#I can do whatever I want because there's nothing canon about half-vampires

[sunshadowed]

// Blood TW

playing around with how healing works for Lucia ft. a sick eye scar... It works as a little bit less of a "get outta jail free card" but still makes her a little more durable/capable of bouncing back than a normal human would be.

Some important notes;

She heals at a normal human pace unless she drinks blood, followed by a period of heavy sleep depending on the extent of the damage.

Body parts that are lost can be regained only after drinking blood, but the scars left behind don't fade completely. Basically, it restores her to a functional state, but she's too human for it to be as if it never happened, UNLESS she drank from a live human, as opposed to a blood bag.

In cases where something like her eye is able to heal back, she'd lose her normal amber color and it would come back red, like a vampire's (sick heterochromia dude!!).

#OOC; #Info; #Tw blood #ignore the roblox oof sfx I drew this late at night #and im too lazy to edit it out now #dhampire lore ftw #I can do whatever I want because there's nothing canon about half-vampires #I think it might be more complicated if she lost something like an arm or a leg I just haven't figured out how it would work lol #slowly growing a limb back would suck #I dont think she'd be able to just grow a sick shadow arm like Seras #but she wouldn't just be without either #idk #shrugs

[bg-brainrot]

Halfway through the BG3 Holiday Challenge ✨

Prompt: Holiday Spirit

Featuring: Astarion x Rogue!Tav

Series: Fits into Love at First Knife, AO3 link here

Premise: You’re used to being stressed: first, life as a rogue on the streets of Baldur’s Gate, then, surviving the Absolute. What you were unprepared for was how particular holiday stress would be. In particular, how stressful hosting would be. When Astarion notices this, he aims to get you back in the holiday spirit.

Tags: POV Second Person, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Fluff, Holidays, post-canon, comfort

Word count: ~1.4k (this was supposed to be short, what happened)

Midwinter is just around the corner and you find yourself running around like a madperson– well, more mad than usual. For some gods forsaken reason, you've decided to have guests over for the holiday– you even had the unmitigated confidence to tell your lover, ‘don’t worry, I want to do this myself.’ You haven't the faintest where to start.

Astarion, the perceptive vampire that he is, notices that as the days to Midwinter countdown, your 'holiday spirit' or so you call it, seems to be dwindling. On this particular evening he watches you as he leans on the doorway to the kitchen.

You're walking in circles, apparently unable to decide where to place a decorative candle. After you put it back in the same spot for the third time, he speaks up.

"Darling, are you alright?"

You jump, not realizing that Astarion's been there this entire time. It's rare that he surprises you, so your heart begins working overtime at the sudden shock. "Oh gods, Astarion," you breathe out. "How in the hells did you sneak up on me like that?"

He chuckles lightly and pushes off the doorframe. "I'm afraid I've been watching you for at least half an hour. It's been cute, mind you, but I figured I should say something eventually."

That brings a small frown to your face. Am I losing my touch? Or is it all of this damned stress? You're about to ask when Astarion places a finger on the corner of your mouth.

“Love, what’s the matter?” he says, prodding your cheek up to form a half smile. “You seem to be in short supply of your usual winter-merriment.” You move to bite his poking finger, but he avoids it easily, adjusting his hand to cup your cheek. “Darling.”

“I guess,” you start glumly, annoyed to be trapped in his loving palm. “I am stressed about this whole Midwinter get-together we have planned.”

He brings up his other hand to cup the other side of your face. “I can see that, my sweet. But why are you so stressed? They’re just our old companions.”

“Friends,” you correct as you give him a look. He’ll get used to the word eventually, you’re sure. “And it’s not them that I’m stressed about. It’s… me.”

You feel your face squished between Astarion’s cold hands as he says, “Don’t you dare say something disparaging about yourself next, I’m warning you.”

The glare you give him is quite likely the opposite of whatever holiday cheer is. “Then why did you ask?”

“Because I thought it would be something reasonable!” he says, indignantly, shaking your head a bit. “Like that you were annoyed Gale actually accepted the invitation.”

You laugh at that despite yourself, and you see Astarion’s self-satisfied grin at your reaction. “No, I’m afraid it’s nothing like that,” you say and your laughter turns into a sigh.

“Fine, tell me. But if you’re too hard to yourself, I will spend the rest of the evening lavishing you with praise,” he warns, finally letting go of your face.

"Astarion, I don't know how to be… domestic," you say the word like it may as well be abyssal. "The only things I know how to do are kill and apparently lead a crew of barely functional adventurers. What if the whole thing is a disaster?"

"You know, for someone who seems concerned about disasters, you sure run toward them a lot, my dear," Astarion replies with a smirk.

"You aren't helping."

"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist," he says and moves to grab your limply hanging hand. Holding it between his, he brings it up for a kiss and continues, “Well, if it makes you feel better, I don’t think any of us are very good at being domestic– except maybe Gale, I suppose.”

You groan at that. “You’re right, we should have let him host.”

Astarion tugs on your hand now, shaking his head. “No, no, no. That’s not what that means. What that means is that this is new for all of us, so none of us have any expectations. If your version of Midwinter involves decorating with skulls and blood, so be it.”

You give a breathy laugh at that. “I think only you would like that.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I wouldn't rule Shadowheart out either,” he says, taking a step closer to you. “And if you need more brilliant ideas like that, you know I’m here to help, love.”

“But I wanted to do this on my own,” you mutter, looking down remorsefully. “To show you that the holidays can be fun, even if it doesn’t look like it right now.”

“You know there’s nothing I’d like more than for you to prove me wrong,” he begins, finally closing the distance between you and pulling you into his arms. He speaks his next words into your hair, “But I think I’d still prefer it if you were having fun again. To me, the most important part of the holiday is living vicariously through your joy.”

You blink blankly in his embrace for a moment, surprised at how easily his words fill you with relief. “Are you sure you want to help?" you ask, squeezing him to you tightly. "I won't go easy on you, there's a lot of decorating, tidying, and cooking to help with."

"When have you ever gone easy on me?" he asks with a laugh. "And you might want me to steer clear of the cooking, but otherwise, I'm all yours, love."

Pulling away from him, you give him a good, long look, verifying he means what he says. His smile is sweet, his eyes expectant, and you decide that it's alright to let this go – you really could use a second pair of hands at least. "Oh very well," you huff, though you can't resist the smile that comes to your face. "But if at any moment you feel like you’re starting to hate the holiday, you have to warn me!"

He places a hand on his chest in a vow. "You have my word. Besides, I can all but guarantee you that this will be the finest Midwinter I’ve had in 200 years."

“Astarion,” you say, feeling an ache settle in your chest at his admission.

The vampire grabs you by the shoulders and says, “Stop that. I didn’t say that to make you feel bad, I said it to inspire you. Understood?”

“Yes, love,” you say, swallowing down the emotions that threaten to overtake you.

“Good. Now tell me what you need,” he says, releasing your shoulders and gently running his hands down your arms.

You nod. "Alright. Your first task is simple: where in the hells should this candle go?" You gesture to the very same candle he'd been watching you struggle with earlier. It stands awkwardly on your kitchen table like a testament to your frustration.

Astarion looks at it for a moment and places a hand on his chin as he thinks. He walks over to the candle, picks it up, turns it a few times. Finally, he answers you with, “In the bin.”

“What?”

“In the bin, dear. We can do better.” He walks back over to you and hands you the candle, a beautiful white thing that has little snowflakes carved into the side. You wonder what could possibly be wrong with it but he’s already answering you. “I know you were probably trying to be mindful of my taste, but this candle? This isn’t you at all. Where is the red one that smells strongly of cinnamon?”

“Oh, I didn’t think you like that–”

“Nonsense,” he says, waving away your concern. ”If we’re going to host others, we’re going to make our home reflect both of us and be appropriately festive. This is why you were struggling, love. You needed someone with vision.”

You smile at him, appreciating his enthusiasm despite the snark. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you’re starting to enjoy the holidays yourself, Astarion.”

“Oh, darling,” he murmurs, wrapping a hand around your waist. “You know I can find enjoyment in anything involving you.” His fingers grip you a little tighter and he gives you a naughty grin.

You raise an eyebrow at him suggestively and say, “That’s good, because I plan on keeping you busy all night. Let’s start with picking some placemats.”

Tossing the candle into a pile of decorations, Astarion and you get to work, setting up the home you’ve built together for the allies you now call friends.

#astarion #astarion x tav #fanfic #rogue + rogue #astarion x reader #bg3holidayfluffle23 #astarion fluff

[beanghostprincess]

Bughawk is soooo underrated and it makes me so sad. Please tell me you see how grand this vision is

I am personally more of a Shuggy/Crocobug shipper but that's mainly because Mihawk isn't doing it for me much?? I love him and his gold autistic eyes staring into my soul and his classy attitude and vampiric looking aesthetic, but I wish he had more screentime to figure out his personality better and enjoy him more. But I do like him! I swear! And tbh one of my favorite ships is Cross Guild, like, the three of them together, even if I have a bit of a preference inside of the trio. I do love them and tbh I think Mihawk and Buggy's relationship would be really funny to explore. Especially within the fanon portrayals of the characters because god forbid Oda gives the cool edgy swordsman more than three minutes of screentime and more than five words per episode.

Okay, so doing a mix between fanon and canon and "whatever the fuck I want to see these characters as because I am the princess of this blog and I can do whatever I want": I think their relationship is fucking hilarious.

Unlike with Crocodile, Buggy doesn't really know what to do with Mihawk. Crocodile at least is easy to read and he's usually the one to make the first move, but what the fuck is Buggy supposed to do with the swordsman sitting in front of him, legs crossed and staring into his soul like he's about to bite his neck and suck him dry. Scary. And also very hot. But mostly scary. But turns out Mihawk is like, way more peaceful than what he thought. He likes reading. And classical music. And swords in a very weird obsessive way that the clown should not speak about. And not much, honestly. Cooking, too, apparently. Buggy keeps learning new things about him every day and the guy opens up little by little, because even if he's quiet, the very few words he says speak a lot for himself. He's also a fucking sadist and loves teasing Buggy all the time to the point of making him cry of frustration, but, well, when he's good he's really nice to be around <3

They both have history with Shanks. You know the movie "The other woman"? The one about this girl who discovers her boyfriend is married and then becomes besties with the wife and start hating him together? That's the energy I'm getting from this triangle. Stop making Mihawk cry over Shanks not loving him and a past love!! Make him go "Oh. Yes. Red Hair and I had something. Pretty sure he still felt something for you, clown, so I am not happy about that" / "What?! Why would you be angry at me for Shanks' shitty feelings that have absolutely nothing to do with me, by the way, our thing ended years ago when his stupid-" / "No, no. I am referring to him. Moron. I like you" / "You do???'' / "Sometimes. Sort of. Maybe. Your existence confuses me". And then they start dating because nobody can tell me Cross Guild isn't just a poly relationship doing business together.

I think Mihawk likes Buggy because it gives excitement to his boring life and also he's fun to bully. Besides, he's more than what he looks like and he actually has a dream and pirate spirit, so maybe he's not as useless as he used to think. He's still annoying, yes, but oddly comforting. Mihawk can't quite figure out what he wants with this clown, so he just sticks around with him. Buggy is like a chihuahua. A very loud chihuahua. Mihawk is definitely a black cat. They don't match. At all. Not in the slightest. And yet, Mihawk likes his company. And Buggy actually loves seeing all the soft and interesting sides of Mihawk and realize that he's not as scary as he looks like. I mean, he could slice him in half if he wanted to and he's still scary and hot but, y'know, he has a very domestic side that Buggy likes.

Thinking about them being established is pretty sweet because I think Mihawk would like reading out loud to him and Buggy would make the funniest comments about the story. And they would cuddle. And it would be so uncharacteristically soft of them and it's something they only do in private. Crocodile stares at them from the corner of the room and,,, He likes having them there. He's not alone and it's kind of sweet.

Also overprotective Mihawk with Buggy my beloved. In the sense of: He cooks for him because his eating habits suck. He makes him go on walks and do a bit of exercise. He makes him read, too. Listen to music that it's not only commercial pop or circus music or musical/Broadway tunes. He takes care of the clown when he's not bullying him. I think Mihawk treats Buggy like Sharpay Evans treats her dog.

And following the Shanks thing to end this post: Bughawk is really cool because I think it would break Shanks' heart and I love angst.

#yayyy cross guild asks make my day #i love them i love them i love them #sorry for saying mihawk wasn't doing it for me i realized while writing that i absolutely love him too #i just wish he had more content #one piece #dracule mihawk #buggy the clown #bughawk #cross guild

[themarginalthinker]

so, going off of @oldestenemy 's comment about the Boys being a family unit, but not like what Max seems to want, I'm going to ramble a bit about my Thoughts on that. Thisi s going to be pretty stream of thought so bear with me.

So, first off, let's talk about vampires in general.

The world of the Lost Boys gives us precious little to use by way of greater vampiric worldbuilding, AND A BIG NOTE HERE, I HAVE NOT SEEN THE OTHER MOVIES OR READ THE COMICS AND I DON'T PARTICULARLY WANT TO, SO THIS WILL ONLY BE USING THE FIRST MOVE'S CANON, THANK YOU. We are left with a lot more questions than answers about how vampires even work, let alone how the Boys may deviate or conform to what's considered the 'norm' for vampires. This leads to having to use two things following that - extrapolation, and headcanons, not mutually exclusive, but I do like to make the distinction because one is 'using details in the canon to read between the lines' and the other is more 'this feels like it fits or make sense, despite nothing explicitly supporting it in canon'.

SO, GETTING TO THE MEAT AND POTATOES HERE:

Non-traditional family dynamics and the Boys. I love 'em. I think their group dynamic is fascinating to toy with. I also think Max was a fuckin' headcase, and has been for a while. Like a guy walking a bunch of wolves on leashes and swearing up and down they don't bite, which is basically what he's doing.

It's implied that Max is all of the Boy's sire, and thus has some sort of...parental complex about it, because as far as literally the rest of the movie is concerned, the Boys don't give half a shit about Max. They taunt him, if from a distance, they break rules he's explicitly set for them (ie, 'I told you not to come here anymore' when in the video store). Max has less control over the Boys than I think he'd like, which makes me think about what a head vampire even is, and if it even exists at all.

The only 'evidence' for such a thing in the movie, is whatever the Frog brothers are presenting us - WHICH IS ALL BASED ON COMICS. In the movie, we get no other explanation from anyone, and certainly none of the vampires. Star gives us her take on it, but she never says 'David told me this what's true', it's just what she assumes, which can also be flawed. She's unreliable as well. All we knows for sure is that David was sired by Max, and with the way Max refers to them as 'his boys', the rest of them are his as well.

So, there are a couple ways I think that vampires can organize themselves socially:

one, is as the Boys do: packs. Groups of vampires who all share a common sire living together

two: clans - vampires who may not have the same sire living together; clans tend to be a little less close than packs, and a bit more common as packs geeeenerally don't (can't) get much larger than the Boys' pack

there's also a secret third option, but that one is almost entirly made up by me and my writing partner, ask us about it if you want, but it's strictly oc stuff, so I'm not putting it here.

Max is basically trying to force upon the Boys a way of living for vampires that not only doesn't seem like they want anything to do with because WE HAVE NO IDEA IF MAX EVER MENTIONED THIS TO THEM AT ALL?? THEM BEING INTERESTED IN MICHAEL SEEMS ALMOST LIKE A COINCIDENCE, and on top of that, as vampires, like, the species, they may not be able to live as anymore.

I could go on forever about vampire psychology, but I'll leave it at that. The Boys don't want 'family', they want 'pack.'

As my partner says, 'found family, but make it like, 10% more intense'. The Boys want nothing to do with anyone outside their pack if it's not eating them, or fucking around with them. Vampires are both more social than 'lonely, stalking monsters of the night' and less social than 'literal hive of undead monsters crawling like zombie hoards from the sewers'. They want their pack, the people they Connect With, the people they hunt with, sleep with. They don't want some...human thing. I would be uncomfortable to them.

And for the Boys' specifically, it would mess with their group dynamic. David and the rest have things just the way they'd like it, and Max interferes with that.

My partner and I have come up with a known phenomena for packs in the Lost Boy's universe.

Sire-Killer packs. :)

#the lost boys #the lost boys 1987 #worldbuilding #this is very very disorganized I'm so sorry #I'd be happy to talk more about specifics as we are going to do some character studies later

[sightburdened]

Lestat knows he's a distraction. Many times when they've spent evenings together, Will has become lost in his eyes and whole sentences have been abandoned for the simple touch, fingers sliding through golden hair. So, he waits, patiently as a vampire can, until Will's lecture is over before showing himself proper, almost meandering his way, hips swaying, up to the lectern, eyes taking in the last slide of the projector. "I could listen to you talk about killing for the rest of my life." He says, casually turning to admire the size of the auditorium, thinking about all the young minds Will is influencing. "There's something so sensual about the way you describe it, mon coeur. I get shivers."

Never in his entire life had he counted down the minutes to sunset, so much so, that he was considering getting a smart-watch just so he could know when Lestat would wake up and meet him. He found himself gazing into the corners of rooms more often, his right hand idly scribbling some errant thought he wanted to tell the vampire later, which bled into the notes he needed to take for staff meetings. More than once, one of his colleagues asked if he was okay, because he continuously began to stare out into space with a smile, which he always said was because he was, "okay, just thinking," and no one reacted to that in any sort of way.

Of course, people thought he was odd anyways, so they just kept their distance and he didn't make any attempt to stop them. It worked out in his favor.

He was smiling at nothing. He was thinking about how happy his French Mastiff made Lestat, a recent edition to his pack at home. Benjamin, named after Benjamin Button and all of their wrinkles. Anyone whom his dogs trusted, he could trust.

Last night, he had wanted to tell Lestat about something that happened in class, right up until his eyes connected with the vampire's. His heart seized in his throat, his eyes wandered the length of Lestat's jawline, his high cheekbones, the effortless bounce of the man's hair, and whatever manner of thought he had within his being evaporated immediately; he had spent over a full minute, staring, it was so incredibly rude of him, but Lestat had only smiled at him and said it was quite all right.

He tried to laugh it off, but he wound up choking on his own saliva instead.

He reaches for a pen that fell off the podium earlier, one of his favorites, with blue ink and a reassuring click, his left knee connecting to the wood as the object of his -- thoughts, desires, a subtle squiggle into obsession -- affections came into his view.

"It's good to see you," he says, promptly dropping the pen on the carpeted floor of the lecture hall again. He was normally, not this ungainly, he's not sure what's gotten into him. "I like it when you show up like this, it makes me feel...as if I'm worthy of being waited for. As if I'm...special in the right way." There was a wrong way to be special, after all.

His index fingernail begins tracing a pattern on the surface of the wood, a loop, he's doing a figure-eight. The symbolism isn't lost on him.

He turns to look at the slide -- there's a man with his eyes torn out that had them replaced with silver coins, they were calling this Dante's Inferno -- and promptly looks away, something like ashes filling his throat.

"This killer is someone who understands their canon well. Demons and angels, trying to buy their way to the underworld. Greek, the river Styx, stygian waters, all of it. I'm---" so tired, I can't begin to describe how tired I am, "so glad you're here."

He leaves the pen, walking half-blind to Lestat, his face connecting into the vampire's shoulder, breathing long and deep.

"You can always stay for the lectures. People will assume you're observing the classroom, no one will notice you." Well... "Okay, they will, but how could they not? Look at you," and his eyes travel the length of Lestat's clothing, his face coming to rest in the bergamot scent of golden curls. "Of course they'll notice you."

He's tired of death. He's tired of knowing what the person who placed those bodies there wanted.

Mon coeur. My heart.

"I like it when you call me that," he admits, the shock of his open affection dulled only by the peace he feels in seeing Lestat. He forgets where he is, anyone could walk in at any moment and see their teacher in this state of unprofessionalism, but he doesn't much give a shit right now.

He slides the remote that controls the slides into Lestat's right hand, he can't look anymore.

"Could you...turn that off? Please? I don't want to look anymore, not at that, I want to look at you instead." His heart's a roar in his ears, he doesn't know what to do aside from chase the feeling.

"Tu es un ange." You are an angel. He knew that term. "Can I---call you that?"

@deathcreate

#I CANNOT BE -- UNTIL YOU'RE RESTING HERE WITH ME. DEATHCREATE. #CH 8 -- MIDNIGHT DANCING IN OUR CHESTS. DEATHCREATE. #tw: eyegore mention #this was everything to write oh my god #the pen will be forgotten but it's okay will you have something way more important now

[caterpillarinacave]

Hi! I'm the same Henry anon from yesterday, thank you for your answer!

If you actually want to elaborate more on your headcanons and you have time to do so, I'd love to read more! I was especially curious to know if there is a specific explanation for the headcanon about the way his sleeping habits changed? (And in the tags you mentioned angst?) And in general if you ever want to write an hour long rant I'll happily read it!

Anyway, if you've read until here, bye, and thanks for taking the time to read all of this!

Anon, I am SO sorry, this took so long to answer!!! I do try to be timely, apperances aside.

You know how you have to invite vampires inside for them to come into your house? Yeah, when it comes to talking I'm like one of those vampires. I, of course, would like to talk for hours and am ready to talk for hours,, however I will not start talking until someone invites me to. I like to wait until I have a specific request from someone, then I begin my speech.

Anyway, all that aside, someone has now asked me, so buckle up buttercups, because i am about to TALK

Just a warning, these headcannons get a little more angsty, and therefore a little more dark

Regarding your first question, dear anon, basically, disabilities are exhausting. Physically and emotionally, even if you've got it under control, most every disabled people are constantly tired. 

Everything is automatically more physically strenuous.

I, for example, slept really lightly for a really long time. In a lot of ways I still do, but once my more physical disabilities (even though I have them very well under control) showed up the actual want to sleep shoots way up. 

You can totally stay up all night working on something and be just fine, but once you lay down and your brain gets the little “yep, we get to sleep now” message, it JUMPS on it. You might've had iffy sleep schedules, but once the physical aspect is added to the mix, it’s really hard to convince your brain to get up when everything is so tired if you stir in the middle of the night. After a while your brain doesn't work anywhere near as hard to try and wake you up, and suddenly you're totally down to fall asleep on the carpet and sleep there for six and a half hours. 

Same applies for Henry. 

It's exhausting to get around as a disabled person and he's just… tired.

The weeks following the battle of idris were NOT a fun time lol. Didn't seem awful from an outside POV, but physically speaking Henry was having an awful, awful time, and emotionally Charlotte was having the go of it. 

He’s in charge of all his mobility aids. Made a lot of them, with less input from the silent brothers then youd think he would need.I mean, shadowhunters are ridiculously unhelpful (seriously, how was he the first one to come up with a wheelchair. how.) Logistically speaking, he has multiple chairs, but a favorite. 

He has just got to eat more. He’s so awful at keeping track of time, forgets to eat constantly. and is pretty much 0% body fat. He usually gets away with it, but he’s got nothing to fall back on if he’s sick or injured, which was kind of a problem after the battle of idris. 

He used to be a decent piano player, but most of what he enjoyed playing relayed on a peddle, and while he probably could, it wasn't ever worth finding a way to make the pedal work for him, so he just kinda moved on. 

This one's more canon but he had absolutely no friends. Like, at all growing up. He was lucky if they ignored him instead of actively harassing him but like??? He doesn't really care??? He’s just like, “kay yeah, whatever”, then grows up and continues to not have any shadowhunter friends but it seems like warlocks think he’s really fucking cool, so is that a win? 

You know how there's the persistent theme of Charlotte feeling guilty for the events of TID? Henry’s kind of in the same boat. Any one as pedantic as me remembers the line at the end of CA;

Going off the book, he was the one who told Mortmain about the Pyxis,  he was the one technically protecting Jessamine when she died, left the woman he loved to suffer in silence because he can't figure the most obvious things, his list of failures miles long, his presence causing so much annoyance to everyone around him.  

How could he be so stupid, so blind? How many problems had he caused just by being who he was?

Who would be alive, who would have suffered so much less if he had just been a little smarter, a little quicker, a little less like himself?

He’s spent his whole life being told that he’s stupid, makes everything worse, everything is his fault, and he’s a burden on everyone around him, and there’s these things that might be his fault (no, nothing was his fault, Henry forgive yourself please-) you can not tell me they arent weighing on him a little bit. 

To pull from a discarded WIP of mine, “...in her head, Charlotte’s hands were stained red, and in his, Henry could bathe in the blood of the shadowhunters he’d killed.”

Genuinely hates staying in bed. It just drives him insane to sit in one room doing nothing. It’s bearable to go sit in your pajamas in the living room, but doing the same thing in a bedroom? 

Insufferable. Unmanageable. Impossible. Horrific. How could you possibly stay in such a boring place that long. What do you mean I could die. I’ll die in a different room thank you very much.

He’s really good at chess, but doesnt really get the big deal about winning the game. As in, he doesn't even remotely get why someone would get upset about losing, or why it’s if you want someone to like you you shouldn't beat them in five minutes. Charlotte eventually told him that some people just hate losing. “Great, got it” he said, then proceeded to just ask people if they wanted to win or not. This is not good for political relations. 

Cue the Clave conversations; 

“Do you play? I’d be honored to play a round with you, Mr. Fairchild.”

“I’d be delighted to. How would you like to play?”

“Beg pardon?”

“Would you like me to try and beat you, pretend to try and beat you but purposefully lose, or blatantly lose?”

“...”

“:)”

====

“Henry, darling, let’s go over this in a different way.”

“Literally what did I do???”

It’s canon that he had a lot of self esteem issues when he was younger, but it's one of the things I wish CC had looked more into. (I’ve got a fic about this exact thing, but don't know if i'll ever post it lol)

 There have been a few times when he’d had a particularly bad day and finds himself a little closer to the edge of a bridge than he should be, and shaking off how easy it would be to die right then. In a couple seconds, he could never bother anyone again. 

It's really an intrusive thought, but he just can't help but think how much better it might be for everyone if he wasn't here. The shadowhunters really genuinely don't like him, and canonically treat him horribly, and for him it seems like all he does for Charlotte, who he loved more than anything else in the world, is make her life harder.

 When he’s coming back from an assignment it would be so easy to drop everyone else off at the institute, take a horse out (Balios can find his way back), and just not come back. At least not breathing, that is. 

 He doesn’t act, of course. After all, the Institute is a busy place, and he often is needed for errands or assignments. It would be cruel to leave them to navigate with one less pair of hands. Will and Jessamine really are a handful, and Jem is… well, it wouldn't be fair to make a scene when the focus should be on them. Besides, if Charlotte is at all fond of him, his death would be more upsetting than his blunders. 

Right?

#i love my headcannons #if all yall have thoughts and questions i love then #tw suicide mention #i guess? #seriously though anon sorry that took like a wee #k #tid #tlh #tsc #henry fairchild #henry branwell #the infernal devices #headcannons #charlotte fairchild #charlotte branwell

[janiedean]

How are you Lavi? I was wondering, have you have shared your opinion about the end of Supernatural? I would especially love to hear your thoughts about Destiel and that love confession.

hey! I'm... extremely tired because a lot of stuff is going on that I will partially share on main about soon but has been sapping my energies a lot (i'm OOOLD) but it could be worse, thank you <3

also, wrt spn: I think I did say it in scattered posts but if you want the condensed version:

I had quit spn like early s12 at the hitler episode then I finished it after the ending because I figured I owed it to them after watching the finale live as it aired so... it was something but going in order

I actually greatly enjoyed s12-15 up to the end and I was pleasurably surprised - like okay it was the usual crazy shit half of the time and it def had gone on too long but 12-15 were eons better than the slug that was 9-11 and I had a lot of genuine fun when watching them and like they actually look/are extremely coherent for spn standards so I mostly have positive stuff on the topic like the apocalypse universe was cool, the ketch redemption arc was cool, tombstone and the tarantino episode were a masterpiece (and the 80s rock episode too sdlgkjd same as the scooby doo crossover) and I loved chuck as the villain and how meta that was

concerning deancas and the love confession: I mean as the resident idiot who had written her first deancas fic after 4x03 aired I always thought that they didn't know what they had been doing until like s5 when they realized what they were doing (sorry no one convinces that 5x03 wasn't written by someone who didn't have the deancas agenda in mind in spades) but like I generally thought that if it went somewhere it was gonna end with sam retiring and being a man of letters or smth like that and deancas going off to fight monsters in a way where you could frame it as THEY ARE BEST FRIENDS™ in places where them being gay would be frowned upon

I also thought that if anything happened whether like... either canonization or adjacent-canonization it was gonna be the last five minutes of the series finale because otherwise some parts of fandom wouldn't have let anyone involved with that show live which is why I was pleasurably shocked the confession was in ep 18 and not 20

now: I think the network authorized it and then chickened out when covid hit because the way the entire thing is structured... like sorry but this story starts with cas rescuing dean from hell, in 18 cas ends up in the empty from which he can obviously be rescued, in 19 every single plotline gets wrapped except that one in an episode that can work as a finale-finale if you leave it at that and I'm supposed to think that the og plan for ep 20 didn't include a reverse thing where dean got him out and they made out? sorry at this point bite me I'mma put my money on that esp given that...

... episode 20 is the most useless finale i've ever seen in the sense that literally nothing happens in it, the show itself had fillers where more shit happened like honestly I've never seen 40 minutes of a show that were more... a waste of time and resources and effort as that one, it looked like they told the writers they needed to have dean and sam be bros™ one of them had to die and they met in heaven again and they did that but just that X°D like sorry but the vampire porn diaries had the exact same finale template - one brother dies the other lives a happy normal life and they meet again in heaven -, s8 of tvd was vastly worsely written than spn s15 like i'm not even arguing that, but if you look at tvd finale actually shit happens in it and when you watch it it actually looks decent/wraps things up/makes you feel stuff, the spn finale is just stupid but I can't even be angry at it because imvho it's obvious they did it on purpose X°D but like tldr if the og plans hadn't been scrapped whatever they were they would have had an ep 20 where shit actually happened and that wasn't the drag it was, and like if it had come at the end of a badly written season (like tvd) I'd have just shrugged and whatever but... it came after an actually well-written season that was actually coherent with the previous four ones so I can't believe that was the real endgame content really XD

anyway: the confession was imvho absolutely ic and coherent with the entire thing starting from s4 because like sorry cas being in love with dean since then is just blatantly making sense, I never thought once it was baiting or teasing because only ppl who never watched the show would think the delivery was bad or that either misha or jensen were cringing while saying their lines, cas saying exactly the stuff he said made absolute sense in context, dean's reaction (as much as I'm sure they cut stuff) was absolutely sensed as well and no one tells me he didn't reciprocate bc the entire thing was built so that he'd admit it to himself at the very end and I mean anon my friend my comrade when I watched that episode I cried for twenty minutes straight after I finished it so X°D

like okay yeah part of it was the SEE WE WERE RIGHT ALL ALONG FUCK THE DENIERS but most of it was that I honestly was moved and I found that entire speech extremely heartfelt, meaningful and a whole lot of things I'm not sharing on main because I don't want people deciding stuff based on it but like I have zero negative things to say about that confession, I'm glad it happened and I don't regret catching up also because it happened as it really felt like the natural reaching point of cas's whole arc, I'm just sad that whatever the fuck went on with the cw they didn't let dean have a decent ending bc honestly what the fuck was that thing and they deserved to be happy without presuming they met offscreen in heaven or whatever the fuck but honestly all my issues with spn's ending are with the cw obviously getting cold feet concerning episode 20

tldr: the ending-ending sucked but up until 15x19 I thoroughly enjoyed most of what I saw nonsensical or not because at that point spn was the kinda thing you watched bc you liked it with all the faults it has, I 100% believe that the last episode sucked on purpose because I've never seen a finale done with so little effort after four seasons full of effort ever like not even penny dreadful whose finale imvho sucked on purpose sucked this much but like getting there was worth it and deancas being canon in itself was smth I never thought we'd get this explicitly and I'm very very very happy it happened, peace

#anonymous #ask post #supernatural for ts #otp: don't ever change #otp: i'd rather have you #otp: i love you #i mean... i don't even know how to say it #but i've been shipping dc since 2009 #seeing it become A Thing was... something #like really fucking SOMETHING #and again that confession was written in a way that resonated with me a lot #so personally i have nothing to say about it except if i ever meet berens #i'mma cry in front of him probably #i mean #if i ever have spn convention funds again and get to talk to misha it's gonna be extremely embarrassing but #he prob deserves to know he made me bawl so #destiel for ts #/o\

[starlitangels]

The Pack Run

Still writing like nothing is going on in the canon universe... I wrote this an hour before the last Inversion episode was posted on YouTube so I didn’t know Sam didn’t know what Darlin’ looked like as a wolf until Inversion No Inversion spoilers, don’t worry 3.2k words (a lot longer than I intended... sorry?)

—

“Sam, I told you, you don’t have to come with us. I don’t care what Asher was saying,” I said. “I mean, it’s just gonna be you and a bunch of wolves who you won’t be able to really communicate with. The telepathic link really only works with the pack. It’s not... telepathy in its broadest sense. Not like the same telepathy magic that other magic races use. It’s just a mental link between shifted wolves. 

“And besides, you’re a vampire. Even among a group of shifters, you’re going to be faster than any of us. Although, I will admit David might be able to keep up with you. At least a little bit.” I shook my head. “But he’s enormous—his long stride just eats up the ground beneath him. 

“You’re more than welcome to stay here. David, Asher, and Milo’s mates will all be watching a movie or playing Charades or whatever the hell they did last year. I wasn’t here for that, so I have no clue. But I’m sure they’d be fine with you joining them. Or you could go back to our cabin and have a few hours of peace after all this. You don’t have to run with us. Literally, that’s all we’re gonna do. Run. We’re not even going to hunt or anything.”

“Darlin’,” Sam said, reaching up and touching my cheek gently with the backs of his fingers. “That’s not what matters. Do you want me to go with you?”

“Well, yeah. It’d be nice to know you’re out there with me. But if it’s going to make you feel awkward or uncomfortable in any way, I can manage running with my pack without you.” I fidgeted slightly and looked around the party. The fact that David had gone out of his way to make sure I knew I was invited to this wasn’t lost on me. I’d struggled to integrate with these people growing up and that hadn’t changed after spending a year-and-a-half or so not socializing with them. 

Honestly, I figured after that pack meeting where everyone read me the riot act that I wouldn’t be invited up here, pack member or not. David’s wolf-form might have been pitch black, but I was the black sheep of the pack. The one who didn’t fit.

I didn’t tell Sam that I was desperate for him to go with me on the run. That if he decided not to go, I’d spend the entire run at the very back of the pack, lagging several yards behind everyone. Alone. Again. I could keep up with Asher and David for a while before their higher endurance started to put me behind, but even with my strength and speed, I’d stick to the back if Sam didn’t go with me.

I thought about the years since I joined the pack. In a race through the woods around Dahlia with just David, Ash, Milo, and Amanda, I could keep pace. But every solstice since my family joined the pack, I stayed at the rear. Removed from the others. The older members of the pack—not including my parents—didn’t even know how fast I was. Because they only ever saw me at the solstice run.

But Sam’s comfort was important to me. He already seemed uncomfortable enough just being a vampire surrounded by werewolves at a werewolf party. And he’d been willing to come with me in the first place to support me. That was enough. It had to be enough for me, if he didn’t want to join us for the run. Even if I desperately wanted him there.

Sam’s fingers on my face slowly trailed down my cheek before his hand dropped and found mine. “Darlin’,” he said quietly. “I told you before this trip, and I’ll tell you again: if you want me, I’m there.”

Absolutely throwing caution to the wind, I grabbed the back of his head with my other hand and kissed him. I didn’t care if Asher made fun of me or if Milo made some snarky comment. I’d pummel them both later if they tried—at the same time, and I’d win for once. Because Ash could beat me as a wolf, but not as a human, and I was going to punch him if he tried to start anything.

Sam kissed me back, though I could tell I surprised him.

“Were... were you that scared of runnin’ on your own?” he asked, keeping his voice down, as I pulled away, still clinging to his hand and his head.

“You know me better than that. I’m not scared of anything,” I retorted. “But... I’ll admit I was a little... apprehensive of being on my own with the pack again. Without you there. I just... I want you to be comfortable, Sam.”

He smiled. “Well, if we’re gonna make this work, darlin’, I might be crashin’ this party every year for a while yet. They may as well get used to havin’ me here.” He kissed my cheek. “And I’m glad to be by your side—for as long as you’ll have me.”

—

“Psst, Milo,” Asher said, elbowing Milo in the arm as he passed by.

Milo swore. “What?”

Asher nodded toward the corner.

Milo glanced over to see Tank and their vampire—partner? Mate?—kissing like the damn world was about to end. Milo glanced back at Ash. “You know if you say anythin’ to Tanker they’ll beat your ass into next week, right?” Milo asked.

“Yeah. Which is why I’m not saying anything. For once,” Asher replied. “I just figured you should also be made aware that big, bad, tough, lone wolf Tanker was kissing a vampire at our party.”

“A vampire who can definitely hear you talkin’,” Milo pointed out.

Asher swore. “Have you seen my mate? I should go find...” He craned his neck, looking around.

“Over talkin’ with David’s by the big picture window.” Milo gestured vaguely in the direction he last saw those two menaces gossiping with their heads together.

“Thanks.”

“Ash,” Milo said, grabbing Asher’s arm. “Don’t ruin this for Tanker.”

“If I even tried they’d tear my throat out as a human. I’m not stupid, Milo.”

“Coulda fooled me.”

“You little—” Asher swung an arm, taking a swipe that Milo dodged.

—

Sam sighed. “Your packmates are... rambunctious.”

“Tell me about it,” I grumbled. “What did you overhear this time?”

“I don’t think you want me tellin’ you, darlin’,” he said slowly.

“Okay. Then I’ll guess. Asher running his mouth, Milo making fun of him for it.”

“Somethin’ along those lines.”

“I’ve known those two idiots since we were thirteen. You’d think after this long, they’d have grown up.”

“You’re sure werewolves aren’t frozen in age like vampires?” Sam joked.

I snorted. “I’m sure. But I can’t say the same for Ash and Milo.” I looked over at the party to see Asher ducking under Colm Greer’s gesticulating arm to get to his and David’s mates standing at the window. “But... they’re the closest thing I ever had to brothers. Them and David.”

Sam chuckled. “I hear ya. I feel the same about Vincent and the newborns. The family we choose for ourselves.”

“Yeah. Even... even if it’s hard to connect with them.”

Sam gave me a gentle look. “It’ll get easier, darlin’. If you’re willing to put in the work to get there.”

“I’m trying, Sam.”

“I know.”

—

The frigid wind streaked through my fur. Sam kept pace with us easily. He was honestly jogging more than running, compared to how fast I’d seen him move before. I was up at the front of the pack with him, trying to stay by his side. Amanda ran beside me, her blond-tan fur rippling in the wind. David and Asher were the only ones ahead of us, Milo and Christian right behind.

Tank, how are you holding up? Asher asked.

Fine, why?

You’ve never been at the front of the pack during a solstice run.

Never had a reason to. This year, I do.

Showing off for Sam? Asher teased.

I growled low in my chest and nipped at Asher’s tail. Sam shot me a look as Asher whined. Say something like that again, I will rip you apart, Asher, I snapped.

Enough, both of you, David put in.

He started it, I said.

I don’t care who started it. I’m finishing it. Now, David retorted. Even his thoughts were growly and grumbly. It had been a while since I heard him over the mental link.

I shook my head at Sam, wishing I could loop him into the link. All he did was bounce his eyebrows at me and keep running.

I looked ahead at the path then back to Sam. I threw my head in the direction of the path, trying to tell him he could run faster if he wanted. We’d catch up. “You sure?” he asked. Voice still as soft as always. I drifted closer to him on the path and brushed against him with my shoulder, nodding.

He smiled. “See ya downstream, darlin’.”

The blast of him taking off sent cold wind sharply down my left side.

What’d you send him ahead for? Amanda asked.

I could tell he was bored running our speed, I replied. Once he finds a spot to hang out, he’ll wait till we catch up and then join again.

I wasn’t wrong when I said he could blow our doors off, Asher remarked.

Dunno. I think David could keep up, I said.

I could, David agreed, for a little while, at least. But it’s my job to lead the pack, not show off.

I didn’t say anything, just dodged around a tree.

We caught up to Sam two minutes later. He was leaning against a tree at the edge of a clearing, one leg braced against the trunk with his arms folded. Smiling in satisfaction. His eyes met mine as I assume he heard the way my already pounding heart sped up. The moment I met him in Wonder World, I thought he was a handsome man, and over the course of our time together that led us here, those thoughts and feelings only got stronger.

We’ll pause here, David said to the whole pack, slowing his pace so the pack did as well. Take a break. Catch your breath.

The pack filed into the clearing, claiming spaces and lying down in the snow. Pups who’d just manifested this year or last rolled in the snow, bounding around and playing. Asher played with them, pretending to lose as they wrestled with him.

Hey David, what do you think our mates are doing back at the cabin? Milo asked.

I think Asher’s mate was saying something about Pictionary?

Oh God, Milo said, someone’s gonna set somethin’ on fire.

Maybe.

I snorted, plodding over to Sam. He’d sat down on the ground, waiting for me. I set my head on his lap. “You gonna shift back, darlin’?” he asked.

I lifted my head from his lap and shook it.

He set a hand in the fur behind my ear. “That’s alright. I didn’t expect you to. I know you don’t shift with clothes on and it’s pretty damn cold out here. I mean, just look at this clearin’.”

I flicked my eyes over to see steam rising from the bodies of my pack, fogging the clearing. I nuzzled my head against Sam’s torso, pushing my head up into his hand.

He took the signal, scratching behind my ear. I sighed out my nose and relaxed.

Sam chuckled. “Always nice to see you unwind, darlin’,” he said gently. I just leaned my head against his torso.

Tanker, Tanker, Tanker! one of the pups called out, bounding over and bending on their front paws, ears and tail high. I wondered how the kid still had any energy. My first couple solstice runs had wiped me out as a teenager. Wanna come play with us? Asher says you’re the best wrestler in the pack after Alpha!

I lifted my head slightly, thinking about it. Then remembering I couldn’t risk even a drop of blood falling. Sam looked between me and the pup. Did he now? I asked. Well, I’ll have to prove it later. I’m gonna spend this break with— 

It occurred to me that I wasn’t entirely sure what to call Sam. Sure, we were together—I considered him my partner. But was I ready to say “mate”? Were we there?

Sam, I finished.

The pup sniffed. Sam smells funny.

Sam is a vampire, I said. Of course he smells different to our noses. But that’s why he’s been able to keep up with us tonight. That’s why he ran ahead.

Cool! the pup said. Are you sure you don’t want to come wrestle?

Some other time, kid. Promise.

Okay! The pup bounded off, brown fur still dotted with snow.

I relaxed into Sam again. “Kid want you to go play?”

I nodded—and made a curious noise so he’d know I was wondering how he guessed.

Sam chuckled. “I can tell an excitable pup when I see one. I’m guessing you’re not going to?”

I shook my head, resting against his torso and legs heavier to make a point.

He scratched behind my ear. “Well. I’m glad you’re stayin’ with me, too.”

We sat there for a few minutes, relaxed, breath escaping in clouds in front of us. Sam wasn’t breathing particularly hard, but I was.

David plodded over and settled on his belly in the snow. How’s everything going over here? he asked.

Fine, I replied. We’re just resting.

I felt the mental link alter. He’d cut the rest of the pack off from hearing us. I’d tuned out everyone else’s conversations the same way I’d done with their human voices at the party, but the sudden silence jarred me. How are the two of you doing?

Sam’s great, I said. Barely winded. I’m just catching my breath.

I wasn’t meaning about the run, Tank. How are you doing?

Fine. Happy to have Sam with me.

That’s... great. I’m glad. David’s green eyes flicked to Sam, then back to me. Do you think he’ll be joining us next year?

Are you gossiping about my relationship, Alpha? I thought you were above such things, I teased. David’s mate and Asher were probably the only two people in the pack who could really tease David and get away with it, but sometimes I’d prod. Gently. David was my brother—and even though he could dish it better than he could take it, he could still take it.

I’m asking in the interest of pack planning, David replied, tone tightly controlled.

Okay. Yeah, I’m hoping Sam will be joining next year. I glanced back at Sam. He smiled down at me and scratched behind my ear. I managed not to let my eyes roll back in my head in front of David. That’d be humiliating. If he’s been patient enough to put up with me for this long, I imagine he can hold out another year. I wiggled my snout. 

Maybe next year I’d actually introduce him to the pack as my mate. This year... yeah we weren’t there just yet.

David snorted out his nose, a puff of steam rising from it. I thought the same thing about my mate, if I’m being honest, he said.

Which probably should have surprised me more than it did.

David picked his way to his feet. Ready to run? The tone was excited—as excited as David Shaw could sound, anyway—and revved up. He was happier than I’d seen him in a long time. I really needed to have a decent conversation with his mate. Thank them for pulling his head out of his ass a little.

I smiled as best I could. Hell yeah, I thought.

David opened the link to the rest of the pack. If everyone’s ready, let’s get going.

Wolves surged to their feet, shaking off snow. Asher appeared from under a mound of the stuff that the pups had somehow piled on top of him. The splotch of black fur over his left ear and eye was almost as grey as the rest of his fur, dusted with snow as it was.

I got up. Sam pushed himself to his feet.

David went to the front of the pack and paused. Ash, Tank. Lead the charge, he said. The second half of the run, the alpha took up the rear. Keeping an eye on the whole pack, making sure the pups and older wolves didn’t stray too far.

Back when Gabe was the alpha, he’d run next to me at the back, never pushing to talk to me or anything. Just letting me know he was there. Since David had been the alpha, he’d always done the same. Though his silence was less comfortable and more tense.

I gestured with my head for Sam to follow me and trotted over. Why me? I asked softly to David as I approached.

Because you’re faster than Milo and Amanda, and you’re strong. And you’re one of us. Don’t you forget it, he replied, equally as soft.

I took my spot on his left side, Asher on his right, facing the pack.

Ash, David invited.

Asher howled, twisted, and took off. I copied his movements and matched his stride, Sam running beside me.

David stood still until the rest of the pack ran past him, then took up his spot in the rear.

—

Sam was sitting on the bed in the loft when I got out of the shower and emerged from the bathroom in my pajamas, towel drying my hair. He’d showered and changed before me, in his own pajamas. It was pushing 3AM and I was exhausted—but the good kind of exhausted, where I felt like I’d accomplished something.

“You going to sleep or stayin’ up for a bit?” I asked, plopping down onto the bed next to him and letting him wrap an arm around my shoulders. I threw the towel back into the bathroom.

“I was plannin’ on holdin’ you till you fell asleep,” he said.

I smiled, leaning against his side. “Then you’ll get up and do stuff?”

“Probably. Might go down the canyon a ways so I can get a cell signal and call my newborns. Check in on ‘em. Make sure they’re doin’ alright.”

“I’m sure they’re fine. I can’t imagine you didn’t teach them well.” I wrapped my arms around him. “C’mon. Let’s lay down.”

We climbed into the bed and snuggled close. I rested my head on his chest, listening to that steady, sturdy heartbeat. He held onto me, pressing his cheek into my hair. “Thank you, darlin’,” he said softly.

“For what?”

“For sharing that with me.”

“Thank you for joining me. I woulda stayed at the back by myself without you.”

“How come?”

“It’s always been my spot. Alone at the back until the second half. Then David—and Gabe before him—would run next to me. The back kept me away from everybody. Meant I didn’t have to talk to them much. I never had a reason to run at the front, even though I’m only a little slower than Ash. Until I needed to keep up with you.”

Sam chuckled. “Well. Glad I could provide some motivation, at least.”

“Mm... me too,” I said.

We stayed pressed against each other until I drifted off to sleep.

#Redacted ASMR #Redacted Sam #Sam #Sam Collins #fic #gender neutral reader #Redacted Darlin' #featuring #David #Milo #Asher #Starlit Fic

[therealvinelle]

If Edward turned Bella after forcibly aborting Renesmee, how would canon go?

... that was the point of forcibly aborting Renesmée, though. The demon baby was killing hamburger, Edward's whole reason for wanting that abortion was to save Bella. Specifically, to keep her human.

He has this whole scene with Jacob where... screw it, I'll quote it, so you don't have to take my word for it:

“Just back up a second. She won’t let you.” The sarcasm was acid on [Jacob's] tongue. “Did you ever notice that she’s exactly as strong as a normal hundred-and-ten-pound human girl? How stupid are you vamps? Hold her down and knock her out with drugs.”

“I wanted to,” [Edward] whispered. “Carlisle would have. . . .”

What, too noble were they?

“No. Not noble. Her bodyguard complicated things.”

Oh. His story hadn’t made much sense before, but it fit together now. So that’s what Blondie was up to. What was in it for her, though? Did the beauty queen want Bella to die so bad?

“Maybe,” he said. “Rosalie doesn’t look at it quite that way.”

“So take the blonde out first. Your kind can be put back together, right? Turn her into a jigsaw and take care of Bella.”

“Emmett and Esme are backing her up. Emmett would never let us… and Carlisle won’t help me with Esme against it. . . .” He trailed off, his voice disappearing. (Breaking Dawn, page 115)

(Note: this later turns out to be a lie. Carlisle explicitly states that he won't perform an abortion on Bella against her will. Edward has his back against the wall, and is losing his mind.)

“I don’t care about anything but keeping her alive,” he said, suddenly focused now. “If it’s a child she wants, she can have it. She can have half a dozen babies. Anything she wants.” He paused for one beat. “She can have puppies, if that’s what it takes.”

He met my stare for a moment and his face was frenzied under the thin layer of control. My hard scowl crumbled as I processed his words, and I felt my mouth pop open in shock.

“But not this way!” he hissed before I could recover. “Not this thing that’s sucking the life from her while I stand there helpless! Watching her sicken and waste away. Seeing it hurting her.” He sucked in a fast breath like someone had punched him in the gut. “You have to make her see reason, Jacob. She won’t listen to me anymore. Rosalie’s always there, feeding her insanity—encouraging her. Protecting her. No, protecting it. Bella’s life means nothing to her.”

The noise coming from my throat sounded like I was choking.

What was he saying? That Bella should, what? Have a baby? With me? What? How? Was he giving her up? Or did he think she wouldn’t mind being shared?

“Whichever. Whatever keeps her alive.”

“That’s the craziest thing you’ve said yet,” I mumbled. (Breaking Dawn, pages 116-117)

Edward wasn't allowed to be alone with Bella because they knew he'd try this. Even Bella knew, it's why she asked Rosalie for help.

Say, though, that Edward is able to get Bella alone... somehow. He overhears Bella's phone call at the airport, and that's where things get scary because it means Bella can't go to Forks anymore. Wouldn't want Rosalie to get her claws into you, would we, Bella?

Edward contacts Carlisle with an update about the situation, and tells him to fly in with the medical equipment they'll need and make sure Rosalie can't interfere.

Unfortunately for Edward, Carlisle is not understanding about this. He'll do anything and everything he can to help Bella, yes, but he won't abort the baby against her will.

Again, just so no one is taking my word for it (I'm in a quotin' mood today):

“Yes. Bella is already a daughter to me. A beloved daughter.”

“But you’re going to let her die.”

[Carlisle] was quiet long enough that I looked up. His face was very, very tired. I knew how he felt.

“I can imagine what you think of me for that,” he finally said. “But I can’t ignore her will. It wouldn’t be right to make such a choice for her, to force her.” (Breaking Dawn, page 154)

So now Edward has Carlisle on the phone telling him to bring Bella to Forks damnit, they have all the equipment there, and failing that the family is coming down to Rio - but not to abort the baby. And off the phone is Bella, begging Edward to understand that their baby is a miracle.

Edward ends up performing the abortion himself.

Considering what the hybrid pregnancy did to Bella's body, including but not extended to turning her uterus to stone, she was likely doomed from the moment of conception. A simple suction or scrape isn't going to do. Oh, I'm sure he'd try, but Renesmée probably crushes whatever he tries to put in the uterus with her tiny, somehow-already-developed fists.

Edward would have had to perform a hysterectomy.

So we have a vampire with no surgical experience whatsoever performing a hysterectomy and abortion on his wife (And yes, hysterectomies are invasive procedures, you need to know what you're doing) and one can only hope he minded his anestesiology well enough not to kill her that way. To say nothing of the fact that Bella had been turned into a hybrid incubator, this isn't going to be like the textbooks Edward read in the 1950's. (For that matter, people's innards aren't identical to the textbooks. This organ can be bigger than expected and that artery might take a slightly different path than expected. We're genetically varied both on the inside and the outside, so Edward really can't rely on what he learned in school.)

Bella's not getting off that operating table alive.

In canon Edward did bite her in the end, once she was truly beyond saving, but she also did very much give birth Alien style. She wasn't going to survive, and Edward had even had some time to get used to that thought, however much he railed against it. He was desperate enough that in that fateful moment he chose to keep her.

This time, he abducted, drugged, and forcibly aborted her, all of it so she'd live on. If he bites her, that will all have been for naughty.

But if he doesn't, then his world will be a starless night again.

Could be he bites her, could be he doesn't. I can't predict Edward Cullen.

If he does, then Bella wakes up a vampire to find that her husband murdered both her and her child, and now wants her to forgive him. She never does, and Carlisle and Rosalie can't either. Even Esme would struggle with this one. The covens falls apart spectacularly, but at least Bella now has a Tragic Backstory™ to match the others.

If he doesn't, then Alice watches powerlessly this vision of Edward killing his wife, and all the Cullens can do is come in many hours later, when it's too late anyway, and bury Bella. The coven falls apart in this timeline too.

#bella swan #edward cullen #carlisle cullen #jacob black #twilight #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #twilight headcanons #book quotes #never too late to make that a tag

[nat-20s]

Part 2 of post-canon Wonderful! Au because it is extremely fun for me to write!

~*~

Martin: Hello again, and welcome back to, uh-

Jon: -the shitshow?

Martin: No! At worst this podcast is like, the audio equivalent a messy living room. If there’s no worms or clowns or, or evil bosses that are actively trying to kill you, it’s not a shitshow.

Jon: You are aware that comments like that are the reason that we have conspiracy theorists, right?

Martin: Hey, I’ve read a fair amount of those conspiracy theories, and a couple of them have been weirdly bang on.

Jon: Martin, love, no, please do not feed into their suspicions. Once again, as general disclaimer, this show has no larger narrative. It really is just us having a nice time.

Martin: Seriously, though, what about our discussions of beekeeping or the feeling of discovering a new favorite album has got people believing we’re secretly vampires? Or from a parallel universe slightly to the left of this one? Could you imagine?

Jon, dry enough to chap lips: Hardly.

Jon: Though I will say, any of the theories that involve one or both of us being supernatural creatures are my personal favorites.  I’m fascinated by what people are picking up on there, considering we are two perfectly normal human people.

Martin: Well, you are preternaturally handsome.

Jon: Oh god, shut up! That was terrible! First of all, even if that were true-

Martin:-it is. To everyone listening, my husband is very very good looking. I’d say he’s a trophy husband, but it turns out he’s also smart and loving and funny and strong and kind-

Jon, somehow blushing out loud: Will you stop it! As I was saying, first off, this is audio only, they have no idea how I look-

Martin: -you sound handsome-

Jon:-secondly, my husband outshines the sun, so if anyone should be accused of being preternaturally handsome, it’s certainly him-

Martin crosstalking, pleased:- christ, being on the receiving end of that is awful-

Jon: and finally, weren’t you last week saying something about an embarrassing old men in love quota? It’s wildly unfair of you to deplete our entire allowed supply in one comment at the top of the episode.

Martin: We actually got some feedback on that. Some of it was like, “no quota, we love love”, which is very nice, but trust me, it would result in an unlistenable show, and I’m the one that has to edit it. Most of it was closer to “old men? Aren’t you both in your mid-thirties lol?”. We are, but you know how people have the sentiment of “age is an attitude” when trying to encourage 60 year olds to go ziplining or whatever? Turns out, they’re right, and we’re in our 70s yelling at kids to get off our lawn.

Jon: Speak for yourself. My all white hair and deeply limited ability to care about popular culture makes me an absolute paragon of youth.

Martin, laughing: Of course. Especially by calling it “popular culture”.

Jon: Check the tik tok, it’s the preferred vernacular of The Youths, of which I am one.

Martin, still laughing: Yes, dear. Anyway, now that we’ve said nothing of import for a good three minutes, we should get on with the actual content, huh? Got any small wonders?

Jon: Yes?

Martin: Want to elaborate on that a little?

Jon: I do. There’s. Um. I swear there was something.

Martin: Want me to go first and come back to you?

Jon: Please.

Martin: My small wonder is the third area of feedback we got about last week. Specifically, it’s a five star review from Caitlyn S. that simply says, “I Can Not Stand Them” followed by a heart emoji.

Jon: Thank you Caitlyn. We also cannot stand each other, heart emoji.

Martin: Now it’s your turn to speak for yourself, I can stand you plenty. Actually, I would say I more than stand you, I rather like you a lot, heart emoji.

Jon, fond: Someone’s in a mood today, huh?

Martin: What can I say, it’s the first day of sun we’ve had in two? Two and half? Weeks. Forgive me if I feel like everything is a bit lighter.

Jon: No forgiveness necessary. Actually, that’s my small wonder, the first day of sunshine after weeks of grey, and, more specifically, how it makes my husband obnoxiously effusive with affection.

Martin, not genuinely wounded: Obnoxious?!

Jon: Only for others to witness, darling. If we weren’t recording right now, I would be personally responding to it with some very enthusiastic kissing.

Martin:…

Martin: So that will take us to our ad break.

Jon, laughing: We don’t have ads. Even if we did, this isn’t live.

Martin: What I’m hearing is that you think we should sacrifice artistic integrity-

(Jon snorts)

-and the genuine flow of conversation, before, might I add, we’ve even done our first things, in order to participate in some, ah, distinctly non-sexual but still amorous activity?

Jon: I didn’t say that, but I’m not opposed to it either.

Martin. In that case, listeners, if you hear any sort of audio differences as I talk about my first thing, no you didn’t, why would you, because we’re definitely not going to take a 5 to 15 minute break right now.

[THERE IS A DISTINCT OUT OF BREATH QUALITY TO THEIR SPEECH AS THEY BEGIN DISCUSSING MARTIN’S FIRST THING]

#tma #jonmartin #post canon #jon sims #martin blackwood #this part inspired by someone saying imagine the red string brigade for this podcast #and the thought tickled me SO MUCH #wonderful! au

[shelobussy]

ASH’S TMA HURT/COMFORT/FLUFF REC LIST 

For the gays. (And @damcrows who’s been dead for the past 24 hours. Rest in peace babe. Read some gay fic. Deny the inevitability of canon. <3)

___

the end, but the start (of all things that are left to do)  by @ajkal2

Jon wakes up.

aka. mag200 tore out my heart

(Very smol, very short, very spoiler. Def recommend for anyone who just finished the podcast.)

remind me how to smile by @tamerofdarkstars

Jon is probably fine, just hiding out somewhere while the whole murder thing blows over and that's... fine. Martin is fine with that explanation. Really. He's got plenty to distract himself - like listening through the entire What the Ghost episode library, for example. Or watching Georgie Barker's Instagram livestreams.

(Yea this was in the last rec list, but you don’t understand THE ADMIRAL GIVES CUDDLES)

Chamomile by Dribbledscribbles

Whatever the ex-tea was, if it really had ever been that last bag of chamomile Martin claimed he’d found tucked in the back of the cupboard, it was fast now.

Martin had tried catching it, chasing it, blocking its way with shoebox lids and plates and an upended footstool, but the thing was just too quick. Jon knew as well as Knew that he might have left off the attempts completely if not for the creature’s preferred game.

The game was, See How Many Times I Can Push Martin Towards Cardiac Arrest Before He Comes at Me with The Broom.

(Scottish Honeymoon Era. Adorable and weird. A vampire gets harassed.)

hey stranger by @ennuijpg

It’s a late night Tesco run, how eventful could it be? It’s not like Martin is going to run into his boss who’s wearing something absurdly different from usual and get the most acute form of whiplash possible from seeing him, right?

(Martin runs into Jon at the grocery store and has an existential crisis.)

roses roses, roses. by @judesstfrancis

Rose scented laundry detergent. Running into Jon in the breakroom. Running into Jon on his way back to his desk. Rose scented detergent. Running into Jon. Roses. Jon. Roses, roses, roses. 

(Canon enemies to friends to lovers au-ish. Martin POV. Very pining much sweet.)

go softly by doomcountry

And there is nothing else besides this. 

(More hurt/comfort than fluff. Scottish Honeymoon Era. Mild eye mutilation.)

Not Alone by @backofthebookshelf

After the coffin, Daisy and Jon are both fragile. They hold each other up. 

(Post-buried Jon&Daisy starter pack. Very hurt/comfort.)

trust my love by antlsepticeye

“you… you’re real, aren’t you?” jon whispers, the fog slowly dissipating from his mind. “it is not a trick?”

“i’m here,” martin says softly, reaching up to grab jon’s hand that was resting on his cheek, intertwining his fingers with jon’s and squeezing. he moves jon’s hand to martin’s chest, resting it over his heart. “you’re alright. i’m alright. take your time, love. let’s just take some deep breaths, okay?”

(TOUCHSTARVED JON HAS ENTERED THE CHAT.)

reaching out by Athina_Blaine

By the time things settled, when Martin had finally managed to crack through his cold shell, feel some of his old self returning to him in bits and pieces, they had found their little routine.

One that had the two of them sleeping in the same bed, making breakfast, going to the mart. Where Jon reached for his wrist while they slept, and Martin luxuriated in the gentle warmth of his fingers.  

But not one where Martin reached back. One that had Martin kissing Jon awake or taking his hand over the breakfast table, because ... Martin never had the courage to try. And then it never became a part of the routine.

And Martin desperately wanted it to be.

-

Martin and Jon have an important conversation.

(More Scottish Honeymoon Era for the soul. Hurt/comfort/fluff.)

Belabor by @janekfan​

Jon's given the position of Archivist and is falling apart at the seams. Tim and Sasha are upset and playing games. Elias is overbearing and manipulative.

And poor Martin is stuck cleaning up the mess.

(THEE first fic I ever read for tma. Season 1, hurt/comfort/fluff, and hints of Jmartin. janekfan is the absolute master of seasons 1-3 hurt/comfort. This is my favorite, but pls check out the rest of their fics.)

tea, blankets, and a damnable stubborn attitude by ivelostmyspectacles

“Are you really gonna stay here and pester Jon all evening?”

“I’m not pestering him,” Martin retorted, sounding vehement if not busy going through the cupboards. “I’m heating up soup.”

“Oh, you might as well make him another cup of tea while you’re at it.”

“Oh, good idea.”

Jon shot Tim a withering look.

(The one where Jon is ill, Martin makes tea and they watch doctor who together. Fluff 1000%.)

A Kind Hand by @voiceless-terror

Jonathan Sims was adjusting just fine, thank you very much.

In which a minor workplace spill causes Jon to realize that he might have friends.

(Ah yes, the other master of seasons 1-3 fic aka voiceless-terror being my other fav author in the fandom. This one is also season 1 hurt/comfort/fluff.)

A Weather In The Flesh by @cuttoothed

"There is a span of years where Jon doesn’t touch anyone other than the occasional hand shake. It’s not so bad. He’s never been someone who’s needed physical affection."

*

Jon has never been any good at making people want to stick around.

(More touched starved Jon! Much hurt/comfort!)

Something Old, Something New by @cirrus-grey

Months have passed, and everyone is doing better than they were. Daisy and Basira are getting married, Melanie is feeling her old self, Georgie is as much herself as she has ever been, and even Jon has stabilized on his wild fall away from humanity. Everyone is doing better.

Well. Almost everyone.

(Daisy/Barsira wedding! Melanie is a bitch and we love her! Jmartin dance! Post-canon (almost) everyone lives!)

The Weight of Love by @voiceless-terror

Jon is a restless sleeper. Martin attempts to adjust. 

(The fic where Jon is literally me and Martin attempts to sleep for 1k words.)

The Art of Conversation by @voiceless-terror

"Do you ever stop talking?"

Jon has a complicated relationship with words. Difficulties come and go.

(Jon has adhd and Martin is in love.)

Novelty by @backofthebookshelf

Jon experiences A Sexual Attraction; Martin has A Concern. They figure it out.

(Any fic that explores the ace spectrum is a 10/10. We stan all ace interpretations of jon on this blog.)

Half a Hug by Dathen

I know you weren’t going to hurt me, I trust you, he said again and again. And then a different kind of fear shone through, hollow and echoing: “Please don’t stop touching me."

-

Or: Life is hard when you're touch-starved but have trauma related to your closest friend.  Spoilers through TMA 132.

(Honestly bless every author who saw jon&daisy and was like. They’re siblings. No I will not elaborate.)

the loneliness never left me (but i can put it down in the pleasure of your company) by Athina_Blaine

It was about Martin making Jon feel safe, treasured, and loved. And it had been so, so long since anyone made him feel that way.

And, in the face of it all, Jon was starting to flounder.

(At this point I just need to make separate rec list for Scottish Honeymoon Era.)

you can watch me corrode by scarletfish

"So, how long have you been pulling this shit then?"

"I… excuse me?" Jon’s indignant, certain she can’t mean what he thinks she means.

"When was the last time you ate?"

(Georgie decides Jon and Melanie need a normal day off. Jon learns that he and Melanie have more in common than he thought.)

(Look, Melanie isn’t my favorite person in tma, but she and Jon are like THE SAME PERSON and I adore fics that elaborate on their relationship.)

Out of the Wind, In From the Cold by @ostentenacity

There are two bedrooms in the safehouse, and two beds.

For a moment, Jon considers asking to share, but decides against it with a wince. “I really loved you,” Martin had told him. Loved. Past tense. And Martin doesn’t exactly have a lot of choices right now in terms of company; it would be cruel to demand he play at feelings he no longer has just to make Jon happy.

(For a moment, Martin considers asking to share. But he dismisses the idea with a shake of his head. Jon has already done so much for him. Martin isn’t about to ask for more, especially not when it’s something he doesn’t really need. He has his right mind back, and he has Jon’s friendship. That should be enough for him. It’ll have to be.)

---

Jon thinks that Martin doesn’t love him. Martin thinks that Jon doesn’t love him. They do not, of course, discuss this. Unrequited love is already awkward enough, right? No need to dwell on it.

(THEE SCOTTISH HONEYMOON ERA FIC. IT’S ABOUT THE PINING, BEING MUTUALLY OBLIVIOUS AND FALLING IN LOVE. 10000/10.) 

I Do by @voiceless-terror

“I, um- this was supposed to be a lot more romantic, I swear.” Martin looks down at the dirty bar floor. “I had it all planned out, I-I was going to take you somewhere nice, and then we’d go for a walk in the square- I’ll still do it!” He hurries to explain, as if that’s the most pressing part of this situation. “It’ll be really nice, I’ve already hired a photographer-”

In a fit of protectiveness, Martin proposes to Jon.

(Everyone lives, Martin accidentally proposes and Jon is crying in public.) 

________

#lmao follow for more fic recs #ash recs #ash's rec list #ash recs fics #tma fic list #tma fics #jmart #jmartin #jon sims #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #tma fic recs

[mittensmorgul]

So, Signs that 15x20 isn't real: El Sol beer; warm, saturated lighting; Dean's choice of clothes. Signs the writers were silenced: cut-out-tongue-vampire-thing. Sign it's about sexual repression: Vampires! Sign it's all about the gay: Dean was nailed from behind. Anything else to add to that list of symbols? Because this looks like the writers winking SOS at us in a kidnapper's video.

oh gosh... I keep meaning to rewatch the finale and make a full list of it all, because this is tip of the iceberg stuff. But I just... heck I just don’t want to watch it again :’D

That rewatch is on the agenda, and I’m currently watching 15.09 on the eternal loop. According to the TNT schedule, they’re showing 15.20 on Tuesday, looping directly back to the pilot immediately afterward. So... if I do decide to watch that (and I haven’t decided yet), that’s... gonna be some wild whiplash...

But anyway, back to the question!

You have a pretty good list going there...

I’ll add these things that made the episode feel like not-a-finale:

-no Road So Far segment, or even any sort of “important moments from the last 15 years that brought us to this point” sort of montage/retrospective of their lives

-no Carry On Wayward Son at the beginning, but TWO versions of it back to back at the end

And these things that were just general wtf moments for me:

-Sam? cooking breakfast? since when does Sam make breakfast, ever? that’s Dean’s thing

-Dean, with a dog? since when has Dean ever wanted a dog? That’s Sam’s thing

-Dean makes his bed, and it looks messier when he’s done than before he started (this is... not Dean-like... I actually went back and checked previous shots of his room)

-they never, not once in the episode, act like they have even one (1) single friend or any sort of goal or direction in life, which is weird...

-apparently they’d been unable to find a hunt, making it seem like the supernatural world had been quiet (for a moment I thought maybe monsters were no longer a problem in a post-Chuck world), until they stumbled on a hunt out of nowhere after choosing to go to a pie festival... as if the moment they chose to do something to move on and just have fun, suddenly there was work for them to do and they immediately abandoned everything to hunt these mystery monsters from John’s journal, which turned out to be a trap for them (specifically for them? considering the rando s1 vampire seemed to have lured them there?)

-The fact Dean recognized this vampire he never even interacted with and somehow magically knew her name, despite it never having been stated in canon and, again, Dean never having interacted with her outside of watching her escape with the vampire who actually DID bear them a grudge from 1.20...

-the weird lingering close up shot of the rebar during the fight scene

-the invocation of “destiny” and “don’t have a choice” as they went into a freaking pie festival... this hits bad right now because I’m rewatching 15.09 in the background as I type this, and it was almost word for word what the Dean in Chuck’s vision of the future said to Sam as they resigned themselves to go off on their final hunt (which was vampires btw), which they lost because in the next scene Sam and Dean have become vampires and are both killed... so like... this was Chuck’s story. The trappings might’ve been different, but it was still fundamentally the same... Cas locked away in a terrible place (ma’lak box in Chuck’s story, Empty in Dabb’s), Dean resigned to his fate because of a vampire hunt gone bad.

-then the pie festival itself... Dean’s got a huge tray with half a dozen different varieties he’s excited to try (purchased from Dabb’s Pies...), is eager to taste them all (like... metaphorically trying out different “apple pie life” ending scenarios, because he’s finally free to explore and maybe he actually wants the pecan pie life...), but before he can even taste the first bite, Sam... chooses one and smashes it in Dean’s face.

-even weirder, Dean never once in the episode says Cas’s name, or seemed even once to give a dang about Cas at all... and handwaved it when Sam mentioned Cas and Jack. It had been like... days, on screen (if they’d intended for more time to have passed, they would’ve indicated that on screen, and they did not... they showed us MAYBE three days passing since the events of 15.19). So like... did Dean have a personality transplant or what. Sam says Cas’s name in the ep, Bobby says it in Heaven. Dean... never does. Which is weird, considering how many times he’s said Cas in canon over the years, to the point it’s literally become memes...

-jumping around a bit here, but why Masked Vampires? Why had John failed to figure out they were vampires originally? Because he believed vampires were extinct? because he hadn’t been told they existed at all yet when he’d confronted them in 1986? Was John suddenly just A Bad Hunter after years of canon reinforcing that he was actually a really good hunter?

-and why THIS WEIRD CONGLOMORATION OF JOHN-RELATED CASE NONSENSE? From his journal to the murder clowns to rando vampire from their first vamp hunt? It’s like the perfect storm of erasing the last 15 years just to “bring it back to the start” to end it all like it could’ve had this been s1 still.

-speaking of John, and the El Sol in Heaven... WHY would Bobby hand Dean “John’s Beer” in Heaven? Especially since Dean expressed the fact that he didn’t even like it? Like... why wouldn’t he have been handed a beer he actually ENJOYED in Paradise? Why force a John Beer on him when he could literally have anything he wanted?

-and why was Heaven for Dean, in a place where he could literally have anything he wanted, go anywhere and do anything, why was he just driving through the woods along back roads? After years of talking about how he wanted to go “toes in the sand,” take a vacation, go fishing, or even finally get to eat a piece of pie? Or like ANYTHING he’d talked about wanting to do over the years that he never had a chance to... but apparently the thing he’d arguably spent the most time during his life doing is the only thing he wanted to do now that every possibility was open to him? Yeah, no that’s stupid...

-Tree (the final shot of 15.04 with bobblehead Sam and Dean by the tree like they didn’t have a thought of their own, Chuck’s plastic figurines dancing on his orders, very much like where they randomly parked and had the “vamp mime” conversation)

-Dean casually resorting to the threat of torture after YEARS of the show condemning this choice. Dean gratuitously being “a killer” when his acceptance of the fact that that’s not who he was in the previous episode was literally the thing that defeated Chuck... like... this was entirely stupid...

-just... the pacing of the episode was so weirdly wonky, with random cuts and no sense of time passing anywhere, nor interconnectedness between scenes, and the weirdly uncomfortable interminable death scene. Like, it looked like the death scene of a soap opera heroine. It was upsetting when Dean hit the spike and realized what had happened, but then he just... lingered... dangling on the hook for Sam’s benefit. Like Dean was nothing more than set decoration like a framed portrait for Sam to hang up and walk away from. Which is weird... and stupid... Dabb knows how to do pacing, and it’s like he forgot everything he ever knew about writing to force this “good way to die” trope, as if the previous 15 years of the show hadn’t been spent denouncing (and Dean finally overcoming) this mindset of “I always knew I’d go down swinging” or whatever. WHY. IT WAS STUPID.

-Wig

there’s probably more, but I’m tired and have reached my daily limit for the wtf of this episode >.>

Anyone else, please feel free to add more.

#spn 15.20 #Anonymous

[147days]

I know nothing about astrology but I know in my soul that Spike is a December baby for no other reason than that I’m a December baby and I like him and that Victorian London literally only exists at Christmastime. Thoughts, oh wise astrologer?

hahaha fair! i’m nowhere near an expert when it comes to astrology but i do have a big interest in it so diving deeper into this kind of stuff is fun for me. if he was born in december that would put him as either a sagittarius or a capricorn, and while everything in me screams that he has a water sun, i could see him as a sag in that he is individualistic, persuasive, compassionate and loyal, rebellious and has a lack of filter and bluntness when it comes to communication. what makes me lean against him as a sag though is this sign’s lack of long term commitment and tendency to quickly move from one obsession to the next - while our boy definitely is prone to quick obsession, it’s more of a forever kind of deal for him once he commits. also the wandering nature of a sag doesn’t fully fit with spike for me, while i can see him making his home anywhere, i feel like he has a tendency to decide that his home is wherever his people are, and he would be comfortable never leaving their side and giving up his more adventurous traveling nature once he’s found a family.

i really don’t see him as a cap at all, he doesn’t feel like an earth sign to me mostly because he’s just way too much of a rebel and a loose canon while caps relish in following rules, and he has a very glass half full attitude while caps sometimes have a tendency to expect the worst. there’s a romantic dreamer aspect to him that most caps don’t necessarily possess, they tend to be very pragmatic. i also feel like most caps wouldn’t want to stand out too much looks-wise which spike definitely doesn’t have a problem with. plus, buffy is canonically a cap (and i DO think this really fits her! i might do a post on what i headcanon more of her chart to be at some point) and while they do align personality wise in a LOT of ways, they seem to come to things from different perspectives a lot of the time too, and complement each other that way. 

of course, he could definitely be either one if the rest of his placements in his chart have a lot of water and some (more) fire signs.

and it’s tricky when it comes to thinking about spike and what his signs could be - cause do you just go by what william was like and what his core values were? or do we take everything that we know about spike into account too? do vampires have two charts, one from when their human self was born, then another from when they got turned, cause it is a rebirth in some ways? who knows. i tend to go by william, and then see spike as whatever traits he already had in him heightened - and higher defined shadow aspects of the signs. 

(ALSO!!!!!! hi your new username brings me so much joy shfkjdshg)

#ask me stuff! #momsopposed2theoccult #btvs meta #spike #btvs #astrology #sometimes i have thoughts #btvs astrology #*btvs

[troquantary]

Didyme, Part 2: Something, Something, Plato's Allegory of the Cave

Continuing from here, and we’re doing sub-parts for this bit. I’m genuinely surprised I had this much to say. (And fun fact, I almost lost the entire goddamn post, but fortunately I was copy-pasting into Word just in case. Not today, Satan.)

2.1. What Canon Tells Us

Didyme’s murder by Aro (and with Caius’ apparent assistance, either during or afterwards), is only mentioned on the page in Life and Death, the 10th Anniversary gender-swapped version of Twilight. Edythe/Edward mentions it briefly when discussing the painting of the leaders Carine/Carlisle brought back from Volterra, but it’s just background information with little narrative weight. I bring it up just to highlight Caius’ involvement and knowledge -- I’ll get back to that.

Now, here’s the “canon” backstory we have to work with. Per the illustrated guide, Didyme was Aro’s younger sister, and he turned her at some point after meeting Marcus, Caius, and Athenadora. Interestingly, the Guide doesn’t say anything about Aro returning to Didyme out of brotherly love; apparently he just wanted to see if she would have a powerful gift like his, only to be underwhelmed (”disappointed,” according to his Guide entry) by her actual ability -- she made people happy just by being around them. Then she and Marcus fell in love, sharing “the strongest romantic bond of any of the Volturi” (from Marcus’ Guide entry), and this prompted a suddenly very single Aro to seek out his own mate, Sulpicia. The Guide says Didyme “distracted” Marcus from Aro’s goals, and that the pair eventually made plans to split off on their own, leading Aro to murder Didyme so he could hold onto Marcus and his valuable gift. Although nothing written so far suggests that Aro even liked his sister, the Guide does state that Aro “truly loved her” and that his grief upon killing Didyme was genuine.

Apparently Caius’ role in all is was something Meyer thought up later, because none of the leaders’ Guide entries mention him being in on it. (You can’t see me, but I’m staring pointedly at Part One.)

2.2. Fuck Canon, Actually

(This just seemed like the funniest place for a cut. Continued below~)

I’ll be honest with you, person who’s persistent/unfortunate enough to still be here: very little about this murder scenario makes sense to me. I’m going to start with the “disappointing” nature of Didyme’s gift and that it was supposedly much less useful to Aro than Marcus’, because that’s just...stupid, frankly, and there’s no way Aro would have missed the inherent utility of Didyme’s gift. I don’t even have to read into anything to get this idea -- the Guide itself shows us how useful it is! It says right there in Marcus’ entry that Aro went off to turn Didyme, and returned with his sister, “along with the first members of the guard -- vampires who were drawn to Didyme’s aura of happiness.” That is a direct quote.

Just -- I practically shrieked when I read that. You’re telling me that Didyme’s gift was the stated reason their coven got its first subordinates, and I’m supposed to believe that Aro thought that was disappointing? Fuck off! Fuck off!! Even if Didyme’s happiness aura isn’t as powerful as Corin’s opium haze, well, Aro doesn’t have Corin yet, does he? He has every reason in the world to want to keep Didyme around, drawing other vampires to his cause -- even if most of those vampires aren’t gifted or skilled enough to join the guard, it’s still good PR.

At this early stage in the Volturi’s rise to power, it isn’t a good time to lose Didyme -- or any of his inner coven, really. Yet Aro apparently considered her disposable enough that he killed her. I can’t square this with what we know about Aro: that he’s still coherent despite holding god-knows how many people’s lives in his head; that he’s very intelligent; that he’s cunning, charming, and persuasive. Aro, once he learned they were thinking about leaving, would have tried to talk to Didyme and Marcus and done everything in his power to convince them to stay just a bit longer, until the Volturi’s position was more secure. And maybe he did; the timeline of all this is hazy, but nothing in the Guide suggests that Aro jumped straight to duplicity and murder. Clearly, though, whatever negotiations or arguments he presented failed. So what does their desire to leave the Volturi at this critical stage say about Didyme, or Marcus for that matter?

2.3. What It Says About Didyme and Marcus (Mostly Headcanon)

Brace yourself, because we’re into full headcanon territory now. To follow me, please refer to @therealvinelle ‘s meta about the larger mission of the Volturi and why they’re necessary, because I’m starting from the perspective that the Volturi are ultimately a force working in vampires’ and humans’ favor. While Meyer and the Guide would have you believe that Aro’s just power-hungry, actually looking at the impact of the Volturi and the benefits of enforcing secrecy shows that his broader vision isn’t just world domination, but establishing a world in which vampires and humans can both thrive and endure. There’s no way the rest of the inner coven was unaware of this goal; we know Aro talks a lot, so he’s certainly talked his coven’s ears off about this.

Now, we know very little about Marcus and what he was like before he was all dead inside. Based on what would be a logical balance of personalities, with Aro as lead decision-maker and Caius as ruthless enforcer, it seems likely that Marcus was originally the voice of reason and/or mercy. I also think Marcus would have had a strong sense of duty. The Guide says that Aro was the first friend Marcus had as a vampire, and I believe that Marcus cared about him very much and was committed to the Volturi. I think he would have been genuinely conflicted about leaving, especially considering the stabler, safer world the Volturi have been striving to build, and which they haven’t yet secured. Again, it’s a very bad time for any of the leadership to split off -- but in the end, Marcus and Didyme are going to do it anyway.

What for, though? Why leave? @theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin has an interesting take on that question here: that Didyme saw that she and Marcus would be locked into the Volturi life and a thankless existence for eternity and tried to opt out while she still could. I like it a lot, it’s a great post and that scenario makes sense, but the tone of it feels...too forgiving. Maybe that’s because I’m evil. But the way I see it, given the magnitude of the Volturi’s mission, and its (at best) very tenuous grip on power at the time Marcus and Didyme plan to leave (they haven’t even defeated the Romanians yet), jeopardizing the entire operation so that they can pursue their romance unburdened strikes me as...well, fundamentally selfish on some level, so much that I find myself side-eyeing Didyme and Marcus for it. Although to be clear, it’s not the desire to live their own lives apart from the Volturi that I find selfish, just the timing of their departure.

Honestly, I’d like not to vilify another female character if I don’t have to. Given everything I’ve just said, I see Didyme in much the same way as I see Bella: not a bad person, but someone with definite selfish tendencies. At best, she’s likely short-sighted or naive if she doesn’t see how leaving the Volturi at this stage is fucking them over in a big way. However, I hesitate to read into the happiness aura as a straightforward indication of Didyme’s fundamental goodness; I think she probably was kind, charming, and delightful to be around, hence the nature of her gift -- but that capacity for selfishness is still there. (I’m certain Meyer wants us to take her gift as proof of Didyme’s goodness, to reinforce how evil Aro is for killing her...but I think I’ve made my disdain for what Meyer wants me to think pretty clear.)

2.4. MURDER MOST FOUL

I am not saying it was justifiable or okay for Aro to murder his sister. I’m really not. It’s actually better, from a character standpoint, that it isn’t okay -- that Aro has to carry this with him for the rest of his life while Marcus sits in the throne next to him, reduced to a husk, so that in effect Aro has lost them both after all. It’s got that Greek tragedy element @theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin​ mentioned in her post. (Even better from that standpoint, the Guide implies that Aro found Chelsea relatively soon after killing Didyme, which compounds the tragedy.) I mean, it’s terrible, and it hurts me because I love Aro, but it’s compelling stuff.

What I am saying is, I can see how their insistence on leaving might have deeply hurt and offended him. And that brings me to my issue with the calculated murder scenario the Guide gives us -- I still think Didyme’s gift is too valuable for Aro to throw away by killing her in cold...venom (or whatever), even as the price for keeping Marcus in the fold. Plus, there’s the fact that Aro does love Didyme, and I imagine her gift makes it very difficult for people to think of harming her...when they’re calm, anyway.

Yeah, the only way I can really see the murder happening is if Aro killed Didyme in the heat of an argument about her leaving, possibly even by accident -- except you can’t accidentally kill a vampire, can you? It’s a very deliberate process wherein you have to dismember them and burn every piece, which also means it probably takes long enough that any irrational, overwhelming rage would wear off before you were done. But now that you’ve started....

I mean, at that point it would certainly be awkward to put your half-rubble sister back together, and Aro would be in a whole other load of shit even if he did. It’s possible, given what we’re told, that Aro could have lashed out and yanked Didyme’s head off before snapping out of it, only to realize that his sole option now is to finish the job. If he doesn’t kill Didyme now, she and Marcus won’t just leave, they’ll be sworn enemies of Aro from then on. And thanks to Didyme’s gift being the draw for a lot of the guard, and the inherently bad look of a leader who would brutally attack his own sister, a chunk of the guard would probably leave with them, destroying Aro’s plans. No, the only way to salvage it is to follow through.

Then Aro has to call in Caius for help with the cover-up, because it wasn’t actually planned and it’s just pure luck that no one walked in on the murder as it was happening.

And maybe Aro learns a hard lesson about learning to let people walk away, leaving the possibility open that they could be drawn in again. Because if Aro had just waited, he would have found Chelsea, and with her gift he could have had Marcus and Didyme back again.

Assuming everything didn’t fall apart as soon as they left, of course. But that’s a whole other what-if scenario.

#and those are my thoughts on didyme #...mostly #but i need a break now #twilight #twilight renaissance #twilight meta #i stared too long and the twilight abyss gazed back #didyme volturi #aro volturi #marcus volturi #sources cited: #therealvinelle #theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin #i'm going to go lie down

[thatfanficstuff]

Impossible - 14

Pairing : Eric Northman x Reader

Warnings: canon typical stuff

***

After you were sure you had obtained all the information from Eric that he possessed concerning Sophie-Anne and her scheming, you called your father for the second time that night. Once you finished filling him in, the silence stretched. You chewed at the inside of your lip waiting for him to speak. You’d learned early on that Roman wouldn’t be rushed and trying to make him would only piss him off.

“There was no room for misinterpretation in her words?” he finally asked.

The call was on speaker so you glanced at Eric. “No, sir. In fact, her instructions were rather detailed. She also intended to supply the blood so she could control the source.”

“I see.” Again, there was nothing but silence for several minutes until he took a deep breath. “Very well. I will be paying Sophie-Anne a visit. The two of you will accompany me.”

Eric cleared his throat. “There is some rather urgent business we must attend to out of state. When will you be arriving?”

You frowned at your mate and he shook his head. The look he gave you told you this wasn’t the time to discuss it.

“Does Y/N agree that this business is urgent?” your father asked.

“Unfortunately, yes.” You spoke without hesitation. You had done Eric a service by getting involved in this business with Sophie-Anne. He wouldn’t put off Roman’s visit for no reason.

Eric grasped your hand and squeezed it in thanks.

“Then call me when your business is concluded and I will schedule my visit accordingly,” he offered.

“Thank you, Daddy.”

Roman chuckled. Once you turned sixteen, the only times you called him daddy were when he did something for you that went above and beyond. “You’re welcome, angel.”

“I have an associate that I could have attempt to collect more information from Sophie-Anne while we are gone. Then at least the time wouldn’t be wasted,” Eric offered.

“Smart thinking, Northman. See it done. I’ll talk to the two of you later.”

“Love you, pop.”

“Love you, too.” You disconnected the call and looked at Eric. “So, what is this urgent business we have to attend to?”

He sighed and leaned back in his chair grasping your wrist as he went to pull you with him. Once you were settled in his lap and leaning against his chest, he started to run his fingers through your hair. “I was intending to have this conversation with you tomorrow after I was certain you’d fully recovered.”

You rolled your eyes though he couldn’t see it. “You’re an old vampire, Eric. I’m pretty sure I was fully recovered as soon as I’d finished drinking.”

He hummed in agreement before sighing again. “Godric is missing.”

You would have sat upright, but he kept you pressed against his chest. Concern spiked through you. Godric was old. And strong. “What do you mean missing?”

“Stan and Isabel called me. No one’s seen him or heard from him in weeks. No note nothing. It’s not like him.”

“No it’s not,” you agreed. “On the plus side there are few that would be able to overpower him so odds are he’s alive wherever he is. When do we leave?”

Eric chuckled. “Soon. We could use the help of your little telepath.”

“She does sort of owe me at the moment.” There was a very small part of you that felt guilty for using Sookie, but you were loyal to Eric. And at least you’d be upfront about what you needed from her. “She’ll need compensation.”

“Whatever you think is fair, alskling.”

“Even if that includes Bill?”

Eric stilled for a moment. “If you believe that is necessary.”

You laughed and patted his chest. “I don’t like it any better than you, but I know how Sookie thinks. I need to talk to him though. I’ll call her tomorrow and have her meet us at Fangtasia.”

***

A couple of hours passed before you found yourself heading into the basement at the club. It was dirty, dark and damp. In the middle, a giant gear was attached to the ceiling with poles coming down from it. Humans were attached to the poles on one side and Bill was secured across from them with silver chains. From the looks of him, he hadn’t fed since he’d been brought down here. “You’re so hospitable, baby.”

Eric laughed as you crossed the floor. He made sure to pull you to a stop well before you would be in reach of the hungry vampire. “Bill Compton, as you wished, mitt allt.”

Bill looked at you with wide, pleading eyes. “Y/N, you have to get me out of here. Get him to release me. Something happened to Sookie. I must ensure that she is all right.”

“Sookie’s fine, Bill. I know, because I was there. So was Sam. In fact, given how things have been going, he’s probably still there. He’ll take care of her.” You put your hands in your pockets and rocked back on your heels. “Now, what happens next is entirely up to you.”

“Option one: you agree to stop being a fucking twat and let Sookie and Sam continue on as they have been without your interference. I tell Sookie you’re down here and give her the option of freeing you. Option two: you tell me to fuck off and you’ll do what you want and no one ever knows you’re down here. You can slowly desiccate as far as I’m concerned.” Your gaze never left him as you laid out his options.

“And if I don’t do as I said once I’m free?” Bill asked like the dumbass he is.

“Oh, you’re not promising me shit. You’ll be taking an oath with your sheriff so you know exactly what will happen if you break it.”

Eric made a sound of agreement and nodded his head so Bill knew he backed what you were saying.

“It would seem I have no choice,” Bill grumbled.

***

It was shortly after sundown the next evening and you were gathered in Eric’s office with Sookie and Eric. “So, you want me to go to Dallas with you and see if I can help you find this friend?” Sookie asked once you’d explained everything to her. “And what’s in it for me?”

“Ten thousand and Sam can come with you. He’ll have to get over his hatred for all things fangy though,” you answered. “And we’ll release Bill.”

“Bill? You mean you knew where he was this whole time and you didn’t say anything?” You grimaced. The more irritated Sookie got, the whinier her voice got. It was more than a little abrasive.

“Bill was paying the price for his bad decisions. A price that is not yet paid in full. If I were you, I would accept my mate’s generous offer,” Eric said. “Or you may leave Bill in my care and simply take the money. That is also an option.”

“No. I accept. Bill and all,” she said.

“Very well. Y/N will bring you down.”

Your gaze trailed Eric as he left the room. You knew exactly what he was up to and you had to admit, it was a decent idea. You led Sookie toward that horrible dank basement. You’d made it half way down the stairs when Eric released Bill. He immediately launched himself at the human chained nearest to him and bit into him ravenously.

Sookie made a small sound of distress but remained where she was. It wasn’t until Bill turned his attentions to the next human that she turned and fled. The sound caught Bill’s attention and he growled at Eric. “Damn it, Eric.” He made to run past him and up the stairs but Eric grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

“She’s not going anywhere. Eat. There’s a shower in the corner. I’ll have Pam bring you some clothes.”

#eric northman x reader #true blood fanfiction #eric northman fanfiction #impossible #series

[missmonsters2]

Between the Lines || VIII

PAIRING: Steve Rogers & Fem!Reader (Platonic) / Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader / Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader / Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader x Wanda Maximoff

Summary: Vampire AU. Life has changed drastically since the 1600s. Things are always on the move, and you’ve been very careful to not get on SHIELDs radar. Living on the down-low owning a café, you’re content to live out a quiet existence. That is until the Avengers enter your life.

[Set after the New York Invasion, in CAWS, and goes up to AoU. Canon divergent after.]

Warnings: This series will contain smut(**), poly-relationship, and dark themes. 

Note: Me, coming out of my depression snap to drop this 😌. Introducing....Wanda! Comment to be added to taglist.

PART I || PART II || PART III || PART IV || PART V || PART VI || PART VII

PART VIII of XX

Count: 8097

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You're starting to understand how the dynamic works between the Avengers. While everyone is a star in their own way, they come together as a team seamlessly. 

You look around at the chaos on the field, snickering when you hear in your earpiece of Tony making fun of Steve for saying, "language!"

"That's not going to go away soon," you hear Steve mutter. 

"David, do you know how to take down the shield?" You ask.

You hear David hum.

"I don't know. There's a pathway under the north tower. Blow it up or something," You could picture David shrugging.

"Oh my god," you mutter.

"Hey, that was my idea!" Tony flippantly said as he flew towards the north tower while David hung casually from Tony's ankles. 

There was so much happening on the field. Tony was sending his Iron Legion bots to help the civilians, though you doubt the civilians will appreciate it.

You were watching rather idly on the field, occasionally taking out an android or soldier. But you could hear something in the area. 

Footsteps.

Footsteps that were much too fast to be a soldier or an android. 

You looked at Clint, who was hiding behind a tree, pulling his arrow in his bow to try to take out a bunker. He shot the arrow, but before it could reach the person manning the bunker, someone caught it.

Clint seemed confused, but you had seen it somewhat clearly. It was shocking to you. 

A blond, almost silver-haired man with a trimmed goatee and 5 o'clock shadow was...running. That was the best way you could describe it in your eyes. 

To the human eye, he was a blur.

"We have an enhanced on the field," Steve notifies everyone when Clint had tried again, but the intruder had caught it, and Clint was hit by a blast in his side as he was distracted by his shock. 

"Clint's hit," Natasha tells everyone else right after. "He's going to need evac."

"I'll take care of the enhanced," you let everyone know while Thor says he can take Clint to the jet. 

You take off, running in the direction you saw the speedster go. It's relatively easy for you to catch up with him. He seemed to be making his way back to the base. 

Even though you're a relatively older vampire, you can't seem to catch up with him completely. You're trailing behind him, but even so, that seems to surprise him. 

He stops in his tracks, causing you to stop as well. He stands there before you, eyes wary as he takes you in as you try to remember everything in David's file.

Pietro Maximoff.

"What are you?" He asks, accent thick in his voice. 

You cock your brow at him, "You know that's rather rude to ask a lady."

You see the slightest twitch in his lip. You take his face in more slowly this time. 

There is part of him that reminds you of Tatyana, and you're sure he's her descendant. 

"You're different," he comments, "but I don't remember seeing you as part of the Avengers."

"I'm really just a part-timer," you tell him.

He takes in your response. You stand still, trying to listen on the field because David's file told you there were two of them.

You don't hear anything else on the field, and when your eyes dart to the side for just a moment, Pietro smirks. 

"You're fast," he says, "but you're not as fast as me." 

Before you have anything else to say, Pietro takes off again. You have half a mind to chase after him, but you know it would only be a game of tag. 

"Careful out there. Pietro has run off, and his sister is not in the area," you warn the team. 

"We've got all the data from their systems; I'm going to head back first to process it all," David speaks back into the intercom. 

You're about to take off towards the base when you hear Natasha advise they've locked down their positions and Steve telling her to get Banner. 

You pause. 

You know the girl, Wanda, is likely to be in the base with Tony, and you really should go because David has left, and Tony shouldn't be left alone.

But...

You turn around, running off towards Natasha. 

It was a shot in the dark plan that Bruce had come up with some time ago. Bruce asked that Natasha be the one to try to bring him back since Tony would be busy handling the inside of the base, and for some reason, Natasha was the next person he thought would be able to bring him back. 

Still, you were worried.

Trust or not, you know what the Hulk is capable of, and your instinct wouldn't let Natasha face that alone. 

You quickly find the Hulk grunting as he walked around the snow in a secluded area. You step out quietly, undetected as you see Natasha approaching from the other side. On the outside, she appeared completely fine, but you could hear her heart trembling in her chest.

You didn't step out into view because this was for Natasha to do, and you didn't want to overstep your boundaries with Bruce, but you would intervene if necessary.

"Hey, big guy," Natasha softly said so that he wouldn't feel threatened. The Hulk growled at her, stepping towards her, and you felt your thighs tense, wanting to move forward immediately, but you held yourself.

In terms of strength, you weren't stronger than the Hulk. But your odds were definitely better than anyone else's, and your body would be more durable if he hit or threw you.

And while Natasha may be enhanced, the Hulk could accidentally kill her. 

"The sun's getting real low," Natasha coos, putting her hand out in front of him as she kneels. 

The Hulk scowls at her, breathing heavily. He stares at her hand, and to Natasha's credit, her hand was as still as a stone. The Hulk grunts again before he reaches his hand back out to her, flipping it over before placing the backside of his hand down onto Natasha's. 

She swallows, trying to give him a reassuring smile as she strokes his hand. For a second, you think you see him relax a little.

But something shifts, and you're unsure if it's because of Natasha or because of the Hulk. Whatever it is, you sense the change immediately, watching his shoulders tense and tremble, the low grumble in his throat. 

Before you know it, you're digging your foot into the ground. It goes through the snow, breaking the gravel underneath and your hand ripping off part of the tree's trunk as you burst towards Natasha.

Before the Hulk can knock Natasha into the air, you hurdle into her, rolling a couple feet away in the snow. The redhead is breathless, surprised to see you. 

"What are you--" She starts to say as the two of you stand up.

"Stay here," you tell her as you blur in front of the Hulk. 

Natasha feels her heart fills with fear as you stand before the Hulk. You look so tiny compared to him. The rational part of her brain knows that you're not human. You're stronger, stronger than many people out there. You're an immortal, and she's aware that only one thing can kill you.

But she can't help but feel fear because Natasha couldn't help herself from feeling it in front of the Hulk.

Natasha watches you, your mouth reared back in a snarl, and your teeth look sharp. 

And then she felt it.

An invisible crackle in the air.  

The hair on the back of Natasha's neck stood, and it felt like her feet were being rooted to the ground. She looks at you again, and your eyes are glowing red. 

And it's the first time Natasha realizes that you are a vampire. 

A predator. 

Dangerous.

You look at the giant creature before you. His muscles are tensing under the pressure you're exerting.

He hasn't moved from his spot, but he's growling and roaring at you. 

It's not enough, you know.

It would be nearly impossible to compel him to simply turn back. 

You turn, taking a silent step, so light and quiet that it doesn't even leave an imprint in the snow. You hold your finger out, catching his attention, and the Hulk snarls at you. 

Calmly, you bring the finger between your eyes, the red fading away. The Hulk follows the movement, looking right into your eyes. 

Your pupils expand, looking like they've exploded into liquid tendrils.

"Relax," you command lithely.  

You can see the Hulk trying to resist, but his pupils are dilating in and out. He's grunting, glaring at you, but you remain expressionless.

"Look around you," you softly say, his head turning automatically. "There's no more danger. It's just you, me, and Natasha. There's nothing to be angry at. Nothing to smash."

The Hulk looks back at you, and you still have your compulsion on.

"Relax," you tell him again.

This time, he stares longer, eyes remaining dilated.

He let out a puff of air, a small whine before he started shaking his head. Not long after, he staggered back, falling to the ground stumbling as he began to shrink, and the green started to fade.  

When all was said and done, Bruce Banner lay in the snow, getting up slowly as he watched his surroundings. 

You close your eyes for a moment, pupils returning to normal as Natasha starts to move towards Bruce. Your instincts still feel like they're on haywire, wanting to immediately intercept her from getting closer, but you're able to rationalize that Bruce isn't a threat anymore.

He's simply a man, with a beast sleeping inside. 

Natasha gives him his clothes that he changes into behind a tree. When he comes back out, he gives you a self-deprecating smile.

"I'm guessing the lullaby didn't work?" He asks.

You shrug. "It did a little. Perhaps if it was someone you were closer to, it would've worked all the way."

A part of you felt like if you didn't monopolize Natasha's time, she would've become a good friend to Bruce.

Not to say there weren't now, but there was hardly a bond. 

"How did you get me to turn back?" Bruce asks.

"Compulsion," you answer simply. 

"You can compel me to turn back?" He asks, surprised, a tinge of hope in his voice.

You shake your head.

"Not exactly," you clarify. "I used compulsion to sway you into calming down. You weren't exactly on a rampage, so it made it easier."

Bruce bites his tongue but gives a sharp nod. 

Right after, you hear Steve in your ear saying they've secured the scepter. The twins have escaped, but it was time to head back to the Quinjet. Bruce starts to head back first, and Natasha starts to follow, but you stop her.

She looks back at you curiously. 

You can't help it.

Your instincts are going off even though you know Natasha's not in immediate danger. 

You can't help but check her over, eyeing every bit of her to ensure she's not hurt. Natasha seems to know what you're doing, smiling lightly as she steps forwards into you, wrapping her arms around you.

"I'm okay," she reassures you. 

You blink, momentarily surprised, but you wrap your arms around her. 

"Why did you come?" She asks you. "I know you were planning to meet the twins."

You inhale her scent slowly, feeling the relief hit your system. 

"Nothing," you rumble, pulling back to look at Natasha's face. "Nothing could keep me from you if there's a chance you might get hurt."

You lift your hand to cup her jaw, slowly stroking her cheek. Natasha leans into your touch, eyes fluttering closed for a moment before she looks back at you.

Her green orbs have you captivated, and you can't help but stare into her eyes, remembering every detail of them. The tiny speckles of sun within the lush forest of her eyes have you falling for her all over.

"I want my vows to mean something with you," you mumble, leaning closer to her face, eyes dropping down to her lips. 

Natasha's heart flutters as she feels her eyes closing. She grips the back of your jacket tightly between her fingers. 

"Your vows?" Natasha husks. 

The tip of your nose touches her, and her nose feels cold. You can see your own breath out in the cold as your lip brushes against hers.

"You're mine to protect," you say before closing the distance, pressing your lips against hers softly.

You find that her mouth is much warmer.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You wished that Natasha would've let you take her back first class again, but she seemed to think it would be better to travel back as a team.

That being said, she was adamantly against you buy everyone's plane ticket first class. 

You shifted in your seat, feeling uncomfortable in the aircraft as you watch Steve fly. It doesn't help that you can hear Bruce playing opera music through his headphones. You know it probably helps him relax, but you can't help but feel like it's doom music. 

You watch as Natasha goes over to him, trying to comfort him as she turns his music off.

"Hey, the lullaby half-worked. Don't beat yourself up too much."

"Yeah," Bruce shrugs. "I just didn't expect Code Green."

"If you hadn't been there, there would've been double the casualties. My best friend would've been a treasured memory," Natasha smiles.

"You know, sometimes exactly what I want to hear isn't exactly what I want to hear," Bruce looks at her.

You resist the urge to snarl at him because you can tell it makes Natasha feel bad when her intention is to make him feel better.

"Thor, report on the Hulk?" Bruce asks, shifting his attention to the Norse God. 

"The gates of Hell are filled with the screams of his victims," Thor happily shares.

You resist the urge to laugh when Bruce groans, and Natasha glares at Thor.

You catch David's eye from across the aircraft and find he's also smirking.

"Uh, but, not the screams of the dead, of course," Thor tries to backtrack. "No, no, uh...wounded screams, mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and, and uh... and gout."

"It probably would've been worse if you weren't there," Bruce says as he looks at you, and you merely shrug. 

"Can you compel me to not change or compel me to change back when I'm the Hulk?" Bruce asks, looking hopeful.

Everyone looks at you.

"Compel?" Tony asks as he squints his eyes at you.

"Out on the field. The lullaby didn't quite work as well as we thought. If she hadn't been there, I don't know what I would've done to Natasha," Bruce purses his lip in shame. 

"What did you do?" Tony asks you, but Bruce cuts in.

"I don't know how to describe it," Bruce starts. "I mean, for starters, I only remember bits and pieces of it, but it was like something overcame me, overrode what the Hulk was feeling. It allowed me to change back."

You felt like you were getting an oncoming headache from this.

Tony looks at you suspiciously, and you roll your eyes.

Before you can say anything, David jumps in to explain for you.

"Every vampire has a power called Compulsion," he draws the attention to himself. "We can essential mind control humans by having them look into our eyes. It's generally not something we can use to control people forever, but it does get stronger with age, training, and diet."

"Diet?" Clint clarifies from his spot.

"Human feeders are always more powerful than vampires who choose to feed on animals. Blood bags are the halfway point," David shrugged.

You turn to look at Bruce.

"Either way, the answer is no," you tell him. "For one, it's not a power I like to use unless the situation calls for it. While you may feel that every case the Hulk is in calls for it, I don't. Secondly, I didn't compel you to change back. As I said, I only influenced you to remain calm. It's unlikely I can compel you to turn back if the Hulk's willpower overpowers mine when he's wild. Thirdly, I'm not your keeper. I'm not interested in Hulk-sitting for you if we're out on missions."

It's rather blunt, but you don't want to beat around the bush regarding this matter, lest you wanted Bruce to keep trying to convince you.

"You sound like you trust him," Bruce grumbles unhappily. 

You shrug once more. "It's not about trust. He's a part of you, whether you want him to be or not. He's not going anywhere. I accept that about you. Do you?"

Silence falls over the aircraft, but you don't care. Bruce stares at you, and you quirk a brow at him.

He doesn't provide you his answer, most likely because it's a no, but tension rises.

"Anyways," Tony breaks up the quiet with his own brow cocked. "Dr. Cho's on her way in from Seoul. She's gonna set up in your lab, that okay, Banner?"

"Uh, yeah, she knows her way around," Bruce blinks.

Just like that, the rest of the ride is spent discussing the mission, the scepter, and Strucker.

At some point, Natasha comes to sit next to you. You fingers twitch, wanting to reach out to her, but you force them to remain at your side.

"Hey," she whispers, but it clear as day for you.

"Hey," you say back, smiling lightly when you feel Natasha's pinky atop of yours.

You suppose flying in the aircraft wasn't all awful.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

"How you holding up, bud?" You asked with a slight drawl that had Clint chuckling as he winced. 

Dr. Cho was arguably one of the most beautiful women you've encountered, and she had a slight bite in her that made her easy to get along with. 

Clint merely makes a grunt and a sequence of grumbles that get you chuckling back.

"You sure he's going to be okay? Pretending to need this guy really brings the team together," Natasha asks as she looks at Dr. Cho.

Clint playfully glares at her while she smiles innocently back at him.

Dr. Cho smiles reassuringly at the redhead. "There's no possibility of deterioration. The nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous. His cells don't know they're bonding with simulacrum."

"She's creating tissue," Bruce says with amazement in his voice and eyes wide. 

You're lost on the rest of the talk as you look around the room and machinery. David would know much more regarding the technology in this room, but he was currently with Tony working on the scepter. 

"I hear that your venom does exactly the same thing my work does, if not faster and better," Dr. Cho says, grabbing your attention. You can tell she fascinated with you by the look in her eyes. "Would you be interested in giving me a sample of your venom or blood?" 

You give her a smirk but shake your head.

"I'll have to politely decline," you tell her as everyone looks at you in the room. "While my venom is capable of healing someone, it's also capable of killing or changing someone. The last thing I want is for the wrong person to potentially get their hands on it and figure out how to activate my venom that way. On top of that, using venom has side effects."

You look at Clint, "I only use it for life or death situations on humans. Otherwise, I would've healed you on the field."

"What kind of side effects?" Dr. Cho asks.

You hum.

"Every human reacts a little differently to it. But generally, the more venom a human has in their system, they take on features of a vampire. It's very subtle," You wrap a strand of hair around your finger. "Maybe their skin gets clearer, hair gets a little shinier, they feel less hungry or even find they need less sleep. Of course, it's not forever because the venom is eventually diluted out by more blood being produced in their system if a vampire doesn't continually inject them with venom."

"That doesn't seem like bad side effects," Clint frowns.

You smile at him before you release your hair and go back to crossing your arms. 

"Perhaps not, but sometimes the symptoms come in another form too. Like you're hungry, but for some reason, food just isn't hitting the spot for you." 

He blinks at you. 

"Are you saying..." he drags, not wanting to say it out loud as he scrunches his nose.

"That as a human, you might get the craving for blood and possibly drink it to satisfy the craving? Yes." 

Clint visible shivers in disgust and gags at the thought, and you shrug with a laugh.

"That's why I prefer to not use my venom unless I have to. While everyone reacts to it differently, I try to not take the chance," you look at Dr. Cho.

"Wait, wait, wait--" Tony interrupts. "Capsicle told us you used it on Natasha."

You nod, not seeing the problem.

"Well, I highly doubt she was going to die from a gunshot wound, and there was a medic there," Tony states like it's obvious.

You tilt your head with quirk your brow. "Well, one, I was making a point of revealing I was a vampire. Secondly, I was--am attracted to her, and now I'm dating her. Her safety will always be my number one priority. I will always use my venom to heal her if she's hurt."

"That's just favoritism!" Tony shouted indignantly. 

You gave him a look that just screamed, 'Yeah? Have you not been listening to me?'

Natasha let out a burst of laughter at Tony's face.

The rest of the time was spent bickering about tonight's party, and you couldn't help but catch eyes with Natasha every few minutes. 

And she's looking back with you with half-lidden eyes.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You have an unsettling feeling in your stomach, though you aren't sure why. David seems to feel the same as you can see him across the room, tapping his foot impatiently.

"What's wrong?" You say quietly, garnering only David's attention.

"I don't know," David sighs. "You know how I was looking at Tony's system and helping out with the scepter, right?"

You hum.

"Tony is trying to build some kind of protection legion for the world, but something feels off," David says quietly, barely moving his lips. "I feel like I saw something I wasn't supposed to see."

You hum again. Tony had seemed off-balance to you. He was clearing suffering PTSD from the alien invasion in New York, but then he seemed more...off after returning from the base in Sokovia. It was subtle, but he appeared to be slowly becoming unhinged to you.

"Tell me about it later," you tell David, who nods sharply. 

You set off to try to enjoy the rest of the night. 

"Well?" 

You look over the bar as you lean over the counter. Natasha's looking absolutely delectable tonight. She had given herself a haircut before the mission, and while you somewhat missed her long hair,  the short haircut was doing it for you too.

"What can I get for you, sweetheart? I think this one's on the house," Natasha flirts with you. You're barely holding your own smile as you look at her. 

"I'm not sure what kind of drink I want, but I do know I want to take the bartender home. Do you think she'll let me?" You ask with an innocent look that has Natasha smirking.

"Play your cards right, and she just might."

Natasha winks at you before she has to go to the other end of the bar to help another person with their drink, but not before leaving a rum and coke for you.

You watch her saunter off, looking just delicately over her shoulder to smile at you before she focuses on the person in front of her. 

"See? Told you things would work out."

You look beside you to see Steve standing there with a big ole' grin on his face.

You roll your eyes.

"Must be hard being right all the time, huh?" You joke.

"Yes," he sighs dramatically, "but it's a burden I must carry."

You both burst into laughter, and you let out a light sigh. You had missed Steve with the time apart, his friendship is so important to you. Steve is looking at you gently too, and you're happy to know he feels the same.

"Have you called Sharon?" You ask.

"Somehow, I knew you wouldn't forget that," Steve quirks his lip.

"A deal's a deal, pal," you lick your lips. 

"You'll be happy to know that I did. There may be an upcoming date," he seems almost proud of himself, and you can't help but smile.

"Atta boy!" You smile as you slap him on his shoulder.

"You sound like Bucky when you say that," Steve shakes his head.

"Any leads?" You ask with a sympathetic smile.

Steve shrugs. "Sam is still chasing, but I'll catch up with that later."

"Well, let me or David know if we can be of any help."

Steve nods in thanks.

The night starts to fade in as the rest of the party gathers around the coffee table, sitting haphazardly with their drinks in hand. You're sitting on the divan couch with no sides or back, while Natasha is leaning half her body on you with a bottle of beer in hand. 

Everyone's currently trying to see if they can lift Thor's hammer. 

You watch as Tony and James try to pull it together, it's truly a hilarious sight to see. 

You and Natasha grin as Bruce tries, even attempting to turn into the Hulk to lift it while everyone eyes him warily.

"Good attempt, big guy," you give Bruce a thumbs up. 

"How about you try, Elaine?" Bruce gentlemanly gestures to the hammer, and you snort.

"No thanks, I already know I'm a piece of shit, no need for a magical home depot tool to confirm it for me," you grin, swigging back your drink to keep it light-hearted. 

You feel Natasha softly brush your hand over your glove, and you turn your hand over so you can intertwine fingers. 

You wish you could kiss her right now. 

Steve is next in line, and Tony smirks at him.

"No pressure, cap," Tony steps aside. 

Steve rolls up his sleeves and begins to pull on it.

Thor is laughing because it seems like nothing is happening. 

But, ever so slightly, it budges. Thor seems to catch the movement as well as his face drops. 

But the hammer doesn't move anymore after that, and Thor resumes his laughter and jolly.

"Nothing," he laughs with relief.

You chuckle lowly, Natasha feelings the vibrations against her. 

"What?" She asks quietly. 

You've long finished your drink, using your free hand to wrap your arm around her waist. Pulling her closer, you turn your head so that your nose is right against the top side of her head.

"One day," you whisper in her ear so that only she may hear, "Steve will be worthy."

You finish with kissing the top of her head while Natasha blinks with wide eyes, processing the information. 

"Widow?" Bruce looked over at Natasha.

The surprised look on her face dissipated as she smirked, leaning more into you as she held up her beer bottle.

"Oh, no, no," she shakes her head, taking a sip of the beer, "that's not a question I need answered."

The jokes go around some more about how the hammer is rigged until Thor stands up. 

He grabs and lifts the hammer with ease, tossing it in his hand.

"Yes, well, that's, uh, a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one," Thor smiles, "You're not all worthy."

Everyone groans good-naturedly, even with someone throwing some chips at Thor. 

Suddenly, there's a loud screech. 

Everyone hunches over as they cover their ears. With your super hearing, the screeching is even more painful to your ears. 

When the noise fades, and everyone slowly gets up, you look over at David, who is staring behind you. 

You turn over to see a limping...robot? Wires were hanging out everywhere, and he looked like a scrap of junk metal. 

"Worthy... No... How could you be worthy? You're all killers," it slowly spoke. 

"Stark," Steve called with a little bite in his tone.

"JARVIS," Tony called, but nothing replied. 

"I'm sorry. I was asleep. Or...I was a-dream?" It tilted its head.

Tony pulls out his device, tapping on it as he looks like the monstrosity before them. "Reboot. Legionnaire OS. we got a buggy suit."

Nothing seems to be working even as Tony taps away.

The robot stumbles forward, tilting its head downwards. "There was a terrible noise...and I was tangled in... in...strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

"You killed somebody?" Steve asks, narrowing his eyes.

You look over to David, who is staring at the robot. He's doing his best to scan it, but you know he needs to touch it to deactivate it. 

"I didn't hear anyone in this building die. Did you?" You speak fast and quiet.

"No, I think that thing did something to JARVIS. JARVIS is supposed to be the first line of defense, but JARVIS isn't responding," David spoke back. 

Suddenly, you hear a playback recording of Tony saying he sees a suit of armor around the world.

"I'm starting to feel like we should've had our conversation earlier," you mumble while David scrunches his nose.

"Ultron!" Bruce calls out in realization. 

"In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this...chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission," Ultron's voice stutters, but you're sure it's just the suit falling apart. 

"What mission?" Natasha asks, and you can see everyone reading their guns.

Ultron looks up, his movements are stiff, but he looks back at everyone. 

"Peace in our time," Ultron says before Legion bots smash through the wall and begin to attack everyone in the room. 

You immediately cover Natasha, landing atop of her. You can hear guns being fired as you look back down at your girlfriend.

"You know, we've been in this position way too many times this week, and it's not for the activities I was hoping for," you half-joke. Natasha at least has the sense of humor to smirk at you before you pick her up and blur over to behind the bar. 

"David, go find out what you can! I got it here, but I won't be opposed if you come back!" You shout.

"Got it!" David had taken down one of the bots before he ran out of the room. Ultron had looked his way, but David was too fast to be stopped.

"This is fun, isn't it?" You asked sarcastically.

"Considering we're being attacked by robots, I'm going to say David is carrying our fucking asses," Natasha quirks her lip at you as she readies her gun.

"I resent that," you tell her. "It's true, but I resent that."

You peek your head up, looking to gauge your situation. Everyone seemed to be trying to tackle a bot on their own. You turned back to look at Natasha, who is eyeing the stairwell over to the side. 

You think it might be faster to take down Ultron, but you're not sure it will stop the bots. Not to mention, you're unsure if taking down the crickety suit that Ultron was in would even truly stop him or if he could transfer his consciousness into another bot.

You hop over the counter, immediately dodging a fire shot at you as you run at lightning speed to a legion bot, leaping in the air as you wrapped your arms around its neck, yanking it off with ease. 

It immediately powers down as you crush the head into scrap metal, bolts, and screws falling onto the floor. 

Natasha takes the chance to run to the stairwell, making her way up as she fires bullets at the bots, but the bullets seem to ricochet off, and you're not surprised since it was Tony who made them. 

You see Steve's shield on the floor, and you roll your eyes as you run over to it and pick it up, swinging it into the neck of a bot that Clint was trying to take down.

"Thanks," Clint huffs. "I was just about to give that back to Cap."

"I'm starting to feel like a boomerang would've been better than a shield," you roll your shoulders back.

"I mean, it's got the perfect shot, apparently. It can ricochet back to him..." Clint shrugs.

"And yet, it was here on the floor."

You turn your body over.

"Steve!" You call out, grabbing his attention. He turns is head as you throw his shield towards him. "You mind giving me a lift?"

He catches his shield, bracing it against his body, angled towards the ceiling as you run towards him. He seems surprised by the speed as you leap onto the shield, and Steve propels you upward.

You use the momentum to leap onto the bot floating in mid-air. It tries to use its arm to grab you, but you grab it with brute force as you rip it off from its body. You quickly then grab the head and rip it off. It powers down and begins to fall, and you adjust your position so that your feet are in the middle of its chest, crushing the body entirely as you land on the floor. 

You still see a couple half-baked bots flying around, and you sigh. 

A bot catches your attention from the corner of your eye as you see one flying towards Dr. Cho. It looks like it's about to shoot at her, but it lowers its weapon for some reason instead. 

You're about to go save her when you see David come in from the side, merely touching the bot, and it powers down before David punches a hole through its chest.

He turns around, smirking at you before he takes off, taking care of the rest of the bots in the same manner. It's only seconds before all the bots have been deactivated, and David comes to stand before Ultron.

"Well, that was dramatic!" Ultron tilts his head as he looks at you and David. "And who might you be? You're not part of the Avengers."

"You won't find anything about us regardless of where you look," David shakes his head. "You can't win against us. Me, in particular."

Ultron seems to pause before continuing on. "I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to...evolve?"

He picks up one of the dismembered Iron Legion bots, holding it between his hands. "With these? These puppets? What a joke." 

Ultron looks straight ahead at everyone. "There's only one path to peace: The Avengers' extinction."

Thor immediately throws his hammer towards Ultron.

"Wait!" David yells, taking off after the hammer, but he's a second too late when the hammer crashes into Ultron, dismantling his body. 

The lights begin to dim as he fades. As he disappears, Ultron sings his last words. 

"I had strings, but now I'm free. There are no strings on me...no strings on me."

"Fuck," David sighs. 

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Everyone stood inside the lab, looking at the broken bot bodies, and other various things. 

The scepter was gone too. 

"It's all gone," Bruce sounded devasted. "Ultron cleared out everything."

"Not everything," David mussed his hair. "He's been in everything, though. Files and surveillance, he may know more about all of you than you know about yourselves. I'm surprised you keep everything on hand here with such shitty encryption."

"Hey!" Tony shouted indignantly, but David shrugged.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't catch him in time when he got dismantled. I destroyed all the bots in here so he couldn't transfer his consciousness, but he escaped into the internet. It'll take some time for me to track him down." 

"He got into your files, he's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" James stood to the side with his arms crossed and brows furrowed.

"Nuclear codes?" Maria realized.

"Nuclear codes," James nodded. "Looks, we gotta make some calls, assuming we still can."

David waved his hand. "I already took care of that. I got into the system, and the codes are continually being scrambled. The algorithm changes every minute. Though, I do suggest you make your calls and figure out the best way to handle that."

"You hacked the Pentagon," James said in disbelief.

"Trust me, I wouldn't have been the first," David looked unimpressed.

"That is true," Tony nods, knowing he's done it himself.

"I'll be right back," James pulled out his cell.

"I'll go with you," Maria took off with him. 

"Nukes?" Natasha turned around, crossing her arms. You'd given her your sweater to wear, and she pulled it closer to her body. "He said he wanted us dead."

"Not dead," Steve jumped in. "He said extinct."

"He also said he killed somebody," Clint recalled.

"Was there anyone else in the building?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," Tony frowned. "There was."

He pulled up a 3D image of JARVIS's destroyed consciousness. 

"This is insane," Bruce ran his hand through his hair as he looked at the fragmented pieces.

"JARVIS was supposed to be our first line of defense. He would've stopped Ultron, it makes sense."

"Not if Ultron assimilated him," Bruce shook his head. "This wasn't a strategy, this was...rage."

"I wouldn't worry about JARVIS too much," David shook his head as he circled around the 3D image.

"What do you mean?" Bruce looked at David. "He was completely obliterated."

"No," David shook his head. "He wasn't."

David walks over to the computer, shooting up a holographic screen.

"I had some help scrambling the nuclear launch codes," David began typing away. 

"Help?" Tony squinted his eyes as he moved to stand next to David.

"JARVIS, the clever little bastard he is, managed to erase his memory and scatter himself all over the internet," David gave a small smirk.

"So, he's a little bit everywhere..." Tony said quietly, nodding to himself.

"Yep," David confirmed. "It'll take me some time to find and collect him. I have a lot of other things on my plate."

"Told you," Natasha whispered as you had your arm around her waist, hips touching. "Carrying our asses."

"Damn straight! Overworked and underpaid here!" David yelled, clearly hearing her, and you rolled your eyes. 

"You can always ditch her and come work for me. I offer quite a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits," Tony smiles. 

"I would rather saw my leg off, but thank you," David answers without looking at him as he continues to work.

"Well, I--" Tony starts, but suddenly Thor flies in straight for Tony, grabbing him by his neck and lifting him up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! It's going around," Clint's eyes go wide.

"Come on, buddy, use your words," Tony gasps through the hold on his neck.

"Oh, I have plenty of words to describe you, Stark," Thor glares.

"Thor! The legionnaire," Steve redirects his attention. Thor drops Tony, but not before giving a displeased look at him.

"The trail went cold about a hundred miles out, but it's headed north, and it has the scepter," Thor told Steve, but then turned his head back at Stark. "Now, we have to retrieve it. Again."

Thor's tone was miffed, and as he should be, he was annoyed.

"I don't understand," Dr. Cho looked at the metal parts before turning to look at Tony. "You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?"

Tony bursts out into laughter, and you feel like it only reinforces your thoughts about how he's becoming...unhinged. 

"You think this is funny?" Thor asks with a grimace.

Bruce is just shaking his head at Tony, trying to get him to knock it off.

"No, it's probably not, right?" Tony says, but he's still laughing. "Is this very terrible? Is it so...is it so...it is. It's so terrible."

"This could've been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand," Thor lifts his hammer and points it at Tony disapprovingly.

"No, I'm sorry," Tony stops laughing, seemingly sobering up. "I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this."

"A hoot?" You mumble as you furrow your brows. 

"I don't think this the time for this, Tony..." Bruce murmurs from the side of his mouth as he's still trying to shake his head.

"Really?!" Tony exclaims in disbelief as he looks at Bruce. "That's it? Someone snarls at you, and you show your belly and give up?"

"Yeah, if I created a murder bot," Bruce points out.

"We didn't!" Tony argues. "We weren't even close. We weren't close to an interface, were we?"

"Now, don't shy away from responsibility," David cuts in as he turns to face everyone, leaning against the desk. "That's an unattractive quality."

"Who asked you?" Tony scrunched his nose.

"No one, but since I'm doing nearly all the work, I'll say whatever the fuck I want," David smiles. 

"Oops," you mumbled, drawing Natasha's attention, "here he goes."

"You created this AI program. Maybe you weren't close to an interface for it, but you should've planned for in case it went sentient. What? Your only goal for this AI program was to maintain peace for the earth?" David scoffs. "You're an absolute moron because you know what Ultron's going to come to the conclusion of? Humans are bad for the earth."

"You're absolutely insane," Tony shakes his head. "That's not what I intended for the program. The program is meant to protect the earth."

"Perhaps that was your intention," you cut in, letting go of Natasha as you stood straighter. "But it's clear that Ultron has deviated from your intentions. Protecting the earth is one thing, but you've forgotten what you're truly trying to protect: the people living on the earth."

"The Avengers were supposed to be different than SHIELD," Steve sighs, and you shrugged.

"Does anyone remember when I carried that nuke through the wormhole?" Tony blinks in disbelief at everyone.

"No, never came up," James entered the room, catching the last of the conversation.

"You know, when I saved all of New York," Tony looks around.

"Never heard of it," James deadpanned.

"Remember? When we had a hostile alien army coming through a fucking hole in the sky from space. We were standing three hundred feet below it," Tony points at the ground. He looks at everyone. "We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all day, no problem. But that up there? That's...that's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that?

"Together," Steve tells him, and Tony looks like he wants to laugh again.

"We'll lose," he tells Steve.

"Then we do that together too," Steve says somberly, and Tony just stares at Steve.

"Not that we would lose," David shrugs.

"You actually think that we'd win?" Tony asks in disbelief, truly thinking David is an idiot.

"You're Ultron's creator, and unfortunately, you've put the worst parts of your personality and paranoia into him," you defend David, shaking your head as you spoke.

"I don't think an alien invasion that actually happened and could happen again would be considered paranoia," Tony quirked his brow.

"There's no doubt there's a possibility that it could happen again," You shrug your shoulders. "But you assume that The Avengers is the be-all, end-all, that you're the be-all, end-all. You assume that you guys are the only people in this world that can fight whatever shit humans can't handle. David and I are literal proof that other supernatural or mutants exist. There are the twins out there too."

You tilt your head. "I know this is your team, your friends, but even if we lose, there's always going to be a new generation of people who will stand up and fight. Each generation of heroes will be better than the next. We do what we can as superheroes, but we don't need perfection to achieve peace."

"I'm not a superhero," Tony shakes his head.

You give him a light smile. "Could've fooled me."

Tony just stares at you before sighing. 

"Alright," Steve claps his hands. "Ultron is calling us out. I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place, let's try and make it smaller."

Everyone dispersed, and David came up to you, scratching the back of his head.

"I'm gonna head back to my place to grab a few things, and shower before coming back," he tells you. "What are you doing to do?"

You ran your gloved fingers through your hair and licked your bottom lip. 

"Probably head back to my place too to get a few things. I'll check a physical trail for Ultron if you give me a lead," you sigh. 

"You going to use your gift?" David gives you a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah," you grumble. David pats your shoulder before he leaves.

The room has mostly cleared out except for Steve. 

You feel someone hold your hand, and you turn to Natasha. 

"You're going to investigate?" She asks you, and you nod.

"Need company? I think between David and Tony, they've got the digital trail covered."

You smile at her as you curl your fingers around her hand.

"Can't think of anyone better to accompany me," you lift her hand to kiss the back of it. "C'mon, I'll take you back to my place. We can check in on Allison too."

Natasha smiles as she squeezes your hand.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Familiar. 

It's been days since they've escaped the base in Sokovia out in the cold. 

It's been so long since she's seen the street markets, she almost feels foreign to it. 

Yet, even as she tries to enjoy the freedom she now has, her mind keeps drifting. 

"Wanda."

Wanda snaps her head over to Pietro.

"What?" 

"Are you okay? I've been calling you for a couple minutes," Pietro frowns as he tries to assess his younger sister's well-being.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Wanda waves her hand. "It's just weird being out after being inside for so long."

Pietro hums, agreeing. 

"Come," he says, "We're almost at the church to meet whoever is reaching out to us."

Wanda nods as Pietro turns to keep walking.

Wanda clenches her jaw, willing herself to focus on the mission before her. She doesn't understand what's wrong with her. 

It had started when she met up with Pietro again after she had let Tony Stark take the scepter. 

Once they escaped, the images from Pietro hit her.

It had been brief. Wanda was still learning to control her gift, and sometimes that meant she accidentally looked into Pietro's mind. 

But still, she saw you and hasn't been able to get the image of you out of her head since.

Wanda hadn't told her brother. After all, it was clear that while he did find you interesting, he wasn't fascinated by you like she was. Even if she did tell him, she wouldn't know how to explain it anyways. 

She kept replaying Pietro's interaction with you over, and over, and over again. 

Wanda's replayed it so much, she's almost convinced she was standing there too.

Familiar. 

You were beautiful, no doubt, probably the most beautiful woman Wanda had ever seen. 

But it was like she'd known you before, but that wasn't the case. Wanda would've remembered you if she had. 

Wanda wishes she had been in Pietro's place when he met you. You were clearly different if you were able to keep up with him.

It'd be easier to understand--to know you if she had been the one there.

But she knew she'd eventually meet you.

Because Wanda only had one goal.

And that was to ruin Tony Stark and his little bandwagon of superheroes.

While Wanda may be curious about you, she's convicted to her goal, and if you were truly with the Avengers...

Wanda would ruin you too.

PART IX

#mm: my fics #series: between the lines #natasha romanoff x reader #wanda maximoff x reader #natasha romanoff imagine #wanda maximoff imagine #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanov x reader #black widow imagine #wanda maximoff x you #scarlet witch imagine #natasha romanoff x wanda maximoff #wandanat #natasha romanoff x you x wanda maximoff #natasha x you x wanda #avengers x reader #avengers reader insert #avengers imagine #marvel x reader #marvel reader insert