#as opposed to avoiding them like he did with robin

[aestheticitii]

askr chrom is way more fussy and prone to panicking because he hasn't gone through like seven or so months of "character development"—which basically consists of everyone from his pregnant wife to the man who may as well be his real dad for how much unconditional affection he's given him and his sister to like gaius and even tharja giving him pep talks about how he's going to be a great dad.

and then lucina's born and he turns out to be a great dad like everyone knew he was going to be and he doesn't accidentally crush her with his monstrous strength

because for regular chrom, that sort of increases the bar of how low he can truly go because his first thought upon seeing his daughter is "she's perfect" and his second thought is "i love her" and then once that wave of affection washes away, his thought is "i want to make the future a better place for her."

so like he's already more family oriented than his dad lmao. and like his wife points out, if he ever hurts lucina's feelings, then he can just apologize and listen like he does with her. he's allowed to meet his daughter without the tragedy of the future hanging over his head

and also because his wife's not going through a crisis in askr like she is in the regular timeline so his attention is just on the kids, that's also a reason why askr chrom is so panicked

like, askr chrom is just introduced to his baby girl with no prior introduction, unlike what regular chrom goes through. he's not even married, and that in and of itself is like a shock to his system. he hasn't even lost emm yet—he's just told his future wife about how terrible his father is and that kind of frames his actions because it's so fresh in his mind

and he doesn't ever want to let his kids down, but his kids have already suffered so much. and he doesn't get his pep talks in, except maybe with frederick and robin, because the kids are already so attached to him that no one offers him unsolicited advice on how to be a good dad because they already think he's a good dad

because of this, he's slightly more sensitive to perceived rejection, as opposed to it being robin in the other two timelines, because in the bad future one, she grew up knowing she was grima's heart and in the regular one, she found out who her father was and started having an inkling of what was going on

but in askr, robin is mostly chill, because chrom's not, so she has to be, but they do take turns. because chrom doesn't want to be his father, ever. he'd rather be the really fussy dad who cares about the little details aka freddy than be like his father

he's also specifically afraid of morgan rejecting him, because the boy already doesn't remember him, and fell morgan exists and allegedly hates his guts, despite chrom doing all he can to support him. morgan, of course, adores him, and eventually, he gets over that fear, but it sticks with him for a while

(regular chrom also kind of shares that fear, up until he interacts with morgan like five times and he's like, oh, i was worried for nothing)

[cluescorner]

They fucking did it again those bastards. Jason Todd fucking dies 2: Electric Boogaloo. Fuck it, let's go for a threepeat at this point. It'll be funny as hell.

[gatitties]

HEY HEY HOW R U DOING. ITS FINALLY CHRISTMAS TIME SO MERRY CHRIMUH (2023 passed too fast…) im the one who asked for the strawhats x anxiety! Teen! Reader!!!! And im an angsty person so I just wanna ask…

Can you write Strawhats x struggling! Teen! Reader?? It’s the exact same reader btw, they’re strong and kind and helpful and so sweet, has a tough exterior even if they’re just a kid and the youngest on the ship. And when I mean struggling I mean that they deal with self h*te, their anxiety got worse and so on. They didn’t plan to tell the crew but the crew has noticed their behavior. How they go to their room instead of playing with them like they used to, how they just sit down and zone out, a habit of their’s being to put their hand up to their face and rub in annoyance and stress just like they do with the hand on the chest when they’re anxious. The crew sees them being gloomy when they’re alone or whenever the adults look away (putting on the facade) and the reader doesn’t look like they’re taking care of themselves and they’re looking tired and unmotivated.

(kinda describing me a lil bit I just wanna see my comfort characters react to this sorta thing-)

And they finally confront her about it and after some convincing they finally spill all thats inside and get the love that they don’t think they deserve!!! I love angst sorry…

(Before I wrote this I checked through your rules to see if this kinda thing wasn’t allowed. I didn’t see anything opposing my idea but just know that if you feel uncomfy with this sorta thing then thats ok and you can just ignore this ask.❤️ Or maybe you could reply with a little “no” just so me and others know that ur not ok with it. I wanna be respectful!)

ANYWAY I HOPE U HAVE A GOOD CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR. PLEASE AND TY.

─Strawhats x teen!reader (platonic)

─Summary: You thought everything would be fine after your anxiety attacks subsided, but it was just the calm before your mind played with you.

─Warnings: none

(Related post)

ayy sorry I'm a little late with this one but here it is 😭, I hope you had a good Christmas, that you started the year on the right foot and may everything go well for now!! 😌

─ You thought your anxiety attacks would end once you confessed how you felt to the crew, partially accepting their help, and while it worked for a while, you went back into your shell.

─ The mind of adolescents is incredibly moldable, and yours decided to take the most contemptuous path towards yourself, the attacks were controlled, but the self-hatred that you began to feel towards yourself made them return.

─ You felt guilty and your pride did not allow you to seek help a second time, feeling that you would be more of a nuisance to the rest.

─ Your appearance underwent changes as well as your behaviors, your energy was drained, you began to lock yourself in your room more, not be present at group celebrations…

─ Eventually they noticed your sudden change again, everything was fine and from one day to the next you become like a stranger with them again, Robin could notice it instantly.

─ All your actions gave you away, but Chopper recognized the signs of anxiety, your rapid breathing, your eyes moving uncontrollably, although he did not understand why you touched your face so much, he thought it was one of the causes of your anxiety.

─ They accepted that you were a stubborn teenager, but this had to be nipped in the bud just as Nami said once she found out that your anxiety attacks had gotten worse lately, since the indirect way of helping wasn't working now.

─ It was much more stressful for you that they decided to confront you directly, since you used to run away from conversations related to your well-being, being something that you feel insecure talking about, you preferred to avoid it.

─ You tried to escape from that talk with bad excuses, but Sanji's kindness made you sit in the chair like a scolded child.

─ Jinbe silenced Luffy because he knew that he was going to be too direct with you, and although they wanted to be, they needed a little tact to talk to you, Usopp took care of that.

─ You avoided eye contact for most of the talk, not wanting to confront them while you spoke.

─ Again, you ended up crying as you let your feelings come to light, you felt trapped enough to let it all out, much more sincerely than the previous time, feeling a little embarrassed by your cruel thoughts towards you.

─ Luffy scolded you again, but he gave you the best hug you could have received in years, everyone joined in afterwards, except Zoro, who watched from afar with a small smile.

─ You felt calmer after the talk, but it will still be difficult for you to express yourself about how you feel, they assured you that it was okay, that it was okay to want to have some time alone when you feel bad, but that they will always be there to help you with all your problems whatever they are.

[steddieas-shegoes]

Hello my love! One more for you, though knowing me, I’m sure it’ll end up being more than just this one!

I’d love to see something where Steve has an oral fixation that isn’t necessarily sex-related. (It definitely could be, I’m not at all opposed, I’d just like to see some soft boys.) ❤️ and as always, if you’re busy or not feeling it, feel free to ignore me! ❤️

I was busy getting sunburnt (no I will not be taking questions at this time) but without further ado, soft soft boys for my star ✨

Steve was always chewing on his nails, or the skin of his fingers, or popping gum into his mouth.

It used to make Eddie ridiculously horny.

Like, couldn't focus on anything except the way Steve's mouth moved around things.

The (thankfully) short-lived lollipop phase nearly killed him.

But he started to notice what actually triggered the need for something to be in his mouth.

Steve Harrington had anxiety.

Not just the casual social anxiety that he first assumed, but the holding on by a thread, everything is overwhelming kind.

He decided to test his theory one evening when they were having a movie night that Robin had to back out of at the last minute. If he thought too hard about it, he would assume she was trying to set them up.

Steve had spent the first 15 minutes biting at the skin of his thumb, most likely causing a massive hangnail.

Eddie grabbed his hand and held it in his own, doing his best to avoid looking at where they were now connected.

Steve tensed for a moment, only relaxing when he realized Eddie's attention wasn't actually on him.

And then Eddie felt Steve's head drop onto his shoulder as he lifted their joined hands up to his lips.

He thought he was going to kiss his fingers, which would have been enough on its own to send him spiraling.

What he did instead was...a lot.

He started rubbing Eddie's rings along his lips slowly, letting his breath hit Eddie's fingers.

"What are you doing, Stevie?"

He was amazed he could even speak.

"Sorry. Just, there's a lot of textures on them. It's nice. Something to calm my brain."

"Is your brain busy a lot?"

"Yeah."

"You can keep doing that if it helps."

Steve memorized the feeling of every ring on Eddie's hands, first with his lips, then with his fingers.

It was the first of many parts of Eddie he would memorize with his mouth.

[igotanidea]

The Fear: Jason Todd x Fem!reader part 3

part 1

part 2

A/N: Please, don't hate me for taking it slow :D :D And let me know if anyone wants a tag.

When her phone rang Y/N was halfway through her little science project. She spend last two months trying to come up with some crazy formula that would be the cure to the new version of the latest found virus. Still futile, but every other attempt brought her closer to the success.

“Oh, get lost…..” she muttered with zero intention and zero willingness to pick up, yet still glancing at the screen. Dick Grayson. Oh, ok. This probably wasn’t a social call.

“Dick? Hey there boy wonder, been a while” she answered, still hoping the bats weren’t in any trouble. Grayson was charming as usual, but his cheerful, flirting tone did not make her lower the guards down. And that instincts quickly turned out to be right when Tim intercepted the phone and simply explained Jayson got into trouble. That was all she needed to know, no more questions necessary. She made them a promise when she left Gotham.

“I’m on my way.”

 Y/N knew the boys for quite a while. She wasn’t born in Gotham but for inexplicable reasons her family moved there when she was 10. Her father, much like herself now, was a scientist who was fascinated by Scarecrow’s fear gas and made it his personal mission to crack the formula and/or find the antidote. Of course, he failed miserably, being exposed to the extreme amount of toxin himself and as a result – going crazy and ending up locked in the mental hospital. Y/N was 12 at the time. Her mother went through a nervous breakdown because of what happened to her husband and a few months later ended up in the same ward at the same hospital leaving the poor girl alone.

Hm.

Poor girl was smart enough to escape the claws of foster care for three whole months, just because she was way too smart for a kid her age. She knew where her parents kept the money, she was overly familiar with the way Gotham used to function, what places to avoid and what facilities were somewhat safe. She learned all of that through careful observation. And she had her father’s chemistry and science books and research so it was enough to keep her occupied and not get into any trouble. She was attending school, being the quiet, silent student, keeping her amazing brain and mind at bay just to avoid anyone’s attention. Being invisible was the only way to stay out of radar. Also, that little girl was dealing with pain, loss and rage. She hated Scarecrow for obvious reasons and took her father’s mantle in finding the antidote to that freaking gas.

After said three months however, during one of her experiments, she had a little accident and the little explosion she caused, resulted in covering her house in the cloud of chemicals. Fortunately, they weren’t detrimental for human health, unfortunately the blast was big enough to alarm the neighbors and to make two vigilante show up at her door. Batman and Robin took it upon themselves to inspect the place, since the cloud was green – the same color as the fear toxin, so they had reasons to believe Crane was involved in whatever happened. When they saw a little girl, only a few years younger than Robin (Dick at the time) they were shocked. Or at least, Dick was, since Bruce would never resort to something so petty as “shock.” After a long conversation, batman was ready to leave, but surprisingly Dick opposed to the idea making a point of why Y/N mustn’t be left alone, and what could happen to her and her extraordinary skills in the foster care. Somehow, this was convincing enough for Bruce to take the girl under his wing. After all, she could have been useful.

They revealed their secret identities to her and quickly figured that she would be the best imaginable addition to the team. Even if she wasn’t interested in field op and was not qualified for that, her behind the desk work was invaluable. She put hours and hours of work to create chemicals and mixtures for Dick and Bruce to use on patrol. She came up with the antidote to Ivy’s poisons. She developed and enhanced the gadgets. And yet, her mission and purpose was still to be fulfilled. Slowly, the bats started to call her “The Chemist.” Tacky enough to keep her safe.

She stayed when Dick left and became Nightwing.

She was there when Jason was appointed new Robin.

She wanted to leave when he was killed by the Joker. It was too much for a fifteen year old girl who was infatuated with the boy. Even if she never cried. Never. After all that happened to Todd she became cold, a bit vicious, more guarded than before. If it was anyone else, Bruce would get concerned about the risk of her becoming a sociopath, but Y/n never showed any sign of falling into mental illness. If anything, she became more focused, more observant, more vigilant, more dead-seton defeating all the Arkham freaks running around Gotham. With silent weapon – poison, toxin, whatever. For two years she was distant and unapproachable by anyone, except Dick and Alfred. The situation changed when Tim arrived at the manor. His observational skills, workaholism and insight were perfect complement to Y/N’s ambition and passion. They became the best of friends, forming a real brother – sister bond. The one she never had before or after. Damian who came last, accepted her, but they were both struggling to open up to one another.

She was finally getting though her past when magically, after five years some new villain appeared in Gotham.

“Red Hood?” she frowned “but isn’t it what Joker used to call himself before?”

“Yes.” Bruce nodded

“So?”

“So? “ now the Batman was frowning, girl’s condescending words did not fit in the situation.

“What do we do? Do we  use any of my mixtures on him? Do we tranquilize him? What’s the big plan, Bat?”

“Me and dick are coming after him. You’re staying here.”

“What’s new?”

“We’ll let you know if need for any of your toxins arises….”

The rest of the story is probably known to all of you. You know, the Lazarus Pit, the resurrection and the dramatic exposure of Red Hood’s real identity – Jason Todd himself. Only he was not himself, at least not the one she knew. He was more aggresive, more violent and unpredictable. And even more emotional then before.

One night, when she was walking home from work he just grabbed her from the street (of course scaring the shit out of her) and in some crazy, angry, unhinged words confessed to being in love with her. And then he kissed her.

But she was smarter than fall for him again and fought against her own heart. After all, being a chemist she knew and saw better than anyone what was the effect of Lazarus Waters on his organism. And from then both Y/N and Jason were dragged into crazy circle of pushing and pulling each other away.

Up to the point where she couldn't take it any longer and left.

Leaving him heartbroken. Utterly defeated.

Sad part was that he broke her first.

But Y/N was not completely heartless. She still stayed in touch with the boys and promised them, that whenever they needed her she would always come. Even if the wound of parting ways with Jay was still fresh.

part 4

@pinksirensong

@shadow-pancake9

@lwtmonster91

@your-local-cryptid87

@@princessbl0ss0m

[lowkeiloki]

Please infodump us on your recolor guys ! :D

I really enjoy seeing people's perceptions of the recolors :]

MHEHEHEHEHE LORE DUMP TIME!!!

ok just some concepts i had in mind, but Green Guy initially had fully charged batteries, Electracey swaps them out for her broken ones

low battery Green Guy is just feral (and he bites)

rabies behavior

Blue Guy may be a liiiiiittle more terrifying than Red Guy

the beasts

they're in love and this is how they kiss

Robin is usually the one to keep the other two out of trouble, but he will absolutely let his guard down around cute animals

the problem? he thinks all animals are cute, no matter how terrifying or deadly they are (that includes Green Guy)

he likes bugs, hes just like me fr

OHHH Green Guy's dad lore, i was looking forward to this

Meet Ron, Green Guy's loser father

He act a lot more domesticated than Roy, but is just as wicked as him

He got swapped with Roy along with the students. In his original universe he was always kept in line by Lesley so he was pretty much harmless (nuisance at worst) to the students. But upon entering the other universe he picked up from where Roy left after getting swapped out and proceeded to torture the students just as badly as he did

Green Guy's real name is Don bc i like the idea of Yellow's real name being Doi

As for their relationship, Ron is incredibly controlling of his son, but unlike Doi, Don is a lot more aware of his father's abuse and tends to avoid him as much as possible. Hes also very opposed of Robin and Blue Guy acting like his parents because he never wants anyone to have control over him that Ron had.

[cebwrites]

Unwelcome (Sabo's Tattered Invitation)

a/n: a lil smth smth for @raptures-finest teehee :3 and thanks to @skylerfox26 for the translations!!

oc x canon, oc-centric (not the same OCs) word count: 1.3k

It was a beautiful, quaint little thing.

Rio would have nothing less than perfection for that goofy doe-eyed kid and their daughter. They could be just as hard to please as their hubby about particulars of the smallest details as the wedding planners were loathe to find out. Well. They were getting paid more than fair also courtesy of Katakuri's treasure hoard so that should've been enough to cover any therapy costs needed.

What mattered was that Andy and Koala were happy and having the best day of their life. Rio even pulled Noire and Alto aside to help with the weather of all things. Absolutely nothing was to go wrong on today of all days.

What did darken the reception's doorstep, however, was something that Andy begged and pleaded for - Rio's initial response was an immediate and firm no, he could hear how uneasy Koala was over the phone in the conversation that ensued after, how Ace pleaded to vouch for his brother.

Despite all odds, Andy wore the two of them down. Sabo was allowed entry like an unsightly old toy dragged on the floor by a toddler to a fancy dinner if only to placate them and reduce the parents' headache.

When Dragon's dog walked in beside Fire Fist himself, taking the plus one of what would usually go to Yamato, Deuce on Ace's other arm, Rio downed another glass of wine. Ace at the very least had the decency to look sheepish under the warning look they shot him when he waved.

Keep him on a tight leash.

They'd send the Spade pirates home with a doggy bag and an extra bone for Yam as compensation. Right now Rio would have much preferred the rowdiness Kaido's son brought as opposed to the "guest" Andy personally wanted there.

Strawhat Luffy, of course, was banned altogether. Ace could vouch for one brother but he was fully aware of the chaos that the other brought, and no one here wanted to deal with the Marines' armed militia or some secret villain this island actually housed ruining the function.

Robin was allowed to bring her hubby because Koala wanted her there and Brook of course supplied the music for the night at Andy's request, both men openly sobbing at different points of the evening over "young love" - but three Strawhats were already more than Rio was willing to swing normally.

Andy and Koala had gotten them to sit down for a short forty-five minutes to eat and Rio even played the piano with Brook's accompaniment on the violin, stealing a kiss or two from their captain's table, letting Alba fix his dress shirt while they talked about where the kids would go from here with Violet, watching Katakuri and Kaku both flounder at social interaction under a little teasing.

From scrutinizing the catering's plating and flower arrangements clipboard in hand, to yelling at Ace for being faced down in his hors d'oeuvres. All of this between keeping a close eye on the happy couple, Rio would consider the night more or less a success.

As the festivities died down and Rio slipped away for a smoke, that damn toy finally crept out from the shadows. Sabo cleaned up nice in his freshly laundered three-piece with that ridiculous top hat and cravat he insisted on wearing everywhere but Rio saw right through him.

Buttons for eyes hanging lose on old thread, fabric thinned from being put in the wash one too many times, bits of stuffing trailing his every step. It was so worn and battered you'd think they'd let the family dog have a go at it before coming here.

Someone with no face in the mirror desperately cobbling together a human veneer.

"You've been avoiding me all night."

"Yet you still can't seem to take hint, can you?"

Sabo's expression pinched at the utter lack of emotion in that response, teeth set so tightly against each other he might just reset his jaw. He wasn't even worth looking at.

"Why."

"What?" Rio turned with their eyebrows knitted in the way that Sabo could recognize as annoyance. Okay, he could work with annoyance.

"I mean why are we always like this, why couldn't we just sit down and have a nice, normal—"

"I avoided you because I wanted to have a pleasant evening without any of this "nicety" nonsense," Rio flicked their gaze below to light up another cigarette, "you know I'm the last person that wants you here, so I don't understand why do you keep pushing."

When their eyes met again hers were once again cold and as Rio turned to leave. Losing that inch of expression that he managed to eek out from them, even if through irritation, Sabo felt his stomach hit the floor.

"I don't get why you keep running away from me, why do you hate me so much? Anything I do isn't enough for you, so just tell me how I can fix this! Why—Why did you abandon me?!"

Sabo laid chase. He was losing important ground, what exactly that was supposed to mean he couldn't quite parse right now. In a mild state of panic, he grabbed Rio's arm in an attempt to get them to stay. Instead, he felt the reflexive flinch, saw the look in her eyes, right before Rio yanked it away.

Oh.

"Rio, I-"

"Stop trying." They punctuated their words with a step back up the stairwell, until they stood at full height again.

"If you pulled your head out of your ass for as long as it takes you to lie to yourself non ti illuderesti che non ci sia una buona ragione per cui sei qui. You are here, because of whatever good graces luce dei miei occhi Constantine still has for your presence."

Rio always towered over Sabo even back when he was young and they still had a good relationship but little else made him feel as small as how he did in this moment right now as they walked him back to the railing.

"What you will not do, Sabo, is stand here and pretend that you are the most put upon man in the world because I won't waste my night listening to you blow smoke up everyone's ass.

We did our best to keep you out of Dragon's reach because she knew he'd turn you into a monster and we lost everything. I didn't have my future go up in flames just for you to destroy Andy's happiness on a selfish whim, quindi non puoi sederti qui and whine to me about being left behind."

For the first time in—fuck, forever, he guessed—Sabo saw what genuine anger looked like on Rio's face.

But for all the guilt and regret that he regularly tamped down beginning to swirl and spiral inside of him, the central emotion that maybe even protected his mind from the rest of those heavy feelings was confusion at one particular word.

""We"?"

Rio's gaze took on a frightening chill, like they'd accidentally exposed something precious and unfathomably raw, before it slipped back into that usual blank slate.

Just behind the shape of their shoulders, Sabo barely made out the glow of Haki in someone's eyes before an unbelievable pressure threatened to crush him. Rio simply turned with a passive raised hand, "I'm fine, Kat. Lets go back for dessert."

Sabo couldn't see her face anymore but he could almost hear how exhausted Rio was. And with a few clicks of their heels down the stairs, Sabo was left to catch his breath alone.

Slumped against the balcony while his best friend and the love of his life enjoyed the rest of their wedding.

[celestie0]

HI ELLIE OKAY I JUST FINISHED TTPD AND I AHVE OPINIONS 😭 first half of the album was ehh idk how to feel abt fortnight considering it’s the single for this album I think it was good not that good though it wasn’t amazing like lavender haze I really loved ttpd (the song) I think my boy only breaks his favorite toys were good but so long London was a HUGE disappointed I think we all hyped it up so much and we all ended up getting disappointed because it wasn’t what we wanted or expected but daddy I love him WAS SO GOOD especially the lyric Where it goes “I’m having his baby no I’m not,but you should see your faces” GAGEDDD I WAS GAGED I also really liked fresh out of the slammer especially the kind banging sounds ik it wasn’t banging but bear w me 😭😭 guys English isn’t my language you can’t blame me fr 😂😂 who’s afraid of little old me WAS SO GOOOD and I can do it with a broken heart especially when she goes “I’m so depressed I act like it’s my birthday everyday Im so obsessed with him but he avoids me like plague” and the upbeat music makes it so much better the anothology was so much better then the normal version definitely really loved the black dog that song really stood out to me imgonnagetyouback WAS SO GOOD I saved that one I hate it here was also really good 😭 thanK you aIMee THE SHADE THROWN AT KIM ?? Taylor mother fucking swift did it AGAINNN 😭😭🤞🏻 she ate her up so bad if I was Kim I would be so embarrassed rn 😭☠️ Cassandra also stood out to me I think this was abt the kimye situation Robin was ehh I think it’s a grower for me honestly but the Bolter and the manuscript were pretty good as if noe I think I’ll probably enjoy the album way more if I just listen to it more a little disappointing but that’s fine cuz there were amazing tracks on here and tbh I am not mad at it now I just need to watch the fortnight music video but I’m too overwhelmed rn so I need a break a little 🥲 now I’m just probably gonna wait for Somone to break down the tracks and point out the hidden clues in the mv 😭😭☠️

hiii bb omg your opinions are pretty much exactly mine LOL <333

yeahh i agree w you, w midnights lavendar haze was likee....it set the TONE for the album yknow hahaha. i remember first listen for it n i was like aight im locking in after hearing that. but i heard fortnight n was like...ehhh i hope it gets better. i liked ttpd too i thought it was lyrically p good song plus the line ab the ring omg i was gagged. yea SLL was disappointtinggg i was rlly looking forward to that one ripping my heart out LOL but it...didn't

"but daddy I love him WAS SO GOOD especially the lyric Where it goes “I’m having his baby no I’m not,but you should see your faces” GAGEDDD I WAS GAGED"

HELP SAME HAHAHA I WAS WATCHING A BUNCH OF TIKTOKS YESTERYDAY OF PPL REACTING TO THAT LYRIC AND IT'S SO FUNNY xD tbh when i first heard it it didn't really sink in for me so i was just vibin w it but then i was like damn. imagine if she announced to the world she was pregnant through a song like that ahhah i was shocked when i heard it again in second chorus. she was so insane for that

agghh idk 'who's afraid of little old me' and 'i can do it w a broken heart' were big time misses for me lol i haven't listened to them again since first listen but it's just cuz i don't really like those kinds of songs from her (specifically referring to the lyricism on these ones) but idkkk i could just be a hater LOL cuz my friends rly liked icdiwabh but it might grow on me, we'll see,, it's def catchy!! kinda silly but she kept it so real

YESSS i think the black dog is in my top three from album :'') i had it on repeat driving to work yesterday and i cried ??? w every listen ??? idk something ab the end of the bridge where she holds the note on "old habits die screaming" omg i sob. and i'mgonnagetyouback was also SO GOOD i think that song is the type of edgy ts lyricism i enjoy (as opposed to icdiwabh & who's afraid of lil old me)

THENK YOU AIMEE WAS WILDDD i think that's the song that had me the MOST GAGGED BC GAT DAYUM. the part where she alludes that kim's kids will be coming home from school singing songs that SHE WROTE that only the two of them know are throwing shade at kim plsss. that's wild n i'm so glad she had the balls to release that song hahah good for her

i also really liked clara bow, the part where she said "you look like taylor swift" alluding to how someday she too will be gone n only remembered for her legacy was wilddd n made me emotional ngl. also i lovedd peter too def in my top three too. also loml is probs my fave

sameee i haven't watched the new mv yet haha i think i might stream it on tv later tonight. sorryyy bb that' you're overwhelemd hope you're taking care of yurself n that your exams szn is going okay!! <33 ty for sharing your thoughts w me

[pbs-theundeadmaggot]

close but not close enough pt.2

Steve Harrington x fem!reader.

[a/n] This is a part 2 to for so close yet so far. I recommend checking that out before reading this but I think it can also be read as a stand alone :))

other works are available here!

Steve couldn’t quite understand what had gone wrong, she was his best friend, she’d been with him through thick and thin. Through his idiotic King Steve charade, to the hell on earth that was the upside down. She knew him inside and out, probably better than he knew himself and while friends came and went, she remained by his side, her loyalty and support unwavering, until now.

He’d been so excited about his latest date he scored that he couldn’t see past the painful grimace on her face mistaking it for a smile, nor the anxiety that swam through her eyes like a stormy sea ready to explode. It had been a couple days since he’d seen her, knowing she was avoiding him however, being the newly reformed ‘good guy' he gave her space, allowing her to come to him when she felt ready. He’d heard whispers from mutual friends that something was bothering her, but never explicitly saying exactly what it was, leaving him to fester with his thoughts in an lonley prison he called his mind.

By the begining of the fifth day he’d had enough, the distance was begining to drive him insane, keeping him awake and way to concious for the time of day it was. He’d gone so insane he could have sworn the thought of him confessing to y/n crossed his mind, although he knew he could never do that in fear of ruining the one thing he held onto dearly. Racking his brain for clues as to what could have upset her did nothing but add to the confusion. in fact, the last couple days had been a muddle, all merging together into one big mess. Robin had hinted to him that he needed to ‘get his act together and man up’ yet he couldn’t possibly imagine what she was referring to until he reflected over the events leading up to this. 

The girl he’d asked out was nothing short of stereotypical perfection, yet something didn’t seem right to him. he'd had fun he couldn’t lie, pulling all his old tricks from high school to 'get the girl’, remembering how he used to love the thrill of the chase however, the adrenaline that used to course through his veins had fizzled down into an undeniable longing to be loved and give all the love he knew he could give, yet he never found the right person to fulfill his only wish. 

As if the world stopped spinning and everything stood earily stood still, he saw images of his supposed future flash before his eyes, the energy flowing down to the tips of his fingers and running along the hairs on his arms before fading out into a blur that left a heaviness weighing on his heart. y/n. 

Running on autopilot he’d began to rush to y/n’s house, no clue wether she was there or what exactly he was going to say he just knew he had to see her immediately. As if blinded by his need to be loved by everyone, he missed the fact that the only person he truly cared for and their opinion of him had been right in front of him for over a decade. She was the reason he had stepped up to be a good role model for the kids, knowing they deserved a family that cherished each and every one of them reguardless of the hardships and trauma they endured. She was the reason he had gone soft for all things King Steve would have been opposed to, he would openly discuss his feelings about his absent family and actively tried to better himself for the sake of his mental health and sanity. She was the reason he had kept waking up every day, the reason he kept on breathing even when it felt like the whole world was against him, yet none of it mattered if she wasn’t there to stand by his side and be the constant he learned to love.

.·。.·゜✭·.·✫·゜·。.

 Half asleep I rubbed my eyes, jumping slightly at the sound of the front door being pounded on at some ungodly hour. Padding down the stairs I opened the door unaware of who was on the other side and more than willing to risk being kidnapped if it meant I could go back to sleep, honestly it wouldn’t be the first time it had happened either. 

“Steve?” I considered slamming the door in his stupidly handsome face before deciding against it due to my naive little heart, that held on to the small fragment of hope that finally tell me he felt the same. stupid heart. “what the hell are you doing here? it’s 3 in the morning”

Rather than answer with words he messily pulled me by the shoulders and pressed his lips against mine, placing a soft kiss there before pulling away silently, eyes pleading to say anything. 

“what?” I whispered, staring up at him stunned into silence wondering if i’d just imagined this.

“I love you” his words rang through the air, following the chill of the cool winter mornings sobering my previously sleepy daze. My eyes widening slightly as I searched his gaze for any sign of deception. Finding none I spoke up reaching between the abyss of emptiness my mind had seeped into, pulling myself out just far enough to confess what I’d longed to reveal for years.

“you’re a fucking idiot” I lightly smacked him surpising both myself and him at the statement that left my mouth, not exactly how i’d imagined this conversation going yet it was unperfectly perfect for the rollercoaster of emotions that defined our friendship and newly blossoming romance. “I love you too” the words left my lips as he cradled my face gently brushing the hair that sat across my cheeks, pulling me into a slow, mind melting kiss that unknowingly sealed our fate that lay among the millions of shining stars across the sky.

[ohanahoku-ao3]

Whumptober Day 21

Have some more Steve Harrington whump, cause he's one of my faves. <3

Teen & Up - Gen - Stranger Things

Learning to Fight

     It started with Jonathan, at least, in retrospect. While Steve wasn't protecting anyone at that point, that incident made it abundantly clear that he couldn't fight. It continued with Steve trying to protect the kids and getting his face beat in by Billy. It was painfully apparent that Steve had to learn how to fight to protect the kids.

     The problem this posed, however, was that Steve wasn't one to start fights for no reason. Not anymore. He had changed and grown as a person, and he wasn't about to pick fights at random just for a chance to expand his meager skill.

     He thought briefly of taking classes, but there were none in Hawkins, and while he wasn't opposed to driving out of town, he was short on cash for the expense lessons posed after his parents mostly cut him off to teach him responsibility,

     The thing with the Russians happened, and Steve got a lucky K-O with one guy but never stood a chance of fighting the others. If he had, Robin could have run with the kids. Maybe then she wouldn't share his nightmares of bone saws and needles and death.

     Like many others, Steve found himself without a job when the mall burned. But while he and Robin found work, many were left jobless, and the economic loss opened a gate of opportunity that Steve would have never seen coming. An underground fight ring moved into Hawkins, providing the unemployed a chance to make money, whether by fighting or betting on the fights. It was dangerous to get involved, and either method could have disastrous consequences. Still, for Steve, who was looking for a way to improve his fighting and not looking for any monetary gain, it was exactly the opportunity he needed.

     The first day he joined, the manager took one look at him and laughed in his face. But he accepted him into the ring, jokingly daring anyone to bet he'd last longer than two minutes.

     No one was surprised when he lost, but Steve shocked everyone when he lasted five whole minutes against a man twice as muscular as him. That was one thing that Steve had already learned over the years: how to take a punch and keep fighting until they wrested away the option with his consciousness.

     The manager took a liking to Steve after that, and Steve had a standing invitation to fight whenever he was available, so Steve was there most weeks, sometimes on multiple days. He avoided the worry in Robin's eyes, played dumb around the kids, and shut Nancy's curiosity down with horrid, spiteful words that he hated saying but had to if he wanted to keep his friends out of it. He was doing it for them, but he knew they'd hate his methods if they knew the full story.

     Steve fought with everything he had, uncaring that he came away bruised and injured, so long as he managed to land at least a couple of hits. And slowly, he did improve. His punches were better aimed and thrown harder. His fists were almost always cracked and bleeding by the end, but Steve had started winning fights, so he didn't care.

     He fought through the injuries his worst battles gave him, through split lips and black eyes, broken noses and sore jaws, bruises, and even fractures on occasion. Yet, whether he came out bruised or bleeding, he went right back to the ring, determined to win the next time his friends needed him to fight.

     One day, after a brutal fight that left Steve's ears ringing and his breath stilted with another rib cracked, he sat along the wall with the other fighters. Some of them were young, some old. It was one of the older men who spoke to him, a man whom Steve saw often in the ring- A man who lost more often than Steve. "Y'know, I jus' can't figure you out, kid." The man said, chuckling as Steve held a cold water bottle to a bruise on his temple. "Y're too young to have a family to provide fer, don't seem to care much 'bout the money at all, really. Ya fight to win, but don't seem to hold a grudge if ya lose. Ya don't keep beating someone after they's down like some of 'em do, neither."

     In annoyance, Steve glanced at the man, not one for chit-chat after a rough fight. "You getting to a question here or what?" He asked, leaning his head back against the wall and swallowing down copper as blood trickled into the back of his throat thanks to a loose tooth.

     The man didn't seem offended and nodded his head. "Yep. See, all of us 'ere got chains 'round our feet, boy. They keep us trapped 'ere. Mine's there 'cause I need the dough, but I can't get a handle on yers."

     Steve side-eyed the man briefly before his face cracked with a sardonic grin. "That's because you don't know me, old man." Steve heaved himself up off the floor, looking down at the man. "I'm not here because I'm trapped. See, the chains around my feet? I'm here to break them."

     He walked away and didn't even pause when the man called after him and asked just how he planned on doing that. He knew the answer but had no reason to respond. Steve had vowed to protect the party, and he would only be able to do that when he could beat anyone in a fight. Only that would break the chains; only then could he keep them safe.

     Thus, Steve kept fighting, training for the next battle with no idea that he had zero chance of beating who awaited them in the future.

[casspurrjoybell-25]

Cold as Ice - Chapter 25 - Part 2

*Warning - Adult Content*

Wren Ridley

My brother Robin texted me exactly one hundred twelve times until I finally agreed to FaceTime him.

When I called and asked him what was so urgent he just said he was bored and missed me, which I clearly didn't buy.

He had just spent the last ten minutes talking absolute nonsense that I didn't care about and now we were on the subject of Thanksgiving.

"You're actually coming home for Thanksgiving?" I asked.

It seemed like a waste of time and energy to me.

He went to school all the way in LA, so he would have to get on a five or six hour flight during the busiest time of the year just to be home for a few days.

Then it would only be a couple more weeks before he would be flying home for winter break.

"I wasn't going to but Mom made me feel guilty about it," Robin said.

"She has this grand idea that we're all going to be together and watch Fox play hockey, which I guess that will be kind of nice. I try to keep up with his games but they're on so late here."

He was doing more than I was.

I was in the same time zone as Fox and I didn't even think about tuning into one of his games.

We were only an hour or so away from each other and I hadn't even thought about going to one.

"Speaking of Fox," Robin continued.

"He's calling me now. I'm going to add him to our chat."

Before I could say anything, Robin was adding Fox to the call and his face popped up a moment later.

He wore a scowl like usual, his eyes narrowed as he looked into the screen.

"What's up?" Robin asked him.

"What do you mean 'what's up?' You texted me like eighty times to call you," Fox exclaimed.

"I thought you were dying or something."

"I was," Robin replied.

"Of boredom and I missed you guys. You weren't busy, were you?"

"I was on the phone with Ian," Fox told him.

"And how is that ray of sunshine?"

I was about to hang up.

Sitting here and listening to the two of them talk wasn't my idea of something fun, not when I could be doing literally anything else.

"Fine I guess," Fox said.

"We were talking about his hockey game. He got in a fight with that Landon kid..." and now I was all ears.

"Hockey is so barbaric," I said in a bored tone, though I was quite intrigued by the conversation.

Fox scoffed.

"It's just part of the game."

"It's part of the game to take out your personal frustrations on an opposing player?"

I knew that would only get him angry but I wasn't going to pretend like I understood the violence that took place in that sport.

"It makes it entertaining," Robin interjected.

He always put himself in the middle of Fox and me, trying to diffuse situations where the two of us were on our way to fighting.

"So Ian just fought the Landon kid for entertainment?" I asked.

"I don't fucking know, Wren," Fox replied, clearly frustrated.

"Why do you care, anyway?"

"I don't," I said too quickly.

It was a good thing Fox wasn't someone who picked up on that sort of thing but Robin was and I could see his expression change on the screen.

Luckily he knew not to say anything in front of our brother.

If he did say something, I didn't know if I could explain it away.

I could barely even rationalize my feelings about Landon to myself.

I wasn't used to caring about someone other than myself or my family.

It was something I tended to avoid, keeping all my relationships casual but I cared for Landon and couldn't understand it.

I didn't like not understanding my own feelings.

I didn't like that showing him I cared for him made me feel vulnerable.

The more I thought about it, the more it made me feel sick.

So why did I care that Landon got into a fight with Ian?

I shouldn't.

This was a guy that had tried to pick fights with me since I had known him, a guy who had even punched me once.

I had seen him fight before.

I knew he could fight but it was just a huge reminder that there was still a lot of hostility between Landon and Fox, so much so that Fox's own best friend felt the need to fight for him.

"At least it was someone who deserved it, right?" Robin said lightheartedly, trying to ease the tension.

It did nothing to ease the tension coming from me.

I was sick of Landon and other people apparently, feeling like bad things happening to him were deserved.

They didn't know him like I did.

They never would.

To them, he was the same kid from last year that acted like a villain.

"But now I have to live up to that," Fox replied.

"What?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

I hoped he didn't mean what I thought he did.

Not only was it childish and stupid to pick a fight with Landon when he played against him, it was underserved.

"If Ian fought him for what happened last year, now I have to fight him," Fox continued.

"And why is that?"

"I was the Captain of that team, Wren," he said.

"I'm failing to see how that's important," I told him.

"It's not like you're still in high school. Nobody else but you cares about any of that."

"And he treated my boyfriend like shit, just a reminder," Fox shot back.

"Didn't he apologize for that?" I asked.

"I do remember Elijah saying he wanted to coexist with Landon. That'll be pretty hard if you're just going to target him every time you see him."

"Oh, you mean like he did to us?" Fox snapped.

"Again, why do you care?"

"I don't," I said.

"I just think it's stupid and you're going to get yourself hurt and in trouble with your boyfriend."

"Are you really trying to get into a hockey fight in front of Mom and Dad?" Robin asked him.

I had nearly forgotten that Fox would be playing against Landon during Thanksgiving break, meaning I would have to be present for this as well.

"Dad will think it's funny," Fox said with a shrug.

Robin eventually turned the conversation to something else while I sat there and cursed at myself for the conversation I just had with Fox.

It was a good thing he wasn't all that bright, for my sake anyway, otherwise I would be having a lot more explaining to do.

[lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks]

Oh my gosh. If danny can’t join the supers, then maybe dani can???? Maybe she did? Maybe she starts fucking melting in the middle of a fight and everyone freaks out before they take her back to danny

oh my goooood

okay okay so first we gotta consider how powerful SHE is

the show didn't give us much to work with other than that she started off unstable, which would probably have set her back in power somewhat, not to mention that she's basically nomadic and unlike Danny isn't stuck in one place battling ghosts every other day

if we run with the idea that Danny gets more powerful because he adapts to his environment, then Elle would likely be the same, meaning that other than developing the baselane general ghost abilities and probably the ice powers, she wouldn't end up as a total powerhouse

I think her powerset would be more suited to her travels, she'd be able to fly at a much higher speed than Danny could, her powers are more refined, she can probably turn invisible and intangible on instinct as an automatic defence mechanism, as opposed to Danny who has to concentrate on it

where Danny is a brawler, Elle is sneaky, I imagine she even masters regulating her ice core in order to maintain her bodyheat at room temperature to avoid being caught by thermal imaging, she can reduce her ectosignature down to nothing in her human form to avoid ghost hunting equipment, she has to adapt to avoid getting caught in a confrontation because she isn't as stable as other ghosts, she can't afford to be attacked or exert herself too much with offensive abilities, meanwhile Danny has to actively hold back his power and has to concentrate extremely hard to hide his ectosignature, even in human form

So imagine the Justice League, for example, have become very understandably terrified of Danny, and suddenly have his twin sister/clone bypass all of their security without tripping a single alarm, and is just eating a bag of cheetos while admiring the view from the watchtower windows

So Elle might not be as strong as Danny, she might not be able to fight her way out of a situation, but damn if anyone can bloody CATCH her

so if the JL realise, oh hey, she's basically just Diet Phantom she could be a huge asset while also not disrupting that delicate ecosystem of Amity Park, they might decide to recruit her, and Elle would probably say yes because she is all about experiencing new things and making friends, it's what she does on all her travels

also sneaky kid with black hair, blue eyes and is kinda half dead and seems to have no parents??? she's practically a robin already, Batman would be all over this

buuuut of course she'd end up in a situation where she's taken a few too many hits and overexerted herself fighting villains and afterwards begins to melt and then, of course, the supers freak out because holy shit they just broke Phantom's sister oh god no he's going to fucking destroy them what do they DO??

they all have to draw straws over who's taking her back to the most powerful eldritch creature on the planet and explaining that they almost killed his fucking sister

meanwhile Constantine is chewing out the rest of them because YOU FUCKERS NEARLY KILLED HIS SISTER WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF DISASTER YOU NEARLY JUST CAUSED JESUS C H R I S T PEOPLE

[mountshire]

We wanted to join the party of the #DamiraeHolidays. Our work is in english and spanish just because. For your kindly consideration @damiraedemonbirds UwU

Message from the author of the FF: “This is my first time writing fanfiction in english -wich is not my mother language. Apologies for the mistakes you may and probably will find, I tried my best for my OTP.”

Message from the author of the fanart: “We disscussed a lot about the prompts ;_; and now it’s finally out. Hope you like it.”

SPANISH VERSION HERE.

****************************

WORKOUT

Damian doesn't even use the mats or training gear, he goes straight to arms. According to him, it is better to experience a real fight to understand one's flaws in their own technique than to do it passively.

He is a direct, even cruel teacher. If Raven couldn't perceive what he thinks and feels she might end up hating his teachings, but she doesn't, on the contrary, she understands it better than anyone. That's why she knows he's strict for a reason, he wants her to improve on her self defense, she's talented but talent isn't everything, that's why he wants to polish her skills.

The Titans had to get used to their displays of public affection, small gestures such as losing themselves in their own world of endless conversations - deep or trivial, a simple sudden hug, a discreet kiss on the forehead, a tap on the shoulder after a phrase, a smile or grimace between their local jokes to claim or remembering something. Their lives were intertwined together, perhaps too much.

Admittedly, seeing them together was so strange at first because of how diametrically opposed they seemed to be that even some of their teammates came to believe that they would not last at all. They thought about it when Robin was still shorter than his mate, and now that he had finally outgrown her — a couple of years later, it had become clear that their thing was serious.

Their gasps could be heard in the training room during hours. The mirror made it look more like a dance hall but it was meant to be able to see their own technique, although if Damian suspected that his girlfriend was getting too distracted by seeing it he ended up putting a gauze over her eyes to increase the difficulty, as she should not get used to the mirror because they would not have one in the missions they had. Nightwing or Starfire would have wanted to say something but Rachel seemed determined to continue, because when she achieved a personal victory or discover her progress, she was delighted with the results; and seeing them lovey-dovey again was something that ended up exhausting them.

Raven stopped a blow with her forearm, she was about to land an uppercut that Damian knew how to read away from her with a kick that her girlfriend had the good luck to avoid with a jump back. In short, training with Damian had made her competitive, she appreciated the flexibility her body was acquiring but the most interesting of all was that it turned out to be more fun than she expected.

Damian guessed where she would land, returning the kick that she missed. He managed to knock her down, she had to dodge yet another pair of kicks on the ground. She knew that he was serious, yet he was actually quite soft with her, he did not seek to hurt her, only to mark and highlight the blows that she would end up receiving if she did not concentrate. Raven got up with a learned martial arts technique in one jump, wanting to continue with another attack only to be caught on her foot by her boyfriend. She snorted herself, she no longer had enough strength to try to free herself by counterattacking. She stayed on the floor being held her sneaker by the instep and heel. Rachel looked at Damian exhausted.

“You did pretty well. You still don't get used to counterattacking when you're down” the boy freed her foot. He saw her sit on the ground cross-legged.

"I'm still not used to not flying, but I'll get it" she assured, took a deep breath and ran his thumb over the gem on her forehead that gleamed a little. To train with Damian she put herself a barrier spell to block her powers in order to fight as equals. She was virtually human until she broke the barrier. She was somehow vulnerable, and it was because of that vulnerability that Damian aimed to train her. If at some point Raven was prevented from using her powers, she must be self-sufficient to be able to fend for herself.

Young Wayne's thoughts ran so far that he imagined if one day he could teach her to hack with at least some of the mastery he had, but for the moment they were enjoying training and meditating together in their relationship, because seriously, he had ended meditating next to her, lying on the grass or on soft cushions reading novels, poetry or manga, watching movies and listening to music together until falling asleep in each other's arms. The physical distance between the two had been shortened to almost nonexistent at times.

Damian sat next to his girlfriend, his katana ended up being to one side. She leaned closer after looking at each other for a while. She liked it when he kept stroking her hair. She settled better next to him.

"I need a shower, I'm all sweaty."

"Yeah. So do I."

Damian didn't care, he could feel the dampness of her scalp with his fingertips but he liked having her around after training. Whether it was her perfume, her shampoo and hair condioner, or her deodorant, he loved Rachel's particular scent. He could stay by her side, feeling her soft, pale, warm skin close to him, getting intoxicated with that addictive scent, listening to the mutual beating of their hearts.

Raven put a hand on his chest.

"They're watching us on the cameras," she warned him.

"Uh-hum" he ignored that warning lost in the moment, that moment in which the two were lost in each other far from the time in which they were living.

A low-rank alarm started in the tower, a festive song followed by a message from Nightwing himself to the team. He had, in effect, been watching them through the cameras. From the surveillance center he was drinking hot cocoa with a Santa hat on.

«Attention Teen Titans. It's already midnight. Happy New Year everyone » was heard his charismatic voice from the speakers.

Rachel couldn't help but laugh a little. Damian grabbed her chin, she wrapped her arms around him and they shared a sweet kiss. Officially their training, that private workout hour, was over, just like another year together.

[avaritia-apotheosis]

Phantom Children Ch. 8

What's this? An update! Massive thanks to my betas for helping me get through this chapter <3

In Which: A few answers are given to the family and Danny is rudely awoken

[Side note: If you wanna know the general ages of the batfam, its listed in the AO3 version. I also talk about katanas in the end notes ^-^]

AO3 | Prologue | 7 | [ 8 ] | 9 DAMIAN INFORMED TODD—and Drake when he arrived on his bike sometime later on—that the boy whose face is plastered across the monitor was neither a picture of himself nor of Father.

Drake took one glance at the monitor and sighed, pressing his fingers against the bridge of his nose. “Just when I thought this day was getting better.”

“What, did that café on 5th finally let customers supersize their drink?”

“God that would be the dream, wouldn’t it?” Drake sighed wistfully. “Nah, but I did get a lead on where some of that stolen Cadmus tech might’ve ended up. I was gonna spend the night following up on it, but I guess we have to deal with,” he gestured to the monitor, “whatever this is.”

Todd leaned against the edge of the computer, arms crossed over the red bat insignia on his chest. “What are we dealing with this time, brat? A clone? An alternate universe counterpart? Magic shenanigans?”

Maybe. Perhaps. All of those were perfectly valid conclusions for the enigma that was Daniel James Fenton. (Why Fenton and not al Ghul? Or even Wayne?)

Damian, too, was a genetic experiment; a ‘test tube baby’ as Drake put it at times. Damian was born for greatness, created to be perfect. The perfect soldier. The perfect assassin. The perfect heir. Was this boy—Daniel—like him as well?

A failed one, then. Perhaps the precursor to Damian’s own existence. But that would not explain why the boy was allowed to exist for so long. His grandfather demanded perfection, especially from those of his own blood. If the boy was a failure, he would have been eliminated immediately, not sent to live with some eccentric scientists in the Midwest.

Damian was not naïve enough to think that his mother and grandfather did not keep secrets from him. On the contrary, he expected it. The League of Shadows dealt in secrets as often as it did in death. Certain information was worth its weight in gold, whether it was given or buried away.

But he could not help the sharp pang in his chest. A lightning strike, quick and electrifying at the notion that they kept secrets about their family from him.

His father’s face flashed in his mind. The shock turned into a slow, dawning horror. That flicker of light, of recognition, as he scrutinized the contents of the flash drive and cross-referenced it with a public database.

And grief.

Damian recognized the grief.

Alfred, too, nearly dropped his tray of fresh-baked cookies when he stepped in front of the monitor. His usual unflappable demeanor was momentarily broken at his father’s whispered “Sixteen years. Alfred— he’s sixteen years old.”

His father knew of the boy. He was allowed to know of Daniel when he was not allowed to know about Damian.

------

Grayson returned to the cave with a distinct lack of energy in his step. His mask dangled off the tips of his fingers, chin angled downwards and covered largely by his hand. For a split second, their eyes met. Grayson shifted his gaze away, scratching the back of his neck. Father told him, then. Damian wondered how much Father revealed to his favorite son.

Damian clucked his tongue and buried himself deeper into the chair, arms crossed and pointedly looking away. If it was not for his accursed ankle, he’d have headed out to the training ring to take his frustrations out on the dummies.

“Oh, thank god you’re here, Dickface. Damian’s completely out of it.”

Damian shot him a look. “Shut up, Todd.”

“Leave him alone, Jay. Is Tim back yet?”

Drake emerged from the changing room in a dark green shirt, a fresh cup of coffee in hand. He took one long sip before exhaling. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“O-kay…” He pressed his hands together, mouth thinned into a grim line. “Uh, hey Tim, glad to see you back safe. Bruce is coming down soon to explain some things.” He let out a deep sigh, carding a hand through his hair. “This kind of thing would probably be better with the girls around, but I—god, I don’t know.”

Todd raised an eyebrow. “Don’t know whether to call Steph and Cass in Hong Kong, or don’t know what’s going on?”

“Yes.”

------

When Father arrived, Pennyworth following dutifully behind him, it was with an aching slowness in his gait. His steps measured and precise, preternaturally quiet as he made his way to stand by Damian’s chair. Damian sat up straighter, shoulders squared and back an inch away from the backrest. The rest, even Todd, stood at attention; an ingrained habit among Robins and an amusing instinct even among the senior heroes of the Justice League when it came to facing the Batman.

His father kept a steady hand on Damian’s shoulder, and Damian, shamefully, leaned into the touch; his head inclined towards his father’s hand so much so that he could feel the ends of his hair being pushed up slightly as he brushed against his father’s forearm.

He spoke with his usual monotone, as if he was heading a Justice League meeting as opposed to unveiling the secrets surrounding that boy. He brought forward the few photos they obtained from the flash drive. “A few weeks ago, we were alerted of suspicious movement from the League of Shadows in Amity Park, Illinois. Their objectives are, as of now, unclear, though it appears to be tied to the death of Amity Park resident, Daniel Fenton.”

One photo was a standard ID picture people get for their driver’s license, the lighting deliberately horrible so that any attempt to look decent would always end in failure. Another photo was a little better; a candid scene of him chatting with two others his age, a Caucasian girl in gothic-style clothes and an African-American holding a sleek, but still very outdated PDA. His blue eyes crinkled at the corners, hand reaching up to his face to stifle a laugh. There were other photos like this, some candid, others posed. At the forefront of each, a boy that looked too much like his father, too much like Damian.

His father glanced at the photos. He shut his eyes and when he opened them again, he fixed them on some distant stalactite in the Cave. “Around six months ago, Daniel was pronounced dead in a vehicular accident. A body was present, but according to police reports, he was identified via his driver’s license as opposed to any kind of DNA profiling.” He leaned over Damian’s chair to pull up a profile of Masters. “Our source—Vladimir Masters, mayor of Amity and a friend of the Fenton family—indicated his belief that Daniel is actually alive. I am inclined to agree.”

“He’s your son, isn’t he,” Drake said, more of a statement than a question.

Father gave a curt nod. “I cannot say for certain until I can perform a DNA test, but I highly suspect that to be the case.”

“First the demon spawn, now this. Great.” Todd made a hand motion towards the screen. “You know, Bruce, not knowing you have a kid once might be a coincidence, but twice? How do you do that?”

“As of three hours ago, I was still under the impression that my son never made it to term.”

“What?”

“Over sixteen years ago I was involved in a mission that put Ra’s and I on the same side. During that time, Talia and I entered a relationship that resulted in a pregnancy. Though initially ecstatic, she eventually led me to believe she miscarried the child and pushed me away. For what ends, I do not know, but trust me Jason, if I knew—” He paused, the hand that was not on Damian’s shoulder curled into a tight fist.

Father pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why she hid it from me then doesn’t matter. Why Talia wants him back now is important. Judging from Daniel’s records, he was adopted into the Fenton family as an infant and has since lived a seemingly normal life as a civilian. His adoptive parents, Jack and Maddie Fenton, are brilliant scientists and engineers focused on the field of paranormal studies. Eccentricities aside, they have zero connections to the League of Assassins or any other concerning parties.”

“So why now?” Dick asked, shifting his concerned gaze from Bruce to the static picture of Danny’s tired smile. “Why, after all this time, decide that now would be the best time to recover him?”

------

Danny’s experienced plenty of rude awakenings before, but waking up at the ass-crack of dawn to avoid his kidnapper-slash-assassin-slash-biological-mom launching a surprise attack takes the fucking cake. He can’t believe he’s saying this, but thank god for all those late night ghost attacks that conditioned him to be a light sleeper. And, of course, the League’s insistence that everyone be in optimal condition regardless of how little sleep you actually got.

Danny kicked Talia off of him, ripping his blanket away before scrambling to his feet. Seriously, if the universe decided to spontaneously give him powers again, he’d really like an upgrade to his ghost senses, please and thank you. Something that works on humans and not just ghosts. Like spidey-senses. He’d really, really like some spidey-senses.

“Your reaction times have improved considerably,” Talia said.

He eyed the katana sheathed beside his bedroll. “Thanks. Who could have guessed that constantly challenging someone to a spar in the unholy hours of morning would make them paranoid to sleep too much? Really, how am I supposed to grow taller at this rate? ” If he could just get it--

She smiled, taking a step forward. “Prepare yourself.”

“Heh.” Danny stepped further away from Talia, keeping his back to the mouth of the cave. One hand stretched in front of him and the other, coated in a green light, was kept hidden behind his back. “Am I actually gonna get some answers today?”

“Let us make it interesting. Last 10 minutes against me and I shall tell you more about your brother.” Talia twirled her blade. “If you happen to draw blood, you may ask any one thing of me.”

“Anything?”

“Within reason.”

His face caught between a grimace and a smile. He’d rather be sleeping right now, but if he had to be awake, then he’d better make the most of it. “Deal.”

Talia’s smile dropped. She veered her body to the right, barely dodging the streak of bright green that whizzed from behind her. The ectoplasmic energy that surrounded the katana bled away as the handle connected with Danny’s outstretched hand.

She quickly glanced back at Danny’s bedding. Beside it lay an empty sheath. “You have telekinesis?”

He shrugged. “It comes and goes.” Yeah, no way was Danny gonna admit that seven-out-of-ten-times he forgot that he had telekinesis. Besides, that shit was hard to do when he wasn’t Phantom.

“A surprise attack from behind is a sound strategy, Daniel. Though it’ll take a lot more than that to harm me.”

Danny pointed to the side of his cheek. “Are you sure about that?”

Talia frowned. She reached up to her face. Her fingers brushed against her cheek and came away with a thin streak of blood.

Danny grinned, pointing his blade at his opponent. “First blood goes to me.”

------

Fact: most fights don’t last long. An average street fight could last anywhere between 25 to 40 seconds, and sword fights rarely last over a minute. Like Talia said, the goal of a fight was to end it with as few injuries to oneself as possible. Humans, even the most skilled ones, can rarely last long in a fight. Prolonged combat is suicide; it makes you tired, makes your muscles heavy. It’s nothing like what Hollywood would have you believe.

Even with Danny’s own enhanced stamina and Talia holding back, he couldn’t last a full ten-minute spar. If Talia didn’t finish him within twenty-five seconds, then he’d fall by his own human limitations.

But the goal wasn’t to spar continuously for ten minutes.

He only had to last that long.

Danny sprinted out of the cave. The sun barely peeked out of the horizon, a thin line of deep orange breaking apart the wide expanse of blue-black sky above. He couldn’t see shit; great news since that meant there’s a good chance Talia couldn’t either, but that doesn’t fix the fact that he can’t see.

Nearly stumbling on the ice, Danny veered to the left. The edges of the lake stopped at towering rocks twice Danny’s height, leaving little room for cover. Though if he remembered correctly, there should be a few crevices here and there to hide in.

“You’ll have to be faster than that, Daniel.”

Shit—

Danny stopped. He brought his sword up to parry Talia’s strike and twisted away, putting distance between them.

Well, so much for just avoiding her for 10 minutes.

He adjusted his grip, keeping his sword steady and eyes trained on Talia as they circled each other. Danny lunged with an overhead strike. Talia used one hand to block the downswing by gripping his wrists. She thrust her sword forward, the tip harshly poking Danny’s abdomen.

“Less than three minutes.” Talia let his wrist go, Danny’s arms slumping to his sides.

He sighed as he sheathed his sword. “Damn, I thought I’d last longer than that.”

“You made a good effort,” Talia assured him. “Putting as much distance between us at the beginning was a good strategy. You recognized the win conditions immediately and attempted a battle of attrition.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “I am very proud of you habibi, especially as you managed to draw first blood.”

A warmth grew in Danny’s stomach at the words, heating his cheeks. Sheepishly, he scratched the back of his head. “I wasn’t entirely sure that would work, honestly.”

“It was clever; half a second later and you might have even killed me. You are an al Ghul through and through” She brushed his hair out of his face. “What would you like as your prize, then?”

Danny’s heart clenched. He frowned, dropping his arm to his side. If I was such an al Ghul, then why didn’t you keep me? The question lodged itself in his throat, stifling his thoughts. It was something he’d been wondering for a while, actually, in the moments of solitude he had at the compound. Talia, during their training, would always remark at his potential. How talented he was, how adaptable he was, how much greater he would have been if he had been trained at a younger age.

Well then, why wasn’t he? Why did she give him up?

But each time he tried to ask, his tongue would turn to lead and the moment would pass, the question still left unsaid and simmering at the back of his mind. A Pandora’s Box that held none of the world’s evil but all of Danny’s possible shortcomings.

He could ask the question now.

He could.

He didn’t.

“Why did you take me?”

Talia tilted her head. “It is because you’re my son.”

“No. Not that. It has to be something more than that. You had sixteen years to come back for me—or, hell, you could have just never left me.” His breath hitched, fingers mussing his hair and hiding his eyes. “Why else did you take me?”

“It is true that there was more than one reason why we decided to retrieve you from Amity Park. One of which is because you are my son and an heir of the Demon’s Head.” Talia stilled. The dark skies of dawn made it impossible for him to read her. “The second reason was to protect you.”

“You kidnapped me…to protect me?”

“Knowledge of the ghosts of Amity have spread through the more insidious parts of the world. There are many out there who would pay exorbitant fees to study one of you or to use you.”

Use him? What did she mean by—

Oh.

Ghosts—Amity Park’s brand of ghosts—were a new element that the world had to contend with. Amity Park might have a crime rate of zero but that wasn’t the case everywhere else. Theft, assault, murder; the world was rampant with crimes and criminals clawing their way to the very top. Having ghosts, even ones with the most basic powerset, would be a huge advantage.

“There’s no way that would work,” Danny insisted. “Most ghosts just want to be left alone, and the ones that want to wreak havoc would never work with humans. The only reason they even work with halfas like me at times is because they still consider us as ghosts.”

“If my sources are to be believed, ghosts might not even get a choice.”

Danny’s blood curdled in his veins.

No.

Someone’s found a way to control ghosts.

[coralcatsea]

Do you have any PrUk headcanons, if you do. GIMME

I'm glad you asked.

-When they first met as children somewhere between 1100 and 1300, Arthur was both fascinated and puzzled by Gilbert's appearance. He could sense a similar presence to his own, yet the boy looked like no nation he'd ever seen before. Rather, he looked a great deal more like a fairy, and Arthur took to calling him Fairy Boy. Gilbert initially felt wary of this, as he'd heard fairies were evil and already got compared to evil creatures enough as it was. Arthur informed him, however, that he liked fairies, and Gilbert's defences lessened slightly.

-They developed feelings for each other during the 1500s, but neither of them would admit this to themselves no matter how much Gilbert claimed it was to "keep an eye on the troublesome pirate" or Arthur claimed his urge to seek out the priest was simply due to him being fun to mess with.

-Arthur definitely has a thing for Gilbert in that cassock, by the way.

-They share an interest in fantasy and folklore. Prussia is actually rather curious about England's magical friends and in turn, England likes to hear Prussia talk about German legends of the lorelei and other beings.

-They both enjoy Legend of Zelda. One Halloween, Gilbert dressed up as a Sheikah while Arthur was Link. Arthur even had one of his fairies join him as Navi.

-One thing Gilbert found frustrating for a while was how Arthur always seemed to be surrounded by other people. He had so many relations (some good, many not) and Gilbert wondered how well he could actually break through and catch his attention.

-Francis and Lovino were convinced Arthur and Gilbert had a thing for each other and tried to play matchmaker. Francis because he's the nation of love, Lovino because their beating around the bush was driving him nuts. Arthur and Gilbert opposed them, first wanting to reconnect and build up their friendship after having been separated (thanks to Gilbert being forced to live with Ivan for a while) before thinking about anything else, but even when they started acknowledging their romantic feelings they were content to let things develop naturally, including when Arthur started to suspect the romantic feelings were mutual – although Arthur did get a little bolder with flirting.

-Gilbert is an openly aggressive man with a gentle side. Arthur is a self-proclaimed gentleman who attempts to mask his aggressive side. They both need an outlet and don't get the chance to fight in battles as often as they used to, so they make up for it by roughhousing together.

-They both LOVE teasing the other, albeit not vindictively. They try to avoid sensitive topics, mostly just wanting to say whatever they can to get the other flustered.

-Gilbert has a habit of pulling Arthur's cheeks when he finds himself flustered or frustrated with the man. Arthur either swats his hands away, pulls Gilbert's cheeks in return, or just bites him like the feral thing he is.

-Gilbert doesn't actually think that highly of Francis, something that Arthur was very pleased to discover. In addition, whenever Gilbert plays pranks or makes jokes at the expense of other nations, Arthur will be laughing HARD. If he's not already doing the same thing right along with him, that is.

-After getting romantically involved, Arthur started calling Gilbert "vögelchen" since he was always comparing himself to a little bird, and Gilbert started calling Arthur "robin" after his national bird.

-Although Arthur finds Gilbert's love of animals endearing, Gilbert has a terrible habit of trying to convince him to take in strays that he can't convince Ludwig to let inside.

-Back when Arthur was a privateer, he owned an African grey parrot. He named it Gill due to the feathers around its neck resembling fish gills and possibly also to poke fun at Gilbert since parrots are known for being loud and talkative.

-They like to sing and play music together. Arthur used to claim Gilbert's voice was like nails on a chalkboard, but after some time he had to struggle with the fact he started to find it /attractive/.

That's all for now because I don't want this post to get too long, but please, feel free to ask more questions about them whenever~

[dont-touch-my-soup]

“Start using your brain”

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CW: captivity, slavery, whumpee who is a minor

“Hey”, Kell said stepping into Jinn’s line of walking. The young boy stopped and looked at him warily.

Since Jinn had shown him the living quarters of the singers, two weeks had passed. And even though he had seen Jinn several times in the food hall and in singing lessons, they hadn’t talked to each other again.

“I feel like you are avoiding me”, Kell said.

Jinn’s eyes darted over his face as if he tried to find out what Kell wanted from him. His hands were nervously playing with the hem of his shirt. The silence grew longer and longer. Kell waited until Jinn finally gave in.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”, he asked quietly.

“Tell you what?”

“That you are one of Oryn’s songbirds”, Jinn said.

“I didn’t know about that yet”, Kell said. “It wasn’t my decision. And why does it make a difference? I won’t spy on you, I promise.”

“You say that now, but they all do it eventually”, Jinn said quietly. “Look. I don’t want to judge you. It is just what it is. You belong to Oryn’s songbirds, and I belong to the others.”

“But we aren’t any different. We all are Tharlian. We should stick together.”

Jinn sighed. “I don’t know where you are from, Kell. But things aren’t as simple as this anymore. You have to stop dreaming and face reality.” He looked sad but determined.

It was like a punch to his stomach. He was struggling for an answer, when there was suddenly an arm around his shoulder. “Is he giving you trouble, Kell?”, Thrasher asked.

Jinn’s face suddenly had become scared. His hand still holding the hem of his shirt froze and he looked down.

“Uhm what?”, Kell asked confused.

“Is he acting up?”

“No? Of course not”, Kell said.

“I sure hope so”, Thrasher said, and Jinn started trembling under his gaze.

“I am sorry, Kell”, he said so faintly, Kell could barely hear it.

“Don’t be”, Kell started, as Thrasher pulled him with him, away from Jinn.

“I told you not to talk to the others, if you can avoid it, dumbass”, he said under a breath. “Especially not in the middle of the fucking courtyard.”

“What do you even …?”

“Everyone here has a reason to betray you, Kell.”

“They wouldn’t”, Kell said. “I never did them any harm. Why would they betray me?”

Thrasher sighed. “How did you survive this long?”, he said shaking his head. “Look. Some just don’t want to get hurt again. Or they want to protect their loved ones. Linnet for instance has two sisters among the dancers. Other’s hope to gain Oryn’s or Myra’s favour.”

Kell didn’t know who Myra was, but he didn’t dare to interrupt Thrasher a second time.

“Robin is not only Oryn’s favourite because she is the best singer. No, she is also his favourite because she rats everyone out. If you even breathe wrong, she will tell him. Or maybe she will make something up if you are mean to her. So don’t ever oppose her.”

He finally let go of Kell and looked over Kell’s head as if he were searching for something. Someone. It was ridiculous. He was acting as if there was a spy behind every tree.

“Why are you telling me all of this?”, Kell asked.

Thrasher suddenly looked very tired. “Because I am not stupid. I can see how Oryn looks at you. He likes you. I can’t tell why. Maybe it is your singing. Maybe more. But he is keeping an eye on you. And that can be very dangerous. You need to stay on his good side. So please do me a favour and ignore the others. If possible, show them you are more favoured than them. Be a little mean. Oryn loves that shit.”

Kell bristles. “I will not …”

“You can’t change anything here. You can’t save anyone and noone will save you. And the sooner you learn that the better for everyone else.” Thrasher stopped walking and looked at Kell, his face undecipherable. “It is a game. So start using your brain and play.”

Kell felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore. He stood frozen long until Thrasher had left. He tried to simply concentrate on his breathing. Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth.

He couldn’t do this again. He couldn’t bear the Varsennan mind games again.

The next day Thrasher had a black eye.

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