A/N: this is more of a filler chapter but we finally meet James! TBH not a lot goes on in this one since we had to finish the whole “leave one universe for another one thing” but I promise the story starts picking up more on part 3 ok pls be nice to me 😭 WC: 3.2k
Time stopped existing when Pietro died, though everyone else would argue that you did. Maybe they’re right. All you know is that the days seem to blur together now; and with the fate of humanity resting in the hands of a few disgraced Avengers and maybe the Dora Milaje, this is not the time for a mental breakdown.
For so long you thought that Earth was the only planet that held life. You thought you and your peers were the sole “Supers” in existence. Oh how wrong you were. Not only were there other life forms out there; they were lightyears away and eons ahead of you.
No matter who you were up against- Loki, Hydra, Ultron, you always managed to come out on top, even if it was just barely. However, with half a team missing and weapons that don’t even stand a chance against The Black Order, you have to take into consideration that this just might be the fight the Avengers lose.
Although Steve doesn’t want to admit it, he’s worried. They all are, but as always they look to Steve for orders. To his credit, he’s putting on a brave front; scrambling to pull some sort of team together before Thanos and the Black Order come back. Steve’s reaching out to T’Challa as well as desperately trying to find Bruce and Thor. Judging by the amount of time Nat spends in front of the computer, you don’t think they’re having any luck.
You had heard that he was going to invite Stephen over, to which you rolled your eyes and immediately stopped listening. As if anything would come from that. When has Strange ever gotten involved? Where was he when Loki invaded New York? Where was he during the Battle of Sokovia? He’s never cared before, you honestly doubt he’ll start now. That’s why you didn’t even bother going to the meeting.
Glancing at the clock, you assume enough time has passed and deem it safe to come out of your room; picturing Stephen being long gone by now, surely going back to guarding that stupid stone he cares so much about. Reaching the meeting room, you’re genuinely surprised to see that he’s still here. However, it’s the look of sorrow on everyone’s faces that causes you to worry. You hesitate for only a moment before walking towards them.
“-sure about this?” Steve asks, solemnly.
“Sure about what?” You ask, finally walking into the room.
Stephen has the nerve to look annoyed at your presence before turning back to Steve.
“Unfortunately.” Stephen nods.
“What is?” You ask again, looking around the room.
“How exactly would this work?” Natasha asks. “I mean there’s 7 billion people on earth.”
“Give or take a couple thousand.” Sam adds.
“And you would be able to safely move all of them?” Steve asks.
“Wouldn’t have a choice.” Stephen confirms.
“Move them where?” You ask, getting more and more annoyed at being ignored. “Guys, what’s going on?”
“How would we tell them?” Natasha asks.
“We don’t.” Stephen shakes his head. “We can’t.”
“What do you mean we can’t?” She scoffs. “We’re not gonna let them pack? Let them say goodbye?”
“Not unless we wanna tip Thanos off of our plan. We can’t risk it. We’re already cutting it pretty close as it is.”
“Okay, can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?” You ask.
Everyone shares an uneasy look before Steve clears his throat, standing from his seat.
“So we’ve talked with Stephen,” he says, gesturing towards him. “And we’ve…found a way to win… Technically.”
“That’s great.” You sigh with a grin. “What is it?”
“Um…” Sam trails off awkwardly. “Basically we would have to leave…”
“Leave?” You repeat, “Like…leave New York?”
“More like leave earth altogether.” Stephen corrects. “More specifically, this timeline.”
“What?” You laugh, because surely he must be joking. “What… where would we go? For how long?”
“Forever.” Natasha says solemnly.
“This is starting to sound a lot like running away.” You laugh incredulously.
Your smile drops when nobody else laughs with you.
“Wait…”
“Y/N-” Steve starts.
“You can’t be serious!” You argue before turning to face Stephen. “This is the best you could come up with?”
“Actually, it is.” He says matter-of-factly, much to your annoyance.
“How long did it take you to reach this conclusion? Three seconds?”
“Using the time stone, I saw 14 million possibilities.” Stephen corrects, annoyed by your outburst. “You can hate it all you want, I don’t care. But I have seen every. Possible. Outcome. This is the only way we win.”
“But…running away?” You ask, shoulders dropping in defeat. “We don’t run from a fight. We’re Avengers.”
“We’re not.” Stephen corrects, pointing to himself. “I’m not.”
Childishly, you roll your eyes and cross your arms.
“You came to me and asked for my help.” Stephen reminds you. “This is my help.”
“This is bullshit.” You mutter.
“Call it what you want, kid but you gotta face the facts. We don’t stand a chance against these guys.”
“He’s right, Y/N.” Sam grimaces.
“Seriously?” You scoff. “So we’re just gonna leave? Just like that?”
“I get it, Y/N. I do.” Steve nods. “But sometimes, winning a fight is knowing when to walk away. If we go up against them, we could lose everything.”
“Some of us already have.” You answer coldly.
Everyone looks away at that and you sigh. Fuck it. You’ve already lost the love of your life.
“So what’s the plan?” You ask, dropping into a chair.
You listen while Stephen explains the scheme. It’s fairly simple, really. Thanos is preaching about overpopulation, so the goal is to get rid of the population altogether. There are parallel universes where Thanos doesn’t exist. The plan is to move all earth inhabitants to those universes, leaving our current planet completely empty.
Stephen tries to explain something about anomalies to you. From what you’re able to gather, he’ll only be able to send families together, lest he leave a toddler to fend for themselves. Everyone else will have to be dropped off at their parallel universe alone, as one anomaly can go undetected but larger groups can sound all sorts of alarms, not just in whatever towns they end up in, but in the universe altogether.
“When do we leave?” You ask with a defeated sigh.
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
You stand outside with Stephen, an awkward silence amongst the both of you. You had already said your goodbyes to everyone else and they were sent to their new homes earlier in the day. After you, Stephen will disperse everyone else on the planet before he himself travels to another timeline.
“You have everything you need?” He asks awkwardly, if only to fill the silence.
You nod, holding up your bag to show him. It doesn’t have much, just a few changes of clothes, a couple of toiletries, and an envelope containing some cash. Eyes widening, you bring a hand up to your chest, letting out a relieved sigh when you feel the cool metal of Pietro’s necklace.
“I am sorry about him.” Stephen comments, eyes looking straight ahead. “He was a good kid.”
“Yeah.” You agree softly. “The best.”
Stephen does a quick sideways glance and when he sees your eyes start getting misty, he clears his throat.
“Ready to go?” He asks, starting to do some weird gestures with his hands.
“No.” You tell him bluntly. To your surprise, he chuckles.
“You don’t have a choice, kid.”
“Doesn’t make it any easier.” You complain.
Once Stephen is done essentially playing patty cake, a large, sparkly portal opens up in front of you. You see a row of buildings on the other end, but you don’t see any people walking about. You assume the portal opened up in an alley of some sort, making it easier for you to blend in. You come to a stop right in front of the portal before turning around to face Stephen.
“Where am I exactly?” You ask before shaking your head. “I mean, be. Where am I going to be?”
“Mm-mm.” Stephen shrugs.
You widen your eyes at him and he shrugs again.
“I really don’t know!”
You stare at him for a few seconds before sighing.
“Dick.” You mutter, turning around to face the portal once more.
Stephen snorts.
You turn back around to face him again.
“Come with me.” You beg. “Please.”
If it were anyone else, Stephen would’ve gotten annoyed, would’ve ignored their request and pushed them through the portal. But he sees the genuine fear in your eyes, the vulnerability, and finds himself nodding.
“Right behind you.” He assures.
You give him a grateful smile before turning to face the portal yet again. Releasing a shaky breath, you tighten your grip on your bag, and step through.
Just as Stephen promised, when you turn around he’s right behind you. You shoot him another smile to which he simply nods. You look around and your suspicions are proven correct. You are in an alleyway of some sort. A few feet away you can hear the faint hustle and bustle of your new home.
“Not too bad, was it?” Stephen asks, referring to stepping through the portal. You shake your head sheepishly.
“So…what now?” You ask, toying with the strap of your duffle bag.
“Well, you can’t stay in the alley forever, can you?”
“No… I suppose not…” you trail off, knowing very well that you should start moving, start finding a place to stay. Yet you find yourself unable to take so much as a step.
Knowing you need a push to get yourself moving, Stephen steps back through the portal. You shuffle your feet, almost following him. He nods one final time, giving you a reassuring smile.
“You’re gonna be okay.”
With that, the portal closes, and you’re left alone in the middle of the alleyway.
“Fuck.” You whisper to yourself before finally exiting onto the main street.
You cautiously make your way down the path, head turning this way and that to take everything in. You don’t pay much mind to the people, more focused on staying out of their way; however the town itself is cute. The buildings are made of either wood or brick, with thatched roofs and lattice windows.
Reaching an intersection, you’re about to turn left and continue exploring when you suddenly hear a laugh. A loud laugh. A joyful laugh. A laugh you never thought you’d hear again. Pietro’s laugh.
You immediately turn back around, scanning the area, eyes desperately trying to find the source of that beautiful sound. You almost think you’d imagined hearing it altogether when you see him. He’s wearing a plaid gray suit and carrying a briefcase as he walks down the street, laughing with three other men. Eyes filling with tears you immediately start running towards him.
“Pietro!”
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
“Not to play devil’s advocate…” James starts, causing Peter, Remus, and Sirius to groan. “No, just hear me out!”
“Here we go.” Sirius sighs.
“I was just gonna say, have you guys noticed how boring everything’s been since the war ended?” James asks.
Immediately all three of his friends voice their displeasure.
“No! I mean obviously I’m glad that the war is over and Voldemort was defeated.” James clarifies.
“I just… I don’t know! I feel like everything is at a standstill now. You know what the most exciting thing going on in my life right now is? Chocolate frogs.”
“What?” Remus asks, laughing.
“Chocolate frogs.” James repeats with a nod.
“That can’t be true.” Sirius comments.
“It is.” James insists. “I’m trying to collect all the cards. Sometimes I don’t even eat the chocolate.”
“Oh, now that’s just a waste.” Peter whines. “Why go through all that trouble? Don’t you have them all already?”
“No.” James admits bitterly. “Still missing Circe.”
His three friends snicker in amusement at his annoyance and he sighs.
“I just- I miss when things were fun! Exciting! Is it so bad to ask for something weird to happen?”
“Pietro!”
Confused, James turns towards the sound only to see you running towards him with tears streaming down your face. As soon as you reach him, you wrap your arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
“I can’t believe you’re here.” You cry.
James shares a bewildered look with his friends as he gently tries to push you off of him. Your hold only gets tighter and he eventually gives up, awkwardly patting your back as you continue to cry.
After a while you pull away with a sniffle, and that’s when you fully take in the man standing in front of you. He looks like Pietro…but then again, he doesn’t. Pietro’s eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. This man, his eyes are light brown; maybe even hazel. Pietro’s hair was incredibly blonde, almost silver. The person standing in front of you has dark brown hair, with his curls neatly combed. You tilt your head to the side in confusion as you stare at him.
“Pietro?” You ask softly.
“Erm, no, love.” James corrects sheepishly. “I’m- my name is James…”
A soft gasp escapes you as you take a step back. James puts a hand out, wanting to steady you, and you move out of the way. It isn’t lost to James that just a second ago you were holding onto him as if your life depended on it, and now you’re jerking away from his touch.
“I- sorry.” You apologize, taking another step away from him.
“Are you alright, love?” Remus asks softly.
“I- I’m so sorry.” You apologize again, hastily wiping at your eyes.
Without another word to any of them you hurry away, turning a corner and disappearing from their view. James watches you go with a frown, confused as to what just happened.
“Was that weird enough for you, Prongs?” Sirius asks.
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
God, how could you be so stupid? Of course Pietro wouldn’t be here! He died. You saw it happen. That man back there, whoever he is, he isn’t Pietro. This is just the universe playing a sick prank on you.
After a few minutes of crying you’re able to pull yourself together and venture back out. Luckily, you stumble across an inn only a few blocks away and hurry inside, desperate to collapse into bed and call it a day. The bell above the door rings as you step inside and a kind looking elderly woman smiles at you. Despite your inner turmoil, you find yourself grinning in return.
“Hi…” You greet as you approach the counter.
“Checking in?” The woman asks politely.
“Yes. I mean, no. I mean, I would like to.” You ramble, shaking your head at yourself.
“Oh, what a character you are.” She warmly chuckles.
Embarrassed, you force out a chuckle yourself before setting your hands on the counter.
“I would like to check in.” You repeat with a nod. “But I didn’t book beforehand.”
“No one ever does.” She waves you off. “How long?”
“Sorry?” You ask confused.
She looks up from her book and smiles.
“How long do you plan on staying, dear?”
“Oh… Oh! Um, I don’t know.” You answer sheepishly. “Until I’m able to find a place of my own I guess…”
She nods before flipping a few pages in her book.
“We can start you off at one week and then extend your stay longer if you need.” She says.
“Yeah- yes. That would be great.” You sigh, digging around your bag to find your money.
“Alright, so it’s three hundred galleons for the first week, and an additional one hundred fifty galleons for every week afterwards.”
“G-galleons?” You repeat, pulling out your envelope.
“Mm-hmm.” She hums with a nod. “We could also do sickles if that’s easier for you…”
“Sickles…right…” You stutter.
“It’d be fifty one hundred sickles for the week.”
You tap your envelope of money against the counter as you think.
Where the hell did you send me, Strange?
“Oh, have you not been to Gringotts yet?” She asks, seeing the notes peeking through. “Dearie, you should’ve said! Pounds are fine as well!”
“Um…well, you see…I- I don’t have pounds…” You tell her, shyly dropping your voice to a whisper as you show her the American dollars you have.
“Oh…” She trails off, looking confused at the currency.
“It’s fine.” You assure her with a smile, sniffling before hastily gathering your money. “It’s fine. I’ll figure something else out. I-I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
“The nearest inn is in the next town. You won’t reach it in time.” She warns.
Your shoulders drop in defeat. You’re at a complete loss of what to do.
“Why don’t you stay?” She offers kindly, clearly taking pity on you. “Just for the night. We can get the payment sorted out later.” She winks at you before writing something down in her book.
“Thank you,” You sigh in appreciation, following her up a flight of stairs and down the hallway. “Thank you so so much. I’m good for it, I swear!”
The woman just laughs, finding your nervous rambling entertaining.
“Do let me know if you need anything, dearie. I’m just downstairs.”
With that, she comes to a stop in front of a door, handing you the key before walking away.
Oddly enough, even though you’re incredibly tired, both physically and emotionally, you find it impossible to fall asleep. After hours of tossing and turning you give up altogether and head downstairs, needing some fresh air. The kind woman at the front desk points you to the backyard and you smile in appreciation before slipping out the door.
It’s a beautiful set up. There are all sorts of flowers and greenery. It’s very lush. There are lanterns with candles scattered about, lighting up the garden wonderfully. There’s a metal bench tucked away in one corner and a patio set in another. Still, you plop yourself down right on the stairs with a heavy sigh.
You don’t know exactly how long you sit there with your hands clasped together, tucked under your chin as you stare off into nothing. What you do know, is that eventually the sun rises and still you don’t move. It’s not like you have anywhere to be anyway.
You hear the back gate open followed by the shuffling of feet but pay it no mind, assuming it’s just another guest from the inn wanting to enjoy the garden. A few feet away from you, someone clears their throat. Still staring off into nothing, you think maybe they’re trying to get back inside.
“Sorry.” You apologize half heartedly, not even looking in their direction as you scoot over to the side, hoping they’re able to pass you on the stairs with no issue.
It’s only when they come to a stop right in front of you that you finally pay them any mind. Sighing, you turn your head, only for your eyes to widen when you see who’s standing in front of you.
Pietro. No. No. James. He said his name was James.
“Erm… Hi!” He greets awkwardly, bringing a hand up to wave.
You look behind him and notice those same men from yesterday standing a few feet away. You shift your gaze back to James and stare at him in confusion.
“Why are you here?” You ask instead of returning his greeting.
James’ smile drops and behind him one of his friends snorts in amusement. He quickly glares at him before turning to you once more.
so basically episode 5 but without lila, so it's just five trying to navigate the subway. but when he reaches the greenhouse, obviously starved and borderline hallucinating, he meets y/n. and the interaction is, well…
y/n walks over the hunched man gathering her blooms, irritated because duh, she was the one to grow and take care of them. five looks up to what's blocking the sunlight, guard up but hindered because of the lack of resources in the subway.
A/N: I feel like every few months or so I rise from the dead to post something, so here is a James fic I started, gods only knows when and have finally finished! Let me know your thoughts because I liked writing for James, I want to more.
Summary: James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter need help for a special resource for their pranks, so who better to go to than the best charms student Hogwarts has to offer- also the girl James seems to be in love with.
---
James was staring at you; you could feel it.
You’ve always had a pretty good sense at telling when people were staring at you, but as you look up to meet James’ eyes for the fourth time today during breakfast before he quickly looks away, your stomach was swimming in nerves.
“Lys, do I have something on my face?” You ask your friend Alyssa as you run a hand across your face, hopefully knocking away whatever has pulled James’ attention from the Gryffindor table to the Slytherin one.
Alyssa furrows her brows but shakes her head. “None that I can see, why?”
You frown. “Potter keeps looking at me.”
“James Potter?”
“Is there another Potter at this school that I haven’t met yet?” You press your lips together as Alyssa rolls her eyes. “Yes, James Potter.”
She rolls her eyes before looking over at James. “I dunno, maybe he fancies you.”
Her words cause your laugh to escape. “Are you mad? You think James Potter fancies me? James Potter?”
“If we keep saying his full name like this, he’s bound to hear and look at us more.” Alyssa says before her eyes find the Gryffindor table again and a frown appears on her face. “Or rather they all will?”
You pause in eating as you keep your eyes on Alyssa. “All of them?”
She tilts her head. “Well, James and Sirius are because they’re sitting on the side of the table that lets them, but Remus keeps turning back every once and while. The only one who hasn’t is Peter- oh, he’s doing it too. Yeah, it’s all of them.” You groan at her words, scooping the last bits of your breakfast into your mouth before hurrying to grab your things. “Where are you going?”
“Anywhere they are not.”
James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter watch as you practically run from your table. “You really think she’d help us?” Peter asks as he turns back to his food.
James doesn’t look away from you until you were at the door of the Great Hall, looking at his table in confusion one last time before you’re gone. “I don’t see why not.” He finally says.
Remus chuckles under his breath. “Maybe because you just stared at her throughout her entire breakfast?”
Sirius took a bite of his cereal before pointing his spoon at James, talking through his food. “Yeah, that was creepy.”
James smacks his arm as Remus mumbles a ‘close your mouth’. “Well, I’ll just convince her then.” Remus, Sirius, and Peter all share a look as James leaves the table, knowing this could either end very well, or be a complete disaster.
---
You end your escape in the library, finding a quiet table in the back as you finally let out a large breath and fall into the seat. You weren’t truly finished enjoying your breakfast, but you suppose at least now you can study in the library for a bit, hoping James and his friends focus their sights on someone else for the day.
Unfortunately, by the sight of James Potter sticking his head around the bookcase to your left, you realize that won’t be the case.
“Oh, for Merlin’s sake.” You mutter to yourself and bury your face in your book. When you bring your head up, James stares back at you from across the table, shining his pearly white teeth as if this interaction between the two of you was normal.
“Hello!” He says. You can’t help but just stare at him, blinking in confusion, but you don’t say anything. James’ smile slowly fades, and he clears his throat and furrows his brows. “I thought this would go easier.” He mumbles and you can just barely hear him.
You scoff, dropping your book on the table in front of you. “Okay, I think you’re going to have to try someone else if you want to add stalking to the list of hobbies of you and your merry men.”
James can’t help the upturn of his lips as he leans into the table. “Merry men?”
“Robin Hood?” You roll your eyes. “Robin Hood and the-”
“No, I uh, I get the reference. It’s just- you think I’m Robin Hood?”
This had to be the weirdest conversation you’ve ever had with James.
This had to be the weirdest conversation you’ve ever had.
“Why are you here?” you say slowly and cross your arms, choosing to lean back in your seat to put as much distance between the two of you as possible.
James sat up, suddenly remembering why he had “stalking” you, as you put it, all morning. “Oh, uh,” He sucks in a breath. “How are you?”
You groan, throwing your hands in the air. “James Potter, we are 5th years now and have barely talked more than 20 times since day we met. I know you do not care how I am. Now. What. Do. You. Want?”
“We want your help with a prank.”
Now this sounds like James Potter and his “merry men”.
“A prank?” You ask, already skeptical of how you can be of help. “What kind?”
“It’s more of a resource, really.” He rubs the bottom of his face, staring off at your books in front of you in thought. You slap your hand over your books, causing the boy to finally meet your eyes. Your eyes flicker between his two hazel ones.
“Why would you need my help with a resource for your prank? If it’s my house, there are loads of Slytherin’s and some of them might actually be willing to help you.”
“It’s not your house.” He shakes his head. You can’t stop yourself from watching the sight of his curly dark hair falling in front of his face. “You’re the best in our class at charms.”
“Any one of you is just as good as me.”
James shakes his head again, running a hand through his curls, ignoring the curls getting caught on his fingers as he pushes through. “No way. Remember last week? You were the only one in the class who didn’t walk out looking as orange as a pumpkin that lasted two days.”
“That’s because I was the only one who read the book.”
“No, it’s because you’re brilliant.”
You don’t have a response to James’ comment. It was obvious he was just trying to get on your good side so that you’d help with whatever this resource was. You hated the fact that it was working a bit.
You sigh and push your books closed in front of you. “What is the resource?”
James’ face lights up and he quickly moves to the seat in next to you, pulling out a journal from his book bag. “That part is still a work in progress.” He flips through the pages, giving you a few quick glances at pranks he and his friends had come up with previously. You chuckle and shake your head. “Basically, what we are hoping for was a way to find anyone in the castle, wherever they are.”
He must be insane.
“What makes you think this would be something I knew how to do? I’m brilliant, Potter, but I’m not a bloody miracle worker.”
James was about to object as he turns to face you, but instead he just stares at you. Before you turn your head, James takes a sharp breath and pushes his glasses higher on his nose. “Well, we can work on it together. We’ll come up with something.”
“Potter…” you trail off, looking at the scrawled messy handwriting of the boy’s quick thinking on the page in front of you. You close the book. “Look, it sounds interesting. A challenge even, and I love challenges, but I don’t have time to waste with your silly little Gryffindor pranks. You’ll just have to find someone else or do it yourself.”
James wants to object, saying you’re the best person for the task, but you were packing your things into your bag, and it wasn’t until you had almost left the table before he finally says, “We can use it to prank Snape.”
That got your attention.
It wasn’t a secret to everyone in Hogwarts that despite being in the same house, Severus Snape and you hated each other.
Your hand clenches and for a moment, James thinks he might have you. That is, until you turn around with a frown. “Sorry, Potter. Still not interested.”
---
“I told you she wouldn’t go for it.” Remus says, barely looking up at James over the book in his hand.
James just grunts, keeping his glasses from slipping of his nose as he hangs upside off the couch, his curls reaching to the ground. “I don’t understand.”
“Why would she say no?” Sirius asks. He head was laying across Remus’ lap and he tries to annoy the boy while he’s reading by pushing the book away, but Remus is far too used to his antics as he slaps Sirius’ hand away without missing a word on the page.
“Why would she say no!” James’ dramatic throw of his hands causes the other three boys to laugh at him.
They sit in silence for a moment, silently brainstorming where to go from here before Peter speaks up. “You didn’t flirt with her, did you?”
James stays silent.
Remus, Sirius, and Peter can’t help themselves this time as their laughter filled the room, gathering the attention of other Gryffindor’s in the common room as James’ cheeks turn the darkest shade of red that they’ve ever seen.
“Blimey mate, what did you say?” Sirius chucks a pillow at James, and he can’t catch it in time, letting it smack his chest before he moves to sit up.
“Nothing! I swear! I didn’t- I didn’t… I may have flirted just a tiny- a teensy tiny bit.” His voice is quiet at the end of his sentence out of embarrassment.
If James thought his friends laughing at him earlier was bad, it was nothing compared to now. He does nothing but cover his face in his hands, waiting for the sounds to stop.
“What did you say?” Sirius jumps to the couch next to James, throwing his arm around his shoulders and bring him closer to his side.
“Nothing!” James claims, but even he knows it was a lie. He sighs in defeat. “I just- I called her brilliant, that’s it.”
“Oh, Prongs, you might as well have gotten down on a knee and proposed!” Sirius claps him on the back before laughing at his best friend’s humiliation once more. Remus and Peter’s laughter grows with Sirius’ comment. James just shakes his head and heads out of the common room throwing his middle finger up to his friends.
He’d dealt with his friends joking around about his crush on Lily for years, but it was different with you.
That might be because James never told his friends about his crush on you, they just figured it out. Even before James knew.
Walking toward the black lake, wanting to get some fresh air, James stops at the sound of a familiar voice. He ducks behind a pillar.
“Snape, just leave her alone!”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that was your voice. He glances out, watching as you jog over to two other people. One of them obviously being Snape. The other James could barely make out, until Snape takes a step away from her and he realizes that she was your friend from breakfast. There’s an argument that James can’t hear from where he’s standing between you and Snape and Alyssa ducks behind you. You turn around, wanting to walk away with Alyssa before Snape pulls out his wand.
James’ eyes widen and he reaches for his own, only to realize he left it in the common room in his quick leave. He curses himself, hoping you turn around before Snape curses you behind your back. Instead, Snape aims for Alyssa and before you can stop it or before James can sprint out from behind the pillar, Snape is holding Alyssa in the air above the water.
“Put her down!” you yell and point your wand at him. Snape can only snicker before he lets Alyssa fall right into the lake. “Lys!” You yell, knowing your friend isn’t the best at swimming. You jump in to help her out, and by the time you both are back on land, soaking wet, Snape was gone and James was helping you both out of the water.
Once Alyssa was out first, you take James’ outstretched hand soaking his sleeves, but he doesn’t care. He makes sure you’re okay, but he’s stopped when you grab both of his arms, getting him to look you in the eyes.
“I’ll help you with that resource.” You tell him, tired of Snape bullying your friends and you. “I want this to be something that’s going to haunt Snape for years and years to come.”
James can only smile at you.
You smile back.
---
“Ok, just start again from the beginning.” You plead the four boys in front of you as you crowd around a table in the library as the 6th hour of reading resources starts. You’ve never really seen the group of friends really in action of planning their pranks, but keeping up with them as you flip through the library books you’ve all read from the shelves has been really hard.
“We want to be able to know where anyone is at any time.” Sirius says as he lays across the table, kicking his legs up in the air. You nod, looking down at the book pile in front of you as you pick up a book and toss it behind you where Remus is standing to let him put it back on the shelf.
“It only needs to be in the castle.” Peter points out, earning hums from his friends. No use for a prank resource outside of the castle, apparently. You toss two more books back.
“Oh!” You hear Remus say as you flip through pages, he glances over your shoulder, looking at the books you have. “We should have all the secret passages marked on it too!”
You sigh and add 4 books to your discard pile. You’re left with 3 books, each of them potentially having information you knew would be useful to the friend group, you just had to figure out what information.
James slides into the seat next to you and you quickly meet his eyes. James’ sucks in a breath, not having expected to meet your eyes as he sat down. There’s a moment where James almost forgets his friends are in the room and you’re not just helping him. He only grounds himself back to reality when you turn your head, chewing on your lip nervously. “We uh, we were also thinking it can be something only we can use.”
James’ voice was quieter than he normally was, but it didn’t matter.
You knew the perfect spell to use.
“The Homonculous Charm.” You tell the group, turning your book around and showing the marked charm to the others. “You cast it onto a blank parchment, and it tracks where everyone is around the castle, whenever, wherever, and whoever.” The group of boys in front you have different looks of astonishment.
But, if you were being honest with yourself, you knew that Remus, Sirius, and Peter were looking at the book in your hands and James, well, he was looking right at you.
You clear your throat, hoping to push the boy’s attention off of you. “All you have to do is cast the charm on a parchment and map the place.”
“Easy!” Sirius yells, giving Peter a high five. “Let’s cast it and get to pranking Snivellus!”
“Doesn’t look like its that easy, Pads.” Remus puts his hand on Sirius’ shoulder as he reads over the page you show them.
You nod your head. “If you want a place to show up on the map, you have to actually cast the charm in the place.” There were 4 groans from the boys, and you hold back a laugh.
“That could take weeks.” James sighs, leaning his head back in the chair. “Do you know how big this castle is?”
“It wouldn’t take weeks, maybe just a few days and I’m sure you guys can do it.” You tell them, pushing on James’ shoulder. James’ frown turns up a little at your playfulness and you’re quick to pull your attention of him. You start to pull your things together and stand up. “Now, if we’re done here-”
“Wait, where are you going?” Sirius asks, tugging on your bag.
You swat his hand off your bag. “Leaving. I helped and now you can prank Snape to your heart’s desire.”
“To our hearts desire?” James questions, standing up to be at your height. His eyes meet yours and there’s a pause in his speech before he practically drags his eyes away, forcing himself to look at the book. “Time would go a lot faster if you helped.”
You guffaw and throw yourself into the seat again. “You have like a million friends. Can’t you trick some of them into helping you?”
“We could.” Peter shrugs and moves to stand on the other side of the table than you, placing it between the two of you.
Sirius threw his arm around Peter. “But then you wouldn’t really get revenge on Snivellus.”
Remus stood next to them, his hands buried in his jeans as he smirks. “And isn’t that what you wanted when you agreed to help?”
James joins them as well, squishing together as all four stare directly at you with various forms of mischief on their faces. “So? What do you say?”
They were right.
Screw them, but they were right.
You sigh, crossing your arms over your chest. “What’s the plan?”
---
Alyssa had been laughing for what seemed like an hour as you both lay on your respective beds. You told her all about your little study session with the boys today and she apparently found it quite amusing what you’ve got yourself wrapped into. “It’s not funny, Lys.”
“Are you mad? You, being forced to spend as much time as you can with your crush and his best mates mapping the entire school to get back at Snape?” She chuckles. “This is the funniest thing that has happened to you since you blew up your book bag practicing for exams last year.”
“I don’t have a crush on James.” You groan, throwing your arm across your eyes, blocking the stray sunlight coming in from the window.
“James?” Alyssa asks seemingly confused. “I was talking about Sirius.”
You couldn’t help your snort of laughter at her comment. You knew she was joking, and she knew you were harboring secret feelings for the curly dark-haired, glasses wearing boy. “Can I just get some sleep?” You ask her, ignoring the fact it was barely dinnertime. “If I have to stay up all night mapping the castle with them, then I am sleeping now.”
“Fine by me.” Alyssa tells you, chucking a pillow at you before pulling out a book since she didn’t have plans to sleep early. You get smacked by the pillow and send a weak attempt at slinging it back at her before finally heading to bed.
---
“I’m going tonight.” James says to his friends the moment they step into the common room, making sure his voice is hushed. “If Y/N is going, then I’m going.”
His friends don’t bother hiding their laughs. “Mate, as if we would keep you from roaming the castle in private with the love of your life.” Sirius snickers, giving James a little push that has him falling onto the couch. “Besides, you only have the one invisibility cloak and last time we had 3 of us in there, Remus had his hand on my butt.”
“Remus would have his hand on your butt even if we didn’t have the cloak.” James grumbles, feeling Remus smack him in the back of the head. “Ow!” James groans, rubbing a hand on the back of his head. “Am I wrong?” He asks, only to look over and see Remus starting to lay across the couch coincidentally, or not, laying his head on Sirius’ lap.
James rolls his eyes at his best friends before he pulls out his books, thinking he’s going to get some studying in before dinner. “You’re not going to get some sleep?” Peter asks, seeing his friend studying. James shakes his head, knowing if he tried to sleep right now, there would only be one person on his mind.
---
This wasn’t the first time you had snuck out of the Slytherin common room, but this was the first time you were just standing around begging to be caught out of bed. You tap your foot, glancing every direction for any of the boys to come around the corner, but you didn’t see them. You were about to give up, not wanting to be caught by a professor. You had taken one step before James appears, standing right in front of you. His presence scares you and you can’t hold back the scream you release.
James jumps at the sound. He should have figured you would’ve reacted to him taking off the cloak, but he didn’t expect you to start screaming. He jumps forward, covering your mouth with his hand as he presses you against the wall. “It’s just me! It’s James!” He whispers as loud as he can, wanting you to stop screaming but not wanting anyone else to hear. Your eyes flicker back and forth between his and when he was certain you were done screaming, he brings his hand away. He didn’t realize how close your bodies were to each other until you were looking at each other. A moment passes before James clears his throat. “Um, hi.”
The spell is broken as you shake your head, pushing him away gently and slapping his arm. “What the hell is wrong with you? Where did you even come from?”
James chuckles a bit at the situation, gripping the cloak in his hand as he puts his other on your arm to calm you down. “I’ll tell you.” He assures you. “I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to freak out.”
You just blink in confusion. James doesn’t say anything else before he throws the cloak around his shoulders, affectively leaving him as a floating head. You suck in a breath. “An invisibility cloak?” You had never seen one before. James liked looking at the amazed smile on your face, he hoped he see it again soon.
“Who’s there!” James and you jump at the sound of a professor, obviously looking for the source of your scream from earlier. James was quick to pull you into him, wrapping the two of you in the cloak as you press your body against his. James’ arm wraps around your waist as he keeps the cloak closed and you both watch the professor pass right by, completely unaware of your presence.
James gives it a few minutes before he pulls the cloak off, slowly letting go of your waist. You exhale heavily, taking a step back from James. The two of you stand awkwardly next to each other, neither of you truly knew what to say to each other.
“Nice cloak.” Your voice was higher than you’d like it to be but, in your defense, the closeness you had to James was still high on your mind.
James hoped the night light had hidden the blush on the cheeks that he knew was going to be there. “Thanks- Thank you.” He stumbled through, avoiding looking at you.
You suck in a breath, trying to think of what to say before forcing a smile. “Should we get going?”
“Yep. Yeah, let’s just uh…”
James’ sentence had trailed off, but it didn’t matter as he pulled out a piece of parchment paper from his pocket. You raise a brow at it and cross your arms. “Is that supposed to be for the map?” James nods. “Potter, have you seen the size of this castle? One corridor wouldn’t even fit on that page.”
James frowns. He thought the paper he brought was large enough, but you might have a point. You roll your eyes and take him by the arm to a nearby classroom, knowing the professor kept larger pieces of parchment on hand. James hoped greatly that you didn’t notice how eager he was to remain with your arm locked with his.
“Take this.” You hand James a folded piece of parchment, and being the curious person James Potter was, he let it unfold. The parchment kept unfolding until it was taller than him and then some, hitting the ground with a soft thud. He looks at you, widening his eyes. “You wanted a map.” You remind him. “Let’s just hope this one is big enough.”
---
You let James take the lead with holding the cloak, ready to throw it over you both the moment he needed, and you would cast the spell onto the soon-to-be map. Unfortunately, you both found yourselves quite bored with the task. “How’s Quidditch?” You ask James, desperate for a distraction.
James smiles, glad to talk about a subject he enjoys. “Amazing, as usual. Haven’t lost yet this year.”
You smirk. “Well, that’s because you’ve haven’t played Slytherin yet.”
James has to hold back a laugh. “Please,” you bite your cheek hearing James’ playful tone. “We’ll beat Slytherin next weekend just as easily as we did Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.”
“I don’t know, we got a new seeker. Heard he’s quite good.”
“Better than me?”
You choose to glance at him, and you’re not surprised to see the cocky smile sitting pretty on his lips. This time you don’t fight the smile on your face. “I’ve never seen you play, Potter. How am I supposed to know how good you are?”
James stops walking and it takes you a moment to notice before you stop as well. “You’ve never watched a Gryffindor match before?” James looks as if his head would explode.
“I’ve never even seen a Slytherin match before.” You admit. You would admit only to yourself that you were a little embarrassed.
James just stares at you, his mouth fallen open in pure shock. “You’re joking.” He says before you slowly shake your head. “You’re joking!” You chuckle softly, amused at his response. He shakes his head and starts walking again. “You’re coming. Next weekend, when Gryffindor beats Slytherin, I expect to see you in the stands.”
You can’t help but smile at his comment. “Yeah, we’ll see.” You say, turning down the corridor as you cast the spell again, watching the paper map out the corridor. James smiles and nudges your shoulder softly with his.
“Come on, we’ve got a lot more to map.” He says before the two of you start down the hallway quicker, almost racing each other to the end. You both laugh as you reach the end of the hall, stopping and leaning against the walls as you catch your breaths.
“I so won.” You say to him, despite knowing you didn’t.
James rolls his eyes affectionately. “In your dreams.” He breathes out. You look at him, holding his gaze with a smile for a few moments before the two of you hear a door open down the hall and footsteps coming. James turns the way of the sounds before he pulls the cloak over the two of you, pressing you into the wall again.
You stop breathing as he presses you against the wall, hiding you as a professor walks down the hall, completely unaware of the two of you there. Once they are gone, James and you relax and he lets the cloak fall, but doesn’t move back. It isn’t until you glance down to the map and see something moving. You gasp. “James.” You whisper, holding it up for the two of you to watch as the map shows you the professor moving down the hall, his name remaining on the map until he walks into an uncharted area.
James looks at the map before looking at you. “It works.”
You smile and nod, in shock that this resource was actually working. You couldn’t stop yourself from throwing your arms around his shoulders for a hug if you tried, but you also didn’t try.
James was shocked for a moment before he hugs you back, smiling and blushing over your shoulder.
You pull away a bit embarrassed. “Sorry… I got excited.” You say, stepping away from the wall and from him.
James shook his head with a smile, obviously not minding. He clears his throat and pushes his glasses higher. “Um, should we get back to it?” He says, unable to stop the smile on his face.
You nod, barely looking at him long enough to notice as you start walking again, holding the map up and focusing on it as James and you walk the halls until a few hours before morning.
You yawn for the hundredth time that hour as James does as well. “I suppose we should get back.” James says, running a hand through his curly hair.
You nod, feeling exhausted. “You four can map a few places in the day too.” You tell him during the walk back to the Slytherin common room.
James nods, knowing you’re right. The conversation finds a comfortable low again until you see the Slytherin common room ahead of you, relieved that you and James didn’t get caught. “See you tomorrow?” James asks you, his smile still on his face, only softer. You turn and look at him, matching his smile as you nod.
“Goodnight, Potter.” You whisper, handing him the map.
James takes the map, your fingers brushing lightly together before you drop your hand and he’s left with the tingling sensation of your touch as you turn and walk away. “Yeah. Goodnight.” He says barely loud enough for you to hear as he watches you enter your common room. He swallows thickly and looks down to the map before turning around and heading back to the Gryffindor common room.
When he gets back, Remus and Peter were still asleep, but Sirius wakes up when he hears James comes back. “How was it?” Sirius whispers to James, not wanting to wake up his other friends. James tosses him the map, showing him how much you and him covered in the castle. Sirius looks at the large parchment and the small, yet decent sized for one night, portion of the castle mapped and nods while widening his eyes. “Good job,” He says, putting the map in his bedside table. “but you know I wasn’t asking about the map.” Sirius says with a smirk.
James blushes in the darkness and slips into his pajamas. “It was good.”
Sirius rolls his eyes at James’ simple answer, but he’s not stupid. He can see the blush on his best friend’s face. “Fall in love with her yet?” He teases James who groans, falling into his bed.
James stays silent, closing his eyes. “She hugged me.”
Sirius can’t help the amused chuckle as he lays back in his bed, ready to sleep again. “Well, I better be best man at the wedding.” He mumbles sleepily.
James can’t help but grin, staring at the ceiling above him until he falls asleep as well.
---
The next few days and nights happened similar to the first night, only with different pairs of the 5 of you. Sometimes you wouldn’t map out the castle, or sometimes you’d map it with Sirius or Remus. It took a few days before you and James were given the chance to go together again and unfortunately, the map was almost completed. The two of you had seen each other in the day time a lot as you started to hang out with the 4 boys, but James and you hadn’t gotten a lot, if any, alone time together.
You were leaning against the wall at the Slytherin common room, wondering who you were going with tonight before James’ smiling face pops out of nowhere. You don’t scream like the first night, instead, you match his smile. “So, it’s me and you then?”
“You and me.” James says before offering you his elbow. You roll your eyes with a soft smile and interlock your arm with his. You walk towards one of the last corridors you have.
“We’ll probably finish this tonight.” You say, glancing over at James.
He nods, his smile falling slightly before he looks at you and it returns. “It’s been fun.” He says and you nod. “Is it wrong that I wished we had more to map?”
You think for a moment. “I don’t think so. But we also have been mapping for almost a week straight.” You chuckle. “I think I’m ready to be done with it.” He laughs but agrees. As much as he enjoys this, it will be nice to finally have the map finished. You turn to James and narrow your eyes. “Also, I thought Peter was supposed to map with me today, you have your game tomorrow.”
“I just wanted to make sure you would come tomorrow.” James lies. He did want to make sure you’d come to watch him tomorrow, but he also wanted to make sure you and him would get some alone time again without his friends or yours breathing down his neck.
You laugh at his comment, looking down at the map. “I promise I’ll come.” You tell him, before looking at him the same time he looks at you.
For a moment, with your closeness, the two of you just stand there, staring at each other before James’ eyes move down to your lips.
For a moment, you think he might kiss you.
Until he clears his throat and looks away.
You feel a little embarrassed, but you don’t let it show. You start walking again, James and you falling into a weird silence as James screams at himself in his head. He keep taking glances at you, but you don’t look at him, not until you reach the new corridor and you pull out the map. “Here, help me out?” You say, handing him one of the ends of the map, needing to find the corridor on this map to map it. James takes it and holds it out as the two of you look for the corridor.
“There it is.” James points to where the map had to be changed, adding flaps and such to represent the different levels of the rooms. You pull open the flap and smile when you find the corridor.
“Perfect!” You say before folding the map carefully so you could keep that section free. James helps you, trying to keep his mind from running crazy when your fingers brush again. You cast the charm and James and you continue with mapping the castle. The conversation was simple with him. After the two of you get pass the awkwardness of your moment from before, you found it easy to talk about anything. About your family’s, your friends, your hobbies, your dreams. It seemed James and you didn’t stop talking, just like that first night, until you find yourself in front of the Slytherin common room again.
The Slytherin common room was the actual last place the map needed. The plan always being for you to take it and map it without the need for any of the boys to sneak in like they did with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff common rooms.
“I should be finished by morning.” You assure James as you fold the map and slip it into your robes. He nods, his smile pulling up on one side as he pushes up his glasses.
“Well, you can give it to me at the game. Tomorrow. 9 am.”
You bite your lip as you smile and nod. “Goodnight, Potter. I’ll see you tomorrow.” You whisper before leaning up and kissing his cheek. James just stood there stunned as you chuckle lightly and run off to your common room.
It was only when he hears the door close that he’s pulled from his trance. He calls out your name, but it was too late. He runs a hand over his face, making sure not to touch his cheek you’ve just kissed before he throws the cloak over himself and heads back to his room. He was going to try and get a few hours before his game, but now, he knows he won’t.
---
James was bouncing the next morning as he stands on the Quidditch Pitch, preparing for the game and looking around the stands for you.
“Turns out when you don’t go to any games, you don’t really know where to sit.”
James turns around fast at the sound of your voice, surprised to see you down here and not in the stands. He chuckles, shaking his head as he walks over to you. “I thought you weren’t coming for a moment.”
You smile at him and lean against the wall. “Yeah, I made a promise.” James nods, walking until he was right in front of you and smiling at you. He had sweat in his hair from his pre-game practice and his uniform was a little dirty, but he made it work. You take a deep breath and reach into your bag. “I finished it.” You pull out the map, showing him the completed Slytherin common room before holding it out to him.
As soon as James grabs the map, you pull it toward you, affectively pulling his as well until you put a hand on his shoulder and kiss him. When he doesn’t kiss back, you let go of him and the map, your eyes wide as you stumble backwards a little. “I’m sorry. I- I- I thought-“
But you don’t get to finish your sentence because once James gets over his shock at the revelation that you were really kissing him, he puts his hand on your waist and pulls you back, letting the map fall to the floor as he holds you close and kisses you deeply.
You swear that the stands were cheering for the two of you, not for the game was soon to start.
“Oi!” Sirius’ teasing voice calls out from behind James as you both separate and look behind him, seeing Sirius’ grin as he leans against his broom. “Are we going to play or not?”
James gives him the middle finger as you slap his hand down playfully, keeping his hand in yours. James chuckles and looks back at you before he picks up the map and looks at it. “Why don’t you keep this safe for a bit longer. Wouldn’t want it to fall into someone else’s hands, now would we? You can watch everyone in the castle with this.”
You take the map before shrugging. “Well, almost everyone.”
James furrows his brows in confusion for a moment before sighing and grinning. “You’re the exception, aren’t you?”
You smile and pat his chest. “You think I’m going to give you, James Potter, a map to where I am every moment of the day? You must be mad.” James just grins at you before your eyes widen excitedly. “Oh! Something else!” You say before turning the map over, showing James the cover of the map you created for them.
James was shocked as he looked at it, not knowing I had done something like that for them. He reads the words before chuckling. “The Marauders?”
You blush and shrug. “Figured it was better than calling you lot the Merry Men.”
James hums. “I thought I was Robin Hood?”
“Face it,” You chuckle before joking, “I’m Robin Hood.”
James nods slowly as he puts his hands on your waist again, pulling you against him. “Alright, alright.” He says before leaning towards you again and stealing another kiss which you happily accept. James chases your lips for a second moment as you two separates before he reaches into his bag. “Maybe you could keep something else safe for a bit too?”
You watch him, not knowing what he was grabbing before he grabs out another one of his jerseys and holds it up to you. “James-“
“Wear my jersey.” He interrupts you and you have to look away and smile. He sees the smile before he steps forwards and slips the jersey over your head, helping you get your arms through before stepping back and enjoying the sight.
“Go win your game.” You say to him, reaching forward and squeezing his hand. “I’ll find you afterward.”
James squeezes your hand back before slowly walking backwards with a goofy grin. “Well, you have the map, love. Should be easy.” He gives you wink before he runs off, meeting up with Sirius who throws his arm over his shoulder to tease him.
You laugh as you watch them before heading up to the stands where Remus and Peter were, neither of them surprised to see you in James’ jersey.
And when Gryffindor wins against Slytherin, none of them are shocked to see James point at you in the stands as he smiles.
•
Don't come at me if I don't really know how the charm works, I had a cute idea and went with it lol.
paul dano if autistic transgender men and women with "pathetic beta male sub whimpering and beat into submission asmr" in their search history never existed
I'M BEGGING THE WRITERS HERE TO MAKE OG FIVE GROW OUT OF LOVE (coz you know the *barf* strawberry garden scene) FROM READER THEN THE ROOM FULL OF FIVES WILL GO;
"That's our cue! Dibs on Y/N!"
"Fuck you, Waiter Five! They're mine"
"Fuck you too, Brisket Five! I'm having them first!"
"Not if I got them first!" *Loose necktie Five blinks out*
"Oh no you don't!" *The rest of the Fives did the same*
Basically the whole room of Fives will go batshit crazy (paradox psychosis included) because they (unfortunately lost their own Y/N at some point) and was only waiting for the right moment to switch with og Five.
Then the rest of the family will be confused af like where all these Fives came from.
Hello dears! I am asking you to support my campaign to help me reach my goal. I am now in bad need your support to help me stay alive and safe. Gaza is a very dangerous place either on the level of livelihood or on the level of souls. I need your monetary support to enable me to get the basic needs for my family till Rafah crossing point reopens to move my family to safety and peace. Please help a family be alive through your small donations or througn your shares to others. Thank you so Much for your stand beside people in need.
You see, the biggest problem with this is that Five HAD a love story all along.
His love for his family has been THE very foundation of the show and what kickstarted the entire chain of events.
He spent 45 years in the apocalyptic wasteland because he loved them too much to give up.
He found them in every possible timeline.
He reversed time for them.
He became an assassin to get a shot, however small, at coming back to them.
He’s been through countless timelines, doing his best to save and protect them in every single one of them.
No matter how dire the situation, he always pushed to find a way to save his family. His devotion was stronger than anything and there was no line he wouldn’t cross for his siblings. No matter how self-destructive the cost, he sacrificed himself again and again just for a chance at reuniting with them and saving the world so they could live.
It was a destructive kind of love, yes, but also inspiring. I think it resonated with many people because love can be intense, we love and want to be loved with this kind of intensity and dedication.
So, to throw it all away for a romantic subplot that no one asked for is not only a huge disservice to Five’s character but also goes against everything he represents. We already knew he’s capable of love and that he loves deeply.
I don’t understand how the showrunner who worked on the series for 5+ years can say that Five had to have an arc like this. It doesn’t make sense. He already had a love story. Arguably, the most beautiful and deepest of them all. He didn’t need more, what he needed was to have it returned and to finally settle down after multiple lifetimes of putting his life on the line to keep his loved ones safe.
To say otherwise means that the writers fundamentally misunderstood what made Five a great character and what fans loved most about the show. It feels like a betrayal, because it is one. It proves that the creators not only misunderstood the core character of the show but also never paid attention to the fandom and its preferences.
There’s a difference between catering to the audience and what they ended up doing, which is a character assassination at its worst. And it’s not just the character who was ruined but also the entire premise of the show, the reason why fans loved it in the first place. There’s no coming back from something like this.
because this new season was shorter than previous ones, some plot points were left out. if it had been the same 10 episodes like the other seasons, what would you add to fill the additional time, like, what story elements or events would you include?
annaxmalina
blakekathryn
izzy806
janainaart
origamiaround
tangentwithtanner
theartofmadeline
