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engie-ivy · 3 years

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Marlene’s little brother has a thing for Sirius, because who doesn't have a thing for Sirius? Marlene is freaking out, and everyone thinks it's just hilarious. Remus would've thought it was hilarious too, had Marlene’s little brother not been very close in age, cute, witty, and oh so bloody charming.

Somewhat longer fic that will be added to my Crush Confessions Series! 3756 words, so not that long. Wolfstar Fluff, of course😎

Muggle Charms

James Potter’s garden party is the event of the summer. Everyone gets together at the Potter estate for a day of listening to music, swimming in the lake (yes, there’s a lake on the grounds of the Potter estate), and playing friendly Quidditch matches. Mrs Potter walks around with all sorts of delicious foods, James and Sirius fly their brooms above the lake and make bets who dares to jump off from the greatest height, Mary and Emmeline are sunbathing and make bets who will need to be healed first.

It had started the summer after first year with just the four Marauders, but every year, their number has grown, and this year is the largest group thus far.

Marlene McKinnon is last to arrive, and, as usual, her arrival doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Everyone, come meet my little brother!” She shouts across the field.

The McKinnons have four children. Marlene’s mother and two of her siblings are Muggles, while the rest have magical abilities. Marlene’s sister is the oldest of the siblings. She’s a Muggle who works as a primary school teacher. Despite growing up with a father who’s a wizard, she has always felt slightly uncomfortable around magic, but she loves her family fiercely and is very protective over her younger siblings. As she’s much older than Marlene, she has always been more like a second mother.

Next comes Marlene’s older brother, who’s wizard, but has finished Hogwarts long ago. He now works in the Sales Department for a company that develops novel potions against levitation- and portkey-sickness. According to Marlene he’s a serious businessman by day, and a giant goofball by night.

Last is Marlene’s younger brother. He’s a Muggle, but where Marlene’s sister likes to pretend magic doesn’t exist, he thinks it mighty fascinating. He and Marlene are incredibly close, writing each other constantly and hanging out as often as they can when Marlene was home from Hogwarts. She has never brought him to James’ garden party, though. He works in the Food Service Industry, and the bright summer days on which James plans his parties are the days on which he most likely has to work. This year, however, he had managed to get the day off.

The first thing Remus thinks is that the McKinnons have good genes. He can’t really tell which of the two siblings is older, which means they must be very close in age. The boy has the same thick, blond hair and bright blue eyes as Marlene, as well as the same freckles from the sun. He’s short for a guy, barely taller than Marlene, but he’s quite muscular, with broad shoulders. All in all, Marlene’s younger brother is a very cute guy.

“Everyone, this is Miles!” Marlene says, when everyone has gathered around. “Let’s see... Here we have James Potter, he’s the host.”

Miles grins at James. “Some house you’ve got here, mate. Thanks for having me!”

James grins back and lifts his beer. “Cheers, mate!”

“James is Lily’s boyfriend,” Marlene says. “You’ve already met Lily-” Miles gives Lily a warm smile “-and of course you know Dorcas.”

“Hullo Dorky.”

“Hiya Miley.”

“And here we have my other girls, Alice Fortescue, Mary McDonald and Emmeline Vance.” Marlene points each of the girls out, and Miles gives them all a friendly nod.

“And these two are the Prewetts, Fabian and Gideon- don’t worry about who’s who, none of us actually knows.”

“Oi!”

“And this is Caradoc Dearborn, and this Benjy Fenwick, so miraculously you’re not the shortest guy here.”

“Marlene!”

“And here we have the rest of the renegades, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black.”

The chance in Miles is instant.

The polite smile he was wearing turns into a coy smile, as he gives Sirius a not-so-subtle once-over, though Remus doesn’t think it was ever meant to be subtle. Miles takes a step forward towards Sirius. “Well, hello there.”

Remus can’t blame him. He would’ve reacted the same had he been in Miles’ position (alright, maybe he would’ve turned into a blushing, stuttering mess and forget his own name if he were suddenly faced with a guy like Sirius, instead of step forward with an enticing smile and flirtatious greeting, but that’s beside the point). Sirius looks bloody amazing. His swimming trunks are clinging to his legs, and his damp hair is hanging over his bare chest, with little droplets dripping down his muscular body.

Sirius grins knowingly at Miles. “Hi.”

Marlene’s head whirls around from Miles to Sirius to Miles and back to Sirius, so fast Remus worries she might get a whiplash.

“No,” she says. “No, nope, uh-uh, absolutely not. Not. Happening. No.”

She steps between her brother and Sirius, facing the latter, and jabbing a finger against his chest. “You are not going to try anything on my little brother, got it?”

Sirius holds up his hands and takes a step back. “I only said hi.”

Marlene looks at him suspiciously, like she suspects Sirius saying hi is some sort of secret seduction technique (which would actually explain a lot).

“C’mon Marls.” Miles moves to stand next to his sister, and throws an arm over her shoulder. He winks at Sirius. “We all just want to have a good time, don’t we?”

Marlene’s face is getting more red by the second. Her fingers are clutching her cardboard plate, causing it to rumple. She’s clenching her jaw, while intently staring at the pair a bit further on the field.

“I can’t bloody believe it,” she hisses. “If Black thinks I’ll let him hook up with my little brother, he has another thing coming!”

Miles had managed to catch Sirius when he went to grab a drink, and they have been chatting apart from the rest of the group for about half an hour now, to Marlene’s great distress, and everyone else’s amusement. Well, everyone else except for Remus, but he thinks he’s been hiding it quite well.

Remus doesn’t know how the guy does it, but Miles somehow manages to stand closer and closer to Sirius. He’s looking up at him through his lashes, with those big blue eyes and that damned smile, sometimes even going as far as to bite his lip. Sirius has definitely been blushing at some point!

While Remus is the only one who can emphasize with Marlene’s distress over the situation, he really doesn’t like how she’s blaming it all on Sirius, while evidently its her brother who’s acting like a little minx.

“Honestly, Marlene,” Lily says, shaking her head. “Didn’t you talk to Miles about there being an incredibly hot, single gay guy present?”

Remus agrees. Marlene should’ve known what would happen when she decided to introduce her brother to Sirius! You cannot bring him here knowing Sirius is looking like he does, and expect him not to react!

Marlene huffs indignantly. “My little brother is a precious angel who’s not interested in such a thing as ‘hot, single men’!”

Lily looks at Miles and Sirius. Miles seems to be laughing at something Sirius said, and touches his upper arm while doing so, letting his hand slide down Sirius’ bicep. Lily turns her head back to Marlene and raises her eyebrow.

Marlene just folds her arms over her chest and pointedly looks away.

Later, when Miles reaches up to brush a strand of hair from Sirius’ face, Marlene’s face has taken on a more purple colour. By this time, she has started angrily chewing on her cardboard plate.

Luckily, everyone’s too busy making fun of Marlene to notice Remus looks like he’s going to be sick.

Normally, a day at the Potter estate flies by, but Remus is positive this day lasts at least three times as long. But Remus has been getting through it. He hopes that after today, he won’t see Miles McKinnon of ever again. Well, he mostly hopes Sirius won’t see Miles McKinnon ever again, he can admit that . To himself, that is.

Currently, he’s sitting down with James, having a butterbeer. Just when he thinks he might make it through these last hours without further additions to his misery, Marlene comes striding their way, Dorcas on her heels.

“Potter,” she says, stopping in front of them and placing her fists on her hips. “You’ve got something I need, and I want it now!”

“Sorry McKinnon,” James says with a smirk. “I’m a one woman man.”

“In your dreams, you wanker,” Marlene snaps. “You’ve got an Invisibility Cloak, no?”

James takes off his glasses and starts polishing them with his robes. “I may or may not possess such a thing.”

Marlene rolls her eyes. “After seven years of going to school with you, I think I can safely say that you do. Well, I need you to use it. Miles asked Black to take him on a tour around the lake.” She scrunches up her nose. “And you have to follow them so you can report back to me whether Black has kept his paws off of my little brother!”

“More the other way around,” Remus mutters, but Marlene hears and glares at him.

“My sweet and innocent little brother would never do such a thing! He simply... wants to see the surroundings and needs Black for directions.”

Dorcas throws her head back and cackles loudly. “The only directions your ‘sweet and innocent little brother’ is interested in, is the fastest way to get into Sirius Black’s pants!”

Marlene directs a deadly glare at her.

Just when Remus thinks at least Dorcas knows what she’s talking about, she continues. “C’mon Marls, Miles can make his own decisions. Let the boys have some fun!”

Let the boys have some fun? That’s not a good idea! That’s the opposite of a good idea! That’s a terrible idea!

“Well,” Remus says, managing to sound surprisingly calm. “We’re on Mr and Mrs Potter’s property, and Miles has only just been introduced to the gang. I mean, he and Sirius barely know each other. I’d say it’d be rather inappropriate if something happens between them here and now. You don’t want Marlene’s brother to give off the wrong impression.”

James sighs. “What if I lend you the Invisibility Cloak, and you can follow them yourself?”

“Oh, no!” Marlene holds up her hands and takes a step back. “There are certain things I don’t ever want to see my little brother do, or hear my little brother say. If I were to... accidentally stumble upon them, I’d either have to Obliviate myself, or be scarred for life.”

Remus snorts. Not so sure about her brother being so innocent after all, is she?

“Well, Padfoot’s my brother!” James argues.

“Remember when I put in a good word for you with Lily, and finally got her to agree to go on a date with you?” Marlene plays her final card, and effectively.

“Fine!” James puts down his butterbeer and gets up. “Remus, let’s go.”

“What? Me? Why?”

“Because you got me into this, Mr ‘it’d be inappropriate’. And besides, I’ll feel like some perverted Peeping Tom spying on them alone.”

“So better to have two Peeping Toms?” Remus argues, but he knows it’s an argument he’s not going to win.

That’s how Remus finds himself in the place he wants to be least of all, crouched down under the Invisibility Cloak with James, and, after casting a quick Silencio over their footsteps, following on Sirius and Miles on their ‘casual, totally not romantic, definitely not a date’ stroll.

“-and once I’ve gained enough experience, I’d like to come back to London and open my own restaurant!” Miles finishes.

“That’s amazing, Miles!” Sirius exclaims. “I’ll definitely frequent!”

“As long as you don’t expect any free food just because you’re so handsome,” Miles teases.

Sirius gasps in pretend-shock. “I would never use my looks for such purposes!”

“Right,” Miles chuckles. “You be careful, Sirius Black. A face like yours is a powerful weapon.”

“Wow,” James whispers admiringly. “He’s good!”

Remus grits his teeth. Of bloody course Miles McKinnon is all charming and smooth, chatting Sirius up.

“What about you?” Miles asks. “What are your plans for the future, now that you’re some kind of strong and powerful wizard?”

“I’m starting my Healer training soon!” Sirius beams, and Remus can’t help but smile at the pride in his voice.

“That’s... like a doctor, right?” Miles asks.

“Yeah,” Sirius replies. “But without the cutting people open.” He shudders. “Definitely no cutting people open.”

“Oi!” Miles protests, bumping his shoulder against Sirius. “Doctors cut people open to save lives, you know. They don’t do it for a laugh.”

“I’m sorry!” Sirius quickly says. “I didn’t mean to offend. It’s actually very impressive what Muggle doctors can do without magic, and the things they’ve come up with! I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Miles says, glancing at Sirius. “Don’t worry about it.”

Sirius smiles sheepishly. “Sorry. It’s just... I was raised in this really conservative pureblood Wizarding family. I’m always afraid I’ll say something Muggle-phobic without realising.”

“It’s okay, it wasn’t that bad, honestly.”

“Good,” Sirius says, relieved. “I’m just... trying to be better.”

Miles smiles softly at him. “Just the fact that you’re trying already makes you better.”

They walk in comfortable silence for a moment, until Miles speaks again. “That must’ve been hard though, growing up in a family like that. Marlene already mentioned you’re living here now. Is that why?”

Sirius nods. “I ran away from home the summer before. Best decision I’ve ever made.” There’s a tightness in his voice, though, and an emotion in his eyes that makes Remus want to run towards him and pull him into a hug.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Miles says sincerely. Then he gives Sirius a teasing smile. “Though I must say, it’s a good look on you, the whole ‘sexy rebel’-thing.”

Sirius barks a laugh, and the pained expression slides off his face. “Well, I’m glad my issues at least fit my anaesthetic!”

Remus doesn’t know whether he wants to bless Miles McKinnon for being able to turn Sirius’ mood around and make him smile, or whether he wants to curse Miles McKinnon for being able to turn Sirius’ mood around and make him smile.

“I bet you love provoking your family, don’t you?” Miles asks.

“That might just be my most favourite pastime,” Sirius replies sincerely.

Suddenly, Miles stops walking, so Sirius stops as well and turns back to face him.

Miles takes a step towards him. “I bet it would really provoke your family if you were to make out with a boy, a Muggle boy at that.”

Sirius swallows and his face slightly flushes. “That... That’ll definitely do the trick, yeah.”

Miles comes even closer, now almost standing chest-to-chest with Sirius, and he tilts his head up and leans in.

James still looks mighty impressed with Miles’ flirting tactics, while Remus wonders if the sound of his heart shattering might give them away.

Suddenly, Sirius steps back. “Wait, stop. I... I can’t.”

Miles looks disappointed, but not too shocked. “Why not?” He asks. Then he jabs his finger against Sirius’ chest, much like his sister did earlier. “And I swear to god, Sirius Black, if it’s because I’m a Muggle you can stick that wand of yours up your-”

“No, no, no!” Sirius quickly says, whilst letting out a breathless laugh. “It’s not you, really, it’s me.”

Miles gives Sirius a stern look, while placing his fists on his hips, making Remus wonder whether they’re sure Marlene and Miles aren’t twins. “If you’re gonna give me that lame excuse, at least elaborate what it is about ‘not me, but you’ that makes you reject me. I mean, I’m not proposing a marriage here!”

Sirius sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “There’s... someone else. I mean, there’s not really, I don’t have someone else, but I have feelings for someone else. So therefore this-” He gestures between himself and Miles. “Just doesn’t feel right.”

Remus exchanges a look with James, who looks just as stunned as he is by this information.

Miles, though, just folds his arms over his chest and looks at Sirius thoughtfully for a moment. “So, Lupin then?”

Remus freezes. What? Him? Oh no. He’s not sure he can bear to hear Sirius’ denial. ‘Lupin? Remus? No, of course not! What in Godric’s name gave you that idea? Why the hell would I fancy Remus?’

However, Sirius just sighs and looks down at his shoes. “I’m that obvious, huh?”

Remus stares dumbfounded. It’s... true? He feels an eruption of butterflies in his stomach. Well, he always feels some butterflies when he sees Sirius, but now it’s like all those butterflies had babies, and those babies had babies again, creating an immense flutter.

“Nah,” Miles says. “If I had known for sure, I wouldn’t have made a move. I only had a suspicion, but I decided to take a chance anyway. I’m not too surprised by this turn of events, though.”

“It’s really the only reason,” Sirius says. “Because you’re bloody great, you know that? You’re gonna make some guy really happy one day. Anyone would be lucky to have you.”

Miles groans. “ ‘Its not you, it’s me’, ‘anyone would be lucky to have you’. Shall we go before you start telling me we can still be friends?”

Sirius grins. “Normally I’d suggest we at least pretend to have had a good snog, just to see if Marlene’s face can get any more purple, but I don’t want to give Remus the wrong impression. Not that he’d care,” he adds with a mutter.

Miles stops walking again. “What? Are you seri- No, Marlene warned me not to say that. Really?”

Sirius just blinks at him.

Miles shakes his head. “I mean, you asked if you were being obvious, well, you were nothing compared to Lupin. Although, that could just be me. I couldn’t help but notice when he’s looking at me like he wants me to catch fire every time I come near you. Wait. You wizards can actually do that, can’t you?”

Remus huffs. He wouldn’t have actually set Miles on fire! At least he doesn’t think so.

Sirius frowns at Miles. “You must be mistaken. Remus is nothing but pure kindness! He always makes everyone feel welcome! You can’t help but like Remus!”

A warm feeling spreads through Remus’ chest.

Miles just looks at Sirius, shaking his head. “You’re actually in love, aren’t you?”

Sirius blushes and looks away.

“Well,” Miles says. “You should tell him how you feel. He clearly feels the same. Then you can both stop this pining.”

James, who just had to process the shock of one of his best friends fancying another one of his best friends, now has to process the shock of his best friends fancying each other. He’s staring at Remus, and consequently trips over a rock. He does manage to catch is balance, but he lets out a loud yelp.

Miles stares at the empty spot behind them on the path, surprised, but Sirius’ eyes narrow in suspicion. He lifts his wand, and the next moment a gush of wind blows the Invisibility Cloak off of Remus and James.

To his credit, Miles recovers pretty quickly from seeing two people appear seemingly out of nowhere, including the person they were just talking about. He blinks a couple of times, then says “I suppose this works as well.”

Remus and Sirius are just staring at each other.

“Uhm...” James says. “I was sent here by miss McKinnon to escort the younger McKinnon back to the estate.” Because apparently awkward situations make him talk like he’s an eighteen century nobleman. “Off we go, young lad.”

Miles doesn’t protest when James grabs his arm and starts dragging him away, but he does turn around to give Sirius a thumbs up.

“We were sent here by McKinnon,” Remus quickly says, when he and Sirius are alone. “She wanted to know if anything would happen between you and her brother.” Remus takes a deep breath. “And maybe I wanted to know if anything would happen between you and him myself as well,” he says softly.

“Were you jealous?” Sirius asks. It sounds curious, not angry, judgemental or smug, just curious.

Still, Remus can’t help but pout, and he looks away. “Of course I was jealous. Bloody Miles McKinnon, with his big blue eyes, batting those ridiculously long eyelashes at you, and being all cute, and witty, and charming.”

“You know, if you want Miles to snog you instead, you should hurry and you can probably still catch him,” Sirius says irritably.

“No!” Remus quickly says. “No. I just mean, I wish it was me. When he calls you handsome, when he brushes your hair away from your face, when he leans in to kiss you... I wish it was me doing those things.”

“Why don’t you?” Sirius whispers, staring at Remus intently.

“Because!” Remus says desperately. “Because I know how to be your friend, but if I even think about flirting with you, I turn into an awkward, rambling mess.”

The only thing that can possibly be going through Sirius’ mind right now is how the hell he let the sexy, confident, flirtatious boy walk away, to be stuck with the flustered heap of awkwardness that is Remus Lupin.

Remus stares down at his shoes. “I mean, I like you a lot, and also because I feel comfortable around you, I do, but when it comes to flirting, I suddenly get scared that you’ll laugh at me or something. I even think it’d be easier if you weren’t my friend, if we didn’t know each other so well. Then maybe I could-”

Remus stops talking when Sirius gently cups his cheek and tilts his head up. Slowly, ever so slowly, he leans in, giving Remus enough time to pull away had he wanted to. Which, for the record, he absolutely doesn’t. Sirius presses their lips together. And it’s...

Well, it’s not awkward at all.

It’s fireworks, and symphonies, and the sun breaking through the clouds. It’s a sense of belonging, and knowing all is right with the world, and a feeling of coming home.

Both boys are a little out of breath when they pull back, more because of the intense emotions than because the kiss had been that passionate.

“See?” Sirius smiles at Remus. “If I want you to stop rambling, I can always just... interrupt.”

“Rude,” Remus mutters, before pulling Sirius back into another kiss.

#my tumblr writing #crush confessions #wolfstar #wolfstar fanfiction #wolfstar fic #marauders #marauders fanfiction #marauders fic #sirius black #remus lupin #remus x sirius #james potter #marlene mckinnon #wolfstar fluff

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masterhandss · 3 years

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May I ask, what happens in the short stories included in the Hamefura manga volumes? (e.g. highschool AU, kindergarten AU, genderbend AU, etc.)

Well, okay! I'm not good at summarizing stuff, so sorry in advance! I'm also writing these without rereading the Bonus SS so there may be small inaccuracies in these summaries. Some of these are gonna be longer than others depending on how much of I still remember lmao

I still suggest everyone go buy the manga volumes and give them a read, these extra chapters are so fun it makes me wish the anime fillers are always these wacky and entertaining (in fact I had to put writing this on hold because Season 2 adapted one of these, kinda XDD)

// spoilers for the hamefura manga volume bonus ss/special oneshots

Volume 1 - Untitled

Bakarina wakes up and realizes that she has no control over her body. She is confronted with a familiar scene of Katarina bullying Maria in Fortune Lover, and realizes that she's experiencing it from a first person point of view: through Katarina's eyes. She comments on how cruel Katarina is and explains the different ways she'd treat Maria differently, until Keith and Geordo arrive to save Maria. Bakarina feels unnerved and saddened by the angry and hateful looks that Keith and Geordo are giving her (Well it's Katarina, but Bakarina feels like they are look at her), and nervously wakes up from the dream. It is revealed that the dream took place some time before her arrival at the Magic Academy, and that she vows to work hard not to fall into a Bad End so that she'll never receive such hateful looks and be scorned by the otome game characters who she now considers to be her closest friends.

Volume 2 - Doom Route★Private School

Katarina gets awoken by Anne telling her that she needs to get ready to school. Katarina is surprised to find out that she has a school uniform and that she'll be heading to school in a fancy car. Anne tells Katarina that Keith won't be coming with her because he's already at school. When she gets there, she gets greeted by Keith who is part of the School's Disciplinary Committee. She is also greeted by Geordo, the SC President and his twin brother Alan, the Secretary. Keith's job is to check everyone's uniforms, so he reprimands the twins for their custom uniforms. Geordo tells him that he'll just have the rule changed, and that Keith's uptight attitude is why he doesn't have a girlfriend. This is how Katarina finds out that the engagement between Geordo and her is a verbal agreement between families, so she's technically engaged to him but it's not official.

After meeting up with all her friends, Katarina enters the classroom to find it looking just like her old one in Japan. She finds that she had scribbled doom flag avoidance plans on her desk and notebooks, and realizes that she's still in an otome game. Maria then enters and is introduced as the new scholarship student, and Katarina runs out to read her notebook. Everything is the same, from capture targets to rival characters , except the setting is a modern. Katarina finds out that her bad ends only lead to her getting either expelled and transferred or getting a restraining order. Katarina becomes confident in befriending Maria, and enthusiastically plans to enjoy her new life in a modern school. The chapter ends with Katarina buying lots of melon bread from the cafeteria, and wakes up form the dream before she could eat it.

Volume 3 - My Next Life in a Fantasy RPG

Katarina is awaken by Miri, who tells her that she is late and that she needs to eat breakfast. Katarina dresses up and realizes that her clothes looks like a cute outfit form an RPG. After being greeted by her father and being given a simple japanese breakfast (which made a bit emotional), Miri scolds her and tells her to hurry since she and Keith needs to check up on a few things before they leave. When Katarina asks where they are going, Luigi tells her that she and Keith are headed on a journey to become heroes and defeat the demon lord. She is told that they are the two chosen from the village as representatives. Katarina, being confused about being in an RPG-like world instead of an otome-line one, realizes that she is in a dream and is excited to play a heroine role in the fight against the monsters. Katarina is awoken by Keith during their carriage ride, and told that they were at the castle. Despite being representatives of their village, they still need to be selected as a true hero. She asks on how they were selected as the representative, and Keith tells her that it's done by lottery. Katarina admires the RPG-style outfits of everyone in the crowd, before the high priest arrives and announces the details of the selection.

Everyone is divided into small groups and left to face monsters in order to assess their abilities. Katarina, who has never fought before, is scared of the task because she's never fought monster before. Unlike Keith who looked like a knight, her weapon is a hoe. She asks the officiate beside her if she can just eliminate herself and watch from the side, to which Keith sighs in disbeliefs and the man giggles at the confession. As the officiate yelled at the sight of a world, everyone got ready for battle. While Katarina admired the fight from afar, she realized that something else was growling besides the wolf. Timeskip to hours later, Katarina was selected as a hero with the title of "Monster Tamer", and the officiate reveals himself to be Prince Geordo and asks to be a part of her party. As Katarina and her party march on to face the demon king, they encounter a witch, who reveals herself to be Miri with a book of manners. Katarina then wakes up from the dream.

Volume 4 - Dreamland Genderbender

Katarina wakes up to the sight of a male butler waking her up to tell her that she is late for school. When she asks him who he is, he says that he is Anne, Katarina's faithful butler. Katarina realizes that Anne is a man, and that she isn't a she, but a HE! Katarina freaks out at the fact that he is a man and realizes that there is something on his waist that definitely shouldn't be there. Before Katarina could ponder about it for too long, Anne helps him prepare for school. He gets greeted by Keith, and he becomes overwhelmed by how cute (and yet somehow very Keith-looking) she was. When they got to the Academy, Katarina is greeted by Geordo and Alan, who are princesses instead of princes. Due to the fact that everyone's names were still the same despite being gender-switched, she realizes she's in a dream and plays along. Mary greets Katarina good morning, and Katarina notes how gentlemanly and dashing he looked. Katarina was then greeted by Nicol, whose smile was so lovely it made everyone blush. As she pondered on whether the female Nicol was more charming than her male counterpart, Sophia greets Katarina.

On their way to class, Katarina looks into a window and feels bad about how mostly the same he looked despite being a boy. Geordo clings onto his right arm as she tries to lead him to class (emphasizing her chest while doing so, which Katarina notes as being possibly bigger than Mary's), while Keith takes the other arm and gets angry at the princess for her behavior. Katarina is overwhelmed by Keith's adorable height, and lets go of both of them to hug her. Geordo takes a hold of Katarina, vocalizing his jealousy over his touchy-ness with Keith and demands the same treatment because they are engaged and because she is much more attractive than Keith. The argument between Geordo and Keith becomes heated, discussing whether or not a huge chest is much more attractive in a woman. Alan doesn't want to be a part of it, and Nicol stops their discussion as it is embarrassing to hear for the other students. Katarina doesn't know how to react since she is a boy in this situation. When they get to the classroom, they are greeted by Maria, which prompts Katarina to contemplate on what the differences are in the world now that they all swapped genders. When they get to student council room, Katarina compliments Raphael on how small and adorable she looks, bringing back the heated discussion between the girls about chest sizes. Katarina shouts that he has no preference, and then wakes up from the dream.

Volume 5 - Doom Route Kindergarten

Anne introduces herself as a daycare worker at Doom Route Kindergarten, and awaits the arrival of the students. First car arrives with Geordo and Alan, children from a well-off family. Anne is asked to take care of the two, who she nicknames "Sebastian the Butler". Anne notes on how well mannered the two are, and how they are apparently children of a government figure. Next car arrives with Mary, who is a the very feminine fashionista among the children, who loves flowers and fashion. Next car arrives with Nicol and Sophia, who were admired by the staff because their loving parents drop and pick them up from school themselves. Nicol is rumored to be a future seducer by the staff, and Anne notes on how they used to never interact with other children until recently. Next comes a woman on a bike, revealing herself to be Maria's mother who is there to drop Maria off. Despite being the daughter of a normal company employee, Maria was able to enroll into a private kindergarten through a scholarship due to her talent in baking despite her young age. Maria used to have a hard time adjusting to being a school for rich kids, but she had become more enthusiastic about school more recently.

When Maria asked Anne if Katarina will like the treats she made, on cue, another car arrives. Miri angrily drags a half asleep Katarina out of the car, reprimanding her for napping as soon as she finished eating breakfast. Miri apologizes for her daughters rudeness, and Anne replies that she's used to it. Anne tries to wake up Katarina by telling her that Maria made treats for her, which works and jolts Katarina awake. Katarina constantly clings onto Anne and asks her to play with her, while the other children tries to get Katarina to play with them instead. Anne notes how happy she is that Katarina likes her so much, even if she gets glared at by the children as a result. After receiving so much offers of different activities to do, Katarina settles on challenging Alan, which everyone follows them to. Anne runs after them telling them not to climb any trees again. After that, Katarina wakes up from the dream.

Volume 6 - Magical★Girl Flag Breakers

I already made an attempt to translate this chapter, since Manga Volume 6 has yet to come out in english, so I suggest reading it! I'll still summarize it though I guess

Katarina is on her way to school, running with a cucumber in her mouth, until she accidentally bumps into what looks like a small doll. The doll talks back to her, making her realize that it is sentient. Katarina and the doll, who reveals himself to be Raphael the Spirit, have a quick banter that escalates into a discussions about the nature of spirits and the danger that the planet will soon face. As Raphael finishes his explanation, monsters summoned by the evil organization began to attack in a nearby park. Katarina and Raphael checks it, and finds a giant stuffed bear rampaging. Katarina attempts to flee, but Raphael asks her to help him. In a panic, Katarina says yes, and the two form a contract. Katarina transforms into a magical girl and attempts to fight the monster. Despite being confused, she was able to win, and thus beginning her journey as a magical girl.

Timeskip to a few weeks/months later, Katarina mentions that she had found more magical girls among students in her school which includes Mary from the Gardening Club, Sophia from the Literature Club and Maria from the Student Council. The three were recruited by a spirit named Anne. The four are close friends who walk together to school. During one of their walks, they are interrupted by Geordo, one of the Four Kings of Ruin who are part of the Evil Organization. Mary, Sophia and Maria get angry at him for ruining the moment between the girls, and Geordo calls upon his allies in order to be alone with Katarina. From the sky descends the other members of the Four Kings: Alan, Keith and Nicol. Rather than being excited for battle, the three instead berated Geordo for calling them during their free time. Geordo asks them to fight off the other three girls so that he can be alone with Katarina, but instead they interact with Katarina whom they have already met prior. In the end, Geordo is arguing with Mary and Sophia, Alan and Keith are flushed in the corner at the sight of Katarina, and Nicol and Maria are sharing food (since he dropped his pasta after being summoned by Geordo). Katarina wonders if she really is a magical girl since they haven't actually been fighting whenever they encounter each other, and then wakes up from the dream.

Rereading this now, I may have made these summaries a little too long... I hope this doesn't discourage anyone from reading the Bonus SS yourselves!! Please read them, they are so funny and good!!

Detective Katarina's Office isn't available yet, I might edit this post when that drops.

Thank you for the ask (help my fingers hurt from typing jshdfg)

#mh ask #hamefura #my next life as a villainess #bakarina #destruction flag otome #long post #katarina claes #keith claes #geordo stuart #alan stuart #mary hunt #maria campell #sophia ascart #nicol ascart #anne shelley #raphael wolt

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whitedahlia13 · 3 years

Text

A Breath Between Us

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Characters: Stiles + Lydia, Scott McCall

Chapter 11: The Only Exception

December 21, 2007

It’s the last day of autumn, but winter has already made its presence known in Beacon Hills. The air is crisp and frigid. Signs of transition are everywhere. The trees are practically bare, with only handfuls of sepia leaves still clinging to their branches, edges tipped with frost. Patches of diminishing golden-green grass peek through a light dusting of snow and piles of fallen leaves. The sun is low in the sky, glowing amber against a break in the dense cover of clouds.

Eleven-year-old Lydia is gingerly making her way home from school, favoring her right ankle. A billowing haze of exhale mists in front of her eyes as she huffs with irritation while looking down at her shoes – silver Mary Janes with two-and-a-half-inch high heels and ankle straps. They were an early Christmas gift from her mother and the perfect complement to her new dress, so Lydia decided to wear them for the class holiday party. She practiced her balance for weeks and was steady on her feet for the entire day…until she slipped on a patch of ice, barely one block into her walk home.

Now, she is hobbling along the sidewalk, weighed down by the heaviness of her wool coat, schoolwork, and a few extra books she borrowed from the library to read over the vacation. It’s so cold that her ears are beginning to numb, and she still has a long way to go. Angrily, she fights tears that seem determined to spill over her eyelashes, leaving trails of icy wetness on her cheeks. She blots the intrusive droplets with the tips of her fingers, flicking them onto the sidewalk with disdain. After adjusting her shoulder-bag, she tugs at the sides of her ivory-colored knit beret to cover the exposed skin of her ears. She willfully tilts her head up and moves forward, treading directly on top of the remnants of her teardrops which have moistened the pavement, leaving the unwanted evidence of her pain behind her.

Eleven-year-old Stiles and Scott are riding home from school on their bicycles. Just as they are about to approach their first turn off the main road, Stiles sees a familiar flash of strawberry-blonde out of the corner of his eye.

Lydia.

His heart speeds up as he follows her movement with his gaze, but his stomach drops when he realizes that something is wrong. She is walking very slowly, and he is sure she is trying to hide the fact that she is limping…even though there is hardly anyone around. When Stiles notices that she is wiping her eyes, he skids to a stop and lowers his feet to the ground for balance.

“Hey, Scott. I’ll…uh…I’ll catch up with you later. Okay?” Stiles says, zipping up his grey puffer jacket.

Scott is a few feet behind. “Huh? Why?” he fumbles, still sucking on the remnants of a gumdrop he had been enjoying. Gradually slowing his bike, he pulls up next to Stiles, who nods his head in Lydia’s direction.

“Look.”

“What? Lydia?” Scott asks, coming to full stop. “Dude, you gotta stop that! There is a line between crushing on her and being a stalker, you know,” he teases with raised eyebrows and a huge grin.

Stiles gives his best friend a jab in the shoulder, narrowing his eyes before responding, “Yes, I’m aware, but look... She’s hurt. I’m gonna go help her.”

Read More: ao3 & fanfic

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dndwithsuperbestfriends · 3 years

Text

SESSION 10

This will mostly have illustrations by me because Larkspurs player wasn’t involved because her side quest was a day ahead of us.

Now that Doorune is dead, we continue through the evil underground lair and explore a bit - we find a hatch that leads into the lake, some supply rooms with rotting foods, and a ladder that leads to a sewer grate of a street in Laketowns shipyard district. We keep this in mind for when we’ll have to leave later.

So after going through most of Monroe’s evil unground lair, we come to the secret room in the back that seems to be his evil underground office. He isn’t there, there's just a bunch of treasure and a mahogany desk.

After the incident with the exploding the desk, Leswen, Erindur and Rocks stay in the hallway while Frank and Belladonna investigate the room.

While Belladonna looks around the treasure for Monroe’s shard, while Frank tries to figure out the desk. Turns our the desk is some kind of puzzle with mechanisms to unlock the drawers. He takes time to figure out; in the drawers there is nothing, except the top one has an unopened letter.

He opens the letter, and inside there is only a calligraphed phrase;

W A S T E D

“Knowledge is power.”

Suddenly, we hear clicks from the hallway walls and a bunch of explosions - it turns out the desk was a trigger to set off the self-destruct of the underground dungeon. Water begins rushing in through the collapsing walls.

It was a trap. Monroe knew the party was coming.

The party @#$%-ing books it. When we get to the hallway with the escape ladder, the water is at waist level. Frank grabs Belladonna and Erindur grabs Rocks because they are hobbits and too short for this water (also, Rock’s can’t swim. This will become a running gag) Frank swims no problem, but Leswen is swept under the water so he swims back for her and takes her to the ladder after dropping off Belladonna. He attempts to do the same with Erindur.

Attempts.

“NO ONE PICKS UP A DWARF.” Erindur shouts - his mouths foams a bit as he activates his slayer rage ability so he can angrily just march through the water instead of swim, he’s tall enough that the water is juuust at his sternum. Rocks, who is clinging to his back, just hopes that he doesn’t just carelessly throw them onto the ladder. (Spoiler: He totally does.)

When the party gets through the sewer gate, they realize the explosions weren’t limited to the underground lair. It was going throughout the entire shipyard district.

Also, there’s the sound of warhorn. Frank recognizes it because he has proficiency in shadow lore - it’s an Orc warhorn.

The mood of the party entirely is panicky - there’s explosions, people screaming, fire, and orcs. However, something about this situations resonates deeply within Rocks in particular, to them, something about this is hauntingly familiar.

They feel themself getting pulled within themself, but they shake it off for now, refusing to give into this haunting deja vu for now. They ground themself to reality by making an angry statement to the party instead.

Rocks: Monroe didn’t have to be like other hobbits, he didn’t have to be like humans; he didn’t ever have to be anyone but himself! But he shouldn’t be like Smaug!

(Rocks and Leswen were both around during Smaugs temper tantrum destruction of Laketown, so both of them remember it quite clearly)

There’s a huge explosion and the party whips their heads and realize with horror when they see a large rising column of smoke that it had come from the college! All of Leswen’s colleagues, including Grypho, and the shards we’ve been collecting, were all there.

Rocks panics for a minute, freaking out that their family and their inn might have been targeted by Monroe also since who knows who they are, but Erindur assures them that he doesn’t see any smoke coming from that district.

The party run in the direction of the college, but some docks collapse and form a rift in front of them so to continue they have to find a way past this large gap. No one has the skill to just jump it because it’s that wide, so we have to climb to the bottom and swim across, and climb back up.

Problem: Rocks, despite being from Laketown, can’t @#$%ing swim. Once again, they have be carried; Frank does it this time.

So the party climbs down the dock, swims across, and climbs up the other docks. Erindur has trouble doing this because of the heavy armour he’s wearing, but manages to make it. Once they are all up there, Leswen watches as other inhabiotants of Laketown who’ve been caught in the crossfire struggle to repeat that the party had just done and she is conflicted.

As a healer, it is her nature to help people in need, it is instinctual for her to stay and help these people; but she manages to rationalize that she will ultimately save more people by continuing with the party, because most people from Laketown don’t have a problem swimming.

(IRL the entire table looks at me with a look that just screamed “Except for you. Your character is the only Laketownian who can’t swim.”)

So they continue sprinting, and although they make it mostly out of the Shipyard district into the residential District, the party is split by a bunch of rubble falling, separating Leswen and Belladonna.

Belladonna attemptsd to climb the mountain of rubble, but get’s stuck at the top. She fails a strength check and mentally curses herself for never doing pull ups so she’s stuck in the ‘hanging in there’ position holding a disjointed pole. The frustraton gives her a temporary shadow point.

Leswen has good rolls and manages to climb up the mountain of rubble and plucks the angry hobbit from her hanging spot and safely brings them both down to the other side where Frank, Rocks and Erindur are waiting for them.

They party makes it out of the district, but right before they get to the college they come across a group of civilians being waylaid by orcs and hobgoblins. The party rolls initiative.

The same haunting familiarity rolls over Rocks again - and this time, they give in. They collapse, and hallucinate themselves falling.

As they are falling down a void, they hear a song around them, and above them they can see a giant eye. It constantly shifts colour, but is focused on them. The song is ancient and cacophonous, but the one thing Rocks can focus on about the song is a single phrase;

“The First Theme.”

Rocks has been shown the first of three parts of the First Song that created Middle Earth. Because of how much a pacifist coward merciful hero Rocks has been, the Valar have deemed them worthy of their secret class - Herald of the Valar. This makes Rocks the first of the party to unlock their secret class, and the only one so far to do so without any prior hints.

However, once the song ends, Rocks is thrown into a flashback

And it becomes clear why the Orc attack on Laketown was so familiar

They see a village burning down - their original home in the shire, it was being raided by Orcs. Bravely, a Ranger had been felled trying to protect the village.

A young Rocks was being told by their family to run away to safety - and they do so. They a bunch of other hobbit children escape into the Old Forest - but they are all picked off until only Rocks remains.

They flash foreword to when they had stumbled into the Barrow-Downs - a haunted area outside of The Shire. There, they come face-to-face with a Barrow-Wight.

(I do not own this image)

It had been this encounter specifically that terrified them so badly, that when combined with the trauma they just went through, they lost colour of their hair and eyes, and also their memories prior. (Marie Antoinette Syndrome)

Their memories are hazy from here, and the next thing they remember is somehow ending up in Bree, where they are found and adopted by Daralis and Harva, who who traveled to Bree for trading.

Although Rocks in unable to remember their birth name, or the names and faces of their family and friends, one thing does stick; they are a Stoor-Hobbit.

They go into another vision; but this time they are naked and looking at their reflection. Except their reflection is their true self; brown-haired and blue-eyed.

Rocks and their reflection reach out to each other, and then touch hands.

THE VISION ENDS

In real time only like six seconds passes and a wave of radiant energy pulses from Rocks into the immediate area. Although unconscious, Rocks’ white hair suddenly turns brown and slightly curlier, with only a few white streaks left.

Leswen rushes over and pulls Rocks into her lap, putting a wet cloth on their forehead. She does a medicine check and finds that Rocks seems to have been suffering from a fever for a while, and they were pulsing energy she identifies as coming from the Valar.

The fever and the Valar energy disapates and Rocks wakes up - now, their right eye is blue instead of grey.

“I j u s t s a w g o d.” Is what Rocks basically manages to stagger out, being very enthralled and disoriented.

“Sure you did buddy.” Leswen comforts, believing them to be delusional “Your hair changed.”

“I just learned a new song...“ Rocks says, standing up and picking up their shortsword that they dropped - and they begin singing The First Theme.

The First Theme works similar to the Mass Heal spell - it charges for two rounds, and them begins healing allies. It also exudes radiant energy.

The rest of the party don’t really pay attention to their Warden because they are still fighting Orcs and Hob Goblins, however, now that there’s another healer this means Leswen can now fight as well. She takes out a few hob goblins that try to attack her and Rocks, because they really don’t like this song.

The rest of combat is uneventful, but the party is successful.

The sessions ends here, but not before the party stares wide-eyed at Rocks, who doesn’t know that their appearance just drastically changed.

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ucos-files · 4 years

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Personnel File: Jack Halford, Detective Chief Superintendent (ret)

JACK: “Was he armed?”

SANDRA: “Who?”

JACK: “The dog.”

Our first introduction to Jack Halford, Detective Chief Superintendent (ret.) shows us that he must have been an absolutely first rate detective and policeman. He knows exactly what has happened to Sandra, and knows more than enough about human nature to throw her off balance from the get-go. He’s as good a detective as Brian, in part because his knowledge of human nature helps him predict how people react and why they do the things they do. He’s the best interrogator on the show--frequently Sandra lets him do all the talking. He does his paperwork neatly, makes the tea and buys rounds. In fact, as many villains throughout the series remark, in his prime, Jack was the best there was. But now he’s an old man, and more importantly, the loss of his beloved wife Mary has all but broken him. As a character, he’s a forerunner of the Ace!Detective who is wounded by the Death of his Beloved Wife. (Other notable examples include DCS Christopher Foyle (Foyle’s War 2002), DCI George Gently (George Gently 2007) and DI Robbie Lewis (Lewis 2006).)

Jack is characterized by gentleness, civility, and kindness, which are fairly odd traits for a policemen, but he’s also keenly intelligent and intuitive, incredibly thorough, deeply understanding of human nature and is the father figure for everyone on the team.

He always wears a suit and tie to work (in restrained colors, and bordering on old-fashioned.) He’s got a black raincoat with changeable layers he wears year round. He dislikes people who are rude--and having poor manners riles him. He’s a deadpan snarker, and frequently mimics people to make fun of them. Behaving rudely is a seriously out of character moment for him, and any time it happens, the team is very concerned. Hobbies: golf, drinking scotch, talking to Mary, gardening, classical music, literature, beer, winning at poker. Used to play word games on car trips with Mary.

Is he mad, or isn’t he? Jack’s habit of talking to the grave of his dead wife, Mary, in the back garden, and just generally mean that there’s always a question if Jack is actually mad. Of course, he knows that Mary is dead. But he still talks to her. A sadly unfulfilled plot line is that he stops talking to her after “The Last Laugh” (s6e6). Possibly because he is, as he often says, old-fashioned, he has a soft spot for women--or perhaps because he was so happily married. He’s willing to investigate them, of course, but if there’s a woman in danger, particularly at the hands of a man, Jack is ruthless and capable.

Jack’s question to Sandra is a key theme in the pilot, and a key theme throughout the series: “Do you want to do the job properly, or do you just want to look nice?” He says about himself that “I told you, there are detectives who solve crimes, and those who just want to clear them up.” He puts himself in the first category, of course.

Doing the job properly is important to Jack. The desire for justice is a key character trait. Nothing makes him more angry than the revelation of another corrupt copper. And when Ian Lovett, in this scene, accuses him of corruption, Jack is furious. He also reacts angrily to being told he’s past it, or that he’s washed up, as occurs in several episodes. His anger is also roused by the idea that UCOS is pointless, or that solving old crimes isn’t necessary. Jack was a policeman, but he’s also the widower of a murdered wife. And he never forgets that people left behind by crimes are also wounded by them. “If we affect a satisfactory conclusion, we’ll not only be bringing justice to that poor woman’s door, she’ll be at peace. It’s never a waste of time.”

"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man." — Kvothe, The Name of the Wind Jack’s a quiet and calm man -- and more than willing to physically threaten, intimidate and cut any corrupt copper down to size. “You didn’t need to set Wringer up, you just needed to be a good detective. Now I want you to think about the real murderer now--think about that killer you allowed to go free--but most of all, I want you to think about Anna Dubrovski and her family--the victims you betrayed for over twenty years....We know that none of us has anything to gain by the exposure of yet another corrupt ex-copper, but I promise you, if our paths ever cross again, it won’t be your pension you’ll be desperate to cling onto.”

He isn’t above tricking authority figures, either. He’s very good at the ‘yes sir’ ‘no sir’ game while doing whatever he wants. In accordance with good manners, he always calls them sir -- but that doesn’t mean he respects them.

Jack reveals the mystery. Like all good detectives, he likes revealing his hand in a theatrical way. Moreover, he’s frequently the one to call the others on their bullshit. Very few things slip past him, and when they do, you know it’s serious.

Not only because of his rank, but also because both Brian and Gerry respect and trust him, he’s the leader of the retirees. And, because he’s Sandra’s mentor, he’s the glue that holds the New Tricks band together. One of the most unsatisfying things is that, while Jack is dispensing advice and helping everyone else, he rarely accepts their help. Perhaps it’s pride. Perhaps he’s simply reserved. We do know that he’s not as comfortable helping emotionally to comfort other people as was Mary, that he relied on her for that.

Brian and Gerry make sure that Jack’s well out of it.

Jack’s not actually a policeman anymore, remember? Of course, Jack also has some helpful tips here about being in a scuffle. One of the more interesting quirks of the show is that Jack always seems to be on the receiving end of being in brawls--not only because he rarely, if ever, actually punches anyone else, but also because he’s the oldest and most lightweight of the team.

Jack appreciates fine wine.

And does a perfect job pouring.

Jack’s my favorite character, and the saddest episode in the series for me is ‘A Death in the Family.’ (s9e1). I find it hard to move past that episode. Notably, he’s the highest ranked character in the New Tricks band (except for the DACs, who don’t count.) Sandra, his protege, never surpasses him. As Jack says, “Not bad for a bunch of sad old men.”

#new tricks #jack halford #james bolam #new tricks bbc

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karenninaaa · 6 years

Text

Tony finding out Peter was his son before and during IM1 AU

Inspired by mamalaz’ post

After Peter was born, Mary went to Tony and told him about Peter, though she was already married to Richard Parker. She’s that kind to let Tony know.

Tony was shocked at first but he accepted Peter immediately, after all the insecurity with himself and thoughts that he wouldnt be able to be a good dad.

Because one look at baby Peter wrapped in a bundle, Tony instantly felt the connection, that this was his son and he wouldn’t let Peter suffer the same hell of feeling abandoned and neglected by a dad *coughs* Howard *coughs*

As young Peter was growing up, he was aware that he’s got two dads and he’s very happy with that. There were times he would stay at his papa Tony’s malibu mansion and watched his dad tinker.

It was one of Peter’s favorite times

And also listening to his dad babbles on and on about machines and science. Though he didnt understand yet some of it.

But come on, they were a family of genius people.

Peter also loves the bots and always play with them

JARVIS too. JARVIS would tell him random facts and show him kiddy videos that would fascinate little Peter.

the bots and JARVIS love Peter too and they would be an unstoppable killing arsenal just to protect Peter.

Peter was the reason why tony toned down the gambling, womanizing and drinking activities. He rarely drinks when Peter was around.

Tony did everything in his power to protect Peter from the media because Mary threatened him they wanted a private and quiet life for Peter.

A few handful people knew about Peter’s existence: Pepper, Rhodes, Happy, aunt May and Uncle Ben yes they exist here because i dont have the heart to ignore them and Obadiah Stane. i know it sucks that he knows but Tony trusted him that time

Peter was six when Richard and Mary had to go on a overseas business trip. that’s why he would stay Tony’s place for a duration of time

They promised to Peter that they would be back soon.

Except that they didn’t because of a plane crash.

Tony didn’t have the balls to tell Peter because he knew the pain of losing a parents.

He still broke the news to Peter.

“Papa what do you mean they’re not coming back?”

It killed Tony that the light on Peter’s innocent eyes got wiped away and replaced by sadness and tears.

Tony never left Peter’s side, even though Peter wouldn’t talk to anyone. Tony was always there telling him funny and random stories. One time, Tony showed him a tech toy that he invented himself, hoping that it would distract Peter from loneliness.

To Tony’s surprise, it worked! He could swear that his heart melted when he saw his son cracked a smile because of that tech and ever since the accident. Hooray! plus points for dad!tony.

That’s the time when they started to heal, the pain was still there but it became bearable for Peter knowing that his papa was always there for him.

There were times that he missed his dad and mom but Tony would always hugged him and told him that they were now in a happy place.

Peter was eight when Tony had to go on an inevitable business trip at Afghanistan.

It terrified Peter. triggered memories from his late mom and dad

Because that was the first time that Tony had to leave abroad ever since the accident. Tony refused to go so far away from his son anyway

Tony didn’t want to go either but he had no choice because it was an important business deal that would greatly affect the company’s profit.

And so to ease Peter’s terror, Tony promised that they would go to the Disneyland after he came back

“But what if, you didn’t come back papa, like mom and dad?”

“I’ll come back son promise, and since when did I ever break my promise to you? Pinky-inky promise.” Tony held out his pinky and gave his son a playful wink.

Peter knew that his papa never breaks a promise to him, it comforted him and the Disneyland too. It was his first time to go on a Disneyland. They didn’t go out of public that much because of the secret but Peter doesn’t mind. At the very young age, he knew how papparrazi could be so annoying, he witnessed that personally from afar when his papa got bombarded by the media. Peter decided then that he didn’t like them.

Anyway, so off Tony went. Peter stayed at his aunt May and uncle Ben

That’s when Peter saw the tv news that Tony’s convoy in Afghanistan got attacked and Tony went missing.

Peter demanded to go back at the Malibu mansion at once.

He ran straight to his papa’s bedroom and dove on the bed, inhaling his papa’s scent on the sheet reminding him that he’s papa had been there.

and it’s all coming back to Peter, the plane crash and the last memories of his mom and dad, the same promise that they would come back but didn’t.

Peter was crying angrily. They were all the same breaking a promise over and over again and leaving him behind.

Peter’s cry of agony was the most painful thing ever heard at the Stark mansion.

Peter refused to leave from bed for days

Though his aunt and uncle and Pepper and Happy were always coming to him mouthing words of comfort.

Rhodes was staring at the younger Stark by the door. He swore that he would find his bestfriend and wouldn’t leave this child orphan again.

And when Peter decided to go down to the abandoned lab of his papa, he went straight to the bots and hugged them. He cried again.

Peter wouldn’t admit it out loud but he was still hoping that he’s papa was somewhere doing something to get back to them because just thinking the otherwise was unbearable.

3 agonizing months.

So close that everyone would give up and Peter even heard his aunt and uncle talking with Pepper about the custody when Tony wouldn’t able to make it back.

Peter shouted at them, tears falling from his cheeks, that his papa would come back. Then he ran back towards his papa’s bedroom.

One morning, Peter got woken up by Pepper with tears in her eyes, Peter dreaded it for a second but then Pepper was laughing and crying at the same time, telling him that Uncle Rhodes finally found his dad.

All hell broke lose when two things had happened: Peter’s identity reveal and the shutting down of weapon’s manufacturing at Stark Industries.

Well, the first one was due to a lot of people had witnessed a kid running on a tarmac shouting dad at Tony and falling on his dad’s arms.

A lot of people was also shocked to see Tony crying clinging to his son.

No one had expected that Tony the rich, arrogant, megalomaniac and merchant of death Stark could be so human

The second they recovered from crying Tony demanded why Peter lost so much weight.

“They aren’t starving you while I was gone, right? Or you’re not eating the veggies again? We’ve talked about this, sweet pea.

“I missed you dad” Peter’s only reply.

And that brought tears again on Tony’s eyes bcos goddamn it how much he also missed his son while in that cave. Peter was one of the reasons why he stayed sane while he was kidnapped.

His son was the fuel in him that drove him to get out from that hellish cave.

“Huh, I now became a dad and you are being a smarty pants again and cleverly avoiding the veggie topic.” But he hugged his son again as tightly as he could, like he never hugged anyone so tightly like that.

“I missed you too so much, sweet pea.”

Peter was fascinated about the arc reactor on his dad’s chest more than scared.

He bombarded Tony about the schematics of the said arc reactor

And Tony patiently explained it to him.

Peter watched Pepper replaced the old arc reactor on his chest.

He decided that Pepper was the most reliable person he had ever met and she and dad were cute together.

Peter watched his dad built the Mark II prototype of an armor suit.

He had asked what the suit was for.

His dad’s only reply was “It was to correct the mistakes I had done.”

When Peter asked what mistakes, Tony just ruffled his son’s curly hair affectionately.

Peter gleefully asked how the first flight went donning the armor suit and was in super awe that his dad could fly like the cartoons he had watched on tv.

Peter was confused when the next morning, Tony was packing Peter’s things telling him that they would go somewhere. He remembered his dad going to a charity gala party last night and he fell asleep waiting for him.·

He asked where they would go.

“Son, I’m not coming with you. You’re staying with Aunt May and Uncle Ben on a very nice place-”

Tony saw how Peter’s eyes widen on thought that they’re going to be separated again.

“-temporarily.” Tony immediately assured.

“I don’t wanna go away without you!”

“Peter, listen to me. This is just temporarily and I wanted you to be safe. I promise before you know it, we are together again. Pinky-inky promise.”

Peter knew that his dad never break promises like how he came back from Afghanistan like he had promised before. So Peter relented.

And Peter was once again watching the tv, watching his dad revealed to the world that he was Iron Man. Astonishment were dancing in his big brown orbs.

His dad was a superhero.

#weew i finally finished it!#you know when your ancient laptop and tumblr wasnt cooperating with you #and you're on the verge #of pulling your hair out due to #frustration #that i had to retype everthing #struggles #tony stark #peter parker #father-son relationship #iron dad and his spider son #pepper potts #pepperony #karennina writes #peter & tony prompts #karennina prompts

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inkscreen · 5 years

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Maragadham I

Rekha couldn’t get a seat. It was six o’clock in the evening, the train’s compartments teeming with the rush hour office crowd in a hurry to get back home to their tear-stained soap operas and hysterical, prime time news. She put a foot inside the women’s compartment, automatically being propelled into mix of jasmine, cheap perfume and the musty smell of a thousand cabins by the mass of bodies behind her. She hitched up her handbag and pulled up the now-wrinkled saree at her breast, safely tucking its pallu into her waist, lest it be caught in the throng and tear.

The women’s compartment was so packed that Rekha counted herself lucky that she was able to get a little space for herself near the door on the other side of the train. She leaned back and took a deep breath. This was the third time this week Mohan had held her back to go over the budgets for next month’s travel plans for the marketing team. The half an hour delay meant that she would be swept up in the traffic - and be late for dinner. She exhaled slowly, counting the seconds under her breath until she had expelled it all. Her husband didn’t know how to cook and the kids would have continued playing with the neighbourhood kids, instead of being shepherded into the house to do their homework.

Being half an hour late also meant she wouldn’t be meeting Maragadham on the train today. The chirpy flower-seller, who lived in a one-room-kitchen house with a husband and three kids down the road, would have long gone home to stash the day’s earnings. And take a swig of her husband’s brandy if he wasn’t around.

After a lifetime of abuse, I wouldn’t begrudge her the alcohol. She could moderate it a bit better though.

Rekha caught hold of the handrests hanging from the steel rod above her just in time. The train jolted, picking up speed as it sped out of Egmore station into a sky that was just turning ombre with sunset. The stars were beginning to pop out one by one.

She craned her neck to see the twinkling street lights that were coming on one by one, thinking about whether the tomatoes in the fridge would be better used for today’s dinner or tomorrow’s breakfast when a rough, high-pitched voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Yemma, inna panninugura? Yenchi nillu ma.” [Ey you, what are you doing? Get up and stand!]

Rekha turned her head around to see a short squat woman, the kind of person whom you would not want to get into a fight with, glaring a scrawny young woman sitting on the floor who was balancing her toddler and an enormous flower basket on her lap. She had been stringing flowers together and cutting it into mozham*-length pieces.

That in itself was odd - it was the end of the day, when everyone was returning home. The flower sellers should be wrapping up their strings and counting their losses. Instead, this young thing was starting her work only now. Odder still was the long string of green stones that reflected faint yellow lights from outside the train. Her toddler had a chubby hand clamped around it. The necklace reminded her of Maragadham. Rekha shook her head, trying to dispel an odd feeling of premonition.

“Eyy. Can’t you hear me? Get up and stand I said,” screeched the dumpy woman. “The rest of us are standing and coming. You think you are a queen or what. Get up. The rest of you too,” she added, looking at the odd assortment of four other women, all toting flower baskets. The woman was angrily chewing betel leaves and the inside of her mouth was a garish red-pink.

“Akka*, if you want, I’ll get up,” piped up the woman sitting opposite the scrawny woman. “You sit here. Alli has to finish her stringing her flowers by tonight,” she said by way of excuse.

With that, she thrust her flower basket at Alli and got up nimbly to her feet. Alli gave this one a grateful smile and the angry woman sat down heavily in the vacated space, grumbling about being squished in the process.

Rekha stared at Alli without really seeing her.

Maragadham had wanted to talk last night. She had turned up at Rekha’s door, insistently ringing the bell.

“It’s probably Maragadham,” Rekha had told her husband, whose hands were busy running up and down her hips.

“It’s 10 o’clock, Rekha. That woman has nothing else to do other than rant and rave to you. Ignore it,” her husband Muthu had said. His hand had moved to unzip her frilly nighty, but she had lain still. “She’ll go away.” She’ll wake the kids up, Rekha had thought.

The doorbell rang once more. Rekha had squirmed, trying to extricate herself from Muthu, who had her in an iron grip. Resigning herself to the fact that she wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight, Rekha had turned towards Muthu.

His breath was hot in her ear when the doorbell had pealed again. Muthu let out an oath. “Fine, go to her. Be back as soon as possible,” he had said, pressing a dry kiss to her forehead. When Rekha had opened the front door though, there was no one. She poked her head out and saw Maragadham drunkenly swaying in the watery yellow street light, walking away in an unsteady gait.

“Maragadham! Maragadham! Adiye!* Stop!” Rekha had cried out. Maragadham had gone on walking, turning around the corner and disappearing. Rekha had wanted to run after her, but her hair was in a frightful state and her nighty was still unzipped. The grungy man sleeping on the pavement across stirred. Gulping, Rekha had closed the door and gone back to Muthu and his groping hands.

xxxxxxxxx

“Endi*. Why so late? That office has no mercy on you,” Muthu chattered, following her into the kitchen like a lost puppy as she came home, dripping from the sudden shower that had come out of nowhere.

Malathy and Vikram, as predicted, had been playing without doing their homework. Rekha’s stern glance at them as she came inside hadn’t dampened their enthusiasm. “Sollu* di*. Why are you so late? And when are you going to get dinner started? I’m starving,” Muthu piled on. “And why are you so wet? Go change, na. You’re going to get a cold.”

Rekha was hearing none of this.

“Did Maragadham come by today?” she asked.

“What?”

“Maragadham. Did she come by today?”

“I’m asking about dinner and you’re asking about Maragadham?”

Rekha didn’t reply. She turned back into the kitchen and put down the bag of groceries she had in her hands. She stared at the onions and potatoes without seeing. The coriander had raindrops clinging to its ends; she herself was still dripping water all over the kitchen floor. On any other day, she would have been fretting over the dirty water, wailing over how much work it was going to be mop it all up. But she was immune to her everyday worries today. Maragadham, where are you?

“AMMA AMMA AMMA AMMA!”

“Stop shouting, Malathy.”

“Amma, Vikram is pinching me! AMMAAAAAAA!”

“Rekha, where is my green lungi? And have you gotten dinner started yet? I didn’t have time to eat lunch today.”

“Amma! Malathy is LYING. I’m not pinching her. She only kicked me first! Amma, I didn’t do anything.”

Mari was drunk last night and I didn’t see her on the train today. Is she okay? Did that bastard of a husband finally kill her? I hope she’s not lying drunk in a ditch somewhere. Oh god, that is entirely possible, considering how much she drinks. Where would she have gone after coming to my house?

Rekha’s thoughts were awhirl.

“Amma, ask Vikram to stop tearing paper from my rough note!”

“MALA THAT IS MY ROUGH NOTE!”

“Kids, can you please keep quiet? Amma is trying to make dinner, don’t bother her.”

Did Indu also get a visit from her last night? Maybe I should I call her and find out. Wait, no. I should call her after dinner, she is probably busy right now.

“Rekha, darling, can you hurry up with dinner? The kids are getting too much for me to handle, and I have to look over some reports for work before bed.”

“Mala, stop it. Use your own crayons for homework, I won’t give you mine.”

“You broke my crayons, you stupid!”

“Mala, do not speak to your elder brother like that!”

“Amma!!”

“Ammaaaaaaaa!”

“Rekha? Rekha!”

She snapped out of her thoughts, but doing so also put into motion a very unfortunate series of events. The knife she was chopping the tomatoes with slipped out of her hand; she went to catch it but upended the chopping board, which in turn knocked the saucepan with the hot water off the stove. The knife ended up on the floor, the saucepan on the kitchen counter, and the hot water splashed all over her in a hiss of steam, making her damp saree wet again.

There was silence, except for the drip, drip of the water from the counter to the floor, as the kids and Muthu all stared at her like she’d grown three heads. All four of them opened their mouths in tandem, words that were yet to spill out of them hovering in the air like an uneasy cloud.

But before any of them could get a word out, the phone rang.

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Mozham -- a length of measurement used by flower-sellers, from the tip of the fingers to the elbow

Akka -- elder sister

Adiye -- an informal way of calling out to a woman

Endi -- an informal form of address to a woman

Sollu -- tell

Di -- informal form of address to a woman. Can be rude or affectionate, depending on who use it

Lungi -- a length of cloth South Indian men use as leisure wear; similar to a sarong but not entirely

#writing #fiction #story #novella #short story #indian fiction #fiction writing #tamil #indian writing

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