#Speaking of the Goths… girls' night took a bit of a turn at the manor 😅 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

squiddybeifong · 7 years ago

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Damirae Proposal

Based on this by @chromium7sky

Once again, shameless self indulgent fluff that turned out longer than expected.

Raven leaned her head on Kory’s shoulder, lazily observing the ring that adorned her hand. The white diamonds were bold against her tanned skin; its glittery shine nearly matched the glow of the alien’s bright eyes, both flickering in the dull light. The goth peered up at her friend, a smile stretching her lips, “It suits you.”

Kory grinned back, pressing a kiss right above the gem on her forehead, “Thank you. Dick certainly has good taste.”

The demoness glanced up teasingly, “In rings or in women?”

The princess laughed, the sound booming in the dusk air. She wiped at her eyes, “Yes.”

Raven shook her head and took her hand rather than continue talking, studying the thin strand of tungsten that wrapped around her finger. Her pale fingers traced the edge of the band, eyes narrowing in thought.

“Kory?”

At the older woman’s hum, Raven asked, “How well does this hold up with your powers?” She lifted their hands to stare at the ring in the light, a tinge of concern in her voice, “This is entirely too beautiful to be accidentally melted.”

“I don’t wear it when we fight.” Raven’s gaze flicked to her face in surprise. “It’s far too valuable to me.” Kory looked down at the ring, her smile widening, “Besides, on Tamaran we don’t wear jewelry on our fingers; it invites misfortune.”

The teen nodded, “I’d imagine a degloved finger isn’t considered lucky.”

Kory chuckled, pulling Raven up with her as she made her way to the elevator, “It really isn’t.” She motioned to the doors, hitting the call button, “How about we go flying before patrol?” Raven smiled and nodded, gliding next to her.

A few minutes later they flew in comfortable silence, taking in the flickering lights and homebound birds from the clouds. Raven felt the older woman’s curiosity and turned to look at her, one brow raising under the shadow of her hood.

Kory smiled clumsily. She hesitated for a moment, then questioned, “Do Azarathians have any marriage customs? I know you were raised by monks, so marrying wasn’t too important to your education. But…”

The redhead trailed off, the curl of her shoulders inviting the younger girl to answer. Raven ran her tongue over her teeth in thought, diving a few feet lower until her cloak nearly skimmed the rooftops. Kory followed patiently, giddy at the consideration in her teammate’s form.

“Rings are sacred on Azarath,” The teen’s voice was low as she spoke, her tone fond and distant. Kory watched as the goth fiddled with the twin bands that constantly adorned her middle fingers before flicking back to her hooded face. “The monks were abstinent, yes, but the alcolates married and had children, had families…” Her amethyst eyes shut for a long second before sliding back open, “We had betrothal necklaces and, after four circuits of the moons, the matrimonial strands were presented and tied during the ceremony. Although the women were often the ones to carve the necklaces.”

Her pale fingers flexed once, twice. The goth continued, “Rings were only for monks. My unique nature allowed myself to actually have rings of my own, whether or not I forever planned to stay a monk.”

She was quiet after that, lost in her memories (as she often was whenever she talked about her home dimension) and Kory didn’t bother speaking, filing that information away for later. She briefly thought of Damian and his budding relationship with the goth but threw the idea aside, not wanting to jinx her wishes.

As it turned out, ‘later’ wasn’t for another four years, eight months, three weeks, and six days.

Dick had burst into their apartment, a giddy grin on his face as he peppered kisses onto his daughter’s cheek and spun her around. He beamed at his wife, nearly vibrating with excitement, “Dami’s thinking about proposing!”

Kory had paused in preparing the toddler’s snack, her head tilting to the side in thought. She hummed, making up her mind, then flew over to plant a quick peck on her daughter’s forehead, then kissed her husband (X’hal, nearly five years and she still wasn’t over how amazing that sounded). “I need to talk to Damian. He hasn’t bought a ring yet?”

Dick shook his head, “No, he’s still looking around. Why? Have some ideas?” He waggled his eyebrows at her, spurring Mar’i into another fit of giggles and Kory to place an exaggerated smooch to his cheek. “I have some advice. I’ll be back soon. Have fun you two!”

Damian wasn’t all too hard to find, all things considered. The Batman-to-be was brooding next to a gargoyle, staring at her in annoyance as she appeared. She knew why, if the silent zip of his notepad being placed in his utility belt meant anything.

The Tamaranean sat next to him, looking over downtown Blüdhaven as businesses prepared to close for the night. After a moment the young man relaxed (as much as he would allow. He was still on patrol, after all.) and considered her from the corner of his mask.

“Grayson told you.”

Kory hummed, choosing not to answer. Instead she leaned back on her palms, “She loves you so she’ll say yes. Just don’t buy her a ring. They’re religiously sacred on Azarath.”

He didn’t seem phased by her words, although his back got just a bit straighter at Kory’s positive conviction of his future, “I know.”

“Oh?” Kory felt a smile slide on her lips, of course he knew already. “Any idea what you’ll ask her with, then?” Damian's shoulders drooped again and he ran a palm over his face, a heavy sigh finally escaping.

He cracked his jaw, eyes narrowing in consideration, “I have a few ideas.”

Kory stared at him for all of ten seconds before she spoke, “Well? Tell me.”

The hero clicked his tongue, “Superman gave me a fragment of that meteor he destroyed -- the one that would’ve leveled downtown Shanghai -- and I was going to carve her a necklace.”

The alien perked up at that, her head tilting to the side in thought. Before she could comment, Damian added, “I’ve seen manuscripts of her favorite Azarathian poems and I’m nearly fluent in reading the script...I’ll find a way to incorporate them, somehow.”

He leaned back against the gargoyle’s wings, biting the inside of his cheek, “Jon’s offered to let me propose in the Fortress of Solitude and both Pennyworth and Grayson promise they’ll find a way to ensure the library at the Manor is empty.”

Kory chuckled, running a hand through her hair, “She would like both, maybe the library more than the Fortress.”

“That’s what I was leaning towards.” Damian reached behind him and felt the scaffold on his back, picking at the palms of his gloves. He looked at Kory as she put a hand on his shoulder, smiling softly at him, “I meant what I said earlier, Damian. Necklace or not, library or not, she’s going to say yes.”

A tanned finger affectionately poked his cheek, “Just get to it before Dick slips up and tells her himself. As much as I love Cass and Steph I do want another sister, you know.”

Damian nodded, his mind racing as he thought about his soon-to-be maybe (probably) fiancée.

Nearly nine weeks to the day from his conversation with Kory, Damian found himself watching Raven in a mix of awe and love as she floated around, her eyes and hands engulfed with her power as she set about fixing the tattered remains of Gotham Park.

Ted Dymer lay sobbing in the back of a police cruiser already headed to the station, the Mad Bomber once again foiled despite his partly successful efforts. The rest of GCPD’s night crew had sectioned off the whole park, assured by the heroine that she would fix the playgrounds and patches of grass as much as she could.

She landed in front of him, a bit winded as she shakily stood. Her violet hair was illuminated by the lazy haze of the streetlights through the bombs’ smoke and her tired eyes shined as she took in her boyfriend’s flutter of emotions.

At the spike of anxiety, she leaned in worriedly, murmuring against his ear, “Habibi? Is everything okay?”

Damian blinked at her then turned around and motioned for the closest officer that still lingered to leave. Raven placed a hand on his shoulder as the squad car drove off, jumping a bit as Damian threw five smoke bombs, surrounding them from prying eyes.

“Damian…?”

He tore off his mask and grabbed her hands, kissing her bare knuckles as his mask fell to the dirt. His emerald gaze was as intense as his emotions and the empath paused, holding his gaze.

“Marry me.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, too stunned to speak.

Damian slid his gloves off and kissed her knuckles again, peering up at her over his lashes. He took out his sword, his most prized possession besides the half-demon’s love, and knelt before her, his determined, lovestruck gaze never leaving her own.

“Raven Roth, I love you with everything that I am. You’re my life, my soul, my angel. And I don’t-- I don’t have a ring and I don’t have a necklace, but would you accept this sword as dowry? Will you be my wife?”

Still stunned, she couldn’t breathe as his words repeated over and over in her mind, even as tears began to form and she blinked, feeling them threaten to spill over. A trembling hand rose to cover her heart and she somehow found her voice, “Yes, Damian. Yes! Of course -- of course I will! Yes I’ll marry you!”

Damian just barely moved the sword out of the way when the demoness all but tackled him, covering his lips with her own. He wrapped his arms around her -- his fiancée -- and felt the wetness of her tears (if he was being honest, their tears) against his cheeks.

Her pale fingers intertwined with his along the sword’s hilt.

She giggled happily into their kiss, her dazzling smile as wide as his as they separated and laid their foreheads together. “I love you, Damian Wayne.”

He hummed low in his chest and stole another quick kiss, feeling drunk and giddy and ever in love, “And I love you, Raven Roth.”

Damian tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, watching as she brought the hilt up to kiss his knuckles. She grinned against his skin, “You’re my fiancé.” He watched, breathless, as she kissed up his wrist, skipping up to his elbow then jumping to his shoulder. He softly answered her, “I am your fiancé.”

Raven sighed happily as he pulled her up for another kiss. “And I am your fiancée,” she murmured into their embrace. Damian grinned as he hugged her flush against him, “You are my fiancée.”

He kissed her hairline, hearing her coo as she settled down in the crook of his neck, “And soon you shall be my wife, Mrs. Wayne.”

Her lips peppered along the curve of his jaw, “And soon you shall be my husband, Mr. Wayne.”

Even under the slowly dissipating shroud of smoke, their happiness was not invisible. Not a hundred yards away from them, Nightwing crouched on an apartment’s rooftop, his excited squeals smothered by a leather jacket. Unphased, the older of the two shook his brother’s shoulders in excitement, his cheek pressed against the crimson helmet.

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comefollowtherainbowroad-blog · 7 years ago

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Society’s Rules

The alarm sounded and Mrs. Donnie woke at exactly 6am. She went to the bathroom and showered. As always she was done by 6:15. She dressed in a silk morning gown and went downstairs to prep breakfast. This included setting the table, juicing oranges, getting out pot/spans, preheating ovens and fetching her husbands paper.

At 6:45 she returned to the main bathroom and groomed. She plucked brows, removed curlers, styled hair, applied makeup and shaved legs if needed. Switching to a house dress once she was done. By 7:15 she was ready to make breakfast. At 7:30 she prepped showers and woke up her husband and three kids. While they ate she made their lunches.

Her kids boarded the bus at 7:45 and her husband left for work at 8am. She then ate her breakfast and began cleaning up. By 9am she was usually done. Once breakfast was done she started cleaning the house. Shelves were dusted, toilets scrubbed, floors vacuumed sinks bleached and windows print free. This was usually done by 1pm.

After housework was done she checked the weather. Nothing but rain for the next three days. After laying out the rain mat by the door she set down and read The Dutiful Wife Guide. Flipping it open she started at The Rules of Wifehood.

A wife must always appear neat and unfrazzled.

A wife must never wear home clothes outside or outing clothes at home.

A wife must always serve her husband first. The will of the husband is the will of the wife.

A wife’s job is to please her husband.

A wife’s place is to tend to the home and children.

A wife’s purpose is to raise a family

A wife who can’t conceive can’t be a wife

A wife must always get her husband’s approval when going out

A wife may only be attracted to her husband

A wife may only speak if asked to by her husband or to bring up issues of the house.

Once she finished going over the rules she started dinner. Tonight she was making her husband’s favorite, pot roast. Reaching into the fridge she pulled out, four carrots, three stocks of celery and the beef. From the pantry, she grabbed one large onion and two decent potatoes. She rinsed the potatoes, carrots, celery and set to work dicing them. Once they were done she peeled the onion and chopped it up as well. The vegetables were nestled around the roast, water was added until about halfway up and set to slow cook on 300 for the next five hours.

At 3pm the kids return from school. She makes them a light snack of PB&J and sends them to their rooms to do homework. The oldest child, a daughter named Millie, announced that she had something she wanted to say at dinner. She wrote it on the schedule and sent her upstairs with the others.

At 5pm the roast was ready. At 6pm her husband returned and they sit down to eat. Each of the kids goes over their day at school then her husband complains about work. They eat in silence for a few minutes then Millie speaks up.

“My family I have an announcement. I know what I’m about to say may come as a shock.” she pauses as there is a knock at the door. The couple looks at each other as unannounced company past 5pm is a taboo.

Her husband got up and answered the door. He plastered on a fake smile and motioned for the others to as well. Two counselors from the Good Church walked in. The female wore a white cardigan with a tight black knee length skirt. The male a three-piece suit.

“Hi I’m Laura and this is my partner Craig. We are here to discuss a disturbing incident involving your daughter Millie.” The female explained in a high pitched chirp. Millie tried to slink under the table as her siblings slid their chairs away from her.

“What happened exactly?” her husband kept his tone polite but authoritative.

“Well..” the male started. “..she was caught fighting with one of her fellow students. When asked why she said he was being mean to her friend Trixie.”

“Who is Trixie I thought Dominique was her friend?” the father asked.

“As far as I knew there was only Dominique and Katie. She has stayed at their house several times” she answered. She motioned for the other two kids to head upstairs. Millie only sunk lower into her chair.

“You see that’s what we thought as well but when asked they said they never spoke to her before,” Laura explained. “We asked about that but their parents never met her.”

The four adults turned toward the twelve year old. She looked terrified but pulled herself together. Standing up she faced them with all the courage she could muster. Her hands shaking she confessed.

“Trixie is my friend from school. She lives at a sanctuary and has two daddies. I fought Rachel cause she was telling her that she should kill herself cause she has offended God. I don’t believe that God would want that.” She stood there and looked them both straight in the eyes as her entire body shook. “When I was supposed to be at Katie’s or Dominique’s I was at Trixie’s learning acceptance.”

“Well that’s all we needed to know.” Laura chirped. She pulled out and latched a bronze bracelet around the girl's wrist. “If you were an adult it’d be silver but since it was only a few minor bruises bronze for supporting her. After three months of counseling it will be removed. See you tomorrow.” With that they left.

“Explain. Now. Girl.” her husband barked.

Millie sat down and through tears explained all that happened. How the other girls were mean and kept calling him an extremist after what happened with Lucielle. How only Trixie accepted her and his reputation and how Luci used to pass notes back and forth through her. She even explained how during the two week sleepover at Katie’s she was at Lucielle’s wearing black lace and coloring her hair bright blue with chalk.

Her father was furious. He started yelling claiming she betrayed him just like her older sister.Her mom broke down into tears demanding to know where she went wrong. Her siblings could be heard upstairs muttering about how this would kill their reputation.

Once he calmed down she started shaking. She remembered what happened to Lucielle, or Luci as she preferred. Tears in her eyes she remained silent as her father grabbed her arm and drug her to the car.

Mrs. Donnie pulled herself together once they were gone. She cleaned up after dinner and tucked the two kids into bed as it was 8pm. She then went into Millie’s room and packed her things just as she had for Lucielle. Her bathroom was cleared out and her clothes neatly folded in a case. All her toys were put into a box along with her pink butterfly bedding. By 9:30pm it was as if the room had never been used.

She picked up the dutiful wife guide and turned to where she left off. She recited the rules until he returned.

The Husband is the king of the castle, what he says goes

It is the husband’s right to do as he will to the kids so long as it isn’t in sin

It is the duty of the wife to follow the will of the husband

The Husband’s decision is final and may not be challenged

All unmarried children are the property of the husband

A wife may never challenge or question the Husband

When they returned at midnight she didn’t question where they went for she already knew. When her daughter lay crying in her barren bed she offered no comfort as it was her husband’s will. When her daughter went downstairs and left her bag of clothes in one hand and a map in the other she didn’t follow. As the rain fell in sheets and thunder boomed she didn’t worry. For as her husband wished the child was no longer hers.

She cleaned up her house and put the rest of the girl’s belongings in boxes in the garage. If she didn’t claim them in a week they’d be thrown out. Once finished she showered, put on her nightgown, set the alarm and curled up next to her husband to sleep.

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Howl woke up to someone knocking on the door. She looked at the clock and was only more confused as it was only 2 am. Groggily she got up and got dressed. She answered the door in her pajamas, shirt buttoned cockeyed and her a tangled mess.

“Hello welcome to Rainbow Road Please come in.” The cold rain pelted her in the face waking her up instantly. Even more confused she looked down at the soggy shivering mess before her.

“Hi I’m M.m.millie, T.trixie’s friend. S.s.sorry to incon...inconvenience you b.b.but I am in n.n.need of a home. I h.h.have only twenty dollars to my n.n.name but I’ll get a job.” The little bundle squeaked.

Howl gathered the kid to her chest and carried her to the common room sofa. She was soaked to the bone and shaking badly. It was unknown if it was from crying or the cold. Howl started combing her over for injuries. It was when she screeched that she stopped to look at her shoulder. Sure enough there was a bloody rose tattoo. Great the mark of the Goth.

“Would you like some cocoa or chocolate cake? How about both while we talk.” she asked gently. “I’ll even tend to your new tattoo. It needs to be covered. Ok?” The little bundle nodded.

“D.d.do you ha.ha.have any d.d.d.dry clothes I can b.b.borrow?” Her shaking was getting worse.

“Sure they might be a bit big but let’s get you warm and changed.” She took her upstairs and ran a hot bath. She put Neosporin and a bandage on the tattoo and set her in the bath. Once she stopped shaking she took her out, dried her off and gave her one of her flannel night shirts. It was way too big but comfy.

Pulling one of the lounge chairs into one of the kitchens many openings she tucked the girl in while she made cocoa. She didn’t push or pry she just let her process at her own pace. Getting kicked out was hard, getting thrown out at twelve was worse.

“Is it okay if I stay here awhile?” The little girl asked.

“Sure Millie no worries. I know your older sister lives in Gothic Manor but it’s not really kid friendly. If you want you can stay with Nat’s mom Charlene for as long as you like.” She paused to offer her food.

“Cake? Ice cream? Both? They’re chocolate.” Howl offered her a slice of chaotic looking confection.

“Umm. not to be rude but I’ve never had chocolate. Father always said it was the Devil’s invention.” She took the plate and stared at it like one would a spider in the bathroom.

“Okay Millie there is only one thing you need to know about this place at your age. Chocolate is life. Trust me, try it.” She offered her a bite of Triple Chocolate Crunch ice cream. The kid’s eyes went wide as she grabbed the container and made for the couch. Howl laughed and followed her with the cake.

They ate in silence for a bit before Millie spoke up again. “Can I still go to school?” she asked.

Howl responded. “If you want we have a school inside if you’d prefer so you don’t have to see Laura tomorrow.”

“No.” she said sleepily. “I want to still be friends with Trixie and see my siblings. School is the only place I can see them now. If they come here they’ll get in trouble.” she started to nod off.

“Why’s that honey?” Howl asked. She tucked a green throw around her and gave her a few of the animal pillows from the chairs.

“Cause it’s Society’s rules. Mom has to obey daddy as do my brothers. Daddy hates what they call the unnaturals. So mommy and them have to as well. But at school they have to interact with everyone regardless of that so we can still talk.” She closed her eyes and barely finished her last sentence before she fell asleep “I wonder if mommy misses me, she didn’t miss Luci or Grace.”

Howl held her hand as tears drifted down her cheeks. This is the second kid this week. She studied the bronze bracelet on her wrist. Trixie told her what happened when she came home today. She figured her parents would throw her out which is why they lied to her when she came over those few times.

Howl wiped her eyes and moved Millie to the guest room. Checking the clock and realizing it was only 5am she set an alarm for 7am and left a note for Nami with an address to get her things. She loaded Millies clothes into the washer as the rain pierced through the bag. Unable to sleep she called up Charlene who burst into tears and woke Nat. The three made plans to set up her guest room, in the meantime she’d stay with Howl.

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“Have a good day at school.” She called to her oldest, a boy named Tom. The other boy, Tim asked about Millie only to be smacked by Tom.

“We don’t talk about it.” he hissed at his younger brother on the bus.

“But why?” Tim asked.

“Cause those are the rules. Which is why we gotta be different once we grow up. But only after cause if not we get Lucied.” Tom explained

“Okay.” responded his brother. The nine year old had a lot to learn.

Once they were on the bus she walked into the garage. She reached into the box labeled Millie and pulled out her favorite stuffed tiger. She tied a blue ribbon around its neck that said Millie. She then placed it in a box labeled wedding that they kept on the top shelf in the garage.

It settled in next to two others. One was a pink cow with red ribbon that said Lucielle and a parrot with a black ribbon that said Grace. Around the middle of the bird was a black and gold banded bracelet. Beneath was a photo of a happy family of seven. A smiling mom, a cheerful dad, twin girls, another little girl and two little boys. On the back it read: The Donnie family, Mr. & Mrs Donnie, twins Grace and Lucille, little Millie and the boys Tommy and Timothy.

She set the notice of misbehavior next to two others. One for a Lucille which cited her transgression as “Crazy hair color” and one for a Grace which cited “used the incorrect pronoun when referring to herself” as her transgression.

“A wife must always obey her husband. Her husband’s rule is law and his will is the will of the house. Whatever the husband decides must be obeyed. Children are the property of the husband and he may treat them as he pleases so long as it isn’t sinful. Should the husband decide to purge the world of his children a wife’s job is to aid. His rule is law and his will the will of heaven.” She whispered as she pulled Millies social and birth certificate from the box.

Nami and officer Daniels stopped by at 2pm to pick up Millies things. He looked for signs of abuse but never checked the box labeled wedding as those were sacred to the Good Church and he had no warrant nor did she have a gold or black bracelet. Since her husband wasn’t home they couldn’t search him or his office.

Suspicious but with no other options Nami packed up her things and left. They watched as her tail lights faded into the rainy afternoon. Daniels looked at the woman who has, as far as records indicate, banished three kids now.

“Can you answer a question for me?” he asked.

The women nodded. “As long as it pertains to the house.” She responded.

“How can you just cut off three kids that you gave birth to. You treat them like they don’t exist. She just left last night yet there are no photos or any sign she was here.” he’d be the first to admit his tone was rough.

The answer she gave he swears will haunt him for the rest of his life. Her tone nauseated him and the smile she gave chilled him to his bones. The irony wasn’t lost on him as he left The Sacred Path housing community. It was why cops were forbidden from joining the Good Church.

“It’s society’s rules officer. Those that don’t belong don’t exist. Those that don’t exist can never have been. My daughters were just a lie I constructed as they no longer belong therefore never existed. This is the will of my husband and therefore the will of the house.” She chirped at him. There was no sign of guilt or remorse in her eyes. She waved as he left and walked back inside as if nothing unusual had occurred.

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