#and listen...Thena's the same way

[softquietsteadylove]

So, I've got a prompt for you.

I love movies and tv series and they are all so different from each other but also have so much things in common. And there is one thing i can picture our beloved men from Eternals in.

I think at least one time in their whole time on earth, Ajak forced her children to spend time together, in groups. So while Ajak is dragging her daughters around, the group of men are forced to hang out with each other. And a full men group, hanging out, means normal conversations drifting to uncomfortable and awkward conversations (for at least one or two individuals.) So I'd like to ask you to write Kingo, Phastos, Druig, Ikaris and Gilgamesh (god i love him, malewife) in such a situation, maybe sparring together, drinking alcohol but the most important: talking about (their) girls! (or boys, or whatever preference our individuals have in a partner)

"This fuckin' sucks."

No one spoke up to agree with Druig, but certainly no one argued with him, either.

Ajak was with the other half of the Eternals, having brought Sersi, Makkari, Thena and Sprite with her to the beautiful natural springs just outside the palace grounds. India was so mild in climate, and they were still getting used to the place after arriving short of a month ago.

She had claimed it was mother-daughter bonding time, and encouraged they do the same. Gil and Kingo had certainly had their reservations, while Ikaris, Druig and Phastos had quickly asserted that they would rather let the villagers burn them on the pyre.

And yet here they were.

Kingo took a sip of his...whatever it was. He winced a little at it, staring into the fire they'd built simply for something to do and occupy their time. He was the most antsy, the rest of them having devolved into silence naturally. Which wasn't really Kingo's style. "Is anyone going to say anything, or...?"

"Just did," Druig barked at him from an entirely separate log bench all to himself, "sucks."

"Oi," Ikaris snarled at him, which did nothing to improve the atmosphere. He leaned on his knees, also sitting on a separate log bench.

Phastos was occupying himself with whatever, using his powers for something or other, ignoring them all deliberately. Also on his own log.

Gil sighed, staring up at the moon from where he had given upon talking and simply laid down on the ground.

Kingo turned around to look at Gil, lying down behind him, "what's with you?"

The Strongest Eternal shrugged, absently pulling up a bite of mango for himself. "I wonder what Thena's thinking about right now."

A round of loud groans hit the air, startling the birds in the trees.

"What?" Gil sat up with a frown at his band of brothers.

"Thena-this, and Thena-that," Phastos supplied readily, rolling his eyes the hardest at it.

"Oh, come on," Gil huffed, but he looked over as Druig barked out a sharp laugh at him.

"Gil, you ever heard yer own thoughts, mate?" the mind reader snickered, poking at his own temple as he said it. "Thena-this and Thena-that is exactly what you're thinkin'--always!"

Gil sighed, dusting himself off and sitting himself on Kingo's log properly. "I don't see the problem."

"You wouldn't," Ikaris snorted, and this time Gil took a little more offense to it. "You've got all that muscle and not a single one in your brain."

Gil picked up a rock and flicked it at the Soaring Eternal. For any mortal, it would have gone clean through their head like a bullet, but Ikaris snarled as it bounced off his forehead like a nut shell. "Aren't you supposed to be getting married soon? I'd expect you to have thoughts of nothing but your future wife."

Ikaris also soured at having his fiancee brought up. "Some of us can think of more than one thing at a time."

"Okay," Phastos held a hand in both of their directions, as if trying to soothe savage beasts. "No one has to talk about anyone's wives, y'animals."

"Let 'em have it out, Phastos," Druig laughed, picking up a pear for himself and biting into it with a disgusting amount of gusto. Chunks and juice flew from his mouth as he pointed, "I wanna shee what 'appensh!"

"Close your damn mouth when you're eating!" Phastos barked at the 'youngest' of them present.

"All that'll happen is Ajak getting mad at us," Kingo pointed out liberally. He patted Gil's shoulder, knowing that he was the more easily reasoned with between him and Ikaris. "Look Gil, I support you, and your gross, sappy romanticism."

"Thanks," Gil sneered at him and his 'support'. He turned his glare in Druig's direction, "I don't bring up you following Kari around, now do I?"

"Oi," Druig grumbled.

Phastos shared a look with Kingo, both of them entirely capable of disparaging their siblings in similar and opposite ways. Phastos wasn't opposed to the vessel, but needed the right soul. Kingo was proudly uninterested in everyone equally.

Ikaris also looked up at the moon and sighed. "What're they even doing?"

Kingo looked at Druig, "what did mother-daughter bonding mean?"

Druig snarled up one side of his nose and lips. "You think I'm in everyone's heads all the fuckin' time?"

"Kinda."

"Well, m'not," Druig shrugged, tossing away his pear seeds and reaching for a fresh one. "That'd be exhausting."

"Whose thoughts are the loudest?"

"Yours."

"I don't believe you," Kingo countered just as quickly as Druig had. He got a look for it but shrugged. "Maybe sometimes, sure. But it can't always be me."

Druig chuckled, bobbing his head in Gil's direction, "who'd you think? It's Mister Thena over 'ere."

"What do you mean they're loud?" Gil crossed his arms in his defense.

"Just what it sounds like, Gil," Druig offered at least slightly more amiable than he had been before. "S'not like shoutin', I guess. But they're...they're loud and clear. All the time."

"Like wh-"

"Thena," all four other Eternals answered for him simultaneously. Gil pursed his lips, feeling his cheeks warm. But at least the others were smiling and laughing (even if it was at his expense).

Druig slapped his knee in glee. "It's always 'where's Thena?', or 'wonder what Thena's up to', or 'I miss Thena' from you."

"Okay, okay," Gil sighed. It wasn't as if he had a correction to make, or even a defense to it. Those certainly sounded like his thoughts.

"Her too."

"Huh?" Gil blinked, hearing a much softer follow up from Druig.

The solitary Eternal was looking down at his pear, toying with it in his hands as the truth of his words made him quieter. He offered Gil a smile. "She's the same way--if you somehow didn't know."

"Thena?" Gil blinked.

"Yeah, Thena?" Kingo repeated from next to him. "I mean, I don't doubt it about Gil, but I figured T was...harder to read."

Druig grinned, shaking his head. He became a little more sheepish, but shrugged. "Most'a the time, yeah. But when it's about Gil here...she's clear as a bell."

Kingo just nodded, taking another sip of (whatever). "Wouldn't have guessed."

"First time I caught it I thought I was fucked," Druig shook his head. "T doesn't take kindly t'me pokin' around, 'course. But this thought just--it shot out like an arrow."

"What was it?" Gil asked, unable to resist.

Druig looked at him, offering a much more genuine smile, "Gil."

He just stared, "yeah--I'm asking."

"No, that's it," Druig chuckled, shaking his head again and ruffling his hair for good measure. "Just Gil--she walks around with your name in 'er head like the breath in 'er lungs. I had to learn to block it out--s'like a clock, tick-tick-tickin' away in the background."

Gil looked like he could burst with joy.

Ikaris cleared his throat faintly, already ruddy cheeked when the others looked at him. "Does, uh, Sersi-"

"Don't know, haven't checked."

"Okay!" Phastos stood, clapping his hands together before Ikaris could pick up Druig and throw him clear across the Ganges. "Why don't I reach out to Ajak and see what they're up to?"

Druig rolled his eyes as a loud and clear I want to see Thena floated into his mind. Gil was like an unchecked faucet--sometimes dripping, sometimes on full blast, but always leaking in some way.

"That's a good idea," Ikaris growled as he floated back down to his log, fists still clenched and eyes still glowing.

"Well," Kingo sighed as he set down his nondescript beverage. "What an unproductive discussion."

"Speak for yourself," Gil chuckled, nudging his most jovial brother's arm.

#I do think this is exactly how a conversation like this would go #because first of all #these five in particular #do not want to all hang out together #Even malewives extraordinaire Druig and Gil #don't want to talk to Ikaris let alone about the loves of their lives #Kingo thinks it's all very boring #unless it's funny and then he loves to get the gossip #even if it's about his brothers and sisters being in love #and yes that's how he phrases it #much to all their distress #Phastos is like I hate each and every one of you I hate this family #but he is the responsible brother in charge of every camping trip #and of course Gil is just moping around like I wish my wife were here #and listen...Thena's the same way #she's over in the springs with her sisters and their Prime #She and Sersi are braiding each other's hair while Ajak and Makkari are making little flower crowns #Sprite is lying face down in the water trying to achieve drowning #and Thena is sighing every five seconds until they're like jesus what the fuck is it??? #and she's like what? #obviously she misses Gil they all know that #but Thena's like that's silly I know where he is and that he's unharmed #I don't miss him #I just want to be near him and feel him next to me and breathe the same air as him #like babygirl is down bad HORRENDOUS #Thenamesh...themed? #Thenamesh AU #let's say

[supercap2319]

Ikaris walked towards the bathroom and shut the door as he turned the light on and stared at his reflection in the mirror. He looks the same. Same blue eyes. Same dark hair with his gray streak. So, nothing's changed right? He pulled his shirt off his body and hisses slightly as he sees red and purple scratch marks all over his trail of skin.

He doesn't know why, but he can feel tears starting to form in his eyes. Why was he crying? He's been hurt worse than this before. Like the time Thena got trigger happy and attacked him with her axe and sword. But this was different. The enemy who made these marks was gone, but not done. And Ikaris fears for not only himself, but Y/N too.

There's a knock at the door. "Ikaris? Are you okay?"

"Fine. Just fine." He sniffles.

"Are you crying? I can hear your heart rate going up. What's going on in there?"

"Nothing! Please just go away."

Instead of listening, Y/N forced his way into the room with his powers as he saw Ikaris'bruises. "Oh my God, Iceberg what happened?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine." Ikaris said.

"You are not fine. You're hurt. Now, who did this?" He walked towards him and ran a gentle hand over his marks. "Please, tell me who did this?"

Ikaris takes a breath. "Apocalypse."

#x male reader #male reader insert #male x male #ikaris x reader #ikaris x male reader #Ikaris #richard madden #Richard Madden x male reader #apocalypse #x men comics #X-Men villain #eternals #marvel mcu

[makeitmakesomesense]

War and Peace

Eternal!Reader x Yelena Belova, Eternals Family Fic

@flufftober Day 2 Family, Friends and Loved Ones

Word Count 6.5K.

Your mother is the Goddess of War.

You were adopted by her when you were too young to remember. 

Your mother, Thena has a sickness. It is called Mahd Wy’ry and there is no cure. Sometimes, she forgets herself. She becomes violent and she hurts people. 

Her family worried when she brought you to them as a small child. Holding you tight to her chest, Thena called herself your mother. 

She told you later that she would have fought the world to keep you.

Still, with her sickness, the potential danger couldn’t be ignored.

It was Ajak who made the final decision. She often did. She said that Thena could not hurt you. That even the thoughts of sickness could not make her harm her child.

The rest of your family were doubtful. But, in the end Ajak was right. 

Your mother told you that the Mahd Wy’ry felt like church bells ringing in her mind. That sometimes they grew too loud to ignore.

‘But l always hear your voice.’ She told you when you were small, sitting in her lap and playing with her long hair. You loved listening to her speak, believing absolutely in the quiet authority of her words.

Your mother lived with her partner, Gilgamesh. They had been together for thousands of years. Ajak told you once that their souls had begun to bleed together. 

When you were young, you didn’t understand that you were human. There weren’t many people to compare yourself to. You’d only known the eternal beings around you. 

Your mother and Gilgamesh lived in the middle of nowhere. Before you had come, they had lived even more remotely in the Australian outback. 

For as long as you could remember, you’d lived in Canada. When Thena took you in, Ajak’s only request had been that you would all move closer to her ranch in the US. Canada was the obvious choice. Thena’s sickness made the low population and empty landscape preferable.

You’d only met a few members of your extended family. Sersi and Ajak had been visiting ever since you were very small.

You loved spending time with Sersi. She was unwaveringly calm. 

You knew your mother loved you more than anything. You felt it in the way she looked at you, in the way she held you tight when you were scared. But there was still a feeling, an uncertainty that her sickness brought with it. Sometimes, you would watch wide eyed as Gilgamesh had to remove her, silently but forcefully from the room. 

Sersi was steadier. When you were little, she would sit quietly in the corner with you as the adults talked. She’d pick up small objects and change them for your entertainment. You never grew tired of watching glass turn to water, or stone to dust.

Ajak felt older than the others. She always brought you gifts when you visited. More often than not, she brought books that told you the ancient history of the world. Your family was in most of the stories. You would turn the pages, fascinated. 

Ajak talked to you about everyone else in the family. Thena rarely mentioned the others and you could tell that she usually didn’t care about Ajak’s stories. Selfishly, you loved that Thena cared for very few and for you especially.

Ajak told you about the ones that had not yet met you, and about the ones that did not want to. Your family talked about Sprite sometimes. You’d met her once when you were very little. Now, she refused to see you. Ajak told you that being able to grow up was a special gift and that Sprite wished to be like you. That it’s hard to be around what you can’t have.

You didn’t understand what she’d said. You didn’t understand what growing up meant, that your life could not stay the same forever. It already felt so complete. 

In your youngest years. When you had everything to learn and when learning always felt like play. You could remember only Thena. Even in your haziest memories, there was always the image of her white dress. 

You remembered her tight arms and her soft songs. The sound of her heart as she carried you on long walks. The steady footfall of Gilgamesh beside you.

It was hard to understand that Thena could be anything other than your mother. Like the safe warmth of a cocoon, her love wrapped around you.

Gilgamesh was the perfect addition to your childhood memories. He made your house, a cabin in the heart of the forest, feel like a home. As you grew older, he showed you how to cook, build and fish. He gave you confidence with your hands. 

He argued sometimes with Thena. Ever since you were young, she had refused to teach you how to fight. Gilgamesh wanted you to be able to defend yourself.

Thena’s very purpose was violence. It made up her character like love and a soul. You would watch her as she practiced with weapons that she conjured from the air. She never hesitated, even when she sparred with Gilgamesh in his worst moods. She fought like she was predestined for victory. 

You did not have the same violence inside you as Thena. And though you knew she would never hurt you. The violence inside her scared you deeply.

You’d seen the same fear in her eyes too. Once when you were small, you’d tried to get close to Gilgamesh and Thena as they practiced fighting. You’d been curious about the quick, beautiful movements. Thena’s blade had been inches from your throat before she’d realized.

As you grew older, Thena’s sickness became a larger part of your life. 

Gilgamesh had always tried to shield you from it. But a few incidents inevitably slipped through the cracks. 

Once, Gilgamesh had left you both at the dinner table. He’d left to check the pie he was baking for later. You watched Thena’s eyes roll white, your own eyes widening at the sight. Her hand had spasmed with a dinner knife in it. You jumped in fear when it clattered against her plate. Thena told you that everyone was going to die. She gasped like she was underwater. 

You’d never felt scared like that before. You didn’t recognise your mother. You watched her get to her feet, a new golden dagger sliding against her palm. You watched it slice easily through the thick wooden table that Gilgamesh had built by hand.

Thena turned her unseeing stare on you. Fear paralyzed you.

Gilgamesh dropped his pie as he walked through the door. 

Thena apologized later. She didn’t need to, because you didn’t blame her. The haunting regret in her face told you everything. You didn’t hear her crying that night. But you saw the red evidence of tears in the morning. 

You never blamed your mother. You just hated that she could be lost so easily. 

The next time it happened, Gilgamesh had fallen asleep in the middle of the afternoon. He was slumped in a comfortable chair across from you. You were watching Thena as she sketched in a notebook. Your gaze flickered between them, waiting with gleeful anticipation for Thena to realize. Gilgamesh was always accidentally falling asleep and it annoyed her every time.

When Thena dropped her notebook, you thought for a moment that she was about to reach over and nudge him awake. Then, she turned to stare down at the ground. Despite the sharp bend in her neck, she held herself rigidly still.

You heard her start to murmur incoherently and your heart sank unpleasantly into your stomach. 

You started speaking to Thena in a low voice, watching nervously as a sharp weapon appeared in her hand. Her arm twitched erratically. Then, her head tilted towards you and with some relief you realized that she could hear you. 

You kept talking, keeping your voice low to hide its persistent tremor. Slowly, the weapon faded from her hand.

‘I love you.’ You reminded her at last, reaching out to touch her hand. The touch seemed to bring Thena back to herself. 

Her eyes stayed white, but a slow tear rolled down her cheek.

You moved forward, instinctive as you tried to take away her sadness.

‘Careful.’ Gilgamesh told you quietly.

It was not often that you ignored him, but you did then. You hugged Thena unsurely, your heart thumping with uncontrolled fear.

Thena held you tightly. Instinctively, she began rocking you gently. She began to hum some ancient lullaby from when you’d been smallest.

You knew that everything had changed that day. 

The next time it happened, you were the one who talked Thena down. And the time after. 

You watched a stress begin to fade from Gilgamesh. He seemed happier, more relaxed as he lived each day with one less worry.

Very occasionally, he left the two of you together. He would disappear for an hour or two at a time; to fish, or walk, or even to drink with strangers. 

As you grew into your teenage years. You started to wish for more than the small, insular world that you’d been presented with so far. You couldn’t help wondering about the nearest town, just a thirty minute drive away. 

You’d heard about other humans. About the wars they caused and the slow pace of their progress. Still you longed for a friend, someone like you. 

Your future had changed too. You could see now that Thena would never be lost to her sickness again, not if you were there to help. Even as time forced you to grow up, you accepted that you would never leave this life. Your family would always be your home.

You’d heard about romantic love and about friendship, you’d seen pictures in books of the beauty that the outside world held. It didn’t seem as real as the small world you knew.

Gilgamesh knew your decision without you having to talk about it. 

One day, when you were fishing together by the lake, he sighed and put his hand on your shoulder.

“When you love something, you protect it. It is the most natural thing in the world.”

You nodded at his words, if anyone could understand, it was him.

.

For your 16th birthday, there was somewhat of a family reunion. Sersi and Ajak had come to visit. So had Kingo, who you were meeting for the first time.

On the day of your 16th birthday, half the universe disappeared. 

‘Probably just a coincidence!’ Kingo had scribbled in his last minute birthday card.

Your family had sensed the change like it was something in the air. You had been completely oblivious. One moment, you’d been sitting at a nearly full dining table. The next moment, Thena’s hands gripped your shoulders as she told you firmly to stay still. The warning in her eyes made you instantly obedient.

You watched your family leave and suddenly felt empty with inadequacy. You’d always admired the way your family’s own history was woven along with the world’s. You were proud to be your mother’s daughter. But, for the first time, you realized how little you had to offer to your family or to anyone.

You spent the rest of the day alone, trying not to be bitter about a global catastrophe and bad timing. You tried not to dwell on your new dark thoughts. 

Your family returned in dregs throughout the evening. There was something tortured about the look in each of their eyes.

You touched Ajak’s arm worriedly when she returned. ‘We’ve seen a lot of human grief. It never gets easier.’ She said softly. You could feel the palpable heaviness from the room. 

Whatever human suffering they’d witnessed had sent Thena over the edge.

Unlike the others, your mother didn’t come back into the house. Instead, you watched her from the window as she tread the same path through the forest, weaving in and out of trees with steady focus. 

She ignored Gilgamesh as he talked to her from the porch. Her eyes were determined, but you caught the darker emotions wrestling across her face.

Thena circled the cabin all night, guarding all of you from nothing. You lay in bed that night, listening to her soft footsteps outside.  

Every few hours, you heard the low pleading voices of different members of your family, trying to convince her to come back inside. Thena refused them all.

You’d heard that evening about the billions of humans that had suddenly turned to ash. 

Your mind lingered on the thought. It could so easily have been you. You thought of your mother and what grief would one day do to her.

The next morning, everyone watched you as you made yourself breakfast, clearly worried that your mother’s strange behavior was upsetting you. Sersi stood with you, asking careful questions about how you’d slept. 

You just shrugged, took out a second plate and began to fill it with breakfast for Thena.

‘It’s not her fault. She wants to fight anything that could hurt her.’ You said simply, glancing at Gilgamesh for confirmation. He nodded with an expression that seemed like a tired type of acceptance.

You interrupted Thena’s steady patrol with your offering of food. The serious look faded from her expression when she saw you standing on the cabin porch. Her mouth twitched into an automatic smile.

‘It’s been a long time since someone gave me an offering.’ She said wryly, slowing as she approached you. You sat with her on the wooden steps and began to eat. She didn’t speak and neither did you. Her arm wrapped tightly around your shoulders and you knew she was reminding herself that you were still there. 

The others stayed for nearly a week. They discussed the snap endlessly, offering different theories about what humanity would do next. Thena barely paid attention. Instead, she stayed close to you, eyes flickering with constant readiness around the room.

Approximately 5 years later and half the universe returned. Thankfully, it did not ruin your birthday twice.

There is not much to say about the days before the quakes began. Your life had been outlined for a long time. Every day felt like another piece of an inevitable plan falling into place. Time blurred easily.

You knew Gilgamesh was pushing for you to have a more normal human life, but Thena would not be convinced. Your mother was unashamedly selfish in her refusal.

You heard her voice raise once as you returned from the forest. 

‘She stays with us.’ Thena’s sharp tones caught your ears. ‘Her life will be over so fast.’

‘Exactly.’ Gilgamesh had thrown back with unexpected force.

You dismissed their argument as irrelevant. You knew you wouldn’t be leaving.

Gilgamesh’s only victory was teaching you how to drive. 

After the driving lessons, when you returned back to the cabin, Thena would always be standing on the porch. The golden light of home would burn behind her. Her hands would grip the wooden railing as she waited for you.

‘I can’t protect you when you aren’t here.’ She told you, kissing your hair as you walked inside. 

. 

The Deviant came shortly after the first quakes rattled the Earth. The monster that had haunted your childhood nightmares found Gilgamesh alone in the forest. You were in the kitchen with your mother. Thena’s head had turned instantly at the far off sound. She was out the door before you could speak. 

Later, they returned together. Immediately, you could tell that Thena was not all there. Gilgamesh kept his hand on her back, gentle but firm as he directed her back to the house. 

Seeing you waiting for her on the porch, Thena’s gaze locked on you. She seemed fragile and you didn’t know what to say.

You kept your hand on her shoulder as you led her to the small garden behind the cabin. Summer was beginning and the flowers had started to bloom. You sat together. You let the sunshine and the rustling sounds of nature soothe the worried look in her far off stare. 

When Gilgamesh came out to sit with you, he brought Thena her sketch pad. You watched with muted concern as she began to hurriedly chalk out strange, alien scenes. One after another, the drawings piled up.

‘I think the others will arrive soon.’ Gilamesh told you both. ‘Noone has seen a Deviant for centuries.’

Thena didn’t respond, hands still busy with her drawings. You brushed her shoulder worriedly as Gilgamesh headed back inside to make food.

Still without words, Thena grabbed your hand and held it tightly. You felt her apprehension thread inside you. Something terrible was coming.

Your mother made a dagger from the air and spun it with her fingers. You watched it twirl as fear seeped into you.

You only met Ikaris and Sprite very briefly. Together with Sersi, they had found Ajak dead on her ranch and now every plan had changed. There was no question that Gilgamesh and Thena would have to go with them. 

There was no question that you would have to stay. Before they left, Sersi gave you a smartphone. You’d used her own phone briefly before, but still the technology was new to you. You promised to answer when they called.

Your mother did not say goodbye to you. Instead, she held your face gently between her hands. She looked at you with an expression full of worry. She pressed her forehead against yours and whispered ‘Be safe.’ It was the first time she’d spoken since the Deviant.

You watched your family leave and realized, as the loss of Ajak hit you with force, that immortality didn’t make them safe either.

.

Despite your quiet upbringing in the middle of nowhere, you had never known silence like this before. Two days passed and nobody called you. There was too much silence at the cabin.

You decided to drive into town, keen to be anywhere else. You knew also that if you could find the right signal, you could find news updates on your smartphone. 

As you pulled into the usually quiet town, you noticed immediately the black cars lining the usually deserted streets. There were small groups of people caught in serious looking discussions. You drove past most of them, and finally pulled into one of the only free spaces left. 

A blonde girl in a gray coat watched you park, she was leaning against a wall. You got out of your car and the blonde girl began to walk lazily over to you. 

Before she even spoke, your heart started pounding in your chest. Her eyes slid down your white dress, a hand-me-down from your mother.

‘Are you looking for the monster?’ She asked casually.

You felt shy and scared at the same time. 

‘No. What monster?’ You asked, looking automatically over your shoulder.

The girl’s eyes danced with amusement.

She gestured over her shoulder at the expanse of forest you’d just driven through.

‘Apparently, some hikers saw this giant alien creature.’ Her eyes widened dramatically. ‘Now the authorities have shown up.’

‘Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing.’ You said hurriedly, feeling overwhelmed. ‘Maybe it was a bear.’

The girl smiled patiently, as if your lie was obvious and she didn’t need to tell you. ‘I’m Yelena.’ She said after a moment.

‘I’m Y/N.’ You introduced yourself. Suddenly, you remembered the imaginary games you’d played as a child. Elaborate daydreams where you’d find yourself with a friend.

‘So, Y/N, why are you in town?’ Yelena asked.

‘Oh.’ You held out your brand new smartphone, brightening with a question that felt safe to answer. ‘I want to link this to the internet.’ You gestured vaguely to the sky. ‘But there’s no signal where I live.’

‘You live there?’ Yelena nodded back to the forest where the Deviant had been found. 

You didn’t answer, scared to speak as you realized that this girl was much smarter than you. Yelena only nodded at your silence. 

‘I can help with that.’ She gestured to your phone. ‘Help get it… linked up.’

‘Oh. Thank you, that’s so kind.’ You said gratefully.

Yelena suggested getting a drink at the local bar while she looked at your phone. You followed her inside, looking interestedly at the interior of a room that was not in your home. 

The bartender looked you both up and down disinterestedly before returning his attention to the television set up at the side of the bar. There were two men, well dressed and serious looking, also watching the small screen. 

‘Can I get you a drink?’ Yelena offered. 

You racked your mind trying to think of what Gilgamesh often drank. ‘Can I get some mead?’ You asked.

Yelena’s eyebrows raised dangerously and you knew you’d said something wrong. 

‘I don’t think they sell that.’ She told you, almost teasingly. ‘But I can ask.’

‘Right.’ You mumbled, embarrassment burning your cheeks. 

She returned with two beers. You tried not to pull a face of disgust as you sipped yours. Mead was definitely sweeter than this.

Yelena’s hand slid across the table. A new feeling shot through your spine as you watched. She lifted your phone and began to look at the settings. 

‘You were on airplane mode.’ She explained after a few seconds, handing you back the phone.

Your fingers brushed hers as you took the phone back. For a second, you forgot to breathe.

‘Right.’ You said again. 

‘Easy mistake.’ She grinned, taking another sip of her beer.

‘Are you here to find the monster?’ You asked, trying suddenly to deflect the attention away from you.

Yelena shrugged. ‘It’s why I came. But now it’s much more interesting.’

‘Oh?’ You squeaked nervously.

‘The police found the monster pretty fast.’ She told you. ‘Cut up into lots of pieces.’

You kept your face very still.

‘Bit strange.’ Yelena commented as she continued to drink her beer. ‘Who goes into the forest with a blade. And who has the strength to use it like that.’

You remembered a name you’d heard over the dinner table. 

‘Maybe it was the Avengers.’ You offered casually. 

Yelena met your gaze then. Her stare was full of sudden unspoken sadness.

‘Maybe.’ She said at last. 

You didn’t know how to tell her that you recognised her grief. You touched her hand unsurely.

Yelena’s eyes flashed and she withdrew her hand. You tried to ignore the sting of rejection, certain you hadn’t imagined the look in her eyes. You glanced down as your phone screen lit up.

Many missed calls and a single voicemail. You pushed your chair back, ignoring the screeching sound.

‘I have to -’ You muttered unthinkingly, as you called back the number and hurried to the door.

Sersi answered. Her calm voice soothed you immediately.

‘It’s over now. You’re safe.’ She said simply. You took a deep breath. ‘Is everyone okay?’ You asked. 

Sersi hesitated. The pause lasted several seconds. Your stomach swooped with horrible anticipation. 

‘Gilgamesh.’ You said hollowly as pieces clicked together. If it had been your mother, Gilgamesh would have found you already. Sersi said something else, but you didn’t hear. Numbly, you ended the call. You gripped the wall next to you and tried to breathe.

You made it to your car and started to cry. Half-blind from tears, you started to drive. Gilgamesh had been your father in everything but name. He had made your world safe. You’d never told him.

Regret clung like a bad taste in your mouth. 

You drove back to the cabin, some part of you believing that Gilgamesh, or even your mother might be waiting for you. You found the cabin standing empty and knew that you were alone.

You stayed in your car until you were ready to check your phone again. One new message from Sersi.

‘Give her time. She loves you.’

You realized that you must have missed Sersi telling you that your mother wasn’t coming home. You stared at the cabin as dusk settled in. Without the usual bright lights inside, it seemed stark and unwelcoming.

You stiffened as a low rumbling sound began to build behind you. When you recognised the blonde girl driving the truck, you got out of your car to face her.

Yelena stepped out of her vehicle and didn’t hesitate.

‘Are you part of a cult?’ She demanded, scanning the forest clearing carefully. She moved next to you, guarded in her stance.

‘No.’ You muttered, wiping tears from your face. 

Yelena looked at you like she didn’t believe you.

‘You try to order a drink from the 1300s. You don’t know how to use a phone. You’re wearing that dress. You get a mysterious call that makes you cry and then you hurry back to this creepy cabin in the woods.’ Yelena’s strong accent emphasized every word. 

‘It’s not a cult.’ You muttered, using your sleeves to wipe more relentless tears. ‘My mother’s partner. He - .’ You choked on the words. 

Yelena’s face softened immediately. 

‘I’m so sorry. I am such an idiot.’ She told you. You felt her arms open and accepted the offered hug. You knew she was still a stranger but at that moment you only wanted to feel better. 

‘Is your mother here?’ Yelena asked you. She sounded steady, as if she knew what needed to happen next. It reassured you. You shook your head. ‘No, she uh. I think that she’s taking some space.’

Yelena’s lips pressed together. 

‘Is there someone else you can call?’ She asked at last. You shook your head, beginning to feel the heavy weight of grief. ‘I don’t know anybody except my family.’

Yelena looked worried then. 

‘I think we should get out of here.’ She said at last, hand touching your shoulder. 

Together, you walked into the cabin. Yelena waited in the living room as you disappeared to fill a bag with clothes. When you came back, you caught her looking interestedly at your mother’s chalk drawings. You didn’t care. The place felt so empty that you could barely stand it. Yelena led you to her truck and began to drive back along the road to the town. 

You let her drive. You didn’t know where you were going, but you didn’t want to be alone anymore. 

As you drove, Yelena kept asking you questions. About your family, your childhood, about your knowledge of the outside world. She flinched apologetically when her questions made you speak about Gilgamesh, but she didn’t stop asking.

You tried to answer as best you could. You couldn’t help trusting Yelena, but she was also the first human you’d ever met. You kept the details hazy, as you described an idyllic childhood lived in nature. 

The truck approached a large sprawling mass of buildings. You looked curiously at the place that dwarfed anything you’d seen before.

‘Is this a city?’ You asked Yelena and she snorted loudly. ‘Sure, if 2,000 people can make a city.’

Your eyes widened, it was more people than you could imagine. Yelena parked in a hotel parking lot. 

‘This is where I’ve been staying.’ She said. ‘Come on, I’ll get you a room too.’

A wave of inadequacy settled over you as Yelena walked you into the hotel. She spoke with the woman behind a desk, who gave you a sympathetic look. You brushed the tear tracks on your cheeks embarrassedly. 

The woman booked you into the room next to Yelena’s. You walked up together.

‘Want to hang out for a bit?’ Yelena offered, as you stood together in the hotel corridor. ‘We could order food.?

You nodded, realizing suddenly just how hungry you were. Yelena had a practiced ease about her as she led you into her space. 

You eyed the contents of her room curiously. Without your mother and the compelling gravity of your family home, the world felt brand new.

The small room was messy, a variety of debris emanating from an open suitcase that had been flung onto the small armchair in the corner of the room. 

Yelena shrugged her gray coat from her shoulders and threw it over the suitcase. The gesture seemed casual, but you couldn't help wondering if it was intentional. You forced yourself to stay calm, it was natural that a person would be self conscious with someone new in their space. 

Yelena picked up the hotel phone and started to dial for room service. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up but you couldn’t figure out why. Your gaze finally landed on the stack of books piled on the vanity across from you. 

Fear trickled down your spine like ice water. A paperback of ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ lay on top of a copy of ‘Athena: The Story of a Goddess.’

You looked at Yelena, who stood frozen, watching you with the hotel phone still in her hand. You heard something like your mother’s voice shouting in your head. You bolted for the door.

You couldn’t run far and there wasn’t anywhere you could think to hide. You typed a desperate message to Sersi as you hurried down the hotel’s emergency exit stairs. You didn’t know if you’d sent it right. The message was a different color to the one she’d sent you earlier. Despair flared in your chest. 

You reached the bottom of the stairs and the door swung open casually. Yelena stood in the doorway. Her eyes swam with guilt but you could tell from the tight line of her jaw that she was determined.

Any fleeting hope of finally having your first friend dissipated. 

‘They shouldn’t have kept you like that.’ Yelena told you with forced calm. Her voice seemed to simmer with anger and sadness. ‘None of it was real.’

For the first time, you met someone else’s anger with your own.

‘Of course it was real.’ You snapped. You could guess Yelena’s intentions now. 

Gilgamesh had always been there to protect your mother from herself. But he had also been there to ward off others who might see her potential as a weapon of destruction.

Now that job appeared to have fallen to you.

‘How did you find us?’ You asked. Your voice was quiet and you could feel yourself trembling. You had never felt anger like this before. You’d never met someone who wanted to hurt your family.

You suddenly knew as you clenched your fists that you were not weak. You had been raised by gods. 

Yelena took a step forward. 

‘Stay back.’ You told her furiously. She paused and her hands slipped loosely into her pockets. You waited for her to deliver a weapon from them but Yelena stayed still.

‘I didn’t know that they were keeping you there.’ Yelena told you abruptly. She was trying to hold your gaze and you weren’t sure if you should let her have it. If this is part of another trick that you wouldn’t see coming. ‘I was given a mission to find your mother. Someone is looking to pay her generously for her powers.’

‘I didn’t know about you.’ Yelena promised as she continued. ‘I’m not going to betray you, or your family.’ She hesitated. ‘I know what it’s like to lose people.’

In a flash, you remembered seeing her brief moment of grief earlier at the bar. You felt sudden indecision burn inside you. You took a deep breath and decided you wanted to trust her. You didn’t know if you were being reckless, you wished that you’d had some experience of the real world before today. Your family and your home felt far away.

‘Okay.’ You said at last. You walked forward and watched Yelena’s eyes widen as you reached out to take her hand. You didn’t know if this was what friends did, but you knew you wanted to. After a second, Yelena squeezed your hand back and you smiled. You were right, it was that simple.

Later that evening, you sat together on Yelena's bed, a pizza box in the space between you. You watched her silently, despite everything still in awe of the first real person you’d ever met. You already knew they weren't all this special.

‘But of course, you’re not actually an alien.’ Yelena ended her explanation of she'd found herself at your house, as she chewed the final slice of her pizza.

“Sometimes it feels like it.’ You admitted quietly. There was a long pause as Yelena watched you. You didn't look up, a strange shame seeping over you.

‘I was raised to be a soldier.’ Yelena told you at last in a tight voice. Her expression was brittle and when you looked up, you saw that her eyes were far off. ‘They brainwashed me into something that wasn’t even human.’

Something in her lost expression reminded you of your mother. You hummed cautiously, letting Yelena’s attention snap back to the room. You put a careful hand on her shoulder. Yelena blinked uncertainly and she looked younger. After a moment, she leaned her cheek against your hand.

The whole world was full of broken people. You’d never realized before. Yelena started to speak again.

You moved your hand without thinking, twisting it to brush the side of Yelena’s face gently. Yelena watched you, her expression was open.

‘You were a child?’ You asked, desperate to understand every piece of her and not knowing why. 

Yelena nodded carefully, eyes never leaving you. ‘It took me years to get out. I found my sister again.’ She paused. If you hadn’t been holding her gaze, you wondered if she’d have continued with the truth. 

‘She died.’ Yelena whispered into the quiet room. Wordlessly, you brushed a tear from her cheek with your thumb. 

‘I’ve never said that aloud before.’ Yelena muttered, breaking eye contact and pulling her face away from you as she straightened up.

You looked at the intricate braid holding her hair back from her face. Memories of loving moments with your mother, Sersi and even Ajak flashed through your mind. 

‘Did she teach you how to braid your hair like that?’ You wondered, letting your arm drop to your side. Yelena touched a piece of her hair reflexively and you noticed her breathing stutter.

‘Yeah.’ She said at last. 

.

Out of nowhere, the hotel building began to shake, as if even the foundations had been startled. Your chest tightened as you remembered the text you’d attempted to send earlier. You slipped your phone out and saw bright bubbles of text appear one after another. ‘New message.’ and ‘Missed call’ repeated themselves like some secret code.

Yelena read the words over your shoulder, just as the building shook again.

‘Oh, fuck.’ She muttered, getting to her feet and slipping two knives from her pockets. Her eyes flickered to you apprehensively. In a rush, you felt the familiar uselessness of your childhood spent in the corner only allowed to watch your family fight. You knew she wanted you to stay out of danger.

The door came abruptly off its hinges and your family arrived in the room. You braced yourself as Thena walked in. Sersi stood behind her, her hands up and ready to use her powers. 

Yelena’s gaze didn’t leave Thena, who was blazing in her fury. Yelena gritted her teeth and met her stare head on, she'd obviously realized that words would be useless. You watched her fists clench and then relax purposefully around her two knives.

Thena smirked as she saw the weapons in Yelena’s grip. You watched her create her own two daggers out of thin air. She took a step forward, her eyes trained entirely on Yelena. You knew she would kill her before Yelena could even raise a hand.

You blocked Yelena with your body. It was all you could do. 

Thena’s knife caught your shoulder. The sting was sharp but Thena had stopped herself before any damage could be done.

She stuttered to a halt as if the mistake had burned her. She looked at you, furious and confused in the one breath. Panic was spreading behind her eyes.

Yelena stared at you too, as if she'd never seen you before.

‘I didn’t mean to worry you.’ You murmured to your mother, trying to calm the spiralling tension in the room. ‘It was my mistake. Yelena was being kind. She just didn’t want me to be alone.’ 

Thena gave Yelena a murderous stare. Sersi stepped forward, carefully interrupting the moment. Her hand touched your shoulder and you held back a wince as she inspected the area the knife had touched. 

Yelena took her moment to speak. 

‘It was a misunderstanding.’ She told Thena steadily. ‘I am sorry.’

Yelena glanced back at you, for a moment unsure. Then, she swallowed her nerves and spoke again.

'She's my friend.'

Your mother’s stare returned to you. Pain echoed back at you. Gilgamesh’s loss loomed suddenly. You let yourself fold into your mother’s arms. She hugged you tentatively and then with a kind of desperation that she’d never shown before. Tears pricked your eyes as you felt her grief wash over you like an eternal wave. 

When she pulled back at last, Thena took your hands in hers and squeezed them. For a moment, you believed you were a child again, safe just because she was there.

‘He was right.’ Thena said quietly, after a moment. ‘I have to let you go.’

She kissed your forehead and her words sank in. You looked to Sersi and her mouth was tight like she had known this was coming all along. 

At your look, Sersi spoke up. She told you about their spaceship and the idea to fly across the universe, warning others of the impending emergences on their planets. 

It made sense then. If Thena walked the Earth then you knew she would always stay by your side. She knew that you would do the same. That’s why she was going to leave. 

Your heart began to break into pieces. You wondered if it would have a soft landing.

You turned to Yelena, who’s face had stayed impassive for the last few moments. Her expression cracked suddenly. 

‘My sister went to space once. She saved half the universe.’

She didn’t have to tell you that her sister hadn’t come home. You nodded, sure now that Yelena was someone you understood.

Thena and Sersi left that day, Eternal beings seemed to be ones that didn’t hesitate once their minds were made up. 

A week later, you were sitting again in another hotel room. Yelena had driven you to Ohio, the one place she’d ever called home. It was a far cry from your own cabin in the woods. 

You sat on a different hotel bed that wasn’t your own, surprised that the weight of change hadn’t crushed you yet. You stared at a beige wall, trying to let go of the future you’d once resigned yourself to. A future that you wouldn’t have minded, until the moment you’d met Yelena. 

You felt her sitting next to you, a distant comfort coming just from her presence. She was being incredibly patient with you. The night before, she’d spent hours teaching you how to braid your hair.

She was more than just the friend you'd dreamed about. Desperately you wanted her to feel the same about you.

You were beginning to believe this was real to her too.

.

Hesitatingly, Yelena bumped her shoulder lightly against yours.

You looked to your left and saw her nervous smile waiting for you. Your heart thumped harder at the sight of it.

Yelena moved forward and her lips brushed yours. It was hesitant, soft and careful.

When she pulled back, her cheeks were flushed. Her eyes met yours briefly. You could tell she was waiting for your reaction.

You reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze.

You'd known since that first day, when you'd brushed her tears with your thumb. When you'd stepped between her and the knife.

“When you love something, you protect it. It is the most natural thing in the world.”

#yelena belova x reader #eternals fic #yelena belova fluff #flufftober2023 #day 2

[angsthology]

rewind introduction: important characters in roo’s life.

just faceclaims for every rvstw characters! (roo, not included, obvi).

-> RVSTW MATERLIST

PROFILE who doesn’t know her, honestly?

FULL NAME: daisy mae rosario

NICKNAMES: daisy-mae (general and close friends), mae (general public), chee-mae (roo), chee (also roo), daze (nika)

BIRTH YEAR: 2002 (21)

ABOUT HER: has been friends with roo ever since she could listen, the guitarist and vocalist in the band, currently pursuing her dream in music (the band is just a side hustle—though she loves it way more) while attending college.

FUN FACT! she is the oldest sibling with two younger sisters

PROFILE the only one of roo’s friends whose personality is as loud as hers

FULL NAME: varnika angelina selvaraj

NICKNAMES: nika (general), nik, sel (atticus & roo)

BIRTH YEAR: 2001 (22)

ABOUT HER: she honestly just does nothing but her parents are rich! and one of roo’s biggest sponsor. though she didn’t know that she’s their daughter when they first met which was in high school and truthfully the only reason they’re friends is because they share the same birthday.

FUN FACT! her middle name is angelina because her mother loves angeline jolie

PROFILE you’ll be seeing a lot of him, honestly

FULL NAME: atticus rohan singh

NICKNAMES: atticus (general), attie (close friends, mostly roo), ro (also by roo), singh (nika)

BIRTH YEAR: 1998 (25)

ABOUT HIM: met roo through daisy-mae (who he goes to college with), the beloved drummer of the band, pretty chill and quiet compared to his two friends (daisy-mae not included).

FUN FACT! awkward kitten energy

PROFILE roo’s head engineer

FULL NAME: olivia andromeda turner

NICKNAMES: ollie (roo)

ABOUT HER: she is roo’s head engineer during her time in porsche and often has to act like an “older, wiser, blonde daisy-mae” (according to nika)

FUN FACT! was appointed the job after the team heard roo saying “i don’t take orders from men” one time in her rookie year

PROFILE roo’s..??

FULL NAME: michael keller

NICKNAMES: mikey (roo), mike (general)

ABOUT HIM: no one knows why he’s there he just is and at this point it’s hard to shake him off

FUN FACT! he is almost as stupid as roo is

HONORABLE MENTIONS — ROO’S TEAM

— mateo // jackie // thena // percy (porsche team principal) // (pr manager) // (nutritionist) // (personal trainer)

#tine’s roo vs the world

[mvltisstuff]

for whom the bell tolls - p.p

summary: y/n can’t help but take revenge on the person who ruined her childhood. as hard as peter tries, he nor the avengers can stop her.

peter parker x reader

a/n: i rewatched infinity war today so i was in an mcu mood yk :)) i also used a villain name generator so that’s why his names a little funky 😭 ALSO i kinda imagined y/n’s powers kinda like thenas cosmic energy weapons in eternals!!

y/n has had nothing but fury for one man her whole life. the man who lay her mothers body in front of her as she watched her life crumble before her eyes. her home was destroyed, along with her regular childhood.

she was just a normal kid. she played outside with friends on the playground. she talked to them during lunch in school. she came home and spent time with her parents. she hadn’t even hit the third grade before it was turned upside down.

y/n hadn’t seen this excuse of a person since her parents were murdered before her. he never produced the fighters himself, leaving it to his own workers. she remembers the exact face summoning her away and placing her into doom. the experiments were run, and she was forced into isolation from her peers in the world.

nightsiege had been behind the whole matter, the mastermind. he was able to capture y/n at the perfect time, training her to become one of his own army with combat skills and using her own powers.

y/n was fully aware of the life she was missing. she watched the world around her as she could never escape the nightmare. she was supposed to be top of her class, but she was top product of the nightsiege’s manipulation instead.

it wasn’t until the base was invaded by the avengers when receiving their own threat, easily being able to demolish the sources. y/n stood out immensely. she wasn’t running for cover, she was fighting for herself. the team knew she needed help, but they also knew she had too much potential to be a hero. so, they took her back to the compound. they trained her properly in new york, trying to undo some of the trauma impended on her from the siege corporations. pretty soon, she was enrolled into school, easily meshing in educationally but socially was another story.

being completely shut out from the world sets you back. she was awkward, but a sweet soul. she just wanted friends, and the adorable boy came over to her with his friend to sit with her. peter knew what it was like to be an outcast. of course, not the same way y/n was, but he was a friend. yeah, tony had told him to be nice to her, but it meshed into more. she became a true functioning person in society because of peter. he guided her through life, teaching her about things she missed when she was being experimented on. she held him dearly, having nothing but admiration for him. he never once stepped away from her side. he listened to all of her stories, and spent time with her out of school. he became her person, her safe space. peter knows what it’s like to have a responsibility that you didn’t ask for.

peter was completely mesmerized by her abilities, making swords and shields from her bare hands. her defense was incredible, and peter became better from her. y/n opened peters eyes more than by just training. he came to terms that you can do a lot with a little. it doesn’t matter what your background is, because anyone has to power to rescue someone else.

peter vividly remembers the day he asked her out. he was shaking like a leaf all day, may almost having to sedate him. he didn’t want to overstep on her growth, taking note on how far she’s come. he couldn’t hold it in anymore. it felt like something was holding them apart from growing up together, and he needed to say something before it all turned to rust. she eased him quickly, calming all his anxieties with just one kiss.

they spent every day together. weekends and weekdays were filled with school and training and missions. this was one of the days, after school in the training rooms of the compound. they had it all alone, and y/n stood holding pads for peter to punch.

“c’mon, y/n!” he shouts, happily. “stop going easy on me!”

“i’m not going easy on you!” she replies. “trust me, you’d be begging me to stop if i went any further.”

“…that’s what she said,” peter whispers as y/n smacks the pad against his head.

“grow up, spider-boy,” she beams, continuing to let him practice.

the rest of the avengers were in the other room, discussing an upcoming debacle. tony, steve, natasha, and bruce stood around the table, connecting with thor in asgard. “if he hasn’t been to asgard, tony, he’s back to earth.”

“didn’t we go to that department the other day?” nat adds. “y/n was there for that, he could’ve somehow heard she’s with us.”

“because he wants her back. she’s only getting more powerful and he wants to manipulate her more,” steve speaks next, starting to put the puzzle pieces together.

“well, why didn’t the creep come sooner if he knew she was out? he’s only coming because he knows she’s with us,” tony questions.

“nightsiege wanted her to get to her highest level of skill before he started to utilize her. besides, he’s been anti-avenger since the day we formed so we’re the last people he wants her with,” nat tells him. “it’s similar to the red-room. you were used until you were perfect. he wouldn’t even kill her, he’d just torture her further.”

“do we tell her, i mean, i think she has a right to know-“

“no,” steve tells bruce. “she could get hurt or killed if she tries to intervene. it’s best if we handle this on our own, without her and peter.”

“handle what?” peter asks, his soft voice ringing through the room as y/n stands behind him, looking fearfully at the superheroes in the room.

“so he’s only coming back to take me away?”

“basically, yes,” tony says.

“what about the other ones? why doesn’t he want them?”

“they’re not with the avengers, and none of them have the skill set that you have with the powers,” bruce tells her, looking into her frightened eyes, trying to cover up her worry. “and your parents, probably have something to do with it.”

“he killed them, that’s the deal with them,” y/n sits in the chair, thinking heavily about the situation in her hands. “i’m finding him.”

“no,” peter murmurs. “i don’t think that’s a good idea, like at all.”

“the kids right,” tony says. “you’re one of the strongest forces on this planet but you don’t have the capabilities to fully take this guy down.”

a switch flips in y/n, a side of her that she tried to bury away is released. she’s craved revenge and shooting karma his way, but she’s held it in. its been on the tip of her tongue since she watched her parents take their last breath and now it’s right in front of her. peter saw her eyes darken at the mention of him. he watched the bright smile on her face disintegrate away at the thought. a naïve part of him hoped they were past it. the young, innocent parts of themselves prayed that he was gone, never to return. unfortunately, it’s never that simple.

the second y/n ran out of that room and left the compound, they knew they were in for a ride of hell. y/n became like a daughter to them, and friend. they treated her like royalty since they say they found her, often forgetting that she capable on her own since she was so young.

when y/n found herself taking the jet, she knew she could never go back. just leaving the compound meant she was in too deep, and she just hoped she wouldn’t regret it. she was able to track down a secret management base that nightsiege would be most likely to go to. that’s where the all the information is, different from the actually training site.

“y/n’s gone,” tony alerts. “she’s trying to find nightsiege alone, which she can’t do.”

“i’ll check the tracking status on the missing jet,” bruce moves to one of the computers, seeing the new site on the map. “she’s at the info base.”

“damn it, kid,” tony shakes his head, rubbing his eyes. “well, suit up, what are we waiting for?”

peter glances as him anxiously, knowing y/n wants to do it alone. peters always tried to please everyone. if y/n gets mad at him, he’ll get mad at himself and he can’t handle her people being mad at him. peter knows there’s a right and a wrong here, and he senses full jeopardy coming toward y/n. he’s loved her for years, and peter is y/n’s favorite person. so, he goes along with avengers, going to find y/n and her vengeance.

when y/n climbed through the back entrances, she was confronted with pure darkness. the only thing that she could hear was the light whirring of the air and machinery above her. the room was filled with metal pipes and tanks. there were small offices, pitch black with nothing but a white shade in front of the windows. she illuminated her path by using a golden defense baton that was formed from her hands. her footsteps from the thick boots on her feet echoed through the tall ceilings.

when she stepped forward, she felt a bench of buttons and switches in front of her. she pressed the power key, causing a screen to shine in front of her. it contained files and sections of confidential information at the tip of her fingers. as she was preoccupied looking at the words on the massive screen, the noises behind her did not go unnoticed.

“i thought that i’d find you here,” he speaks strongly, chills rushing down y/n’s spine. she never knew that the sound of someone’s voice could make her feel sick to her stomach. “what’s brought you to me, child?”

“i’m ending all of this,” y/n turns, making eye contact with the monster in front of her. he had his own protection on, covered in armor and his own weapons. she points to the screen in front of her, all of the crucial files, including her own.

“you’ll never get those files, y/n. you are not nearly as strong as you need to be. i came to save you.”

“i don’t need any more saving, not from you.”

“you’ve been poisoned by the avengers. they’ve brainwashed you and completely put you in a box. i made you the strongest version of yourself.”

“the worst version of myself was when i was under your control. you’re a weak, weak man who has nothing going for him but a bunch of lame excuses of experiments. you ripped my life to pieces with no remorse.”

his feet slam closer to y/n, his figure coming more into sight as she takes another step backwards. “you’ll never learn, y/n. your parents were never good for you. i saved you.”

flashes of the people who really saved y/n go through her mind. memories of her and peter together are flooding her. every touch, every word, every moment with him. the life she has now is only because of peter. every single part of her wishes he were there to fight this battle with her, but she had to do it alone.

“you’re psychotic,” y/n whispers as he shakes his head with a manic smirk on his face.

“you’re never getting what you want from me.”

“then i’ll get it from your corpse,” y/n spits out at him, shooting out swords from her wrists in milliseconds. she charges toward him, releasing bursts of energy onto his body, forcing him back before he gets up. he runs toward her, grabbing her much smaller body and throwing it against the wall with his strength. she slides down with the shattered glass, picking herself up as he walks over with his knives.

her hand meets his forearm, her leg smashing into his waist, making him buckle over. his grip remained on the weapon, leaving a slash over y/n’s thigh. she grunts out, but is able to form a ring of energy over her hand, connecting it with his throat as she kicks in the back of his knees.

his hand is in defense on his neck, but the power from him brings down chunks of the metal ceilings, falling around y/n and collapsing on top of her.

she forces a shield out of her, shoving the debris off her body and swiftly acting back on the villain. she somehow manages to land an aggressive punch on his face, temporarily disorienting him. his own fist connects with hers, covered in rough metal. her nose dripped of blood, leaving smears along with the cuts and bruises on her face from earlier impacts. her body’s tired, wanting to just leave and give up but never being able to let him win. he would kill her because he’s scared of her. somehow, the thought of him being scared pushed her even further.

the next time she blinked, she saw nightsiege being swept away, a long string of webbing dragging him backward. he was confused by the sticky substance on his back, slicing it off with his smaller knife. when he tried stepping forward again, one of the arrows from clint had exploded, forcing him onto his back before he could even think.

y/n brought herself up, landing toward him as she pushed herself up with the energy. her indestructible knife was no match for his, the two having it out in the middle of the ground. caps shield had come between the two, slicing the blade in half as y/n’s was faded back into her powerful hands. the force from the shield had sent nightsiege back onto the ground on his back. when he leaned up, his knife sliced cleanly across y/n’s stomach, leaving a deep gash into her body. she gasped out in pain, holding her abdomen with her free hand as she wobbled.

another forcefield was spread around them, blocking off the rest of the avengers from them. it was only y/n and nightsiege in the area now. it was up to her to kill him and his plans.

peter banged on the forcefield, pounding his fists while screaming y/n’s name. “mr. stark! we have to get this down! please, y/n!”

“kid, calm down,” he tries to ease the boy in front of him, but also battling his own worries. peters were unmatched. his eyes were glued on his girlfriends injured figure, in agony as she continued to move this guy further into the ground. peter tried to break down the barrier, but it was impossible.

y/n glanced at peter again, and maybe for the last time. she took a shaky breath, smashing more power into him to keep him down. the eye contact with peter was excruciating. she barely wanted to look at him, wanting to just fall into his arms and run away with him. however, just like she knew, there was no turning back.

she formed restraints around nightsieges wrists, tying them to the ground as she stepped over him. a circular weapon with sharp, serrated edges as she moved herself closer to him.

“you’ll nev-never be… a hero,” his raspy voice comes out, leaving a sour taste in y/n’s mouth. she tries to ignore the burning pain throughout her body before she retorts back at him.

“rot,” she says. “in hell,” with severe grit in her voice, she lands the weapon into his chest, robbing his lungs of oxygen and watching his frail body gasp for air. she watched his eyes unfocus, and the sinfulness in his eyes turns to death.

as the barrier disintegrates around her, peter is sprinting toward her. her eyes are staying on the dead body of the man who destroyed her, before they slowly adjust to peter.

“hey!” he says, softly. “y/n, we have to get you help!”

“peter,” she whines, letting herself fall into him as the rest of the avengers move to catch her. peter has her, though, and he doesn’t ever want to let go. “i have to end this.”

“you did, baby,” his hand lands on the side of her face. “it’s over.” she shakes her head no, limping over to the screen and the controls in front of her. with the clicks of a few buttons and the blur in her eyes, every last file is wiped from existence. she can finally say it’s over, and she can believe it at last. before she knows it, her body can’t withstand the pressure of her injuries, letting herself fall to the floor of the building.

next time she is awake, the bright lights of the recovery unit of the compound make her squint. no amount of lights could conceal the beautiful face in front of her, gripping her hand as peter looks like be might doze off himself. she looks around at her body on the bed, covered in thick bandages and wires.

“pete?” she asks, vulnerably.

“yeah, i’m here, you’re ok,” he tells her, sweet as ever in her mind. she smiles at him lightly, his hand brushing the sides of her hair. “you did it, y/n/n.”

“it’s done, peter.”

“mhm, all because of you. you saved more people than i can think of. you’ve always been a hero, y/n. you’re so much more than that too.”

she tries to lean up, wiping the tears off her face to give him a kiss. he realizes her attempt, then standing up to land a soft kiss on her lips. “i love you, peter.”

peter blinks, his heart moving a million miles an hour. they’ve been dating for a while, but somehow this one feels different. watching her inch closer to her deathbed made the three words meaningful than he thought they could get. he loved her too, more than anything in the world. “i love you too,” he replies, almost embarrassingly fast. his hand covers his mouth, causing giggles to leave y/n’s mouth.

“c’mon! she just got out of surgery and they’re making out in the recovery wing!” tony complains, making natasha shake her head with a grin.

“leave them be, tony,” she laughs. “she’s finally free, let him kiss the girl.”

“fine, but,” tony presses the loudspeaker button, his voice coming through the room. “i have my eye on you fools!”

#marvel imagine #marvel #mcu imagine #mcu #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #peter parker oneshot #peter parker #peter parker x you #peter parker x y/n #the avengers #avengers one shot #avengers x reader #tony stark #natasha romanoff #wanda maximoff #thor odinson #clint barton #steve rogers #bruce banner #spiderman #spiderman no way home #no way home #avengers endgame #peter parker mcu #tom holland #andrew garfield #toby maguire #tasm!peter x reader #the amazing spider man

[oneshotnewbie]

Athena grant and f reader. Reader has worked with athena for years, but unknown to athena, is being hurt by her girlfriend. Athena figures it out, and confronts reader, promising to protect her, and helps her leave her abuser, letting her stay in the grant home. Athena admits to Michael that she's always loved reader, which is why she's so protective. Reader overhears and admits her feelings as well?

BTW you are the only one who writes for athena....you are my new favorite human

A/n: First of all; I love to be a new favorite human!🥹Secondly; thank you for requesting for it, I really like writing for her! Third and last- This story takes place at a time when Athena and Michael are still together and Michael is still unaware of his attraction to the same sex. Hope it is okay for you! ♥

---

When you woke up, you already knew what had happened and why you were in a bare room that smelled of nothing but disinfectant and rubber gloves. You could still clearly remember last night when you came home from work exhausted and already were frustrated at the front door about how the apartment looked like, knowing that you still had to clean up the apartment after your hard shift.

It started with a little question about the simple why and eventually, a trifle ignited an argument. Unstoppable screaming that started with yelling words at each other intended to hurt the other turned into an even more reckless verbal assault from her.

She was about a head taller and stronger than you, and even if you tried to fight back, she would be brutally pinning you against the wall in no time. You could fell bruises everywhere instantly when your back hit the wall and angry flashing eyes looked down at you. From then on, the blue miracle began.

You shook your head roughly to free yourself from the memories of the previous night and slowly, you turned to the side and narrowed your eyes sharply as an unspeakable pain ripped through your body.

You closed your eyes and tried to focus on your own heartbeat as your hearing prioritized the voices outside the door. You were able to sort out agitation and irritability in the individual voices and listened intently.

"You are not authorized to enter the room. You are not a relative. In addition, the condition of my patient.." the doctor said in a shrill voice and you heard the material of her smock scratching on the door- she probably had her arms crossed and demonstratively placed herself in the doorway to your room.

"I am Athena Grant, I am working as a field sergeant at the Los Angeles Police Department. She is my partner and I want to see her." stated the policewoman hard, raised her eyebrows defiantly and thus interrupted the doctor´s sentence.

This, who was hardly older than 40, sighed hard and watched her opposite with a look. She was almost intimidated by the self-confidence that oozed out of Athena and she nodded with defeat. "If so, I will let you in. But I cannot promise you she will be awake. She is badly injured."

She hastily pushed herself past her and entered the room with caution. The door creaked shut, despite the effort to close it quietly and she cursed herself under her breath.

"Y/n.." the black haired walked over to your bed and carefully grasped the hand that was resting on the side of your body. You slowly opened your eyes and blinked several times. Your gaze was blurred and limited, but you recognized the special way her fingers danced on the back of your hand immediately. "…thena."

She swallowed hard at the sight of you. Your left eye was completely swollen shut and blue, your lip was split and a scratch ran down your cheekbone to the center of your jaw. Your arms were covered with bruises that shone in all colors on your skin- fresh as well as already healing ones and your torso, which was fixated with tape, indicated that you had at least one rib broken. "What the hell happened? Who was that?"

You kept staring at her, your mouth opening and closing. You knew there was no point in lying, she was way too good at her job for that. You carefully lifted your head a little to look into her eyes. A few moments passed before your facial expressions changed an tears welled up in your eyes.

"My girlfriend.." you stammered, but the lump in your throat choked off any voice. "She did that."

Athena´s jaw dropped and she looked at you in shook and disbelief. "How long?"

You sighed softly and closed your heavy and tired eyes; the images from all the times your girlfriend had hurt you coming up again and finally letting the tears flow. "A few months."

"Sweetheart.." she held your hand even tighter, stroked the back of your hand soothingly and sat down on the free space at your waist. "I will make sure you are safe from now on. I will help you get away from this woman and I will protect you at all cost with my whole life. You are not alone anymore."

Alone. That was the cue. You had felt alone, lonely and cold but it felt good and right to be able to tell the truth to your best friend. You trusted her with your life.

After days of being tied to the bed and feeling like you were in prison, you were finally released with a clear conscience and Athena took you home. But not back to your apartment, no. It was her house you found yourself after you felt asleep in the car, where you should stay for a while as long as she wasn't sure that the person who did this to you would be charged and stand trial.

Even when you asked her to change the locks on your doors and be allowed back into your own apartment because you didn´t feel comfortable sleeping at hers when she had a family to care of her own, she strongly said no and you felt defeated.

There was no point in arguing with her. The woman remained stubborn.

---

Michael had suspected it, always known it but never wanted to believe his own thoughts.

The tall man sat uneasily at the kitchen counter, tipping down a much too generously poured glass of scotch, that he desperately needed now, while staring at his wife, which was leaning on the stove in front of him and biting her lip anxiously.

He knew the alcohol didn´t solve his current emotional state and situation, but it did help him get over the news.

"Michael, I really love her and I have realized that now." The bald man gave a short snort, shook his head and took a long gulp of the burning alcohol. Just thinking about his wife having a crush on her partner and letting her throw away 14 years of marriage hurt him so much that his soul could not get enough of that tanned, hard liquor in his hands.

He had always expected it, repetitive when Athena became a completely different and brighter person with you, when she always stood next to you at parties and celebration and gave you the same look she had given him years ago when she still was in love with him.

There had been indications of this so often and he had disregarded and suppressed them every time. "When I saw her in the hospital, my heart broke into a thousand pieces and I realized my love for her. I did not want to admit it to myself, tried to suppress the feelings but I cannot do it anymore."

Michael wasn´t angry. Rather he was delighted to see the person he valued the most in life happy. Even if it wasn´t with him.

"When are you going to tell her? You can´t dance around each other for life." he asked and his gaze turned once more to his wife. She looked at him questioningly as if she didn´t know what he meant by his previous said sentence. "Around each other? What do you mean?"

"Tell me, are you blind? The feelings are not one-sided. She has feelings for you too and has been for quite a while."

A short but deep silence settled between the two. Athena closed her eyes and shook her head, unsure of the truth of his observation.

"He is right." It was not a second before her head snapped in the direction of your words, startled, and she bit the inner of her cheek as she realized what the two of them had revealed through their conversation. "How much did you hear?"

"I am standing here long enough to confirm that your feelings are not the only ones." The black haired woman, who had recently confessed her love to you unnoticed, looked at you with big dull eyes.

"We have known each other for so long and I still remember exactly how we met back then. You were and still are perfection in my eyes and it might sound surprising to you because I never showed it to you because I was afraid of destroying your marriage but I have loved you for what seems like forever. I am not sure how to put into words how I fell about you but god damn, I love you so much."

#athena grant x you #athena grant x reader #athena grant #athenagrant #athena x reader #athenagrant x you #athenagrant x reader #911 show #911 #911 on fox #911 fic #911 fox #9 1 1 x reader #9 1 1 fanfiction #9 1 1 imagine #9 1 1 #9 1 1 on fox #9-1-1 #imagine #imagines #fanfic #fanfiction #oneshot #x reader

[lovelyfanatical]

I Get a Sugar Rush Whenever I'm With You - Chapter 10.1

Good evening fellow Drukkari stans, or whatever time it is for you! We've officially made it to the final week of the competition, aka the beginning of the end! And coincidentally, Bake Off is airing a new season! If you've missed any previous installments and need to catch up, you can find them all on my Table of Contents here. Last time, Makkari got Star Baker, and Druig was eliminated. What will he do next? Find out now, in the next mini-chapter of Drukkari in the Great British Bake Off!

Sersi was already seated at a table when Druig arrived. She waved him over with a gentle smile on his face, and Druig plopped himself down on the seat across from her, mumbling his greetings. After exchanging pleasantries and putting in their drink orders, Sersi turned back to him and asked, "So, what's this all about, Druig?"

"I don't know what you mean," he lied, sipping his beer.

"Seriously? I nagged you about getting drinks for a week and you only now ask to meet up?" she asked. Her eyes narrowed as she continued. "Did Makkari send you to check up on me?"

"She did not. But while we're on the subject, how are you feeling about seeing your ex and your current boyfriend at the same party?"

"I actually feel fine. Ikaris and I are on decent terms, but it's none of his business who I'm seeing now. Besides, Dane and I are taking things slow," Sersi said nonchalantly. Druig must've looked surprised at this answer because she added, "Makkari already asked me. She really didn't put you up to this?"

"Nope," was all he said in reply.

Sersi gave him a long look, silently studying his face before she asked in a gentler tone, "Druig, are you and Makkari speaking again?"

"We are," he answered carefully.

"You resolved whatever happened that week?"

"We did."

"So, what's the problem?"

Druig averted his gaze as he thought about his answer. He didn't know why he had to think about it. He'd been thinking about it since Saturday. This was the very reason he'd reached out to Sersi in the first place. He needed to tell someone. Hunter had already put up with him for weeks and was unlikely to be helpful. Phastos had proved a good listener, but he was quite busy with his family during the week, and Druig didn't want to distract him ahead of the final. Of everyone else, he felt Sersi would be the most sympathetic. So, he took a deep breath, looked her in the eye, and let the words spill out.

"I'm in love with her, but I don't think I can ever tell her."

Sersi hadn't looked the slightest bit surprised by the first part of his statement, but her eyebrows rose and drew together in confusion at the second part. "Why ever not?"

With that, the flood gates were open. Druig told her everything that had happened, things he hadn't even told Phastos about. The investigations, the clandestine baking sessions, the accidental bed-sharing. Sersi mostly listened, only asking a few questions as they came up. When he finally finished, he was quite a few drinks in. Sersi had stopped at two drinks, but she was still wearing the same perplexed expression.

"What is it now?" he asked, feeling rather spent.

"I think I'm still missing something. Why can't you tell her how you feel?"

"Because I don't think she feels the same way. Also, she's my best friend, and I can't risk losing her again. The bed incident really did a number on us both."

In an instant, something seemed to click for Sersi. She reached across the table, putting a hand on his shoulder to steady him as she said, "Druig, the bed incident did a number on Makkari because she loves you too."

Now it was Druig's turn to draw his eyebrows together in confusion. "I don't think so."

"She absolutely does. And from what I can tell, I'm pretty sure everyone else knows by now."

"No, they all know that I'm in love with Makkari. Not the other way 'round."

"How do you know?"

"Because they all tell me whenever she's not there to join the conversation! Thena kind of told me to ask her out, then Ajak told me not to, Sprite just called us gross-"

"Sprite insults everyone. I think it's her way of being friendly."

"I wasn't finished. Phastos did think we were dating already, but when I explained it to him, he said I should respect her wishes but also talk to her-"

"And what do most of these interactions have in common?"

"I'm not sober or drunk enough for this much critical thinking, Sersi."

"C'mon, I know Makkari's not the only detective. Use your deductive reasoning, Watson!"

Druig sighed dramatically, but used what brain power he had left to replay those moments back in his head. His face relaxed as an idea began to form. After what felt like a lengthy silence, he gave his answer. "As time went on, the others pre-supposed that we were a couple?"

"Which means…"

"They think Makkari has feelings for me, too."

"There you go!" Sersi said excitedly. "Myself included, by the way."

"Wait, is that why you kept hounding us about drinks?"

A sheepish look came over Sersi's face as she admitted, "I may have had a very silly plan to set a date and time that worked for both of you and then not show up myself."

Druig merely raised an eyebrow at her confession, and Sersi scrunched up her nose in embarrassment.

"I know, it's completely childish, but I don't usually play matchmaker with my friends, and Makkari seemed to like the idea, so…"

All of a sudden, realization hit Druig like a bolt of lightning. "That was the surprise Makkari was talking about. Why you didn't want Kingo to join us."

Sersi was smiling proudly now. Druig felt an involuntary grin spreading across his face as well.

"Makkari does love me."

"Glad you finally got there," Sersi replied gleefully. "But if she asks, I didn't tell you. You figured it out on your own. Got it?"

"Got it."

"So, what will you do with that information?"

"Oh, I'll do something. But not until after the competition. I don't want to distract her from that," he explained.

"Very considerate. Let me know if I can help with anything," Sersi offered.

"I will." Druig held up his drink. "To Sunday?"

"To Sunday," Sersi answered. They clinked their bottles together and downed the rest.

-

Big sister Sersi is my favorite Sersi, tbh 😊

Part 35

#lovelyfanatical shares #drukkari gbbo au #drukkari #druig x makkari #eternals #eternals fanfiction #sersi: fine i'll do it myself

[attorneys-against-court-violence]

Listen. I get it. Edgeworth sucks at people and was reading hard law books before he even hit double-digits. He cried profusely when he couldn't fold a paper crane properly. He gets by better in court - a scripted environment with clear rules - than in casual conversation. Steel Samurai. I GET it.

But Athena doesn't just have a lot of relatable traits for autistic fans. Her implied autisms are CRUCIAL to her story! Her miscommunications with her mother, her shocking lack of knowledge of how people physically work, her only friends being 2 quiet people and some robots, her rapid rise in academia, her over-tuned hearing being a boon and a curse, her AI communication aid, that baby's toy of a therapy tool that really just looks like the kind of thing you'd use to explain what emotions are to an autistic kid-

Do you get where I'm coming from with this? Yes, they both share the same problem in that their canonical PTSD gets conflated with the 'tisms, but Athena's autism is ESSENTIAL to the story. It's the backbone of her entire character, authour intention be damned.

I gotta back Thena up in any discussion of Ace Attorney and autism because of this. The people need to know that this orange exists and that it is important for her to exist in this specific way.

No I'm not fixated stop calling me out-

#thena thoughts #you know this just kinda spilled out of me #and i don't really want it going unsaid so here it is #bleh

[delphiniumblooms]

eternals ramblings from my rewatch today:

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. ikaris makes an entrance he is accompanied by a huge swell of music, often the eternals theme, to the point where it almost feels like his theme. something to be said here about how he believes himself to be more Eternal than the rest

our first sight of sprite in modern era being her clearly trying to hook up with a guy but the moment he touches her the illusion breaks and she has to go - i cannot believe the pain of living for MILLENNIA in a child’s body she never got to do human things like romance or puberty or whatever

when they first go to earth sersi looks to ajak AND THEN IKARIS for reassurance/permission before going to make contact with the human kid 

watching sprite’s London convo with sersi knowing that she’s in love w ikaris and jealous of sersi hits different. she told sersi to move in with dane. it could be sweet, it could be a ploy to push sersi and ikaris further apart, it could be both bc family relationships are difficult like that and sprite clearly loves sersi even though she’s ‘always envied’ her

sersi TURNED THE GROUND INTO QUICKSAND to fight a deviant this is a big deal to me because i wrote a ton of speculation fic based on the trailers before the movie came out and i had her do exactly the same thing in a fight scene - not to toot my own horn but im impressed at how much i managed to extrapolate correctly just from the teasers

i CAN ACTUALLY TELL WHAT MAKKARI IS SAYING OH MY GOD I COULDN’T TELL THE FIRST TIME BECAUSE I WAS WATCHING A SHITTY PIRATED VERSION THAT DIDN’T SUBTITLE HER SIGNING

makkari’s last line is ‘the truth will set them free’. this is a bible verse. i don’t know if it’s intentional but they’re quoting jesus

sersi is such a jesus character to me. treats sprite and ikaris with love even though they hurt her massively

sprite is one of the most storytellers actually (gilgamesh did all these epic things. one day you and your people will sail around the world and make your own legends!)

how does ikaris know how to woo. did he watch the humans and learn from them? 

related: i think it’s super cute how he just. makes his regard for sersi clear by following her around everywhere like a puppy

thenamesh are just clintasha 2.0 (though to be fair it is fanon clintasha. but the him trying to stop her from attacking everyone and loving and protecting her even though she’s clearly unstable? screams clintasha)

i was so touched by sprite helping thena break out of the flashback by showing her illusions of her past like it works SO well

they should all have just stayed together. kingo was right. they should all have stayed together. they hurt each other but they also know how to help each other

touched by kingo’s loyalty to ikaris. man respected and loved his leader so much

also ‘i like watching him too’??? kingo darling sprite’s not the only one in love w ikaris

why is everyone in love with ikaris really if he betrayed them in the end

‘are you going to charm me or threaten me’? that’s probably why. he’s a leader. he’s the strongest one. he knows how to be charismatic and how to be firm, keep the peace, et cetera. half of them love him and the other half are wary of, even maybe jealous of him

it’s really interesting to me how druig listens to and respects sersi even though he hates ikaris’ guts. he obviously doesn’t see them as a unit. 

in fact everyone’s feelings towards each other are really intriguing i should chart a family tree but instead of ‘birthed’ and ‘married’ lines its ‘loves’ ‘hates’ ‘envies’ etc

the way sersi whisper shouts at ikaris and tries to pull him away they were both staring at jack and phastos but she knows it’s rude he doesn’t he’s just staring openly until she reminds him 

the way he SNATCHES THE BOOK FROM HER

phastos’ husband speaking arabic to him. karun speaking in hindi to the eternals. whenever anyone speaks in babylonian. i love the usage of foreign languages in english media and eternals does it so much and so well

the way makkari smiles at everyone and signs ‘ready to go home?’ when they come back to the domo hit me like a TON of BRICKS. she was the last one to find out. goddamn. i can’t imagine the existential crises they were all collectively going through no WONDER tempers were high no WONDER they fought

related: i’m sure they said a lot of things they didn’t mean especially phastos. ‘i’ve always wanted to clip your wings, ikaris’ doesn’t mean he actively hated ikaris the entire time. it’s just like you know when you find out someone did something shitty and your reflex response is to go ‘i ALWAYS KNEW YOU WERE THAT KIND OF PERSON! YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THIS KIND OF PERSON!’ because memory bias you remember the shitty things more than the good things. same with ‘you did always underestimate [sersi]’. did ikaris really?? or did he live and fight with and watch and love her for five thousand years and conclude, like the rest of the others, like sersi herself, that sersi’s powers only go so far? her powers didn’t begin changing until she was selected as prime eternal. if ikaris underestimated sersi so did everyone including sersi herself.

my take on why ikaris did what he did - he wanted to believe that his previous actions were justified/had a purpose. he lied to everyone, he left his wife, he told no one the truth for years because ajak had him convinced that his life’s purpose was to serve the mission. and then ajak calls off the mission at the last moment. he didn’t want to believe that he had hurt other people, had hurt himself, for no reason. he couldn’t accept that his suffering was for nothing. he had to go through with the emergence because otherwise none of it mattered. and he couldn’t deal with that. ikaris i can tell isn’t good at dealing with the fact that he makes mistakes. he told sersi he was sorry and then flew headfirst into the sun. he smacks of eldest child syndrome AND gifted kid depression. 

ok for real this is the last bullet point. the writing was questionable. the editing was bad. the characters weren’t given enough establishing time - it was a bad idea to do such a huge story in movie format (it should have been a tv show). that said the actors put their whole actussy into this and you can tell chloe zhao tried her utmost best. it’s not a great movie but i still love it because i love this huge unconventional, complex family 

#eternals #eternals 2021 #eternal spoilers #ikaris #sersi #thena #druig #ajak #sprite #makkari #gilgamesh #kingo #phastos

[mommy-medusa]

All of a sudden, the grove lit up in a flash of golden light. Apollo was standing there, a look of panic on his face.

“You’re needed on Olympos,” he said to Artemis, his expression grave. “It’s Athena.”

No other words were spoken as the twins both vanished from the grove, leaving Teddi and the other huntresses behind in confusion.

It wasn’t until much later that they returned, when the sun had already left the sky. The huntresses were already tucked up in their burrows, and the grove was near silent.

“I swear, at this point, he’s doing this just to spite her,” Artemis said, her voice the growl of a bear in the dead of night.

Smiling ruefully at her side, Apollo said, “No, yeah, that is exactly what he’s doing. A few months back, she finally came outside again, and he loudly made some snide comment that had her turning around and marching right back inside before she even left her courtyard.” He took a moment to try and smooth out his chiton, which was torn up around the edges and looked slightly singed. Artemis’ clothing was the same. Both twins smelled strongly of lightning, too.

When Apollo failed to fix his clothes, he dropped his hands and sighed. “I just can’t believe he brought up Pallas.”

Artemis nodded with a grimace. “And what he said about her maidenhood?” Deep disgust flashed across her features, and Apollo set a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“We should have let her maul him,” Artemis said mournfully.

“Agreed,” Apollo said.

The twins shared a moment of silence before Apollo took a step back. “Well. I better go check on the damage done. See if I can treat ‘Thena’s burns before she goes back into hibernation. And if she’s already in her sadness coma, then I’ll just do it while she’s asleep. If anything, it’s easier that way.”

“Need any help?” Artemis asked.

Apollo shook his head, waving a dismissive hand. “No, I’ve got her. Hera already offered to aid me.”

Artemis’ eyebrows raised in surprise. “Look at you two.”

“I know right? We shall bond over our mutual concern for the owlet.” He smiled softly. “Goodnight, my starry night.”

“Goodnight, my sunny day. If you need me, call upon me again.”

“I will.”

After bumping his forehead with Artemis’, Apollo disappeared in a flash of light.

The moment he was gone, Artemis released a large sigh. She rubbed a tired hand over her face sluggishly.

“You can come out now,” she said. “I know you’re listening.”

Teddi’s head, along with several others, popped out of the hollows in the great tree. Artemis turned to all of them, smiling slightly.

“I can’t possibly blame any of you,” she said. “Is there anything more interesting than the divine drama of the gods? I’m afraid that’s all for tonight, though.”

The audience mostly dispersed, but Teddi climbed down from her hollow to confront Artemis.

“You were talking of Athena?” she asked.

“Indeed,” Artemis answered.

“Is she…alright?”

To that, Artemis hesitated. Then, she beckoned Teddi to follow her away from the prying ears of the huntresses, and Teddi did. Chrysaor flapped after them, while Pegasus remained soundly asleep.

“I don’t know how to answer that, but my best guess is no, she is not alright,” Artemis finally said. “She has not been close to ‘alright’ in quite some time. I haven’t seen her this distraught since Pallas died.”

“Pallas?” Teddi tilted her head.

“Oh, you don’t know? Then again, I’m not surprised that it’s been buried in obscurity. It’s a rather tragic tale,” Artemis said. “Pallas was the daughter of Triton, who was the son of Poseidon, and was Athena’s greatest and closest friend. Those two were like Apollo and I—they practically kin. The Athena with Pallas was much different than the Athena we have now. She was less stressed, less stoic, less—and I mean this in the nicest way possible—uptight. But she was also still very young, even when she was born fully grown. By all accounts, she was a child—or as close to a child she could be considering, again, she was born a fully grown adult. She was an owlet, if you will, as Apollo and I affectionately refer to her as.” She paused for just a moment. “Ah. Do not— do not call her that to her face. She will probably smite you. But Pallas was her childhood friend.” She then laughed as she seemed to recall something. “She couldn’t walk when she was first born.”

“What?” Teddi said.

“You didn’t hear this from me,” Artemis said, “But after springing out from Zeus’ head, donned in full war gear and wielding a spear, she took a long look at all the gods gathered around her, very regal and mature, took one step forward, and WHOMP, fell flat on her face.”

Teddi couldn’t contain her giggles. “Really?”

Laughing, too, Artemis said, “Really! Just picture a baby horse trying to walk for the first time- that was Athena for at least an hour after she was born. Apparently, the heads of baby owls are too heavy for them to hold up, so, naturally, Ares, Apollo, and I kept making jokes about that. All that wisdom was just too heavy for Athena.” She tapped her temple with a chuckle.

“Wait,” Teddi said. “You were around when Athena was born?”

Artemis gave her a confused look. “Yes?”

“Oh,” Teddi said. “I always assumed that—”

“She was the oldest?” Artemis finished, and Teddi nodded. She chuckled again. “I don’t blame you for thinking that. She certainly asserts herself like she is the eldest of our kin. But no, she isn’t. The little owl is actually the third youngest out of the main lot of us, if you will believe it. She’s only older than Hermes and Dionysus. You have no idea how many ‘I cannot believe you are all older than me’ comments I have had to endure from her.” She then waved a hand. “But I’m getting off topic! Back to the matter at hand, Pallas was Athena’s greatest friend, and the two of them were trained in combat by Triton. They were raised beside each other, as close as sisters. And then, without warning, tragedy struck. Pallas was killed at Athena’s hand in an accident during an athletics festival. Stabbed through the stomach with a spear. Athena remained on this beach for several days until Hestia and Demeter, our aunts, came to retrieve her, and they found the same spear impaled through her stomach, like she had tried to make away with herself. When she was brought back to Olympos by the two of them, her gut gouged open and spilling ichor everywhere, Zeus just— he just sneered at her. As though he was more concerned with the pavilion getting dirty from her gore rather than his own daughter being badly injured. And he said, where everyone could hear, that she was acting like a child. He humiliated her. And I suppose Athena took his words to heart because, after she had recovered, she was different. Steely, jaded, calm. Whatever playfulness she had was now locked up somewhere inside of her. And Zeus was so pleased. He now had the perfect dog to lick all over his boots. I’m sure you’ve heard that Athena is his favorite out of all his kids?” When Teddi nodded, Artemis went on, “I do not envy Athena’s status. I would rather live in the shadows than stand in the light if it’s Zeus who casts such a glow. And yet, somehow, with Zeus’ spotlight constantly shining down on her, she’s become a shadow herself. She is constantly thinking, planning, scheming. All of us are, in some way, but she is the only one who acts on it. She is the only one who is constantly at work. She is the only one who takes the consequences. She barely ever stops to rest, and there are times where I don’t see her for an entire year because she’s rushing around all of Greece, aiding mortals in any way she can. And that’s—” She sighed, rubbing her forehead with two fingers, and Teddi could tell this was something she had discussed several times before. “That’s fine. Really, it is. If she finds joy in helping mortals, then who am I to tell her that it’s wrong? The thing is, I don’t think it brings her joy. Not exactly. Maybe it does, sometimes, but I feel like it’s just a way to make ends meet. A way to distract herself. Or maybe it’s just her feeling the constant pressure put upon her by Zeus, so she’s desperately scrambling to try and claw her way up to his unreasonably high expectations for her. She hardly trusts anyone at all, doesn’t talk about her problems, doesn’t even have her mother to turn to because Zeus ate her! Medusa was the first time since Pallas that Athena well and truly settled down enough to make a relationship with someone, and that was taken from her. She’s alone, and that is not a good place to be when you’re immortal and live forever.”

“Because of how lonely it can get?” Teddi said.

“Precisely,” Artemis confirmed. “The novelty wears off after a few decades—and that’s usually before you even reach the centuries. Why do you think I make it to where my huntresses don’t age or can’t die from natural causes? It’s a vain attempt to keep other people around. Because, after they die, there’s a good chance that I will never see them again. And when I saw what Pallas’ death did to Athena, I was afraid of going through the same grief. Unfortunately, not even my divine protections can stop whatever the Fates have in store for my pack. If they are meant to die, then there is nothing I can do about it.”

Chrysaor lifted his snout to nuzzle his nose against one of Artemis’ hands, and Artemis smiled softly, giving him a pat on the head.

“But at least I have them,” Artemis went on. “Athena… Athena doesn’t really have anyone. However…” She crossed her arms firmly over her chest. “I suspect this goes deeper than even Medusa and Pallas.”

“What do you mean?” Teddi questioned, tilting her head.

“Athena has always been walking over hot coals,” Artemis said. “As the years went by, she became more and more frustrated with everything, but especially Zeus. Never had the courage to actually make a stand against him. Until the day Medusa died, of course. I wasn’t present for the battle, but Apollo told me it was terribly destructive. Lightning, fire, ichor spraying everywhere. And after it was over, she went into this ‘dormant mode.’ I think she finally realized the futility of it all. She had spent so long bowing beneath a man who could care less about her, and everyone she has loved has died brutally, so she just…stopped. Now, she just exists in this state of nothingness. And she’s so scared, I think.” She shook her head. “We gods are not good people, Teddi. That much you must understand about us. None of us are good.” She paused. “Well— slight addendum to that, Hestia is good. I don’t think she’s ever done anything bad in her entire life. But aside from her, none of us are good. Our morality is entirely ambiguous and constantly fluctuating, and we only act civil because we choose to, not because we have to. I’m not going to act like I’m innocent. I’ve done terrible things that I am not proud of, and there are even more terrible things that I am proud of. But Athena… Athena, at the very least, tries. She tries to be good. If there is anyone who does not deserve this cruel hand that has been dealt, it is most certainly her. I just hope that, one day, she will learn to forgive herself.”

#slipping more and more snippets for y’all to chew on ;) #greek myth #greek mythology #greek myth retellings #greek gods #gods and goddesses #ancient greek mythology #ancient greek #medusa’s child #athena #artemis #apollo #theodora the vengeful #theodora #book snippet

[eternalowl]

Eternals incorrect quotes part four: Thenamesh Edition because I love these two

Gilgamesh: What would you do if you were being robbed?

Thena, without hesitation: Blast them into the atmosphere.

Gilgamesh: Wow, great work on the Halloween decorations. Where did you get the fake skeletons?

Thena: …

Thena: …Fake…?

Thena: How are you going to carve that gigantic pumpkin?

Gilgamesh: The same way I make onion rings.

Gilgamesh: *Grabs a chainsaw*

Thena: …

Thena: I can’t argue with that. You make amazing onion rings.

Thena: YOU MEAN A LOT TO ME!

Gilgamesh: Wha-

Thena: YOU'RE ESSENTIAL TO MY EXISTENCE!

Gilgamesh: Why are you screaming?!

Thena: I HAVE DIFFICULTY EXPRESSING MYSELF, IT HELPS TO SAY SENTIMENTAL THINGS IN AN AGGRESSIVE TONE!

Gilgamesh:

Thena: I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Thena: Hey, Gil, can you do the thing?

Gilgamesh: What thing?

Thena: The thing that makes me happy.

Gilgamesh: Oh. *Smiles*

Thena: Thank you.

Gilgamesh: *Mindlessly flirting with Thena*

Thena: *Actually flirts back*

Gilgamesh:

Thena:

Thena: You're not going to say anything?

Gilgamesh, panicking: I don't know. I didn't think I'd get this far.

Thena: I don't need to go to bed. I'm not tired, I'll be fine.

Gilgamesh: But, darling, I'll be so lonely without you. Come curl up in my arms so I can feel whole again.

Thena: O-oh. Well. Are you trying to seduce me into healthy sleeping patterns??

Gilgamesh: Is it working?

Thena, pointing: May I sit there?

Gilgamesh: But that’s… my lap?

Thena: That doesn’t answer my question.

Gilgamesh: *Yawns*

Thena: I guess being pretty is tiring.

Gilgamesh: You must be exhausted, then.

Thena: *Gets overwhelmed*

Gilgamesh: Is something burning?

Thena: Just my love for you.

Gilgamesh: Thena, the toaster is oN FIRE-

Gilgamesh: Why does everyone assume we’re a couple?

Thena: *Sitting on Gilgamesh’s lap, playing with his hair*

Thena: Beats me.

Thena: Come to dinner tonight. I can’t cook, but I’ll brink plenty of free wine.

Gilgamesh: Marry me.

Gilgamesh: Are you trying to seduce me?

Thena: Why, are you seducible?

Thena, to the Eternals: Alright, listen up you little shits.

Thena: Not you Gil. You’re an angel and we’re thrilled you’re here.

Gilgamesh: Wait a minute, how did this happen? We're smarter than this!

Thena: Apparently, we're not.

Gilgamesh: What is the one thing I told you not to do?

Thena: Burn the house down.

Gilgamesh: And what did you do?

Thena: I made dinner.

Gilgamesh:

Thena:

Gilgamesh:

Thena: And burnt the house down.

Thena: Gilgamesh taught me to think before I act.

Thena: ...So if I smack the shit out of you, rest assured that I thought about it and am confident in my decision.

Thena: I wasn’t that drunk.

Gilgamesh: You colored my face with a highlighter because you said I was important.

Thena: BECAUSE YOU ARE!

Gilgamesh: Everything’s fine, Thena.

Thena: Gil, I know your relationship with the English language is strictly casual but you- I- *deeply inhales* ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU WHAT’S NOT FINE-

Gilgamesh, to Thena: How do you tell someone politely you want to hit them with a brick?

Thena: One wishes to acquaint your facial features with a fundamental item in building walls.

Thena: Repeatedly.

Gilgamesh, tearing up: That was beautiful.

Gilgamesh: Are you mad?

Thena: No.

Gilgamesh: So sharpening your knives at 3 in the morning is just a hobby?

Gilgamesh: Nobody can be THAT bad at cooking.

Thena, walking into the room: So um…

Thena: I stabbed a knife with a toaster…

Gilgamesh: That’s not physically possible…

Thena: Who hurt you?

Gilgamesh: *Snorting* What, do you want a list?

Thena: ...Yes, actually.

Thena: My assistance will be an act of beneviolence.

Gilgamesh: ...Don’t you mean benevolence?

Thena: No.

Gilgamesh: When's the last time you slept?

Thena: Uh... a few days ago, I think.

Gilgamesh: A few- how many?!

Thena: Uh... *Starts counting on fingers* I need more fingers...

Gilgamesh: What you need is sleep!

Thena: Sleep is the body’s best safety mechanism.

Gilgamesh: How so?

Thena: It keeps you from fucking up for 8 hours.

*At a zoo*

Thena: What are they in for?

Gilgamesh: Thena, this isn't prison.

Thena: So they can leave?

Gilgamesh: No, but-

Thena, pointing at a meerkat: I bet that one murdered someone.

Gilgamesh: Why aren’t you asleep yet?

Thena: I’m too busy plotting a murder to sleep.

Gilgamesh: …

Thena: …The nightmares…

Gilgamesh, wrapping his arms around her: Awww, sweetheart-

Gilgamesh: I made tea.

Thena: I don't want tea.

Gilgamesh: I didn't make you tea. This is my tea.

Thena: Then why did you tell me?

Gilgamesh: It's a conversation starter.

Thena, laughing: It's a horrible conversation starter.

Gilgamesh: Oh, is it? We're conversing. Checkmate.

Gilgamesh: That’s the key slice of truth we need to complete the entire truth pie.

Thena: Ooh, can we get some actual pie?

Gilgamesh: I like the way you think.

Gilgamesh: Hey Thena, I’ve got an idea for how to solve this.

Thena, materializing a spear: Yeah?

Gilgamesh: Wh- No! That’s not the idea, Thena!

Gilgamesh: I made this necklace for you.

Thena: Thanks, but you know I’m not really a jewelry person.

Gilgamesh: You don’t need to wear it…

Thena: No. I’m going to wear it forever. Back off.

Kidnapper: We have your wife.

Gilgamesh: Why are you informing me of your death?

Kidnapper: …

Gilgamesh: You fell into her trap.

Gilgamesh: Thena… You’ve been cuddling me for over an hour now…

Thena: *muffled* Mm hmm :D

Gilgamesh: …

Gilgamesh: Fuck, I should be annoyed but you can’t annoy me.

Thena: Valentine’s day is just a consumerist holiday that holds no real value other than drive people insane buying heart shaped chocolates for their significant others and pos-

Gilgamesh: I wrote you a poem.

Thena, already crying: You did?

#eternals #eternals incorrect quotes #thenamesh incorrect quotes #thenamesh #eternals thena #eternals gilgamesh #a bunch of Thenamesh for the soul

[softquietsteadylove]

What if the roles are reversed? Thena being the kind and gentle one and Gil being the introvert and quiet one?

He catches her in the corner of his eye, a room away, talking with Kingo and Sersi. She does well with the humans, with her soft voice and gentle touch. They're talking with some as they celebrate the victories of today. She smiles at him.

He catches himself smiling back before he takes his leave. He's not one for the revelry of things. He much prefers taking up his post on the high walls of Babylon temple, scouting for Deviants, being the Strongest Eternal in every sense of the word.

Thena is meant to be beloved.

She glows, in a way. She is both a paragon of their team of Fighters as well as one of the most adapted to life on this planet. The humans think of her like an angel, or a goddess. He understands how they would come to think that of her.

They're more...frightened of him.

Thena swears they aren't--that all they need do is get to know him. See the gentle nature he has with her. But she doesn't seem to realise that she is the oddity. She is this completely new and unique thing unlike any other in his world.

She is his whole world.

"Here."

He smiles as she sets down a full mug of wine in front of him. She's always doing little things like that for him. He looks at her, "and you?"

"Hm, I'm not one for it, you know that," she shrugs, her voice even softer than usual with him. It assures him that the soft spot she has in his heart matches the one he occupies in hers. "But it was quite a fight today. You should let yourself relax."

"Revel, you mean?" he chuckles, but does take a sip of the human fermented wine. It's not nearly strong enough for the makeup of their cells, but he supposes it's not unpleasant.

"Fine, indulge in some revelry," she laughs under her breath, and it's a beautiful sound. "For me?"

He would rip the planet in two for her. "Fine."

She grins at her victory, her smile showing off her pearly teeth. Everything about her is pearly. "Were you listening to Sprite's story?"

Thena looks at him though with crystal green eyes like the seas across the entirety of the planet. She slips her hand under his, "you don't scare me."

He shrugs, leaning more easily on the railing of the mezzanine. "It's a nice story--don't think it's gonna change anyone's mind about me being the scary one."

She scares him, though. The rhythm of his heart shifting to match hers scares him. He smiles, "nothing scares you."

"That is true."

He chuckles this time, just a little, and she looks like she's taken on a hundred Deviants and come out with victory. She's funny, and yet she acts like making him laugh is the highlight of her day.

He takes another sip of wine so he doesn't start telling her that she's the highlight of all his days, too. "Shouldn't you be down there?--revelling?"

She looks at him as if the answer is quite obvious, and maybe it is. "Why would I want to be down there if you're up here?"

He stares down at the crowd, at Sersi dancing with the humans and Ikaris clumsily trying to join in just so he can have a chance for his hand to brush the Elemental Eternal's in passing. There are plenty of things he doesn't like about his brother, but this part--this, he understands.

"Hm?" Thena prompts him again, bringing herself even closer to him. She's tall, and lithe, even against his intimidating frame, although he's quite sure she weighs the same as a human child. But she never hesitates to put herself close to him. She almost seems to enjoy it.

"You win," he concedes, because she loves winning. She gets this little look on her face, and he wonders if he should participate in more of Kingo's antics or Ikaris' little contests just to see more of that look.

"As much as I do relish victory of any sort," she indulges with a grin. She looks at him, and it softens like the sun melting into the horizon. "I would rather be here with you."

By all the stars in the sky, his heart beats for this woman. Not that he has the poetry to express that, so instead he puts his hand on her back, and she lets him. His lips pull up slightly, "then I'm honored to have the Goddess of War choose my company."

She gifts him with another laugh at his little joke before leaning into him again. She's not afraid of affection--not like he is, fearful of hugging someone too hard and breaking their bones. She allows Kingo to pat her shoulder, hugs Sersi and Makkari and Sprite, even Ajak from time to time. She and Ikaris jostle each other in good faith (most of the time).

But with him, she leans in, rests her head against his shoulder, as if he is a safe haven for her in which to find rest. And he may not understand it, but if that's what she needs from him, then he will be that for the rest of his days.

He holds her delicately, but the fear of his strength leaves him. Because every breath they take together is a push and pull, perfectly balanced. He doesn't have to be afraid with her. For all his rough, unbending edges, she has fluidity and grace. She doesn't mind his withdrawn nature or quietness or intimidating stare.

"Gil?"

"Hm?" he responds, because he loves it when she calls him Gil. No one else does. To anyone else, he's not a nickname person. But she can call him anything she wants.

"We have watch," she reminds him gently, moving away but keeping his hand in hers as she starts drifting outside the party room and towards the walls. "Shall we?"

He will follow her anywhere, across this whole planet if need be. But instead of saying that, he squeezes her hand and says, "after you."

#Thenamesh AU #lowkey obsessed with this idea #very grumpyxsunshine #I wanted them to still feel like Gil and Thena #Gil gets Thena's long contemplative paragraphs #thoughtful and in his own head about everything #Thena's not necessarily the life of the party or anything #but she's good with kids gets along with humans #everyone is like #how are you such good friends with the most frightening man I've ever seen? #and Thena's like oh no he's a big squishy teddy bear #while Gil is pulling the head off a Deviant's body #Thena was like ah yes my cutie patootie partner in murder #Gil is out here writing sonnets in his head #but then in the group chat he leaves everyone on read #everyone but Thena of course #Thenamesh Reverse AU

[naoa-ao3]

All I Ever Wanted

Gil has spent the last few hundred years caring for Thena and although he cherishes her he hasn't been anywhere in a very long time. They have their home away from everyone else in self imposed exile and he loves it with her but he's seen the world and just once in a while he misses it.

He orders some travel brochures just for fun and Thena finds them while he's looking at them.

She takes one before he can hide them and flips through it. "You should go." She say's and he feels guilty for even thinking about it.

"But what about you?"

She shrugs. "I'm sure we can find a way."

But Gil never actually thought to take it seriously, sure it would have been nice but his place is here with Thena and he wouldn't dream of leaving her on her own.

Still, when he looks down at the colorful brochure for Fiji he feel just a little longing.

Thena follows his eyes and while she can be hard to read at times he knows she's thinking hard. "I'll think on it." She say's.

He laughs a little awkwardly. "Ah, it's alright." He say's. "I don't need to go anywhere."

He has missed seeing the world, just a little but he doesn't want to leave her. His life here with Thena has become the normal and they need each other.

It's Thena however a week later who comes up with the idea.

They're sitting, trying a new take on an old brew he's been tweaking and listening to the radio which comes in with only a little static all the way out here. If he asked, Phastos probably could have fixed it.

"Druig." Thena say's at random.

He looks up. "What?"

"I know how you can take your vacation." She say's and she sounds pleased with herself.

Gil is a little uncomfortable, he feels guilty thinking of leaving her. "Druig?" He repeats.

She nods, seemingly pleased with herself. "He can put me to sleep, just for while you're gone but he can."

It sounds cruel but then maybe it isn't, she looks distinctly pleased with her own idea.

"Are you sure?" He asks, not wanting to try it if she isn't.

She nods and sits back comfortably. "You deserve a vacation." She say's, picking up the brochure in all of it's color and promise again. "Go." She holds it up for him to see the bright fish and reefs on the front. "Go and swim."

He sighs, relenting. "Okay, I'll try to get ahold of him." He say's, thinking that maybe Druig will refuse to come all the way to their little part of the world and then maybe the whole thing will be out of his hands all together.

Thena beams and seems genuinely pleased. She even opens the brochure and looks at some of the details inside.

"Will you be okay if I do this?" He asks.

She nods. "I could use a rest." She say's, closing her eyes for a second before opening and smiling secretively. "My own vacation." She say's.

He nods and knows that for all of their years in isolation together he will never understand her mind truly. Mahd Wy'ry has taken it's toll and she was never an open book before it. Thena. . . whom he loves. . . Thena whom he would do anything for.

This is her gift to him in a way so he does reach out to Druig, part of him hoping he'll say no and part of him very much hoping he'll say yes.

Getting a hold of Druig was not so easy. The eternal didn't exactly have a phone number to call but just the same he had some idea where the other was and after some well posted letters finally dis hear back.

Druig had agreed and after reading the letter several times Gil felt a small sense of excitement. It would be nice to go out, nice to see something different for a change and it would be nice to come back too.

Thena was happy when he told her.

"You do enough." She say's. "You deserve this."

He doesn't know about all of that but Druig say's he'll come and so he thinks instead of packing and what to take.

Thena is happy for him and seems pleased to know Druig is coming. She tells him to take pictures while he's on vacation and points out things in the travel brochures she thinks he should visit.

Gil packs and eventually Druig does arrive, he takes a plane and Gil doesn't ask where from but he seems in his own, quaint way happy to see them.

Gil makes a good dinner for the three of them and Thena laughs louds, clearly in a good mood. It's nice and he can remember the days before when all of their family had been together, Kino and Sprite, Ajak and Sersi. . . . Ikaris and Phastos. . . Makkari. . . days spent laughing and fighting together.

So man good times.

It's just the three of them and Druig can be a little moody but he's less so when it's just three and Thena is bright and happy and throwing back drinks like they actually have alcohol in them.

He smiles and for two days they take a little vacation together like this, just as a family.

He shows Druig around and the other is vague about his own past times, whatever he's been doing for the past few hundred years he keeps to himself but it's nice just the same.

The day comes however and Thena tells him she's at peace with it.

"I wouldn't mind a rest." She say's, smiling beautifully.

He holds her hand and and Druig lowers his gaze respectfully before she lays back on her bed and folds her hands over her stomach peacefully.

Druig's eyes turn gold and Thena's close and then after a moment his eyes are normal again and she's breathing deeply and gently.

"You'll stay here until I get back?" Gil asks, a little anxiously.

Druig nods. "I can." He looks around. "I suppose I'll make myself at home then."

Gil waves a hand invitingly but his eyes stay on Thena and her peaceful expression. "Take care of her." He whispers.

"She'll come to no harm while you're gone."

He thanks him and kisses Thena's brow before leaving her in Druig's care and drives off to catch a plane himself.

He knows Druig would never let anything happen to her, he's always been the most independent of them all but he trusts him and in reality he knows nothing can really go wrong like this. Thena is getting her vacation too and he hopes she has peaceful dreams. She doesn't always.

Fiji is beautiful and he get's his feet wet, see's clear waters and drinks fruity cocktails each bar claims is a specialty.

It's fun.

he might have enjoyed a little company but just the same there's no one to argue over what to do next with and he enjoys himself.

He swims and pays for a snorkeling trip, enjoying that too and he takes pictures for Thena to see when he get's back.

He thinks at one point of calling home to see how things are going but a part of him say's that's too much worrying and so he descides to trust Druig and let him take care of things.

He has a good time, he buys some souvenirs and eats good food, lounges on the beach for a few days and talks walks in the sand. He even makes friends with a Japanese couple on vacation for a night before they head off to see the next thing on their list and he goes another way.

The humans move quickly on their vacations, they have a limited time to see everything and most of them will never see more than a fraction of the world. Still, he hasn't been away from home in years and in some ways he feels similar to them but he's already seen more than they ever will and in the end he accepts that and just contents himself to relax. That's what vacations are for.

Hammocks and sand between his toes but he catches himself missing Thena, turning to her when she's not there.

That's when it finally feels like just a vacation. He has her to go back to and something to look forward to after the holiday.

He enjoys the warm water and the silly drinks and the beach shacks all the more for it. When he get's home he can tell Thena about it and when at last he heads for the place he's one of a million tourists in the world.

Just anyone.

He get's home and finds Druig has made himself at home and he hasn't been kind about it. He's spread out and there's a plate left out on the table even. Thena is still asleep and he opens the door to find Druid reading with his feet up.

"I'm back!" He calls.

The other Eternal looks up, only mildly put off his reading and shrugs. "I was a day off then." He say's.

"You didn't know I was coming?" He thought he'd been pretty clear.

"LIke I said, a day off."

He shrugs it off and takes his bags in. "Everything go okay here?"

"Absolutely."

He nods and looks around, Druig has gone through his things. He can tell but he let's it go and doesn't try to mind the things he can tell have been moved.

"You found things to keep busy?"

Druig gives him a shrug and rolls his eyes. "Not as much as I'd have liked." He said.

"Ah. .. well as long as Thena was okay."

"SHe was alright, good dreams, I promise."

He looks at Druig and doesn't try to understand the extent of his power. If he can give Thena a good rest then that's good enough.

"We should wake her." He say's.

Druid nods and goes into Thena's room. His eyes are gold again and Gil is fresh form the beaches.

Slowly Thena's eyes open and she sists up, blinking slightly and then yawning.

She looks around and smiles. "Are you back?" She asks.

Gil smiles. "Just got in the door.

She stretches. "I had a good rest." She looks at Druig briefly but if he's had anything to do with it he doesn't say.

"Let me get my things put up and I'll tell you about it." Gil say's, glad she's happy and glad she's had a good rest. She deserves it.

he smiles and puts his things up and Thena get's up like she only ever had a nap.

It's funny but that's how Druig's power can work and he accepts that. She's happy enough with it.

They eat another meal together and then Druid leaves, off to where he came from and whatever secrets he keeps.

Gil is happy to be home and he's happy he took his vacation.

Thena likes her souvenir and and she likes the pictures and in the end the best part is coming home to her.

He loves Thena and he can't imagine a life without her.

He needs a vacation in the end from being without her and being home again is a vacation all of it's own.

#eternals #fanfiction #fanfic #gilgamesh #thena #marvel #fic #druig #ao3 #romance #fluff #family #established relationship #cute #immortality #travel #love #one shot #home #fluff and angst

[nhstadler]

A/N: Another short insight into the enigma that is James Potter to tide you guys over until the new chapter is up. This is after the bathroom incident. Hope you enjoy :)

I T M E A N S N O T H I N G

The flames sputter like they are about to die. It’s late and Gryffindor common room has become considerably more empty since I’ve claimed the space in front of the fireplace, my notes spread around me like some absurd artwork. The exam tomorrow is going to be savage and I’m nowhere near understanding any of this.

Woodley probably thinks I’m an idiot. 

She explained Hephadore’s Theorem to me. More than once. I distinctly remember it: How she bit her bottom lip when I showed her my shitty class notes riddled with mistakes and mediocre doodles of broomsticks. There was also some nose-wrinkling and a few exasperated looks that I fully deserved, but the rest is a bit fuzzy. 

The image of her in my Quidditch jersey comes up, unbidden, and I drag a hand down my face, groaning into my palm. It’s happened before and I don’t know how to stop it; how to get her out of my thoughts.

It’s nothing, of course. It means nothing. I find her attractive - I can admit that - but that’s it. 

“James?” 

“What?” My voice comes out harsher than I meant it to. I know it as I look up at Athena and the smile on her face falters like a wilting flower. 

“I just - I thought…” She trails off, playing with the hem of her crop top as she sits down next to me. “My dorm is empty.”

“Great,” I say absently, only half-listening as I bend over Woodley’s book again, studying the diagram that covers two entire pages. There are handwritten annotations next to the printed script and the whole thing finally starts to make a bit more sense. Maybe I can still salvage my Potions grade after all.

“We’d be alone. Or we could go to your room if you -”

“I really have to study.” I cut Athena off before she can say it; before I have to be even more of an arsehole than I already am. The worst part is that I told her - I told her that I don’t feel the same way; that I’m not in love with her. I broke her heart and she still wants me. And I swore to myself that this would be it; that I won’t do this to her. Not like this. 

But it’s so easy to fall back into those familiar patterns; into Athena’s bed. It’s become a habit - those nights that I stumble into her dorm room in the darkness, telling myself that it’s OK. Because it’s easy and convenient and because it feels good for a moment. Because there is safety in using people before they can use you.

She doesn’t deserve that. Nobody does.

“Oh.” She blinks, then tries to smile as she pushes her hand into my hair, her nails scratching along the nape of my neck. It feels like she’s going to bury them into my skin. “But, maybe later -”

“Thena.” I jerk my head away from her so that her hand lingers awkwardly between us for a moment before she drops it into her lap. “I don’t - shit. Last week was a mistake.” The words sound too hard, too cold; like they are meant to wound. But I don’t know how to do this. 

I never knew how to do this. 

I’m not like Dad or Al who wear their hearts on their sleeves - proudly, like flashy targets for the entire world to see. Like there is nothing to be scared of.

“I’m sorry.” I mean it, but it sounds empty - generic, like something you’re supposed to say in a situation like this. 

Athena nods and then gets up from the couch, her hands clenched into fists at her side. “Fuck you, James.” Her voice breaks and her eyes are glassy and there is nothing I can do to make this less awful.

#hntbaw #hpfanfiction #fanfiction #nextgen #jamessiriuspotter #hownottobeawoodley #james pov #aesthetics #aesthetic

[taran-chan]

on a Wednesday, in a cafe (chapter 22)

Read on AO3

tuesday lunchbox: prank lunchbox

Thena, Kingo and Ikaris gawk at her lunchbox. She woke up late this morning so she didn’t see what Gil put in the box. And she’s about to have lunch with Kingo and Ikaris so that they can discuss work. Work is the last thing she cares about at the moment.

“Did he make a mistake or something?” Kingo asks.

“Did you two have a fight?” Ikaris eyes her suspiciously.

“We did not fight,” Thena glares at him.

“Then why does your lunchbox only have white rice and dried seaweed?”

“Hold on,” Kingo cuts him off, “Gil would never do this to Thena, even if they were fighting. He’s not that petty. Thena, try digging up the rice.”

They all hold their breath as Thena separates the rice and seaweed with her spoon.

“There they are,” Ikaris chuckles.

“See?” Kingo smiles, “I said he isn’t that kind of person. He’s probably bored and wanted to pull a prank on you.”

“And yet you look quite relieved,” Ikaris snorts.

“I just thought how bad your hangry would be if he actually forgot to put other side food in there.”

“Overtime works bad,” Thena says.

“That would be our situation today anyway,” Ikaris shakes his head.

“Let’s just eat then,” Kingo shrugs.

Thena sighs. She can’t escape work today but at least she can enjoy a real lunch after thinking that she would have to eat only white rice and dried seaweed. Gil hid a lot of side food under a thick layer of rice, undoubtedly on purpose. They are all her favourites; sauté salmon, fried squid with mayonnaise and a pinch of chili powder, asparagus and broccoli stir-fried with oyster sauce. He knows and remembers very well what she likes and doesn’t like. She likes when her meals have something spicy. She loves sweets, but not too sweet. She doesn’t like bitter food, he even remembers her weird grudge against okra.

She devours her lunchbox while Kingo and Ikaris are sharing a box of grilled eel rice and a roasted chicken sandwich they bought at Eternal. They arrived at the shop even earlier than yesterday but again there was only one box left. It seems like more and more people have heard about this impressive lunch set and wanted to try it. Maybe by the end of the summer, Gil would add it to Eternal’s fixed menu and maintain the limited policy so that his coffee shop won’t be turning into an eel restaurant.

★

“It was shocking, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it snapped me out of my grogginess,” she rolls her eyes and pulls her car to a stop at the red light, “I was wide awake for the rest of the day.”

She listens to his laugh on the other end of the phone, “I bet you already thought of quite a few ways to get back at me at the time.”

“Maybe just one or two,” she scrunches her nose, taking a right turn to the familiar street.

“Oh, I think I see your car,” he says. She speeds up a bit and Eternal comes into her view. Her nose stings with emotions when she spots Gil, still wearing his work apron, standing at the front door and waiting for her. It’s been almost two months since the last time she had to stay at the office until past 9 pm. Even though it’s only because they have too much work, even Kingo and Ikaris left at the same time as she did, but it looks like Gil has been worried. She stops her car in front of his shop and jumps to his chest. She can feel his arms around her and he asks:

“Have you eaten?”

“I have,” she rubs her cheeks on his apron, “Me and the guys called pizza.”

Gilgamesh always asks her that question whenever they can’t eat together. Perhaps many people would find it lame, even annoying but Thena finds it incredibly endearing, it’s likely that because it comes from him and he only ever has good intentions. But let’s face it, you usually just ask the question to the ones you love or really care about. You care about their well-being, you always want to know that they eat well, sleep well, those are human’s most basic needs.

“You’ve worked hard,” he nuzzles her hair.

“Thanks for waiting for me,” she closes her eyes, clutching at the back of his shirt.

★

Inside, the lights are still on, most of the chairs are put upside down on the tables so that he can clean up, except for one table with a cup on top, where he was sitting. The lights in the kitchen are on as well and she can hear the faint sound of a mixer.

“Who’s in the kitchen?”

“It’s Makkari. She took Kingo’s advice and started her baking vlog channel. I stay to prepare tomorrow’s ingredients and help her set up her camera and all,” Gil pulls out another chair and helps her in, “I think she’s making a peach mousse cake.”

“Will we get to try some of it?” Thena smiles, a mention of sweets cheers her up in no time.

“Chances are high. Can I make you a drink first?”

“Any suggestions from my chef?” She puts her elbows on the table, cupping her face with her hands.

“Special latte with lots of love,” Gil winks and Thena giggles, her cheeks flushed.

Gil makes her a cup of hot latte, with his full combo latte art that she thinks it looks like six tortured faces but in fact it’s a “smiling bouquet”, according to him. It’s delicious nevertheless. Gil refills his milk tea cup, then sits down across from her. He gives her an impromptu massage on her left hand while she’s sipping her drink. She starts talking about her day and soon enough, they once again laugh about her lunchbox.

“Very creative, I’ll give you that. But don’t do it again.”

“How about once a month? I’ll leave your favourites beneath the rice each time.”

“I want scallops next time.”

“Consider it’s done,” he presses a kiss to the back of her hand and switches to massage the other.

Thena asks him about his day and he complains to her that this morning he wanted to decorate the menu board at the front door but Sprite demanded that he should never do it.

“I know that’s her job but today is her second exam and I just wanted to help,” Gil pouts, “Instead she yelled at me and shooed me away.”

“Did you use your boss card?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Use it next time then,” she wants nothing more than to kiss away his pout, “You indulge her too much.”

“Could it be that my drawing skills are bad?”

For the record, he’s looking at her with his puppy eyes, and that affects a lot on her following answer.

“You have a unique style, it’s just that Sprite can’t see it,” She shrugs, “However, you decorate your food like little masterpieces, and no one can deny it.”

Now she’s the one that picks up his hands and gives him a massage. She treats his large, calloused hands as gently as she can, counting every old and new cut and burned mark on them, the hands of a true chef.

“Your hands are precious, don’t let anyone make you believe otherwise,” she says.

“You too,” he grins, nodding at the painting that she gifted him last Christmas.

“I’ll paint you another, it’s summer anyway.”

“Then I’ll hang it on that wall over there,” he squeezes her hands once.

Makkari puts two slices of pink peach mousse cake down in front of them.

Enjoy! the pastry chef/new vlogger smiles, signing at Gil, Thanks for helping me set up my “studio”. I cleaned the kitchen for you.

“Thank you!” He signs back, “Wanna join us?”

Nah, I know you guys miss each other. Just continue your date, I’m going home now.

Gil blushes hard but insists, “At least let me walk you home. You shouldn’t go alone at this time.”

“He’s right,” Thena says, “I know your place isn’t far from here but it would be safer if he went with you.”

Fine, Makkari rolls her eyes, Just so you would stop worrying.

“Yeah,” Gil gets up and Thena helps him untie his apron, “If Druig knew we let you walk home alone late at night, we’d never hear the end of it.”

He bends down to kiss Thena, she lifts a hand to caress his face.

“I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll try to save some cake for you.”

“Well, you can eat both slices if you want to,” he rubs his nose against hers.

“But you love peach cake.”

“I love you more.”

Makkari slaps Gil’s back, Are you going or not?

“Right, sorry, let’s go,” he says, giving Thena one last wave then runs after Makkari, who’s already out of the door. Thena looks out the window until they disappear around the corner before digging her fork into the cake. She sincerely hopes that Makkari would succeed in this vlog thing, and it has very little to do with her getting free pastries on their late-night dates at Gil’s shop.

#saw this prompt in an episode of nozaki-kun and almost died because of the cuteness #thenamesh #eternals #thena x gilgamesh #gilgamesh x thena #thena #gilgamesh #thenamesh fanfic

[silencedrage]

❔ for leah or freya!

send ❔ and i’ll list a couple muses that i’d like to throw at yours! / always accepting

LEAH

jasper hale - because i think it would be hilarious. he can be so uptight about things but with a hidden snark, a bit like elijah in that way. he's always wary about new vampires that cross his path but i think leah could wear him down.

sister beatrice - i know we talked about mary and leah but i'm also thinking about bea in the same verse, who understands the need to get away from family and home in order to figure out who she can be. i think bea would be a little envious of leah in that regard, because bea ran to a convent and didn't really live but leah actually went out and did those things. also post-bea leaving the ocs and leah just shows her around europe lmao

selene mendez - if leah is ever in the market for a mom figure, selene adopts pretty much every young person she comes across. her supernatural verse has her as an untriggered werewolf, and she operates a bar that is open to all supernatural creatures as a middle ground. i can see leah wandering in one day and them just talking for a bit because they both don't really have other people and also she's a bartender so talking and listening is her job. she definitely thinks klaus is an asshole and would sic oscar on him if he walked into her bar.

FREYA

sersi or thena - i mean they are literally immortal and watch over the earth, so i think it wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility for one of them to have run into freya and/or dahlia in the past. maybe it was in passing the first time, but they recognize each other the second time? or it becomes a regular thing every 100 years, for them to meet up for a bit? idk i just like the idea of playing with time.

tissaia de vries - two powerful witches kicking ass together? absolutely. and they can also bond over mentoring little headstrong witches who are one day going to be more powerful than they are.

makenzie north - mak was inspired by the ancestral magic of TO. her coven is mostly a bunch of hedge witches who provide potions/weak spells but mak is the last person who can actually commune with the ancestors and act as a conduit of sorts. it's not a pleasant experience and she's expected to take over as the head of the coven on her 25th birthday but she needs help controlling her magic, and i can see her making her way to new orleans to seek out help from the witches there.

#troubleah #viikingwitch