#don't know we'll see in time when i come back to them

[writing-nothing-but-spilled-ink]

Alright part 2 cause I need the serotonin this will involve Damian

Eventually after hours of work and vigilante shit getting done Jason aka redhood finally has some time to stop by and check on his kids safe houses though strangely he can't find any of them in they're usually places which is incredibly odd until he starts hearing lots of cheering and cooing coming from one of the side streets that lead to a dead end on one side of the abandoned alley.

What he finds when he walks over are the kids his kids in a circle surrounding a bunch of stray animals and some clearly abandoned animals, now Jason knows for a fact that these animals don't live in this part of town he's not adverse to feeding strays it's just he usually would notice the animals especially if he sees them frequently around Gotham and these aren't exactly what he'd call native to this part of town considering some of them looked freshly cleaned usually the strays would have dirty and muck allover there fur and paws covered in mud and the toxic rock salt solutions that have. Been used to prevent ice from covering the streets..

Eventually the kids then towards him with big hopeful eyes and says can't we keep them can't you take care of them I mean you said you just got a new safe house for everyone and that weird guy with the suit has been helping you take care of us we promise we'd train them well and keep them happy and fed and we'll walk them every day before and after school, WE COULD EVEN TRAIN THEM TO HELP YOU TAKE OUT BAD GUYS ESPECIALLY IF ANYMORE MEAN MEN COME AFTER US AGAIN...

Jason is taken aback he's never been in this situation before hell he can't even imagine Bruce or even Alfred in this situation he tried to think of what they'd do if faced with this decision but honestly both those options felt incredibly heartless, with a sigh he slowly pulled out his vigilante specific phone and looked at the weather for this week of Gotham and when he found that it'll be below freezing temperatures he found he couldn't say no at least not tonight, and maybe this could teach them some responsibility, but now here's the trouble what does he do if they decide they want the same pet he can't imagine theyd be willing to share one and animals tended to choose there owners as well ..

Eventually hood just sighed and goes, "alright guys you may take them inside get them warmed up and I'll see about getting some animal food and dog beds and blankets as well as cat toys, at least for this week since this whole week it'll be below freezing temperatures, beyond that I'm not sure if this is a good idea we're already on thin ice as it is especially with Gotham child services if they think for even a second any of you are living in filth with no supervision with an animal at that, one that could be labeled as dangerous or disease ridden I'm not sure that even Harvey would be able to bail us out this time so I want everyone to treat the next two weeks as a trial run show me your all adult enough to handle pet ownership, we're not putting them back out on the streets and we're definitely not going to allow anyone putting them to sleep if we cannot keep them i don't want any of you to be worried about that."

"Suzy you've recently been diagnosed with asthma and whole I have had you tested for allergies and it's all come back negative I want you to understand that in some people animal hair/fur can trigger your asthma quite badly, if that starts to happen I'd unfortunately be forced to take it away and re-home it and I'm not saying this to be cruel I'm saying this so you understand that your health is more important than owning a pet even if we love them dearly, though if that's the case whoever we rehome it to I'll ensure you'll be able to visit from time to time alright".

Each kid scoops up an animal one of which manages to pick up a fairly big pitbull and awkwardly waddles up the apartment complex stairs every now and. Again tilting ever so slightly to the side due to the weight of the animal meanwhile the entire time the dog seems to be happily drooling with it's great big pink tongue hanging out, a bunch of the younger kids have chosen to take in the kittens who seemed to be at least a year old, he's seen enough of Catwoman tending to stray cats over the years to recognize the older cats from the younger ones, one kid in particular seemed to have a fluffy bunny in one arm and a pug in the other, vaguely Jason felt as if he just opened a can of worms he was not qualified to deal with.. As the last of the kids and pets went inside he heard a crunching come from behind but when he turned around he saw no one

"Hey Todd it seems your delinquents have found my friends, I was taking them out for some air but they got away from me and when I was about to go out and look for them father had informed me that there's a new case he must work on and while he does so he needed me to patrol with dick, I had each of them chipped with my own specially designed microchips and tracked them to this location and I noticed your delinquents have taken a liking to them, maybe we can come to an acceptable agreement, your delinquents may keep and even care for my friends in exchange you allow me to teach them about the animals and proper animal handling and maybe this way they'll finally learn some culture, and you don't tell father I was bringing more friends to the manor".

"first off stop calling them delinquents they're good people, not soldiers, not delinquents, and most definitely not unworthy simply because they were born of lessor means, you don't see me dick or Bruce calling you an irredeemable monster that only cares for perfection simply because ra's is your grandfather, I thought you would've known better by now especially living In a place like Gotham and interacting with the people here, maybe Bruce has already failed you if this is how you see others of lesser means, I'm sure he'd be disappointed and so wouldn't dick".

...

Damian is caught off guard by how valiantly passionate Jason sounds when talking of those of lessor means, Damian did feel a bit of shame wash over him for calling the kids delinquents but how could he not feel this way they were all covered in dirt and muck and seemed to do nothing all day but chasing after an idiot like the red hood and not taking any real interest in creating a lasting legacy, or taking proper. Care if there appearances, it was barbaric how carefree they were running around, showing all those emotions, that was a weakness, a thing that could easily be exploited and used against you why couldn't they see that, why couldn't they see by openly running wild they were leaving themselves open to be hurt, it's dangerous to be this loud to take up this much space, they lacked discipline and-,..

Jason noticed that Damian's mood seemed to have changed from snarky know it all to his fake Bruce face the type of face Bruce would use when he's thinking really hard about a case but can't seem to quite crack the puzzle, and the type that usually resulted in bruce pulling out his own hair due to the stress and trauma, honestly in this moment Damian looked like a blank sheet in a sense facially it's a face he's seen before on other league members when a single free thought or word out of turn would lead to a severe physical punishment. Finally Damian looked up almost looking like a sad scared child honestly like Jason probably did when Bruce first found him all those years ago stealing tires off the batmobile, and running around the streets,

"Todd I... Apologize, the- .. your acquaintances aren't delinquents, but they are disorganized, and it's barbaric, I am concerned that them being so open will only lead them to painful lessons later on if they're not careful, though I see now it is not my place to intervene or say as much, but I'd still really like to teach them how to properly take care of my friends I also have treats for them"-..

"it's fine, you may teach them how to care for the animals if you wish, but please try not to go on for hours about the history of how they got here or there ancestors, they're not like you, so keep it simple at least at first and then if they have questions answer them as they arrive, they don't have access to real school or top educations like you or dick did, what they learn is mainly thanks to me and Alfred and a program that's slowly being implemented by the locals around here, alot of them are former teachers, midwives, ECT before they had to quit there jobs or leave due to active threats to they're safety, and they're helping us establish a small school for basic education and educational skills they'll need later in life, also I'd like for you to be prepared as they may make fun of the way you speak and your accent as there's not alot of people around here that speak like you".

Okay but like imagine Jason Todd living in Crime Alley and he has numerous safe houses in gotham some of witch just aren't for him and in fact are apartment complexes that he bought out for cheap possibly due to a little life-threatening scare by Red Hood and any time he's in crime alley and he notices that especially in the winter months that the kids are sick or don't have a dry place to live he just starts setting them up in the apartment complex, and none of the kids ever talk about where exactly that complex is because they love redhood... Also, I imagine that once a week Jason makes like a really big dinner and he just goes outside and serves it to the kids around crime alley, the kids all love him and feel safe with him. I imagine it gets to a point where if the kids are in danger or are worried or scared they just go running over to Red Hood some of the kids have taken to calling him dad, uncle, and other various family references.. And one day on the way back to one of his safe houses he just hears one of the younger street kids yelling dad and he turns to where its coming from and theres just this small kid holding another small kid in his arms and red's just like what happened and the kid just goes shes sick and idk what to do and red just kinda sighs and goes yeah alright follow me kid and he walks over to one of his main safe houses puts his bike away and gets the kids into the car but before continuing to the doc office he calls out through crime alley of if anyone's sick yall better come here i don't wanna do numerous trips and suddenly theres a small group of kids coming out of the shadows and he ushers them all into the car drives them all to gotham general and the receptionist doesn't bat an eye at the gaggle of sick kids or the fact redhood is checking them all in because he and the hospital have an understanding so he gets them all treated and seen and has to sit in with every nurse and doctor, at one point he gets a call from bruce asking why he's not on protrol and jason thinking nothing of it just goes i'm busy im at the hospital have dickface cover my patrol and then he hangs up to speak to the doctors and check on his kids..

bruce shows up at Gotham general just to find red surrounded by numerous children with various flu's colds coughs one of them has pneumonia and was just diagnosed with asthma and he's just taking notes while there's one child in his lap crying cause she's scared and he's just rocking her gently while writing down various treatment plans for each kid and what safe house he's putting them in because he'll be personally taking care of them... and one of the docs spot Bruce and is like excuse me mr. wayne you can't be back here patients only and redhood can be here because he's there acting guardian which makes Bruce's brain short-circuit entirely

Also alfred 100 percent knows about this and has helped red set up the rooms for the kids and everything and some of those big family dinners Jason has for the kids yeah he's using Alfred's recipes

How Jason got guardianship of these kids is because of Harvey dent he got the proper legal advice from Harvey

[azziesbattybaddie]

Shadows and Snow Angels

Azriel x Reader, Azriel x child OCs

Chapter 2 - My scars won't heal

Normally when your mate Azriel comes home from the camps and asks you not to get mad it's because he brought home another wounded animal, not a baby boy...

Word count: 1.5k

💔 💘

Series warnings: past emotional abuse, past physical abuse, past emotional trauma, non explicit thoughts of suicide, depression, parental doubt, child abandonment, past child abandonment, brief talk of past pregnancy. no details mentioned, mention of non explicit SA, we die like men. Every chapter will be individually tagged.

If you don't like what your reading click off!

Author's note: ok, so I kinda his a manic a episode and now I'm writing the second chapter literally the minute I posted the first. We'll see how long it will take me to finish this one but if y'all are lucky, maybe we'll get 2 chapters in one day!

Author's note 2: lucky streak gone but at least it'll be on time. I'm gonna try to post a new chapter every Friday, but we'll see how it goes, life's kinda crazy rn.

Chapter warnings: brief talk of child abuse, Azzie is a traumatized baby, this chapter is actually more fluff than angst but still, we die like men.

Rhys opened the door, only in his pajamas with his hair sticking up in random places. It must have been a long night. Nyx just turned two a couple months ago and he was having a horrible time sleeping through the night. Rhys and Feyre took shift but everyone knew that Rhys was the one that usually stayed up with him.

"hey I'm sorry, I know it's late, or well early, but we officially have an emergency." You said while Rhys just glanced between the two of you, it took him a good second to realize that there was suddenly an extra little one with you both. Azriels shadows darted past Rhys's feet to go check if the house was safe.

"yeah come on in, I'll go get Feyre." Rhys stepped aside and let you both in before jogging tiredly up the stairs to get his mate. You quietly sat down on the couch to re adjust the little hat Elain made for Astrid, fixing it to sit on her delicate head better. You chuckled as Rhys's appearance. Who knew that out of get trapped in hell for 50 years, enduring another war and having a baby, it was the baby that finally got him. "Poor high lord."

Azriel was still standing but he seemed to be enjoying bouncing Rhain in his arms, rocking him side to side as his shadows created a Shadowy mobile above them. He chuckled softly at your comment, glance in his brothers direction before looking back to the little boy in his arms. They were practically making heart eyes at eachother, if it wasn't so late at night you might have asked Feyre to paint it.

The way Azriel interacted with children was honestly what drew him to you in the first place and the ease in the way he can calm them makes your heart melt every time. Your mate was always so still and calm so seeing him bouncing and sway your daughter and the same way he does with Rhain now, made your heart soar higher than the stars above.

You were still smiling at your mate when you heard rushed footsteps flying down the stairs. You didn't have to look up to know that Feyre was running to come see the little one. The Shadows flared defensively but calmed at the sight of their high lady.

"OK, WHERE TH-" you shushed her quickly before she woke up all three kids in the house. She was still in her night gown and her hair was tied back messily. "Sorry, where the hell did this little cutie come from!..."

You chuckled as Feyre took Rhain from your mate. He looked skeptical and basically hovered over his sister in-law as she cuddled the baby. The Shadows however, seemed content to huddle around you and Astrid on the couch, completely ignoring their masters anxious behavior.

"Az, would you calm down, she's not gonna drop him." You say barely containing your laughter. He was actually just as overprotective as the day you brought your daughter home. It was adorable.

"Oh my gods! What's his name?!" Feyre squealed quietly and came to settle on the couch next to you. Rhain was babbling softly and grabbed Feyre's finger in his small hand.

"Rhain. His name is Rhain." Azriel said, still standing next to feyre, he's hands twitching at his side, wanting to take Rhain back from her. You shook your head at his antics, he's had this baby in his care for like 2 hours and he's already acting like Mother hen.

"I'm sorry, I know it late and I know that Nyx id having issues sleeping but we don't have anything that will fit him and I decided that this officially classified as an emergency."

"No, don't worry about it at all! Not at all, no! Not at all!" She said less to you as she cooed down at your little boy before actually lifter her gaze to you and responding. "Yeah, absolutely this is an emergency. Come on I'm sure I could spare some jumpers for him, Cauldron knows that Rhys is gonna buy him more anyway."

Feyre stood and tried to walk away with the Rhian still wrapped I her arms but a wall of shadows came to block her from walking away just long enough for Azriel to take him back. Feyre just rolled her eyes and lead you upstairs, muttering jokingly to herself about Azriel being overprotective.

2 hours later you all were back at your own home, azriel settling the baby's down for bed. You had added a temporary separator in the crib just for tonight, you'll have to make a trip to the Palace quarters tomorrow for another one. Your mate had just finished building your daughter's nursery and now you're either gonna have to rearrange everything or finds another room in your home for a second nursery... Wonderful...

Once they were both swaddled, wings and all, they were out like a light before he could flip the switch. You were sitting in bed trying to read and relax but you mind was reeling from the days events. Your mind wandered to Rhain. He was so small, he still had that fresh baby smell. You had tried to explain the smell to Mor one time but she thought you were crazy, must be a mom thing. He was underweight and dehydrated from what you could tell, the poor thing could barely suckle the bottle you had fed him earlier. You were lost in thought, book discarded laying open in your lap, as Azriel came into the room, his footsteps as silently as ever.

"So how much trouble am I in?" Your head snapped up at his voice. 4 years... 4 years you had been together and he still manages to sneak up on you, you'd think you would be better at spotted him now but no. You looked up at him, you eyes locked on him as you pulled yourself from the whirlwind of questions and worries you had gotten lost in. He was leaning forward against the bed frame at the foot of the bed. His Shadows fluttered and flitted out into the room randomly as per usual when it was time for bed. It was interesting, most people thought Azriels Shadows were just extensions of him but in reality, most of them had personalities and curiosity, it was kinda cute to watch them.

"come here..." You opened your arms for him and waited as he quickly shrugged off his leathers and siphons, a few of the Shadows helping him by catching his siphons and placing them on the dresser silently. He sank onto he stomach and into your arms with a sigh. He nuzzled his face into your chest as his wings relaxed and sprawled across the massive bed.

"I'm not upset with you. I mean I would have loved a heads up that we were gonna adopt an infant today but I know that the circumstances were anything but ideal. Trust me I would have been PISSED if I found out you didn't bring him home. You are the most compassionate and empathetic person I've ever known. Thats one of the reasons I love you so much." You smile as you feel every muscle in his body melt under your hands, your fingers working out the knots from his back. He let out a breathy moan when you gently pressed your fingers into the onyx skin at the base of his wings.

"he needed me, and you. Besides your a good mama, if anyone could give him the love he needs it's you..." He lifted himself slightly to settle on top of you better, he's arms wrapping around your waist and his thighs spreading yours a bit more. You took a second to bask in the moment, your fingers tangling and brushing through his hair, a couple of shadows coming to rest on the pillow next to you. You thanked the mother for moments like this. For the times when you both could just hold each other and feel just as loved and seen as if you had spent the night making the house shake.

"Thank you... for understanding, for not being upset. You have every right to be..." azriel mumbled, his voice laced with emotion. He was right, you did have a right to be mad but you weren't. How could you ever be upset with him for being the most loving male in Prythian?! You hugged him tighter and kissed his forehead.

"Do you wanna talk about it? Whatever your thinking about?" You smoothed a hand over his back to try and comfort him. Even though you had been mated for a few years there were still secrets and things he refused to tell you, especially about his excuse of a childhood. You knew the basics, a general idea of how he was treated but he never went into details. You liked to think he wouldn't tell you because he knew you would find his half brothers and rip them to shreds, although You knew in reality it was most likely just to painful to actively try to remember.

"yeah I do, but not tonight. I... we can talk about it tomorrow, I don't want to ruin the night..." He said choosing his words carfully. Azriel easily sat up and flipped you both so you to rest against his side and pulled the covers over you both, the Shadows that had been occupying the pillow previously jumped away I'm a misty puff. You didn't press. You knew he would tell you when he was ready to open up. It made sense, that he past would rear it's ugly head after he brought Rhain home. You left a small kiss on his chest before snuggling into him and letting yourself drift off into your thoughts, the shadows descending over you both is calm wave urging you both into sleep.

Thank you so much for reading and as always I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! If you wanna be added to the tag list please comments or DM me to be added!

Taglist

@romantasyreader28 @tele86 @mulansaucey @jennnsthings @6v6babycheese @mich0731 @starlightandsouls @ohemgeewhat @littlelunatica @icey--stars @paleidiot @jir67 @celestialamore @rcarbo1 @quiet-because-it-is-a-secret @queenoffeysand @suppppp97

[impish-baby]

A few glimpses into 'both arms cradle you now' reader's childhood in no particular order

"Why do birds suddenly appear evertime you are near.." The wet tears running down your cheeks are gently brushed away, whatever nightmare plaguing your sleep seems so far away now that your dad is here. "Just like me, they long to be close to you.." Damien hoists you into his arms, still humming that familiar lullaby as he carries you to the kitchen.

"Why do stars fall from the sky every time you walk by.." You're set on top of the counter, Damien ruffling your hair softly before walking over to the fridge to fetch a carton of milk. "Just like me.. they long to be.. close to you.." The warm glow of the stove makes the quiet night more cozy, the shadows along the walls retreating as well as any lingering fear.

You can feel you eyes start to droop, a small yawn leaving your lips making the man chuckle fondly. "One sec, ok? Daddy has some angel milk for you so you don't have anymore bad dreams, then we'll get you tucked back into bed."

-

"Do you want to hold him, sweetie?" Not really, but a nudge to your shoulder has you taking a reluctant step forward anyway. You're not sure how to feel about him, he's your dad's but not your mom's.

Mary scoots over a little so you can climb up on the hospital bed next to her, a tired but kind smile on her face. "Here, it's ok, you just need to make sure you're supporting his head.." She helps guide your arms into the right position, placing the tiny buddle into them, a pair of equally tiny disgruntled blue eyes soon staring up at you.

When you were first told that your stepmom was pregnant, you tried really really hard to just be happy for them. You promise. The sinking dread never went away though, no matter how much you berated yourself for feeling that way.

Babies are a blessing, but the announcement only cemented the fact that the world as you knew it was ending. Your dad isn't just your dad anymore. Even then, he hasn't acted like one to you in a while. Maybe you were just denying the inevitable.

"Ohh, I think he likes you.." Mary's head rests on your shoulder suddenly, distracting you from your sullen thoughts. "See? You're a natural with little ones!"

"He's glaring at me.."

She laughs, pressing a quick kiss to your cheek as she sits up. "No, he's just getting used to the world, darling. He loves you, he knows he has the best older sibling he could ask for."

-

"What's even the point?" You're both supposed to be sleeping even though it isn't a school night, Aunt Lisa is strict when it comes to things like that. What she doesn't know won't hurt her though.

"Because they look cool," Avery shrugs, carful of the fact you're currently snuggled under one of his arms. "And you get bragging points for catching them." You still don't get it, they're the same thing just a different color. "You've watched me play for like an hour, and now you're bored?"

"You were actually doing stuff before.." You huff, "You've been going around in a circle for fifteen minutes."

You scoff at his comment, now filled with spite to actually beat the game. You've barely moved an inch before the battle music plays, a black and purple pumpkaboo greeting you. "Oh, um..

"I

Well, excuse me," Avery sniffs playfully, "You play since I'm not entertaining enough." The console is handed over to you, the older boy simply holding you closer. "I bet you lose the first match you try."

"Huh?" Avery sighs, quickly pouting when he looks back at the screen. "Seriously? Damm, you're lucky." He pokes your cheek, "You catch it for me and I'll buy you some fries tomorrow."

-

"You're so annoying!"

With how hard you hit the ground, you know you're going to bruise. You weren't even talking, you just wanted to hang out with them.

"Seriously, who even wanted you to come over? I sure didn't!" No matter what you do, Lizzie doesn't like you. Doesn't matter if you're as friendly as can be or give her some space, you're always doing something wrong. "You're wasting good air, you know?"

"M' sorry, didn't mean to bother you." You won't cry, you're too old for that. "Liz-"

"You didn't mean to? Yeah, right!" Lizzie scoffs, kicking dirt into your face. Dust immediately stings your eyes. "You're a pest! No wonder everyone calls you bug, you're clingy like a tick, a parasite."

Your feeble attempt to rub the dirt away isn't really helping, you can barely hold your eyes open enough to look up at her. Miles isn't going to do anything to help either, silently supporting his sister.

"No wonder your dad left you! And your mom, she must be insufferable if you're her kid-"

You don't know when you managed to get up on your feet or when you grabbed a handful of Lizzie's hair. On the bright side, it makes her shut up.

"Hey!"

Your dad emerges from the house, miles trailing behind him. Of course.

"What has gotten into you?" You've let the older girl go at this point, she wasn't even crying until he came outside.

"Ow, dad.." Lizzie hides behind Damien, flashing you a smirk. "I wasn't even doing anything and they decided to be mean.."

Any inking of doubt you had evaporates in an instant. You don't have a dad anymore, you haven't in years.

"God.." He crosses his arms, the stern look would have made you wince if you weren't already shaking. "Don't even try to give me any excuses, Miles told me what happened. You can wait out here for your mom to pick you up since you can't behave yourself. I thought you knew better."

-

"Can you at least try to eat half, please?"

Your plate sits almost entirely untouched, having just been picked at over the course of dinner. Your mom's worried frown won't leave her face. "You're still a growing kid, I don't like how many meals you've tried to skip."

"I'm not hungry." You really aren't, there's always a nauseous feeling in your gut these days. "I'll eat a snack later, don't worry, mom."

"Baby.." She pinches the bridge of her nose and you feel a pang of guilt for how stressed she must be. "Please? For mommy? Or at least talk to me about what's going on.. i- it hurts seeing you so sad all the time."

What are you supposed to say to that?

Against your will, there's tears starting to drip down your cheeks. You don't think you've ever seen the women move so fast, her chair clattering to the floor in her rush to go to your side. "Oh, my baby.."

"I- I'm sorry.." For what you don't know, maybe the fact that she's stuck with you. "I- I'm so sorry, mom-"

"Oh, hush.." You're too big for her to carry, you both know, but she still scoops you into her arms. "There's nothing in the world you need to apologize to me for."

You sniffle, tucking your head under her chin. "I- I don't want to see dad anymore.. or.. or hear about him or-"

"Shhh.." She runs a hand through your hair in an attempt to soothe you, "you don't have to, alright? We'll figure it out. If that's what you want, you won't ever have to see him again."

(a/n: some ramblings while I start writing the second part to the series..reader will continue to go through it)

[the-s1lly-corner]

Twisted glisten x reader who decides to stay with him?

Reader staying behind w/ Twisted!Glisten

The timing on this is impeccable because me and my friend are playing DW and there's glisten on this floor (I'm spectating as I write this opening) (scraps and goob were also in this floor. And toodles. As I write this bestie is COOKING) (they're the last one standing) (THEY LIVED)

Notes: reader is gn, toon reader, ambiguous ending but it looks grim for reader, short post, twisting is treated as an infection in glistens case, maybe ill make a part 2 that takes place after this we'll see

CWs: none

God... this one hurts.

It was already hard enough to deal with the fact that the twisteds were still your friends- they still had their faces, just not their minds

But not... glisten.. he was still there, even if shaken. He could still talk, and reach out to you

Maybe asking to keep him company while the others extracted and scavenged was a bad idea. Maybe you should have considered how this would make you feel before you jumped at the chance

Was it hope that maybe you'd be able to bring him back down before the machines finished? A yearning to come back to your pal? Or maybe a sense of normalcy as you tried to mutter to him that he was still beautiful

...not that he had asked for your praises, no. Those demands were long gone and replaces by pleas for you to stay and proclamations of fear

He hardly responds to anything you say as he wanders around. And each time you have to run off to lose the floors other twisted you scramble to find glisten again... he did not wait for you

If his hands weren't tied together you'd hold his hand- either to give him comfort or to keep him close

The others would NEVER take him onto the elevator- he's already way too close to turning for them to comfortably allow it. Valid, but it doesn't make it hurt any less when you hear glisten start panicking when he hears the elevator open

But...

..

He's pacified when you stay rooted at his side. You don't respond to the calls of your friends as the timer winds down. You don't step into sight so they at least know you're alive. You couldn't bring yourself to move from the corner you and glisten have tucked yourselves away in

The hold glisten has on you is tight, bordering on painful... but..

The elevator shuts and continues it's descent

...this was the.. right choice right? Maybe not THE right one... but it wasn't a wrong one surely?

Regardless it was all the same; Glisten continued to keep you in his hold long after the elevator slammed shut as his fear of being alone overpowered him in that moment

And you were going to do your best to soothe him

[pearlofthewoods]

Oh OKAY JANE ESPENSON with After Life!

So the beautiful scene that begun this whole thread… was written by a woman?

Sounds about right. ↕️🙂

(Thank you thank you Jane Espenson for all you gave to us Spuffy girlies 🥰, we are forever in your debt.)

But honestly, I never even considered that there would be such a gendered split between the healthier Spuffy writing and the more toxic-ish Spuffy writing. I just thought it might be a change in writers in general that created some of the more inconsistent-with-previous-episodes characterisation.

But now I realise it that was that, but it was also probably something to do with the men.

So I now feel very vindicated in questioning it in my earlier post.

Thanks so much for doing the research @aphony-cree. 🙏 This was a very enlightening read.

p.s. And in honour of Jane Espenson, I’m including the two scenes that first made me truly fall in love with Spuffy, all those years ago.

(snippet from the gorgeous Buffyverse Wiki ‘After Life’ transcript since Tumblr won’t let me add 2 videos at once 🥲)

DAWN: Spike? Are *you* okay?

SPIKE: I'm ... what did you do?

DAWN: Me? Nothing.

Buffy clutches the top of her shirt closed, looks up at Spike a little fearfully.

SPIKE: Her hands.

Buffy lowers her hands, puts them behind her back, looks uncomfortable.

DAWN: Um, I was gonna fix 'em. I don't know how they got like that.

SPIKE: I do. Clawed her way out of a coffin, that's how. (to Buffy) Isn't that right?

BUFFY: (quietly) Yeah. That's ... what I had to do.

SPIKE: Done it myself.

Throughout this, Spike continues staring at her as if he thinks he's dreaming. Now he snaps out of it.

SPIKE: Um ... We'll take care of you. Come here.

He puts out his arm and guides Buffy into the living room.

SPIKE: (to Dawn) Get some stuff, uh, mercurochrome, bandages.

DAWN: Okay.

Dawn goes off. Spike follows Buffy into the living room. She sits on the sofa and he sits on the coffee-table facing her. He takes her hands in his and looks at them. Then he looks up at her face and their eyes meet.

BUFFY: How long was I gone?

SPIKE: Hundred forty-seven days yesterday. Uh ... hundred forty-eight today. (smiles a little) 'Cept today doesn't count, does it?

And secondly;

“But I want you to know I did save you. Not when it counted, of course, but ... after that. Every night after that. I'd see it all again ... do something different. Faster or more clever, you know? Dozens of times, lots of different ways ... (softly) Every night I save you.”

So thank you Jane Espenson, for giving me the version of Spuffy and of Spike that I’ll always carry in my heart.

The gentler, kinder version that I always hoped they’d find their way back to. This was the goal. This was the aim. And by the end of Season 7, I think they were finally getting there again. They just took the long way round.

Buffy wanting some time alone then telling Spike "That's okay. I can be alone with you here" is one of the most romantic lines ever, but then they followed it up with Spike telling her "Buffy, if you're in … if you're in pain … or if you need anything… or if I can do anything for you.." and they really expected us to think they were bad together and shouldn't be a couple

[messedupfan]

Chapter 25

Summary: Persistent as ever, Jean and Anna recruit Jean's mother to help with their cause. Which sparks an important conversation between Wanda and Y/n.

A/n: Helloooo! I know I'm slow with posting lately. Work has been CRAZY. Hopefully I'll get in a better rhythm soon. Especially with the hell that is coming upon us these next four years. We'll need each other to get through! Have a good day and enjoy!

Masterlist | All Stories Taglist  | All Chapters

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You are folding laundry for you and Rachel when your phone goes off in your pocket. You pause for a moment and pull your phone out to see that it's Jean's mom calling you. It's not unusual for her to call but it's not as common as it used to be. 

“Hey Mrs. Grey, how's it going?” You say cheerfully. 

Mrs. Grey makes a disapproving sound. “Y/n I've told you many times since the divorce, you can still call me mom.” 

You laugh at her slight upset over the misuse of her formal name. “How are you doing, Mom?” You ask as you lean your head to the side to hold your phone between your head and shoulder. 

“That's better,” she cheers. You hear some rustling around on her end. “I am doing well. I just came back to town to check on the house. The last tenants just moved out and I came to assess damages before I hire the cleaning crew and repair guy.” 

“Oh, do you need a lot of repairs done? You know that I'm always happy to help,” you offer while you resume folding.

“No, no, dear. I couldn't ask you to do that for us,” she says and now you're more confused. 

“Oh, I just figured that's why you're calling,” you say as you set the newly folded shirt on a stack of others. 

“No dear, I was calling to ask you to lunch. Are you busy this afternoon?” She says happily. You look at your watch and consider your options. You're not certain you want to be spending time alone with your former mother-in-law. But there are worse ways to spend an afternoon.

“I would love to meet with you. Where did you make reservations?” You ask, knowing that she most likely already made reservations. She laughs and mentions that you know her too well. “I will see you at one,” you promise and say your goodbyes. While you finish folding and start getting ready you run through the scenarios of how the lunch is going to go. 

As you arrive at the restaurant, your stomach begins to turn. It's a nice place. The last time you went to a nice place with one of Jean's parents, it was with her father asking you to convince Jean to not go through with the divorce. Since then you haven't been asked to dinner or lunch with either of them. 

Mrs. Grey greets you with a hug as you arrive at the table. She gives you a kiss on each cheek and she squeezes your arms as she looks at you. “You look great, I love what you've done with your hair. It's nice to see it cleaned up and natural like that.” 

You smile at the compliment. She has seen you with many different hairstyles over the years. She has almost never had anything nice to say about your hair until now. Your hair was growing out uneven because of the mullet so you had to cut it short in order for it to grow out properly. “Yeah, well, it wasn't working for me for a bit there. You look wonderful! How are things with you and Mr. Grey? I hear the two of you have been doing a lot of traveling.” 

Mrs. Grey nods and moves to sit, “We've been good. All of our kids are so spread out, it's nice to have a reason to go somewhere. Meet all of our new grandbabies. I just love being a grandma now,” she grins as she lays out the cloth napkin on her lap. You follow as you look around the restaurant, feeling a bit out of place. It was a very nice restaurant. 

“Oh yeah, I had heard that Roger finally had a kid,” you say as you lift up the menu to look at the pricing. 

“Yeah, yeah, he's doing great, very happy to be a father,” she says as she goes through the menu herself. “Don't be shy now, order what you want. It's my treat!” She reminds you in a cherry tone. Something tells you that things might eventually take a turn for the worst and you do not want to leave her with a big bill. You want to be able to leave money to cover your portion of the bill. 

“I appreciate that, Mom,” it feels a little foreign to call her that after all of these years. But if it makes her happy, then that's what you'll do to appease her. 

You proceed to order what you can afford. You ask her about how your former in-laws are. She mentions that they miss having you officially part of the family. That none of them get along with Anna which makes you laugh since none of them actually have to deal with Jean's wife the way that you do. 

You update her on your life, leaving out that you're seeing someone. Especially when she presses for the information. You don't let up because it's not the time to. Besides, you're almost certain if you tell her anything she will tell Jean then she and her wife will be on your case about it. Then Jean will recruit Kate and the information will continue to spread like rapid fire. 

When you're able to drop the subject of your love-life you talk about how proud you are of your daughter. How great she's doing in school. The friends that she has made. How kind she is. How strong she is becoming. 

Elaine watches you go on and on about her first granddaughter. She is impressed by the way you and her daughter have really stepped up and took on your roles as parents for her grandchild. She knows that she was harsh when the news first came out. But it's clear that neither of you hold her poor reactions against her. 

Finally, once you've both finished your meals, you ask her what is really going on. Elaine dabs her lips with her cloth napkin. She sips her wine. She clears her throat and she looks up at you. 

“My daughter wants to expand her family,” she states in a professional tone. She is a very good negotiator. Her entire adult life and career has been about getting her way. But you aren't nervous, not about this. “And I'm asking you to reconsider helping her do that.” 

You nod your head with a growing smirk as you wipe your mouth with your napkin. “She recruited you,” you state with amusement dancing in your eyes. 

“She is my daughter, I would do anything for her. You should know something about that,” she states with her cold stare. 

“Yes, well, my answer is still the same. She can find someone else to grow her family with. It's not going to be me,” you state as firmly as she was speaking to you. 

Elaine sets her checkbook on the table and you know exactly where this is heading. She tried this with you many times before. Had you accepted any of them, Rachel wouldn't have been born, she wouldn't have you in her life, and the divorce would have been an annulment shortly after you had gotten married. 

“Stop, you know that you can't buy me off Mrs. Grey. I won't do it,” you stand firm. You pull out your wallet and leave whatever cash you have on hand but she stops you. 

“What if I can guarantee you have custody?” She says and you scoff. She was not about to start negotiations. “Jean says she won't budge on it but I think I can convince my daughter what a great influence you are as a parent. Certainly better than that so-called wife of hers,” she rolls her eyes. 

You almost want to laugh at the irony of this conversation. “I can't believe you, the woman who tried to pay me to convince her daughter to have an abortion, is now asking me to get her daughter pregnant.”

“Times have changed. She's not getting any younger and she cannot afford to pay for treatment to-” 

“Why don't you pay for it for her then?” You interrupt her. She clamps her mouth shut. Astonished by your abrupt question. You don't typically stand up for yourself in such a way. You are known to walk away to think or remain quiet. But speaking up to her like this, it's unusual. “If I decide to have another child, it will not be with your daughter. I will not have her and everyone else she mentions this to bully me into changing my mind.” You sigh as the upset quickly leaves your body. “Thank you for the meal, I would love for us to stay in touch and meet again under different circumstances. Better circumstances.” 

You walk out of that restaurant and breathe in the fresh air to calm yourself down. You want to call Jean to tell her off but you don't. Instead, you call Wanda and ask if she is available. It had been a couple of weeks since her son's birthday where she admitted that she was having conflicting feelings about you and her. You gave her space the last couple of weeks to see if she would reach out on her own. But you needed her now. 

Luckily, she hears the upset tone in your voice and asks you to come over without question. Next thing you know, you're parking your truck in her garage. You walk into her house and she greets you in the laundry room with a hug. 

She takes your hand and leads you to her room. “My mom is having a book club meeting,” she says softly as the two of you quietly climb the stairs. You look over your shoulder to see her mom surrounded by a group of women her age engrossed in a conversation discussing presumably the book that's in their hands. 

You sit on the edge of Wanda’s bed and look at your hands. You let out a big breath. You have missed being in her presence the last couple of weeks and part of you hates that this is the way that you return to her presence. 

Wanda stands by the door, she has her fingers laced together as she observes you. She has missed having you around. She knows that she is the one who asked for space but she didn't consider that you would actually respect that request. No matter how good this time apart has been for her. It gave her time to reflect and realize that the only red flags you have are the red flags she has. Nothing extreme, nothing she can't handle. She has been meaning to call you and invite you over but she couldn't explain why she needed the space so she waited until she could. She expected the next time she'd see you, you would have that award winning smile of yours. She didn't expect to see you this way. This upset. 

“What happened, Y/n?” She finally asks. You look up at her and blink a couple of times.

“I…” you sigh and lick your lips. “Jean got her mom to ask me to help her have another baby.” You rip the bandaid off not seeing any other way to approach the subject. Wanda gasps as she sits next to you. 

“I thought they moved on from that,” Wanda says as she puts her hand on your back.

You nod, “So did I, but they completely blind sided me. Her mom was willing to pay me off.” 

Wanda shakes her head. “Unbelievable. I cannot believe her. I cannot believe she would do that! After everything that happened the last time she asked you. I cannot believe she would get her mom involved in this to pay you off!” 

You agree, it is insane that they would bring this up again. Let alone bring her mother into this. You cannot believe that it has come to this. You almost want to cave just so that they'd leave you alone about this. You sigh as you reach for Wanda's hand. “Should I give them a baby? I mean, not in the way they wanted but I don't know. Should I just… donate to them. Am I the one that's just being crazy and stubborn?” You ask as you think about the amount of stories you've found online where families have done this sort of thing. That a couple that cannot produce a child on their own approached their ex partner to have another baby together. And they accept with no issues. You're starting to think you were being selfish.

“Y/n, you're not being crazy. You don't want to do that. It's your choice, you have a choice in this and you chose not to do it. That is something they have to respect. The whole thing is completely unfair to you.” Wanda reminds you as she turns your head to face her by pulling your chin. “Yes, had you agreed the first time, it could have been seen as this selfless beautiful thing that you did. But I've watched you tear yourself apart about this. It would have destroyed you to agree to it. You would have regretted it the moment that she announced that she was pregnant. You would have regretted it every week you had to pick up Rachel and pretend that her sibling is not your child too. You would have hated yourself when one day that child found out the truth and felt like you abandoned them. You made the right decision not only for yourself now but for everyone in the future.”

You listen to Wanda as she speaks so strongly about your decision. Defending you against your thoughts of yourself and against the perception of everyone else against you. 

She has a point. This scenario can only be a beautiful one if everyone was in agreement. But you don't want this. That was never in your mind in terms of expanding your family. The thought never occurred to you that they'd one day approach you about helping them with that especially since Anna seemed disinterested in the idea of ever caring for a baby. She would tell people the reason she wanted to adopt was because she could avoid the baby stage. 

Now she wants to ask this huge thing of you because she is insecure of her role in Rachel's life? You could not believe it. 

“You're right,” you say as you hold eye contact with her. You hadn't realized just how much you've missed gazing into those green eyes of hers until now. “I'm sorry to dump this on you. How are you doing? Have you figured out what you needed to?” 

Wanda shakes her head as she scoots closer to you. “This is something serious. I'm glad you came to me with this instead of sitting alone in your apartment or going to Bucky and Steve whose solutions are typically to just let you vent and drink. Which is not helpful because then they just dump you onto me.” You let out a soft huff of a laugh as you nod because it's true. She caresses your cheek with the back of her fingers as she pulls her bottom lip under her teeth with her tongue. Her eyes bounce around, gazing into your eyes, glancing at your lips. “And I have, by the way. Figured out what I needed to, I mean. I've missed you and I think I'm ready to start telling people about us. Not today or tomorrow but… soon.” She says nervously. You break out into a big grin and pull her against you in a celebratory hug. 

“That just made my day, truly,” you say as you continue to hold her close. Wanda starts to push against you by your shoulders to create some space. As you're about to apologize, she keeps you quiet with her lips on yours. It has felt like a lifetime since you've been able to hold her and kiss her. You're not certain when the last time was and you don't care to think about it as you lay on top of her on her bed.

“We have to be quiet,” she whispers as your lips are on her neck and her fingers are working on your jeans. “I don't want us to embarrass my mom in front of her friends.” 

You chuckle at the statement. “You mean you have to be quiet,” you remind her as your hands slip under her shirt. She lets out a soft whisper and you chuckle again. “See?” 

She rolls her eyes and mutters, “Shut up.”

After, you are holding Wanda in your arms as the pair of you settle down. You start to think about the future. Consider when exactly you will be ready to have another baby. It just seems like it's too late. Rachel is in middle school, she is grown up. When the kids are grown you're not supposed to have more, you're supposed to wait to have grandkids. Then you remind yourself that you are still young enough to have kids. In fact, this is how you have them the proper way. Or at least the way that stable adults have families. 

There's also the fact that Wanda might not want to have more kids. She did try to expand her family but it didn't work and instead her family fell apart. You hate that she blames herself for what Vision did to their family. You clench your jaw at the thought and your arm tenses up. Wanda notices and starts to rub your arm softly. 

“What's on your mind?” Wanda asks with eyes closed as she presses her head further into her pillow. 

You hesitate to speak. This isn't the time to ask about the future of your family with her. This is the time to hold her and worship her. To be present with her and not spinning around in your head. You kiss her cheek as you try to calm down and return to the moment with her. She looks so relaxed and comfortable. You don't want to change that. She deserves to be relaxed for a moment. 

“Nothing, it can wait until tomorrow,” you whisper as you loosen your hold on her. 

“Mmm no, we can talk now. If you need,” Wanda fights her sleep as she tries to open her eyes. You shake your head with a smile. 

“Go to sleep, we can talk about it tomorrow,” you repeat yourself as you caress her cheek. Wanda tries to hold onto consciousness a bit longer. It was a little early for bedtime but she was exhausted and perfectly satisfied. Every muscle in her body was asleep after the massage you had given her. As well as the many other things you did to pleasure her.

She doesn't fight you or her body anymore. She falls into a deep sleep and you follow shortly, once you're able to shut off your mind. 

You wake to her alarm and you curse yourself as you remember that you didn't set your phone up to charge. This wasn't meant to happen the way it did. But you only have yourself to blame as you find your dying phone. You quickly set it up to charge while you get ready. You brush your teeth and get dressed in the clothes you wore the day before. Wanda showers and goes through her morning routine. While she does, you head down stairs to make coffee for her and yourself. 

As you're pouring the coffee into the mugs, Wanda is walking down with wet hair and a casual outfit. “No meetings today?” You ask as you slide her mug towards her. She typically dresses up a bit more when she has meetings with her co-workers and/or clients and potential clients. She shakes her head as she lifts her mug to her face and sits on the stool at the counter. You nod and check your watch to gauge how much time you have before going to work. 

“It's Sunday,” Wanda says as she swallows. You look at her like she's crazy until you realize that she is right. It's not Monday quite yet. You start laughing to yourself as you set your coffee down. 

“I'm all messed up from yesterday,” you laugh as you gesture towards your head. “Speaking of which,” you clear your throat and look into your mug. You bite your cheek nervously as you think of the best way to approach the subject. “Have you thought about having more kids?” You ask with your eyes bouncing between Wanda and your mug. 

Wanda sets her mug down and clears her throat. “I think I'm going to need this coffee to kick in before I'm ready to have that conversation.” You nod in agreement and scratch the back of your head with a nervous laugh. She was right, this was not something you talk about first thing in the morning. 

So you ask her how she slept and if she was hungry. Then you make her some breakfast, as you're cooking the aroma wakes her mother so you make enough for all three of you. Then the topic of conversation becomes her mother and the book club. Apparently, the meeting was less about the book and more about gossip as you listen to stories about people you've never met and may never meet in your life. 

Once everyone is done eating, you try to wash the dishes but Ms. Maximoff refuses to allow you to since you made the breakfast. She has Wanda clean them on her own while she traps you in a longer conversation about you and your future. Your girlfriend tries to spare you but her mother is very insistent. You stumble your way through some answers since some of her questions are questions you have yourself. 

She starts to ease up on you and starts to go on and on about her life and gossip from around her neighborhood. The scandals of the elder community. You react as though you care that Marjorie is sleeping with Thom and Chad, which makes you realize there are elders with the name Chad, without either knowing. Or that you sympathize with the 

After a while, Wanda gives you the signal that she is ready to talk. You nod and attempt to end the conversation with her mother. You fail miserably and Wanda has to come to your rescue. 

“Mom, hey, I need to take Y/n from you,” she says as she pulls on you to rise from your seat. 

“Oh but we're having so much fun! I haven't even gone over what David over on the corner house might be up to. Giant garbage bags, every other week. We think it's bodies or-” 

“Mom,” Wanda interrupts. “I’m taking my partner back. Okay?” She pulls you closer to her and Ms. Maximoff laughs. She waves the two of you off and says that she needs to get started on her day anyway. You turn to Wanda with a shrug. 

The two of you walk to her bedroom to privately discuss. Wanda shuts her bedroom door and you walk around her room. Looking at her photos as you usually do. Wanda sits on her bed with her back against the headboard. Her eyes follow your every move as she thinks about your question. She can have more kids. She talked with her gynecologist at her most recent check up just in case this conversation ever did come up. Her doctor said she had never seen such clean results from Wanda. She assured her that she would be fine to have another baby, maybe ever two of she desired.

But did Wanda want to have another baby? Her boys are so close to becoming teenagers. Your daughter is right there as well. Would it be wise for the two of you to have another baby? 

“I don't know how I feel about intentionally trying for a baby at this point in my life.” Wanda starts, grabbing your attention away from the photo of her on her first day of college. “I have two pre-teenage boys who can be a handful at times and are already struggling with the younger siblings they have from their father. I don't know if I want to contribute to their insecurities by having another child,” she expressed her concerns when it comes to her boys.

You nod as you join her on the bed. You sit in front of her just next to her legs. You reach for her hand and she willingly gives you her hand. “Hey, I'm not even certain I want another kid. I was only asking because I keep saying no to Jean. I don't want you to think I'm saying no to you.” 

Wanda looks at you and tilts her head. “If I'm honest, I didn't consider that. I know that the situation with Jean and what's happening between us are completely separate things. So that didn't cross my mind,” she explains that your worries aren't hers in that regard.

“Well, that's reassuring,” you chuckle softly because you feel a little ridiculous about making that assumption. “I'm open to the idea with you. But I'm fine if you don't want to go through another pregnancy.” 

Wanda pulls your hand closer towards her. She looks at the palm of your hand and traces the lines with her finger tip. She thinks about the art you make with this hand. The pleasures you've brought her with this hand. The tears you've wiped from her face. The food you've made. Then she thinks about you holding her pregnant belly when the weight gets to be too much for her. She thinks about you holding her child in this hand. Butterflies flutter in her stomach at the idea. 

“Let's just… if it happens, we'll talk about it then,” she says softly. “We'll go over our options at that time. But let's not make a thing of it. We don't need to start telling people about us and including that we're trying. We can just,” she shrugs as she drops your hand and places her arms around your shoulders as she leans forward. “Well we haven't even discussed marriage yet but knowing your track record, kids are what come first.” She teases and your eyes widen momentarily to show your shock and amusement of the statement. 

“Of course, with most people they just get a sappy speech and a ring. With me, you get real commitment,” you add jokingly which makes the two of you laugh. You lean closer and kiss her lips. “You're right. We need to be talking about marriage and our commitment to each other before we talk about having kids. I only brought it up because of everything that's going on right now.”

Wanda smirks, “I know honey, that's why I entertained the conversation without shutting you down. It's one of the many topics of conversation we should have before going straight to the marriage of it all. You know? What if we got married and weren't on the same page about this?”

You nod as you agree, “It's exactly why I'm glad we're taking things slow. I would love to whisk you away to Vegas and elope. And I probably would have if we'd have met at a different time in our lives. But we both have a lot to consider outside of ourselves.” 

Wanda's thumb moves back and forth on your neck. “You're a very wise and considerate person, Y/n. What did I ever do to deserve you?” Her eyes are locked on yours as she searches for any kind of malice or false intentions. All she finds is kindness. She cannot fathom what her life would be like had you not made yourself part of it. 

“Have an ex with poor taste in liquor,” you remark on the first conversation you ever had with her. She smiles. 

“I was a mess,” she states as she bites her bottom lip and drops her face shyly. 

You nod in agreement. “You were, and I didn't want to seem like some creep going after vulnerable people by talking to you. By the way, my intentions were pure. That night.” You point between the two of you. “I never had this goal in mind until the night we hung out after my camping trip.” 

She looks back up, a little shocked by this news. Especially since you ended up dating someone else after that night. “Really? So why go after Daisy?” She asks as she looks over your features. Taking in every detail of your face. Your jawline, your smooth skin with a chicken pox scar on your forehead. She loves every detail of you. 

You shrug as you try to remember that time. It was only several months ago. Or was it a year ago by now? It feels like a lifetime ago. “Fear, insecurities, and a long list of other reasons that don't make a lot of sense but at the same time they do. I mean, we're still afraid to be together.” 

Wanda nods as she listens to you explain. You're not wrong there. She was pushing you away for weeks because of how afraid she is to be in love with you. “I'm not anymore. Afraid, I mean. I love you and I only want to be with you. I hope forever but you never know.” 

You chuckle at her last comment and kiss her on the lips. “Yeah, you never know.” She smiles before leaning in for another kiss. You rub the spots on her back where you have your hands placed. You continue to pull her closer and closer as the kiss continues. You love her and you can't wait to tell everyone.

Chapter 26

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[starberry-cupcake]

hello!! I'm back!!! *sitcom studio cheer sound*

previously, in nona del 9:

this happened

this is the general tag for all the recaps

last recap I said Something was happening and it has!! we have a puppy now!!! her name is Dana (after Scully)!! this is her!!!

DAY TWO (one of the things mentioned is that honesty's job goes terribly wrong and I feel so bad because I forgot to point it out in my recap, even if it was something that looked sus af to begin with and I was concerned when I read about it)

CHAPTER 7 (second house skull, after pyrrha probably)

nona wakes up abruptly

someone told me in the last recaps that the bible chapters are when nona is sleeping, which I hadn't put together at all and I don't know if I should have or if I missed something important

in any case, nona starts telling camilla what she dreamt, which is not what was in the bible chapter, so idk what's going on with that

maybe the bible thing is what harrow is seeing and the dreams are what an amnesiac gideon is seeing????

we don't know yet

she's describing being with the "other person" who is touching her hands but they're not hers

"I'm touching my own hands but they aren't mine"

which is another one on the tally for the "this is gideon in harrow's body" theory

they're surrounded by red eyes in the darkness and she's very hungry

and they're holding hands

that's the dream

she was startled awake because camilla threw a sponge at her

nona freaked the hell out about that

remember when harrow was woken up by og!gideon trying to murder her in cold blood every morning? those were simpler times

also, nona is about to put on the tshirt from the cover which took me 25 years and @lady-harrowhark pointing it out to notice it was a burger

camilla asks her about the hands and nona says she didn't like them

and that she doesn't like having hands????

she's a bit infuriating sometimes ngl

I don't know what to do with this information

pyrrha talks about people becoming violent because shit is getting real

and she prepares some mush for them to eat at breakfast

she's also worried about camilla's soul (and life) due to whatever it is they're doing on the sites

palmolive, I swear to whatever god of your choosing

(that isn't dr reverend emperor john asshat)

if something happens to camilla on your watch

I'm gonna chase your nerdy ass all the way to your river loft and back

when they start talking about nona wanting a "six months alive" gift, pyrrha tells camilla how depressing and non-gift-giving the ninth house is

which she visited when anastasia got settled

nice to know things in the ninth never ever changed

they did have a gift, though

the gift of ortus's poetry

nona wants differently colored hair ties, to not push too far into pyrrha's limited budget

we'll see if we make it to the birthday, there's a countdown going on

when nona gets to school, honesty has a punch in the eye and she has to help him with it until teacher angel comes in

teacher angel is still looking very sus, with clothes in disarray and also the same ones from the previous day

hot sauce also comes in afterwards, which makes me think she might have been following teacher angel

she's on the case

hot sauce gets very upset asking honesty who punched him in the face

everyone's very upset and tense, except for kevin who's eating peacefully

we love kevin

so, honesty tells the story and starts from the worst place imaginable to explain something that happened with accuracy

which is the end

but that's fine, because the tension of the story is in the middle, so we get the narrative effect

we appreciate that

he's got a podcast in another life

honesty was about to go to the tunnel job but, turns out, it wasn't a tunnel job

it was actually a mad max job

and they get cocky and do more than they were planning to, which is never a good idea

so, by the third attempt, the guy who's been doing the dropping-in maneuver gets very spooked by what he finds in there

which is a lot of people with white eyes who look directly at him when he shows up

which prompts militia trucks to pull them over

so honesty runs the fuck out of there and gets smashed into a pole

depiction of honesty, ruby and born in the morning after the incident, had they been together:

honesty gets saved and cared for by some homeless folk

after his face got smashed into the pole

and he clarifies they were trying to steal from a convoy

which he would have said no to had he known the job before being taken to do it

he asks hot sauce to protect him

which hot sauce agrees to, but I think this is too much work for one hot sauce alone, especially if she's keeping an eye on everything else

nona offers her help, but is rejected, on account of being dumb

I wonder if nona will somewhat reveal her powers of healing protecting these kids at some point

OH, ALSO

teacher angel sus person mentioned not being technically a doctor but getting a crash course in triage

which, continues to be sus behavior

is teacher angel helping with the fights? with war? with secret confrontations?

we'll have to wait and see!!

THAT'S IT FOR NOW!! I haven't had a lot of time to read and recap and I'm currently falling asleep as we speak, so sorry for such a short one this time!!! ♥

[quilly72]

May pushed her way through the crowd "I got it. I found it"

Emily smiled and bounced as may pushed into her. Brushing past her as she scrambled further into the crowd. Emily grabbed to the back of mays black cardigan barely holding on as they shoved their way through the crowd. "Where are we going"

"don't know just keep going."

Eventually may slinked her way into an empty room at the busy party. The scent of alcohol hitting them like a wall as they entered. May peered outside making sure no one noticed them as she shut the door behind her. Locking it as she turned away.

May smiled as she reached into her cardigan pocket revealing two red vials filled with a shiny shimmering liquid. "Is that..." Emily was cut off as may shoved a vial into her clutch.

"come on. re you gonna fuss about it or are we gonna do what we came here to do."

Emily smiled as she opened her vial the sweet scent hitting her nose overpowering the alcoholic stench in the room. She grabbed the edge of her jacket as she poured some of the liquid onto her jacket. Smearing it across her clothes before taking the rest of the vial and pouring it down her neckline. The sticky liquid melting on her skin as it fizzled in. Emily finished her methodical approach to their experiment as she peered over to her friend.

May was quickly seen taking the entire vial and splashing across her body. Only a couple of drops hitting her clothes. Most of it fizzing onto her skin as it seemed in.

"may did you just."

"yeah yeah I know the plan... But I really wanted to grow as much as possible"

"but what about your clothes"

"we'll get there when we get there.

Emily rolled her eyes as she felt her jacket and pants loosen. The fabric strectching and sprawling outwards. She took a deep breath as she felt a cold shivers spread across her body. Her body filling the void as it began growing with her. Her eyeliner raising upwards as she filled her clothes. Emily gasped as she felt her shirt and pants tighten. More liquid having hit her than her clothes. She grunted as she pulled at the neckline to give herself breathing room.

"stupid shirt, can't breathe."

Emily slinked out of her shoes as her feet twitched her shoes seemingly shrinking around them. Her pant legs slithered up her calves as she grew taller. Her sleeves barely reaching her elbows as she stopped shy of 6'6".

Emily smiled as she stopped. "Taller and modest... Just like we agreed."

May sheepishly smiled as her eyes rolled back. Her eyes twitching as a cold shivers ran along her body. Her clothes barely had time to keep up as she started growing.

May cooed as she lurched upwards much faster than her friend had. Her pants sliding up her legs as her cardigan popped open. Her growing bust revealing itself. May reached down strectching her shirt as it struggled to keep up. Her torso peaked out from underneath as the cardigan sleeves rushed up to her elbows. Her shoes tightened as she past Emily in height. A smirk spreading across her face as she panted. Her pants slunk up to her knees as she felt her feet barely fit inside her platforms. Her head right under the ceiling. She reached up to push up against it as she smiled. Her growth finally coming to a stop right underneath the ceiling. "See I'm taller and still modest."

Emily rolled her eyes.

"say what about we screw modesty and go steal some more"

[tigreblvnc]

BLUE LOCK MATCHUP EXCHANGE — @kittywhoo

Your match is...

— Chigiri Hyoma

✦ It was a match I didn't see coming!

✦ At first, I thought of a particular character, but they were on your no-no list.

✦ So my second choice was split between two other characters. I'll talk about them at the end of your match.

✦ The result: I don't often match the red panther, but I think he's a very good fit for you.

✦ He shares several common traits. The first being a strong appreciation for beautiful things, finery, determination, and then injury, which we'll also revisit.

✦ "I like it when people are smart, or when people are good things wether i be naturally or from practice. I dont like simple minding people, i cant keep a conversation engaging with them. I like people who i can have a light banter with! Id like my partner to be competitive (to an extent)" This paragraph 100% screams Chigiri—he's clever, capable of dramatic turnarounds on the field, and above all, he's repeatedly proven that even a knee injury won't stop him from becoming world number one, showing the phases of success, downfall, despair, resignation, recovery, and breakthrough. If I quote the Egoist Bible: "He thinks his strong point is that he's proactive when it comes to things he likes or wants to do." Which 100% matches your energy.

✦ Chigiri is also known for his sarcastic tone and the jabs he throws at his opponents on the field. That said, he knows how to stay calm, even composed, when the situation demands it, putting other people's thoughts back in order. I can see him being the type who lets your anger explode without flinching, then helps you calm down by reasoning with simple but concrete arguments.

✦ He helps you channel your anger into energy to reach your goals. One of his love languages for me is 100% quality time: he'll spend time with you when he senses you need it, even if you haven't asked for it. He's particularly good at picking up on signs and gathering clues to understand when you need company or need time for yourself.

✦ He's someone you can reveal all your different sides to without any judgment. He has a certain sensitivity, be it artistic or emotional. Having gone through a few difficult trials himself, he understands your moments of doubt or emotional lows with ease.

✦ Totally the type to think about buying you a little trinket on his way home from work. I don't see him being too forward though—he'll just push the wrapped gift towards you with averted eyes.

✦ "Here, this made me think of you."

✦ Shopping trips together, what else? You'll spend your entire Saturday afternoon doing that. He likes to stop by the bookstore to search for the latest trendy novels or niche literature.

✦ One of the things he likes most about you is your ability to face adversity head-on. It's actually inspiring to him. You're on the same wavelength, and I can see you both spending hours complaining together about people you can't stand.

✦ When it comes to showing affection, if you're more direct and demonstrative, for him it's more subtle—through small acts of care or when he tries to make something annoying in your daily life easier. His second love language is definitely words of affirmation; he knows just the right words to uplift you and help you stay strong when you're going through a rough patch.

✦ I also think this is the love language he enjoys receiving. Chigiri really doesn't like showing his weaknesses in public; he'd only share his feelings with someone he trusts. No need to add that you are that person, and he even tells you about his dreams from the previous night. Sometimes, you both push back your bedtimes because you're talking non-stop.

✦ 100% the type to handle the boring household chores to lighten your load.

✦ Of course, he'll pretend it's nothing when you come home, reading a book in the living room.

✦ "I dislike it when people are unhygienic." I think Chigiri is one of the cleanest characters in the Blue Lock roster—he enjoys perfuming the room and combing his hair after a shower. Count on him for a well-kept house and nice decoration. He's possibly one of the characters with the greatest artistic sensibility and the most care for his appearance. Just for the sake of the quote: "The first thing he washes when in the bath is his forehead to avoid getting pimples there." and we can't forget about this one: "He spends his days off reading, taking long baths, and caring for his body."

✦ Also, for me, Chigiri is a very respectful guy off the field, polite, and speaks kindly to those who aren't trying to start trouble. I think he's the type of boyfriend that parents love to meet and get to know.

✦ One day, he teaches you how to play soccer with him, and don't worry—he won't pretend to go easy on you.

✦ In the evening, I can totally picture you two trying out trendy new cafes that just opened and chatting about your respective days over tea. Among all the characters in Blue Lock, I find Chigiri to be one of the few who can hold deep conversations on topics other than soccer. He has a very calm and attentive side that he allows himself when he's not on the field, and he dedicates that time to support you in your goals. In fact, he really admires your strength of character and your ability to push forward.

✦ Overall, you complement each other well while intellectually stimulating each other. Chigiri can be someone who's irritated and quick-witted, so hard to reason with, but as I've mentioned earlier, you're there to help him calm down. I don't see you both getting angry at the same time; more likely, you’d be the calm one to help soothe the other during a tough moment.

✦ He's totally the type to accompany you skiing, and I can see him snowboarding. About your ski injury, it immediately made me think of Chigiri and his soccer injury. I'm sure, in this regard, you both understand exactly how the other feels.

✦ And because it makes me think of a chalet during the cold season, Chigiri is totally the type to prepare the house for your arrival in the evening, with candles, ambiance scents, and a healthy meal he's cooked himself. All of this in front of a cozy fireplace with a good book on his lap.

✦ A final quote that makes me think of you both: "His favorite season is winter because he enjoys drinking tea and eating sweets while sitting under a kotatsu."

A word about your match: As I mentioned, I had thought of another character—two other characters, actually. The first being Yukimiya, who, reasonably, would be perfect to balance out your tendencies toward anger. The second was Hiori, who has a similar calm and observant temperament to Yukimiya. But I feel like he lacks the sharp wit that Chigiri has, in addition to having the traits you like in someone: ambition and a sense of aesthetics. I hope you liked this match, and thank you for reaching out to me for this matchup exchange!

© TIGREBLVNC 2025 | INTERESTED IN A MATCHUP EXCHANGE? CHECK THIS.

[out-there-tmblr]

Young zaundads wip (39)

***

The next issue is whose name to use. Silco argues that it's mostly Vander's money and Vander argues that it's Silco's bright idea. They call a truce to go to bed and by the next night, Silco's changed his mind.

"We'll put it in my name," he says. "It's not technically illegal but if the enforcers come calling, they won't have anything on you if your name isn't on it."

It's a noble gesture, Vander can see that, but the idea of Silco locked away in the dark… it sits in his stomach like a stone.

"As you said," Silco adds, aiming for comforting and hitting a false brightness instead, "it's my idea. If there are consequences, it should fall on me."

"That's ridiculous. Of the two of us, I'm far more likely to make new friends. And if that didn't work, you know I'd be able to handle myself."

"We are not arguing over which of us is more likely to survive Stillwater." It's a sign of how annoyed Silco is that he snaps his notebook shut and pushes away from the desk. "I've survived here. I would survive there."

"You're crazy if you think I'd let them take you away without a fight," Vander snarls, stepping in close. 

Silco doesn't back down, doesn't even step away. No, he tilts his head back to stare Vander down. "There'd be no point. You wouldn't win."

"I know I wouldn't! But you can't expect me to just let it happen!"

"And then what? We're both stuck in Stillwater?" Silco demands, one bony finger poking at Vander's chest. "The smart thing to do is have someone on the outside who will try to bribe your way out."

Silco glares up at him, wild eyed and incensed. It doesn't matter that Vander's right; Silco's not going to admit it tonight. Curling forward, Vander rests his forehead against Silco's, eyes closed. He holds Silco's arms in a loose grip, fingers loose against the worn cotton. "If that's what you want, it needs to be my name on that deed. I'm not going to think clearly if something happens to you."

Silco gives a small shake of his head but he lets the matter rest for the night. There's still a thrumming tension between them so they sleep on their sides, back to back. Vander falls asleep with the solid warmth of Silco behind him and wakes up in the morning to find Silco's still mad at him. For something Vander hasn't even done yet.

"Are you still angry at me hypothetically attacking enforcers for you?" Vander asks as Silco shoves his arms into his jacket with unnecessary force. He rethinks the wisdom of bringing it up before breakfast when Silco spins around to glare at him. 

"It would be a waste," Silco bites back. If anything, he's angrier than last night. Like he's had time to simmer over all the reasons Vander is wrong. "A complete waste! Why throw your life away just because mine's ruined? It won't fix anything, it won't save me. It's a completely pointless gesture."

It's too much before Vander's even had breakfast. "What else am I going to do, Silco? What am I going to do without you?"

"The same thing you did before you met me. See your friends. Work. Find some new pretty thing," Silco spits out but that incandescent anger is starting to fade.

Vander lifts a hand to Silco's cheek. His hands have always been big, strong and clumsy, but Vander likes easily he can cradle Silco's face. His thumb brushes Silco's temple while his palm rests against Silco's jaw, the loose slide of Silco's hair under his fingertips. "I don't want anyone else."

Silco gives him that look. That 'I don't need you to buy me food' look. That 'don't waste your money on me' look. That look that tries to be discouraging, tries to hide how much he likes it when Vander does. 

"I'm not saying you do," Silco says, wrapping a hand around Vander's wrist, fingers cool and gentle. He tilts his head down to press a kiss to the heel of Vander's hand, and then nips at the skin, a sudden drag of sharp teeth. "I'm not saying it would be easy, but we can't both… If I get dragged away to Stillwater, it's not going to make me feel better to know you're rotting beside me. I'd rather know you were out here, living."

Vander understands that, he does, but… It makes him feel like he's seventeen again, holding his ma's cold hand and wondering what he's supposed to do now. Like he's nine years old, waiting at the dock, waiting for a small fishing boat that never returns. "I don't want to be left behind again."

Silco pulls him down into a hug. Tucks Vander's head against his shoulder and runs a soothing hand up and down Vander's back. Keeps his other hand tight on the back of Vander's head, holding him close. "I'm not going anywhere, Vander."

***

Vander's not sure if he wins the argument but they do settle on using Vander's name on the paperwork. Not because Silco's seen sense. Not because he admits that of the two of them, Vander's going to have an easier time in prison and Silco's more likely to figure out a way to get him out. No, Silco agrees because Benzo, of all people, says, "Do you think the company would take it?"

Silco looks up from his plate, the food on his fork forgotten. "What?"

"As payment for your debts," Benzo says casually, scooping up a spoonful of the grey-brown stew. "If you actually get a market working there, if it makes money, do you think the company would be interested?"

It's not a thought that ever occurred to Vander. From the expression on Silco's face, he hadn't thought of it either.

It turns out that Silco considers the company a bigger threat than enforcers. Enforcers might stretch their powers if it suits them -- but only if it suits them -- but the company has been lurking over Silco's shoulder all his life. He's not going to risk them having any claim over this.

The end of the month is only a few days away and Silco's certain they'll have enough to pay for the land transfer and their next few shipments. He's already made arrangements with Babette for clothes and has started filling out the forms in painstakingly neat letters, allowing the ink to dry thoroughly before he moves the page.

Silco carefully places the pen on the desk. "I supposed there's no chance one of your parents had a family name?"

"I called them Dad and Ma," Vander replies, fixing the torn seam on his shirt. His stitches always come out bigger than his ma's would have been but they do the job.

"As in a surname," Silco clarifies, looking over his shoulder.

Vander snorts. "I'm not a Piltie."

"We need something for the form." Silco wanders over the three steps to Vander sitting on the floor, his shirt over his lap. "Whatever you like because there's no way they can prove it isn't your name."

"Huh." Vander pulls the thread through and carefully makes the next stitch. "Let me think on it."

***

[mqriuss]

03 | Now playing: Dream Boy

from 'bad girls that haven't been caught' series

playlist | series masterlist

rindou is never not confused by you. he can never tell what mood you're in because of your consistent deadpan expression. you had two faces that you wore often—focused and resting. occasionally, you'd show some frustration but that's all he's ever seen.

the first day he started teaching you to play basketball after school was the day you asked him to. he remembers asking, "why do you want me to teach you all of a sudden?"

and he remembers you saying, "'cause you're the best basketball player in our class."

"that's not the answer i wanted."

"you asked why i wanted you to teach me, not why i wanted to learn. i don't think i'm misunderstanding anything." you shrugged, dribbling the basketball as best as you could.

rindou remembers standing, looking like a bathroom sign and gaping at you. "okay, smartass. so you did understand what i actually meant."

"shut up and help me already. i forgot how you said i was supposed to hold this."

on the second day he teaches you basketball, he didn't even know he was supposed to.

"this is a regular thing?"

"yes, i said i wanted you to teach me after classes."

"okay, but the plural form of class doesn't clarify you wanting me to do this everyday," rindou said, and he mentally cringes at how much like you he sounded.

"so, are you going to do it or not?" you asked with your arms crossed, foot tapping against the floor.

rindou looked you up and down and sighed. "i don't really have a choice, do i?"

"actually, you do. i've done your homework and you've taught me once. if you don't want to keep this up, it's fine."

he had no words. just, looked at you like you ruined the script of the movie of his life. and you did actually, with no emotion whatsoever. were you a robot? rindou took his glasses off, rubbing a hand over his face before putting them back on.

"so, you don't want to-"

"no, i'll do it."

the third day he teaches you basketball is today. curiosity is still eating at him and you were still avoiding telling him the actual reason why you wanted to learn basketball.

"you're not even, like, terrible at the other sports. you still learn for a good grade," he says. "so what's up with you and basketball?"

you shoot the ball towards the basket, and it successfully goes into the hoop—after several failed attempts.

"i don't like basketball, so i don't normally get a good grade for it. luckily, the bare minimum is enough," you answer him, but again, it's not quite the answer he's looking for.

"wait," rindou furrows his eyebrows. "now i'm even more confused. if you don't like basketball, why do you..." he trails off, seeing your gaze wandering.

members of the school's basketball team come entering. he tilts his head, "you said we could use the indoor court today."

you don't answer him, your eyes fixated on the group and he wishes he knew who exactly you were looking at.

rindou doesn't know most of their names, but he does recognize the point guard. hayashi fumio, the smartest guy in the class and also your academic rival. he sure is chatting it up with the pretty first year manager, rindou thinks to himself.

"guess i was wrong," you remark in response after some delay. "we'll just have to continue outdoors."

fumio looked like he was going to wave at you, but stops when he sees that you're not sparing him a single glance. for a moment, he makes eye contact with rindou but doesn't get enough time to react when their manager calls out to him again.

← prev chapter | next chapter →

[writing-nothing-but-spilled-ink]

Alright part 2 cause I need the serotonin this will involve Damian (this is part 2 to redhood taking care of the kids in crime alley)

Eventually after hours of work and vigilante shit getting done Jason aka redhood finally has some time to stop by and check on his kids safe houses though strangely he can't find any of them in they're usually places which is incredibly odd until he starts hearing lots of cheering and cooing coming from one of the side streets that lead to a dead end on one side of the abandoned alley.

What he finds when he walks over are the kids his kids in a circle surrounding a bunch of stray animals and some clearly abandoned animals, now Jason knows for a fact that these animals don't live in this part of town he's not adverse to feeding strays it's just he usually would notice the animals especially if he sees them frequently around Gotham and these aren't exactly what he'd call native to this part of town considering some of them looked freshly cleaned usually the strays would have dirty and muck allover there fur and paws covered in mud and the toxic rock salt solutions that have. Been used to prevent ice from covering the streets..

Eventually the kids then towards him with big hopeful eyes and says can't we keep them can't you take care of them I mean you said you just got a new safe house for everyone and that weird guy with the suit has been helping you take care of us we promise we'd train them well and keep them happy and fed and we'll walk them every day before and after school, WE COULD EVEN TRAIN THEM TO HELP YOU TAKE OUT BAD GUYS ESPECIALLY IF ANYMORE MEAN MEN COME AFTER US AGAIN...

Jason is taken aback he's never been in this situation before hell he can't even imagine Bruce or even Alfred in this situation he tried to think of what they'd do if faced with this decision but honestly both those options felt incredibly heartless, with a sigh he slowly pulled out his vigilante specific phone and looked at the weather for this week of Gotham and when he found that it'll be below freezing temperatures he found he couldn't say no at least not tonight, and maybe this could teach them some responsibility, but now here's the trouble what does he do if they decide they want the same pet he can't imagine theyd be willing to share one and animals tended to choose there owners as well ..

Eventually hood just sighed and goes alright guys you may take them inside get them warmed up and I'll see about getting some animal food and dog beds and blankets as well as cat toys, at least for this week since this whole week it'll be below freezing temperatures, beyond that I'm not sure if this is a good idea we're already on thin ice as it is especially with Gotham child services if they think for even a second any of you are living in filth with no supervision with an animal at that, one that could be labeled as dangerous or disease ridden I'm not sure that even Harvey would be able to bail us out this time so I want everyone to treat the next two weeks as a trial run show me your all adult enough to handle pet ownership, we're not putting them back out on the streets and we're definitely not going to allow anyone putting them to sleep if we cannot keep them i don't want any of you to be worried about that."

"Suzy you've recently been diagnosed with asthma and whole I have had you tested for allergies and it's all come back negative I want you to understand that in some people animal hair/fur can trigger your asthma quite badly, if that starts to happen I'd unfortunately be forced to take it away and re-home it and I'm not saying this to be cruel I'm saying this so you understand that your health is more important than owning a pet even if we love them dearly, though if that's the case whoever we rehome it to I'll ensure you'll be able to visit from time to time alright".

Each kid scoops up an animal one of which manages to pick up a fairly big pitbull and awkwardly waddles up the apartment complex stairs every now and. Again tilting ever so slightly to the side due to the weight of the animal meanwhile the entire time the dog seems to be happily drooling with it's great big pink tongue hanging out, a bunch of the younger kids have chosen to take in the kittens who seemed to be at least a year old, he's seen enough of Catwoman tending to stray cats over the years to recognize the older cats from the younger ones, one kid in particular seemed to have a fluffy bunny in one arm and a pug in the other, vaguely Jason felt as if he just opened a can of worms he was not qualified to deal with.. As the last of the kids and pets went inside he heard a crunching come from behind but when he turned around he saw no one

"Hey Todd it seems your delinquents have found my friends, I was taking them out for some air but they got away from me and when I was about to go out and look for them father had informed me that there's a new case he must work on and while he does so he needed me to patrol with dick, I had each of them chipped with my own specially designed microchips and tracked them to this location and I noticed your delinquents have taken a liking to them, maybe we can come to an acceptable agreement, your delinquents may keep and even care for my friends in exchange you allow me to teach them about the animals and proper animal handling and maybe this way they'll finally learn some culture, and you don't tell father I was bringing more friends to the manor".

"first off stop calling them delinquents they're good people, not soldiers, not delinquents, and most definitely not unworthy simply because they were born of lessor means, you don't see me dick or Bruce calling you an irredeemable monster that only cares for perfection simply because ra's is your grandfather, I thought you would've known better by now especially living In a place like Gotham and interacting with the people here, maybe Bruce has already failed you if this is how you see others of lesser means, I'm sure he'd be disappointed and so wouldn't dick".

...

Damian is caught off guard by how valiantly passionate Jason sounds when talking of those of lessor means, Damian did feel a bit of shame wash over him for calling the kids delinquents but how could he not feel this way they were all covered in dirt and muck and seemed to do nothing all day but chasing after an idiot like the red hood and not taking any real interest in creating a lasting legacy, or taking proper. Care if there appearances, it was barbaric how carefree they were running around, showing all those emotions, that was a weakness, a thing that could easily be exploited and used against you why couldn't they see that, why couldn't they see by openly running wild they were leaving themselves open to be hurt, it's dangerous to be this loud to take up this much space, they lacked discipline and-,..

Jason noticed that Damian's mood seemed to have changed from snarky know it all to his fake Bruce face the type of face Bruce would use when he's thinking really hard about a case but can't seem to quite crack the puzzle, and the type that usually resulted in bruce pulling out his own hair due to the stress and trauma, honestly in this moment Damian looked like a blank sheet in a sense facially it's a face he's seen before on other league members when a single free thought or word out of turn would lead to a severe physical punishment.

Finally Damian looked up almost looking like a sad scared child honestly like Jason probably did when Bruce first found him all those years ago stealing tires off the batmobile, and running around the streets,

"Todd I... Apologize, the- .. your acquaintances aren't delinquents, but they are disorganized, and it's barbaric, I am concerned that them being so open will only lead them to painful lessons later on if they're not careful, though I see now it is not my place to intervene or say as much, but I'd still really like to teach them how to properly take care of my friends I also have treats for them"-..

"it's fine, you may teach them how to care for the animals if you wish, but please try not to go on for hours about the history of how they got here or there ancestors, they're not like you, so keep it simple at least at first and then if they have questions answer them as they arrive, they don't have access to real school or top educations like you or dick did, what they learn is mainly thanks to me and Alfred and a program that's slowly being implemented by the locals around here, alot of them are former teachers, midwives, ECT before they had to quit there jobs or leave due to active threats to they're safety, and they're helping us establish a small school for basic education and educational skills they'll need later in life, also I'd like for you to be prepared as they may make fun of the way you speak and your accent as there's not alot of people around here that speak like you".

[speaknow-sw]

YAY, okay so get this. I don’t want him and reader to have a drastic age difference maybe she’s 28 and he’s like mid 30s?

Anyways reader is married but her marriage ain’t doing what it used to, so her and James have been messing around for a few months. And then unbeknownst to her she finds out James and her husband are cousins after a family get together 😩.

And then they end up sneaking off and yeah

— 🫧 (this is so random idk what’s going on in my brain)

Coming, you now that a cheating AU was my first step on tumblr ? Feels good coming back to the roots (yearning).

We all deserves a man who’d do anything for us because he yearns for us so bad.

James smirked at your nervous whimper, his hands squeezing your hips possessively. "Relax, baby. You know he doesn't get home till 4:57, sharp as a whistle. We've got..." He glanced at the clock, a mischievous glint in his eye. "...12 minutes. Plenty of time."

His lips found your neck, trailing kisses along your sensitive skin. One hand slid up your side, cupping your breast through your shirt. "Besides, you can't resist me. I see the way you look at me when he's not around, craving my touch." He nipped at your earlobe, his hot breath sending shivers down your spine.

"Mmm, and you taste even better than you look, love. I can't get enough of you." His other hand slid under your skirt, fingers brushing against your inner thigh. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll make sure you're satisfied before he walks through that door. Multiple times." He chuckled lowly, his voice dripping with arrogant confidence and lustful promise.

“Jamie, you need to go.” You sighed, arching against him.

James grinned wickedly at your breathy sigh, feeling your body melt against his. "Mmm, not yet, gorgeous. I'm not done with you." His hand slid higher, fingers brushing against your lace-covered mound. He could feel the heat radiating through the fabric, knowing he had you worked up.

"Look at you, already so ready for me. You're insatiable, sugar." He rubbed you through your panties, feeling your dampness. "Fuck, I can feel how wet you are. You need my cock so bad, don't you?"

His other hand pushed your shirt up, exposing your bra-clasped breasts. He flicked the front clasp open, letting your tits spill out. "Beautiful," he murmured, before diving down and sucking a stiffening nipple into his mouth. He swirled his tongue around the sensitive bud, teasing and flicking it mercilessly.

Meanwhile, his hand pushed your panties aside, fingers delving into your soaked folds. He groaned around your nipple as he plunged two fingers into your tight cunt, pumping them in and out. "So fucking tight and wet, baby. I'm going to fill this pussy up so good." He rubbed your clit with his thumb, making your hips buck against his hand.

James froze, fingers still buried deep inside your dripping cunt, as the unmistakable sound of a car pulling into the driveway reached our ears. Your husband's car. Panic flashed in his eyes as he glanced at the clock - 4:57 PM. Shit.

"Fuck, that's him!" James hissed, yanking his fingers out of you and straightening your skirt. He grabbed your wrists, pulling you off the counter and spinning you around. "Go, now!" He gave you a little push towards the bedroom door.

But before you could take a step, the front door opened, and you heard your husband calling out, "Honey, I'm home!" His footsteps, heavy and purposeful, began to approach the kitchen.

James's eyes darted around frantically, then landed on the back door leading to the backyard. He grabbed your hand, pulling you towards it. "This way," he whispered urgently. "We'll sneak out the back and I’ll run away. Hurry!"

He cracked open the back door just enough to slip through, pulling you with him. The cool evening air hit your flushed skin as he led you quickly across the backyard, towards the gate that led to the alley behind your house. Your heart raced as you ran, terrified of getting caught. This was too close, too risky. But the thrill of it all, the danger, only heightened the intensity of your illicit affair with your husband's cousin.

You hid behind the garden shed and laughed, kissing sloppily. “Go.” You pushed him playfully.

James caught you in his arms, returning your desperate kiss with fervor. "Love you, baby. I'll call you later," he whispered against your lips before slipping out of your embrace and sprinting silently towards the alley gate. He paused for a moment, looking back at you with a roguish wink and a blown kiss, before disappearing into the gathering dusk.

You stood there, heart pounding, until his silhouette vanished from sight. Taking a deep breath, you crept back towards the house, tiptoeing in through the back door. The sound of the shower running upstairs reached your ears - your husband was in the bathroom, blissfully unaware of your transgression.

You made your way to the kitchen, trying to act casual as you grabbed a glass and poured yourself some water with shaking hands. You took a sip, trying to calm your nerves and cool your flushed cheeks. Just as you set the glass down, your husband appeared in the doorway, a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Hey honey, I'm home," he said, flashing you a smile. "I thought I heard voices in here. Did we have company?" He stepped closer, glancing around the empty kitchen. Your heart leapt into your throat, praying he hadn't noticed anything amiss.

“No ? I was in the garden, I got a call from my mom.”

Your husband raised an eyebrow slightly but seemed to accept your explanation. "Oh, okay. How's your mom doing?" He stepped closer, now standing right in front of you. The scent of his aftershave and the warm dampness of his freshly showered skin filled the air between you.

You nodded, hoping he couldn't detect the lingering aroma of James's cologne on your own skin, or the faint redness still coloring your cheeks and throat. "She's good, all is well. I was just... catching up on some family gossip." You forced a little laugh, praying he wouldn't notice the slight tremor in your voice.

He nodded, then glanced at the clock. "Well, I'm starving. Did you start on dinner yet?" He began to turn towards the fridge, and your breath caught in your throat. Would he notice anything out of place? The kitchen counter, perhaps, where James had pinned you just moments before. Where he had touched and teased and brought you to the brink of ecstasy, all while your unsuspecting husband worked just a few blocks away.

You swallowed hard, willing yourself to stay calm. "I was just about to. I thought I'd make that pasta recipe you like." Your voice sounded strained to your own ears. "I'll get started." You moved towards the pantry, needing a moment to collect yourself before facing him again. Before he could see the guilt and panic and shameful arousal warring in your eyes.

A week later, you found yourself at a large family gathering, mingling with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. The backyard was filled with picnic tables groaning under the weight of potluck dishes, and the air buzzed with chatter and laughter. You sipped your wine, feeling a bit out of place among so many extended family members you didn't know well.

That's when you overheard a conversation between two older women discussing the family tree. Your ears perked up as you heard them mention James's name, followed by your husband's. Your heart nearly stopped as you realized they were comparing the two men's ages and birthdates, confirming what you had never dared to suspect.

"Did you know James and Mark are first cousins?" one woman asked the other.

"I didn't! Really? I always thought James was just a friend of the family," the other replied.

"They're Joe and Linda's boys, born just a year apart. Poor Linda, losing her son, and then her grandson..." The first woman shook her head sadly.

You felt the blood drain from your face as the horrible realization sank in. James, your secret lover, the man you had been cheating on your husband with for months now, was not only a family friend but your husband's cousin. The thought made you want to be sick.

Suddenly, you felt a hand on your shoulder and spun around to see James standing there, a look of concern on his handsome face. "Hey, you alright? You look a little green," he said softly.

You opened your mouth to reply, but no words came out. Instead, you grabbed his hand and pulled him around the side of the house, desperate for privacy. As soon as you were out of sight of the party, you turned to him with wild eyes.

"James, I just found out... I overheard them talking... and I can't believe it!" you gasped.

"Found out what?" he asked, perplexed. Then his eyes widened in understanding. "Oh. Fuck. You mean about me and Mark being cousins?" He ran a hand through his hair, looking as stunned and horrified as you felt.

"God, I can't believe this," you said, pacing back and forth. "I've been sleeping with my husband's cousin. My own cousin-in-law. That's so fucked up!"

James reached for you, but you stepped back, shaking your head.

“Why didn’t you tell me ?” You whispered angrily.

James held up his hands in a placating gesture, trying to calm you down. "Hey, hey, I'm sorry, okay? I should have told you sooner. It's just... I didn't want to freak you out, you know?" He sighed, running a hand through his hair nervously.

"Believe me, I knew it was a bit weird, us being related, but only by marriage. I never thought it would be an issue, since you and Mark are... well, you know." He trailed off awkwardly, realizing the delicate nature of your situation.

He stepped closer, his voice low and urgent. "Look, I never meant to deceive you. I just thought, why make a big deal out of something so small? Especially when we both knew what we has is... special." His blue eyes searched yours imploringly.

"But I get it now. I see how much this bothers you, and I'm sorry. Truly sorry. I should have been upfront with you from the beginning." He reached out to take your hands in his, squeezing them gently. "Please forgive me, baby. I never wanted to hurt you or ruin what we have together."

His thumb brushed over your knuckles as he spoke, his touch both comforting and unsettling in light of your newfound knowledge. "I still want to be with you, baby. I want us to work this out, cousin or not. But I understand if you need some time to process all of this. I'll give you space, if that's what you want. Just please... don't push me away. Not now, not when I've finally found someone who means the world to me." His voice cracked with emotion, revealing the depth of his feelings for you.

You just sighed and trailed upstairs.

James followed you upstairs, his heart pounding in his chest as he climbed the steps behind you. He could sense your turmoil, could feel the conflict radiating off of you in waves. As you reached the landing, you spun around to face him, your blue eyes blazing with a mix of anger, confusion, and shameful desire.

"I don't know what to think," you admitted, your voice trembling slightly. "This changes everything, James. Everything I thought I knew about us, about my marriage, about my family..." You shook your head, looking lost.

James stepped closer, reaching out to cup your face in his strong hands. His thumbs brushed your cheeks, wiping away the tears that had begun to fall. "I know, baby. I know it's a lot to take in. But please don't let it change how you feel about me, about us." His voice was low and earnest, his gaze intense as he held yours.

He leaned in closer, his forehead coming to rest against yours. "I'm still the same man who loves you more than anything, darling. I'm still the one who would move heaven and earth to make you happy, to keep you safe and satisfied. Nothing about that has changed. You are everything !"

His hands slid down to your waist, pulling you flush against him. You could feel the hard planes of his chest, the strength of his arms around you. "I know it's complicated, but I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you," he murmured, his lips brushing against yours as he spoke.

James captured your mouth in a searing kiss, pouring all of his passion and desperation into it. He kissed you like a man starved, like you were the very air in his lungs. One hand slid up to tangle in your hair, while the other gripped your hip possessively, holding you tight against him.

He broke the kiss with a low groan, his breath ragged against your lips. "Tell me you still want this, baby," he pleaded, his voice rough with need. "Tell me you still want me, no matter what. Because God knows I want you. I want you so fucking much."

You gripped his collar and kissed him angrily. For a man so sweet he was so intoxicating. Too sweet for you.

James groaned into the angry kiss, feeling your passion and desperation mirroring his own. His hands roamed your curves greedily, squeezing and caressing every inch of you as if trying to memorize the feel of your body. He walked you backwards until your legs hit the edge of the bed, and then he pushed you down onto the mattress, crawling over you with a hungry growl.

"Fuck, I need you," he rasped, his voice thick with lust. His hands slid under your shirt, pushing the fabric up and off in one swift motion. He took a moment to admire the sight of your breasts, barely contained by the lacy bra you wore. "You're so fucking beautiful, sugar. I can't get enough of you."

He leaned down, pressing open-mouthed kisses to the swell of your breasts, his tongue dipping beneath the lace to tease the sensitive skin. His hands reached behind you, unhooking your bra with expert ease, freeing your tits from their confines. They bounced slightly as they were released, and James wasted no time in latching onto a stiff nipple, sucking and biting at the sensitive bud until you cried out in pleasure.

His other hand slid down your stomach, popping the button of your jeans and tugging the zipper down. He slipped a hand inside, cupping your mound possessively through the thin fabric of your panties. He could feel the heat emanating from your core, could sense how ready you were for him.

"Fuck, you're so wet," he murmured against your breast, rubbing your clothed slit teasingly. "I bet you're dripping, aren't you baby? I bet you're fucking soaked and ready for my cock."

He pushed your panties aside, plunging two fingers deep into your soaked cunt without warning. You gasped and arched off the bed, your inner walls clenching tight around the intrusion. He pumped his fingers in and out of you, curling them just right to hit that special spot deep inside that made your toes curl.

"Oh god, James!" you cried out, tangling your fingers in his hair. He looked up at you, his blue eyes dark with lust and hunger. He captured your mouth in another searing kiss, swallowing your moans and cries of pleasure as he fingered you hard and fast, bringing you closer and closer to the edge.

"Your husband could never ! Never make you cream on his pathetic cock like I do. You belong to me. This face, this body, this magnificent tits are mine to brand, because…You. Are. Mine." He punctuated his words with sharp thrusts of his fingers, making you mewl.

James could feel your body trembling beneath him, your breath coming in short, sharp gasps as he worked you closer to your peak. The sound of your desperate pleas, the way you were melting against his fingers, only spurred him on. He wanted to make you come undone, to shatter in his arms until you forgot about everything except the all-consuming pleasure he could give you.

"Come on, baby. Let go for me," he coaxed, his fingers pumping faster, harder. His thumb rubbed tight circles around your clit, the rough pad sending shockwaves of ecstasy through your core. "I want to feel you come on my fingers, want to taste your sweet little cunt as you cream all over me."

He leaned down, replacing his fingers with his mouth. He licked a long, slow stripe up your slit before sealing his lips around your clit and suckling hard. He thrust his tongue inside you, fucking you with the slick muscle as he drank down your nectar greedily.

Your hands fisted in his hair, holding him in place as your hips bucked wildly against his face. He could feel your thighs starting to quake, could sense your impending orgasm building like a tidal wave. With a final hard suck to your clit, he pushed you over the edge, sending you careening into oblivion.

You screamed his name as you came, your cunt clamping down around his invading tongue like a vice. He could feel your honey flooding his mouth as he lapped it up, swallowing every last drop of your release. He worked you through your orgasm, his fingers and tongue never stopping their relentless assault until you collapsed back against the bed, boneless and sated.

Only then did he pull back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He crawled up your body slowly, his eyes dark with satisfaction and hunger. "That's it, baby. You taste so fucking sweet when you come for me," he praised, his voice a low, sensual growl.

He settled between your thighs, the hard ridge of his erection pressing against your sensitive mound. He rocked his hips slowly, grinding his clothed cock against your slick, swollen folds. "I need to be inside you, sugar. I need to feel your tight little cunt squeezing my dick as I fuck you hard and deep. I need to fill you up until you're dripping with my seed."

“If only I had met you before Mark…” You mumbled.

James stilled at your whispered words, a flicker of emotion crossing his handsome face. His hips paused their slow grinding against yours, and he leaned up to cup your face in his strong hands. He brushed a few strands of blonde hair from your face, tucking them gently behind your ear as he gazed down at you with a mix of tenderness and longing.

"Don't say that, baby," he murmured softly, his thumb tracing the delicate curve of your cheek. "Don't dwell on what might have been. We can't change the past, only control our present and future."

He sighed, his breath warm against your skin. "I know this situation isn't ideal, but I don't regret a single moment we've shared together. I'm just grateful that I found you, that I got to experience this incredible connection with you." His voice was filled with sincerity and conviction.

James leaned in closer, resting his forehead against yours. "Maybe we weren't supposed to meet first, maybe our paths were always meant to cross like this. Maybe we needed to learn and grow as individuals before we could fully appreciate and cherish what we have now."

He captured your mouth in a slow, sensual kiss, pouring all of his love and devotion into the intimate embrace. "I love you, babe," he whispered against your lips. "Not because of circumstance or timing, but because of the amazing woman you are. And I'll keep loving you, no matter what challenges we face."

He rocked his hips slowly against yours once more, his hardness pressing insistently against your core. "I want to make love to you, baby. I want to show you how much you mean to me, how much I need you in my life." He nuzzled your neck, his lips brushing your ear as he spoke. "Tell me you want the same, that you're still in this with me. Because I know I can't live without you."

He inhaled sharply. "Marry me…" He blurted out, his breathing uneven. "Divorce him and marry me. " He looked so small while saying this, so scared. "Listen I… I know I’m not him. I can’t give you a big house, a wealthy lifestyle, an allowance but… I love you baby. I love you so much and I know I can’t live without you. Be Mrs. Kelly and I promise, I promise I’ll struggle everyday to make it up to you. I have a piece of land out of New Orleans… I’ll build you a house with my bare hands. With everything you’d like. You could make jam or…anything. I’ll give you babies…beautiful babies… only if you want them. But please, I need you to be with me." He pleaded like a mad man desperate for air, for an ounce of oxygen to enter his lungs.

You stared up at James in shock, hardly believing your ears. Your heart raced as you took in the raw, desperate emotion etched into every line of his handsome face. He looked utterly wrecked, his blue eyes wild and pleading as he gazed down at you with naked vulnerability. In that moment, the confident, arrogant man you'd come to know melted away, revealing the deeply in love, slightly unhinged soul beneath.

Tears welled up in your eyes as the weight of his words sank in. He wanted to marry you, to build a life with you, to give you everything he had to offer. And while it wasn't the lavish, picture-perfect future you'd once imagined for yourself, you knew with sudden, blinding clarity that it was exactly what you wanted too.

"Oh, James..." you whispered, your voice choked with emotion. "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you." The words spilled from your lips before you could stop them, and in an instant, his face transformed with pure, unadulterated joy.

He crashed his mouth against yours in a desperate, passionate kiss, pouring every ounce of his love and relief into the embrace. You kissed him back just as fiercely, tangling your fingers in his hair and arching up against him. He groaned into your mouth, one hand fisting in your blonde locks while the other slid down to grip your hip possessively.

When he finally broke the kiss, he pulled back just far enough to look into your eyes. His own blue orbs shone with unshed tears and raw, visceral emotion. "You've made me the happiest man alive," he murmured, his voice rough with feeling. "I promise you won't regret this, Evelyn. I swear to god, I'll spend every day of our lives together showing you how much you mean to me."

[fyeahstormandwolvie]

So I've been drawn back to Storm 3... and I wanted to ask your opinion on the panel with Ororo and Rouge and the way some people are reading the panel as if Ororo is ashamed and disgusted by sleeping with Logan.

maybe I'm in too deep lol but knowing the rolo dynamic and knowing not only how close & understanding they are of each other but how they keep their relationship lowkey... that panel doesn't read as regretful to me at all. Ororo mentions that she set a path for herself... similar to how logan always has in the past, when they have their mind set on something they don't let anything stand in their way especially. to me the only thing I think ororo regrets is being open to be with him in that way again knowing she was leaving when the week ended even if Doom didn't send for her. She wants to be there with her x-family, with logan... but she set a path for herself, she announced herself to the world and it would feel wrong (to her) to push that all to the side just to relax with the people she loves... very similar to how logan is lol.

Murewa left that panel with so many ways for people to interpret it. I find it interesting that people concluded that Ororo is disgusted with sleeping with logan when the last panel shows Ororo looking sorrowful and saying "I'm sorry logan". if she felt bad for sleeping with him I'm very sure she would have told him before leaving... as if they hadn't slept together before, as if they haven't run off and handled business in the past, as if they both don't understand that when it comes to them being together they take any time they can get cause there's never enough time for them... shes sorry for having to leave not for sleeping with him LMFAO!

the narrator specifically explains the situation as "matters of the heart" and singles out logan as "her old lover" and the rest as her friends. the dialogue on the last day of fighting basically reads as "you know me and i know you", the way rolo love to bond by fighting... even with her situation, she could have spent the entire issue with Kurt and Remy, getting to know the kids... i just feel like the issue was very intentional whether it was to give us closure from the last time they were together or to give us some sort of foundation for the future for whatever could come about with them... do i think anything will happen with them soon, no. but i feel like there's potential for something to grow. i don't think this is the last time we'll see Logan in this comic... this is the first time (i think) we've seen them together where Ororo is in control of how the relationship moves, its usually the other way around.

Let's not even talk about how Logan probably definitely heard the whole conversation btw Ororo and the bird, Ororo and Rouge... again if you don't know the dynamic you'd read it as if it was a one-night stand but we know he trusts her enough to take care of herself and knows she'll call if she needs help... which is why he was so calm when he specifically called out Rogue in the morning and asked her if Ororo left... they both know why she left and how she felt before leaving.

idk... sorry for rambling lmfao but it just rubbed me the wrong way that people would rather claim ororo was out of her mind and dumb that she would just fuck Logan, her close friend and it be normal for her to be disgusted by sleeping with someone she trusts... cause if that was the case she could have just slept with anyone else... lmao

Hi! Always happy to chat about things like this (and welcome people to chime in in the replies/reblogs!) - I like that Murewa doesn't spell everything out for us, and we can make our own interpretations based on the text and the context of the art and what happened!

I don't think she's ashamed or disgusted that it happened at all, and that's saying it even without a biased lens. She might have regrets, which I think tracks with her tendency to overthink literally everything (she has so many Thoughts, All The Time - I think she's on record as having the most internal thought thought-bubbles throughout the Claremont run), and maybe she regrets that it happened on a whim, during a visit that she knows won't even last that long. She only planned to be around for a week, and she sleeps with him on a spur of the moment? Knowing that she'll leave in like a day (on this case, sooner than a day lol) because her current plan is to idk.. establish herself as a solo and unattached/uncommitted to the brand even if she's literally safest with the X-Men haha

I don't think they'll get together for real either, not now. I do think j she's gonna get (ironically) the Wolverine treatment where she's single and unattached so that she can have different relationship dynamics with different people. Like Batman and Spider-Man get similar treatment and can run into exes and maybe-lovers all the time. She's hot, and free! Let us see her how she'll navigate being the most wanted woman in the universe!!

I don't know if this actually answered anything lol. Please feel free to add comments in this! Just be nice and please don't say hateful things about other characters and other ships here, let's keep things civil and cool 💕

[kariachi]

More pokemon au! This time we have a Rook leaving home for the first time!

~~

“-and remember, the way is marked on your map.”

“I still say you should go with him.”

“He will be fine, Salah. It is not so far, and on a well-travelled road.”

His mother did not look convinced, even as she went through his supplies to ensure everything was in place.

“You should hope he is,” she said, normally even voice just tight with worry as she turned to her eldest. “The pokemon centers along the way have been marked on the map, you will stay the night at them, and call us each night before bed and each morning before you leave, understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Blonko had had a proper name- not the secret one, for his mother, for him, for their gods, but a true name for the world to hear- for a week now. The young tauros waiting outside had hatched into his arms a year ago. A year before that he had gotten his license, at his father and aunt’s insistence. Because he was going to leave.

It was as exciting as it was scary.

He smiled, as honest as it was a lie, as his mother handed him his bag. As they had taught him, he gave the contents a quick check himself. Pretended not to hear her sigh.

“I will only be a few weeks,” he reassured, ever the dutiful son. A trait that got his father’s nod of approval as often as his mother nudging him out the door to play. This time though, his mother was giving him the same look as when the babies had taken their first steps outside, as if all she wanted was to usher him deeper into the house. Hand him as many chores as it took to keep him safe inside. In contrast, a small smile graced his father’s face as he drew the bag over his shoulders.

“He is right,” he said, laying a hand on her shoulder. “My parents are only a week away, and Latta has already promised to meet him on the road when he arrives. This will be good for him, shake off any wanderlust.” His mother huffed a small laugh, fond despite herself.

“Like it did for you and Pri?” Something roiled alongside Blonko’s amusement to see the way his father averted his gaze and coughed. A sorrowful thought that he would not see such a thing again for weeks. With a deep breath he let himself be pulled into his mother’s arms, let her squeeze him until he felt he might pop. If either of them noticed that he held on just as hard, they were polite enough not to mention it.

“Come along, you do not want to lose the light.”

Pulling away was one of the hardest things he’d done in his young life, still smiling as his mother smoothed his fur in the moments before the three of them slipped outside.

Tauros lowed and stamped his feet at the sight of him. Somehow the pokemon had managed to leave the ribbon Blonko’s second sister had insisted on tying around his neck mud stained and tattered after a single night. Still, he could not bring himself to do more than straighten it as tauros shoved his great head into his arms, resting his cheek lovingly against a growing horn. That idle roiling doubled at the memory of leaving his younger siblings behind at their grandparents’ home the night before.

It had been a very nice dinner, a celebration and a farewell rolled into one. Blonko was not going to see them for the next few weeks either. It would just be his parents taking care of them. Taking care of the farm. Because he would be on the road.

He did not know if they would manage without him.

He did not know what he would do if they did.

He was Rook Blonko, elder brother, dutiful son, they had to need him. They could not need him, because he would be gone.

But the leaving itself… He had never left the valley. Had spent his life hanging on his aunt and uncle’s stories of travel from before he had given up the life of a trainer. Excitement at the idea of walking roads alone, seeing new places, new people, new pokemon, fought with the responsibility that had eaten at him since his first sister was born.

Wanderlust. A few weeks of travel and he would never feel the need to leave again. At most he, like his father, would travel a short trek away- stay close as a good son should. Auntie Pri had laughed at the idea.

Auntie Pri said he took after her.

Until that day he had thought it was the one thing she and his mother agreed on.

The whine of his mother’s lycanroc pulled him out of his own mixed thoughts. With another stamp tauros pulled away to brandish his horns possessively, prompting a chuckle as Blonko threw a steadying arm around his thick neck.

“Relax,” he murmured to him, “you will have me all to yourself soon.” Tauros just snorted, eyeing lycanroc as Blonko’s father stepped forward to place a hand on his shoulder.

“These are your first steps towards becoming a grown man,” he said, Blonko’s heart swelling in his chest despite the warring emotions in his gut. “I am proud of you.” Despite his best efforts, Blonko couldn’t help but grin and nod heartily at the words. His father was his hero, not a distant man by the standards of their culture but still not one to give out such compliments and approval without reason. If he was proud of him, then he was accomplishing something.

The idea alone was enough to lift a fair chunk of the weight in his legs.

“Thank you,” he said, squaring his shoulders as he did his best to meet both his parents’ eyes at once. “I will be safe, and home soon.”

“I should hope,” his mother said, smiling softly, sadly, burying her fingers in lycanroc’s mane as it returned to her side. “Be careful, remember to call, and-” She sighed. “-try to enjoy the journey.”

“I will, I promise.” Hopefully not fidgeting enough to draw attention, fingers buried in tauros’s mane, Blonko nodded again. “Goodbye.”

“Until we meet again,” his father countered, giving a gentle, dismissing wave of his hand even as he smiled at him. “Now go, your grandparents are expecting you.”

He didn’t run to the road, like the kids in stories did, like his aunt once had when she was young. The fight against the muscle memory of chores, childminding, the weight of responsibility kept his steps slow. But a building sense of pride, of adventure, the weight of tauros following protectively behind him, kept them steady. He would go to his grandparents’, get their blessing on his name, and return. As added incentive, he pictured their smiles in his mind, picking up the pace at the idea of his grandmother’s baking, grandfather’s gruff approval.

They always did like seeing how he had grown.

[aeolianblues]

I'm not an extrovert. At all. In everyday life, I'm a yapper, sure, but I need someone to first assure me I am okay to yap, so I don't start conversations, even when I really want to join in sometimes! It's just the social anxiety acting up. God knows where from and why I lose a lot of my inhibitions when it comes to talking to people about music. I don't know where the confidence has suddenly sprung from. I've made a crazy amount of friends in musical circles, either just talking to people about common music or (since it is after all in music circles) talking to bands about their own music. I let out a sigh of relief any time an interaction goes well, because in truth it's going against my every instinct. I wish I could do that in everyday life