#he's not fighting the scaring his kids allegations

[askthegavinkids]

"S-SOMEONE TOLD MAMA BOUT MY SKETTIOS I HAFTA GO HIDE!!"

@firstclassattorney

[turcott3]

angel

matt rempe x fem! reader

warnings?: switches from third to second pov a few times, cursing, talks of fighting, talks of smut, crying, alcohol

loosely based on black mirror episode ‘arkangel’

(third person will be written in italics)

masterlist

-

2011

you found your way to the open pavement as the final school bell rang. the basketball court and black top was where everyone hung out that didn’t ride the bus, which was honestly a good chunk of people.

you found your way to your everyday meeting spot, and sat down on the large rock. the same rock where you met up with your sister everyday. you noticed the trouble maker kid outside as well.

his name was matthew. he was in the third grade, you in first.

you tend to watch him from afar, listening in on his conversations. something about him drew you in. you were so intrigued by his presence. recently, you’d discovered that he plays hockey, and now he was getting deeper into it

hockey this, hockey that. that’s all he talked about now.

all his friends were called over by their parents one by one and soon he was left alone, drawing his attention to you. he walks quickly over to you.

the two of you knew each other vaguely, you were at least on a first name basis given you’d been outside together many times before your sister graced you with her presence.

“so you play hockey?” you ask.

“yeah, how’d you know?” he asks, tilting his head to the side slightly.

“well i just heard you talking.” you replied.

“oh so you were snooping?” he retorts.

“well no i-“

“you wanna learn about it?” he offers and you nod.

“i think i should tell you about my favorite part.” he smirks.

he begins rambling on vaguely about the sport but focusing on his alleged favorite part.

fighting.

“and then he takes his fist and he-“

“matthew stop it!” your sister shouts, speed walking into frame.

“what?” he asks.

“stopping scaring my sister. you’re freaking her out with all your scary, violent stuff.”

“i haven’t even told her anything about it yet.” he spat his words out strongly at her.

“whatever. she’s 6, she doesn’t need to know about that stuff.” your sister says clenching your shoulder one last time.

“you can tell me another time.” you whisper to him, guarding your mouth from her view.

“i heard that y/n. and no, he won’t tell you another time. come on, mom is waiting.” she says tugging your sleeve. you couldn’t help but keep your eyes locked on his frame as he directed his story elsewhere. silly, frantic punching motions coming from the boy.

-

2013

you sat alone on the ground as you watched all the kids run around at recess.

more specifically, matt playing football with his friends.

you sighed as you picked the small weed flowers, stuffing the pretty ones in your pocket for later. you hear yells from the group of boys playing football and look up, seeing matthew slow to a stop, his eyes on you.

“hey guys uh, ill be back in a few.” he shouts, jogging in your direction. you felt a lump in your throat as he approached.

“hey y/n.”

“hi.”

“what’s wrong? everything okay?” he asks, genuine concern lining his tone.

“yeah, my friend is sick today so, i don’t have anyone to play with.”

“i’m sorry, here,” he pauses sitting down next to you, “now you have someone.”

you smile at the gesture. as much of a bad, misbehaved kid he was, he was always so kind to you, and you never knew why.

“so you play football now?” you ask, looking at the flowers you picked.

“nah, just here. can’t play hockey at recess can i?” he asks leaning closer, nudging your shoulder.

“yeah i guess you’re right.” you giggle.

“well since my sisters in middle school now, you can finally tell me about hockey. i just don’t wanna stop your game over there.” you continue.

“they can play without me.” he simply replies.

“oh…. okay.”

“so you wanna hear about it now aye?” he teases.

“yeah.” you reply shyly. he goes on to tell you about the new rules he was learning, obviously building up to his favorite part.

the fighting. again.

“i’m a lot bigger than the other guys so, it’s easy for me to beat them up.” he says.

“really?”

“yeah, i think i’ve broken a few noses. you should look on youtube when you get home. just look up hockey fights. they’re awesome.” he tells you finally as your teacher called out for you to come back inside.

“thank you for sitting with me matthew.”

“yeah you’re welcome, oh, and you can call me matt by the way.” he replies as you nod and walk away from him. growing more and more curious about him by the day.

-

2017

you were a month into your seventh grade year, freshly 13 years old. matt had moved on up to highschool. it made you a little sad not seeing him in the halls during school but since you rode with your sister, who was now a junior, you saw him sitting outside once school got out.

you sighed as you walked past him at a distance. swarmed by girls he seemed mildly interested in.

“ooo shiny new hockey player. kiss my ass.” you mumble to yourself, keeping your head pointed to the ground as you walked to your sisters car. you heard matt’s voice in the distance telling the girls he’d catch them later.

“y/n, wait up.” he calls to you, jogging to catch up to you.

“hey matt.” you smile lightly, blushing at him ditching all those girls to see you.

“how’s big ol’ seventh grade going for ya?” he asks as you continue walking.

“oh it’s good. kinda boring. middle school is dumb.”

“yeah well, i miss seeing you in the halls. highschool better come quick. i’ll catch you later y/n, my moms here.” he nudges your arm as you wave bye to him.

“was that matt?” your sister asks as you approach the car.

“yeah it was.”

“what did he want?” she scoffs as you both shut your car doors.

“he’s not some evil, disgusting monster you know? we’re friends, kinda.” you reply.

“i just don’t want him to be a bad influence on you.”

“you don’t see me fighting people at school do you?”

“well no-“

“then there you go. he’s not.”

“okay y/n.” she replies, pulling out into the road and driving home.

you had no idea why she had formed this resentment for him. he hadn’t done anything to her, she just took what she heard of him and ran with it.

the rest of the drive home was quiet, she made you mad and you were done. defending matt against your sister wasn’t on the books today, but you were sure to get an earful from your mother later.

-

2018

you walked with your friend away from the buses and to the side entrance of the school, seeing matt leaned up against his brand new range rover, girls and his friends swarmed in a small group around him.

“look at that, matt’s sick new ride.”

“yeah.”

“let’s go see it.” she says grabbing your hand and dragging you in his direction.

“y/n.” he shouts, everyone’s attention directing to you.

“nice new wheels.” your friend says, staring into his soul, but him still having eyes on you.

“how you been, haven’t seen you around much this summer.” he asks you honestly.

“oh i’m good thanks matt. and yeah, nice car.” you blush.

“thanks. bells ringing soon. we should get going yeah?” he says leaning up off his car leaving his crew behind, slinging an arm over your shoulder as eyes hit you like daggers.

“can’t let you get lost on your first day.” he says and you giggle.

“matt.” you mumble and he stops outside your classroom, your friend waving as she turns off down another hall.

“what’s up?” he replies.

“everyone’s staring at me.” you say, escaping his grip.

“it’s just because of my new car, trust me, they don’t actually want me…. i think.” he doubts his words looking around.

“matt you know that’s not true.”

“okay whatever it doesn’t matter, i don’t give two shits about people. they stare, they stare. that doesn’t change me walking you to class.” he says.

“well you need to get to yours before you’re late.”

“yeah yeah i know, meet me after school today though, ill give you a ride home.” he he says as nudges your shoulder.

“okay, bye.” you wave as he walks off.

“meet me after school.” you whisper to yourself and scoff.

you sat with an old friend in class and she mentions the homecoming dance coming early. something you’d totally forgotten about.

“oh shit you’re right. i gotta start looking.” you giggle as the teacher begins the lecture.

hours later you found yourself walking to matt’s car, where he once again stood leaned against it. once you were close he climbed in, you shortly behind.

“why are you taking me home?”

“felt like being nice.”

“oh, okay.”

“so what was it you wanted to talk to me about?” you asked interrupting the silence.

“i just wanted to ask if you’d go to homecoming with me? i know it’s early so i figured i should get ahead.” he says turning his head to you, a blush spreading across your face.

-

“no way, no. you’re not going with him.” your mom says as you sat at the counter.

“mom, why not.” you groan.

“because, that kid is bad news y/n. i don’t trust him.”

“he’s not though, he’s perfectly fine.”

“and i don’t believe you. you can go with your friends, no means no.” she says, setting your plate down on the counter.

“whatever.” you reply, knowing you’re gonna have to text him the news within the next hour.

a short month later you found yourself all ready for the dance.

“you look beautiful.” your mom smiles as you walk down the stairs. you were meeting your friends for dinner, and still going to the dance with matt. behind her back of course, you didn’t want to tell him no.

you spent a while at the dance before you left with matt and a few friends for a bonfire by the lake, wrapped in matt’s blazer.

“can you pass me that?” he says lowly next to you as his friend tosses him a beer.

“matt, you drove.”

“i know, this is for you to drink.” he smiles.

“what?”

“come on y/n. you know you’re safe with me.” he says unscrewing the cap and handing it to you. you couldn’t find it in yourself to deny him.

you’d never drank before and considering you were 15, you were a light weight. matt being 16 you expected the same but were surprised that he decided to only have one, which hardly gave him a buzz. next thing you knew you were sat in his lap on the log, hug him onto him. things around the fire had gotten awkward with all the couples making out.

“can we go sit in your car?” you whisper to him and he agrees, helping you off his lap and holding your hand all the way to the car, knowing uneven ground and heels were a recipe for disaster.

“i brought some stuff in case of something like this.” he says opening the back doors and revealing a few blankets and pillows. you looked up at him with a hazy smile as he tossed them in the trunk and pushed the seats down, the two of you climbing in and setting up camp.

you shed the blazer, tossing it in the front seat as you laid in a comfortable silence, the two front windows cracked for airflow.

“so.” matt says, leaning up on an elbow.

“so?”

“how’s the night been?”

“oh it’s been good.” you reply, turning your head to him and smiling to see his eyes locked on your lips, you quickly turning away.

“don’t get all shy on me y/n.” he giggles, pulling you closer to him.

“sorry, you just look really good right now.” you reply.

“and you look even better.” he mumbles before attaching your lips.

the night continued in full physical contact. he learned every curve and crevice of her body carefully, paying attention to every detail. making note of what she liked and disliked. teaching her the right ways to everything. his hands held her carefully as he worshipped her under his breath, quiet whimpers and curses leaving her lips every few moments, before it all came crashing down after a long few minutes.

“you know, you didn’t have to say those things.” he giggles to you.

“well those are things i learned while i’m watching porn on my phone at night, i- i didn’t know what to do. was it bad? i’m sorry.”

“no no, my love, you were amazing. you were perfect.” he says cupping your jaw and dipping down to kiss you one more time. moments later, they’re interrupted by loud bangs on the window.

“you’re so fucking busted. it’s almost two in the morning y/n. i had to come track you down.” you hear your sisters stern voice outside the car window.

“fuck oh my god, what the hell.” you scramble, making sure your dress was on straight.

“it’s not what it looks like.” you express leaping out of the car.

“yes the fuck it is.”

“please don’t tell mom. please i’m begging you.”

“no, i’m telling her you were with him after she explicitly told you not to.”

“hey that’s no-“ he starts and is quickly cut off.

“and you kissed him, and god knows what else. god just get in the car.” she sighs, pointing to her car up the hill.

“matt im sorry, i really am.” you sigh and he nods.

“it’s okay, i didn’t know they felt this way about me.”

“you don’t exactly have good rep, rempe.” you sister spits, shoving you along. immediately you text him apologizing profusely.

your sister knew he just took your virginity. it was no mystery, the windows were fogged and dripping, your hair came undone, his buttons were crooked. she swore not to tell all the details, but in no way were you ever gonna be able to go near him again. except for in the hallways at school.

“you know he’s trouble y/n. you let him get in your pants?”

“yeah i did, and he’s not as much trouble as you think he is. he’s very nice to me.”

“it doesn’t matter. you’re not seeing him again, you hear me?” she says sternly and you sigh, resting your head against the window.

“yeah.” you reply, a tear falling down your cheek as he texted back, repeating that everything was fine.

-

“what were you thinking young lady.” your mom startles you awake.

“what?”

“you were kissing matthew in his car at the bonfire? really?” she says standing at the foot of your bed with her arms crossed.

“i’m sorry.” you sigh, tears threatening to spill again.

“what did i tell you about being around him?”

“i know mom i’m sorry, i really like him okay? he’s not how you think he is.” you reply wiping the tears that started to fall.

“yeah well, i really just don’t believe you. he’s not a good influence y/n. it’s just a warning this time, you will not see him again.” she finishes and you nod.

“you know i love you.” she says walking toward your door.

“i know, even if that’s a tough thing to believe.” you reply and she chuckles exiting you room.

and that you didn’t. you didn’t hang out outside of the school halls. all you did was text. every. single. day.

-

2022

matt knocked on the door and anxiously rocked back and forth on his heels. he knew that her sister and her mom weren’t his biggest fans. hell, you could say they hate his guts, but he knew he had to make it right.

“we don- matt? what do you want?” her mom sighs opening the door.

“i’m taking your daughter to prom.” he says firmly, a light smile on his face.

“she has a boyfriend?” her sister interjects walking up to the door.

he sighs as he looks down at the flowers.

“listen, i know you guys aren’t my biggest fans,” he starts.

“yeah, you could say that.” her sister mumbles.

“but i know this isn’t my news to air but, he broke up with her this morning. we’ve been friends for years, texting for years, whatever. she was so excited for this dance and i- i really fucking, sorry, i really care about her. i really want her to have a good night, i’d do anything to make sure she’s happy and i’d do anything to make things right with you guys.” he states heartfully.

“well.” her mom sighs, her heart seemingly growing larger for the boy that stood in front of her with a large, fresh bouquet of flowers and a nice ironed tux.

“and she doesn’t know, i wanted to surprise her, if that’s okay?”

“yeah it is. thank you matthew. we had no idea, we only saw her this morning.”

“yeah that’s about when it happened.” he replies scratching the back of his head as her mom shuts the door behind her.

“her rooms up there on the right.” she smiles lightly.

“thank you mrs. y/l/n. i really do appreciate it.” he replies making his way up the stairs, knocking lightly on the door.

“are you ready?” he says through the door.

“what?” you call back.

“can i come in?” he asks, you not recognizing the voice. you sat at your vanity with curlers in your hair and your makeup half done. you couldn’t stop crying.

“yes?”

“hey.” you see matt’s face peek through the door before stepping in, fully dressed in a tux, with a large, lush bouquet and a sweet smile.

“matt?” you say, putting down your brush, immediately standing up from your chair and walking over to him.

“i got these for you, i tried my best to match your dress.” he says looking over at the dress that hung from your closet door.

“matt.” you frown sweetly. for the first time since your freshman year, you hugged onto him, tightly. you feel him freeze for a moment before tossing the flowers onto your bed and wrapping his arms around you, picking you briefly up off the ground.

“thank you for this.” you say sweetly as you pull away, his hands still placed on your waist.

“you know i’ll always come around. anything for you.”

“really?”

“yeah, really.” he smiles, pressing a short peck to the top of your head.

“hey, we got reservations in an hour, chop chop pretty girl.” he giggles into your hair.

“i’ll be done, just give me like 30 minutes.” you reply, picking up the flowers and inspecting them.

“of course, no rush. it’s close by. i’ll be downstairs okay?”

“okay.” you smile lightly as he exits your room, your heart pounding in your chest as you got ready quickly. you zipped up your dress and grabbed the flowers, looking in the mirror at the perfect match he’d picked. you sighed in relief knowing the boy you’d been longing since you were a little girl surprised you and is waiting downstairs for you.

you breathe out as you open the door and turn the corner, walking down the stairs where matt and your mom were waiting, his eyes following you every step down.

“you look beautiful honey.” your mom sighs, looking at the gorgeous dress you’d picked out a few months ago.

“absolutely stunning.” matt says, eyes still locked on you.

“thank you guys.” you blush.

“let me get a picture of you two, uh, y/n stand on the second step, i want the full dress in without having to cut this giant’s head off.” she laughs stepping back with her camera and snapping a few photos.

“thank you for doing this for her matthew, i really appreciate it.”

“of course, anytime truly. your daughter is incredible.” he smiles at your mom, her eyes growing into hearts in an instant.

“you two have fun and be safe please.” she says, opening the front door for the two of you.

sis: use a condom, left some in your wallet ;)

you read the text aloud to matt when you got in the car, laughing at your sisters sudden approval.

“she gave you some? hell i already have some.” he laughs, backing out of your driveway.

“you know to this day, you’re the first of only three bodies that i have.”

“was i the best?”

“well i guess yeah?”

“what do you mean you guess?”

“i mean you were really the only one that paid any attention to my needs.”

“well of course, that’s extremely important to me.”

“then not i guess, you definitely were the best.”

“not were, are.” he winks, intertwining his fingers with yours in your lap.

the night was incredible. after the dance, your mom let matt come and stay over at your house, and you couldn’t believe it. he’d truly won your family over. you spent the whole night laid up in bed, kissing and touching and loving on each other for the first time since you were fifteen. everything felt the same, yet different. a mature kind of passion injected into the kisses you shared and the touches he laid on you. you would never trade his intimacy for the world. when you were with him, it’s like the world stopped spinning, and you were the last two people alive. he made your heart jump in the blink of an eye. you wanted him all along, even against your mothers wishes, and that’s something you’d never change.

“can i ask you something?” matt says as you laid contently on his bare chest.

“yes.” you reply leaning up to lock eyes with him.

“listen i know this is really really fast after this morning, and you can say no and i will understand either way but um, would you be my girlfriend?” he asks nervously and you giggle, locking your lips on his.

“yes, a million times.” you smile, speaking on his lips, reconnecting them after your brief words.

“you have no clue how long i’ve been trying to get to this point. it was hard with your mom and sister hating my guts. and you just got broken up with this morning.” he giggles.

“yeah well, i was gonna start hanging out with you again behind their backs if they didn’t start liking you. and, i’ve been wanting to be with you for years matt, nothing is too quick when it comes to you. nothing.”

-

2024

“matt.” you call out from the couch, adjusting your position trying to get comfy.

“yes my love.” he says running and sliding across the wood floor of his apartment.

“can you PLEASE get the pizza off the counter and bring it over here.” you beg.

“of course, you wanna watch a movie or something? maybe not do a whole lot of watching.” he says with a smug look on his face as he rounds the end of the couch, placing the box on the coffee table.

“how about we finish this box first and then we can talk….. or not talk.” you reply teasingly.

“i love you so much.” he smirks.

“i love you, matt.” you reply with a scrunched nose, pressing a short kiss to his lips as he got settled on the couch next to you.

over the course of the last 2 years, you’d grown inseparable, falling in love in a matter of weeks. he was there for everything. graduation and all. you hadn’t left his side since the night of your senior prom, and you fully planned on starting a life with him. which unbeknownst to him, this life you’d talked about had already begun.

“hey so, i actually had some news.” you start, finishing your slice.

“go on?” he mutters, shutting the box.

“well, fuck i wanted to make this like a big deal but i’m telling you before we fuck.” you sigh, realizing you should wait.

“no no, what is it, it’s okay baby.” he perks up, taking your hand in his.

“matt im pregnant.” you spit out, gritting your teeth waiting for a response.

“are you for real?” he says, his eyes widening, a quick nod following as a response. a huge smile grows on his cheeks as he practically jumps on you, squeezing you so tight you can hardly breathe.

“you’re carrying our baby. like our baby. wow. i can’t believe it. oh my god, i’m so lucky, i’m so excited wow. i love you so much y/n, you’re gonna be the best mom. i’ll make sure you have everything you need and so much more.” he says, his hands placed on your cheeks.

“thank you handsome, i’m glad you reacted well to that, i was nervous. thank you, i love you.” you reply hugging him back.

you were anxious to start this life with him, but you knew from the start all those years ago that you were taken care of.

ever since the day he approached you on the playground in third grade you knew he was never gonna leave you. never in a million years.

-

[londonfog-chan]

I Will Not Keep My Mouth Shut About this High School Romance Between Eddie Munson x Reader (Headcanons)

Why lord? Why are we not talking about this?

I’ve dated metalhead guys in the past, and believe in me when I say these fuckers move fast.

Eddie is no exception to this rule. He loves hard and quickly, especially if you’re into the same things he’s into as well.

I’m talking balls to the wall insanity like: the day won’t even be over and he’ll have already asked you out, kissed you, offered you weed, and secretly be planning the names of the four kids he wants with you.

Mans is delulu as fuck for you.

As much as he has his passions there’s just something about the fact that you actually gave the town freak unconditional love that makes him desperate. Corroded Coffin, Hellfire Club, he’d pick you over them any day if it meant he got to keep you.

Guarantee, you’ll already have gone all the way before the weekend is up of that first week of the relationship.

Cherry boy cherry boy cherry boy.

But he knows what he’s doing. It will have been awkward but the best part is now “Rainbow in the Dark” makes you feel all hot under the collar and “Shame on the Night” makes you laugh and reminds you of the awkward panic cleaning up after.

The epitome of live fast die young. He will throw his life away if you ask him to, so make sure you use your powers wisely.

At some point Eddie will ask you to run away with him. He doesn’t give a shit where, so long as it’s with you.

Shared interests are probably how the two of you met in the first place, especially if you’re like me and unable to beat the weird kid allegations. You drifted towards his club because you for whatever reason were an outcast too.

Eddie would probably crush on those who are conventionally pretty, popular, the epitome of the 80’s beauty standards. That’s just human nature. But with you… it’s so much more different.

You’re like his nerdy fantasies come to life, like the princesses he writes about in his campaigns that are a mix of dark, dangerous, able to hold their own and fight for him and with him. Think of if you will a sexy bombshell rotoscoped into those old metal music videos. Facing the world wearing only red lipstick and a cocksure expression.

He would get along so well with someone who wasn’t afraid to let their wild side show, or to express it. But at the same time if you’re more shy and reserved, he is determined to help you come out of that shell and be the best possible version of yourself.

It’s impossible not to match his excitable energy, it’s just so goddamn contagious. It might scare you how far you’re willing to go for Eddie and how quickly you might find yourself changing. Because believe me, you will change, and it will be for the better.

Eddie will always be your number one hype man.

He will literally be so excited about everything you do because it’s you! The person he loves more than anyone in this whole entire world.

Eddie will literally put up with so much for you. Even if you guys fight he will struggle to maintain his composure because he does not want to fuck this beautiful thing up.

Drives himself up the wall with anxiety about it too. But that’s the thing about Eddie’s dynamic with you: is that he will do what it takes to keep his fucking cool around you.

Your fights are infrequent but can get explosive if there are unsaid insecurities. So to avoid this: keep honest with him. About everything. Don’t lie to him, because as fast as he fell for you, lying is the quickest way to break his trust and send him packing.

One of his flaws in the relationship is that his insecurity that this will all go away will make him all that more prepared to leave if you have a massive blow up fight.

Like he’s already preplanned his exit strategy and everything.

But the longer you’re together, the more comfortable he gets and eventually he settles down from jumping the gun into taking things one day at a time.

He’s a fucking keeper. And all I’m gonna say is you better start training with swinging a blunt weapon because once you have him, you’re going to be right there in the Upside Down fucking up some monsters keeping them away from your man.

[ultimate-marysue]

I want a situation where the robins are fighting together. One of those really messed up villain team ups, maybe they have to work together to save Batman, whatever. The important part is: things are looking bad. There's no back up coming (Nightwing and Red Hood were their back up!) and Damian is the only thing standing between the civilians and the bad guys.

He is terrified, not that he'd ever admit to it, and he knows he needs to be focused on the fight if he wants to win it. There's only one problem: most of those civilians are kids. They are crying, screaming, and having lost all hope. They know Robin will do all that he can to save them, but Robin is a tiny kid, just like them, and he is scared too.

An image comes to mind, of times long past. He'd been way past his curfew, looking at the bat computer he was forbidden from using. It wasn't his fault really, father and Drake hadn't come back at their expected time and he just wanted to check if his assistance was required. After all, he was far better trained than Drake. Maybe that'd be the night father understood and asked him to step in.

The CCTV footage he managed to access from Oracle showed a gnarly fight between Robin and Killer Croc in the middle of the street. That was the first time Damian ever saw Robin in action. It was way different than how he moved in the training mats; he was unnecessarily flashy, cocky even, equally concerned with sassing and hitting his opponent. Robin's smile as he ran circles around the rogue could light up a city.

It had been sloppy at best, but there's a reason why it came to mind right that moment. That fight had been an equally tiny Robin against an immensely larger monster, but all the civilians in frame had been cheering Drake on, forgetting the danger they were in.

Looking at a particularly snotty toddler that looked like he had peed himself in fear, Damian made his choice. It could bite him in the ass for all he cared, he knew that Spoiler would be done soon and coming to his aid. So Damian gave his best smile, straightening up, and insulted the rogue's costuming choices.

The fight was hard, harder than what it needed to be, as Damian balanced blocks and dodges with scathing remarks about his enemy's face, career or the unlikely relations of his mother. It wasn't his usual ruthless effectiveness nor his venomous insults. For the first time he was purposefully putting on a show, despite his own fear. It was hard, keeping up his flashiness while trying to not die, but soon enough he was rewarded but cheering when the hit coming his way barely missed him. So he kept going.

Eventually Spoiler joined him, with her own commentary on the rogue's alleged romantic life (or lack thereof), before Red Hood finished him off with some sort of reference that was missed on Damian. By the end he was breathing hard, absolutely exhausted, when he felt Brown's arm around his shoulder. "Keep up" she whispered as she turned them both towards the crowd. Red Robin was already helping the civilians, while Nightwing helped Red Hood securing the rogue, both of them having finished their own fight.

He lifted a little girl from the rubble, and she giggled merrily as if she hadn't been crying ten minutes ago there were still tear tracks in her soot stained cheeks.

"You were so cool!" She stated, almost matter of fact, "Kevin thought you were gonna get your ass kicked but I knew you'd win."

She said that last part petulantly, staring at another kid wearing a Batman t-shirt. The boy looked a bit ashamed, and Damian couldn't help the derisive t-t that escaped him.

"Obviously, as if that bumbling buffoon had any chance against me."

The girl nodded sagely "I know, Robin always wins."

Damian sat her down next to what looked like some very frazzled preschool teachers, not bothering to correct her. Robin didn't always win, that was absolutely nonsensical. Yet...she had sounded so sure of herself. As if it was a very well known fact and her friend was just being silly.

He was struck down from his reverie by a firm hand settling on his shoulder. He looked up to a beaming Nightwing "Nicely done out there, Robin." Damian wanted to protest, to pretend like he hadn't done anything special and that this was just a regular Tuesday for him. Instead, he dumbly nodded, his chest feeling warm from the praise.

"...and then he said 'I honestly pity your mother, carrying a waste of oxygen for nine months! It was hilarious you should have seen it!" Spoiler was loudly reporting his juvenile jabs to a very amused Red Robin as Red Hood barked out a laugh.

Damian feigned disinterest, suddenly feeling extremely self conscious for his half baked attempts at annoying his enemy. He caught Red Robin's stare, and before he could look away he saw his brother give him a proud smile and a thumbs up.

"Everyone is being so obtusely cheery today," he sneered, "maybe we should check the water supply."

"I can't blame them baby bat, you did your job too well today," Dick laughed "Robin always makes people smile."

It was said fondly, and Damian could feel the love Dick had for the mantle he'd created and everyone to ever wear it. Robin looked back at the gaggle of preschooler he had saved, most of them cheerfully waving their little hands at him. He waved back, smile on his face.

He had always known he was destined for greatness.When Richard bestowed Robin upon him, he knew he would be a great vigilante. But today he realized there was a difference between being a hero and being Robin. It was nice to know, he made a pretty great Robin too.

[zwolfgames]

Goblin camp overtake (drabble) Platonic!Yandere!BG3 x Teen!Reader

(Hopefully it's a bit accurate because ive only played the story twice for now so i dunno all the posibilities.)

Summary: Teen!reader and the squad go take defeat the goblins. Therefore meeting Halsin, and Minthara again.

Warnings: Death (obv), mentions of gore, Goblins

Other related BG3 by me: Intro, Gith creché

The sun was shining, the flowers in the forest were blooming... On days like this, kids like you had been tasked with commuting genocide on the local goblins.

Not that you really cared. They were little shitheads... Stole your laundry once back when you lived with your mom... before all this...

But getting closer to this alleged camp wasn't making you any more at ease. You could already imagine the stench of those sweaty creatures when you have to inevitably walk into that camp. Which you've heard is actually just an old temple.

You've noticed over time that people in your little group have gotten... well, friendlier. For example: Lae'zel was no longer throwing you glares, Shadowheart remembered your name, Astarion has indoctrinated you into his schemes... Yea, the three most hostile people had warmed up to you.

And the other have just... always been quite nice.

Well, Wyll still didn't seem to approve of you, a minor, coming along. But he didn't really have a choice as the others were not allowing him to take you back to the Emerald Grove. Guess they really do find you too funny to lose then.

"Ugh, the stench is disgusting." Karlach waves the air under her nose away.

"It is the smell of a goblin camp. What were you expecting? Tchk. And I myself find this odor quite thrilling. It promises of a good fight." Lae'zel slightly smirks. Clawed hands flexing around the handle of her greatsword.

"Of course you do... Tough the smell of blood has never scared me away." Astarion, in turn, chuckles in that weird posh way. You raise a brow.

"So you're sure you're not a vampire?" You question sarcastically. The pale elf gasps in mock offense.

"Of course not. I merely like the smell." He huffs. Right, so that time you saw him hunt down a boar must have been make belief.

The rest of the party didn't comment anymore as you made your way to the camp.

Gale had thrown his arm around your shoulder to keep you at the back. He excused that as 'magic users stay behind so they can asses the battlefield'. But he probably just didn't want to accidently get Lae'zels sword through his back.

This mission to save some druid calmed Halsin was looking like a total hassle. But hey, why not do side quests while the worm in your head is ready to kill you?

Whatever person lives in your head didn't take kindly to your remark as you heard the voice say they'd protect you.

Right, bullshit. You're just developing pshycosis. A hundred percent that.

"Y/N. If they target you, I want you to run, alright?" Wyll speaks calmly.

"Well, I mean, not that I don't want to but were kind of in this together -" You start nonchalantly.

"Don't listen to the human. It is unhonerable to run from a fight." Lae'zel scolds like a lecturing general.

Well, do you really care about your honor? It's not like you're trying to capture the Avatar here-

"Yea yea, got it, boss." You sigh. The slight stress makes its way to your head. It's just some goblins, right? Nothing a good magic missile can't solve... Right?

You take back your words quite quickly when Astarion smooth talks his way past the outside security to let your group pass. There's like... at least fifty goblins here!

You feel an arm slitter around your shoulders. Looking up, you can see Lae'zels warry face.

She's gripping that greatsword quite harshly, a bit scared, maybe? Tough you doubt it, it's Lae'zel..

You ignore the stink eyes these little creatures are throwing you and walk along with your group.

"My, what a festive place, no? Look, they even have booze." Astarion muses with his typical smug grin.

"We're not here to party." Gale groans. The wizard stares at the goblins in distaste. You note that everyone is on edge

A goblin child sticks her tingue out at you, so you do the same, blowing raspberries for good meassure. This action earns you a dissaproving look by Wyll.

"So where's this druid? I don't want to be here any longer then needed." Shadowheart complains with a little wave infront of her nose to showcase that she thinks this place stinks.. Wich it does.

"Let's ask!" Karlach offers her idea.

"You've got to be the most optimistic person I've met and we have a literal child in the group." Gale groans.

"You can't miss any of the chances you take." Karlach shrugs.

"Let's just gut all of them. I'm sure we can search for the druid in peace then." Astarion smirks.

"For once, I agree with the pale one." Lae'zel sneers.

You watch your group bicker a bit longer as you wander out of the grip you had been put in. Walking around the goblin camp instead.

Mhh, a clear booze tub. They're drunk. Quite ideal.

You scan around the area, a certain tall woman catches your eye, seeing as she isn't a goblin.

Wait a minute, you've met her before! She almost killed you on the beach when the Nautiloid crashed!

The nerve of that woman, she doesn't deserve the same hairstyle as your mother.

Astarion had snuk out of the argument your group of idiots was having right in the middle of the goblin camp. He stuck himself to your side, observing along with you.

"You seem... focussed. You have an idea, do you not?" The pale elf asks smoothly.

"An inkling. They're drinking, and Nettie gave us wyvern poison... I mean...?" You let your gaze travel to the booze tub. Astarions red eyed orbs follow along. You can see a sharp toothed grin spread across his face.

"I just know we're going to be great friends, Y/N.." He smirks and puts a cold hand on your shoulder.

You just smile in satisfaction that your plan is apparently good. Before you know it, Astarions snatched the poison out of Shadowhearts pocket. You watch the man go invisible to presumably go dunk the booze in poison. Or maybe he's gonna drink it... But he never seemed suicidal... So it should be fine.

"Y/N, c'mon, we're going into the temple, the druid should be there." Karlach waves you over.

You nod and join the group again. Getting tucked back under someone's shoulder.

The first leader of the Goblins you had met was a priestess. And oh boy, defenitly not your favourite... She wanted to brand you! Is she nuts!?

So anyways, Lae'zel chopped her head off... Uh... props to Wyll for covering your eyes.

Then there was Dror Ragzlin. Scary guy that one. Almost twice your size, mean face and doing necromancy. Yikes.

Unfortunatly, you did have to help in this fight. There were goblins storming in through the door and well just that beast of an orc.

So you you just started blasting spells at the incoming goblins. Fireball and Ice Knife were a nice combo, no? Make em slip and then steam the ice and do damage? Sounds logical to you. Was anyone else smelling barbeque or just you?

When that got taken care of, Karlach strapped a helmet to your head and lead you back to the group.

The last leader was the same woman that had tried to kill you. Minthara, apparently. You've never seen a real drow, so this was cool. Except for the part where she tried to kill all of you. That wasn't that cool...

Just before she was supposed to just die, Lae'zel had accidently hit one of the wooden beams in the room. The ceiling collapsed right infront of you.

Well, maybe she's dead? Atleast it's not your problem anymore?

After all the goblins inside had straight up been slayed, Astarion joined the group once more, seeming quite pleased with himself.

"Where have you been?" Gale asks sternly. Raising an eyebrow in suspiscion. It's still quite annoying that nobody really trusts anyone here..

"Let's just say the situation outside is taken care off." Astarion boasts proudly.

"Really? And you did that, alone?" Shadowheart states in a disbelieving tone. Gods forbid the fancy man does anything impressive.

"Yes! Is that so hard to believe?" Astarion scoffs and crosses his arms.

"Very." Shadowheart argues back.

"I'll believe it when I see it." Lae'zel adds.

Wyll and Karlach just exchange glances. Well you know that he did it. So there's no need for your input-

"Ahhh!" You eep in fear as a large man had appeared behind you. Wich is very scary considering every one in this temple was supposed to be dead.

"Calm down little cub, I mean no harm." The large man smiles reasuringly.

You stagger back to Lae'zels side. This man... Elf ears.. Brown hair. Ah, druid attire? Halsin, perhaps?

"And who are you?" Shadowheart asks for all of you.

"Halsin. You were sent here to come chack on me, or are you just lost adventurers?" Halsin asks with that same smile.

"Well, we found him. Back to the grove-" Gale starts walking off before Karlach grabs the rim of his robes to keep him in the group.

"We did come here for you. Have the goblins hurt you?" Wyll asks calmly. Halsin shakes his head.

"Nothing I can't handle. Why the cub?" Halsin tilts his head at you.

"They're actually an immortal being in the form of a child. Wiser then any of us." Astarion makes up.

Halsin raises a brow. Clearly not believing that.

"Right. But like your little wizard said, we should get back. I am sure the grove has missed me." Halsin hums.

"Don't think so, they're closing it off frol the outside world." You mention calmly.

"What." Halsin stops smiling. You just shrug, that's all you picked up from it.

Halsin frowns and starts walking out. What determination.

Your group eventually exits the dead silent temple after having taken any valuables. Can't leave without some loot, who knows if you're getting paid!

As you walk out the large door, the death Astarion had caused is quite visible, dead goblins everywhere. R.I.P, you won't be missed.

Now that that's taken care of, who knows what adventures await you thanks to this stupid worm in your brain!

Not the best, but it's something. Yan feelings gotta develop trough the story but I'm not fully there yet.

[bibibbon]

And while we're on the subject of Bakugou's "apology", it really rubs me the wrong way at how 1A just takes him for his word when he throws All Might under the bus for Izuku's low self esteem and self sacrificing tendancies.

Izuku flat out told Ida and Ochako that Deku was an insult and not a friendly nickname.

They were there to see how hard Bakugou was going against him during the Battle Trials, and a lot of them were genuinely scared that he was going to kill Izuku. Hell, even Momo quickly realized that at the very least, Bakugou held some sort of grudge against him.

Momo, Ida, and Ochako saw Bakugou backhand Izuku and refuse to work with him during the final exams.

They all saw him INSULTING Izuku when they were about to beat him into submission before 1A vs Izuku. They were even there when Bakugou admitted (but not really) to bullying Izuku.

I know that this is due to Hori sweeping Bakugou's earlier behavior under the rug, but come on! Anyone with common sense would be able to see that Bakugou is NOT Izuku's friend anything he says about Izuku should be taken with a grain of salt.

Hi @nutzgunray-lvt 👋

There's a reason why I don't talk about how bad bakugos apology is and that's because there are already a mountain of other posts that have talked about it and phrased what I wanted to say in ways that I could never do.

However, the one thing that continually bugs me is just how horikoshi makes class 1A react to bakugos behaviour and the "revelation" of his actions. During the early arcs of MHA (before the sports festival) class 1A were allowed to have their opinions on bakugo and actively made it clear that they dislikes him and his behaviour somehow without bakugo changing at all class 1A's own behaviour towards bakugo changes and they seem to accept that him being aggressive is just a bakugo way or thing.

In the earlier arcs like the battle trials 1A literally saw bakugo saying that he wants to kill Izuku and it was actually kirishima who spoke out to all might and told him multiple times to stop the fight because he knew bakugo was taking it too far. Heck even after the fight and when izuku came back to class the 1A kids all talked about how well he did and asked if he was okay while they ignored and didn't acknowledge bakugo (which says a lot)

Asui calls bakugo out in the usj arc. Tokoyami also calls bakugos behaviour out in chapter 327 when bakugo is still being rude to midoriya after his alleged apology.

Izuku literally explains to iida and ochako that the name deku is an insult and when izuku picks out the name deku as his hero name the whole of class 1A looks in shock and uncomfortable heck someone even asks him if he is sure that he wants to use that name due to the negative connotations it has.

While I do like the idea of izuku choosing the name because ochakos gave a new meaning to it I think that was just poorly done and showed how izuku was just attention starved at best.

Heck even in the final exam battle the teachers and some students saw how bakugo was treating midoriya yet bakugo receives no concequences for this and the narrative acts like aizawas plan of putting the two together was a great idea so they can somehow get along when there is clearly a horrible dynamic between the two. This also makes me think why the hell did all might not do anything about this?!?! Like come on all might you are literally witnessing bullying and it's your mentee getting bullied and you choose to do nothing ?!?!??

One of the reasons why bakugos apology and the whole 1A Vs izuku fight fails is because instead of them trying to properly reach out to him they literally beat him. This is also one of the reasons why iida's role is my favourite during that fight because he doesn't try and beat izuku or to harm him or to make Izuku deflect an attack. No, iida reaches for izuku and holds his hand while trying to encourage him to come back to UA and tires to comfort him.

Before the fight bakugo literally starts by taunting and insulting Izuku and at the same moment he also tries to apologise like he didn't do the thing a moment before?!?! Bakugo also never acknowledges just how his bullying and abuse for 10 years has effected izuku. He doesn't ack how the name deku has effected izuku or how he contributed to izuku's poor mental health. The narrative simply doesn't acknowledge it and so bakugo doesn't acknowledge it either, all bakugo does is simply offer an explanation as to why he thought he could bully izuku and to be honest that explanation was so stupid. Seriously, bakugos whole inferiority and superiority complex that he has going on is incredibly badly written.

[higuchisora]

Naruto characters in SVSSS because I circled back and am stuck again in crossover brainrot:

I personally think every ninja in the cast is a shoe in for Bai Zhan peak, but that's boring so I'll try not to put them there unless I genuinely think there's no other options.

Team 7 in SVSSS

Sakura:

Head disciple of Qian Cao

Bai Zhan disciples come to harass her on a weekly basis (LQG does not endorse this, but does not care to stop them)

Could've probably gone elsewhere, but was curious about medical practices in a new world

Apple of MQF's eye

No one has the guts to accuse her of being a demon even though she has that weird little purple mark on her forehead

LQG punching air because one of the physically strongest recruits they've ever had is on the MEDICINE PEAK

Sakura does not know what the Hippocratic oath is

Repair requests for Qian Cao are billed to An Ding weekly

SQH wants Sakura and the Bai Zhan disciples dead

Sakura now regularly visits Bai Zhan to let off steam + keep unruly bloodthirsty kids off her peak

Is only mildly curious about swords. Not particularly interested in flying.

When asked, she says she can get around just fine

Then demonstrates by jumping and fucking DISAPPEARING???

She finally gets her sword

It's not a sword.

It's a fucking flail.

The demon allegations finally come in after she uses her stored qi and the purple mark fucking GROWS

No one says anything to her face because she threw a tree with her bare hands once

Naruto:

Heavily dependent on which version of him reincarnates. Kid Naruto is Bai Zhan no doubt, older Naruto (in a kids body) is probably Qiong Ding.

YQY would meet the most charismatic fucking kid with ancient eyes and weird whisker marks and decide he's exactly what Qiong Ding needs

Would be terribly surprised to discover he's actually brought back quite the troublemaker

But it's so harmless and fun and Naruto's smile is so damn big and his laugh is so infectious that YQY can't even get mad at him for real, he's too damn fond

Kid Naruto would find out that ninjas cultivators can fucking LIVE FOREVER here and FLY and fight monsters and be heroes and decide that's exactly what he's gonna do

He's got no idea if he even has spiritual energy but he's not gonna let that stop him

He marches up to Bai Zhan and demands a place, because it's this or he goes back to the slums and has to be alone again, and he refuses to be alone in two lifetimes

Bai Zhan!Naruto is LQG's favorite student. Do NOT tell Naruto.

Surprisingly, regardless of the version of Naruto that winds up here, he's the only one without any demon allegations

It's the charisma

Talk no jutsu is apparently effective even in a world without jutsu

Probably talk no jutsus SJ into not pushing Binghe into the abyss

Befriends baby Binghe day 1, true lonely orphan magnet

Sasuke is NOT impressed by Naruto picking up ANOTHER emo orphan (there can be Only One)

No one is sure what to make of his blonde ass hair. SQH does not recall a single blonde character but no one says anything because he's just such a sweetheart

And then it's because they're too scared when he reinvents the rasengan. And the shadow clones.

Kurama's a demon of some kind here, probably still connected to him in some capacity. It might leave Naruto able to do some adapted version of the nine tails transformation

Basically he protagonists so hard all over the place that he derails the plot without knowing there is one, but that's okay, because Binghe has a friend now

Sasuke:

Also depends on which version this is. Adult Sasuke? The right situation could take him anywhere. Maybe even Huanhua. Baby or teen Sasuke would either attempt to go rogue (and fail) or wind up at Bai Zhan, but that's boring and predictable.

Under the correct conditions, I can imagine Sasuke as the new menace of Qing Jing peak.

He'd terrorize his poor martial siblings with his attitude and general existence

Angry baby/teen Sasuke is essentially a less outwardly put-together Shen Qingqiu. In other words, a fucking disaster

Seeing the two together is like a bomb waiting to go off. They're too alike. Unstoppable force vs. immovable object

Either they'd get along or they'd immediately become sworn enemies. No in between.

Unsurprisingly, this actually makes Yue Qingyuan love him. It's like having two Xiao Jiu's, which is the only thing better than one Xiao Jiu.

Adult Sasuke could swing Qing Jing too, but it would probably be less entertaining tbh.

A very funny if unlikely idea is (adult) Sasuke on Qiong Ding

Because this man is nothing if not dedicated to being Naruto's #1 wife hater

Would primarily get in because he and Naruto have effectively bonded like stray cats that cannot be adopted separately (and YQY loves to self-project)

Neither of them are head disciple because that would end in bloodshed.

Dysfunctional together, non-functioning alone, it's a miracle they manage to do anything effectively at all. But surprisingly they always get the job done

Adult or teen Sasuke could also end up at Huanhua, either on accident or entirely on purpose to avoid Naruto

Would clock the OPM as a freak day one

Demon allegations abound after the reveal of his sharingan

Many speculate that he's responsible for OPM's untimely disappearance, which conveniently happened the second Sasuke got promoted to head disciple

Unfortunately, there's no evidence either way. Huanhua's official public statement of "no body, no crime," did nothing to quell these rumors.

This continues to feed the conspiracy that he clapped OPM

No matter the iteration, he'll likely beef with Binghe. This cultivation world simply isn't big enough for the both of them

[eretzyisrael]

by Aaron Bandler

DeLuca’s thoughts on the allegations that Israel and her defenders are “pinkwashing”? “Pinkwashing has got to be one of the stupidest things that I’ve ever heard … I grew up in Israel. In the ‘90s, I fought for gay rights. I marched in the first Pride parade,” he said. “When people tell me I’m just pinkwashing something — meaning that I’m talking about the successes of my community as a smokescreen as to not talk about what’s happening in Gaza or the West Bank — that is one of the most ridiculous homophobic and antisemitic things. What I did, the [fights] that I fought, were not so that I had to hide what was happening… in Gaza or the West Bank, I was doing it because that’s the right thing to do and I wanted to fight for my rights. So pinkwashing, in a word, is bulls—.”

The pro-Israel influencer says that he welcomes anti-Israel protesters who come to his speaking events on campuses, “because those are the people that I want to hear, and I want to try to change their mind. Or at least plant a seed so that they think, ‘wait, I heard a different side of it. I might be wrong, let me research a little bit more.’”

DeLuca believes that antisemitism is “much worse” in Canada than it is in the United States. “Here I find, states have a little more power vs. the federal government. In Canada, it’s very much our federal government [that] is the problem,” he opined, citing “our immigration laws allowing the protests to be as antisemitic as they are … Because we have an election coming up next year … there are a lot of people pandering to a demographic of a community that would rather see me dead, and they’re doing nothing about it,” DeLuca said.

DeLuca also pointed out that unlike the United States, Canada has hate speech laws, but they haven’t been enforced against antisemitism since Oct. 7, as there are people walking around with swastikas and saying things like “Heil Hitler.” “Nothing is ever done about it,” DeLuca lamented.

DeLuca has visited the site of the Nova music festival as well as the southern communities that were attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7. Visiting the Nova site was particularly difficult for him because “growing up, that was me. I was one of those kids that was in those forest parties every weekend … everybody there [at the Nova festival] was so young. Everybody there was a kid. Everybody there was literally starting their lives out. They were literally in the army or just after the army, and had their entire life ahead of them. And knowing that these hang gliders came over and people saw them and thought it was part of the festival … to be gunned down like that, literally sitting ducks, that was probably the most difficult thing for me.”

Prior to Oct. 7, DeLuca was “scared for my country because it was so divided.” But after Oct. 7, the Jewish state flipped “into a country that was united. And that’s I think the secret of Israel … we are very different, we are multicultural, we are multifaceted, we have different ideas, we have returned from all parts of the world. But if you push us, we’re one unit.”

As for the communities that were attacked, DeLuca visited one three weeks after Oct. 7 and recalled a particularly pungent smell. A doctor there told him that it was “the calcification of bone fragments that had been blown into the wall. They couldn’t even get them out of the wall,” DeLuca said, adding “I’ve been to Europe. I’ve seen the camps. The camps are nothing compared to what I saw the three weeks after.”

People in Israel, he said, want the war to end so they can return to their homes in the north and in the south. “We need to a) get rid of Hamas… b) bring our hostages back… and finally hopefully we see in Gaza a government that is at least, even if they don’t love Israel, tolerates the fact that we’re there,” DeLuca said.

But “Israel is coming back to what it was” prior to Oct. 7. “If you are in Tel Aviv, you would never know that there is anything happening,” DeLuca said. For a while after Oct. 7, Tel Aviv was “like a ghost town,” but now “it’s back to itself,” he added.

[ollieofthebeholder]

So my mom has been part of a pirate crew for the last seven or eight years (maybe more). This is a local guy who used to go to our church - so an old friend - and it started off as him dressing up as a pirate to give out candy on Halloween, then he started decorating his garage to look like a treasure cave, then it snowballed. Now it's a two-night event the weekend before Halloween - one low-sensory night for people with autism, PTSD, people who don't like jump scares, whatever, and one night where the scary factor gets turned up to 11. (They also now do events throughout the year, like fantasy events at the aquarium and pirate weekends and the like. They're children's entertainment, not historical reenactment.) My mom loves it, and she's REALLY into it. She's one of the longest-serving crew members at this point, beside the captain and his wife.

This year they had a lot of people who couldn't make the Treasure Cave - one of the core members had a wife about to give birth, one just hasn't been heard of, people were out of town, there's a nasty bug going around - so my mom had asked me a few weeks back if I would help out. Against my better judgment, I agreed. The captain put me in a new "scene". Basically, I stood in front of an archway of branches, lit inside with blue pool lights, and told the children that I'd heard there was a wishing well back there and was going to make a wish; when I came out, I asked if they were having a good time, then when they said "yes" I happily informed them that I'd got my wish, and asked for the password ("Trick or Treat") to give them candy.

I realized very quickly on the first night that the captain had VASTLY underestimated how many kids would want to go and look for the "wishing well" themselves, so I called on my TTRPG-honed improv skills and informed them that I'd been told about the alleged well by another crew member, who'd been on the island last year but was training somewhere else this year. I then informed them that said crew member was my brother, and that we liked to play jokes on each other, and I thought maybe this was a joke - and that since we were grown-ups, sometimes our jokes got dangerous, so if there was a monster or a dangerous trap back there, I didn't want the "visitors" getting hurt. I basically told all of them that "If you hear me screaming, or I don't come back - tell the captain when you see him that it's Bonesaw's fault he's down a crew member!"

That mostly kept them in check. MOSTLY.

A few highlights:

The startlingly high number of kids who were fully prepared to fight God for me and eyed me skeptically when I said I would go myself.

The kid who fearfully asked "why are you drawing your dagger?" as I pulled it out to advance into the glade.

The kid who said in a voice somewhere between fearful and resigned, "Please don't scream."

The child who solemnly informed me that they ALWAYS believed everything their brother and sister told them (bonus points for the look of "oh I'm going to have fun with that later" said child's older sister shot them).

Child: "Are you a boy pirate or a girl pirate?" Me: "No, but thank you for asking." Child: "Oh, cool!"

The eight-month-old child who obviously couldn't say "trick or treat" or "thank you" yet, but who, when I asked him to give me a fist bump, stared at me and then reached out to softly grab my knuckles for a second.

The child who ducked down to peer into the "glade" when I was doing my spiel, then solemnly informed me (and the rest of the group) that there WAS a well back there, he saw it.

The child who thought he was being clever by saying "treat or trick" instead of "trick or treat" and then bluescreened when I replied with a deadpan "what would you do if I said 'trick'?"

The group that, when offered the choice two stations on from me to bypass the isolated super-scary portion where the "Shadow" lurked, split in half with only three children choosing to go into the scary portion. The instant the Shadow spoke, the boy dressed as Iron Man noped right out of there, backing out and heading on to the storyteller (my mom). When the screaming started, the child dressed as weddnesday Addams (5ish) came charging out like it was actually on her tail, whereas the small child dressed as a chicken (2ish) sauntered out nonchalantly and had to actually be dragged by her mother, since she was clearly not bothered in the slightest.

The single lowlight:

The brat in the ninja costume with two katanas crossed on her back and a dagger in her belt who loudly and derisively declared that there was no well back there, that I was making it all up, and then led the rest of her group in responding with "NO" when I asked if they were having a good time. (I blinked at her for a second, then looked her dead in the eye and said, "Well, then, I suppose you were right about there not being a well, because I didn't get my wish.")

Her mother hissed at her to "just play along". She didn't. I didn't hear what she did at the next station (the Sea Witch) because I was too busy drifting over to warn my mother, but I did watch her go into the Shadow's lair and then, when the group was chased out by the Shadow, duck into the trees and draw her katanas, clearly intending to go back into the lair and either cause trouble or prove that it was just some people in costumes. (I shouted over to the guide for the group - who'd developed a bit with my mom about how she couldn't count and wasn't entirely sure if she had the same number of people as she went in with - that she'd lost one, and they had to practically drag her out of the trees.)

Apparently every single station had trouble with her except, ironically, my mom, and that only because she saw the hip scarf from Mom's belly dance days sitting on the table and asked what it was and Mom let her try it on, so she was too distracted by that to say anything nasty about Algernon being a puppet and not a real mouse. She even apparently backtalked the captain when he gave his speech at the end of the tour about being kind and "plundering smiles". He was not pleased when he found out she'd been giving everyone problems.

[peakyblinders1919]

Haddie Harrington Pt. 8

|part 1| |part 2| |part 3| |part 4| part 5 | part 6| |part 7|

He felt his work was done. 

Standing back on solid ground, everything around him looked the same as in the Upside down, but a bit more alive, a bit more aflame. So much has happened so fast; being trapped by the hive mind in the stairway of the Creel house, being released and seeing Vecna, the Molotov Cocktails, the reverb of Nancy’s shotgun, Vecna falling to oblivion, the chimes.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

Four chimes. Four lives. The beginning of the end. 

At least they made it out alive.

Most of them.

Eddie Munson, the misfit, the freak of Hawkins, and alleged murder, hadn't made it. He fought one hell of a battle, Metallica and all, but he had taken his last breath surrounded by his friends and the real monsters responsible for all this. Not him.

Steve tried ,hell, did he try to think of every way to get the boy’s limp body back to Hawkins, if only for Dustin’s sake, but there was no way.

Caressing the back of the teens head against his shoulder, suppressing his sobs, he made a bunch of false promises. Anything to see his best friend happy again. 

“We’re ok, he didn’t die in vain, we’re safe, Vecna’s gone, we defeated him, we’ll find a way to close the gates again, you tell his uncle the truth, we’ll never forget him, El and Mike and Will and everyone will be alright. We’re safe.”

He said it with such confidence, and yet, he didn’t know if anything he had said was true. Or ever would be.

“Max,” it was a whisper from Nancy, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Vecna had succeeded in his curse. What had happened on the other side. Was Max really ok? Was she safe? Were you safe?

That’s the moment when he felt his chest tighten, his heart beat a mile a minute, the first time he was nervous, scared, in all of this. It wasn’t seeing Vecna, the scaly, slimy, humanoid dark wizard, it wasn’t nearly losing his breath as the vines tightened around his neck, or when he saw the same happen to Nancy and Robin. None of that scared him. But the fact that he didn’t know what happened on the other side, if you were safe, if you were alive, that left him feeling like a knife had been plunged in his heart and twisted.

“We’ve got to go. NOW!” The panic in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed by any of them, and yet still he found himself carrying all the extra weight for them, hurrying them back through the glowing red portal, trying to process the rips in the Earth as they sped across town to the park, the Creel house, looking for answers. Hoping to have his worst fear denied.

Though he fought hard against it, you said you’d be the one to stay behind with the kids in actual Hawkins, to protect Max and Lucas and Erica the way Steve protected Dustin and Nancy and Robin. Though it wasn’t the same, not really. 

But who said he always had to be the protector?

He knew he should have fought you harder. To stay with him, fight by his side.

You were safe but just barely.

Steve went rigid, frozen in his spot when he laid eyes upon the scene sprawled out on the floor of the Creel House, illuminated in a sickenly calming blue glow. Lucas was sobbing, holding Max in his arms. Max, a scene out of a horror movie, eyes foggy, glazed over, drips of blood like Carrie starting at her eyes and dripping down her cheeks, as if she was crying blood. She was crying, whimpering, her limbs broken at odd angles that weren’t humanly possible. And yet she was breathing, she was talking, and though Vecna had been successful with completing his four curses to open the literal gates to Hell, he hadn’t succeed in taking everyone away from the party. 

Gruesome though it was, hopeless though it seemed, the ambulance was on the way, the distant wails of the siren growing louder, though he knew the crews were being dispatched all around town. 

And suddenly, when they needed him most, there Steve stood frozen.

Dustin raced over to them both, grasping Max’s other hand in his and taking care of her, helping to keep her comfortable as they could do nothing more than wait. He cried harder when Lucas continued to tremble. Robin hugged Erica in the corner, reassuring her everything was ok and Erica just quietly accepting the comfort.

He felt her hand on his shoulder, a quiet sign asking if he was ok. Nancy’s voice barely above a whisper as she asked it out loud, hoping maybe he’d respond to that.

“Steve.” It was a squeak, a whisper falling from your lips. You sat on the ground not far away from the kids, needing the wall to support you. The commotion, the voices of the others, knowing they were ok and they were here, was enough to give you strength to open your eyes. He looked at you, finally, with a face so horror-striken and panicked you knew you must have looked as awful as you felt. You kept your hand pressed to your side, every deep breath in aching your ribs, which were most likely broken. All you smelled was the metallic sting of blood, caked all over your face from you bloody, broken nose and the other cuts littered everywhere. Besides the broken ribs and the broken nose, your ankle had twisted in a way that only gave you any comfort when you weren’t on it.

“Steve,” you breathed again, hopeful this time, a quiet pleading in your voice for him to come to your side. You wanted to hug him, kiss him, you wanted him and the warmth that radiated from his chest like sunshine…

And he had just looked at you; exhausted, scared, and frozen to his spot, as you were slowly slipping away, the seconds tick, tick ticking towards their end. The kids all turned to him, yelling with tears in their eyes for him to do something. Because he always knew what to do. 

And this was the second time in 24 hours he did not have an answer. Or a truthful one at that.

He failed.

It was all becoming too much. Lightheaded, dizzy, nauseous; it hit im all at once. Until then he’d enough adrenaline coursing through his bloodstream to ignore the pain he felt from his own sustained injuries. Injuries he wanted to forget, to fight against the sting to scoop you up in his arms, but by the time something in him finally snapped, clicking into place and he took long strides over to you, it was the pain again that stopped him. Crouching down hurt, the phantom feeling of the bat tail snaked around his throat and closing in on his windpipe. He took a sharp intake of breathe to fight the lightening sting coursing from his arm down to his ribs when he reached out to run a thumb over the apple of your cheeks. Hot to the touch, read and puffy and tears brimming your lash line.

It was in that moment, in that touch, that peace found you at last. It took all the energy left in you to bring that smile to your face, reaching all the way up to your eyes when they locked on his. 

“Steve.” It was a slight promise, the final one that he realized he couldn’t keep.

And he watched, hopeless, as your eyes fluttered closed. 

The next minutes were frantic. Robin, Dustin, and Steve worked on getting you down into the backseat of his BMW while Nancy stayed with the others until the ambulance and EMT workers came to load Max onto a stretcher. Red and blue lights flashed in the review mirror, Steve’s own heart beating louder than the sirens passing by and god, how he wished he could be cradling you in the backseat rather than pressing the pedal to the floor. His gaze was blurry, unsteadily shifting from the road ahead to your reflection in the back. He told himself you were just asleep, that you’d endured too much but everything would be alright with some rest. He sped across town, through traffic lights and stop signs, carrying your body inside and beginning for help.

He watched them take your body to a room, the hospital overflowing with patients needing assistance after the town was shaken and spilt in four. There wasn’t any time to think about the ther casualties that existed out there. The only thought in Steve’s head, nagging at him over and over again as he paced a tred in the linolime floor, wanting to looking away but unable to as the nurses worked to find a room and they started healing you behind curtains, was why? Why did you freeze? Why couldn’t you move? Why couldn’t you have done better? Was it enough? Where you going to be ok?

Please be ok.

----

Everyday, like clockwork, the routine was the same. Wake up, freshen up quickly, wait for Sinclair (this usually took about 3 or 4 honks of the horn which were immediately followed by the annoyed stare of his neighbor, Mrs. McNeal for having her quiet morning interrupted, but soon he grew to love even that part of his day) and drive over to the hospital. Lucas took books in to read to Max during her recovery and Steve shuffled into your room, a black coffee in hand and one for you everyday. He didn’t care if they went untouched. One day, he knew, it’d be drunk. For him, it was the caffeine that helped him stay awake.

And sometimes there’d be an odd assortment of the party shuffled in the backseat of that BMW to visit, always looking forward to the extra company on those days because it was the days he sat opposite you, alone with his thoughts, that were the worst.

All he could do now was be there for the kids, for you, but he’d never forget how he just stood there watching you weakly. Or how he couldn’t do anything to say Eddie, and in turn say Dustin. And Max. And every move he took when trying to get comfortable in the chair at your bedside, only reminding him of the welts now turning into disgusting scars, and reminding him of all that everyone had to go through to come up defeated.

Thankfully, you weren’t out for long, a few days, a week at most, but it felt like years. The doctors said your recovery time was remarkably fast, but now that you were up you’d be ready to go home in a few days, back to normal in a few more, cuts and ribs healed.

And the way you looked at him when you opened yours eyes could have been enough for him to get past all the hurt, but it was your question that broke him.

“Hi Stevie, did we win?”

Not having the heart to tell you of who you’d lost, the fact that Vecna could still be out there (a fact overlooked by all), he answered the only way he knew how.

Grabbing your hand carefully, thumb brushing over the back of yours, he forced a smile. Relieved. “Yeah, we did.”

It was the last lie he was willing to tell. It was another promise made because what else was Steve Harrington supposed to do than be the hero and promise the world to everyone he loved? 

Lately, his promises weren’t as strong as they once were.

Every hero has a moment of doubt, a head to head battle with cowardice personified. 

And it was the hardest battle of all.

Everywhere he looked was a reminder of his failures and broken promises. 

And looking at you was near impossible.

Though you were in no state to go with him, he thought about asking you to come when he had made up his mind. One last attempt at righting things. But he didn’t ask you to come because he knew you never would. Never leave home, never leave your family, never leave your friends who turned into family, never give up everything good you had just to be a coward like him and run away from everything. 

So he packed up his car with a few essentials and left without goodbyes because goodbyes would have been harder. Would have made it impossible. 

And he chased the open road, trying to simultaneously find the next thing in his life to make his purpose and run away from, forget the one promise he made that he cared about keeping so much it broke him when he couldn’t.

[semper-legens]

171. The Sleepwalker, by Robert Muchamore

Owned: No, library Page count: 312 My summary: A plane breaks up in the air, plunging into the ocean with no survivors. The government is quick to suspect the worst, looking into terrorist links. And in the midst of it all, they get a phone call from a scared boy, alleging that his father had something to do with it. Now Lauren Adams is deputised to find out exactly what this kid knows, and quickly. They won't have the clearance to follow this hunch for long. My rating: 3/5 My commentary:

I've gotten my hands on the final four CHERUB books as a job lot, so expect them to come at a bit of a faster rate until I'm completely done with them. That said, more CHERUB! I'm amazed that I still remember this series as well as I do. Like I've been saying as I go through them, I'm finding them a lot less easy to enjoy than I did when I was a teenager, both for normal and unavoidable reasons (I'm an adult, these books are not aimed at me anymore) and for more troubling ones (the simplistic explanations of complex morality questions, the casual bigotry on display). Nonetheless, I still think that this idea of a teen spy network is interesting enough to warrant these books' existence. The problem is in the execution, not the idea, which means there's still enough here that's interesting to me that I can carry on with it. So, let's get into the Sleepwalker.

Unusually, this is a book that's about Lauren. She has the A plot, while James is stuck in a B plot that doesn't really go anywhere. (More on that in a bit.) Unfortunately, this isn't really the most riveting of CHERUB missions. Lauren and Jake are going in to talk to Fahim and get more detail about what he knows, but they're not really in deep cover - they're literally just going to ask him. Lauren gets to show off a cool head and just why she's one of the youngest black shirts ever. She's composed, makes good decisions, is ethical, and generally has a good head on her shoulders; this in contrast to Jake, who makes some serious schoolboy errors on the mission. But it's not as action packed as James' missions, or the past missions where we've seen Lauren deployed. It is good to see Lauren showing the maturity to get put back as senior agent on missions again after her misconduct punishments, but this one was sort of underwhelming for me.

James, meanwhile, is doing work experience in a fast food place. The premise here just felt contrived - the conflict is that other kids have gotten the more vaunted positions, so James is stuck at the fast food place with his ex-girlfriend. But like, the CHERUB staff are supposed to be good at understanding the dynamics between their agents, surely they can see that this is a bad idea? They end up getting close to their coworker, who has a sh--ty boyfriend, which leads to a fight. James and Kerry get yelled at over it and assigned punishment, but they've hit it off again, leaving Kerry to hit on James and James, surprisingly, to turn her down out of loyalty to Dana. I just…I didn't come into this series for the domestic lives of teens, you know? I don't care. Get back to the missions. All this will-they-won't-they feels jarringly out of place.

And now, for the elephant in the room. I've spoken before about how the CHERUB series more often than not falls down when it tries to address social issues, and the main plot of this book is a really good example of this. Lauren is investigating an eleven year old boy whose father is potentially involved with the loss of an aeroplane, which was brought down killing everyone on board. The kid's name is Fahim Bin Hassam, and he's of Arabic descent. The plane crashed on September the tenth. Obviously, people assume that terrorism was the reason behind the crash. As it turns out, it was actually a faulty part supplied by Fahim's father - he's a smuggler, but not a terrorist. Interesting twist, right? The problem with that is that Hassam is the exact stereotype of a controlling Muslim father. He's gotten rich through crime, beats his wife and son, kills his wife when he suspects she's going to the police, wants his son to be brought up in Abu Dhabi with his relatives where he will get a strict education, is casually misogynistic and exploits his cleaner, and hates how 'westernised' his son has become despite not exactly being the most devout or traditional himself. It's not a subversion of stereotypes about Muslim men if it then plays into every single one of those stereotypes at the same time. Hassam is given no redeeming features and no humanising moments, no nuance. He's a crook and a bad person, plain and simple. And that's just as much a stereotype as portraying him as bringing down the plane in a deliberate act of terrorism would have been.

Next up, an anthology of queer writings through time.

[cherriegyuu]

Peak Time | episodes 6&7

So, another Peak Time round and I don’t know if I have a lot to say about this. Let’s see how it goes as I write this.

Vocal Battle

I liked all of the performances but none of them was really outstanding for me, they were good in their own accord. I understand why Group D won, their song had impact and IU songs are always winner in shows like this, specially this (remember how this one song secured Chaewon’s debut in Kep1er?) So yeah, it was good but nothing extraordinary in my opinion.

Rap Battle

Being honest the other groups didn’t stand a chance against Group B, they just didn’t. I don’t know why everyone wanted to perform Bag so much. It’s too recent of a song, it still plays everywhere so it’s hard to listen to it and think of the original version. And although daeng is a very well know song and this arrangement was very close the original, they manged to create a vibe that could make someone believe that this and they had soooo much fun. The redhead kid, I can’t remember his name, was really good for someone who never really rapped before (look, 3 months doesn’t count okay? The other guys had years ahead of him) and he didn’t feel like dead weight, someone the other member had to carry through the performance. Also, I think it’s really unfair when shows like this get slow rap song to be performed, as it hardly gets good results. With that said, Group B was amazing and deserved the win.

Dance Battle

Really, the biggest fight of the night. They brought all the guns out and were shooting to kill. I liked this part so much that I’ll mention each of them in my order of preference, from least liked to most liked (keep in mind that I know nothing about dancing, I just really like watching people dance)

Group A – their performance was fun, however it was weird how some members would just stand there during some parts of the song. They were the largest group and could have done more, I feel like, with formations. Everything could have been bigger, I guess.

Group D – I feel like they were thrown a curve ball with the song but they managed to still do well with it, I mean they were about to throw up after it ended. This performance was so good. Jun Hyeon (I think that’s his name), the center/leader, is soooo good. He’s, in my opinion, what everyone expects of an idol: he’s got the looks, has a good voice, dances really well, knows how to attract attention to himself.

Group C – I think this is where my opinion differs from most people. It’s not that I didn’t like it. It was good and everyone did a great job at it but I’m growing bored of the whole sexy thing to be honest. Everyone wants the sexy way because it’s usually the one who wins. Jong up did great, so did Hangyul and everyone else. This just isn’t the performance I will comeback to watch when I think of this show when it’s over, because it will just fall back as “another sexy performance from a reality show”

Group B – I love them so much. This is the kind of performance I will remember. They had fun on stage, they were hyping each other up the whole time and maybe it was like that of the DKB members (it probably was). I don’t even really had words to describe it. Everything I’ve thought to write seems small. I’ll just say this: when the performance was over I immediately rewatched it, and then again and again. No other group made me want to do that. They looked like an actual dance crew, unlike the other groups who looked like people that came together for a performance.

And that’s it.

Next week is eliminations and I’m scared. I want DKB to go through but I don’t know if they will, as only six groups will advance and they’re placed 7th for now. They have the benefit but so does a lot of other groups, and everyone who’s above them also has.

I’m also worried about Team 24:00, as one of the members was removed from the group/quit the show because of bullying allegations and they are constantly dropping on the ranks. They were placed 2th in the first week and then 3th and 4th and now they’re in 5th place, I think. I don’t know what will happen, if they get eliminated for what happened to the guy then that’s really unfair to them.

I’ll see you next week to talk about the elimination.

turns out I did have a lot to say

[teenmomcentral]

Jenelle Evans took a break from cosplaying as a teacher at The Little School of The Land on Friday to dish out some relationship advice and more importantly, throw some accusations at her estranged husband, David Eason. 

During a Q&A on her Instagram Story, the fired Teen Mom 2 star, who separated from her significant ogre other earlier this year, responded to a series of questions submitted by herself followers.

Jenelle was asked by one follower to comment on David’s latest TikTok antics– including the recent TikTok Live on which he begged strangers on the internet for donations to pay for an attorney to fight Jenelle in court. Jenelle responded via song, encouraging her former soulmate to “get a job,” before going on to accuse David of having “some dark secrets.”

“Everything he’s saying he’s just doing it to make himself ‘look better’ but in actuality he knows the person he truly is behind closed doors,” she wrote. “He has some dark secrets no one knows but me.”

When asked to divulge said secrets, Jenelle– who recently requested a domestic violence restraining order against David for herself and her kids– said she was unable to do so at the moment for a few different reasons.

“Not the right time but also I’m scared and feel like my life would be on the line,” she said, later adding, “There’s a huge investigation going on so I can’t comment on much at the moment.” 

In another reply, Jenelle explained that she’s scared of David due to “the way he talks about people he hates,” alleging he has “threatened his baby mama’s life” and is controlling, demanding and selfish, among other things. Despite claiming that she fears David, Jenelle told another follower that she doesn’t regret standing up for David in the past.

“I don’t regret that time because I learned a lot of life lessons that were very important for me to grow up and mature,” she wrote. “Life is easier to understand I would say. I always have learned from by mistakes and he was def a big mistake,” she added. 

When asked how her children are doing now that David is no longer living on The Land, Jenelle said her and David’s daughter Ensley “doesn’t appreciate” David’s behavior towards Jenelle as of late, while Kaiser “doesn’t want to be near David.” She was also asked if her son Jace is “doing better” in a David-free environment. (As you know, David currently has pending child abuse and “assault by strangulation” charges pending against him for his alleged physical attack on Jace in September.)

“Everyone is happier and my ex doesn’t even reach out to call or text any of the kids 🤷🏻‍♀️ living his best life,” she wrote. “Even his own daughter doesn’t even want to live with him.”

While David has allegedly gone non-contact with his youngest daughter, Jenelle said David’s teenage daughter, Maryssa, continues to make an effort with the little ones on The Land.

“She’s actually been in contact with Ensley which is really nice of her,” Jenelle stated. “I’m glad she’s staying in touch with the kids 🩷.”

Jenelle went on to tell another follower that she isn’t dating right now and is instead focusing on herself and her kids. She also encouraged anyone else who may be in a “mentally abusive” relationship to leave their partner, adding, “don’t wait as long as I did!!!”

“There’s someone out there who will be way nicer to you than an abusive ex,” she wrote. “There ARE men out there worth it and would love to spend every waking second with you. 💕”

Jenelle also made a point during the Q&A to let followers know that, even in David’s absence, she remains on the outs with her mother, Barbara Evans.

“Hell no, I don’t trust either of them,” Jenelle responded, when asked if she and Barb are on speaking terms again.

[iheartfinalgirls]

Um hello.

Assorted Daxxy headcanons.

-Would absolutely eat up mlp creepypastas. She would just like mlp in general too. She’s an eldritch terror but she can’t fight the weird kid allegations 🤧🤧🤧

-She would like Bluey too. She just would. Daxxy and Tinky are very Bluey and Bandit coded and no I will not elaborate.

-Has a HUGE container of lps that she got from god knows where (I’m sorry most of these are about her weird kid human interests)

-Max is her favorite lil guy ™️ (PLEASE do not interpret this as shipping 🙏🙏🙏 just look at it as this asshole jock guy and this kid [who’s actually a 200 year old eldritch deity] who thinks he’s really cool and wants to be his friend so bad)

-Only eats plants but has a DEEP hatred for cooked vegetables.

-She’s scared of the dark :( (This is due to her trauma. The shed was really dark inside.)

-In her goat form like 80% of the time. It’s more comfortable to her.

-Her pupils are yellow spirals and they spin when she gets really excited :D

-Y’all ever seen videos of baby goats wearing onesies? Yeah.

[coreancitizen]

"Under the Queen's Umbrella" Episode 12: The crown prince and the queen dowager

One of the things I'd been looking forward to in this drama was another confrontation between Grand Prince Seongnam and his grandmother. We saw from the very beginning how little regard the queen dowager had for the four grand princes. The first time we saw Seongnam and his grandmother face off was in Episode 1 when the queen dowager punished the four princes for "ganging up" on their half-brother Uiseong. Grandma ordered them to kneel and Seongnam, defiance written all over his face, took his sweet time obeying her, even after Grams shouted "Now!"

I got my wish in Episode 12 and Grand Prince Seongnam — I'm sorry, the crown prince — did not disappoint. On his first day in his new role, this ballsy boy greeted his grandmother and immediately reminded her that he's no longer the scared and powerless young boy spending his first nights at the palace.

Right after the queen dowager told him he looked different in his new crown prince attire, he responded, "I must have gotten used to my life in the palace. I will fill my eyes with what I see, remember what I hear and if I must, speak forthrightly as the crown prince."

This was, of course, a direct response to the queen dowager's threat all those years ago, when the young prince, having been brought up in the hut village, was crying about how the palace was "too big" and "too scary." He'd asked about his trusty eunuch and had been told the queen dowager sent him away for trying to find out something he didn't need to know.

Queen dowager: "So why were you curious? Your useless curiousity did this to him. You should become used to the place. This will be your home from now on. In the palace, turn a blind eye, to things you see, forget things you hear and, if there is something you wish to say, keep your mouth shut. ... Good boy. Swallow it down, be it tears or curiousity, if you wish to protect what is precious to you."

I myself have been curious about the queen dowager's mystifying hatred for Kang. While she disapproved of all the grand princes, calling them a stain on the king's reputation, she seems to bear extra animus toward the second child of the queen. Why?? Her speculation regarding Kang's conception labeled him indecent even before his birth and was used as the rationale for taking him away from his mother and raising him outside the palace. It wasn't true, of course. This was debunked in Episode 11 when the queen finally reveals she was already pregnant before the old king passed away, that Seongnam wasn't conceived during the mourning period as the queen dowager alleged. Hwaryeong didn't fight it then because she was young and, seemingly, powerless, and the kingdom was at a turning point in its history as a new king ascended the throne.

But again, what was the point? Just to hurt and be mean to the woman who bore a title she would never have? I guess that would make sense in that evil woman's twisted mind.

She didn't stop there, of course. She declared early and often that she'd never allow any of the grand princes, much less, Seongnam, to take the throne. And she backed up her words with action: She bribed and schemed and, at one point, even tried to have him assassinated by a gang of robbers.

But despite all her scheming, Seongnam, or Lee Kang, did become the crown prince and he did not have any qualms reminding her of those threatening words she uttered to a poor, frightened kid more than 10 years ago.

However, Grandma had more threats. She pointed out that there is a dragon with four claws embroidered on the chest of the crown prince's robe. Only the king gets a dragon with five claws. She noted that a lot of crown princes actually don't get to wear all five (a reminder of his brother's death and implicit warning that he could be next).

But Seongnam has no problems with verbal sparring. "The use of the claws is more important than the amount. I shall not use those claws to dominate the people and hurt them, but to keep them safe." The "from the likes of you" was implicit.

[torotoro0]

⟬ Childhood Comrades ⟭

Henry Creel x Reader

•Chapter 5•

[Click this for the chapters]

Summary: Just when you and Henry are back to being friends again, a so-called 'Spawn of Satan' from what Mr.Creel stated, has settled into the neighborhood in hunt for victims, Can you protect your only friend from this 'Demon', or was it just next-door beside you?

A/N: I took a small break since my school was opening and ready for enrollment. Btw, I made an alt account [in tmblr], If you are lucky [if God wants to] you may find it, and we can chat there anytime, or give me private requests for me to write about. (wink wink)

After countless days of Y/N sleeping over in the Creel household [actually it was only for 2 weeks], She had grown closer to the family, especially with the siblings. The two would always fight over who will get to play with her, one wants to play tea parties and role-plays with her, while the other one wants to sit down and read books or just simply observe animal colonies. [colonies like ants, spiders, bunnies, etc...]

Sometimes, after the sleeping overs with them, when you come to play with Henry, Mr. Creel would always tend to warn you about this alleged 'Demon' roaming around, in particular, roaming around *their house, He said lights would flicker, radio turning on and off, even small dead animals surround their the outsides of their house.

You'd turn to Henry to ask about it, but he'll usually reply back with a 'Isn't it a common for a low voltage to happen?' or 'he's just scared, don't worry about it'. Of course, after asking Henry, you'll go to his older sister, But she seems too terrified to answer you back.

"Y/N" Diane holds your wrists. "Be careful there alright?" She mutters. "It's just that, there were rumors on how-"

"There's a 'Demon' roaming around their household?" I arch an eyebrow up, Although I don't believe in supernatural phenomenons, 40 percent of my guts is telling me to believe it now.

"You heard them too? Just-.. just make sure to watch out for yourself okay?" She looks at you with her eyes full of worries. You simply smiled in response and shook her off. Like any real demon would be here, right?

"Henry!" You ran towards their porch.

"Ah, Y/N" He look up to me from his book.

"What're you reading now?" you shrug, You've never really cared how many books he reads when you two hang-out, but he seems like a bookaholic, no, even more than a bookaholic. One might even think he's a grown man with that rare decease where your body chooses to stay as a child despite the age.

"Do you really wanna know?" He tilts his head. "Don't you know what's sarcasm?" You place both of your hands of your hips.

"Just kidding, I know, I know." He chuckles "But don't you wanna know what I'm reading?" He looks deep into your pure evil soul.

Suddenly, the door bursted open revealing the young Creel. "Y/N!" She beams "Oh and- HENRY!" She mocked.

"Can't you give us some time for ourselves Alice?" Henry stands up and turns towards her. "Le-" Before she could say anything else she was cut off. "ALONE" He races a hand right before her making Alice scrunch her face up.

"Later, because mom said we should invite Y/N for an afternoon tea" she smirks as if showing she won their argument. "Y/N doesn-"

"I'd love to!" You raise both of your hands. "Great! Let's go then?" She then heads inside first leaving you and Henry alone. "Why'd you agree?" He frowns.

"You don't want to upset Mrs. Creel by declining her request do you?" You chuckle as he nods angrily. "Come on then" You held his wrists and pulled him inside.

The moment you entered the house, you were met with a smell of freshly cooked cinnamon buns adored with a hint of powder that makes your nose twitch.

"I'm glad you joined us for today's tea Y/N" Mr. Creel pours tea unto a porcelain cup. "Of course, it's fun to be with you guys!" You gush.

"By the way, it's almost the end of summer, where do you attend school?" Mrs. Creel mentions as she sips from her cup leaving bits of lipstick marks on the edges. "Oh! I attend in that one school near here, It's Uh, what was it again?" You mumble.

"Ah! It's Hawkins Middle School!" You exclaim. "Ooh ooh! That's where me and Henry will be attending too!" She beams.

After the tea session, you stayed a little longer in their household, the longer you were there, the more you were convinced that there was no 'spawn of satan' lurking around here, your whole afternoon was all just filled with playing, reading, eating. What could go wrong?

"I had a great time awhile ago" You stretch you arms. "Me too" He chuckles. "I love hearing you laugh you know" You stop and look at him as you have reached you house.

"Good night.. and.." He reaches out for your arms holding them. "Stay safe.." suddenly he hugs you, a breeze passes by which makes both of you slightly shiver "Y-you too, stay safe" the girl hugs him back.

As you were about to let go he held his hug tighter, "Sorry" He whispers to your ears. "What?" Then he flees going to his house, moonlight shining upon his structure.

"What does he mean by that?"you mumble in confusion, a small gust of wind enters the house as you close the doors.

That night you didn't get enough sleep because of what Henry said. What does he mean by sorry? Are they going to move away? But Alice said they're going to school here? Countless of question raced in your mind when you heard a loud commotion from the outside.

You hurriedly looked over your window and saw flashing red and blue lights surrounding the house beside yours.

Wait... there's was only one house that's beside yours.

You rush going downstairs then going outside to see what was happening.

"Uhm, officer? what's happening here?" You tap the tall guy with the brown pale-like uniform. "A little girl shouldn't be here, go back inside" he shooed the girl away. But luckily you got out of his sight by pushing through a crowd of people.

"Excuse, sorry, just passing by" There was a lot of groans and complaints as you skim through them, when you arrive up front you saw what shocked you the most.

Two bodies were covered up with white sheets stained with fresh blood, and Henry?! Henry was in an ambulance with oxygen tank connected to him while you saw Mr. Creel getting dragged out of the house with hand cuffs.

"W-what is happening here? Why are they arresting Mr. Creel?" The girl stuttered as her body was frozen in shock.

"They said, the father attempted to kill his wife and children but luckily on of them survived" A person replied. "What? Mr. Creel wouldn't do that" I mumbled. He's a very good man! He wouldn't even yell at his kids for doing a mistake, how much more kill them?! A-and he loves his wife so much!

"I guess you were close to them huh?" Another passerby comments behind me. "Hm?" I tilt my head.

"Because it looks like you really knew them just by protecting the father" He mockingly laughs as the others joins him laughing.

"Y/N! Y/N!" I hear Father yell. "I'm here Father!" You skim through the crowd again and found your father. "Where did you go? We looked everywhere for you!" He hugs you tightly.

"Mr. Creel is getting arrested" I hug him back. "What? Why?" He looks through horde. "He's a good guy, he wouldn't do this right?" I look up to him, tears welling up my eyes.

"A-and, Henry's in an ambulance" I sob, He is my only friend, he wouldn't leave me like that, never.

"Let's get you back inside okay?" He then carries me back home.

▬ ▬ ▬

"Last night in Loch Nora, A father is found guilty of murdering his wife and children, there was only one survivor which was his son, now still in a coma.." The tv kept bickering about what happened last night.

I just can't believe they would blame Mr. Creel like that, they don't even have enough evidence if he was the real murderer, maybe it was a thief and it only let Mr. Creel live because he already called the police.

"Here you go." Diane patted your back while handing some waffles. "Don't worry, Henry will be okay, I promise" I hug her tightly which she hugs back as a response.

"Its okay..." she rubs my back.

He can't die now, right?

A/N: I did this late in the night lmao, hope you enjoyed.