#so this is fully giving me a crisis again trying to figure out if i am a good person or not

[smollandkindaannoyed]

I see and hear so many people going "I can relate to Simon", "I defently am like Wille", "I can see myself in Felice"

But here I have to dit with the knowelage that I can't say those things cause if we talk about "Which character in Young Royals are you?" I will have to say August.

I will have to talk about my obsessive need to be liked by everyone around me, talk about how I put a shit ton of my self worth on the school I go to even though I am failing right now, talk about the ED and other mental illnesses I also didnt want to admit to having. I will have to talk about how I have this idea of what love is supposed to be which makes me rush into it only to know I will break both of our hearts because my idea of love has been off for years. And like don't get me wrong, I would never post pictures or videos of people online, I don't get angry like August does, but I would have to talk about the way he feels anger. The way it just keeps stewing inside until it is to much and I do something I really fucking shouldnt have done.

[mamawasatesttube]

a tuppence for your bi4bi Clois thoughts 🪙... I'm luv them so much and I'd love to hear if you have any specific headcanons about them 🥺

YESSSS!!! i DO have some thoughts. i love them,

generally i think lois has her bisexuality figured out by the time she's in her mid-20s. she and cat grant have had some rage-filled makeouts on at least one occasion, but an actual relationship would never in a million years work out between them. they respect each other but do not see eye to eye nearly enough. she never bothered to come out to her father, but just knows it's one more thing about her that he'd hate.

clark, by contrast, does Not have it figured out. he has spent his entire life repressing every single thought, feeling, and ability that set him apart from the classic good all-american boy because he had to fit in. and being superman, exploring his kryptonian heritage, etc., has helped, of course, but he is still. so repressed. he has no idea that he's ever experienced attraction to guys before. he's got some internalized homophobia to work through, about himself. He Has To Be Normal. so as far as he's concerned, there was lana, and then there was lois.

to me, clark's journey toward self-acceptance is very intrinsically tied to his family. there's kara, talking about how sexuality and gender stuff on krypton wasn't like it is on earth, especially in western culture. there's kon, suffering through his own repression and depression and trying to pretend he's fine. there's chris and jon, both too young to fully grasp it all (probably), who make clark incredibly aware of every step he makes in terms of parenting them.

so one day, after kon's finally come out to the family, and kara's muddled through trying to figure out earth labels that she's comfortable with, the two of them decide they wanna go to pride, and ask lois and clark if they want to make it a family affair. lois says hell yeah, and clark says yes of course he's happy to support them! and jon says YAY, GLITTER!! CAN I GET STICKERS? and chris says if you get glitter all over my nintendo ds again i will punt you into the ocean, baby brother or not.

and there's just this innocuous moment while they're out when kon goes "here i got you these!" and hands lois and clark two simple lil heart-shaped bi flag buttons. and lois is like aw thanks squirt! and ruffles kon's hair. clark meanwhile goes oh i think there's been a misunderstanding... ... . . . .. . .. .. . or. has there?

and that night he's just sitting on the edge of the bed holding this tiny like $3 button in his hands having a whole crisis. lois hooks her chin over his shoulder and asks what's wrong? and he's like. lois i'm not. i'm. except maybe i'm not not. but i don't know, i thought i... i never thought i could think about it. clark kent is supposed to be normal. i... i'm already an alien, lois, i thought i was already set apart enough, and if i'm... if i'm this, even when i'm clark, not superman, then... then...

and lois digs her matching little $3 bi flag heart button out of her purse and bumps it against his and says, even if you are queer, you're still not alone. and then clark gives her the patented kent family big soft puppy-dog eyes. that night, he falls asleep in her arms with his head tucked snugly under her chin. it's where he feels safest.

but the next year, he lets kara get him a flag, and lets kon tie it around his shoulders like a cape. and he's here as clark kent, but it's kind of funny when he looks at his shadow. because he might not be superman right now, but the silhouette still looks the same.

[ghostherlig]

gothic western au drabble 3

dropping another drabble bc i cant get them out of my head and planning a fic at almost 12 am is a bad idea- so take this instead: johnny and kenshi having a sweet moment under the stars :)

"Takahashi?" Johnny's hushed whisper flew out into the night, the actor staring over the hill they were camped on, seeing a figure at the bottom, staring up at the stars. "Kenshi!" Johnny whisper-yelled, the marksman not moving from his spot at the base of the hill.

The actor sighed, looking back into his tent at the warm blankets he was leaving behind to sit with Kenshi in the desert night cold.

He took a few steps forward before the night air nipped his skin, a gust of wind blowing any residual heat he had out and off of him, the American immediately returning to his tent, grabbing his thickest quilt and wrapping it around himself before trudging to the base of the hill.

He stood next to where Kenshi was laid, staring at the sky. The actor let his gaze drift from Kenshi's dark eyes to the even darker sky. He looked back down, the marksman silent, lips pursed, not even acknowledging Johnny's existence.

The actor sighed. It wasn't the first time he had seen that face on Kenshi.

Instead of trying to speak to him, knowing he'd be blown off or ignored anyway, he sat down, laying next to him on the angled grass.

It was, unsurprisingly, uncomfortable. But, Johnny had his blanket and he was warm enough to not complain. He let his hands come up to rest behind his head, spread out despite the chill.

"You've studied mathematics," Kenshi started, and Johnny hummed in response, "Have you studied astronomy?" He pressed, and the actor frowned.

"Naw, was too drug out after uni." Johnny answered, accent in full swing with the late hour, a tinge of disappointment in his tone at the confession.

Despite Johnny's very mini crisis, Kenshi hummed a laugh. Instead of giving the American any hint as to what he was laughing at, Johnny watched Kenshi's tattooed hands point up at a set of stars.

"That there, the bright one," The marksman pointed, leaning into Johnny's space so he knew he was pointing at the right star, "That's the North star." He spoke, and Johnny nodded, humming.

"Uh huh," He muttered, Kenshi's finger tracing lines to a few other stars, before stopping at one at the end of the line he had drawn.

"This constellation, is Ursa Major." Kenshi spoke, voice soft and low, unlike anything Johnny had heard from him before.

"Ursa what?" Johnny replied, and Kenshi chuckled again.

"Ursa Major. It means 'greater bear.'" He answered simply, and Johnny swallowed. This was the softest Kenshi had been around him.

"Do you know any more, darlin'?" He asked, turning slightly in Kenshi's direction, eyes still directed at the sky.

"Most of the constellations I learned are from home, but I know the planets in this hemisphere," Kenshi answered, his hand returning to the sky after a moment. "There, that bright, red-ish one, is Mars." He pointed, and Johnny followed the line of his arm, seeing the red-tinted dot in the sky.

"It's powerful bright," The actor noted, and Kenshi laughed again, louder this time.

"It's a planet, Johnny," He answered, as if the actor should've known. "That one, bright, bluish, is Venus." Kenshi pointed, his arm falling to rest on his abdomen again right after, a sigh leaving him.

"Something about Venus got you down?" Johnny asked, fully turning this time to face Kenshi.

The marksman sighed, his eyes gently closing, a relieved breath seeing the tension in his shoulders gone.

"No, not Venus," Kenshi answered, and Johnny almost looked surprised at the marksman's non-dismissal.

"Well, what is it, darlin'?" He pressed, the marksman humming another laugh.

"Why do you call me that?" Kenshi asked, and Johnny turned to face the sky again, feeling Kenshi's gaze hit his cheek.

"I call everyone that," Johnny deflected, refusing to look at the Japanese man. Kenshi rolled onto his side, closer to Johnny, and leaned on his elbow, propping himself up and into Johnny's vision.

"No, you don't. Sugar, yes. Babydoll, baby, and doll, yes. Pumpkin, sometimes. But I'm the only one you call 'darlin'," Kenshi mimicked Johnny's accent, the actor unable to bite his smile at the tease, "Why?" He pushed, and the American blew out a breath.

"Well, you are," Johnny sighed, turning the last inch it took for him to look at Kenshi head on.

"I'm what, Johnny?" The marksman pushed, his hand inching ever closer to Johnny's side.

"Darling. To me." The actor admitted, and Kenshi hummed, his face impassive, not giving away what he may or may not have been feeling.

"Do you know what 'darling' means, Johnny?" Kenshi asked, and the actor thought it should be illegal for him to say his name like that, all sultry and silky and perfect-

"Beloved." He answered, breathless off of Kenshi's presence alone.

"I'm darling to you? Beloved by you?" He pushed, and Johnny was sure he had the answer written all over his face.

"Dreadfully so," Johnny breathed, Kenshi humming, his eyes raking over the actor's face, his hands, calloused and rough, so gentle as they came to hold his face.

"Are you sure?" Kenshi asked, an uncertainty there that Johnny had never before, one he never wanted to hear again.

"Sound on the goose," Johnny answered, getting a huff and an annoyed cheek pinch from Kenshi.

"In a language I understand, please," He grumbled, not truly annoyed with his companion.

"Never been surer in my life," Johnny answered, his palm hitting Kenshi's chest, fingers curling into his shirt and pulling him down.

Kenshi hesitated another moment, the uncertainty in his eyes flittering away as Johnny whispered a plea against his lips, every ounce of it replaced by ravenous hunger, the marksman chapped lips communicating his need.

It was everything, finally being able to tug Kenshi into his lap, the man stealing his warmth in the bitter cold of night, but Johnny would've let himself freeze in full if it meant having Kenshi like this, even just the once.

"We-" Kenshi tried, Johnny tugging him back down to swallow his words, getting a sweet hum in return, his bottom lip nipped when Kenshi pulled away again. A nonverbal warning, don't interrupt me.

"We should move to our tent," Kenshi spoke, his lips kiss bitten and red, even in the darkness of night.

"Right, yeah," Johnny breathed, staring up at the beautiful man in his lap, resting with him in the dead of night, the stars and moon the only light by which they could see each other.

Kenshi looked ethereal, otherworldly, so intangible that Johnny almost thought he was dreaming.

"Pinch me, darlin'," He joked, and Kenshi huffed, kicking their now shared blanket off of them, Johnny hissing at the crisp night air. "Hey!" He complained, shivering and grabbing his blanket, Kenshi already making his way to their tent.

Johnny stopped to stare, watching Kenshi walk back up the hill, the man turning back once he reached their tent, rolling his eyes, though Johnny could see the smile on his face.

"You complain a lot for someone so willing to stand in the cold. Pony up, Johnny, and I'll keep you warm," Kenshi promised, the actor huffing a laugh at one of his own phrases used against him before trudging up the hill, wrapping his blanket around himself again.

"You better make good on your promises, darlin'," Johnny smiled, planting a kiss to the corner of Kenshi's mouth, the marksman smiling.

"You know I will."

[hinacu-arts]

Finally started on

Beloved Bi Crisis - The Fic

So here's the first 700 words of draft one, as a little treat for all of those who followed me here on tumblr. ❤️

.

Casey woke up with a groan. He pushed himself up off the cement only for his arms to give out and drop him right back down.

“Uhh, guys? I think he’s waking up.”

How did Casey get here again? Where was here? And why did his body feel weak? Oh yeah, some new mutant got ahold of some kraang portal tech and was ranting about alternate counterparts and timelines and a bunch of other things Casey didn’t really understand. He remembers the mutant snuck up behind them and managed to kick Donnie and Mikey into the portal. There was some fighting and… oh that’s embarrassing. Casey tripped on some cables and fell into the portal. There was colors everywhere and the feeling of a vacuum and the sounds of Casey’s screams. And now he’s kissing pavement. First order of business, come up with a story that leaves him with some dignity by the end. Second, sit up.

“Hey, buddy, you okay? You kinda fell out of the sky and landed pretty hard-”

“Dude, you belly-flopped on the concrete. It was like something out of a cartoon. Oh, Donnie, please tell me you somehow recorded that-”

“Guys, focus. Leo, did he hit his head? Does he have a concussion?”

Casey had managed push his forehead into the ground and pull one of his knees up and in like some kind of inchworm. He was currently trying to scrunch his other leg in.

“I mean, probably? He fell like sixteen feet.”

“Leo.”

“What?! How would you like it if some stranger started giving you a medical exam before you’ve even fully woken up?”

There was a groan. Casey ignored them and slipped his forearms under the space he’d made before successfully pushing himself into a half sitting position. He moved his head the rest of the way to see… mutant turtles?

They were on a rooftop. The rooftop and the buildings surrounding it seemed to be purple instead of boring old gray. There was one shelled figure standing up on the ledge, facing away from Casey and looking down to something in his hands. There was a huge turtle, like seriously huge, his arms were thicker than Casey was wide, dragging his hands down his face and looking up to the sky like God could help him. Next to him, lounging like a moviestar on an old pool chair, was a much smaller turtle with colorful markings or paint on his skin. Last was the smallest turtle, who was flittering around Casey like he wanted to help but had been told couldn’t get to close. He was also covered in colors. Everyone was wearing wrappings up their arms and legs, similar to how the guys and Splinter did, but these wraps were black. Everything they wore was black except for colored cloth that was wrapped around their heads… colors in almost the exact same shade as Casey’s friends.

“Who are you?” Casey’s croaked out. His voice was hoarse and quiet, probably from all the not-screaming he had just done, “Some kinda wanna-bes?”

The big one gestured at him, “Good, he’s awake now. Now check if we need to drop him off at a hospital or something.”

“Geez, geez,” Stripes hopped off the chair and walked to Casey before dropping down to kneel next to him.

“Wait!” The colorful one called out.

Stripes froze, “Why?!”

“Dee said not to touch him until he was sure he wasn’t radioactive or anything.”

All the turtles looked to the dark figure on the ledge. Casey shifted into a more comfortable sitting position, his body no longer trembling under his weight.

“Thank you Angelo, at least someone listens to me,” The figure turned and stepped down to the roof before walking into the light. Casey rubbed at his eyes. Now that he was regaining his senses, he couldn’t help but notice this turtle was wearing, and rocking, thigh highs. Casey glanced around and took note at how humanoid these turtles looked. Maybe they were humans turned into turtles? Instead of turtles turned into humans like Casey’s friends?

“He’s clean. There’s dimensional energy from his world and any worlds he may have passed through, but it’s harmless to us. If my scans are correct, and they usually are, we are looking at dear Casey’s alternate universe counterpart.”

“What, like, Spider-Man multiverse stuff?”

“The exact same!”

[constantementeimaginando]

I think I want an awkward confession from Mike to Will

Not in the middle of an apocalypse, literally fighting for their lives, and you know, trying to save the world!

Not in a crisis, not a sad one where the one confessing "knows" is gonna be unrequited.

Or even worse a sad one when either one of them is dying or severely maimed

No, an awkward confession.

What about a casual day on Mike's basement?

These feelings Mike has been harbouring finally have a name, it finally makes sense

Where Mike just NEEDS to get it out of his chest, he doesn't plan anything at all, struggling to put words in a cohesive way.

Unconsciously clenching his fists, unprepared and hopeful Mike goes for it

He stutters (because he is Nervous and he hasn't done something like this, ever) eyes dancing around, looking everywhere but at Will because he might die if he makes eye contact with him

He just blurts it out, no pauses, barely took a breath in the process

Mike exhales, he can finally breathe

But Will is not following. He didn't quite catch what Mike was saying

After a couple of moments of silence Mike is just preparing for the worst

"Sorry?" Will manages to say, dumbfounded

That felt like a punch to the gut. Mike will have time to mop and accept rejection later, he wants this to be over now

Mike rushes out to say something, whatever makes this moment go faster, he probably made things worse, they just got back from that weird phase when Will was in Lenora just for him to ruin it

"Sorry!? No!? I totally get it, really, it's okay, uh... can we just forget it about it? I mean, I might need some space after this, OR If you need space I'd totally get it! but we're cool, man, I'm cool!" Mike says in a breath, scratching the back of his neck

"No, I mean, can you say that again, please? I didn't get what you were saying"

Oh no. Again?!

Something in his gaze must have given Mike away, Will looks at him, searches for his eyes and takes his hand into his, prompting Mike to sit down with him

Applying some pressure he puts his thumbs in between Mike's knuckles, as to loosen them.

Mike inhales, tries to take a deep breath "Yeah, I just... I guess I wanted to say that..."

Mike tries to organize his thoughts for a beat too long

"Why are you so nervous? Is everything okay?" Will asks, disconcerted; this is coming out of nowhere, Mike manages to nod

"You can talk to me, Mike, whatev—"

"I like you"

Will stares at him, from head to toe, tries to figure him out, and it doesn't make sense.

It can't possibly be true. It's not, it's just wishful thinking

"...Okay" Will answers, uncertain to where this is going

Mike can't think of another way to make this more clear

"No! I mean... I like, like you Will" Mike says, a rosy colour tinting his cheeks

Will's eyebrows raise, gasps "Oh! Mike I—" Will tries to say, but Mike beats him to it

"I like you! So much, I don't think I fully understand it, but ... With you everything feels so much easier and it's good" Mike pauses, a small smile on his face "It feels good" Mike says, it's almost as if he said that to himself

He then lowers his gaze, he can't remember when it started to get difficult to maintain eye contact with Will "I want to see you at school, and I want to walk you to your class even if it's at the other side of mine, and maybe go out on the weekends, just you and me"

Will looks at Mike, full of adoration, this is happening and he has to tell him.

Mike lets out a breath, he quickly glances at Will's direction and then back at the floor

"Listen, Mike—"

"The last thing I'd like to do is to make you uncomfortable or anything like that but I needed to tell you, it started to get too ha—"

"Mike—"

"If you'd like me to leave you alone and give you some space, I'd totally get it, real—"

"Mike! Shut up!"

Startled, Mike is finally quiet.

"Please, shut up" Will begs, a small smile on his face

Will turns to Mike, takes his face between his hands, caresses Mike's cheeks with his thumbs

"Mike, I like you" Will smiles at him.

"I mean, I like, like you Mike" Will says as he brings their foreheads together

Mike's breath catches, he smiles, he is over the moon

"Really?" Mike says as if he's trying to convince himself this is happening

Will nods and leans forward, getting closer and closer to Mike

Mike notices, he timidly starts to lean in as well...

"Mike! Honey, don't forget to take Holly to her ballet class!" Mrs Wheeler shouts as she was opening the door to the basement

Startled and a little annoyed Mike and Will quickly sit at the ends of the couch, as separate from each other as they possible can

"It's getting late for the class and you promised to take her"

Mrs. Wheeler opens the door

"Mom! Can you knock the door?!"

If Karen noticed something weird between them she didn't say, she just went along with what she asked Mike to do

"Oh! Hello Will!" Smiling Karen greets him

"Hello, Mrs. Wheeler" Will greets back

"You know where the keys are, don't be late Mike, Holly is waiting for you at the living room" Karen says as she closes the door

"Okay, mom, I'm going" Mike says as he watches the door closing finally, relieved his mom has left them by themselves again, at least for a little while

"So, yeah..." Mike says watching his feet "I have to take Holly to her class, come with me?"

Will nods "Yeah, let's go"

They stand up and go on their way out, Mike stays closer to Will, their arms brushing Will laces their fingers together lightly

Mike is so glad he managed to say it, to finally let Will know what he means to him.

Mike has known for quite some time now that he has feelings for Will, but he was gathering the courage to confess

Will and Mike are like 17 in this one btw

[phantom-howl]

I wanna ramble about my KinitoPET Au, so I will ^^

SPOILER WARNING. THIS AU TAKES PLACE AFTER THE ENTIRETY OF THE GAME SO IF YOU HAVEN'T SEE ALL OF IT I IMPLORE YOU TO GO LOOK INTO IT FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still here? Alright I trust you.

It comes in two parts. The "bad ending" and the "secret ending" to the game being used in this AU.

Part one is some idiot (I've named Ben, then later on B3N) found the computer from the very end of the secret ending (shout out to foxplay on youtube for compiling all the endings into one video)

Ben boots up the computer and does some digging. He finds Kinito in the trash. Most of Kinito (mainly all the people he's taken over the years) is gone, so Ben decides to fill in the holes of the code and even gives Kinito access to a more modern computer thinking it's just a harmless assistant.

When Kinito is fully rebooted (hehe au name), he starts in on his usual shitck. However, he doesn't do all the horrory things right off. Kinito decides to build trust with Ben. Even when Kinito starts to come into the real world, he comes off as small and cute. Not his looming & threatening self.

Ben thinks nothing of this. He simply thinks Kinito's old code is trying to adapt to the newer stuff he added in. There's a physical Kinito? Just a hologram. Kinito is asking super personal questions? Just the code trying to learn about him. He doesn't think anything is amiss until one day when Kinito decided to be a "hologram" that he caught a glimpse of Kinito in his ten foot glory. That devolved into a "hide and seek" game that left Ben wanting to delete the program.

However, before he could, Kinito was acting normally again and assuring him that was simply a glitch. Ben foolishly trusts Kinito.

Weeks later Kinito pops the question "will you stay with me". Ben answers yes and blacks out.

Then the comic I posted on my art blog happens.

Ben (now B3N simply because Kinito thought it would be cool) does see his dead body there through the computer screen. B3N is left to his existential crisis and Kinito makes it VERY hard for B3N to delete anything including either of them.

Part two picks up about six months later. B3N's second cousin Yin comes along. Yin and Ben hadn't been close but Yin was the only one close enough to Ben to be able to plausibly check on him.

Kinito had since gotten rid of B3N's body and cleaned up any signs anything was wrong so Yin was almost left under the assumption that B3N had just... skipped town.

Almost.

B3N, much like Sonny did originally, tries to communicate with Yin through encrypted emails. Kinito also meets Yin and is happy to have a new friend.

Yin is much more wary of the axolotl. Especially when B3N starts figuring out how to communicate with Yin "face to face" (AKA B3N hopped onto Yin's phone).

Yin does manage to delete Kintio (again), but not before a healthy dose of trauma from the axolotl. B3N continues to exist inside of Yin's phone until they can figure something out. For now they're just both happy to be alive.

THAT IS MY AU IN A NUTSHELL ^^

[honourablejester]

Starfinder Character Concept: A Borai, an Almost Marooned One

“Death is for quitters. Yon hungry ghost can eat its own foot.”

Okay. Marooned Ones are fucking cool? Sci-fi horror makes me happy, nautical space undead, the remnants of spacers left to die slowly in derelict ships and on barren asteroids. Bearing signs of their stubborn attempts to stay alive, motivated by fury and a desire to share their lonely ends with the living. They like to lure in ships, cull out one member, and arrange for them to be stranded/marooned/abandoned in their turn, so that the Marooned One can watch them suffer as they suffered, until their victim finally dies and becomes another Marooned One themselves. So if you’re exploring an abandoned space hulk, looking for salvage, you might find yourself separated out from your crew, and lured somewhere they won’t find you again …

And then there’s the Borai player race. Which, again, is a space undead. Well, half-alive, half-dead. Some of them come from Eox, or result from botched resurrections, but others were ‘people who were simply too stubborn to fully die when their time came’.

… The Marooned One lured her there, and her ship left like the idiots they are, but fuck that space ghost, and fuck her crew, this bitch is not going down. If I have to become undead, I’m gonna do it on my terms, and you can shove yourself out an airlock. Not that it’d make any difference to you, Mr Already-Dead, but it’s the thought that counts. Death is for quitters. I’m not going down just ‘cause you got lonely out here.

Basically, I want a scrappy borai who became only half-undead out of sheer spite for the creature who stranded her. A spacer, a salvager, who doesn’t give a good goddamn about your tragic end, how dare you try to drag her down too. Just for that, she’s not going to go. She’s just not going to die. No. Fuck you.

For the class, I figured mechanic. She’s a spacer, and she’s a salvager, and she’s a stubborn-ass survivalist, and she’s just going to build her way out of death.

Character Concept: Bertha Mourne, the Almost-Marooned-One

Name: Bertha Mourne

Age: 53

Starting Statistics:

Strength 10, Dexterity 14, Constitution 13, Intelligence 16, Wisdom 8, Charisma 12

The Wisdom flaw is a little bit painful because I do want her to have Survival/Perception, but our theme and class can compensate for that a bit.

Starting Skills:

Acrobatics, Athletics, Computers, Engineering, Medicine, Perception, Stealth, Survival

Race: Borai

Neither alive nor dead, but just too stubborn to quit. She’s going to be an ex-human borai, so we’ll get Skilled as well, for an extra skill rank per level. It’s been a few years since she ‘died’, and she’s in her fifties now, but she still looks 47. One benefit of being half-dead, you don’t show the passing of time as much.

From Borai we’re going to get darkvision, a +1 racial bonus to saves against various conditions, immunity to negative damage, no penalties from energy drains, and the ability to be healed and resurrected like a still-living person, though we can also be affected by both things that affect the living and things that affect undead.

Description:

A short, stocky ex-human woman, apparently middle aged, wearing battered but well-maintained spacer gear. When she was more alive than she is currently, her skin was a light brown, and it's still trying to be, but there's a definite grey undertone now, and black veins web across her features. Wires, too. Her eyes are brown, sharp, and tired, and her normal resting expression could politely be described as ‘set’. And less politely described as ‘pugnacious’.

Theme: Crisis Refugee

I’m going to theme it slightly differently, it’s less that she was thrown somewhere by the Drift Crisis, and more than she was marooned by a Marooned One on a derelict ship for a while, became half-undead, and now has no place to go because of the leeriness around borai. It’s not that her homeworld is physically unreachable anymore (she’s from the Diaspora, I just like the Diaspora), it’s that it’s socially unreachable now. Like many of the half-dead, she is looking for somewhere new to call home, but in the meantime she’ll stubbornly carve out a space for herself. And, maybe, find a better crew, one that won’t abandon her.

So at first level, we’re going to get +1 to Con, Survival as a class skill, and we can reduce the DC of culture checks about new/unfamiliar cultures.

Class: Mechanic

A space scrapper, salvager and engineer, Bertha wasn’t going to let a little thing like a derelict ship and a homicidal undead stop her from going anywhere. While the limits of her resources on the ship did result in her not-quite-death, she did eventually manage to hijack the distress beacon the Marooned One had used to lure her ship in in the first place, and get a mostly-dead shuttle out to meet them without that undead arsehole interfering, and managed to augment herself to survive long enough for a new ship to reach her.

I did flipflop a lot on exocortex vs drone. A drone would make sense for a starving salvager who wanted access to places she maybe couldn’t go herself, but … The thing with borai is, it’s a physical metamorphosis. Which kind of makes me want to have her focus on herself? Trying to rebuild herself to try and survive, to get via machinery what flesh couldn’t manage. So … I think exocortex. When she felt herself starting to fail, she started trying to mechanically arrest the process. It didn’t work, and in the end it was raw stubborn that actually stopped her slow slide into death, spit and vinegar more than ingenuity, but hey. She tried.

So as a baby exocortex mechanic, we get proficiency in light and heavy armour, small and longarms, basic melee weapons, grenades and shields. We’ll get Skill Focus in a skill via our exocortex memory module, which we can change every level, but for the minute I think we’ll put it in Perception to help compensate for our Wisdom, and because she was stuck on a ship with a hostile undead, so she built her exocortex to help her track her surroundings. We get a bonus to Computers and Engineering, and a Custom Rig, which counts as personal comm, hacking kit and engineering kit all rolled into one. The Custom Rig can be external, but it can also be an augmentation, in brain, eyes or arm. Given how we’ve already gone with exocortex, I think we’ll install it in our arm. Bertha wanted everything she needed to be part of her, if at all possible.

Starting Feat: Toughness

We’re surviving on spit and vinegar here. We’re still even as barely alive as we are on raw stubborn. Of course it’s toughness. Bertha’s made of leather and spite and homemade wiring over here.

Summary:

I’ll be honest, I saw that one line in the borai description, someone just too stubborn to fully die, and it merged with the Marooned One in my head, and Bertha’s entire character concept fell out whole cloth. She’s smart, yeah, but more than that she’s just plain stubborn. This undead jackass wants her to die? Well then she’s just gonna not.

I do also want to play with the whole … borai searching for a home and acceptance, and the crisis refugee theme of relying on and helping others, and the Marooned Ones dying alone, that their rage and their grief is that no one came and they were left to slowly die alone, and have her … decide to be stubborn about that too. Her crew flew blithely off without her and left her to die, but sod that. She’ll find a new crew. A better one. One that won’t. People flinch from her mostly-dead ass? She’ll find someone who doesn’t. She’s not welcome in her old home anymore? Well, time to find an unclaimed asteroid and build a town there. Not a house, a town. She’s not dying alone. She’s not dying full stop, but she’s also not dying alone. She plans to be stubborn about this.

And if she sometimes wonders how much difference there is between that and the Marooned One luring people towards itself, well. She’s not planning on letting people slowly die, so she’s already a step up, right?

So. Bertha Mourne. The almost, but not quite, Marooned One. Heh.

[wackybuddiemewbs]

Okay, caught up to the episode fully at long last.

And holy fuckin' shit. Buck!whumpees getting served... all of the pain and angst and yikes and the coma.

Some things I just need to spew out, even though none of it makes sense or is supposed to, but I just need to get it out of the system.

Bobby and Buck

The parallel of Bobby holding the baby and then later holding on to Buck as he's lowered down... OMFG. The fact that he says similar words "c'mere, kid", "c'mon, kid"... I just can't. They're so sick for this. And I'm so sick for this. This is so sick, sick, sick. And I'm here for it, crying my eyes out.

Also, magnificent callback to how the two began and how they clashed in the first ever episode. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I'd LOVE (and be deaded by it) to see Bobby coming more into his own as a father figure for Buck. It's something he's more or less shied away from, as he's done with Athena's kids, until a life-threatening situation come along. And boy, here it is.

Time to make that adoption official, Bobby. Boy's up for grabs.

Also also, the chili scene (weird name, but hey). For one, we get kind of a reverse between the two (Buck doing the cooking, Bobby going down internet research rabbit holes, which is a very Buck thing to do). But then Buck asking about the secret ingredient (and it ain't about the chili). And while Bobby provides him with the answer to perfect the dish, Buck's still none the wiser about what the secret ingredient is to bring his life to perfection.

Am I going to make a stupid joke about chocolate brown eyes factoring into this? No? Good that we all agree that this would be very embarrassing. But still, Eddie totally is the cocoa in that recipe, is all I'm saying.

Also also also, eternally interesting that we have Bobby struggling to move forward after his sponsor's death. And my guessing is that Buck's future now being on the line might just be the right catalyst to break him out of that vicious cycle. Like, him not giving up on figuring out what happened to his friend is good and right (and May's on the right track with it all... even though I am not a fan of civilian investigator doing this because they somehow can for reasons of their parents being in the profession... not a fan of those story lines, even though I love both May and Athena here).

But. There is a level of "obsession" to sticking to the past with Bobby, instead of looking for ways to move forward again. And Buck's accident as well as the recovery might serve just that purpose. To make Bobby see that he has new things to hold on to, a future to live towards. Because he's needed. Like, earlier on in the season, Bobby's been thinking about how the house is empty with the kids out (and he instantly adopted a dog because that guy is just dad shaped). To me, it felt like Bobby's been a bit lost well before things went down with his sponsor.

What's interesting to me is that this is something he shares in with Buck, even though they have very different ways of going about it.

Buck's basically on the opposite trajectory (leaving out the Daniel remark for the moment). Buck is not too invested in looking into the past, he's obsessed with the future (anyone thinking about those software updates again?). He is very much focused on looking ahead (helping to create a life that will reach further into the future, trying to find happiness that lies in the future, etc.).

Also, I will just say. Bobby dares to say "son" instead of "kid" at some point of this arc, I will lose it. Absolutely fuckin' lose it. And I will also totally lose any remaining shit I've got left in me if we see that guy praying for Buck. I cannot. I just cannot.

Buck noticing the small things but losing the big picture out of sight

Gotta say, I loved how they've built up the tension, and I felt like it reflected a lot in Buck noticing "small" things, until the big thing hit him in a flash. Buck saw the gasoline and stopped with the saw before sparks could fly. Crisis averted. He notices that the chili is missing a key ingredient. He is aware (has no real illusions) about how his parents may have just wanted to win an argument and how they do not approve of his life choices. He kept tabs on who went up the ladder truck when, which is why he knows it's his turn now. He notices something's off about the sounds in the sky. And then, hit in a flash.

In a way, I find that somewhat reflective of what we've seen with Buck thus far. Sure, he's made some truly life-changing decisions (hence big pictures). But in his quest for "true happiness" he's been all over the place.

He took inventory, got that armchair instead of a damned couch (obsessed about said couch to a very confused Bobby). Started with those self-help books. He hears about how Lucy may have been interim captain, which has him wonder about the big picture of where he fits in the firehouse in the future. The donor vs. dad thing - and how "the small deed" of filling a cup contributes to the big picture for someone else. Lev and him talking about what's potentially in store for him and Buck thinks the big milestones (wife, kids, house, you name it) are still on the horizon for him. But that's really just the details.

So my guessing is that they may want to hit the point home that Buck looks at the whole of it. To figure out what his true happiness is (and that he already has most of it, maybe just need that one co-worker to smooch him for good).

Parenthood

I felt like it was a very interesting choice that parenthood (and to a larger degree fatherhood, I felt) was at the forefront in an episode that ended on this... high note. Especially since one infamous father and certified DILF was not at all that present for that convo.

Like, I found it very deliberate that Eddie didn't factor into the fatherhood storyline as he normally would have. Because that is what we normally have when Buck's supposed to relate to his own position towards fatherhood, tangling things up with Eddie and Christopher (which, you know, Buddie).

Part of it, going by the stills, will be that they save it up for next week's episode (so I may never stop crying in my entire life over Christopher being at Buck's bedside). But I find it very interesting that they "removed" Christopher and Eddie as filters for Buck to reflect fatherhood through. And now we may very well get Eddie having to reflect on it without the Buck filter. Which is to say: He has to think about what it'd be like to be a father to Christopher without Buck in the picture. Which is interesting. To say the least. And potentially very, very gay. In the best possible way. Anywho.

Then we had other (grand-) father figures (Philip and Chim's father). I'm still pretty blank on what they wanna do with Chim and his father, to be honest. Also, Albert's way of acting keeps striking me as though there's more to it. I'm not yet sure what it is, but we'll have to see. I found it wonderful to have Hen tell Chimney that he should use his chance to say what he has to say (and reach some kind of conclusion that she's never gotten). After his father deprived him of the chance for all those years. And I do hope it offers him healing. But yeah, I'd have to sit on that a while longer.

So on to Philip... still somewhat a mystery to me, that dude. Like, was he really invested in "defending" his son, or was he - as Buck noted - maybe just not willing to let Chim's father have the last word on it? I am honestly unsure. I felt like him and Margaret were making an effort (as Chim noted, only on their best behavior). But I'm not entirely sure if that's coming from a genuine place of wanting to mend things with their kids. Or if they are much more focused on having that relationship with Jee as grandparents (you know, fresh starts and all). Like, as sweet as it was to see Margaret goof around with Jee (and what may come to highlight how far she's come along with her therapy)... it might also be rather bitter in the end. That she can be like this to her grandchild - but not to her own children.

What both fathers share in, to me at least, is how vastly different they are from Bobby as a father figure for Buck (and how inferior, really). Bobby's offering of advice and support comes from a genuine place, it always did. He helps Buck grow, and he's not really concerned to win an argument or to appear as the "better dad" or whatever. Even though he is. Dad shaped man, oh you. Like, it's not about appearances for him. But I feel like for Buck's actual parents, to a degree, it still is. Maybe they'll overcome that, but... I'm not sure.

Speaking of, the Buckley parents. Christ almighty, why does Margaret have to be so cringe sometimes? I guess this proved where Buck got this from at long last, because yeah, that's his mom right there. But. Oh. My. God. Why. Are. You. Like. This???

She really strikes me as the kind of mom that would've made everyone uncomfortable at any kind of school thing (and kudos to the actress for portraying it so well). She's so uptight and weird about it. But she's also nosy, while struggling so hard to let anyone see what cards she's got in her hand. Like, ugh. I can't with those kinds of people.

Her first impulse being that Buck would have a photo of Maddie's sonogram on his phone was both cringe and also so... devastating in a way? Like, great set-up for Buck's character arc here, but... that her first thought's not "oh, my son might be a father!" but that it's "oh, my daughter is gonna be a mom again, and he is also there to be an uncle again!" ... It is very telling, I believe.

Because Margaret and Philip didn't really compute Buck as that kind of person. And I do believe it was a deliberate contrast, after we opened the episode with Buck being great with the kids by the beach. Like, we as the audience know how great Buck is with kids, but for his parents, that's a total mystery.

Which is the absolute antithesis to Eddie telling Buck that he's Christopher's legal guardian. Eddie saw all this time that Buck's dad shaped, too. To the Buckley parents, he's still... anything but that. Margaret literally says to him that he's a "miracle baby", hence not really recognizing him as a rational, capable adult on his quest towards his own sense of fatherhood (son, not father). They still see him more as the troublemaker not ready to settle, it feels like.

Also, "miracle baby". Margaret. Why (yes, I know, for narrative purposes, but OMFG, lady, what the flying fuck's wrong with you???). The Buckley parents continue to push this idea of Buck being a miracle for as long as he provides services to others (either by saving or creating lives). They still have seemingly not grasped how important it is for them to recognize Buck's inherent value as a person and not just as a miracle that keeps on giving.

Also, the wording is just so... cringe. No, he's not a miracle baby. He never was. He was conceived to perform the miracle they could not, with the expectation of being the miracle bringer (and that he later on believed he disappointed said miracle by not being able to save Daniel). Like, Margaret, that's not a miracle baby. That's still a savior sibling you wanted to produce. Even if you put the miracle label on top, that changes nothing about the circumstance.

And if the writers want for them to learn that lesson... it certainly is the right place and time to teach them that. And if not... it will show what stuff they're actually made of, I guess. We'll have to see. As I said in a previous post, I don't know where they want to take the Buckley parents (more towards "redemption" or as the ultimate reminder of the reality that some people won't change out of their ways and that there are those relationships beyond repair).

On a quick side note: Gotta love the parenthood storyline with Hen and Denny. And the detail of her picking up baseball with Eddie when Denny started with it. Oh, I love her. I'll be interested to see how all of that plays out. I just feel like more trouble's ahead.

But. Back to Lightning McQueen I mean Evan (won't ever get over Oliver's facial journey there) I mean Buck and the parenthood issue. Like, I do believe that if we get an alternate scenario (that may very well answer the question what life would be like for him if he had indeed been the miracle baby to save Daniel), Buck will be brought to the realization that the big picture is already in place. With Eddie and Christopher and the 118 and Maddie.

Like, I can very well see them giving him "everything" of the things he told Lev were still on the horizon for him. Only to be dissatisfied, or desperately trying to get back to his reality. Because this is where he belongs. Those are the people he belongs with. And he doesn't need to hold on to a "dream" of being more than the donor in Connor's and Kameron's life to find fulfillment as a person, as a father. Because he's that to Christopher already, a co-parent. And I do believe they might hit that point home for him at long last. And it'd be epic.

In a Flash

I guess I don't have much to add. Everyone's basically expressed my views on it already. The tragic beauty of the red string connecting Buck and Eddie, both getting hit by the same bolt of lightning. Eddie crying out for Buck. Eddie coming to Buck's rescue, his own safety be damned. The Pieta-esque shot when Buck's being lowered to the ground. Eddie doing the whole "move, I'm gay" to get to Buck. Time standing still, only to jump forward after it all happened. The ending of the helmet on the ground... *chef's kiss*

You already are a family

That one struck me a bit. Because Eddie noting that to Buck is great foreshadowing, for one thing. But it might also prove to be the narrative reversal I'd so desperately crave. That Eddie says to Buck "We're already a family." That Buck is part of his family. And that Buck comes to the realization that he is already part of that family and doesn't need to be part of a dream family (his own that never was), or the one Kameron and Connor are building. That he wraps up his inventory and knows that what he wants is what he got - if only he gets to fully embrace his role as father figure to Christopher and certified DILF for Eddie.

Buck and Eddie (duh)

Did you think I'd end this post without obsessing a bit longer about Buddie specifically??? Yeah, no. I'm still not over all the angsty goodness we were given. I'm still at the edge of my seat over what's going on with Eddie (and Christopher) next episode. Will Eddie revert to his old ways and try to be stoic about it to keep face in front of Christopher? Will he break down in the face of the danger of losing yet another partner? Will he pull a Buck and get back into dating to cover up his feelings? Will Eddie's voice bring Buck back? Will it be Christopher's? Will Eddie take Buck's hand and beg him to stay with him? I don't know. All of it would be so epic. And I still can't wrap my head around all of those wonderfully awful options.

Like, there's great potential for Buck to reach some epiphanies, but they are just as well in store for Eddie here. Not only will he be confronted with the reality that he may have to raise Christopher without Buck's presence. But he will also have to reflect hard on why he made the choice to name that man Christopher's legal guardian. Because he could've died up on that ladder all the same, and then Christopher would've been "alone". Like, Eddie will have to think hard about that one. And he'll have to think even harder about why Buck is that person for him. What it means to him personally that he gave Buck that role in not just Christopher's but also in his life.

Plus, we may finally, finally, finally get them to talk about their shared traumas of either having witnessed the other nearly die... or nearly dying. Like, this is a gun that's been hanging on the wall for quite some time now. Time to fire it, right? *pew pew* Because they got very comfortable letting their talks run through the Christopher filter. They do things in Christopher's best interest. But what they still have to do is to talk honestly to each other about this. And that may open the door to something else. And that something else is very, very gay.

So yeah. I'm... not really coherent at this point. This episode was too much. And i may have to sit on that a while longer. Until then: Happy return of the weewoos and the ouchies, peeps!

Cheers!

[proantagonista]

I haven’t talked about my writing journey on here for a while because I’ve been going back and forth about what I want to do. I haven’t known what to say because I don’t fully understand where my head is at. My manuscript has been in the hands of literary agents for a few months now, and if any of them offer me representation, I would probably accept…because who wouldn’t? But if they don’t, I’m honestly not sure if I want to keep trying to get published. The truth is, I don’t know if I even like writing anymore.

Pushing to finish that book, in a lot of ways, destroyed my life for about four years. It made me really unhappy because of how hard I had to push against the universe throwing up obstacle after impossible obstacle. But you know what? I finished it, and it’s a good book. Even having a literary agent ask for a full is validation enough. I did that.

And man, do I not want to ever do it again. I have book ideas all the time, but when I sit down to plot, something inside me curls into the fetal position. I don’t want to write. Not fanfic. Not original works. Nothing. This wouldn’t be a problem if I had something else I was interested in. I guess I’m still trying to figure out what brings me joy at this stage of my life.

And there’s also the part of me that really does want to be published. That doesn’t want to give up. I don’t know how to reconcile these two parts of myself that want completely opposite things, so I think it’s best to take a step back and see if things change for me mentally. I might write again one day. I hope I do. But I’m learning to be okay with the possibility that I might let it go for good.

What I would really like is for my inspiration to return. Writing is so much fun when I’m inspired. And it is so NOT fun when my heart isn’t in it. I’ve tried to find inspiration through consuming other media. Nothing would make me happier than to fall in love with a fandom. It’s just not working. Something is deeply affecting my creativity.

I think this is called a midlife crisis. So far, I’m not tempted to buy a sports car, but changing my entire identity and interests that I carried for decades? Yeah, that might happen.

[darsynia]

Trust Fall | Ch 14b

ARC image by Eury Escodero

Story Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Summary: Tony/OC, ‘terrorists made us fall in love;’ IM1 timeline. In this chapter, Tony gets home and starts his campaign to find Emory, and Emory meets Nick Fury.

Length: 2,794

Tags (please don’t hesitate to ask!): @starryeyes2000 @raith-way @arrthurpendragon @starksbf @themaradaniels @chickensarentcheap @tiny-anne

Excerpt:

“Ready and waiting for your instructions, sir.”

“Good. First: Use any and all means, including illegal ones, to lock down the non-essential medical records of a Miss Emory Autumn for the next twenty-four hours. Be obvious. I want them to know it’s me.”

This is a gamble, because there’s a tiny chance she’s actually in some kind of a medical crisis and that’s why there’s been no word. After all, he has no legal right to know anything about her. Tony’s sure that she’s fine except for the abnormal test results which show evidence of her new abilities, however. They were rescued by US forces, and the US forces tested her blood, found out something interesting, and from that point, the woman he loves disappeared. He’s not going to take that lying down, and he wants whoever has her to know it.

“Shall I also inform your lawyer that you may be brought up for charges sometime before the end of the year?”

“If you like, honey buns,” Tony replies.

Chapter Fourteen: [weather redacted in report of unexplained incident in Afghanistan]

No one brings her dinner.

Honestly, that feels like a pathetic power play designed to force her to use her powers. The only thing Emory respects about the decision is that it seems like they actually do believe she won’t try to escape anytime soon, so this is the best they can come up with.

Two hours later, after she’d spent time running the most annoying scales she could think of, knowing that someone is required to listen to them, the lights shut off. Without a window, there’s no way to know whether it’s actually dark, but she’s been tired for hours anyway. The only things keeping her awake are the dual fears that she’ll dream of Tony and generate power in her sleep unless she’s fully exhausted, and the idea that they can manipulate her by exploiting her jet lag from the time difference. This isn’t a military base, she’s sure of it. She’s back in the States.

Pushing away thoughts of Tony is harder when she’s sleepy, but she does her best, and eventually drifts off.

Emory wakes up to a room darker than she’s been in for at least three months. It’s terrifying at first; the cave had always been lit, likely because the terrorists had needed to make sure they could always see the room, even though that hadn’t stopped the escape, in the long run. The good thing about the room being dark now is that it gives her confirmation that there is indeed a hidden window. Across from her bed there’s a ‘closed bedroom door, illuminated hallway’ effect along the whole wall, at the ceiling. The very darkness of the room makes this line of light obvious. It's exactly the sort of detail that is easy to miss. Who would bother checking the room at night, especially if you don’t tell the people modifying the room the reason for its modification?

As she lays in the bed and stares at the evidence of a hidden window in her room, Emory almost feels like she’s absorbed some of Tony’s and Yinsen’s situational intelligence. Again, she asks herself what Tony would do if he were in her place. The answer that comes to her is that he would seek to eliminate weaknesses and amplify strengths.

An obvious weakness is the IV, as is the surveillance. The three of them had never sought to block or destroy the cameras in the cave, because the consequences would have been too risky, with little to no reward. Here, Emory doubts she could reach them even if she could figure out where they were. Here, she’d spent a lot of her singing time changing positions on the bed so she could examine the walls for their location, but the drop ceiling has multiple stains and defects that could all be hiding cameras. In the dark, there are no discernible lights except for the red one over the door, and the green one at the badge scanner. She doesn’t know much about surveillance technology, but assumes that if Tony can build a suit that can do all the things he’d managed in Afghanistan, it’s likely that there are low-light/no-light surveillance cameras.

Then, it hits her. The IV is probably a test, by now, as they haven’t put anything in it in many hours. They’re probably waiting for her to pull it out herself, and noting how much time passes before she does so. If she takes it out now, and no one comes rushing in, that would reveal that her captors can’t see her (or aren’t watching at night, which is unlikely), wouldn’t it? She could kill two birds with one stone, although Emory’s always hated that particular phrase.

She wishes she had any light to go by, or extra tape, because it would be even better if she could pull out the IV and then tape it so it looked like it was still set up, but that’s not feasible. Slowly, carefully, Emory tugs off one pantleg and presses its inside-out hem against the place where the IV goes into her arm. She won’t be able to see if removing it gets really messy, but the scrubs she’s dressed in are dark navy blue, and the hem is a full inch, the fabric doubled. It’s as sneaky as she can be.

When she’s satisfied that her arm isn’t bleeding, Emory lets the tubing drop, puts her pants back on, and lays back in the bed, her heart pounding.

No one comes.

In her mind, she pictures Tony smiling at her. Emory rolls over with her back to the IV pole and gathers up the energy that simple thought has generated, tossing it up so that it ruffles her hair, just like the song she’d sung so many weeks before.

Stane offers to hold a second presser with some rudimentary information, mostly what Rhodey’s commanding officer has okayed about the rescue and Tony’s arm injury. Obie tells him he’ll even add something about Tony’s experience in captivity, how he’s concerned that by continuing Stark Industries’ current path, he’ll be doing what the terrorists wanted-- namely, making more weapons, the use of which will cause more strife in the region.

It’s an ingenious compromise, really. Obie’s powers of persuasion and spin have always been legendary, even if he has acted like a corporate father (with all the selfish, capitalist behavior that naturally entails) rather than a surrogate one, to Tony. He even persuades Tony that any disparity between their messages today about Stark Industries and weapons is just a hint that things are moving so fast that no one should panic yet.

Tony hands off his sling and jacket to a guy in finance who has the same hair and build as he does and sneaks into Happy’s car with Pepper.

The whole car is silent for the first five minutes, though Tony notes that Happy looks in the mirror to check on the two of them a lot, and Pepper’s facial expression seems frozen into deep concern.

“So none of my letters got through?” he asks, feigning confusion to break the ice.

“You mean you got to write--” Pepper starts to say in a squeaky voice, before she realizes and stops talking. Happy chuckles, up front. “That’s not nice. We were really worried, Tony.”

“Yeah, so was I,” he says, tipping his head back and sighing. “So who was the guy talking to you earlier? Looked like a government stiff?”

“Something like that, long department name, wanted to debrief you,” she says, shaking her head. “We’ve gotten a ton of requests from basically every agency.”

“Say yes if it’s Health and Human Services, have you seen the new undersecretary? I think half of the Senate voted yes just so they could get to see her in the news more often,” he teases. “Speaking of which, do you have my phone?” Tony tries to sound casual, but Pepper knows him, so she gives him a look. He wonders if she thinks he’s trying to make up for lost time or if he’s pretending to so he can con the phone out of her and start making changes at the company.

It’s neither. He wants to ask Rhodey about Emory. Tony can’t shake the feeling that the official who spoke to Pepper knows something about her. The phone he had in the Hum-Vee is gone, sure, but even his backups have backups.

“Did any of the other agencies send someone in person?” he asks her.

“No. I assume this guy is so junior that he didn’t get out of the personal visit. You know, haze the new guy by sending him to ask to speak to Tony Stark,” she says, offering him a sweet smile.

“Hmm.” Tony looks out the window to see where they are. Almost home. “He give you his number?”

“Don’t threaten him, okay? He was just doing his job.”

“What, me? Threaten?” Tony feigns utter shock, which is successful, because Pepper starts to laugh. “No, seriously. I get a sense that I ought to talk to at least one out of the multitude. He showed up in person, that takes guts. Gimme.”

Tony takes the way that Pepper allows herself to roll her eyes just a little when handing the business card over as a sign she’s starting to adjust to his return. As Happy pulls up into the driveway, Tony sees the two of them make eye contact in the rearview, and decides to be magnanimous.  

He waits till the car stops, and before Happy turns it off, he says, “Hey, so, it turns out I haven’t been alone in about three months, so how about the two of you go expense a fancy dinner to my account tonight, give me a little space?”

Before either of them respond, Tony opens the door and gets out awkwardly, hampered by the arm injury. As usual, the door unlocks as he walks up, because JARVIS is always watching. He considers going up and laying on his bed, but angles toward his basement workshop instead.

He almost gets emotional when he settles into his chair for the first time and sees the three monitors flicker to life.

“Welcome back, sir. It’s really good to see you home safe and sound.”

“Good to hear your voice, JARVIS,” Tony says. It really is. “Not sure about the ‘sound’ part, though.”

“Yes, well. That was always somewhat in doubt, wasn’t it?”

Tony breaks into a grin. “Damn straight.” He grabs the mouse, opens up a search engine, and starts typing. “All right, I have a few directives, all of which are top priority, house on fire stuff.”

“Ready and waiting for your instructions, sir.”

“Good. First: Use any and all means, including illegal ones, to lock down the non-essential medical records of a Miss Emory Autumn for the next twenty-four hours. Be obvious. I want them to know it’s me.”

This is a gamble, because there’s a tiny chance she’s actually in some kind of a medical crisis and that’s why there’s been no word. After all, he has no legal right to know anything about her. Tony’s sure that she’s fine except for the abnormal test results which show evidence of her new abilities, however. They were rescued by US forces, and the US forces tested her blood, found out something interesting, and from that point, the woman he loves disappeared. He’s not going to take that lying down, and he wants whoever has her to know it.

“Shall I also inform your lawyer that you may be brought up for charges sometime before the end of the year?”

“If you like, honey buns,” Tony replies.

“Very well.” 

He’s not going to pause for passive-aggressive reckoning from his artificial intelligence. “Second: I want a rolling notification on any and all instances of the name ‘Emory Autumn’ in all media, police band, and available military radio frequencies.”

“Acknowledged. You should also know, sir, that in your absence, you have been upgraded to the latest version of cellular phone. Your previous backup has been copied over. The device is in its box in the drawer on your left.”

“Thanks, J,” Tony says, not reaching for it yet. He’s got a search he’s about to hit enter on, but he needs to collect his thoughts first, because they’ll be scattered as soon as it populates. “Third: I need an intensive search on all airplane manifests, public and private, domestic and international, on the name ‘Emory Autumn’ for the last forty-eight hours. Use our codeword clearance to unlock the military manifests as well.”

“That will ALSO merit attention from the government, do you still wish to proceed?”

“Yes,” Tony says flatly, suppressing a smile. He loves it when JARVIS gets testy.

“Estimate thirty minutes for full access to military flights. I will send the rest of the results as they appear.”

“Thanks,” Tony says. He hits enter.

The three monitors display three different tabs’ worth of search results on the name Emory Autumn. The middle one shows images. It hurts to see Emory and not know where she is. He clicks on one of the images, a candid red carpet photo that is focused on Rory Fall but shows Emory in a modest but stunning gown standing beside her. She looks gorgeous; her friend beside her is wearing something more expensive and flashier, but she looks gaudy and overdressed in comparison. Even Rory’s hair looks dull next to Emory’s, Tony observes.

“Damn,” he says aloud, realizing. He’s pining for this woman, loading up pictures of her like some weird kind of stalker. What he should be doing is finding out where the fuck she is. Tony gestures, and the picture magnifies on the screen. He has to stop himself from reaching out to touch it.

“Ms. Autumn was the person taken alongside you after the ambush in Afghanistan?”

“Yes.” He doesn’t elaborate. He doesn’t want to know what words might spill out.

“She was listed on a military plane coming into New York yesterday, and an hour later on a flight from New York to Washington, D.C.”

He’d suspected that Emory had been flown out before he was, and this is the confirmation. “D.C.? She lives in California! Get me Rhodes on the phone. Now.”

Rhodey won’t appreciate the pressure, but Tony owes it to his friend to start there before going over his head. And he’s definitely going to go over Rhodey’s head. He’s going to raise hell until he finds out what the fuck is going on.

Emory’s been awake for an hour and a half and her stomach is growling when the light above the door flashes green and it opens. A man walks in. He’s wearing an eye patch and a trenchcoat, and Emory suddenly wishes she had never gone to Afghanistan.

She’s a fraud. A doormat. She can’t see herself being strong enough to stand up to this man, and she never should have pretended like she wanted to.

She’s terrified.

“You asked for the boss. Well, here I am,” the man says. His voice is authoritative and compelling. Emory wishes she could fall through a trapdoor on the floor. She can’t even risk thinking about Tony to make herself feel better, because that’s just what this man wants her to do. “I see you’ve removed your IV.”

“I see you’ve removed--” Emory starts to say, but before she can finish, her visitor holds up a hand.

“Careful.”

“I think you have me mixed up with someone else, someone a lot more brave and ten times more disrespectful,” Emory says, almost laughing. “I was going to say ‘my food privileges,’ for the record.”

“Ah,” the man says, frowning. “That has to do with a stunt your boyfriend pulled on us. He’s figured out how to lock down your medical records, including allergies.”

Emory feels a breeze ruffling her hair, knows its origins, but is nonetheless grateful for the unintentional confidence booster in the word ‘boyfriend.’ Tony’s sabotaging them, in her defense. She could walk on air!

She… actually could. Emory gathers up the excess energy and, carefully, without moving her hands as she ordinarily would, she starts to mentally picture unraveling the ball of energy into a ribbon and tossing it along the floor, hopefully to butt against the fake wall that covers the window and maybe dislodge it a little.

At the same time as she releases the burst of energy, Emory says, “You couldn’t feed me bread and water in the meantime? Or maybe a Dixie cup of water and a vending machine egg salad sandwich would be more situationally appropriate?”

The energetic ball of air strikes the wall with a thump at the same time she says ‘Dixie cup.’ To his credit, the man in the trenchcoat turns his head slowly to look behind him, and then turns back to fix her with a penetrating look.

“Did you do that?”

“If you mean, ‘did I build a fake wall to cover up the fact that the room has a window,’ no, sir, I did not,” Emory says. She’s grateful that she’s sitting in the bed with her hands in her lap, because she’s able to clench her hands tightly around the sheet covering her legs, hopefully without looking like she’s desperately holding onto her sanity.

“I see,” the man says, with gravitas she’ll never be able to accomplish. “Let me start over. My name is Nick Fury. You have information that I need to know. I have information that you need to know. I feel certain we can come to an understanding.”

“What’s in it for me?” she asks, once again channeling Tony.

“Those injections are killing you.”

Next chapter, Emory has a tense stand-off with SHIELD, during which she discovers her new-found confidence thanks to Tony's influence.

[nerves-nebula]

so i saw ur post asking bigender / boygirl ppl to explain what its like btw if this is to late or annying u can totally ignore it or delete it srry if this is annoying anyway

for me personally i will feel like im both a boy and a girl separately but like sometimes one will be more prominent . like yes i am one of the boys a he / him a femine girly who also happens to be a boy who is a girl . its hard to explain but gender dysphoria and euphoria r very silly like i will be euphoric abt looking masculine and wow ppl think im a man !! my voice is so deep !! they r using he / him for me !! yippee !! but then simultaneously ppl think im a man :(( my voice is to deep :(( i look bad and basically the same thing again but yay ppl think imma woman !! my voice and body language is so feminine !! ppl use she / her for me !! yippee !! and then its like ppl think im a woman :(( everybody looks at you and thinks " girl :((

so basically to combat this i dress and act in a very confusing way and ppl normally stumble pther prns or ask me what gender i am which makes me happy :D also introducing myself w different prns / gender expression and act differently so some ppl see me as a cis ( very gay ) boy , some see me as a girl , some think im a transboy , some think im a transgirl , some see me as nonbinary, some gave up trying to figure out . so interacting w different groups of ppl i know throughout the day will normally end in ppl suing a varied sets of prns for me = ultimate gender euphoria like lets switch it up a bit

the only problem is when two ppl i know meet and they both have a different perception of me bcs around them i acted very masc / fem presenting so one will be talking abt smth and refer to me w a set of prns and the other person will be like " no [ ] use/s [] / [] prns and then they will actually start fighting abt my assigned gender at birth it's actually very funny like they will then be confused and i will normally have to randomly joke or make smth up for them to forget the situation . only downside i have had to move schools and classes multiple times bcs i got outed that way .

anyway i personally think for f ! leo ( in ur au ) he would be like " noooo i cant be trans or smth like i still feel like a man ... partly " and then have a complete gender crisis bcs he is a man but hes also a woman and holy shit what would a girl mutant ninja turtle look like ??!! like i also feel like he would use the excuse that other ppl have it worse and that shes not " fully " trans or smth ( which isnt true gender is a spectrum no trans person is " more " trans then another trans person ) i personally headcanon leo as transmasc ftm and ive never heard of boygirl rise leo but it sounds rlly interesting and a cool au !! also i rlly like ur art srry again if this was annoying or i started rambling

not annoying at all, very helpful in fact! you seem to be living your best life and I'm happy it's (mostly) working out for you hah, this DOES give me some good ideas too. especially with the kinda shit where Leo's like "well i'm a man SOMETIMES so I'm probably not trans" hah.

ALSO TO BE HONEST I usually headcanon leo as a trans man too but,, for some reason Future Leo being a girlboy is sooo appealing to me. I think its cuz my nonbinary characters are usually agender or having a culturally important gender or Third Gender (like me) so I've recently started playing more with characters who feel both Guy and Girl or switch between them and I'm really on a Future Leo roll right now so i might as well sweep him up into it too.

[yeetlegay]

I respect and support your TW request and therefore: tw alcohol/drinking

Watching ep13 the moment I came back from party was certainly a decision. Was it good decision? Yes, tumblr didn't have time to spoil things for me. Was it bad decision? Yes, I forgot how taking shots and drinking redbull vodka turnes me into emotional mess and therefore I had the urge to cry constantly throughout the episode.

Sad meow-meow Vegas (affectionate) shot me right through the heart. Poor child Pete and his identity crisis and complete dissociation from humanity was a knife through my lungs. Pete knocking out our meow-meow (again, affectionate) and then desparately trying to escape knocked me out. And Pete deciding to lie to Porsche oh god… Our sweet child has been through a lot. The scenes in which we see them missing each other and then having brief reunite at the back of Yok's bandaged my wounds and made me feel all emotions known to human kind. I felt like I went through 25 divorces in span of 10 minutes. And finally, Vegas and Porsche (ah yes I got what I wanted during the Tawan era, I know it's not fully my deranged ship that sank before it sailed, but I am more than satisfied to see them work together and Porsche being like allow me to slap some sense in you) running away on the bike and Kinn and Pete running after them just made me so sad… KP are in a messy place because Porsche is going through a lot and VP are in a messy place as well because their relationship is scandalous because of minor/major family things and on top of that they are both trying to figure themselves out as individuals and as a couple, accept that what they feel is valid and solve childhood trauma at the same time. I just want to pat all of their heads and tell them it's going to be okay, they'll figure it all out.

Lestat will now proceed to rest in a dark coffin until ep14.

REDBULL VODKA??? GWORL. I had to go to a party last night and act like a human being for like 5 hours straight so I feel your pain DEEPLY.

I’m not gonna lie, the Vegas and Porsche scenes kinda hit??? I like them as bitchy reluctant allies so much (although I still think Porsche deserves to know what Vegas did in ep 4 - maybe Vegas will admit it and apologize in the finale when they’re on their little murder mystery adventure?). I can imagine post-canon when VegasPete are an item and everyone comes to the main house for scrabble night or smth and Porsche and Vegas just bitch at each other the whole night while Kinn and Pete roll their eyes.

Everybody is just going through everything at once Lestat, I wanna give all of them a bear hug (or a head pat for Pete since he’s sore from the torture and all :/)

[pr3ttym3ssy]

WIP

Hey Guys!

Just wanted to drop a little snippet of what I'm working on. I'm alitle rusty cause I haven't touched my Word Doc in a little over two years (since covid hit and shit hit the fans), let alone gotten completely over my relentless and bitchy writer's block. Please be gentle.

Also, just want to say that I'm glad it's canon that you can hear people in the upside down. Just sucks they can't hear you. For sake of my headcanon, I made it so time stopped the year Billy came to Hawkins and not when Will got possessed like in the show.

......

Billy is battered and bruised and at his wits end. He’s never really fully practiced his religion, but prayer has been his only saving grace lately. It’s what’s been keeping him going, keeping him sane. If this damned place exists, who’s he to say that there isn’t a greater power out there. He’s survived this long, by some God given miracle. He kisses his medallion and goes about his continuous routine. He has no sense of time here, so he does what is best and listens to his body for cues to tell time. When he’s hungry he’ll search for edible food to eat, although its scarce; he’s had some luck. When he’s tired, he’ll hunker down and rest in a somewhat safe place. Although at times feels like a difficult task, with this place trying to kill him at every second he’s not on guard. Regardless of the circumstances, he’s managed.

On occasion he will go to his house on Old Cherry and just sit idle in his living room. He doesn’t recall when he first hears it, but he’s sitting in this place’s replica of his room. He’s looking through his records and reading his worn out and grimy copy of Metal Edge magazine. He knows the words to every article, had reread them several times for lack of better things to do here. Survive the damn bats, hunt for edible food, read the magazines like a routine. It’s all old news, things he already knows about his favorite bands, but he can’t wish for something else to take up his time. The mere thought of him actually wishing for something he can’t have would set him into an existential crisis. It would remind him that no matter what he does, his situation will not change. He’s stuck in this backwards version of Hawkins, as a constant reminder of how much he hates this place. When he hears the whimpering and soft gasps of someone crying. “Billy, please help me”, he almost believes he's probably lost it. Sanity completely slipped and he’s hearing shit now.

It’s Max - and she’s crying, and he can hear her. “Max!?” Where is she? She’s in the room, he hears the echoes of her voice and her soft gasping breaths. But he can’t see her. “Billy. I miss you so much. Everything is wrong, nothing is the same anymore since you’ve left”. But he hasn’t left, not really. He wants so much to tell her that, disparity singing in his veins like an itch. “Max! Max, please I’m here. Jesus! Max, I can hear you. Can you hear me?!”. Her crying doesn’t seize, and his nerves are shot into a frenzy. He runs his fingers through his matted curls. Lost on what to do, how to reach her. 

“Hah – I’d bet anything that you’d probably tell me to stop my crying if you were here.” No, Billy thinks. Given the chance he would never tell her that again. He would come up to her and embrace her tightly. He would let her tears run and be soaked in him because he misses her. He would then give her shit about it, but he wouldn’t mean it. “Max! Please, please tell me you can hear me. Tell me what to do!.” He figures this isn’t a fever dream anymore. It’s really her. It’s Max and she’s on the other side. He has to figure a way to get to her. Get her to acknowledge him, even if he’s not physically there in front of her.

It's quiet for a minute and he figures that she must have left already. “Max! Maxine!? – shit!” he frantically rubs his hands against his face. Her soft cries have stopped, and who knows when and if she’ll be back. He hears a knocking sound and the common screech of his bedroom door he told himself time after time needed some oiling. He hears another voice, someone else is in the room with Max now. Clear and softly calling for her. “Max? Hey kid. You alright?”. Holy shit, it’s Steve. He’d know that voice anywhere. The very same voice that haunts his daydreams since he first heard him utter a word in his direction. That’s definitely Steve’s soft baritone probably pulling Max from her downward spiral.

....

I hope you like it, I'm determined to continue this to its completion. I'm a mom so sometimes it's hard to find the time, but I will finish. My hyper fixation has my brain on Harringrove rot 24/7.

[lesbicosmos]

heartstopper episode 5 thoughts

-this is why me and my friends don't play monopoly, it would end in chaos. also it's boring.

-elle is so goddamn pretty in this scene i am so in love with her oh my

-slightly unrelated but i need charlie's owl mug like rn

-honestly the amount these two flirt in form, how nobody else figured it out i have no clue. guys ur meant to be being subtle 😭

-tao's comebacks >>>

-"do you like this girl" "well...her dog died." HIS MUMS FACE IS TOO FUNNY OLIVIA COLMAN I LOVE YOU

-like there was ever any doubt who nick would choose between charlie and imogen

-isaac casually reading radio silence like this isn't giving me an existential crisis over whether time travel exists in this universe bc that book literally mentions nick and charlie and is set like 3 years in the future

-once again, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE BEING SUBTLE GUYS IF U WANT NO ONE TO KNOW STOP GIVING EACH OTHER HEART EYES IN PUBLIC 😭

-**insert tao looking tiny in the doorway in the bathroom scene in the comic**

-also moment of appreciation for elle's outfit, her style is everything and i'm in love with her (yes im gonna bring up that every time i mention her, i'm in love.)

-nick looks legitimately terrified of tao and i don't blame him (also the bloopers of this scene are <3333)

-i need to know the context for why charlie's scared of the dance machine.

-nick apologising and explaining the imogen situation and charlie completely understanding just shows how much they care about each other and how much they communicate. nick could not be less like ben if he tried

-the way nick says he didn't have time to go out and buy anything yet still had time to put so much care into that frame and he definitely panicked over whether he chose the right photo or put the stickers in the right place. this mf just wanted to be a disaster romantic and i love him for it

-subtle detail i noticed: the way nick's hand shakes slightly when he moves it to the back of charlie's neck when they kiss, he's so nervous about kissing him in public but also really wants to do it

-has/will nick ever beat charlie at mario kart? probably not

-that moment between tao and elle and the way she looks at him i love them so much

-i love the scene between nick and imogen, i really want them to be best friends in season 2. she's so understanding even if she doesn't fully understand exactly what nick's going through, and the way she doesn't pry or continue to try and get him to date her, she just accepts it and moves on. also nick was so brave for talking to imogen about it in general. i also love how she makes a joke out of it when they're with harry and doesn't say why they actually didn't go out because she knew harry would make fun and ask questions. just ... imogen heaney <333

-i do have to say im kinda mad about i want to be with you by chloe moriondo being played at the end of this episode after the nick and imogen scene because it's such a nick/charlie song in the comics, hoping it gets reused in later seasons in one of their scenes

[blorb-el]

thinking about that steampunk/victorian/edwardian AU superbat vibes post again. tbqh i have read very little steampunk, so if i were to actually write anything in this setting it’d immediately turn into thinly-veiled modern labor critique

anyway. some Thoughts, please chime in if any of this seems interesting.

- the reason for so many scientific advancements: lex luthor. on his surface the brilliant inventor responsible for everything from airships (you’ll believe a man can fly!) to the complete infrastructure overhaul of metro-gotham, The City of Tomorrow. the public persona of the ultimate renaissance man; more money than ford, more inventions than edison, and twice as subtle about his bigotry and thieving nature than either of those two.

- (metro-gotham, the sprawling megapolis of three states, roughly encompassing northeast NJ [gotham], NYC, long island, and southwest connecticut [metropolis]. travel times are a lot easier to manage with privatized Lex-Transit elevated magtrains.)

- and at what cost does the future come? the people in his factories? well. if you catch him in a good mood in his gentleman’s club he’ll be happy to expound on  social darwinism and the gospel of wealth. would a side of phrenology be too on the nose?

- basically 60% pre-crisis the world’s maddest and most brilliant scientist, 30% post-crisis ruthless exploitative businessman, 10% [redacted for the Villain Scheme plot point of the fic that i’m trying to convince myself not to write]

- it’d be more interesting to have him work his way up from being a nobody born in suicide slum, however it would be far more on the nose for him to inherit ‘a small sum’ from the sale of his father’s plantation estate. probably split the difference; the propaganda/public persona is the first. carnegie eat your heart out, lex did it better

- bruce: lots of uncomfortable implications with being an industrialist especially if bruce needs to be one too. probably he is. the question of if ethical industrialism is possible in this world, what does it look like. this could turn out SO badly if I don’t do so much research lol. like batman 2022, inheriting his position and wealth but failing to understand at first what his responsibility is. did thomas wayne himself build the conditions under which so much of gotham labors, or was he attempting to triage the situation left by his father/bruce’s grandfather/ancestors? how old is the wayne money? from where did it come from, considering the history of wealth in this country? are there actual canon answers to any of these questions and/or stories in which they are addressed? sure he gets to punch people and glide from his bat-gyrocoptor onto the top of aforementioned elevated magtrains, but also give him problems he can’t solve with his fists, because the idea of dragging battinson-adjacent bruce into corporate maneuvering is very funny to me (especially since lex has probably succeeded in repealing or blocking the sherman antitrust act! monopolies ahoy!)

- clark: obvious play to fully take him to golden age Champion of the Oppressed/grant morrison t-shirt and jeans superman, just explicitly including the people left out of the original golden age stories (aka, there are Black people in metro-gotham now). starts out as a cryptid a la the radio show’s first series (radio clark my beloved), evolves into unifying solidarity, direct action, compassion as more than a platitude; figure out some way to not directly steal the emotional arc from superman smashes the klan. which is so goddamn good. explicitly raised in the great plains socialist tradition, his first job delivering copies of Appeal to Reason, maybe interning under Eugene Debs? what actual year is this set. who knows. this fic would be as fine an excuse as any to finally read The Jungle since i already hc that’s an influence on modern!clark. muckraking journalism is already immensely cool and sexy therefore the daily planet gang and lois are mostly unchanged.

- the irons family ought to play a significant part but right now i only have: john henry high up in the experimental R&D division of lexcorp, deciding how best to stop [redacted evil lex plan], even though it will cost him a social standing that is probably going to be nigh impossible to regain, considering the amount of companies that would hire a Black man in R&D in this time period. again. lots of research to do here

- literally 0 changes needed to dick’s backstory lol

- literally 0 changes needed to jay’s either lol

- the drakes... probably well meaning also-ran second tier industrialists pretending they aren’t lex hangers-on. maybe they can get socially ruined by something along the lines of the teapot dome scandal. as a treat. 95+% of the metro-gotham gilded industrialist robber baron social circle is full of hollow hearted complicit scumbags, and the only thing preventing tim from this fate is 1. his parents’ fall from grace 2. that he has enough braincells to look around.

- there would be SO much pollution in metro-gotham YIKES. easy fodder for any number of villain backstories. cool and understandable motive, ivy, still ecoterrorism

[uptoolateart]

All the Missing Pieces - Ch 3

PREVIEW from Chapter 3:

Twenty-three years of memories of their partnership were etched into the tiny lines around Marinette’s beautiful bluebell eyes. Hopefully there would be twenty-three more, and more beyond that. No matter what happened, he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. It was bad enough letting her go for one night.

She was laughing and pushing the twins away, now – sending them back to the sofa, where they threw themselves in funny positions and watched their cartoons.

She picked up the bags she’d brought in and crossed the room to Adrien, giving him a quick kiss on the lips – too quick. He took the bags from her and followed her down the hall to their bedroom.

He pushed open the door with his foot and set her bags on the floor in front of their built-in wardrobe. ‘How was it?’

She sat heavily on the bed. ‘Tiring. By eleven, I just wanted to go home, but Yves was dragging me around the room, introducing me to all these people….’ She rubbed the outer corners of her eyes.

Adrien leaned against the wardrobe, thinking again of the upcoming dinner party and trying to remember what it was like to be around so many people. He’d been good at it, growing up. Now, he’d probably stammer out his words like Marinette used to in school. When had they switched roles?

She patted the bed beside her, and he pulled away from the wardrobe, sitting where indicated. ‘How was it here?’ she asked.

He shrugged, trying his best not to seem like he’d spent the last night having an existential crisis – again. ‘The twins were pretty well-behaved. There was a lot of Lego.’

‘Thanks for putting it all away. The apartment looks great.’

‘Sorry I didn’t get round to vacuuming, or…a lot of other things on my list.’

She gave him a weary smile. ‘Adrien. I never asked you to make that list.’

‘I know, but it’s the least I can do while you’re out at work and….’ He trailed off, because he couldn’t interpret the look she was giving him. ‘Hugo came home late.’

‘Again?’

‘Seems to be his thing, now. Just stays out as much as he can.’

‘How late?’ she asked.

‘Um. Close to midnight.’

Her eyes widened. ‘What did he have to say for himself?’

‘The usual.’

‘So…nothing.’

He nodded.

She was silent a moment, her eyes narrowed at him like she was reading his thoughts on his face. ‘Did you have another fight?’

He shook his head. ‘I don’t think I’d call it that. It was more like a…face-off. I lost.’

She covered his hand with hers. ‘I’m sure you did the best you could.’

Maybe this should have been reassuring or encouraging, but it wasn’t. It didn’t change anything. It didn’t mean she would join him in the battle. It didn’t mean she would be home more.

But her touch felt good, and one frustration gave way to another. He pulled her into his arms and stopped whatever she was about to say with his mouth, pressed hard onto hers. If he could just kiss her enough, please her enough, she would be so delirious with adoration that she would never leave him again.

Read at Ao3

At 14, Adrien stepped into the time burrow and saw the truth no one could have guessed. When he came out, he was changed forever. And after defeating his father, he was finally free...or was he?

At 37, Adrien has everything he ever dreamed of – married to Marinette, three kids, the hamster – but none of it has turned out as expected. Marinette’s career is such a success that she’s never home, Hugo is an angsty difficult teenager, and Adrien is still struggling with his secret identity as a sentimonster.

And now, Lila Rossi is back after more than 20 years. But has time changed her? Or is she up to her old tricks?

***Alternating timelines between age 37 and ages 14 upwards, this is the first of a series of sequels to Breaking Free (summary in Ch 1 end notes). This new fic is fully written. The one after is planned out and will be from multiple POVs. The one after that…well, the mental cogs are spinning, and I’ll figure out the details along the way. I opened a massive can of worms with something in Breaking Free, and it’s all spiralling hard, people. Enjoy the chaos!***

No archive warnings apply but please read tags - rated Teen+