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#bit angsty
pigeonpeach · 12 days
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More alrecchino and caretaker drabbles because I’m lazy and don’t want to format right now
Thinking bout Arlecchino and the mother figure darling who is oh so worried about a particular set of kids. Its their first mission alone and they can’t help but be just a bit worried for them. They had snuck them treats and all sorts of supplies but their anxiety is still high. Normally Arlecchino would nerely coldly inform the caretaker beloved to simply stop worrying and that if they are strong children they will return. A retroact that she had been grown and raised into, but now she doesn’t do so. She merely holds their hand and ensures them that their children are strong and capable and she’s sure they’ll be alright.
Inside she is conflicted. The caretaker is a gentle and pure soul. They radiate such warmth, she’s sure even the most fiercesome of beasts would lay in their lap if given the chance, and she feels no different to these hypothetical beasts. She knows however that she will have to do something at some point, she cannot risk her children getting too soft, but she also notices the improvement and their loyalty increases with the caretaker’s presence. She herself could never bring harm to them. She could never let herself do such a thing, but she also could never let the world know of these feelings. That the Knave has a weakness and it just so happens to be someone who is infact pretty weak themselves. She cannot let herself indulge in their presence though she wishes to. But selfishly she doesn’t wish for anyone else to.
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chupapijules14 · 3 months
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Smt silly i drew while giving TV girl a chance, it's a vibe tbh especially this one
((Idc if it's one of their popularest songs it's good))
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Miguel O'Hara x Reader Headcanons
Summary: How you and Miguel found yourselves in a situationship of sorts.
Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x fem!Spider!Reader
Warnings: Miguel gets angry when he's worried (it's a canon event guys). A very sultry kiss and implied smut towards the end. Me using far too many of the adjectives at my disposal just to describe this man and all the things he makes me feel.
I went and saw Across the Spiderverse TWICE in a week while it was in my hometown, and immediately started drafting fic for this goddamn gorgeous problem of a man 🔥 He just gave me too much to work with and I may or may not have spent entire months watching every single compilation I could find for "scientific inspiration". For my headcanon purposes, reader is a spider-hero as well, but I left her pretty vague on purpose -- feel free to fill in her costume/powers/skill set with your own spidersona :)
*Spanish translations at the end! (I am fairly bilingual, but if I made a lil mistake here or there do forgive me)
• He would say he had no idea when or how it started -- you, on the other hand, were taken by him from the first time he gave you his whole "canon" spiel.
• How could you not be? He towered above you, body chiseled like a Greek God, angular face equal parts weary and arrogant.
• And that voice -- rich and smooth as a silky black coffee -- it would be safe to say you were pretty smitten right away.
• To his surprise, you worked your way into his inner circle fairly quickly for a new recruit. Although you definitely had your own opinions, you knew when and how to push his boundaries and when he wasn't in the mood for it.
• Soon he trusted you to handle yourself with minimal supervision from him -- and maybe that trust was the beginnings of it for him. Because even though he recognized your competence, he still found himself continually assigning you to his personal strike squad, not to look after you, but because you somehow didn't annoy the hell out of him.
• Which comes in handy for everyone else after a while, because soon that translates over to you soothing the proverbial beast when he's biting the heads off of the more sensitive Spiders.
"How could you be so STUPID -- !"
"Okay, Miguel, I think they got the point."
"But they -- !"
"I know. They know. It's okay, let's all just take a breath."
"¡Ay coño! Nadie me oye. Todos son idiotas."
But he does back off, and does take a breath, and everyone else stares at you like you're the second coming of Christ.
• Your fascination and admiration for the intense head of the Society soon turns to a genuine enjoyment of his company. He's not much of a conversationalist, but you're okay with silence, and sometimes you just...end up keeping him company in the monitor tower after missions and he just...lets you.
• You soon notice the ungodly hours he keeps and start leaving him an empanada and a black coffee at the end of the day when you leave -- you know how dangerous he gets when hangry and undercaffeinated.
• It's a bit strange for him at first (someone is actually choosing his company over the bombastic personalities of the other spiders?) but Miguel soon gets used to you hanging around, and the hairs on the back of his neck finally stop bristling at having a fellow person in the room.
• One thing he absolutely can't figure out is why the scent of fear never radiates from you, even when you witness his occasional equipment-trashing tantrums. But he somehow doesn't quite mind that he can't intimidate you.
• He would strongly deny he ever gave you favorite treatment, but some of the others do realize he's not QUITE as hard on you when you challenge his decisions.
• Sometimes you check on him late at night before you go home; you can tell when he hasn't slept in a couple days by the way his shoulders hunch and how often he pinches the bridge of his nose against an oncoming headache (though sometimes that's just from dealing with Peter (x100) for too long).
• And that turns into you staying in late to keep him company while he swipes through screens upon screens of things that require his personal attention.
• That's how you end up finally seeing the videos of him and his little girl; he probably forgot you were there and her loss hit him all over again and before he knew it you had seen what he was like once, when the lines on his handsome face were from smiling so widely instead of losing sleep over the fate of all of reality.
• Neither of you really address it for a long time, but you know, and he knows you do, and there's this weird comfort that settles between the two of you after that.
• He already knows your story of course, and your canon events, but when the pair of you finally start talking during those late nights you share the little details, and you have the feeling that he wants to care about the small things, he just can't with the much larger picture he has to handle.
• It's little things that make it past his unbreakable outer walls -- the fleeting brush of your hand across his back as you pass behind him, the way you can hold eye contact with him longer than anyone else, the seemingly flippant way you blow him a kiss every so often when he sends you off to go make yourself useful elsewhere. Casual things, but he notices.
• And you want to tell him you're in love with him, but have a feeling he doesn't want to hear those words, because once they're out in the air, it means you both can't sidestep it anymore, so you don't.
• After a particularly rough mission, he's angry and you're shaken up, and he doesn't mean to react the way he does, but he takes it out on you, scolding you for what almost happened, and you fire right back because you're emotional, and the two of you end up raising your voices and everyone else just kind of...leaves the room.
• Then silence.
• You and Miguel are breathing hard, staring at each other. And something fragile takes root in the empty space between you.
• "Could you do me a favor and maybe not get yourself shocking killed?!" he growls at last, and there's a raw edge to it you haven't heard before.
• You laugh brokenly. "What do you really care, O'Hara? There's literally hundreds of Spiders here; I think you'd be okay."
• "¡Coño! How can you be so blind?!" He's snarling now, full lips pulled back and sharp teeth on display. "I thought we were on the same page for once."
• You're totally unprepared for when he grabs your shoulders and forces you to look up, right at him. "I can't lose someone else."
• He's so close, and his angry mouth has softened. And maybe you've lost your mind, but he's already angry, so what do you have to lose, really? At least that's what you tell yourself as you take the plunge and lean in.
• And to your surprise, he not only meets your lips, he kisses you back with matching fire, and what was supposed to be a simple, singular impulse turns into an unexpectedly heavy ongoing process -- fingers raking through hair, bodies pressing together, hotly whispering things neither of you remembers.
• And then as quickly as it happened, it's over, and you're on opposite sides of the room again like sulking cats, and he sends you home.
• You don't talk about the incident for weeks. Life goes on.
• But then one night, he offers to take you home when you both stay behind late, and at your door he apologizes for his lapse in professionalism, and you admit you...didn't mind. At all. He doesn't seem in a hurry to leave, and wanting to distract him from his work for at least a little while, you invite him in.
• And somehow what was supposed to be a sweet goodbye-and-thank-you kiss a couple hours later turned into exploring touches and murmured questions and agreements and how damn good his arms feel locked around your body; and when the sun filters in through your window in the morning he's long gone but your skin still smells like him and you realize that actually happened.
• You assume it's a one-time thing. People make mistakes, after all, no hard feelings.
• Bur when Miguel holds you back after a mission several days later and wants to make absolutely sure that the other night didn't make things uncomfortable between you, you go out on a limb and admit to him that you really enjoyed it.
• And he has to take some time and process that.
• But eventually he shows up at your place late one night again, and it starts to become a bit of a regular thing. So much so that you give him the spare key to your apartment and he starts to leave some of his clothes there sometimes. You love wearing his shirts, because they're enormous as hell on you, and you sleep in his clothes whenever you can't have his skin against yours.
• (For his part, he also likes when you wear his shirts, because then your throat, shoulders, and thighs are that much easier to get at.)
• And life goes on.
¡Ay coño! = (Expletive)
Nadie me oye = No one listens to/hears me
Todos son idiotas = They're all idiots
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Disaster always strikes. Such is the way of the world: apocalypses claim the world, wipe the slate clean for a new batch of people to rise up until their time inevitably comes as well.
The latest of these cataclysms destroyed a grand civilization. The rolling hills of the surrounding savannah, the hills on which this city was constructed, shook and moved as a neverending storm rolled over. Even the driest patch of land was transformed to mud, One man escaped, though not unscathed. One man escaped, though not away. He fled underground, where the storm was reduced to trickles of water and the mud did not slide so far down. Down, where mobs saw their chance and attacked on sight, some torches and lanterns knocked off the wall or shattered after the impact of the tremors. Down, away from the tragedy.
Those who know the story are few and far between. Some say he died. Some say he lived, but barely. In either case, they say he never left that cave again, that his ghost still haunts those depths, that he perished in the darkness.
All of them are missing a crucial detail: none of them know about the Machine. None of them know about this civilization's deepest and darkest secret, previously tended to by one man and one man only because everyone (even its creator) feared its power. None of them know its engineer thought only of his greatest creation in these dire times and sought it out, even as mobs swarmed him. But even mobs dared not enter the chamber that housed the Machine, the sculk spilling and creeping from the pit within which it was created. Dimly-lit patches of blue crawling in an ever-shifting tapestry of silence. The darkness oppressive, the patches hypnotic, yearning whispers desperately reaching out to lost souls like them. Its engineer sank through his knees on the threshold, barely any strength to crawl closer to his magnum opus. His blood fueled the few veins of sculk already around him, spreading cross stone and flesh. It knew he was dying; it knew his time was coming to an end; it knew what this man had come here for.
Indiscriminately, the sculk spread across him as he bled out, his fleeting life a source of nourishment. More tremors shook the cave in which it resided. The man lost consciousness, half his body claimed, as the chamber partially caved in and the Machine shut down.
Nobody knows how the Machine sprung back to life. Nobody knows where it stands, or that it exists. They barely remembered the Ancient Capital until a friendly yet mysterious archaeologist put it back on the map.
The archaeologist had rested all that time. His mind slept, his transformed body in stasis. He awoke to a soft hum, the sculk around him coming to life as the same happened to him. The change was immediately noticeable - not quite human anymore, but not completely sculk either. In his confusion, uncertainty and fear, he stood up and staggered to the surface. The sunlight greeted him as though nothing had changed, but his home was in ruins.
He only met people after he could control it - both his urges and the little bits that sometimes oozed from him. The space between him and the sculk below was big enough, the transformation incomplete, the connection not as strong as it could be. His control reached as far as being able to suppress it and pass for a normal person. That was all he needed or wanted to be able to do. That was all he should be able to do.
Nobody had any reason to suspect him. By that time, he'd developed some quirks the others focused their attention on. The dirt perpetually stuck to him covered for any darker spots, his sense of preservation was brought up before his sensitivity to loud noise.
Yet he breathed, he ate, he slept, he lived.
Even if dying mobs always drew his attention in an unhealthy way.
Even if the Deep Dark called to him, still.
Even if he sometimes felt like mind and body were slowly slipping away.
Disaster always strikes. Such is the way of the world. And Pixlriffs has experienced this first hand.
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awhitehead17 · 2 years
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Batfam Alphabet: S - Scars
Summary: Being surrounded by people who also have scars is one thing, but it’s completely different matter when he’s surrounded by those who have immaculate skin instead. Tim has insecurities about his body but his brothers attempt to convince him he shouldn't be.
Enjoy! :D
Blue eyes blink back at him. Every breath he takes is copied, visible by the rise and fall of the bare chest opposite him. Any movement he makes is instantly mimicked.
Tim stares at his reflection with deep scrutiny. His eyes roam over the expanse of his bare face, neck shoulders chest, arms and torso, taking in every little detail there is too see. His pale complexion easily seen with the definition of hard muscles from his years of training.
Tim knows he doesn’t have a bad body. Ever since he’s took on the mantle of Robin at the ripe age of thirteen Tim’s worked hard to get and then maintain his fitness, the muscles came with time after more training and the right eating habits thanks to Alfred. Tim’s long accepted that he’ll never be a big guy, he won’t be able to bulk out like most of his family have done. He's a stick compared to the likes of Jason and Bruce and he knows that, he’s accepted it, he’s got a slim but toned body and that’s that.
Despite the muscles on his person there’s something he couldn’t get past, the one thing that stands out to Tim the most on his skin compared to everything else visible. His scars. All Tim sees are his scars. Pale white lines of various of sizes criss-cross over his body, some are easier to see than others, most of which have faded in time but the recent ones standout starkly against his skin.
The scars are everywhere. They cover his chest, arms, sides and even that one on his neck stands out like a beacon to Tim. All of them a reminder of times when he’s been hurt either during a mission, or when he’s been attacked, or even back when he was a small kid and accidently getting hurt.
It feels like he has a love hate relationship with his scars. On one hand they mean he’s usually failed, he wasn’t quick enough to block the attack, to dodge a bullet, to disarm the knife before it struck. However on the other it means he’s survived the things that tried to kill him, he’s strong because he’s gotten back up after being knocked down.
Tim continues to stare at his body, absently turning left and right to get a glimpse of his sides and back so he could see everything.
Usually he’s not conscious about it, being in a family full of human vigilantes they all have their fair share of scars. Even Damian’s got a handful and he’s only in his early teens! However when around those who have super healing and don’t get scars after being hurt, or around people who aren’t vigilantes, all of which have unblemished skin, Tim becomes conscious of his body.
What do they think when they see his body? How disgusting it is? How terrible of a vigilante he is because he’s always getting injured? How damaged he is because behind every scar there’s a traumatic story to it? Despite his muscle definition, would anyone be able to see past the scars and still be attracted to him?
“What are you doing?”
Tim jumps so hard that it feels like his soul leaves his body for a few moments. He takes a deep breath and spins around to find Jason and Dick standing at his bedroom doorway wearing unreadable expressions on their faces.
Tim feels like a deer caught in headlights. How long had he been staring at his body for? How long had he gotten lost in his thoughts? Speaking of which Tim realises he’s still shirtless and quickly grabs a shirt from his bed to shove it on.
“I have no idea what you’re on about,” he protests weakly as he slips his arms through the sleeves, “what are you doing? Why are you in my room?”
His brothers blink at him for a moment and suddenly a shit eating grin breaks out on Jason’s face. Tim feels himself instantly flush from that look alone, he doesn’t know what Jason’s mind has come up with but he knows it doesn’t mean anything good for him.
“Were you checking yourself out Timbo?” Jason teases.
“No!” Tim’s quick to deny the idea, probably to quick if the way Jason’s eyebrows raise in mirth.
“You sure about that because it certainly looked like it.”
Tim crosses his arms over his chest and hugs his sides. He was checking himself out, but not for the reason Jason’s implying. He scowls at his brothers.
“Was there a reason you’ve barged into my room or not? If not, then be kind enough and leave.”
His scowl deepens when all that happens is Dick leaning against the doorframe and loosely crossing his arms over his chest. Jason’s smile drops before he’s looking rather thoughtful, it puts Tim on edge with how nonchalant they’re acting all of a sudden.
Dick, the ever intuitive older brother, speaks up quietly after several beats of tense silence. “You know there’s nothing wrong with you right?”
Tim shakes his head in denial. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now, again, please leave.”
The older two males do the opposite of that. They step further into the room and makes themselves comfortable, Dick sits on the edge of the bed while Jason slumps into his desk chair, the two of them looking at him with expressions Tim doesn’t really want to analyse.  
“It’s normal to hate them Tim,” Dick says knowingly, “we’ve all been there. We look at each graze, mark, dent, burn, scratch all left behind as a result in what we do and despise them for what they mean.”
Tim clenches his teeth and looks away from Dick to stare at the opposite wall hating the fact his brother has seen right through him. No matter what’s happened between them, the distance that once was and now the close bond between once again, Dick can still read him like an open book. Tim hates it. He feels naked, vulnerable, in a way he hasn’t done for a long time.
“You think they look awful,” Jason interjects, fiddling with a pen that he’d picked up from Tim’s desk, “they’re ugly, how would anyone see past them, they scatter over your body in a disarray of patterns and it’s awful.”
Tim huffs and shakes his head in disbelief. Were they really having this conversation? What were his brother’s hoping to achieve from this?
“Huff all you want Tim but we’ve been there too. Maybe our experiences, thoughts and feelings were slightly different, but we’ve been through it too. Especially once we started seeing people…”
Dick’s gentle voice trails off and his words make Tim’s head snap up and he looks at his brother with wide eyes. How did he know that? Tim hasn’t told anyone that’s started to see someone yet, he wanted to wait for a few weeks to see how it goes before telling people.
“Well that confirms it Dickie!” Jason says, easing up the atmosphere in the room with his laughter. “Our little birdie is finally sprouting his wings and flying out of the nest.”
Tim pulls a face and turns to Jason. “What are you on about? I’ve dated before! That was a terrible attempt at a metaphor.”
Jason shrugs clearly not bothered by it, he then sends Tim an inspecting look. “Perhaps, and yet you’ve never been as besotted with them as you are now with the one you’re currently seeing. That, of course, meaning you’re naturally gonna care more about your appearance more than usual, meaning you’re going to judge your body and everything about it, including your scars.”
Well, that hits the nail right on the head doesn’t it.
Believe it or not, Tim sometimes forgets he’s surrounded by those who grew up under a detective and therefore have those analytical skills. It’s frustratingly annoying being able to be read like a book.
Not knowing what to say Tim places his head in his hands and groans loudly. Damn this stupid family. After a moment he takes a deep breath and recomposes himself before facing his brothers again. “Is that your roundabout way of telling me that you guys know I’m dating someone despite me not saying anything and now you want to know why I didn’t tell you?”
“Oh no.” Jason perks up on the chair and sends Tim a mischievous smile. “We’ve come here to tell you that your boyfriend is downstairs waiting for you.”
“What!” Tim shouts. He whips his gaze from Jason to look at the digital clock on the bedside table to see the time is much later than he realised. He’s late for his date! Tim had been getting ready for his date until he got distracted when he caught sight of his scars in his full length mirror, and then paired with talking to his brothers Tim’s manged to lose track of the time.
Ignoring the presence of his brothers Tim rushes around his room gathering the bits he needs and shoves them into his pockets as he goes. Once he’s got everything Tim rushes to his bedroom door but he’s stopped by a hand grabbing his bicep before he could leave.
“Tim,” Dick says catching his gaze. His brother sends him a gentle but firm look, his tone matching his expression. “Just remember that your scars aren’t anything to be ashamed of. Your boyfriend knows what you do, he won’t be scared off or disgusted by them because they’re apart of you and they help tell your story. He’ll understand, just talk to him about it.”
Tim swallows the lump that’s formed in his throat at Dick’s words. He knows what his brother is saying, but hearing and accepting them are two different things. He gently pries Dick’s hand off his arm and gives him a stiff nod. With that he heads for the door again and this time makes it out of his room but not in time to avoid hearing Jason shout, “Remember to wear a condom! Protection is vital!”
When Tim reaches his boyfriend he knows he’s as red as a tomato, he certainly doesn’t explain his flustered state to him even at the questioning look sent his way. The less he knows the better.
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foolsocracy · 18 days
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gotta add another noir variant to the gang
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doctorsiren · 3 months
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paint it over
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trans-dragon01 · 1 year
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It's not very good but I did a quick sketch of pre-transition trans kiri
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gurinpotte · 4 months
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love me in the snow, love me in the sun, love me, the beige skin among the flowers of red" ∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄∾⋄
Inspired in part by beloved Gravity, by @katnissmellarkkk and by Roi, by Videoclub! The song doesn't have the everlark vibes per se but the lyrics are so cute and very snapshot like. The fic is perfect, very natural paced and full of longing, 100% recommend!!! Please do zoom in for hi-res, gave my life and tears for this one 💖
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cheesecakethots · 7 months
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i LIVE for the angst of a yandere initially being fucking awful to their darling after taking them, and overtime changing and becoming more loving, as well has having newfound and immense regret for what they’ve done. it is literally my fave yan scenario.
tw // pretty heavy angst, mentions of noncon
i specifically imagine it for shigaraki, going from being this disgusting manbaby who treats his darling like they’re nothing but a toy for him to use, only to later realise how much he loves them and mature in how he treats them, making his regret for the past even stronger.
him trying to coax his darling into coming out on a date with him - they can go anywhere, he doesn’t mind, darling has free reign to choose what they do. he tries to be so soft and quiet in his tone, as though not to startle them.
it’s only when tears start forming in their eyes and they mumble, “have i been bad?” that he realises how badly his past self fucked up.
the only other time he really took them out was when he’d decided they needed a punishment, and had made them stand and watch as he disintegrated the first group of people they saw out. he had then fucked them against the alleyway wall, bodies still around them both, just to really get the point across.
he wishes he could take back everything, but he can’t. as of now, he needs to take baby steps in order to bring you out of the very same hole he once caved into your mind.
(i love regretful yans urm send me some thots about them pretty please)
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pigeonpeach · 4 months
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Too little too late <3
Summary: Diluc vs Jean x fem reader!
Did he really except you to wait? You had spent your life with the knowledge you would marry Dluc Ragvindr when you were of age. You grew alongside him and grew to like him. You two were close and you didn’t mind the arrangement and neither did he. But on his 18th birthday much happened to destroy those plans. His father died, he left the knights, he ran away with no explanation or even a note left for you his now worried fiancée. No answer when he’d come back or if he wouldn’t. To say you were stressed was a understatement.
That’s the thing about relationships, you’re not supposed to ditch your partner because you’re overwhelmed. You take a breather and talk to them about it. You had told him he could always talk to you about anything no matter what. And you advocated for him to do so, but he didn’t. He didn’t send you a letter in those 4 years he was gone. But who did was Jean Gunnhildr. Your parents rescinded the arrangement, they worried Diluc was too unstable to be wed currently. All without notifying him as they had no way to do so. Who was there to comfort you? Not Diluc but Jean. Jean who was already dealing with the fallout and such herself. Jean let you vent and cry in her lap as she visited you regularly. You two had always been close friends. You even joked you wished you could marry her instead. As a year passed with no word from Diluc you gave up your dream or expectation of his return. It was heartbreaking but necessary, you took the promise ring and gave it to Adelinde as you wished to focus on yourself rather than burden the worries of a man who wouldn’t even let you know if he was okay or not. Maybe it was wrong to hate him but the man left you high and dry with no explanation or anything to go off of! You had no choice but to assume you just weren’t important enough for him to even consider he was leaving you behind. Your heart was in pieces and you had to fix it yourself.
Come 4 years and Diluc returned to Mondstadt no longer recognizable as the man he used to be. A stoic and emotionless expression with eyes that made him seem bored more often than not. He didn’t blame you for not waiting for him. But he did notice how Jean seemed to accompany you alot now. Far more than ever. Even as she got busier would you accompany her to go out in town, your arm wrapped around hers. Maybe its wrong for him to be jealous but… he can’t help it. There’s even talks that you might end up her wife instead. Your parents don’t seem against that idea either. To them Diluc is a good businessman but Jean is slated to be the next in charge, which is a big upgrade. She’s proven to be devoted and steady even in the face of change and battle. Perhaps they consider him a coward, that is definitely cruel but they also saw how you desperately tried to reach out to him to no avail.
As for Jean however she’s always loved you. She always envied Diluc for the fact he’d get you someday. She grew up gritting her teeth in a smile each time she heard him mention your future wedding with him. She bared it for you, to stay close to you and stay your friend. When he left she swooped in to console you. She didn’t expect to earn your heart but she wasn’t complaining. She also worried about diluc even though he was her competition all these years. She couldn’t help but be upset at how he left you though. Sure the first months were understandable but he should’ve tried to at least clarify he was okay or something at some point. She can’t help but pull her darling closer when he tries to talk. She’s finally proven herself as a option to them and she isn’t going to back down now.
Its quite a predicament to be in.
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natalievoncatte · 8 months
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“What I did wasn’t personal,” Lena said.
Supergirl had already turned to face her. There were words formed on her lips, but Alex struck first, bringing her viper wit where it wasn’t needed or welcome.
“You had a stash of ‘Kills Kryptonians’. It’s personal,” said Alex.
Lena ignored her, looking directly at Supergirl.
“You know I’d never use it that way.”
“You kept secrets,” said Supergirl. “Secrets change things. I don’t like secrets.”
“Oh really,” Lena spat, knowing she’d regret what came next. “You don’t like secrets. Okay. What’s your real name?”
Alex flinched. Supergirl stared her down. Even in this miserable place, she was inhumanly beautiful, even if Lena was a little resentful that she’d been bitching about walking fifty yards a few moments ago, and making light of exercise, when she had the audacity to look like that.
The pause grew heavy. Something seemed to turn behind Supergirl’s eyes, like she was working something out. Her expression softened lightly.
“Why didn’t you come to me about Sam? I thought we trusted each other.”
“How can I trust you?” Lena said. “You still hold me at arm’s length, won’t let me in, only look for my help when it’s convenient for you. Maybe I should have sought your help, but it isn’t like I have you on speed dial, is it? What was I supposed to do, toss myself off a balcony and hope you were having coffee with Kara Danvers again?”
Supergirl flinched. Looking at Lena intently, she stepped closer, and Alex grew visibly nervous.
“Supergirl…” she said.
“You want to know my real name?”
“Yes,” Lena said, her voice suddenly unsteady, her palms breaking out in a sweat despite the cool, stale air. She stood her ground before a being that could level a mountain with a look and held her gaze.
“Kryptonian names are patronymics, sort of. A man’s name is his own and that of his family. So, for example, my cousin’s name is Kal-El. His father was Jor-El.”
“I knew that already,” said Lena. “Your cousin shared that an interview with Lois Lane.”
“He can share his because he has a name that was given to him by his adoptive family,” said Supergirl, her voice softening as she took another step closer. “I still use my Kryptonian first name.”
Something about that itched at Lena’s brain, but she wasn’t sure what.
“Supergirl,” Alex hissed. “You can’t… we can’t…”
Supergirl threw her a glance. “What? Trust her?” She looked at Lena. “My father was Joe-El’s brother, Zor-El. My mother’s name was Alura In-Ze.”
Lena licked her lips.
“They gave me the name Kara,” said Kara Zor-El. “On Earth, I accepted the surname of the family that took me in to raise me when my cousin gave me up to them. My full name is Kara Zor-El Danvers.”
Lena stumbled a step back, her mouth falling open comically. It felt like the ground was bursting open and swallowing her up, her stomach dropping through her knees.
No. No, no, no, no. It couldn’t be.
“Look at me, Lena.”
Lena looked away from her.”
“Look at me.”
Lena looked.
Lena saw.
Her hair was down, but Lena knew those honeyed curls. Supergirl carried herself differently- her shoulders were proud where Kara tended to hunch down, make herself small, as if to pass through the world without touching it.
Lena hadn’t really looked before. Not like this. She’d studied Kara, maybe even mooned over Kara a little until she seemed to confirm she was straight by dating that alien jackass. She knew every part of her face from her soft lips to her feel blue eyes to that funny little scar right over her eye.
How had she not seen?
“Fucking hell, Kara!” Alex snapped.
Lena’s lip trembled. She clenched her fists to keep her hands steady, knowing they were shaking.
“You tricked me,” Lena hissed, “so many times, so many ways, running off and changing into that suit when I thought you were both people. The super-speed, right?”
“I’m sorry,” said Kara, her voice soft. “Let’s just…”
“I wasn’t finished,” said Lena. “You… you told me you were having coffee with Kara, but you are Kara. Kara… you caught me when they threw me off the balcony. You risked being killed by a kryptonite explosion when Metallo went critical. You… you were… Jesus Christ, the plane, the chemicals, that was you?”
Kara’s eyes grew wider with every syllable and even in the gloom, Lena could swear she saw tears welling up within them.
“She’s risked her life for you over and over and over,” Alex said, quietly. “Her faith in you has only wavered the once. She’s always defended you and insisted on your innocence even when I was ready to throw you in a cell,” said Alex. “She defended you from the first. Shit, she defended you from Superman.”
Lena looked from one to the other, staring at them both in turn, trying to keep her wobbly legs from completely collapsing under her.
“I owe you an apology,” said Kara, raising her gaze to meet Lena’s.
“Can you two do this later?” said Alex. “We’re on a mission, here.”
Lena swallowed, hard.
“Yeah. Let’s go find Sam.”
They did find Sam, eventually, but the plan went sideways. After they were thrust back into their bodies, Supergirl -Kara- curtly told her to help Brainy while she and Alex rushed off.
So Lena helped brainy, until it was time for her to leave. Eventually, she made her way back to her penthouse, and to a glass of single malt, neat. She savored its subtleties as she stared out at the stars.
She knew this would happen sooner or later, so she wasn’t surprised when Kara touched down on the balcony, looking utterly stunning and brave and dashing in her fancy suit. She motioned to knock at the glass.
“It’s not locked.”
“Hi,” said Kara, stepping inside.
Lena looked up. “I can’t believe I didn’t see. You’re just… you, in a different outfit.”
That wasn’t exactly true, Lena knew. As she walked into Lena’s living room, Kara had neither the mousy, retiring way of Kara Danvers nor the brash swagger of Supergirl. It was like she was seeing a third person, one who’d been fully revealed for the first time.
“I’ve been going back and forth in my mind, trying to decide what parts of our friendship were real.”
“All of it,” Kara said.
“If my brother were here, he’d say that you befriended me to spy on me and use my resources and genius for your own ends.”
“That’s not true.”
Lena took a sip, and breathed in through her parted lips after swallowing to savor it.
“I know. He said the same thing about Jack, actually. Lex always tries to convince me that anyone else in my life is just after my name or money or body.”
Kara said nothing. Lena looked up.
“Just because he’s a madman who wants to gaslight me into being a supervillain doesn’t mean he’s always wrong. Does it?”
Kara swallowed, hard.
“You’ve been very insistent on being my friend,” said Lena. “You practically barged into my life and broke down all my barriers with your earnest kindness, but you were keeping yourself behind another one.”
“The first time I ever saw you, I knew in my heart that you were nothing like him,” said Kara. “I remember every detail.”
“In my office, with Kent.”
“No. In the helicopter. That was the first time I saw you.”
Lena swirled the dregs in her glass. “Oh. Right.”
“I just had to know you. You were compelling, and the way you treated me in your office that day was a huge part of that. You seemed so… I don’t even know how to describe it. I just knew I had to be close to you.”
A fit of pique moved her arm before she could contain herself, and Lena threw the glass. Kara snatched it from the air and placed it on the table without spilling a drop.
She was closer now, standing within arm’s reach.
“You can’t just say things like that to me,” Lena almost hissed, her voice loosened by the whiskey and the one before and the one before that.
“Why?” said Kara.
Lena looked up, swaying slightly.
“You told me your name.”
“I should have sooner. We could have worked together. We could have done a lot of things.”
“Fuck,” Lena snapped. “You’re doing it again! Knock it off?”
“Knock what off?”
“You goddamn well what,” said Lena. “Or maybe you really don’t.”
“I’m sorry,” said Kara. “I just don’t understand. Can you… do you want to tell me what you mean?”
“I… sit down.”
Kara swept her cape aside and sat primly in a side chair, folding her hands in her lap, worrying at the back of her thumb with her other thumb. God, she even had Kara’s mannerisms.”
“I’m gay,” said Lena.
Kara swallowed. “But… you were with Jack… and James… and you really seem to like the letter J,” Kara said, lamely.
“It’s called bisexuality, Kara. It’s a thing.”
“Oh, I um, I don’t really get ‘sexualities.’ On Krypton, we didn’t have sexual preferences. We didn’t choose our partners at all, everything was arranged.”
“That sounds awful,” said Lena.
Kara looked away. “It was our way and it worked. We had stable families, and most people had a kind of love. My parents loved each other.”
Lena sighed. “I wish I could say that. One of my parents didn’t love anyone but himself. Your sister is gay, Kara. How can you not understand it?”
“I understand that. I just find the whole thing confusing, and overwhelming. I keep looking for this spark that everyone talks about, and these ‘gut feelings’, but every time I think I’ve had it, it wasn’t right.”
“It seemed right with Mon-El. Oh. Oh Jesus. You banished your own boyfriend from Earth.”
Kara shook her head. “I know it did. I thought it did. I just never… it was the idea of him. I was checking a box. I was with him to have a boyfriend, not to have him. We’re really different people.”
“Why are we talking about this again?” said Lena.
Kara suddenly looked nervous, and thus even more like herself.
“I don’t know. It just seems to have happened. Kind of like our whole friendship. I never made a plan to be your friend. I never had an agenda. I just needed you in my life without knowing why. You just bring me joy.”
Lena wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream.
You big indestructible goof, that is the spark!
“I should have told you about me after Medusa. I should have trusted you then, but Alex talked me out of it. I didn’t push past when it counted. I know you doubt how much you mean to me now, and I’m so sorry I did that.”
“I’d never hurt you, ever,” said Lena. “Even if you weren’t Kara. But I could never hurt her. You.”
“I know.
“For what it’s worth,” said Lena. “I felt it too. That pull, that need to know you. That’s why I allowed you to get close to me instead of being bundled off by my security. I felt it from the first, that day you came to my office. I might have felt it a little during the helicopter crash, too.”
Kara nodded.
“I feel like there’s something we’re both not saying.”
Lena licked her lips.
“I have to stop the worldkillers. I have to save Sam. I have to fix it all. I just needed to talk to you first. See you first, see you again, just the two of us.”
Lena nodded, swallowing.
“I guess I should go.”
Lena wanted to tell her not to. To ask her to spend the night, change out of that ridiculous suit, to just be Kara and stay with her, but it dawned on her now that it could never be quite like that again. Kara was Supergirl and Supergirl had to be shared with the world.
“I want to help. I’ll come to the DEO.”
“Okay,” said Kara. “I’ll see you there.”
She stood up and walked to the balcony, pausing before she opened the door. She didn’t turn when she spoke, as if she was afraid to face Lena, to face the answer.
“Do you think, when this is over, we can try it again? Try to fix it?”
“Is that something you want?” Said Lena.
“That pull is still there.”
“I know,” said Lena. “I feel it too.”
Kara’s shoulders rose and fell, as if she’d just rolled a great burden from her back.
“Okay,” she said. “Okay. I’ll see you back at the DEO. Goodnight, Lena.”
“Goodnight, Kara.”
She slid the balcony door open and stepped out, pausing for just the briefest second before lifting off, sending a gentle gust of chilly night air rolling into Lena’s penthouse.
Lena let the breeze flow in for a while before she stood up and went to the door, meaning to close it. Instead, she stepped outside, leaning on the railing as the chill raised gooseflesh on her arms.
“I feel it, too.”
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skawdia · 1 month
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"It's clear we don't understand it, but the last thing on my mind is to leave you"
(Mika - Relax, Take It Easy)
Grand Duke Wyll and Spawn Astarion!
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awhitehead17 · 2 years
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Whumptober 2022: Day 14 - Die a hero or live long enough to become a villain
Prompt: Desperate Measures 
Summary: When Jason and Tim get stuck on a cliff edge surrounded by people whose been hunting them down for the last week, Jason comes up with a rather risky idea in order for them to escape. 
Enjoy! :D
There are only a few times in life that Jason has truly felt sheer terror.
It doesn’t happen very often because he’s not one to get scared easily, but in the past when that terror does come about, it’s usually for a pretty good reason. In every scenario where he has felt it he’s usually ended up nearly losing his life (and one time in particular when he actually did).
He gets hit with the same emotions now as he did in each of those past scenarios. This time, however, it’s not just him dealing with the situation, his younger brother is stood right beside him facing the same circumstances as he is.
With his protective instincts taking over, Jason nudges Tim behind him making sure to use his body as a shield so his brother isn’t a direct target. The two of them step back, taking in the squadron forming a semi-circle in front of them, all their weapons aimed, locked and ready to fire at them at any given notice. Jason curses. Even if they had their weapons they wouldn’t be a match for how many of the opposing side there are, especially with all the guns trained on them.
“Hood.”
The warning call that comes from behind him makes Jason glance backwards and he instantly sees what Tim was hinting at. Just inches away from them is the edge of the cliff they’ve been backed onto, a few more steps backwards then they would be tumbling down the mountain face.
He feels Tim grip onto the back of his jacket, probably both to act as an anchor as well as instinct in such a high stress scenario. “What do we do?”
The question is whispered and Jason doesn’t answer. He doesn’t know how to answer because he doesn’t know the answer. They’re backed onto the edge with absolutely nowhere to go. They either go with the agency who’s been hunting them down for the last week or they die trying to escape. He can’t believe they’ve come to point.
While on a mission across country they may have sort of accidently angered a secret service and for the last week they’ve been hunted down, eventually their luck of dodging and slipping away unnoticed ran out because now they’re trapped on a mountain side faced with a no win situation. Jason’s just rather glad they’re not facing Amanda Waller who would no doubt recruit them for her Suicide Squad.
Opposite them, the man in charge steps forward making him the centre of attention between Jason and Tim and the soldiers lined up. “Gentleman,” his voice his rough and has a thick French accent to it, “it seems like we have no choice but to come to an agreement no?”
Jason doesn’t answer him, although apparently it was a rhetorical question because the Frenchman starts rambling on about how much of a nuisance the two of them have been over the last week and how much paperwork they’ve caused.
While the guy drawls on Jason focuses on Tim behind him, he gives his brother a little nudge backwards. “Can you climb down?” He asks quietly, his helmet thankfully hiding the fact he's talking.
“What?” Tim whispers back, perplexed.
“Is there a way to climb down the mountain?” Jason almost hisses underneath his breath, “it’s either we go with them or we try to climb down.”
He feels Tim shift behind him and seconds later his brother answers, “there are small ledges leading downwards, it’s narrow, steep and sloped. All completely dangerous though.”
“Sounds like an average Tuesday. Start climbing, I’ll distract them and join you when I can.”
Tim immediately protests. “They’ll just shoot us Hood. It’s pointless.”
“No,” Jason argues, “they won’t because they want us alive. They wouldn’t have chased us as they have done only to kill us. Harm and wound us, perhaps, but not kill. Now go!”
Jason turns his attention back on the Frenchman who is still talking. He shifts his stance subtly making sure to cover Tim as much as possible. “Are you done yet?” He calls out, cutting off the man mid-sentence, “it’s getting late and I would very much like to go home. There’s a film on tonight y’know, actually you may recognise it! It’s got a boat and a shark who eats people in it, there’s a well known theme tune to it.”
The Frenchman stares at him like he’s insane. If the man couldn’t recognise that he's talking about Jaws then that’s his own fault. Jason sneaks a glance behind him to see the top of Tim's head disappearing below the rocks, he just needs a little bit more time…
“So mister Frenchman, you caught me. Now what? You gonna throw me into jail? I’ve been there done that. Gonna experiment on me? Also done that, I’d rather not experience that again if I can help it. Gonna sell me to an underground fighting ring? I can’t say I have done that but I’ve seen enough of them to know I don’t want any part of it.”
Considering how much the guy was speaking earlier, he doesn’t seem to have words now. Not that it matters because Tim is completely gone from view and Jason needs to make his move. Deciding that there’s no way of doing it easily, Jason simply turns and goes. Rather recklessly without any thought to it, he dives for the edge of the cliff and grips onto the rocks as firmly as he could to slow his fall as he goes over the side.
His fingers hook onto a well lodged rock and he swings down, ending up smacking into the wall underneath the edge he went over. His feet just about fit onto the narrow ledge Tim had been on about. Making sure he’s got his footing he starts shuffling downwards, quickly working out the safest yet quickest route to take. His brother is already several feet below him.
As he makes his way down Jason hears shouts and curses and when he glances up he finds the Frenchman peering over the edge glaring down at them with a frown. When some of his soldiers appear next to him, the Frenchman immediately turns their guns away, a clear indication that he doesn’t want them to shoot. Instead he orders the soldiers to climb down after them. Jason knows that they really ought to get a move on when the men start climbing over the edge following them down the mountain face.
Jason chases after Tim, watching where he places his hands and feet as he travels south. Soon enough he reaches Tim where his brother has taken a moment to rest on a small ledge, Tim’s currently looking down, probably analysing where to go next. Once he’s stood by him Jason takes a look too, not that there’s much to see.
On the mountain face there’s a few narrow ledges that could possibly act as a path although they look unstable. When Jason glances upwards, he spots that the soldiers are slowly closing in on them. They’re running out of time and need to make a decision in what to do next.
“We can keep going down but it’s unclear on how much further we can actually travel without just hanging on for life.” Tim comments with a frustrated huff. He runs a hand through his hair before crossing his arms.
Jason continues looking around, trying to come up with a quick solution. When an idea comes to mind, he instantly knows it’s a terrible idea but it may be the only one they have. Below them, far, far, below them is a large pool of water. It resembles a lake but Jason couldn’t be certain.
“Hood.” Tim calls his attention again, his gaze pointedly on the men chasing after them. “What do we do?”
“We jump.”
Tim's head whips around to face him and his mouth drops open in shock. “I’m sorry what? I think I must be mis-hearing things because I just thought I heard you say that we jump.”
“No you heard right,” Jason confirms, “we jump. Its either we go down, get caught on the mountain side and whatever else, we stay here and get caught, or we take out chances and jump.”
Tim vehemently shakes his head, protesting loudly at the idea. “Absolutely not! We have no idea how deep that water is. We could break our legs on impact. We don’t know what’s in it. Hell, we may not even survive the jump.”
Jason lets out a huff. He's not exactly a fan of the idea himself and he's the one who suggested it. “It’s either we take our chances and jump or get caught and probably tortured.”
“Stay right where you are!” A voice above them shouts and Jason becomes alarmed about how close they’ve suddenly gotten.
Jason turns to Tim. “Do what you want I’m gonna jump.”
“That’s such a stupid idea.”
Jason shrugs and backs up as far as he could on the ledge. Preparing to run and jump he shrugs. “Lets be honest I’ve had worse. And we don’t really have much choice here.”
With that Jason bounds forwards and takes a large leap off the edge. Then just like that he’s free falling towards the water and the ground below. The fall didn’t last long because within seconds his body is hitting the water and he’s submerged deeply, the water is cold and it shocks his system, the lake must be rather deep because he doesn’t even comes close to reaching the bottom and once he's stopped descending he starts pushing upwards, fighting to get up to the surface. As he’s swimming he feels a strong current hit him and just that knows Tim’s followed him into the water.
He breaks the surface easily and treads water as he looks around at his new surroundings, nothing but trees and a mountain face is at his eye level, however when he looks up he spots the soldiers looking down at him in either surprise or annoyance. Of course Jason couldn’t help but to give them the bird. Once his message has been received he starts swimming towards shore, this is when Tim breaks the surface, coughing and spluttering as he gets his wits together.
He spots Jason heading towards the shore and immediately follows but not without complaint.
“I am never going on a mission with you again Hood. That was awful. Absolutely dreadful you asshole.”
Jason laughs. “Well Timbo you’re more than welcome to be captured by the secret agents who have been hunting you down. You didn’t have to follow…”
“Fuck off.”
“Mature.” Jason snorts, fully knowing how hypocritical that sounds and not really caring about it.
As the two of them close in on the shore Jason sobers up, knowing that they’re going to need to make a plan on what to do from here on out. They need to work out how they’re going to go undetected the rest of the way, how they’re going to survive in the wilderness for who knows how long until they can get help to get home. It’s going to be difficult but they have no choice but to face it at full force.
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trash-inu · 3 months
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keep·sake
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leverage-ot3 · 5 months
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I’ve talked about this before but imagine what it’s like for someone in a country/place where eliot is Top Most Wanted and then your tech guy finds a breakout star baseball player on their visual scanner that looks EXACTLY like spencer. but…there’s no way that’s him, right???
and then the next year it happens again but this time it’s some one hit wonder country singer kenneth crane that has like 78 tween-run fangirl blogs dedicated to him. you see a grainy video of him being chased by a horde of screaming teenage girls and ??? no way Eliot Last Thing You’ll Ever See Spencer is a country singer star just. signing pictures of his face right…?
a few months later your intern shows you footage of an eliot lookalike who is in san lorenzo talking about how there is dog fighting in the presidential palace and you just. sigh. because of course. a scant few days later the political geography of the country changes drastically and damien moreau is imprisoned. …interesting
and then a year of silence goes by. he still shows up as blips on the radar but he must have a good hacker working for him because his tracks on the internet are expertly erased.
every time you ask through interagency channels some random interpol guy talks in (condescending?) riddles at you and it also somehow feels like he’s threatening you
and then your friend who recently got into foreign hockey teams sends you a dropyourgloves video of someone called jacques the bear. you immediately get a headache (and watch some more videos because even you can admit this guy is a good hockey player)
and you know he’s a Bad Guy but it’s been admittedly a bit entertaining seeing what claim to fame he will come upon next. and his most recent actions over the few years make you wonder.
a few months later your phone pings because multiple heads of state evacuated from DC. the reason? eliot spencer was in town. you hear two days later a bioterrorist was taken down by… the report was redacted. your hacker tells you spencer and two teammates were behind the successful operation. which, huh.
not even a full year later it is released that spencer is dead and… you don’t know how to feel.
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