#They will seriously think Roy is loosing it.

[kizzer55555]

Phantom was a strange kid. There was no way around it. Roy (not Roy, the real Roy is missing) knew it the minute he crashed through a brick wall and landed onto his coffee table, breaking it with his head and oozing some sort of green glowing stuff from most of his body. Yet the only thing the kid did was look mournfully at the table and apologize for the mess before jumping out the window and continuing his ‘tussle’ with killer croc.

So after those red flags red arrow had to physically drag Phantom away from the fight and get him some form of medical attention. But when he asked where the boy was injured the kid just looked at him blankly and claimed killer Croc never landed a hit on him. When Roy- the clone tried to motion towards where his side was still bleeding that toxic green substance that was now covering his moldy couch, the kid just answered that those were injuries he got before the battle. As if that answered anything. Roy tried to patch the kid up as best he could despite the boy’s insistence that he could just sleep on it and he’d be fine.

Ro- the clone was not having it. And it really shouldn’t be harder to bandage a teenage…meta? Alien? Than it was to bandage superboy, Wally on sugar, and Wolf at the same time. And yet, he was once again proven that no matter what, the world hates him. Good to know.

Because he could have sworn that the bandages were just going through the kid’s torso. Add onto the ice powers, heat vision, shields, flight, super strength, clones, invisibility, and whatever the world that thing where he split his torso and head in half was, this kid had way too many powers. And Roy would like to believe, for his own sanity, that the kid does not also have intangibility and just chose to get punched into multiple buildings.

After some struggling, he finally gets the kid semi bandaged. Does he look like a mummy? Especially with his pale skin, whispy white hair, and thin, almost skeletal, frame? Why yes, yes he does. But he’s a bandaged mummy so it’s good enough for now.

But the clone should probbaly find out where this kid came from.

If would be helpful if the boy gave him any information other than the name Phantom.

Meanwhile, Danny is confused at this adult…teenager? Adultish teenager with a beard? His head hurts, he’ll think about it later. Yeah, he doesn’t know what to make of him. He didn’t shoot. So was that a declaration that Danny was welcomed? Or was it a warning that Danny should stay away? He was getting mixed signals. Sure, all those times he was hit by his rogues usually ended with friendship so was no attack a declaration of war? Or was the arrow guy just really friendly?

Danny was right and his injuries healed up by morning. So he left after a metal thank you to his savior. But he had to get back to Amity. Vlad had done some damage with his lastest attack but thanks to a good nights rest it seemed he was back to 100 percent. All Roy woke up to was some empty bandages left on his couch. Completely untouched (Danny wasn’t just going to leave perfectly good bandages covered in his ecto blood. Besides, he was used to phasing gunk and stuff off bandages to reuse them). And no other sign that someone had been in the apartment. Even the hole in his wall was patched up. Roy was pretty sure he somehow got drunk last night and hallucinated the whole thing. That would have probably been the end.

Only…they kept running into each other. Over and over, it was the same thing. Whenever Danny got injured (mostly from Vlad) he would start fleeing the area. And he was drawn to the city Roy/not Roy made his base. And over and over, without fail, Roy would patch him up.

The clone was starting to think he was hallucinating. That the lack of sleep and accumulation of stress had him seeing a boy who wasn’t actually there. With his young age and undead appearance, the clone wondered if maybe he was starting to hallucinate the ghost of Roy Harper himself. Like taunt at how he couldn’t find his original no matter how hard he searched. Sure they looked nothing alike but when was the last time the clone even looked in a mirror?

Well, as far as hallucinations were, this one wasn’t all bad. It gave him someone to talk to and almost acted like a conscious, telling him to clean up after himself or get more groceries. Sometimes even nagging him until the clone did so. It became more obvious that this was a hallucination when the Phantom started talking about his home life. About everyone trying to kill him, his parents and their threat of vivisection, a secret government agency the clone had never heard of after him, and oh yeah, that the kid was a ghost. Not a meta or alien with ghost like powers. A legitimate, foot in the grave, ghost.

So he was hallucinating a dead kid with trauma. Perfect.

Why his mind decided on that, the clone would rather not figure out. It was nice hearing stories of another clone out there though. One who was accepted by their original. The clone knew that wasn’t how things worked in the real world. Superboy was a perfect example. It was a nice story his mind made up though. So he listened to the boy and let him trauma dump, probbaly a side effect of the clone’s mind to make him feel better. If someone with a worse life than him showed up it would make him feel better about his own circumstances right? Besides, there was no way some with this tragic of a past existed. Especially not one who would smile so brightly.

So Roy let him keep his delusion to himself. He never spoke about it with the other heroes he sometimes ran into. He never talked to the ghost boy unless they were alone. (Because sometimes the kid would walk alongside him in the streets wearing a hoodie to hide his gravity defying white hair, chatting the clone’s ear off about anything and nothing). And the clone even gave into his pestering about a healthy diet, grocery shopping, sleep, and showering. It was a win for all! The clone noticed Phantom showing up more and more, often with no injuries for the clone to tend to (with all medical supplies ending up clean and refilled the next morning as if never touched) and the clone just got used to it.

That is, until one day when he was cornered by green arrow who tore into him about his unhealthy habits (hey! He’s been doing better, give him a break!) surrounded by the other teens and Phantom just popped in to add his two cents to the argument. The clone easily ignored his hallucination and would have continued doing so until Wally looked at the glowing floating teenager and asked those 6 damning words that changed everything the clone though he knew about that last 6 months.

“So…anyone gonna explain the kid?”

“Wait…you can see him?!”

“… so basically just about everyone in my life has tried to kill me at least once, it’s kinda become my go-to way of making friends, just striking up a conversation with anyone who shoots me. It’s worked with just about all of the rogues in my hometown, including my clone-turned-sister who I had brunch with just last week. Even my parents used to shoot at me, but that was only for like a year or so and in their defense they didn’t actually know it was me, haha. It’s kinda funny, the only person who ever managed to actually kill me was a friend of mine who didn’t technically kill me the first time, and then only did it a second time to fix some rewritten timeline stuff, and I still dated her for a while after that. Oh, speaking of dating, my first girlfriend tried to kill me WHILE we were dating, but again, in her defense, she didn’t know it was me haha. But yeah, that’s kinda why I kept talking to that guy while he was pummeling me, just a bit of a pattern I’ve wound up developing. Anyway, what was the question again?”

“… How did you get in my safe house, and do you need medical attention.”

“Oh! I crashed through the window, and probably. Also, I’m gonna pass out.”

And then Danny passed out.

[illiterateaffairs]

DISTRACTIONS XI | SOMEONE TO STAY

pairing: jamie tartt x f!reader (ted lasso)

rating: T

word count: 6,369

summary: ted has some news to share with the team that unexpectedly leads to other secrets coming out. 

A/N: here it is - the penultimate chapter of distractions! i’ve had the events of this chapter planned out for what feels like forever, and i finally get to share it with you all. thank you for reading and i can’t wait to see what you think💙💛

distractions masterlist | previous chapter

It should come as no surprise that you and Jamie end your night after the Man City win doing some…not-so-innocent activities to celebrate. You’re hesitant at first, not wanting to agitate Jamie’s ankle, but your attentiveness only turns him on more. You’re not entirely sure what time you actually fall asleep, but in the early morning light, you’re awoken by Jamie leaving a trail of kisses on your face and down to your neck, and before you know it, you’re going another two rounds. 

You bask in the afterglow side by side as you catch your breath. When you look at Jamie, there’s a dopey smile on his face.

“You happy or something?” you ask teasingly and his smile only widens.

“Just a little,” he murmurs, leaning over to give you another kiss.

You lay on your sides facing each other for a few quiet moments, as you trace the tattoos on his arm. 

“Have I mentioned how much I like your tattoos?” you whisper. 

“Mm-mm,” Jamie shakes his head.

“Well, I do.”

“Have you ever thought about getting one?”

“A couple times, but not seriously,” you tell him, “Not sure what I’d get.”

“I think you should get a big number 9 plastered across your back,” he suggests with a faux-serious expression.

You snort, “And why would I do that?”

He shrugs innocently, “So you can have a piece of your favorite footballer wherever you go.”

“That’s funny because you and I both know my favorite footballer is…”

“I swear to God if you get the number 24 tattooed anywhere on your body, I’ll scream.”

You laugh out loud, placating your boyfriend with another kiss. “I think I’ll have to keep thinking of other tattoo ideas before I commit to anything officially.”

“Fine,” Jamie agrees.

You move your fingers up the length of his arm to run gently across his face, “With everything that happened last night, I never got the chance to ask you about your dad. Was he at the game?”

Jamie looks down, but covers your hand with his, “No, he wasn’t. Which I think honestly messed with me more. I ended up texting him afterwards, but I haven’t heard back yet.”

“I’m sorry, Jamie,” you whisper, knowing their relationship was complicated, but that he still begrudgingly cared about the man, “I think reaching out could be good. You don’t have to forgive him, but you deserve a little closure.”

Jamie nods, “Yeah. Ted said something like that, too.”

You smile internally. Of course he did. 

Jamie lifts his head to glance at the clock on your side of the bed, “I think we overslept.”

You roll your eyes light heartedly, “Yeah, I wonder why.”

Jamie smirks giving you yet another kiss, “We should get ready. Can I drive you to the club today?”

Your heart flutters at how excited he seems to publicly take you to work for the first time. Unfortunately, you had a few loose ends to tie up this morning, so you’d be going to the club later this afternoon, getting the all clear from Rebecca over text on your way home last night. 

“I’ll actually be in a little later today. I have some things I need to do first,” you’re attuned to the way Jamie’s face falls, so you quickly reach out to stroke his cheek again, “I promise there’s nothing to worry about. I want to tell you everything. I was thinking over dinner tonight? I can make my lasagna that you like so much.”

Jamie’s expression relaxes, though you can tell he’s still a bit weary of what exactly you’ll be telling him. Still, he gives you a tiny smile, “That sounds great, babe.”

“Good. Now hurry up and get ready. Don’t want Roy to yell at you.” 

Jamie groans, but reluctantly pushes himself out of bed. You eventually manage to get up yourself once he’s ready, pulling on one of his tee-shirts so you can kiss him goodbye at the door. 

Once he’s gone, you take a deep breath. Despite your indecision about your job situation, spending the night carrying on with Jamie, Keeley, and Roy made what you wanted to do become clear as day. You weren’t sure how everyone would react, especially with the trouble Keeley and Rebecca had gone through, but you knew in your heart you had to follow your dreams on your own terms. And that’s exactly what you were going to start doing this morning.

Jamie arrives at Nelson Road with a sense of self assurance he’s never had before. Sure, he’s always had an air of confidence and cockiness about him his entire life, but today Jamie feels a special sense of pride when he enters the locker room. Not only had he helped his team win a game in his home city the night before, he was dating the most incredible girl he has ever met and now everyone knew it. 

As if they didn’t hype him up enough about it the night before, his teammates greet him with pats on the back and teasing remarks about the match, and about you. Jamie rolls his eyes, joking right along with them, but on the inside he’s admittedly enjoying the praise. He knows the team loves you, and is very protective of you. And while he knows they’ve grown to love him too since returning to Richmond, it warms his heart that they not only approve of his relationship with you, but are almost as excited about it as he is. Almost. He was definitely the most excited.

The Greyhounds go about their morning, getting ready for training, and the spirit continues to be high. For whatever reason, though, Jamie senses a shift in the mood when the coaches enter the locker room. They’re probably going to want to get serious about their final game of the season, he assumes, but another piece of him worries that something else is going on.

“Hey, everyone listen up,” Ted calls out and he’s missing the usual pep in his voice, “I’ve got something I want to say to you all before training.”

The team instantly stops whatever they’re doing to give their coach their full attention. Ted exchanges a look with Coach Beard who nods reassuringly. Roy and Trent stand off to the side, seemingly in the loop as well, and they don’t look thrilled about whatever it is. 

When Ted turns back to face the team, he’s scratching his face nervously, but he takes a deep breath and continues, “There’s been a lot going on in my life lately, mentally, as you may know. And while I’ve been handling things better, there’s still one thing I can’t fix here, and that’s my relationship with my kid. He hasn’t said anything himself, but I know I’m not present enough in his life. So, that’s why I decided after our season’s over, I’m going to go back to Kansas. Permanently. So...this will be my last week as your coach.”

It takes everyone in the room a second to process this, but when reality hits them, there’s an uproar of confusion, sadness, and frustration. It's unclear what each of them say, as they talk over one another, but most are just trying to tell Ted to stay in their own way. 

Ted nods his head, letting them get it all out, before raising his hand to calm them down. “Hey, hey, hey. I know it’s sudden, but trust me I didn’t think this through lightly. Coaching you guys the last few years has been one of the greatest honors and privileges of my life. But now I need some time to focus on my family and I hope you all will come to understand that.”

Silence blankets the room again, before another chorus of murmurs echo their understanding, though the mood in the room is still solemn. For Jamie’s part, he’s mostly remained silent from his seat on the bench, too shell-shocked by the news to say or do anything. He understood that Ted was leaving, but the actuality of it wasn’t hitting him completely yet. Probably because he didn’t want to let himself believe it, with how important Ted was to him, even if he didn’t always acknowledge that. 

“So, who’s gonna be our coach next year?” Dani asks, and few teammates tack on ‘yeahs’ in equal curiosity. 

Jamie notices Ted’s eyes briefly flit to Roy, but the assistant coach just continues starting straight ahead with his arms crossed.

“Uh, I’m not sure yet. Think that’s up to Rebecca, but I just told her the news this morning,” Ted answers honestly. 

“Coach Beard, are you leaving, too?” Colin questions this time.

Everyone’s heads whip to the man in question at the front of the room next to Ted.

Slowly Beard nods his head, “Yeah. I’m leaving, too.”

Another round of depressed groans carries through the locker room as the team processes a second loss.

“Wait, what about Y/N?” Sam brings up before he can even stop himself, but as soon as he sees the alarmed look on his coaches faces, he realizes his mistake. “Shit.”

The team grows quiet again, their heads turning to Sam this time, and Jamie’s heart skips a beat at the sound of your name.

“Uh, what does Y/N have to do with this?” Isaac questions.

“Yeah, just because she’s American doesn’t automatically mean she’s leaving, too.” Jan Maas adds on.

While Jamie’s equally confused, his heart continues to pound against his chest. With furrowed brows, he looks between a guilt-ridden Sam, and Beard and Ted, who exchange looks of their own. An uneasy feeling forms in the pit of his stomach, as he and the rest of his teammates wait for an explanation.

A nervous Ted clears his throat, nodding again, “I think what Sam is referring to is that...Y/N is actually my niece.” To the chorus of gasps, Ted continues, “Yeah. She didn’t want you fellas to know, so you didn’t think she got her job because we were related.”

Jamie’s heart drops. So many things become clear in that moment; why it felt like you’d been keeping something from him, how you’d become so close to Ted in a short period of time, why you were so good with Henry when he visited. You’ve known him your whole life. He can barely hear Ted continue as he processes all of this. 

“I’m sure this isn’t how she pictured you all finding out. But either way, me leaving doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll want to go as well,” he tells everyone.

However, no one has time to feel relief when a small voice pipes up.

“But what about that job she’s interviewing for?” Will asks from the back of the room, drawing everyone’s attention to him. Suddenly nervous with everyone’s eyes on him, he carries on with a stutter, “I-I heard her talking to Sam in the boot room about it one day. She’s interviewing for a writing job in New York.”

Once again, everyone’s heads sharply turn to Sam, who looks apologetically at Jamie across the room. That’s when it sinks in for everyone. You in fact could be leaving them too. 

Jamie can barely hold eye contact with Sam, turning his attention to his shoes. His breathing goes heavy, and he barely makes out Coach Beard ordering everyone to start heading towards the pitch for training. Sam is the last one to file out besides Jamie. He wants to apologize to his friend, for helping keep your secret, and letting Jamie find out this way, but he doesn’t know what to say to make him feel better. So, he just defeatedly follows the rest of his team out of the locker room doors.

Jamie’s not sure how much time passes when a hand on his shoulder brings him back to reality.

“Hey, Jamie,” Ted’s soothing voice says to him, “Want to chat in my office for a sec?”

Jamie nods absent-mindedly, rubbing his face before following behind his coach. He passes Roy who only gives him a pat on the back before leaving with Beard and Trent. 

Ted shuts the door behind Jamie, before rounding his desk to sit in his office chair. Jamie fidgets for a few seconds before leaning against the shelf near the door. 

After it's clear Jamie’s not going to start this conversation, Ted speaks up again himself, “Well, first off I want to say I’m sorry that you found out about everything this way. I’m sure she wanted to tell you all of that herself, and I’m sure Sam didn’t mean for it to come out that way either.” 

Jamie nods, still not looking at Ted. Internally, he laughs bitterly. You were probably going to tell him all of this tonight; feed him a nice meal just to break his heart.

“If it’s any consolation, this is the first time I’m hearing about this job in New York, too,” Ted adds, “So it has nothing to do with my decision to go back to the states, if that’s really something she’s considering. In fact, I haven’t had the chance to tell her my news either.”

“So, she’s really your niece?” Jamie finally says. He definitely knows it's the truth, but he’s still in disbelief that it's been right under his nose the whole time. 

“Sort of,” Ted snorts, “Her dad is Michelle’s brother. So, in a way she’s not technically my niece any more. But she’s still my family in the way that matters.” 

Jamie nods again. A piece of him is touched by the way Ted has clearly been looking out for you the last few months; especially after your breakup. But another part of him is horrified that he’s been sneaking around with a relative of Ted’s this whole time. 

It’s as if Ted can sense his uneasiness as he speaks again, “I’m really happy for you two by the way.”

“Really?” Jamie asks, making eye contact with him for the first time.

“Really, really,” Ted nods, with a kind smile on his face, his head resting in his hand, “I think it’s great. I mean, I just found out yesterday, but she is clearly very smitten with you.”

Jamie’s cheek’s flush and he prays Ted doesn’t notice. “You’re not going to threaten me or tell me I’m not good enough for her?”

“Nah, that’s more of a dad’s job; and she’s got two so I’m sure you’ll hear that speech plenty,” Ted teases, “But I also know you, Jamie. I’ve seen you come into yourself the last few years, and that person is a good guy. Getting to see your growth has been one of the best parts of coaching this team, and one of the things I’ll miss the most. I don’t need to tell you not to hurt her, because I know you won’t. Besides, I can see that you’re just as smitten with her, if not more.”

If Jamie wasn’t blushing before, he definitely was now. Not only because of his comment about his feelings for you, but also due to Ted complimenting him. He was once again overcome with sadness thinking about Ted not being around anymore, but he couldn’t handle that thought right now. And he certainly couldn’t handle thinking about how he’d feel if you were leaving, too.

Unsure of what else to say, Jamie just settles on a simple thank you. 

Ted gives him another supportive smile. “Don’t mention it. Just go easy on her about this whole job thing. She’s probably confused by it all, and she might not even go. Just talk to her about it, okay?”

Jamie nods, managing a tiny smile of his own. “Coach?” he asks softly, “Would it be okay if I skip training today? Think I need to clear my head. Might end up going for a run on my own anyway.”

Ted nods assuringly, “Of course.”

As Jamie stands up and heads for the door, he turns to Ted one last time. “Coach?”

Ted looks at him curiously.

“Thank you. For everything you’ve done for me the last three years. I think it really sucks that you’re leaving, but I understand why. You’ve got to do what’s best for you and your family, and I’m sure your son will be glad to have you back around. I know the rest of the team’s bummed, but they’ll probably be over it by tomorrow and support you, too.”

This time Ted is the one overcome with emotion, knowing it's rare to get this much sentiment from Jamie Tartt. Trying not to show it, Ted just nods and gives him another smile. “Thank you, Jamie.”

With one last tight smile, Jamie pulls open Ted’s office door and disappears around the corner.

Your plan to have a productive morning was very successful. After treating yourself to a big, homemade breakfast, you hunkered down at a local café to get some things done regarding the job options you had. In effort to not get distracted, you turned your phone on ‘do no disturb’ and then spent a few hours drafting emails, tightening up your manuscript, and preparing what you were going to say to Jamie later in the day. 

After feeling satisfied with your work, you close your laptop and decide you have a bit of time before you need to be at the club, so you plan to go to the grocery store to get everything you need for dinner with Jamie. However, when you open your phone to type out a list, you see dozens of missed calls and texts.

Your first instinct is that someone had to have died. But that was ridiculous. Still, your nerves are spiking as you check your texts. There were a slew of them from various members of the team, and even Roy and Trent Crimm. In some shape or form, they were all asking about your relation to Ted, whether or not you were leaving Richmond, and if you were taking that job in New York. 

You feel like you’re going to be sick. How the fuck did they know all of that?

You get your answer when you finally listen to the one lone voicemail you had. It was from Sam.

“Hi, I can’t talk long, I’m meant to be at training, but I need to tell you that I fucked up and I’m sorry. The team knows about you being related to Ted. And about the New York job. It all just came out and I can explain more later, but I just need you to know that I’m so, so sorry. And I’m sorry if it hurt Jamie, but I know you two will work it out. Okay, I gotta go. Beard and Roy are coming. I’m sorry again. Okay, bye.”

There’s not an ounce of you that can be mad at Sam, especially with how distraught he sounds. And shit. Jamie. The one person that didn’t reach out. You can’t imagine what he’s thinking right now.

Running out of the café, you furiously navigate your phone to order an Uber to the club, furiously cursing yourself for not being able to drive on the left side of the road. Stupid England. 

Once you arrive, you race through the halls to the locker room. It's about time for lunch, and you count your blessings that most of the team must have already left the premises to eat. Among the few stragglers is Sam, who is anxiously sitting on the bench staring at his phone. His head shoots up when you enter, causing him to stand with wide eyes, meeting you halfway.

“Oh, my God, Y/N, I am so sorry, I completely messed everything up,” he begins, desperate to fix it all.

You shake your head as aggressively as you can, “You do not need to apologize to me. It’s okay. I just need to find Jamie, is he here?”

Sam frowns, “No. He didn’t end up training with us today, and no one’s heard from him since this morning.”

“Shit,” you sigh, rubbing your hands over your face. You rack your brain for where Jamie could have possibly gone, but one thing still isn’t making sense to you. Dropping your hands, you return your gaze to your best friend.

“Sam, why did this all happen?”

Sam’s shoulders sag, his expression unreadable. His eyes eventually leave yours to look at something over your shoulder. The sound of someone clearing their throat makes you spin around to see Ted standing in the doorway to the coaches’ offices. He nods his head for you to join him.

Glancing back at Sam one more time, he gives you a small smile and squeezes your shoulder. He apologizes one last time, to which you assure him  that everything is okay. But you were finding it hard to believe that yourself. 

Ted shuts the office door behind you and you dramatically fall into Beard’s chair as Ted sits in his own. 

You don’t bother beating around the bush, “What the hell is going on? I don’t come to work once and Sam ends up spilling the beans on everything. Did something happen?”

Your uncle gives you a sympathetic smile, “Yeah. I spilled some beans of my own.” At your confused expression, Ted plows forward, “I’m going back to Kansas.”

“For the summer?” you ask, though you fear you know the answer.

“No, Kiddo,” he sighs, “After the season’s over, I’m moving back to be closer to Henry. And Beard’s going back, too.”

“Oh,” you nod in understanding, but still find it hard to process, “When did you make that decision?”

“This morning, after my mom left,” he admits sheepishly, “But I’ve been thinking about it for a while.”

You sit across from him in silence, taking it all in. The only reason you were here in the first place was because of Ted. What were you supposed to do now?

“The team didn’t exactly take it well,” Ted explains, “And in the midst of the chaos, Sam asked what me leaving meant for you. Everything sort of snowballed after that.

You inhale deeply, taking it all in. 

“And Jamie?” you ask quietly, “How did he take it?”

“I think he was just caught off guard and trying to figure out how to process it all,” Ted tells you, “He was surprised about the family thing. And the whole job in New York thing.” 

“Jesus, he’s probably pissed at me again,” you groan, “I was literally going to tell him everything tonight. I just needed a few more hours.”

Ted’s lips quirk up, “That’s life, Kiddo. It doesn’t always go exactly how we’d like it to.”

You scoff, “Yeah well life is stupid.”

“Yeah, it can be,” Ted chuckles, “I think it sounds great; a writing job in New York. That’s what you’ve always wanted, right? To write and live in the Big Apple?”

“Yeah. It was,” you say quietly, “But I wasn’t sure if that's what I wanted still, so I was trying to figure it out before I told Jamie. Or anyone.”

“Hey, that’s fair,” Ted nods supportively, “If you want my humble opinion, I think it’s great if you want to go for it in New York. I also think it’s great if you decide to stay here and continue to figure things out. Heck, it would even be great if you wanted to come back to Kansas, too. But Kiddo, you have to make that decision, whatever it may be, on behalf of yourself. Not for me, not for Jamie, not for anyone else. Just for you.”

Ted’s words settle in the air and you take it all in. While you were already pretty dead set on what you were going to do, you definitely agreed with his sentiment. You had to follow your own gut for once, not anyone else’s.

“You’re right,” you eventually say softly, “I think I know what I’m going to do, but I think I owe it to Jamie to finally have him be the first to know.”

Ted gives you a supportive smile, and your stomach flips.

“So, you’re really leaving?”

Ted nods solemnly, “I’m really leaving.”

“Then who the hell is going to make ridiculous puns around here to annoy Roy?”

This makes Ted snort, “I don’t know. I’m hoping I’ve rubbed off on enough of them, that they’ll carry on the tradition.”

You laugh along with him. You wonder if Ted will ever fully understand the impact he’s had here. On the club, on the team, and even on you these past months. You have a feeling even if he did, it wouldn’t be enough to change his mind. 

You spend the next few hours trying to track down Jamie, hoping the sooner you could find him and explain things, the less damage would accrue. 

However, he wasn’t answering your calls or texts, and no one seems to know where he is. You fear, even after your promises to communicate with each other after your last falling out, Jamie had once again resorted to pushing you completely away.

Lucky for you, Keeley happened to pop by the club that afternoon, and after getting caught up on the drama, insisted on driving you to Jamie’s to see if he’s there. Unfortunately, after searching every nook and cranny of his lavish home, you resign to the fact that he’s not there. You feel defeated as you resituate yourself in Keeley’s passenger seat, unsure of what to do next. She offers to drive you around Richmond, suggesting that Jamie could be blowing off steam, running somewhere, and maybe you’d pass him. You take up her offer, less so because you hoped to catch a glimpse of him, and more so to avoid going home to any empty home for a little while longer. 

It was nearly 6PM by the time Keeley drops you off at your flat. Suffice it to say, you didn’t find Jamie jogging around Richmond. You also didn’t find him wallowing in Crown and Anchor, but that didn’t stop you and Keeley from doing so yourself over a quick pint before calling off your search for the night. As she drove you home, you briefly wondered if Jamie could have possibly fled back to Manchester, to see his mom again. But that was four hours away, and there was no chance you were asking Keeley, or anyone for that matter, to make that drive. And the Uber fare would be atrocious. 

As you climb your apartment stairs, you resign to a night of waiting by your phone, hoping to hear from him, and if not, trying to find him again tomorrow. 

When you walk into your home, you’re instantly overcome with the feeling that you’re not alone. You’re proven right when, as you’re discarding your coat and shoes, Jamie enters the living room from your kitchen. 

“Hi,” you breathe out, after getting over the shock of seeing him, “Have you been here the whole time?”

Jamie shrugs, “I went on a run for a bit. But eventually I got the urge to come here.”

You nod, still on edge, “You, uh, didn’t think to answer any of my calls or texts?”

Jamie cringes, “So, I’m pretty sure I left my phone in my bag in the locker room.”

You scoff in disbelief, “Jamie…”

“I know. I know. That was stupid. But I left the club in such a hurry, I wasn’t thinking.”

“I was worried sick all day, I thought you were shutting me out again,” you whimper tiredly, unable to stop yourself from giving into the emotion that built up all day.

“Shit,” Jamie mutters, taking large steps to close the gap between the two of you to gather you in his arms, “I’m sorry.”

You allow yourself to feel comforted by his embrace for a few seconds before you’re shoving him away abruptly, “Fuck! I shouldn’t be making you apologize to me, when I’m the one who lied to you and hurt you. Again!” 

You cover your face with your hands, frustrated at yourself for making Jamie feel even an ounce of guilt, when you were once again in this situation because of you.

Gently, Jamie pries your hands from your face and interlocks your fingers together. “Hey, it’s okay.”

“It’s not, though! I keep messing things up between us because I don’t know how to communicate like a normal human being. And you don’t deserve to be jerked around like this. But I promise, I can explain everything if you give me the chance.”

Jamie swallows, taking in your words, though a tiny smile plays at his mouth. “I promise I will give you the chance, but is it okay if I say some things first?”

You hesitate, your eyebrows furrowing over what he could possibly have to say, but eventually you nod. 

“Thank you,” Jamie whispers, giving your hands another squeeze and then he takes a deep breath, “You’ve been spending a lot of time lately reassuring me that I’m good enough, but I feel like I haven’t done enough to assure you that you are more than enough for me. Yeah, it has sucked to feel like you were keeping stuff from me. I knew you couldn’t have been doing anything wrong, but it still hurt that you either didn’t want me to know or trust me enough to let me in. But now I understand that it has nothing to do with me. I get that letting people in is hard and that you were afraid that the secrets you were keeping would make things harder. Sure, it would have been nice to know you were related to Ted from the get-go. I might have not tried so hard to sleep with my coach's niece the first chance I got.”

You manage a small laugh.

“Obviously, I don’t regret that though. And I get why you did it. I get that it might have made your job more complicated, and then even more so once we got together. Telling family is a big step. So, I get it, I do.

“I even get why you didn’t tell me about the job in New York. The thought of you leaving…I can’t even think about it too much. But I also know that it's your dream. And the last time you told a guy you wanted to go after your dream, he discouraged you. And even though I would never do that, I know deep down that still scares you. But I want you to know that I think it's amazing; that you’re writing again, and that you have the opportunity to do it in the city you’ve always wanted to live in. I’m so proud of you, and want you to be where you need to be. Even if it's not here with me. So, that's why, as much as it kills me to say, I think you should do it. You should take the job in New York.”

Jamie’s words weigh heavily on you. Firstly, you’re heartened by his reassurance that you were more than enough for him. You didn’t realize how much you needed to hear that. Secondly, you were simultaneously surprised and not surprised that he was encouraging you to pursue the New York job. It wasn’t a direction you had been expecting this inevitable conversation to take, but it was Jamie you were talking about. Of course he’d say exactly the right thing and support you, even if it meant you moving back to another continent.

Overcome with complete adoration for him, and since words are failing you at the moment, you can’t help but to plant a gentle kiss on his lips. As you pull away, Jamie is clearly surprised by the act of affection, but he’s also not complaining. He looks at you expectantly, hoping you do eventually have something to say in response to his speech. And you do. You just need to figure out how to word it best. 

You eventually inhale your own shaky breath, meeting his eyes once again, “Thank you, for saying all of that. It means a lot to me. Even if you say you understand, I’m still sorry for keeping everything from you, especially now that it has come out this way. It really all stemmed from not wanting to mess anything up between us, but of course the opposite still happened.

“I’ve been dying to tell you about Ted for so long, but like you said, telling family is a lot, and Ted’s an important part of your life too, so I didn’t want to make things weird between you two. 

“And the job…I knew you’d be excited for me. But I think I just never wanted to see the look on your face when you heard it was in New York. And then things got more complicated when Keeley told me she knew a literary agent, here in the U.K. who might be interested in meeting with me.”

“Oh?” Jamie’s eyebrows shoot up in hopeful curiosity.

“Yeah. So, as you may have guessed, I needed some time to sort out what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go.”

“And,” Jamie asks timidly, “Have you decided?”

After a few beats, you nod. “Yeah. I decided I can’t work for that agency here.” Jamie’s face falls and you’re quick to latch back onto his hand, “But I also can’t take the job in New York either.”

Jamie stares at you in total confusion, “What?”

You smile slightly, finding his expression oddly adorable. “I want to write more than anything, and part of me is happy doing it by any means necessary, but I also hate the idea of not being able to prove myself on my own. Back in Chicago, Mason got me the job at the advertising firm. Then, when I got tired of that, Ted and Rebecca got me the job for Richmond. My friend from Chicago got me an interview in New York, and Keeley knows a literary agent here. Everything I’ve done has been because some else suggested it or did it for me. I’m not naive enough to know that sometimes connections are how people get work these days, but I don’t want that to be my story. I want to succeed because I did it on my own. 

“So, this morning, I told the publisher in New York I was no longer interested in interviewing for the reading position, and then spent hours refining my manuscript and submitting it to a few small, independent publishing houses to see if any of them would be interested in working with me. I know it won’t be as lavish as the publishing houses in New York or the one Keeley had connections to. But all writers start from somewhere, and I want to start somewhere on my terms.”

Jamie digests everything you said, and eventually gives you a shaky smile, “And where are these publishers you submitted to?”

You give Jamie your own shy smile, “Right here, in England.” Jamie’s grin widens as you continue, “I’ve never felt more at home, than I have here. And with the exception of my own family, I’ve never been surrounded by more people who genuinely care about me. I feel more like myself than I ever have before and I’m not really keen on losing any of that.” You bite your lip, “And I also sorta really like a certain footballer that lives here, too. So that’s kinda the cherry on top of it all.”

Jamie lets out a disbelieving laugh, “So, you’re staying?”

“Yeah,” you nod, “Is that okay?”

Instead of answering, Jamie places both his hands on either side of your face and kisses you with as much passion as he can muster. You don’t hesitate to reciprocate, sliding your hands up his stomach to rest on his chest. You knew better now than to make a decision on behalf of a man, but god, were you glad that you got to keep doing this for the foreseeable future. 

When Jamie pulls away from you a few moments later, his eyes are watery, “I know I said I was okay with you going to New York - and I meant that - but, God, I’m glad you’re not.”

You giggle, “I’m pretty happy with my decision, too.”

Jamie leans in to kiss you again, but you lean back with your nose scrunched up. Your brain is less clouded by emotions now, and you finally pick up on the aroma flooding your home.

“Are you cooking something?”

Jamie smiles awkwardly, his face flushed, “Yeah, so during my run, I had this grand idea to surprise you with dinner like you usually do for me. So I grabbed what I could from the store and attempted to make your lasagna recipe. It’s probably nowhere near as good as yours is, and the garlic bread is store bought, but that shit still tastes fucking good, if I do say myself.”

You can’t keep the bright smile off your face, “I’m sure it’ll be amazing.”

Jamie squints, “Yeahhh, maybe wait to try it first before you give me too much credit.”

You giggle and shake your head, before pulling Jamie in for a warm hug, which he accepts without protest.

You couldn’t care less how the food was going to taste. It could be burned to a crisp and you still knew it would be the best meal of your life. Because Jamie, your Jamie, took the time to make it to make you happy. And push you towards a decision that he thought would be what you wanted, even if it hurt him. 

You were so lucky to have him, and you were comforted by the fact that he seemed pleased to have you as well. And now there were no more secrets between you threatening to unravel everything. Jamie wasn’t going to disappear on you again, and you certainly weren’t going anywhere either. Richmond was your dream home now, and the fact that your person lived here too was the best kind of bonus.

A/N: THERE IT ISSSS CANT WAIT TO HEAR EVERYONE’S REACTIONS! ALSO, was anyone else bummed we didn’t see the team’s reaction to Ted leaving in the show when they first heard? i’ve had the scene in my head as the ted reveal since i thought of this story between season 3 even came out because i knew they’d take ted away from us and i was shook we didn’t get a reveal. i get why and part of me appreciates them not focusing on the sad, but i really took away from my story haha

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[wambsgansshoelaces]

Keys

Siobhan Roy x Reader

Oneshot

Summary: you just live too far away, but thankfully, she has a solution. very soft and fluffy <3

thank you so much to lovely 🫀 for leaving this request! I love you and all your ideas <3 i hope i brought your dream to life! enjoy, and as always, let me know what you think x

Word Count: 2.416k

“Come on, babe, let me fly you out for New Year’s.” You and your girlfriend, Shiv, both lived in New York, but you lived a bit away from the city. With all of the traffic, on top of the already five-hour drive, a trip down to the Big Apple would rip your will to live from you.

“I couldn’t ask that of you,” you say back into your phone. “It’s right after Christmas, Shiv. That’s going to be a lot of money.”

You hear her shifting around. She’s probably lounging in bed, her sheets pooled around her. “So? I have the money, might as well spend it,” she tells you. “Besides, I want to see you. It’s been a while, and I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” you murmur. “I’m… can you get a flight for today?”

“I already booked it,” she says, and you can practically hear the smug smile on her face. “Enjoy business class, baby.”

She comes to pick you up from the airport herself, the terminal empty other than the other passengers of the flight. She throws herself into your arms, bright smile unmoving.

“Shiv!” You kiss her cheek, then her jaw, her neck, before taking hold of her face and giver her a long, hard kiss on the lips.

“God, I missed you!” she exclaims. She presses lingering kisses to the corners of your mouth. “Don’t leave this time,” she murmurs teasingly.

“You know I can’t,” you tell her seriously. She frowns, but keeps her mouth shut, instead taking you by the hip and guiding you out to the car waiting for the both of you, the driver immediately taking your bags from you. You’d packed a fair bit- you’d been able to get your boss to let you work online for the next month.

In the car, neither of you can let the other go. Her arm is hung loosely around your neck, hand draped across your collarbone, fingers stroking absentminded patterns into your skin. Your arms are hooked around her waist, your head tucked into her shoulder.

She kisses across your forehead, smiling down at you. You reach up, dragging a thumb over her plush bottom lip.

“I was serious, before,” Shiv says. “I want you to stay. I want to live close to you, not so far away, and I need see your pretty face every day.”

You kiss her jaw. “I missed you lots, Shiv, but I just can’t. I’d need to find a new job, it’ll cost so much fucking money just to hire a moving company…”

“Let me handle all that,” she insists. “I’m being serious,” she repeats. “I’ll get you a good job at Waystar. One that pays way more than that shithole you work at now. And I’ll pay off the rest of your lease. I’ll get Connor to sell all the furniture you don’t want. I need you with me, babe, I’m so serious.”

You don’t say anything for a moment. You’ve been looking for a reason to leave your current city, your current job. You despise it all, and shiver everything else was the longing you had for Shiv.

“Kendall owns an empty apartment complex. You can stay there. It’s already furnished.” She looks down at you, eyes pleading.

“I’ll quit the minute we get to your apartment.”

Shiv grins down at you, self satisfied grin stretching across her face. You can’t help giving her a small smile back.

“I thought you’d never let me.” She kisses your nose, stroking your jaw with her thumb. She kisses you, mouth lingering on yours before speaking again. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” You bite your lip, trying to suppress and even bigger smile. “What kind of job are we looking at, here?”

Shiv laughs. “The bitch heading Finance and Analytics is getting on my nerves. And I think you’re much smarter, anyway. And hotter. And sexier.”

The minute you get back, she has someone make the drive back up to get all of your clothing and essentials. And, as promised, you call your boss and quit with a satisfactory and quite colorful monologue.

When you toss your phone on the kitchen counter, feeling lighter. Things were moving quickly, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. Shiv slides past you, slowing down slightly to kiss your cheek.

“I had to fire someone just now. I’m so distraught over it… A kiss would make me feel better,” she says over her shoulder. You snort, reaching out to her and catching her arm, pulling her back to you. She’s grinning at he whole way through the slow, tender kiss. “Job’s yours if you want it,” she murmurs against your lips. “Come to work with me tomorrow. Feel everything out.”

“You really didn’t have to do any of this, Shivvy…” You pull away, smoothing a thumb over her lips.

“I wanted to,” she says back, taking hold of your hand, keeping it pressed to her face. “I really love you. I’m serious about you, baby, and I want to show you that.”

You give her another kiss, savoring her taste, savoring the way her lips curl into a smile against yours. “You’re so good to me, you know that?”

“I aim to please.” She laughs, taking you by the hips and pulling you close to her. “You deserve the world, and I’m committed to give it to you. I love you, I love you.”

The next few days are pure bliss. As promised, Shiv takes you to work with her, and you settle in immediately. You’re good at what you do, and you’re friendly. Nobody seems opposed to you taking the reins.

You and Shiv leave work together every night, hand in hand. You can never keep your heart from swelling with pure affection every time you see her. You can’t believe it. You get to see her, every single day.

As the new year approaches, Shiv begins to cram all her work in at once to be able to take the day off to spend with you. You think she’s overworking herself, but she refuses to hear it. She leaves late now, only ever texting you back past midnight.

Now, New Year’s Eve, you’re sitting in her office, perched on her desk as she paces the room, yelling at somebody on the phone. Something about destroying paperwork and covering up criminal felonies. When you realize this call is going to stretch on forever, rather than the ‘quick work thing’ Shiv claimed she was dragging you to the office with her for, you slide off the desk, step in her way, and give her a kiss goodbye. She kisses you back, the frown she gives you not ever reaching her eyes.

It’s early in the evening, so you have plenty of time to execute your plan. Besides, you don’t feel like Shiv’s going to be done anytime soon, despite her insistance through text that she will.

You find yourself in an arts and crafts store first, walking out with streamers, confetti, and confetti poppers. You then hit the grocery store, quickly grabbing ingredients for the fudgy brownies you know Shiv loves.

Having been given a spare key to her apartment, you let yourself in and you get to work on the brownies, making sure that they come out extra chocolatey, just for her. You’d also bought a carton of vanilla ice cream- you were determined for her to enjoy her night. Once they’re in the oven, you carefully put up streamers in the living room, letting them hang from the ceiling. Some curl, some hang straight. When the light catches the sheer fabric, they glitter. You put up the few sparkling triangular banners you’d bought, littering some dried rose petals you’d found at the grocery store across the living room. When you step back to admire your work, you feel proud. The living room is glittering and sparkling black, silver, and gold. A mouth watering chocolate smell seeps into the room, and you hurry to turn the oven off. They look amazing, and smell even better. You decide to leave them in the oven to keep them warm while you’re away, and to let the smell linger.

You glance at the clock. It’s still a long while away from midnight, and you don’t think Shiv is on her way home yet. You send her a text to make sure, and you’re back in her office, watching her stare into her computer, expression strained.

“Shiv, baby, come on. We should be at home, spending time together.”

“Just ten more minutes, okay? One last thing.”

You sigh. “Siobhan. You promised.”

She snaps out of her trance, glancing up at you. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I got carried away.” She swipes the heel of her palm over her eyes. You can feel the tension emanating off of her, so you open your arms to her.

She gets up quickly, letting you envelope her in a bear hug. You give her a tight squeeze, and she sighs into your hair. “Let’s go home,” she says, pulling away. She grabs her purse and you’re off.

While she fumbles around in her pockets for her key, you have to pretend like your spare isn’t in your pocket. Shiv shoulders the door open, and the fudgy smell of brownies fills your lungs. “Fuck, it smells amazing. Did I leave a candle lit? I better fucking have not,” she mutters under her breath. She stops when she sees the living room, looking at you over her shoulder. A small smile begins to develop on her face.

“You?” she asks.

“Me,” you confirm. “Go look in the oven.”

Her smile is a full blown grin now, and she excitedly hurries to the kitchen. You hear her gasp, and she runs back to you, throwing her arms around you.

“I fucking love you!” she exclaims.

“There’s also ice cream in the freezer,” you murmur, smiling up at her.

Shiv takes your face in her hands and plants a massive kiss on your mouth. “You’re the best,” she tells you, peppering kisses across your face. “You know what? Forget your new apartment.”

“I just got settled in,” you murmur. “Kendall think I’m a lunatic?”

She laughs. “No. I want you living with me.”

“What? Really?”

“Why not? I’m fucking head over heels for you and you need a place to live.” She sets your hands on your sides, rubbing up and down. “And if this is what it’s like being domestic”-she gestures around, at the brownies, at the decorated living room-“then I want it to never end.”

“Are you sure, Shiv? It’s a big move, and…”

“I’m so sure. I want to wake up and see your face first thing every single day. I love you. I need you by me 24/7.”

You chew lightly on the inside of your cheek, struggling to keep yourself from smiling. “I’d like that.”

“I’ll tell Ken to move all of your stuff.” She squeezes you, still grinning. “Stay the night. Please. Borrow some of my clothes.”

You kiss her chin. “Okay. I love you more.”

You both change into pajamas, Shiv’s a smooth silk. It clings to all the right places, and she enjoys when your eyes linger over her hips or chest. You’ve taken an oversized shirt or hers, forgoing the pants, much to her delight. You both sit tangled together, Shiv leaning against you, your legs intertwined. You’re stroking your hair as she chews on one of your brownies, smiling absentmindedly as she does so.

You’re both lying around, watching and waiting for the ball to drop. You didn’t have any fancy plans to bring in the new year, you were just happy to be together. While your move had been so sudden, you knew you were where you were supposed to be. You couldn’t imagine yourself anywhere else; everything with Shiv just felt so right.

The clock reads 11:59, and you both grip confetti poppers. The second the clock turns and the cheers sound from the TV, you both send confetti everywhere, but mostly on each other. You both grin at each other before leaning in at the same time, bringing your mouths together.

Ten minutes later, you’re both asleep on top of each other.

The next morning, you wake up without Shiv by your side. She’s texted you, letting you know she woke up early, wasn’t able to go back to sleep, and decided to go run an errand that she’d been procrastinating for her car. You don’t mind, and text her back you’ll make breakfast.

In the pantry, you find a bag of pancake mix, and you have leftover chocolate chips and syrup from yesterday. You find a skillet and begin frying the pancakes, sprinkling the chocolate chips as you go.

Despite Shiv not being at your side, you’re the happiest you’ve ever been in your life. She’s yours, you’re hers; you need nothing else in life. You smile to yourself as you make breakfast, content with life. Shiv makes you happy, and you pray you do the same for her. She’s the light of your life. You couldn’t ask for any better.

You hear the key in the lock and the door being pushed open.

“Good morning, babe,” you call out.

“Morning,” she calls back, socked feet padding into the kitchen. She gives you a kiss on the cheek before you turn and kiss her yourself. “I went out to get something for you.”

You finish plating the pancakes and turn off the stove. She beckons you into the living room, so you follow.

“I know I gave you a spare a really long time ago, and it’s nasty and gross and disgusting,” she begins, sitting on the couch, you following. “And if I’m honest, I got you this a really long time ago.”

She takes her hand out from behind her back, revealing a soft blue colored key ring. Off it hangs a small brass key identical to the one you have, just much, much cleaner. Another charm dangles from the ring, a small, golden, square. When you take it from her and look closely, you find an engraving- you and Shiv’s initials, a + separating the two. After a moment, you realize it’s her own handwriting.

“Shiv, you’re so sweet,” you coo. She grins back at you.

“I have a matching one. Mine’s just green.” She leans towards you, claiming your lips with hers. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

[snapshotxsinners]

well, on that note coz I do adore Roi and all of your work — Roi & Stolas for the kiddo meme ☆

𝑰𝑭 𝑻𝑯𝑬𝒀 𝑯𝑨𝑫 𝑨 𝑲𝑰𝑫...

Send me a pair name ( either one of my muses or yours ), and I’ll tell you what I think it would be like if they had a child

closer view here ( x )

Name

First we have the eldest twin who hatched during a full moon at midnight — Because of this, she was named after the moon and the starry night sky: Selene Amaris Jasmine Goetia.

Then we have the younger twin, who was born later that day at a sunny midday. Due to this, it only felt appropriate that she would be named after Sun and the Earth: Solera Lior Marigold Goetia.

Selene prefers to go by her full first name and doesn't often go by nicknames, though that doesn't stop her sister from calling her 'Sel' or even 'Jazzy'. Much to her embarrassment, though, her parents quite enjoy calling her 'Selene Jellybean' or just 'Jellybean' — Or worse 'Selly Belly'.

Otherwise, she is also affectionately called 'Moonlight or Starlight' by Stolas, and 'Moonflower or Snowdrop' by Roi.

Solera meanwhile, prefers nicknames and typically goes by 'Sol' or 'Lera'. And of course, she isn't excused from getting a playful and embarrassing nickname from her father's either — But unlike her sister, she likes them ( especially since they're not as bad as Selene's nicknames ). Some examples include 'Mari Berry' and 'Sunspot'.

'Sunshine, Sunlight and Sunflower' are also nicknames she'll be called by Stolas and Roi.

Gender

Both of them primarily identify as women, but they otherwise do partake in more gender-fluid expressions and will present themselves more masculine some days, or more androgynous on other days. It depends on their mood, but most of the time, they enjoy presenting more femininely.

Primary pronouns are she/they, but they also accept he/him pronouns on their more androgynous or masculine presenting days.

Personality

Selene is elegant, graceful, calm, intelligent and level-headed. Between the two sisters, she is the logical one who has a tendency to use her head more than her heart, and she has a strong sense of responsibility, which she takes quite seriously.

She strives to be reliable, and she highly values her family — To the point that she can be a bit overprotective of them at times. But Selene truly is loving and nurturing with her loved ones and those she considers close, and she always treats others with respect and mindful manners — ( As long as that respect and manners are returned ). Selene can also be a bit self-conscious at times and how people perceive her, so she always tries her best to present herself with high decorum and in a mature manner.

At times, she can also be incredibly cold to others whenever she is in an awful mood or if someone has pushed her to the limit of her anger. She is a silent-seether, however, she can be surprisingly petty and vengeful when she is pushed.

Solera on the other hand, is a bit more rugged and free-spirited. She is the twin who thinks more with her heart and her feelings, and prefers to be more spontaneous and live IN the moment.

Sol very much likes to let loose and have fun, which often caused her to get herself ( and her twin ) in trouble when they were young. She mellows out from her hyperactivity as she grows, but even so, she cares very little of what others think of her, and wholeheartedly will do what she wants, when she wants.

She can be a bit childish, selfish and self-centred at times, especially since Selene spoils her a lot and often was the one to excuse Sol's actions. When she is overwhelmed with feelings, especially negative ones, she can be quite explosive with her temper and say things she doesn't mean. When she gets like that, she always regrets it — But she does, eventually, learn to be more mindful of others as she matures.

Sol overall is very loving, affectionate, and would be your #1 supporter and personal cheerleader.

Special Talents

Selene inherits Stolas's magical affinity, and she grows to become very proficient in magic, especially when it pertains to space and ice-based magic. She even discovers new ways to cast spells as she grows, or she'll invent devices that will further advance magical technology.

Another talent of hers is Sword fighting — Fencing, mostly, so a rapier is her preferred weapon. However, she is able to use other sword-like weaponry, knives and daggers. Her large double wings also make her a very proficient flyer, though she isn't as agile or quick as her sister. Her wings are better for silent gliding and soaring long distances.

Solara on the other hand, has a real knack for both Botany and some fields of Geology. She has always had a strong special interest in plants and various rocks, gemstones and sediments, and by the time she's an adult, she's practically an expert on the topics. And because of these interests, Sol really enjoys digging into the ground, and she's practically a professional digger! Her green thumb seemed to have manifested in her gaining plant and earth-based magic too.

And despite Sol's small and somewhat stubby wings, she can fly very fast in short bursts and out manoeuvre most flyers.

Like Selene, she does have some combat training, but rather than weaponry, she has a preference for close-combat and melee. Her legs and talons are especially strong and can easily crush rocks into dust.

Who they like better

Selene and Solara love both ther fathers, but I would say that Selene maybe leans a bit more to Stolas, while Solera leans more towards Roi.

Who they take after more

Selene definitely takes after both and is a well-mixture of the two, but I think she primarily takes after Stolas more. However, is seems Roi's paternal side definitely came through to Selene, especially with her blue eyes and ice-abilities, which resemble her Great Uncle Sterling.

With Solera, she physically takes after Roi more and her exuberance is likely more inspired by Stolas's flamboyance and dramatics. In general though, she otherwise doesn't actually take after them much! Roi likes to joke that she's similar to his best friend, and honorary sister — Penny.

Personal Head canon

Both of them looked up to Octavia when they were just fledglings, and even now, they still adore their older sister!

@botanikos

[sokoneedsagun]

Lian Nguyen-Harper. Roy Harper.

They honestly might be the thing that pushes me into writing again because god they hurt so fucking good. And honestly I’ve been thinking about them meeting again

So sure you never forget the face of your kid, but at the same time 10 years later, different hair color, piercings, and at the time it would probably be when she had that black eye. Roy could genuinely just chalk that up to “I miss my daughter so I think this random kid looks like her”

But Lian (or Shoes) she *knows* who Roy is. Because sure years of addiction might have changed the way he looked but the last time she saw him he would’ve been like 22, yeah he was young but at least he was already an adult, so she *knows* that this is her dad but what is she supposed to say? “Hey I know your daughter died 10 years ago in an earthquake but actually I’m her, I just got kidnapped and was never allowed to go near you again but I��m back now!”

But just, her and Roy slowly getting closer because at the bare minimum this is a teenager living on the streets of Gotham in the middle of winter and Roy can see himself in her because he knows how hard it is. And the closer they get the more of Lian he sees in her and the further convinced he gets that he’s just fucking finally loosing it.

And that’s all I’ve though about for this right now but like seriously they might be the thing that gets me to actually sit down and write a full fic

[abubblingcandle]

How about heart, friend, noise and/or coffee (or tea) for the word WIP thing.

Ee thank you! Was focused on getting the Roommates AU started but these are a lovely treat for another train day! 🧡

Tea - from Where the Hell is the Karma Ch5

“You told me to do this Roy,” Ruth groaned, leaning on Roy’s counter with a truly obscene amount of paperwork in front of her and a cup of tea balanced loosely in her hands. “I didn’t want to but you played my ego like a fiddle and here we are,” she rolled her eyes as Roy smirked. “I wasn’t entirely lying. Jamie needs the best and you are the best,” Roy shrugged and then effortlessly dodged the football shaped stress ball that was launched at his head. “You played me and you know it. I don’t know how to do half of this shit and, the worst part of it, I’ve got to deal with you fucking daily,” she grumbled. “Wow, now that’s rude,” Roy grunted. “I love you but I don’t right now. The reason I’m here is purely professional. We need to get Jamie’s weight up, like seriously we need to,” Ruth slipped effortlessly back into doctor mode.

Heart - from God Forbid You Leave Me (like everybody else did)

His heart was pounding and he didn’t know how to make it stop. The real crazy thing was that Jamie was actually considering it. Well maybe not going to live with Higgins or whatever, but getting out of town for a bit. Jamie didn’t need to be in Manchester for his rehab initially, the doctors were saying at least a month until any return to physical activity. A month on a Greek island? Sun, sand, alcohol, that was just what Jamie needed. So why wasn’t he able to choke out the words to tell Higgins thanks for the offer but nah mate.

Friend - from the untitled Jamie is good with kids fic

“Hey there little buddy,” a familiar prick like voice laughed, and Roy thought this situation couldn’t get any worse. Jamie stood leaning against the doorframe with his patented smirk etched onto his face. “Piss off Tartt,” Roy growled, staring at the offending infant that was now gripping onto his trouser leg. It was staring up at him with those big Disney eyes and dopey smile. “Woah there Kent, language in front of the little one,” Jamie laughed but stepped in and swooped the toddler off the floor and into his arms in one effortless motion. Roy, for a moment, panicked. Jamie Tartt holding a baby, what if he fucking dropped it. What if his phone rang or something and he got distracted and the demon got hurt. “I don’t think Royo here wants to be your friend kiddo,” Jamie laughed, poking the kid on the nose and earning a little giggle for his troubles. Roy froze. The kid seemed … happy? With Tartt?

Noise (actually noises) - from The Richmond Job Ch3

Ted startled as he climbed the stairs and moved to unlock the door to the flat. It was late and everyone had gone home to rest up and continue the investigation tomorrow. Beard and Rebecca were on Sam Watch and all the others should be in bed. So why was Ted hearing noises from inside. The door was unlocked, even though Ted knew that he locked it before he left but at least that allowed Ted to inch it open to get a better idea of what he was walking into. Deep down some part of him still had the initial response of “we should call the police” but that was quickly laughed out by the devil on his shoulder that instead offered the suggestion of “we should call Roy” which was far more reasonable.

[trentcrimminallybeautiful]

🦚🦅

under the cut for Spicy and also Length,

🦚 a sexy quote (spicy, outright nsfw, etc--if you're not comfortable with this one specify in the tags!)

Trent was not used to feeling utterly helpless. Let alone in such a way that was—pleasant. Exciting. Exhilarating.

Still a little terrifying, mind you, but all the same.

He was laid bare, quite literally the only thing covering him the red silk ropes tied in elaborate knots, his hands tied behind his back and his long hair loose and falling in his face a little as he looked up at Ted.

Ted, who was fully clothed and standing. Trent, who was fully naked and on his knees.

🦃 a big, meaty quote (JUST A BIG OL PARAGRAPH YOU WANNA SHARE)

“Right,” says Colin, wincing. “So was he—what was he like?”

Trent thinks to Ted, smiling down at him, leaning down to kiss him.

“Nice,” he says finally. “Very nice.”

“Was he a vampire?” says Colin, so seriously Trent’s almost not sure if he’s joking.

“Yes, he was an immortal bloodsucking creature of the night,” says Trent in a deadpan. “And now I, too, can’t go out in the daylight ever again, woe betide me, etcetera etcetera.”

“Alright, alright,” says Colin, “You never know!”

“Vampire would have broken the skin,” says Roy, terrifyingly matter-of-fact. He still doesn’t look up from what he’s reading. “Not every man with a fixation on necks is a vampire.” He turns a page.

“…okay,” says Trent.

“Is he implying vampires are real,” whispers Colin.

“You asked,” says Roy, which isn’t helpful.

“Well, that’s not the point, anyway,” says Colin, visibly reorienting. “The point is your new boyfriend is apparently obsessed with chewing on you like a dog toy.”

“Phrases I could have gone forever without hearing,” says Trent.

“Which means I’m not ruling out werewolf—”

“Colin.”

“But does your werewolf boyfriend treat you well?”

“I do not have a werewolf boyfriend,” hisses Trent.

“You don’t have a wh—oh, wow."

They both turn, Colin still mid-excited puppy expression, Trent deeply exasperated.

[comicbookhyperfixationtime]

I gotta big question for you: what would be your pitch an animated series based on the Mighty Thor? Spare no details

Oh boy, this is a really tough one. I just have so many different ideas for how this could go!

But let's say we're looking at a typical 21 episode TV series, and lets say we're not 100% sure we'll be getting renewed for a second season. We've got two options.

Safe Option: The series is set entirely in the Nine Realms and based largely off the Journey Into Mystery/Tales of Asgard stories. Think of it as a sort of Journey to the West format, where the whole season is Thor and cast on a grand quest and each episode/two part episodes are one challenge/encounter along the way. This would give us a chance to really do some worldbuilding and show off Thor's Asgardian supporting cast, including more obscure characters. It would probably be more of a fun, lighthearted adventure, I don't mind a bit of violence or dark themes but I'd keep it on the campier sword-and-sorcerer side rather than gritty or dark.

Less Safe Option: We start from Journey into Mystery #83, when Donald Blake first acquires the hammer. The first few episodes are standard faire for superheroes, with Thor's more minor Earth antagonists (like Gargoyle and Zaniac and the like) showing up as villains of the week. All that changes when Loki makes his first appearance. After that the arcs get longer and more complex, climaxing in a battle against Loki and his forces on Asgard. There'd be a more psychological bent to this, maybe even psychological horror, as Thor goes from Dr Blakes' superhero persona to another personality with his own thought patterns dominant personality. We'd really dig into Dr Blake realizing that he doesn't actually remember any of his past before medical school, including his family and origin, and how frightening and discombobulating that is.

Regardless of which idea, there'd be some common elements. Art style would be very colorful, Asgard's aesthetics will be a solid mix of sci-fi, fantasy and a heaping dose of surrealism. There's a direct-to-video animated movie about Thor called "Tales of Asgard" and I actually really adore how clever they were with the trippy geography of Asgard, I'd draw a lot of inspo from there.

Odin will be portrayed as the abusive jackass he is. I'm not going to soften him up whatsoever, especially in his treatment of Thor. I don't think I'll kill him off regardless, but both options will show Thor slowly working towards recognizing the toxic behavior. In Option 1 it will be revealed that Thor's quest was some gambit by Odin that would seriously endanger him and/or his friends. In Option 2 it'll be Thor not only learning that Odin brainwashed him into believing he was Donald Blake, but the reason why he did it (just like in the OG comics it will be extremely petty and more about Thor asserting independence against Odin that actually needing to learn humility or whatever, although he certainly does grow as a person either way).

If the show is renewed for a second season, it will be adapting Roy Thomas' Celestial Arc, expanding worldbuilding with the introduction of the Eternals, the Celestials and the Elder Gods. It will also be the climax of Thor's arc about his relationship with Odin. When it's revealed that A) Odin had him for the express purpose of making an Ubermenschen weapon for him to use, and, B) he had in the past had Thor killed for disobeying him, then resurrected and wiped his memories.

If the show gets a third season, that season will be a loose adaptation of Len Wein's various space epics mixed with the 90s storyline Blood and Thunder (and when I say loose, I mean loose). Basically, Thor cuts himself off from Asgard after finally learning the truth and travels through space having space adventures with various Marvel Cosmic characters. Meanwhile, there'll be B plots with Thor's supporting cast on Asgard and/or Earth working out their own issues in his absence. By the end of this season, Beta Ray Bill will be introduced, and just like in Walt Simonson's run, it will be revealed that the threat to his people he was scientifically modified to face is the rapid approach of Surter and his army. The season will end on a sort of cliffhanger as Thor realizes that Ragnarok is coming for Asgard, and will have to make a choice about going back to save them. After that will be a season with less episodes but longer episodes showing the epic battle and neatly wrapping up any character arcs that haven't been wrapped up yet.

I think the show will end with Thor's "death" at the hands of Jormungand, but how exactly this goes will depend on Option 1 or 2. Option 1 will result in Thor fighting Hela similar to how Walt Simonson's run ends (the plot point about Hela cursing Thor to be easily hurt but unable to die will also be there). Option 2 will result in a death of personality for Thor, he becomes Dr Blake permanently and lives out a happy existence on Earth (depending on whether that feels like a satisfying ending or not, I'll just go with Option 1 then). Either way there's an opportunity for The Adventure Continues but a nice finale and really no need to.

If they force me to make another season I'll adapt the Evil Future Thor story from Dan Jurgens' run, but with some major changes.

[albatmobile]

The Art of Rehabilitating Snowbirds Chapter 11

𓅪 After not hearing from Roy or Jason for five years, you suddenly find yourself taking in extra income as a babysitter for Roy and Jason's child.

𓅪 Rated: M | TW: panic attack | 8k includes: aftermath of bombing, cooking w jason and lian, hurt comfort, xbox w roy, jayroy smut, ANSWERS- FINALLY! (maybe ;p)

fem!Reader x Jason Todd x Roy Harper [masterlist]

Chapter 11: Bambi | ao3 - wattpad

A few days later, they get you everything you've asked for, along with your favorite ice cream and two bottles of Moscato. You roll your eyes when you see the latter, picking up the post-it-note attached to them that reads: ‘drink responsibly ;p’

Fucking Roy, you shake your head and close the fridge with your hip. 

At the very least, you're grateful you won’t have to go grocery shopping for them again.

The past few days, they'd been in and out with Damian, but either Jason or Roy would stay with you and Lian when the other left.

You hate and love being doted on like this, but mostly you just hate that you need this much protection. A bombing is a serious matter, after all. God, what kind of sentence is that? You snort humorlessly to yourself as you take in your odd predicament.

It seemed someone had bombed your apartment with the intention of killing you, but who'd want to do that? It's too targeted to be random; you know that much, but none of your digging has brought anything up so far.

It's you and Jason today. He's currently FaceTiming Roy with his headphones in, seemingly talking about possible leads on what happened. The police hadn’t even reached out for a report or anything, which was more disturbing and led you and everyone else to believe the cops had already been bribed off, but by who, exactly?

The cards are stacked against you and all you can do is sit by and watch.

“How long did it take the two of you to get through this shit?” You hold up the piece of paper you'd written for them toward the camera so Roy can see what you're talking about. You're seriously impressed they’d managed to get everything you need. 

Roy shoots you a Cheshire grin through the screen of Jason’s phone. “Babe, I’m flattered you think I got you that shit. If you let me loose in a store, do you really think I’d get anything remotely close to what you put on that list? No, ma’am, shit was all him,” he says pointing directly into the lens.

Roy then turns to the side with a smirk as he looks off-screen, giving you a drool-inducing view of his cutting jawline. Meanwhile, Jason blushes at being caught. 

“You still remember what ice cream I like?” It’s more of a statement than anything because you really can’t believe it. 

He looks at you, actually looks at you and it catches you completely off guard. “You practically lived with my family. Of course, I remember.” 

His deep green eyes meet your own, making it seem as if all the years have been torn away like wrapping paper. Aside from the one night in the dark of the moonlight, when was the last time you’d been able to look into them like this? No, you don’t want to remember how long it’s been. 

It's like a constant game of tug of war. 

One moment, you feel like you have a handle on the situation enough to understand what's going on, then they'll say something or do something that flips everything on its head.

You sleeping in their bed, the domesticity of the entire situation, Jason remembering your favorite shit… But there are still too many walls, too many unsaids and unanswered questions, coupled with the fact that you still somehow feel like an outsider.

Eventually, answers will have to surface. 

“If that’s all it takes to impress you, you might want to up your standards, babe.”

Always back to humor.

You give a light smile and focus back on Roy on the screen, who's squinting in the sun. You can tell he’s trying to shade the screen because his fingers keep accidentally blocking the camera. 

Jason and Roy go back to chatting about their days and Lian when a thought occurs to you.

“How are you guys going to fuck if I’m here?” you ask suddenly.

Jason spits out the coffee he’d just taken a sip of while Roy hacks similarly over the speaker. 

“Jesus, princess,” Roy wheezes and looks around, shaking the camera in the process.

“What? I’m quite literally sleeping between the two of you and I doubt you get much alone time as it is with a kid.” They're too busy staring dumbfounded at you to respond. “Seriously! It’s a genuine concern. I already feel so imposing.”

“Again, you’re not imposing,” Jason says and nudges you, forcing you to look up at him. “Seriously.”

You nod and look at Roy, who’s wearing a shit-eating grin. “What’s wrong with your face?” you ask.

“I’m just thinking about you thinking about us fucking,” Your face scrunches up in disgust at his admission but offer nothing further because, hell, that was what happened- how can you deny it? “Oh, this is good,” Roy snickers and you feel him looking directly at you as if he were in the room. “This is so good.”

“Can you just shut up for once?” you huff with a roll of your eyes. You look over at Jason when you feel him tense against you. “What?” A quick look at Roy shows he’s in the same flustered state. “What’d I say?”

“Nothing,” Jason manages and keeps his focus completely on Roy, whose shit-eating grin only continues to grow.

“What are you two about to get up to while I’m gone?” His fiery eyebrows wiggle up and down animatedly until Jason quite literally hangs up.

You throw your head back and laugh, “You’re such a fucking asshole to your boyfriend.” You watch together as Roy spams Jason’s phone with numerous failed FaceTime attempts on top of chains of crying and broken heart emojis. “Holy fuck, never mind. I understand now.”

It’s Jason’s turn to laugh as he shoots Roy a quick ‘love you’ text before silencing his phone.

Before he can hide it, you manage to catch a few of their previous messages and try to make sense of what you see. ’Two Face,’ ‘bomb’ and ‘organization’ stick out to you, but Jason’s quick to shield it from you as soon as he catches sight of you looking. 

You sheepishly glance up at him for being caught. “I take it you have some info?” you try.

“Like you haven’t already been doing your own research.” His eyes narrow slightly at you as he analyzes your reaction. 

You merely shrug. Of course you’ve been using your skills to look around for some kind of paper trail, but so far, nothing has come up.

“When the time comes, we might need your help.”

“What does that even mean, ‘when the time comes?’” you huff in annoyance. “You know, I’m getting pretty tired of this back and forth and vagueness. Do you have information or not?”

“No,” he lies easily. You turn away to prevent him from seeing the tears that begin to well up. Why does everything have to be so confusing? So forbidden, yet feels somehow obtainable at the same time. It's a constant game of tug of war in the cruel purgatory you've been trapped in with them for five years. Jason says your name, “Look at me,” he demands but you remain turned away. You try to move away, but your thighs still press against his on the couch. “Don’t be a fucking brat about this. It’s for your own good- for your safety,” he tries, no pleads, but you refuse to listen. 

“For my own good? Fuck you,” you spit, turning back around to shove your finger into his firm chest. “I’ve been doing shit on my own, by the way, for as long as I can remember. I don’t need to save me like some white fucking knight over shit that I know I can handle just as well.” It’s hard to miss the intensity of rage behind your eyes. “If anything, there’s no ‘might. You will need me.” 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” your name is hollow on his tongue as it pierces you with a calculated coldness. “It has to be this way.”

You curse but allow him to turn your head easily. You stare into his tender gaze, leaving your stomach to swirl as your fucked up game of tug of war continues.

"You're no martyr, Jason." 

He ignores your jab, eyes searching yours for something you don’t know how to give him. “I can’t see you hurt again.”

It’s so simple and yet rings out deeply in your aching chest.

You frown, knowing exactly what he's referring to. Sure, the street thugs, coffee shop robbery and apartment bombing have all been scary, but the Wayne Gala with the Joker all those years ago is what he always seems stuck on.

He leans into you, tracing gently at your throat where the lunatic had carved your scar, his calloused fingers tickling you in their wake. Your eyes flutter into a half-lidded gaze as his eyes rise from the patchy inverted triangle to your lips. 

“There’s always some reason,” your voice is a whisper in the quiet of their living room as it trails off. 

The coffee machine bubbles and whirs as it brews, but aside from that, neither you nor Jason seems to know how to break the awkward silence that currently resounds.

“Some reason for what?” his low voice reverberates in a gravelly tone that has you shifting uncomfortably in arousal.

Some reason we can’t be together. 

Some reason we can’t be open with each other. 

“Nothing,” you shake your train of thought in lieu of leaning in further to test just how close he'll let you get, “it’s nothing.”

His eyes start to close as yours do. It helps you momentarily forget how fucked up this entire situation is for Roy as you both lean in.

You tilt your head first and he follows in a slow, meaningful dip that steals your breath away. Your heart pounds rapidly against your chest as you meet his approaching warmth with your own, allowing your eyes to slip shut just before your lips meet.

Are you dreaming?

“Tell me you want this,” his gruff voice fans temptingly across your mouth.

You keep your eyes shut, allowing your eyelashes to flutter against his cheeks before responding, “I never took you for an idiot, Jason.” 

“Oh, really?”

“How much more obvious could I be?” You open your eyes slightly, backing away, but he refuses to let you. He quickly pulls you back in, his gentle hands caressing the sides of your face as he gently rests his forehead against yours. “Hell, we’ve been like an Austen novel ever since you screamed at me all those years ago.”

“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” he chuckles lightly. “‘M sorry about that, babe.” 

“No, I know,” you reassure him as you search for something, anything, to stop you from finally closing the distance. 

It’s Lian’s loud whine, though, that ultimately pulls you away from each other as if you’ve both been simultaneously struck by lightning. 

“Mommy, I’m hungry,” she complains as she tramples over to the couch to plop down with crossed arms between the newly created space between you and Jason.

You nearly choke at the same time Jason says, “Woah.”

You look at each other as her words sink in, then quickly look away with burning cheeks that match Jason’s own. His eyes follow you as if waiting for a response, but how are you supposed to know how to do something like that? 

It isn’t like Jason's correcting her or anything. Is it your job to? 

You get up and go to the kitchen in lieu of a response to start searching for something to make, all while Jason’s large presence follows behind you like a shadow. 

“You’re actually going to cook for once?”

“Don’t make me regret it,” his voice is still low and thickly coated in arousal. You feel yourself clench around the steady supply of slickness that had accumulated from your intimate moment together on the couch.

You open their fridge and bend over slowly, accentuating your ass on purpose as you arch down towards the bottom drawer to pull out a shit ton of sauces and the fresh ginger and cilantro Jason had gotten for you. Meanwhile, he turns on the stove. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” 

Lian comes up to tug at your leggings. “Can I have pizza, please?”

“Lian, you’re killin’ my Thai vibes.”

“Was Thai?” She wrinkles her nose at the ingredients in your hands as you dump them on the kitchen island. “Is it good?”

You nod and lift her up onto the island to help you add the liquid ingredients into the stock pot, “Especially because you helped make it, right?” 

“Oh, yeah,” she boasts proudly to Jason as you hand her a spoonful of oyster sauce to add, “I’m a soup chef.”

“Sous chef,” you correct her gently.

“Yes, soup chef.” She looks at Jason with a seriousness no four-year-old should possess as she takes the lemon grass stocks next to her and dumps them into the pot. “It means I help cook.”

“You’re a very good soup chef, then.” Jason takes her tiny hand and places it under his bulky, scared one as he helps her scoot the ginger and onions he’d just cut in with the rest of the ingredients. “That’s a good girl.”

You inadvertently blush at his praise and turn around to focus on preparing the chicken, but you feel Jason’s heavy gaze on you. You have half a mind to turn around and flip him off, but think better of it if only for Lian. 

He knows exactly what he's doing.

“Thank you, daddy.” 

His deep chuckle reverberates as you refuse to meet his gaze and moves the pot from the kitchen island to the stovetop, sideling up right next to you. Much to your chagrin, it appears like he has no plans of letting your flustered state go unnoticed. You feel his body press against yours, relishing in the shared contact like the touch-deprived heathen you are. He looks down at you with a heated eyes as you press further into his immovable muscular form.

You’re both pushing into each other’s sides when the door clicks open and Roy walks in. 

“Oh damn.”

Both you and Jason look over to Roy at the door, but your mouth quickly drops at the sight of Roy in a tank top and low-hanging sweats.

It’s only as he sets down his duffle bag that you notice his towel strategically covering his prosthetic.

Why won’t he just show it to you already? 

Does he really think you're so shallow that you'll think differently of him?

He smirks. Instead of the usual cheeky one, it borders on wicked. 

He watches as you follow his every movement and lifts up the hem of his shirt to wipe at the sweat on his face to tease you. It seems that Jason’s annoyed ‘tch’ only spurs him on further because he then shoots a coy wink your way.

“Where were you at again?” It comes out breathier than you’d like, but holy shit is he putting on a show. 

“Gym?” he tries while you openly continue to eye up his glistening muscles. Eventually, Jason’s seen enough and flicks red curry paste on your nose.

“Hey!” you exclaim. You reluctantly rip your eyes from Roy to whip around and smack Jason across the face with a huge splash of soy sauce.

He snickers as he wipes at the remnants of your salty assault, “Fuck you, babe. That's for hitting on my boyfriend.”

“I was not!” you insist as you hurl the leftover ginger root at him, but he catches it easily and throws it back at you. “Ow!”

Jason looks you over smugly. “Never use a weapon against someone you wouldn’t want them using back on you,” he remarks smartly as Roy grabs Lian out of the line of fire with a wide grin.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” you lament at the same time Jason slips across the kitchen on leftover soy sauce. He uses this momentum, however, to trap you against the counter. “Next time, I’ll be sure to throw the cilantro instead- OOF!” you exclaim as he runs into you, practically knocking the wind out of you in the process.

He chuckles darkly, refusing to let you out of his grasp.

You know it’s Jason and that he’s just joking, but the laughter, coupled with the feeling of being trapped, causes panic to spill to the surface.

You try to laugh, but it comes out as a pained breath.

Jason quickly senses something is off and searches the depths of your eyes for confirmation that you’re not all there. You try to swallow the rising panic, but it traps painfully in your throat and only furthers the intensity of your shallow breathing.

“Sorry, little bird.”

You tense in his hold. His eyes narrow immediately as yours go out of focus and your uneven breaths increase.

That name. 

The last time he'd used that name on you had been all those years ago. You’ve definitely been caught off guard by it and it puts you back in a really vulnerable place.

Jason disappears from your frantic view as the past takes over the forefront of your vision. Unwanted memories of Joker’s scarred, bloody smile that showcased his vile teeth with every maniacal crack of his laughter slam into your skull. 

Your hands find their way to your head in a fruitless effort to stop the thoughts as you smack back into the counter ledge behind you.

Jason’s concerned hold around you dissolves into the deranged henchmen. You feel your eyes go wild as you struggle wildly to get out of their overbearing grasp. They're too close. Your throat tightens to the point it feels like you're drowning for air and your uneven, shallow breaths quickly turn into erratic gasps. 

Your hand absentmindedly raises between the little space between you to soothe the tingling ache that spreads from the top of your scar to the bottom of it. Jason follows the motion easily and removes his arms from around you, but it’s too late. Your vision is already closing in.

You panic after having staved off the nightmares for so many years by burying these memories deep down. 

Not deep enough, you guess.

Roy, having safely deposited Lian on the couch, runs back into the kitchen, completely oblivious to the shift in mood. The redhead uses both of your distracted states to grab the soy sauce and lemon juice to douse you both with a mischievous chuckle. 

“FOOD FIGHT!”

In your distorted state, it only adds to the horrors that are already bearing down upon you. 

The lemon stings your eyes and the raw skin on your throat where you’d been scratching. All the overwhelming sensations boil over until you’re screaming and falling to the floor with your head in your hands.

“Woah!” Roy exclaims, clearly taken aback, as he drops the bottles in an instant. They clatter to the floor as he rushes to your side, though the crash against the tile floors only spurs further hysteria. Your chest heaves as another wave of panic punches you square in the stomach.

You can’t breathe.

Somewhere in the haze of your perturbed thoughts, you hear Jason tell him to back up. It forces you to remember that, yes, this is Jason’s voice and yes, you're still in his and Roy’s kitchen and not in the confines of the manor’s cabinets.

You desperately suck in the scent of Jason and Roy, along with the fragrant soup on the stove and whatever shit Roy had spilled on you. After a few moments, you're finally able to come back to the present moment.

You’re hugging your legs to your chest as you pathetically cower against their island cabinets. Joker’s laughter fades from your head, leaving a resounding pounding in its wake until you’re left with the stark quiet of the real world.

The boiling pot and Lian’s worried coos are the only sounds that fill the room. Lian sounds closer than if she were still on the couch, but you can’t bring yourself to move any part of your body just yet to check.

“Hey, hey!”

You look up at Jason’s startled voice and feel Roy and Jason’s hands grabbing your own. You look up at them quizzically, only for your face to morph into terror at the sight of blood spilling from your fingernails. 

“I didn’t…” You shake your head worriedly and touch lightly at your neck to confirm that, yes, you’ve just scratched your scar raw. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Jason insists, slowly reaching a hand out toward you. “It was my fault.” Your stomach clenches at the memory of what he called you. You visibly wince as you fight against the memories that threaten to come back. They back off again and you feel like crying, no, wait, you are crying. “Find your anchor.” At his words, you force your eyes to stay on his. When he sees you focus on him and brings a finger underneath your chin in a comforting manner. “That’s it, come back to me,” Jason says your name and you have to force yourself to regulate your breathing again.

All you can do is repeat sorry as tears splatter onto your huddled knees. 

Roy returns to your side. It's then that you notice Lian’s absence and cry even harder. She's probably traumatized and it’s all because of you. All you can do is repeat ‘sorry’ as they clutch you against their sturdy chests while you crumble to pieces. 

Jason murmurs against your right ear while Roy coos against your left, both rubbing light circles against your back. You allow Roy to pick you up and immediately nuzzle against his freckled, still sticky neck from remnants of his workout. Roy deposits you onto Jason’s lap and you waste no time curling into his neck, which smells a hell of a lot better than Roy’s. 

He comes back with a med kit and hands it to Jason. “I’ll be right back. I need to check on Lian.”

You visibly pout, not missing the pitiful looks they send your way.

You hate it. Hate that they can see you so vulnerable, no matter how many walls you put up, while they both remain surrounded by fortresses. Your bottom lip quivers under their careful concern and soon enough, you’re forced to shove your head into the crook of Jason’s to stifle your sobs. You’ve done enough damage to that little girl already; she doesn’t need to hear you wailing, too.

Again, the only words that seem to make it past the thick lump in your throat are, 'sorry' as your tears and snot steadily leak onto Jason’s shirt. Nevertheless, Jason pulls you tight against him and lets you cry it out.

Eventually, your pounding headache overcomes your ability to cry and you sit there sniffling until Roy returns.

"Sorry for being such a crybaby."

“You aren't a crybaby,” Jason assures you.

“You’ve even said it yourself,” you lamely remind him of what he’d said after the manor party. 

Roy chuckles fondly at the memory, but you cut it off with a single, pointed glare in his direction. He puts his hands up in faux surrender and starts playing gently with your hair. You can’t help but melt into his delicate touch.

“That was about Bruce, Joker is a different story,” Jason points out, all while watching your interaction with a tender gaze. “Listen, neither of us are mad at you, so you can stop with all of the apologies.”

You don’t recall much of eating, let alone how the Tom Kha tastes as your body floats through the motions. You want to will away the remaining tendrils of terror the Joker holds over you, but they refuse to relinquish themselves over your thoughts.

“I bet you’re drained. Let’s get you to bed.”

You allow them to lead you to the bathroom, drifting weightlessly behind them in the auto-pilot-like haze your body has shut down into. You don’t even bother with your routine as you strip from your clothes and gratefully accept the t-shirt Roy throws your way. You take off your underwear with little shame and throw it in their hamper before slipping into their bed in between them.

You ignore their widened eyes as you shamelessly curl into Jason’s firm chest, leaving their eyes to widen even more. Roy quickly gathers his bearings and moves to attach himself around your back like a leech. This is how you all end up falling asleep. 

•••

The light filters through the large window in their room and you hiss at it as you curl further into the body next to you, breathing in their addicting morning scent and moan.

“Mmm. Good morning to you too, princess.” 

You crack open a tired eye to see Roy’s lazy smile coupled with messy red hair splayed out against the pillow you're sharing.

“Don’t ruin this for me, Roy.” 

He snorts, drawing you closer to his chest, which you easily let him. From this close, it’s easy to ignore the aching remains of your pounding headache from last night. You feel the remnants of nausea from your episode, but you don’t want to worry him with anything.

You whine when he gets up and motion for him to carry you.

“Jesus, you’re just as bad as Lian.”

You roll your eyes and laugh when he comes up to pick you up bridal style. 

“Thank you,” you reply earnestly, knowing you only would’ve made a fool of yourself if you’d gotten up with your legs feeling as unsteady as they do.

Roy carries you past Jason, who’s playing dolls with Lian on the floor, to set you down on the couch before plopping down next to you. You lounge on the couch, half watching as they play some sort of Barbie gladiator brawl Lian had created and half spacing out until.

Eventually, Jason sets the Raquelle doll down and makes to leave.

“I need to go over some stuff for work, so I’m going to head out,” Jason says as he stands, brushing imaginary dust from his jeans as he does so. “Is that okay?”

You startle when his eyes meet yours, drawing you from your thoughts. 

“Me?” you ask unsurely, looking at him in confusion. “You’re asking me?”

He shrugs and tries to look nonchalant, but you see right through his façade. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

You startle slightly when he walks over and leans down to embrace you. You’re barely able to return the gesture before he heads off to get dressed as if nothing had even happened in the first place, leaving you completely stupefied.

This? This is something you could definitely get used to.

The entire day, much to Lian’s chagrin, is a never-ending downpour, effectively eliminating any hopes of hers to go to the park like she’d been begging about ever since two days ago. It's all for the best, considering you hardly have energy left after last night and your body will hardly cooperate as is. Eventually, Lian gives up on toys and cartoons and snuggles you extra hard. 

Meanwhile, Roy starts up a game you’ve never heard of and offers you the controller.

“Wanna play, babe?”

As a force of habit, you automatically look around for Jason to see if he’s heard but quickly remember that it’s just you and Roy. You smile lightly, rejecting the controller in favor of cuddling into his side. He allows you to easily, even going as far as to draw you closer to his side when he maneuvers his arm to be around you while still being able to play.

You and Lian watch Roy in sleepy silence as he fails the same boss fight six times in a row before you shift with a tiny laugh and grab the controller. “You’re not paying attention to your health and you’re shi-sucky at dodging. Give me this thing.”

“Sure thing, princess,” he relents easily. You blush as he continues to stare at you even after you’ve unpaused the game. “Are you feeling any better?”

You bite your lip, content to focus on the virtual battle at hand while escaping from your internal battle until Roy asks. You allow yourself to get lost in the game just a bit longer until Lian squirms against you to face you with an exaggerated pout face that rivals your own from the night before.

“Hey! Dad asked you a question!”

You try to stifle your giggle at the little girl’s sleep-ridden, slightly slurred sentence, but she hears it anyway. She furthers her pout by crossing her arms petulantly.

“You’re right,” you sigh, pausing the game to pet her hair gently before turning your head to face a grinning Roy. 

He still has you trapped with his arm around your shoulder and uses the position to gently drag his prosthetic finger in tantalizing, nearly ticklish, circles. You couldn’t get any closer to him unless you were actually sitting on top of him, which didn’t sound awful at all, yet you fruitlessly tried to close any remaining gaps between you as you squirm further into his warmth.

“Good,” she pokes you in the stomach and you flinch slightly at the pressure, “now tell dad you’re sorry.” 

You look from her to Roy and internally curse as your cheeks heat up.

Roy’s shit-eating grin is enough to have you rolling your eyes, but your blush speaks volumes as to how you’re actually feeling about the situation.

“Sorry, Roy.”

“Who’s Roy?” Lian squints at you like you’re slow. “That's dad.”

Roy snorts and you’re two seconds from beating his ass, but you appease Lian nonetheless.

“Sorry, dad.”

“How sweet,” Roy coos your name and uses his free hand to tilt your chin up and over to meet his gaze.

You gulp lightly. Your eyes flicker from the deep green of his eyes all the way to his red, blush-stained lips.

“Do you ‘cept her apology, dad?”

“I do,” his voice rasps as it fans across your face, which is now mere inches away from your own.

“Good,” she huffs. You feel her settle back into your side, but you're entirely focused on Roy. “Now, answer the question.”

“How old are you again?” you joke.

She settles back into your hold and motions for you to continue.

“I’m tired and still scared and tired of being scared… So, it’s just a lot. It’s hard to talk about s’all,” you mutter out the last part, wanting desperately to get back to the game, but Roy takes the controller from your hands before you can.

“Remember when you said being scared is normal?” You groan when Lian throws your own affirmations back at you. You don’t have the heart to tell her that there’s a difference between being a toddler robbed at gunpoint and you, a grown-ass woman who still can’t get over something from years ago. “I love you,” she says finally. 

At her unexpected admission, you and Roy share a quick glance with each other, leaving her to fret as if she's said a bad word. Roy pauses his game and focuses his attention solely on you and Lian next to him, leaving you to blush under his watchful green eyes. 

“I love you, too,” you say, uncurling partially from Roy’s side to draw her to you in a half hug. “Come nap with me.”

“No, naps are for babies,” she giggles as she attempts to flee from your arms. You only put up a little fight before letting her run across the couch to the opposite side.

“Hey! I’m not a baby.” You hold up your hands like she’s forcing a secret out of you. “All I’m saying is that Superboy loves naps.” 

She stops suddenly in your grasp and you know you have her.

“You don’t know that,” she insists skeptically but crawls back into your arms, anyway as if she can't decide whether or not you're lying. 

You’ve never really hung out with Roy alone and it's nice to know that, even after all these years, it isn’t awkward at all. Even if most of the day has been spent in silence, Roy still manages to make you feel at ease. It's incredibly endearing, though you’ll never admit it out loud. You find yourself truly basking in your time with him and Lian.

You don’t know when you doze off, but a particular booming thunder startles you from your nap. You nearly snuggle back into your sleep when you hear two sets of snores harmonizing above the sound of the torrential downpour outside. You shift, stirring Roy from his sleep.

He shoots you a questioning brow as you untangle yourself from the two sleepy Harper’s to stand. 

“I need to shower,” you whisper and lean over his slumped form to absentmindedly run your fingers through his hair. 

You try to ignore how easily he leans into your touch, how delicately his red lashes flutter closed against his freckled cheeks, but you can’t. In fact, it’s all you can think about as you go through the motions of washing and drying yourself until you realize you’re naked in their room with the door unlocked.

You quickly get dressed in a pair of shorts and a random t-shirt you find folded on the dresser that smells intensely of some sort of woodsy cologne before returning to the living room. You easily snatch the controller from Roy’s grip and take over. “What?” you challenge with a smirk.

“You,” he flicks you roughly on the nose, “are lucky my etai yazi is here and I can’t curse.”

“Whatever,” you say, sticking your tongue out at him only to gasp as he grabs it. “Heh! S’not hair!”

“What was that, princess? Something about it not being fair? Didn’t quite catch that.” It’s his turn to smirk as he leans in to rumble, “Cat got your tongue?”

“Yeh, a weal puthy,” you jest back.

He erupts into a fit of laughter and you manage to free your tongue in the process, but he grabs hold of part of the controller.

“You’re still annoying as ever, I see.”

You huff, securing your grasp on it. “Yeah, same to you.”

“Cliche,” he says as he smugly tugs the controller towards himself.

You tug it right back. “Roy, it’s touché.”

“Oh,” he responds sheepishly and ruffles his hair. “Well, touché touché then!”

You giggle lightly, watching as his face softens at the delicate noise, “That’s not even how it works!” 

He snatches the controller from you and springs from the couch to get away from your grasp. He holds it above your head, but you don’t give him the satisfaction of jumping for it like he’s undoubtedly waiting for. Instead, you stomp his foot, effectively bringing the controller back down to your height. relinquishing his hold on it. You quickly grab it and waste no time racing back to the couch where Lian, who's managed to sleep throughout the whole ordeal, is still snoring.

“Not fair,” he whines as he rubs soothingly at his foot. “You played dirty!”

“What other games do you have?” you ignore his exclamation and his pain in lieu of moving to crouch in front of their TV stand. You make quick work of flipping through the disks you see, but nothing catches your eye- that is, until… “Oh, no way, you have Skate 3?”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Roy rubs his face mirthfully while he watches you bend down on all fours to reach for the game that's stuck between the wall and the console.

You finally manage to grab it and stick the disk in and try to crawl backward when Jason walks in to see Roy seriously eyeing your ass and joins in.

“Damn.”

You startle at Jason’s deep voice, hitting your head on the shelf you’d been reaching under in the process. “Shit!” you groan.

You want to absolutely disappear as you're forced to wiggle backward until your head is clear of the offending shelf. You stand up as soon as you're free of the damned TV stand. 

“You good?”

“Mhm,” you say, nodding a bit too quickly and bristle when they start to chuckle. “Shut up.”

“Daddy!” Lian rushes up to Jason, who lifts her up into a spin. You catch Roy beaming out of the corner of your eyes and feel a pang of longing in your stomach. “You got us McDonald's?”

Lian scurries off with her happy meal with an excited screech that you can’t help but laugh at.

Roy ruffles her hair as she rushes by him before going over to kiss Jason. “How was work, love?”

 “Unproductive,” he says, tone revealing nothing as he sets down the greasy bag of food on the counter.

“Oh.” The sound of disappointment in Roy’s voice matches the look on Jason’s face. “That’s alright, don’t worry about it. Same shit for me too; don’t forget that.”

You nod, knowing the feeling. Or, well, at least you think you do from what you're picking up on.

In the stress of the last day or so, you’d completely blown off one of your gigs. Even though shit was hitting the fan and you technically didn’t have an apartment, you know you'll still probably be forced to pay out the remainder of your lease. Plus, it's not like you can just force yourself on their household and become another financial burden to them when they already have Lian to look after. 

Hell, you're already taking up space in their literal bed. You can’t not help out financially if you continue to live here but damn… You're going to go broke. 

It's a fear of yours after having lived with thieves. It's the whole reason you went to college and graduated early- you can't afford to be like them. You won't allow it. And yet, here you are, neglecting work.

“Why is our daughter playing Skate of all god-forsaken games?”

You follow Jason’s emerald gaze to the couch, where Lian is poking at the controller with half an apple slice half sticking out of her mouth.

“Lian, do a kickflip!” you encourage her. You snatch a sandwich out of the bag and go over to where she’s randomly mashing the buttons yet somehow nailing the moves. 

You all finish dinner quickly and they disappear off into the room while you finish the skate competition you started before yawning. It's definitely time for bed. You slump down to the floor to turn off their Xbox and follow after them. 

At first, you don’t notice anything as you go about rifling through one of their dressers for a sleep shirt. You still don't notice anything when you toe off your panties and throw them in the hamper. It’s only when you’re checking if the coast is clear to slip off your shirt that you hear it.

Jason’s soft, needy moans, Roy’s satisfied grunts alongside the slapping of wet skin together.

No fucking way.

You think about Roy’s rosy, damp skin from the other day and can’t help the moan that escapes. At the realization that the only thing between you and their naked bodies was a singular, thin wall, you bite your bottom lip.

You feel your clit throb in response to their escalating noises and know that if you’re about to do what you’re thinking about, you better do it fucking quick. 

You already feel close as the memories of your previous session in this room flood your mind while the real sounds play out from the bathroom next door. The image of Jason bottoming for Roy while your shampoo and body wash still pollute the bathroom only spurs on your imagination that they want you, that they're doing this on purpose, that it isn’t just an obsession.

You force yourself to move in time to their audible thrusts, not even bothering to cover up the obscene noises sputtering from your mouth the closer you get.

Their rhythm picks up and you tremble as you force yourself to follow along with the toe-curling pace. You know it's only a matter of time before the pressure building icily in the heat in your lower abdomen releases.

“Fuck me,” you hiss as you quite literally think about that.

You know you’re completely fucked when Roy’s voice cracks pathetically around Jason’s name, echoing for your pleasure as it bounces around the tiled room.

You're still coming down from your high when they emerge nonchalantly. You quickly close your legs together when you hear Roy ask if you're in the room.

“Oh, damn,” Jason says. The sight of your trembling form on their bed is all the answer they need.

“I guess you guys did figure out how to fuck with me here.”

Roy drops his dumbfounded look and the towel he's rubbing his hair with at the sight of you to chuckle in disbelief. 

Your face flushes as he openly stares over the naked expanse of your legs tangled in their sheets. You tug the hem of Roy’s t-shirt you borrowed but realize quickly that it hardly covers anything anyway and release it in favor of covering the scar you’d bloodied earlier.

This apparently pisses Jason off. “What would you say to me if I covered up my scars?” he presses, raising a pointed brow at the action as he joins you on the bed in his boxers.

“Why would you do that?" you ask quizzically as if it's obvious, which, for you, it is. "They look hot.” 

He draws back, seemingly dumbfounded that you've said such a thing. 

Hell, even you're surprised with yourself as your hand subconsciously smacks itself over your mouth as a barrier to prevent any further stupidity from leaking out.

“Told you, Jay,” Roy says smugly.

“Oh, like you’re one to talk,” Roy gulps under the sudden heat of your attention, “hiding your fucking prosthetic from me like I’m some shallow bitch.”

You stare down at your hand in betrayal. Wasn't it atop your mouth to stop the bullshit from spewing?

It's Roy's turn to look completely baffled. “That’s not what it is at all, princess.”

“Well then,” you begin fiddling with the covers, “seems like we’ve all got our shit then, so leave me be.” You huff but still pull Jason close to you. You're glad when he doesn’t put up a fight as you draw the covers over the two of you.

You feel the heat of Jason’s cheeks as he blushes, drawing him into you while pressing yourself against his boyfriend. You lightly nudge Roy to put his arm around you to cuddle, which he obliges easily. 

You fall asleep with the remains of your orgasm coating your inner thighs.

•••

When you wake up in the middle of the night, both sides of the bed are cold and completely empty. In your sleep-hazed panic, along with the scalding memories of the attacks over the past few days, your first instinct is to check that Lian’s safe.

Your feet quietly carry you across the hall only to find her dead asleep in her bed. You move to close her door softly and go back to sleep when you hear a window latch from the main room. 

You tense, freezing as you wait for further noise and, when none comes, you race back to the master bedroom to look around for a weapon. You know these motherfuckers are strapped, but where would they hide it? You quickly find a loaded gun, rolling your eyes when you find it nestled amongst a shit ton of lube and dildos in Jason’s nightstand. You force yourself to push their earlier session in the shower from your head as you wield the gun. 

A gun would definitely do a lot more damage than a ginger root… Jason's words of warning come to mind while you survey the hallway, ultimately finding nothing.

The foreign weight of the metal serves as a constant reminder that you have absolutely no idea how to wield the damn thing.

Your hands shake slightly as you gather the courage to check around the corner, only to immediately retreat. You only barely manage to withhold your terrified gasp as you press yourself against the hallway wall at the sight of a giant shadow moving across the living room.

Shit. 

Your breathing halts without your permission.

There's a groan, then a voice shushing.

Your eyes widen owlishly. There are two of them?

Your head slowly peaks around the corner to confirm that, yes, there are two men in the apartment.

Oh, fuck.

Okay.

Oh, motherfucking fuck.

You steel yourself, realizing you're going to have to confront them sooner rather than later.

Does the universe really want you dead this bad?

You see the first man fiddling with the lamp by the couch and figure that, while his friend is still hanging halfway through the window, this is the best time to make a move. 

The first man's back is to your position and you soon realize that now's the time to attack. You use the darkness as your cover, avoiding the squeaky spots on their hardwood floors as you traverse behind their various pieces of furniture until you reach the end of your cover.

It's now or never.

The dude looks to be well over six feet tall from where you stand, but you won’t let his height nor your semi-naked state phase you. You’ve dealt with worse. Much worse... You shake your head, dispelling your spiraling thoughts in order to ready yourself for the attack.

Somehow, you manage to muster up the courage as you avoid the last weak spot on the floor. You press the loaded gun into the dude’s back just as he flicks on the lamp.

The light clicks on, casting a dim, yellow glow across the scene unfolding in front of your very eyes. It's only then that you’re actually able to make out your attacker’s features.

Red Hood.

You gasp at the realization, cursing yourself instantly when his head snaps your way.

“We need to stop running into each other like this,” Red Hood robotically tones while holding up his hands in lax surrender.

However nonchalant he may act, you don't allow yourself to falter, keeping your aim steady on his back. You even go so far as to press the gun further into the leather of his jacket.

“Or just in general might be nice,” you retort deadpan as you position yourself in a way that creates a buffer between the two men and the hallway. “Just because you’ve saved me doesn’t mean I won’t cap your ass for breaking and entering, buddy.” You nod at the man who's still hanging halfway in the window and halfway out. “I’m talking to you, too, arrow boy.”

He groans again. Whether it's in pain or embarrassment, you aren’t sure, but it’s enough of a distraction for Red Hood to flip around and disassemble your gun before you can even realize it’s been taken from your hands. 

You stare up at him, completely shocked and, deep down, a bit turned on.

You’re weaponless and Lian’s door is the first door in the hallway.

Okay, no. Not turned on- you're scared as fuck. Who are you kidding?

“We’re not here to hurt you.” He pushes you lightly down on the couch and, in your state of shock, you let him. You remember your outfit choice too late and quickly tug the hem down over your crotch as far as it'll go, but whatever he’s seen, he’s seen. The damage is done, but true to his word and regardless of your undressed state, it doesn’t seem like he's going to hurt you. “Stay put,” he warns and retreats backward toward the slumped-over form of the arrow dude from the coffee shop.

You watch as Red Hood lifts the man with some effort, shaking your head when you realize how many questions this is prompting.

“If you’re not here to hurt me, why are you here, then?” 

“You were right,” Red Hood’s warbled, robotic voice sounds against the silence of the apartment while he carries the slumped man over his shoulder, ignoring your question entirely.

You click your tongue in annoyance, crossing your arms as you get up to follow behind him petulantly. Just who does he think he is walking around the apartment like he fucking owns it?

“I know.” But you don’t know; you just like being told you're right.

He makes a robotic noise you assume, no, hope, is amusement as he sets arrow dude down on the kitchen island and turns on the main light. 

You maintain a wary distance from Red Hood as you go to check on the man bleeding all over the countertop Jason had just cleaned. You quickly piece together that it’s most likely Roy, as you’re almost certain that it’s a match to his prosthetic hand. Your revelation still doesn’t explain why Red Hood's here, though. 

“Roy?” you try.

He nods, slipping off his domino mask to look at you. Your heart stops beating for the second time tonight. His eyes are wincing in pain and you look down to find a dagger embedded in his thigh.

“We owe you an explanation,” Roy says, leaving you to furrow your brows in confusion as to who exactly the 'we’ in this situation is.

Roy and Red Hood??

You look over at the hulking, helmeted man in question quizzically, wishing he’d just up and leave already.

You let the silence of the situation settle over you. 

You look away from his red helmet and take Roy’s prosthetic hand into your own, turning it over in a brief inspection. “Think I’ve heard that one before,” you say slowly, keeping an even gaze on Red Hood from the corner of your eyes. “Don’t think I ever actually got one.” 

You sigh as you set his hand back down on the counter, turning to meet both of their stares. 

The vigilantes in front of you seem to cower under your heavy gaze, which, under any other circumstances, would be totally comical, but you can’t ruin the hold you have over them when you have them right where you want them.

They aren’t getting out of it this time; you're going to make sure of it. 

Your mind is already racing with speculations and connections after Roy’s vigilante reveal. Soon, your conspiracy-like theories quickly spin from your head and into an audible, verbal mess.

“So, if you’re arrow dude…” The wheels are turning so loudly in your head that you don’t even hear Roy’s groan of shame. “Then,” your eyes keep shifting between as your thoughts race around Jason and Roy's matching duffle bags and odd hours, “and then… What?” You thought back to the Wayne family teaching you self-defense. All that bullshit about 'hostage training' was all cover up for... “Wait, no.” And the Wayne Gala, which meant- Damian… No, Bruce, Jason. “No way.” 

You finally come to a conclusion, blinking owlishly at the men in front of you.

 “WHAT THE FUCK?!”

A/N: dun dun DUUUUNN let me know what ur thinking i promise i dont bite :p

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[integra1127grimmreaper]

The Replacement - Part twenty-five

Negan Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Part 24

Warning: Mention of violence and death

"We're running on empty now..." you remark while making breakfast for the kids.

"Not quite sure how much further I can stretch what we got."

"I know..." Rosita heavily sighs out.

"I just hope the others make it back in time."

"Me too" you respond, leaving the kitchen to deliver the food to the kids.

Coming back into the kitchen, you begin storing the leftovers.

"I hope they don't mind having the same thing for dinner."

"Have you eaten?" Rosita asks then.

"I'll be fine" you brush her off.

"Y/N..." Rosita frowns at you disapprovingly.

"You have to eat."

"The children need the food more" you argue.

"Precisely" Rosita rebuts.

"Including the one in your womb. You need to keep your strength up, you need to eat... if only for the health of your baby."

Letting out a sigh of defeat, you head to the refrigerator to grab yourself a portion of the food.

"Happy..." you mumble out with a mouth full of food.

"Very much" Rosita grins at you.

"I might not like the kid's father, but I've grown to respect and like you."

"Thanks..." you chuckle at her remark.

"You mind watching Coco for me?" Rosita then asks.

"Sure, no problem" you nod in agreement.

They had made it out alive from the tunnels, but now it seemed that Negan and the rest of the team's luck had run out.

On their way to a detour to restock up on supplies, the team ran into a horrendous scene; dead bodies were strung up on posts all along the road they were traveling.

"This place sure has gone to shit last time I was here" Negan remarks staring at the scene in front of him, along with everyone else.

"Let's double back..." Negan suggests.

"We can cut thro-"

An arrow suddenly comes flying out of nowhere, hitting Roy directly in the eye. Before anyone knew what was going on; all hell broke loose, arrows and throwing knives were raining down on them from all angles.

Everyone scatters for cover then as a large group of heavily armed men slowly approached them.

"Run!" someone screams as arrows and knives whisked pass them, connecting with most of the group members as they fled for their lives.

Negan after being injured in the leg during the attack, manages to come across an abandoned shopping mall.

He decides to take a breather and hide out inside until the coast is clear, which ends up being a wise decision for both Alden and Maggie.

Hearing a commotion coming from the upper floor, Negan makes it just in time to assist Maggie in her struggle with one of their attackers, clobbering the person over the head with his crowbar.

Realising that Alden was in trouble, Maggie grabs a knife, throwing it into the back of the one attacking him.

Crying out in pain, the attacker throws something in their direction. Realising what it was, Negan grabs hold of Maggie and dives for cover as a blinding explosion goes off.

As visibility began to clear, while still slightly disorientated; Maggie points out to Negan that the body of the one that had attacked her has disappeared, along with the second person.

Rushing toward Alden, they find him gravely injured.

"Jesus..." Negan mutters out at the sight.

"Let's see" Maggie remarks.

"Sure thing Boss..." Alden responds sarcastically.

"That good huh?" he remarks when they remain deadly silent after having looked at his injuries.

"You can walk?" Maggie asks him.

"Not gonna know until we try" Alden replies as Maggie grabs hold of him to assist in getting up from the floor.

"Whoa, Whoa..." Negan utters in concern.

"You're not seriously thinking that we keep going?"

"They'll be back, we gotta keep moving..." Alden comments.

"Wait, what exactly is the plan here?" Negan asks then.

"The plan doesn't change" Maggie responds.

"We need that food. We get to the radio tower, find the supply house, and wait for the others."

"And what if the others are dead?" Negan enquires.

"Listen... I know theatrics. Those people, they just told us exactly how insane they are... We can't be on a road; we can't be on any road that they could use. It's a shit plan."

"Then you tell me a better one that doesn't starve us all..." Maggie hisses out at him.

"I am on your side, Maggie..."

"Then help me with him..." she remarks.

Realizing that she wasn't going to change her mind about the plan, Negan assist in helping Alden get up and out of the building.

Going at a slow pace due to Alden's injuries, they hear the sound of a woman scream while fighting off Walkers.

"Really? So, we're just gonna go toward the screaming...?" Negan remarks sarcastically as Maggie and Alden make their way to where the sound was coming from.

"Cool..." he comments as they continue on in the direction.

When getting closer, they then come across, Agatha fighting off some Walkers.

After having taken the Walkers out, she then informs Maggie that, Duncan looks to be mortally wounded.

As Maggie rushes to his side, another Walker comes up from the side, heading directly for Alden. He goes to stab it but ends up lodging his knife in the Walkers cheek instead.

Removing the knife and going for a second attempt, he finally nails it in the head; causing Negan to stare in amusement as he struggles to catch his breath thereafter.

Everyone stood silent as Maggie spoke with a dying Duncan, not long after their conversation he passes away and a mournful Maggie takes care that he doesn't turn.

"Twice as many as before" Negan remarks as Maggie stares out through binoculars at the herd of Walkers roaming the forest up ahead of them.

"You need to rethink your plan, Maggie."

"You're a free man, Negan" she replies.

"If you wanna go, then go."

Knowing that it really wasn't an option for him, not with having a pregnant wife back home that was just as in need for that food; Negan tries to reason with her then.

"I can help you. Your friends, they trusted me... You were gone for a long time... things changed; people change."

"No" Maggie remarks.

"Maybe you got them fooled, but not me... Stop pretending you're one of us, Negan."

Negan stares at her silently then as she continues on.

"Maybe you even believe it, but you're probably as good at lying to yourself as you are to everybody else, especially Y/N. You think I don't see how tightly you got her wrapped around your finger? She's a fool... because you're nothing but a manipulating liar, and one day soon she'll see the real you."

Taken aback by Maggie's last words, Negan stares at her silently for a second, deciding to drop the matter then and walks away instead.

Keeping his distance from Maggie and the rest as they continued on through the forest, Negan suddenly stops in his tracks when coming face to face with a completely charred Walker tied up to a tree, with the name; Judas written above its head.

"What the hell?" Maggie remarks seeing it.

Negan looks over his shoulder at her, silently turning back to stare at the Walker again, and that was when he notices that they were slowly being surrounded by Walkers.

They try as quickly as possible to escape, but with Alden being injured they soon find themselves caged in, having to fight their way out now.

Negan and Agatha try to take out as many of them as possible while covering Maggie and Alden's escape, but somehow during it; Agatha gets bitten on the arm.

While helping Alden, Negan notices Maggie attempting to save her as both are being swarmed by Walkers.

Rushing in, Negan seeing that Agatha was a lost cause; grabs hold of Maggie, dragging her out from it while she screamed and fought him in wanting to save her friend.

You were standing outside on the porch with Coco when, Carol, Rosita, Magna and Kelly walked through the gates, along with Alexandria's missing horses.

"I see you guys found the horses" you remark to Rosita as she walked toward you.

"Yeah, we almost lost hope, but somehow we came through..."

"It's good we have them back, we'll need them..." you nod.

"Yeah, we'll need them for going on runs" Rosita agrees.

"I meant as a food supply..." you reply matter-of-factly.

"I didn't think of that" Rosita cringes slightly.

"It's better than starving" you remark.

Your and Carol's mind seemed to have had the same thoughts, it wasn't long after your conversation with Rosita, that she and Aaron came out of the barn with buckets of raw meat.

"I see you had the same thought as I had" you remark to Carol.

"We have no other choice..." she replies.

"I know, that's exactly what I told Rosita... horse meat is better than starving to death."

"You'll help me with preparing it?" Carol faintly smiles at your comment.

"Sure, let's get it ready" you smile at her in response.

"Here you go, Kiddo..." you hand Judith a plate with enough meat for her and the others.

"Where did you guys get meat?" she stares at the plate in surprise.

"I thought all the deer were gone."

You grimace at her silently, crouching down to her eye level.

"I ain't gonna lie to ya Jud, it's horse meat..."

"Horse meat...?" she looks at you in shock.

You nod at her in response.

"We don't have any other choice, Sweetie... it's either this or we starve."

"I guess so then..." Judith grimaces at the plate deep in thought.

She was just a few steps away, when suddenly she turned back around.

"Have you eaten, Aunt Y/N?"

"Not yet..." you stare in surprise at her question.

"Is there enough for you as well? If not, you can have mine..."

"There's over enough, Sweetie, don't worry" you frown at her remark.

"Why do you ask?"

Placing the plate on the table, Judith steps closer to you.

"I overheard your conversation with Rosita this morning... you need to eat for the baby's sake."

Gasping out softly at her words, you carefully scan around to see if anyone heard her.

"Don't worry, Sweetheart, I'm going to eat as well" you faintly smile at her.

"Can I ask a favour?"

"Sure..." Judith nods.

"Could we keep me being pregnant just between the two of us?"

Judith stares at you silently for a second, and then nods in agreement.

"It's because you're scared about how people are going to react when they find out Negan's the baby's dad."

You couldn't help but smile at how extremely smart she was for her young age.

"How did you figure it out?"

Judith stares at you deadpan, "why do you think I kept talking about him to you, and you to him?"

"Were you playing matchmaker...?" you chuckle at her comment.

"I think you two make a cute couple..." she flashes you a toothy grin.

"Go on and eat..." you chuckle, shaking your head at her being a smartass.

"Goddamn... shit..." Negan grunts, spitting out the protein bar he had taken a bite of.

"What...?" he remarks noticing Alden and Maggie staring at him.

"You like the taste of crap carboard?"

Neither of the two responds to him, instead they notice the sounds of vultures circling above them.

"We should get back in the woods" Negan remarks.

"The road is faster" Maggie objects his suggestion.

"He's right" Alden comments.

"Woods have cover, it's safer."

Noticing a church up ahead points to it, "let's go there."

"We need to keep moving" Alden objects.

"No, we need a break" Maggie responds.

Entering the church, Maggie helps Alden to sit.

"We'll rest here for a while, then we'll head out, ok?"

Silently standing to the side, a slightly agitated Negan stare at the two.

"I know what ya thinking... the answer is; no" Maggie remarks to him.

Staring at her in a slight amused manner, Negan softly scoffs at her response.

Alden proceeds then to convince Maggie to go on without him, but she objects to it at every point he makes.

"The sun is going down, Maggie..." Negan interrupts their debate.

"You have to make a decision."

"It's easy for you, isn't it?" Maggie sneers out.

"Being reckless with somebody else's life."

Negan doesn't respond, instead staring her dead in the eye as she continues on.

"But you don't get to decide who lives and who dies anymore. It's your fault that we're here... it's your fault. Because you destroyed everything we built."

That's just the thing... there were two lives that he was responsible for now, and they were the only reason he was even here doing this.

"You still have to decide..."

Part 26

tag list: @rockey258 @ultrasweetnephilim @twd-fanfics @starry-night-20 @dellsdeath  @vaaalexandra @thatgirljayy @aleemendoza2425-blog @conrzd​ @tonysterco​     @igotmajordaddyissues

[aestheticitii]

the thought of roy and lilina dancing after roy convinces his parents to have a wedding reception with their friends...

they talk about how lilina was hoping to get the bouquet for herself, after she comments that seeing her parents getting married would be so so wonderful. they talk about how she's seriously considering re-entering next year for that reason, because askr is the only time she can relive the times when her family was together, just like roy

and roy offers to pair up with her or otherwise help her in her quest. because he knows how much it would mean to her, because her very-obviously-in-love parents are half the reason she wants to get married

when she ends up hinting at who it is that she'd want her fairytale wedding with, he picks it up immediately because they used to talk about it all the time. how could they not?

after all, roy's dad leaves little love notes for his mom, and his mom rolls her eyes lovingly before carefully pasting them into a diary she keeps. she's got at least fifteen of those by the time she dies because he gives out at least one per day and he gets one kiss per so sometimes he writes more. after they spar, if she even just compliments him, his dad feels like he was the one who won their bout instead because he's so happy about it

she buys him a gift every time she heads to town because "it reminds me of you" but they're very, very loosely related things, so much so that even she can't recall what connection they have to her husband. she just thinks about him a lot and it shows in the way she accidentally slips into praising him any time someone says something remotely nice about him

meanwhile, everyone's quietly scared of lilina's mom because they know her dad will be furious if they disrespect or hurt her in any way—he's her biggest supporter and it's something she mentions often whenever lilina talks about wanting to get married. "find someone who supports you like your father supports me. and make sure to support him just as much."

and her mom goes out of her way to give him a singular wild flower—sometimes a weed—she found every day to let him know she's thinking of him. he keeps a list of their descriptions. anytime she complains about any sort of pain, he'll take it as an excuse to carry her around and even though she acts like she'd be fine if he didn't, she makes no moves to let go, even when she's teased about it

but like back to their dream wedding—lilina's dream wedding really is just what they both wanted, what they both talked about as kids. and roy's never really thought about it too hard, because in the back of his mind, he's always assumed it's going to be lilina walking down the aisle and well, he's already talked about it to her

she kisses him on the cheek when the dance ends and he asks, hesitating slightly before telling him that she's always liked him, and apologizes for taking the moment away from his parents

he asks her to dinner instead

lilina never gets to answer because everyone starts taking pictures with the bride and groom, and of course, lyn and eliwood insist on roy being in most of them.

but when he shows up at the place he mentioned, she's waiting for him.

[bananasofthorns]

HELLO BANA may I have a 🌧️ and a 🌪️ for the WIP ask game 👀

(The answers do not have to be from the same WIP bc I think it’s funnier if it isn’t) <3<3

HELLO ROY i will do two different fics just for you

🌧️: Share something angsty from your WIP.

this is from loose bolts, which is my fic in which Fox gets reconditioned and it sets off a domino effect that saves the galaxy. you know, just fun and goofy things!

“I’m...sorry for pushing about Fox, earlier,” Rex adds. He sounds gentle. Thorn goes still. “I didn’t actually think— I thought the Jedi had stopped the reconditionings and decommissionings.” Ice shoots through Thorn’s veins. “Maybe they did for you, but they don’t outrank the Chancellor,” he says coldly. Rex mutters something that might be a curse, but it’s too quiet for his microphone to pick up. “I’m sorry, vod. My general...well, he’s not happy about this, let’s put it that way. We’ll see what we can do.” Thorn presses a hand over his eyes. He’s heard about General Skywalker’s stubbornness, temper, and tendency to get his way, but...this is Palpatine. Stone always jokes that he thrives on the suffering the Guard is put through, except it isn’t really a joke. Every time Thorn has talked to Palpatine in person, there’s been a vicious sort of pleasure in his smile, right behind his sickly-sweet, insincere kindness. They won’t be able to do anything.

we get a little silly. a little goofy, even

🌪️: Sum up a WIP with a few fic tropes/Ao3 tags.

I will use surviving in the city of dust for this one! it's not actually one fic but instead the name of the series I'm going to put all of my Coruscant's Haunted™ fics in. the main tags/tropes to sum it up would be: epistolary, horror (of various types), implied/referenced character death, and crack treated seriously (only for some of them. the rest are just straight up horror)

wip ask game

[zen-dayas]

What did you think of the Ted Lasso finale? It was very emotional but everyone in my dash right now seems to have strong opinions about it, either good or bad, and I was wondering what your opinion since you haven't really said.

it had a lot of issues but i guess i feel mostly positive about it (and the whole season in gerenal). i think the more i rewatch nitpick it the more i'll find those loose treads, and there were definitely choices i didn't like, but overall i never felt the ethos of the show was really compromised???

my main issue with this season was time-management and pacing. back when it was still airing, during the fist half of the season, i kept feeling like they were wasting precious screentime on new, under-developed side characters, but also kept hoping it would all tie itself together in the end. there were also a lot of misleads i didn't really understand. looking back, it’s not that they were wasting time, it’s that a lot should just have been cut. the episodes were very long. i think maybe they were worried about balancing the comedy and the drama, but they excelled at that in the previous seasons in a way that didn’t seem organic in s3… but in terms of the actual main character arcs i’m not that mad, personally. i understand that, considering where s2 left things, a lot of us were expecting a more “confrontational” season (nate and ted, rebecca and rupert, jamie and his dad, even roy and keeley) with more tension filled scenes that would end up driving the narrative forward by way of friction. i’m sure that would have been satisfying in it’s own way, and yet there’s something about their refusal to be antagonist, the softness of coming into yourself and your role and your worth on your own, with just the right push…. i mean that’s the whole ethos of ted lasso right there.

like. it’s the general message of “love people for who they are and forgive them for who they aren’t”, but it’s also “i give you a job, the life part is up to you”. the entire spirit of the Lasso Way is that it’s just the initial domino that sets off the effect. there’s no guidelines, other leading with his heart and creating a support system that harnesses people’s talents. ted doesn’t drag people kicking and screaming into being a better version of themselves, but it’s just that much easier to do when you know you’ve got someone in your corner. which after two years culminates in a final season that, in my opinion, is all about finally having the confidence to shed negative self-thoughts, motivators and coping mechanisms, even if some storylines were certainly clearer and more well-executed than others: roy sheds self-doubt and petty hang-ups and manages to step into his leadership role more confidently. colin breaks free from his fear of not being accepted by his peers by coming out to them. keeley relinquishes some of her internalized shame, inferiority-complex and the stigma of her public image, being able to conciliate it with being a taken seriously as a business woman. rebecca let’s go of her hatred of rupert, jamie of his hatred of his dad, and nate of his self-hatred. and ted finally unshackles from his incapacitating fear of abandonment and of not being a good father to his son.

but, i think when it comes down to it ted himself was almost more cathalist than character for the narrative/message. he comes into these people's lives and he changes it forever, but it's not really his home, "it was never really about him". and i can understand people disliking this, finding it a bit cruel. i think i do as well, a little. but what u gonna do abt it 🤷🏻‍♀️ i'm choosing to not let it take away from the actual spirit

[hillsandpoon]

The Tesco Two Hats - Could be Asda or Sainsburys!!

They know who they are, they lurk everywhere in every aisle although they do fall into several different categories but they are all the same, timewasters, irritators, filling bags with loose potatoes (HaHa!). I seriously hate shopping all aspects of it. It's a difficult enough life without having to worry about these malingerers and wasters who think just because they don't have a life then why should you?

This is a retrospective selection of all Tesco Two Hats I have met whilst shopping all the people in the supermarket fall into one of these categories.

This is a story I’m happy to tell

A subject on which I have many a yell

It makes me so angry and I’m forced to react

To all those people I name the Tesco Two Hats

They could be Mothers, Fathers, Sisters and Brothers.

Their first romance or perhaps long time lovers.

Vloggers, Food Bloggers, Coffin dodgers.

Get out of my way you time wasting todgers!

Aisle conversations, nothing is worse

I’m hearing poor Roy in the back of a hearse (RIP Roy)

Or the little old lady from 72

Her son found her dead on the floor of her loo (RIP)

Two hats with trolleys blocking the way

Of the priced to clear counter, with its best before dates

There’s no chance of me getting past this obstacle

Short of pole vaulting it’s well nigh impossible.

Mrs Arbuthnot is checking the fish

For this is the food she wants on her dish

Opens the packet and squeezes the fillet

It’s not thick enough she decides to leave it.

Swerving the people you don’t want to meet

Dive behind stacks of Quality Street.

They reach into handbags and out come the coupons.

For Five pence off Birds Eye chicken goujons.

10 items or less no not a chance.

An elderly woman seems in a trance

Finding the coppers they’re in there somewhere

Whilst standing behind her I pull out my hair.

Now my rant is finally over

The weeks shop loaded into my Rover

Done for this week so now I relax

Till I mix it again with the Tesco Two Hats

[lil-tachyon]

Who are some of your biggest influences in your art?

I’ve answered this question or something like it a couple times (1 2 3 4 + archive of interviews I’ve done with people)  so I’ll hit the main points and then talk about some different stuff I’ve been into recently. 

Favorite artists who have influenced me the most in no particular order:

Wayne Barlowe

Moebius

Mark Schultz

Simon Roy

Cosimo Galluzi

CM Kosemen

John Howe

James Gurney

Katsuya Terada

Hayao Miyazaki

I could name more, but those are the main people that I come back to, year after year.

Picture above by John Howe

General art movements/styles that have influenced me

19th century academic art, especially Orientalist painters (to be clear, I don’t endorse any of the harmful racial attitudes behind many of them, it’s just stuff that I saw as a kid that I thought looked cool and different and mysterious)

Ukiyo-e, Shin Hanga, Japanese woodcuts generally

Late 80s to 90s anime

Most comic art

Online spec bio art communities

Video game character/creature designs: Sonic, Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, Shining Force, etc

Art Nouveau

Fuck it, basically all Gilded Age, Fin de siècle, Belle Époque, late 19th/early 20th century European art movements that were more or less representational or illustrative

Picture above by Ludwig Deutsch. I had a bookmark of this painting for many years and I would often get distracted while reading and just stare at it.

I think I’ve talked about all that stuff before but if you want more details or specifics just ask!

For the last couple years, my really big influences have all been other artists I’ve met online. I mean I made a whole book with @ordheist and @bagb0ss. There’s a sort of loose cloud of (mostly) SFF artists that I’ve been really lucky to work and speak with and we all kinda know or know of each other or end up in the same Discord servers, or working on the same RPGs, etc. I’m not gonna link everybody but if you go through the interviews I’ve conducted for my newsletter or check out my side blog you’ll start to figure out who I mean (seriously a lot of these people are coming to tumblr now from twitter and I’ve been reblogging the hell out of them.) Seeing all the stuff my peers are putting out and talking with them is the source of like 90% of the ideas for my personal illustrations these days. It’s cool to be part of a community. I wish there were more opportunities to meet in person, but it’s still cool.

The other stuff that’s really been in my head lately is art that’s less illustrative, more abstract and graphical. Not pure abstraction mind you, but I’ve really been digging stuff that’s more about communicating a concept, feeling, piece of information, or idea than a narrative. More about design and composition than rendering. I recently read Philip Meggs’ History of Graphic Design and that’s turned me on to so new many artists and styles. In particular I’ve fallen in love with all the Vienna Secession guys, the Glasgow Style artists, and all the graphic and bookmaking ideas that came out of the Arts and Crafts movement. I don’t know how I want to work these ideas into my drawings yet and I haven’t had a lot of time to experiment lately but they're definitely bouncing around in my head.

Above from top to bottom: two pieces by Koloman Moser, two posters by Frances Macdonald, and two pages from The Glittering Plain, written and designed by William Morris.

There’s a whole lot of art that I really love but it rarely gets reflected in my drawings- American Regionalist paintings, gig posters, childrens’ storybooks, Eastern European Mosaics, Native American art, outsider art, colonial Americana …. One day I’ll find a way to synthesize it all.

Anyway, hope this is interesting/fun/informative and if you have any follow up questions don’t hesitate to ask!

-Logan

[shina913]

Ristretto 2 | KNJ

Pairing: KNJ x reader

Genre: boyfriend!AU; mature themes; strangers to lovers; fluff; two-shot; drabble

Word count: 2,007 words

Warnings: dating; relationships; smut; skinship (Joon is really touchy here); god of destruction; Joon's dimples (I mean--who are we kidding? They need warnings on their own, TBH)

Summary: After a chance meeting at a café, you and Namjoon go on a few dates...which lead to something more.

A/N: So I missed this BB and decided to make this a 2-shot? Also, this started out as fluff but it's a little dirty now...Oopsies!

Here's Part 1 for reference but I think this could stand on its own.

❤️, comment, reblog, or send me an ask 📩 to let me know what you think!

“And these here…these are biennials. Wow…I’m so amazed that they were able to recreate a resemblance of their natural climate—in the city, nonetheless!”

Namjoon was in his element. He could seriously work as a docent here but his job took up much of his time. To anybody else, all of this information would fly above their heads. To you, he looked absolutely sexy talking about evolving soil conditions in connection to climate change. You were absolutely enamored.

“I’m doing it again, aren’t I?” He stopped himself from rambling about more plant facts to you.

“No, I think it’s really cool how much you know.” You were genuinely impressed. You didn’t have the green thumb, much as your grandmother tried to instill it in you. You settled with admiring her orchid collection from afar.

“Do you still want to explore the other collections,” you asked.

“Maybe next time. It’s getting late. Should we do dinner?”

You smiled warmly. In the short amount of time that he’s known you, he found that books, nature, and good food were the key to your heart.

It feels like ages since you first met at your favorite café and agreed to a date. Although you had to reschedule a few times, you kept the momentum with calls and texts until he was settled at work and finally got all of his furniture moved in from across the country.

It’s been a blissful three months ever since.

***

On your first date, you invited him to your favorite vintage bookstore that was tucked into a small, quiet neighborhood in the city, a far cry from the metropolitan area.

They also carried some locally printed first editions…from Isabel Allende to Haruki Murakami to Arundhati Roy…that you could borrow or read in the quiet nook situated at the bookstore’s loft. He was in heaven.

It was somewhere in the photography and coffee table book collection, tucked in the back of the store, where he cornered and kissed you.

Before he sealed his mouth to yours, he sighed dreamily and made a comment about loving that antique book smell. The only thing that you found dreamy at that moment was the dimple that he flashed.

You decided to get out of there when he accidentally put some of his weight on a loose, creaky shelf behind you that almost knocked down half a section. Some of the furniture there was nearly as old as the books themselves.

When you returned to your studio, he immediately pressed you against the wall to continue devouring you, like he couldn’t get enough.

***

While at dinner, you shed your coat and hung it over the back of your chair. The hostess sat you at a corner table that was placed against a support beam so you had to sit adjacent to each other instead of across. It wasn’t an ideal spot but you were lucky to score a table without reservations at this restaurant on a weekend.

He sat against the wall while you elected to sit on the chair since you had a smaller frame compared to his and you didn’t want the servers bumping into his elbow the whole night.

After you place your orders his left hand instinctively lands at the exposed skin at the back of your neck, caressing it while he talks about his week at work.

The top that you wore was a worn out college sweatshirt that used to have a crew neck until you cut it off. It not only made the neck hole wider but it also made it feel more lived in. For him, it was intimate access to you in a non-scandalous way in public.

You groaned in gratitude once your entrees were delivered. You weren’t sure how much longer you could hold back once he started twirling the fine strands of hair situated on the back of your neck. The prickly feel of him lightly tugging on them caused your mouth to salivate.

“How’s that problem client from last week?”

You hummed. “I just wrapped up the last version, billed them, and sent the native files so they can find someone else. Way too much trouble and too demanding for the minuscule budget that they had.”

“What those people are looking for are either desperate contractors or pushovers…and you’re neither.” He looked up at you proudly.

You made a note to reward him later.

***

His eyes were shut while his head lolled against the back cushion, sighing deeply. Arms were spread out, spanning the entirety of his 2-seater sofa, leaving his wrists draping off the sides. He looked so peaceful and serene like this.

Shortly after, he gasps and his body jerks as if being awoken from this dreamlike state. Chuckling softly, he lifts your head up from where you knelt between his thighs.

You pouted and pushed your lower lip out. “Not fair! I wasn’t done,” you whined playfully.

“Nah-uh! I never said I’d fight fair. Now it’s my turn,” he said with a devilish lilt to his voice while he tossed you over his shoulder and gave your ass a quick slap on the way to his bedroom.

***

The next morning, you decided to make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast after the warm, slow wakeup call that he slipped into you.

“So uh…my mom is coming to visit next weekend.”

You paused chewing on your breakfast.

You would have choked on it if he wasn’t massaging your bare calf while you had your leg propped up against his chair’s seat cushion.

You swallowed. “That’s…nice.”

He eyed you while he took a huge gulp of his coffee. “Yeah. I miss her. She happens to be going on a cruise with some friends and they’re leaving from the port here.”

You hummed, shoving another forkful of pancakes into your mouth.

“She’s spending the morning in the city before they have to check in. So, I told her that I would take her to that brunch place we went to a couple weeks ago—the one with the really good eggs florentine?”

You hummed again.

He then takes you by surprise by planting a kiss on your kneecap.

“I’d really like for you to join us.”

You took a deep breath. “Uhm—what time?”

“11:30.”

You nodded absently while your face felt like it was a hundred degrees warmer.

“No pressure. I just thought—“

“I might have a client deadline on Saturday, I’m not sure but—“

“Like I said, there’s no pressure. Just let me know anytime this week if you can make it.”

***

For the rest of the week, you tried to avoid him and were being vague about your schedule over the phone.

Though you didn’t explicitly ask for it, he tried to give you some space.

You missed him and ached for him but your mind was also racing.

“I don’t know what to do,” you groaned to your best friend while you sat on your couch waiting for your sheet masks to set.

“What are you scared of,” she asked. “You like him and things seem to be getting hot and heavy between you two.”

“Yeah, but—“

“Do you see him as just a piece of ass?”

“No!” You shrieked. Sure, the sex was great…and he did have a nice ass…but you thought that you had a deeper connection than that.

“Okay…. And by the looks of it, you mean something to him, too. Otherwise, why would he ask that of you?”

You sighed. “It’s just that…I just…never met ‘parents’ before,” you mumbled through your face mask’s cutout.

You dated casually and got into relationships that seemed to have some potential of being serious but none of them ever panned out.

You were also a workaholic so there weren’t many guys who stuck around long enough to wait until you emerged from your long, hermit-like project stretches.

“Well, how bad can it be? Joon’s a great guy…maybe the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree?”

***

It was Saturday. You were still laid on your bed, unmoving. You let your friend’s words from the other night sink in.

You picked up your phone to check the time. Your lock screen showed that it was 11 o’clock…but behind that was a selfie that you and Namjoon took of the both of you while on a hike.

He woke you up from a nap and randomly invited you to an urban trail. You begrudgingly agreed but ended up having a nice time with the exception of a dead garter snake scaring you half to death in the middle of your walk.

At sunset, Namjoon wanted to capture the day. He took a few snaps, one of them was of you kissing. The photo came out almost ethereal with the sun’s rays reflecting behind you.

It compelled you to finally roll out of bed and throw on some presentable clothes that did not include a hoodie.

You practically jumped out of your rideshare, nearly tripping over the curb. It was 11:45 but you were here.

Your eyes quickly scanned the room but couldn’t find any familiar faces in the crowd.

“YN!” A deep voice called out to you.

Your head quickly whipped around to find your tall, dimpled human approaching you. His head dipped to give you a chaste kiss. As he pulls away, he takes your hand and guides you towards the back of the room.

He presents you to an older woman who gave you a warm smile in exchange for your handshake. She, too, had dimples that sat on the apples of her cheeks. They made her look more youthful with a hint of whimsy.

“So you’re the reason my son has been smiling a lot these days?”

You turned sheepish. “I’m so sorry that I was late—“

“Nonsense! You’re here now. Namjoonie says that you have a knack for good food. Now tell me, what’s good here?”

You took your seat while his mom perused the menu…Namjoon beaming at you. He laced his fingers with yours and brought them up to his lips to kiss them. It instantly made you feel calmer and more assured.

After brunch, he called his mom a rideshare to drop her off at the port. Before getting in, she gave you a tight embrace and made her son promise to bring you over during the holidays.

***

You arrive back at your place and as soon as you step through your door, he tugs at your wrist and pulls you back towards him to give you a lingering kiss. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

He snakes his arm around your waist. “For not running for the hills.”

You grimaced. “Was I too obvious?”

He hummed and gave a cheeky smile. “A little bit.”

“Sorry, Joon. I panicked.”

“That’s alright, baby. You still came through even though I practically just sprung it on you.” He chuckled, kissing your nose.

“I thought it was too soon but—“ you shrugged. “Something about this just feels right, don’t you think?”

His lips curved into a smile. “Yeah, I do.”

You opened your mouth tentatively…then the words just spilled out.

“I love you.”

He pulled his face slightly farther away from yours. You weren’t sure if he was recoiling but his expression remained stoic.

You bit your lip while he held your gaze. The silence was starting to grow uncomfortable.

“Y-you don’t—“

“I love you, too,” he said softly.

Your anguished expression visibly fades away upon hearing him.

Thinking he’s wounded you by his delayed response, he lightly brushes your lips with his, as if trying to kiss it better. It brought you comfort.

“And I’ve missed you…a lot.”

Your heartbeat lurches as he practically breathes his pining into your mouth.

“Have you now,” you teased.

“Mm-hm,” he says in a voice so low, it was barely audible.

His fingertips graze your exposed collar bone then slowly slides down to your chest to palm your left breast.

Breathlessly, you responded, “Show me, Joon.”

Tag: @deepseavibez