#anyway he was also a dad who most likely was busy raising his kids and working

[monogamia]

not me haunting your asks in every single blog you own 😈 sooo, do you write parents!au? bc I wanted to request some scenario abt how sylus, caleb and xavier would react to their kids telling u to shut up. I KNOW ITS WEIRD BUT ITS A OLD TREND I THINK?? anyway, love ya babe 💘💋💋

੭⠀ A little prank.

⋆⠀AUTHOR'S NOTES: I love parents!au so much 😭

⋆⠀FEATURING: Xavier, Sylus, Caleb.

⋆⠀WARNING: English is not my first language, so it may contain some mistakes.

Your son’s favorite pastime was annoying his father, and he was certainly better at it than anyone else. Not only that, but he also managed to convince you to help with yet another one of his… pranks.

The boy smiled when he saw his father heading to the kitchen and turned back to his video game. Not long after, you walked into the room with something in hand. “Sweetheart, could you take this—”

“Shut up, mom,” he tried to say in an irritated tone, but a smile was plastered across his face.

𝜗ৎ ⠀⠀XAVIER

Not even five seconds had passed before your son was groaning in pain, Xavier’s slipper lying on the couch beside him after hitting the back of his head squarely. “Dad—”

Xavier raised the other slipper, pointing it at the boy. “Apologize. Now,” he said, his eyebrows furrowing. “Is that any way to talk to your mother?”

“But I was busy, and she—” Once again, the boy didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence, the other slipper flying straight at him. Xavier crossed his arms, his gaze fixed on his son.

You widened your eyes and placed a hand on your husband’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly. “Okay, okay, it was a… joke, just a prank.”

Xavier gave a faint smirk, glancing at you. “…Yeah, I knew that.” He pulled you into a hug, sticking his tongue out at your son. “You think I’d stop at that if I saw him disrespecting you like that?”

𝜗ৎ ⠀⠀SYLUS

Sylus prided himself on being an exemplary father. He was patient, fun—or so he thought—and wealthy. I mean, surely his son was already having a better childhood than most people who came from the same place Sylus had, right?

And perhaps it was exactly that freedom and comfort in his presence that made the boy feel confident enough to make that kind of joke.

“I must’ve misheard. Definitely,” Sylus said loud enough for both of you to hear. You turned away so he wouldn’t see your expression, while your son simply grimaced.

“Dad, she could’ve just asked one of my uncles to go—or, I don’t know, gone herself!” the boy said, spinning the pieces of a pistol between his fingers.

Sylus’s steps were almost inaudible; it was as if he had teleported to his son’s side. He crossed his arms, an irritated expression on his face. His son had never seen that look before—at least, not directed at him.

“Don’t you dare talk to your mother like that under this roof,” he said. “I don’t care if she could’ve asked someone else—if she tells you to do something, you do it. She brought you into this world.”

The boy couldn’t hold back his laughter, bursting out in hysterics. Your husband opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he saw you laughing as well. He let out a sigh, rubbing his face. “You too now?”

𝜗ৎ ⠀⠀CALEB

Honestly, your son was expecting Caleb to yell at him or chase after him, but it was even more terrifying to see him stay silent, slowly turning to face the boy.

He froze, setting the video game controller down on the coffee table. Caleb’s eyes stayed fixed on him, and his silence lingered just long enough to make the boy shift uncomfortably under the stare.

When Caleb finally spoke, his voice was strangely calm—and that wasn’t exactly a good thing. “You have five seconds to do as your mother said and come back here, and another five to apologize and explain yourself.”

You let out an awkward laugh before wrapping your arms around your husband. “It was just a joke, I swear.” Caleb glanced at you, slipping a hand under your shirt to give you a pinch. “Ouch! It was his idea!”

He rolled his eyes but let out a relieved laugh, despite his irritation with your newfound way of spending free time. “I should’ve known.”

[batsandbirdbrains]

I want to read this so badly I’m begging someone to write some variation of it pls

The one where Dick isn’t the step-dad, he’s the dad that stepped up

Im fiddling around w the ages because it’s more fun that way. Also it’s in the yj cartoon universe but the timeline will be wonky bc I didnt care for seasons 3&4. So anyway let’s make it post season 2, Dick is 16ish, and like so many of my other yj fic ideas, he’s currently heavily disliked by most JL and yj team members bc of the whole deep cover thing. Also Artemis never went back to be Kaldur’s backup, she refused, so Dick did double time as both Nightwing and Renegade, Deathstroke’s apprentice. He and Bruce had a falling out bc Bruce didn’t like how he didn’t do everything perfectly while Bruce was gone.

So anyway Dick is living in Blüdhaven, his exhausted, he’s not taking very good care of himself, he’s running himself ragged as both Nightwing and also at his day job at a seedy dive bar.

And one night he comes home, ready to face plant on his dusty couch, only to be greeted by his arch nemesis: Talia al Ghul.

He can’t fuckin stand her. The feeling is very mutual.

Talia was very close with Bruce when Dick was younger. Dick was definitely not super jealous at the time. Also definitely didn’t let her words about him not being his real son get under his skin. That never happened.

And now she’s sitting in his couch, looking around and judging his non-existent decor. With a tiny kid next to her.

The tiny kid looks equally disgusted with the apartment. And way too much like Bruce for Dick’s comfort.

“Is this a hallucination or is there actually a succubus sitting in my living room,” Dick manages to say in a bored voice.

“Charming as always, Richard,” Talia says back at him. Before he can reply, she continues with, “I’m here on important business, so please for once drop the attitude with me.”

“And what’s so important you’ve dragged a toddler into my humble abode?”

“Tone,” she snaps at him, and he snorts at her. She’s not his mother, she doesn’t get to lecture him on his snotty attitude with her.

“Look, if you’re looking for Bruce, you’re way off target. We haven’t spoken in months. You’d think you and your little spies would know that.”

“Of course I know that,” she huffs at him. “That’s exactly why I’m here with you. I need you to do something very important for me.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that? Drop dead for ya so your little Bruce clone over there gets all my inheritance? I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear he’s cut me off entirely, so no need to worry.” He sways a bit as he turns around, and he only limps a little bit as he heads to his fridge. Not that there’s anything in there, but maybe if he rummages around and stares at it long enough, food will appear. He doesn’t pull his head out of the fridge before saying in a mocking tone, “You can leave now.”

“I need you to raise Damian.”

Dick stares at the flickering lightbulb in his fridge, the hum of it buzzing between his ears.

“I must finally be completely nuts,” he says, straightening up, hand still on the fridge door, “because I could’a swore I heard you just say you want me raising the love child you must’ve had with the man who kicked me to the curb six months ago.”

“Richard, will you take this seriously please?”

The way her voice sounds almost desperate is what gets Dick to finally turn around.

“Are you serious?” he asks. “You’re being forreal right now?”

“I’m being completely serious,” she tells him. “I don’t want my son anywhere near my father. I want him raised by a good man.”

“So take him to Bruce! What do you need me for?”

“Did you not just admit that Bruce kicked you out?” She said slowly to him. “You, his sixteen year old son-“

“Ward.”

“-who he once used to tell me was the light of his life? He turned on you, just like that. The boy he’d raised for eight years. Richard, you are still a minor-“

“Then why are you asking me to raise your baby?” Dick screeches.

“M’not a baby!”

“Oh my God, it talks!”

“Richard!” Talia is pinching the bridge of her nose. She looks like she’s regretting the decision to come here. Good.

“Richard,” she says again, softer. “Please. You are a better man than Bruce Wayne. You know that.”

“Do I?” he laughs, feeling so out of his league right now. He has no idea what’s happening.

“You’re a smart boy, Richard, I know you’ll figure this out.”

“You’re really leaving your kid with a kid?”

“You’ve graduated high school, haven’t you?” she says, as if that means anything. “Quite the achievement for one your age, considering all your extra curricular activities. Not to mention saving the world from an alien invasion.”

Dick’s face darkens at the mention of it, and for some reason, he doesn’t immediately want to shrug off the hand Talia lays on his shoulder.

“You’re a good man,” she says gently. “You’re bright. You’re resourceful. You will be good for him. Better than anyone else he might be able to go to.”

He’s overwhelmed. He’s still in his Nightwing costume. He’s covered in dried blood and mud. He’s tired.

But now Talia is leaving, and there’s a two year old mini-Bruce sitting on his couch staring into his soul.

“Okay,” Dick breathes. “It’s okay. We’re okay. Uh-“

Dick doesn’t know what to do. Damian is still staring at him. Dick’s not sure he’s even blinking.

“Do you like Frosted Flakes?”

Damian’s never had Frosted Flakes. Dick remedies that immediately. Damian’s smile after his first bite is enough to ease the tightness in Dick’s chest just a little bit. He ends up getting Damian safely tucked into bed, leaving the door to his room ajar so he can go have a breakdown in the living room so he doesn’t disturb him.

Of course Dick will raise Damian. He doesn’t really have any other choice, does he? Plus, he’s somehow already managing to worm his way into Dick’s heart. God, is this what Bruce felt like when Dick first came to live with him-

No.

He stops that thought immediately. He’s nothing like Bruce. He’ll never be anything like Bruce. Because now that Damian is his, he won’t ever let him go, he won’t ever make Damian leave just because he might do something Dick doesn’t like. Damian is his now, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make sure Damian always knows that.

Except Dick is broke, and there’s hardly anything edible in this apartment, and his job doesn’t pay well enough to support himself and a toddler.

And Dick doesn’t have that many options on who to call for help.

So after a week of juggling his job and his new kid and a bunch of different possible outcomes, he makes a decision.

And the next night, he shows up on doorstep with Damian asleep in his arms and an overstuffed bag strapped to his back.

Slade only raises an eyebrow.

“What’s with the kid?”

“He’s mine,” Dick chokes out. “Don’t question it. Please.”

Slade just sighs, then steps aside to let Dick in the door. The house is familiar, Dick spent a lot of time here during his stint as Renegade. It used to feel so suffocating, being in Deathstroke’s home. Now it feels like a relief.

“What are you doing here, kid? Not that I’m not happy to see you,” Slade asks, sitting in a chair and swirling a half-empty glass of whiskey. He motions for Dick to sit on the couch across from him, and he does after a moment of shimmying the bag off his back without jostling Damian too much.

He sits there for a moment, Damian on his lap with his face tucked against his chest. He has one hand twirling Damian’s hair between his fingers, and he doesn’t look up when he speaks.

“You said I could come back anytime,” Dick says. “No questions asked.”

“I think you and I both know that didn’t apply to a situation like this.”

“Please,” Dick pleads. “I need the work. So I can take care of him.”

Slade’s face changes, but he doesn’t say anything. They’re both quiet for a long time, Dick trying to focus on the soft breaths from Damian as he sleeps. Eventually, Slade stops swirling the glass so he can bring it up to his mouth to empty the rest of it.

“You can stay in your old room for now,” Slade says, getting up. “But we’ll be relocating by the end of the week.”

Dick doesn’t know what to say, just stays rooted to the couch, hugging Damian a little tighter. Slade sees it and lets out a huff of a laugh.

“Don’t worry,” he says, “I’ll pick somewhere with good schools for the kid.”

Dick’s mind is moving like molasses as Slade walks behind the couch, grips his shoulder, and leans close enough to whisper in Dick’s ear, “Welcome back, Renegade.”

Dick waits until he hears Slade move into the kitchen to bring Damian and their stuff up to his old room. It still looks the same, not that it had many personal touches to begin with. A couple trinkets. Some souvenirs from jobs. A picture he and Slade had taken together, posing as tourists while they scoped out a target. If you squint, they almost look like a family.

Dick tucks Damian into bed, making sure he has the stuffed elephant he insisted he needed so he and Dick could match. It had been $30 - completely outrageous for a stuffed doll, in Dick’s humble opinion - but the way Damian’s face looked so excited at the prospect of having a similar kind of toy to the one he knew Dick had made him instantly cave. Dick had to beg off the cooks at the bar for a few free to-go boxes for a few days afterwards, but it had been worth it.

Dick shuts off the light, leaving the curtains drawn enough for the light from the moon to shine in just in case Damian woke up before morning, then collapsed into the bed next to him. He wrapped his arm around Damian, wanting to keep him safe, to let him know Dick was right there if he needed anything.

And Dick went to sleep trying not to feel like he just sold his soul. It will be worth it. It has to be worth it.

[kalinara]

The thing about Scott and Nathan that will always be funny to me is that ultimately the whole "losing your child at a young age and not meeting them again until they're adults" is not a terribly rare beat in comics.

It's, in fact, incredibly common. Logan's got that beat with Akihiro. Raven's got it with Kurt. Xavier with David...maybe, to be honest, I've never been sure when Xavier first became aware of David's existence. I'll have to track down those comics.

Hell, Magneto managed to RAISE his kids and only learn they're actually his kids after they reach adulthood. Whereupon they became not his kids. Sort of. But then he got another adult kid. Whatever.

The thing that's funny about Scott though is that he goes through that plot beat, has the requisite angst about not being able to raise his kid and missing out on most of his childhood, and then promptly decides "okay, well, I'm going to keep raising this fifty year old man anyway."

It's subtly different from the other examples, I think. Akihiro was willing to acknowledge Logan as his father, but they were enemies for a long time. And while there is some cautious acceptance now, they're still not really a traditional father-and-son. Kurt acknowledges Raven and even tries to support her at times, but Raven's not the most maternal at the best of times. The less said about Xavier's fuck ups the better.

The hilarious thing about Scott and Nathan is that they actually do act like father and son. And eventually, that starts to make sense. Scott and Jean did, after all, raise Nathan for the first ten years of his life, albeit under pseudonyms and in borrowed bodies. And then, much later, they got to raise him for maybe a year more on Krakoa?

But those are things that get established later on. And Nathan's spent like thirty-to-forty years after that basically on his own. But for whatever reason, he sees this perpetually twenty-something dude insist on acting like his dad, and inviting him to family dinner and giving him Christmas presents and shit like that, and just kind of goes "yeah, okay. You're my dad now."

And it even extends to Rachel and Nate Grey. Because really, Rachel isn't their daughter. She's the daughter of a long dead alternate future version of Scott and Jean. She's under no obligation to go along with Scott's awkward attempts at fatherhood. And he really has no business trying to be a dad to someone who at various times is either his own age (circa X-Factor) or only a few years younger (current interpretation.) But nope, Rachel's their daughter. And she goes along with it, even when she's mad at him during the Emma years.

Nate Grey is even more bizarre, since he's Sinister's test tube baby from a parallel universe where Scott and Jean didn't even meet until adulthood. (Though it did seem like they might be getting somewhere toward the end.) But he's invited to family dinner too. And while he's not specifically named, I think it's important to note that there are THREE rooms in the kids' section of the Summer House. Not two.

Room number 17 is listed as "empty". But Scott's an organized sort of guy, if he built three rooms in the kids' section, then he meant three rooms.

(Also notice that there's an empty room in the brothers' section too. Maybe if Adam-X wasn't busy in the Mojo-verse, he'd have had a place to stay too?)

It's just funny to me. Other characters meet their kids as adults and are like "okay, well, we've missed so much time and opportunity, we'll have to cautiously find our way forward as adults". Scott Summers is like "Okay, well, you're my kids, so dinner's at six, bedtime's at eleven, and we'll talk about your homework later."

[astralis-ortus]

you are my sunshine

✱ a bang chan headcanon

— you'll never know, dear, how much i love you.

w.count → 0.6k genre → slice of life, fluff warning → just watching chan (chris) being a parent :> a.n → something light because brain.exe couldn't handle words atm :> also, would you believe me if i said the actual idea behind this was this specific tiktok... lolㅠ ⋆ see masterlist

growing up, you were always sure you didn’t want to have any kids. you have your reasons, but ultimately, you’re scared you couldn’t be the kind of parents you wanted to be and you don’t want another soul to have to bear those sort of consequences after your inability to be one. you should be the one carrying them, even if it meant people will judge you for it.

being together with chris, however, had changed your mind.

no, not because he coaxed you into wanting one or anything like that—you knew he wanted to have kids, but he wasn’t even bothered when you told him about the matter when the topic of marriage came up. but then, whenever you see him doing even the most mundane of things... you just knew you’d be just fine raising a child together with him.

chris would be very hands on as soon as your baby arrives. he knows the best temperature for the baby formula, he knows how to wash and sterilize the baby bottle, he knows how to change your baby’s diaper—heavens, sometimes you even wondered if chris was a walking encyclopedia for any baby related matters.

chris would also be the one taking care of your baby throughout the night. ‘i’m already up anyway, you deserve the night’s sleep’ he reasoned, and being a man of his words, you would actually sleep through the night as chris would go as far as setting a bassinet in his home studio to make sure he’d be able to keep an eye on your baby while he works.

as your child grew up, chris would make sure to attend as many of the parents-teacher meeting as he possibly could. he knew the nature of his work would cause him to be away for quite a period of time when he had to, but when he could, he would even collude with your kid to ask you to let their dad be the one to take part for the next meeting. he just loved to be present when he could, and you could see it through the way he laugh with your kid.

your child’s puberty hits chris the hardest—your kid did not grow distant in any kind, they still look for their parents a lot, but for chris who used to be attached to your kid like a stamp on an envelope, letting your kid learn how to slowly become their own person felt like he’s slowly losing the little sunshine who used to only look for him. chris knew it’s going to happen eventually, but for the time being, he’ll keep himself busy with the tons of pictures and videos he took when his baby was younger.

another big wave of blue hits when chris had to send off your now young adult child to college. chris wouldn’t let you nor your child see, but you know the tears his studio had seen after you two had gone home from the airport, mere hours after your child flew thousands of miles away to chase after their dreams. despite the amount of calls and texts your family groupchat exchanged, it wasn’t the same without your child being home.

lastly, chris would finally let his tears be known when he had to let his little sunshine start off their own little family. the realization that the little baby who once fits in his arms is now ready to become a parent themselves were proven a little too overwhelming for chris—but everyone understood. everyone saw the mountain that is chris’ love for his child, and they understood.

not to worry, though—because now whenever your child visits with their own little bean,

chris had found himself another sunshine to take care of.

©️ astralisortus, 2024. | likes and reblogs are highly appreciated♡

[faecaribou]

on my knees asking for you to draw your interpretation of this

the whole team gets deaged by twenty years

most of them are a range of late teens to early thirties, but.

Scout and Sniper.

Spy gets a second chance at being Scout's dad + plus a bonus of raising Sniper too

Genuinely I could not get this out of my head. I spent hours on this and now literally every electronic i have is like at 4% battery and its 1 am. This is such a goated idea. Here are the mercs deaged, or what they would look like younger. I totally didnt have to google everyone's ages (visibly lying)

I feel like I did well with Heavy and Medic. They're the oldest in the group. Heavy when he was 26 was probably freshly dealing with escaping the gulag with his family. Visually I just got rid of his beard left him with the stubble though and gave him back his hair, which in the comics appears to be brown. For Medic, I think I spelt lisence wrong. Yeah there's a red line under it. Fuck. Whatever. I stole his muscles and also gave him back his hairline. Also, big glasses.

I'm going by age but I know what you want. Here's Spy. I wanted him to look as close to Scout as possible SO BAD but their noses are different and canonically his hair is much darker but I like to pretend the BLU Spy has that darker hair and RED Spy has more brown hair. Maybe someone's grandparents had blond hair (I swear I read a fic where Spy was like 'jeremy has my papas blond hair >m<') ANYWAY i dont think he's older than heavy and medic but also like. JEEZ. He just wanted to sleep with some MILFs or cougars he didnt expect children. L

The way that I'm actually obsessed with my own drawing for younger Engie. haiiiii. I feel like I would bump into him IRL on a college campus. Lowkey he reminds me of someone but I dont even know who.

I don't have much to say for Soldier and Pyro. I was getting some conflicting reports on Soldier's age so I just put him in the middle of the conflicting reports. He's probably already started his uh. killing rampage in Germany. I just deaged Pyro and left him in the same outfit because I dont actually have a fan design for Pyro outside the suit.

I gave Demoman the kilt and sash that his father's wearing in this one scene in the comics where there was like. A family photo of the DeGroot family. I definitely didnt study every single image of younger Demo in the comics. ha. ha. If I spent a million hours on just this drawing of Tav.

Side note, your ask totally reminded me of this fic https://archiveofourown.org/works/60095656 which is all the mercs deaged by like 25 years and Scout is literally like a year old and its great and I definitely did not leave 8 million comments on this fic (stares off into the distance)

I accidentally drew Sniper looking too young (right-most drawing) but honestly the smile with the missing tooth gave me life. aaaahhhh He really shouldve been drawn with a hat since he's out there in Australia but oops. I gave him his mullet back <3maybe he should be 7

finally, Jeremy. I definitely didn't originally decide he was 5 and then for the sake of my sanity when I think of Spy's agechange it to 4. Yeah

Heavy's too busy helping his mom raise his sisters. Don't give Medic kids. So yeah it's up to Spy to step up and take care of Mick alongside Jeremy.

Okay I think I will eventually reblog this post with more art but for right now I'm done with drawing and just going to type endless paragraphs and over nonsense thoughts

okay so they get de-aged. how??? i could take a page out of that fic i recommended and blame magic/merasmus. I feel like Respawn Machine malfunction is a pretty common trope for de-aging just one guy in fics but imagine it malfunctioned and now they're all de-aged. damnnnnn they lost that battle against BLU hard AND this happened? L

I imagine it's like. Logically they know who they are, they know each other, they know their jobs. But also it kinda feels like yesterday they were off in Russia/Australia/German/Boston doing their own things. The younger 3 are especially having this problem. No one's sure if Pyro understands whats going on.

They're all in their red team merc outfits btw for Pyro's sake. But for the drawings they've taken like. their weapons off and gotten in clothes that either fit better or are more comfortable.

Medic is all like "ooooh! interesting >:3" and definitely wants to open SOMEONE up but he's scaring the hoes (children) so him and Engineer kind of separate to go deal with the Respawn Machine. Engineer may have to call his dad for help at some point. He is going to hate it hahahahahaah >:)

Demoman and Soldier and Pyro are just like. Having the worlds most disjointed conversation. "ARE YOU AMERICAN?" "huddah huddah" "(super thick scottish accent)" no one is understanding anyone. Pyro pulls out paper and coloring pencils and they are just trying to furiously communicate through drawings

Scout is four and since he on some level remembers Spy as a kid when he's an adult, he definitely recognizes Spy as both his dad and as ...Spy. Cue crying.

Mick is kinda scared. He definitely tries to retreat to his camper van but no one's gonna let an 8 year old sleep out there by himself so he's resorted to hiding in his room on base, which he just kinda uses for storage, which is where he finds the slingshot. Anyone who opens the door to talk to him gets a rock to the face I don't make the rules. Okay well except for Scout he's not going to pelt a four year old with rocks. The mercs will use this hesitation to their advantage to get him

Spy takes his mask off. He doesn't want to, he doesn't like them looking at his face, it just makes Jeremy cry more, people are asking him how old he is, someone said he looks a lot like Scout.

He one-hundred percent sees this as like. His chance to actually be Jeremy's dad. He was too much of a coward the first time around and sometimes the guilt eats at him. Something something if Spy and Ma had a second child Spy would completely ignore Scout to fuss over the 2nd kid because it would be a clean slate that he hasn't ruined. WHAT WHO SAID THAT. Anyway the driving force that leads him to take his mask off and pick up that screaming kid is that this is his second chance. I imagine he got some practice in with some of Scout's brothers and with baby Scout so he's not the best dealing with a screaming 4 year old but he's not the worst.

After like. A few hours of getting Scout to calm down, they have now upgraded to Scout is really really quiet and visibly upset but he only screams and cries when Spy goes to grab him. Ultimately Jeremy thinks that they might get put back to normal and once he's older again Spy will abandon him again so he is NOT letting Spy pick him up without trying to bite him at least once. Spy is slowly earning his trust.

This is also the point where Spy realizes that Sniper is hiding in his room with the slingshot. After like 3 different mercs getting pelted with rocks in the face Spy realizes he has to step up and dad this kid too.

Scout sees Spy extend even one iota of patience or kindness toward Sniper and is torn between "oh he's actually trying" and "HES GOING TO CHOOSE SNIPER TO BE HIS SON INSTEAD OF ME"

wait I'm just creating more conflicts rather than resolving anything. fuck its 2 am. look the (he's not crying, YOU ARE!) hug drawing would be when Scout finally lets Spy give him a hug and it would be SO SATISFYING and the crowd stood up and clapped and after Jeremy starts hanging off of Spy like a limpet Spy also successfully gets Sniper to come out of the room. why did I write an entire plot am I going to write a fic. oh no please no I'm busy with the time travel noooooo

[gilverrwrites]

STOP WAIT THE TIM DRAKE WITH SIONIS!READER THAT WAS AMAZING

love academic rivals to lovers frfr

anyway but tim is also canonically a high school drop out so sionis!reader finishing school without him (technically dropped out when bruce went missing) 💀 idk why but with roman hating the wayne clan so much, I could see it being kept secret.

like a cute little forbidden fruit/secret relationship. robin & the daughter of the most notorious crime lord in the city?? jeez and you wanna ask why bruce/roman are paranoid /hj

but it's them sneaking around and then tim obviously leaves for his search for batman, dropping out of school, and it leaves sionis!reader all alone.

and then tim comes back!! and bruce is back but bruce doesn't really matter to them(reader), because tim left without a word, without a goodbye, and now he's back and I can imagine all the changes between that happened in that year he was too, the angst of him coming back.

like, would they try to find tim? would they try to go to wayne manor and figure out what the hell happened? I feel like it opens the door to possibilities between them

Hang in there, this is a real rambley ramble.

Ngl, I was picturing it for when he went to Ivy (which he also dropped out of lmao), and I like the idea of them being upfront about it for the comedy/reluctant acceptance angle, but there is still the potential for drama. However, I can see the appeal of them keeping it totally secret too (I'm gonna talk about that later in the post).

For now, heres my vision: You’re Romans favourite kid, his perfect lil angel child, the only one who wants anything to do with him so he dotes on you (to the extent that Roman can dote on anyone) and you go to him one day like; “I get perfect grades, I never miss curfew, I help with the family business, I never ask you for anything, PLEASE accept my boyfriend.” And at first `Roman’s just like… “No.”

Queue the “But Daddy I love him!” tantrum.

Unlike with Jason, Roman has never had any strong feelings toward Tim other than a general distaste cause of the Wayne association, so eventually he tries to come around, but it’s just awkward, and Tim hates it too cause he know your dad is Black Mask, and he can’t do anything without risking being exposed as Red Robin or upsetting you by causing a scene/fight. Is it to much to ask for the two most important men in your life to get along for one dinner? Please?

So, every time they meet the vibes are just off. However, they’re both trying really hard to get along cause they love you.

One night Tim unintentionally catches Black Mask red-handed and he can’t not do his job. The whole time they're fighting, Tim has this whole internal monologue going on about whether he should let Roman off with a warning for your sake, but eventually he’s like WWBD?

So, he hands Roman over to the authorities and the next day he sees you and your bawling! Inconsolable! Your dad is going to prison, your life is ruined. You’re also a bit of drama queen but validly tbh, what will this do for your social standings? Your college applications? Your career aspirations? Fuck Red Robin, you hate that guy!

You were raised by Roman Sionis, of course your inherited at least a little of his melodromatic genes.

Even though you're distressed Tim can’t keep from being like ‘You're mad at the wrong person here! Red Robin is the good guy! You're dad is the criminal, he wouldn't have been arrested if he wasn't a bad person! Who does bad things! He needs to face justice!”

It becomes a massive-ass argument until you’re like “Why can’t you be normal about this? I love my dad and this is going to have a huge effect on my life, why can’t you just be upset for me?”

Tim doesn’t have an answer cause the answer is "I'm Red Robin" but fuck that guy, right? The whole issue goes unresolved.

Or maybe he does snap and tell you the truth but that just makes things worse! "You're my boyfriend and you arrested my father! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?"

When you visit him at Blackgate, your father is quietly elated by the break up, he doesn’t say as much. He plays the concerned father, offers you comfort. He reminds you that when he killed lost his parents, it started a new age of loyalty amonst the Sionis clan. As long as you're good to your family (him), it will be good to you. Oh, and btw, he needs you to handle a few things while he's gone. Don't worry, your family pisses money, he'll be out of here in no time but this stuff is important and time sensitive, and he needs you to keep it on the down low.

The next time you see Tim, he’s Red Robin and you’re the one he catches in the act.

Also, Tim telling that Bat-Fam “So yeah, I’m seeing someone new, it’s Y/N Sionis.” And everyone looks at Steph for a second, then back to Tim and is like “Dude! Get a new type!”

Also also, you visit the Wayne family for the first time, and after growing up drilled to hate these people you’re lowkey so nervous. You’re expecting them to hate you, because you learned nothing from presuming the same thing about Tim. The youngest one is definitely scary, and the butler must be convinced you’re gonna steal something because he will not allow you to be left alone (he’s remembering teenage Roman hanging out with teenage Bruce and being the worst), but otherwise everyone is actually kinda chill. Maybe a bit overly polite but not unpleasant.

But I can totally see the appeal of them keeping it totally secret too. Especially if Tim tells you about being Red Robin. How it might force you to come to terms with your morality by enabling your father/not holding him accountable. Major existential crisis material.

Of if he doesn’t tell you, the angst of your boyfriend just up and leaving without a word, not responding to your calls, texts, emails.

When he does come back you’ve ‘moved on’. Or you thought you had until you saw him again. But after he left you high and dry you’re fuming, and won’t allow him to just walk skate back into your life.

Tim pining after you while you’re excelling in your college/job pursuit. You keep catching glimpses of Red Robin while you’re out on dates or visiting your dad. Tim tells himself he’s just vetting your new boyfriends or ensuring your dad isn’t up to no good. But really its because he’s missed you and doesn’t know how to make up for cutting you out of his life.

He also notices how you never bring your dates home. How you still bury yourself in his old hoodie at night. How you haven’t finished binge watching that show the two of you were working on together. Those little nuggets of hope are what keeps him hanging on.

[alanaartdream]

Ok my adhd brain doesn’t want to sleep until I draw my Fairy Timmy (with the Nicktoons unite gang) having to deal with grown up Dale hitting on him because

@jaytalking Fairy Timmy au inspired @bunnieswithknives to draw Dale’s one sided love with their fairy Timmy design and I couldn’t stop laughing and giggling seeing a Adult Jimmy Neutron being oooh so mad at dale for trying to get with Timmy in my mind

As you can see I had to sketch it out

Now peri and Jimmy are planning Dale’s demise as we speak while Danny and SpongeBob are wondering if they should help Timmy to get away from this Dale Creep

I kinda want to draw Jimmy with his hair down but figured people might not recognise Jimmy without his classic hairstyle ^^;

Also why Danny drawn as a beefcake here? (Or my attempt at drawing a adult beefcake Danny) well Bustch up on his YouTube channel has given up some drawings/ stories information on what adult Danny Sam and Trucker would be and apparently they’re a incredible ghost hunting team in their future; Sam And Danny get Married & Tucker ends up mayor/ president of their town/ city aaaannnddd because of all the ghost fighting Danny been doing for YEARS he becomes very fit and ripped (( can someone tell me why But h likes to make his male protagonist grow up to be big beefcakes? Because it seems to be a trend with him))

Also I heard someone say that butch once said he wanted to Make Danny Fenton/ phantom and Timmy Turner Cousins but didn’t go through with that idea because that would’ve been pretty good idea AND would explain why A) Timmy and Danny kinda look alike a bit and B) Timmy’s crazy lazy and very dumb birth parents where kinda obsessed with ghost hunting in their past before they had Timmy (but they were SO OO bad at it I mean they way of fighting ghosts was to blow up the house the ghosts were hunting and they blew up everyone’s house and got chased to the other side of town and had to change their names.. Danny & Danny’s parents would be horrified learning there was ghost hunters this bad out there)

Also I was gonna go with Danny saying

*do you see this shit SpongeBob* but then thought no way would Danny swear around his emotional support sponge 🧽

Also in my fairy Timmy can’t stand Dale either

And being as Wanda & Cosmo knows Timmy did want to grow his hair out but his birth father never LET him and would always cut it short if he was to be adopted by them and raised with Peri/poof then I’d know Timmy would grow his hair out and keep it in a ponytail as a fairy adult so it’s why my fairy Timmy has long hair

Danny being as he’s fighting ghosts all the time and being as Butch has said Sam & Danny get married and have 2 kids who inherit Ghost powers but a little different from their Dad he most likely doesn’t want his hair too long and it might just be a little long but not long enough to tie up being as he most likely needs to look professional being the city’s ghost protector/ fighter and likely doesn’t want his hair to bother him while he fights ghosts

Just my own experience being as I work for a hospital and had my hair short before to try to keep it from bothering me during a hot summer working week but thanks to being busy and some lockdowns it’s back to being long now but I understand keeping a hold city and raising kids means yo have no time dealing with long hair so mostly try to keep it shortish

Anyway thank you for enjoying my silly au ideas and drawings it’s been fun to draw them down

[vigilskeep]

wait, Minerva "canonically" has a baby?? i want to know everything!! when how what - how does motherhood change her, pls elaborate, srry if you talked about this before, i just love them so much

she does!! i talk abt this less bc i think its self-indulgent jghsskks and that people are less interested in this, but it’s super fun to think about for me

the baby was a surprise, minerva was kind of being stupid about it lmao because she was being less careful than she might have been in the circle, especially because she’s a warden now so she’s less likely to get pregnant at all, without really thinking through what might happen. (i’m sure our local kinloch hold spirit healer companions both had their field days telling her off for this at some point.) but as soon as it does happen she wants the baby so badly. as a circle mage and then a warden she had never really seriously considered it a possibility for herself, but she loves children, and it’s been so long since she had a real family

it’s zevran’s and zevran is in antiva most of the time. i think she has a weird crisis about whether he’ll want anything to do with a baby, and she would despise for him to come back just out of obligation but also what if he doesn’t come back, and she ends up procrastinating telling him for, like, months. just a stupid amount of time. bc she was born to stress her man out and to give her wardens unnecessary grudges against him because they thought he had obviously chosen not to be here because obviously she would have told him. truly when will his suffering end. anyway he’s thrilled when somebody eventually does him the courtesy of letting him know

the baby’s a boy, she names him duncan, it sparks a whole other argument with alistair that we won’t get into here. he gets nicknamed junior a lot, partly bc he’s duncan jr, partly bc of the ongoing joke that he’s the resident Junior Warden. he was very much raised in warden blue since the cradle. because minerva is so busy and zevran is often away, he’s pretty much collectively raised in vigil’s keep by the awakening squad and whoever else gets added to that trusted inner circle. which works out bc wardens don’t often have kids of their own so they all just kind of... share this one lmao. (and possibly sometimes also oghren and felsi’s kid if they stick around?) it’s velanna who instigates this bc that’s what the dalish do and she’s also literally the only one here who knows what to do with a baby so thank the maker she’s here (minerva’s practised with kids but by nature they don’t have babies in the circle)

i’m so thrilled that spellblade is a crow-themed rogue-like mage subclass bc that’s exactly what i always pictured for duncan jr eventually. he’s a mage, his magic manifests very young, but minerva is very strict abt his studies and it has the unfortunate reverse effect of making getting his dad or nathaniel or sigrun to teach him combat much more fun. it works out really bc his magic having manifested is a tightly kept secret so it’s good for him not to have to rely on it

being a mother kind of changes/crystallises a lot of minerva’s priorities. it’s one thing to say, like, i would like to improve the situation for my fellow mages at some point, or, it sure would be nice to live past a warden’s usual limits. it’s another thing entirely to have a mage child and need to make a world that’s safe for him and live long enough to see it done. it ends up being a key issue of her conflict with the chantry between origins and inquisition because nobody’s quite certain what the rules are. obviously if she were still a circle mage any child of hers would be taken away. but she’s not a circle mage and arguably the chantry has no right to a child born outside of the circle, with no sign yet (as far as anyone outside vigil’s keep knows) of magic. (like i say it manifested younger than normal so this is believable even to those who think he will eventually show.) it definitely exacerbates tensions, shall we say, because obviously they can pry him out of her cold dead hands

he’s probably still only quite young in inquisition. six or seven? somewhere around there, i hate timelines. not sure where he is while minerva and her squad are on their quest, but given the very short list of people she trusts that much, i have to say that the most insane answer is likely: he’s in denerim as a temporary ward of the king. probably the first elven kid to be such

[mrstellmeafuckingsecret]

hi would u say smth more about sirius x the gallaghers pls pls got me interested very much id like to know more !!🤓

i watched shameless and every time anyone did anything i was like "woah... that's so sirius coded" so here's an elaboration + yap !!

fiona: litr do not have to explain it but i will anyway because ?? oldest child, wasted potential, grew up too fast, "i was nine taking care of you", "you were my mother too!", being bad at love, having to leave a family that constantly sucked you back in and depended on you . ack

lip: burnt out smart kid, "you're just like you [abuser]", falling in love with someone and not being able to move on for years, sexual misadventures, raising a kid as a side plot, having an addiction, pressure from the entire family

ian: so so so hot, pressure of being the cuntiest in the entire family, bipolar, being just like his mother, having the most tragic love story, wanting to fight (military/order) but not being able to, imprisonment, Different, smart but constantly taken for granted, also sirius not being orion and walburga's child would be CRAZY, like if she fucked orion's dad ?? yeah.

debbie: being hated because people are braindead and can't understand complex characters that make real mistakes that YOU have to sit through too, being violent, wanting to grow up as soon as possible, wanting to be respected, being crazy smart but it always being forgotten because they're childish (<-for debbie)/reckless (<- for sirius), abandonment issues, being bad at love, constantly treated as if you're crazy when you're 1) totally valid 2) going through twenty five hundred tragedies at once

carl: very violent, very sensitive, wants the best for everyone even if it's someone who's ruined your life, wanting validation from the one who abused you, making juvie/prison his bitch, being so hot..., everything pre his racist white boy carl era is sob coded, but the scene where someone asks "what have you done for the house" and carl responds "bought it" is very sirius

liam: did coke when he was four, stayed out of everyone's business, "he has got to be adopted", killed the bad guys, ate everyone up, vv smart

[letstalkaboutfandomsbaby]

I’ve been thinking about Mo and I can’t get over the fact that

1. He’s always focused on what the reader wants to the point it seem like he’s not allowing himself to have wants (other than the physical aspect)

And 2. probably doesn’t have friends or really spends time with anyone but her

I just wanna hold his hand, ask him about movies he likes to watch, get him to branch out to other people in his life and express himself more (and considering how his parent situation was he’s probably touch starved and that’s most likely the reason he’s extra touchy with reader 🥲)

Anyways just had to rant about cutesy Mohammed as I’ve become more invested in his happiness as the story goes on

Omg!! Thank you so much for coming into my inbox and talking about Mohammed, it brings me so much joy!! And ik you didn't ask for the wordvomiting but I'm gonna give it to you anyways bc i love talking about him sksksk

When I first started writing 'Buff Guy', I didn't really develop a character. I knew that I wanted a big strong guy to fall in love with a chubby woman (reader), but that was pretty much the extent of it. I didn't have a personality set out bc I wanted him to be a generic guy that anyone could fall in love with. Tbh I think that might have been a blessing but also a curse bc now I'm developing him as the story goes and we don't know jack shit unless he tells reader something. But it's also kind of cool bc that's how real relationships work! You don't know somebody unless you ask questions and they give you honest answers, so maybe it's more realistic in that aspect

Anyways, when I first developed the story, he was just a guy, just some dude, but as I started developing him I came with a backstory:

Mohammed was born in a pretty wealthy family. Mom and Dad both have a background of money which only improved with their marriage. Mom was very independent and had a lot of aspirations, but then she got pregnant with Mo and didn't think she could properly raise him if she was working, so she dropped out of law school and became a stay at home mother. She tried to be as present as possible with Mohammed to give him a good, loving upbringing, but when he was 12 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. They tried treatment with chemotherapy and radiation, but the cancer came back and she declined quickly. Her death was very sudden but expected by the end, so she tried to help prepare Mo for that. With his mother gone, he didn't really have a loving figure in his life anymore. He had his father, who was always a distant man who sucked at relating to children, so he had to raise himself for the rest of his childhood. The workers his dad hired were there, and they were nice enough, but none of them ever stepped into the role of being a parent, so he was pretty much alone, and he determined that this was the new norm and stayed alone ever since.

His dad always put the expectation on him to focus on his education, so he did. He focused on school, taking advanced classes, and stayed away from hanging out with friends and sports. He could easily have done those things, but he always thought that he would be better off working on his education than going out on the weekends and having fun. So he was kind of a shut in sksksk. He's never gone to a school football game or prom or anything normal for a teenager. He would do schoolwork and then if he had free time, he would play videogames at home. This went on until he graduated top of his class. His dad insists that he go to college, fully paid for, so he does. Same thing happens in college. He focuses on studying instead of making friends and partying or even joining clubs, because that's what he think makes a successful person. He was always a tall and big kid, but at this point he started using the university gym and gaining some muscle. He feels very accomplished doing this, so he continues it until he graduates with a business degree, on the Dean's list and honor roll.

He goes to work at a company for an internship. He continues to be an introvert. He doesn't really speak unless spoken to, so he doesn't really make friends. He continues to believe that hard work brings success, just like it did for his father, so he continues to pour himself into his work to prove himself. He does go to the gym a lot after work, and when he's not doing work or the gym, he's playing videogames at home. At some point, he wonders if working with videogames would make him happier, but he doesn't think he'd be as successful doing that, so he throws out that idea.

He applies for a job as a CEO. He has enough good experience that his company decides to give him a try, since they're new and need direction and the other options didn't have as good of grades, and Mo is really successful at it. He's good at being a leader and guiding people and making big decisions without letting his emotions get in the way, so he does really well with his company and they keep him on permanently.

So now he's at a point where he has nothing new to achieve. He's got the good job, he gets a nice apartment, he doesn't know what to do now. He's still introverted and a shut in, but he doesn't feel fulfilled like he should, so he calls up his dad to figure out what to do next. His dad encourages him to find a girlfriend and settle down now that he's worked so hard, so he decides to do that bc I think deep down he just wants his father's approval.

He starts dating on apps. He meets some women, most of them who just see the muscles and the money and think they're set for life and don't really care about Mo's personality (which is, tbh, a little dry and boring bc he's a homebody and never had proper relationships before). He tries dating, but he doesn't feel fulfilled. He tries sex, but the first few encounters, the women didn't want to deal with his monster cock so they ended that pretty quick. For the first time in his life, he feels like a failure. He can't even find a proper girlfriend, how is he going to succeed the rest of his life if he can't find someone who likes him. He starts feeling like his money and successful status isn't enough and it really brings him down.

He does have some successful relationships, only 2 tho, and they weren't exactly healthy. Both women only wanted him for his money, but they tolerated him with everything else. The first girl was the first he had penetrative sex with and he didn't even cum because he was so nervous. He lavished her with gifts and whatnot, but she met someone she liked better, so she broke up with him after a few months.

The second was a bit more successful. I was gonna keep this secret until later in the series, but he meets an influencer at the gym and they get along pretty well. They date, they have sex, he thinks he finally found someone he can spend the rest of his life with, but he still feels like something is missing. She's very self-absorbed and doesn't respect him much, so he's still very lonely. But he thinks that this is his best shot at meeting someone and spending the rest of his life with them, so he keeps it going. He proposes, and she's more interested in posting about the proposal on social media than celebrating with him.

He's lonely, he's depressed, but he thinks this is normal and that everyone goes through this. He thinks that love is this magical thing that doesn't really exist for him, so he just settles, but at some point the relationship feels like a chore. He keeps going on with it anyways.

Coffeeshop opens up closer to work. It's nothing special, something corporate that he thinks is decent enough. He goes there after his workout one day, expecting his regular drink before work.

He feels like he's blinded when he enters the coffeeshop. You greet him cheerfully and he feels like there's a glow about you that's making his eyes strain. He thinks you're nice. He thinks you're pretty. He likes the way you made his coffee. He goes back to the coffeeshop on his lunch break the same day and you're still there and you're so bright and cheerful and kind. You're asking him about his day, how's he doing. No one's ever really asked him that before, not even his new fiance, so his heart kinda goes crazy when this pretty stranger starts being so nice to him. I don't think he realizes that this is a part of your job, customer service, he just thinks you're treating him special.

He gets a little hopeful, a little obsessed. He goes to the coffeeshop every day, hoping to see you. He gets disappointed whenever you're not there, missing seeing you and your smile. He doesn't know how to feel about all the emotions inside him, but he knows that he likes it and that he wants to feel this way forever. He breaks off the engagement with his fiance, and he tries pursuing you.

That's when the gifts begin, and the series starts.

He still doesn't have any friends. He has people he talks to, but he doesn't consider them friends. You're probably the closest he's ever gotten to anyone.

He has likes, most of them being videogames and nerdy shit sksksk. He likes manga and anime and he collects things. I'll share more info in the series :)

Anyways that was a LOT sksksk thanks for listening have a good day :3

[goddessofroyalty]

I found out why i want Silco to be sourrounded by kids/kids following him in your au.

He is the scariest motherfucker.

So, kids tend to go with the scariest person for protection, i have seen this multiple times and do it myself.

Silco is not only the scariest one but he would actually talk to the kids, it doesn't matter if their questions are stupid, he would be polite and not treat them like babies.

On Zaun, kids know who he is.

But on Piltover?

From things i read in your answers, piltite don't seem very involved with his kids, so it makes sense that they flock towards him. I like the idea of Piltite kids reaching to him if they are scared or don't feel safe, slowly telling ither kids that Mr Silco (and Vander) are good and would actually help.

Bonus points, Silco gets a ton of information

I mean in the canon Silco has kids (teenagers but still) working for him in Act 1. So while I'm sure in the Undercity he has an intimidating reputation that probably keeps a lot of the younger kids keeping their distance I think for the most teenaged ones he does represent a solid employment opportunity even if it might be a less-than-legal one (although if he does see potential in a kid he will also point them towards the more legit means because of his greater focus on raising the status of Zaun and its people generally and to that they need to encourage the brilliant among them).

On how involved with their kids are between Piltover and Zaun the reality is you are going to see a mix across both. But generally Zaunites tend to be more hands-on with their kids (and their friends kids) compared to Piltites who are more likely to have hired staff to look after their kids. But these are very broad rules and you'd have Piltites who while having hired staff involved and still very active in their kids lives and Zaunites who have the "I fed and put a roof over your head I don't want see you other than dinner time" kind of parenting mentality.

Anyway.

In Piltover I do really think it comes down to the kid. Some are more confidant than others and those are the ones that are likely going to approach him and realise that he is actually very patient (if rather blunt). Of course once the word gets around that Silco (and Vander) are Nice Adults (in the sense that they won't just tell the kids to go away and will have the time to talk to them) more and more kids do approach them. Which ends up with Silco seeming to have children flock to him.

Considering I've very recently found out about a relative's relationship separation because their kid blurted it out as soon as they saw them next I can confirm that children are massive information leaks. Which Silco also absolutely knows and takes advantage of. Of course he's nice to the Piltite kids - you'll never know when one of them will just drop in casual conversation that when dad's on business trips mums "friend" comes and sleeps over or that their parents keep arguing something about a business deal going sour.

[agendabymooner]

about names: an amazing boy with an amazing name || cl16 scenario (1)

dad!charles leclerc x mom!ofc (hearth sister!ofc)

EXTENSION OF OF LONG LINES AND NAMES AND THE LECLERC DAYCARE

Summary: The Leclerc boys and their names go hand in hand. OR times when Charles and his wife Aimee had to explain that their children’s names are meaningful. 

Scenario summary: Charles and Aimee wondered what Hervé meant when he said that his name was silly and that he hated it. Thank goodness, Pascale Leclerc was the one that the boy cannot refuse as she comforts her grandson.

Content warning: Kids teasing kids, possible use of explicit language, fluff, dad!Charles content, the Leclerc family (Pascale and Leclerc brothers) content, briefly mentions Charles' dad, crappy French translations by Apple, sad kids being comforted, fluff, what is beta reading we write things at 2am and post it after lol

Note: One more before I dash out of my dorm for the day lmfaoo

masterlist

Aimee Leclerc was no stranger to chatty kids and pick-up schedules, so it was no wonder why she immediately found herself in front of the elementary school that stood gloriously in the middle of Monte-Carlo as she waited for her two children to be dismissed from the class for the day. 

It was a routine of hers now that her work in McLaren had become remote. Five children took up all of her time and between them and her work— she would’ve immediately left the company if the team made her choose. She’d rather be in Monaco while Charles continued to pursue his career as a racing driver. 

Zak Brown was empathetic enough to understand that a set of children wouldn’t be able to have a stable routine should they continue to travel around the world just to be with their parents who worked overseas, offering Aimee a chance to work at home and adapt to a better routine as she took care of her children. 

She could wait patiently if anybody ever asked her. She had no problem, knowing that she was able to finish her work long before she could pick up her eldest children. 

But the energy that her children had shown merely told her enough: they might have been either excited to see her or they thought that she was rushing them. She caught a glimpse of her twins as they stepped out of the elementary school, their uniforms somehow tidy and less wrinkled despite their busy day. 

“Maman! Devinez quoi?” Guess what? Jules jumped excitedly as he wrapped his arms around Aimee tightly, still jumpy and giddy as he spoke in English, “We did our quiz in maths!” 

“Oh? Is that right, J?” Aimee asked with a smile, her fingers running through her son’s wavy hair. It was surprising how her children’s hair continued to lose its volume as years passed— it was becoming more like Charles’ hair.

They were mini Charleses, indeed.

“Yes, Maman! I also— uh…” It seemed like Jules ran out of English immediately as he said, “J'ai fait si bien! Je n'ai perdu qu'un point!” I did so good! I only lost one point!

Aimee was merely thankful that she could understand French and Italian, or rather, she was thankful her private teacher taught her how to speak those languages; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to understand her multilingual-speaking children. 

She primarily spoke English and had grown up practicing a standard accent in her Received Pronunciation. She never adapted to her husband’s speaking style, but learned to understand it nevertheless. Their children were being raised in Monaco, after all, and most people spoke in French or Italian. She was only thankful that she was able to teach them to speak English to preserve that part of them. Most of their cousins are raised in England and this gave them the opportunity to converse in that language. 

Anyways.

Aimee beamed at her son and exclaimed, “A good job done, Jules!” Then she turned to look at her other son, who was unusually quiet for such a normal day. Hervé, as Aimee learned while nurturing her ever-growing children, was never quiet — he was one of the boys who would often cause ruckus inside the Leclerc home. If he’s silent like this then Aimee knew he was feeling something along the lines of upset. 

Hervé was never upset. He was so much like his grandfather— his namesake. So joyous. Why was he feeling so down? Aimee didn’t know.

“Hervé, my love,” Aimee called softly, but he couldn’t hear. Jules turned to look at his twin and noticed the boy disassociated, giving his brother’s shirt a tug as Hervé finally looked up. The Leclerc matriarch (2.0) smiled gently and asked, “Is it a long day for you?” 

“Oui, Maman,” he replied quietly, offering her a nod and nothing more. 

Aimee had led them to the Aston Martin family SUV as soon as he answered and drove off to head home. Jules was chatting Aimee’s ears off and it somehow defeaned her. It wasn’t because Jules was loud, no; Hervé wasn’t even talking, and his silence defeaned her.

“Herb,” she called as she looked at the rear view mirror, noticing how his jaw clenched before crossing his arms. “Hervé?”

“Stupid, silly name,” Jules hadn’t seen Hervé mutter those words beneath his breath but Aimee certainly had, leaving the mother confused. What the hell was happening?

“H,” Aimee called once more. Hervé’s angry eyes finally looked up to meet Aimee’s worried ones. Even if she wanted to remind him to calm down, she knew that it would lead to his outburst so she avoided it and asked, “Da’s home? Do you want to tell him about your maths quiz today? Maybe you and Jules can show him the art you made for Mademoiselle Blanc?” 

“Hmp,” the eldest Leclerc twin huffed, turning away from his mother and looking out the window. 

Jules’s eyes narrowed as he gave a brief glimpse at Aimee, turning towards his twin, “Are you okay, H?” 

“Oui,” Hervé muttered, acting as some sort of assurance, but this only made Jules look at his mother with worry. Aimee flashed a smile at her son before continuing to drive on the way home. It was another thing that the Leclerc boys had gotten from their father; they were bad liars. 

It only got worse when Aimee pulled up to their driveway, and the boys made their way inside. Jules dashed out of the car with his backpack to navigate his way around the house, trying to find their father before he gasped, “Da!” 

Aimee watched her other son carefully, trying to read Hervé’s behaviour as he walked past Aimee. She still wasn’t sure what was going on. 

“Oh! Hello, Jules!” Charles Leclerc, a Ferrari driver who had just returned from a doubleheader, grinned gracefully at the sight of his son. In his arm was one of his young twins, Anthoine — or Tony, for most people — while the other half of the pair, Alain, sat on the playmat with his book propped open. “Comment va l'école aujourd'hui?” How is school today?

“Very good, Da!” Jules grinned toothily, “Madame Hurst m'a donné une étoile pour mon quiz de mathématiques!” Mrs. Hurst gave me a star for my maths quiz! 

“Ah, really? Cela signifie que vous avez fait un excellent travail en étudiant avec maman alors,” it means you’ve done a good job at studying with Mummy, then. Charles glanced past Aimee’s legs, seeing the other pair of his twins as he greeted the quiet boy, “Bonjour, Hervé. Comment allez-vous?” Good afternoon, Hervé. How are you?

“D'accord, Da,” Fine. Hervé muttered, his irritation noticed easily by his father as Charles scowled lightly. Every adult in their family knew that it meant trouble if Charles gave this look. 

At first, the Ferrari driver tried to make a light of the situation, “Why the long face, Hervé? The more you do that, the more you’ll look like your Uncle Toto. Give Da a smile?”

“No,” but Hervé wasn’t having it as he snapped at his father firmly, the tip of his ears turning red as he stomped off.

“No?” 

“Don’t call me that!” Hervé snapped, his eyes turning dark as he got angry and upset.

“What? Hervé—“ Charles tried to reason out, but the 7-year-old was anything but reasonable at the moment. 

“I’m not Hervé! Don’t call me that! It’s a stupid name!” 

Charles could have sworn that he, too, was seeing red as he placed the toddler in his arms before marching off the playroom. He followed after his son and exclaimed, “Hervé Louis Sebastien René Mathieu Leclerc! Come back here!” 

“No! No more talking! Leave me alone, Da!”

Thud. The boy had just slammed the door on his father’s face, and Charles— Charles was fuming. 

He loves his boys dearly; he does. But it was moments like this that somehow made him different from the loving father that he is. He wasn’t even sure why he was so upset— was it because of the fact that his son just yelled that he didn’t want to talk, or did he just hear his son say that his father’s name was stupid? He wasn’t sure. 

He was just… upset and confused. 

Charles wasn’t sure where he’d gone wrong with becoming a parent to his sons. He did everything he could despite being a busy driver— he took care of them whenever Aimee was out, he taught them how to be kind to other people and he taught them how to love. Hervé had never been this upset before and it bothered Charles and Aimee to no end. What was he genuinely upset about?

Then they both recalled what the boy said. Hervé wasn’t his name. He thought that the name was silly, from what Aimee had told Charles. Where did that even come from? 

“I— truthfully, I don’t even know where that came from, Charles,” Aimee admitted as she sat with him on the couch that night, sighing heavily while the driver rested his head against his hand. 

They tried asking the boy, from asking him to come down for dinner (with Aimee giving up and leaving a bowl of rice and chicken in front of his door) to Charles asking to come into his room (with Charles not receiving any form of response). But alas, Hervé had no response. He didn’t even respond when they tried to ask if he’d like to come over to his Uncle Lorenzo or Arthur’s place. 

No luck. 

“He didn’t mention anything at all,” she continued, keeping her voice down to avoid waking any of their children up. “He was muttering to himself, I’ve no bloody clue he was upset.” 

“I didn’t know either,” Charles murmured, grabbing a hold of her hand and kissing the knuckles of it. “He isn’t normally like this— he’d tell us if there’s something wrong.”

It was true. Hervé, much like the other Leclerc children, never got into a fight with a friend before. He was upfront about his feelings and would tell either his parents or playmate about being upset. There were some instances when he almost snapped but otherwise managed to control his emotions— he was so much like his brothers and mother in a sense. Aimee always approached them with the five-finger solution before they could even burst into tears or anger. 

So, for Hervé to keep quiet? 

Even Aimee couldn’t get an answer from him. What did he mean by his name was a stupid name? Charles asked himself this a couple of times. 

His name was Hervé— that was a typical French name, no? What made Hervé think that his name, his late grandfather’s name, was silly? Charles tried approaching his son about the matter every minute since the boys got home from school, but much to his dismay, the boy evaded him. 

But there was only one person that Hervé wouldn’t refuse to answer. Much like his late grandfather, Hervé never refused his Mamé. 

So the next day, Pascale Leclerc — the grandmother of the Leclerc boys — took the liberty to have a day off with the upset boy. Jules felt incomplete without Hervé in the school but went nonetheless, and the five-year-old boy PJ went to kindergarten while Aimee, Charles and the youngest twins went out. Pascale stayed at home with Hervé and baked cookies with him. 

After putting the cookie dough into the preheated oven, Pascale served the boy some tea, to which Hervé gratefully drank as his grandmother sat across from him.

She sighed and placed a hand on his knee, “Est-il vrai que tu t'es fâché contre ton père, Hervé?” Is it true that you got angry with your dad, Hervé? She asked, her question leaving him frozen as he looked at Pascale guiltily. 

Hervé carefully sat his mug down on the table and nodded solemnly, not uttering a word. Pascale asked, “Has it been a rough day for you? That’s why you got angry?” 

Hervé shook his head as Pascale suggested, “Veux-tu dire à Mamé ce qui t'a mis en colère? Peut-être pouvons-nous trouver une solution ensemble?” Will you tell Mamé what has gotten you angry? Maybe we can find a solution together?

The longer the silence lasted, the more the tears flowed out of Hervé’s eyes as his lips pursed and trembled. The poor boy couldn’t help but stammer, “Mon nom est tellement silly et stupide, Mamé!” My name is so silly and stupid! He continued to cry out, “Kylian a dit que mon nom venait de «Herbe et fromage» et c'est très stupide! Je n'aime pas mon nom, Mamé!” Kylian said that my name came from ‘Herb and cheese’ and that it’s stupid! I don’t like my name, Mamé! 

Pascale’s eyes nearly teared up at the confession that Hervé made. He hated his name because someone made him feel like it wasn’t worth appreciating. Her poor grandson was subjected to this kind of behaviour, which felt so… disheartening. 

“Oh, Hervé,” Pascale immediately reached out to soothe the boy, shushing him quietly while he sobbed. His eyes shut as tears continued to flow down, soaking Pascale’s cardigan in the process. “Your name is not stupid or silly; did you know that?”

His crying lasted for several minutes, with Pascale patiently soothing him in the process. When his sobbing quietened, Pascale took this as an opportunity to tell him about his name.

She sighed shakily, not wanting to shed a tear or two as she explained, “Da, Uncle Lorenzo and Uncle Arthur had their own Da— you have seen him before in the pictures, oui?” She felt the boy nod through her chest as she hummed and continued, “That was your Papy. Do you know what his name was? His name was Hervé.” 

“Her—“ the boy hiccuped. “Hervé? Like me?”

“Oui, mon amour,” Pascale replied with a soft smile, “Hervé like you.”

“You are sooo much like your Papy Hervé, that is why Maman and Da named you after him,” Pascale continued, “you are as funny and happy as him. When he was still alive I used to call him Herb. I loved him so much, mon chou.

“And when he was gone, your Da and your uncles filled the rest of the space in my heart that you and your brothers soon took over,” Pascale smiled, “and I think that your name is beautiful like it is with my Herb’s.” 

“It is?” 

“Oui, my love,” Pascale replied, “your name is what keeps your Papy’s memories alive for your Da and your uncles. Do not let anyone think that it is a silly name because you are an amazing boy with an amazing name. Your Maman and Da love you so much, and your Da? He loved his Papa so much that he decided to name another person he loved after him. That’s you, mon cœur.” 

Ever since then, Hervé learned how to embrace his name and would often explain to everyone where his name came from, even in the grid and paddock. 

Nobody needed to ask where his name came from— after all, he is Hervé Leclerc. He was just as joyful and enthusiastic as his grandfather. 

[schrijverr]

All the Things Evan Never Wrote Maddie About

An addition to chapter 3 to 6, wherein we get everything Buck – or Evan back then – never wrote on the cards to Maddie. The things he wanted to write her about, but stopped himself from ever sharing, especially when he was living in El Paso, raising Chris by himself.

On AO3.

Ships: Buddie (pre-slash)

Warnings: referenced child abandonment (Shannon), referenced homophobia, referenced emotionally abusive parents, referenced Doug

~~~

Dear Maddie,

Remember that girl I told you about? The one that comes by the farm? Yeah, it’s actually a little more complicated than that and it didn’t work out. She left her four year old with me and left the state. Don’t worry, his dad came to get him! But he was so stressed. His name is Eddie. He and the girl, Shannon, are divorced. I’m watching Chris tonight. Eddie works the night shift. After me accidentally letting Shannon run, it’s the least I can do. Besides, Chris is a sweet kid and I don’t have anything better to do anyway.

Hope you’re doing okay and your love life is going better than mine. Is Doug still a dick? Did you leave him yet? I hope so.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Uh, so I’ve accidentally started co-parenting Chris with Eddie. You don’t know who these people are, but they’re great. Eddie is my only friend here and Chris is such a great kid. I should be out there traveling probably, but I don’t want to. Is that weird? I like raising Chris. But am I too young to be a parental figure to him? I hope not. It feels nice to raise Chris. It feels nice to help Eddie out and he seems to appreciate my help. I hope I’m not overstepping, because I like my place here. Any tips?

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Guess I’m officially staying with Eddie and helping him with Chris. His mom found out that I was helping and had a screaming fit. She doesn’t like me much, but I don’t think she likes anyone. Still, I get it, it’s not like I know anything about parenting, but Eddie does. He’s my age. I should figure it out if I follow his lead right? Do you know anything about raising kids? Please send advice.

Also I got fired by Mr. and Mrs. Johnson over it, which sucks, but Eddie is letting me sleep on the couch until I figure it out. He’s a good friend like that. I hope you have good friends too. What are you up to? Still with Doug?

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Chris has to have surgery for his CP and I’m scared. It’s not his first and it probably won’t be his last, but he’s just so small. Chris is the kid I’m helping to raise, by the way. Surprise! Uhm, that felt weird. I didn’t want to worry you and I guess this will worry you. I didn’t mean to. Sorry. I don’t have anyone to talk to. Other than Eddie of course. But he’s also scared. I don’t want to make it worse. You’re a nurse, ER not pediatrics, but still, can you make me less scared?

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

I never send my other card, but Chris has to have another surgery. He has CP and he’s only five. I’ve been helping Eddie take care of him after his mom walked out. He’s a champ, stayed cheery through most of his previous hospital stay and made it through just fine. But here I am, worrying again. And worrying you. I didn’t want to do that. You’re probably busy with hospital shift yourself. I have such a respect for your job. I already did, but the nurses here are great. Thank you for that.

Wish you were Chris’s nurse. Wish you were here. It’s so selfish, but it’s true. Chris is asking for his mom, but Shannon blocked both me and Eddie. He can’t even have that and he cried so much and nothing we could do helped. You probably would have known what to do. I miss you.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Did I ever tell you mom and dad made me give the money back? Because they did and I kind of regret saying yes to that now. Surgery is expensive. Don’t worry, I’m fine! Chris had to get surgery. He’s doing fine too, it really helped with his CP symptoms, definitely worth it, but my construction job and Eddie’s night guard salary isn’t going to cover it.

Do you think I could call them from money? I haven’t spoken to them since I left, but they wouldn’t deny a kid, right? Well, maybe they would. They probably think I’m being stupid. Could you ask and then give me the money? No. Nevermind, forget that. I don’t want to create trouble for you with Doug. Or did you leave him? Wish you would reply to me, I can use someone smarter than me to bounce ideas off. Though Eddie counts there.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Eddie is going to re-enlist. You don’t know who that is, but he’s my friend. Will be my husband I guess, which is a little weird. It’s nothing romantic though. And it’s going to be a quick courthouse wedding, so no need to come out. Though, I’m not sure if you would anyway. I miss getting a card back from you. It would be nice to have someone here who is on my side. Eddie is, but he’s going to leave. It is the best with bills and I’m so happy he trusts me with Chris, but I’ll miss him. He’s my best friend. My only friend, really. That’s a little sad. I’m doing great, I promise. We’re figuring it out. I hope you are doing great too.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

You’re officially an aunt! Congratulations and surprise! I adopted this kid, Chris. He’s five now. Me and Eddie, his dad got married as friends. It’s a long story, but it’s for financial reasons and so Eddie’s parents don’t take Chris. They kind of suck. Anyway, we went to court today and I’m now Chris’s dad, so that’s cool. At least, I hope you’ll think it’s cool. I do. Raising Chris is the best job I’ve had so far, he’s an amazing kid, you’d love him.

Maybe you can come meet him some time? But don’t tell mom and dad. Or Doug. They’d just be assholes about it. I promise it’s not as stupid as it sounds. I didn’t tell you, because I didn’t want to worry you, but I’ve already been raising Chris with Eddie for a year now and I’ve gotten a hang of the whole parenting thing.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Chris called me papi today! I’ve already been his dad legally for a bit and unofficially for a year, but still, that’s an upgrade! I also didn’t mention any of this before now. Is it a weird thing to drop on you that you’re an aunt because I’m excited about being a dad? Also, Chris is part Mexican, my Spanish is a lot better. Señora Smith would be proud of me. So the papi thing isn’t too weird, though I’m not fully used to it yet.

I hope you’re also having a good time and having good news happening to you. I wish I knew what was going on in your life. I feel like I must be missing so much. Hope I’ll get a card back!

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Eddie found out today I didn’t tell you about him and Chris. So, uh, he is my husband and Chris is my kid. He’s five. I’m writing this, because I feel bad now. I honestly didn’t think he’d mind, but he seemed so surprised, so maybe I should tell you?

Before I didn’t tell you, because I was just helping out a friend, but then Eddie and I got married so I could adopt Chris and it’s all official now. But I also didn’t tell you, because I’m scared. Not of you, but of mom and dad. And Doug. Eddie understood when I explained, but I still feel weird about it now.

I just I don’t want to be mean, but Doug scares me. I know you love him, but he always felt like bad news and I don’t want him near Chris, or know he exists and where he lives. God, I’m such an awful brother, which is also why I don’t want to tell you, because what kind of person thinks like that over their sibling’s spouse? It would suck if you thought Eddie sucks and I’m not even in love with the guy.

And then you have mom and dad, I know I can ask you not to tell, but what if it slips out? They already think I’m a loser, they probably think this is a stupid decision too. Even if I love being Chris’s dad. I don’t want to deal with them. I’ve already ran, I don’t need them back to judge me. Am I horrible for that? Will you hate me when you find out? I hope not. I hope we’ll meet again and I can tell you and you’ll be happy for me. I hope I get the courage to send another card. Or this one, but I don’t know. I’m scared, Maddie.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

So, I didn’t end up sending any of my cards about this, but my in-laws hate me. They already did before, but they weren’t my in-laws then. I’m raising this amazing kid, Chris, with my best friend, Eddie. He has to re-enlist to pay bills though, so we got married so I can continue to raise Chris while he’s gone. His parents just found out and… they aren’t happy.

I don’t think mom or dad would be happy for me either, but at least I didn’t have to hear them yelling at me about it, like Eddie had to. Are you also mad at me for it? I hope not. It makes me happy. Wish you were here.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Life totally sucks. Eddie left for his service and getting Chris to let him go was a nightmare. I never want to do that again, but that’s a part of being a parent, right? Making hard choices? I don’t like it. I hate it when he cries. And my in-laws still hate me too. They spread all sorts of nasty shit around town and everyone is avoiding me. Is it really that bad to marry a man just to help out with his kid? I’m not doing anything weird, I swear. I just want to help and Chris is an amazing kid. Eddie needed help and I helped. That’s it. I miss having Eddie here. I miss having back up. I know he had to go, but it still sucks.

I’m sorry, I’m whining. And you have no context for this. It’s a long story. I’m doing fine for the most part. My boss doesn’t care about the rumors, so that’s nice. See, not all bad. Positives! I hope you have some positives in your life too. It would be sad if we were both having a bad time. Tell me about it sometime?

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

How worried should I be that Chris is barely speaking? He’s just a kid and his dad just had to leave after his mom already did, but Eddie’s still calling him. He speaks then. Do you think that will go over or not? Have you seen something like this before? Is it normal for kids to react like this? I mean, I miss Eddie too, but it’s not the same, so I have no idea. I’d usually ask him, but, you know, he’s not here. I miss him about as much as I miss you. I could really use someone in my corner right now. God that’s so needy

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

I have a situation and I need advice, so you get a letter instead of a card. You always give the best advice. At least, you used to. I’m pretty sure you still do, but you haven’t been talking back in a while. I’m not even sure you’re still getting these, but I hope you do, because I can really use your help.

Okay, so, a little bit of backstory. Remember that girl it didn’t work out with? Well, she was a mom and it didn’t work out, because she abandoned her kid. Crazy, I know. Anyways, Chris is a great kid. I helped out his dad, Eddie for a bit and it spiraled out of control and we’re married now. Surprise! It’s just a friends thing, though. It was so I could adopt Chris, because Eddie had to re-enlist to pay medical bills (Chris has CP). So, it’s been me and Chris these past few months and it’s gonna be for the next year or so.

With that out of the way, my situation: Chris’s old PT place was homophobic. I tried to explain that we weren’t gay (not that it should have mattered) but they wouldn’t listen or help Chris, so I switched him over to this new place. And I told him not to mention Eddie. I know, I’m horrible!

I’m just worried that they’ll be homophobic again and then the next best place is three hours by car away, I can’t work enough to keep up with it all and drive Chris all the way there, plus gas is expensive and asking Helena (my mother-in-law, I suppose) will only end in her being terrible about it and lording it over me.

It’s the best thing to just not say and I made sure that Chris wouldn’t realize what happened. He has to deal with enough already, you know. But here is the worst part. I also didn’t tell Eddie. I don’t want to worry him, you know. He’s all the way across the ocean in a war zone and I’d just be bothering him, but I also feel like I’m erasing him, while I never want to do that. But I don’t know what to do. Did I make the right choice? Or should I tell him?

I’m sorry about dumping all this on you. That’s a lot of new information. Hopefully you don’t hate me too for keeping you out of the loop. I didn’t want to worry you. Sorry.

I hope your life is going well and you don’t have to grapple with your morals. Though, I suppose as an ER nurse, you make difficult decisions every day. You always keep such a cool head. I miss that. I wish I was more like you. I wish I knew what to do.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

People have only just started normal around me at the grocery store, but school pick up is still very uncomfortable. And Helena is wearing me down. I hope Chris won’t notice. I don’t know how much longer I can do this. It’s exhausting. I miss you. I want a hug. I want you here. I know I’m being a baby, but god, I just don’t want to be so alone for a moment.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Sorry for the tear splatters on the card. It was Chris’s sixth birthday today. Chris is my kid. Adopted. You would know that though, since I was still in Hershey when I was 19, but I guess I could have knocked a girl up on the way out. I’m sorry, that was cynical. But yeah, adopted a kid. It’s a temporary thing. Eddie, his dad, will come back. He has to. He’s serving oversea.

Yesterday was a nightmare. Chris blew out his candles on a video call with Eddie. I tried really hard to make it a good day. I hope it was. But Chris deserved better. Better than I can give him. I’m not his father, not in the way Eddie is. I keep fucking up. I thought I could do this, but I can’t.

Do you think mom and dad ever felt like this? Probably not. They should have. You made my birthdays better. Thank you so much for all of that. I never said, but I appreciated it.

God, this is depressing. I hate it here. I hate myself. I hate that Eddie had to go, I hate that Shannon left, I hate that Helena and Ramon were there when Eddie was supposed to be. I hate that you’re so far. I hate that I’m never enough. I hate it all.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

I’m so alone. Please, send a card back. Just a small one. I just need to hear from someone, anyone, that doesn’t hate me. Please. I love you. You’re the best sister I could have asked for. So, please, please.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

My husband almost died today. You don’t know I have a husband and I don’t. Technically. Eddie married me for convenience. He’s in the army. And he nearly died. They had to airlift him to Germany to get him the care he needs. I could have lost him. I thought he died when they called. He’s my best friend and Fuck, Maddie, I’m in love with him. I’m in love with my husband, who is not my husband. I’m in love with my best friend. And he could have died. I was so scared. Still am.

What if Eddie gets an infection and dies anyway? Will I have to raise Chris by myself? Can I do that? What if Eddie makes it? What if he divorces me and I’m all alone again? We said we would, but I don’t know if my heart can take saying goodbye. Not to him and not to Chris. Fuck, why did I ever get into this mess?

I wish you’d talk to me, so you can tell me it’s going to be okay. You’re an ER nurse, what do you about catching three bullets in your body? Is that a thing you see often? Will he die? Will I become a widower?

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

I’ve been very mature and collected about being in love with Eddie. You’d be proud of me. I think. I have been thinking before acting, planning things, not doing anything reckless. That’s progress, right?

Eddie is my best friend/platonic husband, by the way. He nearly died. Okay, this card is already a mess and a long story stacked on top of a long story, but know that I’ve been doing well. I’m thinking about becoming a firefighter. It pays well and has great insurance, plus you don’t need a college degree. I’m going to pitch it to Eddie when we call. I just want to help out. It’s not weird right? I hope not.

What’s happening with you? Anything interesting? In love with someone better than Doug already? I hope so.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

I’m going to be a firefighter! That’s cool and fun right? And Eddie isn’t going to divorce me yet because of it! That last part is as much news as the rest is probably. But don’t worry about it. It’s a long story, I can explain if you want, but you’d have to be sending me cards back for that. My address hasn’t changed in a while. You can come by. But you don’t have to. I get that you’re busy. I wouldn’t expect you to, that was rude and pressure-y. I just miss you. And I hope you’re doing well. Maybe getting divorced instead of me? Sorry. That’s also rude. Doug is just such a dick, I don’t know why you like him.

Love, Evan

~

Dear Maddie,

Eddie came home from service today, my supervisor at the academy gave me the day off so me and Chris could pick him up. It’s so good to have him home again. You should have seen Eddie and Chris’s faces when they reunited. I love them so much.

It feels weird to share this with you. Usually I don’t end up sending these, because I don’t want to worry you, but now it feels a little too late to tell you. I also never told you, because I don’t want mom or dad to know. Or Doug, iew. Sorry. I know you can keep it a secret, but I’d feel bad asking you to do that, just because I want to share being happy with you. Maybe I’ll come back after my divorce and just eat ice cream on your couch for a week.

Do you have things that make you happy right now? Still working in that same ER? I hope so, or none of these will have gotten to you. Though, that might explain the lack of response. I hope you’re okay, wherever you are.

Love, Buck

~

Dear Maddie,

I’m going to die! Okay, maybe dramatic, but I am! My friend, Eddie, he’s injured right now and I have to help him shower. And that’s fine! It’s all fine! I just also have a huge crush on him and he’s straight and I try to be respectful, but he’s all there with soft skin and silky hair and I’m going to die! I don’t know how to give someone a shower in a bro way. What if he catches on to my feelings? Then he’ll divorce me (long story). But it’s so hard (haha), because he’s so sexy and handsome that it hurts. God, this is an embarrassing card to write. You have to burn it after you read it!!! Or maybe I’ll do it for you. No one can find this. Ever!

Love, Buck

~

Dear Maddie,

Your little brother is officially a firefighter! I’m very excited about that, I’m also going to be a firefighter in LA. I mentioned last card that I was getting job offers, right? And I took one with the LAFD. I’d say come to visit when we’ve moved, but I don’t think you ever will.

Eddie is about to start his PT soon. We’re looking at places in LA, both to live and for his and Chris’s appointments. Hopefully there won’t be a repeat of the homophobia incident. But that won’t be a problem when Eddie divorces me. He’s my husband (friendly) by the way, Chris is our kid. Surprise, you’re an aunt. I wrote that line a million times, never send it. I think you’d be a great aunt, but I don’t trust Doug to be an uncle. Are you two still together? Probably. Fuck, I hate that guy. No offense. Well, maybe a little offense.

I’m going to see a lot of ER nurses from now on, makes me think of you. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be handing over patients to you. That would be fun, right? A family business. No?

Love, Buck

~

Dear Maddie,

I just realized that LA has family of Eddie, which means I have to meet them. I asked Eddie what he wanted to do and he said we’ll go over after we’ve moved in. I really hope they’re going to be cooler than Helena and Ramon. I’m a little nervous to meet them. In-laws, you know. Scary.

How did you deal with meeting them? You did meet Doug’s mom, right, before she died? Was that scary? Probably, if she was related to Doug, but that’s beside the point.

Maybe it’ll be okay, since they’re not actually my in-laws, not like that. Me and Eddie are just married as friends and he’s probably going to divorce me when he recovers from his injuries (he’s a solider, got hurt in Afghanistan). It’s a long story.

Anyway, wish me luck!

Love, Buck

~

Dear Maddie,

Meeting Abuela and tía Pepa went well! They seem to like me. Eddie laughed at me though, but Abuela scolded him for it, that was funny. Did you know family can feel warm? Our house never felt warm. I’m going to miss it when Eddie divorces me. Is it rude to befriend your not entirely like that in-laws, so they’ll continue to be your friend after you divorce your not like that husband?

God, I’m truly a sad person, aren’t I? This sounds pathetic, even to me, but it was just so good, Maddie. I’m going to miss all these people so fucking much. I guess, I should be used to it. I learned to live without you, I’ll learn to live without Eddie and Chris. But fuck, it’s going to hurt. Do you think I can ask Eddie if it’s okay to send him and Chris cards after our divorce?

I’ll have some time to think about it, since Eddie isn’t better yet (it feels weird to be a little glad about that). Hopefully this whole firefighting thing will work out for me. I have my first day tomorrow and I’m so nervous. Any tips about that? Or about my divorce troubles?

Love, Buck

~~

A/N:

I didn’t do enough with Buck raising Chris alone in El Paso, but fuck that shit hurt. I didn’t want to have it get more out of hand and it wasn’t super important to the overall story, so I skipped over a lot of it, but it was a lot of fun to explore here. Hope you all angsted with me :D

Also, me posting this during the Doug arc for Maddie feels very poetic, like she truly nearly doesn’t make it without ever knowing that Buck is okay. That she got him out and he is happy now, that he has a family that loves him, ugh, my heart

[blnationwins]

My stream of conscious having just finished the 4th episode of The Heart Killers:

I’m so confused… I thought they were hit men. But they also plant bugs and tap into software like spies. And they’re also just plain thieves who break into safes to steal jewels? And they have such an extensive wardrobe. Did they also rent a fire truck or hop out Fadel’s jeep dressed like firemen? Did they start a fire? Is there a cat stuck in a tree? Where did Bison get a fresh janitor’s outfit w/ no wrinkles & a PE outfit in their sizes in less than an hour? Speaking of which, where in the world did Style get a burger costume? I can only imagine it’s handmade. What other crafts does Style like to do? When will Style ever help his dad at the shop? Does Style order crop tops or know how to hem and crops any shirt he likes himself? Is he bisexual? Everyone has chemistry with everyone. When will they have a foursome? Is that incest? And why do Fadel and Bison have a burger restaurant as a cover up in the first place? A cover up for what exactly? It’s not a money laundering front. Is it illegal to arrest small business owners in Thailand? Is it truly just Fadel’s passion project? Why does he love burgers? Where did he learn to cook and manage a business? Did he take online classes while training to be a killer? Why did Mother agree to it? Is she a shareholder? Can he cook anything else? How does Fadel not pull his hair out cooking and running food and bussing tables by himself? When will he hire real staff? The most shady part is that there are literally zero employees other than him & Bison and sometimes Style. What is happening?! Why does Kant never lock his door? When is he going to get a ring doorbell? Why do Fadel and Bison live in a mansion? Not really keeping a low profile. Do they have savings accounts? Or do they get an allowance from Mother? Who is Mother and why is she so bad at Mothering? What even is Keen? He looks older than both Bison and Fadel so why is he not “in the field” yet? Is he such a good assistant that Mother doesn’t want him to get killed? How did they train to become hitmen? Where at? Are they actually Mother’s adopted sons or what? Which came first, the adoption or the hitman training? How and when did Bison discover his kink? Does he listen to Rihanna? Does he go on r/bdsm? When will he get to use his ball gag? Why did Kant take a picture of it? How did no one notice him drugging Bison’s drink? He did it so conspicuously! Why would the bartender agree to make those shots and not call security immediately? Dude’s sus! Will they start a gay bowling league? Can Fadel bowl? Will Style have to get a C-section? How in the world are they going to be able to raise a kid? They’re both so busy. Is Bison ready to be an uncle? What are the hours Heart Burger is open? Do they have milkshakes? When will we see a shrew?

Phew!😮‍💨 I could do this all day… Anyway, so far I’m loving this series! Shakespeare would be proud (and I actually mean that)

[atopvisenyashill]

any thoughts about how could it be the dynamic between viserys-naerys- daeron ii in fire & blood 2?

okay so straight up the dynamic i’m MOST interested in learning about in f&b2 is the viserys-naerys-daeron ii dynamic. first of all, those first two are just UNGODLY DISTURBINGLY YOUNG when they have children. viserys has naerys, his YOUNGEST child when he is sixteen. naerys has daeron when she is fifteen. viserys is a grandfather before he is 32 years old. it is truly babies raising babies out here!! i mean fuck, daeron has baelor under significantly less traumatic circumstances but he’s still only 17 by the time he starts having kids! that’s all just wildly interesting and disturbing to me. like, that alone, how close in age they all are because they all married & started having kids at crazy young ages, explains so much about why this period has always felt particularly deranged to me (“this period” being post dance where we get this incredible string of deranged freaks from aegon iii to aegon iv that ebbs into this vaguely “we’re having a targ renaissance yay” era that erupts into civil war anyways! i LOVE this conceptually i’m so ready to be annoyed when f&b2 comes out and i’ve hyped this all up for some more dumb sex stories from another court fool ajsjs).

but then secondly, okay, when you look at the timeline- daeron is born in 153 and the birth nearly kills naerys 15/16 year old naerys. aegon iii is still king for four more years. that last year, aegon iv spends his time (and the next two years after that) shacked up with megette. then aegon spends a few years shacked up/probably raping casella vaith the hostage, before running off to war. then he spends more time raping naerys, wherein she has a miscarriage, and aegon is sent away so he doesn’t rape her to death. daeron marries myriah, has a child with her. but before that child is two, in quick succession, his father comes back home & immediately starts raping his mother again, his mother nearly dies having twins & now he has a sister younger than his son, and daena unveils her new bastard who everyone thinks is aegon’s, and baelor is so distraught by all this he fasts himself to death. viserys is king, and likely dead before daeron’s second son is born and before daeron turns twenty. suddenly the person responsible for making sure aegon doesn’t rape naerys to death are daeron & aemon, who have NO authority over aegon. this man has the audacity to stay alive for twelve more years.

that shit is insane. daeron’s father is only around when he’s raping his mom. the closest things daeron has to a father figure are his uncle who wants to fuck his mom, his grandfather who is probably busy constantly (and also only in his thirties 😭), and his batshit insane cousin baelor. his childhood is marked by almost constant instability until it stabilizes for the worse when his cousins all get locked in the maidenvault, then gets thrown into upheaval once again as baelor & viserys die and now his dad who is only around when he’s raping his mom is suddenly back in town and has total control.

and naerys. she’s like if aemma lived long enough to parent her kids, but worse bc you could argue there was fondness of a sort between aemma & viserys. aegon and naerys hate each other. she is constantly pregnant and on death’s door from the age of fifteen (three years older than her father!) until the day she dies, in her early 40s. it sounds like worse than hell to me. it is a lifetime where the only source of comfort you have is the son you birthed at fifteen, because maybe your life is a nightmare but if you raise him to be marginally less evil, he won’t destroy the innocent little girl you know is going to be sent to court to be his wife. everyone else is actively holding you hostage and applauding you for taking the abuse so well. your whole life is screaming for help and all you get is tears telling you you’re so dutiful and brave.

and viserys just. watches it all happen. of course he does! his kids are simply ungrateful! he had to get married at twelve and his wife wasn’t born in westeros so they had nothing in common and at least they have a living father, they have no idea how lucky they are. why should daeron and naerys blame him when he gave them everything because he had nothing? it’s a shame it wasn’t naerys that offed this man. i do think she was his favorite kid tho and i bet he’s not subtle about it at all.

[shrinkthisviolet]

Alternatively an AU where Eowells 'raises' Barry alongside Morgan and they get to grow up as brother and sister (with the world's shittiest dad)

OOOH I LOVE THIS!

Making the case is easy enough for Eowells—Joe assisted in Henry’s prosecution, he shouldn’t get to adopt his son. And Eowells recently lost his wife and has his daughter, baby Morgan. He could use another child to fill the desolate quiet…and he’s more than happy to take in a child whose pain he might somewhat understand. (And ofc he’s a rich white man—that helps too)

Barry is ofc an angry kid at 11. Made angrier by the fact that he couldn’t even be adopted by someone he knows (Joe) but by Eowells. But…baby Morgan is adorable, and Barry finds himself at least coming to adore her, if not her father. Because yeah—Eowells is “Morgan’s father” to him. Barry won’t change his name, won’t call him Dad. But he’ll softly call himself Morgan’s brother, and hold her close like she’s the most important person in the world. Iris (he’s not allowed to interact with her outside of school, but ofc they find their ways) notices and teasingly remarks on it, saying he makes a wonderful big brother

Barry is parentified by the time…well, maybe by the time Morgan is 5. He was a little bit before, but this is when it really starts. He’s 15, old enough to stay at home by himself, so often he and Morgan have the house to themselves. He soothes her nightmares, sings her to sleep…when he turns 16, he’s the one taking her to and from school. It’s tough balancing this and his own life, he’s not cut out for all this by himself…and Tina notices. She asks after Eowells, but he makes excuses (because yeah, by this point, he considers Eowells his dad and even cares about him, even if that love is mixed with resentment for his late hours working). Still, Tina insists, and Barry reluctantly accepts, letting her shoulder some of Morgan’s childrearing. They become a sort of team…and Tina even helps him out from time to time

In this AU, Morgan is much more attached to Barry than to Eowells. She doesn’t think of him as her dad exactly, but…he’s not far off either, and in a lot of ways, he’s at least more parental to her than Eowells. The first time she got scared of thunderstorms, it was Barry who cuddled with her, sang her to sleep, and told her a funny story about thunder and lightning being “show-offs” that made her giggle. It’s Barry who comes to all her choir concerts and karate belt tests with (or without, on occasion—Tina’s still a busy woman) Tina, being the embarrassing big brother who says “that’s my sister!!” and insists on taking a million pictures and teases her just enough to make her roll her eyes but smile anyway (and she, ofc, gives as good as she gets)

It means that she’s also much less conflicted about Eowells. Sure, she loves him, but if it’s Barry’s life on the line? He’s always been there, Eowells hasn’t. It’s an easy choice to make. She’ll always choose her brother. She even changes her surname to his—although she’s now Tina’s legal child, she’s always been Barry’s baby sister before anything else.

Admittedly, parts of this AU overlap with what I have planned for the Childhood Friends AU (you’ll notice there are some chunks I didn’t address in these headcanons, and that’s because they’d be spoilers for some CF AU plot points 😅), which is…really the only reason I’d hesitate to write it. And yet…👀👀

Also, to anyone else reading this, @fezwearingjellybananas (the wonderful sender of this ask) did sorta write this premise in their amazing Speedster Siblings series (with the addition of Wally, and it’s Jesse rather than Morgan so she’s a speedster). I highly recommend it!

send me an au and i’ll share 5+ headcanons about it!

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