#i entered a fugue state and typed all this up

[dimensionalspades]

💭 + Julian's view of his parents!

- headcanons || accepting -

Oh we just want an essay huh

By the time 'Doctor Bashir, I Presume' rolls around, Julian's feelings are negative. He still loves his parents, very deep down, but he's been no contact with them for over a decade and doesn't want to change that. Throughout the episode, his feelings grow more acidic because he realizes just how self-absorbed they are and it fully sets in that he was never his own person to them, just a "legacy".

But there was a time when he adored them. When he was a child and couldn't grasp what'd happened to him, he trusted his parents like all kids do. For quite a few years, Julian tried to be the perfect son to appease his father. But as time went on, the cracks started to show. Julian often couldn't process the overload of enhanced sensory information, leading to meltdowns and, occasionally, Julian shutting down entirely. His parents would grow increasingly controlling of Julian, forcing him to take up classes and tutors in an effort to shove every bit of knowledge and accomplishment onto him. They refused to seek therapy for Julian, fearing that someone would figure out what they'd done, and even went so far as to move on occasion if Richard felt even the smallest hint they'd be exposed. Julian tried to ignore his problems with very limited success, and instead buried himself in hyperfixations, with his parents intervening in interests they deemed not worth his time.

This built a deep-seated resentment that quickly turned into hatred, particularly for Richard, who showed Julian time and time again how shallow his love was. He only ever saw Julian as an extension of himself and punished him when he stepped outside of that role. Richard's "need" to have the perfect son completely demolished Julian's sense of self, and his refusal to help Julian manage the pitfalls that came with being enhanced and autistic left lifelong scars on Julian and is why he's so meticulous about masking.

While Julian knew how selfish his parents truly were, he still loved them when he discovered that he'd been augmented. The discovery shattered him completely, and if asked, he probably can't remember the full confrontation with his parents due to stress. Everything fell into place, and in an instant he saw what his father for what he was; a malignant narcissist who hated his son.

Amsha, however, is a more complicated case to Julian. In his youth, when he was struggling with sensory overload or just in general, he would run to Amsha. Often, when Richard grew angry with Julian or they got into an argument, Amsha would comfort him while reinforcing Richard's point of view. She enabled Richard's abuse, and many times grew just as frustrated with Julian's struggle to manage his emotions and socialize "properly". It actually wasn't until DBIP that Julian saw just how much Amsha agreed with and sympathized with Richard. While the reveal of what they'd done showed him that, her demand for Julian to understand their point of view of practicing eugenics on their son hammered home that Amsha wasn't a better parent than Richard, she was just better at manipulating.

Post canon when Richard is out of jail, they attempt to get into contact with Julian again, but Julian refuses, and goes so far as to leave the station if they ever try to visit ds9.

[gabessquishytum]

screams i didnt save it...... i should really. start doing that? in case of tumblr eating things or button accidents??? but instead i simply enter your ask box and type nonsense in a fugue state and send it before i think about things like backups rip

-🐈‍⬛

AHHH don't worry my love it's my silly fingers that are at fault here. I'm going to do a little bullet point fic and hopefully I'll get the gist of what you put in your prompt!!!

Hob is captured in battle and given to Destruction (which makes total sense since he's the warlord of the whole Endless fam and was actually responsible for their victories). Destruction himself obviously has this reputation for being an insanely powerful soldier and it's fair to say that Hob is a little intimidated when he's handed over to the enormous man.

But. Destruction is a very gentle and kind person, and while Hob is moved into his quarters and fully expects to serve his new master, Destruction doesn't make any moves to use him. His only request is for Hob to pose for sketches. It's actually really nice and sweet, and they begin to relax in each other's company bit by bit. Destruction shyly asks to be called Ollie, and Hob just melts because he's absolutely falling in love with this gentle giant.

Their life together is pleasant and they keep dancing around their obvious attraction to each other, until an assassin makes an attempt on Ollie's life. They get as far as aiming to stab him, but Hob doesn't even think twice about putting himself between the knife and the man he loves. He ends up in a bad way but the wound isn't enough to kill him.

Ollie is so mad that Hob would do such a thing and gives him a proper telling off as soon as he's conscious. Hob just grins loopily and says he'd do anything for love. Ollie obviously has to return the sentiment (but he says that if Hob ever puts himself in danger again, he'll kill him).

During Hob’s long recovery the horniness is EXCRUCIATING. Apart from kissing and some light petting, all sexual activities are off the table. Hob literally begs Ollie to finger him but his fingers are so thick... they have to stop for fear of impeding Hob’s healing. On the plus side Ollie does promise to put his whole hand into Hob as soon as his stomach muscles have healed up 100%... Hob has been thirsting over those huge hands and he is very eager to have those sword calluses inside him.

Ollie's sketches of Hob are VERY spicy these days. Hob can't believe that he really looks like that - Ollie's close-up sketches of his widely spread hole are particularly beautiful. Ollie even tries to draw Hob while fucking him, and while they're not the most accurate depictions, Hob treasures them all the same.

That's all I have for now!!! But I definitely think this version of warprize hob needs to go places!!! I love it so much already.

[hells-greatestdad]

What if none of this was real? What if, when you fell you actually entered a fugue state? All of this, naught but a delusion. And after so long, you finally snap out of it, to find yourself alone. Everything you built up, that you grew to love and cherish never existed. The only thing that was ever real, was you.

"You must be that author that gets out of tough plots by concluding 'it was all a dream'! I hate those types of endings."

"But if I were to humor you here, you're saying this happened after my fall, which would mean Lilith is still in the picture since we met before that point. And yet you want to say that when I leave my delusion, I'm all alone and nothing else was real. Make it make sense."

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

Tabula Rasa: Part One

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.1k

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there is any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them. If you’ve seen the show, then it’s the same level of angst unless otherwise stated

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves. We must die to one life before we can enter another." - Anatole France

High school was such a weird era in most of the teams' lives. For Spencer, he was twelve, Pen looked too happy, JJ was the pretty popular jock, Derek wasn't half as muscular as he is now, you were too awkward, and Emily was growing into her goth phase.

Never have you been so excited to look at high school pictures than you are at this moment.

Penelope hacked the records from everyone's high school, with their permission, of course. Emily is sitting at her desk, listening to you, Spencer, and Penelope tease at the gothic look she sported in the 80s.

"It's remarkable. Something like this makes you question everything you thought you knew," Spencer says dramatically.

"Wait, there was a time when this was socially acceptable?" you giggle and snatch the picture away from Spencer.

"Oh, you two are young," Penelope says in a longing voice. "The eighties left a lot of people confused. This is especially sad, though."

"Alright, very funny," Emily rolls her eyes and snatches the picture from you. "What did you do to it? You obviously altered it in photoshop or something."

"Oh, no, pussycat. That's all you. Garfield High, class of '89," Penelope smirks.

"You really didn't change anything?" she mutters.

"Are you saying you don't remember looking like that?" you ask and lean back in your chair.

"Perhaps your lack of recognition stems from a dissociative fugue suffered in adolescence, say, at a Siouxsie and the Banshees concert?" Spencer grins.

Hotch comes out of his office with a distressed look on his face. He was on the phone the entire time, and you're worried about what he might have been talking about.

"What's going on?" you ask.

"Brian Matloff."

"Who is that?" you ask and look at Spencer since he remembers everyone.

"The Blue Ridge Strangler. There were three victims in the Blue Ridge Parkway four years ago. Allegedly, he killed them but he slipped into a coma before he could be tried."

"Looks like they're finally gonna get their chance. He just woke up. I'm going to the hospital."

Hotch hopes that this guy can remember what he did because four years is a long time to break from a case. You weren't part of this team four years ago, so you're not familiar with any of the details like some of your other coworkers.

You and Emily are the only ones in the dark about this.

However, when Hotch got to the hospital, he didn't receive good news. Brian Matloff may have woken up from a four-year-long coma, but he doesn't remember a thing. The doctor says he has focal retrograde amnesia. It's hard to recover your memories from that kind of amnesia, but you have no doubt that your team will try to get him to remember.

From what you read, Brian had a type: brunette, young, and physically fit women. All the victims were jogging alone in the early morning when he grabbed them... allegedly. The only key witness to place Brian at the scene of the crime is Marvin Leopold, but he died two years ago.

Marvin was able to place Brian at the park with Darci Corbett, the third victim. The warrant the police got and the indictment were made largely because of the witness. Everything else is circumstantial, so without a witness, then Brian could walk free.

While Hotch and Cece Hillenbrand, the prosecutor in Brian's case, prep and talk about the trial you know they are going to have, Rossi gathered the rest of the team to go over the case in more detail.

The last known victim, Darci Corbett, had ligature marks on her that seemed to match the last two victims before her. Brian uses a belt as his signature piece, and he takes trophies from each of the victims, which would explain why Darci's watch was missing from her person when they found her.

He'd always bury the victims face down, which is a sign of remorse as if he doesn't want to look them in the face. That doesn't necessarily mean that he knew them personally, just that he regretted killing them. Each of the victims were an opportunity. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time, is all.

"After the raid on Matloff's apartment, we discovered he had another area of interest. Native American mythology. We realized our profile wasn't complete," Derek explains since he was there on the original case.

"There's a Native American belief that says burying a body face down traps the soul and prevents it from haunting the killer."

"Is that why he buried them like that?" you ask your boyfriend.

"That's the theory."

"Three women in shallow graves. I don't see any progression. There's no learning curve. Do you think there could have been earlier victims when he was honing his skills?"

"We considered it a possibility," Derek answers. "It turned out Matloff worked in Blue Ridge Parkway for the forest service. He had free reign over the entire park."

"It says here he was raised Polish Catholic. Any idea what led him to identify with Native American culture?" JJ wonders.

"We didn't get that far. Another thing we never got was any physical evidence at his apartment tying him to the crimes."

"What about the trophies he took? Surely they're somewhere," you say.

"We couldn't find them. Question is, what did he do with them?"

"If we didn't need the answer to that before, we do now," Hotch says when he enters the briefing room. "It turns out our star witness has been dead for two years."

"He was the only one who could put Matloff at the scene," Derek sighs.

"There might be another way," Spencer thinks. "He could undergo brain fingerprinting. Essentially, it's the recording and analysis of an individual's neurological responses to images and words flashed on a screen. If we show him pictures of the crime scenes, he could start to remember enough to get a proper trial."

"Only the judge can allow that, and let's hope that she does."

Cece is requesting Hotch to give his testimony in court, and of course, you're going to go. As soon as Brian woke up, the court wanted him in as soon as possible for trial. Cece is a damn good prosecutor from what you hear, and she will try her best to get him put in jail for the crimes he's committed.

Only you and Spencer are sitting in the gallery of people while Cece and Hotch are fighting in this trial.

"We'd like to request that the defendant undergo the process of brain fingerprinting. This procedure will show if the memories of the crimes are present in the mind of the defendant, regardless of whether or not he chooses to recall them," Cece requests.

Lester Sterling, Brian's defense attorney, stands up quicker than you can imagine.

"Your honor, where do I begin? The science on this type of testing is unproven, to say the least."

"In the state of Iowa vs. Terry Harrington, the results were ruled admissible as scientific evidence as defined in congress ruling 702 and in Daubert v. Merrell."

"This is a hail mary, your honor. They have no evidence and they know it. Beyond that, my client is in a very fragile mental state. I can't, in good conscience, let them go poking around in his brain."

"What about that? Is it safe?" the judge asks Cece, and Hotch stands up to answer.

"The test is non-invasive and completely safe. They'll simply be looking at images on a computer screen while an EEG monitors his brain activity."

"Subject him to graphic imagery to prompt some kind of reaction, which they can then point to as evidence of guilt? It's perverse," Lester fights for his client.

"I want to do it," Brain says.

"Just one moment, your honor," Lester chuckles.

He sits back down to talk to him, but Brian stands up to speak directly to the judge.

"Your honor, every day I wake up to this nightmare of not knowing who or what I am. If this test can really help me remember, then whatever the consequences, I want to do it. I have to."

With the client on board, the judge grants Hotch to let him do the tests. The trial is adjourned until tomorrow, so you can rest easy knowing that as of right now, everyone is safe from Brian. Whether he knows or not, you know he's guilty. Your ability runs much deeper than the surface, so you can see the blood on his hands whether or not his brain wants him to remember.

You and Spencer leave the courtroom while Brian is taken away. Cece and Hotch work with the court to get the test ready in the courthouse, and you're just waiting for them to start. You want to be present for this because you might get something that the other won't.

"Dr. Reid."

You and Spencer stop and turn to face the man who is the father of Darci Corbett. You've never met this man before, but Spencer was on the original case back then, so he's familiar with your boyfriend.

"Mr. Corbett. I didn't see you in there. How have you been?"

"Oh, not bad, considering. You aren't buying into this amnesia thing, are you?"

"We're trying to figure that out, sir," you say. "Sorry, I'm agent Y/N. I'm new to your daughter's case, but we're working as hard as we can."

"It's probably something the lawyer thought up. It won't work, will it?" Liam asks, looking back at Spencer.

"We have a pretty strong case."

"Good, that's good. You look different. Your hair is different."

You feel a sudden surge of proudness for your boyfriend. He's the most handsomest man you've ever laid your eyes on, and you're glad others are seeing that.

"It's been four years," Spencer chuckles.

"Right. I forget. Sometimes I feel like Darci's just... It messes with time, this thing. You know? You lose time. You always hear about closure, you know? But you never really know what that means. Maybe now I can get on with things, you know?"

"How is Mrs. Corbett doing?" you ask, remembering he had a wife when Darci died. "Is she here?"

"No, we split up. It was too hard to... It was my fault, really. I wasn't there for her. Everything is going to be okay now."

"Well, I am going to oversee the test with Hotch and Cece. I'll catch up with you later."

You lean up and kiss Spencer's cheek before leaving the duo. When you enter the room, Brain is getting set up with wires attached to the EEG machine. Cece is waiting in the hallway, and there is a police officer inside the room assigned to watch over Brian until he is either put in jail or released.

"You're with the FBI, right?" Brian asks as the doctor sets him up.

"You don't remember me? We met during the investigation."

"So, you don't have any doubts about me, right? About who and what I am?"

"No, I don't."

"We're ready here," the doctor says.

You and Hotch leave the room to join Cece in the hallway. The test begins, and pictures of the crime scene, of the victims, and anything related to the case are shown on TV. Brian watches with wide eyes, but you can't tell whether it's working or not. You're not a doctor, and you don't know how to read an EEG machine.

Picture after picture after picture is shown, but Brian doesn't change expressions.

"What do you see?" Hotch whispers to you.

Cece looks at you and is intrigued by his question, but doesn't say anything.

"I don't know Brian or exactly what he's done, but I get the feeling he doesn't remember any of it. I know he did it though. I can see the blood on his hands. He wants to remember, but his brain locked it away while he was in a coma. It's there, we just need to find a way to unlock that door."

Hotch's phone rings, and he steps off to the side when he sees JJ calling.

"Yeah, JJ?"

"I'm at the hospital. I may have something interesting. Matloff had a visitor that came about once every 6 months while he was here."

"Is it somebody we know?"

"It's not a name I recognize from the case file. The name on the visitor log is Nina Moore."

"Track her down. I gotta go."

Hotch hangs up just as the testing is done. The officer removes Brian from the room so you can talk to the doctor about his results.

"He tested no mermers across the board on each variable image."

"Mermers?" Cece asks.

"It's an acronym. Memory and Encoding Related Multi-faceted--"

"Is it good or bad?" Cece cuts her off, eager to move this along.

"That depends on how you look at it."

"What she means is that he showed no familiarity with the images. Either he really doesn't remember, or we got the wrong guy."

Cece groans in frustration, and you turn to Hotch with a determined look on your face.

"I know he did it, sir. I can see it. He doesn't want to remember."

"Well, the fact that you can see it isn't admissible in court, so we're going to have to prove it or he walks free."

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[zwoelffarben]

A question actually addressed to me (i think based on context: @iwillgotoheavenforyou correct me if I'm wrong), so I guess I now have to take the time to answer it because "It's the autism," is entirely too pithy an accurate response to be useful.

How do you know so much

The first caveat to say is that I don't actually know all that much: I'm fond of saying, "I pretend to know things," and that's not really true because I do know things, but I generally give off the vibe that I know more stuff to a more indepth mastery than I actually do. This is cause of three four things.

I'm a knowledge generalist: I don't know a lot about most subjects but I pick up a little bit about everything.

I'm autistic and for me that manifests in being very good at connecting dots to draw beautifyl patterns, even given a small number of data points.

I'm autistic and I'm very particular about how I phrase things, with nuance and depth, such to avoid being misunderstood.

I was taught how to do basic research, and I try to make a habit of doing it before speaking when unsure about something.

I typically only know enough about something to be dangerous; often I need to look things up to remember exact details but I also try to make a habit checking my position on the dunning-kruger graph before speaking by looking shit up: You will however semi-regularly find me called out for having misjudged where exactly on that curve I am enrealis; and one whoopsie-daisy of a conversation with some actual expert later I'll admit that to being wrong on the internet out-loud for the world to read. It's never a pleasant experience but I assure you, I'm always so very brave about it. That's how I maintain the illusion of knowing so much™.

Now as for how I actually go about knowing things, well the things I know a lot about were either special interests of mine or things I specifically learned about in school and college. I went to the liberal arts school ███████ where I learned a shit tonne of information and then my autistic brain started connecting dots and forming opinions about things I have no business having opinions about. I have never filed my taxes (on account of not making enough to be legally required to file taxes) and yet, I have opinions about W2 forms which I won't be sharing here because they're not relevant.

My actual areas of expertise are quite limited in scope to 400 creative writing, 250s math, (english) literature, 200s chemistry, biology, physics, psychology, economics, art theory, painting, computers and coding, 100s of many miscellanious disciplines, blorbo from shows, shows, minecraft, and my lived experiences as an left-handed autistic queer white dude whose shoelaces deep into tumblr. This is a normal amount of things to know stuff about.

I know just about as much as anyone else who is my age and has had my level of education, but my autism might make me marginally better at connecting threads across multiple disciplines to apply knowledges in synasthetic ways, but mostly I'm practiced in the art of appearing to know what I'm talking about (not because I want to seem smart but because as a baby autistic being labelled 'smart' made surviving K-12 easier for me.)

How do you have time to write in such details

I'm fortunate enough that my living situation is stable such that I don't need to hold down a job nor make a living and can spend most of my time shitposting, seriousposting, and playing minedcraft.

I do type faster than most people because I'm a left-handed person both because I type a lot and because I'm using a DAVORK-L instead of QWERTY. I actually can type fast enough to cause minor-major sprains in my right wrist. I don't tend to do that, but it's happened and will continue to happen in the future.

But mostly, I just start a post and type until it's finished. I enter a fugue state and exit it hours later +1 reblog. (This matches my general approach to creative pursuits like writing and painting.)

How do you remember all of this

Most of the time I don't. There are two relevant modes of memory (there are a bunch of others) recall and recognition: I'm good at exactly one of those things; and well, my brain is not a well-ordered library of facts that I can look things up in.

It is a mireous bayou that swallows knowledge to rest beneath its murky waters; and if I'm looking for a specific factoid I need to navigate through the generally unmarked trees until I find a vaguely familar spot or happen upon the information randomly.

The thing you don't see is all the memory aids I have when posting about topics I'm less sure about. I have a folder on my computer called knowledge I put inforgraphics in. I have a folder in my browser book marks (sorely in need of organization) called use where I keep my citable links to stuff. When I need to know a specific fact and I can't find it in the bayou of my mind, I open 2-6 tabs on wikipedia to search for it, some of which I link in the post, and some of which I don't because I'm lazy or I actually did.

I don't remember all of it all of the time: I've recently started systematizing the tools and strategies I developed over the years to help me find my way back to specific information so that theyr better at helping me navigate the murky waters of my mindswamp, but most of the time anything I techincally know is completely forgotten about until it's needed again and dredged from the muck.

[little-blurry-stars5]

What would you think if Chloe and Audrey heard rumours about the way they were going to be portrayed in Astruc’s new movie, so they went back to Paris in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the movie from being completed? Then an evilized villain (maybe a wishmaker-like villain or maybe even a villain that's unrelated to the butterfly miraculous) caused Chloe and Zoe to switch bodies somehow, and nobody fully understands what's going on, so Zoe (in Chloe's body) is taken by Audrey back to New York, despite Zoe desperately trying to explain things. But Chloe enters a fugue state (heavily due to trauma caused by the neglect of her parents) and genuinely thinks she's Zoe, and is even able to recall many of the things Zoe did due to being in Zoe's body. The class thinks “Zoe's” change in behavior is due to the psychological effects of method acting, since “Zoe” is playing Chloe in Astruc's new movie, but they gradually convince “Zoe” to let them help her relearn how to be “herself” again.

Zoe is not able to gain access to Chloe's memories while in Chloe's body, because unlike Chloe, Zoe knows she's in the wrong body. In New York, Zoe is trying to get back to Paris, but when she gets there, “Zoe” thinks she’s there to try to hurt Marinette. Eventually, after listening to “Chloe”, Marinette starts to suspect that “Chloe” might be telling the truth, so she decides that she must test “Chloe” and “Zoe”. She fakes being in danger to see how they react. “Zoe” reacts slightly faster than “Chloe”, so Marinette comes to the conclusion that “Chloe” is lying and that “Chloe” has an evil and manipulative plan. Marinette thinks that “Chloe” must have picked up a few tricks from Lila, because she thinks no version of Chloe could possibly react faster than Zoe when it comes to protecting her. So Audrey takes “Zoe” back to New York again to “correct” her after “Zoe” fails to convince anyone of the truth.

10 years later, “Zoe” gets seriously injured after fighting a villain when Ladybug isn’t around, which causes “Zoe” to not have long to live. Then Ladybug accidentally stumbles upon the truth about “Zoe” while trying to help “Zoe” using magical powers. Ladybug decides that the moral thing to do is to switch Chloe and Zoe back to their original bodies. Once Zoe gets her body back, she blames Chloe for her impending death and for leaving her with 10 years of loneliness, while Chloe got off scot-free. When Lila gets defeated, Zoe steals the Butterfly Miraculous to get her hands on Ladybug and Catnoir’s miraculouses, hoping to “make things right”. Zoe gets defeated by the heroes (including Chloe, who has gotten her memories back) and Ladybug manages to cure Zoe’s injuries.

anon... what is this....

i think thatd be rlly wild. i dont think i would happen in the actual show, but that could be used for the plot of an alternate universe or a fic.

honestly, ion think that zoe would want to take revenge. I just dont think shes that type of person, and i think ladybug is smart enough to evenutally belive zoe in chloes body. i think that would be a crazy way to go with the story. i wouold go more in-depth but im rlly tired so my brain is groggy

i think its a bit unrealistic bc zoe would either convince mari or show some way to prove she is zoe trapped in chloe's body. Also, ten years is a long time and ion think zoe could take being in her sister's body for that long. Of course, back to what I said, Zoe might want to take revenge b/c she's been Chloe for so long. 10 years is a long time, and a person can change drastically in such a large amount of time. There would definetly be room/time for Zoe to become corrupt as she lives longer and longer in her sister's body.

But I actully don't think any of this would happen at all, simply because Zoe would convince Mari. If Zoe has her own memories, then she could tell Mari smth only those two would know. But this wouldn't necessarily work, because Chloe has access to Zoe's memories, and could say the same thing.

overall i think its a great plot n shit and its nice and srry bout the ramble that makes like 3% sense im rlly tired lol

[blur0se]

What would you think if Chloe and Audrey heard rumours about the way they were going to be portrayed in Astruc’s new movie, so they went back to Paris in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the movie from being completed? Then an evilized villain (maybe a wishmaker-like villain or maybe even a villain that's unrelated to the butterfly miraculous) caused Chloe and Zoe to switch bodies somehow, and nobody fully understands what's going on, so Zoe (in Chloe's body) is taken by Audrey back to New York, despite Zoe desperately trying to explain things. But Chloe enters a fugue state (heavily due to trauma caused by the neglect of her parents) and genuinely thinks she's Zoe, and is even able to recall many of the things Zoe did due to being in Zoe's body. The class thinks “Zoe's” change in behavior is due to the psychological effects of method acting, since “Zoe” is playing Chloe in Astruc's new movie, but they gradually convince “Zoe” to let them help her relearn how to be “herself” again. Meanwhile, in New York, Zoe is trying to get back to Paris, but when she gets there, “Zoe” thinks she’s there to try to hurt Marinette.

Eventually, after listening to “Chloe”, Marinette starts to suspect that “Chloe” might be telling the truth, so she decides that she must test “Chloe” and “Zoe”. She fakes being in danger to see how they react. “Zoe” reacts slightly faster than “Chloe”, so Marinette comes to the conclusion that “Chloe” is lying and that “Chloe” has an evil and manipulative plan. Marinette thinks that “Chloe” must have picked up a few tricks from Lila, because she thinks no version of Chloe could possibly react faster than Zoe when it comes to protecting her. So Audrey takes “Zoe” back to New York again to “correct” her after “Zoe” fails to convince anyone of the truth.

10 years later, “Zoe” gets seriously injured after fighting a villain when Ladybug isn’t around, which causes “Zoe” to not have long to live. Then Ladybug accidentally stumbles upon the truth about “Zoe” while trying to help “Zoe” using magical powers. Ladybug decides that the moral thing to do is to switch Chloe and Zoe back to their original bodies. Once Zoe gets her body back, she blames Chloe for her impending death and for leaving her with 10 years of loneliness, while Chloe got off scot-free. When Lila gets defeated, Zoe steals the Butterfly Miraculous to get her hands on Ladybug and Catnoir’s miraculouses, hoping to “make things right”. Zoe gets defeated by the heroes (including Chloe, who has gotten her memories back) and Ladybug manages to cure Zoe’s injuries.

I need to know whos sending these. Is it multiple people? Is it one really dedicated person? Why? Do you copy and paste it and just switch it up every so often? Or do you re-type all of this everytime?

[goldom]

AFoLiS author commentary Part 4-1

I've said before, but Part 4 started coming together nearly simultaneously to 3, and was just some ideas on how to un-kill Firefly if she really died in 2.3. Then it just became my dark place to write Angry Stelle when I needed to. So the first chapter was written way, way before anyone else saw it. The prologue, though, I added at the very end.

I broke my elbow last October. The thing itself... y'know, sucked, but that night in the hospital that was far, far worse. That certainly had an effect on Stelle's time in the hospital. Reading it now, honestly, she had an easier time of it.

March doesn't once show anger at Stelle for hurting her. Stelle never gets over this fact. She comes to terms with it in Part 5 when they talk and she realizes she's being just like Firefly with her guilt, but it's still on her mind come Part 6.

Maybe your kiss could wake her, just like a fairy tale.

wow foreshadowing

Stelle goes full feral mode at Himeko for calling Firefly her friend. This was a big reason I had to go back and make Himeko not know their relationship at this point, because otherwise she would never. Stelle knows she doesn't know, and that it isn't fair to react like that, but she's not in her right mind at the time. Also, like, I feel this whole thing probably went over the heads of many straight readers, why it makes her so mad. They don't know. They can't know what it's like.

Boothill is a very fun character and I promise I don't hate him the way my Stelle does. She can't stand to be around him because I cannot replicate his dialect for more than a couple sentences. I could have just had them hire some random transport, but remember at the time I was writing he had just come out, and it felt to me like there was something between him and Dan, so I thought, why not say there is.

Stelle has a headache and is exhausted. This is the first sign of what we know now to be her Stellaron dependence. That's not how it started. It started because I had a headache and was exhausted while writing the scene. Because I'd been staying up all night every night writing in a near-fugue state. I was seriously possessed by writing this series at the time, it was just falling out of me as fast as I could type and occupying my every thought, keeping me from even sleeping. It's better now... or worse, I guess, depending on whether my health or writing is the priority :)

As you drift off, an idea enters your mind that you can barely hold onto. What was it? You can’t focus. And then you are asleep.

This was the moment I came up with the idea that the journal would help pull Firefly out of her coma. I was so happy when I thought of this. It's a way, way better solution narratively than just "Stelle gets new powers from God." I was trying to foreshadow it a little – Stelle sees journal, has an idea, but then passes out and forgets it. It doesn't really work. Even knowing the whole story, it's not clear what this line was about. In fact, y'know what, it's gone. Deleting it now.

I think my biggest regret in Part 4 is how easily they find the Disciples. It always just felt too easy to me (as Stelle says to Himeko later). But like... this is a romance story, right, I didn't want to spend multiple chapters just roaming all around space looking for clues. I think it could have been a better story if I did. It'd feel more earned. But it's not what I did.

oh hey, I actually did have Stelle use the word "straight" here while trying and failing to flirt with a guy. I was just thinking about how I never outright use identity labels and why. Mainly, because they're so culturally dependent that it pulls me out of the story whenever I see someone else use 21st-century-Western terms for these characters who are literal aliens to us and each other. That's why in Part 5 Firefly doesn't just say "Yeah I'm pan," she says "I'd love you no matter what you were." It's why I don't call Silver Wolf aro even though that's clearly what I'm going for. But I guess here the comedy of Stelle going "Think straight thoughts" was worth breaking that rule 'cause I'm not changing it.

Also in this scene I had to stop and do research for an accurate Chinese insult for the guy to call Stelle, which is how you know you're in too deep on your fanfiction. The thing he says is essentially "bootlicker."

“If your idea of flirting is a knife to the throat, I feel bad for Firefly,” he says, deadpan. “Or is that what girls are into now?”

(It is, Dan. Sorry, we can't explain it either.)

“I read her diary once, too. She’s… just like me. I know she’ll understand.”

By which Stelle meant Dan Shu lost the person most dear to her, but I meant that she's lesbian. I stop skirting the topic like this by Part 6. She'll say it clearly there. Also I just flat out call Yufei her wife, because come on. Come on. We all know it's what they wanted to say but couldn't because censorship.

Dan Shu in Part 4 Chapter 7:

I only knew the world through her eyes. Only wanted to know it that way. I’ve never been able to see this life with the joy she did.

Stelle in Part 5 Chapter 27:

“I want to see everything through your eyes. It’s all so much prettier in them.”

Dan Shu and Stelle describing their loves to each other is still probably my favorite scene in the entire series. The reverence Stelle treats it with is unlike her behavior anywhere else, except when doing the same thing for Firefly's stories in Part 5. I really would like to see Memokeeper Stelle some day.

“You’re the first person who ever looked at me like a real woman,” Firefly says. “Even the others back home…” “Treat you like a tool?” “Yeah.”

Oof that's no good. That has to change. Even the first part, because though old-Stelle WAS the first person to look at her like that, new-Stelle doesn't know that yet, so Firefly wouldn't have told her at that point. Okay, here's my fixed version.

“You always look at me like a real woman,” Firefly says. “Even the others back home…” “Treat you like a tool?” “No. No, they care about me, but still… I’m not there for my charming personality, you know?”

Stelle has her dream of Yaoshi. Remember the fact that she describes THEM as "the most beautiful being you have ever laid eyes on." And it's not just 'cause I think Yaoshi is hot I swear. This will matter again later.

...You know, Stelle wakes drenched in sweat a lot. I do too. But mine's from medication side effects, not meddling gods. Probably.

Dan Shu says Stelle just has a normal disease. This... I guess this could be a plot hole, but I think I meant she was actually just sick, but that's because she's vulnerable to infection from not having the Stellaron.

I had to research how Stelle could injure herself with a bow without arrows. I learned not to ever release a bowstring without an arrow or you're gonna do exactly what she does, slicing her forearm.

Stelle finally realizes what could possibly have made her walk away from Firefly once, and it tears her heart apart, because she can't understand why Firefly wouldn't have wished for a cure herself. Now, after 2.3, we know she is seeking a cure in canon, but at the time I wrote this, that really wasn't clear at all. Everything she'd said before then was focused on how she would be seen, be remembered, not on trying to extend her life. So in my version, her wish was different.

Stelle finally figures out how she can use the journal to help. I had to add in the caveat that it only works post-Abundance, because otherwise her whole trip would have been pointless. But honestly that doesn't make a lot of sense. The point of the journal is just to get Firefly's brain activity going again, it's Stelle's new magic that does the physical healing. It's the best compromise I could come up with to not make either part of her journey feel wasted.

Okay that's a huge post. Enough for now.

[argentnoelle]

Oubliette

The moment Light writes in the death note he becomes a killer, but he could not become Kira without L. (L/Light, slow burn — Yotsuba Arc with all the mind-games intact)

chapter 3 (read on ao3)

June 15, 2004. Day fifteen of confinement. The principle of a camera is simple. In fact, without need for a lens and a mechanism for capture, the simplest camera is a mere pinprick, an opening between one thing and another.

Called the "camera obscura," it is a dark room with only a small opening through which images from the outside world may be viewed. Aristotélēs (Ἀριστοτέλης) wrote of it. In the third century, in Dream Pool Essays, the philosopher Mo Di (墨翟) described the effect, saying "when a bird flies in the air, its shadow moves along the ground in the same direction. But if its image is collected through a small hole in a window, then the shadow moves in the direction opposite of that of the bird." Just as in a burning-mirror, a concave glass, which "reflects a finger to give an upright image if the object is very near, but if the finger moves farther and farther away it reaches a point where the image disappears and after that the image appears inverted. …So also the oar is fixed at the rowlock somewhere at its middle part, constituting, when it is moved, a sort of 'waist' and the handle of the oar is always in the position inverse to the end." In the early 1000's, Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Haytham (أبو علي، الحسن بن الحسن بن الهيثم), who expanded on the optics of Ptolemaios (Πτολεμαῖος), observed a partial solar eclipse from inside the device. In 1558, in Natural Magic, the "professor of secrets" Giambattista della Porta, wrote "you must shut all the Chamber windows, and it will do well to shut up all holes besides, lest any light breaking in should spoil all. Only make one hole...as great as your little finger" through which the sun will shine through—then, on the far wall, the image will appear "and what is right will be the left, and all things changed."

You are in a camera obscura, a "dark chamber" now. Following that principle, you must be the reverse of whatever you were before you entered. When you lie on a sold stone floor, featureless, bare, and rough—not because you don't appreciate the thin pallet provided but because at some point in these days of tedium the textural and temperature novelty of finding new and more uncomfortable ways to rest is all that is keeping you from breaking in the silence and spitting out an unfounded confession—you wonder what Ryuga Hideki, Ryuzaki, L, would think about something that goes along the lines of: 'I am Yagami Light and I am innocent, in this jail cell, in which you can see a perfect image of myself. But because I am only an image conveyed through a pinhole lens, I must therefore have been Kira, the killer, outside of it.' You think he would be as happy to take that as he was to take the possibility of you committing crimes in a fugue state, in your sleep, or through a dual personality, which is far-fetched enough that he himself has admitted he doesn't think it likely.

All either of you are really going on here is the circumstantial evidence, which is as damning now as it had been when you confined yourself; and yet now, just as then, nothing can definitively be proven. Were you really framed by Kira? Has Kira been L the whole time?

If he is, there is no way you would know. L is not the type to gloat openly, or, you surmise, at all. He takes everything with a strange equanimity. Unless it involves discussion of things beyond this world; shinigami and the like. Wouldn't it be a funny twist if the second Kira (Misa, no doubt about it) had been speaking literally this entire time? About shinigami and eyes? If the kiras are in fact gods, or possessed by ones, how is this task force meant to find and defeat them?

Perhaps that was behind the source of Ryuga's terror. After all, like you, he hates to lose.

You sigh into the floor. Your eyes are gritty with lack of sleep, your hair is a greasy mess plastered over your forehead, and you didn't turn in your latest paper for Statistics. This turn of events isn't even unexpected—as far back as the first time you and Ryuga met, you brought up the idea of clearing your name to him through something like this. Of course, at the time, you'd been picturing something more akin to house arrest than being cuffed hand and foot in a cell like a common criminal; and you'd been sure that a month would be more than enough time to prove your innocence, since Kira would continue to kill while you would be in isolation. Unfortunately… Kira hasn't obliged. Three weeks, and no deaths? It isn't like him. (You've either been framed, or L is lying to you about the deaths stopping to force a confession. Or both.)

While you're waiting here, the real Kira is gloating, and you burn with rage at the thought. A possible attempt on your father's life, the fact that that his worshipper Misa saw you in Aoyama and found a way to stalk you all the way back home and become your girlfriend, the self-importance with which he toys with his enemies, with L and with you—well, you'll show him. If you have to, you'll kill him yourself.

And yet it is because Kira that you are part of the investigation of the century. It is because of Kira that you met L. You can't bring yourself to regret that, to regret any of it.

Not that you had thought so when the two of you first met…

"I've never been so humiliated in my entire life," hadn't you thought? That L or someone sent by L had so brazenly accused you, surrounded you as though you were nothing but a stone in the game of Go played out at scale between him and Kira. You had raged, actually slammed your fists onto the desk and seethed. But because you also hate to lose (it is true that this is a trait shared between you and L and the first Kira) you soon decided how to play it, and even spoke as though L could hear your vow: "I'll make you trust me. And when I've finally proved my innocence to you, I'll go one further. I'll catch Kira myself."

(read on ao3)

[alexfierroaf]

What would you think if an evilized villain(maybe a wishmaker-like villain or maybe even a villain that's unrelated to the butterfly miraculous) caused Chloe and Zoe to switch bodies somehow, and nobody fully understands what's going on, so Zoe(in Chloe's body) is taken by Audrey back to New York, despite Zoe desperately trying to explain things. But Chloe enters a fugue state(heavily due to trauma caused by the neglect of her parents) and genuinely thinks she's Zoe, and is even able to recall many of the things Zoe did due to being in Zoe's body. The class thinks "Zoe's" change in behavior is due to the psychological effects of method acting, since "Zoe" is playing Chloe in Astruc's new movie, but they gradually convince "Zoe" to let them help her relearn how to be "herself" again. Meanwhile, in New York, Zoe is trying to get back to Paris, but when she gets there, “Zoe” thinks she’s there to try to hurt Marinette.

Holy crap how long has this been in my inbox??? I just clicked on it cause I got a spam-bot ask and found two anon asks in there too. Did the notif get buried before I checked my notes???

Anyway I love this idea! I'd happily read a fic with this premise. I'm a huge fan of stories that address characters' emotional states and allow them to fully process them. And on top of that, it's a fic about Zoe and Chloe? I'm a huge Zoe fan -- have been since her introduction. And this situation seems like something that could actually help Chloe instead of sending her further down the path of self-destruction. Girl's got major validation and self-worth issues, so honestly I think the reaction you describe her having to the body-swap could be on point. And of course, the Miracuclass is made up of a bunch of well-meaning meddlers who would ABSOLUTELY go all out to help "Zoe" find herself again. Being able to interact with them in a setting that isn't dictated by Chloe's past mistreatment of them could be so impactful for her. It could show her that status isn't really everything and that the validation from her peers is so much more meaningful than that from her mom.

And Zoe's side of the story would be so interesting too. Because how exactly is she supposed to get out of this situation? In a different country, on a different continent, with an overbearing mother to escape from? Not to mention, she'd have to slip back into her old persona as one of the "in-crowd" mean-girl types from when she was in boarding school, which she'd hate.

They'd probably have to communicate throughout the story in order to reunite and finally swap bodies. Which would mean they'd have to work together and come to understand each other better too -- developing a closer bond as sisters. That would be so gratifying to watch. The finale would be so dramatic too, I'd bet. I'm picturing the swap happening in front of the class and maybe some bodyguards and Audrey who are chasing "Chloe." The amount of shock on everyone's faces... I'd love to see it.

Oh, and not to mention Chloe's relationship with Marinette. For Chloe to be able to finally see Marinette in a new light? That'd be great. Now, from what we've seen of canon Chloe, I'm honestly not sure if, even under these extreme circumstances, Chloe could ever really grow to like Marinette. Or anyone in her class, really. But suppose she did, after being beaten down by her own mental state and receiving all the love and care Marinette offers her friends. It's possible that she'd finally find a way to interact with Marinette that is more comforting that bullying her -- namely, pulling joy and validation from making Marinette smile instead of cry.

Not to mention Adrien too.... this could have huge consequences for their friendship going forward. It would for Sabrina too, but I'd imagine Sabrina went with "Chloe" to New York. So perhaps Zoe lets Sabrina in on her secret so she doesn't have to keep up the act around her, and they act as a team to try to get home. I'll bet Zoe would help Sabrina work through her inferiority complex, since she was once in a similar situation. They'd become great friends, and Sabrina could plan to confront Chloe when she gets back to Paris....only to find that Chloe has changed a lot since they last spoke. A happy ending all around!

Thanks for the cool what-if scenario, anon! I'm always excited to receive asks, especially creative ones like this. Getting to share ideas like this is one of the best parts of fandom, imo. I hope you get to see this, even though it's been who-knows-how-long since you sent it. I hope you're doing well <3

P.S. this post kinda glosses over my feelings about Chloe, and there's a lot I left unsaid in order to avoid de-railing the ask. But if anyone's interested in my thoughts, lmk :)

[merv606]

please elaborate on Daniel calling Terry “daddy” for the first time when his hair starts greying :’)

Please elaborate on Daniel calling Terry “daddy” for the first time when his hair starts greying :’)

Wow / what a great ask from an anon I definitely do not know 😂

Okay but for this HC - imagine if having Daniel call Terry daddy is not even something on Terry’s mind or radar.

His boy calls him Sir when he demands it and that’s enough for him.

Maybe It’s not even on Daniel’s mind, something’s that’s never even crossed his mind ….. until the grey starts to come in.

And okay maybe Daniel is regretting convincing Terry to just let it go cause it goes from a few hairs littered throughout ( even those few are still so noticeable against the ebony dark of the rest of his hair) to salt n pepper, to completely grey at the temples to pure silver fox. God, it’s like it was when they first got together - they can’t keep their hands off each other.

Daniel practically gagging for it and Terry giving it to him.

SO NSFW

Terry has him bent over for the third?! Fourth time?! today (Daniel’s not sure - he’s entered into some type of fugue sex state) but regardless, Terry has him bent over, eating him out - Daniel holding himself open (he’s helpful like that). If he eats him out while he’s on his back, then Daniel won’t last - always goes off as soon as he looks down at the Silver head of hair, hands tangling in the soft locks.

As it were, he’s humping back against Terry’s face, almost about to come when he stops and Daniel is about to turn over and give Terry a piece of his mind but then he feels the blunt head of his husband’s cock against his spit slick opening instead, so he lets it go.

He sinks to his belly; maybe he’ll just let Terry do all the work. He does remember riding him earlier - he deserves to be pampered.

“Don’t be a pillow princess sweetheart.”

“I thought you liked it when I just took it,” he sasses back and Terry smacks his ass. A brat through and through.

“Be a good boy, sweetheart, and put that ass in the air for me then.”

Terry doesn’t wait though, wedging his hands between his soft lower belly and the mattress to grab his hips, yanking him back and up.

Terry is half way in, Daniel savouring the slow glide of the thick length opening him up, so familiar yet it feels new somehow, when he catches sight of them in the mirror. Watching the look of bliss that crosses his husband’s face as he slowly sheaths himself inside Daniel’s body, his attention on his ass as he pushes in, in, in.

Everything is slow and steady, even and calm. The way it’s going now feels more like Daniel’s in store for a marathon rather than a race.

He relaxes, widening his legs.

“That’s it sweetheart, good boy. Let me give you what you need.”

Daniel just moans.

“I always do, don’t I?”

Grey locks of hair falling around his face, backlight by the mid day sun pouring in behind him.

He doesn’t know what it is. What compels him - the thought just pops in his head. The first time is every has which is odd, because now that it’s there, taking root as it spreads, it makes perfect sense.

Moaning out “Daddy,”, Terry shoves in all the way, sudden and harsh.

Soft cry as his body yields the to sudden intrusion, still so loose and open from earlier, so it’s more so the contrast to this heat that seems to have creeped in, settling on them. Daniel feels out of breath, more so than he should be. Everything feels syrupy and sweet.

Terry is stock still behind him, harsh breaths himself , which is odd. He’s barley started, and he can (and has) taken Daniel far rougher for far longer without breaking a sweat.

It takes a few moments, for his brain to catch up with his mouth and realize what I said.

Before he can panic or think of how to explain, his husband tightens his grip on his hips, fingers sinking into the little bit of flesh there.

Terry’s voice is hoarse as he says, “say it again.”

He’s never heard that tone from Terry but every part of him is responding to it, down to his core. He couldn’t ignore it even if he wanted to (he doesn’t), even if he tired (he doesn’t). The need to obey to this new thing he’s created between them - after all this time, something new.

His brain is having trouble catching up, foggy and hazy, but his body is with the program, trying to fuck back.

“Come on baby. Say it for me,” as a large hand smooths up his narrow back, fingertips tracing the delicate spine.

“Daddy,” he moans out and before he can even register it, Terry has an arm wrapped around his waist and suddenly Terry is on the bed instead, Daniel in his lap. Large hands on slender hips guiding him down, down, down; ass too open and too hungry for it, wet noises as his husband fills him again.

Terry seems to be petting him everywhere and anywhere.

He rises and falls a few times, but him limbs feel heavy and clumsy.

“Please I need.”

“Shhhh. Daddy knows what you need baby. Just let him do all the work.”

All bets are off then.

Daddy keeps falling from plump lips like a broken records skipping but stuck, over and over.

“Daddy, daddy, daddy.“

“Fuck, Daniel,” he says, burying his face into his soft chest, as he fucks his boy up and down on his cock like a rag doll; a plaything for his pleasure.

Daniel taking everything and more.

Daniel giving everything and more.

Terry wishes he had gone grey sooner.

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

Last chapter of this volume! Can’t believe we’re already through four volumes, and we’re not even done with the second full arc yet. I mean, later arcs are gonna be even longer, but like. Yeah.

[No. 35 - Battle On, Challengers!]

We move on to the next match - Kaminari versus Shiozaki! I’m actually kind of marveled that they were able to thaw out that entire glacier in any sort of timely manner. That’s quirks for you!

Present Mic announces Shiozaki as class 1b’s assassin, and also reveals that he apparently either doesn’t know the full quote for ‘every rose has its thorns’ or started to say it, only to realize she didn’t have roses and scrambled to compensate. Kaminari, meanwhile, gets announced as a ‘sparking, killing boy.’ Really kind of morbid on this round, huh?

Shiozaki turns around to object to Present Mic’s descriptor as an ‘assassin’, stating that she’s merely come this far seeking victory. Present Mic apologises, and Kaminari just kind of watches while admiring her. He takes notes of her eyes, and then thinks about how strong she is. He then sort of counters his previous admiration of strength by asking himself if he really has to hit someone so pretty with a full discharge, then concludes his ‘battle plan’ by determining that he’ll ask her out once all this is over.

Present Mic starts the match while Shiozaki is still focused on talking to Mic - which means she’s facing away from Kaminari. Which is kind of a dick move on Mic’s part, but eh, I guess ‘heroes have to be ready for anything,’ yarda yarda etcetera. 

Kaminari asks Shiozaki if she wants to grab something to eat when they’re done there, and that he’s happy to console her if she wants. She turns to stare at him in confusion, just in time to see him charging up his whole body with his quirk. Kaminari makes a quip about this match probably being over in an instant - and then we cut to the immediate aftermath, where Present Mic comments on how it’s already over while Kaminari wheys out in the grasp of Shiozaki’s vines. Shiozaki was both able to create a shield against the electricity and yank Kaminari into the air and away from her, thus causing him to short-circuit.

One on patrol, Mount Lady comments on Shiozaki being a promising one, and another plant user. Kamui Woods amits he wishes he could’ve seen her up close, but that they need to get back to work. 

Back in the stadium, Midnight announces Shiozaki moving on to the second round. Shiozaki is relieved to have no wasted the opportunity bestowed upon her, and the narrative finally gives us an informational blurb on her quirk. 

...A strange ending note there, but sure. Some of the crowd - or possibly Izuku? Since he’s sinking into a muttering fest right after - comments on the ‘match’ and the participants. Shiozaki’s ability to use her quirk is something else, between building walls, binding enemies… Kaminari’s quirk was no use against her. She countered him well. He might’ve had a chance if he could maneuver better, but he panicked and short-circuited after one attack.

Ochako hears muttering besides her and is a bit alarmed, looking over to see Izuku in the middle of an analysis fugue. Izuku mutters about thinking Kaminari’s quirk would be stronger, but Shiozaki got fourth in the entrance exam, and she’s the real deal. The vine moves are similar to Kamui Wood’s binding attacks, and binding types are always strong, to the point where you almost never see someone break out. It’s pretty much impossible to dodge all the vine attacks, so the only counter is to rip them apart with brute strength - ah, but to prevent that, they tend to go for the hands first.

(...and I just NOW realized that this specific commentary about binding-type quirks and the counter being brute strength is literally something that comes into play when Best Jeanist binds Gigantomachia with those steel cables during the Jakku arc. Holy shit, I don’t think Hori intended it, but what a callback. Or it’s just good worldbuilding, which would also be neat!)

Ochako eventually cuts into Izuku’s muttering - startling him in the process - by commenting on how his match just ended, but he’s already thinking ahead strategy-wise. Izuku denies it, saying that it’s just a hobby of his, and that they finally have a chance to see the quirks of people outside their class in action. He then eagerly shows her his open notebook, stating that he has everything she’d need to know about class A in there - even her ‘zero gravity’. 

Me, staring down the people who have the class unaware of the contents of Izuku’s notebooks when writing suspected traitor fics: 

Anyways! Ochako is kind of impressed despite herself, stating that she thought Izuku was amazing from the day they met, but this sports festival has brought him to a whole other level. Izuku is confused by the complement, but there’s no time to ask, since Present Mic is announcing the participants of the next battle: Tenya versus Hatsume.

Some of the students are chattering about how the match is going to go, with one asking what is that - which seems to be referring to the support items Tenya is wearing? Midnight comments on it as well, noting that they’re forbidden for hero course students, and that a special request has to be put in for those things beforehand. Tenya admits he forgot, seeing as Aoyama was wearing that belt of his. Midnight reminds him that Aoyama applied for an exception.

Tenya apologies, stating that he’d been touched by Hatsuma’s sense of sportsmanship. Although she’s a member of the support course, she came to him and said that if they’re to be seen as equals, then they should fight on equal footing. She gave those items to him; her earnest spirit… he could never look down on it. That was his thinking. 

Midnight apparently is now all for this, calling Tenya naive. Mic says that it’s good enough for him, and Aizawa says that if both parties are fine with it, he supposes it can be allowed… right? Izuku, up in the stands, is looking concerned, wondering if Hatsume is really the type to offer that. Hatsume, of course, is chuckling as she flips down a microphone right as the match starts.

Mei immediately starts going into her spiel, commenting on Tenya’s speed - much to the confusion of both Mic and Tenya. She then points out how Tenya’s legs should feel lighter than usual, and that that’s what one can expect with her custom leg parts, which keep up with their user’s speed! However, dodging is no problem for her with her hydraulic attachment bars! Which she deploys just before Tenya reaches her, causing him to trip over one of the bars and flail.

Mei checks for where the support companies were seated, her quirk zeroing in on the faces she’s looking for - which, to her pleasure, are eating her words up.

Tenya catches himself and spins on his heels, wondering what she’s going. Hatsume complements it, noting how her auto-balancer makes those sorts of tight movements possible. Meanwhile, up in the announcement booth, Mic and Aizawa are both so put out, with Aizawa facepalming and calling her a born saleswoman. 

The game of tag, along with a completely play-by-play sales pitch, goes on for another ten minutes. Eventually, however, Hatsume steps over the line, sweating but proud of managing to get through everything she wants to show off. Midnight states that Tenya’s moving on to the second round, while Tenya is just in despair at the deception.

Ah, the face of someone with zero shame. Hatsume gives a completely insincere apology for using Tenya, which Tenya replies to by stating his extreme dislike of her. 

Izuku is also a bit dismayed as he notes that Tenya is just too serious, so it wasn’t hard for her to get him to play her game, and that at least she’s honest about her under-handed methods to get what she wants. Ochako herself is looking a bit down as she gets up, quietly noting to Izuku that she should get to the prep room. Izuku notes that she left her still-full drink behind, glancing back to her in concern as she walks away.

As other matches run in the background, we shift over to prep room two, which Tenya is just entering. Ochako, already waiting in there, tells him good which, which startles him out of his funk as he recognizes her. Of course, the first thing he notes is her furrowed brows, which Ochako admits is probably from her being a bit nervous, and how it’s probably showing on her face. Tenya remembers her match is against Katsuki, and Ochako admits that she’s really scared. But, seeing Tenya out there, she…

Well, before she can finish her thought, Izuku bursts into the room. Ochako is confused, since he should be out there watching the other matches. Tenya to the side asks about the story behind the support girl. Izuku ignores the latter, telling Ochako that another two matches are already over, and now Kirishima and some class 1b guy are duking it out. Mina managed to damage Aoyama’s belt, he panicked, and she knocked him out with an uppercut to the chin. Then Tokoyami won his match in a flash - he didn’t give Momo the time to use the objects she made… he’s one of the strongest guys here in a one-on-one. Ochako realizes this means her match is up soon, her heart pounding in her chest.

Tenya can’t imagine that Katsuki would give it his explosive all against a female opponent, but Izuku cuts in, staring very firmly that Katsuki will. Everyone is competing here with the dream of becoming number one. No one’s holding back - Katsuki least of all. However, Ochako’s already helped Izuku so much, so he thought he might return the favor…

He really just stores his notebooks anywhere he can. What a legend. He offers the notebook, stating that Ochako needs a counter-strategy against Katsuki - one that uses her quirk. He came up with it on the fly, but it might work! Tenya is relief, stating how fortunate Ochako is. Ochako thanks Izuku, but says that it’s okay. Both Izuku and Tenya are startled by the reply. 

Ochako states how amazing Izuku is, and how he does amazing stuff all the time. During the cavalry battle, she thought the easiest strategy woul be to team up with friends. But when she thinks about it, she was just putting her faith in Izuku. That’s why Tenya said ‘I challenge you’ and all that, which left her feeling a little embarrassed about herself. 

She pushes herself to her feet, moving past them to get to her match as she says thanks, but no thanks. Everyone here is fighting for their futures, so doesn’t that make them all rivals? That’s why she’ll see him in the finals!

Ochako, sweetie…

Kirishima and Tetsutetsu knock each other out at the same time. Present Mic comments on the mirror image quirk matchup, and how the winner is… neither! They have a tie, since both are down. Midnight clarifies that in the event of a tie, they’ll determine the winner after the two recover, probably with an arm wrestling match or the like. The crowds comment on how they’re equal in strength, and how that was great though. They kind of hotbloodedness would be a great morale boost, and how they’re desirable as sidekicks. 

Shouto watches on as the final two contestants of the first round enter the arena. Tsuyu states her worries about the match, and Jirou addson how she doesn’t want to watch it. Izuku quietly hopes for Ochako to do her best. 

And so the final match is announced: Ochako versus Katsuki.

And with that, volume four is done! I’ll be getting up the character sheet first, and then digging into the bonus material. Hopefully y’all enjoy!

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch23: In The Flesh Part 2: Unwelcome Distractions

Summary: The Avengers are hot on the trail of Ultron...but once again, things don’t go according to plan and a tangle with the Maximoff twins leaves the team shaken.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Bad language, violence and crazy assed robots.

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: Huge credit to @angrybirdcr​ for these stunning edits which perfectly capture Steve and Katie’s visions...

Chapter 23 Part 1

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

The normal schedule at the tower was utterly disrupted the next morning. Maria had come to Katie and Steve’s floor to inform them the team was assembling in the lab and had given them both a quick briefing. The previous night they had been able to reboot most of the servers, and the environmental controls of the tower were finally online again, but there was still no trace of the sceptre or the robots. Thor was busy trying to get help from someone on Asgard, Clint was working with some old contacts to see if he could get anything, whilst Tony and Bruce were trying to track him from the lab where Katie had a suspicion they would probably had been all night

The elevator doors opened with a ding; Steve, Katie and Maria exiting and she continued her report on what she had found out about Ultron so far, following them up the stairs as she did.

“He’s all over the globe. Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs. Reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place,”

“Fatalities?” asked Steve.

“Only when engaged,” replied Hill, beginning to type on her tablet while she continued to talk. “Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, things moving on their own, and 'something too fast to see’.”

“Maximoffs.” Katie concluded.

“That makes sense he’d go to them. They have someone in common,” Steve said nodding as they reached the top of the stairs.

“Not anymore.” Maria replied handing the tablet over to Steve. On it was a picture of Strucker lying on his bed in his cell; dead. On the wall behind him, the word 'peace’ was painted in blood.

“Bit of a mixed message don’t you think?” Steve asked.

“Is it? I mean if it were my mission, world peace, I’d probably take out Strucker too.” Katie shrugged as Steve looked at her, before glancing back down at the tablet in my hands. “Ultron could be in any system, he could be pulling planes down out of the sky if he wanted.” she sighed, “What if he’s just doing what he’s supposed to?”

"If I thought Ultron was bringing peace I’d hang up my shield.” He shook his head, leaning against the banister.

“Would you?” Maria questioned curiously. Steve looked at her, taking a deep breath and cocking his head slightly to the right.

“Let me know if he leaves any more messages.” he said simply, ending the conversation.

Katie shot Maria a look, mouthed thanks at her and then headed after him.

As they walked towards the lab they both heard Clint talking on the phone to someone, apparently someone with authority.

“I answer to you. Yes Ma’am.”

He looked over, saw the Captain and ended the call. “I gotta go…” He looked at Katie, then Steve, waved the phone and said “Girlfriend.”

“Any of your old contacts come through?” Steve asked, seemingly on the outside accepting his explanation, although they both knew full well he had been talking to his wife. Only Steve wasn’t supposed to know that.

“Still waiting.”

“Wait faster.” Steve said simply, turning and heading off down towards the lab. Clint shot Katie a look before he glanced down his phone and headed off in the opposite direction. Katie caught up with Steve who cast a glance over his shoulder at Barton.

“Girlfriend.” He quipped and she laughed

“I know, as far as cover stories go, explaining away your wife as a girlfriend is pretty lame.” They entered the lab and immediately could her a gabble of voices as Rhodey was talking to Natasha and Tony through one of the screens.

“If you hear something we need to hear it too.” Nat said as Steve strode past towards Thor who was pacing behind where Banner sat at a computer.

“That goes for you too, watch your six.” Rhodey replied.

“Any help from on high?” Steve asked, as Thor walked down the few steps into the lower part of the lab. He shook his head.

“He’s either away from his post or he’s been ordered not to answer” Thor said, striding across the floor as they both turned to walk back towards Katie “Ultron can’t hide forever”

“He’s not exactly hiding.” Katie said, handing Thor the tablet. He glared down at the offending item and the picture it was displaying.

“What’s this?” Tony asked moving to get a closer look only to have the tablet slapped into his chest by the obviously still annoyed God.

“It’s a message,” Steve replied. “Ultron killed Strucker.”

“And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us,” Tony said sarcastically waving the tablet.

“This is good…” Nat glanced at the picture, her brows knitting together.

“No, it’s not good!” Banner shook his head as he rounded her chair

“No, Nat’s right, he’s showing us his hand, this isn’t his pattern” Katie nodded down to the tablet on the desk. “I mean why send a message when you’ve already given a speech?“ 

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss” Steve concluded.

“I bet he-” Natasha mumbled searching something on the computers. “Yeah, everything we had on Strucker’s been wiped.”

“And that’s good?” Banner asked, as everyone looked at him.

“Yes because he didn’t wipe everything” Tony said suddenly.

Moments later they were all in a room where a bunch of paper files were kept, files that had been rescued from SHIELD. They pulled the boxes containing information on Strucker and it seemed from most of them that he had gone rogue long before the events a few months prior.

“Strucker had a lot of friends.” Katie mumbled as besides her Thor was throwing random files across the room after deciding they were of no use.

“Well these people are all horrible.” Bruce commented digging through his own box.

“Wait,” Tony said pointing to the file Thor was flipping through. “I know that guy. From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms.”

Steve stopped what he was doing to shoot Tony with a glare

“There are conventions. Alright?” Tony explained “You meet people. I didn’t sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very Ahab”

“What’s this?” Thor questioned, pointing towards one of the pictures of the man Tony had found. I peered over at it too.

“Uh, it’s a tattoo, I don’t think he had it,” Tony said

“No, those are tattoos, this is a brand,” Thor corrected, pointing towards a spot on the man’s neck right underneath of his left ear which obviously was a mark that had been burned there as it still looked red and raw in the picture.

“Yeah,” said Bruce as he placed himself in front of the computer, quickly searching what the mark meant. “It’s a word in an African dialect meaning 'thief’. In a much less friendly way.”

“What dialect?” Steve asked.

“Uh, Wak- wakanada – Wakandan,” Bruce said jumbling the pronunciation a few times before getting it right.

Katie swallowed and looked at Tony. “Tony, if this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trace goods…"

“I thought your father said he got the last of it,” Steve said, cottoning on.

“I don’t follow,” Bruce interjected. “What comes out of Wakanda?”

Steve, Katie and Tony all shared a look before Steve looked back at Bruce and stood to the side gesturing to his shield.

“The strongest metal on Earth”

*****

Ulysses Klaue’s warehouse was located in an old ship in a Salvage Yard off the African coast. Unfortunately Ultron, fresh from the murder of Strucker, had gotten there first, along with the Maximoffs

The fight had started, Katie and Tony both tangling in the air with Iron Legion bots and Ultron himself as everyone else took them out on the ground also trying to deal with the Maximoff twins, which was proving easier said than done.

"The girl tried to warp my mind,” Thor grunted, over the comms,“Take special care I doubt a human can keep her at bay, fortunately I am mighty.”

“Where is she?” Katie asked, looking round, her heat scanners showing her nothing.

“Thor?” Steve bellowed into his earpiece “Thor, do you read me?”

Thor didn’t answer.

Taking down another bot, Katie flew off down the hallway, in search of the god, but was knocked sideways by something into a pile of scrap metal. She stood up and prepared to take off again but, the world became dark, dim and gloomy. She paused, suddenly wary, trying to remember why she had come here in the first place.

She was in a church, at the end of the aisle. Steve was stood at the front, Bucky next to him. Both in smart suits. She frowned as she started to walk towards them when music started and everyone stood up. Katie was beyond confused, and she turned in the direction everyone was looking at to see Peggy Carter walking down the Aisle, in a beautiful white gown. She looked just as she did in the 40s photos Katie had seen.

But she didn’t belong like this, in the time. As Peggy glided past her, she turned to see Steve looking at the woman, his face smiling, features soft. And Katie felt he entire world collapse around her as Peggy reached the front of the aisle and Steve took her hands in his.

“Steve…” she managed to croak out. The Soldier looked at her from where he was stood and he smiled kindly at her.

“I hope you understand…”

“You love me.”  Katie choked out and Steve shook his head.

“You could never be enough.” He said, shrugging “I’m sorry. It’s her, it’s always been her. You were merely a welcome distraction”

“No, no…that’s not fair, you said I was, you said I was yours…” she cried, dropping to her knees as the world shook around her.

Steve had seen Katie get knocked sideways out of the air, and was heading down to help when suddenly, he felt cold. Everything in front of his eyes seemed so far away, and a wave of calm spread over him. There was no rush, was there?

He was in a ballroom in the 1940s, loud jazz music hit his ears and the sounds of people laughing and joking. He tentatively stepped forward through the crowd but flinched when an explosion flashed near him. No, not an explosion, a camera. Then there was a gunshot. No, not a gunshot, a bottle being uncorked. Confused he looked around and saw a man lying on the ground, his friend dabbing at blood on his shirt, but it wasn’t blood. Steve looked again and he saw it was red wine.

All around him, people were celebrating, but all he saw was war and death.

Then, a very familiar laugh made him turn and he saw his girl in a gorgeous pink dress and she was being spun round the dance floor by Bucky. His face was creased into a wide smile, both his arms intact as he whirled Katie around the floor. She looked the same as she always had, but…she didn’t belong in this time of his life.

“Are you ready for our dance?” another familiar voice spoke as a hand tapped his shoulder. He spun round to find Peggy stood there, in a blue dress, her outfit and hair and make-up belonged here, in the 40s, in his past, but Katie didn’t. His eyes turned back to Bucky and Katie who were now swaying slowly, foreheads pressed together and he could do nothing but stare as Bucky dropped a kiss to his girl’s lips.

Then he was dancing with Peggy, but he had to stop, this wasn’t right.

She was his girl, not Bucky’s. He was with her, not Peggy. He needed to get to Katie…

“What’s wrong?” Peggy asked him. “The war’s over Steve,“ she told him smiling, "all of them.” She added. “We can go home. Imagine it.”

The party in the ballroom stopped. Everyone disappeared and the room went deathly silent.

He gave a loud gasp, it felt like he had plunged into an icy lake. He blinked, resisting the urge to vomit, taking deep breaths and slowly everything came back into focus and then he remembered where he was and why. The fight, Ultron, the warning from Thor….and Katie, where was she? He staggered to his feet, and stumbling slightly set off to find her.

She wasn’t far away, she was knelt on a walkway just below him suffering the effects of her own vision. Steve swung down a level, gently landing in front of her and knelt down on all fours.

“Katie…”

She could hear a familiar voice talking, through the fog and suddenly it cleared as if someone had poured a bucket of iced water over her head. She blinked, before she let out a groan of pain and dropped forward, grasping at the rough metal of the walkway beneath her palms- somehow and for a reason she didn’t know, she was knelt on the floor on all fours, and no longer in her suit. Every inch of her body was aching and her head felt like it was full of cotton wool and horrible lights were flashing behind her eyeballs, like she had had the worst migraine ever.

“Hey, you’re alright…” Steve said as she sat back on her heels, his hands either side of her face as she drew her eyes up to look at us.

“You’re …” she reached out to touch his chest, feeling the roughness of his uniform under my skin. “You’re still with me?”

“Yeah, baby course I am.” He said, frowning slightly, wondering what the hell the Maximoff kid had forced her to see. Deciding there was plenty of time to discuss that later he waited with her quietly whilst her breathing began to even out. She let out another groan, scrunching her eyes shut as the pain behind her eyes became too much and she lurched sharply to the left, throwing up all over the metal walk way.

Steve gently rubbed her back as she retched again, groaning in pain.

“It’s ok…” he soothed gently “I got you…” Eventually she stopped and the throbbing in her temple subsided somewhat and she wiped my mouth, sitting back down on the floor harshly. “What happened?” she whispered.

“The Maximoff girl.” Steve said gently by means of an explanation, his hand reached round to gently stroke her hair.

“It was… it was so real.” She mumbled, glancing around.

“I know, tell me about It.” Steve swallowed, kissing her clammy forehead. Katie was surprised to find he was shaking slightly as well, drops of cold sweat were beaded across his brow “We need to get back to the ship. Can you stand?”

“Yeah” she said, and together they stood. Katie was a little bit shaky at first but Steve held her up and took a deep breath, shooting a furtive glance around.

“Clint?” Steve spoke in to the coms as Katie got back into her suit.

“Cap, you back with us?”

“Yeah, how is everyone?” He asked as they made their way slowly up the stairs. Katie didn’t trust herself to fly. Instead she kept the face plate open, needing the fresh air.

“Nat’s in a bad way, she’s still not out of it.”  Clint replied. “What about Nova?”

“I’m alright.” She said, shakily as they left the warehouse, blinking in the light of the sun, the light making her heave again and she bent over, emptying what little was left in her stomach on the floor. “Sorry…” she mumbled as she straightened up and turned to Steve who shook his head.

“Nothing to be sorry for, Doll.” He assured, looking at her, hands reaching out to gently stroke her face. He looked around and spoke, mopping at his brow. “Thor?”

“I’m here.” the God’s voice came, he also sounded shaky. “That witch, she warped my mind after all. Her power… I’ve never seen or felt anything like it.”

“Tony?” Steve asked as we set off walking, slowly, across the sandy stretch to where the jet was parked.

“She got to Banner.” Tony said over the coms. “And whatever she showed him… well, Hulk just levelled a local town…”

“Casualties?” Steve sighed, looking at Katie.

“I dare say a fair few.” Tony replied. “Veronica and I did our best.”

As they reached the jet Thor landed next to them bringing Clint who in turn was carrying Nat. It was clear to see that everybody, bar Clint was severely shaken. It was a blessing that at least one of them had presence of mind. Clint got the jet off the ground, tracked Tony’s whereabouts and helped get a semi-conscious Bruce settled while Tony took off the suit. It all seemed very distant to Katie and Steve, who both felt like they were watching the interior of the jet through a fog.

“It was always her,” Steve’s voice echoed in Katie’s ears, and it hurt, a deathly pain deep in her being. She tried to swallow, tried to breathe, but the sickening panic she had felt during her vision threatened to wash over her again. Besides her Steve wasn’t faring much better. Bucky dropped a kiss to his girl’s lips. He moved slightly in his seat. It was an involuntary move, almost like he had been startled by something, which he had been, and Katie spotted it. She unclipped her belt, stood up and gently sat on his lap, pressing her head into the crook of his neck, shivering. He pulled her closer, kissed the top of her head and the pair of them just stayed there, not a word uttered between them.

Katie fell asleep, and when she woke up it was dark through the front of the window, showing they’d crossed time-zones. She was still on Steve’s lap, his head was lolling against the head-rest of the chair, his arms still around her whilst he also slept. Gently she untangled herself from him, and stood up, stretching. Clint was still piloting the jet to wherever it was they were headed and Tony was looking at something on a tablet a few seats away.

“Hey kiddo.” He placed his arm round her as he settled into the seat next to him. “Feel better?”

She shrugged.

“Well you’re doing better than Nat” he said, and Katie looked over. She was sat, staring at the floor. Her eyes darting to the sides every so often.

“She still not come round?” Katie asked, laying her head on her brother’s shoulder.

“She’s with us. But she’s really shaken…hasn’t said a word.”

“Seems I got off relatively lightly” Katie mumbled as she glanced over at Steve who was still asleep.  

“Wanna talk about it?” Tony asked, his chin resting on her head.

“Erm… I saw Steve and Peggy” she muttered, looking down at her engagement ring, twirling it round her finger “it sounds silly but… they were getting married and I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t with me. Then he told me…” She trailed off, swallowing, she felt sick again.

“You know none of its true, right?” Tony said, his eyes locking onto hers “He loves you, not Peggy. The Maximoff brat is messing with your head.

 “I know…” The tears sprang forth into her eyes. “ But it was so real, physical, I could touch things and people. I can’t explain it.”

“You don’t need to…” Tony shook his head, gently reaching out and wiping her tears away with his thumb. “I had one, at Strucker’s base when we got the Sceptre.”

“I knew something else had happened to you” Katie sighed “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I thought it was just a funny turn but now I know it was her. I saw you all dead. I felt it. The whole world too. Because of me. I didn’t do enough.”

Katie slid her arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

“So that’s why you restarted the Ultron thing again” she said gently

“Yeah… really worked out that didn’t it.” He sighed.

“We’ll fix it.” Katie replied softly, shrugging as she sat up.

“How do you know?” Tony looked at her with eyes that were so like her father’s. She could do nothing but shrug back.

“Because we have to.”

*****

It was dawn as they all stepped off the jet and followed Clint as he confidently led them up to the porch of a large farmhouse, literally in the middle of a field. The sleep seemed to have done most people good, although Natasha was still not quite right, so Clint supported her as they walked up the path. Steve had his arm round Katie’s shoulder; hers in turn was round his waist, but not for support, for comfort.

“What is this place?” Thor asked looking around at the farmhouse and its surroundings.  

“A safe house?” Tony responded unsure.

“Let’s hope.” Clint opened the door and stepped inside, with everyone else curiously following close behind. “Honey? I’m home.”

To nearly everyone’s surprise, a woman, who Katie figured was Clint’s wife, walked out from the kitchen and into the living room. She had long brown hair and was holding a bunch of colouring books in one hand, but one thing that was hard to miss was that she was very pregnant.

“I brought company. Sorry I didn’t call ahead.” Clint told the woman as he walked up to her and gave her a kiss.

“This is an agent of some kind.” Tony muttered pointing at the couple.

“Guys, this is Laura.”

“Hi,” she greeted awkwardly, “I know all of your names.”

Tony not knowing how else to react just gave a small wave that was just as awkward.

“Oh, incoming!” Clint warned as the thudding of feet and loud voices of young children hit their ears. A boy and a girl hurried into the living room, both running over to Clint as they yelled “daddy”.

Steve’s face was a picture, despite herself Katie almost laughed at the genuine-fake shock he wore across his features.

“Hi sweetheart! Hey buddy!” exclaimed Clint while kissing the top of their heads. “How are you guys doing?”

“These are smaller agents.” Tony said, adding to his previous statement.

“Did you bring Aunty Nat?” the little girl questioned.

Nat stepped forward, suddenly finding her feet. “Why don’t you hug her and find out?”

“Sorry for barging in on you.” Steve said, always one for keeping his manners.

“Yeah we would have called ahead, but we were too busy having no idea you existed.” Tony remarked with his usual sarcasm. Katie shot him a look.

“Yeah well Fury helped me set this up when I joined.” Clint explained, his arm around his wife. “Kept it off SHIELD’s files and I’d like to keep it that way. I figured it’s a good place to lay low.”

Thor, who had been extremely quiet since arriving, made to step closer to the group but a loud crunching noise stopped him. Katie and Steve looked down and he raised his boot seeing the lego house he had just crushed. He glanced upwards and caught Steve’s eye, then Katie’s as he kicked the broken pieces underneath the table. Then a toaster popped and all 3 of them glanced at it, before Thor turned and hastily left the room. Katie looked at Steve and the pair of them followed Thor out.

“Thor,” Steve said, and he stopped dead.  

“I saw something, in that dream.” he explained. “I need answers, I won’t find them here.”

“Be careful” Katie said to him, he nodded and then with a whirl of his hammer he was gone.

They both turned to go back into the house when Steve stopped dead, the image of that damned vision flashing in front of his eyes.

“We can go home…imagine that”

He was home, with Katie, there was no home without her…

Katie, who had been heading back into the house, noticed Steve had stopped. She turned to look at him, his face was glazed slightly, a look on his face she knew extremely well, the one he got whenever he was thinking about his past.

“It’s always been her.”

Katie tried to ignore the flash back and gently spoke to him, her voice shaky.

“Steve?”

He suddenly focussed and looked at her, smiling softly.

“Walk with me?” he said, inclining his head away from the house.

Katie nodded with a swallow, taking his outstretched hand, the pair of them heading down a worn path through the field outside the house. Neither of them said a word for a while, they just walked taking in the large fields and the various trees and shrubs and they reached a clearing which was clearly where the family spent a lot of time. There was a picnic bench to the right of a large oak tree which sported an archery target, 3 arrows currently protruding from the middle circle. 2 bikes lay propped the trunk under the target and a baseball glove lay discarded on the floor.

Frankly Katie loved the levelheadedness of it. Steve loved the normality of it.

“You know, all I ever wanted was to join the army, hold down a good job, have a wife and a family…” Steve broke the silence as they both walked towards the bench. Katie looked up at him as he glanced around. “I mean a farm was never really what I imagined but…”

“A town house in Brooklyn?” She smiled softly as she took a seat.

Steve shrugged. “It doesn’t matter where, I just want to build a life with you, whatever madness that brings with it.”

Katie turned her face away, blinking away the tears. She knew her vision hadn’t been real, she knew it was all a dream but there was part of her that would never stop wondering, whether given the chance he would go back and live his life over with Peggy. Was he settling here for second best?

“Sweetheart?” Steve asked, his voice cracking slightly.

“I’m sorry just, she really did a number on me and now my head is all over and…” she looked at him as he moved so that he had one leg either side of the seat and he was turned side on to face her.

“What did she make you see?”

She took a deep breath and told him, by the time she got to the part about him saying she wasn’t enough and was a mere distraction, she was really biting back the sobs as Steve reached out and pulled her to him. She pressed her face into his chest, breathing him in, relishing his touch and the fact he was real, and there with her.

“Seems like she got us all pretty bad.” Steve said, his voice thick.

“What did you see?” Katie asked quietly.

“She showed me a dance.” He took a deep breath his arms still around her “But it was back in the 1940s. You, me, Peggy and Bucky were there.”

“Dancing?” she frowned “In the 1940s?”

“Yeah, I know. For once you were the one out of time.” He mused gently, looking at her for a second before he carried on “But you were dancing with Bucky, you were with Bucky, and I was with Peggy and she was telling me the war was over and that I could go home…”

“Maybe my vision wasn’t that far off after all.” Katie sniffed gently.

He pulled back from her slightly, and frowned. “What do you mean?”

“No matter how much I try to ignore it, how much I love you there’s always going to be part of you that’s back there, and a wishing you and Peggy had gotten your dance…”

Steve blew out a breath through his nose, shaking his head. She’d got this all wrong “Baby that’s not what I saw, at all…”

“You know sometimes I notice that look in your eyes, that haunted look like you’re somewhere else…” she continued, looking at her hands “I convince myself I’m seeing things because the thought that you might be wishing you could be elsewhere breaks my heart…”

“Baby, I-“

“If I am second best then, fine, I get it but I need to know….” she looked at him through her tears. “If you knew then, what you know now, and had the chance to… would you do things differently?”

He took a deep breath and moved slightly, reaching into his pocket for something. When he turned round Katie noticed he had the compass with Peggy’s photo inside it in his hands.

“You will never be second best.” He shook his head as he turned the compass over, in his hand. “That dream I had was awful.” He sighed “Not because Peggy was with me but because you weren’t.”

He clicked open his compass and passed it to her. The black and white picture of Peggy was gone, and inside was a photo she instantly recognised as one they’d gotten from a photo booth in Coney Island on her birthday last year. They were both looking cross eyed into the camera, happy and carefree, joking and playing. An hour or so post the photo being taken, he’d asked her to marry him.

“I changed it over the moment we got back that day.” He said gently, “I love that photo, it reminds me of just how much you make me smile and that I can just be me around you. I don’t have to be Cap or anyone else, just Steve.” HE reached out with his still gloved hand to brush her hair behind her ear. “You wanna know what my biggest fear is? Losing you.”

She glanced up at him, her eyes searching his but even as she did she knew he was telling the truth. Steve didn’t lie.

”That part of my life with Peggy is over, and it’s okay. I can live without it, but I cannot live without you.” He sighed, his voice slightly choked and he moved his hands up to wipe the tears off her cheeks that she wasn’t even aware she had shed. “So would I do things differently? Not one fucking second.” He gently pulled her face to meet his in a soft kiss and whispered. “Please believe me, kitten.”

“I do.” She nodded as her lips met his again, melting into his hold. She kissed him back, urgently, needy and he was happy to oblige, his arms wrapping round her, pulling her into him.

“Bet I look a right state.” She pulled away, her head resting against his. He chuckled slightly.

“Well we could both probably do with a shower.” HE nodded, looking up over at the house, “Why don’t you go back in? I’ll grab us some stuff from the jet.”

She nodded and he kissed her forehead once more as the two of them headed in opposite directions.  Steve watched her go heaving out another sigh as he stood up. Frankly it said something about their deep rooted issues that their visions took them both to losing one another to other people and not death. Especially after everything that had happed the last year and what was going on right around them now with Ultron. But it also made perfect sense, neither of them could face being without the other. They’d fallen in deep, real deep, and whilst in some ways it was frightening in others it was so, so right.

There was absolutely no doubt in his heart at all where Katie sat in his life. And that was forefront and centre. He just hope she realised that too.

By the time Steve had made it back she was already asleep on the bed in the spare room Clint had directed him to. Dropping the bag gently to the floor so as not to disturb her he headed into the bathroom and stripped off out of his suit. He lay his forehead against the cool tiles, the warm water was soothing as he washed away the grime of the fight. He dried off, changed into a pair of jeans and an under-armour shirt and headed back into the bedroom. Katie was still out of it, and deciding that a nap seemed like a damned good idea he slipped onto the bed besides her. Sliding one arm underneath her he pulled her back so her back was pressed into his chest, his other arm gently draped over her, his hand tangling with hers.

“I love you so fucking much.” He mumbled into her neck as he closed his eyes “So much.”

***** Chapter 24 Part 1

**Original Posting**

[elareine]

I am excited for your prompt-a-thon! Is it possible to get a continuation of that JayDick arranged marriage drabble you wrote a while ago?

Of course <3

This is the drabble in question, btw. It’s probably a good idea to read it first.

Jason had been married for two months, and he hated every minute of it.

After their shitshow of a wedding, which had ended with Dick openly expressing his disgust to Jason, they hadn’t spoken for a week. After, Jason had reluctantly begun talking to the other man again, if only because he’d noticed the servants gossiping.

“It’s important to convince them,” was all that Dick had said when Jason entered their rooms again. His face was doing that thing where he aimed at being friendly but just ended up being unreadable, at least to Jason. “I know you don’t want to be here, but…”

Jason had nodded, and that had been that. He was at the head of the House of Wayne, now, second only to his husband. There was a lot at stake here—the territorial integrity of Gotham, no less.

Also, he’d promised Bruce. That was the only reason he kept returning even when Dick drove him mad, when Jason wanted to shatter all that fine china and throw the golden statues out of the window. Bruce Wayne hadn’t done especially much to earn Jason’s loyalty, not by the end—but he had once saved Jason’s life. Gave him shelter when no-one else would.

For that, Jason would help keep his empire together.

His duties weren’t that bad once he got used to them. It wasn’t easy juggling them and his classes at the same time, so he dropped a few courses. Not like he was in any hurry to finish, now, seeing how his tuition was comprehensively taken care of. How Dick did it was beyond him. Not that he was surprised. Mr. Perfect probably looked down his nose at Jason for giving in even that little bit.

He knew Dick was still going out as Nightwing by night. How, exactly, his husband presumed he didn’t notice him leaving when they shared a bed was beyond him. Dick really must think him stupid.

He’d better not have left early tonight, though. If Dick left Jason to explain his absence at one of the most important social events of the year, there better be at least two orphanages burning.

Jason knocked on the door to Dick’s study for a second time. “Dick?”

When no answer came, he turned the doorknob, fully expecting to find the room empty.

It was not. Dick was sitting behind the desk, papers and laptop in front of him. He looked up. “Oh. Jason.”

“Hey,” Jason said, gentler than he’d meant to. Something about Dick’s posture was off—not that he cared. His next words came out in his usual rough tone: “The banquet is about to start. Why aren’t you ready yet?”

Dick blinked at him. “The banquet?” His voice was weirdly blank.

“Yes, the one with the Kyles and the—“

“…ah, yes. I… I—“

Slowly, inexorably. Dick slumped over and buried his face in his hands.

“Dick?” Jason hurried to his side. Did his husband just have a heart attack or something? Jesus, what if someone had poisoned him—

“I’m fine,” Dick said, but his shoulders were shaking, and he clearly wasn’t.

Jason stood next to him, undecided.

“Sorry, I just—I’m just not ready.“ Dick seemed to feel the need to explain himself. “There’s all this paperwork I’ve been meaning to finish, and the council meets tomorrow—Dent is going to want to talk about the social programs again, and I need to prepare because he’s wrong, but—And I have an economics paper due at noon. That I haven’t even started.”

“Dude. Breathe.”

“I’m sorry,” Dick whispered. “I’m sorry. I’m fucking this up, I’m—“

“You’re fucking tired,” Jason interrupted.

It was at least enough to get Dick out of his fugue. He looked up at Jason with red-rimmed eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you need to take a break. When was the last time you even slept through the night?”

Jason looked around. Dick had two phones, one for normal life and one for his night activities. The latter tended to be nearby but hidden—ah, there. Beneath the book on tax law. How predictable.

He handed it to Dick and told him: “Text them. Two nights.”

When Dick opened his mouth, no doubt to argue, Jason held up a warning finger: “I could blow your operation in five seconds if I wanted. No arguments.”

It was a little mean, but it worked. Dick typed, and the phone chimed confirmation less than twenty seconds later. Whoever it was on the other side told Dick to make it three nights and not to think about coming back early.

That settled, Jason put his hand on Dick’s shoulder and bodily pulled him up. The docile way Dick followed him told Jason more than enough about other man’s state of mind. Jason didn’t show just how freaked-out he was by that; he just led Dick to the bedroom and gently pushed him toward the bed.

“C’mon. I can’t promise everything will be better tomorrow morning, but sleep sure as fuck won’t hurt.”

Dick took a few steps toward the bed before turning around. “Why’re you doing this?”

Good question. “Cause someone has to. If you keep going like that, you’re gonna work yourself into an early grave, and I’m gonna be the one under suspicion for murder. Again.”

Dick looked skeptical. As he might.

Jason just pointedly leaned back against the doorframe, though. “I’m gonna keep standing here until you’re settled, just so you know.”

Dick grimaced, but he did get into the bed. As Jason had suspected, it didn’t take the longer man long to forget his presence; Dick’s exhaustion caught up with him so rapidly, he fell asleep with Jason still watching.

Curled up around his pillow like that, Dick no longer looked like Golden Boy, the perfect heir to a powerful house, a respected vigilante, a top student. He looked like a scared young man who had lost his father less than six months ago.

Jesus. Had Dick even had time to grieve?

Jason closed the door and took a deep breath. Then went to give his instructions to the servants. Master Dick was sick—just the flu, but his loving husband was worried. All events canceled and no disturbances. If they could send up some food, that would be most appreciated, though he would come make something himself if that was too much work.

For the first time, he saw an approving smile on the head butler’s face.

Then he returned to the study.

Okay. What this city needed—what it was lacking—was a strategy. Jason had only seen fragments of what it took to rule. He suspected Dick was in the same boat: too deep in some areas, too superficial in others. So that would need to change.

Tonight, he would read up on Dick’s work, finish his paperwork for him. (Maybe even that paper, though he would e-mail the prof about an extension first.) Tomorrow, he and Dick would sit down and talk. There had to be a schedule, a division of duty that worked for both of them. Something that allowed them to juggle their duties and maybe—just maybe—do more than just survive. All they had to do was work together and figure it out.

To his surprise, Jason was actually looking forward to it.

(I’m taking prompts until the end of the year.)

[jiggie]

sangcheng and/or xiyao 4 the ship bingo >:3

AAAAAAAHH sangcheng is EVERYTHING TO MEEEE i love these guys so much!! they occupy an unhealthy amount of my braincell, upon finishing cql i was possessed by the sangcheng ghost and i've not been the same ever since

it's hard to put into words what i love about them so much, but their dynamic is SOOO captivating to me. the way they have so little on-screen time together but the pairing manages to be so loaded is wild, it has me investing a LOT of time into studying them and imagining the absolute chaos of post-canon sangcheng! their characters mirror, parallel, and also oppose each other in SO MANY WAYS it makes me feel insane

what's fun is how you can have sangcheng in so many different ways; they work if you think of them as teens in gusu who have crushes on each other, AND they also work as two very empty men in the post-canon coming together to possibly learn to trust again . it could be disastrous, it could be tender, it could be whatever you want! their personalities mesh really well to me in MANY ways, there's just enough drama and bite to it that it really interests me to think about.. neither of them know how to just be normal and i enjoy imagining the constant mental warfare they'd have between the two of them .

their donghua designs? combined? the PURPLE AND GREEN? off the charts . cql sangcheng is ALSO very aesthetically pleasing (SCURRYING ON MY HAMSTER WHEEL) i could go on forever but i gotta cut it off about sangcheng here.. just know i entered the rabbit hole of THOUGHTS about them a long time ago and i'm trapped

aok.. i will try not to yell for TOO LONG but you all know what im about here........ you all know. i don't even KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN....

xiyao caused me to lose my mind and live in a fugue state for a very long time, i'm actually still trapped i think, sometimes they come up out of nowhere and start beating me with sticks. lxc and jgy are my two favorite guys, my guys of all time, it is a pairing that terrorizes me and follows me around wherever i go

it's not everybody's cup of tea but it certainly is my cup of tea!!! pairings that make me put my head in my hands and scream. will not go on a tangent, but they were MARRIED FOR ~20 YEARS, their eyes of love at each other make me crawl up the walls, and then all of that happened and ohhh..... it is dark and complex for sure, but if youre comfortable enough to engage with the subject matter there is so much to analyze and dig into!! every little xiyao detail gets my ass so bad, their tragedy haunts me, and i worry so deeply for lxc in the post-canon

THANKS FOR SENDING CAMILO!! thisis so long i am not able to get in there and put in a read more after ive typed all this so I APOLOGIZE </3

[just-dreaming-marvel]

CHAPTER SIX - TRACKING

LEGACY: A Tony Stark Daughter Story

MASTERLIST

< previous

Word Length: 1,650ish

Summary: The Team works on tracking down Ultron.

 After a long night of trying to track down Ultron, Bruce, Tony, and I were still in one of the labs searching. Everyone else was also helping, I just couldn’t tell you where they were at the time. Bruce was rewatching the recording of last nights events while Tony was fixing up everyone’s tech so that Ultron wouldn’t be able to hack into any of our stuff again. I had been helping him, but I was slowly starting to fall asleep. My head was resting in my hands as I was sitting on a stool and my elbows were propped on the table.

“It can read vocal stress patterns, adrenaline spikes—“ Bruce started.

“None of that was in the schematic we launched,” Tony stated, tossing his tablet on the table afterwards.

“He had a self-constructed learning spiral.”

“In his language database. He was supposed to learn slang, not go insane.”

I chuckled. The two men looked at me, unimpressed. “I’m sorry,” I said, trying not to break out into laughter. “But you two tried to created an artificial intelligence to protect the world. The whole thing was insane to began with.”

“Look, we know the guy has anger issues. Which, not to point a finger…” As he said that, he pointed a finger at Bruce.

“We told him to solve the world,” Bruce stated.

“And look where that got us,” I said, standing up. “Apparently solving the world means killing us off.”

Tony sighed, looking down at the floor before making his way to me. “You should go get some rest,” he suggested, putting a loving hand on my back. 

“No,” I shook my head. “I’ll be fine after some coffee.” I began walking away. “I’ll be right back."

I started heading down the stairs to the kitchen when Maria and Steve were walking up the stairs talking. 

“Fatalities?” Steve asked.

“Only when engaged.” Maria answered. “Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and something too fast to see.” What?

“Maximoff’s.” Steve said. “Well, that makes sense he’d go to them, they have someone in common.”

I stopped in the middle of the stairs. Maximoff? Where had I heard that name before? Suddenly there was a shooting pain across my head. I put my hands up to my head and groaned. I saw something. Two kids in cages, HYDRA cages. Just like the one I used to be kept in. It was blurry and first but soon cleared up. 

It was the same two that I had seen with Ultron in my nightmare. I was pulled out of whatever I was pulled into when a rested hand on my back.

“Are you alright, Bailey?” Steve asked.

I hadn’t realized that I had crouched down onto the stairs. I looked up at Steve. “Ya,” I replied. “I’m fine.”

Steve gave a worried look before backing off, knowing full well that I was keeping something from him. 

Maria and him kept walking up the stairs and I quickly got up and followed them back up the stairs. Completely forgetting as to why I was walking down in the first place.

“They don’t have someone in common anymore, Cap,” Maria continued as she pulled up something on her tablet. 

We stopped at the top of the stairs as Maria handed Steve her. It was a picture of Strucker. He was dead. The word “peace” was written in blood on the wall behind him. I wanted that man to be taken out, but I was kind of hoping that I would get to help do it or that Tony would be able to. 

“That’s kind of a mixed message,” Steve stated, studying the image.

“Is it?” Maria questioned. “If it was my mission, world peace, I’d probably take out Strucker, too. Ultron could be in any system. He could be pulling planes down from the sky. What if he’s just doing what he’s supposed to?”

“If I thought Ultron were bringing peace, I’d hang up my shield.”

“What?” I quietly gasped in surprise. Steve Rogers not being Captain America anymore? 

“Would you?” Maria questioned, clearly challenging him.

“Let me know if he leaves anymore messages.” Steve ignored the question and began walking away.

“Did you mean it?” I asked, following him closely.

“Mean what?” 

“Steve,” I grabbed his hand, causing him to stop and turn around. “You know what.”

“I don’t know,” he shook his head and looked down at our hands.

“What would you do?” He began to absentmindedly rub his thumb over the back of my hand. “If you weren’t Captain American anymore, what would you do?”

He sighed, keeping his eyes focused on our hands. “Probably find a place in Brooklyn. Mind find a girl and settle down.”

“But what about us?” He quickly met my gaze. “I-I mean… What about your home?”

“Like I said,” he dropped my hand, but not before gently squeezing it. “I don’t know.”

He turned and continued walking towards the main lab, me following a bit behind. We could hear Clint talking on the phone before we saw him.

“Don’t worry about the wolf,” Clint voice rang from around the corner. “Leave the nightlight off. That’s a negative. I answer to you.” Steve and I stopped once Clint was in our sights. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Barton,” Steve said. “We might have something.”

“I gotta go,” Clint said into the phone, hanging up on who ever was on the other end.

“Who was that?” I wondered. 

“Girlfriend,” he answered. 

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Didn’t he just say a few days ago that he didn’t have one? I knew he was lying! But I still felt like he was keeping something else. Something bigger than just a girlfriend. Steve and I walked into the lab to see Nat and Tony ending a video call with Rhodey, Bruce back on a computer, and Thor entering from the back staircase. I walked over to where Natasha and Tony were, stopping in front of the table while Steve went to met Thor. 

“Any help from on high?” Steve asked Thor.

“Heimdall’s either away from his post or he’s been ordered not to answer,” Thor replied. The two began making their way towards the rest of us, with Bruce not far behind. “But Ultron can’t hide forever, we’ll find him.”

“Well, he’s not exactly hiding.” Steve handed the tablet with the picture of Strucker up to Thor. 

“What’s this?” Tony asked, coming up to the men.

“A message,” Steve answered.

“Ultron killed Strucker,” I told the group as Thor smacked the tablet into Tony’s chest. Tony looked at the picture and then looked at me. I quickly looked down at my feet to avoid eye contact. 

“And he did a Banksy at the crime scene,” Tony observed. “Just for us.” Bruce came up and looked at the picture from behind Tony as he walked passed.

“This is good,” Nat stated, studying the picture once Tony set the tablet down.

“No, that’s not good,” Bruce shook his head.

“He’s showing us his hand,” Nat said. “This isn’t his pattern.”

“This is a smokescreen,” I stated. “Why send a message when you’ve just given a speech?”

“Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss.” Steve said. I quickly sat down at a computer and looked up Strucker.

“Yeah, I bet he—“ Nat began to type at the computer she was at.

“Everything we had on Strucker has been erased,” I interrupted.

“Not everything.” Tony said.

We followed Tony down into another room. He proceeded to pull out boxes of physical copies of files. They were a mix of HYDRA and SHIELD. We all took a few boxes and spread out across the room to look. Everyone was finding things that were useful. I got stuck with I found one certain file. My own. It looked to be only a portion of it, but something was better than nothing. I laid it on my criss crossed legs and just stared at it, too afraid to open it. 

“Known associates,” Steve spoke up. “Baron Strucker had a lot of friends.” 

“Well, these people are all horrible.” Bruce mumbled.

“Wait.” Tony quickly said. I turned to see him pointing at the file that Bruce was holding. “I know that guy. From back in the day. He operates off the African coast, black market arms.” Steve looks at Tony like he’s accusing him of something. 

I stood up, with my file in hand, and walked over to the table the rest of them were at. “There are conventions, alright?” Tony defended. “You meet people, I didn’t sell him anything. He was talking about find something new, a game changer, it was all very ‘Ahab’” 

“This?” Thor asked pointing to a scar on the back of the guys neck. 

“Uh, it’s a tattoo,” Tony answered. “I don’t think he had it—“

“No, those are tattoos,” Thor stated. Bruce quickly went over to a computer. “This is a brand.”

“Oh, yeah.” Bruce says at the computer. “It’s a word in an African dialect meaning thief, in a much less friendly way.”

“What dialect?” Steve asked.

“Wakanada…?” Bruce tried saying. “Wa… Wa… Wakanda.” Tony and Steve glanced at each other.

“If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods?” Tony wondered, looking at Steve.

“I thought your father said he got the last of it?” Steve asked Tony. 

“I don’t follow.” Bruce said. “What comes out of Wakanda?”  

I walked over and picked up Steve’s shield. “The strongest metal on earth.” I answered. 

Steve continued to look at Tony. “Where is this guy now?”

“His usual salvage yard on the African Coast, I suppose.” Tony answered.

“Well, team,” Steve said, “Suit up. Let’s go get the guy.”

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