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xviruserrorx · 1 year

Text

Title: "The Rain Before The Rainbow"

Chapter 5/7: "Stuck Somewhere In Between, Alive And Living A Dream"

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This fic was originally written around late 2019-early 2020 ish, but was abandoned for reasons and now I'm gonna re-write it to but I have a no-delete rule so I'm posting all the original drafts here for anyone who still wants to see them. "But Virus these are terribly written" you may say and, yeah I know, this story was one of the first things I had written after a 5-6 year writing hiatus... But here they are terrible Grammer and all!

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy (Tv & Comics)

Relationship(s): Five | The Boy & Everyone

Character(s): Five | The Boy, Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves, Vanya | Viktor Hargreeves, OC - Ymir Cyprus

Important Tag(s): Alternative Universe - No Sparrow Academy, Comic Book Elements, Time Traveling, Five-Centric

Rating: Teen and Up

Warning(s): Major Character Death, Cannon Character Death

Word Count: 9,590/41,006

The Hargreeves return from 1963 and find they have averted the initial Apocalypse. The siblings return to life as it once was but now together and not expecting impending doom. Five begins to adjust to life with his siblings how it used to be but knows something is missing. By something, he means someone. What happens when Five decides to jump back in time and try to save Ben. Is he successful? Or will he face the consequences of his actions?

"The End To The Beginning, The Beginning To The End" - Tumblr | Ao3

->Next: N/A

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Five (Pov)

Aching pain and stiffness flooded Five's body as his eyes fluttered open revealing the daylight. He pushed himself up by his arms so he was sitting down still leaning against the brick wall.

He yawned and attempted to rub the tiredness out of his eyes as he remembered where he had been laying the entire night. Five quickly pushed himself off of the grotesque floor and wiped his hands on his blazer.

'Gross'

He slightly swayed as he stood up and took a couple of seconds to get his balance back. The darkness from the alleyway made it hard to tell if it was morning or the middle of the day. As soon as he stepped out of the alleyway he realised that he had slept through time he could have been using to find the guys responsible for Ben's death.

Five rounded the back alley of the house that went off into the sidewalk so he ended up on the side of the house now facing the buildings across. He looked around making sure no one was around before slipping into the entrance of the old laundry mat that used to be there. Today was one of the siblings' training days so Five knew they wouldn't pass by the kitchen and notice him at the farthest end.

He knew the guys would probably pass the house at least once to stalk the family considering they had such an elaborate plan and detail on them. Five yawned again and lifted his hand to wipe away the tears that gathered in his eyes, even though he had gotten sleep last night the previous weeks of lack of sleep were still having an effect on him.

Sleep wasn't ever of importance to him for 45 years or since he returned. For the first 40 years he found sleep whenever he could, often sleeping in old crumbled down abandoned buildings to block out most of the wind as he could. The winter was the worst, snow and rain fell constantly with temperatures dropping well below freezing, he eventually found a place to go during the season but that didn't mean it made it any easier.

The last 5 years he was with the Temps he at least was given a hotel and a bed to sleep on every night. He's probably slept in every hotel around the world at least once possibly twice with some.

But now sleep was something that he was able to do without worrying about his siblings or the end of the world. Yet he never took advantage of it, the constant nagging of his siblings finding him awake at 3 in the morning making coffee happened almost every night after they all had returned.

Diego's lectures on how sleep was important for a "growing child" and the amount of coffee he was consuming was unhealthy. Or even Klaus joking around that Five should go sleep with Diego if he couldn't sleep, he often just responded to Klaus with empty threats.

Not that Five would ever admit the few times during their youth he snuck into the vigilante's bed. Or even the few times in the past weeks since they've been back that the thought had popped into his head after countless hours of tossing and turning followed by more than enough caffeine to keep a horse awake.

He is 58 years old and the top assassin of the commission yet he has Diego yelling at him every night to remember to brush his teeth before bed. Not to mention both him and Allison having a heart attack about every little wound he got, which was probably from him hiding that shrapnel wound from them.

Things changed yet at the same time they didn't

Five let out a sigh as he saw a black car pull up directly across from the academy.

Bingo!

One guy got out of the passenger side of the vehicle and Five immediately recognized him as one of the guys he saw at Griddy's Doughnuts. He was the much older and taller man of the two men he saw, but from what he heard there were others as well. The man pulled a hood over his head and walked towards a nearby shop that was across the street down the road a bit. Five knew he could follow and just kill the guy right there.

Like all the old times slip in, do the deed, then slip out all in a matter of seconds. He grimaced at himself for even having that thought, reverting to his old ways at the commission.

The man stays gone for a long while but then comes back to the car but doesn't get in. The Guy in the driver seat gets out of the vehicle, only this isn't the younger guy Five saw at the dinner. This guy is somewhere in his possible mid 30's. Not older looking like the other guy but not young either and he didn't have his hood up like the other man.

He walked around the car over to the sidewalk where the other guy was waiting. He sees him hand something covered in black cloth over to the other guy then they both begin to walk opposite directions.

Were they not working together?

Five knew it was too suspicious for them to have stopped right in front of the academy then both got out of the car wearing complete black hoodies for others to not recognize them.

Five had to follow one of them at least, they might just be splitting up but heading to the same location so other people wouldn't follow them back. Five opted for the guy that took the risk of not wearing the hood over his face like the other guy, he wasn't afraid to be recognised.

Five waited till the guy rounded a corner then Five jumped to hide behind the corner he just rounded. He knew he shouldn't use his powers because of the big attracting flash of blue but he needed to get across the street quickly.

The guy took another turn in between some buildings down an alleyway, Five knew he was trying to stay hidden. but as many twists and turns, he had already taken and in such a public place Five doubted this was too anywhere secret.

Five continued to follow, turning weird ways in all the back-alleys till he realised they had already gone in a circle.

Was the guy lost?

The guy was about to make a left which would lead them into another circle then he stopped and took a sharp right.

Five followed after and then remembered this way led into a dead end. The guy stood there facing away from Five staring at the wall of the dead-end and reached into his pockets.

Five reached for the switchblade he carried with him, having left his handgun at home, he didn't need to leave evidence that someone had traveled back in time by tracing the bullets and matching it to his model of gun. Let's just say it was more than a couple of centuries old.

Five didn't know if the guy was armed but he was reaching for something, but Five didn't know what he was reaching for.

The guy pulled his hand out and it was his phone, Five relaxed a little but still kept his hand firmly on his switchblade. The guy typed something short, possibly a single word before putting it back in his pocket.

Five still couldn't piece together why this guy went in circles for the past 30 minutes then stopped at a dead end and in all places an alleyway.

Before Five could register what was going on he heard the crack of a gunshot, but the guy in front of him still had both hands in his pockets and was facing the wall.

Suddenly Five noticed his ears were ringing and the world was spinning faster and faster till he collapsed to the floor. He felt the impact of the concrete against his body, the banging in his head as it hit made it seem like the world was flashing in and out. His heart was racing like that of a mouse as his hands began to get clammy from his pumping adrenaline.

It was a trap

Everything hit him, the pain searing in his left side followed by the warmth that seeped from the same side. It was so warm yet Five began to feel cold much like how he imagined Klaus felt all the time.

Death

Death was cold

Was he…….dying?

Five blinked his eyes and forced them to open again as he slowly moved his hand down to the pain radiating in his body. He didn't have the strength to move his head so he brought his hand back up to his field of vision. It was completely coated in the bright red liquid and smelled of iron.

He dropped his hand back down on the concrete floor he was laying on. He had to get up, he was supposed to save Ben, he had to return back to his family. Five's curled up hand glowed blue covering the crimson red his hand was covered in but quickly sparked out.

'Shit!!'

Five placed his trembling arms under him and tried to push himself at least on his back. He quickly came crashing back down to the floor as a heavyweight pushed him back down. Five felt the outline of a large shoe on his back holding him down. Five looked in front of him again at the guy he was following that was barely walking towards him.

None of this made sense to Fives foggy mind, how had he'd been so careless to not be aware of his surroundings. Five remembered the older guy who took the item covered in the black cloth case and walked in the opposite direction from the guy he was following.

It was a gun

They knew about him from the beginning, it was all a setup.

Five tried to push the guy's foot off of him but it only resulted in his head getting stepped on, slammed, and grinded into the floor. Five let out a cry he didn't mean to, it showed he was in pain, it showed he was weak. He felt his head spin and a sudden urge to vomit but kept swallowing back the saliva that collected in his mouth.

The guy's foot lifted off of his head as the one who he was following bent down in front of him and yanked Fives head up by his hair.

"Seems you actually feel for our little trap huh? Agent Number Five," The guy spit Five's name out of his mouth.

'The Temps'

The last that Five had heard Dot and Herb were in charge of the commission now but this is the commission he's talking about, things never stayed one way over there.

"See, since you left the commission has done some cool things to make the job easier for us," The guy began to pull off a latex covering that was over his face that Five hadn't even noticed. It looked like a professional makeup artist was the one who did it, which made Five wonder why they didn't have someone do that a long time ago. Way less risk of anyone getting caught.

The guy got his face too close for Five's liking and whispered in his ear, "You're following the wrong guy's Number Five." His breath was hot against Five's ear as he processed what he said.

"Think of us almost like doppelgangers…. The real guys that you saw at that little doughnut shop of yours are still out there scheming away to kill your precious little brother. While we were just some decoys to distract you and lure you farther and farther away from your target."

The guy let go of Fives head letting it fall back to the ground with a 'thud'. Five looked up at the guy as he stood up, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a pack half full of cigarettes and a black lighter with an Ouija board design on it.

Five's eyes widened

The lighter was Klaus'

And Five was 100 percent sure that was the same brand Klaus always smoked. The guy looked at him with a shit-eating grin on his face and gave Five a questioning look.

"Oh, these look familiar?"

No…..No…...NoNoNoNoNo!

Not Klaus, Not his brother

The guy bent back down and lit a cigarette, taking a puff out of it before blowing the smoke in Five's face.

"Ya see kid, you left your own timeline all by yourself……..Your siblings allllllll alone without you." He paused and took another drag from the cigarette.

Five put his head back down but was quickly pulled back up by his hair again by the guy standing on top of him. This time he was pulled by his hair up into a sitting position on his knees, his arms pulled back behind him together farther than they should be. Five's head lulled downwards, his breathing was uneven and every part of his body ached. The guy behind him pulled his head back so he was looking up at the guy in front of him.

"You abandoned your Precious siblings without even leaving a note or telling them where you were going," He tapped on the cigarette letting the ashes fall between both of them on the floor in front of Five.

Five inhaled a deep ragged breath

'Why did he leave when he finally had them back?'

Five's eyes stayed glued to the ashes on the ground. He hadn't seen ashes since he was in the apocalypse, all the siblings had made sure to keep things involving fire away from him. Klaus never smoked around him but they made the excuse that they didn't want him getting second hand smoke.

Diego always told him to stay out of the kitchen when he was cooking and said he just didn't want anyone getting hurt, yet Five's seen all the times Klaus, Vanya, and Allison have helped him make dinner.

Five now had a better understanding why they did all that for Him. Five looked over and saw the walls and buildings that were standing seconds ago now they were a pile of rubble on the ground. The normally blue sky and clear air filled with ash, so much it hurt to breathe. The blue sky was grey and everything was gone. He felt his heart pounding against his chest as the rise and fall of his chest became for rapid. He came back from literal hell to get home to his family yet he left them again. He left them to die and this time it was all because of him.

Five was yanked out of his train of thought as he felt burning on his knee. The guy was snuffing out his cigarette on his right knee and rubbed it till it started to bleed. He flicked the butt of the cancer stick over his shoulder and stood up in front of Five. Then he reached in his pocket and threw both of the items that belong to Klaus in front of Five.

"The one with the knives put up the hardest fight, quite protective too……. Now The skinny one in the skirt was the easiest to take out, didn't put up much of a fight did he?" He asked the one who was holding Five.

He held out his hand to the other guy who gave him a knife. Five knew those Knives they were the ones Diego always has used since they were very young. The guy twirled it in his hand a little before tossing it on the floor in front of Five with the other things.

Five didn't want to believe any of this until he saw the engraving of the throwing knife. The number 2 and an umbrella were engraved on one end, Five felt a lump form in his throat but he ignored it.

"You bastard!" Five said through gritted teeth.

The guy laughed, "Now the big fella was easy to take down too….well only when we told him a little secret." The guy put his finger to his lips in a mocking way. "7 siblings yet only 6 mothers didn't that ever seem strange to you?"

'6 mothers?'

"Well let's play a little guessing game why don't we?" He began to walk slowly back and forth in front of Five and continued to talk.

"Now... let's say two of the siblings are twins and they were born 4 minutes apart. As I recall you guys were numbered on who was born First, just so happens you guys were all born a minute apart from each other." He crouched down in front of Five and made his voice more deeper than before, trying to intimidate Five.

"So…... let's do a little math here and I'll give you a hint one of the twins is the big fella."

'No that can't be possible'

Five's eyes widened and the guys in front of him grin grew at Five's realisation,"Bingo!"

'He and Luther were…... Twins?'

The guy laughed and stood up," Wow isn't that a little mind fuck for you?"

'How was this possible?'

"As much as we would love to sit here and chit-chat some more, we have a job to return to and man oh man do you'll know how much of a raise we'll get when everyone hears WE killed Number Five, the best assassin the commissions ever had," He whistled.

'Killed…..'

The guy stepped back and swung his leg, kicking Five in the face throwing him across the concrete. Five felt so weak but he tried to push himself back up, he felt a shoe make contact with his ribs which just made him plummet whatever progress he made back to the ground.

His hand reached for his side which was still bleeding while they continued to kick him repeatedly. Five didn't fight back, correction he couldn't fight back.

Five finally thought they left when the hits stopped coming but realized they were set out for his life not to just torture him. Five felt the guy hover over him then stab right where the bullet hole was, twisting the knife before yanking it out. Five cried out in pain while he heard both men laugh.

Five knew he had to do something, anything before they killed him. He tried once more with his powers but his fist didn't even stay blue for a second before it fizzed out.

He was gonna die

The guy grabbed Five by his neck and held him just high enough the tip of Five's shoes scraped against the ground.

"Any last words kid?"

As soon as Five parted his lips to speak, the hand around his neck tightened, cutting off any oxygen for Five to breathe.

The guy laughed, "Cat caught your tongue?"

Five tried to kick his legs to get any traction on the concrete, but the guy only lifted him higher off the ground. Five clawed at the hands around his neck till everything started fading in and out and his hands went slack. Five attempted to reach for his switchblade, but it tumbled out of his grasp as his motor skills stopped working.

The guy walked over closer to one of the alleyway walls still with a tight grip on Five's neck and bashed Five's head into the wall.

Five couldn't hear anything, all the sound drowned out and everything went black as he felt his head getting bashed into the wall again. His body fell limp to the floor right next to the items of his deceased siblings. His hand fell next to Diego's knife and he attempted to move his hand over the centimeter to grab it.

He fought to keep his eyes open as his pinky hooked around the cold metal. His hand fell limp on top of it, the guy came over and stepped on Five's hand. He didn't have the energy to move his hand much less cry out in pain. Five grimaced and not from the pain, he wasn't even gonna use the knife he just wanted to hold it.

Everything began to feel fuzzy as Five fought against every ounce of his will to keep his eyes open. Both guys laughed and stood over him as the one who he followed in the first place bent down,

"Night kid…."

They both walked out of the alleyway and far enough away that Five could no longer hear their footsteps. Everything stayed hazy as the world got less and less unclear. Five let his eyes fall shut as it took more and more effort for him to breathe.

Maybe their father was right after all this time, Five never was ready to time travel. Now because of him, everyone he loved was dead for the 4th time. The only difference now was Five was almost dead now too as well, he couldn't save them or himself.

Five took one more forced inhale before letting the breath out. Everything was calm, almost warm, comfy, and peaceful like what most people called home. Only for him, his home was never anything more than a prison, a place designed to keep children locked away and abused.

Five laid there until everything stopped

~~o0o~~

Five heard what he thought was crying but everything was fading in and out as he started to feel his senses again. His body felt heavy and so did his eyelids but all he could concentrate on was the crying which he could definitely make out now.

Five felt something tight wrapped around his abdomen where the knife and gunshot wound was. As well as the areas where everything throbbed with pain.

Who was crying?

Five tried to pry open his eyes and only made it so far before bright fluorescent lights blinded his vision making him grimace and shut his eyes again. Five took a deep breath suddenly noticing the soreness of his ribs, it didn't feel like any were broken but bruised for sure.

Five attempted to open his eyes again this time succeeding on getting passed the bright lights. Five winced as he now realized he had a concussion and a bad one too as the lights felt like they were digging into his skull. Five tried to bring his hand up to block the light a bit but felt something tug back on his arm. Five looked over towards his arm and saw a IV threaded into the crook of his elbow.

Someone's sniffling brought Five's attention back forward which were the lights. Five grimaced again at the pain in his head but momentarily pushed it aside. He could recognise those lights like the back of his hand, having been under them many times as a small child.

He was in the medical bay at the Academy

So who was crying?

Five quickly looked over to his right side and found the source of the sound. All his siblings including Grace and Pogo were spread out on that side of the room. Klaus, Vanya, and Allison were crying while everyone else looked somber.

They were alive?

But……..how,what happened?

Luther was at the back of the room looking down at the floor so were Grace and Pogo. Klaus; who Five probably was hearing, was crying hard into Diego's shoulder while the elder had his arms wrapped around him very securely holding him as close as he could.

Diego was rubbing his hand up and down Klaus' back while occasional sniffling himself. Five could tell he was trying to hold it together for Klaus much like he always did in situations when he needed to be the big brother to them all.

Allison was hugging Vanya who were both crying but not as hard as Klaus, but Five still didn't know why everyone was acting this way. Five slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position letting his hand hold the spot where both wounds were. Nobody moved or even looked his way as if he was invisible, not even Grace or Pogo showed any acknowledgment towards him.

Five pushed himself to the end of the bed, making a lot of noise and movement yet nobody looked over towards him still.

"Hey, I'm awake, " Five said rather loud, announcing it to everyone in the room.

Still nothing

Five stretched his arm over and waved it in front of Diego who was closest to the bed and still no movement, not even a flinch.

"Diegoooo," Five drugged out his name and brought his hand up snapping a couple of times in front of his face. There was still no reaction which was getting Five irritated.

"Di…!" Five tried the nickname knowing Diego always responded to that in a heartbeat. Five still received nothing but silence from his older brother.

"If this is your guy's idea of a prank, i'm really not having it right now." Five reached out to tug on Diego's shirt but instead of grabbing the material his hand completely passed through his brother.

Five scrambled back on the bed looking at his hand, he couldn't ignore the racing of his heart and the aching feeling of anxiety that crept up on him out of nowhere. Five yanked the IV out of his and pulled his hands closed to him.

NoNoNoNoNo

He didn't understand any of this

Were they dead? Was he dead? Why couldn't Klaus see him if he was dead? Why was he even at the modern day Academy when he was in 2006?

Five wanted something, Anything to make sense right now. He felt like a child that had gotten lost from their mother in a grocery store; Scared, Lost, and Alone.

"Five?!" Five turned around and saw Ben walking in the door towards him. That was impossible Five hasn't changed anything for Ben's death not to happen.

"Ben?" Five hated the way his voice sounded so small as he said his brother's name. He was wearing the same black outfit with the leather jacket like they had all last seen him when they were trying to stop Vanya and Klaus channeled him.

Ben ran over and pulled Five into a hug, Five's hands clung onto the back of Ben's jacket. He was real, there was no blue aura surrounding him or anything he was physically in front of Five. Five noticed no one moved and looked towards Ben either when he walked in.

Ben pulled back away from the hug and watched as Five as he still hung onto Ben's jacket sleeve, afraid to let go as he might disappear again.

"Am I…..dead? A-Are our dead siblings? Are you still dead?" Five questioned Ben still confused what exactly the hell was going on.

Ben put both of his hands on Five's shoulders and looked him in the eye, "None of that matters right now okay Five? I just need you to Wake Up."

Wake up?

But he was awake?

Right?

"W-What but I… What's going on?" Five questioned his once younger brother but now physically older. Ben shook his head,"All you need to know is that Me and you are real, everything else here is just all in your head okay?"

Five looked around at everything and reached his hand towards the one person he knew would be able to tell if he was dead or alive.

Ben quickly grabbed Five's hand in his own, getting Five's attention back towards him, "Hey, look at me, you shouldn't be here okay, you can't be here with me. You need to leave so I need you to wake up."

Leave Ben?

But he just got him back

"Why can't you come with me?" Five asked even more confused of what was going on. Ben was dead yet here he was in front of Five completely alive without Fives intervention to the past. But now Ben was telling Five to leave him and to wake up even though Five could guarantee he was awake.

Ben sighed, "That's not know it works Five, please I just need you to leave here and I promise everything will make sense once you do."

Five knew Ben wouldn't randomly tell Five to do things unless he had a serious reason but that still didn't ease any of the tightness in his chest that he knew wasn't from an injury.

Five didnt realise the tears running down his face till Ben cupped his face in his hands, wiping away his tears with his thumb.

"I'm scared, Ben," Five sounded weak, and small. He felt tired and exhausted, he had that same aching feeling of wanting to go home like when he was in the apocalypse. He's never outright talked to his siblings about his emotions. All his siblings he always refused to open up to, to show any affection towards them, constantly pushing them away. Even when he lost them time after time, he took everything for granted.

Ben pulled Five up into his arms while Five held onto Ben because now he knew he was gonna disappear again. Five tried to stop the traitors from running down his face, they were going against what Five wanted but what his body wanted was more overpowering than what he wanted to do.

He felt Ben try to slightly pull away but Five refused to loosen his grip on him. He kept his arms wrapped around him gripping onto the back of his leather jacket,"Please…. don't go." Five didn't care that his voice cracked, he didn't care he was crying in his brother's arms, his walls were broken down and there was nothing he could do to rebuild them back up now.

Ben pulled back and looked Five in the face, "I'm sorry Five, I have to do this." Ben quickly let go and walked far enough that Five couldn't grab onto him before walking out of the room.

No No, please don't leave me alone

Five quickly pushed himself off the bed against his body's protest and landed on the floor. Five almost collapsed to the ground due to the pain he was in but was able to steady himself out.

Five grabbed his side and started to walk towards the door Ben walked out of. Instead of the normal dark hallway, it normally led to. Everything disappeared and turned black, Ben was gone and so was the house he grew up in. Five felt like he was falling and falling till everything stopped again.

~~o0o~~

Five bolted up but quickly but immediately regretted it, he grabbed at his side and fell back down on whatever he was laying on. He looked around, he was in a room, a bedroom to be exact and he was laying on a bed. Five looked down, he was bandaged up around his wound as well as many other places around his body that were injured.

His blazer, vest, tie, and white button-up were laid folded up nicely on the foot of the bed while he laid on the bed with just his White undershirt on.

Five turned his head and saw a bedside table with the things that belonged to his siblings as well as his switchblade. A glass, as well as a pitcher full of water, laid next to everything. Five pushed himself up as best as he could so he was leaning on his elbow.

' Where was he?'

Five looked over at the clock that was hung up on the wall, it read 5:43.

Five knew it was PM because the setting sun was shining in through the window that was open ajar, just enough for air to blow in. The Creme and peach-colored curtains swayed up and down as the cold gentle breeze rolled into the Room, making Five slightly shiver.

Five swung his legs over and pushed himself up to where he was in a sitting position at the edge of the bed. The bed was small but just about the size of Five's bed at home and close to the floor too so his feet didn't dangle.

Every part of his body ache yet Five wasn't focused on that but what he had just woken up from.

' Why did Ben leave him?'

He told him to wake up and everything would make sense yet everything that has happened the past 24 hours has made no sense to him. From what he was told, everyone was dead and He and Luther are…...twins?

Five's head was foggy not only from it getting bashed into the wall a couple of times but everything he was trying to process, he had too many questions but not enough answers.

Five reached out his hand and grabbed Klaus' lighter, he turned it over and sure enough, there was a small number 4 etched into the black paint of the lighter. Five closed his hand tight around the lighter and kept it in his lap.

Five reached over to where his clothes were laid and started to put them back on. He picked up his button-up shirt and started to slip it back on, his clothes smelled of soap but it threw Five off because his clothes have always smelled like the soap they used at the house, never anything else.

He buttoned up his shirt all the way to the top then draped his tie under his collar. He still didn't know where he was but was obviously in someone's house and they didn't want him dead so that was a plus.

Five balanced himself on the bedside table as he stood up to tuck in his shirt wincing at the bullet wound in his side as well as his bruised ribs. Five paused as he heard steps that were growing louder and louder. Five grabbed for his switchblade on instinct as the door creaked open revealing a woman.

"Your awake," she said to Five with a soft smile

Five instantly recognized her, she was the one who he borrowed the newspaper from outside of the convenience store. With an even closer look at her, she definitely reminded him of Grace. She was dressed like she was still in the 50s and had a calm atmosphere around her. Her short strawberry blonde hair was loosely tied back in a silk light pink ribbon.

"Oh!" Her eyes wandered down and she looked startled by what she had seen, Five followed her eyes and saw it landed on his hand which was holding the blade. He quickly closed it and placed it back on the small table then looked back at her.

"S-sorry, force of habit," His voice was scratchy and his throat felt like a desert. Five felt his face grow hot with embarrassment, as he let his hands fall back to his side.

She walked a few steps closer and held out what she was holding in her hand towards Five. It was his watch that Five had just now realised was missing from his wrist.

"I put the correct time and date on it, it seems to have gotten scrambled up possibly when you were hurt." Five lifted his hand and carefully grabbed his watch from her. He ran his thumb over the lens but quickly noticed something, the date. It couldn't be right

"How long have I been out?" Five's voice cracked making him clear his throat so it didn't feel like sandpaper.

"A little bit over a day, you were beaten up badly and lost a good amount of blood."

Fuck!!

He started to tie his tie as fast as he could then reached over for his other clothes and began slipping them on. He grimaced as he had to lift his arms up which hurt his ribs as he slid on his vest.

"You should probably get some more rest, you were really badly injured……..I don't mind you staying here at all," The woman said to him as he slid on his blazer. Five didn't realise his legs were trembling under him, he went to take a step and go collect his shoes which were on the other side of the bed but collapsed as soon as he put his weight down on his outstretched foot.

Everything spun as he fell to the ground, the aching searing pain from all over his body made his stomach knot up as he swallowed back trying not to puke.

He felt hands fall to his back as well as his arm as he was dragged up and placed on the bed he was previously laying on. His breathing was ragged and he could feel the perspiration gathering on the palm of his hands. Everything felt like he fast-forwarded time, maybe he did he didn't know, no energy meant no powers, and Five certainly didn't have any energy.

He felt his body grow heavy as a cool cloth draped over his body and the woman's hand pushed up his bangs and laid her palm on his forehead. He could feel the outline of a wedding band around her ring finger, she was married, certainly, there was someone else in the house too.

"My name is Ymir…... Ymir Cyprus," the woman said in that still gentle calm tone as she removed her hand from his forehead and sat at the edge of the bed.

Cyprus

Why did that name sound familiar to him?

"Can I ask your name young man?"

His name

He didn't have a name

He had a number

"Five….," He responded to her as she shot a confused glance towards him.

"Five?"

Five wanted to mentally smack himself,' Of course because everyone is named after a Number, Idiot!'

Five quickly covered it up, "It's a nickname from my siblings, I hardly even remember my real name, it's rarely used." Five wasn't technically lying but he was lying, he just never chose a name.

"Well nice to meet you Five, is there anyone I can call for you?" she gave him a warm smile and stood up walking over to the small desk in the room where a rotary dial phone was.

He had no one, he was away from his own timeline and it's not like giving her a fake number would work. Five kept quiet till she spoke again, "It's alright if you don't remember the number I can always look in the phone book."

Five cleared his throat before talking,"That's not the problem, I just….don't have anyone to call."

She lowered her hand from about to dial back to her side and walked back over and sat on the bed again."What about your parents, they must be worried about you, and those siblings you talked about?"

Crap

"Me and my siblings are all adopted, our father passed and our mother……." Five paused.

He couldn't say 'oh yes my mom is a robot built by my dad'......... Things most certainly won't go well with that sentence.

"Our mother isn't in the picture," Five finished off looking up at Ymir. Again he didn't lie, they all are adopted, Reginald is dead, and Grace was well…...a robot but he couldn't say that.

As soon as Five finished he heard a distant cry of a baby which made Ymir's head turn towards the door. She stood up and walked over to the door and turned around to look at Five before walking out.

"Well, I have dinner on the stove, which you're more than welcomed to stay for, I made more than enough." Five responded with a single nod of his head before she walked out softly closing the door.

When he heard the soft click of the door Five reached into his trousers pocket where he forgot his notebook was. He pulled it out and the whole thing was damaged due to that pond he fell in. The pages were all wavy along with the ink on some of the pages were smeared and illegible.

Five carefully flipped to the page where he had the equations he needed which weren't ruined too bad, but something still didn't look right about it.

Five closed it and laid it on the bedside table where everything else still was aside from Klaus' lighter that now laid in his lap.

He never understood Klaus' powers, he was immortal because the big guy upstairs (who Klaus said actually looked like an old western cowboy) didn't want him. Klaus often joked about this saying he wasn't wanted in heaven or hell.

'Did they actually kill him?'

Five still never understood how he was able to die in both apocalypses but not from countless drug overdoses.

He didn't know HOW his immortality worked so for all Five knows, he could be dead along with the others, or alive and just watched all his siblings get murdered and he couldn't bring them back.

Five shook his head, he didn't want to think about it either everyone was dead or Klaus was the only one alive still waiting for Five. He hoped none of it was true but at least hoped Klaus was alive if it was.

Five reached to the other side of the bed and grabbed his shoes, slipping them on before carefully pushing himself off the bed to stand up again.

He was glad his legs weren't hurt, maybe his right ankle got twisted a little but there were no injuries to his legs. Sure he couldn't run if he needed to due to the wound in his abdomen but the option was still there.

Five balanced himself first before he began to slowly walk to the door, grabbing onto surfaces or the wall along the way so he wouldn't fall. He turned the doorknob and opened the door revealing a short corridor that had 3 others doors along the way to what looked like the living room.

He walked down the hallway noticing one of the doors had the name "Imogen" spelled out in colorful foam letters while the other two doors were blank. He walked into the living room and could begin to smell the food in the air then turned a corner cautiously into what was the kitchen. It reminded him of Diego and mom whenever they cooked meals then called all the siblings to come eat.

Five immediately noticed Ymir already serving a dish for him as if she knew he would come over here. She looked up and smiled at him then set the dish down in front of a chair and pulled the wooden chair out for him as if saying 'sit'.

Five walked over and carefully sat down holding his left side as he sat. A plate of pasta was set on the table in front of him along with a glass of water. Ymair sat down in the seat opposite from him as he took a small sip of water from his glass.

Five still didn't know how he ended up here and exactly who this lady was other than her name which seemed too familiar to Five.

"How did you find me?" He asked once she had sat down.

She cleared her throat before talking,"I was on my way to work about to open up my cafe when I heard a gunshot come from the alleyway behind the building. An older gentleman and I were about to call the police then we saw two older men walk out unharmed." She paused for a second then continued on with the story.

"The older gentlemen walked away but I went to the alleyway where the gunshot was and you were laying on the floor. I was about to call an ambulance but remembered the previous day you were by yourself and didn't accept anyone's help. I made sure you were alive before bringing you back here."

Five actually did owe his life to her

They both stayed quiet for the remainder of the time that they ate until they were both finished. She stood and collected the dishes going over to the sink to wash them. Five carefully stood up from the chair and walked over to an image that was framed hanging up on the wall.

Five realised why her name seemed so familiar

" You're married, is your husband home?" Five had to test if this was what he thought it was. He looked over at her reaction as he asked the question. The expression on her face faltered then went back to normal, "Oh he's away a lot for work it's mostly just me and Imogen here all the time."

Five looked back to the image on the wall of Ymir, a man and a baby which he was certain was her husband and the baby was Imogen.

The newspaper article from a few months from now he had read when looking for the one of the day Ben had died.

Mother and child beaten to death by abusive husband

The picture on the wall was the one Five saw in the article along with the names Ymir Cyprus and Imogen Charlotte Cyprus. It hadn't occurred to Five till he heard her last name and even then it wasn't his main focus.

Five didn't like this one bit, he was a murderer but even then he had morals for who he killed. She's abused by her husband for who knows how long then beaten to death by him and he kills her daughter. Sure he's killed innocent people for the sake of the timeline but this was far beyond anything he would do.

Five grimaced he couldn't imagine Vanya, Allison or even Klaus getting into an abusive relationship and him not helping them if he had the chance. Allison he knew would probably leave before anything could happen but Vanya and Klaus were a different story. They both had horrible choices in men from Vanya dating a serial killer to Klaus and letting people treat him however to get drugs or sex.

This almost felt like a cry for help

And he could help, but at the same time couldn't. He was already messing with the timeline in doing what he was set out to do and wasn't even sure of the consequences.

Saving two more people from dying was sure to fuck up the timeline. Not to mention if he messed with something the Commission would be all over him more than they already were.

"What's his job?"

I mean he could still know where to go to make his life miserable.

"He works as a traveling business salesman, but even when he's home he's working at the office a lot." Five grinded his teeth together.

And the asshole was obviously cheating on her

At that moment there was a knock at the front door which caught both of their attention. Five stayed where he was while Ymir dried her hands on a towel and walked to the front door. Five heard a lock click then the opening of the door.

" We're sorry to bother ma'am but have you seen a kid, yey tall dressed in a uniform." That caught Five's attention as he peeked over and saw two people from the commission standing at the door.

How did they know where he was?

He moved back behind the wall as he listened to the conversation,"Oh are you two with the police?" Ymir questioned them.

"Um no we're detectives hired by the boy's family to look for him," one of the commission Hitman lied.

"May we come in and search the premises ma'am?" Fuck, now she's gonna think he's just some runaway kid….again technically not wrong but- That's not the point!

"Oh, yes just please give me a second to tell my husband, he's down in the shop doing some work.

'Husband?'

"Certainly ma'am take your time."

Five heard Ymir's footsteps walking to the kitchen then as soon as she saw Five she put a finger over her lips and grabbed his wrist pulling him somewhere. Five dragged behind her slightly due to him being injured but was able to follow where she was taking him. She walked down a section that led off from the kitchen into a walk in Pantry. She pulled him all the way to the back where there were cupboards towards the floor and opened it gesturing Five to go in there.

" You have to trust me on this," she whispered to him. Five nodded his head and got in the cupboard which was big enough that he could sit on his knees without being squished or hunched over. She closed the door behind him, leaving it open the slightest bit so he could look out.

'Why was she helping him?'

He heard her footsteps fade out till there was just muffled conversation that he could barely overhear. A few minutes passed and he heard footsteps get closer and the conversation became more clear.

"This is the pantry," her voice was still very calm, no panic or anything laced in her voice.

Both men walked into the pantry and looked around. One of the men started opening the rest of the cupboards that lined the bottom of the floors as the other started talking to Ymir.

"You haven't noticed any weird or out of ordinary things happening around here?" He questioned as the other man got closer and closer to where Five was.

"I don't believe so, I live in a quiet neighbourhood so hardly anything happens around her." She responded as her glance flickered over to the guy going one by one opening the cupboards.

"Are you sure you haven't seen this kid ma'am?" He pulled out and showed her a medium sized image while the other guy opened the last cupboard that was before the one Five was in.

Five pressed himself all the way to the back and put his hand over his mouth as it would help him not be found. The man reached and put his hand on the handle about to pull it open.

"Oh, could you not touch that one my husband just installed it, the glue is still settling in." She said, still acting unfazed.

The man removed his hand for the handle and walked back over to the other guy who put the photo away, " Everything looks clear here, sorry for troubling you ma'am."

She smiled at them," Not at all, let me escort you out."

They walked away and there was silence till he heard the closing of the door followed by a lock clicking. Five felt his shoulders drop from where he didn't realise he was tensing up as the cupboard door opened revealing Ymir.

"They're gone," She helped Five climb out of the cupboard and stand up before walking back into the kitchen where she sat down.

"How did you-?" Five was confused why she helped him and didn't believe their story.

"They were wearing the same thing those two men who shot you in the alleyway were wearing."

Five didn't know what to say, he didn't know why he was accepting the help from this lady he just met. He only had the rest of today and one day left to find out how to save Ben but things were not going as planned, like always.

" Who are those people?" She asked him as he straightened out his blazer.

He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the shattering of glass.

Both him and Ymir flinched before going over to where the sound was. The window in the living room was shattered everywhere while both men stood outside the window both with guns in hand.

Fuck!

Five pushed Ymir back into the kitchen as the popping of bullets continued covering up the crying of her baby. Five turned his attention to her,"I trusted you, now you have to trust me on something." She nodded her head at Five as he grabbed a hold of her upper arm blinking them into the room Five saw earlier with the name "Imogen" on it.

"What did-," Ymir started saying, looking like she was about to puke.

"No time," Five quickly said, interrupting her.

Five almost collapsed to the floor but held himself up on the wall as he held his wound. Five pulled back his hand and saw blood starting to seep through his vest, he must have ripped whatever stitches were holding it closed, open.

He looked over and saw Ymir had grabbed her baby, "Is there anyway out of this place!?" He yelled, still talking over the gunfire.

She quickly nodded her head, "The attic. There's a fire escape that leads out to the street from the back of the house. It's in the room you were staying in."

Five nodded his head and pushed open the door making the shooting become louder. He looked back and saw Ymir following him as he made his way down the hallway into the room he had woken up in. He closed the door behind both of them as Ymir pulled down the ladder that led to the attic.

Five ran over and grabbed all his sibling's things as well as his and shoved them in his pockets before following Ymir up the ladder. She led him over to a window that had a metal ladder going down off the side of the house.

She pushed Five to go down the ladder first, which he did followed by Ymir climbing down the ladder with her baby in her hands which he has no clue how she did that. She pointed towards a metal gate that was surrounding the house which Five now realised was a shophouse.

Five ran a few feet behind Ymir due to the wound which was now completely open as blood soaked through his blazer. She looked back at him and must have noticed. She reached back and grabbed Five's hand which was small compared to her hand which enveloped his. Five normally would have pulled away but he was too drowsy from pain and adrenaline to register what was even happening. Five followed her as she took sharp turns through shops and back alleyways running farther away from the gunfire.

Five looked behind him when the gunshots suddenly came to a stop and noticed one of the guys were hot on their feet ready to shoot. Five yanked Ymir against a wall as a bullet sped by right in front of them Five was surprised it didn't graze either of them. She pulled Five around the corner and pushed him to slip through a small opening between two walls. Five went through the opening but quickly realised she wouldn't be able to fit through it. She passed him her baby and put a finger to her mouth before leaving.

Five pushed himself up against the wall and put a hand over the baby's mouth so she wouldn't make noise but not covering her nose so she could breath. Five peeked out from the side and saw the guys pass right by shouting a string of curses.

"Fuck!" One of the guys shouted, kicking a nearby car tire making the alarm go off.

"Come on, we don't have time let's look somewhere else he probably teleported them who knows where." Five knew the commission would be after them if he tried to mess with the timeline but he didn't know they were gonna send more than 2 hitmen to take him out. Five waited till it got quiet and he could hear the distant wailing of sirens.

Five let himself slide down the wall as the exhaustion took over his body. Everything ached more than before and his lungs burned as he tried to catch his breath.

Five looked down as the baby still in his arms looked up at him with light hazel eyes. Five didn't know what to do or how to handle this situation, left alone with someone's baby.

He stayed staring at the small child in his arms as she smiled up at him giggling.

"U-um…... hi?"

'Yes, make conversation with the baby, smart Five!'

"Five!" Five turned to his side and saw Ymir coming over to him and putting her hands out towards him. He passed her, her baby then crawled out of the tight space holding his side.

She looked at the blood coating his right hand and quickly pulled him over to a nearby building and leaned him against the wall. As soon as he was placed on the wall his feet refused to support him anymore and he collapsed to the ground.

She quickly shrugged off a shawl she had over her shoulders and balled it up pressing it into his side with one hand. Five cringed at the pressure being applied to the wound and looked us noticing the worried expression on Ymir's face.

"You, young man, have a lot of explaining to do" She said it much like if it were Diego or Allison lecturing him like a kid.

"It's a long story," Five muttered trying to dodge having to do any explaining. She applied more pressure making Five wince.

"Then start talking"

Five looked at her stern glare then the wound that guaranteed he wouldn't be able to jump anytime soon.

This was gonna be a lot of explaining to do

Shit

#virusfanfic

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newvegascowboy · 4 years

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Im fighting the urge to write Doom fic

#if ever there was a fandom lacking fic it would be doom #theres like....144 fics on ao3 #i just want to appreciate doomguy ok #not like theres a lot of content in terms of fic writing tho #i mean maybe in doom 2016 and yeah theres a story in eternal #but still #i never actually beat doom 2016 #so far the combat in eternal is way better #but i miss being able to punch demons to death #anyway i want to write doom fic and the fandom is tiny and nobody would read it!!!!!!!!!!

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sneezemonster15 · 2 years

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For 10+ years I've been from one fandom to another, seen more than dozen of crack, doomed, one-sided, toxic and/or dysfunctional ships. Yet I've never seen a fandom like Naruto's that just cant be normal about those things. It's like half of fandom people's brain got stuck developing in some teen years, like caged animals that got unleashed. As a bypassing person who loves exploring characters,dynamics and both problematic and non problematic themes in meta and fics it makes me uncomfortable that vast majority of folks can't use rational thinking and look at things objectively. Tbh I sometimes hope they're younger than 16 and would know better one day.

Shipping wars, stan culture, lack of reasoning, projection onto characters - yes none of that is exclusive for Naruto fandom but this one seems to be lasting for years and years and in no sign of slowing down (likely due to Boruto and gaidens). Also this idea that 'x did nothing wrong' and ' x is an <insert> icon' is so damaging, there's no character who did no wrong ever or had no flaws, especially about Sasuke, Sakura, Itachi, Hinata, Konoha in general ect. Things are most often than not gray, not b/w. If you say so you get eaten alive and actually if you say anything (even state the canon) you'd get burnt like a witch and in that way it's both tale telling and ironic that this has to be sent on anon.

Hmm. I feel you. I haven't been in this fandom for very long, less than a year actually. Even so, I have observed the patterns in this fandom, as a result of various interactions and consumption of content.

This is my first fandom experience, even though my work and interests have a lot to do with media. I think it was fated that someone like me who puts a lot of effort in staying away from unnecessary complications in life, would one day get invested in Naruto fandom of all the fandoms. And like you said, Naruto fandom is just... unbelievably complex and aggravating. So many fans have so many opinions about so many things, most of them come from projection of oneself and not an objective outlook, whether it's about shipping, narrative, characterization, idea of politics, relationships, friendship, love, nationalistic values, historical context, cultural aspects or understanding of visual language and text.

People don't want to even listen. Not even to facts. I have interacted with many shippers and fans who just won't subject themselves to rational thinking or logic, even if they are otherwise capable of it, no matter how you appeal to their senses - facts, comparative analysis, appeal to emotion, text, nothing works.

I think it's hugely because Naruto universe features and breeds so many diversely controversial and even contradictory messages, those who are emotionally young, suffice and even enjoy themselves with what appears on the surface. Like you said, I also wish deeply that they are young, so that at least there is a chance for them to grow up and see things differently.

I won't deny for a minute that there are many problematic themes, ideas and their very problematic 'resolutions' or lack thereof, in the story of Naruto and Shippuden.

The whole - Is Sasuke good or evil, did Naruto do right by his core ideals, is Konoha accountable for its actions, was Tobirama in the right or wrong, was Hiruzen right or wrong, did the Uchiha clan deserve what they got, were Hyuugas in the right or wrong, was it right to keep the truth of massacre under wraps etc etc.

I usually keep away from talking about the more political themes in Naruto on my blog because honestly I don't want this blog to become a source of negativity in my online life. That isn't the purpose of this blog and I have enough trouble with Sakura and Hinata stans. But I am just bowled over by some of the takes in this fandom. Especially about politics, the notion of a village, a nation, Itachi, Sasuke and Naruto. However, since my readers send me asks about it, sometimes I talk about it. Mostly I don't. I keep those discussions for Twitter and Facebook, about actual real life events.

Most of these takes are just.... unbelievable. I wonder how people come to such conclusions without any context and information, and it's even more disheartening to see how many people agree with such takes. And these are heavy themes, important themes. They say so much about a person and their belief systems.

A lot of time I think fans just don't wanna admit they could be mistaken. Sometimes I have an inkling that they might know in their hearts they are wrong but they don't wanna look that way to their peers. Fandoms act like any other community where fake news and bad takes travel faster than truth or reason and get established as the truth, despite evidence to the opposite. Take NH and SS stans. The moment you analyse their ships, they will bring the same four panels they always do that shows Sasuke blushing or leaves flying. You put a hundred other panels and text and subtext and nuances, and you will get zilch. Nada. They will abuse you, and disappear.

I didn't have any experience of fandoms but I honestly thought they were about sharing ideas, generating content and community building. But a lot of times, they aren't. Even with subsets in a given fandom, I had imagined fandoms as a concatenation of these subsets. But no, they are completely divorced from each other, there's hardly any common ground. They can't even agree on the most basic themes that a blind person can see.

A lot of fans also don't understand causality in characters. I don't like those takes that try to prove Sasuke did wrong or Naruto did wrong. Especially with Sasuke, because the way his character is written in the story, he already has a lot going against him. The way he is established through his own actions and resultant response of other characters towards him. The way Kakashi or Sakura or other Konoha shinobis would talk about him. Kishi actually tries to show repeatedly why Sasuke did what he did, his actions cannot be thought of in black and white, like you said. But would I say, he did wrong? Just like that? Just that simply? No. Is there cause and effect in what he does and how he does it? Absolutely. So would I attach value judgment to his actions willy nilly? I won't. Same with Naruto, although I will agree that some of it is just bad or rushed writing. Kishi has a certain pattern of writing arcs and narratives, like he talks in his interviews, and it becomes clear to a perceptive reader when he isn't doing justice to his own themes.

But I can see that not everyone understands these themes or examine their resolutions with an unprejudiced head. And that's okay. All I try is to encourage or avail, at least on this blog, a dialectic.

I have come to understand that all fandoms have their faults, and having interacted with veteran bloggers and fans here, I also understand Naruto is one of the worst fandoms out there.

All I am hoping to do here is encourage healthy dialogues. It's so easy to despair over what's wrong with this fandom, and I do it all the time. Heh. I also give my frustration a vent by generating sharp or sassy content. It helps sometimes.

But just like you said, sometimes it's very disappointing and demoralising to see whatever else goes on in here.

I am hoping to generate some more content, and maybe widen my ambit of discussions a bit more. Talking of issues that I usually keep away from. Since media (and our takes on it) is a reflection of our lives. Let's hope to have more healthy and productive dialogues, without prejudice and preconceived notions.

#ask #anon #naruto #naruto fandom #sasuke #uzumaki naruto #uchiha sasuke

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mirclealignr · 3 years

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A Reclamation of Time | legolas

legolas x gn!elf!reader

requested by anon - Lena! I’m very excited for your new fics, especially lotr! I was wondering if maybe I could request one with Legolas where he and the reader are comforting each other after Gandalf dies? Like tears, feels, maybe a kiss...? Thank you! <3

warnings; angst, mentions of death, fluff

a/n; Lóth means flower in Elvish ... and this is my first fic for the lotr fandom sooo comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated and encouraged.

word count; 1400+

It’s funny how cruel fate can bring such bittersweet happiness. When times become difficult and the prospect of surviving seems slim, people subvert their own expectations, say things they’d never have the courage to say, and live like every day might be their last. And while the reason behind it all is foundation for brutal despair, there comes a dim light in the midst of the darkness that we all cling to like an adolescent to their youth. Legolas was your light.

From your childhood, the odds had been against you. Your parents were lost to an ancient war hardly spoken of in modern times. Brought up in the King’s court, you grew up to be a warrior, side by side with Tauriel and Legolas. You could rival Legolas at his archery skills and that was the single thing that brought you together. What allowed you to stay together, was your friendship.

Legolas was not always one for fun and games, but if anyone could bring it out of him, it was you. When Tauriel began to fall for Kili, it was harder and harder to receive that smile as bright as starlight. But you weren’t certain that even his smile could dull the pain of watching his eyes long for another, surpassing you altogether. Of course, when it came to matters of the heart, there was no taming it, no changing its mind. And so, you longed for Legolas while he longer for another, both doomed to an eternity to love alone.

With Kili’s death and Tauriel’s despair, Legolas went looking for something else he could chase. Something he had the possibility of catching. ‘Strider’ his father had said. And when his mind was made up, that was that. But stubbornness was a trait you both shared, and when you decided to accompany him, having nothing left behind, there was little he could do to stop you.

And what an adventure it had turned out to be. Meeting dwarves, men, hobbits and Kings along the way. And all the while you remained by his side — the Fellowship of the Ring.

That of course, was when you realised that your journey may have quite a contradicting end to what you had first imagined. Death had never been on your agenda, but thinking about it carefully, nor had returning to Mirkwood. So perhaps death was appropriate, though an elf, who was ever supposed to live nearly three thousand years? After days and weeks of wondering, you approached Legolas on his night watch.

“Legolas?”

He looked downwards from the night sky and met your gaze with perfect grace. Though dark and without firelight, his blue eyes were still illuminated. You could often tell his moods by his eyes, whether he was angry, sad, in the mood to talk or irritated by another’s presence. But that night, he seemed so open and calm that you couldn’t read him at all. You’d never seen him so open with you before — it threw you off guard.

His lack of response paved the way for you to speak again. “How did you imagine this would end?” You asked gently, looking up to the sky wistfully, in order to make the question sound more innocent than it was.

“What do you mean?” He asked, furrowing his brows ever so slightly. He moved closer to you in anticipation of your response and the heat radiating from him caused your cheeks to blush slightly under the moonlight.

“I mean, when we started all this, did you think we’d return to Mirkwood? Or something else?” You asked, still trying to mask your real question. But how does one ask another whether they think their death is upon them?

“I don’t know. I’m not sure if I looked that far ahead. Why, is something on your mind, Lóth?” He nudged.

That nickname, born nearly three thousand years ago and used as if it was created only yesterday. A true token of your time and intimacy together over the years. And the use of it only made the question burn sharper in your mind.

“Do you think we’re going to die?” You asked.

Such a raw question that sounded as if it was coming from a child. And though you were far from a child, especially in the eyes of men, in the face of death you felt...premature. After close to three millenia, one might think that the concept of death may coincide with a sound mind, and yet it threw you into torment. For how could it be received calmly when you’d never been given the chance to think about it, let alone accept it. Life had not offered you the time to think about death as a so-called immortal. And in that moment you felt incredibly selfish, for how could you, someone who has been granted a dozen lifetimes and more, be scared about the simple path of death, when so many were dying younger, and without the chance to see the world and experience love?

You’d seen the world, you’d experienced love. It may have been unrequited, but it was love nevertheless. So, as he turned his head to yours and looked at you with silent anguish, you let a single selfish tear fall down your cheek and onto the grass below.

“If we die, then I will be happy to die alongside you. You have been there for me from the beginning and I cannot thank you enough. But, life comes with tragedy and we bear it through love.”

It had not answered your question that night. But months later it would and in the hardest way it would become clear exactly what he meant. Life is a tragedy, death is peace. The only tragedy death brings is for those it leaves behind.

But that night, selfishly again, all you could think was how you and the word love had sat side by side in the words that left Legolas’ lips. The blush that crept up your cheeks was more vibrant than the last, and for a split moment, you thought there was one present on his face as well. And then you thought about all the ways love can form, and cast the thought of him loving you the way you wanted from your mind. He was not your beacon in catastrophe.

And until then, that was the closest death had come to you since your parents. During the days leading up to its next visit, Legolas had hardly left your side. It was different than usual, it was deeper — as if there was some deeper meaning behind him standing so close, or behind him protecting you above all others. It felt as if something in the world, in which only you two shared, had shifted. And If you could dream that world, it would be full of flowers, and the greenest grass, graced by the cleanest water that sparkled in both sunlight and starlight.

And then, when faced so ruthlessly with the temporary nature of life, there was another shift. As the company stood in shock after escaping from Moria, it seemed a moving stillness had caused time to stop and the world to briefly mourn Gandalf the Grey. And then it was shattered by the sound of crying. Death had claimed another to peace and left the world behind to war.

In the moments of wanting to both give and receive comfort, you looked for him. There he stood, one single tear in his eye on the mountain top, his hair swaying gently in the wind. If not for the internal torment he was feeling, he may look like an angel. And then you caught yourself re-evaluating, before running to him — what angel doesn’t have demons?

His arms wrapped loosely around your waist and got tighter with each passing second. His head was buried into your neck and only then did he let his tears fall. Pulling back slowly, you understood the gravity of his words those months before. And realising, not fast enough, that time was merciless, you inched further towards his lips. You wouldn’t let time deny you him, only he would be allowed that power. If he turned you away, then you could walk away knowing that it wasn’t for lack of time. But he didn’t; in a tender embrace he conveyed all his emotions to you that he couldn’t speak.

“For the longest time,” he admitted, “What a fool I’ve been.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” you reassured.

It was bittersweet to receive such happiness that only occurred because of such pain. But it would be foolish not to accept it when it showed itself to you. The prospects of surviving were slim, time merciless, and Legolas utterly perfect as he held you in his arms, kissing you once again, perhaps wondering just the same as you, if that kiss was to be goodbye.

#lord of the rings fanfiction #lord of the rings fic #legolas #legolas x reader #legolas x you #legolas fanfic #legolas one shot #legolas greenleaf #legolas greenleaf x reader #lotr fanfic

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jinmukangwrites · 3 years

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Whumptober2021 - October 4th - Taken Hostage | Pushed

Gift fic to @fidothefinch <3

Fandom: Nightwing, Batman - All Media Types

AO3

Warnings: Near death experience, hostage situations, implies Bruce as a shitty dad but I don't go into detail on it.

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If there’s anything in the world that Dick hates more than being restrained, it’s being held hostage. Especially if he’s being held hostage as a threat against Bruce or Batman. One thing they don’t tell you in the foster system is that if you’re adopted by a rich and famous to the Kardashian level man, is that you’re often the target of criminals who think snatching a kid on their way home from school is a surefire way to make a million bucks. It’s no better in the vigilante business either, because often any hero in Gotham is only seen as a stepping stool to getting to Batman.

Honestly, at this point Dick’s used to it. It doesn’t mean he enjoys it, though. Not so much because of the initial kidnapping part, but because he’s worked hard to become his own person, his own man with his own life. He moved to Blüdhaven to be anything other than the son of Bruce Wayne; to be his own hero that villains learn to fear. And then the second he sets foot back in Gotham, for whatever reason, suddenly it’s all about the reclusive eldest Wayne child returning home! Suddenly, when villains see him at night, it isn’t “Oh shit, it’s Nightwing!”, it’s “Shit, it’s a Sidekick! Where’s the Bat?!”

Anyway, long story short, Dick came back to Gotham for one weekend to visit family, and now he’s dressed as Nightwing, standing on a roof with duct-tape keeping his wrists together behind his back and a knife to his throat belonging to a shady businessman who’s finally caught the attention of Gotham’s heroes.

And it’s sorta pathetic how Dick ended up in this situation. It wasn’t like this was going to be a particularly difficult mission. Just sneak into the building, grab the evidence he needed to get this bastard behind bars, and then get out. Unfortunately, someone tipped the man off without Bruce knowing about it. When he went into the main office, he was met with a very strong guard hiding behind the doors, and after a hefty blow to the head and a few concerning minutes of blacking out, Dick opened his eyes—thankfully still masked—to find himself kneeling on the rough cement of a skyscraper’s roof, completely stripped of any of his useful tools. He has a small knife in one of his gauntlets, but it’s not exactly in an easy to reach position. It would take time to grab at it, and that’s not counting the high probability he’ll be spotted by Jerome McCoy--Gotham’s latest shady businessman--or any of his goons.

Besides, Tim is already up here listening to their demands to get Batman up here or Dick dies. It shouldn’t be long before Bruce gets here and kicks his ass. That’s not even accounting for the facts that Jason, Steph, Duke, Dami, and Cass are all in town.

These idiots have no clue how close they are with dealing with close to every single bat if something bad happens to Dick tonight.

And everything was going fine until Tim suddenly stopped mid sentence in reminding McCoy that Batman was on his way and brought his hand to his communicator in his ear. When Tim paled ever so slightly, Dick knew something had gone exactly NOT according to plan.

“What is it?!” McCoy demands, pressing the knife against Dick’s neck with worrying pressure. Dick leans his head back slightly to lessen the risk of his neck being cut and meets Tim in the eyes through their masks.

Tim swallows. “Batman is being held up-”

Dick resists sighing in both disappointment and lack-of-surprise as McCoy practically explodes.

“What?!

“Only for a few hours,” Tim rushes to explain. He’s lifted his hands in a placid manner and softened his voice, which can’t be good. “He’s… met an unexpected complication along the way that he cannot ignore. Please, just tell me what you want, and I can take my partner and be out of-”

“I don’t have a few hours,” McCoy practically screeches. “Either Batman makes it his priority to get here, or Nightwing gets it!” to make a point, McCoy lifts the knife from Dick’s neck and waves it in front of him. Dick slides his eyes over to the other goons on the roof; there’s only a few. Maybe… if Dick plays his cards right… “That was the deal!”

“I understand-”

“Tell Batman to get here now, or Nightwing’s blood is on his hands!”

“He’s busy- I can’t just-”

Dick slams his body back, pointing his elbow the furthest he can with the way his arms are bound and jamming it into McCoy’s stomach. McCoy lets out a startled, breathless gasp as Dick uses his surprise to escape from his grasp and jump to his feet.

“’Wing!” Tim yells at the same time McCoy wheezes “Get that fucker!”

Dick has just a second to notice Tim’s shock at Dick’s sudden attack before Dick’s having to defend himself with his hands literally tied behind his back. Sorry, kid, Dick thinks, ducking around a pair of beefy arms, but we’re out of options.

It was going well until it wasn’t. Tim was even about to step in. However, while waking up from his lovely whack to the head, Dick failed to assess just where he was on the roof.

All it took was for the back of his heel to tough nothing but air for his heart to jump to his throat. Instinctively, he tried to wave his arms to catch his balance, but was quickly reminded of his predicament when the tape tugged against his wrists. For a moment, pure panic filled his entire body, here, wobbling backwards off the edge of a roof dozens of stories above the ground. He could feel his heart pound, hands shake, breath catch, hair rustle in the wind, but he couldn’t do a thing to stop himself from falling backwards. He’s pretty sure he hears Tim scream his codename, but he’s not totally focused on anything other than his pending doom right now-

A heavy hand wraps around his upper-bicep, stopping his almost-promised journey to pancake town. Everything is silent on the roof for a solid moment, as Dick practically hangs over the ledge of the roof with his feet just barely still on solid ground, a goon holding him juuuuuust enough to make sure he doesn’t fall. Tim looks even paler than before, looking like he really did watch Dick go over the edge. McCoy looks a constipating mixture of smug and outraged while the other goons stand nearby like useless props.

Then, McCoy speaks with anger as heavy and level as stone. “Tell Batman I want him here in ten minutes.”

Tim meets Dick’s eyes, and Dick sees everything that he needs to. Whatever is holding Bruce up, it’s more important than Dick, and Tim knows it’s useless to even try.

“Please,” Tim says, voice wobbly. He’s a detective. He knows what’s about to happen. “Just give us more time-”

McCoy snaps a finger, and that’s that.

The hand on his arm pushes Dick away and opens it’s grasp. It doesn’t matter anymore that Dick had his feet on the roof, because the rest of his body is falling.

Falling.

Dick’s completely off the roof in a blink of an eye and he’s falling.

The air is rushing past his ears and through his hair, so loud he can barely think. That’s if he’s thinking at all, as story after story passes him by. He’s falling, and for the first time in a long time, he’s afraid of falling, because this time there’s nothing he can do to stop it. He doesn’t have any tools… he doesn’t even have his hands, nor enough time to even try and get his hands free. He’s falling, rushing to the ground. He can already see in vivid detail what his body will look like when it hits the pavement.

He’s falling. He’s standing at the top of a beam, watching his mama and papa fall. He’s falling. He’s screaming as the sound of their bodies landing and snapping reaches his ears. He’s falling and he’s going to die in the most Grayson way possible.

He’s going to die the same way his parents did, a way that he’s worked hard to not be afraid of ever since he first moved in with Bruce, but was always secretly terrified.

He closes his eyes. He doesn’t want to watch. He’s afraid, and Tim will watch from above and blame himself and he never wanted any of his siblings to blame themselves for his death like how he blamed himself for his parent’s for decades and-

And the wind is knocked out of him, but not from his body slamming on the ground. A strong arm wraps painfully around his stomach, and suddenly the world turns sideways and his eyes shoot open in shock.

“Fuck,” Jason grunts, holding Dick with one arm and the other wrapped tightly in a grappling line. “Fucking hell.”

And Dick… doesn’t know what to do. He feels muted, like a YouTube video playing at 144p and buffering still. The adrenaline is pumping so loudly through his entire body that the fact that Jason’s caught him doesn’t register until Jason’s landing roughly on the ground and lowering Dick to the asphalt.

“Started heading over the second that bastard said he wasn’t coming,” Jason explains. Dick nods numbly, his eyes locked on the oil covered road below him, his mind still trying to process. “Said he ran into some bastard working for Two-Face holding some rich family hostage. Said we could handle it. I can’t believe I got here just in time. Fucking fuck-face fucker.”

There’s a splash of two feet landing on the permanently puddled street beside them, and Dick can hardly contain his flinching at the sound, but thankfully Jason doesn’t notice. He just stands up and faces where Tim has landed quite suddenly from where he must have grappled down from the roof. Dick continues to look at the ground, wringing his knitting together in front of him. He… hasn’t noticed Jason undid the bindings.

“What happened to McCoy?” Jason demands, and Tim takes a gasping breath and shakes his head.

“They ran into the building while I… jumped after N.”

Jason growls, taking a step forward but Tim stops him. “Orphan said she’ll handle it, she sounded pissed.”

Jason backs off, but anger still curls in his stomach like an old friend. His fists clench to his side. “Once I see B, I’m gonna punch his teeth up to his brain.”

And it must be proof of how shaken Tim is, because he doesn’t argue.

Then, like a pin hitting tile, a small sound catches Jason’s ears. He looks down to where Dick is still sitting in the grime of Gotham’s street. His heart sinks to his gut.

“N?” he asks, and Dick doesn’t respond. “Nightwing, you’re… crying.”

That directs Tim’s attention down where tears are certainly streaming down Dick’s cheeks from under his mask. His lips are wobbling, and the second Jason kneels down to put his hand on Dick’s shoulder, a wounded sound escapes his lips.

“Dick?” Jason asks, his voice sounding shocked and unsure.

Dick looks up at Tim, looking one breath of the wind from falling apart. “You jumped after me?” His voice is small and brittle. When Tim nods slowly, Dick whimpers, dropping his head into his hands and letting out a sob. “You almost watched me die,” is all he says before he finally breaks down into mournful cries.

Jason looks up from where Dick’s now shaking and gasping into his hands and meets Tim’s eyes. Neither of them… has ever seen Dick get like this before. It feels wrong, like something in the world has shattered and can never be replaced.

“Lets… get him home,” Jason says, breaking the silence.

“Yeah,” is all Tim can smartly bring to his lips while Jason scoops Dick into his arms and stands up.

Dick’s so out of it with his sobbing that he hardly reacts, just curls against Jason and continues to cry.

“You know,” Jason says quietly, “the scariest way to die, for me, is to overdose.”

And Tim understands.

“I… see.”

Jason nods, swallowing hard. “Yeah. So let’s just call it a night, get him some Alfred cookies, and just… let him take this at his own pace, okay?”

Tim nods, knowing that after years of Dick always going out of his way to help them with their trauma, their issues, and never asking for anything in return… it’s now their turn to return the favor. Dick looks so much smaller than Tim swears he’s ever seen him, curled up in Jason’s arms, trembling and sobbing. He silently promises to himself that he will do whatever it takes to make sure Dick gets through this, just like what he’d do for them, always. And Tim’s positive the rest of Dick’s siblings will do the same.

#dick grayson #nightwing #batman #whumptober2021 #no.4 #taken hostage #pushed #near death tw #fanfiction #jin writes

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voiceless-terror · 3 years

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my magnus finale and season five thoughts under the cut!

I’ll preface this by saying there were a lot of things I loved about this finale, and none of this is intended to start a debate or fight! It’s simply my feelings about what happened, and everyone’s entitled to their own (and entitled to love/hate what happened!). I totally respect how much others adored this and the wonderful art that’s coming of it. These are, again, just my own thoughts.

I really loved the first half of this. After Jon’s compliance in the last episode (that I found a bit troubling), I was really glad to see that he made the decision to confront Jonah himself and stuck by the idea of not dooming the other worlds. For one, I think it would have been narratively unsatisfying to have Martin be the one to kill Jonah- because let’s face it, while all the assistants have good reason to, this was really Jon’s confrontation to have. And I loved it! The conversation, Jonah begging not to die, and Jon saying - for Sasha, for Tim, hell, even for Gertrude. He never forgets Jonah’s victims or his own friends, and that’s such a core part of his character.

And I loved the statement. I was hoping we’d get one last one, and this one knocked it out of the park for me. Pupil!Jon is top hot Jon moments, and no I will not be taking questions on this. The soundscaping in this entire episode was brilliant.

I’ll start off by saying I understand narratively why the second half happened. It does make sense to me - that Jon’s final wishes end up being undercut by his love for Martin, and the last moments for me are desperately romantic and sad and lovely and I’m glad that they happened- it leaves so much room for us as an audience to decide what we think happened, and how to go from there. It’s a real gift to creators and though I for one will probably not be able to touch the finale for awhile, writing-wise, I am already itching to write some of my other projects!

But it happened so quickly for me. The pacing and change of heart is so about-face, mostly because of the situation- everything’s crumbling, we don’t really have time for much, if any dialogue. But Jon’s abrupt switch in plans when he was so committed to not dooming the multi-verse, the quick conversation of ‘oh we didn’t trust you so we already started going ahead with it,’ the whole thing was a bit rushed for me, and I think the pacing of this last arc has left a lot to be desired, personally. Again, I’m not saying it doesn’t make sense in its own way, I just don’t think the pacing of this season was the best that it could’ve been.

What also has been bothering me this season is Jon and Martin’s relationship (again, this is a personal take, it’s not something I expect everyone to agree with, at all). Martin’s not a character who was an initial fave for me at all, but I grew to love and appreciate him so that by the end of season four, I was really invested in Jon and Martin’s relationship and arc! It felt real and organic to me, and it was something to fight for. This stays mostly true for the first part of the season.

But then it gets a bit murky for me. We get the constant schtick of Martin going ‘a statement? Again?’ and this almost constant uncomfortable tension between him and Jon that never sat right with me. He wants Jon to not push any decisions on him, he doesn’t want to hear any statements, he wants his boundaries respected, but he doesn’t really do the same in regards to Jon. While I know the stress of the apocalypse is definitely a factor, it didn’t seem very ‘Martin’ to me, or at least the Martin that’s grown and changed since the first season. There’s a difference between going from being a wallflower to being assertive, and maybe because he’s never had a chance to really be confident and self assured, he doesn’t know how to do it in a way that isn’t a little hurtful. And while these can be normal and realistic parts of a relationship that are in some cases addressed, it’s realistic for me in a way that I don’t feel comfortable with. The way Martin is the one who pushes the ‘kill bill’ arc, especially in the Simon episode where he pretty much commands Jon to kill Simon, and his non-apology at the end of that episode (and the eventual fight where he accuses Jon of being the one to ‘enjoy it too much’). The time at Upton house that for me, is just uncomfortable knowing that Jon is actively dying and by the end, Martin doesn’t seem to realize it until he’s told (and then, when Jon says ‘was I wrong to hold off?’ Martin says no, that he enjoyed the time, and I just don’t think that Martin would ever condone that sort of self-sacrificial shit from Jon, as we see later on in the season!!). And then the fight, where Martin says some pretty awful and untrue things, and runs off with Annabelle- these are all things that could be forgiven, and are! But the apologies from Martin have all been lackluster with a tinge of ‘well I was right, wasn’t I?’ and the narrative doesn’t dispute that, and in fact seems to want us to side with some of his more (in my opinion) impulsive and not very great decisions. Jon very rarely fights back against him, and the times he has, its almost framed as if what he says/his transgressions are worse. I think if Jon acted in the way Martin did for some of this season, fandom would riot. But it's Martin, so he seems to get a free pass to act this way and have it be framed in a much better light. This is again, my own opinion about the text, I’m not saying anyone that disagrees with me is wrong. It’s just how it came off to me, and as someone who has been in relationships with similar sort of issues (on a very non apocalyptic scale, of course) it didn’t sit right with me.

So in the end, Jon goes off to confront Jonah on his own, which some are calling stupid or impulsive. But it’s not to me- this is Jon’s moral compass, and he’s sticking by it. For him to go along with the plan would be wildly out of character, and I’m glad he did this. The way it ended was ultimately satisfying to me, and leaves room for a lot of interpretation. But the way it got there wasn’t really what I wanted. And I say this as someone who really does enjoy jonmartin, and will continue to do so! I hope in a thousand fix it fics they get to talk and go to therapy and work on these issues on their own. But the way Jon and Martin’s relationship was presented over this season wasn’t comfortable for me, the trust issues and lack of communication was never resolved and I’m sort of disappointed with that overall.

I’m glad we got the ending we did, and I’m going to continue to love these guys for a good while yet. This is, again, not intended to start a debate, I don’t want to fight or engage with anyone like that because I really do respect everyone’s opinions on this season and final arc, and these are just my own thoughts. You are well within your rights to disagree with me on these things! But I just thought I’d share my own feelings about this last season. I’ve loved these characters for a really long time, and I’ve been listening since the end of 2017 so I have a lot of thoughts to sit with right now. But I’ll still definitely be writing and in this fandom for the long haul...especially if I want to reconcile the things I didn’t particularly vibe with xD

Hnnn back to my regularly scheduled posting, sorry for the long rambling thoughts.

#rye rambles #im not going to tag this obvi #but it was cathartic to write #sort of tma negative? but not an indictment of anything #because there was a lot to enjoy #but some things that really made me fjgfdkgl #feel free to ignore #this is long #i also tried to phrase this in the most non combative way possible and that may be annoying but i just dont need hate in my inbox tbh #this is all i will be posting about this cause i dont want this blog to be takes

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ad1thi · 3 years

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underrated stevetony fics rec list (P1)

i feel like a lot of really good stevetony fics get swept under the rug because this is such a big fandom and sometimes people miss out on quality content?? so this is a rec list of some of the stevetony fics i feel like everybody should have read/ be reading

Edit (31.12.2020): this got very long (i had almost 50 fics on my list, so ive decided to split this list into two parts. part 2 will be out soon!!)

Edit (20.02.2021): part 2 is out now!!

picture me in the trees: @ifmywishescametrue

Tony and Steve were childhood friends that almost became more, but Tony moved and they lost their chance. Thirteen years later, a chance meeting brings Tony back into Steve's life.

Free: @iwanttopizzamanyou

"Steve reads, and the words dance in front of his eyes, because while this used to be his dream, what he wanted, all he can think about is how this Hell will soon become his full time life."

Steve discovers fame, with fans waiting for him in the lobby and girls passing him their numbers after the shows. It used to be what he wanted, he supposes. Except his future managers keep asking more and more from him, and he's not sure his old life will survive. Tony is ready to help, and compromise, but Steve maybe isn't anymore.

making it work: @/ironarm

“Just tell him you don’t want to see him anymore,” Clint replies, finishing the end of his burger and starting to crumple up the wrapper, “It’s not like you love him or anything.”

“Clint, if I thought I could get rid of him about a week ago, I would have. But for some fucked up reason, I can’t lie to him. It’s like, I see those baby blue eyes, and bam. Whatever barrier that I built up from childhood trauma is gone.”

Clint chokes on the last piece of his burger, almost resisting the urge to smack Tony on the side of his head.

Tony was a fucking idiot.

Boys Like Us: @naferty

The video had been a mistake. One of the biggest mistakes he had ever done in his life, and considering Tony Stark had done a bunch of shit in his younger years, and even older years, that was saying something.

It was just that none of those things were as embarrassing as that video.

He blamed Clint for everything

Stained Fingertips: @thesoundofnat

“I don’t really believe in magic,” he said, clearing his throat. “But I’m almost certain you’re a goddamn wizard, Steve Rogers.”

Steve would remember those words for the rest of his life.

(Or, Steve is maybe slightly obsessed with drawing Tony. Not that Tony minds.)

Inhale, Ex-Sail: @summerpipedream

"Rich pirates decked out in top-of-the-line black market gear,” grumbled Tony, ”why don’t I have the budget to make those again?’

Rhodey inched back so that he and Tony were back-to-back. “We’re apparently law abiding citizens now, which means having to pay taxes.”

Tony scowled. “Urg, right. Remind me why I wanted to do that again?”

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “What was it you called him last time? Your sweet tart? Your apple pie in the sky? The wind beneath your wings? Hopefully he’ll fly here fast enough so we don’t get killed. Or worse, mugged.”

Tony Stark Bingo K1 - AU: Steampunk

As Constant As A Star: @atsadi

The Swan Princess AU

As young children, Prince Anthony and Princess Natasha of neighboring Midgardian kingdoms are betrothed, and spend their summers together every year until they are wed. Tony adores his headstrong friend Nat: it’s her scowly little companion Steve he’s not thrilled about at first. But soon Steve goes from being a thorn in Tony’s side to being his dearest friend – and much, much more than that. Despite Steve feeling the same way about Tony, the pair still dance around each other for years as Steve struggles to accept his feelings for another man: especially one already betrothed to another. Not to mention that Tony is a prince, and Steve is nothing but a squire.

But before they can make peace, Tony is kidnapped and dragged into the beginnings of another conflict in the nearby magical kingdom of Asgard – he really hates magic. With his potential usefulness diminishing by the day, Tony races to escape even as Steve, Natasha, and their friends race to find him and bring him home.

And—just to make matters worse—Tony has been trapped by a powerful spell and turned into a swan, of all creatures. He really, really hates magic.

Always Yours: @hollyjollyhope

Getting kidnapped is normal for them, at this point. But there's nothing normal about this.

And suddenly, Tony has a choice to make.

Oxeye Daisy (patience): @s-horne

“You make me want things I can’t have.”

Steve startled at the voice from behind him and turned around to see Tony standing in the kitchen doorway. He stared straight at Tony for a long moment. The room was quiet, time stretching out in a thick and uncomfortable silence as neither man dare to move nor opened his mouth to speak first.

White Clover (a promise): @s-horne

“Hey, sweetheart.”

Tony lifted his head as he tried to focus on Steve’s voice. When he managed to open his eyes and blink a bit of the blurriness away, he was rewarded with a gentle smile being shone down at him.

“There you are,” Steve said. “Was worried I was going to have to talk to myself.”

Though his tone was light, Tony knew what he meant. It was no secret that Tony was physically weaker and a hell of a lot more human than Steve was and was therefore struggling more with the lack of regular nourishment that came with being held hostage.

“Course not,” Tony said back, voice hoarse but plastering a smile on his face all the same. His head was pounding and his eyes couldn't stay open. “Would I ever do that to you? You’d never get a sensible answer.”

Acta non verba: @firebrands

unapologetic fluff about two idiots who can barely keep it together with how hard they're crushing on each other

or:

tony has to help steve with math + a halloween party = a good time for everyone, eventually

you take me higher than the rest (everybody else is second best): @firebrands

tumblr fill for adi & anthonydarling, who asked for "'Prank' war, but the kind to see who can make the other blush the most in public" from this prompt list

Adjacent, Against, Upon: @firebrands

A political AU!

Steve Rogers is running as the Mayor of somewhere, America. Tony Stark, his campaign manager, deals with a candidate who isn’t interested in lying, and just wants to do good by these citizens, god damn it.

song of unrest: @omg-just-peachy

How was Steve supposed to reconcile all of this? The way he looked so different but still felt so much the same? It made Steve’s head spin. He knows he shouldn’t care so much, that he is what he is, but he just wants to know.

Paint The Town Blue: @omg-just-peachy

Ten years since he’d seen or spoken to Tony Stark, ten years since they’d broken up to go away to school. And now this email. It could be his only chance to see Tony again.

Camelot: @weethreequarter

For one shining moment, there was Camelot.

In 2019, Karen Page meets Captain Steve Rogers to conduct an exclusive interview on his late husband, President Tony Stark.

In 2007, Steve meets Senator Tony Stark and falls in love.

he thinks he’s lancelot (but he’s more of a sir lamorak): @theotherwasdeath

Tony knows firsthand that violence isn’t funny. So why oh why does he think that the scene playing out in front of him, Steve and Victor Von Doom in a knock-out, drag-down fist fight, is absolutely hilarious?

wildflowers: @tinytonysnark

“So,” Steve begins, clapping his hands together, “the city of SHIELD is in debt. The big ups have sent for financial advisors, all the way from DC! They’re gonna take a look at the city’s spending and make some cuts.”

He squints at the camera against the morning sun shining through the courtyard, “I’m not that worried. Everyone here in the parks department is an important member of the team and absolutely needed.”

The camera swings towards the office where from the large glass window, Natasha can be seen picking up the ringing phone before immediately slamming it back down onto the receiver.

[A Parks and Rec AU]

trinkets of your affection: @starklysteve

Kissed him once for every year I loved him, Steve had written.

By that count, Steve owes him five more kisses now.

Tony traces the words, hands trembling, and tips back a shot of Howard's ancient whiskey. None of it burns anymore.

One day, he'll have lived more days without Steve than there are words in the diary.

For the first time since he'd woken with shrapnel in his chest, Tony fears the future.

----------

Or, five things Tony keeps to remember Steve by, and one thing Steve gives him to remember.

#adi's rec list #stevetony #superhusbands #steve rogers x tony stark #steve rogers/tony stark #steve x tony #steve/tony #underrated stevetony fics #this is part 1 of this rec list #part two will be out soon!!#im planning on doing this for other ships!!#so let me know if there's any ships you wanna see this for

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theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin · 3 years

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Any opinions on Remus Lupin? I just can't seem to find anything about him in your archive.

Just so you know, I wasn’t really avoiding this ask, it’s more that whenever anyone asks me about a character like this I have to prepare to have a good chunk of time free. Rants take time, you know.

But yes, there are now a number of asks about Remus Lupin and so the people have spoken and I am prepared to answer.

Remus Lupin’s life is a dumpster fire of pain and suffering culminating in him dying in pain and suffering nearly dooming his son Teddy to lead a life of pain and suffering and I can’t believe Remus agreed to have a kid knowing he’d probably pass on lycanthropy. Well, a lot of his decisions towards the end of the series become eyebrow raisingly questionable, but we’ll get into that.

I guess something I should probably address, since I see a lot of fics gloss over it or just never realize it, is that being a werewolf is akin to having leprosy. Whether it’s good or bad I won’t get into, personally I think turning into a blood thirty/uncontrollable wolf that will potentially eat a village probably isn’t a good thing and wizards are right to be at least wary, but it’s important to look at how he’s treated by society.

Lupin is given an opportunity the vast majority in his position are not and is allowed to attend Hogwarts. Dumbledore took a huge risk with this, had anyone found out (had Snape narked), I imagine the board of directors would have immediately sacked him. As this was the age before wolf’s bane (in which Lupin could have taken a potion and simply been ill for a few nights rather than turn into a werewolf), Dumbledore was actively endangering the lives of all the other students by giving Lupin admission. In fact, one student nearly gets eaten/infected. So, Lupin gets very very very lucky that Dumbledore took that risk for him, that Snape was silenced but not killed, and that he only ever had that close call with Snape.

However, on graduation his luck ends. Due to his disease, Lupin is not able to be employed anywhere and when we catch up to him in canon gives strong signs of being homeless. He seems incredibly worn down by life, aged far beyond his yeas (the guy’s gray at thirty something), and is resigned but not shocked when he’s fired from Hogwarts after having nearly eaten three students because he forgot to take his medicine.

But let’s take a side tour to Lupin’s shitty friends. My god, I’ve gone over James and Sirius before, but they are the world’s shittiest friends to everyone but each other. Lupin screams something like the charity friend for these guys, they’re friends with Lupin because it makes them feel generous and cool to be friends with a werewolf. The Animagus thing to keep him company, while cool and requiring a lot of hard work, feels like a weird gimmick if you take ten steps back. They turn into animals so that they can run around with their werewolf friend at night and keep him company? That’s great and all, guys, but it doesn’t exactly make Lupin’s life better.

More damning, everything they seem to do with Lupin is to remind him he has this horrible incurable disease that will see him dead in a gutter. Lupin is Moony to his friends, because he’s a werewolf, har har. I can’t quite recall but I do think there were offhand canon mentions that James and Sirius made a lot of jibes/good natured jokes about Lupin being a werewolf. Lupin is the werewolf friend.

And then we get to Sirius and what he did to Lupin. Sirius, as the world’s worst joke that belongs in a Stephen King novel, actively goads Snape into stumbling on Lupin on the night of a full moon nearly getting him mauled and making Lupin a murderer. This, more than anything else, highlights to me that Sirius never really cared about Lupin. Lupin’s condition, Lupin himself, is reduced to a tool Sirius can use to get what he wants (humiliating and or murdering Severus Snape). Lupin realizes this and the next day I’m sure Sirius and James are going, “Come on, Lupin, it was funny! And it was Snape! It was Snape and funny!” Never mind that Lupin probably would have been executed or else sent to a penal colony had Snape died or been infected. Sirius nearly destroys Lupin’s life, makes him a murderer, for a giggle.

I don’t think Lupin ever really gets over that.

We see in canon that, at least by Harry’s third year, he has no doubt in his mind that Sirius betrayed Lily and James. Fics often make a gradiose show of Lupin having to apologize for doubting Sirius, BUT WHY SHOULD HE?! Given what Sirius did to Lupin with Snape, given Sirius’ complete lack of empathy afterwards, if I was Lupin and this horrible thing had happened with Lily and James I might be surprised but in retrospect I’d go “Yeah, there were signs”. Of course, this makes things a little awkward when Sirius turned out to be innocent, but I hardly blame Lupin for believing it was Sirius.

Which gets me into Sirius/Remus, Wolfstar, or whatever terrible thing we’re calling it today. I get that fandom loves to warp Remus and Sirius into Harry’s cool uncles (guys, neither of them were this, I’ve been over Sirius but I’ll get to Remus) but it’d be the most toxic mess I’ve ever heard of. Given their history, given the pit of depression Remus is in in canon, given the sheer crazy of Sirius when he gets out of Azkaban: it’d be a cesspit of terribleness of Nabokovian levels.

Right, yes, so why Remus isn’t Harry’s cool uncle: Remus has no interest in being Harry’s cool uncle. If you go back and actually read “Prisoner of Azkaban”, rather than watch the film, Lupin is very very very hands off with Harry. Harry asks if Remus knew Sirius Black/his parents and Lupin gives a very vague non-committal response, Harry goes to Lupin and asks to be taught the patronus and Lupin agrees to give one very brief lesson, Harry’s the one who seeks out extra attention and rather than Remus. In other words, had it been up to Remus he would have been in and out of Hogwarts without Harry any the wiser. After the reveal, similarly, Remus never really reaches out. He’s always a much more distant figure than Sirius in Harry’s life, never really contacts him the way Sirius does despite not being on the run, and shows up awkwardly to one Christmas at the burrow. He’s not family to Harry, Harry stretches the definition to make him fit, but he’s not really interested in the role.

Instead he marries Tonks in what I can only describe as a complete descent into despair. Yes, feel free to throw stones at me, but guys. He marries this barely legal girl he barely knows, during most of that time period he gets to know her he’s off on the world’s worst mission trying to convince werewolves that the ministry/Dumbledore are great (needless to say, they’re not impressed). He marries her, she gets pregnant within the year while Voldemort takes over the country, and then they both die leaving their likely werewolf son an orphan. As it is, Lupin even starts panicking, realizing that he’s damned his son to a miserable life and that he’s married this girl he barely knows (and Harry, wise and empathetic man of the year, calls Remus a coward for fearing as much. Ah Harry, never change.) Teddy does get lucky in that he doesn’t apparently become a werewolf, though he is still discriminated against because his father is a known one. Lucky you, Teddy, dodged a bullet.

So yeah, that’s Lupin’s miserable life. What a dumpster fire, you poor, miserable, man.

#ask #anon #headcanons #harry potter #remus lupin #remus lupin's life is an endless pit of misery that ends in pointless death and the guarantee of his son's future misery #he's stuck with the marauders as friends because no one else would be friends with him and then they take constant advantage of him #what a life

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nlights37 · 3 years

Text

20 Questions: Writer Edition

Many many thanks to @hot-auntie-dany and my baby @magalidragon for the tag, here we gooooo....

(All fics mentioned below can be found on my AO3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthernLights37/works)

How many works do you have on AO3?

33 as of today

What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,003,539, not including Adrift and a few other orphaned fics I have floating around. You are welcome, whores (or, conversely, my apologies for inflicting these fics upon this fandom, over a million words of garbage, depending on your fic tastes hahaha)

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

A few over the years - none as extensively as GOT, but I wrote some back in the day for Buffy.

What are your top five fics by kudos?

Cerulean Blue

Something Stupid

Beautiful Creatures

Fixer-Upper

Beautiful Creatures: Legends (Pt. 2)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Sometimes. Sometimes I don’t. Usually it’s procrastination or I really am busy with IRL stuff. LOL Sometimes I just savor them and don’t respond to them all then I feel guilty and then I’m like ‘okay bitch you wrote the fic you don’t have to write another one in the comments just enjoy the kind words’. Other times I’m like ‘JFC asshole answer your comments’. It’s a mixed bag.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I haven’t. I just give light dustings of angst. Angst does not exist in my endings lol.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Hahahah all of them bitch all of them even when they die it’s a happy ending. That doesn’t mean the characters get some perfect ending, but it’s a happy one. I think people conflate the two sometimes, because you can absolutely have a happy ending without it being ‘perfect’.

Do you write crossovers? If yes, what’s the craziest thing you’ve written?

No - I don’t usually read them, either.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Occasionally. Fuck ‘em. I write this shit because there’s a story stuck in my head and I gotta get it out so I can read it. If someone doesn’t like it, so what? Cry out into the internet void about it, sweetie, but no one cares. Still gonna write my fics.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

The better question is can I write a fic without smut? The answer is yes but only a few. I’m here for the fucking. Like, yes, A-plot but I’m trying to see my OTP getting sweaty and talking dirty and blowing out each other’s backs, please and thank you.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No one’s ever taken one of my fics and replaced the names and shit and posted it, if that’s what you mean. This is fanfiction, we’re all stealing the original ideas and characters in the first place and toying with them. But never had a fic stolen, never stolen a fic. Not my thing.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, the lovely winterandmistletoe translated Ghost is a Good Boy to Russian a few years back, which I thought was pretty dope.

Have you ever co-written a fic?

I have - one complete and one in-progress with @magali_dragon

What’s your all time favourite ship?

I’ve had a lot over the years (aka I am old). It wasn’t called shipping way back then in the early to mid-90’s but I shipped the hell out of Clois, BatCat, Buffy/Angel, Jim/Pam, Sydney/Vaughn (Does anyone even remember Alias anymore lol), and of course Jonerys. All-time favorite is probably Clois just because, you know, haven’t had to watch big soft boi Clark kill Lois onscreen or anything, but Jonerys is still my doomed baby pairing deep down.

What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I honestly don’t know. I have quite a few for GOT that I’ll eventually finish but I’m kinda on a fandom break from Jonerys while I re-obsess over someone of my long-forgotten ships (namely Clois and BatCat).

What’s your writing strengths?

Banter, baby, I got jokes for days. For weeks. Months would be pushing it but I’m 40 and tired.

What’s your writing weaknesses?

Lack of planning and always underestimating the amount of free time I’ll have to work on fic. Every goddamn time.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic?

I think it’s great but I won’t be inflicting my three years of high school Spanish on anyone anytime soon unless you want a fic where everyone is asking about the locations of the bathroom and the market.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Buffy, a very very very long time ago.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

Hmmmm. It’s kinda like choosing between my kids, I guess! I like them all for different reasons, but at the end of the day, it’s probably Art of Deduction (in my current mood, anyway, lol). That fic was a stray shower thought that just wouldn’t go away, and you never know if there’s really gonna be enough meat on the bone when you go to write it, but I was really happy with how it turned out.

#writer ask game #jonerys #jon x daenerys #fanfic #my fics

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seriouslysam8 · 3 years

Note

For the ask game, would you please answer questions numbered 2, 8, 14 (all of your titles have such cool names), 18 (I hope Abditory isn't one of them as that story rocks), 21, 24, 29, 30, 33, 34, 44, 51, 62, 76, 82, 85, 88, 90, and 98.

Sorry for asking so many, but I love your work! Entombed gave me so many feels! I found your stories because author Breanie said to read them in her author's notes. Best rec ever! Thank you for answering.

Wow, that is a lot of asks! Thank you so much for wanting to know so much about little ole me. I think I hit them all in this and my apologies if I missed one. Let me know if I missed one. @breaniebree is awesome and my writing BFF. She is amazing, and I love her.

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one?

So, I’ve written for The X-Files, Supernatural, and Harry Potter. I currently only write for Harry Potter. I would say Harry Potter has always been the most fun.

8) Where do you take your inspiration from?

Random shit. Brontide came to me because I was browsing the HPFanfiction subreddit looking for a story suggestion and someone asked for a story where Harry was addicted to Felix. Only one unfinished dimensional time travel story was listed. It idea sparked me to write my own version. Entombed came to me because I was rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Buffy was buried alive. I knew I wanted to bury Ginny alive. As I stated in the author’s notes of last Kalopsia chapter, I drew inspiration from the Djinn storyline in Supernatural. I write about things I know, too. I have young kids at home so I like writing the Potter children as young because I can mimic their mannerisms in my writing. I’ve even asked my kids to say certain words to emulate their speech pattern in my writing if I’m writing that age group.

14) How did you come up with the title for the XXX? You can ask about multiple stories.

I HATE coming up with titles. My newest trend has been to literally Google “unique words”. There are a ton of Pinterest accounts who make fancy word and definition pictures. I scroll through all these little unique words and pick out ones I think fit a story. Sometimes I Google a unique word for BLANK and see if I can get a cool version of that name. @breaniebree actually helped me with Entombed.

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

Sadly, I would put Abditory in this category. Never say never though. I think about it from time to time. Honestly, I abandoned it due to such a negative response I was receiving and the lack of positive response. I became discouraged. It wasn’t even negative response due to my writing, it was literally a bunch of “why would you waste your time writing a story about the biggest plot hole in the books? JKR butchered the whole SK storyline and it’s unbearable to read.” So, basically, my reviews and PMs were filled with JKR hate over that plot point in the books. They heavily outweighed the positive reviews I received. Honestly, I think that’s why a bulk of stories get abandoned - lack of positive reviews or enthusiasm for a story. If I didn’t get so many great reviews for my stories, I don’t know if I’d be able to finish them or continuing writing new ones. Fanfiction is free, (as it should be) but it’s a lot of time and hard work. A little appreciation goes a LONG way. So, my advice, review everything you love reading and encourage writers to keep writing. I always say in my authors notes that reviews make me want to write and inspire me. That’s the truth. The moment I stop getting reviews will probably be the time I take a writing break again.

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

@breaniebree. I mean she’s dedicated years to a single story with so many plot lines and characters that I’m amazed she did it. She’s a fantastic writer, and I definitely consider her my writing BFF. I feel like I’ve learned a lot from her and enjoy talking about writing with her so much. I’m so glad we’ve become friends.

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes?

Horrified. Anytime I get a little steamy in my stories, it goes immediately to @breaniebree who usually adds way too much smut and then I cut it down to still be somewhat PG-13 in order to appeal to a wider audience.

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

I feel like Kalopsia isn’t getting as much love as my other stories. I’m way behind in my normal review count per chapter. I wonder if it’s just the confusing storyline or if it’s just not as fun to read? But I was definitely worried it wouldn’t get the love I thought it deserved when I started writing it and it’s lived up to that expectation.

30) In contrast to 29, is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

Cronus Rising. People still recommend it occasionally and I still get random reviews. I’m like, “why????” Its horribly written and a stupid plot line. I literally was getting back into writing after not writing for a good five years, so it’s abysmal. I’ve often wanted to rage delete it.

33) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten?

When someone tells me I should write an original novel and they’d buy the hell out of it. I do have some original novel ideas floating around (one I’ve been writing since I was like 15), but crippling fear of rejection from publishers have stopped me from ever actually finish an original novel.

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

I got some criticism in Brontide for having drama for drama’s sake with no real purpose or goal for said drama. I felt my drama served a purpose, drove the story along, and I add a lot of fluffy and cute family moments. I feel like in real life, when you to your loved one is going through sometime, it feels like nonstop drama and bad news and like a dark cloud just follows you. I wanted to emulate that in real life. So Harry’s POV was often drab because HE was the one going through something horrific and it was all doom and gloom for him.

44) What is the last line you wrote?

“You never think I listen to your ramblings, but it’s kind of hard to block out, mate.”

51) From one to five stars, how would you rate your writing? (No downplaying yourself!)

Um... I’d say a 3. I think I have some good and unique plots for stories but sometimes I struggle on how to execute those on paper effectively. I struggle with descriptions, action, and showing rather than telling. But I do think I’m good at dialogue and capturing a character’s personality. So, 3.

62) Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about.

A lot! I have a Teddy/Victoire stalker story in the works that I’m excited about. I have (this is going to sound weird) but an outsider rom-com planned where Ron/Hermione breakup right before Hinny’s wedding and Hinny struggles to get them back together before the big day. I have a Potter family vacation fluff/comedy story planned. I have a game night one-shot planned. I have a short story about Luna’s wedding. So many that I want to write and don’t know which one to write first!!

76) Is there anything you’ve wanted to write, but you’ve been too scared to try?

I’d say no. I’ve always tried to write my ideas down. Some I’ve never finished because inspiration peters off and some I plan on finishing once my newest big project is done.

82) Summarize a random fic of yours in 10 words or less.

Harry goes through some shit, and Ginny is his soulmate.

85) Ramble about any fic-related thing you want!

I don’t understand why people don’t ship Harry/Ginny more. I don’t understand the Harry/Daphne obsessions (like just why???) or the Harry/Hermione ship at all. I always see people asking for story recommendation and they specific say “no Harry/Ginny”. They are literally perfect for one another and they are soulmates.

88) If you could ask one other fanfic author three questions about their writing, writing process, or works, what would they be and who would you ask?

@breaniebree .

1.) How do you organize all your charts? Send me the ALL the charts. Because I don’t understand how you keep everything straight!

2.) How do you write so much? You’re like a little writing machine in a cute little package.

3.) Where do all the ideas come from? In a dream? Just thinking? Driving? Do you write everything out in your head like meeee? Can I have some of your writing mojo?

90) How do you process and deal with negative reviews?

I obsess over them. I analyze them. I may get bummed out and not write for a few days. If you don’t like what I write, then don’t read or review. It’s a hobby. I do this for free. I’m not asking you to critique me. Give me a nice review or ask me a question, but don’t be cruel or mean because you can hide behind a keyboard and be a bully to make yourself feel superior.

98) If you had to give up either snacks and drinks during writing sessions, or music, which would you find more difficult to say goodbye to and why?

Music. I grew up with three older brothers. My house was always rowdy and loud and obnoxious. I need it to be loud. I can’t stand the silence or focus when it’s silent. I need music to help me think and write. When I’m home alone, I always turn on the TV or music, because I can’t stand when it’s silent. I think I’d go insane.

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blitzturtles · 3 years

Text

Title: It Starts Like This, Ch. 6

Rating: Teen and Up

Fandom: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo

Pairing(s): BruAbba, FugoNara / NaraFugo (Could be platonic, honestly, tho the BruAbba definitely isn't.)

Summary: “What?” he snaps.

“I’m just thinking.”

A pause. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Notes: Turns out being dead has a bit of a long term effect. Who would have thought?

This fic got away from me, so I'm breaking it down by character interaction (sort of). Here's another Bucci-centric chapter for the Bucci-centric fic.

Additional Notes: Sometimes having two disabled folks in one relationship is... rough. Not at all based on real life experiences...

Content Warning: couple fighting and a panic attack.

Also, for unnecessary clarification: Moody doesn't zipper through anything. Abbacchio goes around barriers and resets her timer as needed. Oh, and I use she/her for Moody. I've got a fic planned for that eventually.

There's also a mild mention of a headcanon I have where Bucci is technically Narancia's guardian. For school and healthcare purposes. (Fugo emancipated post-disownment, and Giorno kind of flies under the radar.)

Bucciarati won’t admit it, but there’s something devastating about the first medication not working. Or not working well enough. They can’t be sure, but he’s not willing to continue on something that ultimately failed to curb such a traumatic experience for one of the people he cares for most. He can’t quite shake the guilt that’s been slowly wearing away at him for days.

It’s only the anxiety of having another seizure in front of his famiglia that has him permitting Abbacchio staying home once more. He can’t do that to Narancia again, and he knows that it won’t be any less stressful for the rest of them. It’s bad enough when Leone has to deal with the fallout, but he’s better prepared for it. He’s seen worse, and it’s part of what they both signed up for. For better or worse, in sickness and in health. They’ve done everything but scribbled their names on the paperwork to make it official, but Bruno thinks that, with everything else they’ve gone through, they’ve more than earned their right as one another’s life partner.

Still, that doesn’t mean that Bucciarati likes to be watched like a lab experiment. With eyes that are waiting for the slightest hint that something’s wrong. It makes him acutely aware of the fact that he could have another seizure at any given moment. That he might have one with no warning signs, or at least not any that he’d recognize as such.

That’s the problem with auras; he can’t seem to recognize them for what they are.

He’s being unreasonable, he knows. He hasn’t had enough seizures to know whether or not he’ll learn to recognize the warning signs, but it feels like it’s been an eternity already. And a thousand seizures, rather than a small handful. Part of that is due to how poorly he feels afterwards, and how off he feels on the medication. Part of it is how all of this has disrupted their lives in every way imaginable. And all of it has him in a sour mood.

“You’re upset,” Abbacchio starts with a frown. It’s the first time either of them has spoken all morning.

“I’m frustrated.”

Abbacchio hums in response. A quiet sound that wouldn’t normally grate Bucciarati’s nerves, but it gets under his skin and festers.

“What?” he snaps.

“I’m just thinking.”

A pause. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You never want to talk about it,” Abbacchio answers, snappish and untrue. Even if it were, he knows why. Understands better than anyone else.

Bruno’s eyes widen slightly. A startled, wounded look evident in his blue irises, but his gaze hardens and he sneers,

“You’re right. I don’t.”

“Bruno, wait--”

But Bruno is already gone with nothing but a trace of gold left behind.

Damn that stand.

______

It’s a childish thing, to storm off, especially when Bucciarati knows that Leone’s only worried. That he hadn’t meant the words that came out of his mouth, and that he’s as scared as Bucciarati is. That this is all out of his depth, regardless of what they feel for one another or what promises they’ve made. It’s still terrifying the way it’s terrifying to watch Abbacchio cough up blood some mornings.

He regrets leaving the moment he stops moving. Stops tearing holes through walls and leaving Sticky Fingers to put them back together. It’s like someone punched the air out of him, and all he can do is sink to the ground, on his knees, with his head held in his hands and his mouth open, gasping for air.

Each breath comes too quick, and leaves before he feels like he gets any air. There’s something wrapped around his chest. Too tight, and somehow pulling tighter. It’s all he can do to lie down. Before the next inevitable comes. He already feels too light-headed with a lingering dizziness that makes it impossible to think through.

“Bruno,” the voice sounds familiar. Too much like his own echoing in his ears, but he’s not talking, much less calling his own name. His voice wouldn’t sound like that. Wouldn’t sound steady, if not worried, but, when he looks, there’s a mirror image of himself looking down at him. It falls to its knees, and a familiar sound rings out in the air as Moody’s timer runs out. She reaches for him as purple wraps around her frame once more.

“Bruno,” Leone repeats, this time in his own voice, from his own body. He all but collapses on his knees beside his stand and reaches out with careful hands to brush Bucciarati’s hair from his face.

Time freezes for a moment. Bucciarati expects consciousness to flee him without warning, but the air lingers. Stale and stiff and impossible to breathe, and all he can do is try and try to pull enough of it into his lungs to try to chase away the spots dancing across his vision.

Recognition flashes across Leone’s features. Where his hand has gone still in Bruno’s hair, it moves once more. A gentle carding. A distraction from the racing fears in Bucciarati’s head. He can’t calm his breathing no matter how hard he tries. It feels completely out of his control, and he doesn’t know what to do.

“Hey, are you listening to me?” Leone asks him seemingly out of the blue, but he knows that’s not right. That Leone must have been talking since his arrival, but Bruno can’t recall a word that’s been said.

“Yes,” he breathes, because he is now, and he meant to before. It’s just so hard to hear anything past the roaring in his ears.

“You need to calm down a little bit. Take some deep breaths,” Leone tells him, as if Bucciarati hasn’t been trying to do that since he stopped moving. There’s a sense of impending doom that lingers, pressing down on him until it’s crushing and unbearable.

“Hey,” Leone calls, tapping Bruno gently on the forehead, “You gotta focus on me, alright? Stop listening to whatever’s going on in that thick head of your’s, and listen to me. I need you to breathe in-- slower than that. Okay, good, hold-- now out. Annnd in--” They go through the steps several more times, until Bucciarati can successfully follow the counts more often than not. Finally-- finally he can breathe. Oxygen filters through his system, and his vision begins to clear. It’s only then that he starts to put the pieces together, and it’s shame that replaces the panic.

“I’m-”

“Don’t,” Leone cuts Bruno off before he can apologize. “I get it.” He moves to catch Bruno when he wobbles a bit too much upon trying to sit up. “Take it easy, will you?” He sighs and sits back.

“Sorry,” Bruno says, for lack of anything else to say.

“I’ll kick your ass if you apologize again.”

Bruno opens his mouth, and Leone quirks an eyebrow. It’s enough of a threat, empty as it may be, to convince Bruno to click his teeth together.

Leone huffs a sound that might be a laugh. Or it might be the last of his sanity slipping away. He scrubs his hands over his face and sighs. “I’m sorry. For what I said earlier. That was shitty. I’m just-”

“Scared?”

“Terrified.”

“That’s fair,” Bruno muses quietly. He absently wipes at his face, and it’s the first time he realizes that there are tears there. Streaking down both cheeks and plentiful in nature. He can’t remember the last time he had a panic attack. He’s better at running from his problems than he is dealing with them head on. At least the ones emotional in nature. The rest he’s always tackled with little more than a hope and a prayer to a deity he’s long lost faith in. “I’m sorry, too.”

“I told you to stop apologizing.”

“When have I ever listened to you?” Bruno snarks back, shoulders relaxing slightly.

Leone snorts, “Not a day in your life.” Bruno has the scars to prove it, too. Bastard. “C’mon. Let’s get off the floor. I’m getting too old for this.”

It’s Bruno’s turn to laugh this time, “You’re barely in your twenties.”

“And I’m too goddamn old. Up,” Leone pushes himself to his feet before reaching his hands out to pull Bruno upright. There’s a pause where the two are lost, staring at one another, and Leone decides ‘fuck it’. What better time to go for a kiss then after your partner has a full on panic attack? They’ve done worse with far more questionable timing.

Bruno responds to the kiss with a pleased little sound in the back of his throat. He tugs Leone closer, wanting the contact more than anything. He can feel Leone’s hands cradling the back of his head, fingers linking together at his nape.

“Gross! Get a room!”

Leone curses as they break apart and shoots Narancia the meanest look he can, “I will murder you.”

“Only if you catch me!” And the kid is off before Leone can even respond.

Bucciarati can’t help laughing at the whole display. He grabs for Leone’s hand before his partner can seriously consider killing Narancia. “May I remind you that I’m legally responsible for him?”

“They won’t find the body.”

“Leone!”

#bruabba #abbabru #bruno bucciarati #bruno buccellati #leone abbacchio #jjba #jojo's bizarre adventure #vento aureo #golden wind #jjba part 5 #part 5 #blitzwrites #fic: islt #blitz

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ghostinthebau · 4 years

Text

Super Fanfic Rec List -- Iron Dad Edition (because I just wanna share the love)

I’ve had such a blast reading fanfic of the IronDad and SpiderSon variety over the last 6 months or so, and I thought I’d just make a rec list of some of my favorite stories. Most of them are angsty, with whump and hurt/comfort because that’s what I live for.

This is in no particular order or in any way complete because there’s just way too many amazing fics/authors in the Iron Dad fandom, but it will still be hella long, so....here goes!

First off, @yellowdistress:

What We Are series - Bio-dad Tony series that goes all the way through Infinity War. Endgame AU.

Someday I’ll Make it Out of Here series - Adoption AU! It’s so good.

The Missing 92 Days - A take on HYDRA Peter that destroyed me emotionally.

Reviving Peter Parker - This about killed me. Peter actually died during his fight with Toomes and SHIELD brings him back a la the TAHITI project like they did with Phil Coulson.

A Sailor Went to Sea - Gut-wrenching Endgame fix it.

Double, Double

@losingmymindtonight:

Webcams and Webshooters series

I Never Lived ‘Til I Lived In Your Light series - !!! TISSUE WARNING !!! Peter dies, but there’s another one shot with a happier ending if you need it.

And You’ll Blow Us All Away - Adoption fic! A lovely one at that.

5 Times Peter’s Mental Illness Made Him Stumble And The 1 Time He Refused To Falter - I really love a well-depicted take on mental illness, and losingmymindtonight delivered 100%.

If You Can’t Catch A Breath (You Can Take The Oxygen Straight Out Of My Own Chest)

Cyanide? In My Shawarma?

@justme--emily:

The Guardian - Adoption AU with a lovely Loki and Peter friendship!

Radioactive - Peter endures the after effects of the spider bite, and scares bio-dad Tony to death. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

The Good Fight - Peter gets hurt at the airport in Germany instead of Rhodey.

@iron--spider:

ever in your favor - Hunger Games AU and an epic work of art!

Lazarus, come forth - The Endgame fix it before Endgame. Peter will break your heart.

dear mr. fantasy

this isn’t a game - Highly underrated fic based off the PS4 Spider-Man game. I’ve never even played the game, and I loved this story.

what if there is no tomorrow? - This story actually made me kinda like Justin Hammer, if you can believe it.

blindness

@tempestaurora:

hydra’s not a home series - HYDRA Peter, and also bio-dad Tony and bio-mom Pepper!

i’ll find you in the drift - Pacific Rim AU, and I have never seen PR, but I adored this so much.

it’s okay, we’re okay [whumpvember 2018] series

@jolinarjackson:

Lights To Guide You Home series - Another adoption AU. They are my weakness, and this is one of the best out there.

... and when you can’t crawl ...

Damaged At Best (Like You’ve Already Figured Out)

@blondsak:

No Life But This

come morning light (you and I’ll be safe and sound)

Burying Grounds - Eeeek! Tony has to choose between saving Peter or Pepper and it hurts.

hold on, hold on

Something the Soul Needs

@madasthesea:

turn back the clock (and I’ll try again in the morning)

when my body won’t hold me anymore (where will I go)

They have so many other lovely looking fics--including an adoption au series (which I, of course, love), but I just haven’t gotten around to reading them yet. I’m pretty sure anything they write is golden. :)

@signofuncertainty:

It’s Always the Little Things

I’m sure their other fic, The Third Option, is fantastic and I really, really wanna read it but I’m trying so hard to wait until it’s complete! It’s really difficult to wait, though, tbh....I may give in soon.

@upcamethesun:

Twelve Days Of Peter Parker - So cute and fluffy, and then it kills you at the end.

5 Times Peter Made Tony Laugh Out Loud

5 Times Tony Didn’t Need To Worry About Peter

5 Times Peter Pretended To Be Tougher Than He Was

@frostysunflowers:

Between how it is and how it should be - This story made me love a Peter and Bucky friendship.

@kitcat992:

Identity Theft - This was one of the very first Iron Dad fics I read, and it was a doozy. Full of whump, medical accuracy, and hurt/comfort! The author is posting a sequel now, too: Identity Crisis. :D

For Pete’s Sake!

@camelot-queen:

Goner - A perfectly heartbreaking kidnapping fic, but heed the warnings!

Who Saves The Hero

Never Meet Your Heroes

i’m the satellite (and you’re the sky) - Tony is Peter’s bio-dad but Peter doesn’t know it. I haven’t actually finished this yet, but it’s good. So, so good.

@peter-stank:

built from scraps - YOU GUYS, this is one of the best fics I’ve read on AO3. It’s a ‘Tony gets dusted instead of Peter’ AU, and it’s got such an amazing dynamic between Peter, Pepper, and Morgan. It’ll also make you tear up a few times, at least.

@geekymoviemom:

Sins of the Fathers - So, I’ve only read the first 5 chapters of this epic length (303k words@) adoption AU so far, but I’m LOVING it so I wanted to add it here. They also have an even longer bio-dad Tony with added Stony bonus series, Pieces of Echoes, that they’re posting the 3rd installment to right now. I’ll definitely be checking it out!

@too-many-bees:

let’s kick it

like a bridge over troubled water

@jbsforever:

it’ll be over (and I’ll still be asking when)

@tnyystark:

where the memories reside

@whumphoarder:

Quieting the Void series - Peter kinda has an eating disorder due to the spider bite, so take care if you read!

Poison Apple - Loved how medically accurate this was, and Ned’s reaction to Peter’s condition was heartbreaking.

@seek-rest:

It Hurts to Become

Someday We’ll Know - This is a Walk to Remember AU, so there’s MCD. I’ve gotten about halfway through, but I can only read it when I’m in the right mindset. But it’s lovely and so well done.

This author has so many fics that I’m sure are amazing, and they’re on my ‘to read’ list when I’m in the mood for beautiful Spideychelle stories.

@caraminha:

The Primary Reason Tony Stark Would Throw Down With an Anti-Vaxxer in the Street - Hella scary depiction of Peter with tetanus, and it’s SO GOOD.

@tonystarkstan:

it all comes back to this

skeletons series

to build a home series - I love recovery fics, and this was a beautiful story of Peter dealing with the aftermath of being snapped and coming back.

lay your weary head to rest

@foolscapper:

Exploding Head Syndrome - Everyone comes back when the snap is reversed, but Peter is sort of catatonic--stuck between the living world and the soul stone where he’s with Gamora. It’s such a lovely fic.

@alice-in-ink:

It’s a Little Bit We Do

Danger Pizza

@legalassie:

oh, darling - Peter’s kidnapped and Tony frantically searches for him--one of my favorite things. Peter uses his smarts to help him get out of the situation, too, which is also one of my favorite things.

don’t think about tomorrow.

@blackwatchandromeda:

Broken Thoughts (I Remember Everything)

Leave Me to Dream

A Nightmare to Remember

@emma--anacortes:

Accepting the Tides - Here I am with another adoption AU. Can you see a pattern yet? I love them, and this one has danger and whump and comfort as well.

@ardenskyedarcy221b:

they are standing in the garden - This hurt. Several times the author had me tearing up and there’s a few lines that will stay with me forever. It was just immensely lovely to read.

@iamallyetnotatall:

At the Start of the Universe - This was so much better than I was expecting! Peter is an Angel, and he knows Tony from the very beginning of the universe. It’s different, but absolutely gorgeous.

@starktowr:

somewhere outside my life - I don’t wanna say too much, but just read this. It’ll break you and you’ll love it.

@jessicagoddamnjones:

too bad (but it’s the life you lead)

@silver-bubbles:

The Fire’s Out (But Still It Burns)

@day-dreamer176:

Like A Strike of Lightning - I kinda took this as a demonic possession a la Supernatural, but I don’t think it actually was. Either way, it was fantastic.

fifty-four

five, tops

The World Stopped

@ambivalentmarvel:

Into His Fold series - Where Thanos brings Peter back from the ashes to make him into his new son (a la Nebula and Gamora).

@notaparty-trick:

Doom and Gloom - A ‘Peter doesn’t get dusted’ AU, filled with whump and Iron Dad and an awesome Carol Danvers. Angst!!!

Dust and Blood - Peter is hurt much worse when Toomes drops the building on him. More angst!!!! This author does angst very well.

@ema--vee:

You don’t have to hold your head up high - Peter can’t thermoregulate! I love that trope.

@forensicleaf:

All the Things We’ve Lost (And All the Things We’ve Gained) - This one gutted me, and then made it better. But there’s pain to be had before the comfort!

They just posted the first chapter of a new WIP that looks AMAZING, too: Can’t Part the Sea, Can’t Reach the Shore.

@plnkblue:

foolish, fragile spine - Peter’s severely injured in his fight with Adrian Toomes and Tony finds him.

@helloitisiafellowgay:

god did not craft us as altars, but as dying gods - Okay, guys. This one is heavy. It deals with Skip coming back into Peter’s life, and it’s not pretty but it’s handled superbly. It’s a tough read, but one I definitely recommend if you can handle it. Take care of yourselves first and foremost, though. <3

~ ~ ~ I’m not sure if the following authors have a tumblr, so I just linked their AO3 pages ~ ~ ~

eccentric_artist_221b:

Only for a Little While - This is a Titanic AU, and it’s AMAZING. There’s several scenes that just took my breath away and brought me to tears (not an easy feat). They’re also working on a WWI sequel!!!!

tiaylasglass:

the one who made it out - Short, simple in a gorgeous way, and poignant.

And finally, I thought I’d humbly add my own little contribution to the fandom. So far, I’ve only written the one fic, but I hope to write more in the future!

@ghostinthebau:

For Want of a Dad (in need of a son) - There’s a bit of blood, and a very distraught Tony at one point, so warning for angst and injury!

Again, this list is probably severely lacking, and if someone has a rec that’s not on here please please please reblog this and let me know! I’m always in the mood for more fics.

And I hope anyone reading this finds something they enjoy!

I’m sure you will.

ilu 3,000

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