and stared at the scene. Gubler was sitting next to her daughter, holding her hand and looking at her in honest and deep adoration. It was strange and shocking, but at the same time, she could feel he was a nice guy who loved her very much. And that was all she needed to know. 

Meanwhile, Mr. (Y/L/N) started asking Gubler questions about his family, school, and what he did for a living. 

- “Right now, I have an acting job.” 

- “Really?”- (Y/N)’s brother raised an eyebrow, surprised- “TV?”

- “Yeah.”

Adam was about to keep asking about it when his wife, Emma, walked in with their five-year-old twins.   

- “Aunt (Y/N)!!

- “Munchkins!”- the young woman opened her arms and hugged them at the same time as the kids held her legs tight, almost making her fall.

- “You are so big! why aren’t you two babies anymore?”

- “(Y/N)! hey”- Emma walked over and looked at her, but suddenly she just gasped. 

- “What?”- Adam asked, confused- “What is it?”

- “Oh shit!”- she nearly dropped the bag and wide opened her eyes, suddenly- “Why is Spencer Reid in our living room?”

Matthew looked at (Y/N), and neither of them knew what to do or say. So he just stood up and walked over to shake her hand. 

- “Hi, I’m Matthew, (Y/N)’s boyfriend.”

- “No freaking way!”- Emma whispered and held his hand, repeating a little slowlier- “No freaking way”. 

Adam looked at his wife and didn’t understand a word she was saying. His parents didn’t get what was going on, and (Y/N) just bit her lips, trying not to laugh. She never thought that could happen. 

- “I’m gonna put an eye on dinner…”- Mrs. (Y/L/N) said and stood up- “(Y/N), can you give me a hand?”

- “Sure mom”- she said and smiled at Gubler. He winked and watched her walking to the kitchen with her mom. Things were a little weirder than he thought. 

- “Ok, what was that?”

- “What was what, mom?

- “Emma nearly died when she saw Matthew. Why?”

- “‘Cos he is in a tv show and she recognized him, I think”- Mrs. (Y/L/N) looked at her and sighed.

- “Is he good with you?”

- “The best”

- “‘Cos he looks like he is a nice guy”

- “I swear, mom, he is the sweetest. He wanted to come and meet you to show you he is nothing like Bret”- (Y/N) held a bowl with roasted potatoes and smiled at her mother- “I love him”

- “You can tell… and he loves you too, especially if he is willing to put up with your brother”

- “Can you tell Adam to stop being an ass?”

- “I can tell him, but that won’t stop him”.

-

When (Y/N) walked to the dining room, she looked at her boyfriend, who was now sitting on the floor, doing magic tricks for her nephews. She felt her heart was about to burst, staring at the scene. The twins were laughing, and Gubler kept making pennies disappear in front of them. 

She couldn’t stop hearing his voice saying “our daughter” over and over again. It was a dream, and it was too soon to even think about it, but it felt so right. It made so much sense.

- “I like him”- her father’s voice took her from her thoughts and forced her to turn around

- “Really?”

- “Yeah… he’s good with kids, and it’s clear he loves you, that’s all I need to know”- he kissed the top of his daughter’s head and sighed. 

- “Your brother hates him though”

- “I kind of figured”

- “The fact Emma is drooling over him is not making things better”- (Y/N) looked at her father and just laughed.

- “Are you kidding me?”

- “No, he took her upstairs to cool her off”

- “Shit… well, it could be worst” 

- “How?”- she looked at her father in silence

- “Well… Adam hasn’t tried to kick him out”

- “Yet”- Mr. (Y/L/N) chuckled at his own joke and shook his head- “Don’t worry peanuts, Matt is safe”. 

- “Actually, can you not call him Matt, please? bad memories.”

- “Sure, Matthew it is?”- she nodded and smiled. 

- “Thanks dad”

-

- “Dinner is ready”- Mrs. (Y/L/N) announced after half an hour. She walked to the living room where Adam, Matthew, and her husband were talking. 

Gubler was having a good time talking with Mr. (Y/L/N). He was fun and kept telling her funny stories about (Y/N). Adam was still a dick, but at least his father wasn’t paying him much attention, so neither did Gubler. 

- “This smells amazing”- Gubler said as he sat down next to (Y/N)- “I’m guessing this is Mrs. (Y/L/N) ’s signature turkey recipe. (Y/N) talked about it the whole way over.” 

- “She has the recipe, by the way, if you like it, she can cook it for you”- Mrs. (Y/L/N) smiled proudly.  

- “Yeah, just make sure she won’t burn down the house”- Adam joked and felt his sister’s angry eyes on him- “What? I’m making an aimless conversation. Isn’t that what you wanted?” 

- “Shut up”

- “She is a great baker”- Matthew continued talking- “She is actually making me gain weight in the latest months”

- “Sure, like you could get fat”- (Y/N) snorted and looked at her boyfriend

- “Hey, you are making me eat cinnamon rolls, cake, and cookies like three times a week”- Gubler chuckled and looked at her- “My pants almost don’t close”

- “So, Matthew”- Emma said suddenly- “How did you two meet?”

- “He actually said I smelled like cinnamon rolls the first time he met me”- (Y/N) smiled and looked at her sister in law.

- “We met at a party, her friend Ana is dating my friend Charlie. And when I saw her, I knew I had to talk to her ‘cos she has the most gorgeous smile I’ve ever seen”- Emma was nearly sighing at those words.

- “And did you recognize him?”- Adam was embarrassed by his wife’s questions, but he couldn’t stop her. 

- “No, I had never seen the show…”

- “And do you know the rest of the cast now? Do you hang out?”- Adam looked at Emma and frowned- “What? I’m just asking”

(Y/N) blushed and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and felt her boyfriend’s hand on hers, knowing what she was about to say. 

- “So, we are here today because I wanted you to know Matthew. He is the best guy on earth, and he makes me happy every day”- she made a pause and looked at him. 

- “You make me happy too, Bunny”- he whispered and smiled. 

- “Ok, so you are in love, is that what you wanted to tell us?”- Adam said with an annoyed voice.

- “No, we wanted to tell you we are moving in together.”

(Y/N) bit her lips after delivering the news. Her parents looked at each other but didn’t seem mad, just surprised. Adam, on the other hand, frowned immediately. 

- “Before you start freaking out and yell at me,”- Matthew said with a soft voice- “I need you to know and understand how much I love your sister, and I would never hurt her in any way. Never.”

Her family looked at him in silence. Her father nodded and smiled. 

- “It’s clear you are a good guy, Matthew,”- he said, and (Y/N) sighed, feeling relieved to hear those words- “And I know you understand we will always be a little scared something bad might happen to our baby again.”

- “I completely understand. I just want you to know I will never hurt her. I love her, I wanna live with her. I’m here for the long run, and I wish you could all give me a chance”. 

(Y/N) felt like crying when she heard those words. Matthew was telling her family how much he loved her. He was showing them he wanted to be with her. Nothing could be better than that. 

- “And have you thought about where you’ll live?”- her mother asked, smiling.

- “I recently bought a house,”- Matthew explained- “We are planning to move in after the holidays. Meanwhile, we’ve been busy getting a few things we needed”- he looked so happy, no one could doubt he was excited with the plans. 

- “Listen”- no one but Adam, apparently- “If anything happens to my sister, I’m gonna hunt you, I will find you, and I will make you pay.” 

- “Adam…”- she tried to argue, but Gubler smiled at her and nodded

- “I know there is nothing I can say that will make you believe me, so I will just ask you to give me the chance to show you how much I love her.”- but Adam didn’t say a word. 

- “I know what happened to her was awful, and I know you don’t want anyone hurting her, but that’s not what I wanna do. I just wanna make her happy. If she wants me to.”

Adam looked at his sister, who had tears in her eyes. He couldn’t bear to see her cry, though those weren’t sad tears. She looked at Matthew, and he smiled at her, wiping the tears from her cheeks and kissing her lips sweetly for a second. He whispered, “I love you,” and she giggled. 

- “Oh come on!”- Mr. (Y/L/N)- “Even I can see he loves your sister! stop being a dick and be happy for them!”- Adam sighed at his father’s words and stood up.  

- “If you fuck it up, you are dead”- he said and reached out his hand to Gubler- “But I trust you won’t”- and Matthew quickly stood up and shook it. 

- “I know you just want to take care of her, and I completely understand that”

- “You are in family probation period.” 

(Y/N) smiled at her brother, and he winked at her. Finally, she sighed, relieved. 

- “I can’t believe you are gonna move in with Dr. Reid!!”- Emma almost shrieked

- “Please don’t”- Adam frowned and looked at his wife- “Don’t make this harder”

- “You are gonna have to watch the show with me, you are gonna love it. I swear you won’t be able to hate him once you know Reid”

(Y/N) looked at Matthew and whispered in his ear. 

- “Your family wasn’t embarrassing. Mine was. I’m sorry”- he nearly laughed at those words and shook his head. 

- “My friends are embarrassing if it counts”

- “Your friends are my friends, Gubler”

- “Fine, we have embarrassing friends, we are gonna have to live with it”

Gubler moved a little closer, and was ready to kiss her when Adam’s voice stopped him. 

- “Just don’t make out with my sister in front of me while you are on probation, dude!”

- “Sorry!”- Gubler nearly jumped on his chair, and (Y/N) chuckled- “Sorry!”. 

[liquid-luck-00]

My Life is One Complication After Another 3

Cursing Ahead 🤬

Ao3 *** First *** Previous *** Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since Mari's classmates stopped talking with her, they also stopped asking her for favors. Along with a blocked and rotating schedule for patrols meant that she actually had a sleep schedule. Sure she didn't get nearly enough but that was what coffee is for.

That was how she found herself down in the bakery with her papa. Roy had called her and the four of them talked and it was comfortable. Mari was the one who opened and was watching the front. She was still talking with Roy, but now it was on a headset, as he was out patrolling In Starling City.

"So as I was saying before we were oh so rudely interrupted." came Roy's voice in her ear. "So Ice cream and movies?"

A soft laughter escaped her and a smile on her lips.

"Sounds gre..." the bell at the door chimed. "Hey guys come in," she greeted the Waynes.

"Let me guess the bats?" Roy supplied as Dick bounced towards the counter.

"Good morning Marinette!" Dick practically sang loud enough for even Roy to hear.

"God how the hell is he so chipper so early." she heard Roy grumble.

"God damn morning people," she grumbled. That elicited laughter from both Roy and Jason.

"Amen to that!" Tim seconded in a monotone lifting a coffee cup. "Maman I'm going to take the Waynes up." she called poking her head into the kitchen. Her Maman nodded so she picked up her phone and walked towards them.

"I'll Let you go," Roy was about to hang up.

"Wait how about we give the Bats a heart attack." she smirked changing to the ancient language of miracles.

"I like the way you think, I'll catch you later." he responded in the same tongue.

"See ya then." she smiled, switching back the language. Ending the call and removing the ear piece. “Are you guys coming or do I have to drag you guys?" she turned back already at the door. Granted most of them showed confused faces and side eyes, but she smiled. They followed her without saying a word.

Once they were in the apartment she excused herself to change into more appropriate gear. She activated Kaalki’s miraculous, who then silently portaled out.

That being said she changed into a pair of black skinny cargo pants with red combat boots. A black long sleeve shirt under a cropped red sleeveless hoodie. Her hair was half down with red and pink streaks and a mini white gold backpack with three patches in the same white gold finished her outfit. She grabbed four parcels and went down.

"So we can either do the boring ground tour or," she held up the bundles. "we can turn up the speed."

"I like the way you think Pixie Pop." Jason stood and she handed him his.

"Roy sent me you guy's sizes, so I altered and customized a few things." she smiled. "bathroom is over there and the guest room is next to it." Dick looked torn between excited and horrified when handed his stack.

Tim seemed awake, but she knew better, "go change and I'll have a fresh pot of coffee ready." He nodded robotically as he got up.

She set the last bunch next to Damian, who was looking like an angry kitten. She sat down next to him and leaned in.

"What are you.." he started but Mari whispered in his ear.

"The jacket has a hidden sling for a katana, which will be practically invisible when on." His eyes widened slightly and there was a bit of slack in his jaw now. Before turning into an amused smirk. "Use my room up the stairs and through the hatch." she finished as he headed up the stairs.

"I'm impressed he let you close without struggling," Bruce broke his silence, as she finished prepping the coffee maker.

"Well he would have if," she began as Damian practically crashed down the stairs and all but tackled Bruce before rushing out the door. The closest she had ever seen her baby brother smile, which effectively made her smile.

"Holy crap! What are you?!" Dick made himself known.

"More importantly what the fuck did you do with Demon spawn!" Jason shouted from next to Tim, who was being propped up by both Jason and Dick.

"Tt. I am right here Todd." The scowl reappearing on his features. "It is adequate Dupain-Cheng."

"I'll take it as a compliment on one condition."

"And that is?" he rose a brow.

"You call me Marinette not Dupain-Cheng. I'm your sister aren't I?"

He seemed to war with himself for a moment before stating. "That is acceptable, Marinette."

At this point all the bats in the room were playing a game of ping-pong between Marinette and Damian. They were trying to figure out what magic spell Marinette must have used, when in reality she just seemed to fall into Damian’s good graces automatically. OK so maybe Marinette being the holder of the ladybug miraculous as well as being the great guardian of the order has that affect on most people, a sense of respect and trust that seems to permeate her aura.

She was handing Tim a huge mug as the front door swung open to reveal her Maman.

"Hello Bruce," Sabine greeted.

"It is good to see you Sabine," was his response.

“Maman," Mari pulled her mother's attention from her biological father. "These are Bruce's boys and my brothers. Tim, Jason, Dick, and Damian." she motioned to each one respectively.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Sabine smiled, "why don't all of you get something from the bakery before you go."

After finishing their small breakfast in the park Mari pulled out a map and a marker.

"So what do you guys want to see?" They listed off places that she marked down. She added a few to the list to fill it out, marked the route and took a picture and sent it to Roy. "Okay so this will work." she glanced at her phone. A quick look on social media showed no one has found Andre yet. She pulled out a case of comms and added, "Also keep your eyes out for Andre."

"Who is that?" Dick asked taking the earpiece.

"Andre's Ice cream cart, the best ice cream in Paris." Marinette answered.

"Then why must we look for him?" Damian added.

"Well he changes locations daily and turns it into a game of tag of sorts."

"Alright, lead the way Pixie." with a smirk she dashed off her brothers close on her heels.

Yes this is the best way to get to see the city, but this was also a test to see how the bats did without their toys.

Getting to Notre Dame was uneventful. Dick kept up a steady conversation with her, just a step behind with Damian, Jason brought up the rear but would constantly toss in quips and questions. Damian and Tim were mostly quiet, unless they were trying to get one of their brothers to stop a particularly embarrassing story.

Getting to the Louve was even more entertaining. Now that Dick had a feel for the Parisian roofs he would do flips and vaults to make her laugh. In the Louve is another story.

They had accidentally ran into some of her classmates, quite literally. She and her brothers were taking goofy 'walk like an Egyptian' group photos on the second floor of the Egyptian exhibit, the mini Ladybug camera was reattaching to her phone charm when Tim began asking her questions about it.

"Well my best friend loves anime, and we kinda sorta binged the entire Dragon Ball series and when we saw the ladybug camera. He said it would be impossible to create and maintain the quality of the image. So I kinda sorta made it out of spite." she mumbled the end.

"Hell if you weren't my sister I would beg Bruce to adopt you," Tim stated. "Do you have the files I would love to look through them. Maybe send them to Babs or Cy!"

"Sure I think I have it on a flash drive." That was when a tall body, walking backwards slammed into her, pushing her into Jason. "oof."

"You okay." Dick was in full mama hen mode fretting over her.

"I wasn't watching where I was going." the figure spoke as he turned around. "I'm sor." the words died on his tongue, Kim.

Max, Alix, Nino, Alya, and oh kwami no Lila, who were now all snickering.

"I'm fine Dick," she smiled to reassure him. However her classmates were shocked.

Lila of course was the one who broke the silence, by beginning to cry. "I'm so sorry about her. I know she hates me but to be so rude to a complete stranger!" her sobs breaking the sentence while her lackeys went to console her, glaring daggers at Marinette.

"Seriously girl," Alya began to scold her. "Your little out burst not only made Lila cry. Your insulting someone who is just trying to be nice."

She and her brothers were now standing awkwardly being scolded by a teenager. After three minutes of trying to figure out what they were being scolded for and why the guys hadn't apparently left.

"What the fuck did she do that your yelling at her for?" Jason finally broke Alya's rant. Now it was the five Parisians and the Italian to stand there confused.

"She called him a dick," Alya sighed exasperated.

"Yes." Dick answered confusing them further.

"Dick."Tim now called.

"What?!"

"Dick!!" Damian, Marinette, Tim, and Jason all called, and immediately began laughing.

"What? Oh, oh," a sheepish smile now on his face. “Names Richard but I go by Dick,” he explained to those who weren’t laughing, smiling at them.

"Tt. this is why I call you Grayson." Damian rolled his eyes. "Besides this one still has not apologized." he jabbed a finger to Kim.

"It's not worth it Damian,” Marinette shook her head. "We should head back to the bakery anyways. Maman has probably finished scolding Bruce." she smirked.

"Damn I wish I was a fly on the wall for that conversation" Jason lamented.

"Well..." she held up the ladybug charm and flipped it over showing an empty space.

"Two!" Tim shouted.

"Anyone who beats me back gets a copy," she smiled.

"Your on." Jason nodded as he vaulted over the safety wall from the second floor. Damian and Dick sprinted in opposite directions.

"Sorry Mars your gonna loose." Tim shouted as the last to leave.

"We'll see," she shot back. "Bye," She turned to her classmates as she grabbed the railing above and flipped up and over to the third floor, running to one of the secret zip lines the miraculous team set up.

"What the fuck" was faintly heard behind her, all but Lila and Max shouted by the sounds of it, as she jumped from the window.

She made up quite a bit of distance and seemed to be on Damian's heel. She had passed Tim and Dick was a few steps behind. Jason was just out of arm reach. So with a burst of speed both she and Damian were shoulder to shoulder with Jason.

The three of them simultaneously practically crashed into the side door of the bakery.

"I won."

"In your dreams Todd."

"I beat both you and Pixie"

"Check your eyes, or do you need the camera installed in your helmet." Jason's gaze hardened at Damian's words.

"How about we call it a three way tie and you both get a copy." Mari interrupted. "We should head up." Laughing Marinette opened the door and went up.

Lunch was rambunctious, but she was coming to expect that with her brothers.

“Too bad we couldn’t find that ice cream guy Mari,” Tim spoke up once everyone had finished eating.

“Oh let’s see if anyone has posted where he’s at today!” She went to check her phone but a message ended up distracting her.

Andres in your favorite spot I’ll meet you there at 7 your time.

"Cool he’ s in my favorite spot in all of Paris which just happens to be the last spot on our list today," she announced, sending off a text, setting her phone down, screen up.

Can't wait Katniss

"Why don’t you all go and Mari can get to know Bruce," Sabine offered.

OK granted it’s a good idea, maybe I should get to know my biological father but am I ready to? Do I want to? Am I yes, yes I want to get to know my biological father, yes I want my family to grow, my brothers are such protective goofballs and I love them already.

"Sounds good," she smiled.

That was when her phone lit up from a message. She went to pick it up, but she was to slow.

Jason was the one who snacked her phone. "Message from Katniss says see ya then Peeta. So who's Katniss Pixie."

"Well..." she started but she began to blush furiously.

"That would be her boyfriend," her Maman decided to add before heading back down to the bakery with Papa.

Dick pounced asking a million and one questions, Bruce physically froze but she could tell his mind was racing because that look was much the same as hers. Jason was pensive, while Tim and Damian just seemed bored or tired.

So that was how she found herself talking about Roy, blushing furiously. While simultaneously avoiding his name and details that would tip any of them off. After about a half hour of her answering questions did Dick start telling her about his fiancée. How they were planning on setting a date for the wedding.

After that the next few hows was spent sharing stories and tidbits of themselves.

However, thanks to Dick a design was swimming in her mind. so she did the only logical thing and ran up to her room. Grabbed three drives, her tablet and pen and ran back down. She tossed the red drive to Tim, and Jason and Damian each a black drive. Plopped down and began stretching out an Italian suit with a nock lapel. A rough coloration of a midnight blue offset by a sapphire. Accents of golden thread, emerald buttons and an Osiria rose in the lapel. She signed the design 'Mira Luck' and handed Dick the tablet.

"So I couldn't help myself," she begun to fidget. "But in my defense you told a designer about a wedding and my brain wouldn't stop screaming at me until this was on something. So what do you think? I know its rough but."

"Holy Shit your Mira Luck as in M, Jagged Stones personal designer. You are M as in the designer for the Lucky Spot!!" Tim screamed lunging to take the tablet from Dick.

"That's me," a blindingly bright smile lit up her features.

"So what do you think?" she asked again.

"It's amazing we were actually hoping to talk to you about Kori’s dress." Dick smiled. "I could call her it's not too late there."

"Perhaps it would be best to discuss it in person when Marinette next goes, that way she can get to know Gotham." Bruce interjected.

"That actually might be sooner than you think," she responded.

"I was actually accepted to be an exchange student for the next semester at Gotham Academy."

"Wait you’re willing we going to Gotham to study! You ’re going to Gotham willingly. Bruce I think your daughter might be a little crazy." Jason surprisingly brought up.

"I might be but but it’s no crazier than Paris and it’s a Akumas. Besides I would love to design your fiancée’s dress and we should head over to Andre’s ice cream before the sunsets that way we can watch the lighting of the Eiffel tower." She got up and called out. "Hey Jason mind passing me my backpack."

"Yeah sure," he went around he couch to grab it and toss it to her but before he did he finally seemed to notice the patches. "Wait are these The Outlaws."

"Yeah Red Hood, Arsenal, Star Fire, and Bizarro." she was smiling.

"Why choose The Outlaws?" Tim brought up.

"Honestly it was because Roy mentioned something about Arsenal and Red Hood and I ended up liking of the logos, so I made them into the backpack," she shrugged. "Besides unless you’re looking at it close enough you can’t tell which is always fun to see if people pay attention to it, let’s go."

At that the six of them walked out of the apartment, away from the bakery towards the Palais de Chaillot.

"So what's so special about Andre's Ice cream?" B asked.

"Personally I think he is a meta. But what he does is he can either see your true reflection or that of the person best suited to you."

"So he sees souls?" Tim added.

"Not quite, more like he sees the main qualities of you or your go." she tapped her chin.

"But he is meta,” Tim tried to figure.

"That's the only explanation I can come up with but I have no idea." Marinette shrugged.

"So how does he do it." Tim was now fully invested in this.

"Well you either ask for love or self and he usually does three to four ice cream flavors and gives a short reason."

They were now at the top of the stairs at the Palais de Chaillot looking out at the Eiffel Tower. They stood there as the last of the light faded from the sky. The city was dark for a moment as the Eiffel Tower lit up and slowly the lamps lit up.

"So that's why this is your favorite spot Minnie." A voice behind her chuckled. She turned around and nearly tackled him.

"Hey speedy." she pecked his cheek.

Not a second later did Jason scream, "Roy!"

"Ready for that movie?” Roy asked her an arm around her shoulders.

"Of course," she smiled. "See you guys around."

"What the fuck are you doing in Paris Roy!?" Jason screamed.

"Um... Date night," he answered. The Waynes were now practically surrounding the couple.

"What?" Apparently it was Dick's turn to yell.

"Seriously. I thought you said the bats and birds were detectives." she spoke just loud enough for them to hear. "It's kinda hard to believe with the big bat having a heart attack over there." Sure enough Bruce was seriously hyperventilating.

"Oh mind giving this to LB?" He handed her a small nondescript red box.

"Sure," Marinette took the box, "Au Revoir."

From there they left and oh kwamii did she wish she could replay that again, oh wait I can.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Permanent Taglist: @itsmeevie01 @miraculouspenta

Taglist: @dolphin-ghost @unabashedbookworm @bookgirl14 @laurcad123 @mochegato @vixen-uchiha @jjmjjktth @deathwishy @toodaloo-kangaroo @stackofrandomstuff @megaafangirl @trippingovermyfeet @chocolatecatstheron @nathleigh @nyx-in-line @indecisive-mess-named-me @ichigorose @maribat-is-lifeblood @user00000003 @gimpedmercy @el-zabethh @mickylikesstuff @a4-machete @stainedglassm @greatcatblaze @lady-bee-fechin @adrestar @moonlightstar64 @corporeal-terrestrial

[prismadog]

Found Family AU character facts (part 6)

okay yeah, these are more like backgrounds than anything else so idk why I keep calling them "character facts" - but I've already come this far and am therefore too lazy to change them [used to be a time when my OCD kicked in real bad and wouldn't leave me alone until I changed everything to better fit. thank the minecraft gods I don't have that problem anymore - still got OCD but I'm able to ignore it more]

oh, these are also kinda my headcanons for the characters - like Sausage is a dwarf, Pearl a Harvest Guardian, etc. I'm still thinking of writing one-shots about the characters before the actual AU's beginning (ya know, focusing on the background characters more) and I think I might just go ahead and do that, but only after I finish these posts - got two more to do, this one and one with Joel & Pixl.

also, these ones are kinda long but you're just gonna have to live with it because I'm really tired of trying to condense them down, plus, I don't think I can with these two? there's a lot going on

this one features our beloved seablings Lizzie and Jimmy! [I got a one-shot idea for Jimmy's mostly fleshed out in my head] anyway, here we go!

Lizzie

Lizzie is the firstborn of the Ocean Empire, heir to the throne, and elder sister to Jimmy. their mother is Queen, commander of the seas, and their father is King, but also Mr. Trophy Husband (he does not mind this in the slightest). Even from her birth, she has known that one day, she'll be Queen, and has trained extensively to be the best fighter, the best ruler, the best Queen.

she was about 5 when Jimmy was born and she loved him from the start. he was always too small compared to her so she took it upon herself to watch over him and protect him. when she was older, she taught him to fight since their parents were too worried about him getting hurt.

she would go with her father to represent the Ocean Empire, sometimes Jimmy would join but usually he stayed at home. she met other children but never really got to know them because they were scared of her - except one kid named Joel, Prince of Mezalea. he would follow her around and talk her ear off about building, she liked that he was so fearless.

for the next several years, the empires of Mezalea and the Ocean would make visits to each other. Lizzie and Joel got to know each other more and Joel got to meet her brother - Lizzie was nervous that they wouldn't get on but she didn't need to worry, Jimmy accepted Joel easily and Joel called him 'brother'.

Lizzie didn't know until later why there were so many visits - her and Joel's parents wanted to unite their empires through marriage. she found out and went to Joel and talked to him about it, they were 16 at the time so it was too early for them to wed but they promised when they were of age. they talked to their parents about a future marriage and their parents were glad - Jimmy loved the idea as well.

two years later, their father was traveling to another kingdom, to the Crystal Cliffs, when he was slain by unknown people. his remains were returned home and a funeral was held to return him to the Ocean. their mother carried on for some months after but the grief was causing trouble for the empire - there were constant storms that made travel near-impossible.

Lizzie went to her mother and they had a long talk, by the end of it, the Queen gave up her crown and her thrown in order to return to the sea, to her departed husband. a ceremony was held for the Queen as she joined the ocean, and a few days later Lizzie was crowned Queen. Jimmy and Joel were at her side through it all, and Joel's visits became longer and longer until he was practically living with her - not that she minded, she loved the company.

Lizzie and Joel married nearly two years later when they became of age. they had two ceremonies - one Mezalean and the other Oceanic, the wedding itself was held in Mezalea due to different customs, and a smaller ceremony was held in the Ocean Empire. Jimmy was Joel's best man.

life was fairly peaceful for a time, Joel became a trophy husband (like her father, Joel didn't mind). if there was a Gathering, Lizzie would either go with Joel or Jimmy, a few times even both, though she did worry about her brother - he wasn't nearly as strong as her and he liked to get into trouble, when he wasn't hiding behind her that is.

a sickness hit Joel's kingdom that wiped out a decent amount of Mezaleans, including his parents. Joel had to return home to run the kingdom while they were bedridden, Lizzie provided as much aid as possible without endangering her empire too - he insisted she stay in the Ocean. his parents, like many citizens, had their lives taken and he became King.

visits had to become commonplace again and the couple were apart more often than they were together, but Lizzie and Joel made it work. Jimmy often traveled for them, sending messages and gifts for them - he didn't mind.

a few years later, when Jimmy had become of age, he came to her asking her permission to let him travel - really travel, not just between the two empires. she worried for his safety and wanted to keep him near but knew it would only hurt him in the end - so, she gave him as many blessings as she could, as did Joel, and they parted ways. Jimmy promised to write often.

a year later, after a few months of no word, Lizzie got a letter from Jimmy about a small settlement in the swamps that boarded the ocean. she went out immediately with Joel and they visited Jimmy, she lectured him about worrying her then doted on him for a time. she came to find that there had been a storm and Jimmy had washed up in the settlement (literally), the people helped him heal up, and they accepted him into their community when he wished to join.

Lizzie spoke with the elders about the settlement and her brother's role. an agreement was made where Jimmy was declared the ruler of the Cod Empire and they would be allies with the Ocean Empire. she doted on her brother more but eventually returned home.

at the next Gathering, she greeted Jimmy as a ruler, and found that he decided cod heads were in fashion. she kept on eye on her brother - who still liked to get into trouble - and more than once came to his rescue when things got out of hand - some of the other rulers liked to pick on him. things only went too far once and she showed fWhip and Sausage the true might of the Ocean Empire - they never went too far again.

Jimmy

Jimmy is the secondborn to the Ocean Queen & King, prince of the Ocean Empire (though, there's no chance for him to rule), and younger brother to Lizzie by about 5 years. he was a fairly weak child, smaller than what was normal, but he didn't let that stop him from getting into trouble.

he was doted on by many of the adults around him and picked on by many of the noble children - but he thought it was all in good fun. Lizzie watched over him like a hawk, doted on him as well but she also taught him how to protect himself. he learned how to fight and defend from her, even though their parents didn't like it.

Jimmy often stayed home when their father had to travel to the other kingdoms - usually for the Gathering - and Lizzie almost always went with him. he spent most of that time either by himself or with their mother who taught him different things about ruling - in case he either married into another kingdom or founded his own.

after each Gathering, Lizzie and their father returned home, and Lizzie told him all about the event. she brought him gifts and food, and stories about the other kingdoms. she also told him about another prince - Prince Joel of Mezalea - and how she wished they could see each other again and that it'd be nice for Jimmy to meet her new friend.

after a few of these talks, Jimmy decided to help his sister out. he went to their parents and asked them about an alliance between the Ocean Empire and Mezalea - let it be known that he can be fairly intelligent when he wants to be, even though at this point he's only about 7. their parents talked with the rulers of Mezalea and soon, there were visits. Jimmy tried to stay out of the way the first few visits to give Lizzie and Joel space, but his sister always managed to drag him into the middle - Joel accepted him pretty quickly and welcomed his company.

some years passed and there was talk of a future marriage between Lizzie and Joel - Jimmy was more than happy about their decision and already felt like Joel was family. then their father died and a funeral was held for the King of the Ocean Empire. Jimmy took it upon himself to try to keep his mother and sister in good spirits - Lizzie was relatively okay, sad, but okay; their mother was different though, she grieved almost continuously and was torn between keeping Jimmy at her side and not wanting to see him at all - he reminded her so much of her husband but Jimmy never held it against her.

then one day, Lizzie had a talk with their mother about her grief and how it was damaging the Empire - travel had been all but halted and the people were suffering. he wasn't there for the talk, only after when they had to say their goodbyes to their mother - she decided to step down and return to the sea to be with her husband. Lizzie became the next Queen and he stood at her side like always.

Joel visited more often, so often that Jimmy just suggested he move in - even though only a few months had passed. he and Joel often got into some trouble but it was all harmless fun. some time passed and his two best friends - Lizzie and Joel - became of age and Jimmy officially gained a brother.

he didn't really like to go to the Gatherings - there were always too many people and sometimes the other nobles would tease him. if he did go, he liked to wear a mask. otherwise, he usually stayed at home or explored the ocean around the palace.

a sickness hit Joel's kingdom and he lost not only a good number of subjects but also his parents. Joel had to leave the Ocean Empire and take the throne, something that saddened both seablings but more so Lizzie, though she didn't like to show it. Jimmy acted as messenger between his best friends once all was well within Mezalea - Lizzie didn't want him in the thick of it in case he got sick too.

when Jimmy became of age, he decided that he wanted to explore the oceans. he'd always dreamed of exploring but he never thought he was strong enough, that and he had to be here for his sister. but he was an adult and seeing as the throne only goes to the females in the family, there wasn't really an official place for him in the palace. so with Lizzie's permission and many blessings, he set out to see the world around him.

he traveled for quite some time, sending letters when he could, except for one time almost a year after leaving home. he got caught up in a mighty storm that battered him towards the shoreline and washed him aground. he found himself days, maybe more than week, later on the shore of a swamp settlement surrounded by fish-hybrids that looked a bit like cod. he was injured and dehydrated and they took him in and cared for him.

he sent a letter to his sister when he was well enough, which was a couple weeks after waking up in the swamp, and was soon visited. Lizzie lectured him and doted on him and wanted to take him home but he turned her down - he had a debt to repay. a small meeting was held with the elders and Jimmy came out of it as the unofficial-official ruler of the swamp. the people accepted him well enough, he was just another member of their community and he thanked them for that.

he quickly adjusted to his new life, though being closer to their average humanish height took some getting used to - the Ocean royalty are usually about three times as big as the average human, and normal Oceanic people are about twice the size as a human. he started dressing in long sleeves and pants, and he donned a cod-head - all to better blend in with his new people.

at the next Gathering, he was introduced as the Codfather, King of the Cod Empire. a couple of the other rulers - fWhip and Sausage - started to tease him, all in good fun at first then things slowly escalated until one time where he got injured and bedridden from one of their traps. Lizzie wasn't happy about that and put them in their place.

he also found, during the Gatherings, that the ruler of the elf empire, Elfking Scott of Rivendell, hated him, but he also teased him? Jimmy tried to give the elf gifts, to appease him, but nothing seemed to work, he just couldn't get the elf to like him.

[volisportramblings]

What inspired you to pick the subclasses you did for Prudence? Did you have a favourite subclass design for prudence? Love your art btw! It’s really good!

Firstly ahhh thank you! :) I’m really glad that you like my art. :) I had a lot of fun working on the whole series and I feel like it’s helped me improve my drawing skills a lot :)

The easiest question to answer is my favourite of the Prudence subclasses - I have 2. Oathbreaker Paladin and Circle of Spores Druid. I found the Paladin versions of all of the Oxventurers the hardest ones to design/make distinct and I’m really happy at how intimidating and badass Prudence turned out in that one. As for the Circle of Spores - she looked so at peace and so happy and it makes me happy as well. :) It’s a similar vibe to Bard!Merilwen who also is my favourite Merilwen design.

And now for the slightly harder question to answer briefly which is what inspired the subclass choices for Prudence so I’m going to break it down here:

College of Whispers Bard: This subclass is really cool flavour wise and there’s a few abilities that would suit Prudence very well - especially Words of Terror which allows a CoW Bard to seed paranoia into a target’s mind and also the Mantle of Whispers ability allows the CoW bard to impersonate a recently deceased humanoid. Design wise I actually made Prudence a Dancer Bard instead of a musician bard because it says on the Oxventure Wiki that Prudence is good at Ballet. Also, not all Bards need to be musicians to be a bard- there’s loads of other ways to inspire someone through performing.

Oathbreaker Paladin: I was torn for a while between Conquest, Vengeance and Oathbreaker for a while with Prudence and all of them would have worked really well for her in the end. However, I have played an Oathbreaker Paladin before and had a lot of fun with the subclass which influenced my final choice. Also lore wise, she kinda went against the Hermits and her adopted father when she chose to serve Cthulhu so if she’d been in a Paladin order before serving Cthulhu in this verse then she would have broken her oath.

Circle of Spores Druid: Circle of Spores Druids find beauty in decay and the cycle of life and death and I feel that is such a good fit for Prudence. Also backstory wise was imagining that, instead of being found by the Hermit Warlock, baby Prudence was found by a Circle of Spores Druid who taught her how to use Druid magic.

Assassin Rogue: Prudence is very direct when it comes to killing people, and Assassins are also fairly direct when it comes to killing people. Also the subclass has the Imposter ability which also felt like a good fit for Prudence in the same way the Mantle of Whispers ability does.

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch50- I Got My Second Chance Right Here

Intro: After talking with Scott, Steve and Katie find themselves facing the possibility that there may be a way to undo Thanos’ actions and bring everyone they lost back. Only Tony isn’t on board with the idea and once more Katie finds herself in the middle of the two most important men in her life...

Warnings: Bad Language words

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

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

A/N: As always, huge shout out to my reposting partner- @angrybirdcr​

Chapter 49​

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

“Man am I glad to see you.” Scott clasped Steve’s hand in his as soon as the gate was open, pumping it up and down furiously.

“We thought you’d been snapped.” Steve took a deep breath, frowning as he looked the man up and down. “You are really here right? This isn’t’ some kind of weird mind trick or…” “Yeah, I am now. I mean, not that I wasn’t, but well, no I kinda wasn’t.” Scott took a deep breath. “It’s really hard to explain but…”

“Well we got time to listen.” Steve smiled, reassuringly “Come on.”

Scott nodded, fired up his van and drove through the gates whilst Steve locked them again, before he climbed in his car, spun it round and drove, Scott following, round to the parking area. Steve led Scott through the facility and into the room they had been sat in where Katie was settling Jamie on the sofa at the other end of the room.

“You stay here, okay?” Katie smoothed Jamie’s hair softly with her hand. He nodded and pulled on his headphones, tablet clamped in his hand as he began to watch Dumbo for what must have been the nine-hundredth time. Casting one more look at him over her shoulder, Katie walked over to where Steve and Natasha were stood, watching a very distressed Scott pacing in front of them, mumbling to himself.

Steve and Natasha shared a look, before Steve looked to his wife and she nodded her head in Scott’s direction, encouraging him to open the dialogue.

“Scott?” Steve spoke.“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine” Scott said in a tone that indicated he was anything but. He opened his mouth to speak but shut it again, before he pressed his fingers into his eye sockets clearly struggling with what it was he needed to say. Eventually he took a deep breath and looked around the room.  "Have you ever studied quantum physics?”

Katie shook her head, as did Steve.

"Only to make conversation,” Natasha shrugged.

Scott pointed to Natasha. “Alright, so, five years ago, right before…Thanos, I was in a place called the Quantum Realm. The Quantum Realm is like its own microscopic universe. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small. Hope, she’s my… she was my…” He took a deep breath, struggling to quell the emotion that was brewing in his voice. “And then Thanos happened, and I got stuck in there.”

“I’m sorry.” Katie shook her head, sympathetically. “That must have been a very long five years

"Yeah, but that’s just it. It wasn’t. For me it was five hours.”

Steve frowned. 

“See, the rules of the Quantum Realm aren’t like they are up here. Everything’s unpredictable.” Scott continued as Steve looked from Katie to Natasha, both of them wearing expressions which were a cross between curiosity and contemplation.

“Is that anybody’s sandwich?” Scott asked, pointing at the plate on the table “I’m starving.” As he strode over to pick up the remainder of Nat’s peanut butter sandwich, Steve shook his head slightly, still not understanding what this had to do with anything.

"Scott, what are you talking about?” he asked, prompting him to get back on track.

“What I’m saying is, time works differently in the Quantum Realm.” Scott spoke trough a mouthful of peanut butter and bread before he hastily swallowed “The only problem is right now, we don’t have a way to navigate it. But what if we did?”

He began to pace again and Katie cocked her head to the side slightly, watching him as he gestured wildly with the hand holding the peanut butter sandwich.

“I can’t stop thinking about it. What if we could somehow control the chaos, and we could navigate it? What if there was a way that we could enter the Quantum Realm at a certain point in time but then exit at another point in time? Like…” He paused taking a breath as he looked at the 3 faces in front of him. “Like before Thanos.”

"Wait.” Katie held up a hand to stop him, her voice laced with scepticism. “Are you talking about a time machine?”

“No. No of course not. No, not a time machine, it’s more like a…” Scott trailed off and looked down before he shrugged. “Yeah like a time machine.”

Steve took a deep breath and shared a glance with Katie, both of them raising an eyebrow. Steve let out a small sigh as he had been hoping Scott had something that they could actually use.

“I know, it’s crazy, but I can’t stop thinking about it. There’s gotta be some way. There’s got to be some-” Scott looked at Steve’s face and sighed. “It’s crazy..I know, yeah…”

"Scott,” Natasha cut him off, “I get emails from a raccoon. Nothing sounds crazy anymore.”

Steve looked at her and had to concede maybe she had a point. The things they had seen over the past eleven years, none of it he would have ever believed possible. So who was to say this wasn’t? But time travel? Really? Was he stood there, actually thinking it could be a possibility?

“So who do we talk to about this?” Scott asked, looking between the three people stood in front of him.

Natasha looked at Katie meaningfully and she shook her head, instantly understanding.

“Uh-uh. He’s done with all this, there’s no way he’ll help.”

“Who?” Scott asked.

“My brother.”

“We should at least try.” Natasha implored, her eyes bright at the possibility that there could be a way to undo everything. Katie really wanted to feel the same level of excitement but all she could feel at that point was a horrible sense of foreboding. And she had no idea why.

“Nat’s right.” Steve looked to Katie. “We should talk to him.”  

Before Katie could respond she saw out of the corner of her eye that Jamie was sliding off the sofa and walking towards them. Scott who hadn’t noticed the small boy up until that point gave a start of surprise before he watched him hurry over to Katie.

“Momma.” He asked and she crouched down next to him.

“You okay?”

“When’s dinner?”

“I’m gonna make it soon, sorry baby.” She kissed his cheek as she picked him up, turning back to Scott. “Jamie this is momma, daddy and Auntie Nat-Nat’s friend, Scott. Wanna say hello?”

Jamie looked over, smiling, not a shy bone in his body, as he waved his little hand. “Hi Scott.”  

“This…you…” Scott was looking between Katie and Steve and Steve gave him a small smile. “Wow, that’s great. It’s nice to meet you, Jamie.” Jamie held out his hand for a hi-five and Scott let out a laugh, obliging. “So, you guys just got the one, or…”

“No, we also have an older daughter.” Steve smiled, as he watched Jamie in his wife’s arms.

“Older?”

“She’s adopted.” Katie explained. “Currently away with friends.”

Scott nodded, swallowing a little as his gaze dropped to the floor. The room fell into silence and Katie took a deep breath.

“I’m gonna go make dinner.” She smiled, before looking at Scott then to Natasha.“See if we can do better than a peanut butter sandwich.” “Scott, why don’t you go with Natasha and she can fill you in on anything you need to know.” Steve offered. “And vice versa of course.”

“Okay.”

Natasha gestured with her head for Scott to follow her as Katie placed Jamie on the floor and looked up at Steve.

“Do you really think there’s anything in this?” Steve sighed. “I dunno, Sweetheart. I mean it sounds crazy, a time machine, but then so does a mad man wiping out fifty percent of all living creatures on the planet with a click of his fingers thanks to some cosmic stones.”

“Just promise me something.” Katie looked at him, “if Tony refuses to help, you won’t go kicking off and falling out again. Because if he does say no, he has his reasons for doing so.” “I promise.” Steve assured her.

Satisfied, Katie smiled and looked down at Jamie. “Wanna come help me make dinner or go with Daddy and talk to Scott and Auntie Nat-Nat.” Jamie pondered and Steve smiled at his face. The three year old was torn, and Steve knew why. Part of him wanted to go and talk to his Auntie and the new man he had met a few minutes ago because he was naturally inquisitive, or a “nosey parker” as Emmy called him. But the other part of him knew that if he went to help his Mom he’d be getting sneaky little tit-bits along the way.

Eventually, the curiosity part won out and he grabbed Steve’s hand. “I go with you Daddy.” Katie rolled her eyes good naturedly. “Traitor.”

Jamie grinned as Steve picked him up, leaning over in his Father’s arms to place a sloppy kiss on Katie’s cheek.

“Love you Momma.” He beamed as Steve smiled at his wife. She stuck her tongue out at her son making him giggle and do the same, then she picked up the bag off the table and headed down to the kitchen.

******

Tony smiled headed out of the house and across the lawn towards Morgan’s little tent. He clapped his hands along to a well-known famous beat.

“Chow time! Morgoona.”

No answer. Tony rolled his eyes, it was just like dad trying to deal with Katie when she had been that age. She’d ignore everyone unless she decided paying attention was of any benefit, well, almost everyone. She’d always come running when it was him who called. Something Tony had always been secretly smug about.  

He sat on the small chair by the side of the tent and looked around him, taking in the gentle breeze coming off the lake.

“Morgan H Stark, you want some lunch?”

“Define lunch or be disintegrated.” She spoke, her voice slightly distorted as she emerged from the tent and he felt his breath catch. She was wearing the silver and blue helmet that belonged to the suit he had been working on in the garage, and she had the play Iron-Man glove that he had made sets of for her and Jamie on her hand, holding it up as if firing a repulsor beam.  

“You should not be wearing that, okay? That is part of a special anniversary gift I’m making for Mom.” He pressed a kiss to the side of the helmet before he took it off. His daughter’s face emerged, smiling mischievously.

“Okay.” She grinned as Tony brushed the hair back off her face and smoothed down the fly-away strands that had risen up.

“There you go. Are you thinking about lunch? I can give you a handful of crickets on a bed of lettuce.”

“No.” Morgan giggled

“That’s what you want.” He teased before he glanced at the helmet in his hand. “How did you find this?”

“The garage” She said simply, as if it was obvious. Which in fairness, it was, because that’s where he had left it.

“Really?” Tony looked at her, narrowing his eyes slightly in suspicion. “Were you looking for it?”

“No.” She said, but the look on her face that told Tony she had totally been looking for it. “I found it, though.”

“You like going to the garage, huh? So does daddy” Tony stood, picking her up in one arm, the helmet still held in the other, heading to the house. He glanced down at it again and chuckled to himself. “It’s fine, actually. Your mom never wears anything I buy her.”

He had just reached the top of the steps to the porch when his attention was caught by the sound of a car heading up the drive. He turned round to see Kiddo’s grey Audi pulling to a stop a few meters away. He paused for a moment, because he hadn’t been expecting them, but then he smiled and waved before he frowned a little. There were other people in the back seat of the car, but he couldn’t quite make out who.

Katie was out of the car first, opening one of the back doors and Jamie barrelled out of the vehicle, running over to his Uncle.

“Uncle Nee!” He called gleefully as he ran up the steps to the porch. 

“Hey!” Tony placed Morgan down and bent to give his nephew’s head a kiss. “I wasn’t expecting to see you guys to-“

He trailed off as he caught sight of exactly who it had been in the back. Natasha raised her head in a greeting which he returned and he then glanced at the man, Scott Lang, who he had last seen in The Raft

A man who had been snapped was now stood on his driveway. 

What the fuck was going on?

“Morgan,” Tony looked down, “take Jamie inside will you? Tell your mom we have visitors, I’ll be in in a moment.” “Okay.” Morgan said, and Jamie took her hand, the two of them heading off round the porch.

“Hey.” Katie greeted her brother as she walked up the steps. “Sorry to spring this on you but…”

He gave her a hug and when she stepped back he looked over her shoulder.  “S’Up Lang? Thought you got turned to dust?”

Steve winced slightly at Tony’s blasé tone, but he could tell from his brother-in-law’s face, he was anything but. His eyes were burning with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

“It’s a really, really long story.” Scott nodded as he rounded the car, looking at Tony

“Which is why we’re here.” Steve slipped his hands into his pockets as he stopped at the porch steps. “Tony, there might be a way we can bring everyone back.” Tony took a deep breath. Five years. Five years it had been and still they couldn’t simply let things lie. Did he want to get involved? No, absolutely not. But he should at least hear them out, right? It could be simple. Maybe not dangerous, either. Maybe.

He looked at his sister and she shrugged, and he could tell by her expression she was torn. Probably from the same fears he had.

“Take a seat.” He gestured to the chairs and sofa on the porch area. “I’ll grab us a drink.”

Katie looked at Steve and jerked her head towards the house and Steve nodded, understanding she was going with him. She followed Tony inside and greeted Pepper who had seen the gang outside the house.

“What the hell?” Tony frowned and Katie sighed.

“He turned up at the compound last night. Apparently he was in something called the Quantum Realm when the Snap happened. He re-emerged a few days ago and drove over.” Katie bit her lip. “The thing is Tony, for him it was a matter of hours not years.”

Tony took a deep breath and reached into the fridge for the tall jug of iced coffee and placed it on the counter before pouring in a generous helping of vanilla syrup. Still without a word being spoke he pulled five glass tumblers from the cabinet, and handed them to his sister. “We’ll be outside.” He said, giving Pepper a kiss. “How many should I expect for lunch?” She asked, giving him a small smile “Set it for eight.” He shrugged, walking away. “I’ll decide whether they can stay or not after I’ve heard what hair-brained scheme Rogers has come up with this time.”

Katie rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. “In his defence, this isn’t his idea.”

“No but I bet it was to come here.”

“Wrong again.” Katie arched an eyebrow as Tony opened the door. “That one’s on Nat.” “Pain in my ass.” he mumbled, as he walked back to the porch. 

He placed the jug down on the small coffee table and plonked into a chair to the right of it, looking up at Steve who was leaning against the wooden rails of the porch, Nat to his right. 

“Alright,” He watched as Scott sat in the chair at the other side of the small table, Katie leaning up against the side of the house. “Explain.”  

So Scott did. About where he had been, how long for, and his theory about how they could, potentially, use the Quantum Realm to navigate time. Tony listened, and for the most Steve was surprised to see the man’s face was passive, no sarcastic quirk of the eyebrow or quip. Nothing. Instead, he reached over and began pouring the drinks into the glasses.

“Now, we know what it sounds like.” Scott stammered out before Steve cut him off, keen to understand what was going on in the Inventor’s head.

“Tony, after everything you’ve seen, is anything like this really possible?”

Tony looked up from pouring the drinks, handing one to Katie who smiled a thanks to him.

“Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck scale, which then triggers the Deutsch proposition, can we agree on that?”

Scott, Steve and Natasha all looked blankly back at him. Steve had no idea what he was talking about but he saw Katie out of the corner of her eye stiffen slightly.

“As in David Deutsch?” She asked. “The Fabric of Reality?”

Tony nodded before he handed Steve a glass. “Thank-you.” Steve said, he quite liked Tony’s iced coffee, he had certainly drunk enough of it whilst sat in the spot that Scott now occupied over the past few years.

"In layman’s terms, it means you’re not coming home.” Tony finished, and Steve let out a sigh.

“I did.” Scott said almost immediately.

“No, you accidentally survived. It’s a billion to one cosmic fluke.” Tony shook his head, his voice even “And now you want to pull off a, what do you call it?”

Scott shrugged, searching for a term to describe what he had been thinking of doing. “A…time…heist?”

“Yeah, a time heist. Of course, why didn’t we think of this before?” Tony asked, looking up at Steve “Oh, because it’s laughable? Because it’s a pipedream.”

"The stones are in the past.”  Steve spoke softly. The fact that Tony hadn’t dismissed the fact that it was a possibility to time travel was spurring him on, there had to be a way they could do this safely, Scott was living proof of that. “We could go back and we could get them.”

“We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everybody back.” Natasha added.

“Or screw it up worse than he already has.” Tony instantly replied.

“I don’t think we would.” Steve shook his head.

“Got to say, sometimes I miss that giddy optimism.” Tony shot, and Steve took a deep breath, raising his eyebrows. “However, high hopes won’t help if there’s no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said time heist.” Tony leaned back further in his chair. “I believe the most likely outcome will be our collective demise.”

Natasha walked from where she had been stood leaning against the wall of the house besides Katie to the rails of the porch, looking out over the grounds for a moment as Scott spoke again.

“Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel.” He said, almost eagerly, “No talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events-”

“I’m going to stop you right there, Scott.” Tony raised his hand and leaned forward. “Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on Back to the Future?”

“No?” Scott said, embarrassment flooding his tone.

“Good you had me worried there, because that’s not how quantum physics works.”

“Tony, we have to take a stand.”  Natasha spoke, turning to face him, her voice sad, almost pleading. Katie watched her for a second, before she looked to her brother. Tony stared up at Nat, almost apologetically but Katie could see his mind was made up, and his answer was just what she had suspected it would be.

“We did stand.” Tony’s voice was soft “And yet, here we are.”

“I know you got a lot on the line,” Scott spoke again, “you got a wife, a daughter. But I lost someone very important to me. A lot of people did.” His voice began to gather pace and volume as he tried to sell his desperation to Tony “We have a chance to bring her back, bring everyone back. And you’re telling me you won’t even-”

“That’s right Scott. I won’t even. I got a kid.” Tony cut him off with absolute irrevocability as Scott stared at him in disbelief.

Steve took a deep breath and glanced at Katie, who had remained silent pretty much all through the discussions. She was looking down at her hands, twisting her engagement ring around her finger, the way she always did when she was worried or thinking. But before he could say anything, the door to the house opened and two sets of small footsteps clattered across the wood. Morgan ran up to Tony, who picked her up as she placed her arms round his neck and Jamie ran to his mother, who swept him up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Mommy told us to come save you.” Morgan said to her dad. Katie gave a soft chuckle as Tony looked at her, grinning.

"Good job. I’m saved.” Tony told his daughter as he gave her head a kiss before he stood up, Morgan in his arms. He turned to look at Steve, Nat and Scott. “I wish you’d come here to ask me something else. Anything else.” He sighed, before looking directly at Nat. “Honestly, I missed you.” She gave a small smile as he turned to head to the house. “Oh, and the table’s set for eight-“

As he went to pass by Steve, the Soldier gently stopped him with a hand on his arm and Katie watched, Jamie perched on her hip, his small hand playing with the diamond studded star shaped necklace she wore, a gift from Steve many Christmases ago.

"Tony, I get it, I really do, but this, this is a second chance.”

“I got my second chance right here, Cap.” Tony looked at his brother-in-law before he nodded over to where Katie was stood holding Jamie. “You did too. And I can’t roll the dice again, and frankly neither should you.”

Steve took a deep breath, bristling slightly. Was Tony seriously implying that he thought he was going to gamble with his kids’ lives? That was the whole point of them coming to talk to him, so that they didn’t do anything that would jeopardise what they had.

“If you don’t talk shop, you can stay for lunch.” Tony headed towards the door.

“I think we should be getting back.” Steve spoke, his words coming out a little harsher than he had meant. Tony turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged, before heading into the house. Katie watched her brother go and then turned to Steve as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked at her and she stared straight back, her face stony. She’d warned him how this would turn out and he’d promised her he wouldn’t get mad at Tony. And whilst he hadn’t got mad per-se, he had to concede that his last comment had been said with a bit of a shitty tone.

“Momma?” Jamie spoke and Katie’s attention turned to her son. “I want lunch. Auntie Pepper was making meatballs.” “Your favourite?” Katie smiled at her son “Wow!”

Jamie giggled and Katie turned back to her husband “You go, we’re gonna stay.” Her statement was accompanied with a look to say that this wasn’t up for negotiation so Steve took a deep breath and nodded.

“Okay, give me a call and I’ll come get you later.” He dropped a kiss to her cheek, before he did the same to his son and then gestured for Scott and Natasha to follow him back to the car.

“He’s scared.” Natasha turned to Steve once they were clear of the porch steps.

“Well, he’s not wrong."  Steve sighed because, despite his disappointment, he understood Tony’s fear and reticence, he really did because he felt it too. They couldn’t do anything that would undo the events of the past five years. But there had to be a way to make sure they didn’t. He looked back at the house where he could just see Katie was stood inside the kitchen, smiling at Pepper.

"Yeah, but I mean what are we gonna do?” Scott asked, his tone desperate again. “We need him, are we gonna stop?”

“No, but I wanna do it right,” Steve said thoughtfully, as an idea suddenly came to him. He opened the driver’s side door and glanced over at Natasha “We’re gonna need a really big brain.”

"Bigger than his?” Scott asked incredulously, pointing to Tony’s house.

Natasha quirked an eyebrow as she understood what Steve meant and she smiled gently before turning to Scott.

“Good job we know exactly where we can find one.”

****

Inside the house, Katie watched the car pull away before she turned and accepted the glass of wine Tony was offering.

“Lunchtime drinking?” She quirked an eyebrow and he shrugged.

“Figured you might need it after that, I do.”

Katie sighed and made her way over to the table, where Pepper was sat dishing out the food onto the kid’s plates.

“Fankoo Auntie Pep.” Jamie said, grinning and she beamed at him.

“You’re welcome, Sweetie.” They ate together, making general conversation about anything other than ‘time heists’ and two helpings of meatballs and spaghetti later, Jamie and Morgan asked if they could go outside to play. Tony headed out to supervise them whilst Katie helped Pepper clear the table before she went to find her brother.

“So we gonna talk about the elephant in the room, or on the lawn?” Tony asked, looking at her.

Katie shrugged. “That’s not why I stayed, Tone.” She sighed, her green eyes locking onto his. “You know, I told them you wouldn’t want to help.” “It isn’t a case of not wanting to, Kiddo.” He sighed. “I just can’t…”

“I get it.” She nodded with a sad smile. “There’s a lot at stake…”

"So why doesn’t Spangles see that?”

“He does. He just wants to see if there’s any possible way we can do it. You know, bring everyone back.” “And what about you?”

“Honestly?” Katie looked at Tony and shrugged. “If you told me there was a way we could do it, and not change anything out of the last five years I’d jump at the chance, because that’s what we do, we’re the A-vengers remember, not the Pre-vengers.”

“Used to be.” Tony corrected her with the glimmer of a smile.

“Well, I don’t remember quitting.” Katie looked at her brother. “We just kinda…stopped.” “Say there is.”  Tony sighed. “Say you suddenly find a way that guarantees that nothing from the last five years will change, and you do it. You pull off the Time Heist, reverse the snap…Kiddo, you open up a whole can of other worms. People have moved on in the past five years, and suddenly you’re bringing back husbands, wives, daughters, sons, mothers, fathers who were long gone and-”

“I know.” Katie cut him off, nodding. “It would be extremely naïve to think things could just simply go back to how they were. There would be a lot of other issues and shit to deal with, I get that, but at least everyone would be alive.”

Tony sighed “I can’t gamble on this.”  He gestured to the kids who were now playing

“Like I said Tony, I’m not trying to change your mind.” Katie shrugged. “And I won’t be gambling on anything either.”

******

It was getting late, and Steve still hadn’t heard from Katie. He was just about to give her a call when he heard the security system announcing the gate had been unlocked. Frowning, he made his way to the door, opening it to see Tony’s car pulling onto the driveway. He stopped not far from the door and Katie stepped out of the passenger seat.

“He’s fast asleep.” She nodded to the rear as Steve headed out to greet her, peering into the back of the car. He gave his wife a quick peck on the lips before he reached into the rear, and gently picked Jamie out of the back, the child only stirring long enough press his face into Steve’s shoulder, grabbing a handful of his sweater in his fist.

“Thanks Tony.” Katie leaned back into the car over the passenger seat to give her brother a kiss on the cheek.

“No problem, Kiddo.” As his sister stepped back, Tony hesitated for a moment and then climbed out of the car, looking over the roof at Steve who was heading back up the steps to the house.

“Cap.” He called. Steve stopped and turned to his brother-in-law. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you what you wanted to hear.”

Steve took a deep breath and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. We’re meeting Banner tomorrow.” “Banner?” Katie frowned.

“Yeah.” Steve nodded. “Nat called him before, he’s gonna hear us out. See if he can help.”

Tony remained silent, his mind whirring. “Just promise me one thing, please.” He sighed. “You can’t, the kids, I mean…”

Steve frowned. “Tony, if you think I’d gamble with our children’s lives, then you really don’t know me at all.”

“I guess not.” Tony’s mouth set into a thin line and at that point Katie shook her head.

“Stop it, please.” She sighed. “I can’t cope with you at each other’s throats, not again.”

Steve licked his lips and turned to his wife. “Sorry.”

“Just take Jamie inside, I’ll be with you in a moment.” She looked at him, Nodding, Steve turned and headed inside. Katie glared at her brother who held his hands up, palms open.

“Like I said before, I get why you’re scared, but Steve’s right. All we’re doing at the moment is gathering facts, maybe understanding what we’re looking at a little more. If by doing that we come to the conclusion that we can’t guarantee what we have isn’t safe then we stop.” Tony took a deep breath, before he nodded back to the house. “Just make sure he understands that.”

Before Katie could reply he hopped back in his car, reversed slightly before he spun round and headed off through the gates. Katie walked straight into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine, grabbing a beer for Steve before she sat down at the table, head in her hands, she was exhausted.

The problem was, she could see this from both sides. Whilst the possibility of being able to bring everyone back was simply too good to not explore, the chance that they could lose either of their kids if something didn’t got to plan was enough to put the fear of God into her.  She looked up as Steve returned having settled Jamie in bed, and she slid the beer across the table to him as he sat in the seat next to her.

“You okay?”  He asked, and she looked at him.

“I’m scared Steve. Tony is right. We can’t risk what we have.”

“We won’t.”

“You don’t know that for sure, none of us do.” She sniffed, and Steve wasn’t surprised to see the tears in her eyes. “Tony before, when he talked about the Deutsch proposition, that was a reference to a guy called David Deutsch. He wrote a book called The Fabric of Reality and one of the chapters talks about how time travel would really work if it proves possible.”

Steve nodded, telling her to continue. He knew when she was on a roll explaining something like this he had to let her finish, plus he wanted to understand her concerns.

“His view of time travel is that if you went back in time and killed your Grandfather, say, you’d simply create an alternate universe and timeline in which you are not born. But the version of yourself that went back in time came from a different universe, so you wouldn’t suddenly cease to exist, like in Back To The Future or whatever, you’d still be there in that new universe.” “Okay, so, according to this Deutsch guy, Scott’s theory about simply not changing anything in the past isn’t quite right?” Steve frowned, thinking he understood. She smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, which to be fair is only what everyone believes because of films anyway. They depict time travel in a single universe. But, if you accept that there are actually many universes that are constantly branching off of one another, then…” She sighed.

“But surely that’s a good thing?” Steve implored. “Iwf hat you’re saying is that we can’t alter our future by changing the past then…” “What I’m saying is, that none of us know for sure.” She corrected, her voice almost a whisper. “And even if we successfully navigate the whole going back in time think, what if when we undo the Snap we jump back five years in our own time line and…”

She trailed off and Steve reached up to wipe away the stray tears that had fallen down her cheek. “Baby, look at me.”

She obliged, and he held her gaze. “Nothing scares me more than losing our kids, or you. Which is why we need to do this right. I get why Tony doesn’t want to help, he’s scared too, but….” he trailed off. “I’m doing this for Jamie, for Emmy. I want Emmy to be able to see all the things she knew before the snap, and Jamie to see things he never has.”

“Like whales in the Hudson?”

“Like whales in the Hudson.” Steve nodded with a smile. “Although I’d never seen that before either, but the point still remains. I want them to have the best possible life that we can give them.”

Katie looked at him, and sniffed. “You swear to me, right now, that the moment we start to see things going sideways, if we can’t be certain that we won’t impact anything that’s happened in the last five years, we stop.”

“Hand on heart, I swear to you.” Steve took her face in his hands, driving his message home “Kitten, I’d die before I let anything happen to any of you.”

“Yeah, that kinda worries me a little too.” She sniffed and he chuckled slightly, before dropping a soft kiss to her lips.

“Let’s see what Bruce has to say tomorrow.” Steve said gently, his thumbs skating over her cheekbones. “If he doesn’t believe we can control the outcome then, we give up. It was a stab in the dark, but nothing more.”

Katie nodded, and he pressed his lips to hers again, this time the kiss slightly deeper.

“I love you.” He moved his hands to lace into hers before he raised her left to his lips and placed a soft kiss over the top of her rings. 

*****

Bruce was already waiting for them at the diner the next morning. Scott’s shocked and puzzled reaction to seeing the Hulk-Sized Bruce Banner was understandable, after all it was the same reaction Katie, Steve and Natasha had all had when they had seen him like this for the first time a few months back. In fact, the only person that hadn’t batted an eyelid was Jamie.

“Hi Dr Brucie!” Jamie grinned, reaching over Katie to hi-five the man, Banner grinning a the boy’s nick name for him.

“You’re getting big, tiny person!” He boomed as the simply ridiculous amounts of food started to arrive. Brue wasn’t shy about digging in, and neither was Jamie, as always. Katie dished out some eggs, sausages and bacon onto his plate and poured him a small glass of the orange juice whilst, in turn, Steve poured her and Natasha some water.

“Come on, I feel like I’m the only one eating!” Bruce pushed a plate forward. “Apart from Jamie that is. Try some of that. Have some eggs.”

“I’m so confused.” Scott looked at Bruce, his face blank as he shook his head.

“These are confusing times.” Bruce nodded with a serious smile on his face.

“Right, no, no that’s not what I meant…”

“No, I get it I’m kidding.” Bruce grinned, dropping the act. “I know, it’s crazy! I’m wearing shirts now!”

“Yeah…wh…how, why?” Scott stuttered, his eyes wide as he looked at Bruce.

“Five years ago, we got our asses beaten. Except it was worse for me. Because I lost twice. First, Hulk lost, then Banner lost. Then, we all lost.”

“No one blamed you, Bruce.” Natasha said softly.

“I did.” Bruce stated simply “For years, I’ve been treating the Hulk like he’s some kind of disease, something to get rid of. But then I started looking at him as the cure. Eighteen months in a gamma lab. I put the brains and the brawn together. And now look at me. Best of both worlds…”

He was cut off by a group of three children, one of which tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse me, Mr. Hulk?

"Yes?” Bruce asked, turning to face them.

“Can we get a photo?” the little girl beamed at him.

“100%, little person. Come on, step up.” Bruce said, taking the phone which was handed to him and leaning across Natasha to pass it to Scott. “You mind?

“Oh, yeah.” Scott shook himself out of his thoughts, accepting the phone.

“Thanks,” he said before he turned to the kids. “Say ‘green’!” “Greeeeen!” came the collective chant before Bruce looked at Scott “Did you get that?”

Scott leaned forward and held the phone out, before he gestured at himself, “Don’t you wanna grab one with me? I’m Ant-Man.”

Nothing.

Katie hastily picked up her glass of water and locked eyes with Natasha, the red head trying also not to laugh.

“It’s alright they’re Hulk fans, they don’t know Ant-Man. Nobody does.” Scott shook his head.

"Wait, no, no, he feels bad. No, he wants you to…he wants to.” Bruce looked at one of the boys “You want to take a picture with him, right?” The boy shook his had vigorously.

“He’s even saying 'no’ he doesn’t.” Scott snapped. “I get it. I don’t want it either.”

Katie looked at Steve who was now staring down at the glass of water in his hand, his fingers trailing round the top. He was getting frustrated, Katie could tell. She reached behind Jamie, who was nestled in-between his parents and gently gave his neck a soft tickle with her fingers and he looked at her, smiling softly.

“Just take the goddamn phone.” Scott called time on the ridiculous exchange that had been going on, and Steve took a long drink of his water.

“Thank you very much!” Banner called smiling “Hulk out!”

“Bruce.” Steve looked at him, deciding to bring him back to the subject in hand. Bruce ignored him.

“Dab!”  he grinned, making the action as the kids all laughed.

“Bruce.” Steve spoke this time again in his Captains voice, but to no avail. He rolled his eyes as the man continued.

“Listen to your mom. She knows better.”

“About what we were saying?” Steve tried once more as Bruce finally, and Katie suspected rather reluctantly, turned back to them.

“Right, the whole time travel do-over.” Bruce leaned back in his chair. “Guys, it’s outside my area of expertise.”

“Well, you pulled this off.” Natasha looked him up and down before she smiled.“I remember a time when that seemed pretty impossible too.”

Bruce nodded slightly, before he took a deep breath.

“In suppose, in theory you could do it.” He scratched at his chin. “You could go back in time, get the stones and come back without changing anything that’s happened in the past five years.”

“How?” Katie looked at him, her arm dropping round Jamie’s shoulders as he continued to scribble on the colouring pad they’d brought for him.

“Well,” Bruce said, looking at her. “Thanos was already on his murder mission way before he got the stones. He harnessed their power and got them to work together to do exactly what he wanted.”

“So,” Steve looked at Bruce, “if we tell the stones what we want, exactly what we want…”

Bruce nodded. “Everyone comes home, and the past five years remain untouched.”

Katie and Steve looked at one another, before they glanced over the table and Scott and Natasha smiled.

Everyone comes home…

**** Chapter 51

 **Original Posting**