#if anyone catches these fucking... Hi. don’t mind my ass out here with non-canon brothers and shir

[thebackupsystem]

Can a guy go. One fucking day? Without seeing more shit about his source?

I’m already fucking dying I don’t need to be reminded he’s a shit person on the daily

ᴵ’ᵛᵉ ᵃˡʳᵉᵃᵈʸ ᵗᵃᵏᵉⁿ ᵗᵒ ʰᶦᵈᶦⁿᵍ ᵘⁿᵈᵉʳ ᵈᵃᵈ’ˢ ʷᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᵒᵈᵃʸ

[tendous-socks]

TOKYO REVENGERS HEADCANONS OF ME BEING NON BINARY / REACTING TO SOMEONE BEING NON BINARY

tw: ⚠️⚠️kisaki⚠️⚠️ and manga spoilers, mentions of death, transphobia,

would misgender and dead-name me

1.kisaki.

must i need an explanation?😐

2. shion

“ what’re you gonna do about it?? HUH?? WHAT’RE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT ???”

actively looks for a fight

… if y’all are in a relationship he’d still call you his “girl” but beats people up for doing so….

3. mucho

i get the vibes that he’s traditional

would silently stare in judgment

4. mochi

he just doesn’t care clslfkxkslk

thinks it’s weird

“ nor/mal”

7. rindou..

“you either have a pen or a vag. “

8.ran

“interesting”

*continues dead naming me*

9. KOKO

he would be nicer about it when he’s in toman due to inui… but once they’re separated- an ABSOLUTE MEANCE

… reluctantly apart of the protection squad with inui ( enjoys beating people up tho)

10. bontent mikey

… he’s just so tired and doesn’t really care ) that is if you’re not close with him… but then again how close can you really get?)

11. ) PAH CHIN

AND ONLY BECAUSE HE WAS IGNORANT AND HIS FATHER DIDN BELIEVE IN THAT STUFF AND HE DIDNT KNOW BUT THEN ( if y’all are close ) HE’D FEEL BAD AND AFTER YOU EXPLAINED IT TO HIM HE TOLD PEH CHIN TOO AND WERE SURPRISINGLY SUPPORTIVE

but if y’all ain’t close he would slowly get the hint… this is canon.

because i said so-

11. sanzu…

he’s quietly judging you

EDIT

SOMEONE SAID SANZU WOULD USE ANY PRONOUNS AND I REALLY LIKE THAT HC-

SO SANZU WOULD PROBABLY JUST ‘ SILENTLY JUDGE YOU’ SO OTHERS DONT CATCH ON MHMHM

12. akashi

traditional- plus it was a different era for him growing up so…

(would glare at someone if he really did see you getting emotionally distressed)

13. smiley

“ that’s one of the most stupidest shit ive ever fucking heard 😁”

.🙁

“ you either have tits or a dick “

.☹️

but would beat people up if you get SUPER upset ( call it his protect instincts with angry, but would send people to the hospital)

14. taiju

“ i wanna church girl who goes to church and reads her bible “

would spit at me

- WHO WOULD BEAT SOMEONE UP FOR DEAD-NAMING / MISGENDERING

1. PAH CHIN AND PEH YAN

THEYRE ABSOLUTE MENACES TO SOCIETY IF SOMEONE CALLS YOU A GIRL / BOY

head canon : during tenjiku you were there and had to adjust your transtape cause it was coming lose 🙄

which is literally the most annoying thing in the world-

and shion saw you.

he came up and was like “ HUH WHAT’VE WE GOT HERE?? A GIRL PRETENDING TO BE A G-“

couldn’t even finish his sentence with how fast peh chin clocked his ass 🤭

( peh yan supremacy)

2. my main man takemichy

no explanation needed ( maybe deadnamed you only once cause he didn’t know)

3. inui cause i said so

5. BAJI BAJI

BAJI WOULD ALMOST KILL A DUDE FOR CALLING YOU YOUR DEAD NAME

i KNOW mama baji raised him right ✋🙄

almost clocked chifuyu when you told him about your first encounter kcksldofospdoco

almost clocked your mom when she said “you got it girlfriend”

she was confused when she saw you desperately trying to prevent the next criminal minds episode

best listener for body dystrophia fight me 🙉❤️

6. senju

*comes out*

“..oh okay! anyways as i was saying [preferred name] “

would need some gentle reminders only once or twice cause i will say it does take a bit of time for people to get used to it and there are always a few slip ups

tells akashi about your pronouns ( ONLY WITH YOUR CONSENT OFC)

( promises to try and be more girly if he calls you by them and your preferred name)

she wants you to go into more details about what you’re feeling cause she’s genuinely very interested about everything and she wants to know more about you.

7. emma 😻 vv supportive 🙌🙌

*sicks mikey and draken out on anyone who hurts your feelings

“you know [blah blah blah] from history?”

“of course yeah “

“yeah he ended up calling me slur during class- what’re you doing?”

*emma pulling out her phone

“hm? oh nothing don’t worry about it”

gave more insight about it to draken and mikey

8. HINA

YALL SAW HOW SHE SLAPPED MIKEY-

THIS GIRL WOULD D R A G A BITCH BY THEIR HAIR IF SHE SAW THEM BULLYING YOU

the one of correct takemichy

9. yuzuha

hina but 10x worse

trips transphobes for shit and giggles 🤪🤞

i like to think that the girls (all 4) would just all stare down a girl who was shit talking you and just pick her apart mercilessly ( a little ooc but this is my head canons so they can be whatever i say they are)

ones idk about

1. mikey

he knows that you can handle yourself so he lets you correct people.

or

sometimes he’ll jump in and correct them instead for one of two reasons.

1. he felt like it

2. they kept calling you your dead name and misgendering you EVEN THOUGH you already corrected them

but if the person ACTIVELY does that and says some… not so fruity things. he’ll send em to the hospital and end up on life support 😌☝️

like dom tertto, he cares about his family. and toman is his family, and you’re in toman ( not THAT kind of y/n way 🙄 )

“ BE WHO YOU AREE🌈🌈🌈🌈🤪🤞🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈”

1. draken

… listen… idk why, but i just don’t SEE him beating people up for misgendering me… well okay i kinda see it,

but he’d be like, “ i don’t understand what you’re going through, but i support you and if you want to talk about it i’m here”

wants to try and understand so like i said before, he lets you rant about what you’re feeling

would let you handle your own battles cause your strong enough to

a true king 😎🙌

does in fact throw punches when it gets REALLY BAD

2. angry

… idk h o w empathic he is and how mad he’d have to be on your behalf when people actively kept misgendering you to become the blue ogre.

but he’d just start crying at the confrontation.. 😐

my hero ig 🤥

3. izana

“ that’s fucking stupid”

*beats up middle aged woman who said for you to “ have a good day ma’am”

but if y’all close he’ll only say it’s stupid once when he sees you genuinely upset and ignoring him

“ be who you are.. 🌈”

4. kaku

same boat as izana, A LOT less judgmental

5. mitsuya

won’t hesitate to send a bitch flying

actively corrects people

( teaches luna and mana about your pronouns for the next time you come over 🕺🏻)

TAKES YOU SHOPPING FOR CLOTHES

6. haitani brothers

*actively bullies you

*bullies kid into the grave for looking at your chest area

7. …hakkai

he accidentally slipped up once🤒

WHEN I SAY THIS MANS FACE WENT PALE- HE DIDNT TALK TO YOU FOR A W E E K MINIUM CAUSE HE FELT SO BAD

YOU KEPT TELLING HIM THAT ITS FINE-

BUT HE FELT AWFUL

( has nightmares about it)

8. chifuyu would only do it in his mohawk era cause he wanted to seem metal and impress da boys 🥶🥶☝️☝️

pulled you aside at the end of the day to apologize

( like i said before, baji almost clocked him when you told him about your first encounter )

who am i kidding they’re all in gangs, they’d probably kill someone if they hurt you cospwpfoslief

——————

IF YALL GOT ANYMORE IDEAS LMK CAUSE IM INVESTED IN YHIS AND WANNA HEAR WHAT YALL THINK

[cyhyr]

Summer of Whump Day 30: Lashing Out

Fandom: Naruto

Rating: E

Pairing: Mizuki/Umino Iruka; Uzumaki Naruto & Umino Iruka

WC: ~1900

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con; Underage

Notes: Mizuki makes good on his threat to involve Naruto while Iruka is out. Iruka comes in before any touching happens, but it's implied that things could have been happening before he showed up. Naruto is 9-10 years old in this fic. Canon-typical violence.

A/N: If this needs more notes, tags, warnings, ect. PLEASE reach out and tell me. I'm garbage at tagging and even though I've been an active writer for over a decade I'm still figuring out what, exactly, needs a warning.

~

Iruka sluggishly drags himself up the stairs to his apartment, his eyes closing involuntarily every few steps. The kids today had been rude and mean and loud, and for once Naruto wasn’t among the few he had to keep after class for detention. It’s the only saving grace for the day.

He adjusts the strap of his bag on his shoulder. One more flight.

Maybe Naruto will be over tonight and the two of them can have dinner and watch TV for the evening. His eyes close in exhaustion, but his lips turn up in a smile. Naruto’s pretty much moved in with him now. They keep the rent paid at his old apartment, but just last week he stood beside the kid as he mailed in the request to have his power and heat shut off. They moved the rest of his things over that same afternoon and had ice cream for dinner.

Now if only Mizuki would make up his mind about whether or not he wants to live with them…

Iruka stops at his door, fishing in his pocket for the key with one hand while the other hovers over the wards and—oh, it’s unlocked. He pulls his hand out of his pocket and opens the door. The only other person with a key is Naruto; he walks into their home with a tired grin.

“I’m home!” He drops his bag by the door and toes off his sandals, waiting for a response.

But nothing comes.

He looks down, registering the two other sets of sandals in the genkan. One is definitely Naruto’s. He’s been meaning to buy the kid another pair, these ones are worn. He doesn’t recognize the other set of sandals, as they are a standard uniform pair, but he can tell that they belong to an adult. Iruka puts a hand on the wall, feeling for the wards again. They had indeed been released by friendly chakra—there are only three signatures coded into these wards: his, Naruto’s, and Sandaime-sama’s. And Sandaime’s been asking him recently if he’d be willing to test for tokubetsu-jōnin based on his fūinjutsu, so he knows they’re solid.

“Naruto? Are you here?” He sets a kunai in his opposite palm and keeps a hand on the wall as he turns to face his home. Still, no response.

He could be hyper-focussing, Iruka tries to assure himself. He might not be able to hear anything.

The wards and seals in the apartment flow around him as he walks through the rooms. Living room, spotless; kitchen, signs of life (leftovers from breakfast, but also crumbs from a snack on the counter); hallway, noises.

More specifically, voices.

He follows the hallway quietly, until he can make out Naruto’s voice coming from his room. “I don’t know, it doesn’t… this doesn’t—”

“Would I lie to you, Naruto-kun? You’re just as much a little brother to me as you are to Iruka.”

Mizuki.

What’s he doing in Naruto’s room? He’s made it clear that he doesn’t like Naruto, several times over. And worse, he’s even once threatened to—

Oh, gods no.

Iruka is suddenly there, slamming open Naruto’s door with a hard kick just below the handle. The seals barely had time to react to his chakra before releasing and letting the door swing open with his physical strike. If it had been anyone else (save for Sandaime-sama or Naruto himself), the door would have held fast.

Mizuki is sitting on Naruto’s bed, fly open and dick out in his palm. Naruto sits beside him, hand outstretched like he had been about to touch, but with the door opening and Iruka stalking in he pulls away, relieved like someone told him he doesn’t have to stick his hand in a pile of coals.

Iruka fights down the vomit, fights the urge to kill, and says quietly, deadly, “Naruto, go into my room and lock the door like I’ve taught you. Don’t open it for anyone. I’ll come get you.”

Naruto, thank the gods, doesn’t try to debate him. He scurries by Iruka and takes a left outside his door, following orders and shutting himself in Iruka’s bedroom. The wards on his bedroom illuminate the hallway a brief, bright red—he can see them activate out of the corner of his eye.

He hasn’t stopped glaring at Mizuki.

Mizuki, who is sitting bare-assed on Naruto’s frog-print bedspread. Mizuki, who is casually stroking his dick and clearly checking Iruka out like he has the right to fucking do that after assaulting his—his—fuck!

“Put your godsdamned dick away before I cut it off,” Iruka snarls.

“You don’t have the—”

Mizuki stops talking as the kunai, which had been in Iruka’s hand, plants itself in the wall beside his head, grazing his cheek. Iruka slips another kunai out of his pouch and twists it into his palm.

“I won’t ask again, Mizuki.”

He heeds the warning this time, lifting his hips and tucking himself away. He leaves his fly unzipped, though, and then Iruka makes a lifting motion with his kunai. Mizuki groans, waves his hand flippantly.

“Baby, really, I’m just saving us some time later.”

“You actually think,” Iruka takes a step forward, kunai leading, “that after I catch you with your pants down, dick out, around the kid I’ve as good as adopted as my son—that I’m doing anything with you that doesn’t involve, at minimum, kicking you out of my home?”

“Well—”

“Do you really think I would do anything with you after you’ve sexually assaulted my kid???”

“When you put it that way—”

“You fucking sick fuck, I thought—gods, I don’t know what I thought, but I certainly never expected you to actually try to attack A FUCKING CHILD.”

“Iruka, really, ‘attack’ is such a strong word.”

Iruka throws the second kunai, this time catching Mizuki in the shoulder. He gasps in pain, reaching up and cradling his shoulder, and looks up at Iruka with a curled lip. “You fucking bitch—”

“You are lucky to still be breathing. Don’t argue semantics with me right now.” A third kunai finds its way into his hand; he has one more in his pouch, plus a set of six shuriken. And that’s just in his pouch. He has more scrolls in his vest.

For once, Iruka feels like he has the upper hand.

He knows he has the upper hand.

“What’re you going to do, Ruka? Kick me out? Report me? Kill me?” Mizuki laughs. “As if you could.”

“You’re the one who’s unarmed,” Iruka points out.

“But you’re the weak one.”

Iruka hides his wince—not well enough.

Mizuki laughs. “Oh, baby, this is hilarious. C’mon now. How about this,” he stands up, still cradling the kunai in his shoulder, “I’ll go to the hospital, say this little thing is just a training accident. They’ll stitch me up, I’ll come back, and when I do you can teach that fucking monster how to suck my cock just right and—”

Iruka throws the third kunai. It hits Mizuki in the stomach.

He screeches, bowing over and falling to his knees. Blood starts to drip onto Naruto’s floor. Iruka will deal with it later.

“Go to the hospital. It’s a training accident, this time,” Iruka seethes, quiet and low like he had been before when telling Naruto to leave the room. “If I ever see you alone with Naruto again—with any child again—you’ll wish that I had brought you before Sandaime-sama instead.”

“And what,” Mizuki gasps, lip curled like he’s trying to snarl but in too much pain to really manage, “do you plan on doing when I come back tonight to fuck you?”

“You’ll have stitches in your abdomen, Mizuki,” Iruka said, sickly-sweet kindness lacing his words—for once, he’s the one with the threat and the power. “You won’t be fucking anyone for at least a week, not until those stitches heal. Besides that,” his voice darkens, and he reaches back and pulls his fourth and final kunai from his pouch. “You are no longer welcome in my home. Get. Out.”

“Excuse the fuck out of me?”

“You heard me.” Iruka points to the door. “I’ll walk you out.”

“You don’t get to tell me to leave,” Mizuki spits. “I own you.”

“You lost the right to say that when you dropped your pants in front of my son.”

“I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Someday,” Iruka concedes, “maybe. Not today. Today, you take one wrong step and I will gladly surrender my security deposit in the name of protecting both myself and Naruto. Who knows, though; maybe I’ll be able to clean up quickly enough that your blood won’t have a chance to stain my floors.”

Mizuki finally reaches down, leaving the kunai in his shoulder, and zips his fly one-handed. He goes back to holding both kunai gingerly as he steps past Iruka. Together, they walk down the hall, past the kitchen, through the living room, and stop in the genkan long enough for Mizuki to slip into his sandals. He looks up at Iruka with venom in his eyes.

“Hospital, Mizuki,” Iruka murmurs.

“Like you care.”

“If I didn’t care, you’d be dead.”

“Fuck you.”

Then he leaves his home; Mizuki leaves his life.

Iruka closes the door behind him, locks it, activates the wards, and falls to his knees in the genkan. He puts his face in his hands and cries, and he’s not sure why. Mizuki didn’t touch him, didn’t hurt him—hell, he hurt Mizuki!

Slowly, he starts laughing. His chest hurts. His face is sticky with tears. He hugs himself tight and rocks back and forth on his knees.

Gods, what has he done?

“Iru-nii?”

He looks up, and Naruto is standing a few paces away, hesitant and wary like he wants to come closer but he’s not sure if Iruka’s okay with touch right now. Iruka smiles, laughs wetly, and says, “You were supposed to stay in the room until I came for you.”

“I heard him leave. And I felt the wards activate.” Naruto takes two steps. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

Iruka shakes his head. “He’s gone, Naruto,” he whispers. “He’s. He’s gone. I kicked him out. I—fuck he’s gonna—”

Naruto crosses the leftover distance and throws himself into Iruka’s chest. Iruka, instinctively, catches him and cradles him, one hand around his back and the other diving into bright golden hair. “For real? You did?”

“I… Yeah, Naruto. I did.”

“That’s amazing!” Naruto pulls his head back and looks up at him, stars in his eyes. “That must have taken some guts, kicking your boyfriend out like that!”

“Well,” Iruka flushes, “I mean.” He was never my boyfriend, he thinks; it’s not a bridge he wants to cross with Naruto at the moment. “I was just so angry. Naruto, you know that what he did—or, almost did—shit, we have to talk about this—”

“Not right now,” Naruto mutters, suddenly quiet. “Please, not right now.”

Iruka pets Naruto's hair. “We’ll stay home from school tomorrow. I’ll send for a substitute. You and me and some heavy wards and a big carton of ice cream.”

Naruto nods. Iruka lets himself indulge and pulls the kid in for a tight hug. Naruto hugs him back and it’s wonderful.

There’s still blood on the floor throughout the apartment, and a kunai in the wall in Naruto’s room. He should fix Naruto’s door. But for now… he holds his son, he holds back the tears, he lets himself feel the relief of not wondering if Mizuki is coming back.

[arukou-arukou]

A Non-zero Chance

I jumbled the timeline as I was writing this. Just go with it, okay? For @stevetonygames prompt Fluff: Sparring, for team angst. Also adding fic non-linear and tropes: soulmates. Angst with a hopeful ending. Mentions of sex acts. Canon typical violence. There is a read more line after the first section.

 Many many months after that faithful day in Sibera, Tony returned to the scene of the crime. The site was untouched. He hadn’t told Ross about it, and apparently T’Challa had decided well enough was better left alone. The holes they’d put into the bunker of the facility had completely covered over in frost and ice, and Tony had to wonder how Zemo had even dug the little hillock out in the first place. Though there had been a snowcat parked outside when they all first arrived. Without any care, though, it had once again faded into the arctic surroundings. Only someone who knew what they were looking for would find it.

Tony broke in through the holes rather than the front door. He wasn’t really in a mood for digging, and as satisfying as it might be to melt snow with an overloaded repulsor, this mission was also supposed to be stealth and secretive, and he didn’t really need Ross any further up his ass.

Inside, the evidence of their fight wasn’t as big or horrifying as he remembered. There were some structures that had toppled, and a few spots where he’d scorched cement with a repulsor, but it didn’t look nearly as bad as he remembered it being. The Avengers had certainly done worse elsewhere. Tony ran his hand over a shield-shaped crack in the wall.

—

 “This is ridiculous, Cap, we need to know how to fight together, not fight each other.”

Steve smiles back over his shoulder. His ridiculously broad shoulder. “After Wanda mind-whammied us, I’m not taking any chances. We should all know how to incapacitate each other just as a precaution.”

“Only incapacitate, Steve? Not maim?”

Steve chuckles and starts strapping on boxing tape. “No maiming on the docket today. Maybe next Tuesday.”

 —

 Tony followed their trail of destruction back into the heart of the bunker, where the super soldiers still rested suspended, illuminated in sickly yellow. There was the fucking TV, right there. The thing that had ruined it all. Tony stared down at it, wondering where the tape reel itself was located. Probably back in that room Zemo had been hiding in. The bulletproof one. Somewhere in the hallways, Tony could hear water dripping. Impressive, really, given the permafrost all around. He would’ve thought the systems had frozen over long ago. Near his foot, there was a gun, the semi-automatic Barnes had been carrying. It was useless now, its clip and firing mechanisms slagged by his repulsors. He picked it up all the same and aimed it at the glass where Zemo had hidden. The suit’s fingers were too thick to fit over the trigger—what was left of it anyway—so Tony just imagined how satisfying it would be to fill that glass full of shrapnel, to watch Zemo crumple to the ground.

 —

 “Why are you even training me, Rogers? I’m retired. Aren’t you supposed to be looking after the rookies?”

“Just because you’re retired, Tony, doesn’t mean trouble won’t come looking for you. You’re a pretty attractive target.”

“Why yes. Yes, I am. Thank you for noticing.”

Steve punches his bicep gently before offering a bottle of water. Tony takes it, squirting some into his mouth before moving on to his sweat-drenched hair. On Steve’s left wrist, he catches sight of the red band that hides Steve’s words. It would be rude to ask. Totally taboo. But Tony can’t stop himself.

 —

 Tony managed to jimmy his way into the control room, and there he found the VCR, still loaded with the incriminating tape. If he were smart, he would just rip the thing apart, burn the tape and shatter the shell. And Tony was smart. Just not smart in the right ways. He fired up the power to the TV, rewound the tape, and then hit play again. He’d rewound too far. Barnes was in his cryo tube. Some slimy scientists were hauling him out, shoving him into some horrifying chair, pushing down the nodes, saying the words.

No. Tony didn’t want this. He didn’t want to feel sympathy for Barnes. He wanted to let his rage fester and corrode him until he didn’t care anymore. All caring had ever gotten him was betrayal.

 —

 “Do you know who they belong to?” Tony asks, looking up defiantly, refusing to be sheepish about his lack of willpower. Steve glances down at his band before looking up again.

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.” He looks wistful and boyish, sweet and beautiful. Tony wants to kiss away the sorrow he sees in that face.

“Who?”

“Doesn’t matter. He’s dead now.”

“Oh.” Tony touches his own band, thinking of the words beneath. He’s my friend. The most significant thing anyone will ever say to him. The thing that, if the romantics would have him believe it, points him toward his soulmate. He’s never really gone in for that, though. His parents had had each other’s words, and their marriage was anything but blissful and romantic.

No. Tony’s got a different theory about the words.

 —

 There. Tony spotted it before even knowing he was looking for it. On Barnes’ collarbone. Had fate known he would lose the arm? It was unusual for words to be somewhere else on the body. Non-dominant wrist. That was the norm. The tap quality was shit and Tony couldn’t enhance it without bringing the tape back to Fry. And like hell he was bringing the tape home. Were the files somewhere? Hadn’t Zemo had a book? Maybe it was here?

Tony searched the control room, trying to find evidence of the thing Zemo had used to control Barnes. There was no sign of it, but what there were were dozens of filing drawers, all of them covered in a layer of dust. Tony started digging.

 —

 Steve’s off his game today, Tony can tell. He’s distracted by something, mind not in the ring, and Tony takes advantage. Just like Steve and Nat taught him to. He sweeps Steve’s leg, rolls on top of him, pins his leg in a position that's precariously dangerous even for a supersoldier, and applies weight. “Yield?”

It’s late, the halls are quiet. Tony hadn’t even meant to do sparring with Steve today, but Steve had asked, so Tony had delayed his return to New York City and well, the late hour puts his mind elsewhere.

Their eyes lock. Tony’s still on top of Steve, holding him in place, threatening his knee joint. Between one breath and the next, their positions are flipped, Steve on top of Tony, both of them hard, teeth clacking. Tony doesn’t make it back to New York City that night.

 —

 What felt like hours later, Tony finally discovered what looked like a medical log. He’d been trying to learn Russian, but adding a new script was harder than adding a spoken language, and he was a busy man, what with covering Rogers’ ass every other day. Natasha might have been a master spy, but Steve was a puppy who hadn’t learned how to control his tail wag yet, and he left destroyed crockery in his wake. There was always some trail to some terrorist or smuggler or weapons dealer that needed cleaning up, lest Ross take notice. The point being, Tony’s Russian wasn’t exactly sparkling.

But he’d double-checked ahead of time to know what he was looking for and now he was pretty sure he’d found it. Flipping through the file, Tony found what he wanted to know almost instantly. ‘Til the end of the line. The words. Those words.

 —

 It’s a thing. Sort of. Tony comes to the compound. They spar. They fuck. It’s only their third time sleeping together that Steve drags him into the shower, wristband conspicuously absent. Tony touches the thin skin, for once asking permission before he looks down. Steve nods, trusting, contented. I’m with you to the end of the line, pal. “He” Steve had said. Tony doesn’t need to ask to know who “he” is. There was only one really important “he” in Steve’s life way back when. And it makes sense, too. After all, Barnes plunged to his death trying to protect Steve and Steve had tried to protect him just as hard. Of course they’re important to each other.

“Can I see yours,” Steve asks, kissing Tony’s band. Fair’s fair, Tony thinks to himself, and nods.

Steve gently unclasps the snaps and sets the band aside outside the shower. He looks down at the words and then up at Tony with a silent question. “I don’t know whose they are.”

“And you’re still okay with us?”

“Steve, I’m standing naked in a shower with you. I’m pretty damn okay with this.”

The bright grin Steve gives him feels like a gift.

 —

 Tony left, hauling the tape and the filing cabinets behind him. They would be useful sooner or later, he was sure. And it felt so important, hauling his literal baggage along with him back to the US. Well, first a pit stop in Wakanda so Shuri could make copies. Fry flew the quinjet on autopilot, which was maybe a mistake. Tony needed distractions and all he had were files rendered in Russian, which were frankly giving him a headache. He wanted to hate Barnes so much. But fate was literally sending him a message. Barnes. Rogers. ‘Til the end of the line.

Eventually, frustrated, he managed to sink into a fitful sleep, which took him to Wakanda’s borders. T’Challa sent along an escort at the shield wall to make sure Tony was alone and also to make sure Tony didn’t cause any undue trouble. As if he could manage anything more than a nervous breakdown at the moment. Shuri was waiting for him on the platform, and for her and her brilliant mind, he managed a tired smile.

“Brought a present for you.”

“Thank you, Tony. I would get them myself, but—”

“No, no. You’re busy in Oakland kicking science ass and shooting layups with the youth. Let the old guy take care of the analog—” Tony shuddered theatrically “—files.”

Shuri smiled more brightly and kissed him on the cheek. “You look tired. Go see my mother. She’ll be wanting to mother you.”

“I shouldn’t. I’ve gotta—”

“My brother has already ensured that General Ross cannot find you. Go. Eat some food. Get some rest. Perhaps we can talk about your latest arc reactor designs in the morning. I have some ideas.”

“I bet you do.”

Tony knew when he’d been dismissed, and he also knew he was being handled a little, but it felt nice to be handled. It felt nice to not have to be trying to outwit Ross at every turn for a little while. So he allowed Ramonda to stuff him full of delicious, spicy food and then shuffled off to the guest wing, intent on getting at least four hours before he took off.

But the second he laid down, he was awake and restless, unable to settle. His thoughts kept going back to those files, going back to the “end of the line,” thinking again and again about the letters carved into Steve’s skin. How many times had he kissed that wrist? How many times had Steve kissed his? How was it fair, that Steve would be Tony’s words, but Tony wouldn’t be Steve’s?

Fed up, he yanked on a pair of loose cotton pants and a loose cotton T-shirt and wandered the palace, looking for distraction. None of the guards stopped him, though they watched him with considerable distrust. He didn’t blame them. He wouldn’t trust him either. Not anymore. It was only when he heard the sound of skin slapping leather that he stopped short. That sounded like… But it couldn’t be. All the same, he pushed through the door, freezing as he discovered a huge training ground, Steve inside, alone at a punching bag.

Steve froze too, and the bag caught him on the backswing, smacking him straight in the nose. Tony found himself caught between laughing and rushing forward with concern, and ended up doing a bit of both, snorting as he approached, though he remained well out of Steve’s personal bubble. “Smooth, Cap.”

“Tony, what are you doing here?”

Tony scuffed his toes into the mats, which felt solid right up until he kicked them and then gave way like kinetic sand. It felt heavenly and he wanted to play with it and see what it was made out of. “Oh, you know. Just dropped in for a cuppa with the King.”

“Did…did you bring those files?” Steve remained sprawled on the floor, looking up at him, a trickle of blood trailing from his nose.

“And if I did?”

Steve swallowed heavily, rubbing at the blood and smearing it. And then he was up, faster than Tony could react to, holding Tony, kissing him sloppily through mumbled “I’m sorry’s.” Tony didn’t know how to react. Was this what an out-of-body experience felt like? He remained motionless even as Steve broke away, jumping back, looking more unsure than he’d looked since he and Tony first met. “Shit. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… You don’t want…” Steve took a huge breath and squared his shoulders, looking Tony in the eye. “That was wrong of me. I hurt you. In so many ways. It was wrong of me to kiss you.”

“Also pretty sure you’re cheating on your boyfriend if you kiss me. Don’t forget that bit.”

The little line between Steve’s eyebrows deepened. “Bucky and I, we’re not… We’re just not. I thought we would. But I can’t. Every time I tried, I felt like I was betraying you. And Bucky felt like it was wrong, too. We didn’t…we didn’t click. Not romantically, anyway.”

“You’re not…” Tony could barely dare to let himself to hope. “Didn’t you back in the war, though?”

“No. No, we didn’t. It was too much, running missions, fighting Hydra. Plus, he was afraid I’d get caught and outed. So we didn’t. I should’ve told you. But I didn’t think it mattered.”

All the thoughts Tony used to have about the words, the idea that maybe they had nothing at all to do with romance, came back to him. He ran a finger over his own wrist, where Steve’s words were hidden.

“Hey, Steve?”

“Yeah?” Steve stood there, square, looking as though he was waiting to be punched, ready to take his punishment like a man.

“Wanna spar?”

[snarkwrites]

12 | gangsta; sweetpea

NOTES:

It's been a while. I've had these two chapters written for a while now but I haven't had time to sit down, edit them a little better and post them. Since I have time now, I thought I'd go ahead and do that, whether you guys asked for these next two chapters or not.

Sorry this took forever! Sorry I'm so slow, I've been settling into a new house and taking care of some IRL stuff / taking a little break. I swear, I'm going to update everything sooner or later. >.>

I love you guys.

WARNINGS:

NON/ LOOSE CANON COMPLIANCE - this is the biggest warning, so if you’re into things that follow exact canon plot you are… definitely not going to like this. ANGST & SLOW BURN, HEAVY SEXUAL TENSIONSTARTING NOW, ACTUALLY - this is just so everyone who started reading this thinking the smut would transpire in a hurry knows that apparently, it is not. VIOLENCE / SWEARING & FIGHTING, POSSIBLE UNDERAGE DRINKING AND OTHER SHENANIGANS- look.. it’s high school. shit happens. also apparently, my ofc Alyssa uses the word fuck like all the time?…EVENTUAL SEXUAL CONTENT / A VIRGIN ORIGINAL CHARACTER- this one is self explanatory. yes, i plan to write a smutty chapter in this at some point. when? i don’t rightly know. it’s got a while before we get there. STALKER TW - this chapter marks the true appearance of Alyssa's ex, Dave Novak. It's hinted heavily that he's a gross asshole who likes to play mind games.

If you're under 18+, probably not a good or wise idea to continue reading this series. Because there are going to be a few dark and adult themes within. I'll warn here, of course, but you need to understand that I don't control you. If you continue to read after having read the warnings and you're upset or don't like something... Totally on you, friend.

PAIRING:

Andrews!Sibling OFC x Sweet Pea.

TAGGING:

@brithedemonspawn is the only person on my Riverdale tag list. If you want to be added, the link to do so is below.

OTHER PARTS:

ONE - TWO - THREE - FOUR - FIVE - SIX - SEVEN - EIGHT - NINE - TEN- ELEVEN - soundtrack

OTHER STUFF:

[ about my writing - tag list doc ]

T W E L V E.

[773 - 589 - 7956] attachment

[773 - 589 - 7956] I think I decided how you can repay me, scarlet…

[773 - 589 - 7956] Better enjoy your quiet and happy little life while you still have it, scarlet. Because soon it’s all going to be ripped right out of your pretty little hands.

[773 - 589 - 7956] That boyfriend of yours isn’t even gonna be able to save you this time, scarlet. You’re mine.

[773 - 589 - 7956] See you soon, scarlet.

Each new text that came in had me tensing up. Careful to keep my phone out of sight of anyone who was nearby. My heart was about to beat right out of my chest and my stomach felt like it sank to the floor. I was barely listening to anything being said around me and I guess it was more obvious than I thought because Toni cleared her throat, nodding to the phone in my hand.

Gazing at me in concern.

“Everything okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.”

“Yeah,yeah. Everything is fine.” I lied. I think at that particular point in time, I was just trying to convince myself that this was all some kind of bad dream. Or worst case scenario, Dave was making empty threats.

Toni eyed me suspiciously. I tried to give her a convincing smile, but I’d have had to be an idiot to even think for a second that she believed me. She eyed my phone and reached for it. I managed to shove it in my pocket.

“Trust me.” I pleaded. She gave me a wary look and sighed, grumbling “Fine, okay. Alright.” under her breath.

And I did my best to push the texts out of my head. Jumping in the conversation she had going on with Cheryl and Veronica. Laughing and talking as if nothing were wrong.

Lying through the skin of my teeth.

XXX

“What’s got you so jumpy?”

The question caught me off guard. I wanted to tell someone what was going on, I really did, but… I didn’t want to worry anyone, either. I was at least 99.9 percent sure that there was absolutely no way that Dave would show up in Riverdale, at least that’s what I was hoping.

I did my best to play it off. Shoveling french fries into my mouth just so I didn’t have to answer right away. My cell phone lit up and I flinched before I could stop myself.

Toni reached for it and I quickly grabbed it and shoved it in my pocket. She gave me a concerned look and I muttered quietly, “Probably just Reggie...again.”

“Reggie’s with that new girl though?” Cheryl spoke up. Gazing at me thoughtfully. My breath caught in my throat because if anyone would catch on to there being something truly wrong with me or something off in the way I was acting, it’d be her or Polly.

So far, I’d managed to fool everyone else into thinking I was alright, even my dad and my brother.

,, Dave won’t come here, it’s not worth the hassle. He’s just playing mind games. That’s all this is. Pull yourself together.” the thought came and I managed a smile, shrugging.

“You’ve been acting weird all week, now that I’m thinking about it.” Cheryl was the one who said it and she gave me an expectant look. Waiting.

“I have not.”

,, I do have one secret I can spill. Maybe if I tell them about my crush on Sweetpea…” and so that’s what I did. Sighing as I reached for the shared plate of fries between the three of us. Raking my fries through my vanilla milkshake and taking a few deep breaths to kind of collect myself, both from Dave’s harassing texts and what I was finally about to get off my chest about having feelings for Sweetpea.

“You have. Start talking.” Toni spoke up, watching me. Sizing me up. If I had to guess, I’d pin money on her sitting across the booth, trying to figure out what was up with my jumpy attitude all week.

“Okay, alright. Fine. But what I’m about to tell you two does not leave this table, okay? It.. It can’t. If Sweetpea ever found out, pretty sure he’d start avoiding me and things would get weird.”

Toni and Cheryl exchanged a look and then Toni nodded. Chewing a mouthful of fries as she muttered calmly, “Go on.”

“ I may or may not have a crush on Sweetpea.”

“Oh, you definitely have a crush on him. It’s kind of obvious.” Cheryl gave a soft teasing grin and I sighed. Dragging my hand through my hair and taking a few seconds to let her words sink in. I almost dreaded asking, but I felt like I had to given that she said it was obvious. “Oh god.. He doesn’t suspect anything.. Right?”

“Oh, he’s the only one whose oblivious. But the rest of us, we’ve known a while.” Toni teased me. Then asked calmly, “Is that all? Why’s that have you so jumpy?”

“Because I know how bad I am at hiding things, okay? I was kind of… I dunno, freaking out I guess.” I eyed her, waiting. Searching her face in the hopes that she accepted what I said and didn’t keep pushing. A few seconds passed and she laughed softly. Took a sip of her strawberry milkshake and asked with a smirk, “Are you gonna do anything about it?”

“Probably not. Every time I even think about it, I manage to talk myself right out of it. He’d laugh his ass off, okay? Besides, remember all the flirting he was doing with Josie when they had to work together during the play?” I pouted as I pointed it out.

Cheryl and Toni exchanged looks and Toni laughed. “He was doing that to make you jealous. Or that’s what I think he was doing. Either way… I think you should do something. He’s not going to and trust me… I’ve known the guy my whole life. I know him well enough to say that I know he has a thing for you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so cranky when you two first met?”

“I thought he was just naturally grumpy?”

“Oh, he is, but the way he was towards you was totally different. He’s only that grumpy when he’s trying to keep his defenses up.” Toni informed me before finishing off her shake.

The door to the diner opened and Sweetpea walked in, Fangs in tow. The two of them were laughing about something. I gave both Cheryl and Toni a pleading look and Cheryl seemed to pick up on my unspoken plea to change the subject thankfully, because she asked, “Are you going to F.P’s retirement party at the Wyrm?”

“Yeah.” I answered, finishing off my milkshake. Sweetpea flopped into the booth beside me, carelessly slinging an arm over the back of the seat. His hand brushed against my shoulder and I swear just the small brush against me felt like someone had taken a livewire and dragged it over my body real slow.

Toni smirked at me, nodding at Sweetpea while he was too busy wolfing down french fries to notice and I shook my head.

“I dare you. No… I triple dare you.. Flirt with him.” Toni gave a teasing grin as she mouthed the words to me and I swallowed hard.

She’s not playing fair. She knows I can’t turn down a dare.

I happened to glance out the window of the diner and when I thought I saw Dave standing there, leaning against a streetlamp, one hand in his pocket and a cigarette dangling between his lips, I nearly choked. This prompted Sweetpea to start hitting me on the back lightly as he laughed and looked at me in concern. “Damn cherry, are you trying to kill yourself?”

Toni’s brow raised and Sweetpea explained what happened earlier in the day, how I’d nicked myself with the scalpel in our first period class while doing a dissection. What Sweetpea didn’t know was that when it happened, it was because I thought I’d seen Dave standing outside in the parking lot, only to blink and the parking lot be empty.

I have got to stop letting his stupid mind games get to me. It’s just because he’s texting me again. It’s just because he knows how to work me up and get me all scared, he used to be good at it when we dated.

He’d never come to Riverdale. He’s just doing this to me for his own sick amusement and every single time I let him get to me, especially when I’m to a point where I’m so paranoid I’m imagining that I see him everywhere lately, it’s letting him win and that pisses me off more than anything.

I’m supposed to be stronger than that, damn it.

Toni eyed me suspiciously and I braced myself. When she didn’t bring up my skittish behavior, I relaxed a little.

I wanted to tell someone what was going on, but at the same time, why? I’m pretty sure this is just Dave, being an absolute bag of dicks.

It has to be that. It has to be.

XXX

He stood outside some podunk little diner right in the heart of town. The hazy red neon gave off a comforting and inviting warmth and he lit his cigarette, fuming in anger as he watched her sitting inside.

“I know you’re not ignoring me, scarlet. I know you’re not.” he muttered, mostly to himself as he turned the collar of his leather jacket up against the wind and started to walk towards the South Side.

Maybe it was time he paid his old buddy Eric a visit. Eric was out of prison. Eric was the one who’d told him where Alyssa was to begin with, though he didn’t realize it.

Dave chuckled and shook his head as he walked towards the shitty apartments on the opposite end of town where Eric lived. Eric owed him a few favors. He was coming to collect.

“Did you really think I was jokin when I told ya I have friends all over? That you weren’t ever gonna get away from me?” he mused to himself as he knocked on the door of a first floor slum apartment.

Eric opened the door, leaning in it lazily. Blinking at him in a daze and smirking. High fiving him as he asked him why he was in town.

Dave whipped out his phone, showing Eric a picture of Alyssa. At first he gave him some story about her running off while he was in the pen. Eric wasn’t buying it, he could see it written in the expression on his face. And that only made him angry. Eric owed him. He was here to collect the favor owed. All he wanted was for Eric to help him out on this one little thing.

Eric shook his head, chuckling in disgust. Gazing at him with a brow raised. “I think you need to leave, man. Now. You don’t want the heat this is gonna bring down on you. And I’m not about to get on a Serpent’s bad side, even if the Serpent in question is just a damn kid.”

“See, I’d like to just put this all behind me, man... but she’s the whole reason I even went to prison to begin with. Then I get out and find out not only is my girl not loyal, she’s also the one who snitched on me?” Dave eyed Eric. Getting irritated because this was not how he saw the conversation going.

“I’m telling you, you need to leave. Forget about Alyssa. I see her around all the time with some kid… Sweet Pea or Green Bean, some shit. The Serpents are not people you fuck with, man. Not around these parts.”

“You know the Serpents aren’t shit to me… Right?” Dave quipped, smirking. “I’ve got this under control. I just need you to help me out a little… C’mon, man. You owe me.”

“I don’t fucking care. I’m not helping you do whatever it is you’re here to do. What I oughta do is put a bullet in your fucking head for even thinking I’d be down for this shit. She’s a kid, man. A fucking kid... Favor or not, man… I’m on the Serpents side with this. Not yours. You need to leave.” Eric warned, giving Dave a firm glare as he folded heavily tattooed arms over his chest.

“Oh, so that’s how you’re playin, huh? Okay. Alright. All I wanna do is see her again. I’m not going to do anything. I just want to straighten things out. Get a little closure on the situation...”

Eric scoffed. “This coming from the king of overreaction. I don’t trust you.I’m breakin code of my gang by even talking to your ass. Nope. The answer is no. I’m not helping. Do whatever you have to do to me, but I’m not about to help you scare some kid. I’ve got better things to do with my time, buddy...”

Dave’s arm shot out and he pinned Eric against the door of his apartment. Smirking at him calmly. “I know you haven’t forgotten just how much your sorry ass owes me. Because that’s what this sounds like.”

“I guess that’s what it is then. Because I’ve seen what the Serpents can do. I’m not about to bring all that down on my head.” Eric stepped back inside his apartment, slamming the door in Dave’s face, leaving him to glare at the closed door and take a swing.

“Guess I’m doing this all by myself.” Dave mused as he turned and wandered down to a shitty dive bar nearby. He needed to have a few rounds. Come up with a plan.

And a little after midnight, after finding himself a few new talkative friends in some local Ghoulies, things were starting to look up for him. And he was slowly forming a plan.

Now he just had to wait. Pick his moment. Toy with her a little more.

“I’m so close I can almost touch you, scarlet. Soon… Soon you’re going to pay for running your mouth to mommy about me...” he smirked to himself as he unlocked his hotel room and stepped inside.

[hahanoiwont]

turn left writing prompt: 1. down for the count but the umbrella doesn't open so lup isn't there to help taako. 2. Stop Me but kravitz tells the crew that taako is trying to get himself killed

oh shit yeah I love it

send me a story and change one thing and I’ll tell you how it would have gone!

1. Taako just fucking dies. I set it up so Barry can’t get there in time, Taako is not capable of casting featherfall himself, he literally falls off the cliff and dies. Barry’s Real Fucked Up about it, but he was still falling fast enough to break the umbrella, so Lup’s here now, I guess. Magnus and Merle arrive to a corpse and two inconsolable liches. Barry feels terrible about it but he’s glad Lup is out, and Lup is so so frustrated at herself for not scraping up the energy to cast a level 1 fucking spell when her brother’s life depended on it.

Taako lives in the astral plane now. Lucretia takes it as evidence that she has to end this fast and sends the other two to Wonderland immediately, pretty much following canon timeline but with Taako kicking it in the Eternal Stockade while Kravitz tries to figure something out. Magnus and Merle are devastated, of course. They all kind of thought they’d be in it to the end. They don’t know why looking back, but they kind of felt like they were invincible. Even when he’s dead, they keep feeling like he’ll be there when they turn around. It’s a lot quieter now. Carey really tries to be there for Magnus but the three of them were family, you know? And Merle visits his kids and just. Holds them. It scares Mavis and he tries to act like nothing’s happened so he doesn’t freak them out.

They have a hard fuckin time of it for the first round of Wonderland. Magnus barely wants to live and Merle can’t keep it together all by himself. They’re doin Real Bad before Lup, who desperately wants to kill someone just to make the emptiness go away, fucking wrecks the place. Everyone in it except for Magnus and Merle die. They barely manage to save the Sterling crew too, but there are heavy injuries.

Meanwhile, something funny is happening in the astral plane. Taako’s been babbling about a sister when Kravitz knows full well he doesn’t have any family, and he keeps talking about something coming and Kravitz thinks whatever killed him must have fucked him up real bad, because he has no idea what it is, he just knows Taako died from it, and Taako is no pushover. But then he doesn’t have time to worry about it, because all of a sudden he’s drowning and everything is gone.

He thinks this is his eternity now, just drowning in oily darkness with no end in sight, when a light breaks through.

It’s Taako, and he’s kicking ass. They get to the Eternal Stockade and Taako is like, now do you believe me? Cause I fucking told you so. And they cling to each other for a bit. Taako catches Kravitz up on the end of the world. Kravitz has to take a moment. So that’s it, then? he thinks. This is the end? Taako’s going to disappear and I’m just going to end here?

Fuck no, says Taako, we’re gonna fucking beat this thing. And then a bright light shows Kravitz how Taako’s spent the last hundred years, and when he comes to Taako’s turning the floor into precious gemstones.

I appreciate you emulating the relic you created, Taako, very thematic, points for drama, good callback to how we met, but is now really the time?

Fuck off, I know what I’m doing. Gimme a hand here.

Between Lup in the Prime Material Plane and Taako and Kravitz in the Astral, they manage to open up a portal. Taako and Kravitz stumble out, Taako and Lup have a beautiful reunion, timeline follows canon.

In the end, Taako is dead, though. Like he’s very much not alive anymore and that’s not really, like, going away? He’s allowed to grow a body and have a second chance, but he looks at his options and, you know, he knows how elves age. He knows most of his companions are human. He decides he doesn’t want to be the last one standing while all his loved ones die around him. Bone zone’s not so bad, he says. I think I’ll stick around for a bit.

(Please don’t call it that, Kravitz says, pretending not to laugh)

Luckily for him, he’s got options. He’s the savior of reality, and also has shown some decent problem-solving skills and combat proficiency, so RQ wouldn’t mind giving him a position if he makes himself useful. He thinks about it. But really, he’s gotta go with Istus. Not that RQ isn’t cool and shit, just, death, you know? Black’s not his color. And fate is very much a part of the lives of each person who helped to save the world, so he gets to see his family. He spends a long-assed time as an emissary of Istus, and she tolerates his antics and only sometimes has to remind him that she could crush him with a thought. I’m tempted to say he convinces Magnus to also do that for a little? Partially bc I’m a sucker for reaper Julia (ooh or she could serve Istus too?) and also bc I think Magnus would be good at it.

2. Lup is kickin it with Magnus one day and some dude shows up. in her room. on the starblaster. Taako is going to kill himself, he says.

What the fuck, Lup says. Get the fuck out. Magnus hits him with a chair.

No actually, Taako is going to kill himself, he asked me to do it and I said no but he’s planning something really fucking stupid and you need to stop him, the dude says, but he’s wheezing a little bit so Magnus is satisfied. Got the wind knocked out of him.

You don’t know shit about my brother, says Lup, who has definitely seen the signs and is deeply into denial territory. She is handling it, she thinks, erroneously.

Kravitz tries Barry next, because Merle would be awkward, he doesn’t know Davenport, and Lucretia would probably be a bad idea. Barry takes one fucking look at him and nopes right out. He’s not dealing with this shit in his home where he can’t have collateral damage. Kravitz follows him to a randomly selected clearing planetside. Barry is ready to do that meme where you see something bad on the internet and you say to yourself, ‘wouldn’t want my lovely wife seeing this!’ and smash your computer with a hammer. Maybe light it on fire to be safe. You need to use all that extra gasoline somehow.

Kravitz does not have time for Barold J Bluejeans’s necromancer bullshit. Taako is literally trying to kill himself and like corrupt his soul somehow??? please. Like I don’t think your death crimes are what you have to worry about right now. We will definitely worry about those! but not right now.

Barry is intrigued by this. He is strongly against his dear friends committing suicide via horribly mutated arcane ritual. He doesn’t see why one of RQ’s people would come up with such an outlandish lie. He would like to know why Kravitz knows this, and also, why Kravitz knows who they are.

Kravitz, in this au, has not agreed not to talk about anything. He tells Barry everything. How he died, how Angus died, how Taako died, what he thinks must have happened after that. Barry does not say so, but he notes that they have a plan to defeat the Hunger now, and also apparently Taako has had that for at least a hundred years and said nothing??? okay, Taako. He must be missing something there.

Kravitz was honestly expecting Taako to have told the crew what’s what. He was a little disoriented when Taako told him no one knew. But now Barry knows, and he insists on telling Davenport, and once Davenport’s onboard it’s time to tell everyone else, and then they set up an intervention. They get all ready for it. They are waiting for Taako. He is late. He is later. He is very, very late. The sun is rising and he still has not come home. The sun is peaking and he has not come home. Lup is shooting massive amounts of anxiety-fueled fire into the sky and he still is not home.

Taako is gone. He has turned himself into the Prime Material Plane like a dumbass. In this au, they don’t have his notes and they don’t have anyone on the inside helping them. unless

Angus McDonald, 110 year old boy detective, is on the case. He is deeply frightened by quasi-sane definitely-dangerous Actual Plane Taako, but also Taako is his friend and he wants to help. He convinces Taako to come with him bc he wants to show him something. Zagged on ‘em, it’s actually an ambushtervention. Taako is forced to talk to his damned family, fucker, for once in your life. A non-bullshit solution is found but no spoilers for the actual fic. The whole Wonderland mess is averted and everyone is much less traumatized. Still kinda sucks tho, you haven’t unlocked Happy Ending.

There is actually one thing that could be changed that would make the whole thing happy, though. Keep trying!