#anyway thanks for chatting and have fun! ^^

[secretsandwriting]

Besties, batmom is apparently my favorite thing to write because I somehow managed to turn a drabble into 6k words???? Its 1k more then earned position idk how I did this??? Anyways, have this and enjoy.

I'm also trying to get more comfortable writing for Duke so bear with me as I figure out how I want to write his character.

Too Perfect

Not beta read

6.3k words

You smiled as you watched the Wayne kids mess around together in the corner of the gala. They looked like they were having a lot of fun together, it was heartwarming how close they looked. The way Jason had his arm thrown around Tim has they laughed at Dick teasing Damian by holding something he wanted just out of reach. Cassandra watched from her spot in Tim’s shadow. Signing away when something came to mind. Jason and Tim would translate for the other two so she was still heard while they were distracted.

Damian ended up kicking Dick’s ankle so he could finally grab what turned out to be his phone. Jason seemed to think it was hysterical and a good method while Tim sided with Dick claiming physical violence was not the answer. Cass just seemed to be trying to make everything worse, smiling when she said something that got them arguing harder. 

“Rowdy bunch no matter what I do.” Bruce suddenly appeared next to you, his tone fond as he smiled at his kids antics. “Are they bothering you?” You looked away from the kids to their father. 

“Not at all. I’m happy to see them able to act like kids in high society. Most lose the chance and ability to be anything other then perfect young.” Bruce hummed, about to say something when your watch beeped. “That’s my cue to leave. I have a long day of ahead of me tomorrow.”

“It is quite late. Thank you for coming, I hope you had a good time.” He gave you his famous smiled, the one that had most girls swooning. 

“I did! It was quite a lovely night. Thank you for the invite!” You returned his smile before heading out the door and too your car.

A few weeks later you found yourself at your favorite cafe. Stepping carefully, you tried to avoid the ice on your way in. The recent snow storm happening almost immediately after rain had made the roads and sidewalks horrible. The plows and salt helped but it was still a disaster. 

Opening the door, the warm air enveloped you. The scent of coffee and baked goods heavy in the air, producing a comforting feeling and making you forget about the snow and ice outside for a minute. The line wasn’t long but you had left early enough it wouldn’t have mattered if it was out the door. 

Your usual was punched in the second you got up to the register, the barista just chatting with you instead of asking. A testament to how often you came. Moving away after you were done paying so the person behind you could order, you hummed along to the song playing over the radio. You checked your phone for any texts about work for the day and ran through your mental checklist to make sure you were ready for the day. 

Your checklist was interrupted by your name as your coffee was set on the counter. Grabbing it you took a sip and sighed. It was too early for all of this. Heading out the door, you tried to be just as careful as you were going in. Tried being the keyword. You slipped on the ice, there was no way you could stop from falling so you just braced for impact. 

It never came, instead you found yourself leaning against someone. They helped you back up, hand gentle on your back as they made sure you were standing without risk of falling again. 

“You ok?” Turning around to thank them, you were met with Bruce Wayne. Concern swimming in his eyes. Your coffee was in his other hand, he must of noticed your glance at it because he handed it back to you. “I figured you wouldn’t want to have to go back for another one.”

“Yes, thank you for catching both me and my coffee!” He smiled as he stepped back. 

“It was no trouble!” He gave you another smile before turning around and heading into the coffee shop, you didn’t notice the steaming coffee on the ground near you as you turned and headed back to your car. Thinking about how it was odd you had seen him twice in a couple weeks.

Browsing the books in the little shop, you let out a sigh when you realized they didn’t have the book you wanted. That's what you get for slacking and waiting a month after getting the notification they had it in stock. Deciding to do the best thing and leave before you end up with a stack of books you don’t need, you headed for the door. Promising yourself you would come earlier next time. 

You were interrupted from your thoughts by Bruce Wayne looking completely lost. He kept glancing down at a paper in his hand and back up at the shelf. Eyebrows furrowed as he tried to find something. He had helped you at the cafe so maybe you could repay the favor. 

“What are you looking for?” He whipped around like you had just jumped out and screamed at him. You stifled a laugh but your smile still slipped through. He ran a hand through his hair, clearly a little embarrassed before squaring his shoulders and looking down at his list. 

“I didn’t know you worked here… Jason asked me to pick up these books for him.” He handed you the list. You scanned through the titles, all classics. He was in the fiction on the opposite side of the store from the classics.

“I don’t, I just shop here way too much. These would be over here.” He snorted as he followed you through the store. You listened to him as he talked about his kids. Laughing at the mischief they caused and smiling at the clearly fond tone as he told you about the random little things they had done. You had alway wanted kids but every time you tried, something happened. EIther breakups or problems getting pregnant. So you found yourself living through Bruce’s stories. Imaging having your own kids who pulled similar stunts or the things they would do. Once all of the books were picked out and paid for, you prepared to split ways.

“Would you like to go to dinner sometime?” Bruce asked. You stopped and stared at him, his cheeks turning a light pink under your gaze. You reached into your bag to pull out a pen and paper, jotting down your number and handing it to him. 

“I would love to!”

Dinner was at your favorite restaurant, so you knew the food was good. The conversation was a little awkward but it wasn’t long until you were easily conversing. Talking about everything from work, his kids latest adventures, to politics. 

He was a perfect gentleman the entire night. Opening all the doors, pulling out your chair for you, kind to all the staff, understanding of any mistakes that had happened and still tipped them well. The butterflies in your stomach had fed on that to become stronger and make you feel more sick then nervous at times. 

After dinner, you went for a walk in a park nearby. The night chill was kept away by the laughter between you too as you shared ridiculous stories. When you decided it was late and you needed to leave, Bruce walked you to your car and waited until you left to leave.

“Did you walk her to her car when you left?” Jason was the first at the door to question him. Sometimes Bruce really wondered if Jason was actually going to do his whole revenge plan with how he acts with the family now. At the end of the night he was just glad Jason was alive and around to question his every move. 

“Of course I did. Who do you think I am?” Jason paused like he was searching for something to insult Bruce with as his response but Tim slid into the room and immediately started questioning him. 

“Did you open the doors for her?” Bruce signed. He really should try to hide more of his dating life from them. 

“I opened the doors and pulled her chair out for her. And,” He turned and looked at Damian who had just run into the room. “I asked about her day and listened.” Damian nodded like he was proud of Bruce. He just shook his head at his boys. 

“But did you extend the date to go a litt-” 

“We went on a walk after dinner.” Dick huffed at being interrupted but he was pleased with the answer. Bruce turned his attention to Cass so he wouldn’t miss her question. 

“Yes, I did tell her she looked pretty tonight.” Cass grinned and nodded. 

You smiled at your phone as you read the text from Bruce followed with a short video of Damian ranting about not being allowed to pet the tigers. You had been texting with him daily between work and whatever else you had to do ever since the date. There had been regular phone calls and now regular facetimes every night as well as your 5th date happening Saturday night. 

Bruce had been nothing but a gentleman the entire relationship. Something you weren’t fully used to yet. There was nothing you would change. Communication was great, boundaries were being respected, there was no pressure, and there were no lies. It was almost too perfect.

Bruce wanted to introduce you to the kids and they all wanted to meet you. According to Bruce, despite never meeting you, they all claimed they would go with you if there was a breakup. You had just laughed it off when he told you. Figuring it was just something they were joking about as a way to tease their father. 

“They’ll love you!” Bruce reassured you as you walked up to the manor door. “They were all excited to find out you were coming tonight. Dick and Jason made sure they had the night off so they could come.” You really wanted him to stop talking. He was only making this worse. 

The door opened and the first thing you heard was yelling. Bruce just sighed next to you. Alfred took your coat after introducing himself, informing you it would be another half hour before dinner would be done and then leaving to go work on it.

As you followed Bruce in, the yelling got louder. You were headed towards the boys, the volume of their yelling made it obvious when you were almost there. You made it in time to see Jason holding Tim up by the collar as Damian cheered and Dick tried to get Jason to let go of Tim. Tim was interrupting Dick’s attempts to keep arguing with Jason, making his chances to get put down lower. Cass was just sitting on the couch watching everything go down, when she spotted you, she came over and offered to give you a tour of the manor. You of course accepted and left with Cass while Bruce stayed to deal with the boys.

You took the time to get to know a little about Cass, carefully paying attention when she talked slow and quietly. While you weren’t the most fluent with sign language you could normally make out what she was saying, at least a little bit. Along the way, Duke joined you, adding in jokes here and there and helping to translate for Cass when you struggled to understand what she was saying. 

The tour ended in the dining room where the others waited. You felt a little better about it when Cass and Duke insisted you sit with them. It made you feel like you could do this and like it wouldn’t go too badly. After all, two of them liked you now… At least they seemed too. 

Steph joined shortly after you were seated, apologizing about being late and rambling about a project she was working on. With that, Dinner was started. Along with the absolutely amazing food, you got to learn more about the kids Bruce had collected. 

Dick was a police officer in Bludhaven, he had moved after a fight with Bruce that had been resolved but decided he liked it there and the freedom that came with it and stayed. He had adjusted to living on his own relatively smoothly and loved it when his siblings dropped by. He was offered a promotion recently but he wasn’t sure if he wanted it. He was also very glad Bruce was in a serious relationship because maybe he would back off on his parenting. 

Jason loved books, especially the classics. He was the most obviously dramatic of them all and loved to play things up. He had gotten kidnapped and went no contact with Bruce when he came back. He had made up with Bruce recently but it was still a little rocky sometimes. His apartment gets regularly broken into by his siblings and he claimed to hate it but the look in his eyes told you he really didn’t mind it and truly liked that they felt safe coming to him. 

Tim was the CEO of W.E, something he took great pride in. He also likes mysteries so he looks into police cases and tried to solve them before the police. He likes working with computers and figuring out bugs in programs, something he likes to do with Barbara. He really likes coffee, drinks more then he should but won’t stop. He doesn’t have a spleen anymore and somehow he managed to keep that a secret from the family until recently. And while he violently denied it, go as far to punch Dick when he suggested it, Tim was extremely protective of his family.

Damian loves animals, going as far to become vegetarian after saving a cow from a slaughter house. He collects pets and despite the large amount he had, he still took perfect care of them. His favorite subject in school is history but his favorite class is art. He likes painting and according to everyone he’s absolutely amazing at it. He lived with his mom until he was 10 when she sent him to live with his dad. He knew Jason first because Jason had joined his family after he had been kidnapped. While Damian claimed he disliked his brothers, it was very obvious he truly cared about them and loved them deeply. 

Duke had recently moved into the manor and was still getting used to having enough money to spend on things other than necessities. He had started helping Tim figure out what charities to donate to the most and regularly worked with Jason on helping kids on the streets. He was part of the We Are Robin movement, something he spoke about with great pride as well as pain. He liked collecting cards for a game and was very excited when you asked to see his collection. He had also been arrested, something you couldn’t picture about the sweet boy next to you. 

Steph was also vegetarian and she loves bubble tea and other fruity drinks. She regularly works with Human Rights Activists and wants to help as many people as possible. She loves going out for girls days and forcing her brothers into facemasks and other similar things. She’s big on quality time, one of the ones who drops by Dick’s and Jason’s apartments the most. She likes podcasts, apparently its all she listens to and she gives good recommendations. She also loves watching darmas for the sole purpose of laughing at the stupid plot points. 

Cass loves ballet, she finds it fun and relaxing. Due to a bad childhood she struggles with talking and understanding words but she’s been working on it. She really likes sign language and was very happy when the rest of the family touched up their skills or learned it to make communicating easier for her. She’s also big on quality time, the other one who drops in the most. She just likes to sit quietly with other people while doing their each doing their own thing. She really likes chocolate ice cream and knows the best brands. She likes to randomly scare her siblings, she thinks its funny when they jump and scream. 

The entire dinner, as you talked and listened to the kids, Bruce just grinned from his spot. Happy to have his kids and girlfriend all together and wishing the peace would last forever. After dinner, you moved to the living room where the talking continued until late in the night. 

After the dinner, you spent more time at the manor and with the kids. Cass invited you to her ballet recitals and sometimes asked for a ride when Bruce and Jason were busy. Steph invited you to go out with her, drinks and window shopping became a biweekly thing. Damian would invite you to help with his animals, he would tell you things he knew about them as you worked. He would also requests rides from school when needed. Duke would tell you about the new cards he had gotten and their stats and would invite you to go hunting for rare ones with him. Jason started a book club with you, you would meet once a week to discuss what you had read and whatever else was on his mind. Tim would get your opinion on cases he was trying to solve, you would get coffee and try to solve the case. Dickwould invite you to join him for gossip, you would trade gossip about the cities and whatever else you knew. 

Overall, you got along well with the kids. Something you were happy about and something that made Bruce fall in love with you more and more the more he saw you interact with them or when they would talk about everything they had done with you. His kids were his life, and to have you come in and love and care for them like they were your own meant more then he could ever hope to put into words. 

Your relationship with Bruce was perfect. He was a gentleman who always treated you right an made sure you were well taken care of, His kids liked you and you absolutely adored them. He was the best partner you had ever had and your relationship was healthier then you had even thought possible. It was absolutely perfect.

Too perfect. Something wasn’t lining up. The injuries, the slow texts at night when you knew he had nothing planned and the kids were busy, the secret basement. Something was going on. Sp you did the only thing you could think of. You documented everything. 

Every mystery scratch, bruise, broken bone, it was all written down. After a week you noticed a pattern. Everytime Batman got into a bad fight and was injured, Bruce had the same injury the very next day. Bruce Wayne couldn’t be Batman, it had to be a coincidence so you kept documenting. Hoping to get a different answer. 

2 weeks in, your questions started multiplying. Steph had broken her leg right about the time spoiler was thrown off a roof by the villain of the week and had to be carried away by Red Hood. That couldn’t be right.

Week 3 had Damain getting mugged and stabbed the same night Robin was stabbed by a henchman after being overwhelmed. 

Week 4 Jason was shot when helping a kid in an alley the same night Red Hood was shot busting a human trafficking ring. 

Week 5 Cass broke her arm falling down the stairs the day after Black Bat broke hers in combat. 

Week 6 Tim ran into a wall and got a concussion the day after Red Robin was thrown into a wall and was carried away by Nightwing yelling about a concussion. 

Week 7 Dick was shot off duty by someone wanting revenge the same night Nightwing was shot busting a robbery. 

By week 8 you couldn’t deny it. Something is going on and you wanted an explanation. So you set a time to meet with Bruce at the manor using the dreaded “We need to talk.” You met at the manor when all the kids were out and busy so it was just the two of you. Bruce was clearly nervous and unsure of what exactly you wanted to talk about. 

You just handed him all your notes and waited. You watched as he read and all the nervousness practically melted off him and was replaced by an unreadable calm. A sinking feeling filled your stomach as you hoped he would tell you the truth and not lie like everyone else who had switched up like that. Bruce read silently, reading every line carefully before moving onto the next one. 

Hes coming up with excuses. 

Your mind supplied. You tried to push the thought away. Bruce hadn’t lied about anything so far in your relationship. He had just hidden something and he hid it because it was dangerous. Yeah, it was too dangerous to just tell people right away but you had been dating for 6 months so he could trust you with it now. He was going to tell you soon or he just didn’t know how to bring it u-

“I’m not sure why you think I could be Batman? Me?” Oh.

“Bruce, it’s too many coinc-”

“Y/n, I’m not batman and the kids are vigilantes either. Yes it’s definitely weird it lines up so well but it doesn’t mean anything.” He was lying, you could see the spark of panic in his eyes as he tried to convince you that it wasn’t real. It told you everything you needed to know. Swallowing the lump in your throat, you spoke. 

“You’re right. It is a bit weird, but I believe you. I’m glad I could get some confirmation.” Bruce smiled at you, taking your hand and kissing the back of it. “I have a meeting I need to get to, I’ll see you later.” You kissed him goodbye and went straight home, blocking his number from the comfort of your bed. You weren’t going to date another liar. 

The next morning, you accepted the out of country transfer your job had offered you. You packed up and left within a week. You had gotten a few texts from the kids asking how you were and you made sure to respond to them. They seemed to understand you needed space and didn’t text you much after that first week. You were thankful they understood and appreciated that they never mentioned their father to you. 

Your first week in your new home you had gotten sick. Nothing seemed to help so you went into the doctor. Turns out you and Bruce hadn’t been as careful as you thought you had been. The positive pregnancy test, a testament to how nothing seemed to go as planned the past month. 

Thankfully your job and doctor helped you find resources to help you get along as a soon to be single mother in a foreign country. With all the help you had been provided, it would hopefully go as smooth as possible given the circumstances. 

Eleven months later, you found yourself back in Gotham. Nothing seemed to change while you were gone, the city was the same dreary city with extremely high crime rates but you had missed it. As horrible as it was, Gotham was home. 

A friend had helped you move your things into your new apartment, the nursery had taken priority so Penelope would hopefully be able to sleep through most of the rest of the moving. Wishful thinking, Penny had been nothing but a handful. Her favorite activity seemed to be wailing as loud as her little lungs would allow her whenever you were trying to get any sort of semblance of rest. Sometimes, you wondered if you hadn’t connected the dots, if Bruce being around would help with the stress. If it would have made your pregnancy smoother and now if you would be able to sleep a little more. 

Penelope had just settled down for a nap when there was a knock on your door. You sighed as your plans for a nap were ruined by whoever was knocking, half tempted to just ignore them. Another knock, this time louder. They would wake Penny if you didn’t answer the door so you went to see who needed you so desperately. A redhead girl in a wheelchair smiled at you as you opened the door. Barbara your mind supplied. 

“Sorry to drop by so suddenly but I wanted to talk to you about Bruce and Penelope.” You sighed again, you knew this would come and that you would have to talk about it. You stepped aside and let Barbara in, closing the door behind her. 

“Penny just went down for a nap so we need to be quiet. Can I get you something to drink?” Barbara got settled at the table, looking around quietly while you got her drink. She took a sip of it while you sat down across from her, setting the glass on the table and turning her attention to you. 

“Are you going to tell Bruce about Penelope?” Straight to the point.

“Eventually.”

“Would you consider dating Bruce again if he apologized and told you the truth first this time?”

“It depends on what the truth is and how good his apology is.” She nodded, thinking for a second.

“Bruce doesn’t know you’re back yet. I’ve managed to keep it from him and Tim. Just like I did with all your google searches about their injuries. I was hoping he’d tell you the truth then but he’s so stubborn. I’m going to tell them tomorrow that you're back, I just wanted to get your thoughts about it before I did so I could hopefully curb anything that was unwanted.” From there you talked about random things, getting to know her and catching up on everything that had happened in Gotham while you were gone. The conversation was interrupted by Penny’s crying. Barbara left, claiming Bruce should be the first to meet Penny. 

“I won’t mention Penny. I’ll leave that for you to do when you're ready.” She offered you a smile before wheeling herself out of your apartment. As you fed Penny, you thought about your conversation with Barbara. Bruce was unblocked later that night. 

Your phone lit up with Bruce’s name the next night. He asked to meet and talk in a park that was always empty. He promised he would tell you the truth and apologized for lying before. You agreed.

You caught up with him for a little bit before Bruce mentioned your conversation before you left. He admitted you were right and he had just panicked. He apologized for lying again and told you that he should have never brushed you off like he had, even if it had been fake. 

He told you about how it all started, how he got Dick, Jason, Tim, Cass, and Damian. How he had found Steph and Duke. About what happened with Barbara. He told you about his missions, the justice league, his paranoia, and trust issues. You listened to him silently for hours. 

Hours later, once he had gone over everything. You agreed to try again.

After your second first date with Bruce, the kids started reaching out to you again. You had forgotten how much you enjoyed their presence in your life. You didn’t spend as much time with them as you had used to due to needing to take care of Penny and the price of sitters being too expensive. 

You had decided to tell Bruce about Penny on your fourth date. You would tell him at dinner and invite him over to meet her. Unfortunately your sitter canceled last minute right before your third date. You considered canceling but you needed to tell Bruce and there was a high chance you would chicken out later on. 

So you wrestled Penny into a cute outfit and into the dreaded car seat, the one she screamed at like it was going to eat her when you put her in. She thankfully fell asleep in the car, making it easier for you to go in faster. You were already late as it was. 

Bruce saw you walk in and was about to stand up to greet you when he saw the carseat and froze. You took a deep breath and went over to the table, gently setting her down while you took your own seat. Bruce looked over to you, questions clearly written all over his face. 

“She’s yours. I found out a week after I moved. She’ll be 4 months old in a week. You can hold her when she wakes up if you want.” “What’s her name?”

“Penelope Avery Wayne.” He sucked in a breath, trying to hold his tears back. Penny slept through the whole meal, giving you time to talk. Bruce asked all about her and how your pregnancy went. 

He followed you back to your apartment and just watched Penny sleep as you talked on the couch. When she woke up and started wailing when she realized she was still in the horrid carseat, you gently pulled her out and handed her to Bruce. 

She quieted down when given her freedom from the seat, her big blue eyes meeting Bruce’s own. She smiled up at him as she shoved her fist in her mouth, inspecting him from her spot in his arms. Bruce cooed over her as he wiped the tears from his eyes as he held his little girl for the first time. 

The second his other kids found out about Penny, there was a group outside your door begging to see her and offer their babysitting services. Every single one of them adored her and wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Penny soaked up the attention like a little sponge.

Cass and Duke were her favorites but she still loved all the others. Bruce was over whenever he could be to help, taking a very active roll in Penny’s care. You barely lifted a finger, only having to feed her when Bruce was around. 

You eventually agreed to move into the manor with Bruce. All the kids were ecstatic. It would make seeing you and Penny easier for them. Bruce and Tim convinced you to quit your job, Tim promised you work at W.E if you were set on working and all the others offered to bring you along when they went to help out at their favorite charities and organizations. 

Bruce made sure he was open and honest about everything, including his Batman adventures. The kids all came to you when he pissed them off or made a call that they didn’t like or they thought was unfair. Things were looking up and you hoped they stayed that way. 

They stayed up, in fact they went higher than you thought it could. They went higher and higher and Tim was the one who started it. 

“Hey mom, do you know where my black dress shoes are? I have a meeting I need them for.” You just stared at him, trying not to cry. Tim looked up, trying to figure out why you weren’t answering him and then why you looked like you were about to cry. You knew the second he figured it out, his face going bright red.

“I’m sorry! It just slipped! I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable ot anything! I’l-” You cut him off.

“It’s ok Tim! You didn’t make me uncomfortable. I was just surprised. You’re more than welcome to call me mom if that’s what you want. You’re shoes are in the coat closet to the left.” He nodded and went to grab them. 

“Thanks mom!” He called out as he stepped out the door to head to work. You couldn’t hold the tears back once the door was shut and again when you told Bruce that night. He just smiled as he held you while you cried, happy to know his family was doing well together. 

Dick did it next. He had come over to celebrate finishing a tough case as Nightwing. He brushed past Bruce and came straight to you. Wrapping you into a hug, you hugged him back and waited until he pulled away to let go. Bruce let out a teasing scoff, clearly not upset but pretending to be. Dick pulled away to look at Bruce.

“I came for Alfred’s food and to get praise for my good job from Mom.” He stuck his tongue out at Bruce before coming back in for another hug. You held him tight, tears welling up in your eyes again. “Why do you look like you’re about to cry?” He inspected you closely before breaking out in a grin. “Is is because I called you mom? Aww!” He hugged you again. “You shouldn’t be crying because I called you mom, you should be crying because it means you can never leave us. You’re stuck here with us forever.”

“That’s a good thing. I love all of you so much I could never leave you guys.” Dick hugged you tighter. You didn’t mention his teary eyes when he pulled away. 

Cass started calling you mom shortly after. She used it when she signed for you. It took everything not to cry at her performance when she used it for the first time. Once she started, she refused to call you anything else. You were mom and everyone knew exactly who she was referring to when she did it with the others. 

Duke jokingly started calling you “Mom 2”. He had apologized later on if it offended you. He still had his mom and while she wasn’t all there anymore she was still his mom and that title belonged to her. You had held him as you both cried, reassuring him that it didn’t bother you and you had no problems with it or with him just calling you by your name. Promising him that you would never be offended over something like this and he shouldn’t feel pressured to call you anything other than your name if he didn’t want to. 

Damian was next, you knew his mom was still alive and that he cared for her greatly even though their relationship was a bit rough. So you expected him to just call you by your name, it never bothered you and was something you just never thought about. It was up to him to decide what he was comfortable calling you. 

“Ummi, can we take Penny to the Zoo next week? I want to show her the baby lion the was just born.” Damian had run into the kitchen to ask, interrupting your breakfast with Bruce but you couldn’t find it in you to care. 

“Of course, we can go after you get out of school on tuesday.” Damian cheered and went to tell Penny the news. The 8 month old having no clue what was going on but feeding off of Damian’s excitement. 

“Y/n,” you turned to look at Bruce.  “Ummi means mother in arabic.” You stared at him like he grew another head. “Damian just called you mother.” Bruce pulled you into a hug as you realized another one of his kids viewed you as safe enough to be their mother. Bruce gently rocked you in the kitchen as you tried not to cry again.

Jason’s happened next, you would have been more excited if you hadn’t been so terrified. You had gotten nervous with all of them out on patrols so Bruce had given you a com so you could listen and know that they were ok. Unfortunately it also let you hear everything going wrong. 

You nudged past Bruce to get to Jason. He was laying on a bed, freshly patched up after a really bad mission. He had been stabbed 3 times and shot 6 more times. He was out cold but Alfred assured you he would be ok if he took the time needed to heal. You didn’t leave his bedside for 3 days while he slept. Worried that the second you stepped away something bad would happen to him. 

“Mom?” You jerked out of your thoughts and looked to Jason. He was barely awake and looked scared. He looked every bit of the little boy he had lost in the explosion and it broke your heart and made you glad Bruce had stepped out to put Penny to bed so he didn’t have to see it. 

“I’m here. What’s wrong? Does it hurt?” He whispered a yes so you called Alfred to up the pain meds, staying with him until he was fully lucid and kicked you out to get some rest. 

Jason stayed in the manor for a few weeks and let you, Bruce, and Alfred nurse him to help. Alfred pulled you aside and asked that in the future if any of them get hurt badly again, that you weaponize the look of horror and sadness you had when Jason tried to leave early that made him stay longer. You agreed to try, especially if it would make the chances of them healing better higher. 

Bruce proposed shortly after, of course you said yes and the wedding planning began. A year later you were officially married. In that one day, you got a Husband and 7 kids, making for a total of 8 children. Well 9 if you counted the baby from the test you had taken the night before the wedding. 

“Say Y/n’s Pregnant!” The photographer yelled as she started snapping pictures, perfectly capturing the moment your family processed what she had said. 

Things were good. You were happy with your family and you knew that even through the hard parts, you would be ok. 

[bunni-v1]

Ok so I’ve been watching a bunch of streamers and was thinking about this scenario because my neurodivergent brain is like that:

Lighter with either a crush or s/o who streams. Maybe he meets them through Phaethon or something but he seems to hit it off with them right away. They’re always cordial to him and over time he feels a connection with them too :3

Honestly tho, this can also work for Asaba or, honestly, a lot of characters LOL anyways—

It becomes suspicious to the Sons of Calydon when they see Lighter on his phone at certain times of the day/night just grinning like a schoolboy. And when you stream he seems to be one of the most supportive chatters whether you have a smaller viewer base or larger one. He’s not reckless with his money so he likely won’t be a 3-tier sub or big donator or anything, but if you mention being in a tight spot financially he may send a few dennies here or there with heartfelt messages. Lighter loves showing his way in sturdy, acts of servicey ways after all <3

Another fun but also sad scenario of this with Aventurine, but you confront him when he donates a little too much lmao… you tell him not to buy your friendship or love and that he should’ve just asked for a date instead bc you would’ve said yes lol

Okay pinkie I know this is all about Lighter, but genuinely this is so incredibly Aventurine coded I had to make it all about him. He’s just so very buy your affections coded, and the idea of him with a streamer partner is so incredibly perfect?

Okay indulge me here, but imagine you and Aventurine are just kinda acquaintances. You know him through the network, and you two have this sorta flirty back and forth that isn’t really all that serious, but it’s fun! You stream full time and you’re pretty well known, but you don’t really brag about it all that much. Aventurine knows this obvi but he’s never tuned into your streams because, well, when does he have to time to?

But one night he has some extra free time and he decides to just bite the bullet and look you up. You’ve got a surprisingly big fanbase, and tons and tons of super loyal chatters. It kinda makes him a little jealous, the way you’re so friendly with chat, but he’s no delusional enough to think he’s entitled to your attention in the sea of viewers.

He doesn’t donate anything at first, mostly because he doesn’t want to draw attention to himself. This is sorta your thing, it would be a bit invasive wouldn’t it? Plus he doesn’t really get spending that much money on a streamer. As much as he likes you, isn’t it a bit parasocial? But one day you’re playing some shitty gatcha game and you just can’t win your favorite character or something and he feels so bad seeing you pout that he has to step in. He’s got plenty of money to give, so he drops $100 for you to spend under the name “TheGoldenTouch”.

You’re so happy, face lights up and you’re thanking him over and over and oh he so loves that look on your face. It becomes his new dirty little secret, spending money on you. He easily becomes one of your top donors and you even reach out to personally thank him, none the wiser that it was him. He’s very competitive about it too, determined to keep the spot as your top donor. Like he’s trying to prove to you that he can provide for you better, even though you don’t know it’s Aventurine behind the screen.

Your other chatters don’t exactly help, teasing you about the flirty new guy who won’t stop sending you money.

It’s not like he’s hiding it on purpose, but he doesn’t want you to feel uncomfortable with his sudden interest in spoiling you on stream. Its… a long term investment is all. One that you have no idea is happening! While he’s donating to you he becomes a bit more bold with his flirting irl. He knows you better now, and you technically know him better too. Even though you’re not aware it’s him you’re getting to know so well.

As TheGoldenTouch he can just be himself without worry of you taking pity on him. You’re very sweet to him through chats and messages and all things inbetween. He gets to know you outside of a business sense, and the two of you have very good chemistry. He’s still painfully aware that despite how nice it is, you’ll never really know him. You’ll never get the chance to know him because even if he lets you in like this, how could he do the same in real life? Looking you in the eyes and seeing the care on your face would be too much for his fragile heart to handle.

Eventually the cat comes out of the bag though. It’s just a slip up when he’s feeling just a little too comfortable in your presence during some kind of meeting. He’s a little too forward and makes an inside joke that has you a little shell shocked before it clicks in your head who he is. He’s rather embarrassed by his slip up, but doesn’t let it show on his face. Taking it in stride and confidence, playing up his generous donor persona rather than the person you’d come to know online.

He figures you’d likely distance yourself now that you knew who he was, but you’re even more interactive with him. Going out of your way to greet him in chat and message him first when you get the chance. It’s so very sweet, but your relationship is nothing but a transaction is it not? You’re making it hard for him to tell…

Ah, but then you try and tell him he doesn’t have to donate so much to you. That you just enjoy seeing and interacting with him. That you wish he had told you who he was initially, because you enjoy talking to him and would like to see him outside of streaming and work. It’s all too much for him to handle from you, you’re just too sweet. How could he refuse you?

He does end up taking you out and spoiling you rotten on your first date together. Even after you are an official item he doesn’t stop watching your streams and chatting with your community. He’s very loyal to you, his favorite little streamer <3

If you insist on him not “buying your affections” he’ll shrug it off. Gift giving is his love language, after all, and he can’t let his competition beat him out in the area he’s best at. It’s a little overwhelming, honestly, but equally sweet and endearing. He’s very proud of you too, bragging about his cute streamer partner to anyone who might listen.

Like,,, he’s so cute,,,,,,

[frownyalfred]

just started reading a few outsiders POV fics (and like all ur posts in general tbh) and its so cool how u like. crystalize all ur experiences to make all the characters u write feel so human. its so cool :)) also seeing the tags of like “did this on the treadmill” “sauna made me think of this” is so fun??? they remind me creativity doesn’t have to mean you lock in during a Designated Work Hour and it can be ‘this idea is actually clawing at me. if its not out right now its over’ kind of process.

idk what else to say LOL i think this was spurred on by the tag “random board members that i model off my coworkers” on the politics of dancing. anyway ur one of my fav writers keep on trucking

Thank you so much! <3 Yeah, I will admit my secret to those outsider POV fics is to just crib off of the people around me. Sometimes it's just a name or a small quirk they have, but I feel it grounds the character really quickly so you don't have to spend a ton of time introducing their background, etc. For example, I worked with a guy who wore dress boots to work instead of dress shoes in a professional setting. You can assume a lot about someone just from one small tidbit like that -- he was suave, professional, good at his job, but there was this tiny little rebellion every day. Thick boot heels instead of dress shoes. Why? I don't know, but it made it into my latest fic with Lucius Fox.

Creativity tends to come to me when I'm exercising, which is both a blessing and a curse. I'm trying to stay in the gym + consistently writing, which is sometimes easier said than done, so sometimes the two overlap in odd ways. Like typing out dialogue while running. Or spamming the discord chat in between sets. Or dissociating in the gym sauna to figure out the next ~5k of a fic. I will say, it keeps me fit and it keeps my practicing my writing skills!

[bi-dykes]

Aww hun <3 Thank you for the shoutout! I am glad you (and others!) see it as solid logic! :)

Theres a deeper reason around this as well! I'm gonna chat a lil about it lol

Toxicity to soft lovers is an incredible trope because-

1. humans are messy and so we get to see messiness in our favourite pairing as well, relatability in fiction is GOOD.

2. It's not inheritly abusive. Situational toxicity from a non-partner: someone who has no romantic and domestic obligation to you- is not always crossing a line. It also depends how far the toxicity goes. Like My Dark Vanessa: too "toxic" (it's worse than just toxic, it's abusive) to be enjoyed. But toxic ships as a whole do not need to go that far. They can just be swordfighting each other making clash clank noises with the sunset in the background. Many toxic ships are exciting and unhealthy at first without being dehumanizing to either characters.

3. As catras-breakup-song outlines above, we get to see GROWTH! There won't be as much of a satisying and hard working character arcs if we already start at relationship goals.

4. It shows us as that it's okay to make mistakes. At some point or another in our entire lives we will be toxic friends, toxic family, toxic lovers, toxic classmates, toxic coworkers, toxic people, whatever. Stress brings out the worst in us. And guess what? Life is pretty stressful. We cannot handle everything right all the time. We are not iredeemable villains for screwing up once in a while. And neither are our toxic ships. Seeing toxicity to soft lovers means we can see redemption on screen and it give us hope, give us the ability to forgive OURSELVES and our loved ones who have shown remorse and improvement.

5. It's just... It's FUN! Toxic yuri pairings getting into dagger fights... Toxic yuri characters getting so angry at each other their face is blushing... Catradora Agathario Jennifer x Needy... the angst of it all <3 Anger can be passionate. Conflict can unearth character depth. The tension that arises can be *chefs kiss*. It doesn't even need to be sexual tension since I listed Jennifer x Needy, two high school students, it can just be sparkly flirty tension.

Toxic ships that get redeemed are all about seeing someone's ugly and "getting it out of the way" and loving them anyways, and seeing them imrpove as a person BEFORE you settle down with them. Which is why Belle chose Beast and not Gaston!

The villain who stops being the villain and falls for the hero is... so much more trustworthy than the angel who is just so kind and nice all the time and we dON'T KNOW THEM VERY WELL-

Like the "bad boy" trope done RIGHT (which is not often!! and does not need to mean just a boy. I meant bad boy as in rebel) should mean that all the surprises are gone and the character knows what they're getting themselves into and will never be shocked with a vile betrayal or heel turn from their lover. Whereas a character who seems flawless is actually scary lmao. It's essnetially Kristoff VS Hans (I'm not even a Disney fan, how do disney characters keep coming up XD)

I hate Fifty Shades of Grey, I hate abuse, but sheesh, I'm not intruiged with Peppa Pig. Heaven-esque ships NOR Hellish ships make for a cathartic viewing/reading experience, but Purgatory-esque ships.

Toxic ships becoming loving ships is one of the best healthy mediums you could find IMO.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk! xx

(Put the 4ntis aside cuz this is supposed to be a interesting thought provoking discussion about the show) do you think catradora are meant to be a relationship that goes from toxic to healthy?

thank you for censoring ♡

from toxic to healthy, yes absolutely. i've never been one to deny that catradora is a toxic ship or that catra was a toxic person; denying that is just as frustrating as denying character growth took place, because both are so integral to the story's message about how we are shaped by the people around us, and that mistakes don't have to define who we are or how much love & happiness we deserve.

if we pretended that catradora's relationship was always wholesome, we'd miss out on how hard they worked to get to that point, as well as how good it feels for catra to earn the future she truly wanted, as opposed to the one she tried to convince herself would be satisfying after the portal closed.

[kingofthewilderwest]

Hi! I found your account through your old Shipping Names and Linguistics post, and I was wondering, do you know of any actual sources talking about the construction of ship names in English fandoms that might back up your observations? I am actually currently in my way-too-young cocky linguistics grad student stage of life and thinking of looking into something similar regarding Japanese ship naming. So, I figured it would be good to have a solid base in English fandom conventions to compare it with if possible.

Obviously that post was quite a while ago, so no big deal if you never really delved into it further. Thank you regardless!

Hey there and thanks for popping in!!! Now I'm curious about Japanese ship naming, and I think that's a fun adventure you've got! I wish you the best luck with your exploration. XD

From your message, it sounds like you read my pinned note or the note in the comments. For others coming into the conversation, this is my note:

I was trying to hedge my words in that comment, but also give a clear warning. I'll be more direct here, hah, and hope no one minds. The fact that the shipping names and linguistics post had a reblog renaissance in 2024 has been a bane. 😅 A small bane, but oh noooooOoOoOo.

I mean, it's good people are interested in linguistics, and I had fun writing that post at the time. Maybe that post did more good than I think it has. ^^ But one of the biggest issues tumblr has with linguistics is that Most Of The Information On Tumblr About Linguistics Is Sorta Wrong (TM), and it's galled me, oh it's galled me, oh it's galled me bad that I could've contributed to that. Ahahaha. I tried to be accurate in those old posts, but as above mentioned, I went waaaaaay beyond things I knew, and a first year PhD student is not anywhere as informed as they'd like you to think. (NO SHADE ON YOU. JUST SHADE ON MYSELF. JUST SHADE ON MYSELF!!!)

I haven't read that post since I wrote it, and I haven't braved myself to, because I don't know if I'll be begrudgingly impressed with myself, or cringing so hard I pop out of my skin. I've suspected it may be the latter, so I just wrote my friendly warning, prayed no one would dig up my other old linguistics posts, and fled into the night. XD

The short and the long of it is that I do not really want that post circulating nor for me to be intellectually connected with it today. I'm not going to delete or private it because I have more control if I still have access to it as OP, but I've sorta disowned it. Ahahaha. I ended up with a career in linguistics and am working in the industry, but I left education after my first year of PhD due to personal and health reasons, and have not been in linguistics academia since. This means I have not been around any sources you could ask for, and you're more likely than me to come across them. Best of luck in your hunt for information. ^^ I hope you run into some fascinating ideas.

I hope these responses come out as humorous rather than disappointing to anyone reading. I am grateful you stopped by! And now I'll have to learn about the Japanese side of ship names. Because I love Japanese and I love fandom shenanigans and that's, when I'm not making drastic claims on tumblr, still very fun stuff!!!

Enjoy your academic rabbit holes, enjoy your grad school years, enjoy linguistics, and enjoy all else you get your paws on!

[faunandfloraas]

a seungift for @sesuavity ♡

[srapsodia]

Do you guys see my vision. Do you see it.

[levemetal]

POV you’re Mu Qingfang and it’s a lazy morning. You see your husband Shen-Shidi with your outer robe like this, what do you do?

Jokes aside, Qian Cao SJ sketches from the AU from the other day!

He becomes the certified difficult patient wrangler. How he defeats and knocks out Liu Qingge on a regular basis is a mystery but nobody questions it cause it‘s much better for everyone involved. He is a cultivator and a healer, and much better off in this AU than in canon with possibly an almost untroubled cultivation so his strength and qi tricks are nothing to sneeze at. Just cause he‘s not peak lord doesn’t mean he can‘t kick Liu Qingge into submission to treatment. (Also he is very creative in the usage of random objects s weapons or ways to administer medicine. He‘d definitely slip them into your tea or food while you‘re not looking.)

Also don‘t let the second sketch fool you, SJ is just as much of a workaholic if not worse than Mu Qingfang. Perhaps even rivaling SQH and YQY (who also get dragged to Qina Cao Peak by him on a regular basis ao they stop overworking themselves. It’s a monthly expected ritual at this point). MQF probably returns the bullying-into-taking-a-fucking break favor too.

[hellish-acts]

I am today years old when I just found out Solomon actually slept with God(I didn’t see the angels comics ok)

I mean

That clears up on why the angels hate Solomon so much after God disappear BECAUSE THEY SLEPT WITH EACH OTHER😭🙏

And also helps the confusion with the lore Ig!(so are we related to god.—)

[lynn-tged-posting]

tged webtoon ep 174 spoilers and thoughts that i'm actually kinda happy about but there's just a little bit more that i wish we got to see this ep but possibly maybe itll show up later,,, maybe,,, i hope,,, and more below the cut

.

.

.

BEFORE WE BEGIN. WOW. HI ALICIA. WOW!!! WOW!!! SIRENS!!! HOLY BINGLE! GOOD MORNING YUOR HIGHNESS UR GORGEOUS. HELLO!!! WOW. YES. ANYTHING YOU SAY MA'AM. YES MY QUEEN OF COURSE ANYTHING YOU SAY

SHE'S GOT ABS AND MUSCLE SHE'S TONED AND HER LEGS R STRONG AND WOW. WOW GOOD MORNING HI. YES. THANK YOU KHS THANK YOU IM,,, WOW,,, I LOVE STRONG WOMEN,,, BEAUTIFUL!!!

ok back to the ep LMFAOO

it seems i kiiinda misunderstood what was happening last ep, everyone relevant to the railroad construction is in the time bubble it's just that javier isn't going up to the mountains with lloyd,,, i see!!!

"i wanna go to him and make sure he's safe" ooogh,,, oh javier,,, u love him sm,,,, ooohhhh

tbh at first i was like, a lil confused that javier didn't go up to check on lloyd esp since javier is so willing to do anything to protect lloyd. its clear too that he knows abt lloyd's heart freezing,,, though i suppose at the same time, javier trusts lloyd's word so much that when the noble says he'll be fine, javier accepts it as he always has,,, either way his desire to run to protect lloyd and his willingness to trust that lloyd will be okay are both very sweet,,, the mutual trust always makes me so happy,,,,,,, ohhh javier ilysm,,,,,,

i am glad then that alicia went up to go check on him and that javier is reassured by this!!! look at his smile ooohhh hehehee

i think choosing to have javier trust his queen instead of sowing conflict btwn the two is rlly nice, tho mostly bc i am biased bc i tend to prefer sweet reliability over infighting,,, he trusts her to take care of lloyd the way javier would take care of lloyd,,, (is this alillovier propaganda? perchance,,, /lh)

it makes so much sense that they'd be on the same wavelength n get along,,, two peas in a pod,,, powerful and clever and oh so loyal to the person that they've come to admire, respect, and love,,, the person that's saved them time and time again,,, heehee,,, truly the besties of all time!!! red and blue!!! i love it a lot!!!

and now for lloyd,,, hehe

i need it to be known that the moment i saw this panel, lloyd wearing alicia's sweater, i yelled and kicked and nearly cried. very loudly. what the hell. THATS SO?? THATS SO. IDEK

still forever thinking abt how javier is always the first one to his mind they truly r the duo ever,,, regardless of whether theyre platonic or romantic they're literally each other's number ones and the first ones they turn to im so. thats so. ghhh my heart,,, (ALSO HI ALICIA)

his stupid face,,, HIS PANELS THIS EP WERE SO SO FUNNY AND SO SO CUTE,,, i love u,,, HE JUST LOOKS SO SHOCKED AAAAHHH SO CUTE,,, wide-eyed and dumbfounded . lloyd i love u

the gags this ep were fucking amazing too HAHA i didnt add it above but the bit where alicia was like "lol next ur gonna tell me he's the demon king" and then just turns and oh hi theres demons LMFAOOO THAT WAS GOOD

AND THESE TOO SO SO SILLY i love when they're silly like this,,, goofy ass inchworm,,, its not helping u beat the bug allegations buddy,,, ily

LIKE THIS FUCKING GRABBING BIT I CACKLED SO FUCKING LOUD HAHAHAHAHAA AND LLOYD ROLLING AWAY GOD THEYRE SO FUNNY I LOVE THEM

and then she shared her mana w him,,, the little smile she gives and LLOYD BLUSHING BACK IM SO. THATS SO CUTE. HE LOOKS SO CUTE. THIS IS SO SWEET,,, AHHH,,, AAAHHHH CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE

though smth to note here, i am quite confused as to why javier's mana is suddenly rejected when he tries to absorb it? but alicia's works just fine? and javier has shared mana with lloyd before, my mutual reminded me of the namaran wall arc where siluria and javier both help lloyd with absorbing the hell knight,,, however the fact that javier's mana components have yet to break the law of causality during this arc, aka he wasnt a grandmaster yet. maybe bc of his status as a grandmaster now, where he has the same otherworldy mana lloyd does, that makes it not possible to properly absorb the mana?

alternatively, javier technically is never fated to die/be transformed in the original story, whereas lloyd should be dead and alicia should be tainted with dark magic, so bc the two of them have warped their fates at the moment, it works? and javier's doesnt bc he's technically not? idk if that makes any sense,,, i was told by my mutual that javier has shared mana with lloyd a lot in the novel before, so i'm not sure why they made this change! i hope they expand on it a lil in the future,,,

also, while i'm yapping here, i like that alicia is straightforward abt what she likes abt lloyd, but i wish they got to have a longer conversation than this,,, like this is a good start but it didn't really go anywhere (besides some really wonderful panels of lloyd but i mean like, narrative-wise lol)

as i mentioned in my last liveblog, alicia and suho share a lot more common experiences than they probably realize! and i think if they got a chance to talk about that, talking about their past circumstances, how they became who they are now, and just more in general on what led alicia to fall for lloyd besides what he's capable of,,, this ship would actually sail pretty well, yknow?

unfortunately though with the pacing of the manhwa and i guess just their episode length requirements in general, it makes sense that they couldn't get to that,,, i just wish it happened,,, maybe in snippets in future episodes? but seeing as we're getting pretty close to the end afaik, the chances are slim

i mainly love llovier but i also really love alilloyd, and i think alilloyd as a whole would have a much better leg to stand on if they actually talked about their experiences and had more instances of saving each other, of supporting each other, the way javier does with lloyd. it's too few and too far between for alicia and lloyd, so it feels like it's flatter than what it could be, y'know?

a part of me hopes that they did get to do that in the novel, but from what i recall hearing, alilloyd didn't have a strong leg in the novel either,,, i distantly recall someone telling me that the manhwa is actually doing alilloyd stronger justice than the novel did (i may be misremembering tho so don't quote me on that lol), and seeing as the manhwa's interpretation of alilloyd is so few and far between as is,,,, it makes me worried that the novel never actually got to touch upon how their relationship evolves (if im wrong, please correct me!!!)

i just want them to do well,,, they're super cute,,, please,,, ueueueue

anyway,,, this leads us to probably my FAVORITE panel of this week,,, this one of lloyd completely flushed EEE EHEHEHHEHEHEHHEE

SO SO SO SO CUTE. I YELPED WHEN I SAW THIS,,, I LOVE THAT ALICIA FALLS FIRST AND THEN LLOYD FALLS SO MUCH HARDER THAT'S FUCKING ADORABLE. methinks it's like that with javier too. lloyd falling and tripping up over realizing someone has romantic affection for him is probably one of my favorite things EVER. that's adorable. I LOVE HIM AAAHHH CUTE CUTE CUTE

one last thing to mention is just that,,, it seems like theres a mage messing w the weather conditions up in the mountains and i aaaam a lil worried that itll kickstart fate for alicia,,,, esp considering we,,, havent seen worthroad in a while. whatever that guys name was,,, what if its him and he's gonna fuck everything up!?? im really worried for them,,, please be okay,,,

and that's all for this week! i really REALLY enjoyed this episode,,, the panels and art were so so good, and while there were some things i wished would happen i think it was still really good overall, it gave me a lot to talk about! the gags were balanced and their interactions were so fun,,, yay!

i'll see yall next time,,, im so excited to see whats next,,,!!!!!

[xxplastic-cubexx]

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, I recently went into the x-men and I found my own dead with Charles and Erik AND I NEED READ MORE OF THEM BUT I SO LOST AFTER POWERS AND HOUSE OF X SO I DON'T KNOW WHERE CONTINUE, can u help me?

(alsoIlikeyoursdrawingsiwishbeingsoconstantwithmycontentlikeu)

i'll be very candid with you my friend: i'm totally lost too !!!!!!! your comic-reading journey is about as green as mine and so i cant personally give you a super great guide- but beautiful people on the internet exist who've done most of the dirty work for us when sorting through the stories you 'should' read so i'm borrowing them to help us both

you can read this article to read about one person's advice with exploring krakoa and- in their opinion- its most 'significant' stories, though to summarize the issues they recommend looking into:

House of X/Powers of X (which you should have already done)

X of Swords event

Hellfire Gala

Inferno

X Lives and X Deaths of Wolverine

Second Hellfire Gala

Third Hellfire Gala

Fall of the House of X/Rise of the Powers of X (also should have already done, however...) +Single issue: X-Men (2021 series) #35 aka Uncanny X-Men #700 is featured at the end of the FoX omnibus, though the omnibus excludes an extra bit at the end involving a cliffhanger for Charles's fate after he's arrested

if you want to dig a little deeper though, you can check out this article from another individual which includes another wave of 'relevant' (word used loosely as some can be considered more poignant than others) krakoa stories and stories related to it or set during the period.

it's a lot longer and more in depth than the last article, so again i only really rec peaking at this one depending on how deep you wanna go, or if you decide you want to explore more after reading the more 'key' stories. def wouldn't hurt to give it a glance just in case you read some summaries that pique your interest!

all in all, don't take these as concrete rules or guides to follow: comics are meant to be fun, these are just good starting points if you're feeling lost or overwhelmed. at the end of the day, you decide ultimately what you want to read and which stories interest you the most

happy reading !

[howtodisappearcompletelyand]

20/10 stars little guy

[crystallizsch]

IAN WAKE UP

GOOD MORNFIGN??? iT’S 5AM IMSMSJSBIS

JAMILSHWHS HES SJSBWWKE

P .

PARDON MY FRENCH hHU. WHAT THE UFKC

iM SORRYYY????? WHAGT IS WRONF WITH HIM HES DANCING WITH SKEELTONS NOW???

tHis SKELETON. ME. THIS IS ME I’M DEAD DECEASED ROTTING JAW GAPING OPEN EYES HOLLOW IM DEAD GONE IN JAMILs ARMS

AND SEEING THE ROPE IM ASSUMING HE GRABBED A HANGING SKELETON AND DECIDED TO DANCE WITH IT??? GOODBYe. HES SO MESSED UP

ANYWAUS HELP ME HIS SINGULAR (1) FANG AND THE WAY HES LOOKDINHDH I WANT TO BSBSVESIOSXONXNXAKM PINCH HIM

SOMEOWBE COME PICK ME UP OR I FEAR YOU’LL FIND ME ON THE NEWS

[todayisafridaynight]

Share Mine notes please I beg (and on the arakawa fam if you have the timefkfd)

forgive me if these are messy as all fuck i'm not good at making notes BUT here's everything i generally keep in mind when drawing mine and hijikata + the reference sheets i look at when drawing them :)

arakawa family notes + references below:

(more notes about aoki + sawashiro's faces ft. ikumi here)

[necrotic-nephilim]

Sorry this is out of nowhere, but I just read your Ra'sTim ask and the mental link DamiTim ask in quick succession and then started cackling out loud because all I could imagine is Damian simultaneously not only a) having his feelings for Tim forcibly outed to the whole family, but also b) having to live with the detailed knowledge of Tim having been deeply intimate with his grandfather. In conjunction with also now knowing way too much about how both Bruce and Jason fucked Talia. Like, this boy is really going through it.

ljkhjghgjhkjlk i'm CRYING help this is so funny. unrequited DamiTim featuring Tim sleeping with Ra's is the funniest thing in the world and honestly a genuine idea i've toyed with before. but combining those two concepts is so fun and cursed. Damian having to deal with double the horror of Jason and his mother sleeping together and Tim and his grandfather sleeping together, while his own feelings for Tim are outed, honestly I'd just move to another planet if that happened to me. it's fun as a serious idea for the complexities and the layers of it, but oh it gives me a giggle. someone else in the Batfam has gotta take one for the team and fuck Mara al Ghul or Respawn or something just to bring it full circle.

[puppppppppy]

How'd Augusta end up being radioactive? :o

A second chance.

// suicidal themes below

Augusta originally worked as a part time astronaut at a Star Depot, which collected star Fragments and sent them back to earth to be used as fuel similar to nuclear power.

Augusta wasn’t really in a good place at the time while working there. She never had any kind of big ambition in life and wanted to live life peacefully, but knew that “getting by” isn’t enough for her to survive. People around her kept expecting so much of her that she didn’t know what to tell them.

Working as an astronaut helps take her mind off things at first, but then she starts to feel worse. She doesn’t get invited out to things, but she doesn’t really make any effort to try, and relatives are asking how she’s doing and she doesn’t know what to tell them without it turning into a lecture. and over time it piles up

First she starts asking for more shifts handling and shipping the stars. Then she asks to do overtime. And finally one day she finds a tiny Fragment on the floor.

The thing about Fragments is that they change your body and can make you very sick if youre near them for too long.

Tomorrow would be a holiday and the building would be closed. The Shift manager, who promised to close up, left early for drinks with coworkers. So she was the only employee working.

So she picks up the star and swallows it expecting to die. But instead her hair turns pink and the dust around her floats, and when she breathes no air comes out. The Star fused to her body and latched to her heart.

Basically, her suicide attempt gave her her own way to live and pink hair as a bonus lol

Here’s what her hair looked like before and after The Incident <3