#oh also this is their first meeting in my au. I’m ignoring the retcons in the first adventure lol

[blaithnne]

Tags on this post really inspired me.

How mad do you think Heron was when some old dude showed up and interrupted her fun. How mad do you think BEAKLEY was?

[sunnysviolin]

BESTIE I WANT A HEROMARI VERSION OF THE MOMENT WHERE THEY’RE FLYING AND HOWL SAYS “That’s my girl” TO SOPHIE IN THAT REALLY LOW AND SEXC VOICE 🤲🏽

CAN I RETCON AN AU I JUST STARTED??? ABSOLUTELY I CAN FOR YOU SOUPMATE....Yes you guys I did have my best friend send me an anon just so I could write this. She’s so fucking good I really don’t deserve having her in my life. So Yes I will change the AU I just started to be even more HeroMari. @cerasus--flores This is related to your ask, so I figured I would tag ya! This is also a Part Two!! 

Instead of having Hero and Mari meet at the exact time they both find their siblings....let’s work with this a bit shall we?

Kel has drifted off somewhere again, and Hero is just so fed up. He knows that Kel isn’t in the castle because Aubrey told him so, and they’re not too far away from the nearest town....Hero swears when he finds Kel he’s putting a sticking charm on him so he can’t leave his bed for a month. Kel knows why they have to hide in the Wastes, and the castle isn’t small. If he wants so badly to explore, why not explore the rooms? 

Hero grabs his cloak and puts it on, trying in vain to cover his dark blue locks. He liked making his hair fun colors, it was one of the little bits of magic he still did just for joy, but it made him easily recognizable. With a little bit of a disguising charm he left the castle and flew over to Farawaytown. 

Luckily the town is in the midst of some military parade, and everyone’s eyes are on the strapping soldiers, not a young boy hiding under a cloak. He scans the cheering fans at first, but with no traces of Kel, he begins to search the alleyways. 

Hero does a quick locator spell, letting a beam of light flare up in his palm. It starts as a ball but quickly shortens into a pointed spire, spinning like a compass. He says Kel’s name, and the spire turns a soft glowing orange, pointing southward. 

He follows it, keeping a sharp eye for any soldiers or citizens who might notice the very obvious display of magic, but the back streets are deserted. He crosses a divide in the alley, but hears a soldier laughing. Hero quickly walks backwards, cupping his hands and starting to extinguish his spell, when he hears a girl’s voice. A familiar voice. 

The spell lights up lavender, and spins wildly once more. It lands in the direction of the soldiers. Hero clasps his hands together, barely even daring to breathe. His heart is racing with a furious beat, but he can’t help to peer around the corner. 

She’s gotten taller since he’s last seen her, her hair is longer too. She always used to keep loose and flowing around her shoulders, but now it’s in a tight formal braid. Her dress is plain, and her hat is straw. Hero only ever saw her wear rich velvet robes and sparkling dresses, and Mari had always detested hats. 

He wouldn’t have believed it was her if she hadn’t spoken just then, telling the two soliders leering at her to leave her alone. They only came closer, and Hero blinked his eyes twice, searching their intentions. He could tell they didn’t actually mean her any harm, but Mari was still frightened. 

It was fine. She would be fine. He should just walk away. Getting close to her meant getting close to Solomon, which would put Kel in danger. He should just go. But Mari was scared...

Hero cursed at himself and straightened up to his full height, walking with confidence towards the trio. He put his arm around Mari, pulling her close to his chest. “There you are sweetheart. Sorry I’m late, I was looking everywhere for you,” 

Mari stiffened up, and Hero managed to brave a glance down at her face. She was staring up at him with a mixture of horror and wonder, but there was something else there. Something that sent a spike through Hero’s heart. She was confused, frightened of him. 

She didn’t know who he was.

Damn Solomon. 

The soldiers were annoyed at his intrusion, snapping something at him. Hero ignored them, not bothering to answer their questions. He held his right hand up over Mari’s shoulder, fingers crooking like they were holding marionette strings. He sent the two soldiers away, giving them instructions to join their platoon once more. Now it was just him and Mari alone. 

She was still frightened of him, and Hero lowered his hood to show his face to her. Even seeing him fully, his eyes and the glinting earrings she had given him as a birthday gift oh so many years ago, didn’t jog her memory. Damn Solomon. 

Hero tried not to let his disappointment show on his face. He gave Mari a small bow and apologized for intruding. She accepted the apology with a mumble, pulling on the sleeves of her conservative green dress.

On a whim Hero offered to “escort” her to wherever she was going. It wasn’t the smart choice, and probably the wrong one, but he had spent four years away from Mari and now that she was here in front of him, he didn’t just want to let her go. Besides the questions were beginning to pile up in his mind. Why was she not at the academy? What had Solomon done to the bright confident girl he used to know? Why didn’t she recognize him.

“Oh um...I’m just going to the bakery. I think that uh, my brother might be there, and I’m...I’m looking for him,” So Sunny was involved in all of this too. Hero shouldn’t be so surprised. Sunny managed to involve himself in plenty of trouble in their childhood. If Kel was here, chances are he had already found Sunny on his own. Hero gave Mari a small smile, the kind he knew made girl’s around him swoon and clutch at their hearts, and held out his arm.

“I’m looking for my brother too. Shall we look together?” She nodded and took his arm, placing her small hand in the crook of his elbow. They walked in silence, Hero too preoccupied, Mari too overwhelmed to speak. Then Hero noticed a familiar sight, a tiny brown mole peeking around a corner. He leaned his head close to Mari and whispered in her ear

“Don’t be alarmed, but I’m being followed. Act normal,” Mari acted even more alarmed, and Hero quickened his pace, a plan beginning to form in his head. Solomon may have taken Mari’s memories, and maybe even her abilities, but she would still have her natural talents. Maybe a taste of what she used to have would bring out some of the old times they used to share

Moles were beginning to sprout from the walls, closing them in from all sides. Mari gave a quiet shout of fright, and Hero smirked. He grabbed her securely around the waist and flew them both up high into the air. The wind made her dress a balloon, and the moles chattered angrily from below. 

Mari had her eyes shut tightly, fear making her shake. Hero frowned, and then shook off his negative feelings. He took his hands away from her waist and linked their fingers easily together. “Open your eyes,” Mari shook her head, a quiet whimper of fright managing to escape her lips. He squeezed her hands once, “Trust me,” 

Mari cautiously opened her eyes one by one and gaped at the sight. She had never been this high up before! Still something about it felt right, like she had done it a thousand times before. She turned back towards the wizard she had recognized by his strange colored hair and gave him an uncharacteristically wide smile. 

She had been so scared when the wizard Hero had first put his arm around her, thinking back to all the things the other girls at the flower shop said. But all of those rumors couldn’t be true, not about this boy with his soft spoken voice and gentle smiles. 

“That’s my girl,” He whispered into her ear, heart fluttering at the joy on Mari’s face as they glided through the air together. Hero gave her instructions to straighten her legs and start walking, and they continued their jaunt high above the heads of the rest of the world. She clearly still wasn’t herself, but it felt nice to do this with Mari again. 

This was something they had done countless times in their youth. Flying was one of Mari’s favorite things, and they had often danced around in the air while they waited for their next lessons to begin. 

“Not so hard is it?” Hero laughed, placing his boot down on one of the rooftops and launching them higher into the air. Mari gave an exhilarated giggle, and Hero couldn’t take his eyes off of her. They landed on the balcony of the bakery, the band below finishing their waltz with a dramatic flourish. Mari had stars in her eyes, staring at him in childlike awe. Hero couldn’t help the blush that dusted his cheeks, turning away from her and towards the long hallway ahead.

“Let’s see if those brothers of ours are down below, hmm?” 

[stennnn06]

if the show were to bring sam back, what would you hope to see?

besides the obvious, and that is andrea/sam staring across the room at each other with HATRED in their eyes? jk. (im not kidding.)

no but seriously, if we ignore odie’s scheduling issues and pretend we could have her back on the show, sam is like... the perfect CHARACTER plot hole filler. ignore actual plot, because like - what even IS going on in this show ever? but i’m talking like emotional, DEEP, character plot holes that i just wish we could have more exploration with. [and i know, we have too many characters, there’s Crisis which makes no sense, etc. but lets just...indulge me for a sec. you asked! lol]

sam gives the perfect excuse to dive further in lena’s past - have some flashbacks, make some shit up, do whatever. show more about their connection prior to Reign.... with her, lena and jack back in metropolis - it doesn’t even have to be gay, it can just be like... giving lena more substance besides her family drama (which i LOVE, and you all know i love). but we also know sam and jack gave lex and lillian THE BUSINESS too, and i wanna hear about it. i wanna see lena-sam’s first meeting. i wanna see sam’s reaction to lex’s bs. i wanna see lena tell sam she’s moving to national city and have sam make fun of her for it but ultimately support her. i just wanna see more reasons why lena is so GOOD.

sam also gives MUCH more weight to andrea and lena’s relationship as well. rojascorp is already pretty great with what’s implied, but if i can’t have true previous-history reigncorp (which we know happened, but for canon we’ll pretend it didn’t), then i picture something like from @i-am-robie ‘s wedding date AU where sam and jack are just like Team Lena forever, and the shade they throw against Andrea after her betrayal would be HUGE. sam, who we know has been ACHING for a real reason to hate andrea the whole time would be all OVER it. and so it makes andrea more well rounded than just the weird (ex)girlfriend vibe and nonsense with leviathan...and is just so JUICY. so then you’d have this present day tension where sam wants to defend lena, and andrea is reeling with how to put their relationship back together, and she hates that lena loves sam so much enough to save her life...and lena is just like -- i’m a luthor i don’t have friends (but literally you have just as many as kara at this point). and they’d go round and round and i’d get my sam-andrea hatred, but they’d probably be forced to work together to help lena against lex, and it would be SO FUNNY and delightful. andrea having to listen to sam? sam having to follow andrea’s lead? oh GOD.

plus then, it also puts kara in this weird position of like.... where do i stand with lena? oh god i HATE my boss but i have to pretend to like her....and SAM is here, and she REALLY hates andrea, and i really like sam.... and oh boy this is uncomfortable for everyone. like i could watch a show that just revolves around that for.... more seasons than i’d like to admit, lmao.

and then there’s also alex and kelly. who i REALLY want to be invested in, but i struggle when im just handed a relationship that took 2 episodes to develop. BUT if you insert sam (NOT to break them up) just to have a conversation - like imagine she meets kelly? and she feels all these weird feelings about what she almost had with alex, but she realizes kelly is so amazing, and she sort of has to deal with stepping back and allowing alex to be happy. that’s some DRAMA right there, but its in a good way. and it gives dansen more weight, because its just this added thing that makes you think. idk that’s just one suggestion out of many.

then, because everything is fake and time doesn’t matter and we retcon things in canon anyway simply due to laziness, i think they could dive deeper into her story overall as a kryptonian - make some shit up and have her actually have some kryptonian background, and her and kara can go down that entire path of really figuring themselves out and sharing this history together. it can be the friendship we always should have had for kara, where there’s an equal who struggles and UNDERSTANDS and has to come into their own. even if sam doesn’t keep her powers (i’m ok with either one, just explain it - although i’m always down for her to have SOMETHING).... it would just be great growth for kara without it having to be about a love interest. and maybe lena helps her figure out her powers or develops a weapon or two for her - OH AND BONUS - maybe she joins alex to fight some serious street crime. WHO KNOWS.

anyway, thanks for coming to my Why We Need Sam Arias forever Ted Talk.

[star-going-supernova]

Okay, real talk though, can we please just have a meeting of the Henry club? Like all of your Henry's just hanging out for juice and cookies to discuss what Joey has screwed up this week and laugh about it?

This… is a month late. And it also got out of hand. But I had a lot of fun cooking this one up, so thank you so much for the idea! I hope you guys enjoy, and, as a warning: some of this might make no sense if you don’t know some of the works these guys are from. 

note: this does not contain spoilers for Chapter 5. It’s mentioned, and something from it is mentioned, but nothing is spoiled. Also: I went through and counted. Not including the mess that Infinite Worlds is, I have 23 different versions of Henry. Frick. 

Also also: I’d love to hear your guys’ actual opinions on the thing Star asks the Henrys about.  :)

“We are gathered here today,” Star said, looking around the large circular table, “because—actually, can anyone tell if you’re all here or not? There are so many of you at this point that I can’t even keep track.” 

She watched all the different Henrys—Henries?—look around and mutter to each other, asking if this or that Henry was present. 

While she waited for them to figure it out, Star looked at the Henry on her right. He was her first Henry, one so full of determination and kindness that the world she’d created around him had slowly but surely bent to his will. 

Star loved every last Henry she’d ever made, but this one would always hold a special place in her heart. He grinned at her when he noticed her staring, raising his cup of coffee in cheers. 

A nudge on her left had her turning to a Henry quite a bit like her. With horns curling out of his head and a blindfold covering his eyes, the first demon Henry she’d woven into existence nodded out at the rest of the group. 

“I think they’re done,” he told her. “Sounds like everyone’s here.” 

“Excellent.” Star stood up and started over. “We are gathered here today because Chapter 5 recently came out and I’m retconning all of you.”

There were several shouts and gasps, at least two instances of spit-takes, and one of them—it looked like the Henry that she’d sent time traveling—fell out of his chair. 

Before anyone could riot against her, Star held up her hands, laughing. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. You’re all wonderful and the update isn’t going to change how I write any of you.” 

The sigh of relief was unanimous, a sea of Henrys—seriously which was it?—relaxing in their chairs, some going so far as to slump over the table. 

“Yeah, sorry, couldn’t help it,” Star said, beaming at the Henry who’d faced off against the Bendy animatronic. He glared back. 

Once everyone had settled down, Star opened her mouth to get to the true nature of their meeting, but paused. Her supernova eyes slid over the different versions of Henry that she’d thought up over the year, each and every one brought into a world of their own with so much care. 

She’d been so cruel to some of them. So kind to others. Star glanced down at her first Henry, and thought of how she was about to put him through the wringer for a second time. There was another room in this not-building that existed in her mind where there was a Henry or two that hadn’t seen the world yet. 

One of them was young, younger than she was now. His story still lingered in her head, but Star had to wonder if she’d ever get around to writing it. Another was old, poised at the start of Chapter 5’s plot, ready to take it on in his own way. And there were others too. So many that sometimes, she forgot about some of them. 

For all her powers, even she couldn’t remember them all. 

“I just…” Star cleared her throat, pretending like she wasn’t a little choked up. “I just wanted to thank all of you. I know it’s not always sunshine and rainbows in the stories I write, but… I do my best by you. All of you. I wouldn’t be here without you guys, so. Yeah.” 

Star clapped her hands and ignored the way some of the Henrys looked a little teary-eyed. “Anyway, I really just wanted to get your opinion on your last name. I’ve been using Ross since the beginning—and frankly, I’m pretty attached to it at this point—but if you think I should use the name from Chapter 5, I will for future Henrys.” 

Peeking at the demon Henry at her left, she told him, “I’ll have to keep using Ross for you, though, since your story is on-going. For a few others of you as well, if I’m not mistaken.” 

The Henry who’d been murdered by Bendy several times before reconciling with the Ink Demon raised his hand. “Yeah,” he said, “you still need to finish the second chapter of Renewal.” 

Star visibly winced. “Ah, yes. I, uh, will get right on that.” 

He rolled his eyes, but his smile was kind. They understood. 

“I guess there’s nothing else to say, really. If you all could sit on the last name issue for a day or two and get back to me on that, I’d appreciate it.” Star gathered up her laptop, and moved towards the exit. “Oh—one last thing.”

The cosmos stretched across her skin glittered with her excitement as they all turned to her. 

Smiling, she told them, “It won’t be long until you’re joined by a new Henry. Have a good day, everyone.” 

• • • • •

Once the door closed behind Star, several conversations sprung up around the table. 

“I wonder if it’ll be an AU Henry,” the Henry from A Creator’s Heart said. “Or if he’ll have something to do with the new chapter.” 

“Probably the new chapter,” the Henry who’d been chased by an animatronic Bendy said. “You know she’s been particularly vocal about it.” 

The only Henry among them to be considered villainous chuckled. “She was thinking up new ideas before she’d even finished watching a playthrough of Chapter 5. Of course it will have something to do with it.” 

“Regardless of what sort of story this Henry will come from, I’ll just be glad not to one of the newest anymore,” the wingless of the two angel Henrys said. Though the first chapter of Consequences had come out a while ago, it’d only just recently been completed. 

Henry the time-traveler nodded. “I’ll drink to that.” They both raised their coffee mugs up clinked them together. 

On the other side of the table, a couple Henrys were comparing their Joeys against each others. 

“Look at me,” After said, gesturing at the tiny body he shared with Before. “My Joey literally sacrificed me and wiped my memory. I didn’t even have a name for years. Imagine! The only method of identifying myself was as After!” 

“That’s fair,” a Henry wearing a partially untied straitjacket said, “but at least you got away from your Joey. Mine’s probably going to hold me captive for the rest of my life.” He shuddered. “I’m just glad Star ended my story where she did. Based on the direction it was going, I have no desire to see what happens next.” 

The second demon Henry in the group nodded glumly. “Mine summoned me into the studio, tried to forcibly bond me to him like a slave, and now I’m stuck running from all sorts of monsters who want me dead. And I’m trying to protect my kids—I mean, the toons—while on the smallest amount of demonic reserves possible.” 

As one, the three of them turned to look at the fourth Henry in their group. He smiled apologetically. “Sorry,” he said, “but I’m engaged to my Joey, and all it takes to keep him under control is threatening him with the couch for a week.” 

While they were moaning and groaning about their sad, Joey-related fates, the first demon Henry, from the ever-expanding world of Inky Eyes, Gold Heart, silently eyed the eldest Henry of them all. 

The Henry from The Art of Being Alive not only had the privilege of being Star’s first, but he also had one of the most extensive and complex stories out of any of them. 

“So,” demon Henry quietly said, “Star’s brought you back out of her memory.” 

Henry—The Henry, the first, the original, the eldest—nodded. “Chapter One is up. She posted it on the anniversary of Art too.” 

Demon Henry waited, but when nothing else was forthcoming, he asked, “And how do you feel about it? I mean, you had your happy end, everything was over—and now, what? Joey’s back or something?” 

“Maybe he is,” Henry said, calm and steady. “But I like to think I’ve been around Star long enough to know that she’s always got some sort of trick up her sleeve. So maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. No matter what happens, though, I’ll be ready.” 

A little shiver passed through demon Henry’s spine. Oh sure, he had great powers and all, but this Henry… he was a little bit terrifying. 

The moment passed, and Henry continued, “I’m excited, honestly. It’s been so long since I was active. Maybe she’ll put me through trials even worse than last time, but I trust Star to make the pain worth something.” He smiled, surveying the others. “She treats us well, even when she’s giving us a hard time of it.”

Demon Henry couldn’t help but agree. 

Henry breathed deeply, leaning back in his chair, the picture of relaxation despite having some idea of what their Creator had in store for him. “Do you ever wonder,” he asked slowly, “what it would be like, to have a mind like hers?”

It took a lot of effort, but demon Henry swallowed down the joke he wanted to make about how weren’t they supposed to be Creators in their own rights? “I bet she’s never lonely in there,” he said instead.

Gratifyingly, Henry laughed. “I’m sure you’re right,” he said. “And I can’t help but think… a mind full of wondrous worlds, so many of which will never see the light of day… that perhaps, what it’s like on the inside has bled into the outside.” 

Elsewhere, so close and so far, covered in stars and light and color, their Creator sat, laptop in hand. And from the stardust on her fingertips, something new was born.