#when they have this connection that ties them together despite everything. soulmate feels like not quite the right word but similar idea

[hungriesttable]

you know it’s peak when the MCs have an emotionally intimate and tangled and toxic relationship that transcends yaoi

#trigun #trigun maximum #berserk #omniscient reader’s viewpoint #no home #no home manhwa #ok let me explain #when they have this connection that ties them together despite everything. soulmate feels like not quite the right word but similar idea #they just choose each other. often very evilly (being very liberal in my use of the word evil) #also double. double the manga #there is no one big cathartic moment that resolves their relationship. they just keep struggling on #I like stories where things are cut and dry as the saying goes but this type of thing really keeps me coming back #I’m chasing the carrot on the end of the stick here

[theminecraftbee]

Here is how to slowly, completely, and irrevocably fall into having someone know your soul as well as you do theirs:

First, be enemies, but of circumstance. Neither of you were really on opposite sides so much as connected to them. You think he loved them, though, that side that was only your enemy by virtue of not being your ally. He loved them, even if he didn't spend as much time with them. You mock him for this. For calling their leader 'king'. (Later, you'll hold onto mockery like it's all you have. You know it's not a game and you know he was really king, but without your ability to make fun of what's happening, you won't be much at all.)

You have a best friend then. This, too, is almost an accident, although to explain all the ways it's also on purpose will take longer than you have to explain. He's wonderful, and loyal, and going to die. So you die fast and young first, before him. You die in front of your friend. You die in front of him.

You don't regret it, the dying young, because it means you die before anyone else can die for you.

Second, watch your best friend fall in love with him, although that phrase feels both too pedestrian and too much like it's overstating the thing that really happens. You have your own drama for too long to really understand how it happens, of course. You're too busy facing a betrayal that will scrape the inside of your soul forever. (To tell the truth, you've already forgiven him for it, but there's something easy about being each other's enemies, so you keep going, orbiting around each other in betrayal betrayal betrayal. But that's someone else who knows your soul, another story.)

Then your best friend dies, as does nearly everyone else. You sit around a campfire with him. You tell him that your best friend trusts him; you'll trust him too. He stands by your side near the end, the two of you running together, another man's memories on your lips.

You're not sure what you regret, then, but you know there's something that won't undo that's a part of you now.

Third, learn the value of choices, as the universe tries its best to take yours from you. In this one, the people you're by the side of is at once familiar and strange. The finalists who'd protected you last time are now an ugly mix of your chosen soulmate and your enemy by making that choice; you attempt to hold on to your ability to choose even as blood makes it clear you can't. (The universe tried to pick someone who would fit you well, you realize later. More people who know your soul that this story isn't actually about. You care for him too, is the thing; you care for choosing more.)

You don't see him much, this time. You respect each other, though. It's hard not to respect each other after everything that's happened. Still, you don't see him, and he doesn't see you. Instead, you see the end of the game. You nearly hold it in your fingers.

You regret. You regret deeply. You are so tired of watching people die, you think, and you regret more than anything else that you couldn't stop it.

Fourth, become enemies, but this time intentionally. Enemies, maybe, is a strong word; you're assigned co-parents, except bad, divorced ones. There's something hysterical about the whole thing, in both the comedic sense of the word and in the original, more concerning sense, especially given the way you all have thought about your best friend-now-son in the past. (Family ties are a thing you'll come to value; it's just that what the names are don't count, really, not when you do this again and again and again. Plus, it's nice to be able to have an excuse to yell.)

It's almost fun again. Maybe it's almost fun. You trade barbs with each other, and try to kill each other, and this time the consequences are light enough that you try to help each other, too. You see each other a lot. You're enemies, of course, but you see each other a lot, as you are: scared, and tired, and not as frightening as you appear, and happy, despite it all.

You don't regret much. You die fast and young, alongside your allies. You see his face before you do though, and you think he's the one with regrets.

Fifth, trip over him as you run across the first session of a new game. You don't know yet what this one will be, if it will be betrayals, or more stolen choices, or family, or fun, or anything else, but you look him in the eyes and make a choice. You will be friends this time instead of enemies. And it's nice. He and you fit together oddly now, but well, despite the oddities. You've had time to learn to, from a distance, and then closer and closer. (People seem baffled you're friends now. You wish you could explain that that's how these stories go sometimes.)

You're pretty certain he'll leave you when the time comes. He says he's a runner, and not a protector, and yet, when the time comes to betray you, you both know he won't hurt you, and you're both surprised anyway.

"You might regret this," you tell him quietly. You both have scars.

"You might regret this," he agrees. But you also both have choices.

"Okay," you say. "Have you ever fallen in love?"

"Cleo," he says, brushing your hair aside, and he doesn't answer.

"I don't think I have," you say honestly. "I think it's something else. Have you ever accidentally given someone a piece of your soul?"

"All the time," he says, and that's that.

The end is coming soon. You'll find out if you regret it.

#secret life smp #secret life spoilers #zombiecleo #ethoslab #a bee fic #trafficshipping #<- YEAH OKAY THIS IS A LITTLE MORE BLATANT THAN I NORMALLY AM. #you can read this platonically if you WANT but. it's. yeah it needs the tag. #anyway etho and cleo are soulmates but they're soulmates who very slowly and almost accidentally slid into being it #who built their way up to soulmates over time #do you understand me. #...also it DOES strike me the irony of tagging shipping on the fic where the lead SPECIFICALLY SAYS she hasn't fallen in love but #YOU KNOW. ITS THE VIBES.

[negrowhat]

Soulmates Are A Spectrum

binge-watching La Pluie has made me come to the realization that much like everything that's centered around emotions and feelings, the concept of soulmates should also be viewed as a spectrum. It's not something I really noticed until watching La Pluie because it really kind of showcases parts of the spectrum.

I'm sure most view soulmates as fate creating two people for each other. A lot of times we see it as two people being halves of one whole. Color Rush is the best example I have for this. Yoo Han brought colors to Yeon Woo's life and in Yeon Woo, Yoo Han was finally able to see a person. They completed each other. Together they got to see a perfect picture.

We see something similar in La Pluie with being able to hear your soulmate's voice when it rains and literally nothing else. There's a connection, a soul tie. I'm sure there's was a feeling of completion when Tai and Patts realized they were each other's soulmates.

But then we have people who have soulmates, gave it a try, but in the end inevitably choose not to be together. Let's use Hancock (you know the Will Smith and Charlize Theron movie) for example. Hancock found out his people were literally built in pairs but at the cost of them being together they would lose their super powers. He and Mary chose not to be together anymore for their safety and Mary ended up falling in love with someone else and they stayed apart despite them being made for each other.

In La Pluie, Tai's parents found out they were incompatible despite being soulmates. Tai's dad said something really important. He said, "Sometimes love isn't enough to keep a relationship going," and he's right. Just because you love someone doesn't mean you should be together. The same can be said for soulmates.

Then we have people choosing who they want as a soulmate. We'll use WenZhou or WangXian as examples. They felt a deep and true enough connection with each other that they knew they wouldn't feel with anyone else and chose each other as soulmates. They felt completion together. We also have DeanPharm whose connection was chosen and also transcended time. I could literally write a book about their brand of soulmates.

In La Pluie we see that early on in ep 1 with the unnamed café couple. A man was happily in love with a woman he knew wasn't his soulmate because they couldn't talk to each other when it rained. He wasn't interested in finding his soulmate because his girlfriend was who he wanted to be with.

Lastly, we have the possibility of a person having more than one soulmate. Again in Word of Honor we see a quad of soulmates. 4 Old souls feeling completion together.

In La Pluie it seems that Tai has two soulmates in Lomfon and Patts. He clearly has a connection with them both and now he's finding it difficult to choose just one person because here he is tethered to two people.

Lomfon seemed to want to choose feelings over fate until his fate and feelings began to overlap. The soulmate he didn't believe in turned out to be the one he was growing feelings for and suddenly he believed in the concept of soulmates. He seemed to have a very tiny moment of clarity.

We also have Saengtien who, for all we know, doesn't have a soulmate but has fallen in love with Lomfon who clearly has mixed feelings about him and his brother.

All in all, this series is just showing me why I love soulmates plots so much. There so much territory to explore and every way I see it seems to be perfect.

I think the idea of being created for someone is beautiful, but at the same time I don't know if I would want to experience something like that because I would feel torn between wanting to be with that person or feeling obligated to be with that person. Feeling tied to that person or weighed down by that person. Never really knowing if what I feel is from the heart or from the soul ties I had no choice in creating. To some, having a soulmate is a curse because your choice of who to love is being taken away. To others, it's a gift because you know that someone is out there just for you. And then we have every messy and irrational emotion and feeling in between.

Like Tien said, I don't know if I would be able to choose between someone I like and my soulmate...which seems to be what everyone is struggling with in this series.

#ok i'm done rambling #i've been up all night watching this series #i'll spam everyone's dashes with content later #la pluie #word of honor #until we meet again #the untamed #hancock #color rush

[unexpectedly-haunted]

Double Life Duos as ABBA Songs

Accidentally put a ridiculous amount of time and thought into this, and can’t get over how good some of these match!! Started out with Honey, Honey and then as I listened to more ABBA some of these veritably punched me in the face :D

Waterloo: Grian and Scar. Repeating of fate and of always being tied to another. A sense of being doomed in an inescapable narrative, trapped together with someone. “The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself” for their continuous connections in the different games. “I was defeated, you won the war.” Scar dying to Grian’s hand in the cactus ring, and this line is immediately followed by “promise to love you forever more” and “couldn’t escape if i wanted to” and “knowing my fate is to be with you”!!!! This is so incredibly on point for desert duo soulmates, always being connected but this time oh so literally. Also “and know it seems my only chance is giving up the fight” along with “and how could i ever refuse? i feel like i win when i lose” for the third life finale??! ARE YOU SEEING WHAT IM SEEING 

Winner Takes It All: Scott and Pearl. This is a song about the cold hand of fate, and about one person losing everything while the other gets everything. There’s also a verse about how the loser had felt safe with the winner, like they belonged with them, and how they’d built a home together, but now it’s all gone.  “I don’t wanna talk about the things we’ve gone through, though it’s hurting me, now it’s history.” Pearl hoping for a reunion with her past allies, but that’s history now, it’s over. “Building me a home, thinking I’d be strong there. But I was a fool, playing by the rules.” Pearl excited to build her life with her soulmate, but Scott breaks the rules of the game by rejecting her. “The gods may throw a dice, their minds as cold as ice, and someone way down here, loses someone dear.” Do I even have to elaborate?

Super Trouper: Jimmy and Tango. Bright and upbeat song, I think it really suits this kind and optimistic partnership! The theme of resilience and hope for better, despite difficulties faced is so good. It’s about finding support from someone after a long time of misery, and this mutual support giving you the help you need to get started again. “Beams are gonna blind me, but I won’t feel blue, like I always do, because somewhere in the crowd there’s two.” “Lights are gonna find me, shining like the sun, smiling, having fun, feeling like a number one” especially because these two are valuing each other as partners!! they are hyping each other up and they are each others number one :D

Knowing Me, Knowing You: Cleo and Martyn. It’s about the resolute and final end of relationship, a break that you can’t come back from. “Here is where the story ends, this is goodbye.” “ Knowing me, knowing you, there is nothing we can do” and “We just have to face it, this time we're through” which can link to how with their shared tendency to hold grudges, as well their stubbornness and independence, this split really does seem like it will be the end for them. It should be noted that “aha” is a repeated backing vocal motif in this song, which really solidified this choice for me kdsjfgsdfgshldfg

Voulez-vous: Joel and Etho. I feel like the energy and confidence of this song is great for them! It’s very bold and self-assured, and with how cocky and experienced these two are as certified chaos-causers and killers, I think it fits their partnership well. They have mutual respect for each other, and are excited to wreak havoc, which I think really comes through in some of these lines. “ I'm really glad you came, you know the rules, you know the game, master of the scene, we've done it all before and now we're back to get some more.”  “ People everywhere, a sense of expectation hanging in the air, giving out a spark, across the room your eyes are glowing in the dark” is SO good for the first episode especially, with all the anticipation of the game to come and then finding their soulmates. (also etho’s red eye probably literally glows in the dark)

Honey Honey: Bdubs and Impulse. It’s such a sweet, loving song, it’s a perfect fit for the newly married couple! The motif and title of honey is fitting for the pet names Bdubs has already given Impulse, and it has lines like “honey, honey, nearly killed me” (for the betrayal in third life and possibility for accidentally killing the other through the soulbond), “honey, honey, don’t conceal it” (’im proud!” ‘i want to shout it from the rooftops!’), “i don’t want to hurt you, don’t want to see you cry”, “stay on the ground girl, you better not get to too high” (impulse worrying about bdubs dying when building like in third life).

Fernando: Ren and BigB. This song is about a bond formed during wartime and a the riendship surviving through the devastation, it’s about true and lasting loyalty! “We were young and full of life and none of us prepared to die.” “If I had to do the same again, I would my friend, Fernando.” “Though we never thought that we could lose, there’s no regret.” “I can see it in your eyes, how proud you were to fight for freedom in this land.” I feel like this celebration of this war born friendship is perfect for these two once-members of both Dogwarts and the Fairy Fort, who have found each other again.

#double life smp #double life spoilers #ghost post

[erstwhilesparrow]

Might I add another layer to this: Soulmates as a happy accident, an echo of deja vu.

Perhaps you aren't tied together by some fated string after all, but for some reason you both cannot stop finding each other, especially when you're not looking. Whether it's at various times throughout your lives, or even past your lives, and you meet a complete stranger and oddly feel like you've seen them somewhere before, for some reason you keep connecting with this person, like ships in the night, never permanently, but persistently, nonetheless.

:)

oh reyni it is a delight to see you in my inbox every time :]

i could be very interested in that as a character dynamic... especially if these people have lives outside each other -- it's just a moment, it's just a spark, it's just some tiny temporary connection that could be any tiny temporary connection strangers make all the time, and then you'll be back to your own lives, but that connection was there, and keeps being there, and despite never being to the exclusion of anything else, it matters that it's there.

putting the rest of this under a cut for [is a tangent] and [i'm having thoughts and opinions] reasons :P

but now i'm thinking about this, and the thing is that i know that what's going on in my head when i say stuff about soulmates is not the point at all of most soulmates stories. it's fiction and people are getting things out of it that i'm not personally interested in and that's fine and important even! what we're / i'm describing here can just be, like, character relationships that are never described as soulmates specifically.

but of course there are other things. such as: of late, i have begun to worry that i am too skeptical of things. i look at an essay i'm reading, or a story i'm being told, or the whole concept of love, and i go, really? really? what trick is here? what aren't you telling me? what else do i have to consider about this situation? what is there still underneath? and i've been getting hissy at the word 'love', doubtful of its usefulness or power, unsettled by its casual ubiquity. to be clear, it's not as if i don't use the word love. it's not as if i don't mean it when i say i love something or someone. it's not as if i believe fiction needs to have anything / everything to do with reality. but the doubt remains. i'm not sure i wish to rid of it, but i'm not very far into being able to articulate it in depth. i am saying this so you know where i'm at.

so i've been looking at soulmates. i want to ask questions about their underlying assumptions, to poke at them until someone else can come up to me and say, "yes, i see this thing you are poking at too." i don't know that i have done this clearly, well, or even at all in the writing i've posted here and on ao3. i keep skipping sideways around it because love, and romance in particular, is a huge thing that i think many people hold in enormously high esteem, and i don't want to be a boring asshole about it. but i still want to ask.

like. does it need to be two people? does it need to be romance? how quick are we, really, to ascribe romantic thoughts / feelings / desires to situations that didn't need to be so? what does this reverence of romance do to people who fall outside of romantic possibility for any reason? what kind of people do we tell soulmates stories about and why? and then, additionally / separately, what is it that fails to satisfy me about the existing works on soulmates that ask these same questions? i've been thinking maybe the thing is not soulmates at all; perhaps it is a deeper (or just different? again, fiction vs reality) dissatisfaction with the whole existing set of ideas and terms we have around relationships and love, which is maybe (probably?) something i'd like to see more about in fiction! (and also nonfiction. cf my earlier solicitations for readings on these and related topics.)

i think love can be terrible for you. i think someone can love you with everything they have and that relationship can still not work. i don't think love as some ultimate ideal is worth pursuing, certainly not without some further consideration of where it tangles up with care and compassion and whether those things can be separated. (i think they can. i think i care about care and compassion more than i care about love. i want care and compassion to be disentangled from a person's ability / desire to love / be loved. these are things i think; they do not have to be things you think.)

perhaps, then, what draws me toward soulmates is how it makes more explicit that expectation for love / romance. it is a place where love as good is often assumed true, where there's always even numbers so everything can be paired up and squared away. it feels like a magnification and / or a reflection of ways people already are about romance, and so it makes for a convenient place to start interrogating related concepts. maybe. of all the things i've said so far, this is what i'm least sure about. i should read more soulmates stuff, if i'm this interested, but i might just be using soulmates as shorthand for a great many other things. i don't know yet.

[i am tired now, so i leave as an exercise for the reader the part where i remind everyone i have technically done a very bad job here by failing to clarify my definitions up front, etc etc. imagine i have done that. imagine it is obvious how chronically online i am because i keep expecting the bad-faith interpretations of my words. i leave the work in your trustworthy hands.]

and lest anyone who has read all this come away thinking to take me too seriously: an enormous chunk of these thoughts were originally prompted by a minecraft youtuber roleplay series. they have gotten quite a ways away from their source by now. if you were not prepared for this when you followed me, i'm afraid there is nothing i can do for you :P

#chattering sparrow #four chambers just a standard issue #technically you did not sign up for all this reyni #but i am inflicting it on you #please know that i feel like i'm swinging a bat at a hornets' nest; i would ask you to be kind #or with a greater tinge of that classic internet irony: starting off strong on my new hobby of Having Opinions In Public!! #the closest you will ever get to falling in love

[slasherhaven]

Bo Sinclair X Reader

Part 1 HERE

People wanted a part 2, so here you go!

Soulmate AU: shared pain and shared scars part 2:

What had started with you and some friends trying to get a fan belt for their car and maybe some mild flirting with the man who owned the garage, had all ended in hell breaking loose. Bo had been charming and helpful, you had felt an instant connection to him, the type of connection that soulmates so often talked about.

At first you had been disappointed that he didn't seem to recognise your scars, proving he wasn't your soulmate, but now you were thankful for it. At least you weren't cosmically tied to the man who had just turned and attacked your friends.

He had shot Wade and Carly had disappeared. You had been dragged to a basement beneath the garage and left there, him promising to deal with the rest of the group you came with before returning.

Out of the people you came on the road trip, you only really knew Carly. She was the only one you would truly have to mourn but seeing Wade shot like that and knowing the others were next was undeniably traumatic.

Left alone in the basement, you tried to find a way out but there was only a heavy locked door between you and your freedom. When trying to open it failed, you settled for banging on it and shouting for help. You hoped that some other of Carly's friends would come looking for the three of you when you were gone for so long, maybe they would hear you and you could get out of here.

It was impossible to tell how much time passed, hands becoming bloodied from repeatedly hitting the door, throat becoming sore from shouting. But you were finally interrupted by the sound of a car approaching. You stopped and stepped away from the door, looking up at the ceiling as the car came to a stop.

God, you hoped it was somebody from the camp...

You began to panic as you heard feet descending the stairs outside of the locked door, moving yourself further away from it. You heard the lock clicking before the door was pushed open, Bo stepping into the dimly lit basement.

"Stop banging on the fucking door" Bo snapped, clearly frustrated despite likely not having heard it if he was out in his truck...

You didn't respond but he moved closer and you noticed that he had left the door open. At this point, you had run out of options and had to take every opportunity that presented itself.

You suddenly darted towards the door, trying to pass him, but it was fruitless. Bo quickly caught you, grabbing you by the arms and standing in front of you to further block your path. You thrashed and fought against him but it was no use.

"The others?..." you asked, dread clear in your voice.

"My brother is dealing with them" Bo informed you, like it was nothing.

"...are you going to hurt me?" you were already sure of the answer, you just didn't know what he wanted from you. Why had he left you in the basement rather than just disposing of you like he had done the others.

"No. That would be, quite literally, self destructive" he chuckled darkly. He was too calm, you just knew what he had done to your friends...he had done before.

"What?" you didn't understand his comment.

Bo grabbed your wrist, his bloody hand wrapped completely around the scarring on your wrist, almost like it was instinctual. As he released your other arm, you tried to pull your hand away but his grip was too tight. With his free hand, he pulled up the sleeve his coveralls, revealing scarring that was identical to yours.

You stared at the twisted skin, processing what this meant. You had been right from the beginning when you first saw him, this was your soulmate.

"No...no" you shook your head, trying harder to pull your wrist out of his grasp. You just kept repeated the word 'no' as tears streamed from your eyes. How could you soulmate be somebody who did such awful things.

"Shhh, it's alright" Bo cooed, almost ironically. He continued to shush you as he pulled you against his chest, wrapping his arms around you.

Your brain told you that you should be a far away from him as possible, to kick and scream, but his embrace was strange comforting. Of course it was, you were fated to find comfort in his arms. Destined to meet him and love him. The universe wanted you both together, it was meant to be.

Maybe that was why your body began to relax as you cried into his chest, clutching at his coveralls. You hated him, you wanted to hate him, you needed to hate him. Yet, you were destined not too.

Bo kept you held against his chest and you couldn't even find it within yourself to pull away, finding comfort in the source of your pain.

Slowly, the sinking realisation settled. If you were Bo's soulmate, there was no way he was letting you leave. He had already made sure that there was nobody left to tell anyone where you were. If anyone eventually worried about your group going missing, they would assume you all ran off somewhere or eventually decide that you were the next mysterious case of missing people. It was unlikely anyone would track you down to a random, deserted, little town.

"You're home now" Bo whispered into your hair.

You sobbed at the realisation, and yet you clung tighter to him. He just held you tighter.

Bo smirked to himself as he ran a hand over your hair, only to have you shift closer to him. He knew that you hated him but he was confident that would change over time. Just from the way you were acting now, he knew he could win you over, and he knew you wouldn't be leaving him.

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up" you didn't respond as he pulled away, grasping your arm before guiding you out of the basement.

He kept hold of your arm as he walked you through Ambrose, towards the house he had taken you too earlier that day. As you were walking along the road, a familiar truck pulled up beside you both, bringing you to a halt.

Lester, the man who had brought you into Ambrose in the first place, hopped out of the truck.

"Everything's cleaned up" he informed Bo before looking at you and grinning. "they're your soulmate?" Bo just nodded, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you into his side. "It must be your lucky day" Lester teased his brother, who only rolled his eyes. You frowned a little. Meeting your soulmate was meant to be a good, a lucky, day...unfortunately this had also been one of the worst days of your life.

"Go see how Vincent is doing, alright?" Bo asked, sending his younger brother away.

Lester just rolled his eyes before climbing back into his truck. He had wanted to stick around and get to know his brother's soulmate a bit more, but he understood that you were probably shaken.

Finally, you and Bo returned to his house and he led you into the kitchen, where he sat you down in a chair. You stayed silent, processing, as he washed his hands in the sink, washing the blood away.

Once his hands were clean, he wet a cloth and returned to you, pulling a chair out opposite you before sitting down.

He grasped your hands and you allowed him too, letting him pull them into his lap as he began to wipe away the blood.

"You're in shock and you're angry but you'll come around" Bo sounded sure about that but you supposed he had every right to be, you were his soulmate after all. You had to come around. "You know I can't hurt you, or let anyone else hurt you, right?" he asked and you just nodded. Of course he can't hurt you, it would only be hurting himself. Literally. At least you had that peace of mind.

You watched as he cleaned your hands, it was almost tender. A complete contrast to the cruelty he had treated the rest of your group with.

"Why did you do all this?" you asked quietly when it fell silent.

"I'll explain everything later" Bo promised, knowing he had a lot to explain and that he had to tell you everything. You would find out one way or another.

You just nodded, hanging your head. "Hey, c'mon now, the worst is over" he reassured you, lifting a hand to wipe a tear from under your eye with his thumb. "I know this probably ain't how you expected to meet your soulmate but you're gonna be just fine, darlin'" he did sound genuinely sympathetic, at least to some extent.

Removing his hand from your face, Bo stood from his chair, going to drop the now bloodied rag into the sink.

You weren't sure what came over you but you quickly grabbed his hand, stilling him. You just felt safer, the closer he was. A instinctual part of you wanted him to remain close, as if it didn't understand the nuance of the situation. He seemed a little surprised but turned to you expectantly.

"How did you get those scars?" you asked. Something you had wondered all your life.

"You still feel bad for me?" Bo asked, almost sarcastically, like he couldn't imagine you having any sympathy for him anymore.

"You were a child...I would never blame you for that" you shook your head.

"...I'll tell you later, okay? When you actually want to talk to me" Bo promised. You opened your mouth but quickly shut it again, knowing he was right. How could you talk to him about something like that after what he just did? You shouldn't have even asked.

You reluctantly released his hand, letting him dispose of the cloth.

You didn't want to admit it but you knew that eventually you would want to talk to him, that your fated connection would become much stronger than your determination to hate him for the horrible things he has done. There would come a day when you simply...didn't care anymore, and you would want him by your side despite it all.

#bo sinclair x reader #slasher x reader #slashers x reader #slashers #slasher #my writing

[iam93percentstardust]

Hello. I am very interested with WinterIron. Enemies to Lovers, abo with omega Tony, accidental bonding, mutual pining, a lot and a loooootttttt of kissing and touching (with "I do it because of bond" excuses).

Please feel free to cross anything you feel uncomfortable with.

Hi there! I wasn't able to get everything in there, but hopefully there's enough? I loved this prompt so much, it was a fun verse to write in 💙

CW for omegas having few rights in this verse and for creepy Aldrich Killian

As always, everything I write can also be found on ao3

~

mate bond: [meyt bond] noun

1. A mental and physical connection that ties two people together following a mating bite

2. A pair bond between spouses

~

[An excerpt from The Other Half of My Soul: An Exploration into Unconventional Bonding Methods by Anderson-Lopez et al, 1972]

“While rare, it is important to note the existence of mate bonds in individuals who have not exchanged bites. These instances have notably occurred during times of high stress for one or both individuals, and are sparked by an inciting incident of some kind, usually a traumatic event. While these types of mate bonds, dubbed soulmate bonds by the media, frequently occur between individuals who are highly compatible, it is not necessary. Curiously, however, it does seem necessary that the individuals are scent matched for a soulmate bond, even though compatible second genders are not a requirement.”

~

Bucky maintained that it was an accident.

Tony had been meant for Steve, after all. That was the arrangement Howard Stark had decided on with Fury. Bucky had only come along as moral support for the first meeting between Steve and Tony. He wasn’t even supposed to meet Tony first, but the crowded ballroom had been too much for him, so he’d ducked out into the hallway, only to come across two alphas menacing an omega. He supposed that some of Steve’s fiery nature must have rubbed off on him, as he normally would have never taken on two alphas by himself, not when he was down an arm. But he’d taken one look at that omega, pretty brown eyes wide with distress, and leapt into action. It hadn’t been until both alphas had been sent off running with their tails between their legs that he’d realized the omega he’d rescued was Tony Stark, Steve’s arranged mate.

Unfortunately (fortunately? No, definitely unfortunately), the arranged match would never come to fruition as Bucky and Tony had looked at each other and immediately bonded without a shared word or bite between them.

Howard was furious, Fury less so—Bucky was still a SHIELD agent, even if he wasn’t the great Captain America, so the planned union between SHIELD and SI would still happen—but both Bucky and Tony insisted that it hadn’t been done on purpose. And, as neither had a mating bite but could still feel the other at the back of their mind, it was hard to disprove the existence of what had once been called a soulmate bond, though was now called the rather unglamorous name of Mate Bond Subtype C, which Bucky thought sounded like an illness.

The media thought it was the most romantic thing they’d ever heard. Steve, who was slowly courting another alpha from SHIELD, thought it was a relief. Bucky, who didn’t want an omega while he was still recovering from the surgery on his arm, thought it was a nightmare at first.

He didn’t know what Tony thought.

They might have shared a bond between them, but Tony had quickly figured out how to shield his feelings. It had taken Bucky a little bit more practice but he too had worked out how to keep his thoughts and feelings private, which was good, because he doubted Tony would like to know what he was thinking.

They’d been bonded for three months and, while Bucky had moved into Tony’s penthouse apartment, they didn’t share a room, let alone a bed. He still took long missions that took him away for weeks at a time. Tony spent more time at SI’s research labs than he did at home. Bucky hadn’t shared Tony’s heat, nor had Tony shared Bucky’s rut, though neither of them had invited anyone else into their beds. And other than their planned public outings where they had to touch to put on the façade of a happily bonded couple, they didn’t hold hands or kiss or lean into each other, giggling.

The problem was—Bucky wanted all of that. He wanted to sleep curled around Tony. He wanted the two of them to be home long enough to share more than one dinner together at a time. He desperately wanted to share cycles, but even more badly than that, he wanted to touch Tony as often as the omega could stand it. Because the problem was also this—sometime in the course of three months, he’d fallen in love.

~

Tony slid his hand into Bucky’s as they stood in the elevator. “It’s just a quick walk around the ballroom, say hi to a couple investors, and then we can leave,” he said reassuringly, giving Bucky a quick smile. “I know how much you hate these shindigs.”

This was true, Bucky did hate them, but he knew that Tony hated them just as much, though he hid it much better than Bucky did. “Don’t worry,” he replied, squeezing Tony’s hand quickly. “I’ll stick to you like glue.”

“Well, maybe not like glue. Like Velcro, maybe. Howard’s got a couple investors that I know he wants me to meet and that I know you’ll hate so you’re more than welcome to go off and find people more to your liking then. I heard Steve’s coming.”

Bucky had to fight to hide a frown. He knew Tony didn’t mean any harm by the comment, but he hated how Tony thought he wouldn’t want to be by his side even when meeting people he didn’t like. So what if he didn’t like them? He’d still prefer to be giving Tony silent support instead of wandering off and leaving him alone for that long.

Before he can respond, the elevator came to a smooth stop, the doors opening on a soft ding to reveal the glittering ballroom Maria Stark had chosen to host the Annual Stark Foundation’s Shareholders’ Ball, meant to honor those who had given so generously to charity over the last year. The room was decorated in delicate ice-like structures, calling to mind the snow blanketing the city outside, though it wasn’t nearly as cold inside. Golden chandeliers reflected off the dark windows, giving the impression of a never-ending stretch of light. It was all so very glitzy and glamorous. Bucky hated it. It was an obscene display of wealth, meant solely to remind everyone that the Starks were richer than anyone else in the room.

“One hour, Bucky Bear,” Tony murmured like he could hear Bucky’s thoughts. “And then we can go get burgers.”

He dropped Bucky’s hand in favor of sliding his own into the crook of Bucky’s elbow, gently steering him towards the first group of investors. Like every other rich person he’d met since bonding with Tony, they were simultaneously smug of their own “generosity” (mere pennies compared to their bank accounts) and jealous, both of Tony’s wealth and Bucky’s luck in landing a Stark (not his words). The smugness was blatant, the jealousy only slightly hidden in the way their eyes lingered as Bucky took the opportunity to brush his lips across Tony’s cheek, quietly telling him he was going to go get them drinks.

“I’ll be back before you even have time to miss me,” he promised, understanding the minute tightness at the corners of Tony’s eyes.

Tony smiled and nodded, attention already turning back to the investors—or, more likely, to his latest project, however much it might have looked like he was paying attention to Hugh Worthington IV. Bucky slipped through the crowd to the bar. Fortunately, it wasn’t crowded yet and he was able to order a whiskey for himself and a scotch for Tony, who always refused to drink the fruity drinks he actually preferred at these parties, almost immediately. As he waited, he turned back to the crowd, idly scanning it. Steve wasn’t there yet, if it was indeed true that Fury had managed to stuff him into a suit and send him off to schmooze. His eyes sought out Tony, who was laughing as he excused himself from the group Bucky had left him with, moving on to another small throng of people.

He smiled despite himself. Tony was lovely like this, despite his discomfort. Bucky got to see him laugh so rarely at home that he cherished every moment he got to see it while they were out in public.

“Sir, your drinks,” the bartender prompted. He thanked them absently and left a tip on the bar before making his way back across the ballroom to Tony’s side.

Tony wasn’t laughing now. In fact, if his pursed lips were anything to go off of, he was pretty furious, and Bucky wondered what had upset him between him leaving the bar and him returning to Tony’s side.

“Doll,” he said, letting Tony know he was there. Tony turned and took his drink, thanking him with a quick kiss that Bucky desperately wanted to turn into a longer, sweeter one.

“Honey, Senator Stern here was just telling me about an omega’s rights bill he filibustered so it wouldn’t pass,” Tony said, irritation bleeding into his tone.

“Now isn’t that interesting,” Bucky drawled, irritated himself. The bill in question was a law that he knew Tony had backed, as it would have put a stop to the arranged bondings the wealthy were so fond of. They’d both known it would be a longshot to pass, but they’d remained hopeful. “That’s the one that Stevie supported isn’t it?”

“It is,” Tony agreed. “My alpha here—” He patted Bucky’s chest. “—is close friends with Captain Rogers. They grew up together, you know. Steve spends nearly every Saturday evening with us. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear about this bill failing to pass. Isn’t he supposed to be putting in an appearance at the Senate hearing next week? It would be such a shame if he couldn’t make it.”

Tony’s statement was only partially true. Bucky mostly saw Steve at SHIELD, as Steve, despite being always welcome at their apartment, didn’t want to be reminded of how close he’d come to an arranged bonding of his own. But Steve, who had been an omega before receiving the serum, had always been an outspoken supporter of omega’s rights, and now that he was an alpha, and Captain America to boot, he used every bit of that privilege to push as much pro-omega legislature through Congress as he could. He was a thorn in conservative senators’ sides, like Stern, and it was a minor miracle that they’d gotten him to appear in front of Congress to talk positively about a Republican bill supporting an expansion of benefits for veterans, when he normally disagreed with anything Republican just on principle. Steve’s support would go a long way toward getting that bill passed.

Tony’s veiled threat was effective. Stern, one of the authors of the bill, blanched, making Bucky smile. He loved watching Tony do his thing. There was really nothing better than Tony putting bullies like Stern back in their place.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Stern stammered out before hurrying away.

As soon as he was gone, Tony drooped, leaning back against Bucky. It was nice, being able to lend his support to his omega, but Tony was standing up straight again after only a moment, the façade falling back over him.

“I really hate that guy,” Tony said softly. He looked up at Bucky. “Sorry about using your friendship with Steve like that. I was just so angry. Saw red for a second there.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Bucky said. Impulsively, he reached out to clasp Tony’s shoulder, running his thumb soothingly over the soft skin just above his shirt collar. “You guys got a bad lot in life. You do what you gotta do to make it right.”

Tony hummed. “I really wanted that bill to pass. It wasn’t right, what Howard and Fury wanted me to do. I don’t want anyone else to have to go through that.”

“Sorry,” Bucky offered up. It was a lame apology, but he didn’t know what else he could say to make it better. He knew very well that if he and Tony hadn’t bonded that night, Steve would be Tony’s alpha.

To his surprise, Tony smiled and nudged his shoulder, teasing, “I don’t know, you’re not so bad.”

Bucky sputtered, nearly choking on his whiskey.

“Oh, look, Steve’s just arrived,” Tony said airily, like he hadn’t noticed the effect his words were having on Bucky. “Let’s go say hi.”

Talking to Steve at these events was always awkward. Tony and Steve were both aware that neither of them wanted anything to do with each other as mates, which made having to see each other a study in unspoken tension. He didn’t think it was that either of them had a problem with the other, and he suspected that they could even manage to be friends eventually, but it was that knowledge that they’d nearly been forced to mate that made things so tense between them. Still, he appreciated that Tony was willing to put up with it so that Bucky could see his best friend. It was the sort of small kindness that Tony unthinkingly did that had made Bucky fall in love with him so easily.

Tonight was no different. Tony and Steve exchanged no more than a few awkward words before Tony excused himself to go meet with Emma Frost. He didn’t bother kissing Bucky this time, as Steve was one of the few people they didn’t have to pretend with and it didn’t seem like anyone was watching them at the moment. It would have been different if they’d met up a few months ago. There’d been more than a few people who’d somehow got it into their heads that Steve and Tony’s proposed bond was a love match instead of arranged, and they’d all watched eagerly to see how Steve, Tony, and Bucky interacted in those days following Bucky and Tony’s bonding, clearly wondering if Steve was going to pick a fight. They’d been sorely disappointed, of course; Steve and Bucky didn’t fight over anything, let alone an omega that Steve hadn’t wanted.

“So Fury roped you into the dog and pony show, huh,” Bucky asked, eyeing the stiff collar of Steve’s shirt. He’d be willing to bet that it was brand new. Steve was much more at home in a pair of khakis and a flannel shirt than he was in a tuxedo.

“Senator Brandt actually,” Steve said, wrinkling his nose in distaste. “He thinks it’s good for me to make appearances and drum up support for SHIELD.”

“Sucks.” There was a niggling worry growing at the back of his mind, unrelated to Steve’s complaints about the brass, but Bucky didn’t know what it was. He glanced around the room, but was unable to spot anything amiss. He tried to put it out of his mind by asking, “How’s working with the Commandos?” He couldn’t entirely keep the bitterness out of his voice. Bucky had been moved out of the Commandos unit a few weeks before meeting Tony, and it wasn’t that he didn’t like being on Strike Team Delta, but he was still irritated that he hadn’t had a choice in the matter.

“Not the same without you,” Steve said, grimacing at him like he knew what was going through Bucky’s mind.

They continued talking about SHIELD as they slowly circulated the room and all the while, that worry was growing stronger, slowly morphing into fear, but it wasn’t until he happened to catch a glimpse of Tony standing in the corner and looking tense and unhappy that he realized they weren’t his feelings. They were Tony’s. Tony was worried and scared and had brought down his shields so that Bucky could feel his emotions and Bucky was standing on the other side of the room like an idiot.

“Excuse me,” he said brusquely, cutting Steve off. “Tony’s in trouble.”

He headed straight for Tony, pushing through the crowd without sparing a thought to anyone he might be offending as he shoved them aside. For once, it was Steve who was trailing after him, offering apologies to everyone who looked offended.

There was a look of naked relief in Tony’s eyes as Bucky marched up behind the alpha Tony was talking to. It was a look he’d never seen on Tony’s face before, at least not directed at him, and he wasn’t sure if he liked that his omega was happy to have him there or disliked that Tony had to be relieved at all.

“Something wrong, doll?” he asked, hand clamping down on the alpha’s shoulder.

“Bucky,” Tony breathed. He sagged back against the wall. “This is Aldrich Killian. He’d like to propose—” Tony’s mouth twisted unhappily. “He’d like to propose an omega trade. I told him I wasn’t interested, but he insisted on talking to you.”

Anger flared in Bucky’s chest, hot and furious. Omega trades weren’t common anymore, used mostly in backroom deals to secure a transaction. You treat my omega right and I’ll treat your omega right, and maybe we can have a deal. He knew the rich, traditional alphas Tony had grown up with still occasionally used them, but he hated them. He’d always hated them. The very concept treated omegas like property, like hostages, and the thought of seeing Tony—his Tony—under someone else had his vision shading red.

“Is that so?” he hissed.

Killian, the idiot, didn’t seem to notice Bucky’s growing anger. “Maya’s a great—” he began to say.

Bucky cut him off with a hand around his throat, slamming him into the wall.

“Bucky—” Steve started, a warning in his voice.

“Tell them it’s SHIELD business,” he snapped. “Isn’t that the usual excuse?”

What Steve did to placate the crowd growing around them, he didn’t know; he was too intent on Killian to care. “Let me get this straight,” he growled. “You asked Tony for a trade and when he told you no, because I know him, he wouldn’t ever want that and he wouldn’t be quiet about it, you cornered him and insisted you’d only listen to a no from me.” It wasn’t a question. Tony’s thoughts and emotions were flooding him with what Killian had tried to do to him. He growled again at the image of Killian’s hand on Tony’s arm, removed after only a moment. This—this—alpha had tried to put his hands on Tony, had ignored his clear no, and was still babbling on about whatever business deal he wanted out of Bucky—or, more likely, Tony, though as an omega, Tony wouldn’t be able to make that decision.

“It’s a yes or no question, Killian,” he finally snapped, losing his temper. “Did you or did you not ignore Tony’s answer—"

“He’s an omega,” Killian tried.

“He’s a person. He’s a person who was clearly uncomfortable with you and you should never have ignored that. The only reason you’re still standing and not laid out on the floor is because he cares about making a scene, but guess what, I don’t.” His hand tightened on Killian’s throat, making the man wheeze. “Do—”

“Bucky,” Tony said quietly, cutting through his anger.

Without removing his hand from Killian, he looked at Tony. Tony still looked a little shaken, but there was something else in his eyes, something that Bucky didn’t know how to describe.

“Let him go,” Tony continued. “You made your point.”

“He—”

“Yeah, he did,” Tony said, knowing what he was going to say. Bucky wondered if his own shields were down, letting Tony read his thoughts and feelings. “And you were here to stop it, so it’s okay. Let him go, we can go get burgers.”

He didn’t want to. He wanted to make sure Killian never laid hands on someone unwilling ever again, but then Steve was there, carefully pulling Bucky away as he muttered to him about seeing what Fury could do about Killian. And that wasn’t exactly what Bucky wanted, but it was better than nothing, and taking care of Tony was his priority anyway. So since Tony wanted burgers, he would go get burgers.

He spun on his heels, intent on heading to the elevators, only to freezes as soon as he saw Tony. They were supposed to be faking it, which meant that he should do something—wrap an arm around Tony’s waist or kiss his forehead or—or something. But Tony had just had to deal with an unwelcome touch. He shouldn’t have to deal with another one so soon afterwards.

Tony surprised him though by stepping forward and sliding his hand into Bucky’s, interlacing their fingers. “Come on, alpha. Let’s go home,” he said, leading Bucky through the crowd watching them. Bucky ignored them in favor of drinking in the sight of Tony whole and healthy, if not happy.

They were quiet in the elevator ride back down to the parking garage, quiet as they climbed into the back of the car, quiet as Happy pulled out onto the road. Then Tony slid across the backseat to tuck up against Bucky’s side. He rested his head on Bucky’s shoulder, and, after a moment, Bucky rested his cheek against Tony’s curls.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t,” Tony said. Bucky could feel the truth in his words through their bond, and he realized that Tony hadn’t put his mental shields back up. “I wouldn’t have asked for your help if I hadn’t been expecting something like that.”

“Shouldn’t have taken it so far though. I know you’re not—we’re not—” He grimaced as he fumbled over the words. He’d been able to admit for three months that he and Tony weren’t in a relationship, why was it so hard now?

Tony hesitated before carefully saying, “We could be.”

“We—what?”

“Bucky Bear,” Tony said warmly, sitting up so he could look him in the eyes. “You have to know—people don’t just do what you did tonight or the night we met, for that matter. Not for me. I—I don’t know, the way we bonded, it threw me off. I wasn’t expecting it and I reacted badly. But—then the way you reacted to Killian got me thinking—maybe we could try?”

“Try?” Bucky whispered.

“Try us?” Tony asked, leaning back in slowly, giving Bucky enough time to move away if he wanted to.

He didn’t want to. “Yeah,” he breathed. “We could try. I—I’d like that.”

Tony smiled at him, bright and lovely, and closed the distance between them.

#alle writes #winteriron #if you like please consider reblogging #alle answers

[thefreakishmuffin]

The Owl House season 2 analysis: Eda and the Owlbeast

(May not have as many screenshots in this one, so I apologize in advance for the long walls of text. I’m getting the pics I can from google).

Alright everybody, strap in, because this is gonna be a pretty long read, as this is the part of the episode that hit me the hardest. And I mean that in the absolute best way possible. But son of a gun, just when I think The Owl House can’t depict the struggles of mental illness and trauma any better, they top that bar and go above and beyond. Dana Terrace and the rest of the crew, you’re doing amazing!

So let’s start off with Eda. After losing Raine and getting an inside view from them about the Emperor’s plan for the Day of Unity, Eda has started to work herself to the brink of exhaustion, feeling like she has to protect those around her. In an attempt to help Eda relax and get some sleep, Hooty makes her cookies spiked with sleeping nettles, which apparently gives you heightened and eerily vivid dreams. And here is where we get to what I feel is the most intense part of the entire episode.

Part of the reason Eda’s been avoiding sleep is so that she won’t have to come face to face with the Owlbeast again. But now, she decides to confront the Owlbeast herself. She states that the Owlbeast is the reason she ran away from home, and the reason she never got close to anyone. She decides that now’s the time that she’s gonna be the one to haunt the beast that has always haunted her. She seems very vengeful here, with a kind of rage in her eyes.

However, when she’s about to head down the hall, the dream transitions Eda back to her old room from when she was young, and finds herself transformed into her teenage self as well. We see here that she’s at home with her family, and it’s here that we see her father for the first time. It’s here that she runs up and hugs her father. This shows that she does indeed love her father very much, and has been missing him all this time. Her father even calls her by the cute nickname of ‘pumpkin’. This shows that the two of them have - or at least have had - a loving father-daughter relationship.

Unfortunately, things start to go south when Eda’s father, who we learn is named Dell, pulls out a little party favor for his kids before heading out to the Mandible. The sudden loud noise appears to scare the Owlbeast inside of Eda, triggering her to go into her Owlbeast form. This causes the Owlbeast - which I interpret as Eda herself, as she is reliving traumatic flashbacks - to attack her father causing severe damage to his right eye.

Now this could be very well be why Eda was so uncomfortable when Lilith spoke of reconnecting with their father. Eda feels terrible about what happened, and is nervous about seeing their father again after the incident. She is burdened with guilt for what happened. However, she tries to tell herself that it wasn’t her fault, but rather the fault of the Owlbeast inside of her. 

The dream transitions to another scene later in her life, about her mid-twenties, where she was dating Raine. But this isn’t a happy memory, as here Raine accuses Eda of lying to them about her curse, and how they feel as if they don’t know her anymore. It’s here that Raine admits to Eda that they are joining the Bard Coven, and that they are breaking up. The emotional devastation of this moment activates Eda’s curse. Raine asks Eda if she’s okay, to which Eda pushes Raine away and states that she’s okay. Raine, unable to help despite still loving Eda, takes their leave, knowing that Eda will never let them really help her. Present day Eda pleads with her past self to let Raine help them, to which her past self insists that everything is fine and that she’s okay.

This, to me at least, is a very big metaphor for mental illness, and how it can push those you love away simply by refusing their help. Eda, not wanting to hurt or burden anyone with her problems, constantly tells everyone she’s fine. By not letting others help her, she’s hurting herself in the process. And in turn is pushing away those who genuinely want to help her, but they don’t know what to do if she won't tell the what’s going on. The Owlbeast is making it a point for force Eda to relive some of the moments of her life where the Owlbeast curse affected her relationships with others the most. 

Eda then attacks the Owlbeast when it shows up again, repeatedly blaming the creature for ruining her life and making her miserable. But then Eda turns into her Owlbeast form herself, and is ensnared by a mysterious figure in a cloak decorated with celestial patterns, and where its face should be is dark with a crescent moon - or perhaps an eclipse. The figure then states, “Don’t bother beast, you can’t run away anymore. It’s over.” With a menacing laugh.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know totally what to make of this being. But I assume it has something to do with the Day of Unity, given all the celestial bodies and eclipse symbolism that the two have in common. Is this perhaps the being that created the spell that cursed Eda? Does this mean that this curse will play a vital role in the Day of Unity? I honestly don’t know. I’m kinda stuck on this one. This scene felt very ambiguous to me.

Eda takes off in flight, only to fall into the sea with her figure becoming the scroll that possessed the spell that cursed her in the first place. the scroll gets picked up by a passerby, and is presumably taken to the night market. We then have a sad Eda sitting on the banks of an ocean, with the smaller version of the Owlbeast trying to get away from her. But there is a red string connecting them. This could be the ‘red string of fate’. It originates in Chinese folklore, but the idea is that the string connects two destined soulmates. Now, I don’t think the Owlbeast is a soulmate to Eda, but this does sow that the two of them are definitely tied together. 

And it’s here that it finally hits Eda; just as she is haunted by the Owlbeast, the Owlbeast is haunted by her as well. She now tries to show kindness to the shrunken Owlbeast as it climbs up onto the shore, exhausted from trying to be free from her. And then one of Eda’s potions washes up on shore. And Eda does something amazing here. She accepts the reality that the two of them are stuck together, regardless of whether they like or not. And that the potion is the only reason the two of them can see each other and communicate face to face. Eda then says, “If we can’t learn to accept each other, this nightmare will never end.”

Eda asks for a temporary truce, to which the Owlbeast agrees by drinking some of the potion from Eda’s hand and resting on her lap, seemingly in a moment of peace. the sky changes color to a beautiful, rainbow-like scene, to which Eda states, “I’ve never had a dream this pretty.” And then she finally wakes up.

This whole scene was symbolic of someone accepting a mental illness. A piece of themselves that they resent and wish they could live without. As someone who suffers from a few mental illnesses myself, this part of the episode really spoke to me. Eda is accepting the reality of her curse, but is doing her best to try and not to resent it, now accepting that it’s a part of her. And I think she’s even coming to the understanding here that, even though the Owlbeast has blame for pushing Eda’s loved ones away, she shares just as much blame as well for never allowing those she loved to help her.

This particular part of the episode highlights just how important it is to allow others to help you when you are suffering. You are not a burden to someone who unconditionally loves you and is willing to do everything in their power to help you, no matter what. Just earlier she was saying that she needs to protect those she loves the most from the Emperor’s plans. Now that Eda is once again surrounded by people who love her, she is no longer going to try and push them away. But instead, she’s decided she’s going to protect them no matter what.

Eda wakes up from her dream to find that she can now transform into a new form she has complete control over. One that we’ll call her Harpy form from now on. This, I believe, is now a version of her Owlbeast form that she can control. This can even be a metaphor for someone fully accepting themselves with their mental illness and, in a way, “transforming” themselves into their best self.

#toh #the owl house #toh analysis #the owl house analysis #toh speculation #the owl house speculation #toh eda #eda the owl lady #the owl house eda #toh theory #the owl house theory #toh edalyn #the owl house edalyn #toh season 2 #toh season 2 spoilers #toh spoilers #the owl house season 2 #the owl house season 2 spoilers #the owl house spoilers

[radiorenjun]

twisted strings || lee donghyuck

➶ pairing: lee donghyuck x reader

➶ genre: angst. angst. JUST ANGST. twisted string soulmate!au, non-idol!au

➶ word count: 3.1k

➶ synopsis: you and donghyuck were one of the rare soulmate couples unlucky enough to be cursed by your own string

➶ warnings: y/n and donghyuck have somewhat of a toxic relationship, mentions of surgery, injuries, drinking, arguments, hyuck being selfish, character death!

➶ a/n: I am not romanticizing or support toxic relationships. This is purely fictional and if you do not like such topics, kindly move on. Have a good day. 

➶ based on the song 'Evelyn, Evelyn' by Evelyn Evelyn

“Y/N.” 

“Donghyuck.” 

God makes mistakes sometimes. One of the greatest mistakes was the soulmate system. It is often believed that if you meet your soulmate before the age of 14, you were set for a doomed relationship. Unfortunately for you and Lee Donghyuck, you found each other when you both were only 5 years old.  Upon meeting each other for the first time, the string tied to your pinkies had intertwined the both of your hands together, making it impossible for the two of you to physically separate.

The day you met Donghyuck was considerably one of the worst moments of your life. You were both trapped in each other's special bond. The string that was supposed to connect the two of you together became a cage, one that you could not get out of until death tears you apart. Soulmates were supposed to love each other but the twisted string binding the two of you together only made you desire for freedom even more.

“Why do we bother to stay?”

“Why are you running away?” 

You two were soulmates after all. The twisted string was a rare phenomenon that only happens to one in 50 million people around the world. You’ve been sticking to each other for so long, you can’t stand being with each other considering you couldn’t have your own privacy anymore. When your parents took you to the doctor back when you were younger, the doctor suggested surgery to remove the bond.

But the risk was too high. Removing your string could result in one of you dying, your parents didn’t want you to go through with it. But as you grow older into your teenage years, your relationship becomes even more unhealthy. Donghyuck was beginning to think the risk of getting the surgery was worth it. While you, on the other hand, all you wanted was to get along with Donghyuck. You didn’t want to run away from your relationship, you wanted to fix it. But unfortunately, Donghyuck didn’t have the same mindset.

“Don’t you feel like severing?”

“Everything’s just come together at last.” 

“We’re broken, why would you want to play?”

Donghyuck felt like this life was all just God’s game. An entertainment for him. He couldn’t bear the thought of living by your side at every second of the day, but yet again, you would always turn down his offer of getting the surgery. You were scared. He was too. You both wanted to be happy. Donghyuck felt like the time you spend alone with each other was a complete waste, he rather used his time to do other things like developing talents and doing things he used to enjoy like playing soccer or baking cookies with his mother.

You, however, felt like you should be more grateful for this opportunity. You’ve heard a countless amount of stories about those who lost their soulmates before they could meet them or those who never found their soulmate. You didn’t like the toxicity your relationship holds, but you couldn’t help but hope that maybe one day that things would change between the two of you.

After all, at some point in your lives. There was a time when the two of you actually fell in love with each other. 

At least, that’s what you want to believe. 

“We grew up closer than most”

“Closer than anything”

When you were younger, your foolish selves believed that the two of you would get through living a happy life living by each other’s sides for the rest of time. But of course, those are just nonsensical ramblings of young children. Nothing good lasts forever. You’d like to believe that Donghyuck loved you at some point in your lives, just like you loved him. Even if that love is no more, you couldn’t help but hope.

Life was playing an amusing game with the two of you. The longer you both spend time with each other, the more broken your relationship becomes. The more broken your relationship becomes, the stronger Donghyuck’s urge to cut you off from his life becomes. And as more time goes on, you start to think if things would be better if you get the surgery. If one of you dies, at least one of you will have a chance of living a happier life, right?

“Shared our beds”

“But wore different clothes”

Your parents didn’t know what to do when you first met. When you were younger they would arrange an organized schedule of who gets the two of you in their home for the week like a child with divorced parents. It wasn’t like your parents didn’t like you being together like this. Your parents treated Donghyuck as their own son and his parents treated you as if you were their own daughter. But you both knew that deep down, they’d like to have their own child back without their soulmates sticking to them like some kind of weird sloth.

“Talked about everything”

“Spoke about so many things”

You spent years of your life together talking about anything and everything in an attempt to heal your relationship despite the fact that you two knew that it was getting you nowhere. You often asked questions like “what shall we wear tonight?” or “what shall we do today?” 

“Can we go ice skating?”

“But we just did that yesterday”

You were both different people with different personalities and different interests. Unlike Donghyuck, you had thrown away your hopes of ever achieving those big dreams of yours a long long time ago, but always felt nice to dream of what you could be if you weren’t so hopeless. 

“Should we be firemen?”   

“Can we be astronauts?”

You were often looked down upon by your classmates when you were still in elementary school. The teachers would always scold them for constantly making fun of your intertwined hands being stuck together by the string. They would always tell your classmates to be nice and to invite the two of you to play with them.  But alas, children are children. They don’t understand what words and actions could do to someone else.

Often, the teachers would make you join in on their little game of tag or hide and seek. It was quite difficult for the both of you to participate, it wasn’t like the two of you were telepathic. You constantly spend the first few seconds arguing where to go or where to hide which ends the two of you being caught before you could even have a chance to actually have fun. And eventually, your classmates would ignore your presence if the two of you participated.

“What if they find us?” you asked one day while playing hide and seek with your peers, crouching down to ensure that your body is safely hidden. Donghyuck lets out a small scoff, outstretching his legs as he leaned his back against the wall with a heavy sigh before looking down at your intertwined bond. “They’re not looking anyway,” he shook his head. 

These days, your conversations were always the same. Dull and monotonous. Filled with hopelessness and despair. Eyes filled with exhaustion and distress. Faces void of emotion as you both stared at the dull grey ceiling. 

“Y/n.” 

 “Donghyuck.”

“Why do we bother to stay?”

“Why are you running away?”

“Don’t you feel like severing?”

“Everything’s just come together at last”

“We’re broken, why would you want to play?”

“Fill my glass,” Donghyuck ordered, making you reach your hand out to fill his glass with wine. At the age of nineteen, the love between the two of you was nonexistent. You both had to deal with the excruciating truth that you’re going to be stuck together forever. “Why are we weeping?” you muttered under your breath as you slumped against the sofa beside him. Donghyuck ignored you as he sipped his drink with an annoyed roll of his eyes.

“At your side”

“I feel like a ghost” 

You never knew about this. But Donghyuck was always the one to wake up first every morning. And every morning, he couldn’t help but turn over to stare at you as you sleep. Knowing how creepy it is, Donghyuck couldn’t help but admire your content expression. The way your eyelashes hovered over your skin, the way your lips part slightly. He would never tell this to your face. But he loved waking up to see the innocence glossing over your sleeping state.

Despite the many arguments you two get into with each other on a daily basis, it felt nice to lay down in silence with the comforting thought of the two of you having your own peaceful moments every morning. But of course, as soon as you wake up, Donghyuck is back to looking at you as if you were the bane of his existence. 

In retrospect, Donghyuck viewed you as someone who needs to get off of his back. Quite literally. He wanted you to let go of him, he wanted to live his own life where he doesn’t have to put up with you being constantly beside him. He knew you were his soulmate, but he didn’t know if he loved you or hated you. All he knows is that he just wants you to leave him be and have his privacy.

Everyday was just the same. There was nothing new to the two of you. Your days of living with each other always goes by the same questions over and over again.

“What shall we wear tonight?”

“What shall we eat today?”

“Do you think we’ll get married someday?” you asked him one day, looking at the loving couple across the street from you as you both stood in front of the bus stop side by side with equally emotionless expressions. Donghyuck took a small glance at you, unsurprisingly you were saying it with a hopeless expression. Why did you have to ask such a question when you know very well what the answer was going to be?

“We discussed this yesterday,” Donghyuck replied shortly, keeping his eyes on the empty road as people continued to walk past you. His eyes wandered to those who walked alone with hands in their pockets. Then his eyes wandered to those holding hands with their soulmates, gazing lovingly at them as if they were the brightest star in their eyes. Donghyuck then looked back at you, his half-lidded eyes scanning your broken figure that mirrored his own. Was he willing to marry someone as broken as he is?

“Should we be movie stars?” 

“Will we be millionaires?”

But can someone broken still talk about dreams as if they still have hope in their lives? Donghyuck never knew what’s the point in these wishful conversations. It was just hurting the both of you even more as time went by. You knew conversations about the things you know you’ll never be was just getting your hopes up. But life seemed too dim for the both of you, you couldn’t help but hold onto these late night conversations as if it was the only thing keeping you grounded.

“I want to be famous.”

“They’re watching us anyway.”

Donghyuck had always wanted to be a singer since he was a child. He loved to sing and dance before he met you. His parents were ready to support him in his dreams, his future was bright as heaven’s gate when he realised he had actual potential of being a star. But that can’t happen. Not with you by his side.

A part of you thought that the reason Donghyuck had always hated you was because you ripped him away from his dreams and his own privacy. You couldn’t blame him for being angry at you. But you knew that deep down, he was also at fault, too. If the two of you hadn’t met all those years ago, you’d probably be in a much healthier and happier place by now. 

You both would probably be in a better place by now if fate hadn’t decided to let you meet that day.

“We grew up so very close.”

“A parasite needs a host,” Donghyuck spat at you, venom and malice lacing his tone as he pushed away his plate of food aggressively across the table. It was another one of those arguments. You two were getting sick of each other. You were at a breaking point. Donghyuck was discussing about getting the surgery again and as usual, he snaps at you harshly whenever you decline the offer. But you couldn’t help but retort back at his snarl.

“I’m only trying to do what is best for us!”

“Well I never wanted this. I never asked for this. All that I want is some time to myself!”  

“Donghyuck…”

“Just get away from me! Please just stop touching me! You’re always trying to be somebody else!”

Donghyuck believed that deep down you were just putting up a fake act. He believed that all this talk about you not getting the surgery for the sake of the both of your safety was all just buffoonery. He thought that you just want to see him live a miserable life along your side for the rest of your lives. He views you as some kind of parasite sticking onto his body. 

He was too blinded by selfishness to see the good side in this situation you were both stuck in.

“I just realise I’m not alone.”

You were afraid. If you took the surgery, you were afraid that Donghyuck was going to die instead of you. He may not like you, but you didn’t want to live with the overwhelming burden that you killed your own soulmate, even if it wasn’t your idea to do the surgery. You didn’t want to live without Donghyuck either. You wanted someone to love. Unfortunately for you, Donghyuck didn’t want the same thing.

“Well you’re only scared of me.”

“But you never cared for me!”

“Why don’t you let me free?”

“Cause you never dared to be!”

 Spewing insults and cries back and forth was all the only thing you’ve been doing the past couple of years. You were both tired. Tired of living like this. Living in misery and despair. You knew you weren’t going to be happy in this life, but you also knew you didn’t want to sacrifice Donghyuck just because he wanted it. In Donghyuck’s mind, all there is to think about was how life would be so easier if you cut the damn string off of your body. How everyone would be much happier if you just agreed to the surgery.

“Cause you never listen, you’re always insisting!”

“Just stop reminiscing!” ¦¦ “I’m just reminiscing!”

“I feel something missing.”

“I just want you here with me.” ¦¦ “I just want my privacy.”

“God, can’t we just get along!?” ¦¦ “God, won’t you leave me alone?!”

That was it. That was your breaking point. 

You finally agreed to the surgery without hesitation, your eyes no longer held a single ounce of light and hope in them as you signed the papers willingly. Donghyuck couldn’t say anything else to you either. He finally got you to sign the papers and do the surgery but why didn’t he feel as ecstatic as he should be? Why was his heart still so empty? Why couldn’t he find the enthusiasm in him as you both got into your robes, preparing for the surgery.

You haven’t spared the slightest glance at him since the argument you two had the other night. But then again, why would you? You finally agreed to signing either yours or Donghyuck’s life to death, there was no need for you to feel anything about it. You prayed to God that Donghyuck would be the one to survive, no matter how bad he has treated you in almost the past two decades, you still prayed for his survival.

“Y/n.”

“Donghyuck.”

The doctors placed masks over your mouths, informing you that they were going to start the anesthesia with a concentrated expression on their face. Donghyuck looks over to you to give you one last look, his eyes becoming half-lidded when he sees your content face resting right beside him. The way your eyes slowly shut when the gas kicked in, he practically saw your hopeless pupils shining before his own eyes started to get droopy. For once in years, he squeezed your hand encouragingly in his, feeling the string tighten around your body as he does. 

“Y/n.” 

“Donghyuck.”

He felt your hand squeeze back softly, making his heart flutter for the first time in ages before he finally succumbs into a deep sleep. 

“Y/n.”

“Donghyuck.”

As Donghyuck opens his eyes, he finds himself in a hospital room, A heart monitor placed right beside him, beeping loudly to signal the calming beating of his heart. He sat up slightly, his body feeling weak and sore. He examined his body, stitches and gauze were everywhere and all around his arms. The strings that he had gotten used to seeing wrapped around his body were nowhere in sight. 

It worked. The surgery worked. 

“Y/n.”

He was no longer stuck to your body anymore. He was finally able to live his life as freely as he wanted. He could hardly believe his own eyes as he pressed both of his palms against his face, pinching himself to see if this was just some kind of weird dream. He couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face. God, when was the last time he smiled like this.

He couldn’t wait to do the things he’s always wanted to do. He couldn’t wait to go home to his parents and see the baffled looks on their faces once they see him as a whole happy person again. He couldn’t wait to tell all his friends that he could finally drink with them without you getting on his back for drinking too much- 

Wait. You. Where were you? 

“Y/n.”

His head shot up, looking around to see if you were in the same room as he was. His heart raced when he saw the empty bed next to his. Have you gone home without him? Or did you wake up way earlier than he did? Why didn’t you wait for him to wake up? Where have you gone? Why weren’t you right next to him? He was supposed to be the first one to wake up to see the peaceful expression on your sleeping face. He was supposed to be the first one to tell you that this surgery would be the best decision you two have ever made.

The clipboard filled with data the doctor left on the table beside him had all the answers to his question. Donghyuck used a weak hand to grab the papers and set them on his lap, carefully picking each and every one of them up, his eyes quickly scanning the letters printed onto it. From what he can conclude, your soulmate string was cut off and donated to science. The surgery took about 4-5 hours and he had been resting for about two days.

He also concluded that you had died in the middle of surgery. 

“Y/n.”

“Y/n.”

“...”

“Why didn’t we try to stay?”

“You wanted to keep running away.”

“Why did we agree to severing?”

“Everything’s over at last.”

“I’m broken. Let’s play this game again.”

if you haven’t noticed. Hyuck is in bold. Y/n is in italic. Both is both. 

This was a new writing style I wanted to try out and it’s not my best work but I think it’s pretty good enough to post.

#NCT-WRITERS #neowritingsnet #neoculturecafe #neo-constellations #nct x reader #nct dream x reader #nct donghyuck x reader #nct dream haechan x reader #nct dream lee haechan x reader #nct dream lee donghyuck x reader #nct dream donghyuck x reader #nct 127 x reader #lee donghyuck x reader #lee haechan x reader #haechan x reader #donghyuck x reader #haechan scenarios #lee haechan scenarios #lee donghyuck scenarios #donghyuck scenarios #nct dream scenarios #nct scenarios #nct angst #donghyuck angst #haechan angst #nct dream angst #nct 127 scenarios #nct u x reader #nct haechan x reader #nct lee haechan x reader

[rostovs-lover]

settle

din djarin x reader | a bounty, smooching, way too much flowery language| gender neutral | fluff | wc.1594

this is all flowery writing and i still haven’t watched the second season, so. also, researching for this somehow led me to a 2017 1D gangbang fic on ao3 so that-

hey hey, if you want some requests, i’d love some first kiss fluff with Mando??? however you want to handle the mask thing go for it, i just need some tlc from Din 🥺 if you wanna of course

despite how connected you are to each other, you and Din have only limited yourselves to mere hand touches. but he’s in love and it needs to come out.

     The Razor Crest shifted in the air, shaking the bundle of flower against the windshield. They had been picked in a small village, temporary lodging for you and the Child while Din tracked a smuggler from several planets over. It was calm and lush and green and you had been thrilled to present your companion with the little purple bouquet. It wasn’t much, small, half wilted, and tied off with a thin piece of sewing string from your pack but he’d taken it gently in his hands and vowed to put it somewhere he’d always see it. To always have a reminder of you.

     When all was said and done, the bounty caught, and you’d found your way back into the ship something had seemed different, more domestic. Floating around in an endless expanse of darkness, just talking. It was so simple, so innocent. Din wasn’t accustomed to the gentleness of domesticity, with his legs stretched out onto the dash and your soft presence floating around the cabin. He sat, still and quietly, listening to your voice, absolutely entranced. He had lived years, decades, on his lonesome, lone bandit doing as he pleased with a lack of regard to anything else. He could go and do terribly risky things. He could almost get himself killed and then thrive off of the adrenaline of living and no one would say a thing. But then there was a child, something small and fragile. He had a life in his grasp, something that would only flourish if he fed and watered it and gave it the right amount of love and sunlight. One lapse of judgement and suddenly the entirety of the universe rested right against his cold leather gloves. Gloves that did unimaginable things, cruel and incredible things. They smelled of blaster residue and guilt, payment for taken lives. He was ruthless until he wasn’t. Until he found a baby, alone, and saw a mirror, saw himself. It had softened him, reduced him to positively nothing.

     The child was all he vowed to have, the only thing he would allow himself to love. And Din refused to believe he could open himself to anyone else, refused to let himself have anything else that could hinder him. But Maker, if the body really was made of stardust then a constellation had to give up two pieces of itself for the both of you to be here, together, perfectly aligned. He had surrendered himself entirely at your first words to him, fallen to his knees instead of replying and from that moment forwards Din Djarin, the feared bounty hunter in all his hard, hand-forged armour, had belonged to you. His soul melded into you.

     The term “soulmate” was to be used lightly, and as much as he’d thrown the possibility around it wasn’t plausible. Impossible even, that you could be soulmates. Twin flames were more akin to what he felt you were. After one night in a murky inn, it seemed the feeling was mutual. As you’d pressed your hand to his, bare, ungloved, the only part of him you’d allowed yourself to touch. But it had been everything to him. Din had yearned for contact, and when the warmth from your palm bled into his something burned all through him and it still hadn’t left. You hadn’t left, you had burrowed yourself into his heart.

     Din sat back in the pilot seat of the Razor Crest, feet propped against the dash. You were talking about a book you’d picked up in the village. It was on botany and certain botanical environments in different parts of the galaxy. You’d known most everything in the book already but it was still interesting and it contained a new tincture. It had also aided in putting the Child to sleep on several restless night. A habit he’d picked up since you’d been the one to put him to bed, only going down with a story, regardless of what it was you were reading. It was something so sweetly domestic, pure and untouched by anything happening through the galaxy.

     Din’s life, from an impressionable age, had controlled by a creed. He had grown up loved and cared for but not with parents, he hadn’t ever had a textbook definition family. And in his line of work he couldn’t afford to be familial, let alone paternal. The child was accidental, at best. A cruel twist of fate had put them in the same path, The Child who owed his life for merely existing and Din, who was so feared that sometimes, the terror seeped into his own conscious. But you. You made him want to give up all the violence. He was willing to set his blaster down and never pick it back up. He would shed his brutality, pull himself from a rouge nomadic life if only for a moment more of this life. To be in love, to have a child, to nurture a family for himself. He wanted, so desperately, to have and to hold. He had also never divulged any of this to you.

     “Its late-” You paused to look into the dark space outside of the ship, “In theory. We’ve been awake for a while is more accurate,”

     “You can go to bed, I’ll manage with the kid.”

     “We have Din, you’ve kidnapped someone since you slept last,”

     Din scoffed, “Kidnapped is a little bit heavy, also incredibly incorrect. I do not kidnap, I get paid for what I do.”

     “Kidnappers get paid, I think that's the point?” You pushed yourself out of the chair, “Are you coming?”

     Din looked back to the console, “Fine, let me just put in the coordinates then I’ll be down, okay?”

     You nodded, “Make sure not to get us lost.” You gathered your book and the blanket thrown over the headrest of The Child’s seat before opening the doors to the hallway.

     You were settled into bed, pajamas on, afghan wrapped around your shoulders, and book in your clutch, when Din came down the ladder. He shuffled through the room, setting things in their rightful place, blaster under the bed, gloves on the nigh table.

     “I’m turning the lights off, is that okay?”

     You nodded, “Yes, yeah I’m done with this chapter.” You dogeared the page as the room was cast into darkness. The thick quilt on the bed was pushed back and the mattress sunk under his weight. There was a quiet shuffle as he removed his gloves, his helmet, and the rest of his heavy armor.

     He was warm, it seemed to radiate from him. Even as he lay a lifetime away from you, only touching hands. It was pitch black and his fingers intertwined with yours.

     “Did you see much of the village when we stopped?” You asked quietly, playing with his fingers.

     “Enough.”

     “What does that mean? Enough,”

     “I saw enough of it, it was nice, lots of farmland. Did you like it?”

     You nodded, moving to run your fingers over the palm of his hand. Despite how rough his line of work was Din’s hands were soft, all the years spent under thick leather gloves, “It was stunning, the baby liked it too. He really likes playing with other kids, he’s good at making friends.”

     “Do you think he gets lonely?” You felt the tips of Din’s fingers shyly prod at the delicate skin on your wrist. The excitement that bubbled into your lungs seemed almost pathetic, like a schoolgirl holding hands with her crush for the very first time. But you’d never had his bare hands anywhere but your own and now he was moving up your arm.

     “No, he seems content here, with us.”

His fingers were at the crook of your elbow now, pressing into the soft flesh and he almost seemed to tug at you, tug you closer, and you gave. His voice had quieted to accommodate the closed distance, “Friends couldn’t… hurt? Other kids to be around for more than just a couple of days.”

     You let one of your fingertips start to dance up his bicep, “What exactly are you insinuating Mando?”

     “It would be nice to settle in,” He gingerly settled his hand against the curve of your neck.

     Your heart raced and you crooned into him, a soft shudder rolling through your shoulder, “Settle in?”

     He carefully pushed a piece of hair from your eyes, “To be somewhere, permanently maybe,”

     “Like to have a home, you mean?” You reached to hold the back of his hand against your cheek.

     “Yes… maybe. Not necessarily, I mean not if you didn’t want to. Not… you but just in general.” He paused, thumbing at your cheek, “Yes you, if you wanted.”

      “Din,” You murmured, reaching into the dark for him.

     He caught your wrist, “I’m here. Right here.” And it was very quiet, practically silent besides the soft whirring of the engine. The air changed as he leaned closer, hair brushing against your jaw, “Is this okay?”

     “Its perfect,” You whispered back up to him.

     Slowly, very slowly, he pressed his mouth to yours. The stubble dusted against his jaw scratched your cheek as he tilted his head. His breath, softly flitting against your skin was warm and the hands your face made you feel safe, grounded. He smelled like leather and sweat and the freshly laundered shirt he wore. Din was home. He was soothing and familiar and home. Absolutely perfect. Absolutely wonderful.

     Pulling back slowly you looked up to where you assumed he was, “Din, where exactly would we be settling in?”

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian imagine #the mandalorian x reader #din djarin #din djarin x reader #din djarin imagine #the child #baby yoda #grogu #Mando #lennie writes

[anika-ann]

WINSoD - Epilogue

We’re Tied Together (Always and Forever)

Type: series, soulmate AU series  (part 1, part 2, part 3)  

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader  Word count: 3750

Summary: In which you reach the end of the line. Is it though? The end?

Warnings: battle with Thanos no.2, blood and violence, character death, religious motives, mention of afterlife, language

A/N:  Do you ever look at your fic and are like… you know this was supposed to be a cheesy one-shot, right? Soulmate meet-cute one-shot to be precise. Well. That work out splendidly... Anyway, here – the epilogue! Enjoy! Oh, and prepare tissues :-*

Part 6

༻༺༻༺༻ღ༺༻༺༻༺

Waking up in a comfy bed was surreal; mostly because you knew that after falling – or half-jumping – from a cliff, this wasn’t what was usually happening. You didn’t have much experience, but you still had some common sense left.

Right?

Why did nothing hurt?

“Hello, Little One,” a voice greeted you, startling you enough to roll over and fall from the bed – only to land back in the cushions, confusing the Hell out of you – or perhaps you should have thought Heaven.

Because this was positively Castiel‘s voice. Castiel as an angel. Angels, as far as you were concerned, belonged to Heaven.

Was it possible that… that- this was--?

“Yes, you’re in Heaven… again,” he hummed nonchalantly as if it was perfectly common to just die twice and he seated himself on the edge of your bed.

“I killed myself,” you blurted out the first thing that came to your mind, instantly slapping your palm over your mouth. It sounded terrible, hearing yourself say it out loud, just throw it out in the open as if it was not a big deal.

Which in fact, it was. Since when suicidal people went to Heaven? You never had been good with the whole faith thing, but this sounded a bit sketchy.

“To save half of the Universe,” Castiel questioned, frowning. “Or would you say your soulmate belonged to hell after had once forced the plane down, expecting to die in exchange of saving millions?”

Silently admitting he had a point, you let the issue alone for the moment. Instead, you blinked, taking his appearance in. He was wearing his typical trench-coat, making him look like an accountant, dorky for a celestial being. He fitted in here though – bright room, white sheets, no windows…

“You’ll get a better room soon, less prison-like,” he explained as if he could hear your thoughts. Which he as well might, because he was an angel, you were in freaking Heaven, again, which what the Hell, if you had been before, how could you not remember that-- and everything was so confusing and… lonely. “But I thought you’d like to see your soulmate first.”

Your heart stopped. Later, you would question why did you still have a fucking heartbeat, or why did it feel like it, but did he just say-

“What the Hell is Steve doing here?!” you shrieked in horror and Castiel sighed, possibly at your swearing, but you didn’t give a fuck. What was Steve-

“He’s not here. But a battle with Thanos occurred and I thought you might like to see.”

You ran your hand down your face tiredly, relieved beyond words. Steve was alive, still on Earth – probably.

Christ. Castiel sure didn’t know how to talk to a girl who had a superhero for husband. Or he in fact did, since he was willing to show you.

It took one single snap of Castiel’s fingers and a scene of horror – fire, ash and blood – unfolded in front of you. There was nothing but smother from the debris where the compound had used to be, the Titan with an enormous space ship probably the one to blame.

And barely three defenders of Earth stood against him and his endless rows of army, thousands of monsters ready to take the half of population one by one, just waiting to be released from the ship.

Where were the others? And… Thanos! They killed him! What-

“How-“

“The Avengers gathered all the Stones. Hulk snapped this time, bringing everyone who had died in the original Snap back. Unfortunately, a spy infiltrated the team and led Thanos from the past to the present,” Castiel explained patiently, but you were anything but patient, suddenly angry as gnawing fear bit into your stomach.

“Then why are you here?! There’s… there’s Tony, Thor and Steve, three people—sorta people – facing a fucking ARMY FROM SPACE!” you yelled at the angel, a being powerful enough to drag your ass from Heaven – which you didn’t care for in the slightest.

How could he just... sit here with you?!

“We cannot interfere-“

“The fuck did you just say?!” you spitted out, rising to your feet. “Aren’t angels supposed to be guardians? You-“ you continued your verbal assault in attempt to get him moving, only to freeze when a blinding lightning hit Thor’s hammers (plural?!) and the infamous trio threw themselves into the battle.

You barely had few seconds to feast your eyes on Steve in one piece; he was glorious, standing straight with his chin up, jaw clenched in determination and all you could think of was how strong he was, carrying on with the mission.

You knew it wasn’t that he didn’t miss you, that he didn’t grieve you; he was simply the bravest person you had ever met, just like you had told him before--- ugh, before you had died.

If you only weren’t so terrified for him.

Where was everyone? If the Snap worked and people had been brought back, where was the whole bunch of warriors from Wakanda? The rest of the Avengers’ crew?

Breathless, your heart pounding in both your ribcage and temples, you watched as Thanos tossed the three figures around, almost as if he was playing with them despite their best efforts.

“Get up, Stevie. God, please, get up, get up, be okay,” you whispered urgently with your throat swollen at one particular blow that had your soulmate landing on his back and lying down with his breath knocked out of his chest, his eyes closed in what could only be agony.

With horror, you saw his body turn almost limp, your nails digging into your palms.

GET. UP. Don’t you dare to stay down and get yourself killed!

He clenched his jaw, glint of something that twisted your insides in genuine fear in his eyes. This wasn’t determination anymore. This was madness. He pushed himself on his feet and you couldn’t quite make yourself to feel relieved despite him fulfilling your earlier silent wish.

Determined Steve was a great Steve. Mad Steve? Mad Steve did crazy-ass decisions that could cost him his life. You had that in common.

Your jaw slowly went slack when your very husband grabbed Thor’s Mjölnir as if it was not a mythical weapon from the legends only Thor could lift and… banged up the Titan as if he had been fighting with it his whole life.

Incredulous chuckle escaped your lips when a flash of lightning connected with the hammer as Steve… charged it, only to aim its power at Thanos.

“I told him he could lift it,” you murmured despite yourself, letting yourself to feel a tinniest bit of hope and pride.

There was only three of them now, but surely the people who had been dusted were on their way. Steve, Thor and Tony just had to keep the Titan occupied-

Then the army stood, exiting the ship in a deadly march, no, in a deadly race and Steve got himself into trouble.

You grinded your teeth, unable to look away, but present enough to be pissed as Hell at Heaven and its angels and let them know.

“Do something! He’s gonna-“

A circle of amber-coloured sparkles appeared on Steve’s left and you could cry, recognizing Strange’s handiwork. The back-up was there. The army. The King of Wakanda with his badass sister. Sam. Bucky. Strange, Peter, the Maximoffs. Carol Danvers flying through the alien spaceship as if it was made of cotton candy. Even Natasha emerged from the debris with Clint and the others, causing you to breathe out in relief.

Now the true fight would start.

You weren’t calm by any means. But you were hopeful. Just glancing at the briefest encounter of Natasha with Sam was sweet enough to bring tears in your eyes.

“Kick their asses,” you whispered encouragingly, swallowing thickly and actually praying.

It was nearly impossible to follow the battle then; too many fronts, too many people, half-people and alien creatures. You saw the gauntlet they were trying to protect, you kept your eye on Steve, finding Thanos and his momentary enemies when you had the capacity to do so.

You honestly couldn’t tell how the fight was going, if it was in your favour or not, there was so much blood and smoke and noise… and then something caught your attention with painful clarity.

Several things happened at once; Carol, literally glued to Thanos, who had somehow got a hold of the gauntlet with all of the stones in it (oh God, oh my God, this couldn’t happen again-), was thrown away as if she was nothing but an annoying fly, Tony registered a part of his armour having been ripped away – his hand-piece – and found it with his gaze at Steve’s feet as Stephen Strange raised one shaky finger towards Tony, who suddenly had an expression of utter defeat on his face.

Your slow, terror-struck mind didn’t do the math when Steve jumped on Thanos’ arm, forcing his fingers away so he couldn’t snap his fingers. Something red and flashy glimmered in the mess of limbs, but you didn’t pay enough attention to make the connection. Peter, Spider-man, managed to web the gauntlet, helping out Steve and you almost breathed out the air suffocating your lungs.

Almost.

Because the next moment, Steve was tossed away like a rag-doll, much like Carol had been.

Like in a slow motion, the infamous effect in movies to add dramatics, you saw the Titan raise his hand with a smug smirk; and you noticed, unlike him, that his gauntlet was, in fact, empty of the Stones. But-

“I am… inevitable,” he exclaimed, a dull mechanic snap following his statement.

Nothing happened, except for the huge and ugly purple head whipping towards his useless weapon in confusion.

And that was when you saw it. The glow of the stones in a red piece of armour, Ironman’s armour, that was no longer worn by its owner.

All of the puzzle pieces fell into place, clicking with a painful clack.

Strange’s gesture. Tony’s expression. Crowley’s words of one future, matching the story of the contemporary Sorcerer Supreme. And the red flash when Steve had been fighting Thanos.

“No,” you whispered breathlessly, remembering with startling clarity what Steve had told you about Thanos – the Titan, stronger than all of the Avengers together – looked like after he finished his mission. He had nearly died.  

“NO!” you repeated with more force, horror filling your very being, dimming the world around you, a violent tremble attacking your body at the glint in Steve’s eye.

It was the one that had shaken you so much before. The mad spark.

Do whatever it takes, consequences be damned.

His raspy voice broke your heart in two, tearing your soul when you realized the implication of his words:

“No. You are only dust. And to dust you shall return.”

The snap of Steve’s metal-clad fingers echoed in the room and in your head, the sound seeping into your bones as you were blinded by the streak of colours, the white swallowing the whole world for long seconds.

You were sure that this was what actual death looked like. Nothing but emptiness.

You reflected several of your last words to Steve, wanting to rip your hair out. Why had you told him such nonsense? Why would you tell him that God had wanted it this way, that you had only played your part in His grand scheme?

You finally understood the words Sam had told you so many years ago, about similar people in a relationship being a disaster in making. Steve had embraced your belief in being only a tiny wheel in the God’s great plan.

That was the meaning of the words he said. A famous line from Bible, reflecting how much he believed in God’s work at the moment.  

You are only dust. And to dust you shall return.

In the critical seconds, Steve believed he had been chosen by God to be the tool delivering Thanos his defeat.

And to very likely to pay his life as a price.

Your eyes adjusted to the once again dark scene, where the hostile army started indeed turning back to dust. You desperately searched the only figure that mattered, finding him with his back resting against a random vertical flat surface, his chest barely rising.

The sight on half of his body severely burned, multiple spots on his skin blacking as it already died, had your eyes squeezed shut, your knees giving out as the sob shook your whole body.

The scene was burned into your brain, an image carved into your eyelids, sharp and precise as if you were still watching with your eyes wide open. You whimpered, shaking your head to chase it away. Vainly.  You didn’t remember looking into his eyes, yet you saw them hollow, blue and green always so brilliant misted. Dead.

A hand landed on your shoulder and you winced, releasing another whine, sobs braking through your palm that at some point covered your mouth – whether to be silent of not to throw up, you couldn’t tell. The hand gave you a gentle squeeze that did nothing to sooth your grief.

Oh God, oh you ignorant God, why are you such a DICK?!

“Why? Why did-- it have to--- be him?!” you choked out, avoiding the post-battle sight and instead shot Castiel a glare that could murder.

Your chest hurt. They just tore your heart away, easily as that, hollow gaping space in its place and you couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t breathe and hear and see-

“I don’t know, Little One. It was as it was meant to be. You wouldn’t want to see him suffer through your loss again anyway, believe me.”

“That doesn’t make it right!” you spitted out, disgusted at such implication. As if this happened to make you feel better! You were suffering. Hurting. But most of all, you were so fucking angry. With God. With Castiel. With… with yourself. Maybe if you hadn’t told him— perhaps- oh God, oh Satan, let the pain go away… let him rest at least. “What happens to him now?”

“Watch, Little One. He’s not gone yet,” Castiel encouraged you kindly, but you couldn’t- couldn’t—what was happening? Was he trying to tell you that they might be able to save him?

The flare of hope ignited in your body died as fast as it caught fire; why would Castiel say that you wouldn’t want to Steve go through losing you again if there had been a chance to save Steve still?

Steve was about to die. If he wasn’t gone yet, then he must have been in so much pain that your own, this paralyzing feeling, must have been nothing in comparison.

Why were you forced to witness his last moments? What kind of a twisted Heaven was this?

“You fucking idiot,” Tony rushed to his friend’s side, pissed and resigned at the same time.

“We won,” Steve breathed out weakly, only one eye following the movements around him. You buried your nails in the flesh of your palm, choking on your own spit as the sob tried to fight its way out of your chest.

“Yeah, we did,” Bucky confirmed softly, kneeling to his brother; they were nothing less than that. Hesitant hand curled around Steve’s seemingly unharmed bicep and he made a lame attempt at moving his arm to return that gesture. Bucky clenched his jaw, a tear appearing in the corner of his eye. “Don’t call him an idiot, Stark. That’s my job.”

His voice broke at the end of the sentence and your heart shattered as you felt his pain as your own. You couldn’t see anymore. The image was so blurry, but now new fear controlled your body, the fact Castiel never answered you and that meant something horrible awaited Steve in death and this was in fact your last moments of seeing him and— God, oh God, who had ever dared to call you merciful?

“I’m talking to God,” Tony specified and you wordlessly thanked him. “Clearly, he’s a dick for making it this way.”

“Nah. ‘s smart. S-sam?” Steve choked out, voice barely audible and the therapist (with wings now, having returned to his previous job) was instantly by his side, his eyes glassy as well.

“Yeah, Cap?”

An attempt at shake of head was given, you assumed, but barely a motion was the result. “You Cap now. Will ya’?”

If you had any capacity for being astonished left, you would have been at the request. But you were far too gone, drowning in misery.

“…yeah. Of course. I will if that’s what you want.”

“ ’sanks.”

Thor’s enormous figure took a step closer, thunderous voice uncharacteristically quiet. “We’ll remember you, brother. Both of you.”

A faint smile appeared on Steve’s lips, only one corner capable of rising, and yet he closed both of his eyes for a long moment, clearly struggling to stay conscious.

That’s a lie, your mind whispered. Not just conscious. Struggling to stay alive. And losing!

Only one eye opening, Steve managed to cast a half-lidded glance in Bucky’s direction, flickering to Tony for a second.

His next word was crystal clear. “Home.”

Natasha sobbed into her palm, but her delicate fingers curled around Steve’s arm as well, right next to Bucky’s, giving her friend a tight-lipped pained smile.

“Yeah, Steve. It’s okay to go home. To her. Tell her we say hi, yeah?” she pleaded lowly, keeping her voice without a crack despite few tears escaping her eyes.

You stopped breathing altogether and prayed. God, please, let him find peace. With me. And if not with me, at least give him the peace he deserves, I beg you.

Clint fell to one knee, bowing his head.

At first, you didn’t realize it wasn’t just grief sucking the strength out of him. No. Bucky, Sam and Nat instantly followed, mirroring his position precisely.

They were paying their respect to a fallen comrade, you realized.

You couldn’t take it anymore as you noticed everyone else doing the same. Not when during the process Steve’s chest ceased its motions, the life leaving his body.

And your heart left with him, along with your sanity.

Nothing made sense anymore. You fucked up, God himself fucked up and Castiel, and angels and Universe and-- and it hurt. Steve had said that they had won, but you lost. You lost everything.

Your vision was clouded by both tears of sorrow and anger, your body numb from all the pain.

Castiel’s hand slid from your shoulder, finally, but instead, you were pulled into an embrace.

You wanted to push away and run and punch and curl up on the floor, but the arms around you held you too firmly, your head was buried in your captor’s chest. You wanted to fight it, refuse the lame attempt at comfort, and you breathed in furiously to brace yourself to free your body-- but the sudden familiarity, faint cologne and warmth, body large enough to engulf yours, lips in your hair…

“S-st-steve?” you choked out, disgusting gurgle sounding in your throat, but in that moment, you suddenly couldn’t bring yourself to care.

The way you said his name was more a question, but you didn’t need an answer. You would recognize him anywhere.

You husband. Your soulmate. Your Steve.

The arms around you tightened, his embrace turning nearly crushing, his chest expanding with generous inhale as his face buried in your hair further. Your lips curled up in a tight smile and you let out a hysterical laugh, sorrow and joy, pain and relief.

“You’re here,” he mumbled to your scalp, hot tears following his words and you found yourself lifted from the floor, your body nearly merging with his and you could finally breathe again, your heart fluttering in your chest. One of his arms held you securely to his form while the other fisted in the mess of your hair. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t be here.”

“Then why did you do it?” you asked him, the anger seeping through despite the delight at the encounter you could have only prayed for. He was here. “I’m so fucking mad at you.”

“So am I at you,” he opposed, but the growling of his voice was too soft for you to believe him that his rage was larger than his relief.

And so you let go of your own anger too.

This was all beyond your control. Deep inside, you knew that. You had been just playing a part; neither of you had asked for that. You surely didn’t ask to be approached by Crowley and being given the mission, while there was little Steve could do differently when the weapon had been thrown to his feet; a literal throw of the gauntlet that was impossible to ignore.

There was a large scheme of the inevitable put in motion. Who were you to challenge fate?

No point at being mad at each other. Especially when graced with this opportunity to… whatever this was.

“Truce?” you quipped hesitantly and Steve chuckled, a watery sound that made your chest ache, yet filled it with warmth that could never be replicated. For this sensation, so unique, you needed your soulmate only.

And you had him. Forever, perhaps?

Steve withdrew a fraction, his hand caressing your damp cheek as his own glistened with salty drops, but the magnitude of his love, the amount of affection written all over his face, took your breath away, making you forget all about ugly crying.

One look into his twinkling eyes, full of devotion, and nothing else mattered.

“Yeah, doll. Truce. I love you.”

You didn’t get a chance to tell him the same, since he kissed your nose, your watery giggle having his lips spread in the boyish smile you adored.

“I love you too,” you whispered then, planting your own kiss on his lips, chaste and short.

He wouldn’t take it. His mouth locked with yours in a searing kiss instead, emotion pouring from each tiny motion of his lips against yours and you gave in, engaging in the dance of love, your fingers tangled in his locks.

Now this felt like Heaven.

“We’re okay. Everything is going to be okay,” he breathed into your mouth then, fresh tears spicing your kiss.

You didn’t care if you sounded like a child, you asked anyway. “Promise?”

Steve retreated as little as possible to be able to look into your eyes, his own still glassy, but serious and heavy with a vow.

“Promise.”

༻༺༻༺༻ღ༺༻༺༻༺

S.R. masterlist

༻༺༻༺༻ღ༺༻༺༻༺

Am I forgiven? Technically, this could be considered a sort of a happy ending, right? To a point, of course. I mean. Morgan still has her dad. No soulmate pairs were split… :)

Some awesome readers on AO3 suggested that the Winchesters then bullied Cas into bringing the lovebirds back to life, fixed them a cabin in the middle of nowhere, and granted them an actual happy ending. Well. If that makes you feel better, roll with that :-*

BTW, about the scene where they honour the fallen Cap: that scene (with Tony, obviously) WAS supposed to be in Endgame, how dare you, fix that at instant!

I love you if you read this till the end, till the last line. Thank you with my whole heart for your support 🤍

-.-.-

Also, while I love Steve to bits (in case you couldn’t tell) and I was happy for him because of the ending he got in Endgame, understanding the arc the writers made, the more and more I think about it, it was kinda out of character and… maybe I would have been more satisfied if heStevewas the one snapping and taking Tony’s fate. I mean… I would have cried my eyes out, sure, but… but.  Sorry for the ramble O:-)

#fanfiction #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers soulmate #marvel x supernatural #soulmate au #supernatural #steve rogers #captain america #steve rogers x you #steve rogers imagine #captan america x reader #captain america imagine #steve rogers fanfiction #captain america fanfiction #mcu x spn #spn x mcu #castiel #soulmates #winsod #anika ann

[hale-13]

Better Together

By Hale13

For the Summer of Whump Day 15 - Sleep Deprived

Peter has always known that he had a platonic soulmate. He grew up sharing feelings and emotions through his bond and waiting eagerly to meet his other half.

Let’s just say - meeting your hero isn’t always all its cracked up to be.

Words: 2500, Chapters: 1/1 (Complete), Language: English

Fandoms: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)

Rating: Gen

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Happy Hogan

TW: Poor Communication, Self Deprication, Canon Typical Violence

Read on AO3 or below the line break.

Peter had always had a soulmate.

Some of his most formative memories as a child were nebulous warm feelings sent in his direction (mostly when he was sad or upset) and other emotions that he wasn’t quite old enough to comprehend. May and Ben had told him that his parents had known that he had a platonic soulmate nearly from the second he was born – Peter was never a loud baby and slept better than most newborns. The only logical explanation was his connection to someone else’s emotions that made him feel safe and loved before he was even old enough to process what those feelings were supposed to mean.

Soulmate bonds always grew stronger with time and the decrease in distance but the link connecting them was always there, growing ever stronger the longer it was in existence. May always told him that there was no better feeling than to be in contact with the other half of your soul, that the feeling was truly indescribable – warm and safe and comforting and loving and so many other things.

Peter wanted that. After losing his parents, after Skip, after the bullying and the Bite and Uncle Ben he wanted that. He wanted to feel warm and safe and protected more than he had ever wanted anything.

Meeting Tony Stark and finding out the man was his other half rocked Peter’s entire universe.

He had read the stories that were published everywhere; how magical it was supposed to be to meet the one person you were destined to be around for the rest of your life. The person who understood you sometimes better than you understood yourself.

His meeting with Tony was the opposite.

The shaking of their hands felt like pure electricity and the bond between them finally finally snapped into place, their minds linked together firmly now allowing for Peter to feel Tony’s shock and concern like they were his own before the man bricked up the link and left Peter reeling and untethered. Having Iron Man, his soulmate, revel that he knew about Peter’s wall crawling extracurriculars just served to unsettle him more and what could Peter say – he was a people pleaser. There was no way he would say no to Mr. Stark’s offer to go to Germany

Talking May into it without reveling he had found his soulmate was a completely different ordeal.

Peter had thought (hoped) that Mr. Stark maybe just needed to get used to the idea. That they would get back from Germany and he’d open the link again and try to get to know Peter. But, if anything, he had clamped down further leaving what once was a bright and vibrant part of Peter’s mind dark and lonely, the once taunt cord connecting them limp and lifeless despite Peter’s attempts to reach out.

And, yeah, maybe some of the stuff with Liz’s dad and the alien weapons had been a big attention grab but who could blame him really? It was painful to be ignored by the one person who had always been completely present through everything. After Tony had taken the suit, after he had made it abundantly clear how he felt about being Peter’s soulmate, how he felt about being in his life at all, Peter bricked his side of the connection as well. It was probably one of the most painful things he had ever done and it left him feeling more alone and empty than ever before.

He was lucky he was able to convince May that all of his moping was just about losing his internship and not about losing his soulmate. She had spent the evening with him on the couch watching crap TV and eating ice cream and had promised that he would get over it, that Stark Industries wasn’t the end all be all, that he was better than that. Peter supposed it was a good thing Tony had rejected him, he had no idea how May would take their connection if he hadn’t.

At least he was able to stop Toomes. At least he was able to save the majority of Mr. Stark’s stuff even if he destroyed the plane.

The fire from the crash was slowly starting to burn out on the beach as emergency services arrived. From his vantage on top of the Cyclone, Peter could see Happy pulling up and making his way across the shifting sand to where Toomes was attached to a pile of crates with webbing before looking around like he was trying to find something.

“Finally,” Peter thought, letting his eyes slip closed and resting his head back against the rough wooden structure behind him in exhaustion. He’d hang out here until it wasn’t so crazy and then he’d need to walk home. He’d used the very last of the webbing in his damaged shooters to restrain Toomes so swinging was out of the question but, with as bad as his shoulder was hurting, he didn’t think he’d be able to accomplish it anyway. He felt fresh tears of frustration and pain well up before he pushed them down – it didn’t matter how bad he felt, he had to do this.

His link to Tony, deadened for the past few months, lit up briefly and Peter scrunched his face as he tightened up the block on his end. It took concentration to cut ties (it was unnatural and mostly unheard of) and he must have slipped some during the fight; he needed to do better so he didn’t make Tony any more disappointed in him. A lone tear beaded up at that thought and he pushed it down. It was fine – Peter didn’t need a soulmate anyway and who was he to think he deserved Tony Stark of all people.

“Kid?” A voice, quiet, traveled up and Peter peaked over the edge of his hiding spot, pushing down the rising feeling of vertigo that made him feel unsteady.

“Hey Happy,” he said. “Sorry about the mess.”

The man looked unusually ruffled and concerned from his place on the ground, head tipped back completely to look at Peter. “Are you okay? Can you come down here?”

“Don’t have my mask,” Peter muttered, clumsily making his way down and nearly falling the last few feet when his vision tilted. Happy, arms half raised and spotting him from the bottom, barely caught him when he dropped the last couple feet.

“Jesus,” Happy said, holding Peter at arms length and surveying him with a critical eye. “You look terrible.”

“Thanks,” Peter said with an eye roll, batting the man’s hands away so he could stand on his own. “I need to get home.”

“Yeah no,” Happy grunted, pulling Peter’s uninjured right arm over his shoulder and dragging him toward the waiting town car. “You have a date with the compound MedBay, don’t want to miss it.”

“I’m fine,” Peter protested, trying unsuccessfully to pull away. “I just need to sleep it off.”

“I wasn’t asking,” Happy said firmly, pulling open the back door and shoving Peter in. “You got a concussion?”

“What?” Peter asked, confused and listing to the side as he blinked away the spots in his vision. “Uh… probably.”

“Stay awake then,” Happy said, shutting the door and climbing into the driver’s seat. “And buckle your seatbelt, we’ve got a long drive.”

“My aunt-,” Peter tried to say before Happy interrupted him.

“Tony will handle it. Just relax for now.” Peter let out a restrained sigh and let his head fall back to rest against the seat, eyes shutting in exhaustion. “What did I just say about falling asleep?” Happy grumbled from the front seat as he pulled the car away from the curb and sped out of the city.

Peter hummed, feeling more dizzy and out of it with the movement of the car. “Not sleeping,” he muttered, “resting my eyes.”

“Yeah well rest with them open,” Happy grumbled back and Peter huffed but let them open into slits, vision unfocused as he watched the streetlights blur together through the window. He must have dozed at some point because, the next thing he knew, Peter’s door was being opened and he nearly fell out of the car – held in only by his seatbelt.

“Yikes,” Tony said, poking his head in to look Peter over with a critical eye. “You weren’t kidding Hap.”

“Mr. Stark,” Peter said, surprised and confused, blinking his eyes against the bright lights of the garage they were parked in as they momentarily blinded him. “What? Why are you here?”

The man rolled his eyes and reached over Peter to unbuckle his seatbelt, pulling him out of the car and supporting most of his weight as Peter’s legs wobbled under him. “It’s my compound,” he pointed out, dragging Peter over to the elevator. “Why wouldn’t I be here?”

“Sorry about your plane,” Peter said, feeling worn down and upset – it felt like physical pain to be in such close contact with his soulmate without being able to feel him through the link. It felt wrong and confusing and his side of the link felt like a live wire.

“Don’t worry about it Spiderling,” Mr. Stark said, brushing him off brusquely, the elevator doors closing on their own and the elevator car starting up without Mr. Stark pressing any buttons. “I suppose I owe you an apology for not listening about Toomes anyway. And a thank you for saving all my shit.”

“It’s fine,” Peter mumbled, feeling uncomfortable. “It’s no problem.” Tony hummed but didn’t say anything as the doors trundled open to the bustling MedBay where a nurse was waiting for them with a wheelchair that Tony gently settled Peter into.

“I’ll call your aunt and smooth everything over,” Tony told him, getting back in the elevator. “You listen to Dr. Cho and get some rest.” And with that, the doors slipped closed again, leaving Peter alone and empty, his bond just as limp and lifeless as always but feeling more lonely and lost than ever.

————————————————

“Having some difficultly sleeping?” Dr. Cho asked when she checked in on Peter. He had arrived at the compound about six hours previously and was now resting semi-comfortably on one of the MedBay beds in borrowed sweats. He had been exhausted when he arrived, was still exhausted, but between the stinging pain from his still-healing injuries and the new, cold space he couldn’t seem to get any rest.

“Just not tired I guess,” Peter said listlessly, picking at a loose thread on the sheets and not making eye contact as she looked over his vitals and adjusted the IV drip. They didn’t really have drugs that affected him as much as they had hoped so it was all a guessing game right now. So far, nothing had been able to eliminate his pain completely. Dr. Cho gave him a look that showed she didn’t believe any of his bullshit but was kind enough not to call him on it.

Truth was, Peter was tired and all he wanted to do was sleep. He hadn’t really slept well since he had lost his ‘internship’, averaging maybe three or four hours a night if he was lucky and he felt like he was going a little crazy from the sleep deprivation. He couldn’t wait to be back in his own comfortable apartment with May. Dr. Cho didn’t try to further engage him in conversation, leaving and turning the lights down a little more as she closed the door.

Peter let his head flop over to stare out the window, his vision hazy and out of focus as he tried to turn off his brain. The outside of the compound was still lit up and, despite the late hour, full of activity. There must be some serious soundproofing and light dampening though since none of it reached into Peter’s room. He sighed in frustration, he wanted to sleep.

“I’m pretty sure I told you to get some rest,” Tony said from the door, surprising Peter and making him flinch.

“Sorry,” Peter said, dropping his gaze to rest only on his sheet-covered legs. Even though their bond was bricked, Peter being awake was probably keeping Tony up. He needed to do better. Mr. Stark wanted him to be better.

“What?” The man asked, stepping further into the room and clearly waffling for a second before dropping into the chair next to Peter’s bed. “There’s nothing to be sorry for kid.”

“The link’s probably keeping you up though right?” Peter asked, eye flicking over for just a second and then back to his knees.

Tony snorted softly. “Hardly. I’m not the best at sleeping which is why I’m awake. You, however, should be recovering and its hard to do that wide awake.”

“I’ll do better,” Peter promised, tone a little sardonic. “I’m sorry for disappointing you.”

Tony sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I think its time we talked. I wanted to wait until you had recovered but I really don’t think it can wait that long. Let me just say that I’m not disappointed in you Underoos. I’m actually really proud.”

Peter whipped his head up. “Proud?” He asked, surprised.

“Of course,” Tony told him, leaning forward in his chair. “I made a mistake taking your suit and grounding you. When I told you I wanted you to be better than me its because you’re already the best of us kid, you don’t want to stoop to my level.”

“But the link…” Peter started, his throat feeling dry and his eyes wet.

Tony’s eyes narrowed, roving over Peter’s face intently before standing and kicking off his shoes. “Scoot over.” Peter, surprised and confused (these were becoming his perpetual states of being he thought) did as he was told and stiffened up a little when Tony climbed onto the bed next to him and pulled him into a half hug and throwing open his side of their link completely. Peter gasped at the influx of emotion spilling over, frowning at the deep self-loathing and unworthiness. “I didn’t block you out because I didn’t think you were good enough; quite the opposite in fact.”

“Oh,” Peter said, relaxing his grip on his side of the bond so it opened up and sinking into his soulmates side, feeling more content that he ever had. “That’s stupid. You’re my hero. You’ve always been my hero.”

Tony sniffed and pulled Peter in tighter so his head was resting on Tony’s chest, his stuttering heartbeat steady and comforting. “Get some rest buddy,” he told Peter, running dexterous fingers through Peter’s mattered curls and pulling his head more firmly into his chest. “I think that we’ll have a lot to talk about tomorrow.”

So this was what May meant, Peter thought, his lips tilting up into a smile as his eyes dipped closed and his muscles relaxed. He wasn’t even out yet and he could already tell that this would be the best sleep of his life.

#summerofwhump #summerofwhump15 #Prompt: Sleep Deprivation #irondad #spider man #Summer of Whump 2021

[tiedisms]

          ◟ *  hello  and  welcome  to  tiedisms  :  my  brand  new  baby  ,  which  will  hopefully  help  you  out  when  you’re  plotting  ,  putting  together  a  connections  page  for  ur  muse  ,  etc  !  while  i’ll  mostly  be  reblogging  gifsets  &  other  inspo  -  posts  ,  i  wanted  to  kick  things  off  with  a  connection  masterlist  ---------  under  the  cut  you’ll  find  some  possible  connections  +  some  promts  to  get  you  going  ,  as  well  as  examples  of  specific  connections  i’ve  written  for  my  wanted  pages  .  i’d  appreciate  any  likes  and  reblogs  if  you  find  this  helpful  at  all  !!  

◟ *   platonic  .  

childhood  friends  :  did  they  grow  up  on  the  same  street  ?  perhaps  they  could  look  into  each  other’s  rooms  through  their  windows  ?  muse  a  knows  how  muse  b  got  that  awful  scar  above  their  knee  &  muse  b  knows  the  details  of  muse  a’s  first  kiss  .  people  who’ve  known  each  other  their  entire  lives  often  work  in  synch  ,  tend  to  think  they  know  what’s  best  for  the  other  ,  too  .  have  they  managed  to  stay  friends  through  the  years  ?  did  they  grow  apart  after  high  school  or  maybe  get  into  a  huge  fight  ?  so  many  possibilies  !

this  said  ,  friends  who’ve  grown  apart  :  losing  a  friend  can  cause  just  as  much  heartache  as  a  break  up  !  did  life  get  in  the  way  or  did  something  cause  a  strain  on  the  relationship  ?  did  one  person  have  to  exit  the  situation  because  the  friendship  was  becoming  more  and  more  toxic  ?  have  they  been  asking  mutual  friends  about  the  other  or  did  they  cut  ties  entirely  ?  

roommates  .  did  they  want  to  move  in  together  or  did  they  respond  to  the  same  craigslist  add  ?  did  they  move  in  at  the  same  time  or  did  one  of  them  come  around  later  ,  new  girl  style  ?  do  they  get  along  or  do  they  butt  heads  at  every  corner  ?  who  cooks  and  who  does  the  dishes  ?  who’s  always  way  too  loud  and  who  complains  about  the  noise  ?

best  friend’s  sibling  /  sibling’s  best  friend  .  extended  family  of  sorts  ,  have  always  remained  at  the  sidelines  of  each  other’s  lives  .  do  they  seem  to  take  on  sibling  roles  around  one  another  ,  too  ?  or  are  they  pretending  to  get  along  for  their  friend’s  sake  ? 

shared  ex  .  listen  to  fiona  apple’s  ‘  newspaper  ‘  !  you  can  read  this  plot  ,  as  i’ve  written  it  for  my  own  connections  page  ,  down  below  .

good  /  bad  influence  .  people’s  lifestyles  rub  off  on  each  other  !  is  one  actively  trying  to  change  the  other  or  is  it  simply  a  side  -  effect  of  them  spending  so  much  time  together  ?  does  the  bad  influence  ever  feel  wrong  for  taking  the  other  down  a  dark  path  ?  does  the  good  influence  ever  worry  the  other  is  far  beyond  saving  ?

◟ *   romantic  .

friends  to  lovers  :  perhaps  my  favorite  trope  of  all  time  !  look  back  at  that  childhood  friends  connection  &  now  add  years  of  unspoken  feelings  .  how  long  have  they  been  in  love  with  each  other  ?  who  fell  in  love  first  ?  are  they  even  aware  of  their  feelings  ?  growing  in  love  instead  of  falling  !  what  would  their  families  and  other  friends  think  ?  are  there  already  rumors  and  jokes  about  them  being  together  ?  is  one  of  them  currently  in  a  relationship  or  getting over  an  ex  ?  do  they  find  it  hard  to  commit  to  other  people  ,  unaware  that  they’re  always  going  to  put  each  other  first  ?  //   alternatively  :  friends  to  lovers  but  after  it’s  crashed  and  burned  ,  hate  each  other  for  how  things  ended  between  them  ,  but  still  feel  so  much  love  for  each  other  because  they  were  always  friends  first  .

casual  exes  :  the  type  that  ended  on  good  terms  ,  are  maybe  still  friends  ,  too  .  why  did  they  break  up  and  how  did  they  manage  to  do  so  amicably  ?  i  heard  somewhere  that  if  you’re  still  friends  after  a  break  up  u  either  never  were  in  love  or  are  still  in  love  ---  is  that  the  case  for  them  ?  do  they  find  it  easy  to  laugh  about  their  time  together  or  is  there  still  some  awkwardness  there  ?

unrequited  crush  .  let  your  muses  have  innocent  crushes  !  we  all  fall  in  love  with  the  idea  of  a  person  sometimes  .  does  the  person  they  have  a  crush  on  use  that  to  boost  their  ego  ?  or  are  they  constantly  trying  to  distance  themselves  ?  does  your  muse  want  to  make  a  move  or  are  they  content  admiring  from  afar  ?  what  do  they  like  about  this  person  ?

sexual  tension  .  the  air  is  heavy  between  them  &  there’s  clearly  something  there  that  they  haven’t  acted  upon  yet  .  why  ?  is  it  because  they  want  to  be  mindful  of  other  people  ?  because  they  don’t  like  each  other  much  ?  because  they’re  good  friends  and  don’t  want  to  ruin  that  ?  have  they  acted  upon  their  feelings  before  but  promised  to  never  do  that  again  ?

◟ *   examples  .

*  you  don't  ever  have  to  be  stronger  than  you  really  are  . ———  in  which  .  .  .  whenever  tears  pool  in  the  corners  of  doe  eyes  ,  the  other  is  there  to  stop  them  from  flooding  the  room  .  the  purest  love  x's  ever  known  ,  a  guardian  angel  ,  a  hand  to  hold  when  things  get  tough  .

* we  were  cursed  the  moment  that  he  kissed  us  . ———  in which  .  .  .  a  shared  love  for  someone  who  can't  show  affection  kindly  brought  the  two  closer  than  anything  else  ever  could  ,  the  overlapping  memories  of  a  past  lover  binding  them  forever  .

*  it's  a  bad  time  for  a  good  time  .  ———  in which  .  .  .  nothing  stings  like  rejection  does  ,  pride  often  stronger  than  unfulfilled  desires  .  now  ,  they  spit  venom  whenever  they  try  to  lure  them  back  underneath  their  sheets  .

*  pour  a  little  salt  ,  we  were  never  here  ———  in  which  .  .  .  love  lingers  just  underneath  the  surface  ,  heard  in  every  word  they  say  ,  but  never  confessed  .  doomed  from  the  start  ,  both  nearly  choke  when  calling  each  other  just  friends  .

*  you  can  count  on  me  to  misbehave ———  in  which  .  .  .  just  kids  playing  games  ,  felt  young  whenever  she  was  around  them  until  a  drunken  night  changed  the ��way  they  saw  each  other  ,  newfound  tension  bringing  nothing  but  chaos  .

*  in  my  head  ,  i  do  everything  right  ———  in  which  .  .  .  heart  full  of  love  ,  but  hands  empty  ;  x  was  careless  with  their  feelings  ,  ran  away  the  first  time  they  had  a  fight  ,  fell  right  back  into  someone  else's  arms  .

*  fuck  and  make  up  like  it's  maybelline  , ———  in  which  .  .  .  tangled  up  in  each  other's  sheets  almost  every  day  ,  can  never  truly  say  goodbye  despite  their  constant  fights  ;  anger  fuels  lust  ,  the  roughness  of  it  all  only  makes  it  more  exciting  for  a  girl  dying  to  feel  anything  .

*  don't  blame  the  drunk  caller  , ———  in  which  .  .  .  late  nights  have  never  been  kind  to  x  &  there's  a  number  they  never  removed  from  their  speed  dial  .  both  swear  the  love  has  gone  cold  ,  but  x  still  calls  and  they  always  pick  up  .

*  baby  ,  i  was  born  tired  , ———  in  which  .  .  .  end  hard  days  tangled  in  each  other's  arms  on  the  couch  ,  smoke  filling  the  air  ,  no  pressure  in  a  safe  space  .  a  platonic  soulmate  ,  someone  to  cling  to  when  you  need  it  most  .

*  must  try  harder  than  kissing  all  of  my  friends  , ———  in  which  .  .  .  nothing  stings  like  rejection  when  you're  used  to  people  crawling  at  your  feet  ,  x  has  weaved  her  way  into  the  lives  and  beds  of  people  around  them  ,  as  if  to  prove  a  point  ,  begging  for  attention  .

#rph #rpt #. . . . .what other tags do people use #please dont let me flop

[onlyhenrys]

What a Plot Twist you were

What a Plot Twist you were - Chapter 2

Summary: The one time Walter’s feelings are genuine, destiny has to destroy certain aspects

Word Count: 1.9K

Warning: Violence, graphic death of characters 

Thank you @iloveyouyen​ for being my lovely friend and for beta’ing this story and thank you @penwieldingdreamer​ for making this beautiful cover <3

Not a basic Soulmate AU

Steam covered every inch of your bathroom as you showered, savoring the feeling of hot water against your skin. The small of your back burned like you’ve been lashed and you released a hiss as the water touched your tender skin, easing some of the pain. Your entire body felt sore from your previous night with the detective, but it was a different kind of sore, something you hadn’t experienced in a long time. 

You sighed and reached out for your shampoo. It was rare for you to have moments like this, moments where it was just you and the peaceful quiet. Your life was a whirlwind of excitement as you were always on the run, always hiding from authorities, and yet, you had lured one of the hunters in bed with you. 

The detective had no idea that you were the one who he was hunting, you made sure of that as you pleased him last night. For one night you were there for him, and he had his mind completely focussed on you, not on the person that was wanted for violence and murder. 

You turned off the water and quickly dried yourself before covering your skin with a bathrobe as a shield to protect you from the icy cold that threatened to creep into your body. It took some adjusting, getting used to Minneapolis winter, but it was a welcome change compared to mild winters of the UK. The sound of the door dragged you from your train of thoughts and your head snapped up as soft footsteps made their way over to the bathroom.

You held your breath as you carefully reached for the hidden gun in the pocket of your bathrobe. The footsteps stopped in front of the door and the hairs on your arms and the nape of your neck lifted as you heard how the person cleared their throat. The doorknob turned and you lowered the gun, shaking your head slightly as you released a breath. 

‘’You could’ve knocked, you know.’’ 

The man leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed in front of his chest. ‘’And where’s the fun in that, princess?’’  

You slapped him with your towel and a smirk started to pull at your lips. ‘’You’re here early.’’ 

You walked past him towards your room, where you dropped your bathrobe, highly aware of his eyes that trailed down your body. You jumped as his fingers touched the small of your back and quickly turned, swatting his hands away. ‘’What are you doing?’’ 

‘’How did you get this scar?’’ he took another step closer and pulled at the sensitive skin, earning a groan from you, ‘’It looks like two crossed swords.’’ 

You looked at him over your shoulder and raised an eyebrow. ‘’Did you fall on your head or something?’’ You stepped away from him and grabbed your bra from the nightstand before wrapping yourself in a tight, midnight blue dress. Your raven-colored strands falling down your back as you tilted your head towards Asher. ‘’Zip me up?’’ 

You trusted Asher with your life. In the company of the other men he hid behind a thick wall, never truly showing his real character, but with you, he was just Asher. He was a lost boy, just like you were a lost girl before you found a purpose and that connected the two of you. It also helped that he wasn’t bad to look at, with his sandy hair and moss green eyes. 

He flicked your forehead and a scowl appeared on your face as you rubbed the sore spot. ‘’Was that really necessary?’’ He nodded and you slapped his chest before walking back to the bathroom to apply your make-up. You gazed at him through the mirror, frowning at his serious expression. ‘’What are you not telling me, Asher?’’ 

He bit down on his lip and you felt your stomach flutter at the sight. The bastard knew exactly what kind of effect he had on you and smirked before answering. 

‘’We caught them.’’ 

“You’re absolutely sure it’s them?” 

You bounced up and down on the passenger seat as you waited impatiently in front of the red light. Asher tightened his grip around the steering wheel as he watched you bounce from the corner of his eye, knowing exactly how much this meant to you. 

One of his hands kept its grip on the steering wheel while the other found its way to your knee, squeezing slightly. “I checked it myself, it’s them,” he shot you a quick look before focusing on the road again, “you know I wouldn’t lie to you.” 

You intertwined your hand with his and leaned your head back, closing your eyes. ‘’I know,’’ you dragged your other hand through your hair, ‘’this whole thing just makes me anxious.’’ 

It didn’t take long for the two of you to arrive at the abandoned warehouse and you immediately jumped out of the car, breathing in the fresh winter air. Two of your men waited outside the warehouse, their guns held loosely in the hand as they acknowledged you with a small nod. You barely noticed them as Asher opened the door for you, revealing the two people who ruined your life so many years ago. 

Their hands were tied around the back of their chairs and a black blindfold covered their eyes. The smell of fear clung heavily in the air as you ripped the blindfold from the woman’s face. Her face was soaked with tears and sweat as she stared up to you and her eyes widened with recognition. 

She opened her mouth to speak but you were faster and covered it with your hand. ‘’Ah ah, I’ve waited years for this moment, you’re not gonna ruin it by opening your filthy mouth.’’ 

You reached out and dragged a hand through her slowly greying hair. It has been years since you last saw her, since she abandoned you in the cold streets of London, leaving you to take care of yourself. You had forgiven her for that, you truly had, but you couldn’t forgive her for what she did to the rest of your family. 

His skin was still warm, despite being out here in the cold for so long and you softly smoothed the hair that covered his eyes away. His bright eyes, always so full of life, started back at you - unseeing. A sob escaped your throat as you cradled his body against yours. He didn’t deserve this, this cruel ending. He was supposed to have a long and happy life, you sacrificed everything to make sure that at least he would get a chance of happiness. But they had to come in and ruin everything. 

You closed his eyes with a gentle touch and leaned forward to press a kiss on his cheek. ‘’I’m gonna make them pay, brother. I promise.’’  

The two of them had already disappeared from the radar before his body had grown cold, activating a burning rage inside of you. You had spent years tracing their footsteps but they always managed to stay one step ahead of you, until today. 

You ripped the other blindfold from your foster dad’s face and watched in amusement how his eyes flickered around the room, searching for a way out as he would ever get the chance to escape. Asher turned to face the other guards and dismissed them with a quick nod before grabbing a stool for you to sit down. You shot him a grateful look and sat down, focusing your gaze on the two people in front of you. 

‘’You know - ‘’ you leaned back and crossed your legs over each other, ‘’I made a promise to my brother.’’ A smirk appeared on your lips as you cocked your head to the side. ‘’And unlike some people, I actually keep my promises.’’ 

You pulled your gun out and pointed it to the woman’s head. ‘’I believed you when you told me that you would give your life to keep him safe and look what happened.’’ You pointed your gun down and shot her in her leg, drawing a sob from her lips. You did the same thing with the man before handing the gun over to Asher, watching how he left the room, giving you space. 

‘’Why didn’t you kill us?’’ the woman breathed, her eyes squeezed shut against the burning pain in her leg. 

You rose and untied the robes that kept the two of them hostage. ‘’Oh I will, don’t worry about that,’’ you shot her a lopsided smile, ‘’the bullets that I used are laced with a strong toxic that will slowly deactivate all the organs in your body.’’ 

‘’What happened to you?’’ the man spoke up, ‘’you were such a sweet little girl when you were younger.’’ 

A chuckle escaped as you wiped a tear away. ‘’I grew up,’’ you turned to face him, looking up as he towered over you, ‘’and you killed my brother.’’ 

He took a sharp intake of breath before he crumbled at your feet, foam covering the sides of his mouth. His face scrunched together as an immense pain raged through his body, slowly pulling him down. The woman fell by his side, tears streaming down her face as she dragged his body on her lap, cupping his face in her hands. 

You crossed your arms in front of your chest, a look of disinterest covering your features. “It hurts, doesn’t it? Watching how a loved one dies, without you being able to save them.” 

The woman sobbed even louder as the man took his last, shuddering breath before becoming completely still. “Why are you doing this?” 

You crouched down next to her and grabbed the tip of her ponytail, pulling her towards you. “I already explained why. You took his life and now I’m taking yours,” you chuckled as you stared down at the dead man, a few feet away, “I waited for years, it’s funny how quickly he’s gone.” 

The woman’s body started to shake and she fell back against the floor, her eyes burning with rage as she stared up at you.

“You’re a monster,” she hissed through clenched teeth, “a reckless monster, and one day it’s coming back to bite you in the ass.” 

The silence was tense as you watched how she struggled to breathe, her body shaking violently as she fought to stay awake, to stay alive. It was when her body started to grow limp that you finally rose from your position, moving closer to the twitching body in front of you. 

It took her everything to open her eyes when you cupped her face in your hands, searching her face for a sign of remorse. When you found none in those cold eyes, you made up your mind. You tightened the grip on her face and smoothly snapped her neck, wincing slightly at the sound before dropping her head back on the ground, avoiding looking at her lifeless gaze. 

“Trust me,” you whispered, “you will get what you want, because he’s gonna find me, and when he does, he won’t hold back.”

#henry cavill #henry cavill characters #walter marshall soulmate au #walter marshall fic #walter marshall x y/n #walter marshall x you #walter marshall x reader #walter marshall #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill imagines

[carol-thirteen]

soulmate au week | day 6

first words appearing on each other’s skin

++++

she knew she couldn’t rush it, that it was something she needed to have patience with. she knew that her soulmate’s words would appear when you were both ready. she would scoff sometimes at the destiny of it all.

“you alright there nat?” wanda handed her another drink after eyeing earlier that her glass was empty. “got you another vodka cranberry.” wanda handed natasha the glass and she took it, gladly.

“thanks wanda,” she smiled up at her but sighed. “just frustrated.”

“with?” she sat down beside natasha, one leg on top of the other her hip out to the side as she faced her.

“soulmate stuff.” natasha took a sip and slumped back against the blanket on the back of the couch. it slid down as she did.

“she’s out there.” wanda let a hand rest on her shoulder. “come and enjoy the party. the other’s are missing you.”

natasha spent the rest of the night thinking about you, conjuring up an image in her head. maybe it was her sheer will, maybe it was that not having you made her realize how much she wanted you, but her forearm started to tingle.

she scratched the surface of the skin lightly, assuming it was just an itch. but she looked down and saw the words appearing.

please, not now.

natasha frowned in curiosity, but her fingers gently brushed against the skin. a smile creeping on her face. she would get to meet you soon.

you sat on your laptop, emailing back and forth trying to organize transport for a set of agents’ next mission. you had been working on this for weeks, ensuring everything was set.

the darkness of your office in contrast to the brightness of your laptop screen was causing you eyestrain. as your lifted your hands to your forehead, you captured the dark lines on your wrist. you put your hand just above your keyboard, using the laptop light to illuminate what you had noticed on your skin.

despite how tired they were, your eyes widened.

i can come back later

you hummed, a smile forming. you were both ready now. it was just a matter of time until you could meet.

you went to bed that night, with your soulmate on your mind, using the moonlight to view her first words to you.

there was something so powerful about this link to her now. you started to form her in your mind, what her voice would sound like saying those words. did she have an accent, would she whisper it? the thought of that sent a shivver down your spine, goosebumps forming on your arms.

you were back in the office before you knew it, the thoughts of her continuously distracting you.

eventually you decided to stop dwelling on it, it had been a week now and you had other stuff to do. not that she wasn’t important, but you had a duty to organize for the mission.

you were putting together the list of names now and their mentors. 2 agents per mentor, except for one. black widow, natasha romanoff had only one. it stood out. she stood out. it was something about her name. you’d never really thought about it. yeah you’d heard stories, but you had never met her in person. she really had a reputation. you wondered if you’d get to meet her after planning this mission, but..

natasha was just coming to the end of a training session, a band of sweat on her forehead and chest. she puffed a few times, air expelling as she lifted weights.

she figured she would take a shower next, but her watch beeped, reminding her to pick up the mission schedule. she wouldn’t have time to shower now.

she wiped off her forehead, grabbing her bottle of water and headed down the hallway towards the elevator.

you huffed, frustration overcoming you. “stupid technology, really why on earth would-” you flipped through the binder you had luckily created as a backup. comparing the two. you groaned.

you heard a knock as the door.

“please, not now.” you said, pulling a post it off of one of the pieces of paper to view the rest of the page.

natasha inhaled as she heard those words, her eyes immediately flicking to her forearm. she quickly removed the towel and saw the words as they faded.

natasha watched the back of your head for a moment, still wondering what your face looked like. she took in as much as she could before the time came for her to speak.

“i can come back later,” she found herself stepping forward somehow knowing you would turn around. you did. and you met.

eyes wandering each other's facial features. “if you’re busy, you know i can go…” she tested. giving you a look that was full of desire. a desire to know you. truly. to know what you liked, what you disliked. what you wanted out of life. what turned you-

“you’re not going anywhere,” you stepped up from the chair and her lips turned up at the corner.

“oh really?”

you nodded, your bodies so close. you could feel the heat from her obvious workout radiating off of her. her cheeks still pink. her hair tied up, stray pieces framing her face.

natasha reached for your arm, her eyes still on you but looked down once she had lifted it up. “your’s is fading now too,” she pointed out. her finger tips, tracing where the words had been.

“don’t need them anymore, do we?”

“now that i found you?” natasha let your hand go, slowly, but her fingers lingered.

“you found me? we found each other.” you smirked playfully, your knees touching hers first as you moved in.

“oh but i spoke first,” she challenged.

“but i do this first,” you whispered, leaned forward, your hand finding her back, your fingers pressing her into your body as your lips connected with hers.

natasha hummed into the kiss, her arms wrapping around your neck, her fingers combing up into your hair.

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff fanfic #black widow x reader #black widow imagine #black widow fanfic #marvel x reader #marvel fanfic #marvel imagine #soulmate au #soulmate au week

[destination-despairing]

DAY-1: Soultmate AU for @kamuegi-week [River’s Day 1 fic] [AO3 Link]

The sun setting used to be something of beauty. The red rays of light traveling the furthest in every direction to give a beautiful glow on the horizon as night approached. 

You couldn't see the sun anymore. 

Izuru sat patiently, staring out the broken window at what would be the sunset. He had never seen one- not that he could remember. He knew what they were supposed to look like, could paint a perfect picture in his minds eye. 

He closed his eyes and ran his hand over the desk he was on top of. He often wondered how the string around his finger continued to exist, without her there. Surely she was the only one that could ever cause him to feel. Despite all his time with the other remnants, he was not like them, and his string did not connect with any of theirs. 

It was common knowledge if your soulmate perished, so did your thread, leaving you with a simple red band around your finger. 

Izuru had expected that to happen when he'd watched her die on the tiled floor, as he took her hair clip and felt… something.

But no. 

It was still there. 

Footsteps rang out through the empty building, as Izuru had predicted. Everything was predictable. He had gained enough intel to know of the program the Future Foundation planned to test on him and the former 77th class. He knew the leader of the project, Makoto Naegi, was too much of a bleeding heart to take his one momento of Chiaki away. 

So he knew that was the place to hide Junko's AI. 

He also knew it was the leader of the project who was going to collect him. 

He had never met him, that he knew, but his footsteps were familiar nonetheless. 

Boring. 

The footsteps stopped, and Izuru finally opened his eyes to allow them to lazily find Makoto's form. 

He stood in the archway that once held the door to the room, his face confident but there was worry hidden underneath his features. 

Predictable. 

"Are you Izuru Kamukura?" His voice was steady. 

"I am." 

"My name is Makoto Naegi. I work for the Future Foundation." He dared to take a step closer. "I'm sure you know… your classmates, we have already apprehended them. But no harm has come to them! I promise." 

Izuru tilted his head, his black hair falling like spilt ink around him and pooling on the desk he still sat upon. 

"I am aware." 

Makoto let out a breath. "I'd like to ask for you to come with me." 

Izuru observed him with a piercing red gaze. He was young- younger than him by at least a year. This was the one who had defeated her. This was the one they called the Ultimate Hope. 

"Hm." 

He stood up, and it was admirable the way Makoto attempted to hide his flinch. 

"You came alone. Truly, alone." He noted. "Why?" 

Makoto looked up at him and slowly held up his hand, showing the red string tied around his finger. "I wanted to believe you would come willingly." 

Izuru's eyes trailed from Makoto's hand, down the string, to where it eventually connected to his own. 

… Oh. 

Now this, this was interesting. This was something he had not predicted. 

He kept his face carefully neutral. 

"You believe since we are bound by fate, I will not harm you." He summarized. "You are aware of how dangerous I am." 

Makoto’s eyebrows furrowed. "No. I don't think you're as dangerous as you try to appear. There must be good in you." 

"Do you truly believe that?" Izuru gestured out the window, to the darkening sky that no longer held a sunset due to the smog in the air. Smog that he and the other remnants had created. "Or is that what you need to believe? Surely I must have good in me to be tied to you." He took a step forward, finding it almost amusing how Makoto refused to back down. 

"You would not be here if not for this." 

He raised his hand and circled Makoto, draping the string around his throat. 

"I am not the only one who will see that." He continued, voice low. "Anyone else would have killed us, but you, Makoto Naegi, fought for our lives. For this." He wound the string around his hand as he whispered in Makoto's ear. "You were selfish." 

The red string went taunt pressed against his throat. It couldn't hurt him but the bright red color gave Izuru the mental image of blood dripping down his neck. 

Why is that thought… unpleasant. 

"No, that's wrong!" Makoto spun around to face Izuru again, his eyes wide and full of genuine emotion. He took Izuru's hand in his. "I didn't know you were my soulmate until I came here today! I truly want to save you all! You don't deserve what happened to you, it wasn't your fault." He squeezed his hand. "So please, come with me. Let me try." 

Izuru felt… something. It was an unfamiliar sensation blooming in his chest. Like a stab wound without the despair of its infliction. 

He knew Makoto was telling the truth, he was the ultimate lie detector. 

So why was Makoto's truth so surprising to him? 

"... Alright. I will go." 

Makoto's eyes lit up. "You will?" 

It had been his plan from the beginning to willingly go with Makoto, but this made things easier. If he believed he'd convinced Izuru. 

Izuru nodded. 

Makoto kept their hands together and smiled warmly. Izuru briefly wondered if the sunset felt anything like basking in his glow. He also wondered… if his plan was worth it. 

"You have a good heart. No matter what happens, do not lose it. It makes you… less boring." 

Makoto blushed lightly as he looked up at him. "I promise, I won't."

Izuru looked at their hands, the red string now shortened as they were so close. 

He thought of the virus still hidden within the hair clip, of the things yet to come he couldn't predict. 

Makoto was the center of them all. 

This… would be interesting indeed. 

#KamuegiWeek2020 #kamuegi #izuru kamukura #makoto naegi #fic #sierra posting #idk if I've posted my writing here before or just on ao3 but here we go bois