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#BUT honestly it did go really well this year!
bitterchocoo · 2 days
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Hello ! Can I ask Savanaclaw with a first year student (platonic) that is like LingYang from Wuthering waves pls ? Ignore it if you don't want to write it !!!
Have a good day !
Another Lion?
Savanaclaw | M. Reader as Lingyang [Wuthering Waves] (Platonic)
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"It's like a mini you!"
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The day [Name] arrived at Savanaclaw is the day where Leona get's another headache. Such an energetic guy.. honestly where did he got all that energy from? It's annoying. Like a child who's still learning the world around him, believing how being kind and sincere is a good thing. Meanwhile Jack and Ruggie is incredibly happy. [Name] is just such a nice guy, always willing to help, it's a nice change from how many rotten eggs are in Savanaclaw, believing that they're the "strongest."
It's even more interesting how [Name] appears to also be a lion like Leona but turned out way different. Ruggie would always joke how [Name] is the version of Leona if he was kinder. Which earned him quite the death glare. When [Name] offered a private lion dance performance. Boy is it a sight. Watching someone showing their culture and traditions are always a nice experience and seeing him go from pillar to pillar with such swift motions is quite mesmerizing. [Name] is more than happy to teach them lion dancing if they asked.
With how swift he is, [Name] instantly made his way on to the Magical Shift/Spelldrive team in Savanclaw. He's just so agile, perhaps being a lion dancer makes him quite nimble.
Leona still finds him annoying though but after some interactions, [Name] makes a wonderful sleeping buddy. How? Well somehow he always without fail found the nicest and seclusive spots for naps. [Name]'s senses are surprisingly sharper than his, which throw Leona off the loop for a moment, and just like that [Name] had officially become Savanclaw's younger brother, who ever dare lay a single finger on him will answer to the Housewarden.
Ruggie and [Name] bonded like brothers, playing pranks here and there, enjoying life. Jack is like the more responsible older brother. Ready to help, and tries to get the two of them out of trouble, he may seem mean, but he's a big softie.
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Spoilers to those who haven't done Lingyang's companion quest
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Leona, Ruggie, Jack, and [Name] were at the Savanaclaw's dorm, Leona is napping like always, while Ruggie and Jack told stories of from their hometown as [Name] listens eagerly, happy to learn new things. "Oh? So it's like a folklore? Jinzhou also had one. It's called the Jingle Beast." [Name] says casually, looking out at the horizon with a faint smile, remembering it well how people use to fear such a "beast."
"They say that there's a beast somewhere out there and that when it hunts, you could hear the sound of a bell jingle. It's as simple as that really." He explains casually with a chuckle in the end. Such a silly rumor.
"Kishishishi! Really now? A Jingle Beast?" Ruggie can't help but laugh at such an interesting folklore. "Some say it's just a Suan'ni. A mystical creature that has amazing abilities. Some were skeptical though, since Suan'ni's are practically extinct now." [Name] added, looking down at the ground where they sat. This caught their attention, even Leona as he opens one eye and glance over to the three of them.
Ruggie thought about it for a moment before nodding in response, his face became more serious. "I don’t blame them. In ancient times, the world used to be a very brutal world. Suan‘nies were hunted and killed by humans for their own profit and desires. It was cruel and not fair."
[Name] remain silent for a moment, thinking back on those times. "In my own option…" He began slowly.
"The last Suan'ni might have yearn to become a human… it yanked out all of its fur, filled down its claws, twisted its bones, and learn how to stand upright." [Name] explains in a soft and melancholy tone, his gaze never leaving the ground, his ears occasionally twitched as he says those words.
"Anyway…" He paused, adding with hesitant in his voice. "It.. never really became a human in the end.."
Pure silence. Nothing but pure silence follows after that.
Ruggie and Jack look at [Name] with widened eyes, heck, even Leona had gotten up, sitting upright and looking at the other with a dumbfounded expression. They immediately picked up on what the other is implying.
Of course the Suan'ni never became a human in the end... because at the end of the day.. it is still a Suan'ni.
Through out the centuries... animals evolved and that's how they could now stand on two feet, talk, and etc etc.
But what about those who are older? Before such evolution could even be achieve? Suppose...
[Name] had answer that question.
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hippolotamus · 2 days
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Sentence Sunday ✨
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I can show you lies 'Cause I'm a real tough kid, I can handle my shit They said, "Babe, you gotta fake it 'til you make it" and I did Lights, camera, bitch smile, even when you wanna die I was grinning like I'm winning, I was hitting my marks 'Cause I can do it with a broken heart
Beloved mutuals and pocket pals... I honestly don't know what to say for myself. This is a case of 'I listened to a song too much, I had an idea I knew I was never gonna write' turned 'I'll just throw it out as a prompt' --> 'I'll just make a moodboard' --> 'Oh god, I've written over 1k words in place of a summary'. SO. Have... whatever this is, T Swift influenced Buddie actor au. Under the cut to save your dash.
Honestly, if the world still exists in the morning, Eddie Diaz doesn't really give a fuck. His girlfriend left, claiming he's still not over his late wife, and his teenage son, the last thread connecting him to said wife, went to go live with his grandparents. After, of course, blaming Eddie for pushing 'yet another one' away. Christopher wouldn't even look at him before he went.
Then there's Anita Mills, his agent, who is probably a few blood pressure points away from a stroke at this point. Assuming she doesn't fire him first.
Let her, he thinks, grabbing a bottle of Maker's Mark from the cabinet. He has a string of blockbuster films to his name, not to mention a commendable collection of Oscar's and Emmy's. Not that they made his parents proud or kept his wife from leaving him before she died. But they exist as proof that he's had a successful career. Between investments and liquid assets he has more money than he would know what to do with in a hundred lifetimes. So, fuck it.
Eddie breaks the wax seal and twists off the red cap. He doesn't even bother with a glass, not really seeing a need. He's never been a big drinker, but lately his tolerance has grown considerably. Indulging until he passes out seems like an ideal use of his time right now anyway. If he wakes up after? Well, he'll consider that a success.
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"Hey! What the hell?!" Eddie manages, coughing and trying not to choke on the ice cold water hitting his body. He opens his eyes to see Mills towering over him, glowering and holding an empty vase. He swipes a hand across his face. "Seriously, Anita, what the fuck was that?"
"I don't know, Eddie, you tell me." She disappears for less than a minute, returning with a hand towel she unceremoniously drops on his chest. "Help me out here. What's today?"
He wriggles himself to something resembling sitting and leans back against the coffee table. "What's today?" He parrots back dumbly.
Anita crosses her arms and quirks an eyebrow. "I asked you first."
Today, today, today. Where was he supposed to be- "Shit! The interview with, uh, fuck." He snaps his fingers and racks his brain trying to remember a name or a face. All he knows is they're important.
"Claudette Collins. Very good, Eddie, you got it part way."
"Give me ten minutes, I'll put myself together and we can go," he says, fighting the violent wave of nausea that hits as he scrambles to stand up.
"Save your poor carpet from getting puked on and sit the hell down."
"What? No, I can-"
"Eddie," Anita interjects, "the interview was five hours ago. The interview with the Claudette Collins. The one that took me months of phone calls, groveling and cashing in favors to get for you."
Fuck. "Anita, I'm so sorry. How-"
"Save it." Anita holds her hand up, effectively silencing him. It takes him back to being seven years old and having to explain why his dad's truck had an enormous dent in it. She rests her hands on her hips, pacing back and forth as she purses her lips. Eventually she sits in the leather armchair situated in the corner. "Eddie, you and I have known each other a long time. A long time. I've been your agent since you walked into my shitty office back in Dallas. Given your impressive display of awards, I'd say we've done pretty well together."
She inhales sharply, rubbing at her temple. Anita doesn't mince words, it's part of why he's always liked her. He never has to question where he stands. She says 'jump' and he knows exactly how high. It's not difficult to guess what's coming next.
"Eddie, I know you're going through a rough patch. What you're dealing with is hard enough without seeing it splashed on every tabloid and trashy website. Not to mention none of those places knows the real story, so it's all a bunch of 'she said he might have said' bullshit. But you've made it through tougher things." Anita doesn't need to clarify that she's talking about Shannon's death and how his parents tried to take Christopher. "I don't know what's happening this time, but I need to take a step back. My wife has made it very clear that all of my attempts at stress management are not working and that if I can't get it under control I shouldn't be surprised when I come home to an empty house. So."
Eddie swallows, waiting for the inevitable and cursing himself for pretending he wouldn't care.
"I've talked to a few friends in the business and found someone willing to take you on."
What?
"What? You're not firing me?"
Anita's features soften. "Technically, yes. I am very much dropping you like a scorpion I found in my boots. However, like I said, I found someone willing to work with you. The name is Bobby Nash. He runs a smallish agency but don't let that throw you. He's cobbled together some pretty impressive talent. I assume you've heard of Evan Buckley?"
Eddie scoffs. "Of course I have. Who hasn't? Christ, he's everywhere you look. I can't pass a damn bus stop without seeing his face." A few details begin to click into place within Eddie's muddled brain. "Bobby Nash is his agent?"
"Sure is. And we all know the stories about Evan's past aren't the type you trot out at parties. My advice is that you don't look a gift horse in the mouth, go with Nash and do whatever he tells you to do. He even has a role in mind for you, costarring with Buckley. What do you say?"
What else was there to say? If Eddie didn't want to get blacklisted or wind up as some washed up tragic Hollywood story, being gossiped about where everyone - including his son - could see what a failure he was...
"I guess I say- when can I meet him?"
"Good answer." Anita clasps her hands together and gives him her signature smirk that tells him she approves. "Just leave everything to me."
Up to this point, Eddie has trusted Anita implicitly with all the messy business that comes with having him for a client. Why stop now?
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@thewolvesof1998 @watchyourbuck @welcometololaland @wildlife4life and anyone else who wants to 😘
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jellymish-art · 3 days
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IT IS HAPPENING LADS!! SAM VIMES COSPLAY!!
I've dreamed of doing this for years and now that I've finally gained the Secret Knowledge of Foam Armour, I can finally go for it!
Jokes aside, I asked a couple of cosplay pros for advice at the last con and they were all super nice & answered every single one of my questions, in detail!
So far the breastplate, backplate and badge are done and I'm super happy. Detailed process under the cut!
How it went:
First, the pattern! Shoutout to the guys at cosplay-atelier for the recommendation. They pointed me to kamuicosplay, because they sell downloadable patterns for all sorts of things, including armour. Which is how I got to this:
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Downloaded two of their breastplate patterns, smooshed them together and altered them to fit my body and the look I wanted. I did all of that with thick paper. Then I took it apart again and traced the bits onto 5mm EVA foam that I ordered from a cosplay store.
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Then I numbered and cut all the pieces and glued them together! I used hot glue, cause it's more accessible and less intimidating for me than other types of glue. It isn't as strong as other recommended glues, but works fine for me. (used many pointers from this tutorial.)
However, safety point: I've seen it recommended to wear breathing protection when heating up foam in any way whatsoever, and that includes hot glue, heat shaping and heat sealing. Use a respirator or other breathing protection that is made specifically for chemical fumes & work outside or in a well ventilated area (i.e. open ALL the windows)! Ask at your local hardware store if you're unsure.
PSA over. Now to the painting stage!
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The scratches I made with my fingernails and the tip of a pair of scissors. XD Then I covered everything in 2 layers of black flexipaint (which is a water-based flexible paint/primer that works really well on foam). After that, I worked with regular artist's acrylic paint. Above you can see the first layer being applied with dry-brushing.
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Then I went over it with a dark brown wash to make it look dirty (mix black & brown acrylic paint with water & apply liberally)
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Then I went over it again with bronze by applying the paint with my fingers, wearing a plastic glove. (Same tutorial as before.) making sure I don't get any paint in the scratches. And then finally, another dark brown wash to make it all look nicely weathered. I did accidentally remove some paint by going over it too often with the wash, but it wasn't too hard to fix.
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And this is the costume test, after adding velcro! It's really easy to put on and take off. I'm a bit worried about the velcro on the sides, but I can always add straps on the outside if it doesn't hold up.
Next was the badge:
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I referenced a pin badge that came out as a collectible a few years ago (sadly out of stock), cause I love the design! Carved in the letters and lines by drawing on it with a ballpoint pen and applying a lot of pressure. Then painted it with the same process as the breastplate, just with copper instead of bronze.
And just for funsies: here's the back of the breastplate in all its glorious mess XD
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On the right side you can see how I attached the badge: By cutting a slit through the breastplate and making a velcro attachment. That way I can remove the badge and add, say, a sprig of lilac, should my fancy take me there. Reason being that our biggest con is in May.
If you know, you know.
Annnnd here it is; the finished breastplate with badge:
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I'm honestly having the time of my life. It's a super fun project and I am very excited to see how it turns out! I'm already working on the cape with a good friend of mine (I despise sewing, she loves it XD) and have materials on the way to make some bits of chainmail.
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Pls More general sfw headcanons of cooper and reader? Ghoul or pre war whichever you prefer honestly.
General SFW Prewar!Cooper Howard Headcanons 2
(I'll do some Ghoul SFW in a follow-up; this got away from me a little.)
Clearly he enjoys film and theatre, but he has a fairly secret soft spot for musicals. Pretty much any musical will pique his interest, and you'll spend a fair few date nights out seeing shows. You find it very endearing that he wants to share his interests with you. He's got an especially soft spot for some of the older, cheesier musicals though; hope you're ready to see "Brigadoon" like a half dozen times! He's got that one on tape.
"Old Yeller" is banned media in the Howard household (as are most things about dogs who die), as well as books like "The Velveteen Rabbit", which he read to Janey when she was four and never truly recovered from. Coop cries like a baby every time and gets so embarrassed. You once asked Janey if she'd ever seen it, and she tells you, rather conspiratorially, that she once watched it at a friend's house.
The old man actually cries quite easily when he's moved by something. He'll try to hide it away, but every once in a while he fully loses it (tbh it's the 'child death' type stuff that really upsets him; to this day, he's still a little mad at Barb for showing him "Bridge to Terabithia" on family movie night and thinking he would like it). You think it's the sweetest thing and you always reassure him that it's nothing to be ashamed of.
I imagine that, like a good, engaged father, he takes a particular interest in Janey's likes and hobbies; if you ask him what she likes, he can give you an entire list of things you can engage with her on, every single one of them accurate and up-to-date. If Janey really likes a book series, he'll read it (or maybe listen to it if he's short on time). If she really likes a band, y'all have fun at the concert! Every group comes through LA so you may be going to several concerts a year eventually. He even knows who her favorite member is! He only falls in love with you more when you do the same with her.
He's a true romantic at heart; despite being really torn up about the divorce and thinking he'll never fall in love again, he does, and hard. It's not long before he (unbelievably, to him especially) finds himself wanting to propose. He waits a while, though, wanting to feel out the dynamic between you and Janey, worrying about how Barb will feel when she ultimately finds out. He doesn't want to be married to her anymore, but he still cares for her, and he doesn't want to hurt her.
I'd like to think that he and Barb had a pretty nice, large wedding (as I've said before, likely at an older age than many of their peers, even if, canonically, it seems they were already dating during Cooper's military service; they both strike me as the type to want to wait until they were better established to actually marry). Not anything too crazy, but since Cooper's career was really starting to take off, she did want to use the wedding as an opportunity to rub elbows, so there were quite a few people in attendance that he flat-out didn't know. It didn't bother him much at the time; Barb always loved an opportunity to network and Coop could never deny her anything. But, given a chance to do it over, I think he'd do things differently.
With you, he'd wanna go to the courthouse. He'd be happy to have a nice, private ceremony eventually, maybe a little vow renewal for your one-year down on the beach in Mexico or something. But when you get legally married it'll be at the courthouse, just the two of you and Janey. You wouldn't have it any other way.
You try your best to keep it under wraps, but, well...marriage licenses are a matter of public record, and there are people whose whole job is to unearth things like that. The fallout (ha) from it may be stronger than you anticipated, but, at the end of the day, you have one another, and you're happy with that.
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mikobeautifulheart · 3 days
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Jealous, protective megumi pls??
- 🐌
OMG I MISSED YOU SM. 🤧 my saviour anon.
And Absolutely.
Jealous and protective Megumi
After being stranded in heavy rain you wait for your boyfriend to pick you up. What you weren't expecting was to met one of his acquaintances while waiting. He didn't either.
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Sitting under the bus shelter you looked down at your phone to read the time. You had been there for well over 10 minutes and the rain had no sign of stopping or getting any lighter.
You felt your phone vibrate and saw that Megumi was calling you.
"Hel-"
"I have your umbrella"
"Yeah I figured *sigh*"
"Where are you? I'll pick you up."
"I'm at the bus shelter, near the school."
"Okay wait there, I'll be-."
The rain poured harder making it hard to hear him over the phone.
"Megumi? I can't hear you?"
No response. You hung up.
He sent a text saying that he was on his way.
Just as the rain had got worse before you heard heavy footsteps of someone running under the bus shelter to.
You looked up from your phone to see a person doubled over, absolutely drenched and exhausted. After a few seconds they caught there breath and stood up, occasionally glancing at you.
"Forget your umbrella to?" He asked politely, just engaging in small talk.
"Ha yeah... I should have checked the weather report today."
"Yeah"
The rain kept going as you two stayed silent.
"Got far to go?" He spoke again, this time looking at you until you faced him.
"Oh well, not really I was just going to run to the school up there but the rain keeps getting worse." You smiled
"School? You don't mean that really small one surrounded by bamboo, do you?"
"That's the one"
"So are you a sorcerer too?"
"How did you know?"
"I'm going to Jujutsu high to"
Back at Megumi's dorm he's getting a weird feeling in his stomach, like something was eating him alive.
"Yeah I'm actually a second year but I was training in another country"
"Really, that's so cool! How come I've never heard of you?"
"Honestly I was a bit of a loser" he laughed and so did you.
"That can't be true, you look so cool and mysterious."
You noticed that it was silent again and you looked over to see that the guy was now looking straight in front of him, ears red.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it awkward..." You said with a nervous chuckle.
"Oh NO, No Not at all" he said even redder now as he stumbled over his words.
"Um, I was just wondering..."
You felt a cold hand intertwine its fingers with yours, to your surprise you saw Megumi standing inbetween you two holding pa wide umbrella.
"Oh Megumi, Hi" you said not noticing the glare he was shooting the guy.
"Hey Fushiguro, how are you?" The guy said nervously scratching the back of his neck.
"I'm fine, Okkotsu, if you don't mind I'll be walking my girlfriend back to the dorms."
The atmosphere got thicker.
"Yeah see you at the school I guess..."
With that Megumi had already started to lead you away with out letting you say goodbye. His hand slowly loosened its grip as he sighed.
"You knew that guy?" You said
"Yeah, he's got a thing for dead girls."
"W-WHAT?"
"Yuta okkotsu, a special grade. He's related to Gojo so we would rarely bump into eachother in the past.
"Special grade?!"
"Y/n what ever you do, don't go messing around with him okay."
You doubted that Yuta was actually a bad person, let alone one who would hurt you. But you couldnt help but listen to Megumi as you saw the jealousy getting to him.
"Okay Gumi, on one condition."
"What?"
" I can talk to him about my amazingly strong good-looking boyfriend." You giggled as you swore Megumi was breaking down inside, movments becoming stiffer and hesitant.
"Whatever"
THANK YOU FOR READING ♡
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AUTHOURS NOTE: I'm working on a few fics rn (including the OP ones) but my inbox is nearly empty and my requests are open. Reblogs r welcomed and have a good whatever time.
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⚙️ Steddie Big Bang 2024: Project Reveal ⚙️
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I am stoked to reveal my project for the @steddiebang2024 - an action-filled, steampunk-inspired Steddie adventure. I'll be collaborating with the amazingly talented @cuips-not-cute on this one, and I can't wait to see what they'll create! 😍✨️
Summary and snippet under the cut
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⚙️ Excerpt
“Look,” he finally says. “We've been over this. The doctors said it's perfectly normal. ‘s called phantom limb or whatever the fuck. Can take years to go away, sometimes never does. It's fine.”
Gareth shuffles unhappily. “Yeah, but-”
“No buts,” Eddie insists. “I appreciate your concern, Gare, I really do. But to be perfectly honest with you, I’d rather hack off another limb than go anywhere near those shallow, sanctimonious, rich assholes ever again, so they can take that money and shove it right up their-”
“Eddie, shut up, for fuck’s sake!”
Gareth's voice cracks around the last syllable and Eddie trails off with an irritated groan.
“What? Why?”
“Just-” Now that he thinks about it, Gareth is sounding weirdly nervous. Eddie frowns at the wrench in his hand. “There’s, um …”
“No, by all means,” says a new voice. “Let him continue. He hasn’t said exactly where to shove that money yet.”
Eddie shoots out from under the transporter and nearly crashes into a pair of legs.
“What the fuck?” he blurts, slamming his feet down in a desperate attempt to brake. His right leg creaks and the metal foot scrapes over the floor with a harsh, grating sound. Eddie thinks he sees sparks, briefly. “Hey, look where you’re-”
There’s a guy staring down at him. A guy in an embroidered waistcoat with tails so long they nearly brush the shafts of his shiny leather boots. He's leaning on a carved walking stick, raising an elegant eyebrow from under a swoop of shiny, chestnut hair. Eddie decides then and there that he hates that douchebag.
“Where I’m going?” Douchebag finishes his sentence. “I was just standing here. Maybe you should-”
“Yeah, well,” Eddie sneers, finally remembering to sit up and push his goggles back. The movement leaves a black smudge of oil on his forehead, wet and sticky. “It’s still my damn shop, good sir, so excuse the fuck outta me if I don’t go out of my way to kiss your-”
“You’re Edward Munson then?” another voice pipes in. “Of Munson’s Machinery? You own this place?”
Eddie blinks. A girl is peering over Douchebag’s shoulder. She reminds him a bit of one of those tall monster birds with the long necks he saw at the zoo once - all gangly limbs and jerky movements and nervous eyes. Ostriches? Yeah, he thinks that's what they're called.
“Eddie is fine,” he says automatically, then remembers he's still mad at the both of them. “I mean … what's it to you?”
Douchebag huffs a sound that might pass as a laugh, if only his face matched the noise.
“Nevermind,” he murmurs and turns to go, making to put his preposterous top hat back on. “This was a stupid idea anyhow.”
“Steve?” The girl latches on to his arm and yanks him back. Douchebag makes an annoyed, whiny sound and Eddie can feel his own mouth twitching into a grin. “Be nice?”
While Douchebag pouts and grumbles something unintelligible under his breath, she turns to Eddie with a strained smile.
“Sorry about him,” she says, fingers awkwardly tugging on the dispensers of her billowy pants. “We talked about this before coming here, or at least I thought we did, only right now I'm honestly wondering if we had the same discussion, because you're sort of our last chance, so it would really befit us to treat you with some basic-”
“For fuck’s sake, Robin,” Douchebag blurts. His hand flies up like he’s trying to scrub it down his face, or pinch his nose maybe - one of those theatrical, overdone gestures of long-suffering exasperation - just that he’s still holding the stupid hat and almost whacks himself in the forehead with it. “Just go ahead and tell him everything, why don't you? That'll do wonders for our negotiation position, I'm sure.”
“Excuse me, what position?” asks the girl. She throws up her hands, so suddenly that her dispensers twang with it, and Douchebag flinches. Eddie’s starting to like her more and more. “And I'm asking that in all honesty, dingus. This place is the only option we have left. Our position isn't just shitty, it's literally non-existent. There is no position, Steve. So you can either try again and behave like a decent human being or we can just go home and forget about the whole-”
“Ugh, alright,” Douchebag snaps. “I'll do it, I'll do it.”
He shoves himself past the girl and her shit-eating grin so that he can glare down his nose at Eddie. Eddie, who is still crouched on the ground, glares right back, head tipped into his neck.
“I, um-” mutters Gareth, shuffling off the workbench and gathering his half-finished breakfast. “I'll just … I’ll come back later, I guess. See ya, Eddie.”
Eddie makes a vague sound of acknowledgement as he bustles out, but doesn’t bother breaking his staring contest.
“So, Mr. Munson,” Douchebag drawls after a second or two. “Would you be interested in a job offer? I heard you’re one of the best mechanics on this side of town.”
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andavs · 2 days
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i'm also still so stuck on how incredibly pointless from a storytelling perspective it was to keep marisol around? it added no real emotional weight to anything because we had no connection to her beyond the general "it's a shame for anyone to be cheated on". nothing that happened with kim or with chris finding out would have been any different if marisol was no longer in the picture. (and i actually keep thinking how different/interesting things could have been if pepa was the one with chris when they walked in on them).
the only thing that was only slightly interesting with marisol/kim was how eddie was sort of compartmentalizing emotions vs. sex in the two relationships, but then even that they kind of fucked up in the resolution i think.
so all you've done is given eddie another layer of punishment for no reason
I honestly keep forgetting that there was any kind of cheating involved because the show really treated Marisol like a babysitter in the end. She was on screen for maybe five minutes total, and we didn't see the end of their year-ish long relationship. They didn't even show us that Chris liked her like they did with Ana, so we don't know if her leaving was part of why he was upset, or if it was all that moment of seeing Kim as Shannon.
At least with Ana we saw how well they got along and that Chris genuinely liked her and had fun with her during the blackout. It was clear that Eddie didn't want to take that relationship away from Chris after he already lost his mom, and that's why he kept it going, hoping he'd start to feel something more for her.
Marisol? There was absolutely no reason to keep her around. She didn't even get to say anything to Eddie in the end. No one else even mentioned her, it was all about Chris. There was no way for her to be relevant once they brought Chris into the situation.
Now I really wish Pepa had been involved instead, because at least she would've been able to talk Eddie through what happened once things calmed down. She would've seen that Kim dressed exactly like Shannon and she probably wouldn't have let him be so vague while explaining what happened.
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thelaundrybitch · 3 days
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Chopsticks - Part 2
Part 1
TURTLEDOVES!!!
HERE IT IS!!!
Sorry, Blurple lovers... Leonardo weaseled his way back to being the one and only 💙
So, please enjoy some quality time with Leo 😘
TW: Sushi and a thirsty bitch. Proceed forward at your own risk.
And as always, my ninja turts are aged up to 30+ years. Don't be weird.
Please don't steal my work. Reblogging for others to enjoy is highly encouraged, though🤩
18+ content - for mature audiences only
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Chopsticks - Part 2
Thankfully, living in the lair wasn't terrible since it was like living in a 5-star hotel. You'd been there for a little over a year now since "The incident."
Things had been good between you and the turtles since all the drama had finally calmed down. Donnie still hadn't backed down from his sudden onset of flirting since the kitchen debacle, but it was more tolerable.
As always, Mike was full of fun-loving energy. Always finding ways to make you smile and laugh. Quick to share a video game with you, quicker to share a tasty snack. He was your friend. Your brother, even. 
Raph was Raph. Serious about his fitness regimen, while also entirely too busy playing Splinter's caretaker to even attempt to entertain any kind of drama or other BS… regarding anyone. Poor guy seriously needed a vacation. And a woman.
Leo was still Prince Charming. And honestly, you could never get a good read on him. Your heart had and always would belong to him, but you were sure he wasn't interested in a romantic relationship with you… especially after all the Donnie drama. 
But you kept hoping. Hoping that his casual flirting actually meant more than he let on. Or that, maybe, all those light touches and soft whispers might lead to more feelings on his end.
Because good God… He was killing you.
You were currently sitting at the table enjoying a cup of herbal tea Leo had made for you.
About 45 minutes ago. 
You were stalling. 
Secretly hoping he would come back in and join you, but that looked to be a bust. 
Sighing disappointedly as you got up to bring your cup to the sink, Leo walked in with a bag.
"Oh! There you are! I was looking for you!" He exclaimed, his whole face brightening with a smile, his eyes sparkling as the lighting hit them just right.
God, he was beautiful.
"Oh, sorry. I was just finishing my tea," you answered, smiling back at him and lifting the small cup, attempting to swallow the nervous energy that the swarm of butterflies in your stomach had managed to swirl up.
"Oh.” It was a concerned statement as that beautiful smile you loved so much disappeared from his face. “Was it alright? It took you a long time to finish it…" he inferred, brow ridge furrowed in dismay as he stepped toward you with his hand out like he was going to take the cup and test it for quality.
"It was delicious!" You responded quicker than intended, brows hitting the ceiling, one hand up placatingly while the other moved the cup from his reach. "I was just really enjoying it. It was almost meditative for me."
It wasn't a lie. You just happened to be "meditating" about him. But he didn't need to know that.
"Did you need me for something? You said you were looking for me?" You asked before he could inquire about the meditation comment.
"Yes!" He exclaimed excitedly. "I was wondering if you'd like to join me for lunch, actually!" He remarked, holding out the brown paper bag towards you. "You know, if you're hungry…"
"I'd love to! What did you get?" You inquired, walking to the sink to wash out your dirty cup, still looking at him as your smile threatened to split your face in two.
"It's a surprise," he told you with that cute boyish smile of his. "I'm gonna set it up in the Tatami room. Would you mind getting us some drinks?"
"Absolutely! Water with ice and some lemon?" You recalled, knowing his preferences well at this point.
He smiled at you kindly, "Yes, thank you. Oh, and do you mind waiting here for me until I come back to get you? Please?"
"Sure," you agreed, brows furrowed as you looked at him skeptically, pausing before you reached into the cabinet to grab two glasses.
With a curt nod, he hurried out of the kitchen and across the hall to the Tatami room, closing the doors behind him gently. And you couldn't help but wonder what he was up to, acting all nervous and un-Leo-like.
Just as you finished slicing the lemon and adding it to the edges of your water glasses, Leo stepped back into the kitchen.
"Ready?" He asked, clenching and unclenching his fisted hands repeatedly as he stepped back and forth nervously.
You smiled kindly and nodded, still pondering over his odd behavior while also trying to put him at ease.
Outstretching his arm in an invitation to go ahead of him, you stepped forward to take the lead. Before you passed by him, however, he took one of the glasses of water that you were carrying and followed closely behind. 
As you reached your destination, he hurriedly reached around you and opened the Tatami room door. Looking back at him, he smiled and signaled for you to enter the room.  
You stepped inside a dim, candlelit room, where a variety of sushi was spread out on the table. 
"It's beautiful, Leo," you whispered, looking up at him where he stood behind you, his plastron barely a breath from your body.
He looked down at you and chuckled, "Well, I was hoping it looked delicious, but I'll take beautiful," he teased you as his free hand made contact with your lower back.
Heat crept up your neck toward your face, and butterflies tickled your belly as his hand slid from your back to your hand so he could help you to the table to sit. You steadied your breathing the best you could, hoping he wouldn't notice the fast, trembling breaths.
Instead of sitting across from you as you had expected him to do, he sat down directly next to you. Surprised at how close he was, you couldn’t help but watch as he grabbed a plate and filled it up for himself.
Eyes locked on yours as he looked over at you, he asked, "May I?" As he picked up your plate.
Blinking a few times before what he had said actually registered, you nodded as your stomach did a half dozen somersaults, one right after the other, and you thought to yourself that this very much felt like a date—a romantic one.
Giving you a sexy smirk, he paused, making deliberate selections as he filled your plate before putting it in front of you with a set of chopsticks.
Oh, no.
He grabbed his own chopsticks and started eating, as you sat and looked at your set like they were laced with the plague.
After about four bites, he stopped and looked at you, brow ridge furrowed and head slightly cocked to one side. "Everything alright?" He asked, studying your features.
You let out a defeated sigh. "I don't know how to use those," you confessed, slightly embarrassed as you pointed to your foreign utensils.
"Here, like this," he instructed, showing you how to hold and use them, demonstrating with his own set in his hands.
After five minutes of hell and some stifled giggles from him, he suggested, "I have an idea."
Standing up from where he sat beside you, he walked out of your view. Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, you felt him sit behind you, his thighs straddling your hips as he laid his long legs out straight beside yours under the table.
Eyes wide, your breath hitched as you felt his plastron touch your back. 
Please don't pass out.
You tried to steady your breathing as you felt his arms come around you on either side to pick up your chopsticks.
"Like this," he whispered, his warm breath caressing your ear as he fixed the sticks in your dominant hand.
You swallowed hard. "K." It was the only thing you could make out, and just as you feared, it came out in a trembling breath.
He kept his hand around yours as he brought the chopsticks to your plate to pick up a piece of sushi, then brought it to your mouth. You opened your mouth, and he placed the food inside gently.
"Good, right?" He breathed, voice low and smooth as his lips touched the outer edge of your ear.
"Mmm," you hummed quietly, barely tasting the food as he picked up another piece.
Your gaze followed his motions as you watched him use your hand, still encased by his, slowly bringing the chopsticks to his mouth and feeding himself.
When your innocent observing turned into full-on gawking as you looked up at him, a sly smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"You gonna finish that?" He teased with raised eyebrow ridges as he nodded his head at you and looked at your mouth, licking his lips.
You cleared your throat and continued to chew, your face growing as hot as the summer sun.
He chuckled, and you felt his lips on your ear again, "Did you know that sushi is considered an aphrodisiac?"
You shook your head in response as you attempted to swallow your mouthful of food.
Spinning the chopsticks so they were being held by the grace of only one of his fingers, he leaned forward to grab your glass, handing it to you as he saw your struggle to swallow, "Relax," he said softly, his other hand resting on your bicep, giving it a small squeeze.
You chugged a couple of mouthfuls of water, forcing the lump of food down your esophagus to hopefully squash the butterflies that had seemingly multiplied. Tenfold.
However, the moment you set the glass back down on the table, Leo took the opportunity, deciding to continue in his onslaught of lusty torture.
As you placed your water glass back down, you felt his hand move to your hip. The intimacy of the action caused you to sit up straight.
"Easy," he whispered. "I'm not gonna bite you," he practically purred, lightly trailing his snout down the side of your neck, then back up to your ear. "Do you want more?"
Holy shit, yes.
You nodded, letting out a hard breath of air.
"What would you like more of, love?" his voice husky, his lips ghosting over your pulse in a restrained kiss.  
Unable to breathe, nevermind speak, you pushed your hips back between the apex of his thighs, where the unmistakable outline of his growing erection against your backside ignited the fire between your own.
You hoped the action was enough of an explanation because you were positive that you wouldn't be able to form a coherent sentence at this point.
He dropped the chopsticks and used both hands to pull your hips flush to his so your back was now completely flat against his plastron. His hand found its way under the front of your shirt and made its way quickly to a hardened nipple. 
A small gasp left your lips as he trailed kisses down your neck. "I lied," he breathed out. "I need to taste you," he growled, his tongue making contact with your collarbone and his lips closing on the skin as he sucked.
Hard.
"Lied?" Your question came out as a moan, pulling a guttural groan from him.
"Yes, I am going to bite you,” He growled in your ear, both hands now tight on your hips. “But only if you want me to, love," he added, a bit of uncertainty laced in his voice as his grip loosened to give you an out if you wished.
Without a thought, you nodded frantically, a trembling “Yes” being whispered to the empty portion of the room. One of his arms moved around your middle while one of his legs pushed the pair of you away from the table.
Big hands moving over your body, he spun you around, manhandling you until he had you exactly where he wanted you.
Straddling him.
Placing your hands on his chest in feverish shock, you felt his heart hammering under his plastron. And the intimate position allowed you to get a good look at him in the low lighting. His eyes were completely blown black, his lips slightly swollen from loving you.
His hands came up, pulling your face to his. One of his thumbs moved to your chin, pulling your mouth open just as his tongue found its way through your lips. Devouring kisses, as if it were you he had planned on having for lunch instead, his tongue exploring every inch. With a bit of suction, he pulled away, catching your bottom lip between his teeth. 
You were unable to silence the whimper his sensuous affection had drawn out, and honestly, you couldn't care less. Your need for him had you grinding your hips down against his rock-hard member reflexively, a lascivious groan ripping from his throat in response.
"Jebus, what did they put in that sushi, and where can I get some?" Exclaimed Mike right before slamming the tatami room door, cackling loudly as he took off before his eldest brother could maim him.
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seeminglydark · 2 days
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How did Caro go about figuring out their gender identity when they were on their own? You mentioned that they tried "they" and "he" pronouns before settling on "they" - can you talk about that more?
Sure can! In case theres some reading this who may not have read my comics or know the background but stumbled on my art on accident, ill give a little breakdown of their journey. Caro grew up in a really small town with really restrictive parents. They start out knowing they are not a girl. but not really having any idea what that means exactly, and not having access to the resources or a safe place to find out. They start out using he/him because at the time (16 in most of the stories i show them in their teenage years) they arent actually aware theres more of a spectrum than just a binary, they think being a boy is the only way to not be a girl. Their friend, Sully, while being openly gay and having a bit more of an idea about some things, doesnt know much about gender expression or gender-queerness either, so he does what he can to support what they both think is the right fit. apparently neither if them thinks to go to a library. After sully leaves, Caro is left to struggle on their own. They know they are trans, but they are still nervous about exploring things without someone holding their hand, ptsd from extremely intense helicopter parents perhaps and being kicked out for knowing at the very least, they arent the girl everyone always forced them into. They meet their current agent, Goldie, somewhere around 20 years old, at this point they have not revealed their face or gender even in their podcast (for those who listen, ive kept those things very vague since its supposed to be canonical with their life journey). Goldie encourages them to explore more what feels right to them and helps them get in touch with gender affirming resources, 'He' felt close, but it was never really that aha yes its me! moment. They learn about nonbinary, genderfluid, etc through research and help from other people in the community they meet through Goldie, therapy resources and also people they meet via their podcast. They actually do try out a few things, canonically they go from she to he to genderfluid (any pronoun) to they, which feels the best for them. present day Caro doesnt mind 'he' either, they just mostly stick with They. i WILL be exploring this in the podcast, so that story will be told in more detail as time goes on as well. Bonus answer: the reason why i wrote their journey like this, is because Caro is how i explored MY gender identity. They started out as a tool i used to try on different hats and research in a safe space (a fictional character), meet and talk with people to find what gender expression worked best for me, also going from she to he to fluid (any) to nonbinary (they.) i did not have restrictive parents or come from a small town, but im in my 40s, and there wasnt a lot of resource available where i grew up for trans kids in the 90s. i knew i wasnt a girl, and for me, boy seemed like my only other option until i learned that gender is not a binary and i actually had many ways i could go, until i found what felt right to me. and honestly, it was as simple as someone calling me 'They' in passing because they werent sure how to refer to me. Hit me like a ton of bricks. I was in my mid thirties and frankly, it was so relieving to finally have a pronoun that felt like ME! I think perhaps it was as simple for Caro as well. Unforch I cant give you a solid answer as to WHY they felt right for me or Caro. i just know it did, i think perhaps that an individual feeling for everyone who is figuring things out. Some people just KNOW, and others like me, know *something* and find out what the means for them along the way. <3
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secretdonderwolk · 13 hours
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As a daniel fan, I think other fans get too bogged down with the idea he’s unlucky. If anything— he’s also lucky in the big ways (not to discredit the massive amount of work that contributed to this “luck”)
I mean, getting that “third driver” role offer in the first place (thanks Horner ig). What other driver is getting that from the top team….. and it being a success story! He got his seat back so quickly and technically, with the promotion track in front of him. Massive amount of luck needed there— if Nyck had panned out…Daniel’s only competition is Checo realistically for that seat. Even the biggest haters can admit RBR clearly wanted Ricciardo to do well enough to deserve a promotion. The 2nd seat really was/is his to lose you know….and that’s pretty lucky imo.
(omg i went and wrote a whole essay lmaoooo this is not directed at you i'm just musing out loud) this is an interesting take! i think i agree and disagree. i think daniel was very lucky (and i think sometimes he isn't as unlucky as people think sometimes he's just nawt doing good) but i also think he had to work harder than some of the others to make his own luck. or at least figure out what brand of luck he needed to cultivate fast. growing up in australia where it's so difficult to get into the f1 scene, having to do so much shmoozing from like, age seventeen to get people on his side because he had to give it up otherwise, not being paid by red bull that first year, having to deal with the snake pit that was the red bull junior academy and making it work for him... i think he had to learn very quickly the power of having the right people on your side and he's never been afraid to put the work in when it comes to that side of things... because in the beginning he didn't have a choice and by the time he did, he knew how to rig the system in his favor and just... kept at it. so idk if rbr taking him back is lucky necessarily... or if it's more a credit to daniel that he learned a very important lesson at seventeen (you need people in your corner) and never forgot it. even the second seat like... sure horner was on his side but it's also (maybe mostly) because daniel worked very hard to get him there. same with helmut, same with max, same with the renault guys and the vcarb guys now. it's not just lucky, daniel worked to have all of them buy into his whole deal and it's the fruits of his labor. like horner got him in that hotel room in mexico because daniel had already worked for years for his loyalty. helmut gave him that contract because daniel went to austria with his broken hand over the summer to charm the shit out of him. max was practically running a one man campaign to get daniel back to red bull because daniel saw an undersocialized seventeen year old prodigy on the spectrum ten years ago and said hey i'll hang out with you :) it's not just lucky. it's getting over the embarrassment that is lobbying to get people on your side, which he's done time and time again. honestly i know i talk shit about him sometimes but it's funny the way people seem so disdainful of him not giving up. like they really look down on him for not throwing his hands up and saying whatever! get liam in that seat! he deserves it more than me! as if he isn't programmed to keep going. as if this isn't his life's work... as if he hasn't been chipping away at this since he was like ten like... he is never going to give up because this is all he knows and i know we look down on people who keep trying now but that's what making it to the top takes and he's not gonna stop now because i don't think he even knows how
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fiveisnumber1 · 3 days
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Timeless - Five Hargreeves X Reader
Main story parts:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37
A/N: Hi Everyone, sorry it took so long to put this chapter out. I swear I really tried to get it done sooner, but without going into too much detail, let's just say I got majorly hit by the Author's Curse. It wasn't easy but I finally am in a place where I was able to finish this chapter and I have already written some of the next one. Let's just hope I don't have a repeat of last time. Hope you enjoy and if you can please leave a comment that would be so cool! They make my day and really help to motivate me!
____________________________________________________________
Pt 38 - Don't (Let Me) Go
Light pushed through the silent darkness that surrounded you, the brightness slowly increasing as time went on. You could hear a ringing in your head, and as you opened your eyes to look for the origin of the sound, light flooded into your receptors causing you to wince at the intensity. You shut your eyes tightly once again and turned your head to the side trying to avoid the piercing light directly above you. Slowly, you could feel the rest of your senses begin to kick in. You were lying down somewhere and as your fingers slightly moved back and forth you could tell that you were on a carpeted floor. You felt like there was a layer of sweat covering your skin. Your mouth felt extremely dry like you hadn't had water in days and all you could hear was the buzzing of what you assumed to be the light source above you. Carefully, you opened your eyes, wincing at the light once more before allowing your cloudy vision to focus as best as it could. The world was bright and still a bit blurry, but you could make out the room enough to realize you were back in Kenny's basement.
You were confused. How the hell did you get back here? You shut your eyes again trying to force yourself to remember what happened last night but everything was a jumbled mess and it hurt to think.
You moved your head slightly in an effort to look around more but the slightest movement made you feel like you were moving through jello. Just slightly out of arms reach you could see Dean lying on the floor as well.
"Dean..." You groggily called
However, he did not move.
"Marks..." You called slightly louder
Still nothing.
You knew what you had to do. With all the energy you could muster you rolled yourself from your back onto your stomach. A wave of nausea washed over you, but you somehow managed to stop it. Now within reach of him, you slid your arm over and placed your hand on his forehead before smacking it repeatedly.
"Ah!" He shouted as he quickly sat up "Estoy despierto!"
You did not move your head to look at him and instead just opted to use your peripheral vision as best as you could. You could see as he lifted his hand to his forehead to hold it. You couldn't tell if it was from a headache like yours or because you had just repeatedly hit it. Dean looked around the room confused before turning his attention to you on the ground.
"Oh, you don't look good." He commented
"I'll be fine..." You replied still slightly disoriented "What did we do last night?"
"What didn't we do?" Dean stated back "I can't even remember everything."
"That's- not comforting..." You responded
Seeing that you were not getting the answers you wanted from Dean, you knew that you would have to start asking around to piece together the puzzle, but there was no way you were going to get an idea of what happened last night from your spot on the floor. However, the thought of getting up felt like a Herculean task given your condition. You had never gone as far as you did last night. Honestly, you should've listened to that alcohol and drug lecture you got back in freshman year, no matter how lame they were. They were correct when they rhymed Drinking lots is really bad, it makes your head and tummy sad. Your head and tummy were very upset right now. If only you had some water, then you could force it through your system with your powers and wipe a lot of your discomfort away. If only you didn't have to get up to accomplish that.
Wait.
You didn't.
Through your tired and headache-filled haze, an idea came to mind. All you had to do was roll on your back once more, open your mouth, and use your powers to collect the water molecules in the air close enough to create a physical stream of water.
You were a genius.
Gathering your physical energy once more you rolled yourself back onto your back. The basement lights above shined into your eyes once more, but you did your best not to focus on it and instead focus on the task at hand. Looking up you concentrated on the water molecules in the air and began to bring them together. Quickly, the molecules pooled together becoming an orb that floated in the air. The ceiling lights shone through the water and reflected the light into brilliant rays. If it weren't for your thirst you may have considered staring at the growing water ball longer. When the orb looked sizable enough, you opened your mouth, and let the water begin to fall.
Unfortunately, you realized too little too late that your genius idea was actually incredibly stupid as the orb of water fell from the air and down onto your face. Your open mouth caught a good portion of the water, but instead of swallowing it as you had planned, you began to choke as you somehow managed to drown yourself. The shock of it all sent a jolt through your system causing you to sit upright and let the water still stuck in your throat spill out onto the floor. With most of the water either on the floor or swallowed into your system you began to gasp loudly for air as you tried to settle yourself back down. At least you were sitting up now. As you began to catch your breath, you heard as a voice asked,
"Did you just waterboard yourself?"
Your head slowly turned your head left toward the voice and saw Bren sitting against the wall. His expression was still tired mixed with some shock. You furrowed your eyebrows in annoyance as you attempted to shout between gasps,
"N-no!"
Rather than replying, he just raised one eyebrow curiously most definitely implying he did not believe you.
"Shut up!" You shouted, finally regaining your ability to speak "I didn't mean to!"
"Shhh..." Viktoria shushed, waving her hand at you "You're too loud."
"Sorry..." You whispered
Finally taking a look around the room you could see the rest of your friends in some state of alertness although some look worse for wear than others. Dean and Bren seemed tired but not in pain, Lucas and Addison seemed like they had light sensitivity but nothing some ibuprofen couldn't help with, but Viktoria looked like she was gonna need a stronger concoction of remedies to get better. As people began to move around you considered actually getting up to get water, but before you could you were greeted with the cheerful yet loud voice of Kenny exclaiming,
"GOOD MORNING KRUSTY CREW!"
"SHHHH!" Viktoria emphasized louder
"Oh shush yourself, Vi. I've got home remedies and medicine to fix you all up." Kenny replied matter-of-factly
Ah yes, of course, the part-time EMT and full-time party king himself would know exactly how to help you all. You watched from where you sat on the floor as Kenny, who seemed completely unaffected from the night before, passed out items from a tray to each of your friends. Coffee for Dean and Bren. Extra-strength migraine medicine and Gatorade for Lucas and Addison, and the prior plus saltines for Viktoria. And then lastly there was you. You watched as Kenny walked over to you and reached down to hand you a giant glass of water. As he did so though he noticed the remnants of water that soaked your top half.
"What happened?" He questioned confused
"I'm far stupider when my head hurts." You replied annoyed "Please just give me the water so I can fix myself."
"Makes sense," Kenny commented as he handed you the water
Chugging the water he had handed you, you finally managed to set out what you wanted to do with your original plan. Getting the water into your system, you used your powers to move it about your body helping you to start feeling better. It was an incredibly weird feeling when you messed with only some of the molecules inside your body, but it was better than being nauseous and in pain. And truly, a recovery that took two minutes of being uncomfortable was far better than one that took two hours.
Soon enough, the searing pain in your head and the unease in your stomach both managed to subside allowing you to focus on more important matters. Like drying yourself off for one. Using your abilities to collect the water molecules in your shirt, you distributed them back into the world, ridding yourself of the evidence of your mistake. which finally led you back to your original plan, FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT.
Finally feeling confident in your ability to stand, you got up from where you sat on the floor, moved to the center of the room, and looked around at your friends. There were markings on each of your friends' left wrists wrapped in clear bandaging that conjured hazy memories of a weird biker bar. Looking down at your left wrist, you saw it was also marked with a symbol of your own. The memories became clearer as you recalled your conversation with Pogo and how you drew the image for him to tattoo. Looking at the tattoo once more you noticed that it seemed to already have healed over. Of course, it had. Your scars never stayed. At least not the physical ones.
That wasn't important though. As you pulled your clear bandage off your wrist you went back to looking at your friends. Things at first seemed ordinary even with the blacked-out gaps in your memory. But then things became odd. Bren had what looked like a streak of black paint on the side of his neck and Addison was wearing a diamond ring on her ring finger.
"Bren, how did you get paint on your neck?" You asked
"Probably got it when we graffitied that stupid banner last night." He replied, looking up from his coffee
You looked at him blankly. You had no recollection of that whatsoever. What banner would the two of you hate enough to even do that, anyway?
"Right." You responded, attempting to hide your lack of remembrance
After responding, however, you quickly looked over toward Addison who was snuggled up next to Lucas on one of the basement's couches.
"And where did you get your ring again, Addi? It's just so lovely." You asked feigning ignorance
"Oh, Lucas found it in a ring box in the bathroom of the club we went to and proposed to me with it." She answered, happily showing it off
"Yeah, and I finally got to use my Certificate of Ordination to marry them when we went to City Hall." Kenny chimed in
"Of course. How could I forget." You replied, still trying to hide that, in fact, you did NOT remember
There were vague memories of someone referencing City Hall when you were at the bar Pogo worked at, but besides that, you had no clue what happened there. Looking over towards Dean you could see that he had a smirk on his face. Locking his eyes with yours, you could hear as he said in your head,
You don't remember shit, do you?
You scowled slightly as you replied in his head,
Shut it. Just tell me what else happened. I already feel stupid enough from the accidental waterboarding...
His smirk turned into a smile as he explained,
Beyond breaking into City Hall so Lucas and Addison could get married? You helped Lucas forge adoption papers so Luther and Sloane Hargreeves are now his legal parents.
You thought to yourself for a moment before stating,
That does like something I would do.
Externally Dean gave you a nod before adding in your head,
Although, you should ask Viktoria where the fanfiction she printed for you is. She ran out like three government printers to put it all into these huge ass binders.
Your eyes went wide for a moment as you questioned,
Binders?
Oh yeah, at least two to my knowledge.
You gave Dean one more look before carefully turning toward Viktoria who was slowly going between eating saltines and sipping on some orange Gatorade on the other couch in the basement. Taking a few steps closer to her you softly began to say,
"Hey Viktoria, about those binders you put together yesterday-"
"Spider-Man fics are in the red binder. They're mainly Amazing Spider-Man focused but some are just general Spider-Man. However, In A Matter of Time fics, are in the blue binder and are sorted by who they're about." Viktoria replied matter-of-factly in between sips of her drink
Well...you did say you wanted to read some of those stories. Viktoria knew the types of tropes you liked and she read everything from the best of works to the worst of it all so at least you knew you were going to get the good stuff.
"Cool. Where are they?" You asked, still hiding the fact that you forgot about this too
"In the black bag over there?" Viktoria stated, pointing in the general direction of the far wall
Walking over to the wall you saw not one, but two, black bags resting against the wall. They were both relatively similar in appearance so you weren't sure which one she was referencing.
"Which bag is it?" you inquired, gesturing to the two bags
"I don't know, the left one?" She shrugged
Taking her word you walked over to the bag on the floor to the left. Crouching down, you opened the zipper on the top of the bag but instead of finding the aforementioned binders you were instead met with the sight of a large sum of cash, all in perfectly banded stacks. You paused, confused at the unexpected sight before you.
"Did you find the papers?" Dean asked
"Not the type that I expected to be in here." You replied
"What do you mean?" Viktoria questioned
"These aren't binders. This is cash." You stated, turning around to show the group "And a lot of it."
"Oh, that's my bag!" Kenny exclaimed, "Viktoria's is the one on the right."
Everyone slowly turned to look at Kenny. Confusion and concern running across all of your faces but his.
"Kenny, why do you have stacks on stacks in that bag?" Bren interrogated
"Oh, because I took it when we were at City Hall," Kenny stated nonchalantly
the jaws of you and your friends dropped as you looked at him. He seemed to not have a care in the world about what he had done. This was bad. Not apocalypse bad, but still, pretty fucking bad.
"You stole thousands of dollars from the government?!" You exclaimed
"The world is in chaos why would the government care?" Kenny explained
"IT'S MONEY!" You shouted, "THEY CARE ABOUT THIS SHIT MORE THAN HUMAN LIFE!"
Kenny paused for a moment, somehow only now realizing the severity of what he had done.
"Ah fuck...you right." He stated
"Hey, hey, calm down," Bren interjected "I'm pretty sure I managed to turn off their security system though."
Turing your attention from Kenny, you looked at Bren and questioned,
"How sure?"
"Like 75 maybe 85 percent sure." He answered
"That's pretty good." Lucas tried to encourage
"That's not a hundred," Dean replied
"So what? We can't leave this basement until the world ends?" Viktoria questioned
A silence fell over the group. You looked at each other waiting for someone to say something but no words came. Was Viktoria right? Was this it? Were you all stuck here in Kenny's basement for the short, but foreseeable future?
No. You couldn't let that happen. If the world was ending you were doing whatever you could to fill the time. You weren't going to become like the rest of the world hiding themselves away from the inevitable. You wouldn't let the dread of the end creep into you all. If you were going out, it was going to be together, as a group, on your terms. You refused to let the world take this from you.
"No, we can. We just need to keep a very low profile." You spoke up
Your friends turned their attention to you. There was confusion amongst the group, but that notable spark of hope in their eyes. There were a plethora of things you could count on your friends for. Friendship, support, humor, connection, loyalty, etc. But the most important one was hope. It was their hope that kept you going when things were tough just like it was your hope that kept them going during their dark days. You were a family. You loved each other. And when it came to wanting the best for each other no expense was paid to giving out hope to one another.
The apocalypse wasn't your fault, but it was your doing that they were aware of it. If there was anything you could give them now it was hope. Looking back at them you stood up straighter, and with confidence in your voice you explained,
"Like Kenny said, the world is in chaos, people are disappearing, and they might not put as much effort into looking for us as they would under normal circumstances."
Slowly but surely, there were nods of agreement at the statement. They made sense and if you were so confident in that fact then they should be too.
"Still, we should find a new place to lay low these next few days." Dean added, "God forbid, it's that 15-25 percent that Bren isn't sure, they'll probably still come checking our homes just to say they tried."
"Okay, but what place is going to take in seven strange kids no questions asked?" Addison commented
There was quiet chatter amongst the group about where you all could go to lay low. However, the confident look on your face dropped contorting into a grimace as you already knew where would be best suited to hide out. You did not want to take your friends there, especially with who were already staying there, but deep down you knew it was best.
"What's that look for, sis?" Dean questioned
"I know a place..." You sighed
"And you're sure they won't ask questions?" Addison pressed
"Positive." You explained, "The same guy has been working the front desk since at least the sixties and didn't ask why I haven't aged a day after 56 years."
"Well, I don't know about you guys but that works for me," Kenny stated
Everyone else seemed to either nod their head or mumble some type of agreeing statement to the idea. In your mind, it wasn't ideal but you knew it was your best bet.
"Alright then, everyone grab your important shit, shove it in my car, and let's go." Dean said
With Dean's declaration, your scattered friends started to get up and gather their things. Some more slowly than others. You felt a twinge of sadness as you looked around Kenny's basement. This place was your main hangout spot and it was filled with memories. You had hoped you could come back to this place each day, but just like many other places in your life, you had to move on. What was safest was best. There wasn't all that much to grab since most peoples' items were back at their respective houses, but soon enough everyone had gathered their sentimental stuff and gathered by the basement stairs ready to go. As you all began to make your way up the stairs, and to the front door you could hear Kenny exclaim behind you all,
"Wait!"
Everyone stopped on their own specific stair, except for Lucas who had already made it to the main floor landing and looked back at Kenny.
"What's wrong?" Bren inquired
"My tumbly's grumbly." Kenny replied
"Oh! I can make us eggs before we go." Lucas suggested
"No!" The rest of the group interjected
Lucas looked down the stairs at you all, his head tilted to the side in confusion at all of your reactions.
"Uh- no thank you, Lucas." You said, in a more polite tone "We'll get breakfast on the way."
With a quick shrug of his shoulders, Lucas smiled at the rest of you as he replied,
"Okay!"
And as he walked off toward the front door the rest of you looked down at Kenny who still stood at the bottom of the stairs, all giving him an annoyed glare.
"I don't know why you all are mad at me. You said no too." Kenny complained
Letting out a little sigh, you, like everyone else, continued up the stairs and out to Dean's car. With everyone piled in Dean pulled away from Kenny's house and drove off. After a quick stop at a diner, where you ordered and ate breakfast food besides eggs, you got back in the car and directed Dean to drive to the Hotel Obsidian, telling him it was mostly a straight shot down the road with one left turn after 20 blocks.
With that explanation though, Dean's sense of caution seemed to dissipate as he whipped out of his parking spot at the diner and floored it down the road. Weaving between the abandoned cars and ignoring most traffic lights, it seemed as if Dean had forgotten the speed limit, that there would still be some other cars on the road, and thatyou were trying to lay low. You could hear the sound of the song Tokyo Drift playing in his head as you sped down the semi-apocalyptic streets. You took a look at your friends in the backseat, most of them seemed at least slightly entertained except for Viktoria who was starting to look green. You were almost at the hotel though, so you hoped she could at least hold out til you got there to possibly spill her guts. As you approached the left turn to arrive at the hotel, Dean quickly spun the wheel left causing the car to do a few donuts in the intersection. You let him enjoy his fun for a few rotations as Bren and Kenny encouraged him from the back seat, but with Viktoria's condition seemingly worsening you decided to hit his arm suggesting he get a move on.
Finally making the left turn, Dean slowed down slightly as he pulled up into the front drive of the hotel. You all stepped outside of the car, leaving most of your items with you before having Dean lock everything up. You did however wonder why Kenny felt the need to bring his medbag with him, it's not like anything major was going to happen at the hotel. Nevertheless, you made your way, with your friends, toward one of the front revolving doors as you all collectively tried to push your way through in the same turn.
"Will you- god- back up, Kenny," Bren complained
"Dean, your elbow's in my ribs," Lucas stated
"Okay, we didn't all-" Addison began to criticize
"Move forward!" Dean shouted as he pushed the group
After a moment, the seven of you finally made it through the door and to the other side of the entrance. Spreading out to give each other space, you mentioned
"You know there were two doors, right?"
"Thank you, girl who can go through walls. That's some great insight coming from the person who didn't have to use the door with us, but did anyway." Addison remarked
Your mouth fell into an awkward frown as your eyes moved to look toward the floor. Sometimes you got so wrapped up in what was going on that you forgot your powers were even an option. It was a rare occurrence, but it still happened from time to time. However, being reminded that you forgot about your innate abilities made you feel a bit stupid.
"Okay, you're right, but you don't have to be mean about it..." You responded slightly embarrassed
As you dealt with recovering from your faux pas, however, your friends looked about the place they were now going to be staying in the meantime. However, any excited curiosity slowly began to fade as they took everything in. The sub-par hotel was noticeably old. From the furniture, to the lighting fixtures, to the carpet itself nothing looked like it was from this century. It barely looked like it belonged to the last one. The other people who inhabited the hotel were also an odd mix. Your friends tried not to make eye contact with them even as some of them quietly stared at the group.
"This place looks lame as fuck." Dean commented
"It smells like my Grandma's house," Kenny added
"(Y/N), why are we here?" Lucas asked disappointed
"Lucas you know why we're here. I have connections here, along with the Academy crew staying here as well." You explained, "I brought you all here so you'd be safe."
Lucas nodded his head at your response but then you could see as his eyes widened. A revelation came to his mind as you mentioned that the Academy was also staying here.
"Oh my god." Lucas said in a low tone, "I might get to tell Luther he's my dad now."
"Gonna be honest, looking at this place I'd rather take my chances with the government finding us," Bren remarked
You could see as the rest of your friends looked around at each other. No one was replying to Bren's statement, you could tell that they were thinking about it. Except Lucas of course who was too preoccupied with the thought of actually getting a new father.
"Listen, I know it's not great. But it's safer." You added reassuringly, "And I promise we will have a good time. Charlie and I found many ways to make this place at least a little fun."
There was a slight hesitancy, but after a moment you could see your friends become less tense about the situation. Their shoulders relaxed and their postures became more casual. It wasn't ideal but you were going to make this work for you all. As you looked about your group of friends though, you noticed that there were only 5 out of the 6 standing around the lobby.
"Where's Viktoria?" You asked concerned
"Right there," Bren replied pointing behind you
Turning around you saw your petite friend leaning over a small trash can looking as if she was about to puke. Poor Viktoria, her stomach upset so easily. Granted, you couldn't blame her given the events of last night and Dean's driving right after eating. You watched as she looked over toward your group, her head close to resting on the rim of the can. Between the paleness of her skin and the tired look in her eyes, you could tell that she did not feel well.
"Why don't you drive a little more recklessly next time, huh Dean?" Viktoria ridiculed, sickness evident in her tone
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm the safest driver I know." Dean replied, "We're all here in one piece are we not?"
Viktoria shot Dean a dirty look, but quickly after a wave of nausea washed over her causing her to turn her face back toward the opening of the trash can. Fortunately, she faced the can just in time as seconds later a stream of bile came from her mouth. There was a mix of grossed-out grimaces and sympathetic looks on the faces of you and your friends while other guests of the hotel looked on in disgust. As Addison rushed over to Viktoria's side you turned to look at the rude patrons staring at your friend.
"Mind your business!" You shouted, your eyes angrily flaring up
The prying eyes of other guests quickly averted themselves as you returned to normal and turned back to your group. Now kneeling next to Viktoria, Addison gently ran a hand up and down her back trying to ease her discomfort. With a sympathetic smile, Addison cooed,
"C'mon Vi, let's see if they have some old pretzels or something behind the bar to help your stomach."
Kenny quickly perked up at the word bar as he excitedly looked around the lobby once more. He had missed it the first time, but off to the side, there was a fully stocked bar with no one attending it. A wide smile came to his face as he ran off toward it cheering,
"It's unmanned! That means it's free!"
As quick as Kenny started running though, Bren took off after him.
"KENNY! NO!" He shouted, pulling out one of his whips to try and grab onto him
As Bren chased Kenny toward the bar, you looked back at the scene in front of you. Addison was trying hard to get Viktoria to get up so they could walk over to the bar and hopefully help her feel better. However, her efforts were futile as Viktoria's body refused to let her leave from her kneeling position.
"I can't move..." Viktoria groaned as Addison tried to lift her once more
Letting out a defeated sigh, Addison called out,
"Lucas! Come help me carry Viktoria."
"Oh uh- yeah," Lucas answered coming out of his thoughts, "Sure thing, babe,"
Walking over to where Addison was Lucas lifted Viktoria off the ground with ease. He was a very strong boy and lifting someone small like Viktoria was a piece of cake for him.
"Don't worry Sonata, I got you." Lucas comforted as he picked Viktoria up
He waited for a moment for Addison as she picked up the trash can and continued to hold it close to Viktoria's head. Once she was ready the two of them slowly made their way over to the bar to not disturb Viktoria's stomach more. And then there were two. You looked over at the rest of your friends by the bar before turning to Dean and saying,
"Well if everyone else is over there we might as well too,"
"You can go. However, I have to piss." Dean replied
"I told you not to drink four glasses of orange juice." You reminded
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just point me to the nearest bathroom." Dean remarked
Rolling your eyes, you pointed toward the back of the lobby toward the elevators.
"Off to the side of the elevators, there is a hallway. Down at the end of the hall is a communal bathroom. There are stalls, showers, and baths so don't be surprised if you see anyone in just a towel." You explained before commenting, "Or less."
"Do you know that from experience or...?" Dean questioned
"Not my experience. Charlie's." You answered, "I always showered at the Academy."
"Alright. Well, I'll meet you back at the bar with everyone else." Dean replied
With that, Dean gave you a short nod as he walked off toward the bathrooms and you began to head toward the rest of your friends. As you made your way over to the bar, you noticed Viktoria's phone on the ground. It must've fallen out of her pocket as Lucas had carried her. Picking it up, you took it with you. She'd probably want it back when she was feeling better, but given you hadn't used a smartphone in four years you felt very compelled to use hers. As you approached, the bar you called out to Viktoria,
"Vi, I found your phone. Can I use it?"
Viktoria, however, didn't look or talk back. Instead, you could see her give a shaky thumbs up. And with that approval, you sat down on the bar top, surrounded by your chaotic friends, and unlocked her phone to scroll social media.
Unbeknownst to you though, just across the lobby, the rest of the Umbrella Academy were gathering together as well. One by one, the members of the Hargreeves family had found all of themselves standing near the elevators asking each other what had happened to them recently. But as a silence fell over the group, a vortex of blue opened beside them spitting out Lila and Five onto the carpet of the hotel. Luther, Viktor, Allison, and Diego all jumped back in shock as they watched as the two of them collided with a travel magazine stand, smashing it to pieces. Five and Lila groaned from where they lay on the ground, surrounded by magazines and broken wood.
Rolling onto his back, Five could feel his head spinning. Through his eyes, he could make out the figures of his siblings, but it seemed like each of them had two extra duplicates.
"Shit." He muttered to himself
Sitting up, Five pushed himself to stand, but as he got on his feet he could feel his legs wobble beneath him as the world spun a little more. His mind was racing and yet he couldn't think straight.
"Where have you been?" Viktor questioned
"Facing my mortality, Viktor. I don't recommend it." Five replied as he began to regain his balance
With the world around him a little more stable, Five fixed his jacket and brushed the dust of the wooden stand off his suit. Regaining his composure, he now tried to regain his train of thought. It seemed like every time he time traveled it always seemed to screw with his head a bit. He didn't know if it was the act of traveling through time or the fact that he only ever did it under duress that made his mind get disorganized. Either way, it didn't help especially with so much on the line. As he focused more on the important things at hand, his focus was interrupted by Allison aggressively remarking,
"You had the briefcase? We've been looking for this!"
"Well, look no further. That's the last one on Earth." Five replied
Five watched as she knelt next to the case and took it into her hands. Examining it closer, it was obvious the thing was broken. Between the dents, scratches, and billows of smoke coming off of it, there was no way it was going to work again.
"Or was the last one." Five added
Allison scoffed, tossing the briefcase down to the ground in frustration before getting up and walking away to sit on a nearby staircase. With Allison off to the side, Five went over to the briefcase to inspect it. He didn't think it was workable, but given everything it didn't hurt to check. With one glance though, it was evident that the case was broken beyond repair.
"Yeah, that's toast." Five said aloud
As Five stepped away from the briefcase and began to finally collect his thoughts, Lila rushed towards Diego and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into an embrace.
"You're happy to see me. What's wrong?" Diego asked
"Turns out there's less time to hold grudges than I had planned. You're off the hook." Lila explained before asking, "Hey, where's Stan?"
Even with the idle chatter in the background between his family members, Five was able to gather his thoughts. The world was ending. He knew that. It was because of a Kugelblitz that it was ending. He learned that. Another version of himself created the commission and also died. He witnessed that. You, his girlfriend, were in danger of also dying. He discovered that. None of these thoughts were good, and they needed to be resolved fast. Calling the attention of those around, Five announced,
"Hey, Chatty Cathys, quit the chitchat, all right? I'm calling a family meeting here."
Hearing that, Lila attempted to walk away from the group but was stopped by Diego who held her wrist and said,
"Ah, ah, ah. That means you too."
With his mind fully in focus, and the things he needed to address listed out in his head, Five looked around at the group that stood before him, but as he glanced at each individual he noticed a very important one was missing.
"Where's (Y/N)?" Five asked the group
Besides Lila, who was with Five the whole time, the rest of the group looked around at each other for an answer. Their eyes met each other as shoulders were shrugged and uncertain mumbles filled the air. No one seemed to know where you were.
Concern bubbled up within Five. How could they not know where you were? You were with the group of them when he had left. How did they not see you? Terrible thoughts started to flood Five's mind as he thought of the possibilities of what could've happened to you. What if you were kidnapped by the Sparrows? What if a kugel wave blitzed you? Or worse, overwhelmed your powers and killed you? What if he was too late and you were already gone? In their conversation, his other self told him that he shouldn't have left here, that his time was running out. Was this what he meant?
"Where is my girlfriend?" Five harshly emphasized
Uncomfortable looks spread on the faces of the Hargreeves siblings as they stayed silent. Their silence though began to push Five into a spiral. His body tensed and frustration flooded his face as he looked at his siblings. There was one more thing about him that only Lila managed to notice. Panic. There was panic in his eyes even if his expression was angry.
His panic however was a cause of concern for Lila. Five had already stated that if he didn't have you, he would end the world himself. And if anyone besides Viktor has a reason to do it, it would be him. Lila didn't care about you appearing because she liked you, but more so because she had things she needed to do and Five ending the world would get in the way of that. And whether she liked it or not, if there was one person Diego cared about besides her, it was you. So he had to be the one to know where you were.
"Diego, where's (Y/N)?" Lila asked
"Uh, I mean she has to be here somewhere, right?" Diego responded
That was not the answer Lila wanted to hear. Hoping that with a little pressure Diego would remember, Lila pressed,
"Well, she's your sister so shouldn't you know where she is?"
"No, I've been busy with Stan," Diego replied
"Of course you fucking have." Five snapped from across the group
Five's comment didn't register with Diego though as out of the corner of his eye he saw Stan walk by with an armful of chemicals. Not really thinking about the issue at hand and instead wondering what Stan was up to, Diego announced,
"I'll be right back."
"Don't leave me with your- Dieg-" Lila called but it was useless as he had already walked away
Five's frustration began to boil over as Diego walked away to follow Stan. Diego, who still continuously criticized him for even breathing in your direction, apparently couldn't care less that you were missing. Only a few days ago, if you were missing he would've gone nuclear, but now it seemed that didn't matter. What a fucking hypocrite. With his emotions continuing to build up, Five faced the rest of the group, but with a crowd of blank stares looking back Five couldn't help but shout,
"SOMEONE BETTER TELL ME WHERE MY FUCKING GIRLFRIEND IS NOW."
"I know where she is." A voice called out
Hearing those words a sense of relief washed over the entire group. Thank god, someone knew where you were because none of them did. However, after that moment of relief, they realized the voice was not familiar to them. Everyone's head quickly turned toward the voice only to be met with a teenage boy who had a similar resemblance to Diego. To Luther and Allison, there was something familiar about him, but Viktor and Lila had no clue who this kid was.
"Who's the mini Diego?" Viktor asked
"Y'know Viktor, I take offense to that, but seeing as we've never met before I'll let it slide." He responded
Viktor looked toward his siblings only to be met with more shrugs from Allison and Luther. But the look on Five's face was a different story. Five knew who this person was, but it didn't make sense why he'd be here.
"Dean?" Five questioned confused
Dean smiled. Not only because Five recognized him but because he was back and that was going to be such a relief for you. After he apologized for leaving in the first place, of course. Walking over to Five, he placed a hand on his shoulder as he greeted,
"Hey, Five! Great to see you. Sorry to hear about the black hole consuming all of existence, I know you tried really hard to stop that."
"A black hole is destroying existence?!" Allison exclaimed angrily
"It's called a Kugelblitz." Five replied flatly as he attempted to process what was going on
Lila looked at the teenage boy standing in front of Five. Who was this kid? And why did he look like a younger version of her boyfriend? Obviously, he wasn't a younger version because Five addressed him as Dean, but that didn't make it any less confusing. And even more so, he knew about the Kugelblitz. Lila thought the only two people who knew were her and Five. Trying to learn more, Lila questioned,
"How do you know about that?"
Dean looked towards Lila. he hadn't noticed her before, but he recognized her. They had never met of course, but Dean knew her as one of the villains from the Dallas arc of Charlie's comics. The comics that he now knew were about your life and the people in it. Dean narrowed his eyes at Lila, as his face contorted with disgust. Like most other fans of Charlie's comics, Dean did not like Lila. In his mind, Lila deserved no respect. And now, after coming to realize her significance in the circumstances that led you back to him and the things she had done, he hated her even more. She was actively ruining your life by just existing in it. And you, his beloved twin sister, should not have to put up with her existence. Dean wasn't going to tolerate that. Glaring at Lila, in a vile-laced tone, Dean responded,
"I don't associate with homewreckers."
"Excuse me?" Lila replied taken aback
Who was this kid? Who did he think he was calling her a homewrecker? What home was there even to wreck? Diego didn't have a wife or a child. Why was this boy so hostile toward her when they had never met before?
"You're not excused." Dean deadpanned
Lila's jaw dropped as she wracked her brain trying to make sense of what was going on right now.
Like Lila, Five was also trying to comprehend his current situation. Whatever semblance of a plan to discuss the end of the world with his family Five had was now thrown out the window. He was bewildered. Dean was here. Why? Dean knew who he was. WHY? Dean knew about the Kugelblitz. WHY? None of this made sense. Most things didn't make sense at this point but this was something else, and Five needed it to start making sense or he was going to go insane. At least more insane than he already was given what he had come back from. Placing a hand on Dean's shoulder, Five brought Dean's attention back to him.
"Dean, look at me," Five interrogated "How do you know who I am?"
Dean's eyes pulled away from the woman at the top of his shit list to look at Five. Five's face was filled with confusion, which finally reminded Dean of the fact that he technically was not supposed to know who you or the Umbrella Academy were.
"Oh uh, (Y/N) stabbed me with a needle and my brain became a recovered Google Doc and now I recall everything from the first timeline." Dean explained, "Except my death, of course."
Five's head tilted slightly, as he was now more confused than before. How did a needle jog his memory? Why did he mention his death? And what the hell was a Google Doc? Before Five could ask any follow-up questions though, Dean had turned to look at Viktor and added,
"And don't worry Viktor, I don't blame you for killing me, my friends, and everyone else in the world, but that's probably because I can't remember how we died."
The words that had priorly come out of this kid's mouth were confusing to everyone, but that statement struck Viktor like a semi-truck. His confused expression morphed into one of terror as he processed the words he heard. Viktor had killed this kid? He killed this kid's friends? And the only reason he wasn't mad was because he couldn't remember how it happened? What a terrible statement to have come out of some random teenager's mouth and what a terrible reality he now had to live with.
"I- um- what does that even mean?" Viktor questioned concerned
"No time." Five interjected, "How do you know about the Kugelblitz, Dean?"
"Oh, (Y/N) figured it out like a day and a half ago. She scribbled a bunch of math on a wall for an hour like a deranged scientist and then told all of us." Dean answered nonchalantly
Besides Five, the rest of the group look around at each other all wondering the same thing.
"Who's us?" Luther questioned
"The rest of our family. Who I need to be getting back to by the way." Dean responded as he started walking off toward the bar, "They're all over there."
The rest of the group quickly followed behind him but as they approached the bar, they were met with a chaotic scene. A blond boy nervously paced back and forth holding papers in his hands. A sickly-looking girl was heaving over a bin as her friend held her hair and ran a hand up and down her back. And then there was the lanky boy on the ground attempting to claw his way toward a bottle of alcohol just out of reach, as another boy used two whips to hold him by the ankles and pull him back.
"LET ME HAVE IT!" The curly-haired boy shouted
"You've had enough to drink!" The one holding him reprimanded
As most of the group took in the chaos a few revelations came to mind. For Luther and Allison, they recalled vague memories of their time in the bowling alley from the first apocalypse and began to realize that these teens were the same over-enthusiastic ones from then. For Viktor and Lila however, they realized that these kids bore a striking resemblance to the Umbrella Academy with each one corresponding to a different member. It was a little eerie seeing the similarities.
Unlike his siblings though, Five took no notice of the scene before him and instead, his focus shifted only to you. Once his eyes had locked on you it was as if he saw nothing else. He froze for a moment taking in the sight. There you were standing next to the bar looking at some rectangle in your hand. You were okay. You were still alive. He hadn't failed yet. The lights from above the bar cast you in a warm glow that seemed to brighten when you smiled at whatever you were looking at. Looking at you, the panic he had felt from not knowing if you were safe faded away, and without realizing it, he began to walk over to you. Step by step he drew closer, and yet every inch still in between the two of you felt like a mile. For someone whose whole thing was understanding time, he could never seem to grasp how it flowed so differently when he looked at you. Time seemed to move in slow motion as he gently took your face into his hands before pressing his lips firmly against yours.
Your eyes shot wide for a moment and Viktoria's phone fell from your hand as you tried to process what was going on, but you quickly realized there was only one person who could kiss you this sweetly. Five. Even this close up you recognized his face. You let out a happy sigh as he kissed you, your eyes fluttering closed and your arms wrapping around his neck as you pulled him closer to you. You were so relieved he was back.
As the two of you kissed each other, off in your own little world, the rest of the people around looked on. His siblings were honestly shocked. Five never came off as the affectionate type. Sure, he always stated that he loved you, but displaying that affection was rare. They could recount a few occasions in which he held your hand, but besides Luther who saw you kiss him when you showed up at the hotel a few nights ago, none of them could ever recall a time he had openly kissed you like this. Hell, Luther wasn't even sure if that kiss a few nights ago was your first or not.
Your friends however were a completely different story. Whatever they were originally doing came to a complete halt as mischievous smirks and smiles came to their faces. Loudly, they oohed and awed like a group of children finding out you got called to the principal's office. Hearing the comments from your friends, you and Five pulled back from each other, a red blush creeping onto both of your faces.
"Kissing before marriage? So scandalous." Addison chimed
"Yeah, get a room you two." Bren teased
"Shut- shut up." You stammered embarrassed
This was terrible, but this was your karma for teasing your friends about their crushes all those years. Just like you had found their red faces, averted gazes, and stammered responses funny in the past, they now felt the same about you. You could hear the stifled giggles of your friends around the bar and in an effort to avoid their gaze, you instead looked at Five. But as you finally took a good look at him, you now had a new issue on your hands. He was wearing a suit. The suit itself wasn't the issue, it was a nice suit and it looked well-made. The issue was that your boyfriend looked far too good in it. Your brain started to think about the kiss you shared a moment ago. It was sweet with a slight hint of desperation. You thought about how you would've reacted if you had seen him coming your way. Perhaps instead of wrapping your arms around his neck, you would've taken him by the tie to pull him closer. Maybe he would've stepped forward a little more pinning you between him and the bar. You wondered what would happen if the rest of the world was gone. If it was just you two. Alone.
"Jesus Christ, you're down atrocious." Dean remarked aloud, snapping you from your thoughts
Breaking from your trance, your head whipped toward where Dean stood leaning against a pillar.
"I SAID SHUT UP!" You exclaimed loudly
You quickly brought a hand to cover your mouth, regretting how loudly you snapped at him, but the shocked expression on your face and reddening cheeks did not match your twin brother's look of mischievous joy in the slightest. You could see as his smirk became replicated on that of your friends as they all realized Dean had gotten a glimpse into something they weren't privy to, but would love to be.
"What did she say in her head!?" Kenny asked Dean excitedly as he escaped Bren's grasp and grabbed the bottle near him
"Oh, it's not what she said..." Dean responded, mild insinuation in his voice
"Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!" Lucas chanted from his spot next to Addison
"Oh my god, fucking stop." You shouted nervously at your friends before turning to Dean and adding "And you! Get out of my head!"
"Think quieter." Dean remarked, "Before everyone else starts to hear you too."
You were so done with his and the rest of your friends' teasing. Were you down atrocious? Yes, obviously. But that didn't mean they needed to point it out and embarrass you in front of people like this. Especially not your boyfriend and his family. Luckily enough though, as you look around at the Hargreeves present all of them had bewildered expressions on their faces. You were safe. For now. Trying to switch topics before someone could mock you again, you mentioned,
"Anyway! Uh- end of the world, right?"
"Nice pivot." Bren teased
You shot him an annoyed look before turning back to Five who had finally remembered why he had left you in the first place. He left to find out why the world was ending. He found out more than he expected to, but nevertheless, he had the answer to his original question.
"I found out how the world's ending." Five stated, "It's a Kugelblitz."
As much as you missed your boyfriend, the second those words hit your ears you could feel a tinge of annoyance grow within you. You had asked Five not to seek out Lila. Not to leave you when you knew the two of you could figure it out together. But alas, he asked you again and you let him go. However, in his absence, you figured out what was happening with almost 100 percent certainty. You tried to keep your expression neutral, but your voice conveyed your true feelings as you mentioned,
"I know, I figured it out too. Myself. Here. In this time. All on my own."
It was evident that you were still upset about his decision to leave. He felt bad for leaving, but at the time he believed it was the right choice. Maybe he could've brought you with him, but he didn't think that was the best option. He couldn't see you and Lila getting along. And their method of time travel might've caused you pain. And seeing another version of Five die could've hurt your feelings. And...
Five reached into his pocket and held the ring he had found tightly between his fingers. If you had been there when he had found it, he couldn't have possibly given it to you. It would've been disappointing and not how he wanted that to go.
Five pushed his thoughts to the side. He needed to focus on what was going on now. Treading lightly, he responded,
"I heard. Dean mentioned that you figured out about the Kugelblitz."
"And? Anything else?" You inquired, your tone indicating you were looking for a specific response
Over your shoulder, Five could see as Lucas quickly grabbed a white napkin and marker from behind the bar. Rapidly, he wrote something down before holding up the napkin. There was an intense look on his face as he pointed repeatedly to what he had written down. In bold, black letters the nakin said only one thing.
APOLOGIZE
As the only other person in a serious relationship, Five quickly assumed that Lucas knew how to respond from experience. Also, if anyone knew what to say to you in this situation, it would be one of your other friends. Taking his advice, Five looked back toward you and took one of your hands in his, and with sincerity in his tone, he replied,
"I'm sorry for not listening to you and leaving. You were right, we could've figured it out together."
You blinked a few times in surprise. You wanted him to but didn't expect him to actually apologize for leaving. You looked over your shoulder at some of your friends for confirmation that he really did that, and while Lucas frantically shoved something in his mouth, Addison and Viktoria nodded their heads, letting you know you had heard Five correctly. Turning to look back at him, your lips curled up into a smile and you held his hand a little tighter.
"Oh um, thanks. I appreciate you saying that."
Internally, Five let out a sigh of relief. At least for now, that issue had subsided, but there was so much more he wanted to talk to you about. He tried to start forming words in his mind, but as he did so Allison stepped forward. She hadn't followed Five over here for his and your reunion. She followed to get answers about what was going on, especially since Five had returned with the briefcase destroyed.
"I've had enough of this, are you going to tell us what's going on or not, Five?" Allison remarked, frustration in her tone
Five looked at his sister. She wasn't happy, and she hadn't been for a few days now. It seemed like anything anyone did was infuriating to her, but it's not like she was helping to fix that either. However, even with her unpleasant disposition, she was right. Five needed to explain at least to his siblings what was going on since you had already informed your friends. Letting go of your hand Five walked around to the backside of the bar.
"Yeah, okay." Five replied, "Gather round everyone."
The rest of the Hargreeves and Lila, while still unsure about what just happened, and the random teenagers hanging about, stood around the bar while you and your friends stayed where you were. Grabbing some shot glasses, Five began to pour out drinks for the rest of the group, handing them out one by one to his family and Lila.
This was going to be a hard talk...
Five wondered how you delivered the news to your friends. They seemed so upbeat even when all of existence was disappearing. Then again, from what he knew, your friends respected you far more than his siblings did and probably didn't blame you for something out of your control. Pouring a shot for himself, Five immediately gulped it down. A little bit of liquid courage never hurt, and perhaps it could numb the pain of the verbal pile-on he expected to happen.
"So this Kugelblitz, it's...?" Viktor began to speak
"The end of everything." Five interjected "Every rock, every star, every atom sucked into a radiant black hole. Randomly collapsing matter every moment in time across all existence till nothing's left."
"Oof." Kenny said aloud
You couldn't help but snicker at his comment. You were in a terrible situation but oof was probably the funniest response someone could give to that explanation. It was a simple joke and reminded you of easier times, what was there not to enjoy about it? However, you realized your sentiment wasn't shared as the heads of the Hargreeves and Lila quickly turned to look toward you. The way they looked at you was as if you had laughed at a funeral. Well, given that the end of the world was at hand, you kind of did. Remembering that it was not just you and your friends anymore, you regained your composure and in a more serious tone stated,
"I'm sorry. It's not funny."
You could hear the mumblings of your friends saying they thought it was funny, but the Hargreeves paid no attention as they turned back to Five. Pouring himself another shot, he looked into his glass, stared at his reflection in the liquid, and mentioned,
"Hate to say I told you so, but..."
"You love to say I told you so." Viktor retorted back
"You know, it's impressive." Lila began to speak, setting her still-full glass down on the bar
The attention of you and your friends turned to Lila as she spoke, but the lighthearted vibe that was present between you all just a moment ago was quickly replaced with one of anger and resentment. The Hargreeves and Lila could feel the tension grow in the air as the chattering of you and your friends went silent. You all watched Lila, with expressions ranging from neutral to judgemental to disgusted. Nevertheless, Lila finished her statement saying,
"Whoever knocked off your mums hated you all enough to end the entire universe."
Lila's remark instantly sent anger through your system. If her comment was a gunshot your response was the ricochet. You couldn't speak for the mothers of the umbrellas since they did technically sell their children, but your mom, and by extension of what had happened, your dad, didn't deserve to die. They were the best people you knew.  Before you could even realize you had done it, Lila's shot glass exploded in front of her. Tiny shards of glass flew outward in the area catching everyone's attention. You didn't look at anyone, but you could feel their gazes on you.
"Fucking bitch." Addison muttered as she reached to hold your hand
Taking her hand, you held it tightly, as you held the beginnings of tears back. You took deep breaths and tried your best to keep them quiet. You had to keep a strong face. You could be upset, but you couldn't cry. If you did, Lila would probably take it as a win against you and your friends would see it as a reason to start a fight. And neither of those things you needed.
Some of your friends however were already willing to start a fight. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Dean step away from the wall he was leaning against, his expression angry and his eyes trained on Lila. But before he could walk over to her you used your powers to gently shove him back against it. Looking at him you thought,
Don't do it.
He looked back at you, still obviously disgruntled, but with arms crossed over his chest, he leaned back against the wall. You could hear it in your head as he thought,
Fine.
As Addison held your hand, and some of your other friends whispered comments to each other, Kenny walked over to you and poured some of the liquor from the bottle he was drinking from into your glass. Your friends' actions were small but they meant a lot to you.
There was a silence as everyone glanced around at each other waiting for who would be next to speak. Viktor looked between you and Lila. Between Lila's comment and your reaction to it, there was no safe way for him to bring up what Harlan had shown him. And that wasn't even including the reactions everyone else would have if Viktor did say something. He needed to do something to get the conversation away from where it was headed and to lessen the tension in the air. Trying to divert the topic, Viktor hesitantly said,
"We- we don't know that Lila..."
"It doesn't matter who created the thing." Allison stated firmly "We just have to kick its ass."
"Oh really? How?" Luther questioned sarcastically "Are you and Diego gonna punch it in the Kugel?"
Allison shot back a glare at Luther, but it was quickly ignored as he could feel the presence of someone behind him. Turning back, he saw the boy from the bowling alley who looked like him standing there. The boy nervously fidgeted with a stack of paper in his hands as he shyly greeted,
"H-hi Luther."
Luther couldn't remember this kid's name in the slightest. all he knew was that he looked like him and was one of your friends.
"Ah, it's...you." Luther said awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed "Bowling alley kid."
"It's Lucas." Lucas stated, reminding Luther of his name
"Right." Luther replied
The memories were vague, but he was starting to remember more of that night at the bowling alley. However, the only thing that came to mind was the numerous similarities the two of them shared. It was slightly unsettling, but there wasn't much either of them could do about that. Luther waited for Lucas to say something, but instead, Lucas stared up at Luther with a smile. Trying to figure out what was going on here, Luther asked,
"Can I help you with something?"
"Oh uh- yes!" Lucas replied, remembering why he approached Luther
Lucas looked down at the adoption papers in his hands. You had helped him forge the signatures of Luther and Sloane last night, before making a copy of the documents and filing them away in city hall. It wasn't the most ethical way of going about things, but it made Lucas happy. He had new parents! This was all he ever wanted. Even with his excitement, nervousness still filled him. Lucas had to tell Luther that he was his parent now, and he wasn't sure what to say. This had only come to fruition last night, and instead of preparing he was busy doing other things.
"I- wow, I really thought I'd get more time to prepare for this but uh-" Lucas stuttered
"Lucas, the world is ending. Spit it out." Luther requested
"YOU'RE LEGALLY MY DAD NOW!" Lucas loudly proclaimed
The heads of the Hargreeves snapped to look over at the two tall blonds. Most reactions were that of confusion, but Allison's face morphed with rage. First Diego gets a child and now Luther too? What was next? You and Five picking a baby off the street? It wasn't fair. She had Claire, her daughter, and she couldn't be with her! But everyone else got to be a parent? It was wrong. Angrily, Allison drank from her glass, her gaze boring into Luther's back as he stood there unmoving.
Lucas looked at Luther, silently waiting for him to say something. Anything. But nothing came. It's not that Luther didn't want to reply, he just couldn't formulate any thoughts. And instead of saying anything of meaning, he could only manage to get out a simple,
"What?"
"Don't worry though!" Lucas quickly explained "Your girlfriend, Sloane, she's legally my mom. It's all in here."
Lucas held out the adoption papers for Luther to take, and after a moment of hesitation, he did. Quickly he flipped through the documents, but to his surprise, they were legitimate. Even Luther's signature looked correct. Luther didn't know how this happened, but he couldn't be Lucas' father. He didn't know what to do. He didn't even have a good example of what to do either. And anyway, he saw how poorly Diego was doing with Stan, and he didn't want to be like that. Lucas seemed like a good kid, but Luther wasn't sure if he could take on this responsibility. Especially not with the world ending. Trying to let Lucas down nicely, Luther began,
"Listen, I-"
Seeing where Luther's response was going, you pulled yourself together and cut him off as you interjected,
"Lucas, can I speak to Luther real quick?"
"Oh, sure!" Lucas replied
Politely, you pulled Luther off to the side away from the bar. Using your powers you controlled the molecules around you, creating a sound barrier to stop anyone from hearing your conversation. With your back facing the group, you looked up at Luther with a serious look on your face and began,
"Luther, you better listen up because I am only going to say this once. That sweet angel of a boy has been through hell, sometimes worse than you did, in TWO timelines, to get to this moment."
Luther's eyebrows furrowed as he processed what you said. Lucas went through hell sometimes worse than Luther ever did? That was a serious statement to make.
"What happened?" Luther asked, cutting you off
You grimaced. Although the only one who could see so was Luther. All the times Lucas came to you for help because of what he had gone through with Austin ran through your mind. It hurt you to remember your friend's pain.
"I can't tell you exactly what happened. I promised him I wouldn't, but it was badand he didn't deserve it..." You replied quietly, a slight tremble in your voice
Luther looked at you and your pained expression before looking behind you at Lucas. Noticing Luther look his way, Lucas smiled brightly and waved excitedly, completely unaware of what Luther had just learned. He seemed like such a nice, happy kid. No one would ever guess something bad happened to him.
"He's my friend. I care about him and his happiness so much." You stated firmly, a hint of pain still in your tone "So if you break his heart, I will kill you in the most painful way possible and then go tell Sloane you did something so heinous the only option was to kill you. Are we clear?"
Luther turned his attention away from Lucas and back to you. Luther did not want to die by your hand. If you said you'd make it painful, you meant it. And on top of that, he didn't want Sloane to think poorly of him. But most of all, Luther didn't want to hurt Lucas, who he now saw some of himself in beyond just appearance. The world was ending, and currently, they had no plan to stop that, so he could at least try to do something good. Luther nodded his head at your words, and seeing his acknowledgment, in a more positive voice with an undertone of violence, you replied,
"Good. Now go be a better father than yours was."
Luther grimaced slightly at your words. You weren't wrong, but it still hurt. Nevertheless, he was going to do what he was told because there was still an undercurrent of violence radiating off of you. Carefully stepping away, he made his way back toward Lucas, who looked up at him excitedly. Luther stared back at him blankly as he wondered what to say. As you had stated, he didn't have a good father. What does a good dad say to their kid? Luther couldn't say I love you because that would be weird to say to a teenage boy he just met again, even if legally it was his son. He could probably say he's proud of him though, right? That's something Reginald never said so it had to be something a good dad would say. Then again, Luther didn't know what there was to be proud of, he was literally pushed into this role less than a minute ago.
"So...son...you have any recent accomplishments..?" Luther asked, still trying to figure out what to be proud of
Lucas was silent for a moment after hearing the question. Neither Austin nor Meredith ever asked him about his accomplishments. They may have birthed him and raised him, but for seventeen years they never cared about him. And yet here, barely one minute after telling Luther he was now his father, he asked about what he had accomplished. It was his first question to him as his dad. And on top of that, he called him son. Not Lucas. Son. Tears began to form in Lucas' eyes as his hands clenched into fists to hide the shaking that was starting to happen. He was happy and sad and everything that could fall in between, but if he burst into tears it would ruin this first moment. He couldn't do that, time was finite. He had to make this count. He looked over at Addison, his one and only, and smiled. She was his home. She was where he felt safe. She was his everything. And having her by his side was his greatest achievement. Looking back at the man he now called dad, he gestured over toward her as he happily exclaimed,
"I got married last night! My girlfriend is now my wife!"
Well, that wasn't what Luther was expecting, and by the looks on the rest of his siblings' faces, they surely didn't expect it either. Lucas and his...wife...seemed a bit young but, nevertheless, marriage is a nice thing so Luther could be proud of that.
"Congrats, son. I am proud of you." Luther said in an awkward but supportive tone before looking at Addison and adding "And hello...daughter-in-law."
"Hi, Luther." Addison replied politely "Ignore my friend puking. She's not sick anymore she's just so excited to finally meet Viktor."
"I'm going to talk to Lucas again now." Luther said unsure how to respond to that
"What? Me?" Viktor questioned
"Vi, don't be weird. Say hello." Addison encouraged
Looking up from her trash bin, Viktoria's eyes met Viktor's as she excitedly stated,
"Hi. I'm Viktoria! I was Viktor a long time ago but I'm not Viktor now, I'm Viktoria but you're Viktor so we're like the same and that's cool!"
Immediately after finishing her statement though, Viktoria once again puked into her bin from excitement. However, excitement was not the word Viktor would use to describe this meeting. Instead, a few different descriptors came to mind. Bewilderment. Concern. Deja vu. Overall, everything after Five and Lila's return had been confusing and concerning but looking into the face of a teenager who looked exactly like Viktor when he was younger. Now that was something else. And on top of it, he didn't understand anything of what they had just said.
"I'm sorry what?" Viktor asked looking for clarity
"Oh uh, Viktoria is transgender like you and your current name is her old name. Y'know Viktor, Viktoria, they're very similar so she's excited." Addison explained, "You're her hero."
"How?" Viktor questioned confused before quieting their tone stating "Nobody knew about me until my book."
Picking her head back up from the bin Viktoria replied,
"That's not true! I saw you in the background or off to the side of interviews the Umbrella Academy did. I picked up the viola because I saw you had a string instrument case on you in one of them!  I practiced the viola every day. I owned and memorized your book in three languages. I did a whole report on you in middle school!"
"I hated that project." You chimed in
"Yeah, yeah. Broken hand, emotional trauma, we already know." Viktoria retorted before continuing, "Anyway, I wanted to be just like you."
"Really?" Viktor inquired
"Yeah! Of course!" Viktoria replied sincerely, "You're my hero."
A small smile came to Viktor's face. It was nice to know that someone looked up to him even before he figured out about his powers again. And in a way, even though this was someone else saying these things, it felt like a younger version of himself telling him he was worth it even before everything that happened.
While the emotional bonding between some of your friends and the Hargreeves was happening, it had no effect on Five. He stopped paying attention to what was transpiring after he heard Lucas state that he and Addison got married. Five wasn't shocked by their young age, nor the short time frame in which they were reunited and then married. He was just surprised that a wedding had occurred. It felt like the universe was sending him gut punch after gut punch when it came to marriage. The hallucination, the ballroom, the ring, and now this! He didn't know if the universe was trying to push him in a direction or just down an emotional spike pit. Still in disbelief Five restated aloud,
"They're married?"
"They sure are! I married them last night!" Kenny exclaimed
Five looked from Kenny over to Lucas and Addison. There was love in their eyes as they looked at each other. They had no cares except each other even if the world was ending. Five couldn't help but feel a jolt of jealousy run through him. It wasn't fair that he was burdened with saving the world while everyone else got to do as they pleased. But these were your friends and it felt wrong to be upset at their happiness. In an effort to hide his feelings, Five picked up his drink taking a big sip of the liquor within. But as he did so Kenny spoke up commenting,
"Why are you and (Y/N) looking to get married? I'm legally ordained, I can marry you two right now."
Hearing those words, Five began to choke on his drink, and whiskey, a drink that typically would go down smooth, did anything but. Five's mind darted all over the place as he processed Kenny's words. Married? Now? No, you couldn't. He hadn't proposed. But he had a ring in his pocket. So he could. Surrounded by friends and family is kind of romantic, right? But he just announced the end of the world, and that certainly wasn't. And this was nothing like he planned in his head. But if the world kept sending him signs maybe the two of you should just bite the bullet? As his mind raced and he coughed on his drink, his eyes darted over toward you trying to gauge your reaction. However, he was only met with a look of concern probably because he was literally and metaphorically choking. With no context clues from you on how to respond, Five stuttered, trying to get any response out,
I- uh- well- we-"
"Kenny! This is the seventh time you've done this in the past day!" Bren reprimanded, smacking the back of Kenny's head "Stop asking people if they want to get married!"
Relieved by Bren cutting him off, Five managed to pull himself together. This was going terribly. He could anticipate the way his siblings reacted to situations or the types of comments they would make, but he couldn't say the same for your friends. Glancing over at you again, he saw as you calmly sipped from your glass watching your two friends bicker.
"What! Nothing speeds up major life decisions like the end of everything!" Kenny replied exasperated at Bren's disapproval
"Some of them weren't even couples!" Bren shot back
You were completely unaffected by this. It was honestly impressive. Then again this is what you dealt with for years, you must've been used to it by now. But as you lowered your glass he noticed something else. You smiled. Curious, he leaned closer to you and asked,
"You're happy they're fighting?"
"They're best friends, it's not fighting to them." You replied taking another sip from your glass "And there's comfort in the chaos."
"How so?" Five inquired
"It's familiar." You answered, "Reminds me of times before well...y'know."
"Oh." Five said aloud "Right."
Five's eyes averted your gaze and his head turned slightly to look away from you. Perhaps it was unconscious to him, but you could sense the shift in his demeanor. Placing your hand on his cheek you gently turned his face to look at you. You could feel as he leaned into your touch. It seemed that with every curveball life threw at him he needed these small gestures of affection more and more, and you would never deny him the love he both needed and deserved. With his gaze returning to you, you looked back at him softly.
"They're here and you're here, and that's all I want at this point." You cooed "So stop worrying about me and put that smart brain of yours toward coming up with a plan."
"I can never stop worrying about you." Five replied gently
"Maybe you should." Allison jabbed "Do you even have a plan, Five?"
The harsh comment caught the attention of everyone else as they all turned their gazes to Five. However, Five looked toward his sister, an irritated look was plastered across her face. He knew what her problem was, but he felt no reason to engage with her. If she didn't want to accept reality and blame it on everyone else that was her problem to deal with. Not Five's. Turning away from his sister, he looked at the wider crowd around the bar.
"Well, the best plan is to go back in time and eliminate the paradox and destroy whatever it was that took out our mothers and stop the Kugelblitz before it starts," Five explained, "But we can't do that. Briefcase is kaput."
"And why the hell can't you just jump us out of here?" Allison complained
"Last time I tried that, we all got trapped in time. Do you really wanna risk that again?" Five questioned back
Leaning over to Addison and Viktoria, you lowered your voice as you told them,
"I'd risk it if you guys could come this time."
"Let's go to a timeline where Spider-Man is real and falls instantly in love with you." Viktoria jokingly whispered back
"Jeez, Viktoria wants to see a fight." Addison quietly chimed in
"A fight? Viktoria wants to see a homicide." You quietly shot back
"Well, do you want to see a homicide?" Addison teasingly inquired
Your eyes darted over to your boyfriend as you recalled the time you and he killed the board of directors for the commission. The way he was covered in blood and the determined look in his eyes. God, he was so hot. Honestly, part of you wanted to see what he was like jealous. And the thought of him getting in a fight over you? Well, now that was appealing. You were surely willing to lose Spider-Man if you got to see that. With a smirk on your face, you looked back at Addison and Viktoria as you replied unseriously,
"Whaaat? Noooo...that would be crazy."
The three of you attempted to stifle your laughter so as not to distract the Hargreeves from their incessant bickering over what to do now. But as you tried to enjoy the moment with your friends, Dean noticed a trio of figures heading toward the bar. Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves, and some random kid, who he could only assume was Diego's oops baby. Whatever joy he may have felt from seeing his friends having a good time together disappeared the moment he saw Diego's stupid face. Instead, anger began to build up inside Dean as he recalled the things you had told him that Diego had done recently that upset you. He knew he was the better brother. He had never done anything to hurt you like Diego had and one way or another, he was going to make Diego recognize how badly he fucked up. As the trio finally arrived at the bar, and Diego walked up beside Lila, Dean commented sarcastically,
"Wow, what a surprise. The deadbeat actually showed up."
"Mine didn't..." Kenny mentioned
"This isn't about you, Kenny." Dean replied
While Dean's comments didn't phase your friends, some sideways glances were sent Dean's way including one from you. However, unlike the Hargreeves, your glance was that of concern.
Dean was...passionate.
He felt things very deeply and had a tendency to express his feelings openly. And he wasn't one to shy away from an argument either. Or a fight.
You hoped that his comment was a one-off jab, but knowing him you'd have to keep a watchful eye out. 
As Stan stood next to Diego, he looked around at the people around the bar. Some of the faces were familiar to him but there were a number that he had never seen before. Looking to Diego, Stan asked,
"Who are all these people?"
"Oh, and he brought the sentient jizz stain too." Dean remarked
Like the rest of his siblings, Diego gave another sideways glance toward Dean. However, unlike the disbelief on their faces, Diego's reaction was more disgruntled. He couldn't recall much of this kid, but he knew one thing, he was your friend. Looking around the bar, to much relief, he saw you sitting across the way.
Your eyes caught Diego's for a moment, and from his face, you knew what he was looking at you for, and unsurprisingly, it wasn't the fact that you were missing for almost two days. There was no sense of concern on his face, only an annoyed look as his eyes flicked over to Dean before looking back at you. Pretending not to have noticed his gaze, you summoned Viktoria's phone which you had dropped earlier, to your hand and began to start scrolling through it again. You felt no incentive to stop Dean's comments because honestly, you co-signed his sentiments. You couldn't make comments like his without stirring the waters between all the Hargreeves, but Dean could make his comments freely without causing too much interpersonal drama. So unless you felt like he was about to get hurt, there was no reason for you to intervene.
Lila however, did not appreciate Dean's comments. Turning around to look at him, she criticized,
"Hey, don't be mean to my kid."
"Hey, nobody asked Wrong Direction." Dean replied, mocking her tone "And for your information, nobody here believes that the sex trophy- no- participation award- is actually yours."
Lila's eyes darted around the rest of your friend group, only to be met with disgusted glares or smug smirks. Did you all know the truth? Did you know that Stan wasn't her or Diego's child? Or was it only a comment made to catch her off guard? Either way, there was a slight unease at the thought that made her keep quiet. But before she could think of something to say, Klaus walked up to the bar, grabbing a glass out of Five's hand, as he stated,
"Gimme that."
"What happened to you?" Five questioned, looking at the blood on his shirt
"Oh, just a speargun to the chest. I died. No big deal." Klaus replied
"Oh neat! Did you meet the girl on the bike?" Kenny asked
"No, thankfully I didn't have to deal with her," Klaus answered, taking a sip from the glass
But as he drank, he realized the voice that had asked the question was unfamiliar. It didn't belong to one of his siblings, or you, or Lila. Placing his glass down he looked over to where the unknown voice came from only to be met with a teen boy who looked just like Klaus in his youth. It took a moment, but through his resurrection haze, he vaguely recognized the boy as the one from years ago at the bowling alley. Klaus paused for a moment. The little girl on the bike, aka god, could only be met on the other side. Not even ghosts who stuck around on this plane of existence knew who she was. So how did this kid, who was very much alive, know of her?
"I'm sorry- how do you know god?" Klaus questioned
"I've met her. I see her sometimes when I pass out at parties. She adores me." Kenny replied enthusiastically
Kenny's response left Klaus with more questions than answers. This kid met god? And multiple times at that? How? He would've had to die to have met god. Did he die? Was this kid also immortal somehow? And what did he mean by she adores him? Klaus' experiences with her were filled with annoyance, so why was he welcome?
"I have follow-up questions," Klaus stated aloud
"This isn't about you, Klaus." Diego interjected, before looking at Lila and asking "What did we miss?"
"The universe is ending, and we're all going to die," Lila answered
"You say it as if it isn't your fault..." Dean scoffed
Diego's head whipped over to look at Dean. He had only made a few comments, but those few were more than enough, and Diego was tired of his shit. Trying to get an answer for his actions, Diego stepped up toward Dean and snapped,
"What is your deal?"
Dean scowled at Diego and rage burned inside him. Dean hated Diego for all the ways he had upset you. He hated him for forgetting Eudora once she died. He hated him for hooking up with the first person who gave him attention after Eudora's death. He hated him for being stupid and getting said person knocked up. He hated him for abandoning you consistently throughout that process when you needed him now more than ever. He hated that even through all of that he had the gall to still consider himself a brother to you. But most of all, he hated that he actually looked up to such a degenerate scumbag for so long. Taking a step toward Diego, with fire in his eyes and vile in his tone, Dean shouted back,
"My deal is that you've got a lot of nerve showing up here, fucking Benedict Arnold."
And with that, it was time for you to intervene because whatever was coming after this wasn't going to be pretty. Flashing over to Dean, you placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back a few steps. Lowering your voice, you asked,
"What are you trying to do? Start a turf war in the middle of this shithole?"
"No, I'm saying what needs to be said," Dean replied before raising his voice and loudly stating "But I wouldn't mind getting a few swings on the infidelity duo over there."
"Stop that." You chastised "You're going to get hurt."
"No I won't," Dean refuted "With you I'm already on the winning side."
Dean was right, if he got in a fight with Diego you would take his side. And on top of that if you could solo all the Sparrows you could 100% take down all the Umbrellas. Well...so long as you beat Viktor to the punch, but that wasn't important. No matter how capable of a fighter Dean was, and he was capable, you didn't want him to get hurt.
"Dean no," You said pushing him a little further from Diego and Lila "Just take the high ground. Please."
Dean was your twin brother, and if you made a decision or suggestion, he was always the first to accept and respect it. If he backed down now then hopefully Diego would resign himself as well. You watched as Dean looked at you, his face softened upon seeing your pleading gaze. Placing a gentle hand on your shoulder, he looked at you sincerely as he replied,
"No."
Your pleading look turned to confusion as Dean sidestepped you and locked eyes on Diego. Marching over to him with his gaze unbreaking, Dean's rage came back in full swing as he angrily shouted,
"Fuck you Diego Hargreeves you traitorous ass bitch! I regret looking up to a two-faced adulterous prick like you. I hope you constantly stub your toe. I hope your dick falls off. I hope all of your knife attacks miss even with your bitch ass powers. I hope your pet sperm right there is a lifelong disappointment like you. I hope you ruin your life and don't realize it until it's too late you snake-ass No Belt Prize-winning whore."
You look at Dean in disbelief. He rarely even went against you, especially not after the incident when you were seventeen. However, it seemed that currently, his emotions were stronger than his judgment. You readied yourself to jump between the two of them, but you paused as you felt tension fill the air. It wasn't the type of tension that came from people disagreeing though. No, this was the tension that built before something snapped.
"(Y/N), are you gonna do anything about him?" Diego angrily asked
You didn't respond. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up as you sensed something growing in energy. Slowly, you turned your head to look in the direction of the sensation only to be met with a terrible omen. You saw as the molecules around you began to vibrate faster and faster and faster. More than they typically did. A knot formed in the pit of your stomach as you stared down the danger heading your way.
Breaking his gaze on Diego, Dean looked at you. Immediately, he clocked the way your hands shook at your sides and the slight staggering of your breathing. Were you okay?
"(Y/N)?" Dean called concerned
You couldn't respond. You couldn't move. You couldn't do anything except prepare for what was coming. And while no words escaped your lips, you only had one thought,
Help.
Hearing your thought, Dean pushed Diego out of the way and as another wave of the Kugelblitz hit you and you began to collapse to the floor, Dean caught you from behind and brought you to the ground. The pain was searing as you now lay on the ground, your head resting in Dean's lap. The energy of the wave ripped at you causing the prior gashes on your cheek and hand to reopen, while new ones formed on your forearm and collarbone. Blood seeped from the wounds as you looked up at Dean for help. You tried to speak but your breath caught in your throat. No. It wasn't just caught. 
You couldn't breathe. 
Fear filled your eyes as you attempted to gasp for air only to be met with nothing. Dean held your face in his hands, fear reflected in his eyes as he watched you struggle. His mind raced back to that day in the warehouse. He couldn't let that happen again. Looking up, with a tremble in his voice, Dean called out,
"Guys h-help."
But by the time he had finished his plea the rest of your friends were already surrounding you. Kneeling in a circle on the ground, your friends' bodies unintentionally created a wall keeping others away from you, including that of Five. He tried to get close, tried to kneel by your side like the rest of them, but there was just no space. And so, he was relegated to just standing and watching in fear as you struggled against something completely out of his control. 
As fear coursed through the veins of all your friends, Kenny knew he had to do something. Of course he was scared for you, you were his friend, but he couldn't let his fear get in the way of helping you. He was the most qualified in this situation after all. Taking a deep breath he calmed his nerves, and as he had done many times before in his EMT job, he quickly began to control the situation. He first looked toward Bren, who was kneeling to the left of him, and commanded,
"Grab my bag. Now."
Quickly, Bren pulled out one of his whips and snapped it towards the medbag that Kenny had miraculously brought in with him. Snagging the bag's handle, Bren pulled his whip back toward him. With the medbag in hand, he passed it over to Kenny who immediately opened it. 
As Kenny put on a pair of latex gloves, he looked at Addison and directed,
"You need to get her to breathe. I don't have the supplies to monitor her this time if she loses consciousness again."
With a quick nod of her head, Addison turned her attention back toward you. Hesitantly, Dean removed his hands from the sides of your face as he now let Addison hold it. Your eyes were glassy from the lack of oxygen, but the fear behind him as you fought to stay conscious was ever-present. Gently, she maneuvered your head to meet her gaze and when your eyes were focused on her she stated,
"(Y/N), I need you to breathe. It can be a gulp, it can be a gasp, but you need to breathe. NOW."
As her words hit your ears and you saw the serious look in her eye you felt compelled to do what she said. Pushing through the pain, you found the strength within yourself to breathe. Taking in large gasping breaths, the world came into more focus, but each breath felt like a dozen knives cutting into your lungs. You wondered if death would be less painful than this.
Your thought didn't matter though as Kenny had already decided that you were not dying today. With you finally managing to breathe he began the process of quickly fixing you up. Using a large rubber band, he tied it tightly just above your elbow to cut the circulation of blood off and stop the gash on your forearm from bleeding out. With the largest problem mitigated for now, he used alcohol wipes to clean up the blood and disinfect your other open wounds before placing medical tape over them.
You let out a scream as the alcohol stung your gashes. The world was already tearing you to shreds from the inside and the sting of the alcohol, although minor in comparison, hurt like a bitch when combined with the pain of the wave.
"Hold on to my arm. You can grip it til the pain stops." Lucas encouraged as he switched spots with Addison
Your hand shakily moved to grab his arm, but you hesitated for a moment. If you grabbed him, it was going to be tight. The pain was unyielding. You didn't want to bruise him. You thought,
 I don't want to hurt him.
Dean looked away from you for only a moment as he met Lucas' eye and informed him,
"She doesn't want to hurt you."
Lucas looked away from Dean and back toward you. Taking your hand, he placed it on his arm. He knew why you of all people would hesitate, but you were always there for him when he was hurting and now he was going to do the same for you. With sincerity in his tone, Lucas stated,
"(Y/N), you could never hurt me."
 You gave him a weak smile, but tears fell from your eyes as you internally begged for this to be over. With each wave, the time between starting and stopping increased, just as the intensity of the pain you felt grew too. You shut your eyes tightly, but opened them again as you felt someone wipe away your tears. You looked up at Dean who, just like when this ordeal started, held your face gently in his hands.
"You're gonna be okay. I'm here. I'm he-here this time. I'm gonna k-keep you safe. I swear." Dean comforted as he tried to choke back sobs, "Just keep your eyes open. Please just keep your eyes open." 
With the hand that wasn't holding Lucas' arm, you shakily reached up and wiped your brother's tears away. 
"You're the one in pain, y-you shouldn't be worried about us." Dean slightly joked, his voice still wavering
Through gritted teeth, you managed to smile slightly. You loved your friends so much. They meant everything to you and in a time like this, where they all worried for you, you needed them to know.
"I...love...you guys." You managed to get out, "Don't...let...me go."
"We could never let you go." Vitoria responded
"Yeah, you matter far too much." Addison added
"You're our glitter glue, remember?" Lucas reminded "You keep us together."
"Not just that, you're our family." Kenny mentioned
"If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be us." Bren stated
"We love you." Dean replied, "Never forget that."
Even through the fear and the sadness, you could see the beginnings of smiles on your friends' faces. You could feel as they all got closer and each of them tried to hold some part of you. You could feel it as the wave became stronger again. It was finally returning. Even though it hadn't been more than a minute or two it felt like forever, but you could feel that this would be over soon. You closed your eyes tightly and focused on the feeling of your friends surrounding you as the wave finally went past. And when it stopped everything around you felt...lighter. 
Opening your eyes, you took a deep breath and fortunately, it didn't feel like you were being pierced repeatedly anymore. You didn't have the strength in you to stand yet, but you did manage to get yourself to kneel. With your mind no longer focused on the pain you felt, you looked for your friends, but they were nowhere to be found. All that you could immediately see were the shocked or horror-filled faces of the Hargreeves. Why were they looking at you like that? You looked up at Five, his jaw was slightly agape and sadness swirled in his eyes. Looking down at yourself, you saw blood stains and gauze litter your body. Oh. He was probably so worried about you. Turning your gaze back to Five, you gave him a weak smile.
"It's not that bad. Kenny can take care of it." You comforted before looking around and asking, "Where is he? Where are my friends?"
Five's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach as he heard your question. How could he look you in the eyes and tell you that all of your friends were gone? As you struggled with the pain of the kugel wave, he watched as all of your friends got blitzed. Quickly, quietly, and god, hopefully painlessly they vanished. How could he explain this without breaking your heart?
"Love...they..." Five tried to speak
He stopped. He couldn't get the words out. 
"What?" You questioned concerned "Where are they?"
"Ma cherie..." He replied mournfully
His lack of response worried you. Frantically, you began to look around the area for your friends again, but you still couldn't see any of them. It wouldn't be like them to leave your side when you were injured. They had never done so before. They always stayed closed until they knew you were okay. Where were they? Using your powers you tried to sense their molecules, but there were only faint traces in the area from loose hairs and skin cells. Your head whipped back and forth in a panic searching for any sign of them when you saw a glint out of the corner of your eye. You reached back for the sparking object, took it in your hand, and turned to look down upon it. There in the palm of your hand was a set of car keys.
Dean's car keys.
His car was his prized possession. Veronica was his baby. He never forgot his keys. He never lost his keys. He never went anywhere without his keys. But if these were here and he wasn't...
Oh god...
No.
A blood-curdling scream erupted from your throat as you clenched the keys against your chest. They were gone. They were gone and it was all your fault. You bought them here to keep them all safe and now you had none of them. Your body hunched over as you gasped for breath between your screams and sobs. Your face was red as tears streamed down in messy streaks with nowhere to go except the floor where your friends' once kneeled at your side.
Dropping to his knees, Five wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you into him. He held you as tight as he could and ran a gentle hand through your hair as he tried to soothe you. His efforts didn't do much at all though, and how could he expect them to? If he was in your place, if it was you that he lost, he'd be inconsolable. 
"THEY PROMISED!" You shouted grief-stricken "THEY PROMISED WE'D STAY TOGETHER!!!"
"I'm sorry my love." Five tried to comfort "I'm so sorry."
Looking at your boyfriend, you tightly grabbed his jacket, the material balling in your hands as you begged,
"Baby, bring them back. Please."
"I- I can't..." Five sorrowfully replied
"Yes you can! Just reverse time! Bring them back!" You cried
If Five could've brought your friends back, he would've done it already. The sight of you in so much emotional distress was somehow more painful than seeing the way the kugel waves affected you. In either case, he had no control over what happened, but he wished he did.
"I can't...I used all my energy to get back here." Five lamented "And even if I could, I can't stop the kugel wave from happening."
You could feel your chest tighten and another piece of your ever-fragile heart shatter as you struggled with the fact that you got your friends back only to lose them again. Pain morphed into anger as you pushed Five away shouting,
"WHAT GOOD ARE TIME POWERS IF YOU CAN'T EVEN FUCKING USE THEM!"
Your words stung and it hurt Five that you pushed him away, but he knew that you were only acting out of grief. You didn't mean it, you were just hurt.
Quickly, your anger came and went as the feeling of overwhelming grief returned. Dropping Dean's keys on the ground in front of you, you threw your head into your hands as you let out another mix of uncontrollable sobs and anguish-filled screams. As you cried the lights in the area began to flicker and nearby objects rattled in their place.
Seeing the disturbance in the area, Stan, who was already on edge from accidentally killing Klaus and witnessing a bunch of people disappear, became frightened. Looking up at Diego, he said nervously,
"Dad, I'm scared."
Hearing Stan speak, you looked over in the direction of his voice. Oh? He was scared? What did he have to be scared of? He wasn't the one bleeding out, nor the one who just lost six loved ones. You were. If anyone was scared and in need of comfort, it was YOU.  You saw as Diego looked at you. There was concern on his face and for a moment you thought he would come over to you. But then he looked at Stan behind him and you watched as Diego, literally and figuratively, turned his back on you to hug Stanley. And in that moment, something in you broke as you realized you had no family left. 
Diego knew that you were the cause of the flickering lights and shaking objects. Occasionally,  when your emotions became too extreme it caused your powers to affect the world around you. He needed to calm you down, and things would return to normal. Letting go of Stan, Diego looked at him and comforted,
"It'll be okay. Just give me a second."
Turning from Stan, Diego began to walk over to you. Your face was wet from tears, but adrenaline rushed through your veins as he approached. You couldn't stand to be near him. Fury outweighed your body's weak unease as you began to push yourself to your feet. Seeing you try to stand, Diego took  your arm to help you up, but you quickly shook him off as you demanded,
"Don't touch me!"
"I just want to help," Diego explained
"No! Go away!" You yelled
"Let me just-" Diego began to say as he tried to take your arm once more
Like a storm in your mind, waves of emotions all clashed together. Sadness. Grief. Betrayal. Anger. Abandonment. Mixing together they were a recipe for unimaginable sorrow. You weren't just hurt, you were broken. Why did Diego want to help you now? He didn't rush to your side, like Five or your friends, when the wave hit. He didn't hold you and tell you you'll be okay as the world ripped you apart. He didn't comfort you as you realized all your friends were gone. He did none of those things. But you knew who would've.
Your dad.
You were his little anomaly. His perfect little girl. Your dad loved you so dearly and if he was here he would've been by your side already. How dare Diego, in the aftermath of everything, now decide to come over to you. How dare he now decide you were important enough to help. You didn't want his help! You didn't want him! You wanted your dad! Rage, strengthened by your grief, engulfed you as you shouted harshly,
"YOU'RE NOT MY DAD, DIEGO!"
A heavy silence fell over the group as your words echoed through the area. As you finally managed to get to your feet, you bent down and picked up the roll of gauze from Kenny's med bag. You refused to look at Diego and instead opted to wrap up the wave-induced gash on your forearm, but all Diego could look at was you.
A clenching feeling formed in his chest as your words rang through his head. Diego knew he wasn't your dad. He never touted himself as such and yet your words hurt him more than anything his own father had ever said to him. You only said it because you were lashing out, right? You were upset about your friends and so you were lashing out at others? That had to be it. Diego saw you lash out at Five, and you loved Five, so you were probably just lashing out at him too. Taking a step toward you, Diego reassured,
"I just want to take care of you..."
As Diego took a step forward, you took a step back. Finally looking at him you could see the hurt in his eyes. For a moment you felt your anger falter, but as you processed what he had just said, the flame reignited.
"Oh, now you wanna take care of me?" You question sarcastically before gesturing to Stan and Lila "How about you go take care of Stan because apparently the random kid that shows up out of nowhere looking nothing like you OR Lila is more important than the one you fucking raised!"
"Princess..." Diego cooed
"No! You don't get to call me that and expect me to just- to just run into your arms and say it's okay!" You rebuked before angrily questioning "Don't you understand why I'm upset?"
Of course he knew why you were upset, especially after the comment you had just made. It was the same reason that you were upset this whole past week. It had to be about Lila. Yes, she did try to kill you, and yes, she did show up out of nowhere again a few days ago, but a reaction this large seemed a bit much.
"Prin-(Y/N), is this about Lila again?" Diego asked
Lila? He thought this was about Lila? Sure, she tried to kill you which was annoying, and yeah, she did show up again without any real consequences for her actions, but this wasn't about her. And in that moment, you came to realize that none of it was ever really about her. These feelings took root not through her actions, but his.
"Oh my god! It was never about Lila! It was about YOU!" You snapped at him "God forbid I didn't want to see you as a bad person. I wanted a reason, a scapegoat, something to explain your shitty actions!" 
Your statement took Diego aback. What did you mean this was about him? What had he done? He was so confused, but he wasn't the only one confused either. Five looked over to Lila who was already looking over at him. She tilted her head to the side with a confused look on her face as if to ask him for clarity, but all Five could do was shrug. This was a new development for him too. Granted, it's not like you two had the time to talk about it either, but nevertheless, he knew nothing about this.
"I don't understand." Diego replied confused
You thought back on memories with Diego. So many of them that had once brought you joy or comfort now felt different. They felt tainted. You didn't know if you were finally seeing clearly or if your pain was causing you to look at them in a bad light. And then you thought about the day that Diego and Eudora split. How she wanted him to stop trying to be a hero and to focus on their relationship, and he refused. His desire to be a hero trumped his desire to be with her. All this time, did he ever actually care about you or was he only concerned about being viewed as a hero in someone's eyes? Lila was giving him the attention he had wanted from Eudora, and as of late, he seemed to focus more on Stan because Stan was focused on him. Your burning anger flattened into a calm rage. Your heart rate slowed, you straightened your posture, and your face showed no clear emotion as you looked Diego in the eye.
"I do. I see it so clearly now." You explained monotonously "You don't care about me anymore."
"What?! Of course, I do!" Diego exclaimed
Of course, he cared about you. Why would you say such a thing? You were his little sister. His princess! He had always cared about you. He didn't know what he had done to make you think otherwise, but it wasn't true. His bottom lip started to quiver as he wondered why this was happening.
Seeing the pain in his eyes, you started to rethink yourself. This was Diego. Your Eggo, your older brother. He was the one who came in the middle of the night to the academy when you were still hallucinating the young Umbrella Academy and made them go away. He was the one who comforted you when you had nightmares and held you til you fell back asleep. He took you to all your first days of school. He was there for all of your accomplishments. He took you to tour colleges. If none of this had happened then two months from now he would've been sitting at your graduation. No, you had to be thinking wrong. You were going to give him a chance, an olive branch, to prove to your broken heart and possibly clouded judgment that he did care about you. Taking a deep breath, you tried to center yourself before speaking. It was going to hurt to bring this up, but in your mind, it was the only way to know if he cared or not. Letting out your breath, you questioned,
"If you care about me then acknowledge Eudora. I just want you to acknowledge that she existed. That she was real and she was ours. I want you to remember what she meant to us, but you avoid the topic of her like the plague. So tell me, was she real to you like she was real to me?" You questioned
Diego looked at you blankly. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't prepared for a conversation like this. Not here, not now. He didn't want to do this. He didn't even know if he could.  
His silence didn't help you though. Why wouldn't he talk about her? All you wanted from him was to say something to show she was still in his mind. That the memories you created together were still there. Anything to prove he loved and cared for her and what you all had. Hurt bubbled inside you again followed by a slow anger. You needed an answer.
"Did you love her, Diego?" You pressed "Or did you stop caring the moment you couldn't be a hero to her anymore?"
Your questions weren't fair. He wasn't ready to speak about this, especially not with Lila around. He loved Lila. How could he have this conversation without the possibility of making her feel less than or secondary? This wasn't a conversation for her to be a part of. At least not yet. Why were you so determined? Why was this the hill that you had decided was so important to die on?
"(Y/N), it's-  it's complicated." Diego tried to explain
Complicated? How? Why? What was so complicated about remembering a person you loved? Anguish and anger swirled together as Diego's words, or lack thereof, affected you. Whatever composure you had tried to build quickly slipped away. Why couldn't he give you this? Why couldn't he even say her name? At this point that would be enough. Your throat and chest clenched tightly as if your body was caving in on itself, and tears streamed from your eyes as you wondered why he was hurting you like this?
"ANSWER THE QUESTION! DID YOU LOVE HER?" You demanded, your voice trembling as you begged for an answer, "DID YOU LOVE US?"
Diego looked at you silently, tears pricking his eyes, and the words he wanted to say caught in his throat. Of course, he loved her. He loved both of you. For so long, you two were his entire world. But he couldn't acknowledge Eudora. If he did it made her loss real. It made her death final. Even if he tried, he would never be able to forget her because you were so much like her. The way you cared for others, the way your face scrunched when you were upset, the joyful light in your eyes as you looked at him, and your resilience when things got tough. All these little quirks you had were glimpses of her. Looking at you was like looking at the last piece he had of her. It had been years for you, but it had only been three months for him. He couldn't do it. 
"(Y/N)- I-..." He tried to speak, his voice stuttering
But it was too late. He took too long to answer. And to you, that meant only one thing, he never actually loved you or Eudora. He never cared. All the things that he did, all of those moments of kindness were in search of admiration, not love. When you looked at him now, there was pain, and there was anger, but most of all there was resentment. You resented the fact that all these years, all those moments that you thought were genuine, were all just for a stupid ego boost. Your happiness never meant anything to him. And just like that your mood swung again, and your emotions disappeared. You felt nothing. You felt empty. You looked at Diego, with eyes that no longer had light in them and quietly stated,
"I'm glad she doesn't remember who I am because at least it means that she never knew you either."
Your words hit Diego like a ton of bricks. Not only because of how they impacted them but also because of the weight of what you meant. If she didn't remember you, that meant she was here. It meant she was alive. 
"She's alive? You saw her?" Diego asked sincerely
You didn't understand why he cared now? Now that she was possibly alive he wanted to acknowledge Eudora? What a selfish fucking prick. 
"I'm not going to tell you because you don't deserve to know her anymore. What I will tell you is that she loved you so much, but time and time again you choose to stroke your massive ego and play hero to others over the people already around you. And I know now that I'm not worth being around for when you have the amazing opportunity to play hero for these two."
"(Y/N), it's not like that." Diego responded
It was at this moment, knowing what Lila knew now, that everything finally clicked together, and she felt stupid for not seeing it sooner. As you had said, it was never about her or what she did. Except for trying to kill you and Five, but that wasn't the point. You had shouted that your parents were dead and that Diego raised you and she could assume that by extension this Eudora did too. Wasn't too hard to conclude that Diego had replaced your dad, and Eudora had replaced your mom. It was, mostly, never what she did that upset you so much, it was what she represented. Like your mini-Diego-looking friend said, she was a homewrecker, Diego was a traitor and they both were adulterers. He said those things because that's how you viewed the situation. You weren't a sister upset that her brother got a new girlfriend, you were a child watching their parent replace the other one. It was no wonder Diego was doing a relatively decent job with Stan, he had already done it before. With you.
However, you didn't want to hear what Diego had to say. You were done with him. Completely. In totality. Forever.
"You don't need to explain, because I don't need you anymore." You spat "I actually don't need anything from you anymore."
Pulling all the knives off your body, you tossed them to the ground in front of Diego. You had your powers, you didn't need some stupid knives to fight with. They didn't mean anything to you anymore. They were just worthless metal to you.
But to Diego, this was salt in the wound. These knives were gifts given to commemorate celebrations or important events. Birthdays, winning your first boxing match, getting your license, etc. These were the physical embodiment of his proudest days of you. Why? Why were you tossing them back?
"(Y/N), no..." Diego begged
"Go on, give them to Stan since he's the one you care about. I promise I won't get in the way of your happy little family ever again." You explained in a sarcastically cheerful tone before flatly stating "From now on, I only ever had one brother, and he died trying to keep me safe."
Hearing those words, Diego became paralyzed. It felt like time had stopped moving but that certainly wasn't true. Everything happened so fast and he didn't know how he got to this point. What had he done to cause this outcome? How many times had he unintentionally hurt you that now you wanted nothing to do with him? At that moment, it felt like a large part of him died because he didn't just lose you, he lost Eudora. The light In your eyes that you both shared when you looked at him was gone. How could he have let this happen?
Lila looked between you and Diego. He looked so broken...so defeated. She never wanted this for Diego. She might've disagreed with you, but she loved Diego and Diego loved you. Part of her felt like this was her fault, even if you said it wasn't. You were just a scared, hurt child looking for love, and whatever you were looking for you didn't get. And now, to you, all your parents were dead. In a way, Lila could relate. When she had lost her parents and was taken in by The Handler all she wanted was to know she was loved. But like her, you didn't get it, and now you were lost. Maybe there was a reason why these people loved you. Maybe she had misjudged you this whole time. Maybe you two were more similar than you were different. 
You however couldn't stand to be here anymore. This place felt heavy like an inescapable weight was crushing you. It was suffocating being in a place with so much misery. You needed to leave. Grabbing Dean's keys from the floor and summoning Viktoria's phone to your hand, you turned without saying a word and began to head to the front door. 
 Mimicking Five's powers, Lila jumped over to you and grabbed your wrist to stop you. Looking back, you expected to see your boyfriend but were surprised to see it was Lila who had stopped you.
"Where are you going?" Lila asked "The world is ending and you're a bloody mess. Literally."
"Why do you care?" You replied, "I thought you wanted me dead."
Right. Lila may have realized that your hatred was misplaced, but you had not realized that hers was as well. She was gonna have to work on that. 
Phasing your wrist through her grasp, you tried to walk away once more. You need to get away from this place. Away from Diego. Away from the Umbrella Academy and the end of the world. You weren't a hero. You were never meant to be a hero. Saving the world was never supposed to be your responsibility. 
You needed space, but the Hargreeves knew they needed you for this. Trying to get you to stop and reconsider Luther blurted out,
"What about the Kugelblitz? We need you to help figure out all the-the- y'know- your powers and stuff. We're family!"
Hearing that word you stopped in place. Family. How dare he use that word like some type of "gotcha". That word was supposed to mean something, and it did mean something to you. It meant so much more than just the definition in the book. It was a representation of all the people you had loved. All the people who you lived and fought for. All the people who had loved you to their dying breath. All the people who were now gone forever. To treat that word like a quid-pro-quo was like a slap in the face. You seethed at his negligence and slowly turned on your heel to face the Umbrella Academy.
"Family?" You questioned angrily "You use that word so frivolously. What do you know about family? What do ANY of you know about family?"
"I don't think I understand the question." Luther replied
"Of course you don't. Because you're all selfish, stunted, pathetic adults." You remarked spitefully "You don't view me as family. You guys only use the word family when you need something."
"That's not true. We're a family." Viktor retorted
"No you're not. You are a group of people who share a last name." You spat "You wouldn't know the first thing about family if it manifested as an entity and punched you in your fucking faces."
"(Y/N), you don't mean that..." Diego pleaded
God you were sick of these people! You said what you said and you meant it. They had no clue about what it meant to be a family. They had no respect for each other. They only ever came together to help each other when it was too late. You sacrificed everything for these people and none of them would do the same. They found out your parents died and they didn't care. They watched you struggle on the ground, bleeding and screaming, and they didn't step up. They saw all your friends vanish and offered no condolences. If you were in their shoes you would already been trying to help them, but they didn't care to do the same. You were done with them. Going on a tirade, you shouted,
"I DO! I treated you like family! I lost my parents, and friends, and the lives I built trying to help you all because I cared for you! I LOVED you! And besides my fucking boyfriend, who is the only one here who seems to care, none of you would do the same for me! The only one of you who ever genuinely treated me like family was Ben. And he's gone! I've lost EVERYTHING! I have NO FRIENDS! NO FAMILY! NO HOME! AND IT'S ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULTS! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!"
A heavy silence fell over the group as you caught your breath from yelling so much. To Allison, she didn't care much for your anger, you had no interest in finding her daughter so why should she care for your parents or friends? For Diego, this only worsened the heartbreak he already felt. He had failed you. And for Luther and Viktor, they felt like kids again, this aching feeling reminiscent of the day they realized you had disappeared along with Five. Their first friend, the first person who loved them for who they were, was lost again.
And then there was Five whose guilt had no bounds. He felt terrible seeing how upset you were, shameful that he couldn't prevent or change the events that led to this moment. The amount of pain you were going through was probably unimaginable, and even though you singled him out and separated him from his siblings as the only person who cared, he still felt guilty for his impact on your life. You had told him multiple times since he returned to you that you didn't blame him, but in a way, he was still the catalyst. That original time jump may have been an accident, but its impacts were very much real. You had put helping others first for so long that you never asked for help yourself. He wished he knew how to fix this. He had to find a way. 
Turning on your heel once more, you started to make your way to the doors again. You were getting out of here and nothing was going to stop you this time. Except that's never how it goes, does it? Immediately as you started walking away you felt a minor molecular disturbance behind you and someone gently take your hand. You knew who it was. It was the only person who could break your conviction. The only person who could make you want to stay. Slowly, you turned around to look at Five. His green eyes filled with sadness and concern as he looked over you. 
"Baby, please don't go." Five begged
God, why did he have to do this? Your heart ached looking at him. You never wanted your life with him to be like this. To be one filled with trials and tribulations. When you got real moments together everything was so beautiful, the world felt brighter, and your heart felt light. Why couldn't you just run away with him? Forget the world, cope with the pain of the kugel waves, and spend your last days together. Why did life have to be this way? Why couldn't you two just be happy? tears welled in your eyes once more as your strong composure quickly faltered.
"I can't do this..." you whispered, trying not to cry
"And I can't let you go..." Five replied desperately
"Th-that's not fair." You rebuked stuttering over your words "I-I let you go when I didn't want you to."
Five grasped your hand tighter. You were right, just a few days ago you were in his place begging him not to go, but let him anyway. He'd be a hypocrite to not let you do the same, but he just couldn't bring himself to do so. Looking you over, you were injured, bloodied, covered in gauze that was slowly turning red, and he knew for a fact you were not in a rational headspace. He couldn't blame you for any of it, the circumstances leading to this were out of your control, but his head was screaming at him to hold onto you. 
"What if something happens?" Five questioned concerned "Another kugel wave and I'm not there to help you? What if you-"
Five stopped. He couldn't get the words out. He shut his eyes tightly as he tried to push the thought out of his mind, but it was haunting. He lost you once before, he wouldn't survive if it happened again.
Five's grip on your hand tightened even more and you could feel the way his hand trembled as it held yours. You held his hand tighter and with your other hand, you reached up and gently ran it through his hair pushing it out of his face before resting it on his cheek. Your thumb gently brushed back and forth against his skin. You watched as he leaned into your touch more, even if most of what he felt was the gauze on your hand. You hated seeing him so upset. Back and forth your brain fought between doing what would make you feel better and doing what would make him feel better. That was the issue with loving someone so deeply, so desperately, you could never stop thinking of them. Five was a constant thought in your mind and loving him was like breathing air. But this hotel, these people, it was suffocating you. Your head wasn't in a good space, but you knew you couldn't do both right now. You couldn't take care of yourself and Five. It was one or the other and you had to make a decision. Gently, you brought his face closer to yours and pressed your forehead against his.
 "I need time, Five..." You whispered
"We don't have that." Five mumbled
"We never do." You quietly replied "But I still need it. I need to go."
Opening his eyes, Five saw the way you looked at him. Your gaze was gentle and sincere. Even through the chaos of your emotions, he knew that you still loved him. He could see it all over your face. And yet, that made him want to hold on tighter. Letting go of your hand, he wrapped his arms around your waist and held you close. 
Resting your head on his shoulder you let out a sigh. You felt like your heart was breaking and part of you started thinking that maybe you should put up with his siblings and stay. But then you thought again, and you knew that if you didn't get the space to clear your head then you wouldn't be able to do anything going forward. It pained you but you needed your space. You had to go. Lifting your head, you looked at Five once more.
"Please don't make me use my powers." You pleaded, tears falling from your eyes "Don't force me to slip away."
Five had no choice. He had to let you go because no matter what you were going to leave. It was what you wanted. All that was up to him was if it was going to be amicably or regretfully. Loosening his hold on you, Five sighed,
"Okay..."
You took a step back out of Five's arms. It was a bittersweet feeling. You didn't want to leave him, but you appreciated that he respected your wishes. Yes, you were forcing his hand slightly, but it did still show he cared. You wanted to give him something though, something that could perhaps ease the worry you knew he was feeling. Summoning the sharpie you saw Lucas put down earlier, you popped the cap off before gently pushing up the sleeve of Five's jacket and shirt. On his arm, you wrote down the number to Viktoria's cell phone, which you now carried on you, adding a little heart after the final number. Putting the cap back on the marker, you placed it into his jacket pocket. Looking up at him you explained,
"If it's an emergency, if you really need me, call this number and I'll be back as soon as I can."
Part of him worried that this was the last time he'd see you. That he was making a huge mistake. But he loved you and he knew you loved him. You had always managed to find your way back to each other so he had to trust that you'd come back again. Taking your face in his hands, he kissed you desperately, like it was the last kiss you'd ever share. If you were leaving his side then he needed you to feel how much he loved you. But he had to trust that this wasn't the last time. He had to believe that his lips would meet yours again.
You pressed your lips firmly back against Five's, the tears you had cried making the kiss salty. Your heart didn't want to leave him, but your head knew that you wouldn't be able to help him going forward if you didn't. It wasn't pleasant, but you swore once your head was clear, you'd come straight back here and into his arms. It felt like hell, but you gathered the strength to pull away. 
"I love you." You stated sincerely
"I love you too." Five quietly replied
And with that, you gave him one more kiss on the cheek before turning and walking to the doors. As you got to the revolving door though, you stopped and looked back at him to make sure he was still there. You loved him too much not to. You saw as he looked back at you and quietly mouthed the word go. With a small nod, you looked ahead and walked out the door of the Hotel Obsidian.
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s1m0nth3swaggy · 2 days
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Something I haven't seen anyone talk about yet is how valid Charles anger at the night nurse was.
Like, this woman showed up, lied to his friend/ crush and then continued to tell him that he and his best friend of 30 years, who's always been there for him, have to split up and go to the afterlife??
Needless to say that makes him mad, like Charles is such a caring person he doesn't want any harm to come close to the people he loves. He would personally fight all the Endless if it meant keeping them safe. He's that guy.
But then the night nurse DIGS into his memories, reminds him of the awful shit that happened to him and has the AUDACITY to say that Charles has nothing keeping him from going to the afterlife because the world sucks? He already knew that. Doesn't mean he didn't find beauty in it. He's found friends, love, a goddamn purpose, and that random lady just tells him it's for nothing
Honestly, who wouldn't have ticked out? I think it was actually pretty reasonable of him to react that way, given everything that's happened to him and everything the night nurse did (no hate to her, she was just doing her job and I love her as a character)
What baffles me even more is that Crystal can't understand it. Like, shouldn't she know what Charles feels like to a degree? She knows what he struggles with to a point, and even though none of them know the full extent, instead of just being like "it was scary you acted that way" a normal reaction would've been to be worried about Charles, no? I mean yes, she was traumatised by David and strongly saw him in Charles at that moment (or better said, feared they were a little alike), but if my friend ticked out like that, I'd want to know the reason.
We know thought that Charles doesn't like opening up, but from what he said afterwards, it's pretty clear he has conflicted feelings about his whole situation
Maybe it's just me but I think that the way rhey went abozt it wasnt really a good way to deal with it? Like, Crystal was pissed at the night nurse as well for lying to her, and Edwin also doesn't want to go to the afterlife. I'd personally have like pretty much the same reaction as Charles if someone showed me how shit my life was and then just figured my being as ghost couldn't possibly be better. I think Charles was being reasonable, honestly. I also think that yes, it was a harsh reaction, but one that should've worried the others rather than make them be somewhat condescending (at least that's what their reactions always feel like to me?)
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zahri-melitor · 4 hours
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Spoilery thoughts on Batman #148:
This story was pretty clearly drafted to be a 5 or 6 issue story, probably originally resolving in #150 as bringing the family together is a nice round number issue sort of event. My best guess is that the Nakano and Vandal Savage plot and some more of the back ups around the captured villains got cut to the bone to speed things up after Zdarsky was told #150 was needed for Absolute Power (and #149 is apparently doing the epilogue to set up for whatever goes on in Absolute Power). There’s a couple of really clear “and we just skipped 3-4 pages” sort of moments in the shape of the script for this issue (and in hindsight in #147) that if it had been allowed even an extra issue the story would have more space to breathe.
And despite that revised pagecount, Zdarsky still manages to deliver the moments he wanted to bring for Dick, Babs, Jason, Tim and Damian, so I’m impressed by that. Cass unfortunately did get relegated, but if I’m being objective about this, DC’s still waffling over whether Current Cass is adopted or not, and Zdarsky was already juggling a big list of characters (plus part of the point of having a big cast is that you don’t HAVE to focus on all the cast).
I did like how much space Zdarsky still found for the Damian-Tim-ZEA Robin plot. That did NOT resolve the way I predicted from the costume’s first hints in the background (I was totally on team ‘Tim puts on the costume sacrificially to try to get through to ZEA Bruce thinking he can handle this, and gets brainwashed’), but it was satisfying in terms of acknowledging Tim and Damian’s relationship (it was giving me Gates of Gotham vibes, which are the best Tim and Damian working together vibes), there was more discussion of the different elements both bring to the role of Robin and what’s good and bad about each, and how ZEA Robin doesn’t understand what makes you Robin. It was a pretty balanced fight scene. Tim gives Damian an assist, Damian gives Tim an assist, Tim’s a bit too overconfident and pays for it, Damian was a bit petulant about having to sit part of it out (though being tied up is like, PURE Robin aesthetic).
As far as the costumes go for the Robins Fight scene: honestly, switching Tim into a darker costume that was black and green with red accents complemented Damian’s black and grey with red accents aesthetic well, and contrasted with the ZEA costume being so bright red and yellow (which is playing off the original red, yellow and purple ZEA suit). Jimenez also gave everyone a different mask shape, which also helped distinguish everyone when you have three ‘Robins’ appearing in the same fight. All the Bat redesigns at the moment are leaning into darker palettes, and I appreciated the choice to go back to green as Tim’s ‘colour’, rather than red, given: his pre-2006 history used to use green quite often as his distinguishing colour; he can share it with Babs (team green for the computer nerds!); it’s not a colour they’ve particularly focused on for Damian for ages; and it gets him out from under having to share colour palette with Jason, given Jason can’t keep a costume consistent for a year.
It’s fine. It’s not my favourite Robin design I’ve ever seen, it’s not the worst Robin design I’ve ever seen (even on Tim), and it made the fight a lot clearer to follow.
I really liked that Barbara’s contribution was Oracle based and it made her inclusion make sense. I cackled at Dick getting to punch Daniel Captio (I was having serious echoes of the Cave argument in Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive, and from Tim’s delighted face for that punch I think Tim was too).
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In terms of Jason, having him volunteer to take on the Lazarus-linked part of the plot and tell Bruce “let us have control of our own decisions” IS the resolution and apology for the mind alteration plot (which I am still pretty sure was a Rosenberg driven decision, not a Zdarsky one, in Gotham War), and look. That’s the sort of resolution you get a lot for comics plots. They’re cool. It was never going to end up as a big song and dance.
I like that the resolution pulled everything back to Failsafe. Good way to round off 2 years on the title. Nice extended story arc, with shout outs all the way back to #125.
I did have to laugh at Nakano calling Cass, Steph and Duke ‘child soldiers’ though. Those are all actual adults, sir! Even Duke’s supposed to be 18+ now.
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inosukes-boar-mask · 18 hours
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cc female characters that I find kinda.... Fine. 😳
1. Georgina Upperton. She's so soooooo fine and I honestly wish that she doesn't have that bad attitude of hers though 😩😭 if she was an emphatic woman I would've loved her even more. But oh well at least @/rhiarin has an AU where she's a nice person. 😍❤️
2. Marla de Paradis. I can't forget the fact that she's kinda fine as well 👀👀😳🙏🏻 and besides that she's also very nice too like I think she's the type of person who would just randomly knocks on your door just to give you cookies with a smile on her face. 👀❤️ (And I'd let her step on me as well)
3. Karen Knight. Because I love MILFS ❤️👀😁 that's all.
4. Eleanor Halsted. Oh well.... She may be a bit insane but she's just so attractive for me though 😳🙏🏻
5. Gladys Perrin. I wish she didn't get killed 😭 she's such a cutie patootie and if she was real I would've definitely hug her and tell her that everything's going to be fine.
6. Sue Xiong. Because she's a baddie. That's it. She's just too fine for her age. (I also realized that she's 55 years old by now. Damn she probably still looks the same in this age. 😳)
7. Morgana Blackhawk. I may hate her for masterminding her sister Belinda's death but hey, before all of that bad stuff that she did, I actually had a huge crush on her though. 😳😳👀👀🤭 I like me some goth witch baddie 😳😳❤️❤️
8. Priya Desai. She's just so adorable and I also wish to see some more fanarts of her 😩❤️ she's also one of my favorites in s7 so yeah, I like her very much and she's also soooooo fine. (Zander you lucky mf)
9. Ruth Wu. I hated her for what she'd done to Priya but at the same time.... I also did find her kinda fine though. 😳😳😳😳🙏🏻 I wish she wasn't a cougar 😩😭
10. Veronica Rochester. Again, because I love MILFS. 😳❤️ also, she does look kinda fine you cannot blame me for liking her 😳😳😳😳 I'd let her slap me on my face and I would even ask her to slap me even more /J
11. Fiona Flanagan. Because I like my women a little bit... Insane.
12. Madam Xiang. Like honestly though, I don't care about her at first but when I rewatched some cases in s4... I was like 👀👀😳😳😳 damn she really is a baddie though. 😳😳😳🙏🏻 And she just looks soooooooooooooooo fine in case 22 like I honestly wish she wasn't a killer in that case. 😭😭 I wish she appeared more because I really like her outfits. (and her face too cuz she does look really fine 😳😳) i like my coffee like I like her. Really hot. 🤭 Can't believe I'm tweaking in this woman who only appeared 3 times
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faustandfurious · 18 hours
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Master and Commander liveblog: Chapters 1-2
Apparently the Locatelli C major quartet that kicks off the entire series isn’t even a real piece of music??? Locatelli exists, but his C major quartet sure doesn’t
I’d honestly forgotten how young they both are at the beginning of the story
I love that the first interaction between these two is Aubrey being excited about music and Maturin being a bit of an asshole. Truly excellent golden retriever/black cat character dynamic
Aubrey’s first impression of Maturin is extremely funny in light of everything that is to come: “The ill-looking son of a bitch, to give himself such airs”
Honestly my only frame of reference for money in this time period is Mr. Darcy with his ten thousand a year, so Jack making 5 pounds 12 shillings per month really puts that amount of money into perspective
Implication that Jack Aubrey slept with Molly Harte?
“I am to be found any morning at Joselito’s coffee-house” Maturin being broke and hanging out in coffee shops is a vibe
“the velvet softness of the April night, and the choir of nightingales in the orange-trees, and the host of stars hanging so low as almost to touch the palms” I’m absolutely in love with these small snippets of atmospheric writing
Teniente (Spanish) = lieutenant
I’ll have to pay more attention to the dates this time around, to keep track of the progression of time and the historical events. Anyway, we have our first time point: 1st April, 1800 - Jack Aubrey is made captain, though he receives the news later the same month
I won’t go into all the naval terminology here, because I don’t actually think that you need to understand every single word in order to get the overall gist of what is happening on the ship, but I’ll try to make some notes every now and then
First-rate = Royal Navy term for the largest warships
“May I propose a cup of chocolate, or coffee?” AUBREY/MATURIN COFFEE SHOP AU
These two being nerds about music gives me so much life
Boccherini (which I’ve actually played on violin at one point)
Upupa epops
Maturin remarking on Aubrey wearing only one epaulette and asking if he has forgotten the other one, and Aubrey saying that he’ll put them both on by and by, because you’re only allowed two epaulettes with at least three years seniority as a captain. Stephen knows jack shit about naval ranks
Well, Captain Harte is a piece of shit
Mr. Baldick really said “there’s too much buggery on board” and Jack is like “I don’t want people to be hanged for being gay”
And here comes the naval terminology
“It’s the price that has to be paid” I don’t know why Jack reflecting on the way his new role as captain sets him apart from the rest of the crew, hits so hard, but it does
Stephen being a language nerd <3
Meanwhile Jack gets putain (whore) and patois (nonstandard language) mixed up
“looking at Stephen Maturin with candid affection”
Stephen does math in Catalan because of course
Phthisis = pulmonary tuberculosis, apparently
“‘Surgeons are excellent fellows,’ said Stephen Maturin with a touch of acerbity” average internist describing surgeons tbh
“and when I told you, some time ago, that I had not eaten so well for a great while, I did not speak figuratively” Stephen Maturin poor little meow-meow confirmed
For the ominous way James Dillon is mentioned by Stephen here, I can’t actually remember from my first readthrough what that was all about
“‘Christ,’ he said at last. ‘Another day.’” Stephen continues to be a mood
The way Stephen thinks Jack sailed without him, as if he would ever do that
First appearance of nickname “Goldilocks”
Jack giving Stephen money in a way which leaves his pride intact is such a sweet moment <3
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doberbutts · 1 day
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Do you do/train for/compete in any dog sports with your dobermann? Would you recommend a dobermann for a beginner sport dog? Thank you!
Yes, Fenris and I are currently training in a protection dog sport called mondioring, or just mondio for short, and we'll probably pick up a few obedience-only titles in IGP (used to be called IPO, which used to be called schutzhund, another protection dog sport) along the way to support the United Doberman Club (which is mostly IGP-based tbh). I debated AKC obedience and rally but honestly right now my focus is mondio because I like it more and he seems to be doing really well in it. If we hit a wall we may switch tracks. But so far he's got nothing but compliments, so I'm not really worried about it.
As for whether I'd recommend dobes for a beginner sport dog, it sort of depends what you mean by that and what sport. I have had 4 dobermans total thus far. Only two have done anything in sport due to temperament of the other two, and of those two neither has actually accomplished anything in competitive sport. Creed had a mock BH under his belt (preliminary title to begin competing in IGP), but it wasn't an official trial so it doesn't count, and he's been gone for the past 2.5 years. Fenris just turned 13 months and being a young puppy I'm honestly in no hurry to put any titles on him- he passed his puppy temperament test and that's all I've done with him thus far because I am deliberately taking things slow with him. (and I didn't even enter him in the temperament test, his breeder did because she was showing her keepers at the same event!)
So... I mean... it's not like I'm a seasoned competitor. To the folks at training club, I'm a beginner too. And to my knowledge, Fen's breeder's foundation bitch was her beginner sport dog- his grandmother. Far be it from me to discourage you if you feel it's the right fit.
However, I will say that if you are wanting a doberman you should be committed to the doberman, vs if you want the sport you should be committed to the sport. What I mean by that is- if you are looking to really excel and have a nice dog right off the bat for your introduction to a sport, you may want to consider breeds more suited to the sport you are thinking about playing in. There's nothing wrong with getting a border collie for agility, or a golden for obedience, or a shepherd for IGP, or a malinois for mondio. But if you want to get a doberman, then commit knowing that your journey will likely look very different from those who chose more in line with the breeds that do well in their sport of choice.
The doberman was never intended to be a sport dog. It was intended to be a personal protection dog. That doesn't mean dobermans can't do well at various sports- in fact many dobermans excel at many sports! But it does mean that you're probably going to experience different challenges in your training than your fellow competitors, and you should keep that in mind instead of feeling discouraged.
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