#(v:tbd)

What started as friendship was quickly becoming an infatuation. More than once he'd either clapped his hand on Mare's shoulders, or made sure to brush his hand when handing him things. His face had been added from the first week they met.

So far, the only time Liam had shifted to Mare's face was behind the closed doors and curtains of his apartment. Standing before his mirror, and studying the other, down to every detail. Every tattoo. He was an exact match.

To begin with, he'd never intended Mare to see him like this. Walking around with his face. His body. He felt comfortable in this skin though. It couldn't have hurt to go to the coffee shop like this right? Just a quick outing and back home.

That was, until he felt the demon's presence enter the same coffee shop just a few paces behind him....

Shit. There was only one exit, and his friend was between him and the door. Maybe if he just kept his head down.....

— doppelganger AU 👁️👄👁️

Mare stepped into the line at the coffee shop, feeling someone nearby panic immediately after he did so. He frowned, sensing it was the man in front of him. He didn't say anything, letting the line continue to move and knowing that it was probably better in the long run to just ignore it unless things got worse.

He had been coming in here everyday for a while now. One of the few routine things in his life aside from his music. It was just cozy, with good music and good coffee. And snacks. And it was cheap, which Mare liked.

He slipped his hands into his pockets, humming along to the music that was blaring through the shop, but stopping when he heard the man in front of him start to order.

That was his voice…

Well, not technically his. It belonged to Nathan, the soul that had inhabited this meatsuit.

Mare swallowed hard, his shadows stirring silently around his feet as he tried to slow down his racing thoughts. There was nothing to worry about, it was probably a coincidence…

At least he thought it was until the cashier, Clara, looked between him and Mare, confusion on her face. "You never told me you had a twin," she said to Mare.

Well shit.

( 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐋 ) ; one muse makes the other a warm meal to make them feel better.

It's late. By all standards, he should be in bed, getting some sleep, preparing for arriving in the Capitol. And yet Caspian can't sleep. He had tried, had gone into the bedroom that's far bigger than anything he's ever been used to and laid down on a far too soft bed. Tossed and turned before eventually getting right back up again. Trains are rather different than boats, and the movement is a little unsettling, but he's made his way down to the main compartment to at least sit and watch the countryside fly past outside.

It's been six months. Six months, since the last time the Tallus ruined her life for the umpteenth time, since the bugs or lizards or Kangs or whoever the hell was in charge in the Panoptichron these days had sent out a signal to throw her life into chaos yet again. She'd gotten pretty well settled, her room at the Institute was the right side of 'broken in' with a few months' worth of shopping trips and thoughtful gifts, and the Tallus had sat on a shelf for weeks in silence...

Until today. Today, it flashed so blindingly bright she yelped in surprise, and almost immediately groaned in dismay. "No, no -- not this again..."

It was back on her wrist, the metallic weight pulling her arm down, pulling her away -- but when she looked up, she recognized the location, recognized the surprised voices around her. The waves in the distance, the sun warming her skin... Valkyrie, Peggy, Becky, King...

"Where's Wolvie?" she asked, surprise quickly shifting to alarm. "Guys -- where's Wolvie??"

Her answer came from the Tallus itself -- King settled a supportive hand on her shoulder as she 'listened' to the telepathic input. "O-oh..." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Wolvie went home... well, that's good at least..."

The Tallus wasn't done. Frowning, she processed what it was telling her, and didn't like what it said. Some timelines had just abruptly either vanished or been recalibrated, somehow... and there were some castaways. One, in particular, whose journey wasn't finished according to the powers that be. So he was in their care for the time being. That he was related to Wolverine made sense -- the Tallus seemed to be pretty good at balancing the teams based on abilities, Wolvie had taken the place of Beast, Beast had replaced Sabretooth. The details made her raise her brows in surprise, though.

His kid... well, not so much a kid, but still...

The pink flash quickly dissipated, leaving behind a slumped form and a lot of questions.

continuation of the story + @katarinawilliams

When Dinah's voice echoed through the telephone he could not help but to feel relief. Even if the reason for her call was to announce some troublesome and potentially concerning news he could not help but to feel relief wash over him,she was once more not merely a memory but a person alive, breathing on the other end of the phone and that would become his lifeline.

Even if the reason was to be told Roy Harper had fathered a child not long past his rehabilitation stint. One way or another Gotham had a way of digging her claws in you and like the ancient vengeful Goddess that she was she would not let you go until she was tributed her pound of flesh.

His hospitalization after his near lethal car crash at 16. His first debut as Arrow. Falling in love with Dinah. His now grand child. Gotham would not let her claws seize off his back.

He sent flowers first to congratulate her with sincere apologies he had missed the birth of his grandson and explaining that had he been aware he would have attended. The card was hand written, the roses were Theo Clevers much like the child's name sake.

Secondly she'd receive a heartfelt letter that she responded to his attempt of communication, a Greek eye for the child's bedroom as he read it was traditional in Greek homes for the grandparents to gift good luck charms and a signet ring, it had once been his uncle's, he would like his grandson to inherit it on his 18th birthday.

Third it would be his request to meet his grandson, at least once. He wrote how he regretted not having been able to hold him as a babe, requested to meet him and her for he wrote it is unfair they live as strangers. He wrote how Dinah and him had discussed meeting their grandchild and due to their recent ish divorce together agreed that it would be best to meet them both apart and give Katarina a chance to get to know them both individually as people.

Fourth was the knock on the door on the agreed upon day at exactly 11 am as she instructed. He came alone, he dressed in a white shirt and black formal trousers but negated a tie or jacket. Best foot forward but semi casual for it was a member of his family and not a business engagement.

"Katarina-" he was staring at something and turned around on his heels when the door opened. "Thank you so much for clearing enough time in your schedule to receive me. I brought lunch. Didn't know what Theo is allowed to eat, was suggested a cheese and ham toastie...keep it for yourself if it's not suitable" From Le Jardin, one of Gotham's most popular bistros.

At least, at the very least she was pretty. The sort of pretty that a)made men make such miscalculations as to bed without protection, and b) the sort of pretty that meant she was not actively using. Eyes clear, skin healthy. The tiredness in her eyes most likely to balancing working and a child rather than...other things.

"And a present for Theodore" A stuffed bear half the size of Katarina was perched on her doorstep which he picked up once the lunch bag was handed over.

"Hullo...my my.." You look nothing like Roy. "And who are you?Hulloo..." Oliver waved with said teddy's bear's paw at Theo.

"You are so tiny. Why are you so tiny?" he cooed in the sort of baby voice most grown ups employ to speak to tiny humans. "Who allowed this?Who allowed you to be so tiny."

A soft hum of amusement sent a vibration through the blonde's mouth as she bobbed her head once more, feeling a rosy hue spread across her cheeks as the new sounds of his pleasure caused a dampness to start form between her thighs as her own arousal slowly grew with every moan. She had never done anything quite like this, never wanted anyone in the way that she had wanted Alastair. That made her want to pleasure him.

Buck is surprised by a man in a long coat entering the station. The man immediately walks up to him, even though the young firefighter never seen the man before in his life! "Evan, we must talk. I am going to inform your biological father about you." The man says, and Buck looks confused.

"Excuse me? Who are you? My biological dad? What?" Buck asks as he puts the sponge down. He is cleaning the remaining fire engine- the others on a call. He is the man behind.

"I am Castiel, and Angel of the Lord, and a friend of your father's. I am letting you know in case he decides to come." The man says as if it is obvious. Buck is thinking to call for back up when the man disappears. Buck just shrugs, putting the weird interaction at the back of his mind. He has bigger problems now-like how to get everyone to trust him again after the law suit.

----------------

It was said that all light, no matter how bright, casts a shadow. However, this wasn't always true; a candle flame does not cast a shadow. What is true, though, is that the closer one gets to the light, the greater the shadows become. And thus the more moths that were drawn to it.

  "I didn't have much faith in myself," she remarked softly, unable to make eye contact with him as he looked at her in such a way. Instead, she turned her gaze to one of his dogs and gave it a gentle ear rub. Ever since she was little Alena knew she had a rather unusual way of speaking, though she couldn’t quite name it. Her mind often perceived things differently than the norm. While 2 + 2 was the usual way to arrive at 4, few realized that 1 + 3 would lead to the same result.

But most thought she was odd. And perhaps they weren't wrong

Lee Salvatore had begged with her last breathe to any god who would listen that she and Katherine would have a second chance—or at the least, Kat would find that second chance. Little did she know her prayers were heard or at the fact some souls were just destined to constantly find each other.

—

Laney Salvatore, daughter of Zack Salvatore, bounced her head slightly to the beat of the song playing on the old radio place on a counter in the back of the Mystic Grill’s kitchen. It was one of the last days of summer, one that had been filled with emotional growth and turmoil, and the teen couldn’t wait to get out for the night. She’d covered a shift for one of the bar’s backliner’s with the promise of a generous tip and weekend off. She truly didn’t mind being in the back. People were exactly her favorite thing and making food was easy, plus time consuming so the shifts always went faster. Laney put the last of the dishes up when she hear the kitchen door slowly swing open, she turned her head to look at the new presence. Her brow furrowed just slightly at the sight of her best friend though a small smirk crossed her lips all the same.

“Whatcha doing Gilbert? I thought you were headed home with Bonnie.” She questioned drying her hands and ignoring the sensation of the hair on the back of her neck standing on edge, her stomach feeling a small drop. Again her brows furrowed. Laney had read about that exact feeling more than once, in books she wasn’t supposed to have found or read. Some secrets the teen was supposed to never know. Curious eyes trailed over “Elena”, taking in every detail that she could.