#I stopped him from being able to eat Clark

[wandeel]

Tuto "How to annoy a Superman fan":

Step 1: Steal the sugar design from his cake and send him a photo while he's in the bathroom

Step 2: Send him another photo and say "It's the Doomsday clock"

Now you can listen to the fan crying in the bathroom

[ro-is-struggling]

In Sickness And In Health || Clark Kent x Reader

Summary: You're terrified that your boyfriend Clark —the local superhero and most perfect man on the planet— will see you sick, so you forbid him to visit you while you have a cold. However, when he shows up at your door saying he misses you, he proves that your insecurities were unwarranted.

Warnings: fluff, established relationship, reader being a little insecure, hurt/comfort kinda, my shitty titles (I tried my best :c )

English is not my first language

Word count: 2200

Notes: I wrote this for me while I was recovering from a cold that had me in bed feeling miserable for days. I was a mess and I felt ugly so I wrote this silly little thing to cheer me up as I continued to descend into the Henry Cavill filmography rabbit hole lol I decided to share it bc why not? Hope you guys like it c:

You hated being sick. You hated feeling weak and tired all day, spending hours in bed surrounded by used tissues. You hated that your throat felt scratchy and that your stuffy nose made you have to choose between eating and breathing. You hated having your daily routine interrupted by a stupid cold, but most of all you hated not feeling like yourself. 

You were a mess when you got sick, tangled hair tied up in a messy bun and wearing pajamas all day. You usually didn't move from your bed, which resulted in mountains of used tissues piling up on every surface near you. Multiple cups with leftover tea and a packet of crackers decorated the bedside table, being your main source of food for the day. It was an unpleasant sight so you preferred to spend your sick days alone in the quiet of your home where no one could see your red, irritated nose or the filth you were living in. 

You had specifically asked Clark not to come by your house for that very reason. You loved him to death, but you weren't prepared to let him see you in that state. You felt ugly when you were sick, almost unworthy to be in the presence of someone as perfect and magnificent as him. Clark was literally the perfect man, he never got sick or had to deal with colds in the winter or allergies in the spring. It was almost impossible to see him disheveled since he was able to stop a building from collapsing with his bare hands without a single hair on his head moving out of place. You knew he loved you and didn't care what you looked like, but you couldn't help but feel self-conscious about it since he was literally perfect. So, to save yourself trouble and to concentrate your energy on recovering, you asked him not to come see you for a few days.

Clark respected your wishes at first, but after two days without seeing you he couldn't wait. He missed you and didn't understand your insistence on being alone, it wasn't as if he could catch a cold from you. So when he finished his shift at the Daily Planet he headed to your apartment —stopping on the way just to buy some groceries and a bouquet of flowers for you. He didn't text you that he was going to see you, knowing that if he did you would find some excuse or some way to convince him to go home instead. That's why you were surprised to see him there when you peeked through the peephole in the door before opening it.

"Clark, what are you doing here?" You exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and annoyance. He wasn't supposed to be there. "I thought I told you not to come here!"

"I know, but I missed you." He pouted and you had to look away from the peep hole before he managed to convince you to let him in with those hurt puppy dog eyes of his. You missed him too, but you were in no condition to be around anyone, let alone him.

"I brought food, I thought maybe I could cook for you while you rest." Clark insisted when you didn't respond. You couldn't help but smile at his thoughtfulness, he sounded so genuinely interested in helping you and taking care of you that it almost broke your heart to have to say no to him.

"I'm not hungry," you lied. "You should go home, Clark."

"Why won't you let me take care of you?" he sighed in frustration. You leaned your forehead against the wood door, debating whether you should tell him the truth. You suddenly felt stupid for having such a specific and probably irrelevant insecurity, but it wasn't like you could control it. 

Despite the fact that you and Clark had been dating for quite a while, you still had a fair amount of 'first times'. You hadn't yet gone on vacation together for example, and he still hadn't met your family —though not by his own choice, he really wanted to. And, among other things, he had never seen you being sick. It was such a silly thing, but you felt ugly and disgusting and all you wanted to do was disappear under the covers and not come out until the cold was cured so no human being would ever have to see you in that state. 

"It's not that I don't want to," you muttered more to yourself than for him to hear, though you knew he could do it because of his powers. You fiddled nervously with the seam of your t-shirt, feeling a little silly for having to talk about this out loud. "It's just that I'm not in the mood to have guests."

"I'm not a guest, I'm your boyfriend."

“Claaark!” You pouted, begging the universe not to make you say out loud what your real problem was. You heard him let out a chuckle from the other side of the door and rolled your eyes, frustrated that he found the situation funny.

"What?" His voice was a perfect mix of confusion and amusement.

"It's just that... I'm not presentable, the house is a mess and I feel ugly. I'd rather you didn't see me like this." 

There was a long silence. Your fingers began to tug at the threads of the seam of the hem of your t-shirt while your teeth nervously nibbled at the skin of your lips, waiting for a response from your boyfriend. The tension grew with every second, time seemed to drag on as the uncertainty of silence ate you up inside. And then you heard a laugh. 

Clark was laughing. 

It wasn't a mocking or evil laugh, more an expression of his own surprise at your revelation. But it still bothered you. "I'm sorry, is this funny to you?"

"Yeah, a little." He replied with a chuckle and you let out a sigh of genuine disbelief. "I mean, you know I can see you through the door, right?" your eyes grew wide at the realization that due to his powers he had been watching you all this time. You turned quickly, facing away from the door as you hid your face in your hands. 

"Clark, stop it right now!" You ordered him and he let out another chuckle. "I mean it!"

"I'm sorry, it's just that I find it a little ridiculous. I mean, you have to know I couldn't care less about how you look. All I want to do is be with you and take care of you, baby." It melted your heart to hear the sincerity in her voice. It wasn't like you didn't know that, but it was nice to hear him say it, to reassure you that his love for you was genuine and pure. 

A part of you was dying to be pampered by him, to lose yourself in the warmth of Clark's strong arms as he held you against his chest, soothing all your aches and pains with his presence alone. It was tempting to think of him pacing around the apartment, making tea and cooking dinner while you rested between the sheets. But the other part of you —-the part that was usually in control of your decisions— hesitated, afraid of shattering some sort of illusion or image Clark had of you. It was silly and it only got sillier every time you thought about it, but you still couldn't bring yourself to open the door for him.

"I know, but still... I'm not ready for you to see me like this. I look hideous."

"You could never look hideous, baby." Clark sighed. His voice sounded closer and clearer, an indicator that he had moved closer to the door.

"You're just saying that because you love me and love has made you stupid and blind."

"Well, yeah, of course I love you. But also, you truly are the most beautiful woman in the world." You smiled to yourself, feeling your insides filling with that comforting warm feeling that you could only describe as the flame of love. Clark always knew just what to say to make all your problems go away. It was one of his best abilities, even if it was under-appreciated when compared to the rest of his powers.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." You lied, knowing full well that his sweet words were slowly softening the hard protective shield you had raised around your heart.

"C'mon, sweetheart! I'm gonna have to see you while you're sick eventually. Or what, once we live together you plan to lock yourself in the bedroom for a week and make me sleep on the couch so I don't see you with a cold? Or maybe I'll have to rent a room in a hotel until you get better? Is that what you want?"

You were silent for a moment as your brain tried to process what he had said, not his ridiculous options for staying apart when you were sick, but the part where he mentioned a future together. You'd be lying if you said you hadn't already imagined what your life together would be like for the next forty years. You wanted to wake up next to Clark every morning, share your free time with him and grow old by his side. He was the love of your life, you were sure of that. But what you didn't know was that he was also thinking about your future together. 

"Once we live together?" you repeated in an excited whisper, the smile on your face widening. "You think about that stuff?"

"Of course I do!" he assured you, sounding slightly offended that you thought otherwise. It hadn't been his intention to make it obvious that every night before bed he imagined his life with you, but he wasn't hiding it either. He was shamelessly in love with you so why bother disguising it. "I want everything with you, sweetheart. I love you."

All worries faded from your mind, banished by the echo of Clark's sweet words. Your hands worked quickly over the locks on the door, removing the latch before turning the key to unlock it. He had won, there was no way you could tell him to leave after such a confession of love. All you wanted to do was hug him and lose yourself in the warmth of his body until you melted into one, show him how much you loved him and how important his words were to you. It was more than the expression of a wish or a projection of the future. It was a promise. The promise of love and commitment. He wanted to be with you in sickness and in health, in good times and in hard times. Clark loved you as much as you loved him and that was all you needed to know to feel better.

"You cheated." You joked as you opened the door, stepping aside to let your boyfriend in. He smiled in amusement at your childish pout, letting out a slight chuckle as he set the shopping bag aside to close the door behind him 

"I was just being honest." Clark looked at you with such adoration in his eyes —his blue orbs glowing with the spark of love— that you couldn't help but feel self-conscious. Blood rushed to your cheeks, making you feel warm for the first time since you'd caught a cold.

"Stop it!" you whined, hiding your face in his chest as a defense mechanism to cope with how vulnerable you felt. 

You'd never been good at receiving compliments and always felt awkward when someone said something nice about you, unsure how to respond other than with a shy smile. And even though Clark seemed to make it his favorite pastime to give you compliments, it hadn't gotten any better. You still felt silly every time he complimented your outfit before going out to dinner or when he told you how beautiful you looked the next morning when you woke up in his arms. But just because you didn't know how to respond to his beautiful words other than with smiles and incoherent sounds of happiness didn't mean you didn't appreciate them. On the contrary, you loved the comforting warmth that flooded your insides every time he smiled at you, looking at you with pure love in his eyes. It made you feel special in a way that no one ever had before. It reassured you that you were on the correct path to happiness.

"I love you." You mumbled against Clark's chest and felt him tighten his grip on you, trapping you in his strong arms. You let the warmth of his body envelop you, slowly dissipating all your troubles. His simple presence was more powerful than any drug or medicine you could take, effectively making you forget all your problems in a matter of seconds. His hug alone was able to lift your spirits, restoring color and joy to your tired expression. That was the effect he had on you.

"I love you too, sweetheart." Clark whispered against your hair, placing a delicate kiss on the top of your head. "Now, will you let me take care of you?"

[starshideurfics]

Thirsty Thursday - Ring my bell, part 4

Part 3

steddie, omegaverse, flagging/signaling culture, mdni 🔞

Steve and Eddie spend the late fall and early winter meeting up as often as they can to fool around. Eddie’s got his club and his band and his dealing at high school parties, while Steve has his job and Robin and the special weekly Scoops Troop hang. They still find plenty of time for each other, Eddie sneaking into Steve’s bedroom on nights when the elder Harringtons are in town, Steve arriving at Forest Hills minutes after Wayne leaves for the late shift.

Most days Eddie is too impatient to wait for Steve to wash off his blockers, so he usually greets Steve with a kiss, then drops to his knees so he can scent him properly. Which quickly becomes him peeling Steve out of his jeans and putting his tongue to good use. He’s so pussy-drunk by the time he’s made Steve come that it only takes a few strokes to have him shooting off in Steve’s hand.

After, Steve will shower, toss Eddie a washcloth for his own mess, and they’ll spend whatever time they have left cuddled up close, talking about anything and everything.

Steve tells Eddie about the weird things customers say and the games he and Robin make up to pass the time. How much his dad keeps pushing for him to apply for a mailroom job at his firm, and how he would literally rather eat glass.

Eddie will talk through the puzzles and traps he has planned for the upcoming Hellfire session, trying them out on Steve to check the difficulty—Steve even helps him build a puzzle around basketball, telling him, “Lucas will get it, don’t worry about them getting stuck.” He’ll do his reading for English aloud so it sticks better in his head, Steve curled up against his chest, struggling to stay awake. Or, on nights he’s feeling particularly brave, Eddie will pull out his songwriting notebook, and show Steve the song he’s working on about him.

They’re spending New Year’s Eve alone at Steve’s house—his parents are in Paris for the holidays—all of their friends thankfully busy so they don’t need an excuse to blow them off.

“Wayne working tonight?” Steve asks as he opens the door on Eddie’s smiling face, his cheeks pink from the cold.

“Nah, he’s out drinking with his buddies. Told me not to wait up. Told him I was spending the evening elsewhere, and with how much of your scent is in my room… He’s figured out I’m seeing someone…” Eddie looks at him with worry in his big, dark eyes. “Is that okay?”

They had both decided to be quiet about all of it: the whole scentmates-hanging out-fooling around-thing until Eddie’s done with school. But Wayne is important to Eddie. The warmth in Steve’s chest is back at the thought of someone else knowing, at it being someone who cares about his alpha. Having someone who will support them without making it a big deal.

Steve doesn’t say all that, just murmurs, “Yeah, you can tell Wayne as much as you want.”

“Thanks, Puppy.” Eddie practically tackles him in a hug, purring as he realizes Steve is already blocker-free for the night, and tucks in tight to his neck. “You should stop wearing them,” he mumbles, not even kissing his neck, but licking it, tongue stroking his mating gland over and over.

“How about you let me close the door so we don’t heat the whole neighborhood.”

Eddie giggles, but complies, allowing Steve to close the door and lead him to the living room where Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve is already playing on the tv, volume turned down low. “I wanna be able to scent you all the time,” Eddie pleads, tossing his leather jacket on a chair and plopping onto the couch.

“Then everyone else could, too. Pretty hard to keep things low-key if everyone can tell I’m the source of all the new scents on you.” And it’s not like Steve is the one pushing for their quiet arrangement; Eddie wants it too.

“Just want people to know you’re taken,” Eddie says softly, whining as Steve straddles his lap and pulls him into a kiss. “Don’t have to know you’re mine yet, just… Taken.”

Steve remembers then, the alpha who had seen his necklace at work a few weeks back and asked him on a date. Eddie had been back in the Horror section, and he’d heard it all. He made Steve come on his tongue three times that night, and Steve had honestly forgotten all about it.

“I could say the same thing,” Steve says, just as soft. He takes Eddie’s left hand in his, taps over his rings, and comes up short. The pig head ring is gone. Eddie doesn’t have any more sniffing to do. In its place is a bird with a forked tail, wings and tail wrapped around Eddie’s middle finger. “Eddie?”

Eddie looks down, smiles to himself when he sees Steve has noticed the new ring. “It’s a swallow. They mate for life, and they migrate really far, but they always come home. I don’t plan on going far, but I promise I’ll always come home to you, Stevie.”

Lifting Eddie’s hand, Steve places a reverent kiss to his knuckles, then he pins him back against the couch and melds their mouths together in a greedy kiss.

It’s easy to stay there, making out, grinding down against Eddie’s rapidly hardening cock, so Steve does, lets his body do his talking for the moment. His scent blossoms and mixes with Eddie’s, making the living room smell like a proper den, and he wishes with all his heart that they could simply have this all the time.

But when Eddie leaves in the morning, Steve will have to spray air freshener to cover over their mixed scents. His parents can’t come home to the house smelling like an alpha they don’t know, and he isn’t ready to have anyone—even Robin—commenting on his scent at work.

Steve pulls back with tears in his eyes, ready to whisper apologies in Eddie’s ear, but his alpha is smiling up at him. “It’s okay, Puppy. I understand, I promise I do!” Awkwardly, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small, velvet box. “I thought this might help.”

Eddie opens the box and reveals a tiny key charm, claw clasp at the top so Steve can easily clip it on or take it off his necklace. So his parents won’t ask questions. But he can have it any other time. Robin will give him shit about it, but maybe he’s ready for Robin to give him shit about it.

“I love you,” Steve blurts, snapping the jewelry box closed so his gift doesn’t get lost, and taking Eddie by the sides of his face. “I love you.”

Eddie grins, and guides Steve’s face down to his, foreheads touching as they breathe one another in. “Love you, too.”

part 5

[thelibrarian1895]

The Bats Are Trolls

I toy with the idea but haven’t figured how I want this as a full fic so tossing it into the ether, do with it what you will

Concept: Stupid magic user erases knowledge of Bat family from world as part of very dumb plan, Gotham only knows them as rumors and that’s because they’re Gotham’s heroes and Bruce has TONS of magic neutralizing things scattered around Gotham just in case, Justice League knows something is off but can’t quite figure out what’s going on and Batman’s annoyed with everyone questioning him while he’s trying to clean up the mess and the Robins (Robins will be a term that includes Cass even though she’s possibly the only one that never wore the R which is sad and needs to be fixed) decide now is a good time to troll the league (possible dash of angst because Tim’s friends don’t know who he is and the poor boy needs his friends or Tim takes this time to troll them more than he’s been able to for years and Tim is my favorite Robin)

Featuring Batman on Watchtower and for some reason the majority of his kids decided to follow, because they’re all chaotic trolls, and that includes Batman

When JL asks where Batman got all these heroes to follow him

Dick: I’m his love child with Vengeance (Bc one of the driving things that got Dick to be a vigilante was wanting vengeance for his parents’ murder)

Jason: I was told there’d be candy

Tim: Batman and Gotham had an accident and I’m the result, they’re being much more careful now

Stephanie: I was told there’d be candy

JL: Do kids in Gotham not understand that taking candy from strangers is a bad thing? Red Hood said that too

Steph: Have you ever been to Gotham? If you want candy you can actually eat instead candy that’s absolutely drugged and probably full of razor blades or ground glass, Batman’s basically the only source.

Damian: I am the son and heir of Batman

JL possibly a Flash: So Batman had another kid with Vengeance? Or Gotham? How? Are there other heroes named Vengeance and Gotham?

Tim: No, Nightwing’s parent was the concept of Vengeance, mine was the personification of Gotham. *Gestures to Damian* His is the Night, her parent *gestures towards Cassandra* is Justice

JL probably a Lantern: Didn’t Batman ever learn to wrap it up?

Stephanie: Dude, gross, do you ask your dad that kind of thing?

Tim sweet stalker boy who has weird sense of boundaries: He had a vasectomy ages ago, it’s in his medical files, but that wouldn’t really stop someone like the brat’s mother, or certain others

JL possibly Diana: Others?

Tim: Did you really think we’re Batman’s only children? *ignoring implication JL wanted to know about Batman’s theoretical baby mamas*

JL possibly a very worried Clark: How many others? How many other children does he have I mean?

Dick: Good question

Jason: Depends on the day

Tim: I have the current list with me *pulls out book the size of a dictionary*

JL: Why does it say “Hit List” on the front?

Dick: Robin started it and we haven’t had the time to think of a better name that we can all agree on

 This is true on several levels, Tim started to put together the book after the nth new kid from a different multiverse to try to help keep things straight for everyone since some of the kids were great like Terry or Father Todd while others were Joker Jr. or a Talon, none of the Robins will admit who named the list and all of them have a terrible sense of humor

 Dumb mage’s mistake is eventually undone, JL realizes they’ve met more of Batman’s kids during that point than they have…ever, they really only interact with Nightwing on a regular basis and Red Robin sometimes

[fragmentsofmyfixation]

The Woes of Being a Butler (Father)

Pairing: Bruce Wayne x Clark Kent

Word Count: 1,750

Warnings: None 

Summary: Master Bruce in his 27 years of life had never been what one would refer to as social. He hardly spoke to anyone that wasn’t Alfred or Detective Gordon which is why when Alfred finds him preparing to go out, he’s curious.

 Alfred was suspicious. Master Bruce had never been one for social gatherings, or anything social period. He had always been a rather recluse child, something which only intensified after the death of his parents. Alfred was a military man who learned the ways of service after his time in British intelligence. He never had a chance to be a father. So when he was left to parent a traumatized young boy, he was clueless as to how to bring him out from this dark place that seemed to be swallowing him from the inside out.

He had tried cajoling the young boy to socialize with his peers but was met with icy rebuffs and anxious tears. He had hoped that Master Bruce’s years abroad would have helped him with his social anxiety, but he still shied away from making social connections and avoided public gatherings like the plague. This is why Alfred was at a loss when watching Master Bruce change his outfit for the fourth time tonight.

Seeing him in anything aside from his sleepwear and full Batman regalia was a sight for sore eyes. Alfred shook his head in bemusement as Master Bruce carded nervous fingers through his hair in a vain attempt to fix his bed head, eye his outfit with disgust, and then go into the closet to change once again. Alfred couldn’t stand by and say nothing.

“Any plans for tonight Master Bruce?”

Master Bruce dropped whatever he was holding, surprised by Alfred’s presence. He must have been deep inside his own head to not notice Alfred’s presence.

Yes, something was amiss indeed.

“Just out,” he replied, voice soft, eyes downturned.

Alfred wasn’t letting this go. “Yes, I can see that, what I’m asking is who your plans are with and what you will be doing. Is this for business? It wasn’t on your schedule.”

While Alfred couldn’t see the look on his face, Alfred knew it was flushing red from his lack of response.

Master Bruce came out from his hiding space closet with a look of nervous confidence.

Having built up enough courage Master Bruce blurted out, “I’m seeing a friend.”

Alfred’s mind stopped at the abrupt declaration before he composed himself once again.

“A friend?”

“Yes, a friend Alfred,” Master Bruce replied instantly.

Ah that type of friend.

“Does this friend happen to go by the name Selena Kyle?”

“No,” he answered immediately. “It’s someone else.”

“Excuse me for my rudeness but I was unaware you had actual friends, considering how your time is spent between searching for justice, avoiding the press, conversing with me, and sneakily trying to hide your food so I won’t force you to eat. I’m just surprised is all.”

Bruce fiddled with his tie —a nervous tick Alfred had noticed— without looking at him.

“It was that reporter, the one who came her for an interview a few months ago.”

Alfred dug up a name in his memories till he was able to match it with a face. Yes, he remembered that reporter, Clark Kent. He had hand picked him to interview Master Bruce because of his stellar record capturing the importance of the person he was interviewing and writing genuine articles instead of writing ludicrous headlines to sell tabloids. Master Bruce had refused stating that he didn’t want to be interviewed.

Stop being such a ninny Master Bruce it’s only an interview.

Bruce had only agreed at the promise of Alfred not bothering him about his sleep schedule —or lack thereof— for a week.  

It’s the small victories Alfred supposes.

The day he had come to the manor, was the day right after Master Bruce had fallen from a rooftop, making his mood even more withdrawn. Mister Kent’s charm had managed to pull a few reluctant half smiles out of Master Bruce. All was going well till Mister Kent noticed the bruising on his torso when the hem of Master Bruce’s shirt had risen up as he reached for a mug.

Mister Kent’s worry seemed genuine when he asked if Master Bruce was alright. His face was stricken with panic as he apologized for coming over when he was hurt and insisting that Bruce should have canceled the interview.

“You came here from Metropolis Mr. Kent, cancelling at last minute would have been inappropriate. I’ve already iced the bruise and have been banned from rock climbing by my butler.”

“Your health trumps our interview. I could’ve done a phone interview from my hotel. Seriously Mr. Wayne, you need to pay better attention to your health!”

Alfred remembered the memory fondly, the sight of Bruce feeling properly chagrined and having a regular conversation, with someone his age no less had made Alfred’s year.

However, it seemed that the status of their relationship had changed, and while Alfred respected and approved of him as a reporter and possible friend, he wanted to know what his intentions were with Master Bruce. And he also abhorred being blindsided like this.

“Have you two been keeping in touch?” Alfred asked, voice devoid of any emotion.

Master Bruce seemed to sense Alfred’s tone and answered cautiously. “Well, at first, he sent a follow up email with his article attached and asked how my bruises were healing. I know you’re always telling me how genuine compliments and nice conversation are the keys to the beginning of friendship so I complimented him on the article. It was well written and didn’t have anything I told him not to write in it.”

Alfred nodded, remembering the well written article and how impressed he was.

“After that we continued to exchange emails and he sent me one last week saying he was in Gotham and asked if he could take me out,” Master Bruce said, getting quieter towards his last admission.

“And when were you going to tell me this?” Alfred asked, hurt seeping into his usual sarcastic tone.

Master Bruce looked chagrined at the disappointment leaking into his voice and ducked his head sorrowfully. “It’s not that I wanted to hide it Alfred. I just..” he struggled to find the words, “I just didn’t know if it would last and didn’t want to disappoint you. I know how happy you were when I met Selina and conversely how sad you were when we didn’t work out and I was alone again. I just didn’t want to disappoint you with another failed relationship.”

Another failed attempt at happiness. Is what went unsaid.

The hardness in Alfred’s face softened. His ward was truly one of a kind.

“I’m assuming you’ve ran a background check on the lad before agreeing to go out with him?” Alfred questioned ignoring the charged atmosphere.

Sadness was replaced by cockiness as he replied, “Of course I did, I’m Batman. And I’m sure you ran a background check before scheduling the interview.”

Alfred acquiesced to his point and looked at his ward lovingly. Hesitance crept back into Master Bruce’s expression, seemingly thinking Alfred was still upset with him.

Instead of responding with words that would make them both overly emotional, he decided to give some much needed fashion advice.

“I suggest going with the white turtleneck, a leather jacket, and black slacks,” Alfred advised before leaving the room.

Alfred was reading over Gotham Gazette’s newest paper when he heard the doorbell ring. Before he could stand up to answer it Master Bruce had raced down the stairs, checking his hair one last time in the living room mirrors before approaching the door.

Alfred smiled in his tea at his ward’s thinly concealed excitement. He got up and put on a pejorative mask. He was just in time to see Master Bruce open the door. Mister Kent had brought a bouquet of an admittedly beautiful assortment of flowers.

“Hi,” Clark greeted timidly.

“Hi,” Master Bruce replied bashfully.

“Greetings,” Alfred interrupted standing between the two. Both men were startled out of their bubble. Bruce seemed mortified, cheeks flushing red for the third time tonight. Clark held out his hand in greeting.

“It’s nice to see you again Mr. Pennyworth.”

Alfred didn’t spare at a glance at the outstretched hand and replied, “I wish I could say the same. I wasn’t aware you took a romantic interest in Master Bruce.”

Master Bruce whispered an embarrassed “Alfred!” before apologizing profusely to Mister Kent.  

The reporter laughed, seemingly unperturbed.

“It didn’t start off that way. I was genuinely concerned with his recovery. Then we started talking and while Bruce’s replies were a bit…” he paused searching for the right words. “Stilted at first, I was enamored with his quick wit and straightforward personality. I knew it was a long shot asking him out, I’m sure he has potential suitors knocking down doors for the chance to take him out.”

As Mister Kent continued talking, both Master Bruce and Alfred collectively decided not to mention how he’s barely even seen outside of the house, let alone propositioned.

“But my ma always tells me, ‘Clark, you’ll never know if you don’t try’ so I decided to give it a shot and  felt like the luckiest man on earth when I read Bruce’s email agreeing to a date.”

Master Bruce leaned back on his heels as he fiddled with the hem of his turtleneck, another nervous tick of his.

“You see Alfred, Clark’s nice,” Master Bruce defended, cheeks bright red, eyes staring in admiration at the reporter.

Alfred internally rolled his eyes at the sight before him. What would those residing in the underbelly of Gotham, think of the scary Batman, the force of vengeance and justice that tears through Gotham’s most dangerous streets like paper every night, blushing like a love-sick teenage girl, wooed by a reporter’s country charm.  

Alfred still wasn’t completely sold on Mister Kent, but decided to give his approval, for now.

“Have him home by 11.”

“I’m 27 Alfred, I don’t have a curfew,” he stated indignantly.

Alfred didn’t reply and gave him a nonplussed look. Master Bruce seemed to realize he was serious and leaned close enough to whisper something in his ear.

“12:30 tops Alfred, please?”

Alfred could hear the pout in his voice and resigned himself to tracking their whereabouts in the bat cave if he wasn’t home at 12:30 on the dot.

“Alright lad, have fun.”

Master Bruce gave a small smile before joining Mister Kent to his car. Alfred shut the door and smiled to himself, his ward was finally growing up. The deceased Masters would be proud.

[azures-bazar]

Hey was just wondering if you could do an Arthur x reader and Arthur being in the saloon and his wife is also there and the guys he’s with are teasing him about how single he is and Arthur’s like bet I can get the girl to leave with me and there like there is no way in hell that woman would leave with you but she’s his wife and Arthur downs his drink and walks up to his wife like hello gorgeous, how would you like to ride home on a real cowboy I got a six pack of cold ones and my roomie is out all night so you can scream my name as loud as you need to sugar and they walk out together and everyone’s gobs smacked and the readers like will you just stop and tell people I’m your wife and Arthur’s like nah I love the surprise on there faces when the see a beautiful woman like you wants to date me plz

Lonesome Pretty Boy 

Hello there anon, and thank you for this request ! I wrote this shot by night (again), please don’t mind my awful mistakes ! I loved the plot btw !

I hope you'll like it ! I kinda struggled with the teasing lol

Arthur Morgan x Female!Reader 

Word count : 2.6k

Short summary : Sometimes, Arthur likes impressing folks around him, not usually being able to score with women. But tonight, this woman is you. 

A/Note : set relationship - Arthur is married to Reader 

Tags : chapter 2, Arthur being flirty af, Roger Clark’s intimate voice lines with horses inspiration, teasing, cute nicknames

Oh, finally ! Dutch had finally decided to give Arthur some sort of day off for him to relax ! Morgan did not get the chance to have a break for weeks, and Sean’s rescue party was just a very quick glimpse of what some rest and carelessness could feel like. Just a day off, away from the rest of the gang, away from chores, away from endless requests from Strauss or Grimshaw, from Swanson’s drunkenness, Uncle’s complaints about his lumbago… or Sean’s overall presence. Just one day off felt like an entire holiday for Arthur. You two headed to Smithfield’s saloon in Valentine, Arthur wanted to be with you, to enjoy his rare free time by your side. You had even chosen your best gown for this occasion !

You had been a member of the gang for a long while already. It felt like ages, especially since you could remember welcoming a teenage Mary-Beth and lend her your old clothes. Arthur’s relationship with had always been quite peculiar, to say the least. He had displayed evident signs of attraction since the very first day you stepped foot in camp, with Dutch firmly holding you by the shoulders. He had stumbled upon you as you were on your way to a prison, while a couple of "old rich degenerates", as he called them, were begging the sheriff to hang you. The cause of their complaints ? Ten dollars you had stolen from that old man’s pocket to buy yourself some food after not being able to eat anything but grass for days. Living in the streets was no easy thing, especially when you were a young woman at the mercy of these men surrounding you, whether they were good or bad. 

Arthur had welcomed you wide-open arms, offering you one of his old mattresses and blankets for you not to be cold. He had willingly asked Dutch to watch over you and had spent a few weeks taking care of your wellbeing. He had watched you swallow Pearson’s stew in one go after starving for days, drink gallons of coffee, caress the new clothes Grimshaw had given you, enjoying its soft fabric after being mostly used to torn jeans and dirty shirts.

"It’s for me ?" you had asked 

"Of course, dear." Grimshaw had chuckled. "We can get you more clothes if you like, I just need to tell Dutch."

"No, that's alright." 

What made Arthur fall for you was most certainly the way you held yourself and your beautiful facial features he could not help but gaze at for endless minutes. He was not good at expressing his feelings, feeling awkward most of the time. But, after a few months, you felt like the two of you had known each other for years. A few kisses and many wild nights in bed after his very first move towards you, Arthur had proposed to you under a large oak tree… and you would have been a fool to say no to these beautiful puppy eyes and soft smile. 

You had been married for months already, the gang was aware of it. People did not ask about what you were doing when Arthur’s tent flaps were closed, or why the two of you would not get straight back to camp after a successful robbery. You had been with Dutch during the Blackwater Ferry Heist and had nearly died while escaping the city, which led Arthur to become even more protective towards you, being awfully traumatised after watching you bleed from your numerous wounds. This was mostly why he wanted you to go to the saloon with him. He wanted to have you nearby, close enough for him to feel alright, to be sure you were safe. 

"Take a seat, sweetheart." Arthur told you as you two walking into the saloon. "I’m gonna get us something to drink." 

You sat at a nearby table while Arthur went to the counter to order some whiskey for the two of you, one shot for him, and a bottle to share with you. Three fellers were talking about women beside him, he found himself listening to their conversation. One of them was married and was proud enough to boast about it, while the other two kept lamenting on the overall absence of women in their lives. Indeed, after spotting Arthur so close to them, waiting alone at the counter for his whiskey, they quickly reacted. 

"Hey you, pretty boy." one of them said 

Arthur lifted his head up, glancing at these three men near him, frowning a little. He absolutely hated being called pretty boy, you were mostly the only person who could call him such… without him grumbling about it. Whenever you would mention his handsomeness, Arthur would quickly blush and attempt hiding his face by tilting his hat forward for you not to spot his reaction… and this was probably the most adorable thing he would do on a daily basis, along with smiling at you when you were getting dressed.

"Yeah, you, cowboy." that same man restarted. "No woman by your arm tonight ?"

"That ain't your business, partner." Arthur answered with a smirk 

"Can’t be easy to be a lonesome pretty boy, ain’t it ?" the married man laughed. "With all these women around..."

"Them women are too great for a dusty cowboy." another one laughed. "You ain’t gonna get a nice catch tonight." 

What this man told Arthur almost felt challenging, if not rather funny. He did not mind them telling him about all the dust covering him… it was somewhat true. Despite having washed himself earlier this evening, the ride to Valentine’s saloon did not help him staying clean, especially considering its muddy streets. Arthur approached these men while placing his hands on his gun belt. He was a few inches taller than them, but they did not mind. 

"I’d get all ‘em women on a plate if I wanted." one of them smiled. "All of them."

"That’s why you still ain’t got a wife, Henry." the married man sighed 

"Ain’t you a smart one, feller." Arthur sighed, patting so-called Henry’s shoulder. "Go get your chance with a prostitute, maybe you won’t finish your night alone."

"I bet you’ll do the same. Prostitutes are a better catch than a nice woman for a man like you." 

Arthur’s eyes widened as he quickly glanced around, noticing you were still reading your book. He could remember Hosea offering it to you following Sean’s party, you could not take your eyes away from it. He laughed a little as these men started joking around, still not feeling comfortable about them teasing him. He looked at his whiskey-filled glass and sighed, turning his head back to those three men, ready to prove them wrong by getting a nice catch tonight. 

"Well, ‘bet I can get that girl right here." Arthur said, pointing toward you

"That one ?" the married man asked, looking at you. "With the nice gown ?"

"No way." Henry laughed. "Look at her, she’s dressed so well ! She’s too good for you, you’re just a dusty cowboy."

"Let’s see that." 

Arthur gulped down his whiskey in one go, carefully taking two glasses and another bottle to your table while smirking at the group of men nearby. It felt like a challenge, something fun to do. He could still hear them talk behind him, mostly excited and amazed by this sudden courage Arthur displayed. Had it been with another woman, Arthur would have remained alone all night long.

"Hello there gorgeous." he said in the most flirtatious way 

"Arthur ?" you turned your head up as you noticed him leaning on one of the wooden columns near the table

"Would you like some whiskey ?" 

"Sure." 

Arthur did not dare sitting next to you, feeling that these three fellers laughing at the counter would spot his sham. One single mistake and this scam would be over. He handled you the glass, causing you to rise from your seat and stand beside him, gently placing your small book inside your leather satchel Pearson had crafted for you. Arthur kept smiling, tilting his hat a little as you blushed. He had never been this confident with you, despite the two of you were married for a while already ! 

"Ain’t you such a beauty, m’lady."

"Arthur, what’s going on ?" 

"It’s a shame to see you alone tonight." 

You raised your eyebrows, felling quite confused by his peculiar speech and overall attitude. You had known Arthur for a while to get to understand his psychology and flaws, noting his self-hate and disgust towards his appearance which was, for a vast majority of people, absolutely amazing. Everyone you met, aside from people who owed money to Strauss and who got beaten up by Arthur, for instance, genuinely thought he was a very handsome man, healthy and well-built, with a rather friendly face. Arthur never felt confident enough with anyone, and the night he had asked you out to propose to you almost felt like a miracle. 

"Why are you acting like this ?" you asked. "Just… sit down, you’re making me nervous."

"Well, Miss, would you like a ride on a real cowboy ?" Arthur said, pouring some whiskey in your glass while looking straight into your eyes 

"What ?"

"I've got a large box filled with cold beers at home, you know." 

"Sorry ?"

Your eyes widened as you did not understand what was going on, and why Arthur was behaving the way he did. Riding on a cowboy ? What did he try to asl you ? You spent a few seconds trying to process the meaning of his sentence as Arthur bent over your shoulder and gently bit your earlobe, causing you to shiver. His breath so close to your skin made you feel great, but the way he just came to you like this was quite suspicious. Just like Jack behaving like an angel with Abigail in order to hide the truth after messing around, Arthur’s overall attitude at the moment made you feel like he was hiding something. 

"Oh, and my housemate is out all night…" he whispered so intimately, causing you to smile a little, and leading men to suddenly stop talking

"Arthur." you chuckled. "What the hell is wrong with you ?" 

"Don’t worry, you’ll be able to scream my name as loud as you need to, sugar." 

You chuckled louder after taking a sip of your whiskey. Arthur had tried many nicknames with you, but both "sugar" and "gorgeous" were the ones he had never used. In fact, Arthur mostly called you sweetheart or dove, believing these sweet nicknames were suiting you enough for him to nearly forget your real name at some point. 

"So, gonna let me take home home ?" Arthur smirked. 

"We’ve only been here for a few minutes !" 

"This ain’t a place for us… we better go." 

"But…-"

"Let’s go, sugar." 

You gasped as you barely had time to place your empty glass on the table while Arthur wrapped his arm around your shoulders, leading you out of the saloon while passing by the three men he had encountered that same night, looking at him with wide-open eyes. Their’s jaws dropped as they saw how beautiful you were, so gentle-looking under his large arm. Who would have thought you would be willing to go with him ? Common people did not know about the two of being actually married. 

"And you said he’s just a dusty cowboy." one of them told Henry 

"Damn it." the latter grumbled, swallowing his beer in one go

Arthur gently opened the saloon’s door to allow you to walk outside, you went downstairs, closer to his horse as you felt like you were about to get into an argument. This was his quiet evening, you knew Dutch would not allow him going out by night again, purposefully keeping him around on guard duty while you would be doing chores with the rest of the girls. 

"What the hell was that ?" you grumbled, crossing your arms on your chest. "We barely had time to sit and enjoy our whiskey !"

"Sorry, err, ‘em men were teasin’, I told ‘em I was gonna get you." 

"Gonna get me ? I’m your wife, damn it ! You already have me !" 

You wanted to slap Arthur for his sudden lack of consideration towards your relationship but quickly avoided raising a hand towards his face by taking your book out and storing it in the horse’s satchel, not even bothering to look at Arthur. You hated when he was playing foolish games and your rather angry face led him to come closer to you, his hands behind his back. 

"I’m sorry, darlin’." he sighed, genuinely sorry. "I… I just wanted ‘em fellers to see that even dusty cowboys can get women they want."

"You saw their reactions, right ? Tell them the truth." 

"No, no. I ain’t gonna do that." 

You turned back to look at Arthur who was smiling, despite begging you to forgive him for his foolish mistake of not telling these men the truth about himself right away. Arthur tilted his head a little, sending you one of his most pleading looks he usually gave you when he knew he had done something wrong.

"Will you just stop behaving like a kid ?" you snarled. "Now, you get back inside and tell them I’m your wife."

"Nah !" Arthur laughed. "I loved that surprise on ‘em faces when they saw that a beautiful woman like you is willin’ to go out with me."

"If you don’t tell them, I will."

"Don’t." 

You really wanted to walk back inside the saloon to explain these three men that Arthur had lured them into a very believable lie, pretending that you were just a random stranger while being is actual wife. His blooming smile made you forget about your desire to get inside and break down his lie, his pleading look did not help one bit either ! 

"Please, Y/N ?" Arthur asked 

"Fine." you groaned. "Now that we’re out of the saloon, what do we do ?"

"Well…"

Arthur moved slightly closer, gently placing his large hands on your corseted waist, causing you to blush unexpectedly. You were still somewhat mad at him for lying the way he did, but did not care much anymore. Whenever your eyes would meet his, you would be quick to forget about his flaws and crimes, mostly focusing on the positive aspects of your relationship. 

"I can still get a large box of cold beers." Arthur smiled, giving you his eternal puppy glance. "And… since I don’t have any housemate, I believe a night at the hotel would be a great deal before comin’ back to camp tomorrow morning. Don’t you think ?"

"You’re hopeless, really." you sighed, unable to say no

"Ain’t that why you love me ?" 

"Yeah…"

You loved him for who he was, but his childish side would always make you chuckle. In fact, you could not resist him at all, no matter what he was doing or how he was doing it. Arthur was everything to you and you knew that, despite this nice moment at the saloon being cut short by his rather boyish behaviour, you were going to spend a wonderful and probably sleepless night with him, going wild in one of the hotel’s bedrooms. Neither you nor him would look fresh tomorrow on guard duty, but did this matter ? You were about to spend a wonderful night without feeling the need to worry about the gang. The rest of the world did no longer matter as long as you would be with Arthur, husband or not. This night was going to be great, and you would probably laugh about it someday. 

"Let’s go, Mrs. Morgan." Arthur smiled as you headed to the hotel 

"I can still scream your name as loud as I need ?" 

"You sure can. I even hope you will."

[jjtheresidentbaby]

no rush if you’re not into it at the moment, but could i get some sbg headcanons of Aiden being a chaotic toddler regressor? hes such a cool dude and seeing as how unhinged he already is i think he’d make a pretty crazy regressor o_O

— 🐝

Little Aiden Clark headcanons

a/n: god you are so right about him being completely chaos. this got long asf sorrrryyy

warnings: don’t like don’t read! (specifically putting this here for the sbg fandom), swearing, talk of canon events/fighting/phantom dimension, slight taylor/ben- pretending the asylum plot dosent exist bc this is my post and i get to play god <3

he regresses pre canon with just ben around to watch him and it’s not as chaotic as he is in canon but it’s a lot

his parents & ben’s leave them home alone all the time or at some random hotel while they’re doing work things so aiden is free to bounce off the walls as he pleases

one time he steals a maintenance cart in the hallway of a hotel and ben nearly has a heart attack trying to stop him from going down the stairs on it

will put anything in his mouth.

he’s peak toddler ‘don’t eat that!’

ben doesn’t talk so instead of telling him not to eat things he has to write it down or he just bangs his hand on the table/available surface til aiden spits it out

sugary cereal enthusiast

since he spent so many mornings at hotel he grew accustomed to eating the provided cereals, ie those small boxes of cereal

him & ben definitely stole half the supply and shoved them into ben’s backpack for later when aiden inevitably asked for more

cannot sit still as is but when he’s regressed it gets really bad

many many park trips or beach trips when allowed

him & ben used to play “catch” but it’s more like fetch… as ben would throw the ball as far as possible and aiden would get it just to bring it back to be thrown again

no they never thought about strange this was until taylor said something when she found out about it later on

when canon happens aiden stops regressing for a while

mostly because he can’t get into his headspace when he’s that stressed out but also he’s too exhausted to do his normal kiddo activities so he ends up sad and mopey while regressed

ben hates this.

every single time aiden has said he was going to regress and he needed ben to watch over him only for an hour to go by and aiden hasn’t done a single activity pulled out for him and has just sat there looking depressed- yeah it pushes ben one step closer to losing his shit in the phantom dimension

eventually it gets to a point that the rest of the group gets concerned because ben is angrier than normal and aiden is sadder than normal

they have an “intervention” of sorts and sit the cousins down to talk

ben’s anger deflates as he listens to aiden mumble out how he hasn’t been able to regress and how it’s making him emotional

cue everyone in the room having their heart BROKE cause he sounds & looks like a kicked puppy stg

ashlyn already knows what age regression is (cough she regresses cough) and is able to fill the others in with logan’s help as he also knows what it is

taylor is instantly jumping to take care of aiden and help him regress

tyler goes into Big Brother Mode™️ and tells aiden extremely seriously that he will watch over him and protect him

they don’t realize aiden’s regression is pure chaos yet

but anyway- they schedule a day at aiden’s house where his parents won’t be around and he can regress with all his friends there to encourage him and help him feel better

cue the insanity and impulsiveness that is happy regressed aiden

he is climbing counters, trying to tackle tyler, stealing logan’s glasses to put on and run around in (he runs face first into a door cause he’s already uncoordinated & now has strong ass glasses on), he drags taylor around the entire house giving her a “tour” where he gets side tracked in each room and leaves a mess behind for later aiden to worry about

he doesn’t bother ashlyn much during the day, honestly a little worried with how she’s taking his regression as she struggles showing lots of emotions in expressions and little aiden relies on expressions a lot

but dinner time rolls around and ashlyn and ben start to cook and he’s suddenly very interested in the task

she gently guides him through what each step is, calming him down a fair amount in the process

taylor may or may not have a million photos from this day in her camera rolls & in polaroid form

somehow aiden convinces tyler & ashlyn to play tag in the backyard after dinner

logan & taylor have videos of aiden hiding in the bushes just to jump out onto tylers back while yelling for ashlyn to come tag him

he thinks he’s smaller than he actually is

since he regresses so young he forgets that he’s actually taller than ash and about the same height as tyler

he gets very disappointed when tyler says he’s too heavy to carry around - yes tyler does immediately pick him back up and run around with him on his back for a good fifteen minutes

taylor sits in a patio chair with aiden in front of her so she can pluck the sticks & leaves out of his hair from being outside (ben might be falling in love with her who’s to say)

he demands bedtime stories from logan and tyler

they do the voices & the bedtime stories he gets with ben are audio books that ben flips through at aiden’s bedside so it’s special to have the others read them (ashlyn may or may not have to leave the room cause she can feel herself slipped listening to the stories)

by the time aiden is asleep everyone in the group feels like they need a weeks vacation (only they have to go fight phantoms in a couple hours :/)

however logan says it was good as they now know what to expect when aiden’s regressed

with everything going on it’s still difficult for aiden to find the energy/time to regress so the group comes up with a babysitting schedule to try and help

aiden’s favorite days are when it’s tyler, ben & ashlyn or taylor because he just terrorizes tyler the whole time with whoever else is there to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand

lord have mercy if aiden ever regresses at school

once the group tried to stick it out til the end of the day but from then on have realized that it’s better to just skip the day and head back to whoever’s house is empty

as chaotic and normally happy aiden is while small- the phantom dimension still has an impact on him and can cause him to get emotional or upset when certain things happen

he usually goes to ben or ashlyn when this happens and will happily curl up with them on the couch with a comfort movie going to distract him

he buys everyone in the group a Mother’s Day & Father’s Day gift (gender doesn’t matter) but also makes them cards while small

no tyler & ben don’t cry what are you talking about

taylor gets her cards framed to keep on her desk as a pop of positivity when things get hard

each member of the group actually has a lot of art from aiden while small - they like to compare pieces and pin things on the fridge

some of aiden’s favorite things to do while regressed is to go get ice cream with everyone than go to the park

yes he’s covered in chocolate ice cream & dirt by the time they go home but he’s having fun and that’s what matters

[marauderundercover]

A Robin in the Making: Meeting Jason

"Miss Marinette, I think your father would understand if you went to bed early just this once." Alfred says gently as Marinette yawns for the millionth time. She shakes her head, frowning.

"No! Ever since Dickie moved, Dad's been crankier with his Batman stuff. If I go to bed early and don't make him smile after patrol, then he'll be upset all night still." She explains, kicking her feet back and forth as the chair spins in a circle. Alfred sighs, but before he can tell her to go to Bex instead of asking, the squeal of tires echoes throughout the cave. Marinette immediately sits up straight, unable to hide her smile as the Batmobile pulls into its spot. Before she can make a move, the passenger door is thrown open and Alfred is standing between her and the stranger.

"Is that another kid? What the fuck kinda place is this?" A voice calls out angrily. Marinette frowns. They sounded like a kid. Poking around Alfred, Marinette gives the boy a small wave before looking at her dad.

"Am I to assume a room should be prepared for the young man?" Alfred asks, and her dad nods.

"Sorry, Alfred. I should have called ahead." He apologizes. Alfred hums.

"Yes, you should have." He says before turning to the kid. "Nice to meet you, young sir. Would you care for something to eat? Miss Marinette was about to have a late snack." He adds. The kid shrugs, then nods. Alfred turns to her and gives her a small smile.

"Thanks Alfie!" She says as he turns to leave. He just nods and heads off to go upstairs. Turning to the kid and her dad, Marinette raises an eyebrow. "So what's your name?" She asks. The kid frowns.

"Why does that matter? Why're you here?" He rapid fires. Marinette shrugs.

"Uh, cause he's my dad?" She says. The kid's eyes widen as he turns to look at her dad.

"Batman has a kid? One that's not Robin?" He asks. Marinette huffs.

"See! If you'd just let me be like Robin-" She tries, but her dad cuts her off.

"Absolutely not. You're far too young to be fighting out there." He says firmly. Marinette drops back down into her seat, pouting. It was something they talked about all the time. Ever since Dick left and stopped being Robin. He didn't even wear Robin colors anymore. He'd taken a story from Uncle Clark and created a cool new hero name. But, personally, Marinette missed Robin. So did her friend Alvin Draper. She'd met him the one time she was able to follow her dad on patrol (he caught her, obviously; she kinda thought he had a tracker in her shoes)

"You let Robin do it!" She counters. Her dad takes in a long breath before huffing out.

"Marinette, you are not going to become a vigilante right now. You're eight. We'll continue this conversation later. For now," He pauses before sliding the cowl off his head. "Go ahead and take Jason upstairs. I think it's time you both eat something and get some sleep."

"Fine." Marinette huffs, but she still rushes over and gives her dad a quick hug before turning to lead the kid- Jason- upstairs. The walk upstairs is so quiet it's awkward until Jason clears his throat.

"So uh, Batman is your dad?” He asks. Marinette nods.

“Yeah.” She looks at Jason, frowning as it suddenly hits her. “Wait, why are you here?” Jason’s eyes widen slightly before he scowls.

“Why do you care?” He asks. Marinette shrugs.

“Cause my dad’s never brought home some random kid before.” She says, pushing the grandfather clock open. As they step into her dad’s office, Jason snorts.

“Secret passage. Nice.” He says. Marinette starts for the door, but Jason clears his throat, making her pause. “I may or may not have lifted some of the tires of the Batmobile.” He says. Marinette’s eyes widen and her jaw drops.

“Wait, really?” She asks amazed. Jason nods hesitantly. “That’s so cool! C’mon, let’s go get a snack and you can tell me more. I can’t believe Dad almost got stranded because of some kid.” Marinette rambles, grabbing Jason’s arm and pulling him after her. This was the start of a beautiful friendship.

---

“And then Chloe said that I would never be a good dancer, but Mme. Bustier said that if I keep practicing I’ll probably stop falling out of every turn.” Marinette rambles on with a wide grin. Dick can’t help but smile back at his little sister. It was hard, not living at the Manor anymore. But mostly because he missed Marinette and Alfred. He was still pissed off at Bruce, and didn’t really want to talk to his father figure. But he never missed his weekly calls with Marinette. Especially since the one time he did and she cried then refused to talk to him for two weeks.

“I know you can do it, bug. You’re already better at gymnastics.” He points out. Marinette huffs.

“That’s because you teach me stuff. I don’t know if ballet is my thing, Dickie.” She pouts. Before Dick can try to reassure her, she gets distracted by something he can’t see. She makes a face before laughing, then turning back to him. “Is being a big brother fun?” She asks.

“Of course! I-”

“And would you like another sibling?” She asks. Dick’s eyes widen.

“Mari? What did Bruce do?” He asks. Marinette grins.

“Hey, Jay! C’mere!” She calls. Dick frowns as a kid, maybe a little older than Mari, walks into view slowly. He waves awkwardly before glaring at Marinette.

“Why are you like this?” He asks with a huff. Marinette just grins up at him.

“I am a perfect angel.” She declares. Jay snorts.

“Likely story.”

“Um, hi? I’m Dick.” He speaks up, still trying to process what was happening. Had Bruce replaced him? Why didn’t he tell him about the kid?

“Jason.” The kid says.

“Guess what! He’s twelve, so Dad doesn’t get mad at him when he says Uncle Ollie words even though the last time I said an Uncle Ollie word, I had to stand in time out for eight whole minutes. That’s forever!” Marinette adds in, frowning. Dick bites back a laugh at Jason’s guilty looking face.

“Hey kid, how about I try to stop saying those words. That way you don’t feel left out.” He offers. Marinette immediately launches into a story about a book that Jason was reading to her, while the kid just stood there awkwardly. Dick studies the kid a little closer. There’s no way he would’ve thought that he was twelve. He was pretty small, something that was usually hard to tell on a video call. He’d have to call Bruce about Jason later. Apparently, now he has two little siblings.

@maribat-get-in

[clarktooncrossing]

HELLO THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK!

Happy National Cartoonists Day, everyone! What, you didn't think my current computer crisis would stop me from celebrating the Holiday, did ya? Actually, it almost did. Y'see, despite this piece being drawn by hand, my computer's scanner wouldn't save the file onto my craptop. My computer's going through a processing error, meaning it's set to stop working any day now. Fortunately this hunk'a junk managed to work just long enough for me to upload the newest Sketch BOOM! Yes my friends, the Sketch BOOM is back! I figured if I could only post one thing for NCD it might as well be something covered head to toe with cartoons. Some pretty well drawn cartoons too, if you pardon me tootin' my own horn. It just feels so good to have drawn something, have it come out looking as good as it does, and to be able to upload it here on tumblr for you all to see. For the record though, screw tumblr's stupid@$$ upload size limit, I freak'n hate websites that do that! It makes me as mad as a blood-cursed Croczilla fighting a sentient mobile home, but we'll get to that in a bit. For now though, let's see what silly sketches managed to make their way onto the page, starting from the top left corner and making our way down.

Don't forget to be on the lookout for the Snow Conies, the tiny sentient species of snow cones that have invaded almost every part of the page! Can you spot all 8?

[1] DID SOMEONE SAY PIZZA? You wanna know what the downside is of drawing at the bottom of the page and working your way up is? You have tiny pockets of blank space that you're unsure what to do with. Such was the case was this corner, having been left blank after drawing #2. For a while I thought of filling the void with a cosmically charged Snow Conie in the same vein at Rosie, but the Cosmic Cutie was already part of the BOOM due to Discord shenanigans. Instead I opted for a Clarktoon that sadly hasn't been drawn in a while, that being the ever-goofy Pizza Monster. No doubt he was lured here by the scent of all the pretzel pizzas I've been eating lately. While he was here I decided to experiment with his expressions, adding more cheek to his smile. Honestly I think he looked better without them. Still, I'm happy to see him here as I hope all of you are. Now if only he'd stop hogging all the grub!

[2] EYE OF THE THERIAN Rosie isn't the only character here due to Discord shenanigans. At the beginning of every month my friend @Foxhatart opens herself up to sketch suggestions on her Kofi page. For the record, those of you wanting to help out another artist keep food in their bellies can click here. With a few of these Kofi slots still left open, Fox came to her friends asking if they had any ideas for pics involving her characters. Not knowing a ton about her characters, I joked that she ott'a draw her half-lemur girl Cath bench press a bus, her freakish strength having become a reoccurring gag via game nights. Funny as the idea was, I didn't expect Fox to actually do it. You can imagine my surprise when this popped up in my inbox a few days later. Consider this doodle a long overdue 'thank you'. Here we see the crazy Cath lifting weights with, of all peeps, Bumper! No doubt the little marshmallow's here for moral support since he can't actually build up any muscle mass. Ghost problems, am I right? Hope you enjoy this silly little sketch, Fox. Next time I'll have Cath bench-pressing your mortal nemesis; a train.

[3] TOOK ME LONG ENOUGH Despite what I said about Pizza Monster, he actually wasn't the last sketch to be included. No, that honor goes to the metal mercenary, the bodacious bot bounty hunter, the anarchistic anti-hero herself; Candy Banger! Much like the aforementioned monster I figured it had been too long since I drew Candy or really any of the robotic cast of 3K. Atop of that, Candy represented a good chance for me to use the stockpile of poses I've saved up from a thumb drive. Using one from a tumblr site called @posereference turned out to be surprisingly easier than anticipated, the only real flaw in the end being how I colored her. This is one of many coloring errors I made on this piece, Candy's hair looking more bluish purple than I had intended. Still, considering I drew her at all, I doubt Candy's complaining. Here's hoping I can draw more of her in the future, otherwise I might be riddled with bullet holes like that wall behind her. 

[4] AN AVERAGE DAY AT WHIMSYLAND And thus we've arrived to the first sketch of this compilation given to me by a friend, this one coming from @jackieariane. She and I both suffered during the Chapek administration of Disney, Jart regaling me with tales of when she dealt with rude customers at Animal Kingdom. It reminded me of when my friends AnimatedTigerGirl and RigbyH00ves worked at the Floridan Park too, all three of my companions having a surprisingly miserable experience. All these stories started melting together in my brain until I asked the question; what would happen if Brooklyn Nine Nine was set at Disneyland? Thus Whimsyland was born, albeit originally out of spite towards Chapek. I already detailed all this back in the DUDELZ from the Dumpster I posted earlier this year, but I failed to mention the human protagonist of this story, Wendy. Having been to Whimsyland once in her life at a young age, the young Vietnamese gal with OCD was immediately smitten by the place, vowing she'd someday work there. Spending the rest of her life researching the park and watching Matt Whimsy documentaries on uView, you can imagine Wendy's disappointment when she returned to the Perkiest Place on the Planet to find nothing was as perky. Whimsyland had lost its whimsy. It's here where she met Freddy Fox, the cartoon mascot of the company living in exile over how the house Matt built is being run today. In other words, what I'd imagine Mickey would be doing if he were real. Together these two kindred spirits are set to bring magic back to this wonderland! Overall I'm pleased with how the sketch turned out, though Wendy's face reminds me of my character Sue the Game Genie more than I'd prefer. Also, Fred Fox is way bigger than intended, no doubt I'll be changing that for future depictions of these two. For now though, this drawing has just enough Whimsy for my liking. 

[5] CROCZILLA: BLOOD CURSE More Discord Shenanigans! This time it's the result of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign that @burningthrucelluloid somehow roped me into yet again. Instead of robots and dragons set in a medieval fantasy however, this time it's elves and crocodiles in an approximation of the American south. One ruled by Jerimiah Strahd, a ruthless blood-sucking bastard that Alec based off Leonardo DiCaprio's character from Django Unchained. If that wasn't a sign of how crazy this campaign has become, here's an actual moment from the game. The heroic but hesitant human Jason (YoungSamurai18), the loud-mouthed scaredy cat Toby (Mr-Herp-Derp), and the silent but deadly Ed (void-android), and the equally hungry and adventurous Crocie (me, of course) were hunting for a witch named Bubba Lysiga when all of a sudden the witch brought her mobile home to life in order to attack our heroes. Worse still, she put Ed under mind control to attack his comrades. Croc got the worst of it, his HP dropping to 0 due to him falling from the house and getting stomped on by its gigantic set of wooden chicken legs. Did I mention this campaign gets strange? Well it got even crazier when a dark, shadowy entity housed in Croc's body suddenly gave him a recharge, the reptile taking the chance to mix a Heat and Growth potion he obtained earlier to become CROCZILLA! It was a moment Alec was hoping would happen in game and I didn't intend on disappointing. Same goes for this sketch, it mostly going just as envisioned in my head. The pissed off look on my green friend's face, the damage done to the rusty trailer that is the witch's house, the tiny silhouettes of Croc's teammates in said home, the heavy fog, the Earth-shattering roar in the background, it all came out great. Save for one detail. You'll notice that Croc's eyes are black with red irises in this pic. That detail's due to Croc having blood curse abilities, hence the dark entity sharing rental space in his body. As such, you'd think Croc's fire breath would be just as vibrantly red, but sadly that idea didn't occur to me until after I made the fire blue as well as the shine off every surface. Spam it! Still, coloring hiccup aside, I'm mighty proud of this pic! Hopefully so are the rest of the Barovian Bozos that make up my team. 

[6] WONDER ZIGGY, CINEPHILE FROM THE PLANET GARBONZA EVEN MORE DISCORD SHENANIGANS! Cut to a few months back and I was restructuring my Discord server, cutting down the multiple move threads it had before merging them all into one. Being the story-driven bozo I am, I quickly wrote a backstory for this thread involving an alien named Ziggy falling in love with the Earth B-Movies he was picking up on his deep space probe. So much so that he came down to our planet only to discover there were even MORE types of movies for him to enjoy! It overwhelmed him so much that he blacked out, awakening the next day having purchased a since abandoned drive-in theater on the outskirts of Clarksburg. Faced with this new impulse purchase, Ziggy followed the oldest piece of wisdom known to man or alien; Screw it. After a refurb Ziggy reopened the drive-in, screening B Movies and cinematic shlock to an appreciative public. And if you can believe it, I typed all of that out after thinking about it for five minutes. My brain is weird like that. All that said, it'd take a couple of RP sessions before I got his personality down, that being an MST3K character if the show were written by Joe-Bob Briggs. In other words, a surprisingly well educated weirdo with a deep love of Hollywood history. It'd take me a while longer before finally sketching him, basing him off the titular villain from Robot Monster, an appropriate design for someone who loves old, cheesy movies. All he was missing was a pink Hawaiian shirt and a cowboy hat. If you think he's strange, you should meet his wife Wanda, though let's save that for a future BOOM...

[7] LOOKIN' SPAM GOOD! What better way to show my friends I care than drawing them in ridiculous outfits? This sketch, the first to be included in this BOOM, is a merging of two repurposed ideas I had for other pictures. The first would've involved the Swedish menace Finjix with a fish bowl on his head much to the confusion of Alec, the recipient of a kawaii make over. I can't remember where the fishbowl idea spawned from but Sir Alec the Adorable came from him scoffing at the idea that I could make anything cute, himself included. Just you wait Alec, I'll get you someday! For now though I swapped out making him uber-adorable in favor of dressing him up like the Wasp from Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the awesome animated show he finally binge-watched on my behalf. Granted I could've drawn him as Maria Hill, the character on the show he deemed the sexiest, but it wouldn't have been as funny. After all, all Maria's outfit is a blue jumpsuit. Far less interesting than Jart's leather jacket, an image that popped into my noggin following her telling me she's learning to ride a bike. That and me desperately clinging onto the back as she gave me a ride, but that would've been harder to draw. Instead I went for the jacket, a fashion statement that would be stupid in real life since she lives in the infamously hot country of Vietnam. Yet even in the face of logic, Jart not only humored me but encouraged me to include this in the final sketch. Thank goodness she did cuz I love how it turned out, minus the green stripes that were accidentally colored black like the rest. DRATS! Not only that but she informed me that she was no longer using her fursona, instead opting to draw herself as a human from now on. DOUBLE DRATS! Ah well, I have more ideas involving 'Trang the Tyrant' as I've nicknamed her, so chances are I'll get the chance to correct both mistakes in the future. It might also give me another chance to draw myself as Super Giraffe, which was what I originally intended to do with my own fursona. Sadly the costume still needs work so instead I opted for my classic Pagonian Wizard robes. Even in the face of all these snafus, I think we all look spam good!

[8] ROSIE STARDUST, SPACE WIZARD Turns out I'm always right even when I'm spewing nonsense. Don't believe me? Plenty of peeps have made that mistake before. Take my friend Alec for example. In the midst of him running the current Strahd campaign I mentioned earlier, I jokingly tossed out the idea of Rosie transporting our heroes out of Barovia and into another universe. A cute 'What If' scenario the Dungeon Master wasted no time in shooting down. Mistaking my silly suggestion as a legit one, Alec explained how unfair it'd be for a god to play a game with a bunch of mortal meatbags. Let the record show that I never declared the sentient Einstein-Rosen Bridge to be a deity. Some alien cultures have mistaken her from one, but Rosie herself would be the first to tell you she's no holy being. Not that any of that mattered. Alec held firm to his statement, Rosie was denied access to any dungeons. For about six seconds before my buddy realized how a depowered Rosie would make a wonderful wizard for a Spelljammers campaign. Fueling this fire was his recent watching of The Owl House, imagining Rosie rocking wizard robes similar to those worn by The Good Witch Azura. Before I could say, "NOW EAT THIS SUCKA," he was leading the charge on my server of peeps demanding I draw Rosie as a space wizard. At first I was floored at the audacity! You shoot down an idea that wasn't meant to be taken seriously only for you to turn around and do so anyway? MAKE UP YOUR SPAM MIND! Then I followed Alec's example and got over it, the idea of Rosie in wizards robes too tempting a sketch not to capitalize on. In the end the only aspect of Azura that made it into the final product was the hat, minus the cute lil' crown. Everything else took cues from the fashion of @cherrysdesigns along with a style @girlofhearts101 turned me towards called whimsigoth. All of which resulting in an costume that gave Alec 'David Bowie Ziggy Stardust vibes'. It's thanks to that comment that Rosie now has a last name. Everyone, say hello to Rosie Stardust, universal explorer and space wizard!

[9] DIREKTOR AND 3D1T0-R Is there a Hollywood equivalent in the Star Wars universe? Some sort of glamorous planet where overpaid alien celebrities are shamelessly rebooting beloved classics for a profit? All while amazing writers are getting screwed out of the earnings they deserve? This was what I asked Alec during his binge watching of The Clone Wars. Surprising me once more, the Masked Maniac revealed that he had asked SIM-N the same question before, the two creating a character called The Direktor for their Monova comics. Her whole gimmick was producing hypnotic propaganda for the tyrannical Twin Emperors, a cool concept that never went anywhere due to the robotroll cutting From Destiny's Ashes short. Being the character man that I am, I decided The Direktor couldn't go to waste. Especially when she'd make such a good villain in the world of 3K and a good addition to this BOOM. After asking SIM-N for the character's original reference sheet I set out to give her a Clarktoon makeover while watching cutscenes of The Second Sister from Jedi: Fallen Order. No doubt Elizabeth Grullon's intimidating vocal performance effected my outcome, the alien movie maker now sporting a streamlined outfit along with a smugly sinister smile on her face. As apposed to her boss, the Direktor's little droid 3D1T0-R hardly changed in the transition. He was a little creepy ball to start and he's still a little creepy ball now. One that was cooked up by Alec according to SIM-N, which makes sense given our pal's passion for film editing. Once the two were fully drawn I decided to test out my shading and lighting techniques in an attempt to make her look more menacing. If the response I got from the others on Discord is any indication, I succeeded. Indeed, this fem fatale filmmaker will fit in phenomenally as a 3K villain. Now the question is to who? 

[10] JURAKISS Finally we conclude things with a sketch somewhat prompted by @zernna. Way back in August of last year she was commissioned to draw my cretaceous crusader Saura and her girlfriend Patricia enjoying a delightful day at the pool, a pic as charming as that description would imply. In my comment thanking Ze I couldn't help but laugh at how the two had already been declared a cute couple despite how I hadn't drawn the two together in my own artwork yet. The Alien Artist than demanded I draw 'moar art of them then', prompting me to ask if that was a challenge. She said yes. Though not from a lack of trying, it took me nine freak'n months to meet that challenge. Blame that on me being a picky artist since I have been meaning to draw references of these characters in the meantime. After all, Zerna got asked to draw Saura in other pics without having any color references for the Blue Beast of Fosslin. Fortunately Saura's shown up in a number of previous Sketch BOOMs, now getting to share the spotlight with Patricia here. A Patricia that would've been notably paler were it not for Alec asking if I had any markers that matched Patricia's skin tone. I didn't, but the local hobby store did! Who knew Sharpie made skintone markers? It not only helped me color in the cute Muslim girl here, but also Cath and Wendy later on. Talk about a perfect purchase! Now if only the colors of Patricia's outfit were as satisfactory. Ah well, there's always next time, since I'm pretty sure Zerna's challenge still stands. XP For now though, I hope you all enjoy this compilations of crazy scribblings fresh from my mind. If you didn't, worry not, chances are I'll be making another one soon....

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU ALL!

[thevindicativevordan]

Now that it's finished what do you think of Superman: Space Age? Will it persist as an evergreen standalone a la All Star? Or will it be forgotten?

No clue what it's long term reception will be, but folks, this is one of my favorite Superman stories. I'm not good at critiquing art so I just want to start this off by saying Mike Allred's work here is worth the price tag alone. I've dreamt of seeing him draw a Superman book for ages, and he did not disappoint me here, particularly loved how he always gave Lois different outfits.

"Dark" Superman stories face a tough balancing act. They must take Superman into territory he doesn't often go to, and they must do so without breaking the character. Superman at heart is an optimistic story. To the question of "can a powerful man be good?", he is supposed to be an affirmative response. How then can that spirit of optimism and idealism be present in a story where the pitch is "Earth is fucked and going to die, and there's nothing Superman can do to prevent that"? Defying expectations, Russell treats that kind of pitch as an opportunity to reconstruct Superman where others would use it to deconstruct him.

A question the book returns to again and again over the course of the three issues is what should Superman be doing with his powers? Clark himself is eager to get off the farm and see the world. Jor-El supports his eagerness and expects him to be Earth's champion. Pa Kent tries to tamper down his enthusiasm. Lois grills him on whether his heroics are misaimed and his gifts could be better applied in other ways. Brainiac chides him for wasting his time on humanity when the Anti-Monitor is coming to annihilate the universe. It's a question many Superman writers have taken a stab at answering, but Russell gives an answer that I love: Sure there are bigger problems that Clark needs to address, but the smaller problems he solves have a meaning too.

Helping and interacting people on an individual basis let's Superman show people that someone cares. That someone viewed them as individually having worth, rather than only being concerned with the larger picture. And he also helps people simply because he enjoys doing that. Russell points out that the simpler pleasures in life, whether that's eating a good meal or rescuing a cat out of a tree, are sources of strength that support us in our quests to overcome life's big hurdles. Someone taking the time out to enjoy those simpler pleasures is nothing to be chided for, especially since it doesn't stop Superman from saving the Earth multiple times over the course of the story. He prevented nuclear war! He fended off Brainiac! He stopped an asteroid! Superman was able to save people on the large scale and the small scale just fine for years, up until the end.

Speaking of saving people, the central question of the story is how do you solve the trolley problem? If the only way to save five people is to kill one, do you do it? Batman says yes, but you kill the one to save the five out of defiance. Someone tied five people to the track and they want those five people to die. By diverting the trolley you give that person the finger and deny them what they want. This outlook plays into Batman's ending, where he gets the Joker killed in order to save the kids, killing one to save five. However Batman overlooked something critical in his solution to the trolley problem: what if someone didn't want to kill the five? What if instead they only wanted to kill the one, but didn't want to do it themselves, and merely used five people in order to force another to kill the one for them? This is what Lex does, he doesn't want the kids dead, he wants Bruce Wayne dead, and Bruce sacrificing himself just ends up giving Lex what he wants. Batman's solution is a failure because he ended up playing right into Lex's hands.

In contrast, Superman believes that you should try and save all six, even if you fail. When the cynics and the corrupt are firmly in charge, that's when you need people who aspire to do more than the world says they can. Superman's solution is a critical factor in his ending as well. His idealistic attempt to save everyone, Project Humanity, diverted his attention away from the world for a little while. Some people died because Superman was trying to save everyone instead of simply saving what he already could. In the end though, Superman is vindicated because his efforts save more than he ever could have otherwise. With the DNA of everyone on the planet, he was able to send said DNA to another Earth when the Anti-Monitor finally destroyed his home universe. Kal becomes Jor-El, a desperate scientist on a doomed planet who sends the last remnant of his species to another world in hopes that they can survive. And just like Kal once beat the odds and made it, humanity makes the trip and is resurrected by another Earth's Superman. Unlike his father Superman managed to save his people, even if he couldn't save his planet. Reminds me of Reed Richards in Hickman's Secret Wars epic, Clark and Reed both couldn't win, but they did find a way to not lose.

It's not a perfect story, and some of the flaws do grate me. While the focus on Batman does play an important role in setting up the ending, at times it feels like Russell's focus is spread too thin. Really I think he had enough material for a companion Batman: Space Age mini, and just tried to fold it into this book. Contrast between Superman and Batman's answer to the trolley thought experiment is needed for how it sets up the ending, but I don't think we needed as many pages focusing on Bruce as we got. Plus this is just a personal issue, but I found it disappointing that Clark and Lex never interact at all in this story, with Batman being more of a personal foe for Lex than Superman. Batman is the one who exposes Lex's plot in the first issue, and ultimately it's Bruce Wayne whom Lex targets when he gets out of prison. Russell writes such a great Lex that I was disappointed we didn't get to see him write any Clark/Lex interactions.

Outside of that big complaint? Love this. Adore the Mike Allred art which is gorgeous and which I desperately want to see an Absolute edition of. Appreciate Russell giving us a darker Superman story that talks about big serious philosophical issues, and doesn't give easy answers. It's a story that even now still sticks with me, especially the tragedy of the ending. Clark and all of the originals are dead, just like how the other Superman isn't the same guy as the "main" Superman, the people he recreated aren't the originals. Not since I've read For The Man Who Has Everything have I gotten such a bittersweet ending to a Superman story. Fantastic book and definitely one I will come back to in the future.

[lexa-griffins]

I want to imagine that nerd Clarke and popular Lexa become a couple before Valentine's Day. Also I think this is Clarke's first time she has a Valentine on this day. What does Lexa do to make Clarke's first Valentine's Day with a girlfriend memorable and special?

PS they are so freaking cute and sweet 🥰

Since this is their very first Valentine's day as a couple and Clarke's first Valentine's day as a whole, Lexa both wants to make it memorable but also not overwhelming. To be completely fair tho, Lexa has only had 2 valentine's celebrations in her life, both with Costia, both organized by Costia so she doesn't have THAT much to go off of.

First off Lexa is lucky enough her parents like to spend Valentine's day away from the house and at a hotel (and despite them being adoptive Lexa does not wanna know what they are doing there, gross) so she can turn her house into a fortress of romance.... and i do mean that literally.

Lexa builds a whole fucking fort.

She gets takeout from Clarke's favorite reasonably priced sushi restaurant (Clarke's parents kind of have money. Not rich money but money. Makes sense why Clarke has 40$ band tees and far too many instruments for someone who is at entry level at them all.), turns her living room into a pinterest worthy fortress movie night date, complete with heart shaped snacks, strawberries dipped in pink chocolate and some delicious strawberry champagne that she had to BEG Indra to buy for her - might as well have her drink in the house while underage than somewhere else. She also bakes a cake, its adorably messy, covered in badly done frosting hearts. But overall, Lexa tries to go all out for it, to have a place where her and Clarke can have a nice night in.

Shes a nervous wreck the entire day, reminding Clarke to not be late, to come dressed comfortable and to not forget the condoms - this last part whispered as they part way at the school parking lot, although still loud enough for Murphy of all people to end up hearing and Clarke has to go through the horrifying ordeal of going with him to buy the freaking condoms. Clarke arrives five minutes after the agreed time, apologizing as soon as the door opens and extending the adorable teddy bear holding a flower to Lexa who immediately reminds her to stop apologizing and brings her in for a kiss.

They spend the night watching rom-coms and kissing and eating inside the fort. Its cozy and romantic and it feels just like a more elaborate date night which Clarke is glad for because she was a little apprehensive that Lexa would prepare something immensely romantic and that Clarke would fall short of being a good date. They are naked at this point, clothes coming off one by one throughout the night. Lexa has given Clarke a handjob through the fabric of her boxers, those now discarded somewhere and Clarke has already had the pleasure of indulging in her favorite meal. By now the movie is being mostly ignored as they grab at anything they can find and make out on the comforter Lexa has brought down from her room. Knowing they are about to start getting frisky, Lexa asks Clarke to get the condoms she got, which Clarke does with a quick nod and heavy breathing.

Lexa's eyes widen as she sees it. Its pink. Hot pink. And heart shaped. Oh my god its heart shaped.

"Babe?" She wants to laugh, she shouldnt but she wants to.

"I went with Murphy and i wanted to buy the normal but he saw these and he said it would be thematic. Im sor-" lexa lifts an eyebrow as a gentle warning and Clarke cuts herself off "right."

"They're cute." Lexa decides. They are. The whole thing is cute. Clarke's by far the cutest tho.

Clarke seems to disagree tho, "you're way cuter." She crawls her way back on top of Lexa, kissing her and she helps her lay down. Clarke rolls the condom down her shaft as Lexa watches, knowing it to be something her girlfriend enjoys seeing. She's much more confident with it now too, being able to do it without the help of Lexa's hand.

Its the first time Clarke takes the lead and Lexa adores how far she's come with her confidence. It is clear Clarke is trying her best to have Lexa enjoy their love making for as long as she can, trying to hold back on cumming to make Lexa feel good.

Lexa isnt sure she ever truly loved anyone. She liked Costia so so very much but it always felt so much like puppy love and once she was gone to college, it hurt Lexa's heart much less than she thought it would. With Clarke tho? She cant even begin to imagine not having her there or being away from her. She adores everything about this girl, her rambles and her constant unnecessary apologies and the way her eyes sparkle when she talks about something shes passionate about.

They fall asleep there, not long after Clarke cums and makes a point of having Lexa cum afterwards too, the very first time their love making doesnt stop after Clarke reaches her climax. They are still awkward at times and Lexa realizes they are very deeply in their honeymoon phase still and that sooner or later the bubble is gonna burst and they'll have to come to more serious talks about their relationship and their future with college approaching. But Lexa also realizes that she is absolutely, completely head over heels in love with Clarke Griffin and that she loves this wonderful girl more than she ever knew she could love someone <3

[agena87]

Top to bottom, left to right:

Aubrey Pyle - Clementine Fraley Adalyn Lund - Adam Lund Clark Bello (x2) Cora Hinkle - Emanuel Nia Kowalski

I'm pretty sure no one cares about my silly new 'verse, but it's my blog, so if I wanna talk about these characters and the world they live in, I will.

Warning: disturbing subjects.

So. I think it's pretty obvious that this thing is taking place in a cyberpunk-y world. What I imagine, is that the world went to shit about two centuries ago, mainly due to the overuse of natural resources and technology, and non-artificial food got ultra-rare (like, only the rich could have access to fruits/vegetables, or even rarer meat). Nearly all food was made from non-nutritious matter, and people (read: the poor) started to die. Most people were like "well, what can we do?", but some were not so easily defeated, and well, as predicted long ago, they started to eat the rich. Among those, were a priest, Adam Lund, who started to preach cannibalism, after a self-proclaimed angel, Emanuel came to him. He was immediately followed by Adalyn, whose relationship with him is still a mystery to anyone (depending on who is asking, they would say they are siblings, cousins, husband/wife, or they just happen to share the same surname without being related in any way). Adalyn then convinced some of her nun friends (Nia, Clem & Cora) to join them. After a few weeks, as the group was hunting, they met Aubrey who was going after the same man (he was part of a group of men who abused her some months before - they were the one who gave her a Glasgow Smile); Clem was immediately smitten, and begged Adam to not kill her (as if he could have), and that's how Aubrey joined them. Finally, a few more months later, Emanuel reappeared with Clark, a werewolf (to the surprise of everyone who didn't know they still existed) prisoner, and gifted him to Adam. Clark is now kept as a (sexual) slave for the group.

Aaaaanyway, this story (well, not a story) is just lots of blood, (perverted) religion, violence, and sex (sometimes all of those at the same time).

OK. Now, that this is done, maybe I'll be able to stop thinking about those 24/7, and go back to my actual story.

[bmbly17]

I told you @jinxcore that you would have the second part of my random idea on the 25th but let's just say that Santa Claus today has got his act together and unexpectedly has already finished it so here's my Christmas present!!!! 😊🎁

I hope you enjoy it more than Caitlyn and Jinx are enjoying it 🤣

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Definition of hatred: Deep and intense feeling of repulsion towards someone that provokes the desire to harm him or her or to cause some misfortune to happen to him or her. That was what Jinx was feeling for the woman in front of her, or so she thought.

I can't even remember her name, what it was? Think ,Jinx, think...Carla? Catherine? Katie? Clark? Caitlyn? That it's! Caitlyn, Caitlyn, Caitlyn, Caitlyn.

Who did she think she was, oh yes, Vi's girlfriend, but other than that, what? Piltie, of course, just look at her. She gives herself away. Perfect hair, everything millimetrically well put in place, not a fucking strand out of place. Perfect eyes, neither too big nor too small, half round, half elongated, and blue. I've never seen this blue before. Not that I don't like my garish blue, of course I do, it's the best. But the blue of her eyes is lighter, brighter, like the blue of the sky, but purer. She doesn't have a single under-eye, and the makeup is light, but without being too much. And her full lips... will they be soft? Of course they'll be soft, you just look at her. I'm sure she uses the best of the best for her care. And that dress she's wearing... who in their fucking right mind would go to Zaun dressed like that? God, I can't even identify the brand of clothes she's wearing. Dior? Gucci? Ralph Lauren? Didn't Vi tell you where you were going? It's not like this is my wedding day, which of course I’m never, ever, ever getting married. I'm sure the two of them would love that cheesy stuff. I can just imagine what their wedding would be like. A big wedding, a Pilte wedding. Puagh, get out, get out. Focus Jinx, where you were going. Ah yes, that, this fucking lace on the top does honor to those boobs, and that the dress is open to show that leg... fuck, but this girl, how tall is she?

I'm getting fucking dizzy. Ekko, Ekko where are you? Here, come here. Like this, hold me, and now breathe, and breathe in the perfume he's wearing. That's it, very good. Fuck, I'm 10 feet away from her, and clearly, clearly her perfume is making me dizzy. I guess rich people must bathe in perfume because otherwise I can't explain it. And her voice, agh. "Hi I'm Caitlyn, Vi's girlfriend, it's a pleasure to be able to meet you guys, she's told me so much about you." Come on Piltie who are you kidding, you've got a lot to spare being here. Zaun is not for you. You don't like it and we don't like you.

How could Vi fall in love with a woman like her, look at her, what the fuck does she see in you?

How long had it been since Vi and Caitlyn had arrived? 1h or 2h maybe. They had been chatting about everything a bit, but without getting too specific. But it was enough for Jinx to reaffirm her hatred towards her. Jinx hated everything that had to do with Piltóver, and it wasn't that he didn't know anyone there. She knew Viktor, who, let's see, was technically from Zaun but was a professor at Piltóver University, and she also knew Heimerdinger, thanks to her boyfriend's fascination and adoration for that thing... What was Heimerdinger supposed to be?

Well, whatever, the thing is, Caitlyn is Piltóver. And she hates her. Deeply. Eyes fixed on her, as if she were a predator analyzing her prey, waiting for the best moment to pounce on her, and eat her whole. Wait, not eat her, kill her, that's it, kill her.

And not that during the whole course of the meal things got better, it could be summed up in Jinx attacking Caitlyn, and Caitlyn putting on her best face, just like Cassandra had taught her. And it is not that Ekko liked people like Caitlyn, but because of his friendship with Vi, he tried to stop the constant attacks of his girlfriend (which he did not succeed). And the meal ended and with it came the goodbyes. Obviously when it was time to say goodbye to Jinx, Caitlyn approached her to give her two kisses, but Jinx abruptly moved out of her way and spat in her face a:

I'd rather cut my braids than kiss you

And she simply turned on her heels and walked back inside the house, leaving Caitlyn with the word in her mouth.

I hate her. That was what Caitlyn had been thinking since they'd been on their way back to her house. Lucky that Vi would have offered to drive, because she didn't have the head, nor the strength to do anything but analyze what had happened that night. Vi had already pointed out to her that Jinx had a "peculiar" character, very much made to her own, different to others. Something Caitlyn was already used to, she had always been different from everyone in Piltóver. But she couldn't understand why these attacks. She hadn't even done anything wrong, Right? She hadn't, had she? She had even been kind enough to buy her favorite dessert, a chocolate cake filled with strawberry jam from one of the best bakeries in Piltóver. Everyone seemed to have been grateful for the detail. But Jinx didn't even try a bite. Maybe it was jealousy, jealousy that he was with his sister? That idea echoed loudly in Caitlyn's head, she even wanted to tell Vi, but she dismissed the idea, her girlfriend seemed so happy, she didn't want to be the one to wipe the smile off her lips.

The days passed and with it the weeks. She had not seen Jinx again, and she preferred it that way. The farther away from her, the better. Vi was still seeing her, and she was fine with this, she would never ever stop her girlfriend from seeing her sister, and even more after everything they had to live through. Sometimes Vi had offered to take the four of them out for a drink together in Zaun, but Caitlyn always excused herself behind work, there were times when she was grateful to be the "boss" of Kiramman Industries, she could always say that she had a meeting to attend, or had to review some reports, last minute trips. Anything to avoid Jinx. What she was sure was that the more they saw each other, sooner or later her patience would give out and that would only mean one thing, trouble with Vi.

I love him, but sometimes I don't know why I listen to him. Why did I let myself be convinced to do this? Oh yes, I remember, him and his strange fascination with Professor Heimer.

That's what Jinx kept repeating to himself, going back and forth reading the two admission letters.

It had been a few months since Ekko had told her that the University of Pilover was offering scholarships in search of new talents that were in Runeterra and that this also included Zaun. There were place for 10 all-expenses-paid scholarships and the possibility of an internship agreement with the best companies in Piltóver. All you had to do was fill in an application form, give your personal data, indicate the specialty you wanted to study at the university, and submit your project. The 10 projects that the jury liked the most, would get the place. Not that it was a difficult task for Jinx, but just the idea of crossing paths with...

No fuck, remove, remove, remove that image from your head.

That was what Jinx had thought when Ekko had told her about the scholarships, and now she was there, with the scholarship admission in her hands, and with her boyfriend jumping with joy because she could finally fulfill her dream. Living in Zaun there was no need for her to go live inside the dorm that the university had, she loved living in Zaun, she loved her house, her room, her lab, her things. But Ekko... he had accepted to go and live there, I want to live the experience 100%, just like my role model did. That was what he had answered her. Not that she minded, he was totally free to do what he wanted, besides they had already talked about it. Yes, they would study in the same place, but Ekko was determined to specialize in space-time physics, a specialty taught by Heimerdinger (obviously), and she wanted to specialize in Hextech technology, a spatiality taught by her acquaintance Viktor and a certain Jayce Talis. But their schedules didn't mesh, and living in different places made it difficult to see each other.

They had a peculiar relationship, oh, so different from the one her beloved sister had with her "cherished" sister-in-law, that typical relationship of soul mates, of two different worlds, destined to meet and fall in love, and have a house, with their Golden Retriever, and their wedding, and their 3 children... No, no way, nothing at all, that didn't go with her, never ever. That's why she liked the relationship she had with Ekko, a total and absolute freedom, but best friends above all, together, but with no strings attached. Without falling into those stupid sappy things. An open relationship you could call it. She could be with whomever she wanted, and so could he, of course. But at the end of the day the priority was the two of them. There were times when they had sex with people separately, and there were times when they had done it together with more people. They had some set rules, though. Like, for example, that they would always use protection in their sexual relations, that they would not have sex separately in places the two of them shared, not have jealous... But there were two, the most important ones.

The person you become sexually involved with cannot be a friend/acquaintance or close person that you both know.  

2. You will not fall in love with the other person.

I guess it won't be so bad, will it, this 180ª my life is taking, right?

That was what Jinx was thinking at that moment. What she didn't know, was that before accepting anything, whatever it is, she has to make sure which person she can find. And if the Jinx back then had known that she was literally running in the perfect direction to run into "a certain" person, would she still have accepted?

What the fuck good has it done me these past months to work overtime, to make excuses, to have to sleep for weeks in hotels, or friends' houses pretending to be traveling, basically, to lie to my girlfriend to avoid running into my sister-in-law, if now I have her inside here, in my fucking company, and in my fucking lab?

I'm going to kill him, when I finish going through these papers, I swear I'm going to kill Jayce first, and then Viktor. I'm going to revive them using Hextech and then I'm going to kill them again amidst terrible suffering.

Caitlyn was in her office when her secretary had brought her the resume of the person Jayce and Viktor had decided on and chosen with her mother's approval to intern at their company. The best of the best at the University, they had been told. She is one of our students and fits the profile you were looking for, they had assured her.

The internship would only last 3 months with the possibility of a part-time work contract so that the person chosen could validate her studies along with the job. Nothing they hadn't done before, that way Viktor had come to work at Kiramman Industries.

But of all the people out there, of all the people I could have chosen, not only to give her the scholarship (a scholarship that Kiramman Industries finances) but to come and do an internship at my company, it had to be her, of course, it had to be her.

The word pissed off was an understatement to describe what the young heiress was feeling at that moment. Heiress to what? She thought. What good did it do Caitlyn to be the heiress to that empire if even the easiest tasks had to pass through her mother's hands.

Hadn't she decided to take a break from work and go travel the world with Dad? Why won't she even let me do the simplest of tasks?

Her eyes roamed up and down the sheet in front of her, trying to look away from the picture covering the top right-hand corner. It fucked her up to admit it, but she had an impeccable resume. Top grades in the whole university, some fascinating ideas that really with some tinkering could fit what she was looking for, really with Jinx on the team she could give Kiramman Industries that turnaround she had in mind, there was only one problem, her mother, but if she was out of town she had free will didn't she?

She didn't realize how long it had been since Sky dropped the papers on her desk until soft knocks on the door brought her out of her thoughts.

Sorry to interrupt you Miss Kiramman, but Jinx is already here, shall I show her into your office or would you prefer to take a little more time?

Sky's voice sounded a little shaky, was she looking that bad right now for the young secretary to sound so slightly afraid?

Yes, yes sure, send her in, it's all more than read. Caitlyn said trying to fake a smile and calm voice to try to reassure her worker. She didn't know if she had succeeded as Sky quickly turned on her heels and set off in search of her "beloved sister-in-law".

And there she was, the person she had been avoiding all this time. Avoiding seeing her in person, of course, because she couldn't get that day out of his mind, the day they met. Those eyes that had been running up and down her face, her body, that crooked, and hesitant smile, with her full lips painted with that burgundy lipstick. She had spent so much time staring at her lips that she even noticed the cracks in them. Her words stinging, and attacking. If she hadn't been so fucking rude, and arrogant, and unfriendly, and blustering, and taunting, and insolent and agh everything bad that came to her mind, she'd left her the lip balm she had, sure they'd leave her with soft lips, perfect for... And she noticed her slim but toned body too, dressed in those suggestive clothes, revealing more skin than any woman in Piltóver would be willing to do, but strategically placed to leave you wanting more, her tattoos on the right side of her body, running down her shoulder, down her arm, down her chest, down her abdomen... and what was that supposed to be, smoke, clouds? Blue, blue swirls, blue to match the color of her hair, blue like the color of her eyes and those long braids that kept swinging back and forth. And here she was, again, and a shiver ran through her whole body. She was the same, just as he remembered her, let's see, it hadn't been that long since they last saw each other, 3 months? 4 maybe? 6 months, 6 months were the months that had passed since the first and the last time they saw each other.

It's a pleasure to see you again Jinx. Jayce and Viktor have spoken very highly of you. Your inventions and studies have been amazing. I am so glad you are joining Kiramman Industries for these 3 months, and who knows, maybe longer and all. Caitlyn said, sounding as professional and believable as she could. She was in charge now, she couldn't let an unfortunate encounter like the one the two of them had had ruin everything. Everything in the lab, in the company, in her relationship with Vi....

Come on Kiramman, stop pretending. This makes you as uncomfortable as it does me, and you know it. So let's get this done as quickly as possible, and then you go about your business and I'll go about mine. Jinx said, feeling again how those eyes penetrated even the smallest pore she could have.

How long would the internship? 3 months? Caitlyn thought as she came out from behind her desk walking in all her splendor, like a worthy Kiramman to stand in front of the young woman.

All right Caitlyn try to endure these 3 months as best you can and then when the period is over, out. It couldn't be possible that in all of Runeterra there wasn't someone equally brilliant to take the place of scientist and inventor for Kiramman Industries, right? Cailyn thought as she held out her hand to welcome her new and unexpected headache.

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Superman and Lois Season 3 was a bit of a let down....

Season 3 for me just felt like the show lost steam because it just didn't know where to go with the storyline. I feel the season started off brilliantly, and the cancer reveal for Lois was heartbreaking and beautifully acted, but somewhere along the way the show just treaded water for the entire season, only to end the Mannheim story with a whimper and start a new story in the final 2 episodes. It honestly felt like the writers got so proud of themselves for showcasing the hardships of cancer, that they forgot to really do anything with the story. The season basically just felt like a series of character moments because the Mannheim story was just everyone knowing that Mannheim is a criminal and not able to do anything about it. The one big reveal of Peia being Onomatopoeia and Bruno's wife, was not a shocking reveal. And Lois and Clark don't even discover it themselves. Bruno essentially reveals the truth of Peia being his wife. Nothing really comes out of the investigation that they were doing all season other than Luthor being falsely implicated. As a result, the majority of the season felt like it was just a prelude to the actual story, which is the Luthor story to be told next season sans the majority of the cast.

What didn't help is that I genuinely didn't care much about all the various other character dynamics. I mean, did anyone really care about Kyle and Chrissy pairing? Did anyone really buy into the developing romance of Lana and John? Did anyone have interest in the toxic dynamic of Jordan and Sarah. I feel both characters got increasingly annoying this season. Both were at fault for different reasons. Sarah was incredibly unfair on Jordan for breaking up with him for.... reasons I'm still not sure of and then insisting they remain friends and Jordan being a whiny sad sack the entire season, and then randomly becoming an attention hog towards the end of the season. I was interested in him developing his powers and becoming Superboy but they kind of half went there and then backtracked. Jonathan is much more likable, but it is plainly clear that that writers don't know what to do with him. He has this fire station storyline with Kyle, which is clearly just a story to give the actor something to do. I understand why they don't want to give him powers and repeat the same beats as they did for Jordan in the first couple of seasons but they haven't gone anywhere interesting with him either. They gave hints to maybe him becoming John Henry Iron's protege in season 1, but once Natalie came, then that possibility was put to bed since she was obviously going to have that role. I didn't feel Lana or John had any particular role of substance other than parenting trouble storylines. Last season end promises some sort of big personal storyline for John against Bruno, but it eventually boiled down to a Romeo and Juliet type situation with Mattheo and Natalie. I thought they were cute together but the relationship went way too fast to be believable.

The last 2 episodes felt like a different storyline and the season finale felt like a mid season finale. I think this Luthor is cool though he does come off a bit whiny. I did not like the whole Bizarro/Doomsday thing because it didn't make much sense. When did Bizarro Superman become immortal? Why did he become rabid, eating mice and being cannibalistic? Why does he become Doomsday the more they kill him? No explanation for this is given, which is odd, because last season, Bizarro was an actual Superman from Bizarro world who was trying to stop Ally. And now he's Luthor's lackey for some reason. Apart from it being cool to see Superman fight Doomsday, the whole thing didn't make much sense.

The things that worked is the cancer storyline and the performances, especially by Bitsie Tulloch and Tyler Hoechlin. Both continue to be superb and arguably do their best work this season. The cancer storyline is emotionally affecting and I do like how they integrated Peia as a cancer patient and as Lois's friend. I think they got good performances from Daya Vaidya and Chad Coleman as a result. The cast is generally excellent, even when the characters don't have much to do. I think Michael Bishop deserves some credit for how seamlessly he replaced Jordan Elsass. It took one episode for me to get used to him in the role. Michael Cudlitz made an immediate impact and Luthor and I hope they are able to do justice to his storyline despite the budget cuts. I will miss this cast though. Most of them might pop up for a few episodes but certainly I will miss John Henry Irons and Natalie, who are likable, but I also feel some pruning of the cast may be good because it did feel like they were reaching to give something for everyone to do. All in all, probably my least favorite season of the show so far. But still pretty good. I am wary of the budget cuts coming next season since the Doomsday fight showed some of the budget limitations for the first time. I assume the next season is its last and I hope it is. I don't want the show to be dragged down over time with increasing budget cuts.

[slightlyaboveaverageiq]

The Whisperer: Part 8 (Wally Clark Fic)

“Rhonda quit pushing the ring doorbell, you’re a ghost you’re not going to show up. Also I have-“ The front door opened mid sentence and sure enough there stood Connor staring at me while I was in the middle of berating Rhonda for pushing the doorbell an ungodly number of times. To be fair I probably shouldn’t have explained how a ring doorbell works and we probably could have made it to my room without the look Connor was giving me right now. “Oh hey!” I gave a sheepish smile and Wally laughed at the awkwardness of the situation earning a sharp jab to his ribs.

“Hello Mo’s little spirit friends, actually her only friends.” My jaw dropped and I ignored the cackling of both my brother and the group of ghosts behind me before grumbling something about castrating him in his sleep as I led them to my room.

“So obviously you guys can make it into my house with me but I wonder can you go in different rooms if I’m not there? I’m gonna go to the bathroom let’s see if you guys stay here or get transported with me.” Might as well kill two birds with one stone I’ll be able to see if we can be in separate rooms and if we can I’ll be able to take the shower I so desperately need. I walk to the bathroom and count to 120 and seeing as how none of them had come into the bathroom started getting undressed and turned the water on.

“Morgie, how long do we stay here?” Oh Jesus Christ Dawn you have to ask right now? I sighed and turned the water off before putting my clothes back on and walking into my room. “It’s different out here now.” And all the irritation I had just left my body at how little she sounded. Of course things were going to be overwhelming for her she died in the 70s.

“Tell you what Dawn you pick out whatever movie you want to watch and a Charly can set it up for you while I take a shower.” Rhonda said something under her breath and I threw a shoe at her before retreating back to my bathroom. I locked the door and once again counted to 120 and once I heard the moving playing let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

A/N: Smut below so click keep reading if you want to or just go to next part if you’re not about that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I realized I probably didn’t have time to take as long of a shower as I would need before they would start to wonder about me. So instead of being completely girl blue balled I just pulled my pants down and made myself comfortable on the floor. The mess I had made earlier more than enough for me to run my fingers over my clit and slide a finger inside.

I wonder how big Wally’s cock is, obviously not small because I could see the outline through his pants but are we talking normal size or huge? Not that I knew what was considered normal or huge. I bit my lip as I imagined his dark brown eyes locked on mine as he lowered himself in between my legs.

A smirk on his face as he slowly licks a line from my hole all the way up before gently eating me like I was a fucking ice cream cone. Wally was definitely a teaser he would bring me so close only to stop and kiss my thighs and that’s exactly what I did, stopping my fingers right before I would crash over. But there’s only so many times he would be able to do that before I would get desperate and start rubbing myself against his face. I started rubbing my fingers faster aware of how much of a mess I was making but it wasn’t anything I could clean up quickly.

“shit!” Oops. I most definitely was not quiet as I came. Soon enough I heard 4 sets of feet and someone trying to rip the damn door off the wall:

“Mo are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?” Of course my savior trying to take apart my door would be fucking Wally. I couldn’t help but laugh at how ironic the situation was.

“I’m alright please move so I can come out.” I opened the door and Rhonda was staring at me huge ass smirk on her face because she knew exactly what I was doing in the bathroom.

“Shut up.” She raised her hands in surrender and followed the rest of us back to my room to finish watching hairspray. Of course this was what Dawn had picked.

[jdgo51]

God Guides the Wise

Today's inspiration comes from:

Because of Bethlehem

by Max Lucado

Holiday time is highway time.

"'Ever since the magi packed their bags for Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus has caused people to hit the road. Our Christmas trips have a lot in common with the one of the wise men. We don’t camp with camels, but we have been known to bump into a knobby-kneed in-law on the way to the bathroom. We don’t keep an eye out for star lights, but flashing lights of the highway patrol? We watch for them at every curve. And we don’t ride in a spice-road caravan, but six hours in a minivan with four kids might have made the wise men thankful for animals.

It’s not always ho ho ho on the high, high highway. Extended time in the car reveals human frailties.

Dads refuse to stop. They hearken back to the examples of their forefathers. Did the pioneers spend the night at a Holiday Inn? Did Lewis and Clark ask for directions? Did Joseph allow Mary to stroll through a souvenir shop on the road to Bethlehem? By no means. Men drive as if they have a biblical mandate to travel far and fast, stopping only for gasoline.

And children? Road trips do to kids what a full moon does to the wolf man. If one child says, “I like that song,” you might expect the other to say, “That’s nice.” Won’t happen. Instead the other child will reply, “It stinks and so do your feet.”

There is also the issue of JBA — juvenile bladder activity. A child can go weeks without going to the bathroom at home. But once on the road, the kid starts leaking like secrets in Washington. On one drive to Colorado, my daughters visited every toilet in New Mexico.

The best advice for traveling with young children is to be thankful they aren’t teenagers. Teens are embarrassed by what their parents say, think, wear, eat, and sing. So for their sakes (and if you ever want to see your future grandchildren), don’t smile at the waitstaff, don’t breathe, and don’t sing with the window down or up.

It’s wiser to postpone traveling with children until they are a more reasonable age — like forty-two.

Christmas and travel. The first has a way of prompting the second and has done so ever since the delegation from the distant land came searching for Jesus. Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,

Where is the newborn king of the Jews? — Matthew 2:1-2 NLT

Matthew loved the magi. He gave their story more square inches of text than he gave the narrative of the birth of Jesus. He never mentions the shepherds or the manger, but he didn’t want us to miss the star and the seekers. It’s easy to see why. Their story is our story. We’re all travelers, all sojourners.

In order to find Jesus, every one of us needs direction. God gives it. The story of the wise men shows us how.

We have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him. — Matthew 2:2 NKJV

God uses the natural world to get our attention. Earth and stars form the first missionary society.

The heavens declare the glory of God. — Psalm 19:1 NKJV

In order to find Jesus, every one of us needs direction. God gives it.

As Paul wrote,

The basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. — Romans 1:19-20 MSG

God led the wise men to Jerusalem with a star. But to lead them to Jesus, He used something else:

King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?” “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ — Matthew 2:3-6 NLT

The star sign was enough to lead the magi to Jerusalem. But it took Scripture to lead them to Jesus.

People see signs of God every day. Sunsets that steal the breath. Newborns that bring tears. Migrating geese that stir a smile. But do all who see the signs draw near to God? No. Many are content simply to see the signs. They do not realize that the riches of God are intended to turn us toward Him.

Perhaps you do not understand that God is kind to you so you will change your hearts and lives. — Romans 2:4 NCV

The wise men, however, understood the purpose of the sign.

They followed it to Jerusalem, where they heard about the scripture. The prophecy told them where to find Christ. It is interesting to note that the star reappeared after they learned about the prophecy. The star “came and stood shining right over the place where the Child was” (Matthew 2:9, emphasis mine).1 It is as if the sign and word worked together to bring the wise men to Jesus.

The ultimate aim of all God’s messages, both miraculous and written, is to shed the light of Heaven on Jesus.

They came to the house where the Child was and saw Him with His mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. They opened their gifts and gave Him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. — Matthew 2:11 NCV

Behold the first Christian worshippers. The simple dwelling became a cathedral. Seekers of Christ found Him and knelt in His presence. They gave Him gifts: gold for a king, frankincense for a priest, and myrrh for his burial.

They found the Christ because they heeded the sign and believed the scripture.

Noticeably absent at the manger were the scholars of the Torah. They reported to Herod that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Did they not read the prophecy? Yes, but they did not respond to it. You’d think at a minimum they would have accompanied the magi to Bethlehem. The village was near enough. The risk was small enough. At worst they would be out the effort. At best they would see the fulfillment of prophecy. But the priests showed no interest. The wise men earned their moniker because they did.

Their hearts were open to God’s gift. The men were never the same again. After worshiping the Christ child, “they departed for their own country another way” (Matthew 2:12 NKJV). Matthew uses the word way in other places to suggest a direction of life. He speaks of the narrow way (Matthew 7:13-14 NASB) and “the way of righteousness” (Matthew21:32). He may be telling us that the wise men went home as different men. Called by a sign. Instructed by Scripture. And directed home by God.

It’s as if all the forces of heaven cooperated to guide the wise men.

God uses every possible means to communicate with you. The wonders of nature call to you. The promises and prophecies of Scripture speak to you. God Himself reaches out to you. He wants to help you find your way home.

Many years ago I watched the television adaptation of the drama The Miracle Worker, the compelling story of two females with great resolve: Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan.

Helen was born in 1880. She wasn’t yet two when she contracted an illness that left her blind, deaf, and mute. When Helen was seven years old, Annie, a young, partially blind teacher, came to the Kellers’ Alabama home to serve as Helen’s teacher.

Helen’s brother James tried to convince Annie to quit. The teacher wouldn’t consider it. She was resolved to help Helen function in a world of sight and sound. Helen was as stubborn as her teacher. Locked in a frightening, lonely world, she misinterpreted Annie’s attempts. The result was a battle of wills. Over and over Annie pressed sign language into Helen’s palm. Helen pulled back. Annie persisted. Helen resisted.

Finally, in a moment of high drama, a breakthrough. During a fevered exchange near the water pump, Annie placed one of Helen’s hands under the spout of flowing water. Into the other hand she spelled out w-a-t-e-r. Over and over, w-a-t-e-r. Helen pulled back. Annie kept signing. W-a-t-e-r.

All of a sudden Helen stopped. She placed her hand on her teacher’s and repeated the letters w-a-t-e-r. Annie beamed. She lifted Helen’s hand onto her own cheek and nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, yes! W-a-t-e-r.” Helen spelled it again: w-a-t-e-r. Helen pulled Annie around the yard, spelling out the words. G-r-o-u-n-d. P-o-r-c-h. P-u-m-p. It was a victory parade.2

Christmas celebrates a similar moment for us — God breaking through to our world. In a feeding stall of all places. He will not leave us in the dark. He is the pursuer, the teacher. He won’t sit back while we miss out. So He entered our world. He sends signals and messages: H-o-p-e. L-i-f-e. He cracks the shell of our world and invites us to peek into His. And every so often a seeking soul looks up.

May you be one of them.

When God sends signs, be faithful. Let them lead you to Scripture.

As Scripture directs, be humble. Let it lead you to worship.

And as you worship the Son, be grateful. He will lead you home. Who knows? Perhaps before Jesus comes again, we’ll discover why men don’t ask for directions. Then we can pursue the other great question of life: Why do women apply makeup while they are driving? But that’s a question for ones wiser than I.

God will not leave us in the dark. He is the pursuer, the teacher. He won’t sit back while we miss out. So He entered our world."'

Excerpted with permission from Because of Bethlehem by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.