#I’m having an actual fanboy moment

[lukabitch]

KAHDHSKAHSBSKAK- @alexpdcl REQUESTED THE ASH AND BILL HC I LOVE YOUR ART SO MUCH!!!!

[tip-top-cloud-surfer]

The Danger Zone (Part 14) - Hangman

Pairing: Hangman / Fem!Bradshaw!Reader | OC

Word Count: 4.8k

This work, all my works, and my entire blog are 18+ ONLY.

Warnings: Unplanned Pregnancy; Military Inaccuracies; Daddy and Mommy Issues Galore; Arguing; Crying; Angst; Screwed Up (Seresin) Family Dynamics Discussed; Use of "You," No Use of Y/N, No Set Physical Description

Summary: You and Jake spend some time apart. Maverick offers his help.

Series Master List

Master List

You called out of work the next day, knowing that you were in no shape to go. Closer to lunch time, after you'd wallowed for a time, Maverick drove you over to Jake’s apartment and packed up a few things while Jake was out. You didn’t take everything, just a few days' worth of clothes and necessities, before heading back to Maverick’s house to wallow some more.

Burying your face into your pregnancy pillow, you looked up when the door to your room opened. You sat up when you saw Penny standing there. And when she walked over and sat on the edge of your bed, you couldn’t help but latch onto her.

Penny pulled you close and rubbed your back as you cried, sharing a worried look with Maverick. He leaned against the doorframe, looking like he didn’t know what to do. Penny gave him a look, glancing down at you, before returning the same look to Maverick.

He nodded and walked away to make a call.

While Penny led you outside, Maverick stood on the front steps with his phone to his ear. He knew that it was the middle of the day, but he was still hoping that there was a chance.

“Hey, Mav, what’s up?” Javy answered calmly after a few rings.

“I’m assuming that you’ve heard,” Maverick stated bluntly, causing Javy to sigh.

“Yeah, I’m putting out my own fires over here,” Javy stated, glancing over at Jake’s office.

Jake was furiously writing away at forms and typing paperwork into his computer, barely taking a moment to blink. He looked like he hadn’t slept all night and hadn’t eaten anything, save for three cups of coffee. He was in no shape to do anything. Javy would tackle him to the floor himself before letting him into a plane in this state.

“How’s she doing?” Javy asked Maverick.

“I haven’t seen her like this in a long time. And I don’t ever want to see her like this again.” Maverick glanced back at the house before turning back to the street. “What happened, Coyote?”

“His mom wrote him a letter.”

“And?” Maverick pressed a bit more, not seeing the connection.

“Jake doesn’t really have a traditional relationship with his parents. And for good reason on his part. And he needs to tell her about it, but he’s not exactly the most emotionally intelligent guy.”

Javy gestured for Fanboy to carry in another stack of files into Jake’s office. Jake didn’t look up, working through the paperwork in front of him like a robot on rocket fuel. Fanboy hesitated for a moment but with another sharp look from Coyote, Fanboy turned to Jake.

“Hey, Hangman, we’re kind of falling behind, so I was wondering—”

“—Just put it on the pile, Fanboy,” Jake stated, not even looking up.

Fanboy dropped the stack and walked out, shooting Javy a thumbs up that Javy returned. Glancing worriedly at Jake again, Javy turned away to continue his conversation with Maverick.

“He’s not anywhere near a plane right now, right?”

“No, I’m making sure of that," Javy promised him.

“It might be a good idea to keep Rooster away from him too.”

“Already on it,” Javy replied, watching his wife march Rooster down the hall to go and teach lessons today. Far away from Jake. “I’ve got it handled here but I’m worried about him when he gets off.”

“I should warn you that we went over, and she took her stuff.”

“She’s already decided to move out?” Javy asked, starting to panic.

“No, she just needed some time and some of her things for now. But I'm worried that if he sees her stuff gone, it might set him off.”

“Alright, I’ll drag him home with me and Phoenix.”

“Actually, Coyote, I was wondering if you think that Jake would come with me for a drive tonight?” Maverick suggested, causing Coyote to pause for a moment. “If you think that he needs more time, he needs more time. I trust your judgment.”

“Tomorrow,” Coyote decided after a moment. “Come to my house in the morning. Before he has a chance to get worked up.”

“Alright. Keep me updated, Coyote.”

“You too, Mav.”

Hanging up the call, Maverick walked back inside the house and paused when he saw you and Penny out on the back porch. You seemed to have stopped crying, but you looked so broken that it felt like a direct punch to Maverick’s gut.

You were the little girl that Goose and Carole hoped and begged for. You were the little girl that Goose continually sobbed over when he got a photo of you from the hospital, having missed your birth. You were the little girl that he then proceeded to sob over at the airport in Miramar when he got to hold you for the first time. You were the little girl that Goose swore up and down that he’d protect and love and definitely not let you anywhere near naval aviators.

And when Goose died, Maverick took up that mantle in his place. And he wasn’t going to let you, or Goose, or Carole down.

They were going to fix this. Someway. Somehow.

~~~~~

Bradley, as soon as he saw that something was off with Hangman, knew that something was probably off with you too. And when you didn’t answer his call, he went looking for you after work. He drove by your apartment and after a quick scan of the parking lot, moved on.

And when he saw your car parked in Maverick’s driveway, he pulled in. Getting out of the Bronco, he walked around the back and entered through the side door. Rooster spotted you standing in the kitchen, pouring yourself a drink. You looked up at the sound of footsteps before looking right back down, defeat written all over your features.

“Where’s Mav?” Bradley asked, looking around.

“He went out to grab dinner. Did you need him for something?”

“No, I came to check on you.”

“Why would you do that?” you asked, adding some ice cubes.

“Well, Hangman seemed off today.”

“Did he?” you questioned quietly.

“Yeah.” Bradley waited a moment before asking, “What happened between you guys?”

“Why? So that you can run off and yell at him?” you scoffed haughtily. “Or make some comment to him tomorrow in front of everyone and watch him bite his tongue? Or finally explode?”

“Are you okay?” Bradley asked you worriedly.

“Yeah, Brad. I’m really fucking peachy,” you snapped, causing him to wince. “Look at how okay I am. I’m living out of a bag in Mav’s house after having a massive fight with my boyfriend while I’m nearly six months pregnant with his baby. And one of the things that we were fighting about just so happened to be about how hard my family was on him. Comparing him to my ex. Making him feel like he wasn’t good enough to be with me. Telling him that he was going to be a shit dad.” Placing your hands on your hips, you glared at your brother. “Does any of that sound familiar, Bradley?”

When he didn’t respond, you grabbed the paper towel roll off the holder and threw it at Bradley’s head. And when that bounced off his arm, you reached over and yanked the dish towels off the oven and chucked them at him too. Bradley walked around the cabinets and grabbed the loaf of bread before you could throw it at him too.

“Just put the bread down,” Bradley tried to coax you, worried that you’d grab a knife next.

“Why the fuck did you say that shit to him!?” you yelled, pushing your brother in the chest.

Bradley called your name softly, but you kept pushing him away or trying to hit him. And when he grabbed your wrists gently, you finally broke down. Bradley, not sure what to say, just pulled you in for a hug. You didn’t fight him on that one.

“I love him, Bradley,” you sobbed, your whole body shaking. “Why’d you say that to him?”

“I’m sorry,” Bradley replied a few moments later.

“Are you? You wanted us to break up and now he’s probably shut down completely and is packing up the rest of my stuff in his apartment as we speak.”

“No, he’s not.”

“How do you know? Do the two of you talk now?”

“After your last appointment, he showed the whole squad and about half of the department the ultrasound. I had several people ask me if he had an identical twin brother playing a prank on everyone because he wasn’t acting like his usual asshole self.” Bradley paused for a moment before adding, “A man who’s that excited about his baby isn’t just going to walk away after a little fight.”

You slowly stopped crying, but you didn’t let go of your brother. And he didn’t let go of you. It kind of reminded you of when he came back home to grab some more of his stuff after his fight with Maverick. You were home and tossed everything but the kitchen sink at him for not calling you to tell you that he was alright.

“Everyone has fights. Emma kicked my ass out onto the couch before. We got through it. You’ll get through it too.”

Maverick walked in with a bag of food, not surprised to see Bradley standing there with you. You and Bradley slowly released each other, and you reached to grab a tissue, but paused when they weren’t at their usual spot. You must have thrown them at Bradley.

“I found them,” Maverick called, grabbing the box from behind the kitchen table.

~~~~~

Jake stared at the ceiling of Javy and Nat’s guest room. He hadn’t slept for more than three hours before the nightmares woke him up. You still hadn’t reached out to him, and he took that to mean that you decided to break up with him and the next time that he’d get to see you was in court about child support.

Well, at least he wasn’t crazy to assume that it could all blow up.

Getting out of bed, Jake got dressed. He usually went for a run after he woke up, but he didn’t even care anymore. He just wanted a coffee. But with his current streak, he’d fuck that up too. Not even bothering to shave, Jake headed out to the kitchen. He heard Phoenix and Javy already up and talking.

But when he turned the corner, Jake was surprised to see Maverick standing there.

“Morning, Jake,” Javy greeted him, placing a cup of coffee down.

Jake walked over quietly, reaching for the coffee. He didn’t respond verbally and simply stared down Maverick, waiting for him to explain his presence.

“Morning, Jake,” Maverick repeated in greeting.

“What are you doing here, Mav?” Jake asked, a bit defensive, but mostly exhausted.

“I came to ask if you were free for a chat,” Maverick replied calmly.

“Do I have a choice?”

“Of course, you have a choice, Jake.”

“Should I bring my photo ID? Or would you prefer to make it a little difficult for whoever drags my body out of the ditch to identify me?”

“You can bring whatever you want.” Maverick glanced between Jake, Javy, and Phoenix before moving to leave. “I’ll wait out in the car.”

Jake turned to Javy and Phoenix, who stared at him with encouraging looks as Maverick walked out of the house. Jake took a sip of his coffee before setting the cup down.

“Did you call him?” Jake grumbled, causing Javy to sigh.

“He called me because he’s worried about her.”

“What do you mean? Is she hurt? Is the baby hurt?” Jake asked urgently, but Phoenix quickly shut it down.

“No, just emotionally.”

“You talked to her?” Jake asked her.

“I texted her,” Phoenix answered honestly. “She responded, but not much.” After sharing a look with her husband, Phoenix added, “And she asked me about you. So, if you want to repair your relationship with her, go for the drive with Maverick.”

“You have nothing to lose by doing it,” Coyote added, causing Jake to look to where Maverick’s car was parked in the driveway.

~~~~~

Jake didn’t know what to think about Maverick taking him for a drive. He just sat and stared. Maverick started driving up the coast, letting Jake stew in the silence, before pulling off the coastal road. It was a random barren pull off with a stretch of sand beyond the pavement that wasn’t even a body length wide.

Jake guessed that Maverick wanted him to swim with the fishes.

They walked to the edge of the lot together, though they made no move to break the silence. Jake stared down at the dark waves, waiting for Maverick to speak. But Maverick was too busy staring off into the distance.

“What is this place?” Jake asked quietly.

“It’s the closest point to where my accident happened. The one that ended the life of my best friend. And the maternal grandfather of your child.”

“Why’d you bring me here?” Jake questioned quietly, sounding like he was walking on eggshells. “Do you even bring them here?”

“I brought Bradley here once. Not long after their mom died. But I never brought her here. I’m sure that Bradley mentioned it to her, but she never asked me to take her here.” A breath of silence passed between them before Maverick added, “I come out here to reflect. I guess it’s a type of therapy for me.”

“Why did you bring me here?” Jake asked again.

“You’re having a baby with my goddaughter. That means that you’re part of our unconventional family now. And despite what you may think about us, we know that we’re not perfect. We’re far from it.”

Maverick stared out at the waves, lost in his thoughts for a moment.

“My father died in Vietnam. He was a pilot and crashed after a dogfight. The State Department ran his name through the mud and sent my mother into a downward spiral. She died less than a year after my father. And then I went into foster care.”

Maverick turned to look at Jake out of the corner of his eye, though Jake did not return his stare.

“The only point that I’m trying to prove to you is that whatever you’re worried about sharing with her about your past, she’s not going to care. Your parents don’t define you. Their lives don’t define yours. And they’re not going to change how she feels about you.”

Maverick turned to Jake, his serious expression hidden by his sunglasses. Jake didn’t return his gaze directly, but his body did tilt more towards Maverick to show that he was listening.

“But she mentioned that you told her that you were trying to ‘protect’ her from your parents, which, as her godfather, raises some concerns.” Maverick folded his arms behind his back. “I don’t need any specifics. All I need to know is whether my goddaughter and her child are in any kind of physical danger.”

“They're not”

“Then what are you referring to?”

“My parents, the type of bullshit that they would try to pull would be financial. They would try to stop the transfer of any of my assets to her and the baby. At least ones that I inherited. They’re not the mafia, just some old money assholes trying to keep their wealth.”

“And the baby? They wouldn’t try any bullshit with the baby, right?” Maverick asked seriously.

“They wouldn't fight for custody. We’re not married and she’s not a choice that they would have ever made for me. They’d probably try to prove that the baby isn’t mine or do something else to cut off any sort of inheritance or child support from me or my estate. They wouldn’t want anything to do with the baby beyond that.”

“We can work with that,” Maverick stated calmly. “But you need to tell her what you told me and even more. If the two of you are going to raise a baby together and deal with whatever your parents throw at you, you need to be on the same page. And we’ll support you through it. All three of you.”

Jake nodded slowly, staring out at the waves in the distance before he looked down at his shoes.

~~~~~

You sat out on Maverick’s back porch in the shade, reading a book when you heard a car pull into the driveway. You assumed that it was just Maverick.

But when Jake came walking around the corner, you completely forgot about your book. Jake slowly walked over to you, stepping up onto the deck, and slowly sat down in the seat across from you. The two of you stared at each other for a moment in silence until Jake finally bucked up the courage to speak.

“Can we talk?” Jake asked softly.

“Yeah,” you returned quietly, shifting in your seat. “Of course, Jake.”

“How are you feeling today?” he awkwardly asked.

“Can we please cut past the small talk?” you inquired, causing Jake to pause, looking a bit surprised. A bit embarrassed, you rephrased your sentiment. “Sorry. I just really want to talk about our fight. It’s been eating away at me since I left.”

“I get it.”

Jake pulled out the envelope that set off a bomb in your relationship. He stared down at it for a moment before leaning over and holding it out to you. You started to reach out but hesitated.

“Read it,” Jake insisted, leaning further forward.

“Are you sure?” you asked quietly, gently taking the envelope from him.

“I want you to read it.”

You slowly opened the envelope and pulled out the card. It started out as a normal card would. But there were a few lines that jumped out at you that were distinctly odd. And by the end of it, you were more confused than you were when you started. You looked up at Jake and handed the card back to him. He placed it on the table between you and stared down at it, getting ready to begin his speech.

“I haven’t talked to my mom in five years. I wasn’t lying about that. But she has sent me a few cards, usually for my birthday, since then. Similar to this one. I’ve ignored them because I was happier without them in my life.” Jake slowly turned back to you. “And the reason why I stopped talking to my mom is because she is an extension of my father.”

Jake looked away for a moment, thinking over his next words carefully, before turning back to you. You were sitting calmly across from him, hands folded in front of your bump.

“My father is the type of guy to make his own kid call him ‘sir’ around the house. He wasn’t caring. He wasn’t ever there for me, except when I won an award or did well. And I caught him cheating on my mom at least three times myself.”

“Does she know that he’s cheating on her?” you asked softly.

“She’s known since the first affair. He’s not exactly a discreet guy. But she’s stayed with him for three reasons—her image in their community, her religion that preaches that divorce is a sin and a bunch of other bullcrap, and because he’s manipulated her into thinking that she owes him.”

“What does she owe him for?” you asked, growing more confused and concerned.

Jake paused, rubbing his hands together. He turned back to you and straightened up.

“Because she could never give him the biological son that he wanted more than anything else in the world,” Jake stated, causing you to blink rapidly.

“But . . . you . . .”

Jake let you fumble for a moment before finally dropping the bomb that he had held inside of him pretty much every day since he found out the news himself all those years ago.

“I’m adopted,” Jake explained calmly. “And you’re only the second person that I’ve ever told.”

“Jake, I never would have cared if you were adopted or not,” you reassured him. “And if I ever did, I’m sorry.”

“You never did. And I wasn’t scared to tell you that I was adopted. I was worried about explaining the story that comes along with it.”

Jake rubbed the back of his neck slowly, trying to figure out the best way to tell you.

“My parents tried to have a baby naturally for three years to no success. My father threatened to divorce my mother because she couldn’t give him a baby. And the bastard never stopped to consider the fact that he might be the problem.”

You sat back quietly, hearing the anger build in Jake��s tone and giving him the space to let those thoughts out.

“He never got any of his mistresses pregnant. If he did, he would have divorced her in a heartbeat and claimed that kid as his true son. And he could have easily pulled it off with a paternity test on me. No one else knew that I was adopted. He would have claimed that my mom got pregnant with another man’s baby and he probably would have gotten away with it. Maternity tests aren’t exactly common outside of adopted children and my mom was never going to expose the secret to the world.”

“There wasn’t any paperwork to say that you were adopted? Nothing?” you asked curiously.

“No, because my manipulative father and desperate mother did it all under the table. They found a woman who was unexpectedly pregnant. Vulnerable. Desperate. Apparently, she couldn’t tell her family about the baby and the father was gone. My mother took her to a doctor and paid for an ultrasound. Discovered that the woman was pregnant with a boy. And so began the sham.”

He couldn’t bear to look at you, afraid of what he would see in your eyes. But now that he had started, he wasn’t sure that he could stop until it was all out there and in the open.

“They took her in until she had the baby. They hid her away with my mother away from everyone for months to build up the story. And after I was born . . . they coerced her into giving me up. They told her that they would give me a better future than she ever would. They offered her money for her troubles and to write a letter to sell whatever story she told her family. And two weeks after I was born, she left.”

Jake stared at the ground for a long moment and only looked up when he heard you move. Picking his head up, Jake watched you as you slowly walked over to him. You hesitated when you drew close, but Jake didn’t pause when he reached out for you. Finding your seat in his lap, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders.

“The only thing that I can think to say . . . is I’m sorry,” you whispered, causing Jake to pull you closer. “That’s awful, that’s-that’s . . . psychotic. Criminal. Absolutely disgusting. I—” You cut yourself off, focusing on Jake in your arms again. “I’m so sorry, Jake.”

The two of you sat there for a long moment, just processing your conversation. You focused on rubbing Jake’s back and slowly combing your hand through his hair to try and soothe him. You could feel how tense he was and had to wonder how much he had worked himself up to tell you those dark secrets.

Jake didn’t say anything, keeping his face buried in the juncture of your neck. His arm was solid on your back, keeping you supported and close with his hand curled protectively around your bump.

Feeling Jake pick his head up, you turned to meet his gaze, letting him set the tone. He took another breath, leaning back and pulling you further into his lap and you had no qualms about curling up against his chest. You didn’t even realize how much you missed the simplest details about him.

“I don’t plan on ever inviting them back into my life,” Jake began, causing you to nod supportively. His voice cracked a bit as he continued, “And I know that you pictured a life with a guy who didn’t have such a fucked up family and past and—”

“—Jake,” you cut in, tears building in your own eyes. Cupping his cheeks with your hands as a tear slipped down Jake’s cheek, you let a few fall yourself. “I don’t care about any of that. It doesn’t matter what I pictured before I met you. You’re my baby’s father and you’re the man that I love and I don’t care about how your family is. I just care about you.”

“You love me?” Jake asked you softly.

“I love you, Jake Seresin,” you repeated with more confidence in your tone.

“You’re not going to leave me for being a complete asshole to you?” Jake added, his voice breaking again. “Because I hate myself for that. I hated that I said that the second that those words left my mouth.”

“Of course, I’m not leaving you, Jake,” you practically sobbed, tears quickly streaming down your cheeks. “I love you. I don’t want to leave you.”

“I love you too,” Jake returned softly, surprised by the amount of emotion in his voice. “I love you. I love our baby. And I don’t want to do anything else to jeopardize it and risk losing you. Because I can’t lose you. I can’t lose either of you.”

“You’re not,” you promised him, pulling him in for a tight hug again. “We’re not going anywhere.”

“I was stressed and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I just—when Cyclone told me about my promotion, he told me that there was a higher chance that I could get deployed over the next few weeks or months.”

“Jake,” you whimpered softly, drawing your fingers down his cheek. “It wouldn’t be your fault.”

“It would feel that way.”

“But it wouldn’t be,” you told him firmly. “I know that you want to be there, Jake. I’m not going to hold that against you. I knew that was a possibility. And I don’t want you to hold that against yourself, alright?”

“But—”

“—Alright,” you pressed more.

The two of you latched onto each other, letting your tears dry and fade. You felt Jake press a kiss to your neck and leaned into the touch when you suddenly jolted in his lap.

“What? What’s wrong?” Jake asked you quickly, causing you to smile.

“Nothing’s wrong. They’re just moving again. They scared me.” Moving Jake’s hand to rest over the side of your bump that your child was active around, even though he wouldn’t be able to actually feel them, you rested your head on his chest. “They weren’t moving around as much when I was here.”

“Do you need to go to the doctor?” Jake asked, staring worriedly down at your bump.

“I called yesterday. They said just to monitor them and to relax a little bit more. And they were right because now our child’s moving around again.” You leaned back against him as he curled his arm around your bump. “They’re going to be a handful? Aren’t they?”

“More than likely,” Jake agreed, sharing a smile with you before turning back to your bump. “But stop scaring your mom. Do you hear me?” After a moment, Jake turned back to you. “Can they hear me?”

“I think so. At my last appointment, they said that the baby should be responding to sound soon.”

Leaning down more so that he could speak directly to your bump, Jake repeated his earlier message, causing you to laugh. He picked his head back up and turned to you, smiling softly. You leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He, in turn, pressed a kiss to your lips that you happily accepted.

“Do you think that you’re ready to come home with me?” Jake asked, causing you to nod quickly. “Then let’s get you packed.”

Jake got you packed in about ten minutes and as you pulled your snacks out of the cupboards, Maverick came walking back inside. He paused by the door, hanging up his keys, before walking over.

“You’re heading home?”

“Yeah. Thanks for taking me in for a little bit,” you replied softly.

“You’re always welcome.”

You pulled Maverick in for a hug and whispered your thanks again. Maverick gave you a squeeze and looked up when Jake came walking around the corner with your bag. Releasing you, Maverick stepped aside and let the two of you out the door.

“Drive safe.”

“We will,” you promised him, smiling over your shoulder at your godfather.

Tags (PRETTY PLEASE have your AGE on your blog or message me about it to be tagged--thank you!):

[If I missed you, don’t feel bad about asking to be tagged again! But please make sure that your age is in your bio/comment/etc. If you see your tag spelled correctly, please double check your privacy settings! Thanks!]

@mrsjobarnes @wishiwasacasualfan @bethabear12 @everythingmarveltopgun @hardballoonlove @mavrellover91 @fangirlvoice @senjoritanana @sophiaslastbraincell @xoxabs88xox @emma8895eb @dempy @harperdoodle @itsmytimetoodream @sarahjoestewy-blog @the-annoying-fan @athenabarnes @midnightmagpiemama @praline357 @sucker4seresin @sunsetsimpsblog @sgt-barnesveins @abaker74 @shanimallina87 @kellyls04 @trickphotography2 @kmc1989 @boiolay @offical-potato @topgun-imagines @caitsymichelle13 @daddymack01 @hangmandruigandmav @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @lilylilyyyyyy @lillunna @bcon24 @sky0401 @ashcosmo @blackwidownat2814 @specialagentjackbauer @imareallygoodlawyersbrick @percysaidnever @silenthappyplace @buckysteveloki-me @havlindzk @hookslove1592 @mamachasesmayhem @aviatorobsessed @marvelogic @ems-alexandra @harrysgothicbitch @shawnsblue @shiara04 @delguersojoy-blog @erindiggory @eloquentdreamer @tomanyfandomstrash

[luxaofhesperides]

Ghostlight prompt: Danny and Duke being childhood friends, but Danny tells Duke the moment the accident happens and such cause he trusts him, only for Danny to go radio silent when giw decide to block the town communications in senior year.

So Duke-does he tell Danny he's Signal or not? Up to you-gets worried the longer no contact goes by.

Maybe the away game thing seen in other posts where the sports team still does away games and Danny gets enough good will with star or dash maybe and they send a message to Duke that's some coded phrase and Duke knows shits going down?

(yourlocalcorviddad, it's a side blog so didn't want to send from main sorry)

Danny is not someone who is on his mind a lot, these days. It’s to be expected, considering how distance and their double lives eat up all the time they have to talk. Really, it’s a miracle that they were able to speak enough to learn about their own individual vigilante work, especially with Duke bouncing around foster homes for a good portion of that time. 

They haven’t spoke in months but that’s normal for them.

Duke thinks he can be forgiven for not knowing something was wrong. He still won’t forgive himself for it.

“Danny’s gone?” he repeats, feeling numb. There’s static ringing in his ears, his entire world hollowing out.

The guy in front of him looks grim, unable to meet Duke’s eyes. Did he introduce himself? Duke can’t remember, can’t keep his spiraling thoughts straight in his head. “He’s gone. His entire family is gone and we haven’t been able to call for help because… well…”

“It’s those guys, right? The ones in white?”

“You know about them?”

“Danny told me. Danny told me a lot about what he did in Amity Park.”

The guy lets out a slow, relieved breath. “Good, then I don’t have to explain. Sorry, it’s just that it’s not something we talk about, especially out in the open. After the last few months, things got really bad. We know the GIW took the Fentons, but we can’t find out how or why and they’ve got us on a tight lockdown.”

“Then how did you get out?” Duke asks. Another arguably more important question pops into his mind a second later. “Actually, how do you know about Danny and… you know. The other things.”

The grimness on the guy’s expression fades away some beneath the sudden shame and embarrassment. “Oh, that. Well, I dunno how much he told you about his, like, daily life, but, um. I’m Dash. Baxter. I bullied him?”

Dash. 

Dash. That’s a name he recognizes. 

Danny’s complained about Dash a lot in the past. Since they were in middle school, really. Duke would always get mad on Danny’s behalf about how terribly he’s being treated, how no one would stop such obvious bullying. And every time, Danny would laugh it off and say in that soft voice of his, It’s alright, Duke, really. Having you care is more than enough for me.

It never stopped the bullying, though, but the way Danny talked about Dash changed when they both entered high school. He was still annoyed about everything Dash did, but there were less insults about him, less venting about every little thing that pissed Danny off about him, as if he just didn’t care anymore.

And there is, of course, the most memorable time Danny called Duke about Dash over the summer.

Hey, Danny, Duke had began, only to be cut off by Danny yelling, I kissed Dash?! Or he kissed me?! What am I supposed to do now!

And Duke, despite the jealousy he felt at hearing that Danny and Dash kissed, laughed so hard he cried while Danny yelled at him to be helpful. 

There wasn’t any discussion on Dash since, beyond a comment here and there about a funny fanboying thing Dash had said about Phantom. The focus of their conversations shifted towards how hard it was to be heroes or vigilantes, quiet reassurances that they’re both doing the best they can, tips traded about best ways to patch themselves up and get through the night. Sometimes, it felt like Danny was the only person in the world to really know Duke; all his pain and promises, his dreams, everything he was Before and who he became in the After.

He’s missed Danny, but the last message Danny sent him told him that things were getting rough in Amity Park, and to not call or contact him until he reached out first.

So Duke trusted in Danny and focused his attention in Gotham, putting his all into becoming a better hero, someone people can rely on. 

He thinks that maybe he should have fallen into the Bats’ bad habits of invading privacy to make sure Danny’s okay. 

Too late for that now, though.

“I know you,” Duke says after a long moment. “He talked about you sometimes. Come with me, we have a lot to discuss.”

Dash looks appropriately nervous, but he doesn’t argue. 

It’s a tense, quiet walk to the library where Barbara works. She’s stationed at the front desk when he arrives and greets him with a smile, eyes flicking towards Dash in question.

“Hey, Babs, got a private study room open?”

Her gaze sharpens and Duke can’t help the feeling of relief that flows through him, knowing that Oracle is ready to look out for him. “Let me check,” she says, turning towards the computer to click around a few pages. “Study room 8 is open.”

That’s the study room with a working lock and soundproofing. It also has cameras and a mic inside, but all the other study rooms have one too, just for safety purposes. Things could always go terribly wrong when people are locked together in a small room, and having video and audio evidence of what happened has assisted in more than a few cases. 

He leads them up to the second floor, past the students studying and the group of young children in the back corner of the library listening intently to a read aloud. 

The only occupied study rooms are those up front, closer to the stairs. The back rooms are empty and quiet, the perfect place for a little impromptu interrogation.

“So,” Duke says as he closes the door to study room 8 behind them. Dash sits down as if this is just a casual conversation, but the way his foot taps against the floor betrays his nerves. “Danny’s gone. And somehow, that lead you to me.”

Dash glance around, then leans closer to drop his voice into a harsh whisper. “The Guys In White got some insane upgrades a few months ago and forced every citizen of Amity Park into a surveillance state. The entire Fenton family is gone, but we all know it’s really because they want Danny.”

“Explain the situation in Amity Park some more.”

“Well. It’s like this: we didn’t take them seriously, so they upped their moves and got us trapped. No one goes in or out of Amity Park without good, verifiable reason. We have a curfew and we can be randomly stopped and searched for ectoplasm or exposure to ghosts. Most of the ghosts have left, but a few of the stronger ones hang around to cause trouble to get the GIW off our backs for a bit.”

“So how did you end up in Gotham?”

“I was invited to tour the college. And since outsiders were expecting me, the GIW let me go. But there’s definitely some that tailed me to Gotham, but I can’t find them at all. Even talking to you now is a huge risk for me.”

Which means they don’t have much time to talk before someone comes looking for Dash. His words, paired with everything Duke’s heard from Danny, paint a deeply unpleasant picture in his mind. “Are you going to be in trouble?”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. It’s Danny we’re all worried about. He told me before he got caught that if anything happened to him, I should find you. Tucker helped us narrow down where exactly you are and sent you that text to get you to where we met.”

“What do you think I can do?”

“I don’t know,” Dash admits. “But Danny trusts you, and he needs your help.”

Duke was never going to say no to this request to begin with, but damn if those words don’t make him want to run to Amity Park without waiting for anyone else.

“Okay,” he says. “Okay. I’ll help rescue him and bring down the GIW. You should go now, before they get too suspicious.”

“What are you planning?”

“I got a couple of friends who are good at destroying government property. Trust me, you’ll see what we’re up, we’re pretty noticeable if we’re pissed off enough.”

“Don’t take too long then,” Dash says, standing up, “I expect a good show from you. See you around, man.”

And with that, Dash pats Duke’s shoulder and leaves the study room. Duke doesn’t follow after him.  He’s got a rescue to start planning, and the less time he wastes, the better.

In the end, it’s pretty simple. It’s not a hard mission at all when the time comes for them to act, but the amount of data they gather and have to shift through is daunting. But that’s more Tim and Barbara’s forte, so he trusts them to handle it. 

Together with Red Robin, Spoiler, and Black Bat, they hit Amity Park hard and fast. 

One night was spent learning the lay of the land and every station and lab set up by the GIW. The second night was spent burning it all down and tossing open cages full of green blob ghosts and a few transparent, weakly glowing human ghosts. Stronger ghosts, glowing brightly, joined them in a few places with battle cries and maniacal laughter.

They split up and took down all the bases and patrol stations on their own, sweeping through the city like vengeful shadows. 

By dawn, the GIW were in shambles, without any bases or equipment, and rounded up for arrest. 

Cass was the one to find Danny and his family; his parents were forced to create weapons for the GIW under threat of Danny and Jazz’s torture. Danny was locked up like an animal and studied. Jazz had restraints on, including a muzzle, and a bloodthirsty rage in her eyes. Apparently, she had put up the most fight and, while being studied for repeated exposure to ectoplasm and radiation, started biting people.

The Fentons are big names in this conflict. Tim makes the executive decision to burn one of his out-of-state safehouses so they can hide and recover in peace, then promptly moves them into it as soon as the EMTs give them the all clear. They’re gone by the time the sun is rising over the horizon, and the curious Amity Parkers that have gathered behind the blockade of police cars have to be reassured that the Fentons have been taken away for their protection, not for further abuses. Even then, tensions are high and the locals are clearly prepared to start rioting now that they have a chance to fight back.

As vigilantes, they’re not meant to interact with cops much. Perhaps it’s simply their experiences in Gotham that keep them at a distance, disappearing into the neighborhood the moment attention shifts off of them. Either way, Duke is hurrying out of Amity Park with the rest of the team on his heels, eager to return to Gotham and follow up on their own leads to make sure the GIW is properly gutted and dismantled. 

Duke heads off for the Hatch as soon as they reach Gotham, hoping to shed the suit and finally be able to call Danny. The guilt of not noticing how bad things had gotten rolls through his stomach, and more than that, he’s missed hearing Danny’s voice. 

The first few calls go straight to voicemail. Duke leaves a quick message asking Danny to let him know how he’s doing as soon as he can talk. 

Then he goes for a shower and to change into civilian clothes, prepared to make his way to Wayne Manor to let Bruce know how everything went. And hopefully distract him from his Disappointed Father/Leader Lecture about taking on missions behind his back, as if Duke can’t handle himself. And also because Bruce has no leg to stand on when it comes to this. He’s fully prepared to throw that entire lecture back into his face at a moment’s notice.

The post-mission exhaustion is hitting him hard and fast. Duke has to brace himself against the wall once he’s out of the shower, resisting the urge to just lie on the floor and sleep there until he starts feeling more human. 

Somehow, he gets himself into some sweatpants and a plain shirt, pulls on a pair of mismatched socks, and begins gathering his things so he can get to the Batcave. 

He’s in no state to be driving. Maybe someone would be willing to take him there?

Just as he reaches for his phone to thumb through his contacts and see who he can bother, it buzzes in his hand. Duke blames the way he jumps on his exhaustion, then blinks his tired eyes to squint at the name that pops up onto the screen.

Danny.

All at once, his exhaustion fades away. A rush of adrenaline runs through him as he scrambles to accept the call, already pacing around the room so he doesn’t fall asleep. 

“Hello?”

There’s a moment of silence, then the exhale of a breath that turns to static over the call. “Duke,” Danny’s tired voice says. “Duke…”

“You doing okay? I couldn’t get to you before you and your family had to leave and go into hiding, but I’ve been worried about you, man.”

“I’m good. We’re all fine, now. Fentons are strong, you know? We’ll bounce back in no time.”

From what he’s heard about Danny’s family, that’s most definitely true. He’s seen the pictures of walls Jack Fenton has burst through with his body. It’ still hard to believe that no one in the family is a meta, outside of Danny.

“You need anything? I can get it to you, just say the word. Anything at all.”

Danny hums, then asks with a playful note in his voice, “Anything?”

“Anything.”

“I need you. How fast can you come meet me? I’ll even pay for express delivery.”

Duke laughs, so relieved at hearing the lightness return to Danny’s voice that he feels weak in the knees. “It’ll be at least two days. I gotta sleep and debrief with Batman before I can see you. It’s gonna take some time to get out of Gotham again.”

“Maybe I can go to you, instead,” Danny suggests. “Fly over and be there is less than an hour.”

“Are you in any shape to be flying right now?”

“I’m fine! Already healing and everything,” Danny insists.

“It might be dangerous if any rogue GIW agents go after you.”

“Well,” Danny says, “That’s why I need to get to my knight in shining armor sooner rather than later, right?”

Duke bites his lip to fight back a smile, blinking his eyes forcefully to keep them from closing under the heavy weight of exhaustion. “Does that make you a damsel in distress?”

“I mean, I did need rescuing, so I guess? I’m not much of a damsel, but I could put on a pretty dress for you. It’ll be like playing pretend when we were kids.”

“Oh, man, I kinda miss those poofy dresses. I think I could still rock on, put it on top of the armor when I go out for patrol.”

Danny snickers. “Signal: the most well dressed vigilante in Gotham.”

“That’s me, baby!”

The last of the agonizing fear that’s choked him since he first talked to Dash finally melts away. Danny’s fine now. Everything’s okay; the GIW are done for and there’s plenty of people willing to look out for the Fentons. This will never happen again.

“Hey,” Danny says, voice suddenly turing more serious. “Send me your location. I wasn’t joking when I said I could fly over to you. And before you say anything! I do need it; Jazz and my parents are smothering me and I just need to get away from everything and pretend all of this never happened.”

The admission softens Duke, makes him shove away everything that tells him this is a bad idea, that Danny needs more rest first, that having Danny fly over alone and without warning any of the Bats fills Duke with anxiety. 

He does miss Danny. More than he can put into words.

“Yeah, okay,” he says at last. “Come meet me, Danny.”

He texts Danny the location of the Hatch before common sense tells him to be more careful with his base of operations. Not that it matters, anyways; if there’s anyone in the world he trusts with everything, it’s Danny. 

Then he sends the Bats a quick text saying he’s crashing in the Hatch and to not bother him until the sun is fully up two days from now. Oracle gives him a thumbs up emoji, which is a good guarantee that she will personally see to it that no non-emergency messages interrupt his rest and recovery time.

Duke has no idea how long it will take Danny to get to the Hatch, so he putters around, cleaning up the space and straightening it out in an attempt to keep busy enough that he doesn’t crash. Travel really takes it out of him. It’s one of the cons of being born and raised in Gotham: he doesn’t have the stamina to travel outside of it, especially when they were there and back in less than three days.

Thank god for Tim’s many motorcycles and his tendency to see the speed limit as a weak suggestion that can be ignored while on a mission.

Ultimately, the call of sleep is too strong to resist. 

One moment, Duke is sorting through files on the Hatch’s computer, and the next moment, he’s face down on a bed with his face shoved into a pillow. 

Blearly, he manages to pull his phone out of his pocket and send Danny a typo-ridden text that hopefully gets across the message of might be asleep so just come in, don’t wait for me to answer the door.

He’s out like a light as soon as it sends. The last thing Duke registers is his phone dropping out of his hand and falling against the mattress with a little bounce.

When he begins to wake up, something’s changed. As much as he wants to go back to sleep, awareness comes back to him slowly and Duke forces himself to claw his way out of unconsciousness to figure out what, exactly, is bothering him so much. Until he figures out what’s changed in the room, he won’t be able to sleep because he’ll be worried about someone breaking in.

His mind comes back online long before his body does. It’s only when he tries to move that Duke realizes he’s no longer alone on the bed; there’s someone wrapped up in his arms, body temperature a little too cool to be a normal human.

Blinking open his eyes, Duke looks down at the head of messy black hair and feels Danny’s soft breath ghost across his chest. 

“Danny?” he manages to say, voice rough with sleep. 

Danny hums and doesn’t move.

“Hey, look up. Let me see if you’re really alright.”

“Mmm, no,” Danny mumbles, burrowing his face into Duke’s chest some more. “‘m sleepy.”

A good argument. Duke is also sleepy. 

“Fine,” he says, “Check in the morning, then. G’night, Danny.”

“Night, Duke. Thanks for saving me.”

He tightens his grip on Danny, contentment burning warm in his chest. “Always, Danny. I’ll always save you.”

That’s why he’s a hero, after all. To save others, to reach a hand out to everyone the way he needed when he was younger. To keep the people he loves safe. To make sure Danny always finds a way back to him. 

This is what makes all the pain of this lifestyle worth it.

Danny makes everything worth it.

(@yourlocalcorviddad tagging to make sure you see this!)

[tinydefector]

Hello Tiny, I heard about the question board and I’m not sure if my question disappeared. If this is not the case, feel free to ignore this message.

I noticed there aren't many stories about Blurr or, more specifically, about Blurr and humans. I was wondering if you'd be interested in writing a story with him. I think he’d be the type who loves compliments, and although he doesn’t show it on the outside, he’s really interested in humans.

HE IS SEXY💖😭💖

Strange meetings

Blurr x human reader

Word count:1.5k

Warnings: none

Ahhhh sorry this took so long, mind you still trying to figure out hoe I like to write blurr but couldn't pass on the Swerve fanboy moment.

I hope you enjoy it Woose and I'll do some more reading on him and hopefully get some comics on him so I can write him better in the future.

_______________

Blurr's optics are focused on the strange little organic stands off to the side of the bar. Humans... they were fascinating things, he didn't often get to see or interact with them and the fact that there was one on this ship was rather surprising. 

They are rather caught up talking to the bot that is bartending, a smile across their lips as they chat away eagerly with the minibot. The bartender has his face rested in his servo as he eagerly replies. 

Blurr glances over at the human with a flicker of curiosity in his optic, Humans were such a rarity on Cybertron - he had never had the chance to interact with them directly, he wasn't expecting to see them on the Lost Light. 

Swerve follows Blurr's gaze, grinning as he leans back down to his friend, in the midst of regaling the human with yet another wild tale from his "pre war" days when he caught Blurr's gaze drifting over from across the bar. The speedster's optics were fixed squarely on the human sitting with Swerve, his expression unreadable.

The minibots visor brightened with a smile. "Oooh, primus he's here, his optics are on you," he said before shoving his servo into his mouth to stop the sound the excited squeal he nearly let out, giving the human a nudge. Once he had calm down enough he speaks again.

 "You know Blurr is a very big celebrity on Cybertron." He leaned in closer, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial murmur. Swerve glanced back over at Blurr. "Maybe I should introduce you two? I'm sure he'd love to chat." He hums. 

It makes them chuckle softly. "A fan huh?" They tease Swerve.  Swerve let out a nervous laugh, his field practically vibrating. "A fan? Oh, you have no idea!" He leaned in even closer, his voice dropping.

"Blurr's actually been a hero of mine for centuries. I used to follow his races back in the day, you know. Went to all his matches, collected his autographs, the whole nine yards." He glanced back over at Blurr, who was still watching them intently from across the bar. 

"In fact, I even tried to get him to go into the bar business with me once, before the war. Figured we'd make an unstoppable team, me with my metallurgy skills, and him with his... well, everything." He chuckled and shook his head.

 "Of course, that never ended up happening. But let me tell you, the day he first spoke to me I swear, I thought my spark was gonna short out from excitement!"

Swerve turned back to the human, his field pulsing with excitement. "So yeah, you could definitely say I'm a bit of a fanbot when it comes to Blurr. Probably always will be, if I'm being honest." He shot another sly glance in the racer's direction. "Although, who knows - maybe I can finally get that bar partnership off the ground, hmm?”

They take notice of Blurr making his way over. "Hmm, he's pretty. Drinks says I can get more than an autograph. " they wager teasingly. Swerve's visor brightened comically as he watched Blurr start making his way over to their corner of the bar. "Wait, you mean to tell me you think you can - " he cut himself off, shaking his head rapidly.

 "No no no, you definitely don't want to go down that road, my friend. Blurr? He's, uh... he's kind of a big shot, you know?" 

Swerve leaned in closer. "I mean, sure, he's plenty good-looking. But trust me, you do not want to try and get that kind of attention from him." He gave the human a significant look. "Blurr's way out of our league, if you catch my drift."

As the racer drew nearer, Swerve's field flared with barely contained fanboy fervour. "Oh Primus, here he comes!" he hissed under his breath. "Just, just let me do the talking, okay?"

Straightening up, Swerve plastered on his most winning smile as Blurr approached their table. "Blurr! Fancy seeing you here in my humble establishment." He gestured grandly to the human beside him. "I, uh, I don't think you two have met. This is my friend  " he paused, shooting the human a mildly panicked look, not really knowing how to continue.

"Hello? Blurr right? It's nice to meet you " They call out with a smile towards the Blue speedster before turning their attention back to watching Swerve. 

Blurr nods, his optics briefly sweeping over the human's form. "Yes, my designation is Blurr.” it takes the mech a few moments of just looking them over in curiosity before he speaks again. 

 I haven't encountered one of your kind before. What is your designation? And how did you end up here, on the Lost Light?" He asked, sounding rather shy with his inquiry. 

Swerve chuckles. "Ah, the human doesn't have a Cybertronian Designation - they go by [ Name]. As for how they got here... well, that's a bit of a long story. Let's just say they've become quite the fixture around here."

It earns an eye roll from them towards Swerve, a small smile on their lips as they watch him try desperately to make small talk. 

Blurr hums thoughtfully, his processor rapidly cataloguing the new information. "Interesting. I'll have to make sure to remember that."

"Swerve your getting side tracked again" they laugh as they watch the smaller mech, still waiting for their next drink.

Blurr glances briefly at Swerve, who's already returned to mixing the human's drink, then redirects his attention back to them. "I must admit, I don't often have the opportunity to interact with your people."

Blurr tilts his head slightly, his optics studying the human with unabashed curiosity. They are very different from what he had expected when he had been told about humans. They are dressed in what looks like a uniform, it fits to their frame, they look much softer than he expected as well. 

" How did you come to be here? I thought humans only stayed on earth." He leans in just a bit, his field thrumming with a blend of fascination and cautious friendliness. This human was an unexpected discovery, and Blurr was eager to learn all he could about them.

"I'm a member of the Galactica union, there's a few of us humans around the ship. We work alongside the Lost Light helping set up communication points and shipping docks, the Ambassador is our lead officer" They explain but settle in.

 "Thanks Swervy" they hum happily before enjoying a sip of their drink. “Beautiful as always, going to put David out of his job” they tease which makes the minibot fluster as his engine chokes. 

Blurr's optics widen slightly at the human's explanation, his processor whirring as he processes the new information. "The Galactica union? Fascinating. And you work in tandem with the crew of the Lost Light?"

He's thoroughly intrigued by this human's presence, eager to glean as much insight as possible about their kind and their role on the Lost Light. Interacting with non-Cybertronians was a rare occurrence for Blurr, and he was determined to make the most of this opportunity.

They hum again for a moment before turning their full attention to Blurr.  "We are mainly here to keep things peaceful, kinda a peace keeper sort of ordeal. But also to be Able to find new resources for earth and forge new alliances" they explain. "What about you, your not one of the Lost lights locals I haven't seen you around before" they hum, deciding to play dumb with the knowledge Swerve had told them about the blue speedster. 

He leans in a bit closer. " I'm not a regular crew member of the Lost Light. I'm actually visiting when I heard the ship had returned and was hoping to catch Hotrod. He's a friend" 

“Oh well I don't know if you will catch him, he's been quite busy recently” they explain only for Swerve to speak up. “Don't you mean he's chasing after the Ambassador like a turbo fox in heat, like half the ship” he teases. 

It earns a shocked look from the blue mech, his intake hangs open. It earns a laugh from both Swerve and the human. “opsie, right new to the whole ordeal, half the ship seems rather invested in umm interspecies relations” they explain to him. 

Blurr offers the human a faint, but still shocked smile. "I.. I wasn't expecting that, your presence here has piqued my interest but not that way. I'd be most intrigued to learn more about your kind and your involvement with our affairs. Perhaps we could exchange information - I have much to share about Cybertron and the wider landscape and culture." He begins his speech beginning to sound much quicker and almosted ‘blurred’ together. 

He pauses, canting his head slightly. "That is, if you're willing to indulge my curiosity. I imagine the life of a Galactica representative must be quite eventful." 

"I'd be more than willing to if you can keep up with my questions" they tease, a small glint in their eyes. Blurr's field flares with amusement at the human's teasing challenge. "Keeping up, you say?" he replies, a playful lilt to his voice. "I'll have you know my processors are more than equipped to handle even the most rapid-fire inquiries."

_________________________

Let me know if you would like to be added to tag list (tagged for every fic)

Taglist

@angelxcvxc

@wosemoose1

@savvy-the-mad-scientist

@saturnhas82moons

@horizonartist980

@murkyponds

@buddee

@bubblyjoonjoon

@chaihena

@pyreemo

@lovenotcomputed

@mskenway97

@delectableworm

@cheesecaketyrant

@ladyofnegativity

@desertrosesmetaldune

@stellasfallow

@coffee-or-hot-cocoa

@shinseiokami

@tea-loving-frog

@aquaioart

@daniel-meyer-03

@pupap123

@dannyaleksis

@averysillylittlefellow

@rosielecktor

@shurushurubanban

@strawberrydutchling

@azuragalaxya

@dumpster-fae

@simp-sentral

@smallestapplin

@starscreamloverfr

@doodle-dongs

@natchayaphorn

@askcookieanon

@aerisvirtue

@horizonartist980

@soulless-nocturnal-raccoon

@gracebear

@lilliaslonghair

@rabies10

@alextheknight707

@chershire23

@goretechnician

@witchygod

@therealholyloaf

[ambriel-angstwitch]

Tim Drake Pride Thoughts Part 2

Link to Part 1 for those interested

I love Tim’s internal monologue and how it’s visualized on the page. The way he’s in the Robin costume even though he’s not actually and then it fades away.

Gosh his identity issues. His need to save people and self destructive tendencies. I love him.

Then Tim beats the crap out of the unsuspecting cultist and steals their stuff like a boss but it wasn’t shown we just cut to the cult after the reveal of the multiple “chaos gods”

I love that he says what would Batman do like it’s what would Jesus do. He even acronynmed it earlier. I used to have those bracelets.

Tim’s always trying to fill a role and that’s so fascinating. Robin was just a role that needed filling that he just happened to be able to do but now that there’s another person in that spot he’s trying to emulate Batman since he’s working alone and Batman’s his idol.

Oh also the fact that it was Bernard who was about to be sacrificed is interesting. Like he’s one of the most recent kidnappings so it’s interesting that they’d choose him

Also the fact that Tim is taking the Tim to judge them when his friend/crush is literally about to be sacrificed. Can’t stop being a hater I guess.

Love that Bernard is a fanboy just like Tim was.

Also Tim’s little gay panic there. He holds a boys hand and is immediately like “Is it supposed to be this warm?”

Love how Bernard immediately notices that Tim’s acting different it could be due to his Robin obsession but I also just think it’s cool how easily he understands him.

Bernard really just almost got sacrificed and pops up ready to fight. He’s probably been waiting to fight alongside Robin for a long time since he is a fanboy

Oh Timmy Batman isn’t alone and you don’t have to be either. You have the Batfam. I find it silly that this idea is coming from Mr. “Batman needs a robin” himself.

Though perhaps he doesn’t mean physically alone. Because the Batfam isn’t keen to share their problems. They tend to try to be islands. Each individually dealing with their issues and hurts rather than opening up and leaning on eachother. They’ve learned their poor emotional communication from the best.

Close enough welcome back Arthur Pendragon!

I have talked to friends and I have confirmed that I’m not the only one who thinks that first panel looks like Arthur (Come to think of it Tim looks kind of like Merlin too. Reincarnation au?)

Anyways I promise I had an actual thought regarding this interaction too. I love how Bernard is telling his crush to tell his crush that he wished they’d finished their date. Tim is just internalizing this and probably with that last word realizing what they could be.

Like I said Tim’s having realizations.

Also I just love this page layout. The different sizes and shapes to represent the chaotic-ness of a fight. Bernard being the focus of the biggest moment to visually show the lightbulb moment and Tim’s fixation of him. Both of them just being flashes of certain moments almost like we’re Tim or Bernard glancing at the other to see what their doing. Ahhh! I love it!

More Tim tech lingo! I love the focus on Tim being Techie and how that can cause him to think differently like he’s also just a computer with simple problems to fix. His realization that he’s different. That sure he didn’t realize he was Bi before but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t

I know that the whole Batfam not choosing being vigilantes is a thinly veiled metaphor for Tim’s being queer (which is kind of funny because I feel like that almost implies that the rest of the Batfam is queer or maybe it’s just the inherent queer subtext of hidden identities), but also I do think that the police has a point in them not really choosing the vigilante life I mean sure they theoretically could have not been vigilantes, but it’s just a fundamental part of who they are so even if the law tells them not to they’re not going to turn back now. I don’t think any of them at the beginning could have seen the pain and problems that they did and not tried to fix it.

Also the I want over Bernard and how the next page is going to be him.

And that’s the adorable conclusion. I love them! The way their figuring it out together! They’re both new to this. I love when couples don’t have to have it figured out. There’s no one right way to have a relationship

[ficsilike-reblogged]

Invisible Smoke - One

Summary: There is something going on with Jake’s favorite mechanic.  Pairing: Jake “Hangman” Seresin/F!Reader Word Count: 6.7k 

A/N: Tentatively dipping into the TGM fandom after months of lurking. I do subscribe to the belief that Jake likes women who are a bit mean to him, so I hope you enjoy that dynamic, too! I’m sure there will be general Naval inaccuracies but I tried. I grew up on Air Force bases so if I use an incorrect term, I apologize! Please let me know what you think! Trigger Warnings: This series will touch on themes of stalking, domestic violence, and attempted murder (not committed by Jake). Please do not read if this will upset you. You are responsible for the content you consume.

It started slow.

For as long as Jake had known you, which was just over a year give or take, you had never been a jumpy person but everything now seemed to have your eyes darting from one corner of the hangar to the other, from one table at the Hard Deck to the next, as if you were waiting for something or someone to appear and do something.

But what was it?

Some Ensign fresh off the boat dropped a tray of beers and nearly had you leaping from your seat beside the pool tables before you settled again, an unsteady and unconvincing smile on your face when Jake turned to you. Your smile twitched, as did your grasp on the drink (which you swore was actually called Bee’s Knees) in your hand.

“What is going on with you?” He asked, after shoving the pool stick into Coyote’s hand for a moment to step to your side.

Your smile continued to twitch but you shook your head. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” You took a sip of your pastel yellow drink before setting it aside to wrap a hand over his arm and squeeze once. “Go back to your game, Jake. I’m okay.”

Jake didn’t believe you. Mostly because that was probably the first time you said his name without an accompanying smirk.

He didn’t believe you when he saw you murmur something to Rooster a few minutes later and the man quickly drained the rest of his beer before leading you out to the parking lot with a hand on your back and then Rooster came back in alone. He didn’t believe you when you only gave him a thumbs up emoji when he asked if you got home okay. He didn’t believe you when you said you weren’t feeling well and wouldn’t be able to make it to the beach for brunch with the Daggers on Sunday morning.

Something was going on with you and Jake was determined to find out what. After all, you were his favorite mechanic. And, apparently, you were also Rooster’s. And Bob’s. And Phoenix’s, too. Even Maverick had a soft spot for you and Payback, Coyote, and Fanboy were quickly growing attached, as well. He wouldn’t be surprised if the entirety of the Dagger Squad preferred you to the other mechanics. And no, Jake didn’t hate that at all. After he’d been called back to Top Gun and then the Dagger Squad had been made into a permanent detachment, Jake had noticed that you were…special.

And that was the only word he would allow himself to call you. Well, aside from “Punch,” your unofficially-official nickname around base because you’d once dropped a punch toolkit on an admiral’s foot, according to Rooster.

Jake’s first glimpse of you had been at the hangar a few days into the uranium mission training and you and Rooster had snuck off to some deserted hallway. Jake, of course, had followed, thinking he was going to have something to needle his cohort with but instead he saw you–in your mechanic’s jumpsuit and engine oil on your cheek basically scolding the pilot. “You are so fucking lucky he didn’t wash you out with that attitude.”

“He-”

“Stop. Show him you were always meant to be here. Be the best damn fighter pilot he’s ever seen and nothing else.”

Rooster was quiet for a moment before nodding, his chin nearly falling to his chest. You sighed and quickly wrapped him in a hug, only smiling when Rooster kissed your cheek and whispered something in your ear.

You had a similar, secretive meeting with Bob in the shadows of an unused classroom on base a few days later when Harvard and Yale were busy getting their asses handed to them by Mav. Jake had stepped out to grab something from his locker to show Javy when he spotted you…and Bob looking quite chummy as you whispered to each other as you looked at something on his phone. Jake stopped looking (like a creep) when you murmured something to Bob which apparently earned you a kiss to the temple in return.

And the first time he heard you laugh was when you were looking over Phoenix’s new plane after that fateful birdstrike. Your nose scrunched with it, head tipped back and sun shining on your face. The noise grew louder after Phoenix said something else and you nearly lost your grip on the wrench in your hand.

Those three had kept you like a secret. And Jake had wanted to know why. You were funny and smart and maybe a little mean. “Kill Streak Ken Doll” had apparently been your nickname for him before being properly introduced and it only came back out when he said something you thought was stupid. “That plastic head of yours is full of air today, huh, Ken?” But you were always happy to make sure the Squad got home safe after a night of drinking, well earned after a hard training day. You were usually the first one anyone called if they needed a lift or a favor or just a shoulder to lean on. And Jake was no exception. Once he had earned your friendship with gentle prodding and Snickers ice cream (but he would wager that saving Rooster may have contributed to your softening to him), he wasn’t sure what he would do without—without you—even if you did seem to make it a personal mission to keep his ego in check. All of the Daggers knew their relationship with you was bordering on inappropriate—you were enlisted instead of an officer. A subordinate to their ranks. And several years younger than most of them. You were one of the few tasked with maintaining the internal mechanics of the million dollar jets they piloted. But there was just something about you that didn’t allow them to keep you away.

God. You were…special.

**

This was better. This was safer. At least that was what you told yourself. You’d skipped out on the brunch date on the beach with the Daggers to put another three locks on your door. Your landlord didn’t mind, thankfully, but the man at the hardware store that had rung up your purchase definitely thought you were insane.

As you finished with the last lock and then added the three keys to your ring, your phone chirped with a new text. It was from Jake, asking if you needed anything since you’d told everyone you weren’t feeling well to get out of the beach get-together. You typed out a half-hearted, Unlike you, I know how to operate a can opener so I can have soup. But thanks anyway! X Was it your best retort? No. But you were running on four hours of sleep and a cup of green tea. And it wasn’t as if Jake was unaccustomed to your shitty attitude. There was just something about him that had your hackles raising and your sarcasm and snark were your only line of defense. Which was ridiculous because he was nice to you! So nice! And funny! And kind when he wanted to be. He always said please and thank you when you picked up beers for the beach or when you were assigned his super hornet for the day. He was nice. Maybe a little (a lot) cocky. Maybe a little arrogant.

But god he was beautiful. A good friend. And special in a way you didn’t like to think about. And you were 99% sure he’d caught you ogling his arms and hands an embarrassing amount of times when your resolution slipped and your daydreams had run rampant for more than a moment.

And that was exactly why you knew you needed to keep him at arm's length. You had enough people tangled up in your bullshit.

Your eyes dragged over to the crumpled note sitting on the edge of your small dining table. It was almost pathetic how easily a simple piece of paper and a bit of ink had upended your life. It had been stuck beneath your windshield wiper when your car was parked outside your favorite off-base grocery store. One you had frequented for nearly two and a half years. You were supposed to be safe. You thought you had been. Maybe that’s why you had let your guard down. You weren’t as vigilant.

See you soon

Three little words and your world had turned upside down.

**

Monday morning had been a blur of meetings and paperwork. Jake had been stuck filling out forms about possible training exercises for the next week. Maverick had tasked each of them with coming up with new ways to approach various targets and Jake had a sneaking suspicion that the Dagger Squad would be asked to teach a lesson or two to the next Top Gun class.

He called it quits on his near-impossible flight plans around lunch and wandered toward the minuscule break room to retrieve his food but paused as he heard Maverick call your name. You swept by the break room, leaving behind a scent of gardenias and sunshine that almost always had Jake’s mouth curling at the corners, and moved further down the hall. So, Jake crept closer to the break room door, chicken and broccoli forgotten for a moment. He had to strain to hear anything above a low murmur and eventually gave up and stepped back into the hall, trying to stuff down the realization that he’d followed you too many times for this to be considered friendly curiosity. But he ignored that, too. Just like how he could only call you special. A few yards away, he spotted you, back turned as you spoke to Maverick just outside the captain’s office.

Maverick’s brow pinched as you shook your head, wiping a hand down your face. He said something else before squeezing your arm once and walking away, thankfully turning the other way so he didn’t spot Jake lurking like a creep. And Jake waited exactly eighteen seconds before approaching you, watching as your shoulders slumped.

“You okay?”

You jumped, again, before a familiar smirk settled on your lips. “Checking up on me?”

“That so hard to believe?”

You hummed, fingers fiddling with the uniform button at your neck as your gaze flittered away. “I’m fine, Jake. Promise.”

“What did Mav want?”

Just for a moment, you faltered, before you slapped an exaggerated pout on your features and you set a hand on your hip. “Poor guy. He asked me to be his and Penny’s third. Had to turn him down. But you’ve got a thing for them, don’t you? I can put in a good word for you.”

Jake suppressed a sigh and moved to set a hand on your shoulder when you flinched.

Flinched.

It took the air right out of Jake’s lungs. “Hey, I-I wasn’t going to…I wasn’t going to hit you.”

Your hands curled into fists at your sides for a moment before quickly releasing. “Yeah, I know, Ken. I know.” The usual heat was absent from the nickname. “Just been jumpy lately.”

“I noticed.” A lot.

“Nothing gets past you, huh? I knew there was more to you than a pretty face.” Your smirk didn’t stretch quite as far across your face as it usually did. This wasn’t fun and something twisted behind his ribs when the last vestiges of your smirk fizzled out as you turned and crooked a finger over your shoulder at him. “Is there something you needed, Lieutenant?” You asked as you led him down the hall toward your office, a small little room compared to his, grouped near the rest of the Aviation Machinist Mates stationed here—why the Navy shortened your official title to “AD” was just ridiculous to Jake but that was neither here nor there.

“Do you have the maintenance logs for the incoming class?” He asked, knowing you’d have them; he didn’t actually need them but it wasn’t as if he could admit to…well, anything. Not even to himself. You didn’t seem to suspect any ulterior motives and quickly pulled them from the cabinet and handed them over. He stole some candy from the bowl beside your keyboard as he looked over the printouts, not reading a damn word. Not when you were so close, flooding his senses with the scent of gardenias and your laughter was in his ear.

“I’m surprised you eat anything with sugar.”

“Why?” He asked, closing the useless folder shut with a snap and tucking it beneath his arm.

You waved a hand at him as if that would answer his question as you settled in your little chair behind the desk. “Well, I guess your abs really are plastic then.”

He had a retort. He did, truly. But it faded away as he caught sight of the small collection of pictures arranged neatly on the corner of your desk. There was one of you and Bob—you were in a (short) dress Jake had never seen and you were pressing a kiss to his cheek hard enough to knock his glasses askew with a birthday cake aglow in front of him. The next was of you and Rooster, looking like you were standing just outside the annual Naval Ball celebrations if Rooster’s whites and your beautiful gown were any indication. Then there was you and Phoenix standing in front of Phoenix’s jet. You had a helmet with Punch written across the top tucked beneath your arm and the biggest smile on your face. Jake had never seen you smile that wide. But it was the last picture that gave Jake pause. It was of you wrapping your arms around a man Jake had never seen, who was wearing a graduation cap and gown; the man was smiling broadly and you were looking at him with all the adoration you could muster, a gentle smile on your lips. Another woman, who looked just enough like you to give him even more questions, had her arms wrapped around both you and the mystery guy, a large smile on her face.

Jake grasped at the small frame and turned toward you, trying to ignore how it felt like someone had taken a bat to his stomach for the second time in five minutes. “Who’s this?”

You grabbed the picture from him with a frown and set it back down in its spot, fussing around the frames for a moment. “That’s my brother and sister.”

“I didn’t know you had siblings.”

You shrugged but didn’t look at him. “You never asked. Is there something else you need?”

Yeah. There were dozens of things he needed. And right now most of them revolved around you. “No, Punch. But thanks for this.” He drummed his fingers against the folder and tried not to grimace when you didn’t look up from your computer as he neared the office door.

For all the time he spent thinking about you, he didn’t know you at all, did he?

**

You needed to get more sleep. All the tea you were inhaling to make up for the lack of rest was starting to grate on you. The work you were handling on the Dagger Squad’s planes was slower, mostly because you were worried about missing something, but you were still methodical when double checking everything. You knew that your work kept your aviators safe; skipping corners because you didn’t sleep well wasn’t an option. So, if your counterparts looked at you funny for staring at your punches or wrenches for a beat or two too long, you didn’t really care. You left late for lunch and came back early. You didn’t leave your post until a full two and a half hours later than you usually did, but, again, you didn’t mind. You felt safe in the hangar and making sure everyone was safe when in the air was enough to keep you coherent and focused on your job. Everything else didn’t matter when you had a tool in your hand and your head buried in a jet engine.

But when you stepped out of the locker room shower, engine oil still circling the drain, your mind almost immediately conjured the thought of the tracking device you’d found in your rear wheel well this morning. It had been sheer luck that you even spotted it, the sun hitting the silver duct tape just right as you locked your door. In a moment of panic, you ripped it off your car and stuck it on one of the trash cans near the hangar. It wouldn’t help anything—he probably already knew where you lived but at least now he would have a few days spent trying to figure out why you were going back and forth between the hangar and the dump. It was a minuscule solace.

You climbed into your car with a muted groan just as your phone chirped, reminding you that you had several unread messages. You opened them and a wave of self-loathing washed over you. Natasha, Bob, Bradley, and Jake had all invited you out to the Hard Deck for drinks. It’s been a shitty day! Tasha’s read. She had no idea and you weren’t about to tell her. You apologized to them all, copy and pasting your response, telling them you’d buy a round next time but you were too tired tonight. It was easy enough. But Jake had responded before you could even throw your phone into the passenger seat.

Do you need anything?

You tapped your phone against your mouth for a moment, hating the urge to tell him anything…everything. Instead, you typed out: Sleep, Ken. I need sleep. Reading comprehension isn’t your strong suit.

You tossed your phone into the cup holder in the center console and pulled out of the hangar’s parking lot, hoping that there’d be no more surprises tonight.

**

Jake stared down at his phone and frowned at your message. You were really off your game. And had been for too long. Something was wrong.

“You’re up, Bagman.”

Jake looked up to see Phoenix holding a pool cue out to him. But he didn’t move to take it. “Does Punch seem off to you lately?”

Phoenix frowned, grip tightening on the cue for a moment. “She’s tired. That’s what she said, right?”

Jake nodded but glanced down at his phone again, as if willing it to light up with another message. But all he saw was his face staring back at him in the reflection. Now, Jake had been working on being nicer since the Dagger Squad had become a permanent detachment. These people would have his back and counted on him to have theirs. It had been slow going, Jake would admit. His best friend was still Javy and the others were happy to remind him of his shortcomings whenever Hangman superseded Jake. But he knew they all cared about each other in a strange, ragtag family type of way. They cared about you. They knew you. “How do you know her? I mean, you obviously knew her before we were all stationed here.”

The woman paused for a moment, as if she was contemplating actually telling him, before shrugging. “We were stationed together in Hawaii. My then-girlfriend tried to cheat on me with her,” Phoenix said, breezily as she took the seat next to him. “I walked in on them. Poor Punch didn’t know I existed before the near-hook up and apologized like ten times on her way out and then tracked me down at the hangar the next day with six different drinks from the coffee shop because she wanted to apologize properly but didn’t know my favorite. She was just so…”

“Punch.” That was you, doing too much to make up for something that wasn’t your fault and weaseling your way into someone’s affections without even meaning to do so. You’d also accidentally revealed your bisexuality to the rest of the Dagger Squad during a ramble when you thought you’d stepped on Fanboy’s toes by insinuating he had a girlfriend. (You only stopped when Phoenix patted your hand with a laugh and said she understood with a wink.)

Phoenix laughed. “Yeah, she was just so Punch. Couldn’t be mad at her if I tried. And it seemed like we both needed a friend.” She shook her head, a fond smile on her face, before she glanced up. “Bob, you met Punch on deployment, didn’t you?”

Jake looked up to see Bob standing near him, a cup of peanuts in one hand, pool cue in the other. Jake stopped being surprised by Bob’s stealthy movements only a few months ago. The WSO nodded. “She was the only one who remembered my birthday and set up a video call with my family to surprise me. There was also an attempt at a cake but that didn’t end well.”

“She can’t bake?” Jake asked, not caring at all. He could bake. His specialty was a Victoria sponge.

Bob smiled, the smallest curling of the corners of his mouth. “Nearly set the kitchens on fire. And then she got mad at me when I actually tried to eat it. Now, if we’re both stateside for my birthday, she makes sure to have a cake sent to me from whatever bakery is nearest my base if she can’t make it out herself.”

Something in Jake’s chest twisted. Special. You were special.

And Jake hadn’t realized he said that out loud until Bob was agreeing with him. “She is.”

“You think there’s something going on with her?” Phoenix asked.

“She seems tired,” Bob said, voice level. “Why do you ask?” Leave it to Bob to be tactfully evasive.

“You know, you should ask Rooster. He’s known her the longest.” Phoenix called the man in question over before Jake could even try to stop her. And Bradshaw fucking sauntered over, stupid Hawaiian shirt flapping with each step. He must have a cache of them in the Bronco.

“What do you need, Trace?” He asked, his usual small smile on his face.

“Hangman’s been asking about Punch. You met her first, right?”

Bradshaw stiffened for a moment. “Yeah. She was fresh out of training and stationed with me in South Carolina. We met up again in the desert a few years later.” Jake didn’t like how the other man crossed his arms with a frown after answering. “You trying to pull something, Bagman?”

And Jake definitely didn’t like that either. Would that be so bad? Really? “I’m just worried about her, Rooster. She’s been off.”

At least Phoenix seemed to be on his side, jamming the end of her pool cue into Rooster’s foot, earning a frown before his hand knocked it away. “She has been a little quiet lately.”

Jake caught the look Rooster gave Bob before he turned back to the group. “Has she said anything to you guys?”

“No. That’s why I was asking.” Jake stared at Bradshaw and Bradshaw stared right back. He could have asked what he was hiding or why he immediately got defensive when questioned about you.

But Fanboy walked up with a quick, “are you guys just gonna hold the pool cues all night or are you actually going to play?” and the opportunity was gone, Bob slipping away and Phoenix pulling Rooster along as she stepped toward the pool tables.

Jake glanced down at his phone again. Still no message. He may have learned something about you, but now he just had more questions.

**

This was fine. Everything was fine.

It had been about a week and you hadn’t received any other notes or discovered anything else. And you still couldn’t sleep. It felt like you were standing on the edge of a cliff and just waiting to fall. Waiting for something to happen. Work was your refuge and the trip you took out to visit Missus Kazansky for dinner. She had held your face in her hands as you set aside your bowl of half-finished ice cream and had tried to pry, in her soft-toned motherly way, “you’re looking a little tired, sweetheart. Something you want to tell me?”

And maybe you could have told her. The Kazansky family had been good to you since you had been stationed here, a family that welcomed you with open arms; you had tried to repay their kindness as best you could and you weren’t about to put more on Sarah’s plate. It had only been a year since Tom’s passing. They had done more than enough for you. You could handle this on your own, right? “I’m okay. Just been helping Bradley take his mind off his promotion boards.” And Tasha. And Bob. In some strange twist of fate, the Navy had determined that the entirety of the Dagger Squad was eligible for promotion. While there was little you could do aside from helping them improve their running times and how many push-ups they could do, you still tried to be optimistic on their behalf and distracted them with dinners in the break room on base and a late night run down to the beach for drinks under the stars.

“That’s right! He’s up for Lieutenant Commander, isn’t he? Such a smart boy.”

By the time you left, Sarah had heard all about the Dagger Squad’s adventures in pushing the envelope (and rising Admiral Simpson’s blood pressure) in their dogfight maneuvers and you had learned that the Kazansky kids were doing well—Junior had proposed to his girlfriend (a young woman named Taylor who you had met a handful of times) and Lily was sailing through the last semester of her undergraduate program and was already being wooed by some big wigs in the Navy who knew her last name. It was good and lovely and a bubble of security that popped the moment you buckled yourself into your car.

A quick glance in your rear view mirror as you went to throw your car into reverse had you nearly screaming. A shadowed figure of a man was standing at the end of the driveway, tall and menacing. A knock at your window had you jumping but you pressed a smile to your face when you saw Sarah waiting on the other side. Rolling down your window, you asked, “did I forget something?”

She waved the question away as you chanced a glance in your rear view mirror again—the man was gone. “It completely slipped my mind but I’m throwing an engagement party for Junior and Taylor next Friday. You’ll come, won’t you? It has been too long since I’ve had all of you in one place.”

You could never say no to Sarah and you were nodding before she even finished. “Of course. Just let me know if you need me to help with anything.”

Sarah shook her head with a small smile. “You are always so willing to help, sweetheart. I just want you to have a good time. It’ll just be here at the house, starts at 7. Invite a friend to come with you,” she added with a knowing smile.

“I’ll be there.” You hated that a tremor marred the last word, shaking it between your teeth.

But Sarah didn’t seem to hear it as another smile graced her features and she tapped her knuckles on the edge of your window. “Perfect.”

After shooing her back inside and making her promise to lock the door, you sucked in another breath and looked back. If you were expecting the man to be there again or not, you couldn’t tell. But the driveway was empty and you drove home, ignoring how your fingers shook on the steering wheel. Maybe it was just someone out for a walk, making sure you didn’t run them over. Maybe it wasn’t him.

It wasn’t him.

It wasn’t him.

It wasn’t him.

You repeated it to yourself until you slipped into a fitful sleep, and you continued to repeat it to yourself as you tightened and tweaked various bits and pieces on Bradley’s jet as the Dagger Squad each took a turn to speak to the incoming Top Gun class that you had, honestly, forgotten about. It was a mantra through the rest of the week; a small solace was that everyone else seemed to be on edge, too, as they waited for their results. The voice only went quiet when Bob wrapped you in a hug at five-thirty in the morning, beating you to the hangar on Friday, and murmured that the entire Dagger Squadron had been selected for promotion. They’d made it.

“I’m so proud of you,” you whispered as you returned the hug.

“Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I’m sure you would’ve been just fine, Bobert,” you said as you pulled back with a shake of your head.

He tried to scowl at the nickname and pressed a finger against your nose until you knocked his hand away with a smile. “Seriously, Punch. Thank you.”

That was all it took, really. Seeing your friends happy pushed everything else to the back of your mind. The work day was all but lost as everyone was buzzing with excitement which only heightened when Admiral Simpson gave the Dagger Squad free reign in the skies for a few hours to celebrate, the barest hints of a smile on his face. Celebratory drinks were basically demanded when the day finished and Tasha and Callie made you promise to show up with matching, pleading looks that you could never say no to, even if you wanted. So, as the sun started to set, you stepped out of your little car, feeling bits of sand shift beneath your shoes, and toward the Hard Deck that was already teeming with Naval Aviators and other sailors, ready to celebrate the end of the week and the shiny new pins they’d soon have on their collars.

Bradley wrapped you in a hug just before you stepped up to the bar and spun you around and held you tight as his laughter rumbled in your ear. His mustache brushed across your temple before he pressed a quick kiss to your skin, feeling him smile. “You’ll be there, won’t you? When I get those little leaves?”

You snorted at the way he referenced the new rank insignias he would get. “‘Course. Wouldn’t miss it.” Not if you could help it.

**

The Navy had a lot of strange customs and regulations, but the “wetting-down” celebration was probably one of the loudest. Whenever an officer was promoted, a party was thrown and it was customary to hear razzing speeches from friends, sometimes family, and commanding officers while the recently promoted paid for everything. Maverick had taken the first speech, followed by Hondo, and even Cyclone got up to say a few words, his green eyes just barely hazing with the to shelf alcohol he’d been nursing all night. A few of the ground crew managed to snag the microphone next and sang a gloriously off key rendition of the Village People’s “In The Navy.”

And Jake did try to take it all in. Really, he did. But something he wouldn’t and couldn’t name had him searching for you in the crowd. He wasn’t sure where you found the time to change but Jake wasn’t complaining. God. You were gorgeous. Always had been, always would be. But the dress you had on now was something special. Some sort of floral print on light blue fabric, pretty and understated. What was not understated was the way your breasts were straining against the top nor the slit that went to the middle of your right thigh, as if trying to balance out the length of the skirt that reached your calves.

And right now, you were sitting with Rooster at the piano, letting him teach you how to play. It was quieter than Rooster’s usual showboating performance and the jukebox was still rattling with some 80s Top 40 to mask the notes you couldn’t quite hit. But you were smiling and Jake took a swig of his beer as he turned back to the pool game—he and Javy were currently beating Harvard and Yale. As he lined up his next shot, he saw Rooster make you laugh and you leaned into his side for a moment. For the umpteenth time, something twisted behind Jake’s ribs. The ball sunk just as you stood from the piano bench and made your way toward Penny as she manned the bar.

And because luck or just plain talent (why not both) was on their side, Javy sank the eight ball next, winning the game. Yale called for an immediate rematch before Phoenix yanked the cue out of his hands and told him to tend to his bruised ego over darts. Jake barely heard any of it as he slid up to the bar after clapping Javy on the shoulder and let your perfume curl around him as he stood beside you; gardenias and musk was probably written on the bottle of whatever you sprayed on, but he could still smell the engine oil that lingered. It was just…you.

“And a Bee's Knees for you, Punch,” Penny said, sliding the pastel yellow drink in your direction.

“Thank you, Penny.”

You went to pull your wallet out of your purse when Jake handed over his card instead. “Put her little drink on my tab, Penny.”

Before Penny could move, you grabbed Jake’s card and tossed it over your shoulder. Penny stifled her surprised laugh behind her hand as Jake groaned and bent to pick up the card. If he took a little longer to stand straight because he appreciated how high the slit in your sundress was, that was between him and God.

“I don’t know if you’re aware, Punch,” Jake drawled as he reached his full height again, watching you tip the coupe glass toward your lips. “But I just made Lieutenant Commander. I can afford to buy you your fruity drink. And it is tradition that I buy the drinks.” Jake resisted the urge to smirk when your eyes tracked over him, lingering (if he was a betting man) on his arms as they crossed across his chest. But the saccharine smile pushing at your mouth quickly deflated any sort of satisfaction from knowing you were checking him out. It wasn’t the first time he’d caught you looking at him but you never seemed to let him enjoy that.

“Technically, any of the people who were just promoted could buy my drink.” And that was true. As if asking him to refute it, you pressed your side against the well-worn wood of the bar and arched a brow after you pulled a few bills from your purse and stuffed them in the tip jar. God, you were…special. Yeah. That was definitely the word Jake wanted to use. Special. “Could you put my drink on Bob’s tab, please?”

Penny’s eyes moved from you to Jake before nodding, fighting another smile. “Sure thing, Punch. He has the smallest tab right now anyway.”

And that was probably why you did it, not adding too much to someone else’s ledger. But still. “Would it kill you to let me buy you a drink?” Jake asked.

You shrugged and took another sip. “It might. Best not to tempt it.” And then he watched you walk away, hips swaying with each step.

Penny’s laugh had Jake nearly blushing as he turned back to the bar. “Can I get another round of-”

She waved him off, still smiling, and Jake knew not to take it personally. “You got it.”

The party carried on and Jake busied himself with dancing, more pool, and beating everyone who challenged him to a round of darts. But, he found himself still looking for you in the crowd and smiling when he heard your laugh. He almost missed an easy shot in a game against Phoenix and Halo when he spotted Bob trying to teach you how to two step while some old Tim McGraw song rattled out of the jukebox. You were bad at it, but you still laughed, and didn’t seem to mind when Bob set his hands on your hips and tried to correct, well, everything. When the song finished, you seemed to be excusing yourself for the night and moved to grab your purse from where it sat next to Halo’s and Phoenix’s bags. You started, as you always did, to make your rounds to say goodbye to everyone you knew. The last bunch was the group stationed near the pool tables and you happily accepted the hugs from Phoenix, Halo, and Javy, before turning toward him.

He could have accepted the hug you were going to give him, arms outstretched and waiting. He could have tucked his face into the curve of your neck and inhaled more of your gardenia perfume and then happily watched you walk away. But instead, he said, “lemme walk you out to your car.”

Again, you arched a brow as you glanced at the pool table. The game was clearly not finished. “Your southern gentleman schtick is not necessary, Ken. Don’t think I’ll get lost in the parking lot.”

“I am a gentleman.”

Both Phoenix and Halo scoffed, albeit good naturedly, but Jake did see Javy nodding in agreement out of the corner of his eye.

Your mouth twisted to the side and Jake knew you were trying not to smile, making that same twisting sensation engulf his chest. “Sure. I definitely believe that. But fine, you can walk me to my car. But when you get lost on your way back inside, you have to promise me to use all that special Naval training to get back to your game. You know which way is north, right?”

Jake didn’t even mind the insinuation and leaned the pool cue against the table and stepped to your side, fighting the urge to set his hand on the small of your back before opening the door for you. Again, the scent of gardenias nearly bowled him over as you slipped by him with a murmured ‘thank you.’ The pair of you were quiet as you led the way to your car near the edge of the lot but Jake didn’t mind.

You fished your keys out of your purse as you reached your car and turned toward him with a smirk and Jake just knew you were going to say something about needing Javy needing to come rescue him. You opened your mouth but your gaze darted just beyond his shoulder. Then something crossed your face that he had never seen before. Your eyes went wide as your teeth clacked together with how quickly you shut your mouth. The keys fell from your hand and bounced off your shoe. And before Jake could even move to grab them, you had scooped them up again and you cursed as the key scraped against the yellow paint of your car instead of pushing into the keyhole.

“Thanks for walking me out.” Your voice was small. Too small.

“Punch-”

You threw your door open and slid inside, slamming it behind you just before the engine roared to life. The window rolled down and you had a shaky, small smile on your face. “Get inside. I’ll see you Monday. Congratulations, Lieutenant Commander.” And then you were pulling away, the tail lights of your car growing smaller by the moment as you peeled out.

What happened? What did you see? Jake turned to look where he thought you spotted something and saw nothing. There was a man further down the beach and a couple walking hand-in-hand coming closer. There was nothing threatening about either of them.

But still.

Jake had never seen you look like that before. You were scared. All of the jumpiness, all of the flinching, all of the ditching of plans. It made sense now. Something or someone was scaring you. And now he had to know why.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!If you’re interested, the unofficial soundtrack to this fic includes: “Archer” by Taylor Swift, “Talk to Me” by Stevie Nicks, “Pancakes for Dinner” by Lizzy McAlpine, “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard” by Lana Del Rey, and “Golden Age” by Ethel Cain.

[pommpuriinn]

hii!!! I love your Athena oc!! I wish that there was more so im going to send in an ask! I would love to ask for moments at fan signs with en-!! maybe like Athena getting a marriage proposal and the boys being protective and saying no, the gifts and interactions she gets, or/and moments with en- at the fan sign! ty ILYSM!!!

꒰ᥩ ྀི ´ ˆก ꒱ ATHENA FANSIGNS

synopsis- exactly what the ask is

A/N- I’m finally actually back y’all🎉 I got a new job had 2 weeks to get better bc I also got sick while I was in my breaking point and after the 2 weeks I started my new job which I like. July was a ROUGH month for me, but I’m glad to be back to writing. Thank you to this person requesting 🫶🏼

𖤐 after the successful release of ‘xo’ it was time for fansignings which Athena was really excited about seeing engenes again and getting to know new engenes, along with catching up with previous engenes

𖤐 engenes were excited to talk to a flirty Athena including seeing her new hair for the era up and close, and they didn’t hold back on all the gifts they prepared for her

𖤐 “unnie is so happy to see you!” Engene couldn’t help but cover her big smile with her hand seeing her cat like eyes. “Mm, me too~” Athena gave a playful pout with her head cocked to the side while sliding her hand over to interlock their hands together. That action definitely caught the poor engene by surprise, making them flushed

𖤐 “I see that Athena-ah is having fun teasing her members this new comeback.” Athena had been way too playful with the members that even the staff are a bit curious with their relationship. “I am,” Athena chuckles. “They’re like my toys.” Athena gently pats Jungwon’s head who was sitting next to her with a jokingly scowl on his face

𖤐 “I’m happy that you colored your hair after a while.” Athena was really happy with all the reaction she got with her white highlights after not dyeing it since the dark blood era. “I’m relieved that engenes like it. Since you guys loved my dark red hair I had for ‘bite me’.”

𖤐 even though Athena is happy to see k-engenes she truly loves seeing international engenes since they might not have as many chances as k-engene to see the group. “I flew from France to see the comeback promotions.” Athena gasped hearing that this engene came from her birth place. “You’re from France?! I’m so glad you were able to come. I’ll definitely try to spot you wherever I can.” Athena held her hands tight while expressing her gratitude towards the engene

𖤐 many engene gave Athena many cat accessories making her laugh with how much engenes associate Athena with a cat. Some gave Athena different crowns since she’s the princess of Enhypen. Athena’s favorite of getting gifted the ratatouille headband where he hold to pieces of your hair

𖤐 is was getting to the end of the actually signing part of the event and since Athena was the last member to sign the rest finally got up and stretch around waiting for Athena to be done. The last fan was a male engene which the members didn’t really sense anything weird about the guy until Heeseung notice the guy gifting Athena a wedding veil. It’s like if one member sense something it sends signal waves to the other members because they all turn their heads in unison.

“Oh, for me?” Athena nervously laughed. “Yes for you. I wanted to propose to you before I’m about to serve my military duty.” The fanboy started to sweat a bit. “I-”

“She can’t.” Sunghoon leaned on the table. “She’s too young.” Jay stood by Athena’s left side also leaning on the table. “Noona is too precious for us to let go yet.” Sunoo came from behind Athena while wrapping his arms around her shoulders. “But have a good military service.” Niki smiled while he closed the album for Athena and handed it over to the poor guy, who was in shocked with how they all came around Athena. “O-oh…thanks.” He slowly stood up from the chair. “Thanks for the gift and have a healthy and safe duty.” Athena did a little salute at her fanboy

𖤐 “You’re ours.” Jake mumbled, while taking the veil off of Athena and placed a cute set of cat ears making Athena laugh at their protective side

𖤐 Athena is quite nosey when it comes to gifts that engenes gift to the other members, so you will always catch her looking into the other members’ boxes to see what she can find

𖤐 a favorite activity that engenes and Athena enjoy is when she plays dress up with her members. She would grab different items and get her victim (mostly Heeseung) and start dressing him up.

𖤐 always has to get Jungwon and Jay to wear cat ears with her so they pose for pictures, and if one tries to get out of it Athena would point a toy gun to their heads making the group burst out laughing at Athena threatening them. “You guys need to stop gifting her toy guns. It gets to her head!” Jay yelled

𖤐 mischievous Athena starts to annoy Niki on purpose like getting in the way when he’s poses acting like she didn’t know, or slapping the plushie his has out of his hand. Ends with her in a headlock while Niki is ruffling up her hair, so when she finally gets out of his headlock her hair is all messed up and puffy

𖤐 Sunghoon to the rescue with fixing whatever Niki has messed up. After he’s done Athena looks up and tries to kiss him making him panic and engenes scream. Engene sees it as Athena would never actually do it, but Sunghoon knows she would if only he didn’t back away

𖤐 with causing chaos to the other members she is an angel to her one and only Sunoo. They both act like models giving iconic poses, using gifts as props and going as far as Athena fully laying on the table giving their best poses for free

𖤐 the boys sometimes get jealous at their fansites taking photos of the other members, but when it comes to Athena they will literally offer to take the photos for them since they can get close to Athena and not them

𖤐 fansigns are mostly lets spoil and takes pictures of our princess Athena and protect her at all costs



[howiscallmewhateveridctaken]

Lmfaooo what a week 😅

So a lot of people are, understandably, leaving the fandom. Drama like this always tends to put people off and unfortunately that affects the media they’ve come to love. I’m not going to be one of those people bc honestly, I don’t even know if I was ever that “in” the fandom in the first place to even leave it. My account isn’t and never was a nevermore account, yes I’ve made a few nevermore post but those were infrequent and amongst posts and reblogs of multiple other fandoms. I’m also in the discord server but I’ve only ever been a lurker, and usually only ever go in it when I want more context to something I’ve seen on tumblr. With that being said however, I still plan on reading nevermore when (or if) it continues because in THIS particular instance I can easily separate art from the artist and I’ll explain why in a moment.

Like I said I’m not and never have been very active in the fandom. I learned about this drama through a post from an account I follow and went through the server to find more context. I was not present through any of the actual conflicts but I’ve seen the conversations.

So why am I commenting on this?

Well mainly I want to make a point about para social relationships as well as moderation of servers and fandoms as a creator.

I just want to preface this by saying that after reading through all possible context, perspectives, takes and evidence I could find or come across, I genuinely don’t think red is necessarily a bad/morally wrong person. I DO however think she is in the wrong in this situation especially due to how she handled everything. As for how a lot of people are reacting to everything, there’s a couple of things I’d like to note:

From what I’ve seen, all of this is just one big thing of “he said/she said” and pointing fingers as well as just picking sides. If your absolutely distraught because red didn’t turn out to be the person you thought they were simply because she said things you didn’t like, I understand the disappointment and frustration but please remember that content creators in general aren’t your friends. You don’t know these people, they just do things you happen to like. Now I’m not saying you SHOULDN’T feel upset about it, it’s ok to and you even should if it’s an issue to you feel strongly about but please keep in mind that this isn’t a “sign of their true colors” or anything because you don’t know what they were actually like to begin with. Ofc I don’t mean that to say “expect the worst from people” but more as a reminder that can hopefully help you to look at the situation more critically and logically before jumping in guns blazing. It’s understandable if it affects you emotionally, you were emotionally invested in their work; but please realize this before you let it get to that point. Now on the other side of the coin, there’s the people who I feel as though will just pick the creators side simply because they’re fanboys and will stand by them no matter what. I’m DEFINITELY NOT saying that’s what everyone who’s on red side is, but naturally there’s bound to be a few that are going to dickride for the sake of dickriding. Regardless, there’s a lack of willingness to listen and understand from both sides (at least from what I’ve noticed) and that’s a problem because when no one wants to listen then what’s supposed to be a community coming together to resolve an issue just turns into a giant flame war. Also this should go without saying, but at least give the mods a chance. They obviously handled the whole situation horrendously but they aren’t going to do their jobs any better when they’ve got people coming at them with pitchforks.

Speaking of the moderators. I genuinely can’t wrap my head around how red and the other mods have managed to fumble this badly…….like it’s almost funny. All said and done they all had ONE very simple job and they blew it. Although I very much disagree with it, I do understand red’s decision to unban crimson. They wanted to give them a second chance, sure whatever. What I DONT GET is why would they not at the very least check to see if anyone else would be comfortable with a decision that would possibly affect them or even impact their safety. At the very least a warning to or a discussion with the victims would have been something. Not only that but even after they unban them, once red saw the NUMEROUS amount of people that were upset about it they, they should have immediately banned them again and then apologize after instead of some rushed explanation. But I get it stress gets the better of you. I understand their desire to keep things as transparent as possible (which i appreciate and I’m sure so do many others) but from that first apology/explanation it felt more like red trying to shake responsibility off themselves and pointing fingers in the guise of being transparent. I did see where red was trying to get at in her first statement, but there was also things that she honestly should have just had the foresight to realize wouldn’t put her in a better light, and this is aside from the victim blaming-esque wording. red basically says that she felt like a group of people (including Laci the one who reported crimson) were just out to get crimson, which is absolutely insane but then again it’s the internet so who knows. However it’s super clear that Laci obviously wasn’t lying bc the things she accused crimson of did in fact happen. So even bringing that up was enough for me to raise my eyebrow at but I digress. Then red practically says it was hard to handle the situation bc the evidence provided was censored, but Laci literally offered to give the uncensored versions so that was completely disingenuous on red’s part at best. To me it just seemed like the mods were looking for excuses for what could be there own laziness at best and negligence at worst. Their biggest fault so far is not being very good at actually listening to their audience and taking them into consideration. She also brought up that fact that Laci was apparently the only person to report crimson which I did not like to say the least. One of the victims confided in Laci and Laci brought it forward. I understand reds suspicions about Laci not being in the actual server where it happened but how are you going to immediately jump to “well why did no one else bring it up” instead of stopping for a sec and thinking “ hm clearly these victims feel uncomfortable stepping forward”. Which they had to do now anyway because of how bad the issue became. They should not have had to do that. Better it be just one person reporting, even if it’s someone you don’t like, than no one reporting and the issue persists under the radar.

And then there’s red’s formal apology…

First off, girl why are you dropping names??? A bunch of who are supposedly minors? Like let’s be so fucking for real right now😭

And then the audacity to be like “please don’t go after or dm these people” like babes if you were genuinely worried about them you wouldn’t have used their names at all. ESPECIALLY when in the end it was completely irrelevant and borderline inappropriate since it really had nothing to do with crimson, their actions or how you handled them. Not to mention the act of calling them “cliques” when literally all they were was side servers. Like if they’re cliques then what does that make red and everyone who’s on her side? It was very clearly just a biased reaction to people saying things she doesn’t like about her, which by all means she has the right to respond to but not in a way that is clearly trying to sway how everyone else sees them. The way red describes everything is as if it’s middle school drama and then proceeds to play directly into it. Don’t get me wrong her apology was fine, when she was ACTUALLY apologizing. Everything else felt like a last ditch effort to drag others under the bus with her. It was lowkey embarrassing to say the least.

Again, it’s important that I make it clear that I don’t believe red is a bad person. I just think she’s an immature person, or at least she is in how she handled everything and continues to handle it bc like I said I don’t know her, and don’t care to frankly. I didn’t start reading nevermore to be buddy buddy with her. Like if we look at the grand scope of things, this is a grown woman beefing with kids. Obviously they aren’t all kids, most of them aren’t I believe but she’s practically stooping down to school yard conflict in how she’s responded so far. Especially at one point in the server when she was being called out and jumped to “yeah I guess I’m the bad guy and totally evil. You all should hate me”. Like actually cut that shit out, what are you doing. I mean honestly.

And my final point because I’ve ranted long enough. I mentioned before that in this instance I am willing to separate the art from the artist, I stand by that because I genuinely do think this is a situation where red could hopefully grow from this and rectify things. The actual unbanning was a stupid and inconsiderate move on her part, but I don’t think she meant any ill-will or had any malicious intent. I disagree with the people calling her a r@pe apologist because that’s honestly just a huge reach. I’ve also seen some accusations of red and/or Flynn being racist, promoting inappropriate art knowing there’s minors around and from what I’ve seen it’s pretty iffy. Regarding the racism, I don’t believe that they are. Their characterizations of the characters regarding their ethnicities IS stereotypical and was obviously just very surface level research into those respective cultures but I chopped that up to ignorance rather than racism. As a woc I was frankly just relived they didn’t make the poc characters centered on some kind of discrimination or tragedy from their era, which yes is something that shouldn’t be ignored but also I don’t know if rednflynn could accurately and more importantly, respectfully portray those types of issues. Nor is it even their place tbh. With that being said however I don’t belong to most of the cultures the characters belong to. To me it never seemed like they were making a caricature out of these cultures, especially since their ethnicities are barely relevant to their stories anyway but I acknowledge that it’s not my place to deem what’s offensive or not.

As for the promoting inappropriate art of the characters and creating some themselves. Yeah they do. I’ve never been shocked about that nor did I think it was something that they are wrong for doing, I mean it’s their own work. Granted I didn’t realize how many minors were in the fandom but that’s literally every fandom, there’s only so much you could do about it. I don’t know if nevermore has a rating but it’s not like it was something ever promoted to be kid friendly, it’s obvious that some scenes are just straight up fan service. While I personally don’t like fan service it never was enough to impact the story so I personally never saw an issue. But point is I don’t think they should have to monitor what is and isn’t appropriate for minors but things get tricky when they have a server where they are clearly aware of minors.

And then there’s other things like people accusing them of promoting SA or some shit like that bc of a lot of stuff involving Montessor which frankly, that’s just a media literacy issue on the readers part. So yeah with that being said I don’t think red is a bad person, although I understand why a lot of people are done with them which is completely fair. I’m pretty much in a grey area about it, who knows if they end up getting in an even bigger scandal, hopefully they come out better from this but only time will tell. The best/smartest thing red has said throughout this entire debacle was that they’re taking a step back from the fandom. I think it’ll be good for everyone, especially them. It seems like it’ll take stress off them anyway. Plus the hole they’ve dug for themselves is already halfway to china by now so there’s that

[seresinhangmanjake]

I've Promised You Forever

Dad!Jake "Hangman" Seresin x female reader

Summary: Jake and his Honey are married!

Notes/Warnings: None, really.

Words: 2454

Oh, Baby Series

---

“You’re less nervous than I expected,” Rooster said, his eyes meeting Jake’s in the mirror as they adjusted their bowties in sync. 

They’d been up for hours, the whole house alive and bustling as people put things in place. Phoenix, his mother, and Gram stayed by your side, but the rest of his team set about accomplishing their own tasks. Coyote was on decorations. Payback on flowers. Fanboy on the cake—probably not the best of ideas if they wanted it arriving without a bite taken out of the side. Bob had Eve. And Rooster, with the exception of occasionally checking on the others, had remained with Jake. 

“Am I?” Jake asked, but in truth his friend was right. He wasn’t nervous. From all that led up to this day, he found no reason to be.

“For this being the day you marry the love of your life? Yes, I would say you’re surprisingly calm.” Done with his tie, Rooster turned to eye the side of his friend’s face. “I mean, I know this is literally happening in your own backyard, but it’s still a big deal.”

Jake finished messing with the bow and his hand landed on Rooster’s shoulder, giving it a few pats. “Of course it’s a big deal. I’m not denying that.”

“Ok, then why—”

“How is she doing?”

Rooster paused at the sudden shift, but adaptable as he was, he adjusted quickly to the randomly tossed question. He thought over his answer, then his brow lightly pinched, his head tilted to the side, and he said, “Actually…no more nervous than you.” He shook the confusion off his face. “I don’t get it. I’d be freaking out right now, but I guess I’ll chalk it up to you two already facing such a hefty amount of trials and tribulations together that you’re numb to nerves.”

Jake chuckled. That hefty amount was no joke. Nothing about you and Jake managed to edge along the conventional route. Not how you became a family. Not how you developed as a couple. Not how you chose to marry. Your relationship was forced through more than most, and at the end of the day, it was being one another’s rock in a sea of utter chaos that made it all survivable. 

More challenges would find their way to his family, Jake knew. No one was immune. But come hell or high water, you and Jake proved to be unbreakable, and that wasn’t going to change. 

“She looks incredible, though,” Rooster continued. “You’re going to lose your mind.”

—

“How do you feel? Are you nervous? Can you believe you’re finally going to be married?” All questions shot from Jake's mother as she straightened out the veil attached to your loose bun. “It feels so different being a wife. But I know you’re the best possible woman for my son.”

You turned your head to meet her eyes and you smiled. “Thank you, Eliza.”

She rounded you and took your hand in hers, lightly squeezing. “I know you and Jake have had a rather unique journey, but if anything, I believe that proves how much you are meant to be together.”

You grinned and nodded in agreement. Unique was right. In every way. From the moment you met, you knew your path together would not be straight. It would have its twists and its turns, as it eventually did. But that jagged road the two of you had wobbled along trained you and Jake to accept being different. And in being different, you were more than happy to throw out rules and expectations, instead choosing to do exactly as you wanted whenever you wanted to do it. 

That habit was demonstrated perfectly the night prior when Jake snuck back home despite his mother’s and friends’ insistence on not seeing his bride before the wedding. He’d waited until his team fell asleep at Rooster's, then drove back to his house, kissed his daughter’s forehead, and snuggled up to you in bed, not caring about the scolding once his absence would be discovered come morning; a scolding that came in the form of his Gram's small hand smacking into his shoulder. 

A sudden knock at the door was followed by the peeking of Nat’s head into the room. “You ready?” she asked. “Rooster is about to go down the aisle with Eve.” 

You grinned at the thought of the job you’d assigned your friend, which he’d accepted with an unexpected excitement. And thankfully you’d enlisted Payback as photographer so you’d get to see for yourself the six-foot tall wall of a man holding an infant and a basket of flower petals in his arms as he made his way towards Jake. 

And then it would be your turn.

"Ready," you confirmed. 

—

Under any other circumstances, Jake would’ve chuckled. He would’ve taken the opportunity to tease his friend the way his friends so often teased him. But as he watched Rooster carry his baby girl down the aisle, doing his best to hold her close and help her drop light pink petals along the pathway, Jake couldn’t help but smile. 

Eve was content in his arms. She was peaceful, as if she knew it was a joyful day over anything else. She hadn’t cried without Mama and Daddy, Bob informed him. She didn’t fuss when made to put on her white tulle dress or slide the headband into her wispy hair. So when she reached the end of the aisle, in appreciation Jake bent down to place a kiss on her forehead before Rooster took his position to the left of his shoulder. 

“Deep breath,” Rooster muttered as everyone in their seats stood and turned. 

His mother’s arm was linked with yours while she guided you past your friends toward him. The smile you displayed was ear to ear. Bright. Vibrant. But his mother’s took up nearly half of her face; wide with lips pulled back so far the corners caught her tears before they could reach her chin. 

She’d thanked him a million times the week before. Despite becoming so prominent in Jake’s life, she had the lingering sense that at any moment, he would cut her out again. She felt it an honor to be at her son’s wedding, to walk the woman he loved down the aisle and hand her over so he could call his little family complete. Though, rings on fingers and vows from lips were not a symbol of completion, not for him. He’d been complete from the moment you came back into his life with his baby girl strapped to your chest. 

Jake’s eyes remained locked on you as you neared. Each of your steps came with a matching thump of his heart. He’d never tire of seeing you come to him; the anticipation of having you close and holding you in his arms, even when simply being greeted after a long day at work. Still, this was a bit more—an acknowledgment in front of everyone he loved that he could officially call you ‘wife’ whenever and wherever he wanted—and he pressed his heels into the ground to keep from bouncing on his toes. 

Once you were close enough that he could catch your flowered perfume, Jake took your hand from his mother and raised it to his lips to brush a soft kiss over the back. “Hi, Honey," he whispered, intertwining your fingers. You gave your bouquet over to Phoenix then took his other hand, mirroring the weaving of fingers. 

A subtle pink tinted your cheeks. “Hi."

“Alright,” Gram clasped her palms together. “You kids ready to be married?" 

Your teasing smile sent a zing down Jake’s spine and he returned it with a wink. 

"I'll take that as a yes," she said, then called to the small crowd, "You can all be seated and we'll get this show on the road."

His ears felt full of fuzz as his grandmother began to speak her practiced lines; the ones she’d run over with him a hundred times to make sure they suited his wishes, despite him telling her just as many times that whatever she would say would be perfect. Jake knew he’d be solely focused on you anyway, taking away from his ability to fully absorb her words. 

Her voice was a consistent humming in his ear, and not until she lightly nudged him in the arm did he snap out of the glowy haze you’d surrounded him in to realize it was his cue. 

“Right,” he said, clearing his throat. When you giggled his lips curved upwards. “Honey…” he started but then paused to stare again, just for another moment. At how amazing you were. At how beautiful, wrapped in a dress that hugged every dip and swell of your figure, with the soft style of your hair, and the red shade painting your lips. He was already imagining the marks of your kiss all over his body. 

Then sensing the flush of his skin and the sting of oncoming tears, he swallowed to try to hold himself together. His fingers squeezed yours tighter. 

“Honey, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it forever,” he began. “I love you. I love everything you are. Everything we are. I love the work and the struggles and the progress we’ve made to have what we have. I love our baby girl.” A tear slipped down your cheek that Jake reached up to brush away with his thumb before taking your hand again. “The two of you are my gift. My world and my heart. You own a piece of me that I never want you to give back,” he continued. “And I wake each morning thankful that you were so strong when having our Eve. I thank you for being so brave when you chose to come back into my life," he said. "You’re everything and all of it, Honey.”

Your thumb stroked over his, then you pulled his hand closer to press a kiss to the digit. “Jake,” you sniffled. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it forever.” He snickered at the familiar line before allowing a smile that matched yours to take over his face. “We were never a mistake. We weren’t a matter of convenience or simplicity. We weren’t a shot in the dark,” you said. “I believe that someway, somehow, this is where we would have inevitably found ourselves. Standing here, with our baby beside us, husband and wife. This is how it was always meant to be. And I know that in my soul.

"I love you," was a clear statement from your lips. "You are mine, Jake Seresin. You’re everything and all of it.”

Your radiating love filled him fully and he settled comfortably into the warmth that spread through his veins. Then he heard another sniffle, just to his right.

“Goodness,” Gram breathed as she wiped at a fallen tear. “You two…” She shook her head; took another breath. “Rings?”

Bob reached around Rooster to hand your ring to Jake as Phoenix slipped his into your palm. The exchange of bands rebloomed the flutters in his stomach. Then before Gram could get out her next instruction, Jake framed your face with his hands and joined your lips in a long kiss. 

“I love you, Honey,” he muttered between one soft kiss and the next. “Always.”

—

The evening had passed in the blink of an eye, but you didn’t miss a single detail of how the day unfolded. Each bit of it utterly perfect. Each moment more precious than the last. You couldn’t say you woke that morning with any expectations other than to enjoy your friends and family, but now that it was nearing its close, you realized everything far surpassed what you could’ve ever hoped for. A wedding had the potential to bring some chaos, as did most things during your and Jake’s relationship, but it was nothing other than smooth and easy. Everyone you cared for was by your side. Your daughter was happy in the company of those who loved her most. And you and Jake were together. All as should be.

Under the low glow of the fairy lights woven through the trees, you and Jake swayed to the gentle music. With your head resting on his shoulder, your arms around one another, you watched your friends and family enjoying themselves. Laughing, joking, teasing each other. They took turns dancing with your daughter in their arms, dancing with each other, or their dates. Rooster’s in particular–your friend and coworker—had her eyes glued to him and a blush across her cheeks as he rocked Eve back and forth while slowly moving about the installed dance floor. 

"You still feel alright with not telling them?" Jake’s voice was suddenly low in your ear, far from able to be heard by your guests with you being off to the edge of the wooden flooring. 

"That we've been married for months?” you asked. “Yes, I imagine it's still best we keep that to ourselves."

“I agree,” Jake said with a chuckle. "Think of the drama we'd face from our devastating betrayal."

"I know. I can't believe how selfish we are." 

He hummed. “You know, if you really think about it, by not telling them we are actually sparing them the pain and trauma.”

"That’s very true."

Jake chuckled again, a vibration from his chest to yours, and hugged you closer. A moment later you lifted your head to meet his eyes and smiled at your husband. The man who had been your husband for one hundred and twenty-six days, officially tied exactly three days after he slid that engagement ring onto your finger. You’d planned on waiting, but not seventy-two hours later, as you laid beside one another in bed, skin still damp with sweat and chests rising and falling in heavy breaths, Jake suddenly flipped on his side, cupped your cheek, and said: ‘What if we do it tomorrow?’. The rapid expelling of the question made you realize he had been thinking about it as much as you had. You’d instantly agreed, smiled, kissed, and spent the rest of the night wrapped around one another. The next morning you were married, and maintained the agreement that no one else needed to know. The two of you would know. And that was enough. 

"No,” you reaffirmed, brushing a stray lock of his blond hair back into place. “I think I like having our little secret."

Jake paused the movement of your bodies and, with a grin, said, "So do I, Honey." Then he placed his hands on your cheeks, just as he had earlier in the day, and once again drew you in for a kiss.

---

A/N: I hope it was ok :)

tags: @wkndwlff @kmc1989 @sagittarius-flowerchild @dempy @oliviah-25 @rosiahills22 @xoxabs88xox @cinderellasmissingshoe @hardballoonlove @ssa-sadboi @novagreen04 @multifandomlover4life @mayhemmanaged @memeorydotcom @ryiamarie

[rustic-space-fiddle]

Things I love about EPIC: The Musical

Greek mythology hehehehehhehe (my weakness)

Little Ajax

The slightly different styles in each segment but the overarching cohesiveness

The crew singing choral vocals for Odysseus

POLITES *screaming crying throwing up*

The crew introducing Eurylochus but Odysseus introducing Polites

Odysseus’s ‘Ha ha HA Haaaaa!” What a smug lil $h!*

His whole description of Athena ~ fanboy energy

“Bestest of friends(?)!” “Okay chill kid” ”okay :D”

Polites definitely almost knocking himself out with lotus before Odysseus definitely takes it away like “oh honey no”

POLITES *STILL CRYING AND THROWING UP*

The RUMBBBBLING BOOOOOMS when Polyphemus enters—WOOO YOU CAN FEEL THE FEAR IN HIS FOOTSTEPS (also: heartbeats!)

I’m not a musically intelligent person so forgive me but the way the “take from you like you took from me / gift from you and a gift from me” sounds just makes my brain so happy

If music is math then that is definitely some solid well done math

“Nooooooobody, noooooooooobody, noo~ooOOOOOOOOOOOOH~bodyyyyyy”

“WATCH OUUUUUT!” *AGGRESSIVE CHORUS*

“My brothers-!” yall I’m gonna freakin cry

The visceral death sounds when the club comes out

Polyphemus’s voice slowing like a giant robot powering down to show him falling asleep

The sound slowly fading in as Odysseus takes in the death around him (I imagine he’s looking at the remains of Polites)

The sound Athena makes whenever she appears or disappears (NOTICE SHE DOESNT MAKE THAT SOUND WHEN SHE LEAVES FOR THE LAST TIME! just empty wind…)

“HEY CYCLOPS!”

“The next time that you dare choose not to spare, remember them.” UGH BEAUTIFUL

The growl in “REMEMBER ME.”

Ship sounds!

The entirety of “My Goodbye”. It’s just such a good argument song and I love it so much.

Odysseus’s angry “HEY.” when Athena basically blames the death of his friends on his kindness.

The fact that Odysseus isn’t afraid to absolutely WRECK Athena verbally? She has definitely killed and turned people into spiders for less

You can tell he felt a little bad about it and that she actually was kinda hurt by it too (silence is a heckuva tool)

“Aim for the island in the sky” oh yeah I’m listening to a Greek myth wHEEEZE

Eurylochus slowly getting on Odysseus’s nerves till he literally has to pull him aside and tell him to stfu

No but actually Eurylochus is not being a real one rn he is not being helpful

The wind god ( *0v0*)

“Why are my eyes and my heart and my soul so heavy?” WOW OKAY DANG

Poseidon’s entrance — DANG SON THE POWER OF THE SEA IS PALPABLE

“Ruthlessness is mercy—DIE.”

The crew calling for their captain as they’re taken by the sea

THE AUDACITY OF POSEIDON TO REMIND ODYSSEUS OF HIS OWN WORD—“when does a ripple become a tidal wave/ when does a man become a monster”—DURING THIS CRISIS. WHAT A PETTY JERK (do it again)

Eurylochus try to confess and Odysseus refusing to let him. There three reasons I think this is: 1) he doesn’t know why he wants to confess but he literally does not have time for his #2 to be having a moment rn. 2) he knows what Eurylochus did and is choosing to keep him quiet because he needs the crew not to dwell on this/he’s trying not to punch him in the face. 3) he knows what he did and he’s saying “stfu” as a way of forgiveness. All of these are great options imo

“We couldn’t resist!” “What was it?” “A woman!” “…w h a t. -_-“ my man is fed up rn

“We have to save them!” “NO WE DON’T” EURYLOCHUS WTF IS WRONG W YOU BRO

Hermes’s insane laugh !!!! LOVE

Hermes’s entire song

Rhyming “Be hurt” with “beat her” BRAIN SO HAPPY

Someofthamagic~ BRAIN SO HAPPY AGH

The fight between Odysseus and Circe~ so evenly matched! Wits, power, but she beat him! She beat him even though he didn’t cave.

“I dug the root up w my bare hands!” “Hermes gave it to you didn’t he” “…okay fine yes but rGARDLESS—“

The fact that Odysseus calls Penelope his power

Circe’s empathetic sigh because she’s not a monster, she’s a protector, and her heart has been touched by Odysseus’s earnestness and love for his wife and for his brothers

HER OUTRO WAHHHHHHH

[ducktoo]

Syncing Dream [Aespa x M!Reader]

9. Reveluv

Note: hold on, you’re reading the right series. Just enjoy lol

Masterlist here

The buzz of excitement had been building for weeks. Aespa’s highly anticipated collaboration with Red Velvet was finally here, and it seemed like the entire company was on edge with excitement. But none more so than Y/n, who was—by all accounts—a certified Reveluv. He had tried to keep his enthusiasm under wraps, of course, but anyone who worked closely with him knew that his particular bias for Seulgi was impossible to hide.

As Aespa prepared for their big day, Y/n could feel the familiar nerves creeping in. Not because of the responsibility of organising such a large-scale collaboration, but because he knew he’d be in close proximity to Red Velvet’s Seulgi—the one and only.

“Y/n, you’re looking unusually peppy today,” Giselle teased, noticing his attempt to hide his excitement as they got ready in the studio.

“What? No, this is just my normal face,” Y/n mumbled, fidgeting with a clipboard.

“Uh-huh,” Ningning drawled, smirking. “Your ‘normal’ face that happens to glow whenever we mention Seulgi-unnie?”

Y/n’s ears turned red, but he didn’t have a comeback ready. He was too busy mentally preparing himself for what was about to happen: hours of rehearsals, and meetings, and potentially humiliating fanboy moments. Great.

Despite trained there at the same time as Winter, he actually never meet Red Velvet. He only became a fan when he left for a while.

So for today, he is both a manager and a Reveluv.

As the door opened and Red Velvet stepped into the studio, Y/n’s heart leaped into his throat. He could feel the energy shift as Aespa greeted their seniors with deep bows and warm smiles. Karina and Winter exchanged polite words with Irene and Joy, while Ningning and Giselle bonded instantly with Wendy and Yeri.

"Oh, Y/n-ah!" Minji, their manager, greeted him excitedly. "Finally, my first junior is working with me."

"Hi, noona. I'm excited as well." Y/n bowed. Suddenly, Minji scooted both of them into the side.

"Have fun gawking over our Seul." Minji smirked. "The girls bailed out on you for comedic relief."

"Of course they do…" Y/n muttered.

"Anyway…have fun!" Minji exclaimed before turning over to the girls. "Seulgi-ya! Can you come here please?"

"Ok!"

And then, there she was—Seulgi.

Y/n had met idols before. He had spent countless hours with Aespa and other artists, coordinating schedules, handling logistics, and ensuring everything ran smoothly. But this was different. Seulgi was, well... Seulgi.

"Seulgi, this is-"

“Y/n, right?” Seulgi smiled as she approached him, her voice as warm and friendly as he’d always imagined. "I heard from Minjeong about her hardworking best friend."

Y/n blinked, his brain short-circuiting. “Y-Yeah! I mean, yes, that’s me. I’m Y/n. Manager of Aespa. Yep, that’s who I am.”

The girls of Aespa exchanged knowing looks, barely suppressing their giggles at Y/n’s obvious awkwardness. He tried to keep his cool, reminding himself that he had a job to do. But internally, he was screaming.

Seulgi just smiled wider, clearly amused by his reaction. “Well, it’s nice to meet you officially. We’re really excited about this collaboration with our junior.”

“I-I’m excited too! Really, really excited,” Y/n blurted out before clearing his throat, hoping to regain some semblance of professionalism. “I mean, on behalf of Aespa, we’re all really looking forward to this.”

Seulgi chuckled softly before heading over to join her members, leaving Y/n standing there, frozen in place.

-

Trying to focus on logistics when Seulgi was right there was proving to be difficult. Every time Y/n glanced in her direction, his heart would skip a beat, and it didn’t help that Aespa, particularly Ningning and Giselle, seemed to be enjoying his internal struggle way too much.

“Idiot, are you okay?” Winter asked, feigning concern as she watched him fumble with the equipment setup.

“I’m fine, Jeong” Y/n muttered, clearly not fine. “Just, uh, making sure everything’s perfect for... you know... the performance.”

Karina smirked. “For the performance? Or for Seulgi-unnie?”

Y/n shot her a withering look, but the effect was lost when he nearly dropped his clipboard. Giselle and Ningning couldn’t hold back their laughter anymore, while Winter just shook her head, clearly enjoying his suffering.

"Stuff you all."

As the rehearsals went on, things only got worse. At one point, Y/n found himself standing too close to Seulgi during a break, and he nearly knocked over a mic stand trying to back away gracefully. Seulgi just laughed it off, but Y/n could feel his face burning.

At the end of the day, though, everything came together beautifully. The chemistry between Aespa and Red Velvet was electric, and the joint practice was nothing short of magical. Y/n had been so focused on keeping everything running smoothly that he had barely processed how incredible it all looked until he saw it from backstage. Watching both groups in perfect harmony, dancing and singing together, was a dream come true—not just for fans, but for him personally.

As the performance ended, Y/n stood in awe, his heart swelling with pride. Both groups had nailed it, and the crowd’s reaction was proof of that.

-

The after-dinner was a blur of get together and shared excitement. Both Aespa and Red Velvet were in high spirits, celebrating their bonds with food and laughter. Y/n, still riding the high from the practice, was doing his best to keep his cool, but the occasional glance at Seulgi kept his fanboy tendencies in check.

Ningning, however, wasn’t about to let him off that easily. “So, Y/n,” she started with a sly grin, “I saw Seulgi-unnie looking your way during practice. You should totally ask for a picture.”

Y/n blinked, caught off guard. “What? No, I can’t just... I mean… Ya Ning, it's mean to give me high hopes.”

“She’s right,” Karina chimed in, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “It’s your chance. You’ve been a fan for years, right?”

“Yeah, and we can all tell,” Giselle teased. “You’ve been holding it together pretty well today, but come on—don’t miss this.”

Before Y/n could protest, he found himself being nudged forward by the girls, his feet carrying him toward Seulgi before his brain could catch up. His heart pounded in his chest as he approached her, still unsure of what he was going to say.

“Seulgi-sunbaenim,” he started, his voice a little shaky.

She turned to him with that same warm smile, and Y/n felt his nerves melt away—just a little. “Yes, Y/n?”

“I-I was wondering,” he stammered, “if it’d be okay to take a picture with you. Just... you know, for the memories.”

Seulgi’s smile widened, and without hesitation, she agreed. “Of course! Let’s take one.”

Y/n could hardly believe it as they stood together, smiling for the camera. The girls, watching from the sidelines, couldn’t contain their giggles, knowing how much this moment meant to him.

Afterward, Y/n stared at the picture on his phone, barely able to process what had just happened. It wasn’t just a photo—it was a treasured memory, one that he knew he’d look back on for years.

-

The night continued with more laughter and celebration. Red Velvet and Aespa were mingling, the two groups bonding over their shared experience and the success of their collaboration.

At some point, Y/n found himself sitting with both groups, listening to the girls talk about their favourite moments from practice. The atmosphere was relaxed, the tension of rehearsals and preparation long gone.

Seulgi, sitting nearby, caught his eye and gave him a knowing smile. “You did great today, Y/n. It’s not easy organising something like this, but everything turned out perfect.”

Y/n, still reeling from his fanboy moment, could only nod. “Thank you, Seulgi-sunbaenim. It was... an honour.”

"Ayy, call me Seulgi-noona, now. We're way past acquaintance at this point."

"Ah ok…Seulgi-noona.."

"…Ya Seulgi, you broke him." Minji joked.

"Unnie, you're so mean." Winter followed suit.

As the evening came to a close, Y/n found himself quietly reflecting on the day (after finally coming into his sense). It had been a whirlwind of excitement and nerves, but in the end, everything had come together in ways he never expected.

He smiled to himself, the photo of him and Seulgi saved on his phone like a cherished trophy. Today had been a dream come true—and he knew that, no matter how many more events he organised in the future, this collaboration would always hold a special place in his heart.

…Of course, it doesn’t top the first picture of him and Winter smiling together when they first joined SM.

[justabigassnerd]

Baby on Board's... Baby?

Pairing - Robert 'Bob' Floyd x daughter!reader

Word count - 1,799

Warnings - talks of being left out, pretty much just fluff

Summary - the Daggers find out Bob has a kid and short circuit at the news

A/N - it's fic time! I'm so sorry for how long it's taken for me to get a fic out, I've been going through some shit and I'm only just feeling up to writing. this may not be the best thing I've written, Bob is really fucking hard to write but I have to give a shoutout to @maverick-wingman and @horseslovers2016 for the peer pressure otherwise this fic wouldn't exist in the first place. anyways I'll stop rambling now, as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback and enjoy!!!

Your grip on your dad’s hand tightened as he leads you towards the looming doors of the Hard Deck.

“You okay, y/n/n?” Bob asks as he stops, turning to face you and crouching down to be at your height. You remain silent, thinking about whether you wanted to tell your dad how you were feeling.

“I’m scared.” You eventually admit, looking down at your shoes as your dad’s face softens at your words.

“Oh, sweet pea, it’s okay to be scared, this is a new place with new people. We don’t have to stay long if you don’t want to. But Phoenix is going to be there, and everyone else is so nice I just know they’ll love you.” Bob says softly, smiling as he notices you perk up at the mention of Phoenix being there.

“Nix?” You ask, your eyes lighting up at the thought of seeing your beloved godmother.

“Yeah, Phoenix is here.” Bob says with a smile as you look to the door of the Hard Deck, eager to see your other favourite human. You hold your arms up as an indication that you want to be picked up and Bob obliges, scooping you up and sitting you on his hip.

“Remember jellybean, if you want to go home, let me know and we’ll head home.” Bob whispers reassuringly, waiting for you to nod before he pushes the door open, searching for his squadron while you eagerly search for Phoenix, using you being in your dad’s arms as a vantage point.

“Nix!” You call out when you see your godmother amongst a group and wiggle to get out of your dad’s arms so you can rush over to Phoenix.

“Hello, y/n/n. How’s my favourite princess doing?” Phoenix beams as she scoops you up effortlessly the moment you reach her, cuddling you close as you giggle, your little arms hugging her as fiercely as you can.

“You got a kid, Phoenix?” Payback questions, eyebrow raised at the sight before him, having missed you calling out to Phoenix and only saw her scooping you up and hugging you tight. At Payback’s words, the rest of the Daggers watched Phoenix carefully as Bob joined the group, unnoticed by everyone.

“I’m her godmother. She’s not mine. She’s Bob’s.” Phoenix says, and at her words, everyone is made hyper-aware of Bob’s presence nearby and Hangman chokes on his beer, coughing loudly as Coyote slaps him harshly on the back.

“Wait, so you’re telling me that Baby on Board actually has a baby?” Hangman manages to say once he’s recovered enough to speak, eye wide as he looks from you in Phoenix’s arms to Bob.

“And you kept her a secret since we met?” Fanboy pesters, shock written all over his face at the realisation of how long Bob had been keeping his daughter a secret from the squadron.

“She stayed with my parents when we were initially called back, I thought it would be a short detachment but when it became permanent, I bought a place and now this is home for us.” Bob says, crossing to Phoenix and skilfully taking you in his arms.

“Then why did you tell Phoenix but not us?” Rooster asks quietly, all of the Daggers wearing a slightly hurt expressions that they were left out of this.

“I figured you guys wouldn’t really care. You guys became your own little group and I’m usually on the sidelines, so I thought it wasn’t worth wasting my breath trying to tell you guys because you’d rather talk about training or dart tournaments. But also y/n is very shy, and you guys can get quite loud, so I wanted to take things at her pace.” Bob explains with a light shrug, a small smile crossing his face when you cuddle closer, burying your face in his neck before you look out at all the people watching you curiously. At Bob’s words the Daggers exchange sorrowful looks, feeling bad for making Bob feel like he couldn’t talk to them or be open about things if he wanted. They knew Bob was quieter than most of the Dagger Squad and he had a tendency to slip away into the background because of how rowdy and loud the group could be. They also knew he was close with Phoenix; it shouldn’t come as a surprise to them at all. Most pilots got on well with their WSOs, they needed to have a strong trust between them, and Phoenix was the first person to act welcoming towards Bob when the team became aware of his presence that first night in the Hard Deck.

“Hey, we’re really sorry man. We never meant to make you feel like you weren’t part of the group, because you are. You’re a badass and have been since the uranium mission. You got a lock on the structure which is more than I can say, we’re lucky Rooster managed to drop blind and hit the target.” Fanboy says, looking down and then glancing back up as Bob moves, handing you to Phoenix so he could cross to Fanboy.

“Don’t put yourself down Fanboy, you were picked for the mission for a reason, and you’ve been picked for more since then. You’re a great wizzo, Payback’s lucky to have you.” Bob says, patting Fanboy on the shoulder and glancing over at Payback who nods in agreement before clapping Fanboy on the back as Bob moves back to Phoenix, taking you in his arms. As Bob takes you back into his arms, the team exchange knowing nods, vowing that they’ll never let Bob feel like his thoughts and stories didn’t matter as much and that they’d include him more. As they looked back at Bob, they caught Phoenix’s eye who simply raised an eyebrow. She had stayed quiet on Bob’s request because he didn’t want to be a bother although Phoenix insisted, he’d never be a bother to her or the team. Part of her had hoped the team would notice that Bob had a tendency to disappear into the background and that they’d include him a little more but apparently, it took Bob bringing his daughter to actually get attention.

“So, how old’s baby Bob?” Payback asks, the team keeping a distance so as to not overwhelm you. You heard Payback’s question and held up three fingers while keeping yourself as buried in your dad’s embrace as possible.

“Three? Damn, kid that’s the best age to be.” Hangman says with a grin, making you look at him, offering him a small smile when you make eye contact. Intrigued by the man who had told you that being three was the best, you squirmed in your dad’s arms, requesting to be put down and when Bob obliged, you toddled over to Hangman, looking up at him curiously before holding your arms up for him to pick you up. Hangman looked over at Bob who nodded, giving him permission to scoop you up into his arms as you giggled. Hangman carefully navigated sitting you on his shoulders, holding on to your legs as you admire being high up. Hangman carefully walks over to the jukebox, taking you off his shoulders, sitting you back on his hip and pointing out which buttons you need to press to play a song, making sure it was appropriate for you to listen to. After putting the song on, Jake places you down on the floor and dances with you, twirling you effortlessly as you giggle and dance along to the music as the Daggers watch on with large smiles. When the song ends, the Daggers clap as you dart back over to your dad and are immediately scooped up into your dads’ arms. Rooster quirked an eyebrow when he noticed you turn your attention to the piano, looking at it curiously.

“Does y/n like piano?” Rooster asks, crossing to Bob who notices your stare at the piano.

“My parents have one at their house, but it mostly sits there collecting dust. It probably reminds her of her grandparents.” Bob says, bouncing you lightly on his hip. Getting an idea, Rooster crosses to the jukebox and unplugs it, eliciting a groan from every patron in the bar as Rooster sat himself at the piano, playing some light notes, his fingers dancing across the keys masterfully. Bob and the others cross to the piano, knowing where Rooster is going with his piano playing. Bob sits you on top of the piano, keeping a hand braced on your back just in case you leant back too far, and Rooster then began playing ‘Great Balls of Fire’ getting the whole bar singing in seconds. You picked up the ‘goodness gracious, great balls of fire’ lyric quickly and were soon attempting to join in whenever the bar sang that one lyric. When the song concludes, you clap as loud as your little hands will allow as the patron’s whoop and cheer. Bob picks you back up and everyone moves to sit down at tables to converse some more over some drinks and snacks. The Daggers involve Bob in their conversations and ask questions about not only him but you, arranging a day for you, your dad, and the team to go to the beach to spend some more time together, naming themselves your new cool uncles, earning a raised eyebrow from Phoenix and Bob. The moment a small yawn slipped past your lips; Bob was up on his feet instantly while keeping you in his arms.

“I should think about heading home, it’s almost y/n’s bedtime.” Bob says, addressing the Daggers who all bid him and you goodnight as Phoenix gets to her feet.

“Night night y/n/n.” Phoenix whispers, pressing a quick kiss to the top of your head.

“Night night, Nix.” You mumble, clinging to your dad and burying your face in his shirt as you wave goodbye to the rest of the Daggers who give you waves of their own. Bob then exits the Hard Deck, crossing to his car and buckling you into your car seat before brushing a stray piece of hair out of your face and pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head.

Unbeknownst to Bob, Hangman crossed to the door of the bar, leaning against the frame as he watches the car pull away. The second the car was out of his line of sight he entered the bar, eyes gleaming with joy at what he had seen as he crosses back to the Daggers who all, bar Phoenix, looked up at him with bated breath, each of them hoping they won the bet the team had quickly made. All eyes were on Hangman as he opened his mouth to speak.

“He’s got a baby on board sign in the window.”

[pk-ghost]

to ness and lucas, hey! your on break from smash right? how does those work... and which world in the smashverse are your favorite?

“We don’t have official matches all year round, and tournaments are done in seasons!”

“We get breaks in between seasons and most of us return home to rest. For some… it seems like the tournaments are their breaks, though, because they go back home to work.”

“Quick Lucas, from all the fighters who do you think is the biggest workaholic?” “What?” “Come on, just answer!” “That’s not the question at hand, you know?” “Luuuuuuucas”

“All right, uh…Samus, maybe? I’d say Marth or Peach too but they at least have people who help them. Samus is always by herself”.

“Huh, yeah I guess. She’s a lone wolf… unlike Wolf, heh.”

“Well, that’s because actual wolves prefer to--- Ness, please let’s get back to the question.”

“Aw shoot, yeah ok! I’ll focus now. Anyway, we take breaks in between seasons. There’s no rule that says that you have to go back to your home dimension during these and I’ve always wanted to visit our friends’ worlds because, honestly, they always sound sooo cool when they tell us about them. I’ve been to the Mushroom kingdom before! Mario, Peach and the others are the bomb and have shown me around a couple of places. But I never spend too long there.”

“A couple of weeks before the last season ended Red was telling both of us about the new Pokémon and Ness and I had this thought all of a sudden.”

“We both saw this tiny wooloo in Red’s pokedex and thought ‘I wanna see that’ at the same time. That happens very often by the way. Some would say it’s our psychic powers at work, but I say it’s us being best bros.”

“Dork.”

“We’re BFFS, besties even... Anyway, we shared a brain cell for a moment there and it made me think we could visit the place together, so I asked Lucas if he wanted to this break.”

“And I asked if he wanted to visit other places too. I like going back home, my world is really peaceful right now so I get to sleep as much as I like and help Dad with the sheep, but I figured traveling other places wouldn’t hurt.”

“I’m taking him at his word so now we’re going to travel until he gets tired of it!.Or until we ran out of vacation days.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Favorite worlds? We haven’t been to many so far but I think Mario’s world will always be special to me. I’m a big fan boy of him after all.”

“Just him?”

“Agh, okay, I’m a big fanboy of a lot of other fighters, I can’t help that. You know they’re all awesome, but Mario is just special to me. Don’t make fun of me for it, isn’t love your favorite thing? Appreciate me loving the other fighters.”

“I do! It’s sweet. You have no trouble showing it, it’s actually quite nice.”

“Okay, okay, you better not be teasing me!” “Promise I’m not. I really do appreciate it. Going back to the question. I think my favorite worlds are going to be the Pokémon world and the Animal Crossing world. Oh! And of course Yoshi’s Island in Mario’s World. It’s been good here. The place is nice and the yoshis are so friendly. They remind me of friends back home”.

[hana-no-seiiki]

But like the ship trope where PERSON A looks like a childish brat on the outside but is actually the stable, mature one in the relationship

while PERSON B is the opposite wherein they’re super stoic, cool-headed but is actually super petty and aggressive at times.

tw/cw: soft yandere themes, seggs but not explicit

😤🫸🏽🫷🏽

That but with Villain and/or Vigilante! Reader and Yandere! Damian.

I’ve seen this a lot in Damian Wayne works so credits go to those amazing writers that inspired me to have my own take on this!! A lot of this is just a rehash/amalgamation of what people have already written but with some of my input and thoughts…lots and lots of thoughts.

Anyways, you seem like the type of person to ruin another’s life for the sake of it. Just your wicked whims. You’re notorious for stealing massive amounts of properties or (in case of Vigilante) beat if not kill people who you deem unredeemable.

MINORS/AGELESS BLOGS DONT GO BEYOND THIS POINT

VER I : I’m thinking second gen Catwoman/Batman + CatNoir/Ladybug (both the OG anime concept and the series) dynamic, just gn reader.

You’re always clinging unto to Robin/New Batman. Saying sweet nothings and flirting with him, if not full on making out/having sex with the vigilante. You like the dude, really. But your heart remains with Damian Wayne. Robin/Batman just really reminded you of him sometimes.

Hatefucking. Hatefucking happens a lot. Robin/Batman loves pinning you to the walls/floors of alleyways before you two get down and dirty.

Whereas, people (namely his fellow vigilantes) think he’s done with you, but he’s probably the biggest [Villain Name] fanboy out there.

He knows basically everything about you except your true identity. Which is somehow completely inaccessible to him.

Little does he know that it was actually his own doing, locking your civilian self’s private information as a favor between friends.

But because of this he misunderstands and thinks you’re even more of a genius or something because you managed to outwit him!! You!! Are!! So!! Damn!! Amazing!!

Damian acts cold with everybody. He’s a brooding guy. He doesn’t express much. Only about 1% of what he’s feeling actually gets put into action and/or words.

So the fact that he insists on taking on missions where he has to face you, assists you if you aren’t harming anyone, or actually indulges in your flirtation is a big thing.

So it’s safe to say when he found out you liked someone else other than him, that you were just using him to get yourself to feel better about not having said dude he gets petty.

You two used to have this pact, to never interfere with each other’s civilian lives and to respect your secret identities (of which he’s tried to breach remotely several times). But all that goes up in flames as he stalks you after a heist. Following you home.

He finds out about your secret identity, your ‘unrequited’ love for him, and you two begin dating. But you’re still oblivious about his other identity.

Damian kinda has a kink for it ngl. Like he’ll charm you as Robin/Batman even as you tell him you’re already dating someone else.

Like it’s so adorable how you keep resisting him, telling him how much you love his civilian counterpart.

But then he still proceeds to fuck your brains out as a Vigilante.

Man didn’t know he was into roleplaying until this moment. Like he’ll murmur stuff like “You say you love him, but nothing beats this. I’ve already carved a place inside you, Beloved. A place shaped in my image.”

Or “Where did your ‘undying love’ go, hm? Nowhere. You’re right back with me. Complete undone within moments of my touch.”

Things go a little awry though when you, ever the mature/communicative one in the relationship attempt to break up because Robin/Batman is leaving you confused as to how you truly feel. In addition to you not want to cuck your beautiful (soon to be ex) boyfriend any longer.

VER II: Is more on Vigilante x Vigilante. Similar to the one above except your relationship is a lot more professional and less hate-fuckey. You know of each other’s civilian/vigilante selves.

You’ve always admired Damian. Despite being quite close in age, you always saw him as a younger brother if not like a son almost. Witnessing him grow up and mature alongside you.

But your doting nature always came off a tad bit romantic. Flirtatious even. You tended to be a playful person after all. Hell you even call him Babe or Baby like that’s totally normal for you to call friends that.

A lot of your friends and colleagues always laugh at Damian’s expense whenever you arrive to come nag and/or flirt with him. It’s honestly hilarious. Judging from his murderous aura, people always thought that he wanted you 6 feet under.

The truth of the matter was that his glares and thoughts of murder were all directed to everyone else but you.

Damian never felt so at home and at peace with anyone or anything but his pets in life.

He’d be damned if anything happens to you.

Still, it frustrates him. He knows that you only see him as sibling almost. That you’d die for him but never date him. That despite your honeyed words he’s probably neck deep in the friendzone.

And so to the absolute surprise of everybody, he starts flirting back.

e.g. murdering those who slighted you and/or gazed upon your visage for too long, delivering their remains to your doorstep, amongst a bouquet flowers of course, and the occasional chocolates

You eventually fall in love back, though you ask him to tone it down on the violence.

- might edit more soon, but for now adios!!!

[7ndipity]

You Catch them Watching Your Show

Ot7 x Reader

Summary: How they would react to their actor/actress s/o catching them binging their show.

Warnings: not proofread

A/N: Thanks to @cloudymunson for this request!

Masterlist

Requests are open

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Jin: He doesn’t really mind that you caught him, if anything, he would ask if you wanna watch the show together. He loves getting to hear little stories from while you were filming, it ends up becoming your weekly routine together.

Yoongi: He’s a lil embarrassed at first when you caught him, but he plays it off like “Of course I watch your show, what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didn’t support your work?!” But fr tho, he’s soo invested in the plot, it might be his favorite series.

Hoseok: He’s not really bothered that you found out he’s been watching your series, even though he screamed when you caught him, but that was cause you startled him. He recovers pretty quick tho, fanboying over his favorite moments to you.

Namjoon: He’s lowkey embarrassed when you caught him camped out in bed binging the newest episodes, but he gets over it pretty quickly, asking so many questions about the plot. “But why did he lie about being dead?! Why not tell her the truth?!”

Jimin: He doesn’t necessarily mind that you caught him watching your show. He would’ve preferred it not happen as he was crying over two of the characters breaking up, but he can’t help that he got over invested in the plot, you’re way too convincing.

Taehyung: He’s actually kinda happy that you caught him while he was watching the show, now he can gush about how much he loves the series and discuss his theories about the plot, even though he knows you can’t tell him anything.

Jungkook: Doesn’t care that you caught him, but now that you know, he wants spoilers. “Tell me what happens! Pleasse?!” “Nope, you have to wait for the next episode, just like everyone else.” “But I’m not everyone else! I’m your boyfriend!”

Taglist: @sopebubbles-replies @btsw1fe @this-must-be-my-tardis @whitefoxgirl @bethanysnow @captainorangegoose @k4ngelz

[teecupangel]

Yes public answering is allowed.

Take your time, I know I am not the only one with asks.

Desmond Miles, Malik Al-Sayf, Kadar Al-Sayf, Altaïr ibn-La'Ahad, Leonardo Da Vinci and Ezio Auditore all playing Dungeons and Dragons pre canon (pre AC.) Desmond has no idea who his friends are cause he didn't pay attention to history lessons and drowned out his father after awhile of his bloodline importance speeches. Kadar is the Dungeon Master/Storyteller. Malik and Altaïr play Paladin and Cleric respectively. Ezio pretty much plays himself, charming flirt. Leonardo, plays powerful characters since he feels powerless often. His friends enjoy Desmond's company that when he goes missing they step up to find him. And Desmond's mind is blown after viewing Altaïr's memories that he figures out who the other two are.

Once again take your time.

Okay.

What if Altaïr is in a forced sabbatical?

Maybe it’s similar to what happened in 1191 where Altaïr’s actions led to the death of someone. Maybe it’s because he deliberately got between their team and the Brotherhood under William Miles.

If you want to keep Clay alive, maybe he saved Clay and that led the Templars and the Assassins into almost recognizing him so they’re all lying low.

Altaïr being not allowed to leave the house is his punishment XD

Malik is an inch away from actually strangling the man with the lan cable for his computer because a bored Altaïr is an annoying one and Kadar took a part time job because he’s that bored.

Kadar met Desmond because his part time job is a delivery man for a specific brand of alcohol that Bad Weather keeps on stock.

Kadar recognized him immediately as William miles’ runaway son and befriended him because he’s curious.

Their friendship leads to Desmond admitting he’s curious about DnD but doesn’t have friends to play with. Kadar invites him because he has online friends that he actually plays DnD with (one of those friends being Rebecca and, if you want a watch_dog reference, Wrench) so he gets the others to play DnD as well because they’re all varying degrees of noobs.

Also, this way, Altaïr would actually have something to do XD

Before Desmond gets there, Kadar makes them promise not to talk about anything Assassin related because Desmond is the first actual offline friend Kadar has made that wasn’t part of the whole ‘we sorta got reincarnated/transmigrated into the future but we’re not gonna talk about that I guess’ thing.

(I’m using http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/ for character info and I am absolutely not sure if they’re already available by 4e XD)

Unorganized Notes:

Kadar uses 4e rules but is fast and loose with them (because I wish to give them 5e but 5e was relased in 2014 TTATT). Leonardo makes the minis but Kadar makes the maps (he does check online for references). It’s his own campaign but his online DnD group helps him (he actually plays a Rogue online named ‘Altair’ without the ‘ï’ because he’s still a fanboy)

Everyone agreed Rogue is off-limits because they might all choose Rogue and also to not tip Desmond off so no one is a Rogue. Desmond screws this up by actually picking Rogue. Desmond actually goes for Assassin Rogue because he loves irony XD His backstory is that he left a cult of assassins as a child and is trying the adventurer life. Everyone just feels a bit awkward when he told them that backstory but Desmond just breezed through that so it was just for a moment XD

Malik is an Oath of Vengeance Paladin who share the same deity as Altaïr. In-game, this is because Altaïr is a Cleric on a mission to appease their god and Malik is there to keep him in check. Out of game, Malik wants to be the one to finally annoy Altaïr this time around and this backstory gives him an excuse to do it.

Altaïr is an Arcana Domain Cleric who is on a mission of redemption as ordered by his deity. The reason why he’s in a road of redemption is unclear and it’s clear that Altaïr has no respect for his deity. In-game, everyone who worship the same deity call him their god’s ‘Chosen’ and he hates it (Kadar absolutely loves to ham out the worshipping of the 'Chosen' XD). Out of everyone, he’s the player who is absolutely min-maxing his character.

Let’s be honest, we’re all expecting Ezio to be the Bard and he is. He even plays the guitar because, according to him, it’s better than a minstrel's lute, whatever that means. Absolutely a School of Swords Bard that has the highest Charisma stat among all of them. He’s the designated leader and the one who pulled everyone together into this weird group of adventurers. He may or may not be a noble who ran away from home.

Leonardo is an Artificer. While Artificers are already available as a class in 4e, their specialties were officially created for 5e but fuck it, let’s say it’s a modified Artificer class because Leonardo should be an Artillerist Artificer. If you don’t want the Artificer class because of how questionable it is possible for 4e, my alternate suggestion is Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer for pure magic destruction or Great Old One Warlock (unli Eldritch Blast). He plays Ezio’s character’s long suffering childhood best friend who joined the group because Ezio ‘begged’.

The campaign may or may not be a chosen one absolutely not wanting to do his mission as said chosen one and being dragged along by his god approved babysitter and a misfit company (the twist is Altaïr's mission is to actually find their god's child that is supposed to save the world... it's Desmond. Desmond's the god's child. The cult he's from is worshipping the same god as Altaïr but Desmond, Altaïr and Malik don't know it. Kadar thinks he's made such a good plot twist XD)

(I left their races ambiguous for you to play with. I personally would suggest making Altaïr a kenku for the lols XD)