#him also immediately being worried about the coming battle after almost losing her

[shadowglens]

lucanis lying in miriam’s lap is gonna be rotating in my head for weeks

[casino-lights]

so. the thing about Illario and Lucanis.

I don't have the screenshots but somewhere in Lucanis' mind, you hear Illario's voice saying "If I was in charge, you wouldn't have to do this anymore." as far as I can tell, all the other lines in his memories are from the game, but this one is from The Wigmaker Job. the story that took place over a year (probably more) prior to the events of the game. it's referring to a scene where Lucanis comes back from their contract, injured, and Illario, worried about his cousin, says that Lucanis wouldn't have to do Caterina's bidding anymore if Illario was First Talon. so now we know Lucanis still thinks about that conversation, even though it happened so long ago.

two other things about The Wigmaker Job: 1) Illario is a lot different in it and in some ways he seems more competent than the Illario we get in veilguard; and 2) we see Zara Renata at the end, and she already has Lucanis in her sights. depending on how much time passed between that contract and Lucanis' kidnapping, she could've been setting this up for months to years.

in the concept art/storyboard frames that were recently released, Zara is hardcore giving siren in the first image and it almost looks like she's straight up controlling Illario via blood magic in the second (imo)

now imagine if Zara was looking into Lucanis, started with the people closest to him, found Illario, and said all the right things. imagine she said he should be First Talon, Caterina never loved him, Lucanis doesn't believe in him and is secretly just tolerating him, he can save Antiva from the Antaam (or whoever else), he can lead the Crows to their long-awaited unification and make them even stronger, he's the smartest prettiest most super special boy in the whole wide world, etc. (if you give this man an ounce of praise and he actually believes it, he will crumble, I know it.)

now imagine Zara, having successfully sunk her claws into Illario - Lucanis Dellamorte's cousin, the only person closer to the Demon of Vyrantium than the First Talon herself - manages to convince him to let her kill Lucanis. he doesn't have to do it himself so there's less guilt. there's no way Caterina would make him First Talon if Lucanis was alive. and then Illario would be in a position to protect his beloved Antiva because if there's one thing the Antivan Crows are, it's patriots. I think Zara played Illario like a fucking fiddle and the game was just really bad at showing us that. I think when her spirit says "he fooled us both," she means he fooled her by being less of a coward than she thought and straight up killing her.

and maybe this is the Illario apologist in me, but I also think he realized the whole thing was a doomed plan after he was defeated. I mean, he shows up to the final battle to help, at risk of his own life. maybe he's trying to atone, maybe not, but still - he is there, and he sounds more like the Illario we see in The Wigmaker Job than whatever we got through the rest of the game. with his quippy little "was that suitably self-important?" line, he's closer to himself than he was this whole time, and that makes me wonder if maybe he wasn't fully Illario. maybe that was grief and guilt and a shaky sense of self and Zara's manipulation and the feeling of losing his grip on the power he never quite had to begin with, all bundled up into a new, bitter, resentful man. I think he was used like a pawn in Zara's chess game, and that doesn't take away from his agency in this situation or lessen the blow of his betrayal, but it does make it easier for me to swallow the fact that the Obvious Traitor Illario I was immediately skeptical of in-game is not the Illario I immediately loved after one scene in Tevinter Nights where he shaves a single hair because it was uneven with the rest of his five o clock shadow.

I think ultimately, Illario realized Lucanis would forgive him anyway. I think it's because he realized he would forgive Lucanis too.

[aves-rook-laidir]

I can feel myself becoming more and more familiar with DaTV now, like, the characters are becoming more familiar. I find myself thinking about them when I’m going about my day, filling in the gaps of who they are with my own headcanons. Like, did you know Emmrich is deaf in his left ear? He got slammed in his first week of combat training as an Apprentice. He was so annoyed about this that from that point on he worked really hard to practice combat, and to his, and everyone else surprise, was brilliant at it. It’s funny really, that this calm, gentle professor known for floating around picking flowers can knock you off your feet if you test him. Taash was the first to pick up on it, they didn’t bring it up just started fighting on his left.

Or Davrin, he keeps pushing off Bellaras attempts to talk to him about the gods, because he just can’t think about it. If he did it would be like a waterfall. He spent the most formative years of his life caring for Halla in the forest, Ghilan’nain is the Mother of Halla! His clan lived and breathed her worship, whether or not he keeps religion now, her presence is interweaved throughout his childhood, and it was all crap, she was nothing more than a psychopath mage, he can’t think about it.

Hallas make Bellara sneeze, but she denies it.

Lucanis was so overwhelmed that he missed his shot at Weisshaupt it took him nearly a day to utter a word to any of them, he left to be on his own as soon as possible and the moment he was alone he had a panic attack.

Harding often thinks back to Haven, and when the inquisition was just stating out. How she had thought back then that Varric and Solas were old friends, they way they walked together in the hinterlands, chatting about nothing in particular, felt so…comfortable. She misses those days terribly.

Neve didn’t lose her leg in some fantastic battle against the Venatori or a Dragon fight, she was just born without it. Sometimes people are just born different.

When Rook awoke from Solas telling her the truth about the Archdemons, she was so stunned and in shock that when she walked down the stairs to discuss with the others, she fell down them much to everyone’s alarm.

Having to fight a dragon in Treviso almost immediately after meeting cemented a close connection between Rook and Davrin, literally thrown into hell together.

Dorian was the only one able to get anywhere close to that dragon in Minrathos, managed to get a hit square in its eye, but it wasn’t enough. The Iron Bull was in the city the week before, but by the time the dragon attacked he was halfway to the Free Marches.

They all regularly play cards and games around the dining room table.

Taash keeps a small sketchbook on them where they likes to draw all the dragons they meets, they also pets every dog and cat they come across. They sneak hugs from Assan when they think no one is looking.

Emmrich gets Bellara to talk academic theory with him a lot as a form of distraction because he knows she lies awake at night having a never ending crisis of faith.

Bellara often worries and frets that Lucanis isn’t eating enough even though he’s feeding everyone. Lucanis worries the same thing about her.

Lucanis is dyslexic as fuck got really self conscious about how long it was taking him to read one of Neves novels, well, until he realised he literally wasn’t being judge at all actually.

Harding grows elf root to smoke it. Dream blunt rotation to be honest.

Communicating with the dead the way Emmrich does is harder than it looks, it takes a lot of stamina and if the connection is held for too long he’s prone to nosebleeds.

They spar and practice combat in the courtyard in front of the dining hall, usually one v one with the others sitting on the steps watching. Neve keeps encouraging them to take bets.

When Aves sleeps on the green couch, she often wakes up to find Assan curled up nearby. Either that or Emmrich hovering over her because she was screaming in her sleep again and he could hear her in the next room.

Taash and Bellara I’m still working on.

[zeephyre]

CRITICAL ROLE CAMPAIGN 3 EPISODE 85 SPOILERS

IM LITERALLY ABOUT TO LOSE MY MIND YALL

Where do I even ??? start ???

I haven't been posting c3 as the episodes dropped in...a while actually, like right before they went to the feywild. i have many thoughts and many feelings about so many things that have happened since then and I'll summarise them so I can get to THIS episode.

fearne and ashton - love their shard powers, they're literally royalty and terrifying, and i want them to make-out. i can't wait to see them go full primordial again in a real combat situation.

imogen - save her. literally save her. free her, even. i love everything about the call of ruidus when it comes to imogen on a narrative standpoint, but...God I get so worried that we're gonna lose her. I don't mean she's gonna betray the hells, but...ruidus could take her and then i would simply perish.

laudna - before i really get into wtf went down this episode with her and she who must not be named, i gotta say... im worried. very very worried. however, that fireball was objectively the best shit ever.

fcg - i can't even really remember anything stand out abt fcg except what Sam pulled last night so.

chetney - still the heart of the team, still my baby girl, still my favourite. love him to bits.

orym - i think laudna is going to beat his ass one of these days and im... even more concerned about that after this episode. his nana morri powers are cool as fuck tho... does that make him a warlock now? i know he isn't multi-classing but wouldn't that be cool

ANYWAY WE'RE ON THE FUCKING MOON AND WE GOT MOON LORE AND EVERYTHING WAS SHITTY THEN FUN THEN SHITTY THEN FUN AGAIN THEN REALLY FUCKING SAD THEN IT ALL WENT TO SHIT AGAIN.

the moment imogen reached out to ruidus and matt mentioned that she could sense where other ruidusborn were i fucking knew that otohan was high tailing it in their direction, and i thought they instinctively knew that too but they probably got so distracted.

we were travelling for hours and had a huge fight that almost got them captured (not to be confused with the OTHER two fights that almost got them captured) and I was begging and screaming and crying for them to get a long rest safely hidden away AND THEN THEY SPLIT THE PARTY WITH BARELY ANY SPELL SLOTS OR HIT POINTS AFTER BEING DRAINED FROM ANOTHER BATTLE WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM

(Sidenote, the willmaster really opened up the door to the further increase in moral pondering in a certain number of hellians. i do think using the harness is disgusting and hypocritical, but i don't condemn them for it, it just...makes me wanna vomit thinking abt what ludinus did with it. not to mention the HUNGER parallels between laudna and ludinus...its just not good yall. also??? objectively funny that fcg seemed weirded out by the idea of killing the willmaster, not just with the harness but in general, considering how many people they've killed up to this point)

idk if its just the inherent terror that an evil old hot lady can inspire that makes otohan so much more terrifying to me than ludinus. like, objectively, ludinus is a worse threat and could wipe them out EASILY but jesus otohan is like the damn reaper to me. it's the trauma from the laudna, fearne, orym massacre mixed with the underlying little drop from their uthodurn romp that let us know that resurrection spells are NOT working and idk if that got fixed bc of time passing or distance from the leylines but i really did not want to test that shit out in real time

thank...god that sam riegel is a damn genius player, that banishment of fcg and fearne was the ONLY reason fcg survived. and thank GOD FOR KEYLETH BECAUSE WITHOUT THAT CLOUD SPELL BELLS HELLS WOULD BE VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY DEAD RN.

God, "otohan has us. run." is going to haunt me just as much, if not more than the almost tpk. it just...shot me straight back to bassuras and the plan to run that just...immediately fell apart.

god fcg truly could have died there. and fearne would be captured. i know the hells would be too stupid and too brave and too loyal to leave fearne with otohan in their cloud form but can you imagine a world where fcg was gone, fearne was captured and the hells had to switch from recon to rescue... itd be stressful but pretty fun.

thankfully it didn't come to that and some good came from the shit.

ruidus is so beautiful. i was worried they'd end being trapped under ruidus while they explored (not that I wasn't on board with the detours, I wish this wasn't a time sensitive mission), but matt's imagery of the fossilized elven structure and garden made me sad but also happy that we got to see it.

i cannot believe that the stupid plan to shove fearne up a water hole happened AGAIN and it ended up with us FINDING A BACK HOLE TO RUIDUS GOD I LOVE THESE CHUCKLEFUCKS WHEN IS THE NEXT EPISODE MATT YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO ME. WHERE EVEN ARE THEY??? IS IT EVEN EXANDRIA???? WHAT DO WE DO IF IT IS EXANDRIA??? WHERE DID THIS HOLE EVEN COME FROM???? DOES IT CLOSE AND REOPEN??? IS IT STAGNANT?????? IS IT FUCKING STABLE?!?!?!?!?!

God...we could go back to keyleth and the others and actually invade ruidus without encountering the ruby vanguard. (that's if they're alright because otohan did go out onto the battlefield and we don't know what fhe fuck she did when the illusion fell through)

GOD. IS IT THURSDAY YET??? WE HAVENT EVEN FOUND THE RESISTANCE????

[honeycollectswhump]

All That Matters

[masterlist]

prepare for very silly and self-indulgent 1800 words of comf... with some slight alluding to ava's past :D this is a callback (call-forward??) to Warmth! they cuddle so often that he instinctually remembers it post-recapture

CW: drunkeness, past pet whump (implied)

“Attie, wake up. We're home.” Aveline calls over her shoulder, while Atlas just grunts, his face sleepily mushed against the window of her car. 

After a moment, he stirs, leaning away from the window and looking around to search for her. It takes a while for his eyes –half-lidded and hazy– to focus on her, but he visibly relaxes as soon as they do.

It’s not far from her car to the front door, but the distance barely matters with Atlas’ state. Plus afterwards, they’ll still have to conquer the stairs, and Aveline can only hope that everything goes smoothly, that there is no accident, hope that she is prepared for an accident, and–

She stops that mental list from spiralling further. She doesn’t need to worry about accidents, everything is fine. 

Instead, she heaves Atlas out of the car, putting one arm around his waist to stabilise him and begging to God that he will at least try to help with the walking. In comparison to her Attie, she has always been small, and that has rarely ever helped her.

His head immediately lolls to the side, resting on top of hers, and Atlas sighs deeply, almost sinking into her embrace. It’s awkward, the way his hefty frame bends and leans on her like a puppet with its strings cut.

Carefully, Aveline directs and announces every step for him to follow as he clumsily tries to get his legs to cooperate. Despite what she considers his best efforts, Atlas nearly pulls them both down multiple times. Her never-aching bruises serve as enough proof for the frequency, and Aveline would really prefer to avoid more of those.

No amount of covering is able to hide freshly forming bruises from Atlas, who has spent enough of his lifetime receiving them. And without fail, seeing them would drive him near tears and to endless apologies for pain he wouldn’t be able to cause even if he wanted to.

Finally, they reach the front door of her cosy home, which Atlas has also made his. Aveline is already out of breath and rests Atlas against the wall to get her keys out. Immediately, he slides down in a fit of nonsensical giggles.

It’s warm inside, thankfully. Aveline can still feel the chill on her skin from Atlas’ freezing touch. He had been lying in the grass for God knows how long, drunk and left alone by his so-called friends. Or maybe it was his own foolish decision to go home alone, even though he knows how dangerous that is and she just cannot understand why he’d do it anyways!

She takes Atlas’ hands to pull him up again and he looks at her, confusion creasing his brows again, even though he can barely keep his eyes open.

“Wha…what ‘m I”, Atlas pauses as if willing his tongue to form the words, “doin’ ‘ere?” 

She hates this, she really does. But it doesn’t matter.

“You’re home.” Aveline sighs. “It’s like four in the fucking morning and you called me.” She stops herself. “No, forget that. It’s good that you called me. The rest doesn’t matter, let’s just get inside, please.”

“M’kay”, he slurs, his eyes closed. 

For a second Aveline thinks he will fall asleep right then and there, but then he gets on his hands and knees and starts crawling inside. Still, he is swaying heavily and crashes into the doorway at one point, when she offers him help. 

“I can… I can do… this! Bes–besides, I’m used…”, Atlas swallows thickly, “I… know this.”

Something about that makes her sleep-addled brain feel… off?

Aveline closes the door behind him, taking in a deep breath. Now that she is surrounded by the welcoming warmth of her home again, her exhaustion comes back crashing in, and she is barely able to stifle a yawn. 

Atlas is already losing the battle against his shoelaces, with clumsy fingers grabbing at nothing. His head keeps falling forward like it weighs too much for him to hold up and he is blinking repeatedly, as if that would clear his blurry vision. Only with her help is he able to free himself. 

“You think you can make it upstairs, big guy?” Aveline asks, laying one hand against his cheek to stabilize him. Almost instinctively, Atlas leans into her touch. His body follows, slumping heavily against her.

Sometimes, it confuses her how such an imposing guy can make himself so small, when he curls up against her, seeming to chase any warmth possible.

The thought makes her heart ache and she wraps Atlas in a one-armed hug, pressing a soft kiss to his temple. 

Her Attie. 

He lets his head drop against her chest, as she plays with his hair. It’s the closest thing to “petting” him that she will do and it calms him quickly. It usually does. 

Against her touch, Atlas’ breathing starts to even out, his eyes slipping shut. It’s as good as any sign that it’s now or never to get him into bed. Aveline can just barely manage the task of moving him when he can stumble along. It becomes all but impossible when he is fully asleep.

With a smile on her lips, she nudges him a couple of times, until he blearily opens his hazy eyes again, making a confused noise that disappears into a hiccup.

“Come on, Attie. Up you go.” With that, she hoists him up again, slinging one of his arms over her shoulder, holding it tight with her own. Atlas overcorrects, throwing their fickle balance off-centre sending them stumbling into the nearest wall and Aveline prays to God that it won’t leave any unfortunate bruises this time.

Atlas braces himself against the wall and it takes her a moment to find a more secure position with her other arm wrapped around his waist before she continues their journey up the stairs. Sometimes, Aveline wonders if Atlas even guesses at the worry this brings her every time. 

What if they fall down? What if she slips and sends him tumbling down the stairs? What if anything happens and he breaks something or ends up with a concussion or hypothermia if she can’t get to him fast enough? What the hell is she supposed to do when she can’t even bring him to a fucking hospital?! 

Doesn’t matter. Stop.

This Atlas, the one that is not in her thoughts, dying hundreds of frightening deaths she couldn’t prevent, seems completely oblivious, babbling on about what Aveline assumes is a drinking game they played. However, she is pretty sure he is mixing up at least two if not three different games and frankly, he is not explaining them well. 

When they reach the top Aveline is panting with exhaustion. Atlas is already quite hefty and it doesn’t help that he is as good as dead weight in her arms, his legs just barely cooperating. 

She tries to steer him into his room, the old floorboards creaking under their feet, but Atlas resists, shaking his head vehemently.  

“No… no, please… I don’ wanna… no”. 

Oh. Right. 

Even blackout drunk, Atlas is eerily good at begging, the words sounding too desperate to fit the playful lilt of his voice. The reminder makes her stomach drop. 

He stumbles out of her grasp and away from his room as if he can’t stand the sight of it. He barely makes it down the hall, clinging to her doorframe after just a couple of unsteady steps.

“Atlas, what…? What are you doing?”

Atlas, her dear Attie, flinches so hard he tumbles back onto the floor, lowering his head and fixing his gaze on the ground.

“‘M sorry. I wanna sleep… wanna sleep here. ‘M sorry. Please?” 

It breaks her heart, the way he avoids her eyes. Even without seeing it directly, she knows there are tears in his. It feels twisted to hope that he hides them from some sense of embarrassment, but it’s better than the fear that tears are forbidden.

“Please, Ava… I don’ wanna be ‘lone.” Atlas pleads, mistaking her silence for rejection. In an instant, Aveline kneels down in front of him, closing the distance he surely imagines to be greater.

She can try to pretend that she gives in just for Atlas, to calm him down in what she already knows is a too-vulnerable state. But it would only be a sad attempt at covering the truth that Aveline will already spend half of her night checking up on him, to make sure that he is still breathing. In the end, that’s the only thing that matters.

“It’s alright. Of course, you can. I won’t leave you alone, Attie, I promise.” As if the decision is any trouble for her. As if it doesn’t calm the ever-present worry gnawing at the back of her mind.

The effects are instant though. Immediately, his shoulders slump in relief and his features relax. Atlas meets her gaze with tears shining in his eyes and lets himself fall back into her embrace, squeezing her tightly. Aveline can only just catch herself before she topples over from the unexpected weight, but it’s worth it. 

It takes even more energy she hardly has anymore, but Aveline manages to lift Atlas up again, just enough to sit him down on her bed. Promptly, he flops down, somehow worming his way under her blanket despite his incoherent state.

After a moment, she changes back into her pyjamas that she left haphazardly lying on the ground after she got the call to pick Atlas up, and joins him under the warm blanket. Atlas is still in his day clothes but she has decidedly not the energy to do something about that, and much rather deposits the responsibility of cleaning onto her tomorrow-self.

In no time at all, he wraps her in a loose hug, sighing into her hair. Aveline doesn’t mind, even if his breath carries the biting scent of alcohol.

“Missed you tonight,” Atlas mumbles. “Was nice… jus’ not the same.” A sigh escapes him. “You wouldn’t… wouldn’t let it get… this bad. ’M sorry, Ava.” 

Aveline can’t bring herself to say It’s alright. It just isn’t. But he can’t change what he’s already done and she loves him anyways, always.

She pulls herself closer to her Attie, pressing her ear to his chest, right above his heart. The exasperation, the worry, the exhaustion, none of it matters if she is just able to hear his heartbeat, to feel his breath on her hair. He is alive.

Atlas is alive and that is all that matters.

taglist: @octopus-reactivated, @sodacreampuff, @topsheepstudent let me know if you want to be added or removed :)

[garricks4thwingqueen]

you have been on fire lately with the requests! another request for you, garrick hurt/comfort. maybe reader is devastated by the loss of soleil and liam and gare bear gets her through the grief.

You are my Light X Telery Reader (Soleil's older Twin sister)

*Request: you have been on fire lately with the requests! another request for you, garrick hurt/comfort. maybe reader is devastated by the loss of soleil and liam and gare bear gets her through the grief.

A/N: First off, thank you!!! Second I’m sorry this sat for a few days. I have one similar to this with Garrick for Always Yours and then kind of a similar concept for Dain. I wanted to make sure I gathered an idea that was different from the two! 

Synopsis: Your Soleil’s twin sister and after your parents uprising you got fostered away from Soleil with Xaden and Liam. You grew exceptionally close to both boys during that time and they became like actual brothers to you. Xaden would often pick fun at you once he found out you had a crush on Garrick. It was your second year at Basgiath and Garrick and Xaden’s third year when all hell finally broke out for your group.

Word Count: 1237

Trigger Warnings: Grief, Swearing

    Y/N POV 

    You were home. You were finally back home in Aretia to allow time for the Sorrengail girl to heal after the awful battle of Wyvern and Venin you all just fought off at Resson. Stupid love sick girl you had thought when she wanted to come with the rest of the rebels for war games. Even you and Garrick protested how much of a stupid idea it was. Now the secrets of your home and the boy's hard work would be revealed when she woke up from being unconscious. You just hoped you could trust she was fighting for the right reasons.

       You sighed as you reached the spot at the lake that was always your favorite as a child. You took in a heavy breath of the cool early morning summer air. So early that the sun was just starting to jut over the horizon line. You sank yourself at the bottom of the tree and shook your head of the thoughts about the Sorrengail girl that you thought should have died at the beginning of this year; that instead your idiot love struck foster brother got the better of him. 

   No, you had deeper thoughts that troubled your third sleepless night back in Aretia as you sank to the base of the tree and pulled your knees up to your chest. Usually you slept peacefully without a worry in your boyfriend's strong arms wrapped around you which belonged to Garrick Tavis; who you officially started dating almost immediately after crossing the parapet last year. Almost six years of separation was enough for Garrick and honestly it was enough for you to. 

    You started another round of angry sobbing as memories of you and your younger twin sister flashed in your head of both playing and splashing in the lake when you were children. You had lost here in the battle of Resson and to make it worse Liam had also passed in the same battle almost four days again. It wasn’t fair. They were both equal parts of sunshine. You continued to sob as you knew it wouldn’t be long before you felt Garrick’s strong arms from behind you as this has been an everyday occurrence for you in your grief of your sister and foster brother. 

    “My little one.” Garrick said softly sitting down next to you pulling you in tightly as he rested his back against the tree. “I- I had a nightmare.” You managed to sniffle out through your tears somewhat coherently. “Wanna talk about it baby girl?” Garrick asked soothingly, resting his head in the crock of your shoulder.  

          You nodded your head slightly as you leaned back into his chest for comfort, feeling his calloused hands moving softly and comfortably down your arms. “It was the battle again. But instead of losing just Soleil and Liam. I-” You stopped fumbling on your words. “When you're ready.” Garrick said softly, wiping the tears from your cheeks. “I-I lost you too.” You whispered into his chest that was barely audible.  

                                                           Garrick’s POV

     “Oh Y/N.” I said softly, hugging her tighter and bringing her closer to my chest if that was even possible as I rested my chin on the top of her head. “I promise you I’m not going anywhere anytime soon my sweet little one.” 

     “But when we finally go back there you and Xaden are going to get your last year assignments and-” I cut her off. “And I promise that I’ll come back to you Y/N. I always will.” “But I’ll be alone. I won’t have anyone to hold me like this and I’ll have to spend every day wondering if you’ll come back to me or join Soleil and Liam.” “Baby.” I breathed softly, kissing the top of her head. “I know this hasn’t been easy for you especially.” “But I promise you even when I’m gone; no matter where they send me. I’m always going to come back home.” “Promise?” She sniffled. I couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle; “I promise Y/N. Always.” 

       “I also know you’re not the best mentally and emotionally right now but honestly with being home I couldn’t think of a better time, not when we know how fragile time can be now.”  I adjusted my position slightly. 

                                                          Y/N POV

     You whimpered at the loss of Garrick’s touch; but at the same time you had burst into  another set of tears. Although they were still mostly grief striking tears they were also tears of surprise and joy as you noticed the man that you loved so much down on one knee. 

    “Y/N Telery. I love you so damned much and these past few days made me, us realize just how fragile life is. Just how quickly first and second chances can be taken away especially when you and the person you love attend a war college. Y/N I love you and I want to spend the rest of our lives together. When this is all over I want to marry the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid my eyes on. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and maybe even a few mini dragon riders tossed in the mix as well, that is if you’ll marry me. Y/N Telery, will you spend the rest of our lives with me?” 

    “Garrick.” You sniffled but still managed to say it in a somewhat excited tone as you reached up and wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed his cheek and whispered “Yes.” Garrick chuckled as he wrapped his arms around your waist and laid his back; back against the ground with you still strongly wrapped up in his arms. 

      “I love you, Y/N and I mean it when I say I’m not going to go anywhere or leave you ever.” “Good because I can’t handle losing you ever, especially not after-” He cut you off again. “Ssssh my sweet girl. I know.” He soothed. “I know, it’s hard and I know how hard it’s been for you and I’m not about to lie and say it’s going to be easier; but I can promise you that I’ll always come back no matter what. You’re not losing me ever and I love you always. I promise.” “Promise?” You sniffled again. “ Double pinky promise.” He said softly through a chuckle. “I love you Gare, so so much. I can’t thank you enough for putting up with me lately; I know I haven’t been the greatest company.” “Hey we talked about this you don't have to thank me ever my princess. How about we start today off fresh with a nice dip in the lake?” 

     “You know what Gary. That sounds exactly what we both need.” “You're gonna get it for that nickname.” He teased me. “Oh yeah?” You smirked, smiling as a butterfly landed on your shoulder, a sign you instantly knew was from your younger sister. “Oh yeah. You better hope you make it into the lake first Y/N.” Garrick chuckled as you started running towards the lake taking your skirt and shirt off as you ran towards the water. It didn’t take long before Garrick closed the space between you and put both hands on your ass as you wrapped your legs around his waist as he kissed you deeply walking you both into the lake. 

[ashyswoyaus]

Wait is Dominator going to be a part of your wander and Sylvia swap au? How would s2 play out?

yes definitely!!! i think s2 would play out with pretty much the same general story beats as the show, mostly the same arcs and tentpole episode premises. then there comes the question of How you would make them work in this swap

instead of wander's eagerness to be friends and belief in redemption, sylvia's actions would be fueled by the thrill of adventure. while i wouldn't say she has the original's full backstory—she was never a bounty hunter—it's still something she loves, and perhaps even Because she doesn't have that full backstory it's something she craves more. for the most part she'd have been satisfied with just hater during s1—but at the same time it becomes so routine and hater barely even registers as a Real threat anymore (especially considering wander's the one that deals with the watchdogs) that she can't help feeling the desire for something New and Exciting.

so when dominator shows up, she immediately latches onto that and decides, well i can't just let this new guy do whatever they want, i've got to go and show them what's what Right Now. of course she gets humbled pretty quickly, but that drive to defeat dominator is what leads her to set up the battle royale. although sylvia shares the plan with wander beforehand and they work things out together. sylvia can't get to dominator when she's on her ship, so the plan is put in motion to lure her out and ambush her (and hopefully, fighting with the other villains first would weaken her a bit)

it still comes down to hater and dominator, and hater still forms a crush on her. sylvia doesn't think anything will come of it, of course, but she's trying to somehow use this to her advantage. i have quite a Bit about my fair hatey in my head which i want to make something of later

it also helps i think with giving her more parallels to hater...she gets so Focused on the Adventure that is Defeating Dominator that it's almost like an obsession and she might lose sight of her other goals. i worry about it maybe being too out of character because she isn't Normally super obsessive, especially compared to the others...but this was the most satisfying way i could think of to do it. like wander was fixated on getting hater and dominator together sylvia is fixated on Defeating Dominator (and internally wanting to Be the One that Does It). she wants to kill her so bad.

and i had these doodles i might as well take about wander and peepers briefly as well. their teamup would happen like 5 minutes earlier because wander would NOT skip out on that hug. you started walking towards me with your arms outstretched boy YOU ARE GETTING HELD!!!!

wander is not one to take pride in enemyship. the moment peepers relates to him about stress and had a moment of softness his fate was sealed. wander is his friend now. peepers doesn't want to admit it out loud but he knows deep down, and almost begrudgingly accepts it

and i didn't notice until after i made it but this is the second time i've drawn wander holding a watchdog and worrying about them getting cold...so i think this would be a funny part of his character. wander is so so worried about the watchdogs because they are small and furless no wonder they wear all black it must be so hard for them to retain heat. space is freezing. he would know. get some warmth!!! (he'll bite if you don't)

[battlegroundofdreams]

4

The meeting in Krios' office doesn't go exactly as planned....

An hour later, and after both getting cleaned up after training, Morpheus and Melinoe headed up to Krios’ office.  Both were dressed fully in black and looked like a matching pair, and in time they would be; however, at the moment, Morpheus was still trying to figure out the enigma that was the woman walking next to him.  To be called to the office of the Prime, to have a messenger treat her as if she was an officer in the corps, the name the messenger had called her, there were questions that he wanted answers to, and if they didn’t come in the Krios’ office, he’d find out later.

There was no wait once they had arrived at the office. Krios’ assistant had been waiting for them and showed them in immediately.  The auburn haired Prime had his back to them when they entered, but his posture left no donut that he was unhappy.  Surely soon he would be letting them both know his thoughts on the matter that had called them up.

“Andromeda will be joining us.”  The Prime’s deep voice echoed around his office as they took seats across from his desk.  He still had not turned from the window.  He was expecting problems with Morpheus, and was preparing to reign in his temper to keep from losing one of his best agents.  It was no secret that the agent didn’t want a partner, and now to have a case so soon after being assigned, it was sure to cause issues.

Morpheus and Melinoe looked at one another.  Not only was the Prime meeting with them but also the Adjutrix, even with what was in the scroll, it didn’t seem a serious enough situation to require that.  For the first time since she received the scroll, Melinoe became nervous.  Not killing a nightmare on the first attempt was hardly a rare occurrence, let alone when there had been more than one and she had been alone.  Morpheus couldn’t miss the trepidation he now saw in her eyes.  

“I apologize for my delay,” Andromeda entered the office and closed the door.  There was little doubt in either her or Krios’ mind that this would get loud and messy.  Morpheus was known for his temper just about as much as his ego.

“EMA (eema) Melinoe, to be honest we're not sure that this nightmare is part of that team you took on, but if not then he's duplicating their methods.” Krios turned from the window, his heavily tattooed forearms crossed over his broad chest.  They were a testament to the battles he had fought as an agent.  “We've had two more agents almost taken out by him. They're not getting even close to him.  This is why we need you.”

Now what the messenger had said made sense to Morpheus.  He'd pronounced the acronym wrong, Melinoe was an Elite Master Assassin.  That was a rank he hadn't even achieved.  It added to his respect for her, but also brought up new questions. 

“Agent Morpheus and I will be ready tomorrow to start tracking, sir.” Melinoe answered, still not sure why they had been called up to the office for a routine thing.  “We spent today practicing and training, I have no doubt we'll make a good team.  His reputation, as I'm sure you know, is well earned.” She turned her head slightly towards Morpheus and gave him a small smile.  She was honest . 

“EMA Melinoe, we are not worried about your abilities.  We want to ensure we do not have another agent down to injuries that could be avoided if one were to use caution, patience, and check their ego at the door.” Andromeda was frank, and the look she cast towards Morpheus made her disdain clear.  Now everyone knew why they were there, and none looked happy about it.

“I can assure you..” Melinoe started trying to head off the fight she could almost feel coming.  As Andromeda has spoken, Morpheus has straightened and his hands had balled to fists.  She couldn’t blame him, the Adjutrix hadn't even attempted to be delicate . 

“You're worried about ME getting her injured or killed?  Come out and say it if you have the balls.” Morpheus interrupted.  “You heard my partner, we function well together and be fine. Can you both fuck off now?”

“Until she steps on your toes or says something you don't like, right Morpheus?” Now Krios was going to take him head on.  “Then what? You'll leave her in the dream alone? Tell her to fuck off now? Make her carry your weight? I need both of you back, and I don't care if your ego has to be sacrificed for it.” He leaned over the desk after Morpheus, his hands going flat on it.  His muscles could be seen flexing under his dress shirt. Obviously the Prime was ready for a fight.

Unfortunately Morpheus wasn’t looking to disappoint, “you really think that I would do that?”  He was now on his feet, quickly followed by Melinoe who was going to try to keep the two powerful men from destroying each other and the office.

“Check my ego and temper, but I'm not the only one with either of those, am I?  I get it, she's higher rank, but I have earned respect.” He looked between Krios and Andromeda, obviously enraged.  “I would never abandon another agent, or endanger them, because of my ego.  I know where to find Mel if I have a score to settle.”

“Morpheus, I don't think that's what they..” once more Melinoe started trying to defuse the situation. 

“No, he understood me.” Andromeda cut her off this time. “You're reckless, Morpheus.  You take risks. Only now it won't be just you.  You'll have one of the best with you and…”

“And who is another of those bests? ME! So I'm pretty damn sure we have this…” Morpheus took a step towards Andromeda, Melinoe gently touching his arm to try and calm him.

“AGENT MORPHEUS!” Krios’ hands slammed down on his desk to get everyone's attention.  “You will respect the chain of command in my office or…”

“Or what? You'll take me off the case and send Mel in with someone inferior?  You are actually standing there and threatening me?”

Melinoe felt like she was watching the beginning of another World War and she had no interest in it.  “Sir, I trust Morpheus and that should be enough.  No one is going to be left behind or not protected.  I think we all need to think about what we're saying.  Morpheus is right, you're both being insulting to his abilities.”

Her hand tightened on Morpheus’ arm.  She didn't want a full on fight.  If she was going to have to go back up against one of those nightmares, she wanted him as her backup. “Morpheus, it's fine.  Don't take their bait.” She kept her voice low and hoped they'd built enough of a report that he'd listen . 

“You should listen to your partner Morpheus. It seems at least one of you…” Andromeda started, before being cut off.

“If she's so fucking perfect, what do you need me for? Clean up duty? Someone to take the blame if it goes sideways?” Morpheus didn't ever let her get started before raging.  “I've never had to clean up someone’s messes before and I'm not liking it now. It’s not my fault your apparent darling isn’t capable of doing it on her own and needs someone to come in and save it for her.  People don’t die on my watch, but I guess now I have to make sure they don’t die on hers too.  What exactly am I getting out of this whole arrangement?”

“ENOUGH!!”  Now it was Melinoe that had everyone’s attention, and none looked sure what she was going to say.  

“Fine, you don't want to, how'd you say it? Clean up my mess?  Fine. I'll figure it out myself, and do it without you.  I didn't ask for your help, or to be your partner in the first place.  Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to go prepare for tomorrow.  I’m sure Krios and Andromeda can find something to keep you busy while I work.”  She gave no one a chance to answer, she strode from the room, slamming the door behind her so hard it rattled.

For a moment no one left in the office moved.   Up until then, Melinoe had been the most calm in the room.   It was clear she was now, however, seriously pissed.  Krios and Andromeda had never seen her anywhere near that emotional regarding anything, let alone that enraged.  It was clear that the meeting had gone in a direction that they had not anticipated and now they might have created a problem that could not be rectified easily.

“If anything happens to her either fighting that nightmare or afterwards, your career is over.” Krios said firmly, but flatly. “I will completely decimate your life outside of the agency. You will pray for death.  Your skill has got you this far, Morpheus, but you've reached the end of what it can do for you.  We gave you the one agent who we believed could work with you, and you’ve not even lasted a day.  You’d better hope you can fix this.  Now, GET.OUT. of my office.”

[dualcastimpact]

dawntrail impressions pt. x

In this installment: breaking a death flag and some realisations come to being.

Spoilers under the cut, as always:

Hunmu Rruk's gotten himself kidnapped right after confessing the truth of Wuk Lamat's parentage to Raginmar. Not that it's not a compelling drama angle, but the sheer pacing from Hunmu Rruk spilling his heart out to then immediately getting kidnapped is really way too fast, there's almost no impact to the revelation. It's just there to set up Bakool Ja Ja's scheme.

Wuk Lamat: "Come on, then! You want a fight? I'll give you a fight!"

Said scheme mainly revolves around pressuring Wuk Lamat into a one-on-one fight with her birth father's life on the line and without the assistance of the singular most powerful combat force in her entourage: the Warrior of Light.

Obviously, since Wuk Lamat is a shōnen manga protagonist in the most obviously trope-y JRPG in recent memory, there's no way she'd lose even without the Warrior of Light.

———

What will you say? > Cowards don't stand a chance against Wuk Lamat. > You should back down before you get hurt. > Don't worry—the scary adventurer won't try anything funny.

I personally love how unconcerned Raginmar looks in this shot, paired with his unbothered, nonchalant response to Bakool Ja Ja's taunting. Also any shot where he's got his arms crossed and showing off his biceps and forearms is really just (chef's kiss) mwah, this game is so good to me.

Also he just looks unconcerned; if you think he's not keeping an eye on Hunmu Rruk to make sure he's unharmed via some arcane means you've got another think coming.

———

Bakool Ja Ja the Mighty: "You think this weakling could hurt me!?"

The emphasis on me instead of weakling is really rather interesting; it shows that his disdain towards Wuk Lamat is secondary towards his ego. He cares more about the slight against him instead of insulting Wuk Lamat.

That said Raginmar did not have to stand with his hip cocked to one side like that, that is just plain disrespect, unbelievable, how dare he—

———

In this battle, you will play as Wuk Lamat.

Oh heck yeah! I love it when we get to play battles as other characters! I still remember how excited I got during post-Stormblood when the in-game messages went from "In this battle, you will play as Hien" to "In this battle, you will play as Raginmar Steelbiter"—just seeing his name on-screen like that like he's part of the cast was so satisfying.

———

Hoobigo Guardian: "We'll release the hostage."

Raginmar's figured as much since he's secretly keeping an eye on them, but I have to be honest: I was expecting some kind of betrayal from them. I really wasn't expecting this particular drama to be resolved so quickly, I was expecting some more treachery or tragedy or death.

Was this sideplot even necessary?

———

Hunmu Rruk: "I—Ah, but to single-handedly defeat Bakool Ja Ja! You truly are the Dawnservant's daughter."

Hunmu Rruk: "It has been my honor to bear witness to your journey, Promise."

Oh no, he's forcibly enforcing distance between them...

———

Wuk Lamat: "Promise... Yes, that's what I am."

Wuk Lamat: "I'm Gulool Ja Ja's daughter, and Tuliyollal's next Dawnservant!"

Hunmu Rruk's said it himself, she's destined to lead more than just the Xbr'aal. She's been raised as the Dawnservant's daughter all her life, I get where they're coming from, but also it kinda... sucks? Like they're just going to dismiss that possible bond between them? Hunmu Rruk's just going to watch her from afar, even after explicitly still thinking of her as his daughter after years?

That's some bullshit, honestly.

———

Erenville: "The twins ran me from one end of the Ut'ohmu Horizon to the other, asking about everything of remote interest along the way..."

Suffer. Time to deal with the younger siblings you never had.

———

Koana: "Our nation is built upon the bonds that Father forged during his journey across Tural."

Koana: "But so single-minded have I been in my advocacy of foreign innovations...that I failed to understand my own people."

ABOUT FUCKING TIME.

I don't care how clichéd this is, so long as I don't have to deal with his stupid insistence that tradition is bad and useless and the sun shines out Sharlayan's ass, I'm good.

———

Thancred: "Let them see you for who you really are. What makes you laugh and cry and rage. That sort of honesty is the first step towards mutual understanding and connection."

What, the kind of honesty none of you showed Raginmar during his first few years with the Scions?

———

Thancred: "You said you wished to use the knowledge you acquired in Sharlayan for your country—and in doing so repay your father for the opportunities he afforded you."

Sounds familiar eh, Thancred?

———

Thancred: "What won me over was not your ambition, but your motivation."

Thancred: "So let your people know this. And in time, they'll come to support you as we do."

Thancred: "You can't hide behind that stoicism forever."

First of all, you can absolutely hide behind a stoicism forever—Raginmar did just fine. Koana's just too green behind the ears to warrant that stoicism. He has no experience behind that stoicism, that's his problem.

Second of all, I like how Koana has his mentor moment with Thancred, arguably the most dad-like amongst the Scions. To be fair it's more to set up the plot twist(?) later on but it's nice to see the Scions not be completely useless.

———

Alisaie: "Come to think of it, isn't it Bakool Ja Ja's home? We can only hope its residences don't share his winning personality."

We're headed to the Ja Tiika Heartland next and oh, don't worry, Alisaie—they're worse.

———

Alphinaud: "If it is indeed the city where Ketenramm first met the Dawnservant, surely some civility awaits us."

Hunmu Rruk: "I would not be so certain."

First of all, calling Mamook a city is a tad generous. Second of all... well, you'll see.

———

Wuk Lamat: "Thank you for everything, Hunmu Rruk. Till next time, take care!"

Hunmu Rruk: "How you have grown indeed..."

I don't know what I'm meant to feel here. Am I meant to feel sad, that Hunmu Rruk's forced to watch his daughter walk away and hope she understands how proud he is of her without him ever having the chance (or the right) to make that apparent? Am I supposed to feel touched, that he's making this sacrifice for the greater good? Like I said, that whole conflict with his secretly being her father and having to pretend that they're not connected in any way so Wuk Lamat could focus on continuing and protecting the Dawnservant's legacy felt so rushed and so... unimportant, I don't really see any point to it. Maybe it'll be an important plot point later on, I don't know, but so far I just think this part specifically was rather badly done, and had little to no impact on me as the player.

[darkmagicmirror]

OKAY SO my takes on the trailer things

First off, Aaravos is too fucking pretty, as we all know, u-u

I love him and also Viren, and I love that Viren is now apparition-visiting him! I'm guessing it's Aaravos tapping into his mind while he's in his dark magic fever dream. Or... perhaps not dreaming but still unconscious and just not able to physically wake up, you know.

And then!!! Really impressive magic. This being overlaid with Aaravos saying Claudia is "far more powerful" makes me think that Aaravos has taught her this higher level of magic skills, during the 2 year timeskip, and he's THAT confident because he knows what she can do now. He definitely knows he's taught her something big that we, the audience, don't know about, and perhaps that Viren doesn't know yet... I'm willing to bet he taught her magic that is all but forgotten otherwise, or just very rare!

And what kind of magic is she using? It's presumably Dark Magic, but unlike any we've seen before. The purple color also reminds me of the Star Primal, though it wouldn't make sense for her to use Star magic. It should be too difficult. At the same time, though, Aaravos is probably the one being in Xadia that could teach anyone Star magic, and the Star Arcanum does deal with teleporting... she looks like she's controlling the flow of the water at first, but in the last couple screencaps, it almost looks like it's coming out of nowhere.

I still theorize that Dark Magic connects to different Primal Sources, so I suppose it could technically be both, anyway. Less of a direct use of Primal Magic but still something unique that Aaravos taught her?

Also backing up just a second.

When they first revealed that Viren is still asleep, I worried he'd be asleep for the entire Season 5-- and I think that he's unconscious bodily while talking to Aaravos in his prison. However, in this Claudia-versus-water-dragon battle, Viren is awake!

Like in the screencap where you can see the water dragon swimming up, Viren and Sir Sparklepuff are sitting together on the boat. In the shot immediately after, it seems to be the same scene, and Viren is sitting up. Then we can also see Viren and Terry hiding behind some rocks right before Claudia fights, lmao.

And...

God, the "poof" is great x)

But actually, I think the line where he starts with mocking/teasing/however you interpret it about Viren having a few hours left to live might ultimately end up going before him explaining that he's about to be freed and Claudia's coming? I think Viren is unconscious there because of the apparition, but also because otherwise, Aaravos is just giving unnecessary info. And trailers put scenes and lines out of order, it's a thing that always happens. The Claudia-dragon battle is probably not in the same timeframe at all, but Aaravos narrating about Claudia's strength over it means something-- perhaps even that him saying that makes Viren think of that moment, since Viren clearly was awake and watching Claudia fight the dragon.

Also Aaravos's humor here doesn't strike me as mocking, personally... like the caption I saw was describing him as "mischievous", and that makes sense. Like if he's saying that, and then about to go into talking about how he's about to get released anyway and there's really nothing to worry about, it's sort of like a silly/dismissive joke.

Anyway, moving on--

Still crying because when I wrote about Claudia holding unconscious-Viren's hand in a fanfic, I didn't expect it to be canon, but it sure is! God, my heart,,

Also I think this diving scene must be from Viren's dream (he is wearing his Katolis clothing), but ouch!

Also in his dream, he was running past some doors and reaching, and then we have the part from the stills, and here he's reaching for Claudia-- and it reminds me of in early Season 4, when he talks about how he doesn't know if he wants to keep chasing after things. And the dream is reflecting that.

Does he feel like he's losing Claudia, or going to lose her, too? Why is she drowning?

(Then again, Claudia hints at feeling like she's drowning, in Lost Child, and of course water is just the big theme of the season... but I wonder what the personal significance is to Viren, if there is any, unless his brain just brought that imagery because they're on a boat?)

Also the quote Callum says, that they teased when they announced the trailer-- it sounds like poetry, almost prophetic. I wonder if they find that in a book, and Callum is reading the quote.

Anyway... I know I only have magefam and Aaravos thoughts in my head 24/7, so that's all u-u I have no idea what's going on for the rest of it, and no guesses there either, lmao, but that's okay, I know what I'm watching the show for :P

[killawayfanboys]

Things I've decided for the "epilogue" of my HOTD fic: *Aka, 5-6 years after the main storyline*

The civil war between the Greens and the Blacks still happen, just this time Aemond is on the Blacks side. He's come to resent his mother, and her attempts to usurp the throne from Rheanrya piss him off. Both Rheanrya and Daemon took him and Lucian in as their own "children" or at least part of their immediate family. Plus they have no judgement about the relationship going on between the four boys, they just live with it. Aemond still hates his mother after what she had done to Lucian (slitting his throat, forcing him to forever lose his voice). So, when the civil war began he's quick to join in... And so is Luke.

By now the four have gotten married to one another and have had three children. The oldest his Aemond's biological son, Alexandrys, or his nickname Alex. The middle is Jace's biological daughter, Amara. And the last and youngest son, Theo was collectively adopted. The two biological children come from a decision made by the four, as Lucian can't physically bare children any longer due to his surgical procedures. The four of them decided that in order to have children they'll use surrogate maiden wives... Alex looks practically identical to Aemond. And Amara looks like a female version of Jace, just with green eyes instead of purple. Theo is an outlier with black hair and golden eyes. Regardless they all love their children.

During the early months of the civil war, Luke gets majorly injured in battle, which sends him home. Ironically Luke loses his right eye just like Aemond, although his wound is a little more gruesome, as the scar trails all the way down his cheek and across his lips as well. In the beginning stages of recovery, Luke's health declines rapidly and he become incredibly susceptible to sickness and infections. He constantly flips from being healthy to bed ridden with another major illness. Lucian always helps him recover whenever he's sick, but the whole thing puts a strain on the family.

Aemond is still gone, being gone for a little over a year, still fighting in the war. This also doesn't help the family. The constant worry about whether or not Aemond was alive causes an extreme amount of stress on the family. So much so that Jace slips into alcoholism and is distant from his family. He doesn't stick around the castle for very long, only really coming home to sleep drunk out of his mind, or for the occasional sober meal. But otherwise? Jace is negligent. Which causes Lucian and Jace to fight, constantly. As Lucian is overburdened with the responsibility of taking care of the three kids and a bed ridden Luke more often than not. Lucian ends up relying on Rheanrya and Daemon's support a lot to get by.

During the years the four have learned a type of sign language to communicate, a language called the Silent Voice. Lucian also learns to write, which facilitates a constant back and forth messaging between him and Aemond as the war goes on. Sending ravens as often as possible to one another...

One day Luke gets very sick and almost dies, which causes another huge fight between Lucian and Jace and Lucian ends up saying something he regrets. Jace storms off a stubborn man and disappears... For over a week. When he's finally found it turns out he had only meant to leave for the night and cool off, before returning the next day. However this particular night Vermax was acting specifically feral and ended up tossing Jace from his saddle before trying to catch him. Vermax's talons sink into Jace's arm, leaving it wounded beyond fixing. Daemon sets out to find him and when he does Jace is on the brink of death, kept only alive by Vermax's constant care. Jace survives, but his arm is amputated because of it. This event humbles Jace, and he stops drinking and starts being a proper father to his children and a husband to his lovers. Eventually he designs his own prosthetic and has it made for himself, replacing his entire arm. (I've added in a small character trait about Jace that he's actually really into designing clothing and fashion)

The beginning sections of the epilogue will be written as the back and forth messages between Aemond and Lucian as they send letters. As a way to ease the reader into the future before having Aemond come home.

When Aemond returns home, a lot has changed. Lucian's hair is extremely shorter and he's starts wearing glasses because his eyes are beginning to decline. Luke of course lost his eye, a wound Aemond actually hasn't seen yet, he's also taller, the tallest out of them all. His hair is longer and because of being under so much stress that year he also looks the oldest of them all, with a full beard and strands of his hair turning silver. And Jace of course, has lost an arm, something extremely surprising for Aemond because Lucian never wrote about it in his letters. Jace is also thinner, as recovering from such an injury took a lot out of him. His hair is also longer, now pulled back in a loose ponytail, and he also has deep burn scars across his neck from the situation with Vermax as well.

Aemond also looks a bit different as well, he trimmed his hair, now it only reaches his shoulders instead of his lower back. His skin is tanned from being out on the battlefields. On his hands, the tips of his fingers are tinted permanently bluish black because of the harsh North environment, constantly getting frostbite and healing from it. He also has a bunch of new scars along his body from fighting. And a lingering stiff leg because it had been repeatedly attacked during the war.

All in all though, the four of them are as healthy as they can be, each one recovering from their individual injuries. And they're just happy that Aemond is home, especially the kids who missed their father.

[fairy-primarina528]

A Heartbroken Clove

Summary: An 8 year old Clover had just about enough. All of her pent frustration towards her mother's Champion title has been unleashed. Can Professor Hop find a way to comfort his daughter?

Author's Note: I was inspired by my many headcanons detailing Clover's resentment towards Gloria's Champion title. This is the first story that I've written in a long time. Please forgive me for being rusty, but I still hope you enjoy!

Professor Hop had a sneaking suspicion that something is bothering his 8 year old daughter. Clover is usually energetic and talkative, but tonight, she's been silent and more withdrawn. Hop tried not to worry too much as he got ready for bed. However, the sound of Clover knocking on his bedroom door raised so flags in the professor's mind.

Hop opened the door immediately and let Clover inside. He got her to sit down next to him on the king-sized bed. Clover was on the verge of tears, and Hop got more concerned. The professor waited patiently for his daughter to speak. After a long moment of silence, Clover started speaking.

"What matters more to Mummy? Me or all of Galar?" asked Clover nervously.

"Of course, you matter more to your mum. Why would you ever doubt that, baby?" replied Hop reassuringly.

Despite her father's reassurances, Clover felt something snap inside of her. "Well, it sure doesn't feel like I do! Mummy is always away from home. It's almost as if I don't have a mum. It's always about Champion Gloria! When will I ever get my mum all to myself?!?!?" she yelled.

Clover's angry outburst surprised Hop. He decided that the best thing to do would be to let her speak her mind. He chose to listen quietly and only intervene once Clover has calmed down.

"I know that Mummy has to be in Wyndon to do her job. As Champion, she works hard to protect the region. I understand all of that, but it still hurts to see her leave Wedgehurst!" cried Clover.

At this point, Clover's anger had subsided, but tears were streaming down her face. Hop wrapped his arms around her. Clover leaned into her father's embrace and continued to cry.

"You must miss her a lot."

"Yeah, I do. I never get used to it. I'm old enough to tell the difference between Mummy and Champion Gloria. Sometimes, I wished that Mummy wasn't the Champion."

"When she's with us, your Mum is kind, gentle, and caring. As the champion, she's strong, powerful, and steadfast. She never backs down from a fight."

"I know that, Daddy. What's your point?"

"Your Mum has always fought the League to allow her to stay home with us. What if I told you that your wish might come true by the end of this year's Gym Challenge?"

Clover found comfort in her father's words. However, some of them sounded too good to be true. She dared not hope that her mother would lose her Champion title.

"I don't know about that. No one's ever come close to defeating Mum. There's also no way she would step down and give up her title."

Hop wasn't surprised by his daughter's skepticism. He had to find a way to cheer her up without revealing too much of the truth. Unbeknownst to Clover, Hop knew about Gloria's plans of resignation. This year would be Gloria's last Champion Cup. Regardless of the final battle's outcome, Gloria would retire after 25 long years as Champion.

"I understand your doubts, and they're valid, but try to be more open-minded. Anything is possible, and your mum is full of surprises. The day she comes home for good is getting closer. I have a good feeling about this," said Hop optimistically.

"Okay, I'll believe in you and Mummy!" giggled Clover.

A yawn escaped from Clover's mouth. The little girl rubbed her eyes to keep herself awake. It was past her bedtime, but she didn't want to leave her father's side.

"Can I sleep beside you tonight? I don't want to be alone," said Clover.

"Of course you can!" answered Hop as he moved over to make room for her.

Once Clover made herself comfortable, Hop tucked her into bed. "Do you want me to let your mum know about everything? Should I tell her how much you miss her?" asked Hop.

"It's okay to tell her everything. She deserves to know about my feelings, just like you," replied Clover.

"I'll let her know tomorrow. Let's get some sleep."

"Good night, Daddy."

"Good night, baby."

After Clover fell asleep, Hop hoped that he had succeeded in consoling her. It broke his heart knowing how much Clover misses her mother. When the morning comes, Hop will inform Gloria about their daughter's emotional well-being. Starting tomorrow, they will make things right for Clover.

To be continued.

[the-firebird69]

It's a couple of other things going on

-consume you're asking for it over and over it's been very rude for the past year dude I'm pretty sure we know why there's a huge problem here with the reading abilities it's going that way

-we do have a couple announcements and they're pretty big and we're going to let her rip

-there are about 50 people who are bothering him by going in and out of the store as different people going down the street getting into a different car and coming back at the different person repetitively to the point of exotic or even death hold themselves it is absurd. You find out because they're very ignorant they don't understand anything there's a few of them there are fairly stupid crass idiots and basically they don't have any common sense. It was a few more things going on and we're going to get to those things there are probably 500 people without a clue and 300 people with none of idiots.

-today we have a huge number of events lots of them are gigantic. We will review them in a moment probably about 30 minutes to an hour maybe more

Thor Freya

The fleets are battling and they're all down to about 20 or 30 billion Connie f is only slightly ahead but is in each case

-the morlock are gearing up to liven up there last fleet and try a whole bunch of things to try and take Titan Tower ships Mars I'm trying to get to Earth and it's not going well idiotic quite often and what they're doing is absurd so we went ahead and started issuing APB on this stupid suckers I mean one guy wants them to run and choke because he's running to get his water for him and his absurd that's ridiculous anybody in and said are you talking to me no and you already know I realize you're asinine scam didn't say it out loud but boy you people a bunch of f****** pork and losers so we want to beat you up and we're going to

-there's also a number that I'm going to can't stand to being in shape like most of them and they're such wind sit hurts he keeps saying it my people are grown up and can beat up every single stupid idiot here and you're worried about me being strong and I have to not do stuff and f****** useful pieces of s*** you're so freaking dumb

-the guy says he went to yell and he's saying again just like a little kid I mean holy s*** it's bad it is bad and they're regressing on the outside and inside and all over the place it's a disaster for real though other things that are happening the Battle of North is broiling at 3:00 in a few more hours they will be at the sudo empire because of large-scale attacks on New Zealand in Australia they're going to lose their bunkers no they're going to defeat them and take over and the Opera the operation it'll be middleman now it is going on right now they build up his we expect them and that is the morlocks to be down to probably 3.2% roughly tomorrow morning if not lower that is exceedingly bad. Another thing to look at is their massive attitude problem they have a huge attitude problem and they need a curtails immediately

-something else is very big information is coming out of the idiots miles regarding New Zealand and Antarctica and they're running around talking about it and people are swearing they're going to beat them up and it's because they think they know what they're talking about in other words they have seen and tell Reddit or have seen the place and so on so they're going to go after them they don't think so but there's going to be a big fight here all night long and this candy asses are going to lose as they should be but wow that didn't take long for them to lose and their belly up almost all they can do is go around and pick on weak people

..

Olympus

It's a happy day for me I can't wait until they start falling apart and they fake it and then they don't and really they're getting close this huge attack should do something and he says I'm pretty sure it'll be different it's not how these people react that's what is it happening to them and Billy says how are we reacting it's important and it is nothing like that there's a gigantic battle brewing off the coast of Maine and they understand now what it is they think that one is cleared too and they're going to go to Norway and all those movies are going to happen in the upper Midwest as well they think that might be another cavern underneath the Great lakes region which is gigantic which is cleared it's going to be huge these battles are starting right now and they're growing there's some more information coming out today it is about the morlock themselves and their method what they've been doing and how they take over it's going around all sorts of circles because they're bleeding like sheep and they're trying to scream it as a threat and people are going after them it's not going to be much longer until they're underneath and we will update early evening as things will begin happening

Thor Freya and we said the latter part yes and we did approve the Giant celestial to be removed also The burning Man and by Vegas and in several of locations Utah those are going to be out shortly some within possibly hours and the rest within days and they don't control any of them

[origamiplushie]

3. Max

Part 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Read on AO3.

They had wanted to stay in the waiting room until Max woke up but those of them who were not that badly injured were sent home shortly as the hospital was quickly filled with all the people who were injured when the rifts opened. Steve was, fortunately or not, confined to a hospital bed because the doctors were very concerned about the bat bites. However the rest were given first aid and sent to heal at home. Where most of the kids immediately got grounded by their very worried parents.

Robin was lucky enough to escape punishment, having managed to come up with enough excuses to calm down her parents. Thus she came back to keep Steve company in his hospital room as soon as she could. 

Being sent home was good for one thing at least because it meant Nancy was there when Mike finally called to check in. The California crew was already aware that something bad went down in Hawkins thanks to El but not sure about the details. Updating them meant that Nancy also got to hear about their side of things, which cleared up quite a few things for the Hawkins team. For example, how Max had survived the curse.

“... So they managed to build a sensory deprivation tank out of a pizza freezer and during our battle Eleven was fighting Vecna in Max’s head. Unfortunately, Vecna was too strong and hurt Max but Eleven managed to bring her back. Without her, Max would still be … gone.”

They all sat in solemn silence for a moment.

Nancy was the first to shake it off, having had longer to come to terms with what had apparently almost happened.

“Anyway I still need to tell the kids. I came here first thing after Mike’s call. I wanted to make sure that Max was, well, at least better than when we brought her in.”

Seeming to have steeled herself for telling this same story again, Nancy said goodbye to them and left them to their thoughts.

After a few minutes Robin broke the silence with a question.

 “Does that mean it was Eleven bringing people back from the dead this whole time? I mean it would make more sense than Upside Down creatures simply being unable to cause permanent harm in the Rightside Up.”

Steve nods and following Robin’s line of thought says: “Yeah, and it would explain why Barb didn’t come back. I’m pretty sure El doesn’t know who she even was and she most definitely didn’t know back then when she had just escaped from the lab! She wouldn’t have known to bring her back. But if she was hiding out in Mike’s basement then Mike would have definitely mentioned his best friend when he found out that friend was dead. And maybe later Dustin complained to her about his dead cat while they were all hanging out and she did it to cheer him up? I guess it all makes sense.” 

He hums thoughtfully. He was rearranging everything that had happened in the past few years in his head with this new context.

“That also explains why she was so distraught over losing her powers after Starcourt. Hopper was her dad.” Robin suddenly whispered.

Steve sombered instantly. “That must have been tough to deal with. You could bring back your friend’s dead pet but now that you’ve lost the only parent you’ve ever had, you’re helpless.”

“But hey! Nancy said El’s all powered up again! I’m sure Hopper will be back soon enough,” he said, trying to cheer her up.

Slowly Robin’s expression lightened and she agreed: “ That’s true! She’s probably already working on it!”

Steve felt a lot lighter himself. It had been hard, this past year, knowing that he was the oldest one of their little monster-killing group still left in town. He felt responsible for everyone. If the Upside Down came back, and it always seemed to come back, he would be the only adult there. Even before anything actually happened the thought filled him with anxiety. 

It’s not like Steve blamed Joyce for leaving - Hawkins wasn’t exactly full of good memories and living there kept ending up with her kids getting hurt. He didn’t blame Hopper for dying either. They all knew by now that this stuff was dangerous. But being aware of all that didn’t stop him from feeling sorta abandoned. He did not feel old enough to be the adult. He did not feel like he was good enough to protect everyone. Hell, by now it was pretty clear he wasn’t. Like Erica likes to say, just the facts. 

But now it would be fine because Joyce was going to come back to Hawkins and Hopper would be alive again. There would be actual adults who could handle this, who could keep the kids from getting hurt again. It wouldn’t just be him anymore. Now, finally, Steve could rest easier and focus on healing up before the next, inevitable, battle.

Next.

[itsgameofthronesimagines]

Hello, can you write a story where Jaime seeks the reader for comfort and reassurance after losing his hand? Even after some time he still feels insecure about it? When getting intimate for example?

Fandom: Game of Thrones

Pairing: Jaime Lannister x Fem!Reader

Warnings: DNI unless 18+, It gets kinda dark before it gets good cause I got carried away (again). Mentions of SA, incest, manipulation, violence, heated makeout sessions, mentions of both male and female anatomy, selling women like livestock, female masturbation, oral, male recieving, fingering, p in v (wrap it before you tap it) etc.

Word Count: 5,588

Summary: Jaime and Y/n can’t keep their relationship a secret for long, and Jaime struggles with his new hand.

Taglist: @gruffle1 (I know you said you wanted to be tagged in all my works and I think a few have slipped through the cracks. I hope this is still okay though)

Author’s Note: I am so, so sorry for this long awaited request! It’s been at least two years and I know I needed my oldest request taken care of. So thank you for your patience, Nonny! I hope it’s worth the wait.

I made the reader Jon Arryn’s young, distant cousin, so that there’s reason for her to be a member of the King’s court and Queen Cersei’s lady-in-waiting. Also another sorry in advance if the story jumps around a bit.

(I do not consent to my works being reposted/copied)

~~~

Several, long months have come and gone since Jaime had attacked Ned Stark in the streets of King's Landing. He had run off to avoid capture and to rally with his father to save Tyrion, who was then in the clutches of Ned Stark's wife. He didn't have time to properly pack or say goodbye to his family. No one even knew where he had gone until Ned Stark was brought back to the Red Keep that same evening, his leg severely injured. When the Hand of the King spoke of Jaime's attack, Queen Cersei was quick to spin a tale about how Ned was the first to attack after stumbling out of one of Lord Baelish's brothels drunk. It didn't deter King Robert enough to send Ned away, but it did earn Cersei a bruise on her face.

Lady Y/n Arryn tended to the Queen's bruise that night, quietly listening to Cersei's drunk, angry rants about Jaime being accused of treason and running away. Dutifully, the young lady-in-waiting helped Cersei get ready for bed before slipping away the moment she was dismissed. Y/n retreated to her own quarters that night, sobbing silently to herself, worried sick for her secret lover. Every night, she prayed to the gods to forgive Jaime of his sins and bid him a safe return, but not long after Jaime left, King Robert died and Joffrey took the throne. His first decree was to arrest Ned Stark and hold his daughter Sansa captive for treason. Things began to quickly spiral. Not long after Lord Stark's arrest, word got back to King's Landing about Jaime's capture. In retaliation for his father being arrested, Robb Stark had gathered their banners and rose the entire North up against the crown, winning battle after battle against the Lannisters, including the battle that transpired before Jaime was taken prisoner.

Months had gone by and there was still no progress in rescuing Jaime. This agitated Tywin Lannister almost as much as it did Lady Y/n, but at least he could openly show his disdain if he so pleased. Y/n, on the other hand, had to suffer in silence, soothing her queen every night Jaime wasn't by her side. The envy festered deep in Y/n's gut whenever Cersei whispered her twin brother's name in her sleep. Lady Arryn could only wish she could blame it on the wine, but she was no fool. Jaime had once gone to her in confidence about his relationship with Cersei. How their mother once found them in bed together when they were very young and immediately put a stop to it. Cersei's feelings for him remerged when she married King Robert and was left unsatisfied in their marriage bed, but Jaime never returned those feelings.

At first, he said that what happened with his sister when they were children was a young and stupid mistake and he never loved her that way. Even later on in his life, he wasn't attracted to his sister and didn't want to soil his white cloak of honor for someone who clearly took advantage of him as a child. But then, slowly, Jaime admitted that if he was ever going to break his oath, he would only do so for Lady Y/n. She had caught his eye when the late Jon Arryn, once Hand of the King, assigned his cousin to be Queen Cersei's lady-in-waiting. Jaime, of course, never said such things out loud, but he knew from the start that Y/n was beautiful and that observation slowly turned into a need to be around her. It wasn't hard to put himself in her company since their duties to the King and Queen brought them together more often than not.

When Jaime finally spilled all of these sins to her late one night, Y/n had asked if he was truly willing to break his vows for her, even if it meant only ever meeting in secret. She was, after all, unmarried and still a maiden, her family hoping that one day she'll catch the eye of one of the high lords in the King's court. If word got out that an unmarried lady and a duly sworn Kingsguard were seeing each other in secret, it would be devastating for both of them. When Jaime quickly said he was willing to take the risk, Y/n followed that up with another question. Was he willing to risk her life if their secret meetings ever led to a child? She was no maester. She couldn't get her hands on any moon tea without being detected even if she tried. Was Jaime willing to let Y/n risk her life if anyone found out? If the Queen found out?

Jaime admittedly shuddered at that idea, knowing what Cersei was capable of. With that in mind, he vowed to Y/n that none of their secret meetings will lead to a child because he vowed to only ever love her from afar if it meant protecting her. Y/n's heart wept at the idea of being apart from him, knowing how he felt but being unable to act on it. That very first night, she kissed him with a promise on her lips. She promised Jaime to meet him in secret, but only so that he could hold her. Nothing more.

~~~

Years of their secret courting had gone by without a hitch. They met mostly at night when both the King and Queen were asleep in their respective rooms. At first, they only talked quietly in the dark until the early morning light, but then it led to unspoken kisses. The kisses soon led to touching, and over the years those touches began to grow bolder. As promised, Jaime never took Y/n's maidenhead, but that didn't stop them from other nocturnal activities. Oftentimes, he would sneak out of her room with the phantom touch of her mouth around his cock or his clean fingers would still feel warm from being inside of her.

It was blissful, and Jaime always found himself imprinting his love for her in every kiss and every touch. It was always said in secret, but it was always said with sincerity. Despite having to sneak around, it was the best years of the young lovers' lives. That is, until the day Jaime learned of Tyrion's capture and attacked Ned Stark, quickly leaving the city to join his father at Casterly Rock. That day was the last day Y/n ever saw her lover before everything went downhill. The days turned into weeks, then months, before slowly creeping up on a year. At that time, Y/n learned of a horrifying rumor. When Robert died and Joffrey was crowned King, both of Robert's brothers, Stannis and Renly, rallied to war for the Iron Throne, claiming that Joffrey was not their brother's trueborn son. Stannis claimed that Joffrey was the bastard son of incest, between Cersei and Jaime Lannister.

When Y/n heard of this, her blood ran cold and her stomach turned, threatening to release its contents. She didn't want to believe these rumors, but whenever she looked at Cersei's children, she could now see plenty of Jaime in them. Denial turned into anger, the young woman wondering if everything Jaime told her had been a lie. She wondered just how long he had been lying to her, and if he ever stopped loving Cersei to begin with.

Again, she could only react to this in her own time but kept herself stoic and dutiful whenever she was in the presence of the Queen. Despite how cruel Cersei was to her, Y/n wouldn't ever give up her knowledge of this rumor or her relationship with Jaime just out of spite. Cersei was still Queen Regent. She could do whatever she wanted to Y/n, even for no reason at all. So Y/n kept her mouth shut and continued to take the Queen's usual cruelty. With House Stark and now House Baratheon rallying against her son, Cersei was starting to grow stressed, which drove her to be crueler to her servants. But even then, Y/n didn't speak a word.

~~~

Many things happen to distract Y/n from her dark thoughts. Joffrey had Ned Stark executed under charges of treason, Tyrion was named Acting Hand of the King upon his return, Renly Baratheon was mysteriously murdered, and Stannis Baratheon tried laying a siege on the Red Keep from the Blackwater Bay. Before the night was over, Tywin Lannister and his remaining army came to the rescue, and was named Hand of the King for his heroism.

Before the year was up, Jaime had returned to King's Landing.

Y/n was walking up to the Queen's chambers, holding her skirts and carefully watching her feet so she wouldn't trip on the stairs. She nearly reached her destination when she finally looked up and noticed a poor, filthy, crippled old man standing in front of her. She opened her mouth to scream before his hand clamped over her mouth and shushed her. Taking a moment, Y/n recognized those eyes, her own widening in disbelief. His hair was long, matted, and discolored. His skin and clothes were stained in filth, not an inch of him were spared. His beard mostly covered his face and worst of all, he only had one hand, the arm missing said limb was held close to his chest.

Several moments had passed before Jaime carefully removed his hand from her mouth, trying to contain the relief from his eyes but to no avail. The astonishment and delight in Y/n's eyes, however, quickly turned dark and stoic. Jaime's hurt and confusion were evident when she stepped away from him with a cold look staring back at him, "Ser Jaime."

A beat skips by before a tight smile reached Jaime's lips, hiding under his beard, "My lady."

Y/n brushed passed him with just as cold of a shoulder, her eyes lowered in disgust, "The Queen would be thrilled to know that you are safe."

Jaime was too shocked to follow her, at first, before his legs finally moved and silently trailed after the lady-in-waiting to Cersei's chambers. After Y/n had closed the doors behind him, Jaime wouldn't see her again for several days.

She had claimed to be ill in this time, dismissing herself from serving the Queen until she felt better... or until she could come up with a plan to leave King's Landing. Ever since she learned of Joffrey's true parentage, Y/n has been trying to get a hold of her late cousin's wife in the Vale, but Lysa Arryn didn't appear rushed to respond to her. Y/n was hoping she could be dismissed from her duties and travel back home to the Eyrie, never wanting to speak of Jaime's affair with her or his betrayal ever again. With all of her letters being left unanswered, Y/n felt hopeless. She couldn't bear to stay in King's Landing anymore now that Jaime was back, but where was she to go if she couldn't return home?

One night, Y/n was getting ready for bed, dressed in her nightgown and undoing the braids in her hair so that it could be brushed. Her mind was far away until she heard the familiar sound of the secret entrance attached to her chambers being opened. Startled, she quickly turns away from her mirror and watched as Jaime climbed out of the hidden passage as if no time had passed between them. Freshly cleaned and shaven, Jaime looked as though he never left the Red Keep, apart from the cut hair and golden hand he now sported on his right arm. Instead of his armor, Jaime wore a white undershirt and pants, as if ready for bed. When he looked around, his eyes found Y/n's, and the two of them kept that gaze locked in silence, daring the other to move first.

After some time, Jaime sighed in surrender, looking away to close the secret door behind him. He had half expected the entrance to be sealed since it appeared as though Y/n was avoiding him, but he knew he needed to try and see her. He needed to know if she was avoiding him because of his new appearance, or if... she simply no longer loved him.

Turning back to her, Jaime was shocked to find Y/n standing up to greet him, only, she decided to skip the formalities and get right to the source of her anger, "Is it true? Is Joffrey yours? Are all three of them yours?"

The bombarding questions stunned Jaime, like lightning hitting him head-on. He couldn't move a muscle, horrified eyes scanning hers until the guilt and shame took over. Jaime swallowed down the bile coming up his throat before whispering, "... Yes."

Y/n was quick to react as she stumbled back to lean against her vanity for support, the mirror behind her catching the guilt of Jaime's reflection, watching her every movement, "You lied to me."

He found himself moving again, a hand out to her as he stepped forward, but she flinched. Jaime immediately froze in his steps, hurt shadowing his face as he slowly lowered his hand, his voice cracking under the weight of his sins and sorrows, "I'm so sorry. Cersei found out about us -years ago- and I begged her to spare you in exchange for... in exchange for me..."

Y/n didn't dare buy that until she knew everything. The whole truth and nothing but the truth, "How? How could she have known? We were so careful at the beginning, not even Lord Varys could've known."

Jaime blinked as he tried to find words to calm her worries, but in truth, he didn't even think to try and find out how Cersei figured him out, even after all these years, "I'm not sure. Maybe she just... knew. I am her twin after all."

Watching as Y/n turned her back to him, watching her reflection crumble in the mirror, Jaime felt his heart clench in agony as she demanded more answers, "How many times?"

"Just those three times the children were conceived. Cersei always planned it around the times Robert would come to her marriage bed. That's all, I swear."

The last few words struck a nerve, Jaime could tell by watching her shoulders tighten, as well as her voice, "You lied to me... for years. You let this continue... for years, without ever telling me the truth, even when you had plenty of opportunities to do so! And yet you can stand there and suddenly swear to me as if I can still trust your word? After everything has been a lie?"

Jaime's legs moved before his mind could, closing the distance and grabbing her shoulder with his one good hand. Y/n let out a small gasp of surprise but didn't dare scream in fear of someone bursting into her chambers. Her eyes wildly watched Jaime with worry, fearfully waiting for him to do something, but Jaime just stood before her, frantically searching for something in her eyes. Whatever he was looking for, he found it, and spoke ever so gently, his breath ghosting her lips in their confined space, "Everything I have done... every sin, every vow... every time Cersei took me into her bed, I did it all to protect you."

"And what would you have me do?" The smile she bore was thin and unhinged. Neither genuine nor kind as she glared up at him, "Thank you? Forgive you?"

"No. No, I know I can never ask that of you. I just thought... you deserved to know why I did it. Cersei would have killed you if I refused her."

"So you just never bothered telling me?"

Jaime raised his other hand to grab her other shoulder, only to let a deep ache in his limb remind him that he didn't have a right hand anymore. Jaime stared down at the offending golden hand, a thought festering in the back of his mind. For the first time since he had returned home, he realized that he would no longer get to hold Y/n with both hands, to run all of his fingers all throughout her skin and through her hair as he kissed her breathlessly. Y/n followed his gaze to also stare at his fake hand but made no move to acknowledge it as he finally found his words, "I was scared of losing you. It was selfish of me. I know that now. You had every right to know, this entire time. You had the right to choose whether or not you'd like to stay with me after what I did. I knew, deep down, either way, I'd lose you. So I kept quiet. I'm sorry."

"I suppose I can't blame you," she spoke bitterly, staring back up at Jaime through her eyelashes, "Why have one woman when you can have two?"

The accusation stung, and Jaime knew he deserved it. All the same, he was still a selfish man and he could not let his lover think this way a second longer. His hand rose to her face, caressing the skin of her jaw as he whispered, "I don't love her, Y/n. I never have. Every time she summoned me to her chambers... I obeyed because I was willing to do anything if it meant protecting you."

Y/n relents for a while before finally letting down her disgust and anger, leaning against the touch of his hand that she hasn't felt in a year. Her eyes were sad, distant as they bore a hole into his shirt, "Do you intend on seeing her again?"

Jaime's head lowers in shame, softly speaking under his breath, "I don't want you to die, Y/n."

Y/n rolls her lips, looking away as she rapidly blinks to hold back tears. She found it difficult to smile, despite trying, "Then perhaps it is better for everyone if I leave. Cersei can't hurt me if I wasn't here, and she will never be able to torment you again."

"I... I don't want that either."

"Then what do you want, Ser Jaime?"

He said it with confidence as if it was the easiest thing in the world to say, "I want to marry you."

She smiled, entertaining his dream before crushing it, "You can't, my love... you made a vow as a Kingsguard."

"I already broke those vows."

Y/n's hands reach up to rest against his chest, her fingers tapping lightly against his heart, "Technically your vows state that you cannot hold any lands or wife or father any sons. You didn't break any of those vows when you were with me."

"... But I broke those vows when I killed a King and fathered a Queen's children."

Her eyes meet up with his, "Then I suppose you're no longer a Kingsguard in the eyes of the gods."

"No... I suppose not," an idea struck him in full force, the whole revelation dawning as clear as day on his face. Y/n watched the whole thing unfold with curiosity as he spoke, smiling like an excited child, "There's another way... If you'll have me."

~~~

The very next morning, Jaime stood in front of the Hand of the King, his father, with a proposition and the confidence of a lion, "In the eyes of the gods, I was no longer a Kingsguard the moment I struck down the Mad King. And now that I can't fight with my sword hand, I am no longer of any use as a knight. My place isn't in King's Landing anymore... my place is in Casterly Rock."

Despite the stoic expression on his face, Tywin could not help the slight incline of his head, giving away his contained interest. Jaime smiled on the inside, knowing he had his father trapped with his bait, "Have Joffrey dismiss me and I will be your son and heir... under one condition."

"Name it."

"Arrange a marriage for me. Wed Lady Y/n to me."

A few moments pass before Tywin leans back in his seat and straightens his posture, overshadowing his son even when one sat and the other stood, "Why her?"

"House Arryn has been strangers to our house as of late. Jon Arryn is gone, Lysa Arryn is unwell, and her sickly son is heir to the Eyrie. Any strong relationship we could possibly have with them now lies with Y/n," those were the words his lover had him recite nearly all night long. Despite how much she loved him, even Y/n knew that he wasn't the smartest Lannister. Years from now, Jaime would recite this tale to his brother, and Tyrion will laugh with pride. Y/n may be a quiet individual, but she always had a way with words that always magnetized Jaime to her. With her advice, Jaime found the right words to reel his father into his proposal. But now, he spoke with his heart, "I've known her for years. She's been a friend of our family ever since she became Cersei's lady-in-waiting. She shares our desire to strengthen the family name and she's learned about Casterly Rock from listening to Cersei."

Approval is one of the very few emotions Tywin cared to possess, but he only bore it through his eyes. However, despite his inner excitement, he was no fool either, "And why should I agree to this proposition?"

"Because if you don't... I will tell everyone the truth."

"The truth?"

It was Jaime's turn to tilt his head as if fascinated by this questioning, "You don't know, do you? You never believed it. How is that possible?" Watching his father keep a hard gaze, unflinching, Jaime's eyes visibly show the realization, "What am I saying, of course, it's possible! How can someone so consumed by the idea of his family have any conception of what his actual family was doing? We were right there in front of you and you didn't see us. One look in the past twenty years, one real look at your own children and you would've known."

"Known what?" Tywin mutters, although keeps his expression neutral.

Jaime couldn't help the smirk on his face as he splashed his father with the cold, hard truth, "Everything they say is true about Cersei and me. Your legacy is a lie... until the day Y/n and I have children, of course."

Tywin's fists tighten around the arms of his chair but otherwise say nothing. Beaming with confidence, Jaime finally sat down across from him, as equals, "Our first son will be named after your father. And our first daughter..." Jaime conjures a sobering expression, carefully watching his father's eyes, "Will be named after Mother."

Another tilt of the old lion's head told Jaime he had him intrigued. Mentioning his mother always worked with his father, after all. Tywin let out a long breath through his nose but doesn't visibly admit his defeat otherwise. He grits out the terms and conditions through his teeth, "Just so we are clear... you will revoke your rights and vows as a Kingsguard. You will take back my name and bear my father's house colors. You will take Lady Y/n Arryn as your wife and father for each and every one of her children, squandering any disgusting rumors that have spread about you and your sister."

Jaime entertains his father with a rise of his eyebrows, "Of course."

"You will become Lord of Casterly Rock after my passing and your firstborn son will be named your heir, as will your second son should anything happen to the first, and so on and so forth. Any daughters you have will be given to properly matched suitors so that the Lannister legacy also lives on through other houses."

Jaime's good hand tightens, inwardly disgusted by his father already trying to sell off any granddaughter he might have when they don't even exist. He speaks with a tight voice in response, "Y/n and I will find suitable men for our daughters. Men who will care for them as needed and love whatever children our daughters give them."

"Your first son will be named Tytos II and your first daughter will be named Joanna II."

"Yes, yes," Jaime agrees while standing up, but makes sure to look Tywin in the eye with a small smile and the last laugh, "And our second son will be named Tyrion II."

~~~

Tywin kept his word -begrudgingly- and convinced Joffrey to release Jaime from his vows the very next day. Everyone at court was there as Joffrey stood in front of his throne and decided to throw in a few mocking comments about Jaime's incompetent hand while he was at it, but Jaime took the insults in stride and bowed for good measure. It may have bothered him to hear the quiet laughter all around him, but at the moment, he didn't care. He got what he wanted out of the laughing stock. Once Joffrey dismissed him, Tywin named Jaime his heir and then announced the union between Lord Jaime Lannister and Lady Y/n Arryn. Small surprised gasps filled the throne room, but otherwise, it was a moment of celebration. Y/n had crossed the room to stand beside Jaime when she was announced and even bowed before the King and his Hand in gratitude.

To say Cersei was enraged was an understatement. She tried breaking into her former lady-in-waiting's chambers, only to find a couple of guards posted in front of Y/n's room. Cersei then tried to summon Jaime to her, only to find Tywin at her door moments later. Her father forbade her from interacting with her brother and his betrothed until they left for Casterly Rock and then proceeded to demand she marry Loras Tyrell sooner than later so that these disgusting rumors could be left behind them. She had gone strangely mute and compliant after that, only speaking when spoken to and pouting as if she was a punished child. But Lord Tywin was no fool. If Cersei ever obeyed him, it usually meant she was plotting behind everyone's back. The Hand of the King planned Jaime's wedding to take place in the Sept, but then made no plans to throw a feast or following party. A simple wedding with no room for error... or poisoned wine.

Jaime and Y/n were married within a fortnight, exchanging new vows between each other and sealing those vows with a kiss for all in attendance to see. When they regrettably parted and turned to face their guests, Y/n held Jaime's golden hand while waving to the crowd and a part of Jaime felt reassured by that smallest gesture, despite not being able to feel her hand in his. Tywin didn't hesitate to send them both on their way to Casterly Rock, barely waiting for them to pack and leave that very same day. Jaime didn't speak a word against it, knowing how paranoid his father had become now that his grandchildren weren't legitimate and his legacy was in shambles. Lord Tywin would do anything for the family, even if it meant saving it from a jealous queen.

For a wedding gift, Tyrion Lannister gave his brother and his new sister-in-law a large, extravagant wagon to travel in on their way to the Westerlands. Within the wagon were red and gold cloths nearly lining up all the walls and floor, even the curtains. Underneath a seat was a secret, dry compartment filled with many expensive wine bottles, and in one corner lay a pile of pillows, cushions, and blankets. The Imp winked at his brother when watching Jaime's reaction, "You have a long journey ahead of you. I wanted you and your bride to be... comfortable. After all, we can't have you wait to consummate your marriage until you make it Casterly Rock, now can we?"

Despite the crude joke, Jaime laughed and hugged his little brother, partially sad because he was going to miss him. Tyrion held onto Jaime for a long time and then kissed Y/n's hand, "Until next time... Lady Lannister."

Y/n positively beamed under her new title. With short goodbyes to the rest of the farewell party, Jaime and Y/n leave in their new wagon with several of Tywin's best personal guards riding on horses alongside them. Once King's Landing fully disappeared behind them, Jaime opened the first bottle of wine and poured out two glasses. The newlyweds drank quietly, just enjoying each other's company, the worst being far behind them. After a time, Jaime stood at his full height, the ceiling of the wagon being large enough to do so, and held out his good hand to Y/n, "Might I have a dance, my lady?"

"You may, my lord," she took his hand and stood up with a wide, fond smile. As they stumbled and danced inside the moving carriage, neither said a word apart from laughing if they lurched forward when the wagon hit a bump or they tripped over one another's foot. With Jaime holding Y/n's hand with his good one and pulling her body tight to him with his golden one, he had felt more at peace than he ever did before he killed the Mad King. However, he starts to feel the loss of his limb again when he couldn't feel the warmth of Y/n's back against his missing fingers and palm, and earlier at their wedding, when he couldn't feel her hand in his.

"I want to hold you..." He found himself whispering in her ear.

She laughs under her breath, not grasping the distress in his voice quite yet as she leaned her head against his chest, "You are holding me."

"No, I-- I want to be able to hold you with both hands. That's all I ever wanted."

Y/n pulled her head away to stare up at her husband, recognizing the shame and humiliation shadowing his usual proud and golden features. His eyes tried to look away, but she raised her hand to cup his cheek gently, forcing him to keep their gaze locked. After a moment, Y/n smiled, "We can make that hand good for other things, Jaime."

"Like what?"

A twinkle in her eye causes Jaime's entire body to stiffen, his eyes carefully watching the way her lips moved as she smirked, "Like... how about I take that golden hand of yours and you watch me get myself off with it."

Despite his appearance, Jaime is old enough to be the father of a teenage king, and at this moment he felt his age catch up to him with how fast his heart was beating. He damn near thought he was going to have a heart attack and whatever showed on his face brought his new wife to laugh at him in his last moments. The sound alone could've brought Jaime to his knees if he wasn't holding Y/n for support. After her laughter died down, she lifted her hand to cup the back of his neck and pulled him down, greedily kissing him like he was the very oxygen she needed to breathe. Jaime's brain finally caught up with him and he kissed her back with equally fervent heat, taking his good hand to gently hold her face. With his eyes closed, he could feel his wife's hand wandering, leaving trails of burning need in her wake. Eventually, her fingers meet at the clasp of Jaime's gold hand and stay there, waiting.

Jaime opened his eyes to meet hers, finally realizing what she was doing. For a moment, he looked as though he wanted to refuse, to step away from Y/n and exclaim that she deserved someone who could love her with both hands. Someone who could protect her with both hands, someone... who could hold any future children with both hands. Jaime wanted that for her, more than anything, but with the way she was looking up at him through half-lidded eyes, lashes kissing her skin when she slowly blinked, Jaime couldn't resist. He forces down all the negativity in his head and nods to her.

Y/n swiftly tilts up to kiss his mouth with reassurance before looking back down at her hands, carefully taking off the prosthetic hand. After some fiddling, the hand slides off and Y/n takes it, using both hands to hold it. Jaime watches with slight amazement, taking a moment to notice how large the prosthetic looked compared to Y/n's own. Horses outside trotting alongside the wagon draw Jaime back to reality, looking back up to inspect his wife's face. Her face was flushed and her breaths were irregular as she reached out to gently push Jaime back towards the pile of quilts and cushions.

"Lie back, husband," chills ran down Jaime's back from the way Y/n's voice lowered, "And watch me."

Jaime obeyed, only watching her facial features as she lay down beside him, her skirts lifted as she used the gold hand to circle and rub her clit. He watched her lips as soft moans and sighs left them, the way her eyes struggled to stay open when she hit a certain spot. He watched her chest rising and falling as she neared completion, her beautiful sounds rising in volume with her whole body beginning to shake in anticipation. When the last moan she released sounded like his name, Jaime felt his loss of control drain from his body. Without a care in the world, he grabbed his gold hand from her and tossed it aside, ravishing his wife's lips with his own as his one hand hurried to untie his breeches and prep his erection to full mass. He had forgotten why he felt ashamed in the first place as he slowly, finally, entered her, with her fingers finding perch in his hair, gasping up at the ceiling of the wagon. Y/n shamelessly moaned his name, begging him for more in between gasps and confessions.

Now, for the first time, in all the years they've loved one another, there was no need to keep that love quiet.

For hands of gold are always cold But a woman’s hands are warm

~~~

A/N: Wow, I... I really strayed off the path, didn’t I? The actual request didn’t even come in until the last part... I gotta stop doing that.

Comment, like, and reblog!

[faintblueivy]

So Imagine...

A world where Bruce Wayne died as a child in that alley that day, Martha and Thomas Wayne grieve as normal parents. They DO NOT BECOME BATMAN AND JOKER. 

Nothing ever remains the same after losing their little boy. So, Thomas buries himself in his work and Martha drowns herself in depression and pain. They do therapy and it works a little and life becomes bearable but...not happy.

One day, Alfred badgers the couple to go out and relax a little and buys them tickets for a circus - Haly’s circus. Everything was going nice and dandy and Martha was in awe of this little acrobat as much as the rest of the crowd when suddenly the rope snaps and the boy’s parents fall to their deaths - right in front of him and the gathering. Thomas is quick to jump in to see if he could help them in any way but Martha can see it in his eyes that they are as dead as they can be. 

They return to home with heavy hearts and Martha can’t get the image of the little boy out of her head. His skin was a light shade of bronze but his dark hair and bright cerulean blue eyes reminded her so much of Bruce that her heart wouldn’t rest. So a few days later she uses her connections to know if the child is safe and well cared for, when to her immense horror, she is replied that he was shipped to Gotham Juvie due to the lack of foster homes. She is enraged.

She calls Thomas and Alfred and lets them know about the little acrobat’s situation and declares that she was going to adopt him. They hesitate a little but she is not to be deterred as she goes ahead and brings the little boy home. 

Richard John Grayson - Wayne. Or Dick, as he likes to call himself. 

He is adamant that he wants no parents and Martha is fine because not only that she is old enough to be not his mother but also because no child can ever be her Bruce.

“You can just call me Grandma then.” She tells him.

His eyes are wide but he nods and then smiles and Martha, in a long while, has never felt this happy. 

Her new Grandson, despite losing his parents, is a ray of sunshine with unlimited supply of energy and the cold and empty manor is warm and happy again. 

Dick is a little charmer and even after Thomas and Alfred’s initial reluctance, they immediately fall in love with the boy and one day, when Martha comes down to the morning breakfast, she hears a happy, deep rumble - one she has not heard in many years. Thomas is laughing. 

There on the dining table, seated beside Dick, was Thomas laughing. Her eyes water at the scene and Alfred, who is standing beside her offers her a handkerchief. None of them mention how his own eyes are wet too.

 ...

Dick is sixteen, a brilliant boy in academics as much as they disinterest him but an invincible athlete. Martha has been told time and time again that her grandson is undoubtedly a international level gymnast. But he is a teenager.

And teenagers steal their grandparent’s ‘coolest’ car and rush off into the night. But they don’t come back with a little battered and bruised, homeless kid tucked under their arm.

“He had jacked three tires off your car. When I confronted him, he tried to hit me with a tire iron.” He says, amused, as Thomas tries to convince the child to show him his injuries.

“I didn’t do nothin’! He’s a fuckin’ big boob liar!” They boy screams, his blue green eyes glaring daggers at Dick.

“Language.” Both her and Alfred warn simultaneously.

After hours of struggle, interrogation and fuck you’s, Martha learns that the child’s name is Jason. He is twelve. Mother died form drug overdosing and Dad is a petty henchman of some crime lord. He ran away from multiple foster homes because they are so abusive that the child feels safer on streets. 

Martha goes on a rampage over Gotham’s foster care after that. She did not donate millions of dollars annually for children to feel safer on streets. After of lot of talks and reassurances and promises, Martha acquires her second grandchild.

Jason Peter Todd - Wayne. 

Jason is tiny. Malnourished like Leslie said. But he is sharp, observant and hungry for knowledge. Martha and Alfred joke that Jason is Thomas' soul child. Where Dick had loved activity and movement, Jason liked quiet and stability - Martha thinks that running and fighting for survival on streets every single day does that you. So evenings often found her and Dick in the garden but Thomas and Jason in the library pouring over as many books as they can.

And to nobody's surprise, despite their rocky start, the boys become inseparable. They are outwardly different, with clashing interests and behaviors but Martha can see that they both carry the same cores of light.  

When the morning of Dick’s Parent’s death anniversary comes around, both her and Thomas find Jason on Dick’s bed, arms curled protectively around his big brother. For the first time in so many years, Dick wakes up to warmth surrounding him, not nightmares. 

...

Both her grandsons attend Gotham Academy so when she receives a phone call from the Principal, she is half surprised and half not. When she enters the Principal’s office, both her boys are standing on one side, Jason with his head hung in shame and Dick glaring daggers at the other side. The boy who seems to be injured is being coddled by his mother who is shooting nasty glares at her grandchildren periodically. 

Then she notices another small boy standing beside her boys, trying to melt into the wall.

Tim Drake. The only son of Jack and Janet Drake of Drake Industries.    

She arches a questioning eyebrow at Dick who shakes his head and then she turns to the Principal. 

“What happened here?”

“Glad to see you’re here Mrs. Wayne.” The Principal says, pushing his glasses up his nose, “I regret to inform you that your ward Jason Peter Todd attacked this young man here.” He gestures to the other boy. 

“Madam, Gotham Academy is a prestigious school and we do not encourage physical violence here. Yes, it might have been acceptable from where he came from but it won’t be, here. I hope you give us the right to punish Mr. Todd here appropriately.” 

Martha inwardly bristles at the jab at her grandson and says crisply, “Mr. Wayne.”

“What?”

“He’s not just Todd. He is a Wayne. Please remember that.”

“Principal Sir.” Dick cuts in and Martha is confused because as hyperactive as Dick is, he is a mannerly child and knows better than to cut in a conversation like this but what draws her attention is the chilling tone which Dick almost never uses. Dick continues, “Why don’t you tell our grandmother more of your regrets? Or the prestigious Gotham Academy believes that bullying is acceptable.” 

Martha has been told what she needs to know. 

“Jason?” she calls out to her youngest grandson softly, “What happened?”

Jason is quiet when suddenly Tim Drake moves forward. She can see he is scared the way his hands shake but determination shines in his blue eyes. She likes him.

“I want to say something.”

He narrates the tale of how he was being bullied and how the boy on the other side with his mother threw his science project model away and broke it and physically tried to attack him when Jason stepped in to save him. Martha felt nothing but pride at Jason’s righteous indignation. 

Tim also explained that Jason exercised immense control even after these bullies called him ‘street rat’, but the verbal spar intensified after Dick was insulted for his Romani heritage, but it came to fist fight after Thomas and Martha were insulted, and Bruce’s death was made fun of.

Her gaze snaps to the other three occupants of the room and they are all in various shades of pale. Apparently, the Principal had not done his homework.

“Principal” She says icily, “Yes, I give you the authority to punish Jason appropriately but only when this young man here”, she gestures to the boy who was now cowering behind his mother, “Is dealt with in the same way.”

After threatening the Principal in soft words but harsh tone about not tolerating to having her grandsons bullied the next time, she grabs Jason’s hand to drag him away from these people who don’t deserve his company, when her eyes fall on the little trembling Tim. 

She offers him her hand.

He stares at it, shocked but after an encouraging smile from Dick and a small shove from Jason, he takes it shyly.

And since that day, Tim becomes a member of Martha’s family. The boys stay together so much that even Thomas forgets that Tim is not theirs. 

Tim’s upbringing sends Martha’s grandmother instincts on a haywire and she resents the Drakes for their criminal neglect towards Tim. 

It is rewarding that Tim flourishes in their attention. 

She learns that his hobby is Photography and he is excellent at it. And he is a genius when it comes to science, computers and gadgets. He likes crime thrillers movies and books and often picks them apart with his scarily good knowledge about forensics that leave the rest of the family in awe and slightly disturbed. 

The dam breaks when one day Jason and Dick return back from school telling her that Tim was absent today and they are worried about him. When they later sneak into the Drake mansion in the evening, Thomas receives a frantic call from their oldest grandchild that Tim was burning with fever. Because Thomas is a doctor, they save Tim before anything serious happens.

This time, it is Thomas who sues the Drakes for Tim’s custody after him and Jason had, had enough of ‘Timbo’s shitty parents’.

“Timothy?” Martha brushes his sweat soaked forehead gently. “Would you like to be a member of our family legally?"

Tim is hesitant about this but he admits that he likes Wayne manor much better than he ever liked Drake mansion. He confesses that he loves Jason and Dick as brothers and sees Martha, Thomas and Alfred as his grandparents as well.

The long custody battle ends with both Jack and Janet Drake dying at the hands of two different tragedies, leaving Tim an orphan, but also with a loving family consisting of three grandparents and two brothers by his side. 

Timothy Jackson Drake - Wayne is adopted into the Wayne family as her and Thomas’ third grandson.

...

A year after they adopt Tim, Thomas comes home with a small girl on his side. She is clearly an east Asian in heritage with dark hair and dark eyes and is speech deprived. Thomas is clearly distressed after Cassandra - her name is Cassandra - is safely secured in warm bed in a nice room across Jason’s. He calls her, the three boys and Alfred to his study to explain about the small girl. 

He talks about how Gordon brought the girl to him and after hours of wordless, signed and clumsily sketched on paper conversations with the little girl they were able to determine that Cassandra was hiding from her father who was an assassin and wanted to drag the little girl down the same path before she ran away. The more he talks about the damage and abuse the girl had experienced at the hands on her own father, the more furious Martha becomes. When Thomas’ explanations ends, Jason slams a punch into the wall making a dent but no one has the heart to reprimand him for that. 

The following morning, Martha can see that her three boys have unanimously decided that they are adopting Cassandra as their sister. She is treated like a Princess, and given the nick name ‘Cass’. 

Slowly but surely, Cass learns what it means to love through Dick’s bright kindness, Jason’s quiet protection and Tim’s infinite patience. After her father is finally apprehended, the family celebrates.

Cassandra Wayne, soon after, becomes the beloved Wayne Princess of Gotham. 

Martha and Thomas often accompany their only granddaughter to her speech therapy lessons, so after six months of her adoption, at dinner, she places a kiss on everyone’s forehead - her three brothers and three grandparents, stands at the head of the table and croaks out, slowly, “Thank...thank you.” All of them stare at her flabbergasted, but it appears that she was planning to shock them even more.

“You...Love. Love you...”

The silence that follows her broken but sure words is deafening. Surprisingly it is Tim who breaks it as he scrambles out of his chair and launches himself at Cass, wrapping his arms around her and both Jason and Dick follow him, grabbing both their youngest siblings fiercely.

A quiet sob breaks her out of the trance and she smiles when she watches Thomas furiously wiping his tears from the sleeve of his shirt. The last time he     had cried was at Bruce’s funeral. And Martha is infinitely grateful that this time these are happy tears. 

...

Sometimes Martha wonders what would have happened if Bruce had lived. If these children are her grandchildren then does that mean they are Bruce’s kids? Had Bruce lived, would he have accepted these gaggle of kids that her and Thomas have collected over the years as his own? Would he have kids of his own? 

Her questions are answered when one day she hears a slight commotion in the entrance is surprised to see a young woman with a sword threatening Alfred.

“I want to meet the Master of this house. Let them know immediately.” She demands in an authoritative but silky voice, and Martha suddenly sees the Toddler clutched in her arm. 

“What is it?” Martha speaks as soon as she can when the woman notices her. She looks surprised for a second but immediately schools her features as the baby fusses.

“You’re alive.” She whispers and before any of them could make an indignant comment about her wordings, she says, “It appears that I might have traveled in to the wrong universe.”

Now that is interesting. Martha lives in a world where they are protected by aliens...so, it is certainly worth hearing for. 

Martha offers the young lady an invitation for tea which she accepts. She notices how the woman carries herself with lethal grace and dignity as if she was a Princess but much more. As they sit and Alfred leaves to bring the promised team Martha notices how the woman’s eyes sweep over the place. 

“How may I help you?”

Her voice attracts the attention of the toddler and this time, he is not clutched tightly enough to his mother’s chest to turn his small head and look at her. Martha gasps. Because the child looks too much like Toddler Bruce. But instead of the blue eyes like her son, this child has glowing green ones, like his mother. But still, the resemblance is uncanny. 

“Yes, he is your son’s.” The woman answers the unasked question.

She is explained the existence of Multiverse, and it’s workings and how Bruce survived instead of them in that world, met Talia (the woman’s name is Talia Al Ghul) and had a child but had to leave. Talia mentions the reason she came here was because her son’s life was in danger and Talia’s father wanted to raise her son as an assassin Prince and a tool for him to use. Talia’s solution to protect her son was for her to give her son to the Bruce of this world to raise, since the Bruce of that world had gone missing.   

“I can raise him.” Martha suddenly declares and the woman looks at him shocked. “I will not raise him into a life of violence but I can certainly protect him and give him a happy civilian life.”

Talia looks unsure, hesitant, but says, “I...have been a warrior since the day I can remember. Never once have I ever thought of my son not being a warrior. He was...born to be one.” 

Martha smiles. “He doesn’t have to be one. Yes, his life will be infinitely different than the one you imagined but...he will be well loved and protected. I can assure you of that.”

“Damian.” Talia whispers as he deposits the baby in her arms after a lot of consideration. “His name is Damian.”

She looks at her son tenderly one last time and places a kiss on his forehead and Martha’s heart breaks a little for the young mother. 

“Will you return back for him?” Martha asks as she follows the Talia to the door.

“No.” Talia whispers, her voice strained. “I will not. Any action taken by me is monitored by my father closely. If I return back, then he might know that I have left Damian here and I cannot let that happen. He is yours, forever.”

Martha gives her a sad smile. “You’re a brave and good mother Talia. Thank you for doing what is best for your son.”

She nods, not turning to look at Damian one last time as she leaves the manor grounds, never to return. 

Martha looks at the baby secure in her arms and her lips quirk up into a grin at the sight of two curious green eyes watching her with interest. 

“Welcome to the family, little Damian.”

When she introduces the new addition to the family, Thomas is dumbfounded. Dick is ecstatic at the prospect of having a new baby brother, Jason is secretly pleased, Cass is happiest and Tim looks unsure.

That’s how Damian Wayne - Al Ghul joins the family.

Damian fits in their home spectacularly. After few days of hesitation, like he had with Dick, Thomas takes to Damian quickly. He has an epic competition going on with their eldest grandson to become the baby’s favorite. Damian refuses to sleep without Thomas but his tantrums are only controlled and won over by Dick. Damian loves Jason manhandling him and giggles happily when the older boy throws him in the air or swings him around. Damian loves Cassandra because she knows what he wants before any of them do. And Cass loves to carry her little brother around to watch birds and animals in the manor grounds.

The only person Damian seems to not get along with is Tim and the older boy seems not be fond of him either. Because Damian wants everything Tim does and the older brother has to compromise for Damian every time. But Martha has to bite laughs a lot now a days because almost everytime Damian falls asleep, it is with Tim in vicinity. And she has caught the older boy tenderly covering Damian in his favorite blanket more often than not. Martha thinks that this is kind of cute but keeps her opinion to herself. 

Her little grandson is quite protective of his siblings though. Anytime someone upsets any of his siblings, they are threatened with scowls, growls and even bites and stabbings in extreme cases.

Like last time when Mrs. Park made fun of Cassandra’s  speech impairment, Damian almost bit her finger off. Damian hates one of Dick’s racist colleague (they all do) so much that anytime the man enters his field of vision, the first thing Damian gets his hand on is thrown at the guy’s head. With deadly precision. And last time when Mr. Link had called Jason ‘street rat’ for personally volunteering charity work for poor and homeless, Damian had smeared his juice and drool covered hands on the Man’s thousand dollars suit. And when one time, a reporter had infiltrated a Gala and chased Tim around to ask uncomfortable questions about his parent’s death and the Wayne’s involvement in it, Damian, noticing Tim’s distress had stabbed the reporter with a fork with no hesitation. 

Martha is still not sure if she should encourage or reprimand Damian for that.

...

As she sits on the head of the table with Thomas on her side and Alfred on the other end, she wonders how miraculous it is for her to have all these children in her life. 

Dick is engaged in an animated conversation with Stephanie who was introduced to the family as Tim’s girlfriend. Barbara, the daughter of James Gordon and Dick’s girlfirend/or not was helping Cass pile up food on her plate. Damian and Tim were bickering over something as usual but Jason trying to hide his snickers in guise of drinking water which made Martha sure that the something was Jason’s doing.

These people were her family. The ones she had gained after losing Bruce. She wonders, if there was a universe where Bruce got to meet her grandchildren. 

Would he accept them? As family? 

Would he love them? As family? 

She brightly smiles when the multiple sets of eyes turn to her waiting for her to blow the candle.

“Happy Birthday Martha.”

Thomas says warmly, his voice thick with emotion and she meets his gaze and sees the love, affection and thankfulness in his eyes for this family that they had created after their earth shattering loss. She knows what she wants as she blows the candle on the cake flickering in front of her.

I wish for us to be family in every universe.