#( anonymoose. )

[nctanthca]

Hello. Everything is fine. It's me again, the one who wrote to you about Emily. I will give up anonymity and will soon write on my own behalf. I will write to you not from an RP blog, but from a regular one. I hope your rules don't apply here? Otherwise I read your rules about design blog. And that's why I used anonymous. My RP blog is under development and will be ready soon. As I said on Tumblr, I'm new, so something like this. I've done RP on other social media platforms before. And another question. Do you visit Emily's page the same way? Well, is your blog equally active with the current one?

Hello my favourite Annonymoose! There's no rush! Whenever you are feeling up to it message me and we can plot or I can help you with whatever you need. <3 Emily is connected to this blog as a sideblog so I get any alerts for her and she is active. I might be actively posting on her but I am browsing primeval tags and thinking of her. :)

[jewishbarbies]

i think Leftists have always wanted an excuse to be bigoted, its like they were itching for a "reason" to be open about their hatred. When Trump got elected he made being openly bigoted popular, and now these worthless slimeballs can be just like the Right and get away with it. All the while maintaining how they're sooooo different and pulling as many excuses as they can straight from their asses.

they’ve always been bigoted, the only thing keeping them somewhat in check is the social pressure they’ve placed on themselves and others to always appear 100% morally pure. they know what they do to people who don’t meet the standard. there’s been no actual work done in leftist circles, the hierarchy and racism is still there just functioning differently so that they feel better about themselves. bc now it’s “we can’t be bigoted toward poc BUT we can be bigoted toward anyone we don’t like. as a treat.” instead of just not being bigoted at all. the social change imo happened too quickly with too much force and shame to actually allow for people in these spaces to do the work necessary to unpack all that. it’s all about making themselves feel better for the guilt they got when first finding out about slavery, genocide of indigenous americans, etc. as quickly and easily as possible, and not about making the world a better place.

[gerryrigged]

wait wdym dc didn't stick with Red Robin for Tim [and the de-aging thing?] what are they calling him if not RR?

He's been Robin again since 2019 😬 it's a bit more complicated but that's the gist of it.

Okay so Tim became Red Robin in the 2009-2011 series of the same name, back in the post-Crisis timeline. He was supposedly 17 at the time, by official records, and I believe he was still supposed to be 17 when the universe was rebooted with Flashpoint in 2011? (Although this doesn't really make any sense with respect to jamming the huge number of events that happened while he was Robin into like four years, if he was supposed to have become Robin at 13; he should probably at least be 18 if not 19-20).

The Flashpoint reboot took us into the New 52 (much beloathed), where nearly everyone was de-aged to some extent to keep Bruce Wayne and his generation from getting ~too old~, and also Tim Drake was mangled into a completely different character who had never been "Robin"; he'd been "Red Robin" right from the start of his vigilante career. He was de-aged to 16 for the New 52 Teen Titans series.

Teen Titans (2011) #0; as you can see, this version of Red Robin kept a version of the bandoliers and gave Tim a fancy new functional wing cape that he could fly around with.

Next, Rebirth in 2016 was a partial reboot that brought back some aspects of the post-Crisis timeline; tbh I'm not an expert on this period. What I do know is that Tim mainly appears in James Tynion IV's run of Detective Comics that ran from 2016 to 2018. During this period Tim was still called Red Robin, but he'd basically reverted to a Robin costume, with only the silly doubled "RR" symbol identifying him as not ~actually~ Robin winkwink nudgenudge, and as I understand it he was mostly back to functioning as Bruce's partner.

Tynion's run ends in Detective Comics #981 with Tim telling Bruce that he's going off to Ivy University. (He's totally lying, as Tim Drake does; Alfred notices that his tracker is going off in the opposite direction of the university, but Bruce is like "I trust him" and turns the tracker off. Yay, I guess?)

Anyway the important bit is this revealing that Tim is 'going-off-to-college' age. Which could still reasonably be anywhere from 17-19, and DC being DC, they ~refuse to confirm~

Tim as Red Robin on the cover of Detective Comics #934 (2016); as you can see, he's pretty much Robin again lol

Detective Comics #968 (2018); another shot of his "basically Robin" Red Robin costume

In 2019 we got the actual return of Tim as Robin (no "Red") in Brian Michael Bendis's Young Justice run, re-uniting the Core Four from YJ 1998.

Young Justice (2019) #1

As you can see, he no longer has the doubled 'RR', and he confirms that he's Robin - "Well, one of them!" I think he's supposed to be filling in as the Gotham Robin while Damian is running around the world having adventures and presumably getting into trouble, as Robins do? idk.

Tim also chases down his erased post-Crisis past at the beginning of this arc, having Zatanna magically restore (most of) his memories of the previous timeline, and, crucially, his forgotten best friend Kon, kickstarting some plot.

Tim, and all of the Young Justice crew, are notably young-looking for almost the entirety of this run. It varies based on the artist, but uh, yeah for the most part they are really damn baby-faced. This is a trend that continues with Tim and his generation of friends from this point onward, so fans have basically thrown up their hands like "is he 17 forever???? is he Edward Cullen from Twilight???? is he aging backward????"

We Just Don't Know

In any case, Bendis makes DC's next attempt to give Tim his own identity in short order, giving us the hilarious, ill-fated, and rightfully short-lived "Drake" identity.

Young Justice (2019) #10

He's back to being Robin by issue #18, hilariously switching costumes from one page to the next, although some time has apparently passed during the scene transition.

Young Justice (2019) #18; Jinny: "Is Drake back to being Robin?" Kon: "I think Batman and Spoiler made him go back to Robin. Don't bring it up. And say thank you because we didn't have to have the Drake intervention we were planning."

And as of the current date (July 13, 2023), Tim is still in the Robin identity, sharing it with Damian ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ God knows how old he's supposed to be right now. I certainly don't.

Batman (2016) #136; the most recent issue out to date, with Tim suiting up as Robin while filling Bruce in after diving into a bunch of parallel dimensions to bring Bruce home.

As you can see, it's a Mess. The Tim Drake's Vigilante Identity question is of course a hotbed of wank and infighting, as people are torn between (a) wanting him to continue as Robin and (b) wanting him to move on and "grow up" into his own identity again (and, importantly, leave Damian as the sole Robin again, lol).

It feels like most people are for option (b), but then nobody can agree on what his next identity and costume should be. Red Robin again?? Some other bird-based identity that doesn't share a name with a major restaurant chain?? Something else entirely??

God only knows what DC is going to come up with, especially after the Drake fiasco.

And there you have it, Anon! Hope that was helpful.

[corruptimles]

crossroads fan submitted: hi there! i downloaded pokemon go some time ago and happened to catch a female shiny joltik on the first day i started playing. it was a very cute way to be welcomed into the game, and as a fan i figured i would name her in honor of your AU. here she is in all her tiny glory! thank you for all the wonderful things you’ve made and shared with us ^_^

Stowaway is now in your phone, draining your phone battery, all according to plan

[frillyyyy]

gives u a banan

[doyelikehaggis]

Is a girl worth ruining your friendship over?

I know this is about the Freddie/Bobby/Anna situation, so it’s a resounding no. I agree with what Jean said: Romances will come and go but friends are forever. I don’t see Freddie and Anna working out long term, and I’m not even sure Bobby and Anna could have, but I truly believe Freddie and Bobby could have been friends forever. I hate that that’s probably ruined now.

[yourstruly-ace]

had my ask answered <3

[idledearest]

keep your friends hostage!

un(g)locked this sfm from my core memory

[brattybottombunny]

I have a huge crush on @mommyminotaur like I recently picked up art again and after a few days I realized all the girls I was drawing looked like her and I was like. oh. so that's why I blush every time they post

this is adorable!! 🥰

[marlinspirkhall]

do you have any spirk fic recommendations? i feel like im running out on ao3 :(((

Spirk Fic Recs for Anon

Here are all the k/s fics I have bookmarked, the most recent stuff are from the Terms Of Service zine 2023 and you should exclude the "recced by author" tag if you don't want to read any self-recs.

Completely forgot to include ratings information, but most of these are rated Mature and please check the tags in case there are any plot points/triggers I forgot to warn for.

I don't know what your taste is or what you have already read so these are going to be all over the place:

Killer Plants From Outer Space! by CowboyJimKirk lives rent free in my head, as does Side By Side by Herenya_Writes, but I've recced that fic before, so you should read their fae royalty au fic Of A Different Kind

Near Miss by The_Norsiest (Spirk SNW/Disco first meeting au, written back before SNW had been announced.)

Imzadi_Deanna is a great writer & you should peruse her ao3 to find something you like, but I'm recommending: The Warmth Of Cold Glass (merman!Jim AU), The Curvature Of Our Universe

What We Don't Say (Or: The Epic Wedding Of Jim And Spock) by museaway

Whump:

Nine Million Green Bottles (self rec)

Kashan by PlotWeaver

Tomorrow Never Comes (self rec) (Major Character Death)

Or maybe you don't want to read at all and you want to listen to podfics like Forty-Five Hours In Riverside (recorded by JammyToast), [fic] or Entering Orbit (LikeSharkTeeth), [fic] (author: museaway)

Spirk podfics recs (collection) (all)

You Don't Have To (Say Yes) (recorded by RSCreighton) (note: this podfic is 22 hours long) [fic] (author: LuminousBeings)

Secret link? A Crazy Little Thing Called Love, by VTSuion

• [first] Endless Spirk Fic Recs [next] •

[jewishbarbies]

The ability of Hamasniks to ignore actual facts is so disturbing. I knew they would be awful after the news of the hostages being murdered broke, but the fact that so many are insisting (falsely) that the IDF actually killed them is just too far. Especially because a Hamas spokesman literally came out with a statement confirming that Hamas ordered the guards to execute the hostages. I truly don’t know what else to say.

Hamas themselves have been clear since oct that what they want is dead jews and they’re happy about killing us by any means necessary, even killing innocent palestinians if they have to. yet every time something happens there’s a wave of excuses from leftists because they can’t admit their uwu freedom fighters just enjoy killing.

[gerryrigged]

not me popping in multiple weeks late to your wip list to inform you that the concept of tim going to jason in a sex pollen situation and dick being Displeased about this flipped a switch in my fucking brain. it just spoke to me okay, i'm obsessed. i understand that there probably isn't a lot to say on the concept beyond the fic itself but i'd be thrilled with anything you'd like to share! i am RAVENOUS

Ohhhhh Anon 🤗 that one ate my brain for a solid few days when it first stole up on me, so I definitely feel you. Jealous and possessive Dick is just too good!!!

Okay so this is post-Red Robin, and Dick and Tim's relationship is still a little strained. Like they’ve reaffirmed their care for and trust in each other, they're making efforts to repair things, but yeah. Still stuff they haven’t addressed, and the comfort level hasn’t been quite rebuilt yet. 

Also Bruce fucked off to build Batman Inc. and left Dick to continue as Gotham’s Batman with Damian as his Robin, so there’s still that. 

Anyway, Dick is particularly invested in improving his and Tim's relationship, because he's only become more attracted to Tim since he returned from his BruceQuest more centered, more himself - but also sharper and more enchantingly graceful and competent and gorgeous than he’s ever been before. He's also turned 18, and Dick is tentatively hopeful that they can finally address the potential between them that's lurked under the surface for at least a couple of years now. 

Because, haha, Dick thinks that they are BOTH aware of the long-simmering feelings between the two of them, and that Tim has just been considerate of Dick’s reluctance to start anything while Tim was still underage. He thinks that they had a kind of mutual, unspoken understanding to wait to explore those feelings until Tim was older, if they were both still unattached, and still interested. And okay, their falling out in Red Robin threw kind of a wrench into things but rebuilding their relationship now is a perfect opportunity to maybe try deepening it further 👀💘🥺💞🙏??? 

(HA. Tim has no fucking idea that Dick thinks of him as anything but his trusted younger brother figure 🙃) 

Anyway. Jason is still around Gotham, occasionally causing trouble, occasionally helping. He mostly stays in his carved out territory, but he’ll like, deign to coordinate with the Bats for pushback against Arkham breakouts, or city-wide gang wars, or like, alien invasions, maybe. 

At times, he seems to be circling the Bats. He’s made conversational overtures toward Dick when their vigilante paths cross, which Dick has warily returned. Dick has also spotted Red Hood with Red Robin once or twice; it made him tense and beeline toward them the first few times, but Hood always took off, and Red said it was just work, or Jason fucking around - that he didn't seem to be actively plotting any harm, at least. 

Dick isn’t exactly happy about it, but Tim gets huffy about Dick not thinking he can take care of himself (‘what happened to equals, huh?’) so Dick has to back off. He does extract a promise from an eye-rolling Tim that he’ll call Dick for back-up if things get out of hand and Jason seems to be falling back into old, potentially Tim-maiming habits. (‘partners, remember? that rely on each other?’) 

Then there's a multi-Rogue Arkham breakout. After splitting and converging in various teams to take out the rest, Batman (Dick), Hood, and Red Robin wrap up with Harley and Poison Ivy at the end.

It seems to go smoothly - for a hot second it looked like Red Robin was tagged by some kind of acid spat by one of Ivy’s flowers, but he must've dodged or was able to just quickly neutralize the substance with seemingly no side effects, because he seems okay.

Dick is anxious to get back home to check on Damian - Robin had apparently been knocked out in his and Batgirl’s fight against Scarecrow across town, and may have inhaled some gas when his mask tore.

But he stops, concerned, when he notices that Red Robin is lingering behind, not following. 

He stalls harder, frowning, when Tim snags Jason’s jacket to also keep him from leaving. But Tim just flashes Dick a strained smile. 

“Just want to yell at him about something, it’s fine,” Tim reassures him. 

“Oh yeah, that makes me want to stick around,” Jason grumbles. 

“I think you’ll want to hear me out,” Tim says, low and hoarse, fingers tightening on Jason’s jacket. He clears his throat when both Dick and Jason shoot him odd looks - or, well, an interrogative helmet tilt, in Jason’s case - and waves Dick off again impatiently. “Seriously, go. We’re fine.” 

It takes Tim getting pretty insistent to actually shoo Dick away - he’s weirdly reluctant to leave them alone, gaze fixed uneasily on Tim’s hand, still gripping Jason’s jacket, the way Jason is sort of leaning into Tim, something intrigued in his body language (what does he know that Dick doesn’t?) - but Dick does eventually, reluctantly leave. He’s definitely going to interrogate Tim later to figure out what that was all about. 

As you can imagine, it’s a real knife to Dick’s gut when he finds out that Tim was sex pollened, aware of it and actively fighting through it, and chose Jason to help him deal with it while Dick was RIGHT THERE. RIGHT FUCKING THERE.

I don’t think he finds out from Tim directly. Maybe from Oracle?? Maybe he’s waiting at the Manor for Tim to come by for a debriefing, and he never shows, and Dick gets increasingly worried until he looks up Red Robin’s location data and he’s. Still with Jason. For some reason. At the Bat safehouse nearest to that last battle. They’re right on top of each other, practically. 

Maybe he calls Oracle to fish for info and she (not having any more idea than Tim of the Dick -> Tim feelings) gives him kind of an amused, snarky response about how oh yeah, don't worry, they’re fine 😏; I can’t say more than that, the cameras are blacked out. And Dick’s like, ‘...blacked out?’ and she’s like, ‘protocol, lol, but seriously, they’re fine.’

And Dick is like. Privacy blackout protocol? Tim’s hand on Jason’s jacket? Babs smirking so hard he can hear it through the comm? POISON IVY?

2 + 2 = 4 and Dick is NOT a happy camper. He probably like. Sits there staring at the Red Hood and Red Robin icons layered on top of each other in that apartment ALL FUCKING NIGHT, imagining what’s happening in there, wanting to yell himself hoarse and throw breakable things to shatter against the Cave walls. But he sits motionless in the dark, instead. Aching and second-guessing everything he thought he knew about where he and Tim stood with each other - when he can think through the haze of hurt, jealousy, and anger. 

[INSERT A SWITCH TO EITHER JASON OR TIM'S POV FOR THEIR MARATHON SEX POLLEN FUCK SESSION 😂 WOW THEY ARE HAVING A FANTASTIC TIME WHILE DICK IS JUST. SO MISERABLE. TIM IS SO FLEXIBLE. JASON HAS SO MUCH STAMINA. YAAAAAY.]

I’m sort of divided about how Dick’s actual confrontation of Tim would go, because my dark horny Id wants jealous Dick stewing and stewing and eventually just losing it (possibly prompted by getting dosed by another mind-altering, inhibition-loosening drug? because WHY NOT) and like, borderline dub-con ambushing Tim, possibly tying him down and fucking him until he cries and learns who he belongs to

but then my mushy Id is like NO I WANT DICK TO CRY INTO TIM’S CHEST ABOUT HOW HURT HE IS THAT TIM DOESN’T WANT HIM WHEN HE’S LOVED TIM FOR SO LONG NOW, and for Tim to be like wait wait wait WHAT??? but I DO want you, I’ve loved you for so long, that’s why I didn’t want a cheap meaningless sex pollen pity fuck, that would destroy me! and then they cry on each other some more and make sweet sappy reaffirming (but also lbr intensely possessive) love

and then my SUPEREGO is like stfu you know that’s not how it would go, Dick Grayson represses the fuck out of all debilitating hurts and betrayals and upsets, he has to brood and angst like a MOTHERFUCKER first, and then probably snipe at a baffled Tim about unrelated things because he can’t talk about his feelings, and then pick petty fights with a confused, annoyed Jason about things he’d previously been letting go as hostilities had cooled

and then vent to his friends in highly coded/obfuscated language so they have to stab in the dark trying to give him relevant advice, except for Roy who oh shit accidentally figures out EXACTLY what Dick is so bent out of shape about because Jason talked to him about helping Tim out with the sex pollen incident, and what the fuck Dick are you in love with Tim??? and what the fuck Roy, did Jason GOSSIP with you about Tim, did he BRAG ABOUT FUCKING TIM, Dick is gonna fucking PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE, and Roy has to frantically talk him down. 

and then Dick would eventually confront Tim slightly-too-aggressively about that one time he fucked Red Hood (if it even was just one time >:|), and was that really the best decision Tim, I’m not saying I’m questioning your judgment but he stabbed you in the chest with a Batarang Tim, I’m not saying another much safer and more appropriate person was right there Tim but I was literally right fucking there Tim, I would have fucked you so good you would never want anyone else Tim, why didn’t you want me Tim, why didn’t you choose me???

….also also, I’m undecided on whether I would want to add JayTim tentatively developing feelings from the pollen incident into the mix to make things even more messy and fucked, but honestly!!! That could be more than I want to try and juggle lol

Thanks for the Ask, I appreciate you!!

[ayareadsao3]

[anoneyemoose]

Nonhuman blogs are, at the end of the day, free to curate their posts and post about things they find personally interesting or that make them happy.

The reason we're saying this is that in recent months we've seen an uptick in posts that seem annoyed at people that do this. A blog simply choosing not to cover darker, grittier, or shocking aspects of their identity doesn't automatically mean they believe it is nothing but sunshine and rainbows. There are also nonhumans that just don't experience "shocking" stuff, there's nothing wrong with that either.

For those that want more content on the darker aspects of nonhumanity, it feels much more productive to encourage others to feel comfortable posting that kind of content if they wish to. No one is in any way obligated to not post things they find fun, or make them happy, or that they find comforting. Maybe it's soft, maybe it's cutesy, maybe it's all of things they find exciting about their nonhuman identity without an ounce of grit. That is perfectly fine. They run their blog and you run your blog.

Even if not intentional, it does come across as dismissive to claim that the nonhuman community has "devolved" into positivity or blogs posting about things they enjoy, it hasn't. Make the posts you want to make, but most importantly tag it properly. Use Tumblr's built-in community labels feature and mark your post contains adult content. If you post gore, tag it as gore. There are ways to make your posts easier to find for those seeking solidarity and easy to hide for those that might be squicked or triggered by certain content.

[rocketkart95]

Pebis

[doyelikehaggis]

I’m not sure if this counts as rarepair rowboat but what about a drabble of Klayley with three daughters? (maybe Hayley’s pregnant again and this time it’ll be a boy) I just love the little family of Hayley, Klaus, and Hope and I think it would be so nice if they choose to have more kids.

As an apology for how dreadfully long this has taken me to answer, I have done my absolute best to write something worthy of this beautiful concept. Klayley with more kids, building a family, is just my bread and butter, so thank you for gracing me with such an idea <3

*

The sound of feet moving so swiftly, almost silently, around his home would usually unnerve Klaus. It used to, in the past. It meant danger. Trespassers, people who were stepping where they did not belong, trying to catch him unawares.

Especially when he can hear the quick beats of their hearts. Growing closer to him. Sneaking up on him, his back turned to them. It would be very reasonable for him to act on instinct.

He closes his eyes. A smile curves his lips as the wolves pounce.

"Got you!" two voices scream at the top of their lungs as tiny arms wrap around his neck and legs, entangling him in a trap of limbs. They break out into laughter as they use all their might to wrestle him to the ground.

Once he's on the floor, growling, defeated, the two little wolves celebrate their victory whilst sitting on top of him. It's then that he breaks character and laughs along with them.

"Daddy!" Rikki scolds him, giving him a kick in the ribs. "You're not supposed to laugh! We've taken you prisoner, remember?"

He quickly tries to rearrange his features into something more sullen and angry as he nods swiftly, clearing his throat. "You're right, love, I'm sorry. I'm a prisoner."

At that, Astrid groans loudly and flops to the floor. "Dad!"

"What? What did I do?" he asks, eyes darting between the two of them.

"You know, prisoners don't usually call their captors 'love,'" another voice chimes in, almost sing-song-like in her smugness. He cranes his neck back and looks at her upside down as she walks towards them, arms folded and a smile on her face. "But then, you never were very good at playing prisoner, were you?"

He grins up at Hayley. "Just not my nature, love, you know that."

"Well, you have to be the prisoner," Rikki says stubbornly, still sitting on his chest. "It's the only way we can play the game, and you and Mom said we're not allowed to do any magic unless Hope's here, so there's nothing else we can play."

"Aside from the millions of toys you have upstairs in your rooms," he says, raising his eyebrows at her.

She glowers back at him. It's a familiar expression, strikingly like the one occasionally worn on her mother. Right now, though, Hayley can't do anything but laugh at the situation he's gotten himself into.

To his luck, Astrid has already grown tired of the game and his lack of cooperation, unlike her big sister. She gets off the floor and climbs into Hayley's arms, her attention turned, as usual, to the constantly growing bump. As the youngest, she's fascinated by the soon-to-be baby, though has taken to scolding it when it causes her mother any kind of discomfort.

"Does it feel weird?" she asks, moving her foot along it and looking up at Hayley with big brown eyes. "Like, a worm wriggling around in your stomach?"

Hayley smiles and tucks a piece of her auburn hair behind her ear with a nod. "A bit like that, yeah. But it's good. It means he's healthy."

Rikki and Klaus' heads both snap up. Klaus sits up, wrapping an arm wound Rikki as he rearranges to sit her in his lap as he stares up at Hayley.

"He?" Rikki repeats, taking the word right out of his mouth. "It's a boy? So, we're gonna have a little brother?"

Hayley glances from her to Klaus, her eyes lingering on his as her smile grows to bursting point. He can feel it in his chest, ready to explode, until, finally, she nods once more.

"A boy," he breathes out. Then he hugs Rikki, pressing a kiss to her head as a grin splits his face in half. "Hear that, sweetheart? A little brother for you and your sister. How does that sound?"

It isn't only Hayley's features he sees in his daughter, as her smile creeps into his heart much like his dear little sister's did when they only had each other. Her dark blonde hair only makes it more striking.

"I like that," she says.

Astrid, however, makes a face and prods Hayley's stomach lightly with a toe like it suddenly contains a flesh-eating beast. "Will he be weird and gross like the boys at my school?"

The three of them laugh, and Hayley strokes her cheek. "No, sweetheart, he'll be kind and sweet, and he'll adore his big sisters."

"Like Uncle Kol," Klaus chimes in.

That lights Astrid up like a Christmas tree. It's a little annoying how Kol has managed to worm his way in as the favourite despite living halfway across the world, but Klaus supposes he cannot begrudge him the love one niece as Rebekah firmly remains Rikki's favourite.

"Oh, come on, don't lie to her." They look across the room to find Hope standing by the door, back slung over her shoulder and a smile on her face. "He's part of this family. It would be impossible for him not to be a total freak like the rest of us."

The kids are uproarious with joy. Rikki is gone in a blur, colliding with Hope and nearly sending her crashing, and Astrid has never looked more like a tiny wolf as she loses her footing halfway out of Hayley's arms in her haste to join her sisters.

Hope laughs as she crouches down to hug them both. "Oh, my god, can you two stop growing? You're going to be taller than me soon."

"Wouldn't be hard, love," Klaus says, getting to his feet. She tilts her head, her mouth falling open to gape at him, and he grins. "Sorry, sweetheart, but you're a short-arse. I truly don't know whose side of the family you got that from, maybe Rebekah."

"Wow, Dad, thanks a lot," Hope says through laughter as Hayley swats him lightly for swearing in front of the kids. She walks over to them and into their open arms, hugging them both tightly. Muffled, she quietly says, "I missed you."

Klaus plants a kiss on top of her head and Hayley strokes her hair, softly saying, "We missed you, too, sweetheart. But, hey, you're here now and you can tell us all about school. Anything exciting happen?"

Pulling back, Hope makes a face. "You could say that."

"Caroline might have mentioned something about, what was it... a dragon?" Klaus says uncertainly, as if he doesn't already know every dangerous detail his daughter seems to have miraculously forgotten to mention recently. "And, I swear, there was something about a boy. What was his name again...?"

She laughs nervously now, realizing just that. To her great fortune, Rikki and Astrid hear the word "dragon" and take control of the conversation with a bombardment of questions. Hayley catches Klaus' arms and motions to the side. They step away from the girls as Hope is dragged to the couch.

"Let her settle in, at least, before we start grilling her about a possible boyfriend, alright?" she says quietly.

Klaus sighs. "Fine. But if that's Landon she mentioned last year, I will not be held responsible for what happens to him."

"You are terrible," she tells him, smiling. "Can you please just try to be happy that our daughter is living her life?"

Deep down, the words hit him with an almighty force. His eyes dart back over to where their three little girls sit together, laughing away. The truth is, he couldn't be happier. Seeing them all. Seeing Hope so grown up. God, she's changed so much since he saw her last, it actually almost breaks him, how quickly time seems to be moving. But it's also a feeling of relief, one that forces him to take a deep breathe as he realizes that Hope is no longer that tiny, helpless little creature in constant danger. Perhaps the last part hasn't changed, but the rest has.

And it's a good thing. How strong, how independent she has become. She looks up and catches his eyes, and she sticks her tongue out at him just like Astrid does. A glimpse of his little girl in this new, wonderful form.

Hayley touches his chest and his eyes are drawn back to her. "Alright," he says softly, "I suppose I can... live with that."

"And not kill her boyfriend."

"And not... kill her boyfriend," he repeats through gritted teeth.

Hayley rolls her eyes at him, but she still kisses him like he's deserving of it. Like she somehow loves him all the more for it, the stubbornness, the wolf inside of him despite its sometimes animalistic nature. It makes him ache in some way, wanting to be able to do more, do better by her somehow. All he can do is kiss her with everything he has and hope it's enough. Somehow, impossibly, it always seems to be.

She pulls back with a smile, caressing his face gently. In turn, his hands and gaze fall between them, both softening upon her stomach.

"So, we're having a boy," he says again.

"Mhm. Poor kid's going to be severely outnumbered, but I suppose it was about time to start evening the numbers out a little." She turns stern as he lifts his gaze back to her. "But I swear, Klaus Mikaelson, if you even dare try to suggest we name him after you, I will kill you."

He laughs at that but tries to look offended. "Well, frankly, I think it would only be fair considering our oldest daughter is named after you."

"Oh, it's her middle name and you chose it," Hayley retorts, poking a finger into his chest. "You're not getting away with that. No way."

"Then what do you suggest?" he asks, knowing that he was never actually going to burden the poor little thing with his own atrocious name.

Hayley looks away. "Well, actually, I was thinking... Henrik."

His heart seems to stop as the last of the air in his lungs escapes in a quiet gasp of shock. She looks up at him, a smile as gentle as her fingers flitting across her lips as she raises a shoulder.

"Henrik?" he repeats faintly. It makes him dizzy just to utter the name, his heart and mind bombarded by everything attached to it, and yet also oddly soothed by letting it be heard. Just, he imagines, as Hayley might have felt when he revealed the piece of her own self forever tied with Hope in the form of her middle name.

"It just feels... I don't know, right, I guess?" she says, shaking her head. "But if that's too much for you, then we can..."

"No," he interrupts. He presses his lips together, composing himself. "That's... No. It's perfect."

He stares at her, sighing softly, and he pulls her close, a hand on the back of her head as he presses his lips to her temple. "Thank you, Little Wolf." He pulls back, cradling her face between his hands lovingly, and looking deep into her eyes as he makes up his mind. "Our son's name will be Henrik. But, if I may, I want to give him his middle name."

Hayley nods. "Yeah. That's fine."

"Then our son will be called Henrik Jackson Mikaelson."

For the two names open messy, unhealed wounds in both their hearts, and Klaus knows that Hayley feels that same burst of emotion, followed by the odd relief at hearing the names said aloud. Never to be forgotten, even though they never could be for they live on in their heads.

Eyes glassy, Hayley takes a shuddering breath and nods. "It's perfect," she agrees.

"Just as he will be absolutely perfect," he says. "Just like his big sisters, and their strong, beautiful, amazing mother." He shifts her hair out of her face with a finger as she leans into his hand against her cheek. "You, Little Wolf, are the best thing to have ever walked into my life. Thank you"

"For what?" she breathes out, and jokingly says, "For getting just drunk enough not to ask myself if it was a bad idea to sleep with you?"

He swallows thickly. "For everything. For this." He glances back at the girls, then returns his gaze to her with full sincerity. "This family. Our family. For allowing me to be a part of it. Thank you, Little Wolf, for giving me a reason to never run again. You are my home."