#bc my sibling insists on the wrong answer

[kiyo-cant-write]

req for a kinda specific scenario so i hope i can explain it well lol

Reader/(Y/N) x Kalim thingy where you’ve been dating Kalim for a little and while he’s not ashamed of it, he is kinda trying to keep it a secret from his family. When you ask, he’s just vaguely says he’s worried about how they’d react and you assume it’s bc of some taboo. Well, somehow the news gets leaked to his family and all of a sudden, his entire family is sending you gifts and congratulations to Kalim for finding his first spouse. They’re asking Kalim “when’s the wedding,” and that was the actual reason Kalim was so worried about telling them.

kalim keeping his s/o a secret ✧･ﾟ

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Hello anon! I am so sorry this took me so long! I had chronic pain issues and then I sprained my finger?? (Shout out to my dog for that one, she barrelled into my hand! xD)

I really like this scenario! I have my own OC (her name is December!) shipped with Kalim so I like writing him and his sunshine self. But enough about me and my blorbos, this blog isn't about my sillies.

Scarabia isn't my top dorm but I do love them a lot as I love all the cast of twst. I hope I did your (very cute) idea justice, I think you explained it well btw! No worries!

Thank you for requesting!!!

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Summary: [Name] is the partner of Kalim though Kalim insists on keeping it a secret... But. Why is that exactly? Maybe Jamil knows.

TW/CW: None

Notes: established relationship, the reader is Ramshackle Prefect/Yuu, they/them pronouns for the reader

Guest Stars: Jamil Viper, Grim, Najma Viper (mentioned)

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✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

Kalim Al-Asim

Kalim doesn't mean to keep it a secret!

He wants to tell his family! He tells Jamil about it sometimes even though Jamil just sighs and says it's Kalim's decision, not his.

But in the end, he keeps [Name] a secret from the Asims.

He tells [Name] to not post him publically or tell anyone tied to his family about their relationship (except Najma, she knows!)

Kalim knows that it doesn't thrill [Name].. but he doesn't want them to get overwhelmed by his family (he knows they're a lot).

Kalim, though, realizes that this is the wrong course.

It occurs to him when he sees how sad they are...

Jamil tells him that night what happened with [Name].

[Name] had gone to Jamil for relationship advice??

They... they think his family hates them? Disapproves??

What? No no! He has to fix this!

He never wanted to make them sad!

So he comes clean. He tells them why he hid things.

They send a message to his family.... and then the gifts come.

So many that they need an extra treasury (Jamil has a headache)

Kalim can only hope that this quells their worries-

Also, their wedding will be as soon as they graduate.

That's not a request, it's a command from his father and mother.

Kalim had been acting strange. Well, not strange, just... worrying. It hadn't sat well with [Name]. They loved their boyfriend, so much, they didn't want him to be stressed! In fact, Kalim normally wasn't stressed at all. he was one of the most carefree people they could think of, so why was he worried now?

It had all started, [Name] noted, when they had asked Kalim if he would be telling his parents of their relationship. Kalim had seemed nervous for a moment before swiftly changing the subject to whether he should get them more food from the party. Jamil's cooking was always nice, but they had wanted an answer.

It happened more after that, he would dodge the question each time.

Did he... did he not want to tell them?

Why were they only allowed to tell school friends and Najma about it? Why was the only one close to Kalim besides Jamil who who was allowed to know Najma? They liked her, of course, but what about Kalim's family? His siblings? His parents?

They sighed, suddenly not wanting to continue their studying. Putting down their pen, they packed a back and turned towards the stairway that led to the bedrooms.

"Grim! Want to come on a field trip?" they shouted.

Some clattering was heard before Grim emerged, coming up next to them and nodding. Something about there being good food out there to eat and that being much better than napping or homework.

"I can't wait to eat something!" Grim cried out on the way to the main building, "We haven't had anything super good today!"

"We're not going for the food," they reminded, walking towards the mirror that led to Scarabia's dormitory, "But you can try Jamil."

"Are you sure, nya? Jamil always says 'no' when I ask."

"I'm sure you can try, but you know how he is."

It was bright and hot in Scarabia, that was how it always was. There was plenty of sand and a startling amount of elephants for Kalim's parades, something that [Name] enjoyed and that was a staple from the Scalding Sands (Jamil had explained that much).

Walking into the main lounge, they spotted Jamil helping some underclassman with their homework. Kalim was not present. The time to act was now. They walked forward and plopped down next to the long-haired boy.

"Hi, Jamil!" they greeted, not noticing him jolt at first.

"[Name]? Hello," Jamil said, composing himself, "Did you need something?"

That was how he was, always straight to business. As Kalim's servant and his partner, Jamil and [Name] had spent enough time with each other to be familiar with each other's mannerisms.

"I wanted your advice... if you have the time. It's about Kalim," they told him, watching as Jamil distanced from the students he was helping to listen to them, "I think Kalim is embarrassed by me."

Jamil gave a bit of a surprised look their way.

"Kalim, embarrassed by you? That seems unlikely. Nothing embarrasses him, I should know... I've had a share to pay for that trait of his..."

[Name] nodded in understanding and Jamil continued.

"But as you do not lie, you think that he is upset by something?" Jamil asked, "And. What brought this up?"

[Name] hesitated but revealed the reason why after a moment.

"He won't... tell anyone outside of school and Najma about us..."

"Ah."

Jamil's response was a bit lackluster.

"Does that mean that the Asims cannot know about us? Do they hate me? I know you said Kalim's family is very powerful..."

[Name] was giving themself considerable anxiety with the thoughts.

"They are. House Asim is one of the most powerful families in our nation... That said, I do not think they would disapprove of you. As rigid as they can be, they want Kalim to be happy... in the end."

"I see... So then... why?" [Name] asked.

What did it all mean? Was Kalim not upset with them?

"I will speak to Kalim. Does that solve it?"

"I mean..."

"Good, we shall leave it at that for now," Jamil cut [Name] off.

"Alright. Thank you, Jamil..." [Name] told him.

"Of course, you are the partner to my Master, I owe this to you."

Jamil offered a rare smile toward [Name], an expression that comforted them. Jamil was capable after all, if he was sure... Then it would all work out in the end.

. . .

[Name] had been unsure if Jamil speaking to Kalim had worked. The next day nothing seemed different about Kalim. He was his typical happy self, running up to them to envelop them in a big hug.

"[NAME]!!" he called out to them, nuzzling against their shoulder.

"Kalim?? Hi!" [Name] greeted, a bit confused by the sudden embrace that was tighter than usual, almost desperate.

"I'm so sorry," Kalim began, baffling [Name] once more.

"What?"

[Name] blinked in surprise, unsure how to proceed.

"I didn't know it was hurting you! You even had to ask Jamil for help," Kalim told them, brows furrowed, "I never wanted to cause you any stress, I love you so much, I'm very sorry I didn't notice."

It clicked. Jamil must have said something intense.

"So Jamil talked to you?"

Kalim nodded.

"Yeah! So I came here as soon as I could to tell you the truth!"

[Name] paused. Poor Jamil.

"Does Jamil know you're here?"

"Maybe!" came the answer from Kalim.

"Kalim..."

"He'll be fine, he's prepping food at the moment!"

"Party?" [Name] asked, knowing the answer.

"Party!!"

"Well, then..." [Name] began, "Let's talk inside, okay?"

They led Kalim into Ramshackle's living room and sat down on the couch, gesturing to the spot next to him. Kalim sat down instantly, not one to turn down that kind of invitation.

"So, continue?" [Name] prompted him.

"Right! I'm so so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you. My family doesn't think badly of you, I promise... they're just... a lot??" Kalim explained, gesturing a bit as he did as if unsure how to explain properly.

"You..." [Name] was surprised by glad to hear his words, "You aren't hiding me from them because they disapprove?"

"What?? No!! They will love you! They will love you... a lot. And I know you said lots of things at once are overwhelming and I didn't want you to get overwhelmed by them so I said not to tell them... And. Sorry!!"

Kalim's apology explanation came out in a jumble of words.

"Huh..."

So that's why. It was relieving to hear. They don't hate [Name].

"Are you okay? Can I do something to make it up to you?" Kalim asked them, leaning closer, "I want to make it up to you."

"Hmmm" [Name] thought, "Why don't we tell your family?"

"Ahh??? Okay! Just remember they are... intense, haha!"

Kalim seemed to be back to his happy self now.

"Alright... I think I am ready for that!" [Name] agreed.

. . .

24 hours later, perhaps [Name] was not ready to be perceived by the Asims. On the Main Street of campus, an elephant was being led to the school building followed by a caravan full of trunks.

What?? HUH??

"Kalim, what's that?" they asked, gesturing to the parade.

"That is your welcome gift!" Kalim cheered.

"My what? The trunks?"

[Name] was floored.

"The elephant and everything in the trunks!"

"Why?" [Name] asked, looking between her schoolmates and her boyfriend in confusion, "What did I do to earn an elephant??"

"You're a member of the family so you must have everything an Asim would have," Jamil commented, sighing at the sight of the parade (something he would have to smooth over, surely).

"Where am I even going to put it, Kalim?" [Name] asked him.

"You can store things in Scarabia if you'd like!"

"Kalim, don't offer things without asking me first."

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Imagine the rest for yourself~

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✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

Thank you for reading! Likes and reblogs are appreciated! Do NOT repost my writing/headcanons as your own >:c Check the top of my blog for the inbox status and read the rules before requesting. This is not a twst-only blog! ^^

[queenpiranhadon]

A/N: Bahaha guess what guys I lied, this is gonna be nine chapters total lollll- I promise last time 😭 BIGGEST SHOUT OUT EVER TO @cashmoneyyysstuff for beta reading and being a huge influence on the story - girl's literally my idol go follow her 🤍 Here's the masterlist!

Warning(s): Cursing, reader is the daughter of Aizawa, Shinso and Eri are biological siblings, reader is 20 years old, Reader uses "Cattus" as her alias, reader's nicknames are Cactus, Cattus and Cat, war, reader gets hurt and burned alive (a lot), reader almost dies again, gore and blood, bad war descriptions lol what do you expect from me, reader is AFAB and female, ANGST, someone breaks into reader's house, Eri sleeps with reader bc she's traumatized, PTSD,

Pairing(s): Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴ: Warrior

How did the enemy know you were planning to ambush them? 

Your entire life, you always believed Fate would either provide you answers, or spur on more questions. 

Right now, you thought, it seemed to give you both. 

It was late at night when you woke up, heart pounding from some nightmare of which the details of seemed fuzzy now. It was silent, but instead of ambience, the lack of sound seemed eerie to you.  

You weren’t a stranger to this happening, random panic attacks and nightmares caused by underlying trauma that you refused to come to terms with.  

You tighten your arms around your younger sister, asleep, the girl insisted she sleep with you from now on in fear that you would leave again (though she didn’t want to admit that she just heavily missed your presence). You didn’t mind, and to be honest, your usual nightmares had been decreasing after the comfort of another human being by your side.  

Laying back down slowly, you brush off your paranoia, heart pounding and you feel the hairs along your skin rise along with a multitude of gooseflesh.  

Something wasn’t right.  

Siting up slowly, you rouse your sister to consciousness, sleepy red eyes blinking back at you in confusion. 

“Y/N...” Eri mumbled, disoriented, but you silence her.  

“Banana, go get Toshi and stay in Dad’s room.” You say, your tone low and firm.  

Her eyes widen in fear, but she nods, scurrying out of the room as quickly as she can.  

You sigh, your family would be safe if you could get rid of the nagging thought in the back of your mind.  

Creeping towards the door, you stop. You rub your abdomen, where the scar from your last battle resided. Tonight, you knew someone was about to get hurt. 

Suddenly, a loud crash reverberates through your home and the wooden door splinters from impact. 

Your eyes widen as a figure clad in black smashes into your home, two daggers unsheathed as he creeps towards you slowly and menacingly.  

The Inimicus insignia flashes in the moonlight and your heart sinks.  

They found you.

You curse under your breath, months to years of training now springing into action purely based on instinct, rolling out of the assailant’s attempt at stabbing you and using the opportunity to grab your sword that was hidden under the sofa. 

Just in case. 

Your family worried about you- saying that you were being too paranoid, your father the most worried of them all considering he felt the same pain you did. But he understood you needed an outlet for your anxieties- just as he released his, you learned, through training you when you were younger. 

He figured that if hiding weapons around the house would ease you a little bit, then it would be beneficial to have your worries about being attacked put at ease. 

Before - prior to any of this - you would’ve relished being right, the satisfaction of an ‘i told you so’

But oh, but you wished you were wrong right now.

You feel your body relax in the slightest when you hear the soft click the the back door closing- your family was at least out of the house. If there were even more assailants outside, your father could handle them alongside Hitoshi. 

But you couldn’t let your guard down, unsheathing your sword from its scabbard and adjusting your footing to maintain a low crouch. During your time training and fighting, you learned to develop your fighting style - yours in particular was more unorthodox compared to the usual ones your peers took on. Most soldiers preferred attacking the higher points of the body, maybe attempting decapitation or a fatal respiratory injury as a way to take down an opponent. 

You on the other hand, stuck closer to the ground, as to you, when it came to combat, balance was the most important. If you maintain yours, while depriving your opponent of their own, you would have a tremendous advantage as you have a clear opening to immobilize instead of eradicate. 

However, this was a different circumstance. 

This man had not only broken into your home, but posed a threat to your family. And for that, you knew your tactics would have you change up a little bit. 

You had most definitely improved after your tualia with Bakugou, and even after your first and upsettingly last battle as well having decided to train yourself under your father’s supervision the months after you came home. 

Your crouch turns from defensive to offensive, adjusting your stance and pushing off of the ground hooking your arm to the leg opposite of it and swinging it out to bring your elbow straight into his legs, forcing him to fall down as you pin them down with just your arm. 

Working quickly, your leg swings out to step on his abdomen, drawing your sword and placing the tip right next to his artery, under his ear. 

“How many of you are there?” you ask coldly, rage flowing through your veins as you press your sword deeper into his neck when he refuses to respond. 

Small beads of blood gather on the tip of your sword and your opponent panics, slowing bringing his hands up to show he means no harm, and removes his mask to reveal a shock of blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.

You deadpan. What was it with blonde boys in your life?

“P-Please don’t kill me..!” he whimpers, tears pouring down his face (a very punchable face, for the record).

Already? You barely scratched him, you think to yourself, slightly disappointed that it was this easy.

“How. many. of. you. are. there.” you say, lowly, enunciating your words as if it could hammer the meaning into this idiot’s brain. 

“F-Forty s-seven.” he sobs, and your eyes widen.

Your heart sinks. Forty seven men?! Your village didn’t even have the numbers for that many soldiers… how were you going to get everyone out of this alive. 

“Look…” you trail off, realizing you didn’t know the man’s name. 

Then again did you really want to? Knowing his name made him seem more humane, more…like you. Suddenly, the man underneath your feet turning into the man you killed in the Chiara Forest, your heart rate spiking and overwhelming guilt clawing at your brain. 

Shit.

 Your opponent doesn’t know your panic though, and shudders underneath you, starting to mumble out his name. 

“I’m Aoy-” he starts, but you cut him off, something snapping inside of you. 

“Just stop. Here’s what’s going to happen. I am going to tie you up and leave you in the well. You are going to call for help. I need you to scream.” You growl, the look in your eyes deadly, hinting as to what would happen if he didn’t follow your directions. 

However, the man nods vigorously, and you do exactly what you told him, using some tough rope you found in the shed to bind his wrists and feet together once positioning his limbs in a way that would be painful if he tried to adjust or move them, using a cloth to gag him temporarily for the journey to the well outside of the Kirishima’s home. 

How ironic is it, that this all started from that same well, and now it could all end there too?

You heft the man into your back, the size difference unconcerning to you given that you were strong, and he weighed absolutely nothing. How did this shrimp even manage to be eligible for the military in the first place?

 You hear a crash outside, flinching and realizing that you probably weren’t the only one fighting these Inimican spies. And you most definitely were the only one with enough fighting experience in this village. 

You had to work fast.

Deciding to leave your home through the backdoor, you slip out quietly, breathing in relief when you don’t see any black clad assailants there waiting to ambush you. 

Making your way to the Kirishima’s along a secluded path you knew by heart, you make your way to the well, wrapping your fingers around the rope and tugging it experimentally to see if it would support the blonde man’s weight. It seemed sturdy enough and so you hefted his figure onto the side of the well, making sure he held onto the rope tightly enough, and you removed the cloth covering his mouth. 

You don’t give him a chance to say anything, holding the front of his shirt with a relentless grip as you stare at him in his eyes, wide with fear. 

“If you don’t do what you’re told, I’ll end you here and now.” you whisper, no malice in your tone, and yet that makes the words even more chilling. 

The man nods frantically, releasing him and watching him descend down the well at a rapid pace, hearing a thud and a crunch one he makes it to the bottom, making you wince a little bi.t At least he wasn’t dead, the echoing cry he let out when he reached the floor was a dead giveaway. 

You hear him start screaming, his voice strained and raspy from the amount of sobbing he’d done, and the echoes of the well amplify the pitiful sound, the desperation definitely evident.

Doing all of this felt wrong, but honestly, you didn’t really care at the moment. Your village was in danger. 

You heard some footsteps approaching in the distance, putting your plan in action and slipping into the shadows of the Kirishima home. 

“Aoyama!” a deep male voice calls out. “Is that you?” 

From where you were, you could see a shock of white hair and electric blue eyes. And his face… it was mottled almost, littered with so many scars the lower half of his face looked purple.

“L-Lieutenant Dabi! D-Down here!” the man who you realize is called Aoyama croaks out, ruining your wish for the blonde to remain anonymous, but that didn’t deter you.

You had a mission.

Hearing three more pairs of footsteps, you see three figures to match, including a man with skin so oily it looked like verdant scales, a blonde man with haunted blue eyes, and a wild haired brunette with amber eyes. 

“Wait-  is he in the well?” the blonde snickers, only for his amused expression to be taken over by a stricken expression of grief. “Oh shit, is he okay?!”

It was an odd display of events, but you chose not to comment on it as the one called Dabi commanded his men.

“Shuichi, use your sword to cut the rope- then if we dangle it low enough we can pull him out.” the white haired man says, the oily skinned man nodding in assent and drawing his sword out of its sheath. 

You remembered during your time in the military about the weapons the Inimicans preferred, the most common being that of a katana. You, on the other hand, used something else. The Belloran army had a tendency to use weapons with more power, valuing strength over speed, something you picked up on once seeing the heavier swords in their arsenal, and of course, your fight with Bakugou.

But when you trained, you trained for speed, choosing to fight with dual swords instead. Dual swords, you learned, paired with your fighting style, allowed you to become the best of both worlds, both refined and strategic which aligned with Inimican fight styles which still being able to channel heavy amounts of strength and power into every strike, making you a formidable opponent for both Inimcans and Bellorans alike. 

The one called Shuichi approached the well, cutting the rope and making sure Aoyama was securely holding on before he started hoisting it. 

Now was your chance. Over the past few months of training, your father recommended carrying metal stars with sharp serrated edges. He said it would help practice your aim as well as your concentration as to where you enforced your strength. Ever since then you started to train with them, and they were always on your person or in a place easily accessed no matter where you were.

Thank the gods for that, you think, taking one of the stars from the folds of your clothes, and holding it in between your index and middle finger. 

You take a deep breath, angling the star ever so slightly and positioning it. And then…

Release.

The star slices through the air like it’s nothing, pure strength over powering wind resistance as it slices through the rope of the well in twine. 

You hear Aoyama’s agonized screams as he falls again, shallow breaths echoing and reverberating through the well, hauntingly.

But you can’t let the horror overtake you, knowing that in the midst of battle, feelings are to be processed later. Even so, you can’t help but wonder if this is what Katsuki meant- true strength of a warrior meant coming to terms with the conflicts outside of you but inside as well. 

Stop it, you chide yourself, taking advantage of the group’s momentary distraction and running quickly, tackling the closest man next to you, the one with amber eyes. 

Your dual swords each target vital areas of the man’s body, your forearm tightening around his neck as one sword is grazing his artery on his neck and the over ever so slightly hovers over his abdomen, ready to plunge into his torso. 

It’s a threat. And one that they know you’re capable of, given by the steely glint in your eye.

Two of the men spring to action, forgetting about Aoyama, the one called Shuichi drawing his blade and the blond getting into a fighting stance, as the brunette lays deathly still in your arms, one wrong move and he’s dead. 

However, the first man, Dabi, seems unfazed. He gives you a lazy smirk, and waves his hand nonchalantly. 

“At ease, you two. I don’t feel like killing her just yet…” he drawls, brimming with overconfidence. “She reminds me of a little poppy, no? A pretty flower of death. And yet so easily crushed the moment a boot iss brought down upon it.”

You feel rage boil up inside you. How pompous is this asshole to think he could defeat you so easily?!

Then again, you thought about your fight with Bakugou. You were by no means weak, and you reassured yourself that. But even so, Bakugou managed to win. Would you lose against Dabi too?

And this time…you wouldn’t be spared as you would in a tualia. This is war. 

“Let me strike you a deal, poppy.” he says, stepping closer. “Let’s battle it out, me against you. My men won’t interfere. If you win, I will escort my troops out of your village.”

“If I win,” his grin turns deadly. “Well let’s hope that doesn’t happen, huh poppy?”

You narrow your eyes, tightening your grip on your swords. You could almost smell the power radiating off of this man, but you knew that if you didn’t take his offer, your village wouldn't stand a chance.

You exhale slowly, glaring at the cocky man in front of you. 

“Deal.”

***

Maybe, you realized, his overconfidence was earned. 

You weren’t a stranger to fighting losing battles. From your tualia with Bakugou to dumb arguments with your siblings, you always kept going, even though the outcome was going to be the same. 

In front of you, stood Dabi, the man in question had waved his men away to scout the village for more rope to rescue Aoyama with. 

And in the Lieutenants hand, there was a sphere. 

Magic, in your world, was a rare commodity - and even rarer was one who could manage to wield it. Common forms of magic called yose were sold in the richer markets, and if you could find them, they were used more like a collectors item, a mark of status if you had one, which showed just how rare it was in the first place. Most, when attempting to use magic, had their physical forms decay from the inside because their mortal forms couldn’t handle power used by celestial beings.

However, there was a gene that resided in a total of nine families in the world, (one for each god) who was blessed to be able to wield said power.

And you had the misfortune to encounter one of them.

The sphere in Dabi’s hand was bright blue, and yet it didn’t resemble that of water or ice, instead the sphere consisted solely of cerulean flames - you could feel the temperature drop as soon as it materialized. 

When you were young, Chiyo told you stories about each of the families, each of high status and a standing in any family was extremely coveted globally. 

Fire… Dabi was a Todoroki. 

Shit.

You were, inadvertently, fucked. 

“This is what it’s like to play with fire, poppy.” he grins, a manic look taking over his face. 

You grimace, lowering yourself into a fighting stance.

This was going to hurt. 

With a yell, you charge at Dabi’s unmoving form, your feet moving you, faster, quicker, allowing you to flow with the wind. 

Horror washes over you as flames engulf his hand, and then his arms, blue flames licking his skin but he doesn’t show any sign of being in pain.

You desperately slash at his neck and chest, bringing your arms to form an X before slashing outwards. But your blades do nothing, as Dabi mimics the same X and thrusts his arms forwards, shooting flames out in every direction. 

“Ah fuck!” you grit, tears pricking your eyes as flames burn through your flame, creating scalding burns in their wake.

Your swords clatter to the ground, your hands in so much pain you couldn’t feel them. Where the fuck did he find magic so powerful?! No market sold enough yose to generate enough power like that…

“Aw, down already?” Dabi pouts, “I thought you’d burn a little slower.”

You muster up the iciest glare you could. “F-Fuck you, you damn sadist.” You spit, venom dripping from your tone. 

Dabi only smiles. “C’mon poppy, that’s no way to talk. We’re having so much fun, afterall.”

You wanted to kill him. 

Your whole body protested, screaming in pain, bloodied fingers, grasping the hilt of your nearby sword.

You run at him again, flames again searing your skin, but you keep running, pain now shooting up your leg as you lunge at Dabi, an amused expression on his face as you keep running, plunging your sword into his shoulder.

This clearly takes him by surprise, wondering where your spontaneous bout of strength came from as blood drips down his torso, a bright red that was accentuated from the coming sunrise, rosy rays peaking out of the horizon. 

Dabi’s smirk goes away, replaced with an impassive expression as he wraps his hand around your neck, squeezing slightly as he pulls the sword out of his shoulder with his other hand.

Suddenly, the world spins, lack of blood, oxygen, mixed with overwhelming pain and fatigue made it hard to keep your eyes open. 

Shit!

The panic sets it, fuck were you going to die, actually die?!

The last thing you smell is the scent of melting flesh waft into the air as everything goes black.

The last this you see are those sickening electric blue eyes, and wide bloodied grin.

The last thing you hear is Ejiro’s voice yelling “Y/N?!”

Wait.

Ejiro?!

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[wraith-caller]

If it is ok to ask for other characters... How about the Hoslow brothers and/or Fia?

it certainly is!!

Fia was answered here. As for the Hoslows, I will admit to not being as well versed in them, so any Hoslow heads out there, feel free to correct me if i get some lore wrong!! Diallos: favorite thing about them: His sorta bravado he hides behind and how fragile he is underneath. You really get the 'pampered baby of the family' vibe with him but then you also see how being relegated to this position has impacted him and left him feeling sorta useless in comparison to his brother.

least favorite thing about them: That we don't get to learn HOW he found the jar town lol it's in a pretty obscure location that takes some serious cliff scaling to get to!

favorite line: "After much internal debate, I've come to realise revenge is not the answer. According to Lady Tanith, I've got the stuff of champions. And champions, ironic as it is, are oft forced to walk a tainted path. It hit me like a bolt from the blue that my former thoughts were simple naiveté." I like how you can so clearly see Tanith's manipulations at work even though Diallos can't see it himself, and even thinks it's a "realisation" he made on his own. It's so pitiful and also relatable that someone grieving this loss, and who is already struggling with insecurities about their worth, is so malleable in the right hands.

brOTP: Him and Lanya. I prefer them as feeling basically like siblings, given they've known each other since childhood and grew up with each other. I like the idea of them just always at each other's sides and getting into all sorts of trouble.

OTP Hmm that's a tough one bc I can only think up awful toxic pairings lmao Bernahl/Diallos or Tanith/Diallos would both be so terrible in a good way imo. The abuse of power and imbalance, and manipulation of a vulnerable person in an emotionally difficult time, all the while they know they plan to kill his brother.

nOTP Diallos/Lanya.

random headcanon: He's actually an exceptional swordsman but is so determined to live up to the standards of his house that he insists on using the whips, which he's not as good with.

unpopular opinion The theory that him and Juno are Numen simply bc Diallos drops a Numen's rune on death. Runes are strength, and his whole storyline is about him doubting his own strength only to pull through and die for a noble cause in the end. Imo, the Numen's rune is symbolic of that, not literal.

song i associate with them Hold Your Colour by Pendulum

favorite picture of them

Any time he's with the jars is cute!! Again a pic from zlofsky.

Juno: favorite thing about them: his humility in saying he doesn't consider himself a champion, I guess. given that he may have been seeking the Elden Throne, it would be a nice trait for a lord to have.

least favorite thing about them: that he didn't get to have any dialog or much connection to Diallos' quest.

favorite line: "I have already walked many a road drenched in blood, yet never would I consider myself a champion." Only because it's literally his only line lol

brOTP: I mentioned in the Darian post that it'd be cool to see these two together. They both seem duty-oriented, and have a younger sibling(though Devin's barely much younger...) that they seem somewhat protective of. Their vastly different backgrounds would make them interesting to pair together.

OTP Hard to say since he's so sparse. Random ships that come to mind are Juno/Latenna, Juno/Istvahn, Juno/Vyke. If I wasn't already wedded to Nepheli/Roderika, maybe he'd go well with Roderika.

nOTP: Probably Juno/Lanya for similar reasons I wouldn't be into Diallos/Lanya.

random headcanon: He resents his father for how he treats Diallos. While he isn't abusive necessarily, he definitely pays less attention to Diallos' accomplishments and focuses more of his efforts on Juno, the apparent heir. This is why Juno kinda picks up the slack and would rather Diallos not have to bloody his hands anyway.

unpopular opinion: I'm unfamiliar with any opinions on them, and so don't know what would be unpopular haha

song i associate with them: first thing to come to mind is Mr. Lonely, esp the version by Angel Olsen & Emile Mosseri

favorite picture of them:

A cool action shot from zlofsky!!

[yippeeometer]

The Northeast states watching out for each other, but they're subtle about it. Like dropping off a cup of coffee, but if someone comments on it, they'll brush it off like it's no big deal

oh no its much worse.

the northeast but they're trying to be subtle and desperately failing bc they're all as dense and emotionally constipated as the other.

cut drops off coffee for york. york immediately assumes he's laced it with poison bc they are peak sibling core. they argue intensely, during which cut insists if he needed to kill york he would be MUCH more physical and he has not poisoned the coffee (he had laced it with sleeping pills bc 'the city that never sleeps' turns out not to be an exaggeration.

cut spends the next few hours complaining to new hammy about it. hammy's eye twitches the whole time as he recollects last week, when he did the exact same thing to cut and they had the exact same argument. ur honour they're not beating the 'exact same person in different shirts' allegations.

in fact, many of them can recite, word for word, the exact schpiel jersey goes through every time someone asks for ingredients from his garden. oh my god i hate you get a job why are you always mooching off me. what the fuck do you mean you'll go to a grocery you're taking things from my garden. ill bring them over myself. idiot.

there's just a silent agreement that there's no alcohol allowed at parties anymore bc after Pa's like 9th attempt at sobriety they all had a big think ab where the problems were stemming from and that was the best thing they could think up.

because i am a heavy believer in jewish ne supremacy there is a wonderful period between rosh hashannah and yom kippur when they're all putting in the best effort to be nice to each other which immediately dissolves the second they have to try and decide who gets to use the shofar. they may not be able to physically fight today, but trust the grudge will be remembered.

the level of PTSD and just general issues within that group must be so intense but because they are emotionally represed. they just. arent allowed to talk about it. someone could be having a full breakdown but u r a member of the northeast and you should just let ur heart break inside and never ever talk about it because it would be Awful and Wrong

however. what u can do. is watch sport together in silence. maybe you'll even say 'good game' at the end by be careful of that one because its basically a confession of ur endless fraternal support, wouldn't want to get too deep would we.

and ur only allowed to talk about ur problems through jokes. haha yeah i still see faces of war in my sleep. haha yeah i cant cope w the guilt anymore. hehe.

so to answer your ultimate question, the most pain you can experience is not even your own, but that of ur brother when he drowns and you are not allowed to save him. but anyway.

[suddencolds]

sending u a star!! ⭐️ sorry i wanted to go thru and pick a specific fic but im too sleepy lol but any yvescent piece u had thoughts on :D

[from Fanfic Writers - Director's Cut]

hello!!! THANK YOU N, IT MADE ME REALLY HAPPY TO RECEIVE THIS 🥹🥹🥹

I also realize am responding to this like 2 months late :') I thought for a long time on which fic to comment on, and now that I've posted Atypical Occurrence pt. 2, I thought I might as well write out my thoughts on it while they're still fresh and bc it's close to my heart (I hope that's okay hehe)

—

⚠️❗️ Warning that I will be attaching snippets from my deleted drafts below!! Please read the published installment before you proceed to read this post. This is a little embarrassing... all I can say is that those drafts were deleted for a reason 🥴

—

There’s a grocery store that’s a ten minute drive from Vincent’s apartment. 

I rewrote this scene... 3 or 4 times? It gave me sooo much trouble 😭 I think in the first draft Vincent actually tears up tasting Yves's cooking. (I know, Vincent, I want Yves to cook for me too 😭❗️)

Terrible (ugh 😭) first draft screenshot under the cut (screenshot = old draft, indented quote = current draft):

(Yves pulling up a chair at the end... you can tell he is totally at a loss on what to do 😭 and I, too, was at a loss on what to do)

I wrote this ^, and I was like... this moment just feels unearned? I personally despise outlining + I love going in (mostly) blind. Sometimes the first draft works out of the box, and in this case, the first draft (and the second draft, and the third draft) were all soooo bad that I literally had to take a month-long break to regain my confidence 😭

Anyways! I knew right away that Y was going to cook something for V (it's mentioned here and there throughout the series that he is a really good cook 😭 And in part 3 of Fool Me Twice, Yves promises to make Vincent something more ambitious than hot chocolate. He's finally kept his promise now, 12 installments later 🙇‍♀️ )

From draft 2, there was only one scene which I was sure I was going to include in the final draft, aka, spared from the recycling bin. (But I just checked the final draft and it's nowhere to be seen?? Interesting.)

I would have managed fine on my own.

On this (deleted) scene, and more broadly: I think it's important to me that Yves recognizes that Vincent is self-sufficient in many ways: when Vincent says he will be fine alone, he is telling the truth. Yves doesn't have to stay—he recognizes this too, when he heads for the door in the published draft.

Still, Yves stays, of course—initially, because he insists, and later, because Vincent asks :)

“…You won’t leave unless I eat, then,” Vincent says. He says it evenly enough that it barely registers as a question. Yves smiles at him. It’s not a wrong conclusion. “Exactly,” he says.

It was really, really fun writing the differences between caretaker!Vincent (in Fool Me Twice pt. 5) and caretaker!Yves 😊 I usually don't like to say too much on the end of character analysis, bc I like my work to be interpreted as it is: the text is canon, and everything I'm saying here is just me yapping on about my headcanons. (I have been roasted for saying this by a dear friend of mine, probably rightfully so:)

With that disclaimer: Vincent to me (I can only speculate, etc) is a very no-bullshit caretaker (he likes to enforce whatever will lead most directly to the person's recovery; he actually worries a lot, but his worry often manifests as frustration/snappishness), whereas Yves is a lot more permissive and, for the most part, manages his stress—he is the eldest sibling, after all! I think he does what he can to make it a more tolerable experience :)

“So this is just a Yves thing.” “What? Showing consideration for my friends?”  “Showing consideration is one thing,” Vincent answers. “You could have left after dropping off the files. You would still have been showing your consideration.” “I guess that’s true. But at that point, I was already here,” Yves says, with a shrug. “It seemed logical to check up on you.” “Well, now you’ve checked up on me,” Vincent says. “So you can go.” Yves supposes this is true.

Vincent takes things very literally (and I think he's actually quite aware of the social niceties around these kinds of things, which is in part why he is so skeptical to assume that Yves means anything more.)

There’s a hand on his sleeve, tugging. Yves goes very still. When Vincent notices what he’s done, alarm flashes through his expression, and he pulls his hand away as if he’s burned.  “Sorry,” he murmurs, again. And just like that, he’s back to how he always is—his expression perfectly, carefully neutral, in a way that can only be constructed. “I’m sorry.” But Yves doesn’t forget what he’s seen. “You can go.”

This scene means a lot to me!! It took a loooot of editing to hammer into place (the doc I wrote it on is titled "fixing this scene would FIX ME" haha). I think this is the first time Vincent has actively sought out Yves's comfort 😭 And he regrets it almost as soon as he's said it, because he does not do things without a good justification, and wanting something—even wanting it badly—does not feel like a sufficient justification to him. But give Yves an inch and he will take a mile!! He will take a hundred miles!! That is just the kind of person that Yves is.

I was talking with some friends previously about how I wanted to write Vincent reaching out for Yves. How I wanted Vincent to, through the haze of fever, cross a line that he'd previously not allowed himself to cross :') I think it is a time-old trope to have someone, in their feverish delirium, utter something embarrassing and utterly uncharacteristic of them, or divulge something that has been difficult for them to say.

This whole time drafting, I was thinking, how can I set up a moment like that and have it feel earned? How badly would he have to be feeling? What kind of setup would justify getting past his 590859 mental defenses? (I do not like to outline, but sometimes I do have an emotional beat that I have in mind, and then I have to work backwards to figure out the setup. This took SO much working back from, and I really thought about it for very long). I was almost sure that Vincent would regret it immediately after too 😭

Yves opens his arms out in offering, tries on a smile. “I’ve been told I give good hugs. Good enough to cure all ailments, obviously.”

Ahh, so Y offering V a hug is inspired by a fic I read 6 years ago, where a character offers another a hug as a joke and then the other character surprises them by taking it. Yves is really offering here, but I think he recognizes that joking about it will make it easier for Vincent to accept 😭

Yves has hugged a fair share of people in his life. He doesn’t think he’d be able to list them all if he were asked to. It’s different, though, being so close to Vincent—so close that Yves can reach out and let his hair fall through his fingertips. He can lift up his palm and feel the rigid line of his spine, the slope of his shoulders; he could reach out and trace the dip of his wrist, the form of his hand. Vincent’s chin digs slightly into his left shoulder. His nose is turned slightly into Yves’s neck—like this, he is almost perfectly still. Yves can feel the warm brush of air against his neck whenever Vincent exhales. He is so close that Yves is afraid, for a moment, that he might hear how badly his heart is racing.

I have nothing to say about this paragraph except that I edited it for like 40 minutes straight.

Last thing!!

“We had a habit of keeping the heat off, in the winters, and closing the windows.”

The scene near the end (where Vincent tells Yves about his childhood) is actually the scene which came the most easily to me. I also did not write it last; I jumped around. It took me around 1.5 hours. (By comparison, simply editing the scene before it took 11 😵‍💫)

I did always intend for Vincent to disclose... well, /something/ about himself. (You can tell that when I plan, that's really as far as I plan LOL)

Anyways, when Vincent wakes Yves up (after Yves falls asleep at his desk), I initially wrote it so that Yves wakes Vincent from a nightmare.

But (as direct a link to vulnerability as that might have been,) Vincent would not talk about his nightmare 😭 So I switched gears.

I also specifically wanted to write about Vincent's experience being cared for growing up. I think something that's culturally resonant with me (as an Asian American, and the eldest daughter to immigrant parents) is like, the ways families can and cannot say I love you—the quiet things that are done in place of a more direct expression of it. The way that while unspoken consideration can speak volumes, it can just as easily be invisible. But even now, writing this post, I feel like it's difficult for me to untangle the feelings and experiences I've had into something that feels sufficiently multifaceted.

Vincent has a different childhood from I do (it is probably worth noting that I do not project onto any of my characters, nor do I use them as a vessel to get my own experiences across). I think I'm just drawn to writing tricky/non-straightforward expressions of love, in general :) Sometimes that is the kind of love that resonates with me most.

[blorbou]

1 6 10 17 for orv? (<- guy who is refraining from sending the whole list) 🤔

1- the character everyone gets wrong

hmmm id say dokja and yjh... ppl who really love other characters usually understand them pretty well!! KDJ n YJH become a big issue in this fandom because of how fucking popular they are, especially together. yjh for me is mostly because they take away a lot from her character, making her a cardboard cutout ( ex. the grumpy one who is secretly a baby) and i DESPISE how so many ppl think his character is centered around kdj only.there is also this. growing trend of people woobifying him in a way thats like weirdly ableist to me and i fuckingHATE IT SO MUCH!!!!!! Now when it comes to dokja the complaints get very personal because yknow. hes the reader. its ok to project on him how you like. but i find it SO. FUCKING TASTELESS!!!!!! i dont like how hes presented in the manhwa at all for example and i have a grudge against ppl who draw him very conventionally pretty. when people talk about the way he Cares it feels so shallow and it just Annoys tf out of me (sorry for sounding pretentious bc im not explaining myself clearly)....

6- which ship fans are the most annoying?

the answer here is obvious... joongdok...(for reasons i said above + i hate hsy exclusion + yoohankim throuple better) i have a very special hatred for the ones that wanna die on the "non-reversible" side too (but this ones also an irrational opinion that i have). AND SPOD. FUCK. they say that OD is millions of years old which sure. chronologically (which even then. not exactly true!!! if youve read orv youll know that as the oldest dream time flows in a way that cant be exactly "percieved" despite the wall just giving u a close number) + OD IS CANONICALLY. MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY A CHILD. THEY DISCUSS ON WHOS GOING TO HIS PARENT MEET OR WHATEVER. AT SCHOOL!!!!!!! THATS A KID!!!!!!!!! and if u explain that to them they hit you with the "let people ship what they want, its fiction!" which. what the fuck ever....... i always block these ppl for my own sanity.

10- worst part of fanon

i guess... mischaracterization??? i also dislike how everything is sooo centered around kdj & yjh (ITS GETTING BETTER THO!). i dont like when people insist on jhw and hsy are kdj's siblings. or when they make hsy a thirdwheel. complicated stuff going on here hrmmmmm...

17- there should be more of this type of fic/art

i want more fucked up existential fics. need them so bad. urm..more fics without ships, i especially would love to read stuff with more worldbuilding or writing WOS scenes :3 when it comes to art i just need more yhk and soohee art. im fucking desperate actually like if i had money id spend 3/4 on soohee/yhk commissions On my balls

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

I can actually see that, and if you wanted to take it a step further, based on hair color you could probably make the argument that he's related to Irida, a Clan leader. She's the only one in the game other than him with yellow hair, iirc, bc Palina's is more reddish, and everyone else I can think of with light hair has either grey or blue. I can't remember any random npcs with it (though the clan folks do wear their hoods up so who knows). Not siblings, obviously, but first cousins perhaps. Which I think would lend itself well to him thinking he's the rightful champion of arceus, if he came from at least one parent who was fairly high up on the food chain. In any case, any resemblance to Cogita he has would be due to imitation, and the reason she puts up with him is because she's been a hermit for decades and is starved for company, even if she finds him kind of insufferable.

In an au where he is Cogita's kid, I think he'd certainly suspect, unless he's never looked at his reflection lol. No but honestly, I assume at least someone would have told him something about his mom, even if they didn't say who or where she was, and when they met he had enough pieces to guess. A lot of his issues with the clans could then be from the angle of him knowing they're wrong, so their fighting is literally pointless, and if he really wanted to leap to conclusions he could even go the "my mom's only out here all alone because she has to be a guardian of this mythical knowledge, which she wouldn't have to be guarding at all if they didn't insist on fighting" route. And then possibly something something that's why she didn't want to keep me. And the reason he thinks he's the rightful champion is, well, who else would be fit other than someone who has a whole family line of people who worshiped arceus specifically and by name, as she tells the player hers has.

So the funniest answer would be that all the wardens just straight up live in whatever den their noble holes up in, other than Iscan because he can't, which is why we see his tent and no one else's. I think expansion of Solaceon would make sense, although it'd probably be pretty contentious given that it's a sacred site. Unless it's done after the Diamond Clan is mostly gone, since if we assume pla is around the same time period as the Darkest Day/Kalos war then they'd probably still safely be called "ruins" by the time modern Sinnoh rolls around. I mean, sinking into the mountain is the only way Snowpoint Temple would make sense, right? Maybe Regigigas did it for some reason.

Oh shit, I kind of love the idea that the alpha gallade is her partner! Ralts are easy enough to get in both the mirelands and the icelands, small, psychic, and him being a fighting type would be good against all the ice types around. They're also apparently normally pretty short, only about 5'3", and are humanoid so he could ride with her. It'd make a lot of sense. That would really suck though, to have your partner get frenzied like that. Do you think the other wardens/leaders were worried how she'd handle it if Braviary became frenzied as well? Although that'd still leave the question of where she got the three she battles with currently. I feel like she'd probably have more than just gallade and Braviary, at least after gallade became frenzied, but... hm. Okay, what if, normally she has gallade to come with her at all times and rhyperior she has as a tank for when she's out walking or at home, since that's her highest level pokemon, but after gallade got frenzied she trained up the electivire she got as a pre-evelution in the icelands, and she was loaned the magmortor from, idk Ingo maybe since they're in the distortion bubbles there. Having a pokemon that's really, really good with hypnosis and is small enough to hitch a ride on her would be smart too, though, you're right. Maybe she got the chingling specifically to replace her ralts once it evolved.

How would that work for wardens who don't have a partner, like Lian? Unless they're loaned one for the trial, like if he borrowed one of Irida's or Gaeric's. That'd certainly make sense. What are your headcanons about that though?

Lmao, you're right, I didn't even notice how much that had shifted off topic

Sabi just rolls up one day to hang out, because Adaman told her Irida approved it, but none of the adults realized she wasn't a kid they knew for a couple of hours because their brains just instantly cataloged her as Pearl.

That's fair, and it's also probably easier to know how to react to someone when they have an official role you're familiar with. Ingo's weird and mysterious enough that it could be awkward for people as insular as them to interact with him, until he was made warden, and then suddenly they have template to go off of. Plus, as you said, wardens are kind of expected to be at least a little eccentric, so in that way he's not weird and different, just warden-typical weird. Lol, in the anthro au their biggest gripe isn't that he's weird, since I don't think he'd stay overly long in the icelands (or at least not out and about), but that he creeps them out.

oh now THAT'S interesting. one thing i found, when i was going around making notes on all the minor clan npcs for future naming reference, is that one of the older pearl clan people will comment that irida "never had playmates" aside from glaceon. and yeah, most other light-haired people in the clan have a light red/brown color, like palina and lian. i don't know if it indicates that his parents were important, considering clan leadership doesn't seem to be hereditary, but more than anything it adds an interesting angle to irdia's past, if one of her family members had a tryst with a diamond clan member during a time when that was even more heavily discouraged. if the clan knows about it, it would also put even more pressure on her to follow her clan's traditions and wishes, so she isn't accused of following in their footsteps. (hell, you could even make them half-siblings if you wanted, with irida being fully pearl.)

cogita's whole Deal is something that i kind of. frequently rewrite in my own stuff bc 1) i forgot most of it while i was writing oop and came up with my own ideas that i like better and 2) a bunch of it seems like it's there for no other reason than to make things overcomplicated and kind of uncomfortable. BUT. in any case what's obviously true is she's the keeper of knowledge that has been left to her to preserve and is doing exactly fuck all with it. she also implies that arceus-or-someone told her she had to help the next champion when they came, and that's the only reason she like. participates. i forgot what my point was

LMAO palina just living on firespit island i guess. as for solaceon, i mean, it is a sacred site, but i think it's also one built by humans to preserve the words of sinnoh, so in that sense i don't know that there'd be much of a problem with expanding it, as long as it was done to further its original purpose, and they could do it without damaging the original room. i could see regigigas sinking snowpoint... alternately, gigas is so heavy that it sunk naturally over time due to bearing that massive weight in the bottom level.

yeah, it is actually a pretty fun idea! gallade has a pretty good movespread and is a good counter against a lot of icelands mons, like you said. the only real danger would be... zoroark, which it would struggle to hit effectively at all, so maybe that's another reason she got rhydon and/or something with hypnosis. an alternative is that gallade isn't actually frenzied in snowpoint, but is just game-mechanically frenzied to represent that it's been ordered to try and stop you as a trial. because i feel like someone would have tried to help sabi unfrenzy her partner before now, if it was actually rampaging around in the temple being a danger to everyone.

i think it isn't required that wardens have a partner, just fairly common because part of the job is keeping an eye on the pokemon of a region and being able to handle yourself in a fight if it comes to that. so those without a partner would just be expected to evade/sneak by, or use their own devices to distract/incapacitate the pokemon. ...or, maybe most wardens go through the temple with their noble, and the only reason you don't is because you don't actually have one. hmm.

yeah lol, she blends in so well that the minder for the day didn't even notice the diamond clan clothing until the did a headcount and realized they had somehow acquired an extra kid

yeah, that's also true! once he's a warden they have sort of an idea where they stand in relation to him. whereas before they had no idea what relative social position they were in and it made things Weird. and yeah, creepy and also dying slowly. stop doing both of those please.

[lesbian-gnf-archive]

hello my favorite insane /pos bestie If i gave u the prompt dnf spending first holidays together (specifically georges birthday, thanksgiving, christmas, new years, valentines) what would you brainrot out for um. reasons ^_^ bc ur dnf hcs are always cute

Oh hello crazy best friend yes I will share them as you would never use them for profit 🫶

I got carried away and spent half an hour on these ppl better appreciate them

George's birthday - Wakes him up at midnight to say happy birthday, they go back to sleep, wake up again and have a "morning celebration", glued at the hip the entire day Tbh, they go out for lunch to sushi and Dream insists paying for it, it's a LOT of food and George tries to offer to pay for more of it cuz he feels bad but Dream refuses cuz it's his birthday, they go home and they lay around doing nothing most of the day but all three of them just existing in the same space just how George had wished for. Sapnap leaves and buys streamers, balloons and those confetti rocket things he likes and a cake, while dnf have some more celebration. They get home, they order McDonald's since it's what George asked for and then they light up the cake and mess around with the decorations and eat the cake. They probably call Quackity and/or Karl and talk to them a bit on the phone. The day ends with dnf in their bed and Dream snuggling him and kissing all over his face wishing him a happy birthday. When George asks why he's been so clingy today Dream just answers that he's never been able to do all of this in person and he wanted to make their first birthday together special. (There's probably a stream happening some time here but idc to write it out)

Thanksgiving - The first time George meets Dream's extended family and he's a little nervous but mostly excited. They go to Dream's mom's house since she insists on hosting it every year. It's a lot more food than George anticipated and he feels bad about not being able to eat it all but Dream reassures him there's nothing to worry about and he can eat whatever. George gets along with Dream's little niece and/or nephew really well and they cling to him for most of the dinner. He ignores the occasional curious side-eye Dream's extended family gives him, wondering why Clay brought his best friend to dinner and why they seem so extra close. Dream is ofc still glued to him, showing him around the house and introducing him to his family. Dream's mom gushes about how polite and sweet George is and while Dream could try and disagree for a laugh, he can't help but agree and glow at how much his mom loves George. They eat their dinner, have a couple of beers where Dream, drunk, accidentally says him and George are dating to his extended family. Luckily they don't say much, maybe a comment or two and they go home after a successful Thanksgiving. George tells him at home that he's never seen a house so full and loud and Dream just hugs him and tells him to expect it every year because he's a part of the family now.

Christmas - Dream wakes George and Sapnap up early like a little kid so they can unwrap their presents. He makes them hot cocoa as George complains about being too tired while wrapped up in his blanket still. They open their presents and George gets a little teary eyed. Dream notices and asks him what's wrong and he just says he hasn't done smth like this in a while and he gets to do it with them and it makes him very happy. He gets tackled in a cuddle by Dream and they spend the rest of their day cuddled on the couch watching Christmas movies and they order in food for lunch. Later, Dream's mom comes with his siblings and she prepares them dinner in their kitchen. They all hang out and talk, until dinner is ready and they move to the dining room and talk there. Dream's mom hands George a present and when he tries to say she didn't have to she insists because he's family now, so he accepts and it's a framed picture of Dream as a baby. George laughs loudly and Dream complains to his mom but George says he loves it and he's going to put it in their room. They watch a Christmas movie together one last time, drinking more hot cocoa before Dream's family leaves and they head up to their room where George puts the baby picture on his nightstand. Then they cuddle to sleep and Dream tells George it was his best Christmas in a while which George agrees.

New Years - They host a party at their house for all their close friends to come. They leave the station that shows the ball dropping on in the bg while also having their stereos out to play music. They order in pizza and Dream and George are of course still attached to the hip. People are drunk, it's a fun party and everyone's hanging out. Eventually, the ball starts to drop so everyone gathers around the big screen and starts counting down. When they reach midnight, George grabs Dream by the collar and kisses him as everyone around them hollers. Dream tells him he thinks this will be the best year of his life and George can't help but agree.

Valentine's Day - Dream asks to be his Valentine and George can't reject him anymore now that he sees his beautiful puppy eyes in person. He really tried to keep the bit up but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He tries to dodge the question on stream but Dream keeps persisting until he finally gives in. Later he complains about Dream doing it on stream but Dream is on cloud nine and can't care too much. This time however George refuses to let Dream pay after Dream suggests dinner which Dream accepts, as long as if he still got to choose the place. They go to a relatively fancy restaurant for dinner, George lightly teases him for being cheesy but Dream tells him he loves it and George can't argue. They go home - they asked Sapnap to stay at Punz's house that night and he looked like he wanted to smack them - and have more "celebration". Afterwards, Dream leans over and grabs a ring box. George freezes but Dream explains it's a promise ring, he's not proposing just yet, but he wanted to let George know that they were serious. George can't lie and say he's not a little disappointed it's not a proposal, but he also can't help but feel so happy he can't resist kissing Dream and thanking him in another way.

[juniorgman187]

About Time (Reid Fic)

Summary: Reader’s offer to help Morgan renovate one of his properties makes Spencer jealous enough to confess what he never could before. 

A/N: I try to avoid specific Reid eras in my works so that it can be up to you how you imagine him, but please just imagine seasons 1 or 2 Spencer - I’m telling you it’ll make the experience richer. Also, I might improve this fic in the near future bc I’m not entirely happy with it. Category: Drabble, Fluff Pairing: Fem!Reader x Spencer Reid Content Warning: None Word Count: 2.5k Playlist: Would You Be So Kind by Dodie

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　

Clink … Clink … Clink … 

The repetitive noise was barely discernible at first, then it became all that I could focus on. 

In an attempt to find the source, I looked up from my paperwork and scanned the room. It only took me half a second to discover that Morgan was the culprit. 

From across the round table, I watched as Derek absentmindedly stirred his coffee and sugar together, making a ‘clink’ noise each time his spoon hit the rim of the cup. This wouldn’t have been bothersome had it not persisted for more than 10 minutes which, by all accounts, is plenty of time for the sugar to dissolve.

“Derek… ” I sort of sang, trying to capture his attention as nicely as possible. 

“Derek.” I repeated, this time a little less quietly and a little more sharply. Still, my voice did nothing to stop the noisy stirring of his coffee. I stayed silent for a second, just in case he finally noticed I was speaking to him, but when he didn’t, I gave a concerned look to Spencer beside me as if to ask if he was seeing what I was and he returned just the same expression of confusion. 

That’s when I knew something was wrong. 

“Derek!” I said even louder, finally catching his attention. 

His head snapped in my direction, his ghost-like countenance falling away after looking directly at me. I was relieved to see proof of life had been regained behind his eyes. The abrupt reaction made me squint harder in his direction to decipher what was truly going on. “Is everything okay? You were kind of zoning out just now.” 

He sighed while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “It’s nothing. I just had a late night last night and I didn’t go to bed till three this morning.” 

“Oh?” I asked coyly. “And what was her name?” I brought my mug to my lips to hide my growing smirk behind the rim. 

He didn’t catch on right away, which to me was more than enough evidence that he wasn’t well. He was usually the first to be aware of an innuendo, maybe even the one to be making it. “Whose name?”

“The girl that kept you up till three this morning.” I mimicked his voice in crude yet playful imitation.

To this, he shook his head and rolled his eyes with a grin. “Alright, get your pretty lil’ head out of the gutter, Kitten. I was busy fixing up a property I got down in Emporia. Lost track of time. That’s all.”

Whether or not he was hiding something more, I didn’t care anymore. He’d piqued my interest in this new topic. “Emporia? That’s like 2 or 3 hours away.” 

His eyebrows lifted in agreement. “Yeah, like I said - late night.” 

Not even trying to tempt him with my words, I simply remarked, “But I mean it can’t be that hard though, right? Fixing up the house?” 

There was no verbal response from him, only a mirthless chuckle.

I was less careful with my words than I should’ve been, letting them flow through my mouth without filtering them first. “I’m just saying, I worked with Habitat For Humanity for years. We built thousands of houses from scratch, each of them within a matter of days.” 

He sat up in his seat and leaned forward to assert himself. It was nearly the same mannerisms he would display in an interview when he wanted to maintain dominance. “Well, that’s because you got how many people working on one house?” 

When I didn’t answer, he simply tapped the table and leaned back comfortably in his seat, prematurely relishing in a self-proclaimed victory. “Yeah, exactly. Whereas, it’s just little ol’ me fixing up these properties.”

“Okay, then I’ll help you.” 

He only snickered in response, lending way for me to believe he didn’t trust that I’d provide any sort of productive assistance. 

“I will!” I insisted. “Since you’re so convinced those houses were only built as fast as they were because it was a group effort, I want to prove to you that it’s actually because I’m just a fast worker.” 

“It’s not a race, Kitten. All I said was it took me a while to fix up the house. I don’t need you to help. And I wouldn’t be paying you even if you did, by the way.”

“Oh, I’m not doing this for money,” I reasserted. “I’m doing this for pride. I know I’m right, and I want you to know it, too.” 

It’s worth mentioning that Derek and I made these kinds of bets all the time. Our friendship was practically built on the foundation of competition. The first interaction I ever had with him was when he came up to me while I was arranging my desk to ask what I thought the odds were that he could toss his paper ball into the trashcan across the bullpen. 

Years Ago . . .

“What are the chances I’ll make the shot?” I heard a deep, unfamiliar voice inquire from behind me.

“You’re aiming for the trashcan all the way over there? No way.” This voice I knew was Elle’s. She’d been the second person to introduce herself to me and if I had to guess, the deeper voice belonged to the guy I recalled sitting diagonally from her. I made eye contact with him when I initially walked in, but he hadn’t taken the time to introduce himself to me, nor I to him. He seemed a little preoccupied … making a paper ball and all. 

“Actually, if Morgan’s throw had specific arc, the trajectory of the ball would -”

“He’s not making it, Reid.” Elle cut off the small, almost mousy voice promptly, shutting down any ‘pro-Morgan-making-the-shot’ argument he was about to make. 

You could get a lot from just listening. Some might call it eavesdropping, but I like to call it being observant, and from what I’d observed 

A) The one throwing the ball was Morgan. 

B) The smart-sounding one was Reid. 

C) Reid was a proponent of Morgan, so I could assume they were close friends. 

D) There were three very distinct, very different personalities in this general vicinity of desks alone. 

“O’ ye of little faith! Gimme a break, Elle. You’re just busting my balls ‘cause Reid came to me about Lila before he came to you.” 

“That has nothing to do with the fact that I’m right.”

“No, but it means you have bias.” Derek retorted.

“Fine then. If it means that much to you to have an unbiased opinion, let’s ask someone impartial - like Anderson.”

“Actually, I have a better idea,” The deep voice said as soon as I’d placed the last item on my desk - a stack of sticky notes in the shape of a cat’s face that’d been gifted to me the moment I exited the elevator by Penelope Garcia. 

“Excuse me, Kitten,” The deep voice purred. “You think I could get this ball into that trash bin right over there?” 

It took me a second to register that he was addressing me until I realized where the nickname originated from and that it had belonged to me - I could thank Penelope for that.

“Oh, um …” I looked around the room like somehow it would have my answer. In some ways, it did. 

I made contact with Reid first. He smiled weakly at me with tender awkwardness that melted my heart a little bit. Meanwhile, Elle’s eyes were luring me to join her on the dark side and say he wouldn’t make it. To be fair, riling him up seemed like fun. I’d be on Elle’s good side, gain her approval, and if I executed my jest playfully enough, I’d be on Morgan’s good side, too.

“No shot in hell, big guy.” 

Present Time . . .

That’s how it all started - this sibling-like rivalry. Ever since then, we’ve been challenging each other like our lives depended on it. And if I had to make it my life’s mission to win this most recent bet, then so be it. 

“Alright, kitten, I’ll take you up on that offer. I’ll pick you up at 9 on Saturday.” 

We sealed the deal with a cross-table handshake, and at that moment, I hadn’t realized it - only when I thought back to it, did I notice - Reid had been watching the entire interaction unfold. Misinterpreting every painstaking second of it. 

_ _ _

Sticking true to his word, Derek had taken up my offer in spades. Not the least bit shy in delegating me each and every duty there could possibly be. 

I’ll admit, he used my pride to his advantage. Because while I was practically doing all the handy-work imaginable inside the property, he was resting on his laurels outside, probably taking up the view of rolling green hills that went on forever just beyond the front yard. 

It just so happened that that would be our maintained, respective locations for the unexpected arrival of Derek’s very first (very unhappy) guest.

I was inside painting when I heard the placid squeak of Derek getting up from his Adirondack chair on the wraparound porch. I remember peeking my head out of the doorway for a second to see if he was finally going to come inside and help me, but lo and behold, I caught him walking further away from the entrance. While I might’ve given an eye roll of annoyance at the action, I thought nothing of it. Not until I heard Derek speaking to an eerily familiar secondary voice. 

“What are you doing here?” I could hear Derek ask. My ears had perked up like a dog on high alert. 

“Don’t play dumb. You’re trying to … to -” The second voice stammered. 

“Spit it out, kid!” 

“You’re trying to steal my girl!” Whoever it was, was desperate to speak with conviction, maybe even malice, to prove some level of strength that could match Derek’s, but they tried and failed. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Steal your girl? What the hell are you talking about, man?” 

“You know I like her! And yet you’re just hanging out with her alone now? On one of your desolate properties? Can’t you see how suspicious that looks? You’re supposed to be my friend.” 

I’d stopped painting completely at this point so I could take asylum behind the closed door. I could place that voice anywhere, and I needed to press my ear against the only thing separating it from me to confirm what I already knew. 

“Reid, I am your friend,” And there it was. Reid? “And as your friend, I’m telling you: lower your voice unless you want her to hear you.”

“Don’t patronize me. Just tell me,” Spencer, if anything, spoke louder. Perhaps he did want me to hear him, or he simply wanted to defy Derek. “Why do you flirt with her?”

“Flirt?” Derek seemed appalled at the word. It would’ve been offensive that he was disgusted at the thought of engaging with me in that manner had I not felt the same way. What we were doing was not flirting - by any stretch of the imagination. 

“You know what I’m talking about. You call her ‘Kitten,’ you both make sexual innuendos that you think fly over my head, you invite her to come over.” 

“Slow your roll, Pretty Boy. First of all, ‘Kitten’ is just a nickname I gave her the first time we met because I didn’t know what her actual name was. You know that - you were there. Second, the sexual innuendos are just playful jabs at the fact that I sleep around. Low hanging-fruit. Third, inviting her to come over might seem suspicious, but if you walk in there right now, you’ll see that nothing is going on between us. She’s just here to help.”

I wanted any excuse to walk out there myself and announce my nearby presence. Confront Spencer and tell him I heard everything. Ask him where any of this was coming from. How he could think, for even a second, that there was something between me and Morgan. 

Turns out, I didn’t need an excuse. I had already walked out. 

Spencer gulped hard when he saw me. And for that I felt sorry for him. He looked so unlike himself. His hair was disheveled like he’d ran his fingers through it a million times out of stress. His outfit was strangely untidy, the buttons of his cuff unclasped. “Could you ... did you-”

“I heard everything,” I clarified to the dumbfounded shell of a man standing at the base of Morgan’s stairs.

It was a triangle of stares between us all. Exchanging quizzical glances in a battle of wills to see who would fold first. I was looking at Reid, Reid was looking at me, then he looked at Morgan, who looked back at him, then at me. Like I said, a triangle of stares. 

“Um ... I’ll leave you two to talk. I’ll just be inside.” 

I suppose there were worse ways to finally get Morgan off his ass and working. 

Reid trailed Morgan with his eyes, while I simply waited for the sound of the door shutting behind me. It took a few more seconds until one of us had the gall to speak.

“Did you mean what you said? About liking me?” This question that I posed went unanswered for what felt like minutes. Looking at Reid, I could tell he wanted to say something, he just didn’t know what. 

The soul was willing, but the flesh was weak. 

“If you’re not ready to admit it, that’s okay. But then why did you really come here, Spencer? To yell at Morgan for possibly making a move on me? Because now’s your chance. Make your move, Spence.” I descended the stairs, stopping to stand on the very last step so I’d hover a mere inch above him. “Make a move.” 

Make a move, he did.

Warm, clammy hands that were disproportionately bigger than the rest of his body caught my face so that unbelievably, inconceivably soft lips could make their fierce attack with no resistance. His fingers laced through my hair until his hand found the nape of my neck. He used that as leverage to pull me impossibly closer. 

When he was just one step away from sucking my soul out of me, I laid my palm on his chest and pushed him slightly backward. I think I heard him laughing when I did this, probably to hide the shame of letting himself commit so fully to the moment that he forgot just how intense his passion was. 

His eyes fluttered open and his lips were still contorted in a pucker. It took him a second, but it finally came. 

“I meant what I said,” He confessed ever so nonchalantly as though it were the easiest thing in the world to him, despite being unable to come even close to admitting it just minutes before. “I like you. A lot.” 

It was me who laughed then, both from the sheer elation hearing him say that brought me and the distant, exasperated comment that came from within the house. 

“Well, finally! It’s about damn time!” 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

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[avtrbee]

Levi and Y/N Family Headcanons

Hey!! This goes along with Unexpected Surprise bc i cant get it out of my head?? This is basically just a rundown on how your family dynamics are hehe. Though this is mostly how Y/N’s relationship are with the children, I put as much Levi as i could. feel free to tell me if you want more :)

AU where everyone is happy and alive bc snk is sad and depressing as it is and we deserve some fluff!!

You and Levi found each other when Mikasa and Eren were only small children, Mikasa being 3 and Eren being 4.

You and Levi were hesitant to get married because of the nature of your jobs. You were a Survey Corps soldier while Levi was running some shady things, alternating between the Underground and illegally going up to see you. There was a huge possibility of your death and Levi’s capture but both of you gave in thinking that there’s no time to waste. 

You and Levi had a civil wedding, only opting to sign documents in a legal office rather than a grand celebration. “Eren,” you say to your son before bringing him to the wedding. “You’re going to have a new sister today.”

You and Levi agreed to bring your children with you in your wedding to officially meet for the first time. You had let them see glimpses of each other before so they wouldn’t be too shocked at the sudden change. All four of you were going to be a family after all and you and Levi wanted it to work.

“What if you don’t like each other?” You ask, squeezing Levi’s hand on the night before your wedding.

“They will.” He mused, running his thumb over your hand. 

“But if they don’t?” you insist.

“Then they will have to get used to each other.” Levi replied.

Eren and Mikasa surprisingly took each other well. For one, once Eren heard that he was getting a sister, he was the one dragging you to the legal office where Levi and Mikasa were waiting. He always wanted to have a sibling, but there is no way you were going to have another child. Your vagina was ripped by Eren when you gave life to the boy and it wasn’t an experience you wanted to repeat thank you very much. 

Once you directed Eren to where Mikasa and Levi were, he burst to the door and held his hand out to Mikasa who was hiding behind Levi’s leg, clutching it for dear life. “Hi I’m Eren! My mama says you’re going to be my new sister!”

Mikasa cowered behind her father’s leg and stayed quiet before Levi shrugged his leg off. “Oi,” he warned.

She casted her eyes at Eren who gave her the widest smile. “...hi. Mikasa.” She whispered, ignoring Eren’s hand. Eren didn’t seem to mind, opting to fill Mikasa’s silence with his chatting.

With your salary as a soldier, you managed to buy a small house near the Survey Corps’ base and send Mikasa and Eren to the nearest school. It was a humble home compared to the houses in your neighborhood but it contained a small kitchen and room for the four of you. It was enough.

Despite being married, you and Levi would only see each other on the weekends. Levi still had business in the Underground which made it riskier to come home everyday. However, he entrusted Mikasa with you and Eren. He didn’t want her to spend another second in the disgusting place she grew up in and grow up like him, lacking in nutrients and sunlight.

This gave you and Eren the opportunity to bond with Mikasa, Eren most especially since they go to school together. You notice how Eren’s red scarf was often worn by Mikasa, and you take note to buy her new clothes and Eren a new scarf.

Being a soldier and a mother at the same time was hard, especially since you were facing a promotion which meant more paperwork and harsher training. You had to push yourself to be the best so you’d have a higher salary for your children and to make sure that you’d be fully equipped to survive the expeditions coming quickly in your way. 

You could always sleep in the assigned quarters the military has provided you but you always worry if Eren and Mikasa have eaten enough or have eaten too much, or if they got home safely. Plus, it was nice going home with someone waiting up for you.

Despite Eren being your biological son and Mikasa being Levi’s, the kids seemed to prefer the other parent. Eren would run charge towards Levi’s legs when he comes home for the weekends, climbing on him and just generally snuggling. Eren never had a father figure before and is generally curious about almost everything Levi does. He often bombards him with questions as soon as he gets home and though Levi tries to act annoyed, you notice how he never complains.

“Why do you only come home on the weekends?”

“Because I have a job somewhere else.”

“In the underground?”

“Yes.”

“Can I go with you?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“It’s dangerous.” Levi answered. “And disgusting.”

“But did you and Mikasa live there?”

“Yes.”

Mikasa would try to spend as much time with you as possible, but she wasn’t as explicit as Eren. She was more subtle in her crave of affection. She’s there when you prepare dinner and the first one to grab your hand on the rare occasion you pick them up from school.

One day, the kids got back from school to surprisingly find you in the kitchen and not at work.

“Hi mama!” Eren went to you with Mikasa hot on his trail. You gave both of them head pats. “Levi is upstairs, if you want to see him.”

“Dad is home? Already?” Eren asked excitedly, already ignoring you and making his way up.

You notice that Mikasa is still with you in the kitchen fidgeting with her hands, hiding herself in her scarf. You frown, suddenly worried about her behavior. You kneeled down to her height. “What’s wrong?”

She blushed, causing her face to be as red as the scarf wrapped around her neck. “Y/N...we’re having a parents day next week.”

“Yes, Eren mentioned.”

“...we...we talked about parents today.” Mikasa said, staring at you with her gray eyes. She took a deep breath and summoned her courage. “Eren said that Papa is going to his classroom and...and I know that I didn’t grow in your tummy like Eren did but Ms. Krause said that moms would cook for you and kiss your wounds and hug you when you feel sad and...and you do all of that! Could you come to my classroom instead, please, Y/N?”

This child...she was going to kill you with her words.

“Oh, my love,” you murmur, gathering Mikasa for a hug. Truth be told this was also a clever tactic so Mikasa wouldn’t see the tears gathering in your eyes. “I’d be honored.”

She pulled away immediately. “Really? You’d be my mama?”

You were bawling at this point, tears of relief and snot somehow mixing. Mikasa was crying quietly too, and you held her face with your palm, using your thumb to wipe her tears. “I’d love to.”

“Mama?” she tried saying. The words were unfamiliar on her tongue because she never had a mother before but Mikasa could get used to this.

“Yes?” you answer, giggling in happiness.

That night, as you lay in bed preparing to sleep, you couldn’t keep a smile off your face. 

“What are you smiling for?” Levi asked, joining you in bed, smelling like soap. 

“Mikasa asked me to be her mom.” You whisper.

“She called me her mom.” You say excitedly like it's some sort of secret. 

“Is that why she was happy today? You’re making her soft.” Levi said. “But she needs you, I suppose.”

When parents day finally came, you arrived hand in hand with Mikasa as she led you to her classroom while Eren and Levi went the opposite way. There was a chorus of excitement and pride evident in Mikasa’s eyes. Phrases of “I never knew your mom was a soldier, Mikasa!”, “Whoa, that's your mom, Mikasa?”, and “She’s so cool!” echoed around the room. Mikasa didn’t mind any of them, content with your large hand engulfing her tiny one.

[trulycevans]

the first date

[gif not mine, credit to original owner]

Warnings: drunken antics, and some swearing

Summary: anon requested

“how about chris x reader where they agree to go on a first date to see a football game and she shows up wearing a jersey of the other team🥺🥺😂😂and chris is shocked, not realizing that she might be a fan of the other team but his shock quickly changes to adoration bc she is cute in her cap and a little too big shirt🥺😂”

Words: 1.7k

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader

[A/N i don’t know much about american football as i’m from the uk so i’ve had to use google a lot for this, if anything is factually wrong then pls dont hate me]

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

R I N G. Your phone blared in your pocket as you pulled up outside of the busy sports bar. Upon seeing the bustling street filled with drunk fans you silently questioned why you’d offered to pick your cousin and his friends up. You answered the call through your car’s handsfree as you found a parking space. “Heeeey [Y/N],” Your cousins slurred words spoke through the line. 

“Hi bud, I’ve just parked up, are you outside?” You questioned putting your car into park and relaxing slightly. 

“No, we’re just having one more drink, can you come in?” He hiccuped on the other end of the line. “You know I have work tomorrow right?” You questioned him and he giggled. “Yeah, but you’d do anything for me right? I mean we’re practically siblings,” You rolled your eyes as you turned your car off and put the phone to your ear. 

“Fine, I’m coming in. Where are you?” He directed you to a table at the back of the bar, and you shuffled through the crowds of football supporters in vibrantly coloured jerseys and scarves. You finally managed to find your cousin who gave you a large hug on arrival. “There she is!” He grinned, “My big cousin!” He exclaimed, swaying you both from side to side. “Hi bud,” You smiled pulling the blue Indianapolis Colts baseball cap from his head and putting it onto your own head. “Did they win?” You questioned, as you pulled away from his embrace, muttering hellos to his drunk friends as you sat on a bar stool next to them. A chorus of ‘yeah’’s followed your question. 

“I’m gonna go and buy the next round, what do you want?” Your cousin asked, attempting to stand up but stumbling as he did almost knocking into another person at a neighbouring table. You mumbled an apology to the group and helped your cousin to steady himself. “Bud, the likelihood of you getting served anything else is slim to none right now. I’ll go and buy you something. Just sit down.” He placed a sloppy kiss on your cheek, “You’re the best cousin ever you know?”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. You owe me, bud” You chuckled before heading over to the bar to order more drinks. You waited patiently to be served feeling sorry for the poor bartenders having to work that shift. 

“You don’t strike me as a Colts fan,” You heard a voice beside you, you turned your head to see one of the men from the neighbouring table leaning against the bar. It was only now when you actually had a chance to look at him that you realised how attractive he was. His brunette hair poking out from underneath a black NASA cap, a trimmed beard framing his face, and sparkling blue eyes dancing over your face as you looked at him. 

“Oh I’m not,” You blushed subconsciously reaching up to touch the hat you’d stolen from your cousin. “I’ve just come to pick up my cousin, he’s the Colts fan” You explained, and he nodded. “Ah so that’s your cousin back there?” He questioned, both of your eyes scanning the table where your cousin was swaying drunkenly in his chair, eyes closed and a cheesy grin plastered on his face. 

“Unfortunately yes,” You laughed, “We’ve always been close, but never agreed on the team we should support, it’s been a consistent argument over our childhoods.” The bartender finally reached you asking you what you wanted, and as you opened your mouth to order the man next to you interrupted. “Let me get this. I insist.” He smiled. 

“The man insisted,” the bartender shrugged at you. “Uh ok... three Budweisers and just a Diet Coke... You sure you wanna pay?” You asked the man as the bartender reached into the fridge behind him for the drinks. “Yeah, just come and sit with us for a little while at least, bring your cousin and his friends too.” You nodded at his words. 

“I’m Chris by the way,” holding out his hand for you to shake. “[Y/N]” You responded by taking his hand into yours.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Sitting with Chris and his friends had caused you to stay at the bar way longer than you had planned, your eyes widened as you peered at your watch some hours later. “Shit, we’ve gotta get going. I've gotta be up for work in five hours.” You downed the last of your drink and tapped your cousin who had dozed off on your shoulder. 

“He’s not waking up any time soon, [Y/N].” One of his friends laughed, “He’s impossible when he’s like this.”

“Need some help getting him to your car?” Chris questioned, a wave of relief passing over you at his offer. “That’d be so amazing, thank you.” The pair of you stood up and a chorus of farewells were exchanged between you and Chris’ friends. You and Chris hauled your cousin up from the chair and carried him out, one of his arms on each of your shoulders. Approaching your car you cursed at the big yellow ticket that was slapped under your windscreen wiper.

“Shit! I forgot this was short stay parking only,” Leaning over to pick up the ticket from your window, struggling however as your cousin's weight crippled you. 

“I feel like this is partially my fault,” Chris stated apologetically as he hauled your cousin into the backseat of your car and stepped to the side so you could manoeuvre the sleeping man into a comfortable position. 

“No, I should have remembered to move my car...” You sighed, “I should have paid more attention to the time. 

“If I hadn't invited you to our table though you’d be home by now. Let me make it up to you?” He kept his gaze on your back as you strapped your cousin into the seatbelt.

“Make it up to me how?” You questioned, standing back to shut the door, glancing at him quickly. 

“Well I have tickets to the Patriots v Eagles game if you wanted to come with me?” He scratched the back of his neck nervously causing you to smile.

“Like a date?” You raised an eyebrow.

“I mean it doesn’t need to be a date, but it can if you want it to be?” His flustered demeanour was extremely endearing and part of you was wondering how he was even single when he looked that good. 

“I’d like to go on a date with you Chris” You ran a hand through your hair, 

“Great, can I get your number then?” He asked and you obliged, passing your phone over to him so he could stamp his digits into it. You heard a groan in the backseat of your car, causing the two of you to laugh. “I’d better get him home before he pukes in the back of my car, it’s just been valeted.” You tiptoed to press a light kiss to the cheek of the taller man, being close enough to smell the mixture of beer and sandalwood that radiated from him. “I’ll text you,” You whispered. 

“You’d better” He grinned cheekily at you. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

chris 🤍: I’m just leaving my house now, see you soon X

You grinned foolishly down at your phone as you read the text message. Peering in the mirror you straightened the Eagles baseball cap on your head and tugged at the slightly oversized jersey. Ever since that evening at the bar you’d been texting Chris non-stop, even FaceTiming a couple of times where you’d met his dog, Dodger, and he’d had the chance to talk to your cousin now that he was sober. 

A knock at the door had you racing through your apartment only to hear your cousin get there first. 

“No. Freaking. Way!” He exclaimed, causing your eyebrows to furrow together, when finally reaching the door your confusion was replaced with dread as you gazed at his blue Patriots hoodie and the NASA hat you recognised from the bar. 

“You’re an Eagles fan?” His eyes almost bulged out of his head as he looked at the turquoise jersey. 

“I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it” Your cousin winked, patting your shoulder in mock comfort as he passed, “Good luck” He whispered, loudly enough for Chris to hear. 

“I guess I should have checked what side of the stands we were sitting in,” You nervously laughed, folding your arms over your chest. You watched his expression soften and he reached his hand up to move your arms away from your chest, intertwining your fingers with his. 

“Well,” He hesitated. “As disappointed as I am that you’re not a Patriots fan, you do look incredibly cute in that get up.” You flushed a bright shade of red at his words as his eyes scanned your body, “Come on give me a spin” He teased, using your intertwined fingers to spin you around slowly. 

“Chris, don’t be mean!” You pouted as you were facing him, and he laughed, his eyes scrunching closed.

“I’m not being mean... But that jersey is drowning you-” You playfully smacked his chest. “I do have some Patriots clothes in the trunk of my car if you’d prefer to not get heckled in our seats?” 

“That sounds like a good idea,” You sighed, taking the cap off your head and throwing it on the side table by your door. You shouted goodbye to your cousin and walked hand in hand out to Chris’ car wear you exchanged an Eagles jersey for a Patriots one. “You have a personalised jersey?” You giggled, looking at the EVANS emblazoned on the back.

“Don’t tease, football is kinda my life.” He grinned as you pulled on the jersey. You fixed your hair in the reflection of his rear windows, feeling Chris’ eyes studying you carefully.

“I didn’t think you could get any cuter, but you definitely suit blue more than green.” 

“You’re walking a fine line here, Evans. Shut up and get in the car before I change my mind” You playfully rolled your eyes, sauntering over to the passenger side of the car.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

taglist

@onetwo3000​ @tvckerlance​

[halcyon-writings]

family

requested?: yes (anonymous) //tldr, if alucard had a sibling (the reader, of course) dealing with the loss of family, both living and not

note(s)/warning(s): canonical character death, spoilers babyyyyy, violence and injury, angst it’s rare for anyone in this series to have a good time huh?, also for this being that the reader can literally look however you want, imma say Lisa isn’t white bc I do what I want and it’s my fic :) this is also the most i’ve written in a good while omg, im highkey proud so pls don’t let this flop

Lisa Tepes is dead.

Your mother, is dead.

Killed, burned alive. Gone to ashes.

All because the church had believed she was a witch of sorts. Several thoughts dance in the back of your mind as you gaze upon the pyre. Smoldering from the heat, the flames gone. Your father leaving his message, no, his warning, that he would act in one year.

“A farce that was!” You hear a shout, and you force down the bitter laugh, throat tight and eyes burning. Especially so when you slowly begin to hear continued shouts of agreement, from voices previously silent.

Here your mother was, her final resting place. Burned to ashes for some sick show of power.

And you could do nothing as she was mocked for it.

Your fist clenched at your side, you feel your nails cutting into your skin, but you walk away to return home.

And to say that the castle was no less better was an understatement. Your father was most likely in his quarters.

And when you finally sit down, the weight of your weary finally settling against your soul, do you allow yourself cry. Quiet tears turning to sobs as you muffle your voice with a pillow.

You had failed her. Missing the chance to save your mother, too late to have done anything.

But you pause, noticing the presence at your door, your brothers familiar knocking pattern resounding suddenly through the empty hall.

“Come in,” Your voice is embarrassingly raspy. As you clear your throat, wiping your eyes with the back of your hand. But it wouldn’t hide the redness of your eyes.

Adrian says nothing, and a part of you wishes he did. His larger hand takes yours. A comforting squeeze.

You blink again feeling your eyes burn, and you squeeze his hand back.

“Father is...” He trails off, no doubt thinking of what he could say next.

“What he plans on doing, it’s not justice.”

You stare up at him, But it would be deserving. A bitter corner of your mind supplies.

While Adrian had taken after Mother in his demeanor, much more kinder, more welcoming. You were no doubt like Father. Reserved, distrusting, easily prone to grudges if you were wronged in some way.

But you bite your tongue.

“He gave them a year,” You murmur after some time, “But no doubt he’s ready to calling his armies.”

At this Adrian turns alarmed. the warmth from his hand slips away.

“We must stop him!”

You’re still reeling from the events from earlier today, and a part of you wishes to have no part in his attempt to try and stop your father. But then you remember your mother.

Her kindness, regardless of how she was viewed for being different.

And your warily stand anyway.

If only you had more sense. Your father remains eerily silent as he embraces you both. His hold tighter, and while Adrian seemed convinced, you saw the dark look in his eyes.

The year had passed. You weren’t surprised to hear of the bloodshed.

It was naive to expect otherwise. While reluctantly following your brother, you can only stand, frozen as your blood feels like ice in your veins as your remaining family clashes.

“No.” Your voice is barely a whisper.

They don’t hear you.

Glass shatters.

And foolishly enough, you rush forward.

-

With your brother injured and fleeing, and you yourself were not free from any sort of pain.

Stepping in between the two as they fought ended with a gnarly gash on your shoulder, as you fell to your knees and blood slipping past your fingers. Your father stands in front of you, like a protective pillar as your brother stares in shock, quickly wanting to help you in some way.

And then the fight is over. Your brother is gone too.

The castle is much larger and colder now.

As you’re confined to your room, the wound healing into an angry red, then to a muted and dull scar. For a moment you wished it took longer, your father guilty and you were reminded of times you had been sick when you were younger. While you had not been too keen on the typical children’s books, reading theory on physics and other sciences only seemed fun when he would read to you and you’d ask questions in between passages. (Your voice funny from a stuffy nose led to laughter and a small coughing fit but otherwise it was nice).

But now was not the time to reminisce on the happy childhood.

You know you cannot stay. Ultimately, Adrian had been right. Once you feel as though you can move your arm once again, slowly, you begin pack a small bag. You didn’t want to build up any suspicions, finding some money in your room and whenever you could take a few coins or so from your father that he would not miss.

Extra clothes were folded and put away separately.

And you make your escape on a rainy evening, the uneven droplets helping hide your tracks. But you knew now that your father had brought back Hector and Isaac, new generals to help fight in his war, you had to be weary of the night creatures that would no doubt be sent after you.

Well, you were creative. At times flying in a transformed look, no one would suspect a bat in the dark of night afterall. And it was easier to. find good vantage points that way. But to also avoid any people, you didn’t quite trust yourself to not get into an altercation with a bigot.

You rarely slept longer than necessary, especially not when those dreams were memories or nightmares.

Now that you had learned how to walk, you were a right menace. It was an uphill battle in itself to keep you in one place. You were curious and the world you knew (being your father’s vast castle) was huge. Your childlike curiosity was never let down by your adventures.

You laugh quietly, which sounds like small squeaks as you fly up and hide above the gaudy chandeliers. Your father, giant coat gone, hair tied back and in a plain dress shirt and slacks as he searched for a curious toddler.

Snickers continuing as he paces down the hall. You hop down, landing slowly and feet planting into the ground, knees bent. Before you had down the opposite direction.

The lab usually wasn’t a place you could be allowed in on your own. But having heard that your mother was there, you knew it wouldn’t be a problem! So your little legs carried you along. Until you found the familiar doorway.

Dozens of tubes and mechanisms had you turning your head as you wandered in, your shoes tapping against the marble floor.

“Now what brings you here, sweetling?” The warmth of your mother’s voice has you smiling before you see her. As you run forward and hug her side, clutching her dress in your small fists. “Not causing trouble for your father are you?”

You shake your head grin betraying your word, “Nope! I’m not doing any trouble!”

“And how since when did that happen?” She laughs gently.

“Now.”

Your brother looks up from his own books, waving before returning to work. Your nose crinkles, so much for playing experimenting. But before you can say much, your nearly yelp as you’re brought up into the air by a pair of strong arms.

“I’ve found you, little wanderer.” Your father’s voice carries no heat behind it. Then again, he was always soft hearted for you and your brother. But most of all, your mother.

“I’m not little!” You pout, “I’m big now!”

-

You’re taken away from your reverie at the snap of a twig.

With your lack of sleep, as you had insisted on traveling more, you were less than surprised to have been snuck up on.

“Peace, my friend,” The old man murmurs. You keep your knife in an iron grip in front of you. Who you’re guessing is his son or grandson, has his hands raised the same way, but no weapon to be seen, magic, oh good. Then again, not like you needed a knife when you could make your nails go into claws and the fangs. Don’t forget the fangs.

“I can’t exactly be peaceful when it’s the middle of the night and suddenly figures in blue robes appear out of now where,” You answer dryly. But seeing as how the others behind the main two have not done or said anything noteworthy, nor were their stances make them look like they could really fight, you lower your weapon slightly.

Clearing your throat, “Although, I shouldn’t be swinging my own weapon around either.”

The old man just smiles gently. And you can’t help but be just slightly comforted.

In the end, the speakers stop for the evening. And the Elder, despite looking like a frail old man, is firm in his decision that you stay and “eat properly.” And like a scolded child, you listen. Food and drink all but pushed into your hands as you’re quickly brought into conversation, the previous confrontation all but forgotten.

And then you perk up when he mentions Gresit.

“So... the sleeping soldier,” You begin, slowly chewing on the sweet bread you had been given. “It was true?”

The Elder nods, “My grandchild and a traveller, they had gone to explore it. Well, the traveller had gone to save my grandchild. I will not hide the fact that I was a bit doubtful. But Belmont had proved himself a man of his word. Although, he does need to drink more water.”

You blink, a look of a surprise clear on your face. Belmont...

Fuck. 

“Although I hadn’t expected the legend of the sleeping soldier to be realized so quickly.” 

At your inquisitive look, the Elder begins to explain. Of a holy warrior beneath Gresit, who would come to save it’s people in their most dire of hours. 

“The pair had come up with a man with long hair, like gold.” You couldn’t help but let out the breath you had been holding. So the Belmont didn’t try to kill him. you could breathe a little easier at that fact. 

“Where are they now?” You ask, holding the empty cup in your hands, as you stare down as though waiting for something.

Getting your answer, you stand, adjusting your bag over your shoulders. You wave off the concern in staying, if it had already been several days since the Speakers had left Gresit, then you needed to cover a lot of land to get to your brother. 

That is, until you saw the expression on the Elder’s face grow stern, as though he was scolding a child. With a heavier bag, one that the Elder insisted that you take some more things you could eat along the way, in exchange you give the Elder a small trinket you had been using to hide from the monsters of your father’s army, you finally set off. While your worries were not completely settled, your shoulders felt lighter. Metaphorically of course.

Of course, giving away the object that kept you hidden made it a bit more, difficult, when it came to trying to hide and travel at night. Much less even try to stop and rest. 

It had barely been two days since you had left the speakers, and already, you had run into some trouble, a beastly creature’s claws barely caught on your sleeve, leaving your arm bare as you shuddered from the chill in the air. You can only sigh mournfully, you really liked that coat. But, better your sleeve than say, you actually getting wounded. 

Your nails resemble claws, while your free hand holds the dagger in a steady grip. But being surrounded on all sides, it did not look promising.

Well, you thought mournfully, if you died you could at least see your mother again.

Until you hear the sound of what reminds you of a whistle? And then a sword flying through the air, slicing through the night creatures, giving you a chance to get some distance.

You hear the surprised shout of your name, and look up, to see your brother wide eyed, sword now returned to him, and a man and woman standing at his side.

“Um... hi.”

-

Much to your relief, the night creatures are easily taken care of.

And as you’re finally able to explain your story, you find yourself relaxing into the extra cloak given to you by the Elder.

“You mean you met the Speakers on your journey?!” A woman, petite with short blonde locks, who you learn is named Sypha, asks, and you notice the way her shoulders sag in relief.

You nod, “Yes. They all were safe.” If her shoulders sagged anymore she’d full on be slouching. You leave out the part of leaving a possibly precious trinket with them, not wanting her to think you cursed them or something.

“So you mean to tell me, Dracula, fucking Dracula, had more than one kid? That he actually had a woman not only give him not just one, but two children?” Is incredulously asked next by the scruffy looking man. Trevor, as your brother says.

You only stare in annoyance, sure your father was about to raise an army to annihilate the human populace but he didn’t used to be that way.

Before you can retort with a scathing remark of your own, Sypha elbows him harshly in the side. And you know it hurts from the way he immediately puts a hand where she hit him, eyes widening slightly. Serves him right.

“And what of...” Adrian- no Alucard as he wishes to be called, asks, near hesitant.

“Father?” You ask, arms crossed, “Same old same old. Planning the same amount of destruction here or there.”

As he looks to the snow covered earth, you roll your eyes, “Did you expect anything different?”

It’s quiet, and neither Sypha nor Trevor speak.

“No.”

You all sat around camp quietly for a while after that.

-

Your lungs feel like they’re being constricted. Your throat burns as you struggle to breathe, claws digging into your skin like knives. Before you’re thrown backwards, landing harshly against the wall. Books fall from the book case and your weapon clatters noisily from the ground. 

You take shallow breaths, barely standing before you’re thrown once more. Curse your father’s stature and supernatural strength. You close your eyes, waiting for another attack and at least hoping to brace yourself for it, but it never came.

Instead, your brother stands in front of you, as he and your father remain in a standstill. Sypha and Trevor’s footsteps are rushing towards you three. 

It all continues to move so fast, until he stops noticing the painting of your mother, as she had been holding your brother and then you as a baby, and the next thing you know, your father is staked through the heart. And with wobbly legs, you take your sword, and swing. So falls Dracula. But it felt like no victory. 

You sit up with an alarmed look, stopping yourself from shouting.

That was... a dream? You rub your eyes, feeling that your cheeks are wet and you sigh. 

When you see a shadow looming over you, the light of the fire giving slight visibility, you freeze. Before noticing it’s your brother and not his companions. 

“Sorry,” You say, making sure to not look at him, so that he didn’t see your tears. 

Quietly, he places his coat over your shoulders, sitting beside you, wrapping his own blanket loosely around his own shoulders. “You have nothing to apologize for.” 

You only grip the jacket lapels tighter, shaking slightly as you hiccup, unable to stop yourself from crying again. 

He must think it’s because you miss your mother, and you do. But this dream was far different. And you say nothing as he brings you into his arms. Your tears having long since dried when the sun rises moments later. But you find yourself falling asleep as your brother rubs soothing circles on your back, feeling the build up exhaustion finally leaving you. 

When you’re awake much later in the day you can’t help but laugh a little when Sypha scolds your brother for being mean enough to make you cry, he didn’t you assure her quick enough, although you’re back to laughing when she then turns around to scold Belmont when he makes another slight comment. 

[rataslesbianas]

[I.D: A tumblr notification, mushroomjar rebloged my post with tags that read "#ezra my beloved ezra my beloved #pau i love it so much can i learn more about it please", in all caps. End I.D]

@mushroomjar hiii sorry for answering ages late, my ocs are a wip and im. very indecisive lol, so not a lot is final enough to talk about

but as of rn!! ezra my beloved <3 any/it pronouns, 17 years old (the eldest of the group, jess alfred & sunnie are 16, poppy is 11/12 and the girl i havent named yet is 13), agender transmasc and bisexual, and a little bitch. like thats most of his personality.

okay im joking mostly, ezra is just very protective of poppy and the girl, theyre a big brother figure to them. its also very protective of jess, but it wont be as vocal about it lol. the point is, that ezra cares very much about its little family and doesnt trust people outside of it, AT ALL, and it will let you know. so when sunnie and fred come around shes a bitch to them, and plays the cool sarcastic asshole to not seem weak or vulnerable.

thats very important to it bc its a runaway teen. all of them are actually, but reasons vary, i cant make up my mind on whether its an apocalyptic story or if the mcs are outcasts bc of supernatural abilities, or both, or something else that lets me put these characters in this situation.

what im more sure about is ezras upbringing. it comes from a rich and strict family that expected a lot from it. they had very high standards and while ezra did meet them, they were still very dismissive of him and his concerns, sometimes because he met their expectations. barely paid attention to them unless they did something wrong. so when the event that starts the plot happens, they ditch them for an opportunity to be themself, theyre enough for themself at least (here is were the supernatural plot works better, kind of "im not gonna be accepted by them anyway so im out").

thats were a lot of its personality comes from, because it's been taught, directly or indirectly, that vulnerability is weakness, and that its worth comes from how well it can manage on its own, bc nobody else is gonna help it. they know thats not true anymore, but its easier to say than to believe it.

she meets jess in the mean time, and while she fights tooth and nail against it, they become very close lol. jess has a lot of the same fears as ezra, but they come from having to take care of xes siblings from a very young age, so xes also very kind and ready to help anyone in the way. thats how most of the gang meet actually, because jess insists on helping out, he ends up being kind of the leader of their group, with ezra as a second in command.

TL;DR: ezra is 17 and uses any/it pronouns. theyre kinda mean and sarcastic, but very protective of their loved ones. theyre a runaway teen along with the other characters in their story, and they come from a very strict family. because of this, theyre scared of vulnerability and is very independent, but theyre working on it. theyre very close to jess because they have similar issues.

mmm okay i rambled enough. fast fun facts uuu he plays videogames lot. also likes reading and shares book opinions w/ the girl i havent named. with people she likes shes very chaotic, she gets along very well with sunnie later in the story. they cut their own hair (badly). he has a knife collection bc hes edgy like that. mcr fan but you already knew that like look at them

[fearfulkittenwrites]

“Just a normal night”

Inspired by @s-mscott​ - link for the art, please check it out!

Word count: 2832

Notes: HEY. THIS IS JUST BEEN SITTING ON MY FILES FOR THE LONGEST TIME AND I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT IT DKJFHAKJHAKJDFH. Anyway, it's a long time coming. The writing probs isn't as neat or as good as the latest uploads bc of that, but... idk. Hopefully it's good! I couldn't bring myself to edit it again, sorry about that. I hope you can enjoy it anyways and please go check out the artist, @s-mscott​!

“Guys?” Dick asked, on his tiptoes as he rummaged through every cabinet in the huge kitchen “Hey are we out of cereal? I can’t find my Lucky Charms anywhere.”

“I think so.” Jason answered “I ate the last of the Lucky Charms last night.”

“Yep.” Tim said, popping the ‘p’ as he slid through the countertop, landing a bit behind Dick “I had the last of the frosted flakes two days ago.”

“Froot Loops?” Dick asked.

“I had those.” Duke answered “Sorry.”

“Fruity Pebbles?”

 Cass raised her hand, looking at the ground.

“Reese’s Puffs?”

“I finished the box yesterday.” Damian announced, crossing his arms as he leaned against the marble sink.

“Damn.” Dick murmured and pouted as he closed the cabinet’s door “I’ve been craving cereal today.”

“We can always go get some.” Jason shrugged.

“At three in the morning?” Duke asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Actually, four.” Jason corrected, putting up a finger “And yeah, why not? I mean, we had a hard patrol tonight, and if Dick wants some cereal, I say let’s go get some cereal.”

“It’s four in the morning, Todd.” Damian said.

“I mean, the closest Walmart is open 24/7.” Tim interfered.

“You can’t be seriously considering this, Grayson.” Damian frowned at his older brother.

“Why not? I’m not sleepy anyways.” Dick crossed his arms and shrugged.

“Yes!” Jason hissed “Late night adventures with the baby bats. Let’s roll!” He clapped his hands once, and started to walk out of the kitchen, his siblings following him to the garage.

“Oh wait!” Dick said “Let’s ring up Bruce and see if there’s anything else we need.”

“Bold of you to assume he’d know what we need.” Tim interfered.

“Yeah, well, it’s worth a shot. Plus, do any of us really want to wake up Alfred to ask him?” Dick said, taking his communicator out of his pocket and placing it in his ear “B? Have a sec?” He asked

“Nightwing. What’s wrong?” Came the answer, Batman’s raspy voice flowing through the device.

“Oh, nothing’s wrong. We’re going to take a quick trip to the supermarket, I wanted to ask if you need anything.”

“... At four in the morning?”

“Yeah. Do you need anything?”

Bruce sighed.

“We’re running out of the coffee blend that Tim likes. Alfred the cat’s favorite treats have been gone since last week, and Cass’ favorite ice cream is done. Oh, buy Duke that soda he likes, I drank the last can. Also, Jason’s cookies and that brand of chips you like, we ran out of those. Oh, and buy something with Iron in it, I’m worried that Damian might not be getting enough.”

“Like spinach?” Dick said, writing it down on his phone’s notes.

“Yeah, that’ll do. Ah, and we’re a little low on milk.”

“Okay. Will keep that in mind. Thanks B, have a nice patrol.”

“Please don’t give the papers any headlines.”

“You got it, B. Bye.”

He placed the device back on his pocket.

“Okay, there’s a lot of stuff to buy, so let’s get going. I’ll drive.”

“Shotgun!” Jason yelled.

“We’re taking the S.U.V., one of you will need to ride in the trunk.” Dick said.

“I’ll go.” Cass’ eyes twinkled. No one could understand why she was always so fascinated with the idea of riding in the trunk, but she seemed to find it fun and all of them thought that her excitement was cute.

“Alright then.” Dick smiled, ruffling her hair. Her grin grew wider, and Duke set her hair straight again before they got into the car.

“Hey, can I play my music?” Tim asked from the backseat.

“Don’t force us to listen to the atrocity Drake calls music, Grayson.” Damian complained, arms crossed “Let me play something.”

“Uh, I’d rather not listen to Mozart and Bach while we’re in the car.” Duke protested.

“It’s called classic for a reason, Thomas.”

“Doesn’t matter, bat-brat.” Jason said “I’m with him on this one. Besides, universal car rules, shotgun DJ’s.”

“Since when?” Tim asked.

“Since now.” Jason said, plugging his phone in.

“Uh, I don’t think so.” Dick took the cord from him “According to ‘Supernatural’ rules, ‘Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole’. So that’s mine.”

“No one else watches this show Dickhead!” Jason pulled the cord back.

“Doesn’t matter, because I’m older!” Dick pulled it back again.

“Age is just a number!” Tim pushed himself to the front seat and took the cord back.

“Great point Drake!” Damian pulled him back by his waist, stealing the cord from him too.

“Hey, stop with the fuss, I’m gonna crash the car!” Dick said.

“Maybe we should just play Beyoncé...” Duke suggested. The car went silent for a while.

“Okay.” Dick said “Put on ‘Single Ladies’.”

“No. ‘Halo’ is her best.” Damian complained.

“Uhm, no way? I’m playing ‘Drunk in Love’, and that’s it.” Tim shot back.

“Are you crazy? Play ‘Formation’.” Duke interfered.

“I like ‘Run the World’...” Cass said quietly from the trunk.

“Yeah, okay,” Tim murmured “We’ll play that.”

The girl smiled as the first notes from the song filled the car.

There weren’t many cars in the parking lot, which was expected. They picked up two carts, and Dick hopped inside the one Jason was pushing.

“Dude!” Duke started “You’re in your mid-twenties!”

“Leave me alone, I nearly sprained my ankle today.” Dick stuck his tongue out. No one else questioned anything beyond that. The employees simply sighed, used to the two older brothers and their antics.

“Hey Parker.” Jason greeted the nighttime security guard.

“Hey. I see you two brought the whole gang tonight.” He answered.

“Yup.” Dick smiled.

“So this is a regular thing for the two of you?” Duke asked.

“Are you really surprised, Duke?” Tim shot back.

“No. Not really.”

“Okay. First stop, Bruce said we need to get Tim’s coffee.” Dick exclaimed, looking at the list.

Jason led the way, Dick grinning like a child on the cart, Cass quietly following as she pushed their second cart, Duke making friendly conversation with her while Tim and Damian kept bickering right behind them.

“Oh, wait!” Dick held on to the metal bars “We’re right next to the cookies and Bruce said we’re out of your favorites, Jay.” He looked up.

“Alright, a little detour then.” Jason turned them around, quickly grabbing his treats “Anyone wants anything else from this aisle?”

“But... We don’t need anything else from the aisle.” Duke pointed out.

“Um, we have a billionaire’s credit card?” Tim said “Bruce won’t freak out if we buy a few extra things.”

“Uuuh, they have those koala shaped cookies!” Dick hopped out of the cart “How many do I get?”

“I want one.” Cass said.

“Chocolate or strawberries?”

“Uh… I want both.” She answered.

“Okay, one each for the lady, two strawberries for me...”

“I want a chocolate one.” Tim said.

“Me too.” Damian asked.

“Oh, just take twenty boxes, ten of each flavor.” Jason interfered, dumping them on Cass’ cart “We’ll share later.”

“Oh my God, those are expensive!” Duke said, exasperated.

“Yeah. So?” Jason shot back.

“Bruce is a billionaire, bro. He won’t mind.” Dick said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, well, it’s easy for you guys to say it. You grew up like that. It’s kinda hard to accept this when you aren’t used to having so much.” Duke answered, scratching his neck.

“Hey, I get that feeling lil’ bro.” Jason tapped his back “I spent my childhood in Gotham’s streets.”

“Yeah. I mean, I grew up in the circus. I wasn’t used to the idea of getting brand new stuff instead of asking for hand-me-downs from our friends whenever I grew out of my clothes.” Dick interfered.

“But... Just think about it like this.” Jason got closer to him “We now can get everything we couldn’t in the past.”

Duke frowned. Jason nodded encouragingly.

“That... Doesn’t help.”

“I tried.” Jason shrugged. Dick hopped back in the cart “To the coffee aisle!” He exclaimed, pushing his brother around.

“Hang on.” Tim said “This is where they leave the energy drinks. Let me take some.”

“Why do you insist on drinking this crap, Drake?” Damian scowled, reading the label in one of the cans “If you have such a death wish, jumping in front of a train is a much cheaper, quicker alternative.”

“Shut up, little devil.” Tim picked up cans from his favorite brand.

“Jason, push me a little farther down the aisle, please.” Dick asked “They keep their iced teas over there.”

“Ugh, Grayson, you disgust me.” Damian rolled his eyes.

“Don’t be so judgemental Lil’ D.” He smiled, being pushed away by Jason.

As they examined the cans, Dick noticed he had attracted the looks of a middle aged man, a couple of steps from them. He was staring at his hoodie, that contained the frase ‘I love dick’ printed on it.

“Oh,” He exclaimed, smiling at the guy “My name is Richard. That’s why it’s funny.” The man nodded “I’m also queer as fuck, so that makes it better.” He added nonchalantly, and the man’s eyes widened “Okay Jay, I picked up all I wanted, let’s go back.”

“Alright you little shits, back to the coffee quest.” Jason said, leading the way once again. This time, they finally made it to the coffee aisle. Tim crouched down, looking for his favorite blend.

Cass got a little curious once she laid eyes on a colorful package on the top shelf. She picked it up and handed it to Dick.

“Read. Please.”

“This is an espresso roast. Here it says that it has notes of strawberry? Vanilla and... Sugar cane. Colombian coffee. Seems nice. Wanna take it?”

“Yes.” She nodded. Dick dropped it on his cart.

Cass wandered away, still looking at all of the coffee blends.

“Hey girlie,” A guy whistled at her, next to his group of friends “Nice ass.”

She squinted at them.

“Yo, asshole!” Tim screamed, getting their attention “That’s our sister!” He threw a bag of coffee beans at the guy’s face, causing his nose to bleed.

“Hey, who do you think you are?” One of them started to walk up to her brothers. Cass could tell that he wanted trouble, so she grabbed his arm and slammed his face against the shelf, so quickly and brutally that it barely budged, leaving the products unbothered, but the guy fell to the floor, disoriented. She stared at him.

“We are Waynes.” Damian answered, pacing towards them quietly, hands on his pockets “I suggest you apologize immediately for the troubles, if you wouldn’t want to get a hefty lawsuit for your harrasment.”

“Uh, sorry bro.” One of them started, a little scared “We didn’t-”

“Not to me.” He interrupted “To her.”

“We’re sorry, miss Wayne.” All of them mumbled.

“Now promise you won’t do it again.” Damian added.

“We won’t do it again.” They started at the floor, next to where their fallen friend laid down.

“Good.” He squinted “Help your friend up, and get out of my sight.”

They did as they were told, helping his friend walk straight again. As Cass headed back, Dick gently touched her arm, looking up at her.

“Hey, are you alright?” She smiled and gave him a thumbs up. He smiled back.

“Does this happen often?” Jason asked.

“Sometimes.” She shrugged “But they always say sorry after I break their nose.”

“Ayy, that’s our girl.” Jason praised “Alright, we got the coffee. Where to next?”

“Let’s see... Next item is Alfred the cat’s treats.” Dick said.

“Ha!” Damian laughed loudly “As if Alfred would eat the... peasant treats that this store offers. No. I’ve already bought the adequate brand from an online shop.”

“Okay...” Dick raised an eyebrow “Then... Cass’ ice cream is next, but I think we should leave that as the last item, so it won’t melt, which leads us to Duke’s soda because Bruce had the last can.”

“Let’s go then. I think that the cereal aisle is on the way, so we’ll get that first.” Jason said, pushing the cart around again.

“Which ones do we get?” Tim asked, looking through the shelf.

“Everything that has sugar.” Dick answered. His brother began handing him boxes, when they heard a small whisper.

“Oh my God, are those...?” A girl said to her friend, attracting the eyes of the siblings. The duo averted their gaze quickly. Cass frowned at them.

“Relax.” Jason smiled, placing an arm on her back “They’re probably just... Fans.”

“Fans?” She asked, still staring suspiciously at them.

“Yeah.” Dick shrugged “I mean, we’re not super stars, but we do hit the papers pretty often. A bunch of people know us here in Gotham.” The girls were looking again, and Dick gave them a small wave, making them giggle “See? Nothing to worry about.”

“Hum.”

“Hey there, ladies.” Jason greeted, a cheeky smile on his face “What brings you to this fine establishment tonight?”

“We ran out of energy drinks.” One of them answered “What about you?”

“Cereal.” Dick answered, lifting two boxes. They giggled again.

“Hey, um... can we maybe get a picture?” The girl asked “It’s just that... no one will believe us when we tell them about this.”

“Absolutely not!” Damian answered.

“Nah, don’t listen to the little brat.” Jason said “Go ahead.”

Dick held up the boxes again, smiling as Jason made a ‘crazy’ motion with his hands. Tim turned around as the photo was being taken, turning him into a blurr with tired eyes.

“Can we get some selfies too?” The other one asked, grinning.

“No!” Damian protested again.

“Of course you can!” Dick said “Duke, Cass, come here.” He called.

All of them gathered around the cart Dick was staying at, even Damian. He didn’t look so pleased as the photo was taken, but neither did Cass.

“Thanks. You guys really are nice.” The first girl said.

“Oh, you have no clue on how nice I can be.” Jason winked, making her blush “Tell you what, why don’t I give you my phone number and you can text me those pictures later, hm?”

“Sure.” The girl bit her lips as Jason scribbled his number on her wrist.

“You are such a flirt.” Dick rolled his eyes as the girls walked away.

“What, like you aren’t?” Jason snorted, pushing him away, looking for where they kept the soda.

“I think Cass didn’t like that interaction very much.” Tim whispered to his older brothers, who turned around to find a frowning baby bat. Jason chuckled.

“What’s wrong, sis?” She scowled at him “Oh, c’mon, don’t get jealous.” He threw an arm around her shoulder “You know you’ll always be our number one girl, but a guy has his needs. And sometimes, a guy needs a date.”

Cass pushed him away, rolling her eyes as Duke placed five soda cans on her cart.

“Why would you even drink this sugar filled monstrosity, Thomas?” Damian asked, reading the labels “Grandfather wouldn’t even feed his prisoners something as revolting as this.”

“Because, Bat-brat,” He said “We’re all entitled to enjoy at least one or two things that may ultimately be responsible for our deaths.”

“I suppose.” He murmured, lifting an eyebrow “You make much finer points than the rest of them. Father has been looking for heirs in the least suitable places, I assume.” He clicked his tongue “It’s a good thing I’m here to help.”

“Okay...” Duke answered, raising his eyebrows and averting his gaze. There was only so much strangeness that he could handle.

“Great, now we need to get my chips and spinach.” Dick stated.

“Spinach?” Tim asked “Why spinach?”

“B thinks Damian may have been needing more iron in his diet.” Dick shrugged.

“Aaw.” Tim said “That’s actually kinda cute. Do you think he ever worries about our diets?”

“Don’t be stupid Tim, of course he doesn’t.” Jason answered.

“He does.” Dick shot back “He worries about us, he just... Really, really, really, reaaaally sucks at showing it sometimes.”

“Potatoe, potatoe.” Jason murmured.

“Yeah, whatever. Keep me moving Little Wing, we have stuff to pick up and my tiredness is catching up to me.” Dick pointed forward.

“Sure. But the chips are in the opposite direction.”

“Well turn me around then, do you want me to look like an idiot?” Dick said, a little exasperated.

“I wish you had an off button sometimes.” Jason sighed as he made his way to the chips section.

An employee, mopping the floor with a bored expression, looked up from what he was doing when he saw the Wayne gang talking loudly. Dick tried to control his brothers from inside the cart, and had just told Jason to separate a fight between Tim and Damian. Duke and Cass snicker as they saw a bored, six feet tall Jason pushing his much smaller brothers apart.

“Yep.” The employee murmured to himself “Billionaires shopping at Walmart at four in the morning. Just a normal night.”

Hey! If you made it this far, please consider reblogging this? It helps with spreading my fics and it makes me very happy, hahahaha!

Regardless, thanks for reading <3

[angelsndragons]

Okay, since I see a lot of people either straight up panicking or saying that Caduceus’ playlist is straight up depressing (neither reaction I get)....I’m gonna offer a different reading of the songs here, how does that sound?

Death Bed Salesman - This is straight up about Caduceus’ family and his upbringing. His father even says some of the lyrics almost word for word in ep 96. Growing up surrounded by death and all the rituals created for the living left behind made Caduceus into the person he is. ‘This is how it has to end/So love somebody while you can’ like talk about a thesis statement for Caduceus’ outlook.

How are You Doing - Wow this song is pulling double duty. Caduceus is not a character who likes burdening other people with his own problems, preferring to keep a calm, polite distance between others and his feelings. The style of this song harkens over to Jester, it’s very bubbly and sweet sounding. Of course, this is also one of Jester’s primary issues (someone please tell the clerics they can be people with problems too). Now, if you do what I did and go watch the music video for this song, two things will stick out. One is the increasing ridiculous scenarios the singers find themselves in while going about their day to day lives juxtaposed against their ‘nothing’s wrong, everything’s fine’ lyrics. Two is the fact that these singers come out at the end of the song together, they have triumphed over the madness and nothing stopped them from doing what they wanted and needed to do. This song encapsulates early Caduceus, while he was getting a feel for the Nein and being drowned every other second, ultimately his contributions to the Pirate Arc were fundamental to the group’s success. 

Vegetables - Honestly, this song just reminds me of that early conversation with Fjord in the Sour Nest. Caduceus is cooking omelets and just casually asks Fjord if he could look for veggies down in the torture chamber since it would ‘make a good root cellar.’ Fjord is so caught off guard by this request, and understandably so, he just repeats ‘Roots?’ Caduceus then just lists off root vegetables like Fjord’s an idiot. Oh, Cad. XD Honestly I like that the beat line is being made by vegetable chomping, it just feeds into the ‘Caduceus is a giant magical cow man’ vibes and I love it.

When the World is at Rest - Xhorhaus! In the middle of that street! Xhorhaus! In all seriousness, this song pulls double duty as well. ‘I miss the sun but the moons will do in a pinch’ anyone? The first and most obvious thing this song reminds me of is when the group is given the house and Caduceus asks, ‘are we putting down roots here?’ With the single act of planting that tree on the tower, Caduceus turned the house into the Mighty Nein’s home. Can’t get your deposit back after that, after all XD. I think of how this home in the dark has sheltered and protected the Nein so many times. I think of them befriending Essek and how that wasn’t part of the plan (you know, like Caduceus himself). I think of how their plans to end the war were hatched in darkness, how violated they all felt when one of their own was taken and when another was assassinated under cover of night, because the darkness had come to feel safe to them. I think of how much the Nein has blossomed since this house became their home, since they all had a place to go back to that was theirs. I think of how the Nein has given the world a breather, a chance to rest, all because they returned a beacon and befriended a traitor. 

Wildflowers - So, there are a couple of interpretations of this song. One is setting a lover or loved one free from your own feelings and letting them go. Another is that the singer is trying to find a place to bury a loved one (’that home by and by’ around where I live and grew up is a roundabout reference to heaven). Honestly, both interpretations are apt for Caduceus. He does his best to not burden others with his worries and feelings, he was the one who stayed home, which granted his siblings the freedom they needed to leave, etc. The second interpretation fits Caduceus as well because we know one of his secret hopes is that the Nein will let him tend their bodies and graves when the time comes. And now I’m gonna put on my TeaHaw hat for a goddamn minute bc holy heck, this is such a good song for both of them, Caduceus reminding Fjord that he deserves freedom and his beloved sea again, Fjord teaching Caduceus to follow his heart and embrace new experiences. ‘I have seen no other/Who compares with you’ really fits their complimentary and praise styles with each other. Thank you, Tal.

Never did No Wandering - Don’t have much to add to what Taliesin said about the song. For once. I think of Caduceus’ loneliness in the Grove and his regret that he didn’t leave sooner. I think of how he could only leave in the context of duty, of just how much his duty as a grave cleric to Melora has defined and shaped his understanding of himself. I think of how long it took for him to voice his own desires and wants. I think of how he insists he isn’t wandering, that he is following a pre-ordained path. I think of how much work he still has to do when it comes to knowing what he wants and making peace with getting it just for his own sake. Also, hello more sailors.

When You Get to Ashville - Oof, so this song works both ways for Caduceus, both as the singer and the subject of the song. I think of him, home alone for ten years, wondering what was going on with his family, if they were safe (he knew they weren’t, he knew what it took to keep them from him), how he didn’t actually want to know unless he could help. As the subject, I see his family, having only been away for what was maybe two years for them, looking at the changes in him in awe and confusion. Nothing’s changed for them but boy howdy has Caduceus changed. The homebody has left the nest and saved them all and he very obviously doesn’t want to go home yet if at all. Caduceus has waited so long to get them back and to be a family again yet when the time comes, he can’t bring himself to return, as the singer implies about the subject. He knows his family will be there to catch him if he needs it but I think this episode is where it really hit him that he’d been trying to recreate a past that never could be again because he could never go back to being who he was. 

Fuck it I’m a Flower - Another Caduceus anthem. Upbeat with a few melancholy lyrics. You can take it as the singer divorcing themself from humanity or you can take it as the singer using flowers as a metaphor for their growth into someone who becomes more involved (the singer goes from not marching to taking on other people’s pain from their place of safety to fully embracing the movement to change things while they can). I don’t have any context for this song but it really freaking reminds me of those protest photos where a protester offers a flower to the riot police (fuck the police). Caduceus is blossoming into a man who genuinely cares about the wider world and the people within it. Not just abstractly, which I would argue he did back in the Grove. But being up close to the ordinary folks in the Dynasty, in the Empire, the Coast, has given him a new perspective on not just his place but where he wants to stand. I think of Jester’s conversation with him back in Oh Captain Who’s Captain, the world is much bigger and messier than Caduceus could have ever dreamed. I think of Caduceus befriending and being kind to their crew and Avantika’s. I think of ‘Nott, you went to find help, we’re here to help.’ I think of ‘one day someone will pray for a miracle and that prayer will be answered because you showed up, that’s what this is all about.’ From rescuing Yeza to saving Giants to shattering the chains binding two of his friends to bringing peace to two warring nations to separating justice from vengeance, just look at where he is now: no longer passive or uncertain of how they can contribute to the world, Caduceus and the Nein have brought so much good into it. Caduceus knows where he stands now. Some people say that he’s the Nein’s moral compass and I disagree with that entirely, he’s become the courage to act on their moral compasses. 

Oh Bury Me Not - Okay, so I know this is where some listeners start to get antsy with all the death talk in this song and the ones after it so breathe, it’s fine. Caduceus is a Grave Cleric, y’all. Tal says that this song is an expression of Caduceus’s religious beliefs, which, uh, yeah. There is no stained glass in the Blooming Grove temple, they do all their work outside the traditional structures of religion and civilization and do it gladly, etc. The ending Bury Me Not, okay, guys, Caduceus is the singer here, not the kid being sung about. It really drives home the Wildmother’s philosophy on death: when you’re dead, you’re dead and you have no say over what happens to the corpse left behind. I think of the corpse of the Great Hero and the founding of the Blooming Grove, the Menagerie, and the Kiln. I think of Caduceus’ onscreen death and how through it, he finds his path to the Kiln. I think of him reviving Fjord. I think of him and this island and how much of a perversion it is of the ‘natural order’. Also, just given how much Fjord has impacted has impacted Caduceus’ ideas of faith and signs and stuff, it’s so fitting that this piece is here. I also think cowboys and how Tal said he’d planned on using the Ocean Burial before he came across this, I see you, Tal. 

September Song - So that build up, huh? I think of Caduceus and the Nein readying themselves for a battle to the death to save Yasha and stop Obann. I think of all the close-calls and near misses. I think of how every day, these people choose over and over and over to stay together, in spite of the coming winter, in spite of the obvious danger, in spite how much safer they would all be if they went their separate ways and planted their heads in the sand. I think of how that, their time, is the most precious gift any of them could give the others. This is not a sad thing, by the way. All these people, who have been so badly wounded by others, who are so skittish and so distrustful and so guarded, choose to stay together over and over again. No matter the hardship. They choose to spend their lives together, they choose to be better together and for each other.

22 (Over Soon) - Guys, this is 100% an Episode 95-96 song. 100%, no question in my book. I think of what Caduceus doesn’t say to his family. I think of what he does say. I think of how overwhelmed he is when the Nein saves them, I think of how he can only muster ‘It’s been a long time.’ (All these years) I think of him trying so hard to be given permission to stay with the Nein without explicitly asking for it, the subtext of ‘would you forgive me if I don’t come home yet’ threaded through his every interaction with his family. I think of how Caduceus hands the seeds over to his sister and tells her to be the hero the Grove and their family needs. I think of how easily and willingly he gave up what he’s called his destiny and charge since the beginning in order to stay with the Nein. This is Caduceus saying good-bye once and for all to the dreams of things going back to the way they were. I think Caduceus had been hoping that his family had changed just as much as he had. I think if they had, he might have gone back with them. But they haven’t changed and he has. So he can’t go home. Not yet. He cloaks his desire to stay with the Nein once more in duty but make no mistake, it’s desire that’s keeping him with them, people who may not understand him but who try and who are there and who accept the new person he has become. The build-up Tal was talking about? This is it. The moment where Caduceus first puts himself and his desires above what he thinks is his duty. The moment that Caduceus fully realizes how much he has changed and what an earth-shattering revelation it is.

We’ll Meet Again - Meetings and Partings have always had a special place in Caduceus’ arc, especially metatextually. He was the character who replaced another, who was rescued from his static seclusion by three of the Nein and who in turn rescued the three captive members. I think of how this song is a promise that, come what may, the singer will do their damnedest to return and make that promise a reality. I think of all the weird and wonderful people Caduceus has met in his short time outside the Grove. I think of all the shop keeps who just love this pink fuzzball and how many times they tell him to come back. I think about the Dusts, the meeting and parting and sanctuary they gave him. I think about Reani and Nila and how his kindness to them has come back threefold (Reani escorting his family home, Nila protecting the Grove). I think about Essek. I think about how driven Caduceus became to reforge the sword after Yasha was taken, to bring her home. I think of Caduceus prodding the Gentleman into reconciling with Jester. I think of his delight in the coincidences that keep lining up between him and Fjord. I think about Caduceus and Beau and how proud he is of her growth. I think of his declaration in the dome that ‘We aren’t done until we’ve saved each other.’ 

Enjoy It - And we wrap up our playlist with another Caduceus thesis statement: don’t worry about the things you can’t change, find the goodness and light in all of your experiences. If it’s meant to be easy, it will be and if it’s meant to be hard, it will be hard. You’re the green bean and you can choose to become jaded at the storms or enjoy the water flooding your roots. This song also fits the lightness we’ve seen from Caduceus since sending his family home. His big quest, his reason for leaving home, has been fulfilled (so he thinks, pretty sure Molaesmyr will be calling in the Nein’s near future) so now he can just sit back, relax, and fully enjoy the ride.

TL;DR - Growing up and moving on is hard and painful but it is also triumphant and necessary. Learning to be who you are and to place yourself on your list of priorities is a journey full of quiet work that few rarely glimpse. Caduceus’ whole arc has been about who he is and what he’s going to do with the strong moral compass he’s got - Is he going to continue to live in the world, even with all the pain, struggle, joy, and goodness that comes with it, or is he going to retreat from it, go back to his little patch of green and forget about it? All signs point to the former, not the latter. In tarot, Death means transformation and sweeping change even more than it does literal death. Caduceus’ playlist is all about the transformation of his self even as he remains true to his core beliefs.