#i think the two sisters do retire from governing in the end

[shirecorn]

how does pony government work in the skyscraper gods universe? Like the gala and other stuff? How do royal courts work?

Other places in the world do have monarchies, but equestria does not. It's governed by stewards appointed by the sun in places where she cares, and elected officials where she does not. It's a messy system and is in dire need of an overhaul. There is a lot of "this is the will of god" without actually consulting God, and she can't be bothered to care about import taxes on turnips. So it's a theocracy but God participates sometimes.

Equestrians refer to the gods as "princesses" but they are borrowing the term from neighboring countries that have actual royalty. With the return of Luna and the emergence of 2-3 more deities, it's a very strange time and political systems are going to start fracturing.

It's less "the divine right of kings" and more "the divine have a right to be kings" with that "right" being both a political and theological question.

The question is arising: does divinity grant you political authority? Should it? Does the goddess of love actually have a right to rule a kingdom of people completely foreign to her just because there was a power vacuum? Does having a horn and wings somehow make her more qualified than a pony who is actually part of that kingdom?

The sun willed it, so it shall be.

But that doesn't mean it's right.

[maulfucker]

Ok some thoughts about senator Maul AU because I keep thinking about it

Palpatine never finds an apprentice in this AU, so he ends up not being such a huge threat

The events of Phantom Menace only kinda happened - Naboo was attacked by the Trade Federation, but there was no Sith to pursue them and kill Qui-Gon, so things got resolved much more easily

Qui-Gon lives, so he gets to train Anakin, and Dooku doesn't get tempted by the dark side

I think Dooku still quits the Jedi Order, but this time it's because he feels like he could do more good as a politician than as a jedi. He keeps a good relationship with the Jedi Order and the Republic and doesn't become a separatist

Every time he's in Coruscant he visits Qui-Gon and Anakin (and Obi-Wan) and chats with them over a nice lunch, which is good because it gives Anakin a politician role model that isn't Palpatine, and a better perspective of his options - he can leave the Order if he finds a new purpose, it's not a betrayal or a failure

Maul was raised in Dathomir so he's not a sith murder machine, but since he's such a powerful Force-senstitive he was raised closer to his mother and the Nightsisters than to his brothers and the Nightbrothers

(Savage and Feral are alive and happy btw. They visit Maul in Coruscant sometimes. I think he might also have one or two sisters because why not)

He still doesn't like Jedi but it's like. He doesn't want to kill them, he just thinks they're way too limiting and self-righteous. Like how Obi-Wan doesn't like politicians

He rarely makes speeches on the senate, so hearing him speak is a rare treat

Picture holonet social media hornyposting under every clip of him speaking because he has a very sexy voice

His outfits are also pretty daring (read: sexy) compared to most (male) senators. The entire Dathomir delegation dresses pretty similarly, but he gets the most attention

Maul vs Padmé who wore it better type posts

He and Padmé have this weird kinda-rivalry because they're very opposite in a lot of ways, but they still vote on the same side in a lot of topics since they both have a very "I am doing this for my people" mentality

He also absolutely hates Palpatine because he gets extremely rotten vibes from him (he's more attuned to the dark side than the Jedi so he probably Feels Palpatine's dark side vibes better than the Jedi. He Feels Palpatine is Bad)

When/if the Jedi Order ever finds out Palpatine is a sith he will be very unsurprised

Ventress is a representative and Maul's "apprentice", learning the Senate life from him

I'm making her younger than her "canon" age here (by about 10ish years) because it makes more sense to me and because giving Maul a government-assigned baby sister is funny

From what we see in the movies each world seems to only have one senator but I want the Dathomir delegation to have at least two because I think it's more fitting (and realistic, every world needs more than one senator what the fuck)

I think it would be funny if Maul swears he's gonna quit soon and Ventress will take his place in the senate but then the other senator retires first and makes Ventress her successor so Maul has to stay a senator for longer. He just wants to get out of this fucking planet

On the Jedi side of this AU I think Anakin grows into a much more disciplined jedi because Qui-Gon the rules bender would definitely stay in contact with Shmi so Anakin's anxieties regarding his mom will be more controlled, and they would be contacted immediately when she gets kidnapped by the tuskens so they save her faster and she doesn't die and neither do the tuskens and everything is fine

Plus Anakin gets to know his new family better and have a brother and add a new dad to his collection <3

Maybe Obi-Wan gets Ahsoka as a padawan this time, so she can have a master who actually wants to teach, and also be kinda-siblings with Anakin and cause chaos with him while Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan aren't looking

The Separatists never really take off, so the clone wars never happen, but I think the attacks on senators that were happening at the start of AotC still happen because I think it's fun to have drama and have Jedi escorts assigned to senators (read: good excuse to set up an obimaul and allow the anidala plot to happen)

I want Maul to be miserable wet cats with Obi-Wan on Kamino so I am allowing the clones to exist. Purely for comedic plot opportunity. And because I love clones so I want them to exist

But I think this time they only made a single batch of like 10-100 clones and were waiting for the Jedi to get back to them with approval to make more

Maul sees this and goes "Absolutely the fuck NOT" so no more clones are made after those. Sad!

With Maul there to help the Jango fight is much more successful (and 50% less humiliating on Obi-Wan's side) so they capture him and no one has to die

Sidious had to hire Jango this time since I am not letting him have an apprentice, so Jango is like "I was hired by some old weirdo in a cloak who called himself Darth Sidious who sounded and looked a lot like the chancellor from Naboo" and Maul feels so fucking vindicated that YES the bad vibes he gets from Palpatine were correct can we PLEASE kill him now

Jango gets arrested and maybe he makes a deal to work under the Jedi instead of staying in jail so he can take care of Boba instead of leaving him to his own luck

Boba being raised with Jedi younglings while Jango is busy offworld....

The clones also become part of the Jedi Order so they can help Jedi with peacekeeping and defense and stuff

Palpatine gets found out and arrested and/or killed by the Jedi and everyone else gets to live happily ever after. Eventually.

... this is. Way longer than planned. I'm having fun

[yay855]

Thinking on it, Lilo and Stitch’s original movie has literally one named white character, and all the aliens are white-coded (with one having a Russian accent and most having an American or British accent). The named human characters are mostly native Hawaiian, plus Cobra Bubbles who’s black and serves as a minor antagonist... and also someone doing what’s best for Lilo by ensuring she has a stable home that can care for her properly.

The only named white character in the original movie is Myrtle Edmunds, who actively bullies Lilo, and who Lilo tends to attack whenever Myrtle goes too far.

Thinking on it, two of the three main characters are female as well, and the third is an alien who straddles the line between person and animal. Furthermore, the leader of the alien government is a woman too, and her overly-aggressive military captain Gantu is fired at the end of the movie for kidnapping an innocent and endangering human lives, and threatened with worse if he tries to push back.

It’s just so uncommon to have a movie have a primarily POC cast, even animated, and to have subsequent canon largely maintain that. Even more importantly, the characters are mostly indigenous people, native Hawaiians, even though most modern movies tend to portray indigenous people as nonexistent at best.

And best of all, the movie itself is great! It’s a delightful film about the concept of family, and how familial bonds, both blood and not, are so special, and how painful grief can be. As Stitch says, “This is my family. I found it, all on my own. It's little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good.”

Hell, the entire premise of the movie is based around Lilo and Nani’s parents having died relatively recently, and neither sister is able to deal with not just the gaping holes left in their hearts, but the gaping hole left in their ability to support each other, all of which is communicated without even mentioning the parents’ existence. Nani is desperately trying to get a job to support them both, trying to maintain a house and care for a little sister who simply isn’t coping with the loss of both their parents and doesn’t know how to deal. Cobra Bubbles is a social worker, a government agent with child protective services who retired from the CIA to instead help children in need of a better home; he actively gives Nani time (albeit not much) to try and give Lilo the supporting environment she needs to grow up happy and healthy, because he does recognize that Nani is trying her best and is desperate to do what’s best for Lilo.

The resolution is essentially “it takes a village”. Lilo and Stitch are both still troublemakers, but with a job and support from new family members- namely Jumba, Pleakley, and even Bubbles- Nani is able to do her new job in raising her sister without being too overwhelmed.

I just- I love this movie, okay? Lilo is peak autistic little girl representation, Nani is trying her fucking best, and Stitch just wants to be loved.

[spoocys-glade-of-dreams]

If I may ask for world building do you think each of the word leaders titles are unique?

For example there’s monarchies like The Grand Minimus, the king of the Teensies and Barbara who’s a barbaric princess but then could be someone like Mr. Sax who’s more like a governor of Bandland.

The people of the glade have their own leadership systems. Knaarens are ruled by King Gumsi. The teensies as a whole are ruled by Grand Minimus and his wife (Teensette would end up becoming Queen Minumus when she realized she couldn't keep chasing Rayman forever. She's very happy with her marriage.) The Glade humans all have their own territories, one of them is run by Barbara's dad (Barbara's mother having passed away when she and her twin sister were much younger), And Aeropolis (The city from The Animated Series) is run by an unnamed Mayor. Voodoo Mama is considered the protector and guardian of the Land of the Livid dead, so she's considered the defacto leader of the place. The First King would have taken that title, but he wanted to retire in peace. He didn't want to be ruling a kingdom forever.

Yet all of them abide by the will of the Fairy Council. They come into action when situations are dire, like threats that endanger the entire glade if not the world. The Council is made up of Grand Minimus and his wife, Betilla and her sisters, Ly, The Magician, and Kahli the God-blessed. Kahli is not always in attendance due to her age and the strain on her health the trip can have on her if she's exposed to sunlight. She comes in when she absolutely needs to and the council respects that. The council was created by Polokus himself to govern the land when he cannot be there. They can't keep relying on him forever.

As for the continent that was Rayman's homeland/birthplace? I haven't really delved that deeply into the leadership stuff. Though if you've read up on my previous head canon posts, Mr. Sax already has a job as a musical conductor and will travel the world performing. Sometimes he'll even perform his music to Space Mama's shows. He's not the leader of Band Land. None of the bosses you faced in Rayman 1 are leaders of those lands. Just powerful members of those lands that Mr. Dark tricked into doing his bidding.

I will throw in these extra ones since I never really discussed it in detail before:

After the events of Mario Rabbids Sparks of Hope, The rabbids of the glade split into two factions. One on the side of good, while the other continue their efforts to take over the glade and cause mischief due to all the excessive bullying they faced. Sergueï became the defacto leader of the good rabbids after the affiliation split and is one of Raymona's rabbid friends. Rayman has managed to develop a strong bond with him despite being his prison warden before the split. The evil rabbids still being lead by Professor Barranco 3 who is their supreme commander.

The Mario Rabbids are their own thing and do not really follow the systems of the Glade. They follow the systems of the Mushroom Kingdom. They're technically ruled over by Princess Peach.

While Grand Minimus and Teensette rule over the teensies as a whole, there are still lesser rank teensies ruling over a clan or certain teensie territories. They could be Prince/Princess, Grand Duke/Duchess, but they still all abide by the command of Grand Minimus and his queen.

[bloodyknucklesforme]

Early Birds | Soap x Nina

Johnny surprises Nina early one morning.

AN: I had this idea bouncing around for a minute but @macravishedbymactavish 's request helped make the ending.

"Neen, c'mon. Wake up, bonnie," He whispered in her ear, gently shaking her shoulder. She lazily swatted him away. Through squinting eyes, she could see it was still dark outside.

"John, it's too early," She moaned

"I know but you can sleep in the car, c'mon," He hooked his arms under her arms and pulled her up out of bed. She put up a fight, forcing him to drag her across the bedroom. He laid her across the bed to slide a pair of joggers on. "No, don't fall asleep. I just need to get you in the car."

"This is kidnapping," She murmured, resting her head on his shoulder as he lifted her up. He chuckled and kissed her temple.

The clock in the car read 1:15am. She groaned.

"John, what the fuck?" She said as he buckled her in.

"I know. I know. I got you a blanket and pillow. Just go back to sleep. I'll wake you up when we're there." He tucked the pillow behind her head and laid the blanket over her. She took a quick glance around the car. There were two thermoses already in the cupholders. The backseat had a cooler and his backpack.

She left her hand on the center console as she made herself comfortable. She smiled when John laid his hand on top of hers.

She wondered what insane plan he had this time. He liked his surprises, through the corner of her eye she could tell he was giddy. It must be big. Last week was a surprise trip to the aquarium. He'd paid extra for them to be able to feed the penguins.

"Ugh..they're gross," she grimaced, tossing a cold fish into the enclosure.

"You don't like dead fish?" He laughed, picking one up and making it wiggle around. He teased her and jokingly threatened to toss it at her before dropping it down to the birds. They smelled but they were cute.

"We have puffins back home. Pretty far North but they're there. My dad took my sister and me up to the beach a couple times. The water will freeze your tits off but it's pretty."

"I don't remember the last time I was at the beach. We should go."

"Yeah, we should." He went to wrap an arm around her before remembering his fingers were covered in fish. He opted for a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll take ya."

They were headed South though. No Scotland today. She knew she wouldn't be able to get away from going and not meeting his family. She knew she would have to someday. She didn't want to make a bad impression. John said he was the baby of the family. He talked a lot about his sister. She was six years older and worked as a jewelry designer for a small brand. His mum was retired but she'd worked for the local government her whole life.

He invited her up for Easter last month but she panicked and decided to stay with Price. She knew she'd mess something up and they'd all judge her.

The current cover story was that her dad was a 'doomsday' type who raised her in the wilderness. It was partially true but she had raised herself more than anything. She was training herself to be normal through tv and books.

She just knew she'd say something weird or do something improper and it'd all be over. She wanted them to like her. They'd been together for a little over six months now and she couldn't help but think about a future as 'Nina MacTavish'. She liked the way it sounded. It was warmer than 'Nina Irons'. One day, maybe.

She woke up to the sound of crunching gravel. John was driving down a small road, it was still dark. The clock now read 4:25. Gross.

"We're almost there," He said, squeezing her hand. "I made you chai if you want. It's in your thermos."

She took several small sips. It was still warm. He'd added brown sugar to the pre-mix to sweeten it up. He rolled down the car windows and salt air breezed through. Outside it was tall brown grass over flat earth. He nudged her to look out his window.

The ocean was bigger than she remembered. It was dark and went on till it melted with the sky. He pulled into a small car park and reversed into a spot so the boot faced the water.

"Wait here." He got out and opened up his hatchback. He was fumbling around with something, climbing in to reach over the seat to grab the cooler and his bag. He eventually got out and came around for her. She grabbed their thermoses as he lifted her out of the car and carried her to the back.

He'd set out his large sleeping bag with more pillows. There was also a small assortment of pastries and fruit.

"No candles?" She joked as he sat her down. He got in behind her and pulled the sleeping bag over both of them.

"Wait a moment, I got something better than candles."

She leaned her head on his shoulder and looked out over the water. The horizon broke with a warm orange colour. The sun came up slowly, forcing them to cover their eyes. It was beautiful though. The dark night sky turned a deep blue to match the water.

He was playing with her hair as he sipped his coffee, more content watching her than the sky.

He always said it first and she responded in turn. It wasn't out of a lack of emotion, she just didn't know when to say it. She always felt it though.

She looked over at him smiling with tears pricking her eyes.

"I love you."

"You're making me blush, Bonnie." He said, cupping her face to kiss her. He tasted like coffee.

[franklymyqueeridontgiveadamn]

update: good news guys, the film industry is finally starting to figure out that queer people want fluffy Christmas romcoms that aren’t centered on homophobia and coming out! “The Christmas Setup” is still my favorite of this category, but here are more:

The Holiday Sitter (2022) A yuppie with an aversion to commitment gets roped into watching his niece and nephew right before Christmas, and the cute guy next door ends up helping him out as an “uncle consultant.” Extremely Hallmark, but it does a good job of what it’s trying to do, and you can tell real queer people were involved in making it. Also features a heterosexual couple and their adopted kids depicted as a completely normal and valid family configuration with no adoption-specific angst, which isn’t too common.

Season of Love (2019) Three interlocking stories about sapphic couples, all young and beautiful and thin and trendy: an almost-bride left at the altar and her almost-husband’s sister, a brewery owner prepping for a New Year’s Eve grand opening and a Deaf welder working on the construction, and a shy busker afraid to sing along to her guitar and her girlfriend who takes a video of her singing without consent and posts it online, which is the part of this movie I liked least. But overall it’s well-done, I liked how the storylines interacted with each other.

Under the Christmas Tree (2021) A State of Maine government representative finds the perfect tree to use as the official state tree, but it’s on private property, and the Christmas-knickknack-selling owner (in the process of taking over the business from her retiring parents) is not up for relinquishing it. Also they end up as a team in a gingerbread house competition. The plot isn’t great, but the chemistry is, and it features a charming bakery and the guy who plays the dad in Veronica Mars.

Dashing in December (2020) and Christmas at the Ranch (2021) A successful urban professional comes home to the family ranch, which is struggling to stay afloat despite a heartwarming hayride business, and tries to convince the rest of the family to sell, but the older female relative running the place hired a hot ranch hand three years ago (whom they hadn’t met because they’ve been too busy being professional and successful in the city) and the hot ranch hand loves the place enough to convince them that instead of selling they should use their professional connections to rebrand the business. Yes, this is the plot of TWO queer Christmas movies that came out a year apart. Christmas at the Ranch is lesbians, better at character dynamics and chemistry, and has a There Was Only One Bed moment; Dashing in December is two guys, has Andie MacDowell as the mom, and the writing is a bit sharper, but I found the yuppie son too much of a dick to deserve his charismatic Colombian-American love interest. (Content note: both have dead-parent backstories prominent in the emotional narratives.)

Friends & Family Christmas (2023) I think this is Hallmark’s attempt at incorporating a queer found-family vibe? It still has the parents involved, but they visit their daughter in the city instead of the other way around, and there’s an artsy community studio type place with lots of queer folks. Anyway, it’s still Hallmark, which means there’s a partner-track lawyer and a down-to-earth artist and well-meaning nosy parents and a VERY contrived fake-dating plot. Fluffy, not too substantial but fun.

Queer Christmas movie recs

Breakfast with Scot (2007) An absolutely delightful feel-good movie about a retired NHL player and his partner reluctantly taking in an effeminate boy they are extremely not equipped to handle, and eventually becoming a family. One of my favorite movies of all time. Content notes: homophobia, sexism, mild violence, bullying, brief vomit, shitty parenting but I promise they learn their lesson.

The Christmas Setup (2020) The first gay Lifetime Christmas movie, and it's exactly what you'd expect based on that. Big-city attorney visits his hometown for Christmas, falls for his high school crush, saves the beloved local train station from demolition. There's a really sweet element of queer history involved, and Fran Drescher is great as the nosy matchmaking mom. Content notes: dead dad backstory, hilariously inaccurate depiction of computer algorithms.

Single All The Way (2021) Another home-for-the-holidays romcom with a nosy matchmaking family, this one with a fake-dating premise and a Black love interest. Jennifer Coolidge makes a good kooky aunt, and the main character's love of plants is very true to the queer experience. Content notes: infidelity (not committed by the main characters), looks like I didn't take notes on this one while I was watching so there might be more I'm not remembering but nothing too major.

Carol (2015) Oscarbait '50s period drama with Rooney Mara as a young saleswoman and Cate Blanchett as an older divorcee. I actually didn't love this one the first time I saw it, but last year I got an urge to watch it again and if you're in the mood for cinematic eyefucking it will come through for you on that front. It's a little bit of a downer, lots of homophobia and societal obstacles and ennui, but it's a very pretty film with a... maybe not happy, but at least cautiously optimistic ending. Content notes: homophobia, custody conflict, blackmail, mentions of infidelity.

Happiest Season (2020) I do recommend this movie BUT you gotta go into it with the right expectations. It was billed as a feel-good Christmas romance and it is not that! It's the coming-out story of a closeted lesbian (Mackenzie Davis) who treats her wonderful girlfriend (Kristen Stewart) like crap instead of telling her family they're dating, and you will come out of it screaming about how the wonderful girlfriend should have ended up with Aubrey Plaza's character (which, by the way, Aubrey Plaza wholeheartedly agrees with at 3:36 of this video). But it's well-made, it's really funny, there are a lot of good characters and good moments—it's worth watching as long as you know what you're getting into. Content notes: homophobia, bullying of an autistic-coded character, and honestly I think a lot of the shit Mackenzie Davis's character pulls counts as emotional abuse.

Tangerine (2015) A low-budget movie filmed entirely on iPhones, set in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve, centering around a day in the life of two trans sex workers of color. Rough and gritty, hysterically funny, a little dark at times but not tragic. Content notes: transphobia, lots of infidelity, racism/slurs, mild violence, drugs, one very brief scene involving the death of a pet (not shown).

[multiplefandomfics]

Relations

Pairing: Bucky x Stark!reader

Warnings: angst, soft smut, fluff, fighting

Words: 2862

“Y/N? Where are you?” no response.

“Friday? Would you be so kind as to tell me where my little sister is running around?” 

“Of course, boss. She is currently sitting in the garden, reading a book.” 

“Thanks Friday.”

Tony headed out to talk to his sister. 

“There you are. Please come inside. We have to talk.”

“Alright. I’m coming.” you smiled up at your big brother. 

He was everything to you. Y/N had been born in 1990 and had not exactly been planned. A year later your parents had died and Tony was left alone with an infant. Fortunately he was wealthy enough to have nannies looking after you as long as he was still in college. 

But the time you did spend together was thoroughly enjoyed. Everytime he was home he took you to the zoo, swimming or you just celebrated your lives. 

All in all Tony Stark was the best brother anyone could have wanted. 

Then he was kidnapped and became Iron Man. And Y/N was in the middle of it all. Tony tried to keep you away from it all but that didn’t work very well. You had begged him time and time again to make a suit for you too but he refused. Fortunately you were as technically talented as he was, copied Tony’s files for his suit, made some modifications and built it. 

Yours was purple and silver instead of red and gold and it had some other nice gadgets which would probably prove useful. 

When you took the first flying test outside the tower you didn’t really care that you were probably going to get caught. 

And of course the moment you landed again Tony busted you.

“Y/N. What were you thinking? You could have gotten hurt.” he was worried.

“But I didn’t. You really have very little trust in my abilities. I flew didn’t I? And I used your plans and software. I even have Friday on my ears at all times.” you rolled your eyes at your brother.

“I can’t decide if I should be angry or proud.” he muttered. “I trust you and your skills but please let me ease my conscience and have a look over your work before you go flying again.” he asked.

“Alright, if that calms you down, sure.” you smiled and hugged your brother.

“So what is this about?” you asked him.

“I am throwing a party tonight to celebrate taking down the hydra base and recovering the scepter.” he beamed.

“And I am invited?” 

“Of course. Wear something nice.” he instructed and left you alone in the entryway. 

Y/N prepared half the afternoon for the spectacle and looked your best when evening rolled around. You hung at the bar with Natasha and Bruce, let Thor and Rhodey tell their war stories and sat around the table while everyone tried to lift Mjölnir and failed miserably.

Then suddenly a mangled Iron legion droid came walking through the door saying strange stuff and ending up attacking everyone. You were just so able to jump behind the bar and duck down. After that you promised yourself that you would never feel that helpless again. You wanted to be in the thick of it all. 

When the dust settled everyone was really confused. The peacekeeping program Ultron had “killed” Jarvis and taken off into the world wide web. 

“What did just happen?” Rhodey asked while Thor was on the way searching for Ultron.

After a battle with Ultron and the Maximoff twins, where everyone seemed to have lost their minds at one point or another and the Hulk destroying half a town while Tony tried to stop him, you made it out alive and had to disappear and landed with Clint’s family. 

You stayed there for a while and then left for Seol to retrieve the crate with the human print inside.

In the end you had a new addition to the team and a devastating fight against machines in Sokovia. 

Everyone was upset after that. Sokovia was destroyed, many civilians had died and Hulk was MIA. Thor left too to shine some light onto the appearances of the infinity stones.

You stayed at the newly built compound to start your official training with Vision, Wanda and Sam.

Some time later things escalated in Lagos with Rumlow and a biological weapon. After that everyone was suddenly afraid of Wanda although she was just as scared. 

A day later you were walking through the hallways, passing some office and conference rooms on your way to the gym. You were lost in thought when you heard your brother's voice. At first you wanted to storm in and surprise him but then you heard him talking.

“She isn’t actually my sister, Steve. She’s my daughter. Y/N is my daughter. I’ve never told anyone before I couldn’t-” the rest was not heard by Y/N because you had dropped your towel and run towards your room. 

The next few days you just couldn’t face your father. That was so strange to think. You never said it out loud. Y/N felt so betrayed. Why did he never tell you? Of course he had been relatively young when you were born but he still could have been honest with you. Did he not want to be seen as your father? Were you such a disappointment? And over all of that stood the question after your mother. Who was she? What happened to her? Why did she not want to meet you? All those thoughts rushed through your brain and you couldn’t stop the nagging feeling that Tony didn’t want to admit the truth to you because you weren’t worth it. 

The bad thoughts did not leave you alone anymore. You had nightmares and isolated yourself from everyone during the days. 

Although everyone was constantly asking you what was wrong, you couldn’t tell them.

Until the day Natasha and Pepper waltzed into your room, overriding Friday’s authority. 

“Hey Y/N. We noticed that you have been by yourself a lot lately, not letting anyone in anymore. So tell us, what is going on with you? You know you can trust us.” Pepper added the last part after seeing you hesitating. And finally you caved in.

“I overheard Tony and Steve talk a few days ago. He said something I need time to process for.”

“What did he say that shocked you so much?” Nat asked.

“All my life I thought he was my brother. He’s been my rock. We went through thick and thin and then I find out that he lied to me all these years.”

“What do you mean he’s not your brother?” Nat pressed further.

“He told Steve that he’s actually my father.” the girls looked at you dumbfounded and it got eerie quiet.

“You sure you heard that right?”

“Of course I am sure. I’m not deaf!” you said a little enraged.

“And I gather you have not talked to him about it yet, have you?” Pepper had a calming nature especially when she put her hand on Y/N arm.

“No I haven’t. I couldn’t. What if it is somehow my fault that he didn’t tell me? What if he doesn’t consider me good enough to be his daughter?” you started to sob quietly.

“Hey, look at me Y/N. If anything it is the other way around. Under all that confident exterior he is actually very insecure and I am sure that he just didn’t want you to be disappointed to have him as a father.” Pepper ensured you.

“You really think so?” you sniffed looking up at her.

“I do. You should talk to him.” she encouraged you.

“Maybe I should tell him that I know and see how he reacts.”

But before you could go forward with your plan Friday alerted you and Nat to come to the conference room because the Secretary of defense had arrived to talk about something 

 The fights in Sokovia and Lagos had been PR nightmares and the government and the UN did not want to stand by anymore. The Avengers had to bow to the law and sign the Sokovia accords or they would be forced to retire. They were given a few days to think about it and talk this through. 

After long discussions the team split in two. Which led to the situation at hand. 

Your dad had grounded you together with Wanda after you had voiced your opinion that you thought Steve was right. Well, when Clint came to pick up Wanda you stuck to them and flew to Germany. Steve was kinda surprised when he saw you get out of the car at the airport but he thought you were old enough to make your own decisions. 

Well, it ended in a really bad fight in the middle of the runway. In the end you made it out with Steve and Bucky and flew to Siberia under Steve's protest.  

“So you’ve been Steve’s friend since childhood, hm?” you asked Bucky while still in the air.

“Yep. Known him forever. And you are Stark’s kid?” he asked back.

“So Steve told you. Yes it seems to be true although my whole life I thought he was my big brother. He lied to me so I’m not very happy with him at the moment. Kicking his ass has been a nice change for once.” you smiled at Bucky sadistically.

“You are a sick little thing, doll!” he laughed out loud.

 You landed not much later but you had to admit the crush that had already developed towards Bucky. 

And then Zemo happened and that stupid tape.

Were you the only one wondering why the hell there was a security camera in the middle of nowhere on an abandoned street exactly at that point where your grandparents car was forced to crash? And all that in the early 90’s? 

Tony did not want to think rationally at that point so he started a fight against Steve and Bucky. You stood by. Too in shock to do anything. The only thing you knew was that it was not Bucky’s fault your grandparents had died but hydras. 

You snapped out of your trance when Tony shot Bucky’s arm off. Then it was your moment to jump between your dad and Steve.

“Stop it, dad! Think for one moment!” he was startled for a moment because he wasn’t used to hearing you say that. 

“You know?” he asked and his helmet slid back.

“Yes, I do. I overheard you and Steve the other day.” you spoke silently. “Sorry I did not talk about this with you earlier but I was just so upset about the fact that you didn’t tell me. Am I such a disappointment that you thought I wasn’t good enough to be your daughter?” you asked him with tears in your eyes.

“What? Of course not! You, Y/N, are the best thing that has ever happened to me. It was me who felt not man enough to be your dad. In the beginning when you suddenly appeared on my doorstep I panicked and thought I could have never lived up to the responsibility of a father. So I became your fun big brother to save you and me from disappointment. At some point I just felt that I had missed the point of telling you without the fear of consequences. So I stuck with the lie. I never meant to hurt you and I hope you can forgive me. I love you so much.” 

That explanation was enough for you to jump into your fathers arms and hug him close. 

“I love you 3000, dad. And can we now please get out of here? Bucky doesn’t deserve to die. Can you maybe see that he was controlled and hates himself as much for what Hydra made him do as you hate him? He is actually a really nice guy and like a brother to Steve and you know Steve, would he have bad friends? Also Buck needs help, physical and psychological. So please dad let us help him. He’s a war hero after all.” you finished your plaidoyer.  

Your dad just stared at you but in the end took a deep breath and said: “let’s get home. I can’t do anything here.”

Outside you met King T’Challa who was holding Zemo in his grasp. He was gonna bring him to the CIA and then fly home to bury his father. He also promised to help with Bucky’s recovery because Wakanda had the most advanced technology to heal anything. 

For months you stayed in Wakanda, which was pretty beautiful by the way, to maybe help Bucky recover step by step. 

That’s also how you became close. You went for walks and to his therapy sessions together. The latter also because you thought you could use some talking about your life too. 

At first he had wanted to go back into cryo but you had convinced him that that wasn’t necessary. In the beginning your dad had called you everyday to check in but he had stopped after a particularly annoyed outburst on your side. 

“Bucky you alright?” you asked him one night after he had come home from his private session with Ayo.

When you saw his face you noticed the big tears leaking down his face.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” you asked scared this time.

Without saying a word he just walked up to you hugging you close to his chest and kissing you intently. 

“You know how much I love you, right?” he whispered.

“Of course. but what happened with Ayo that has you this shaken?” you were persistent.

“I’m free, baby. She said all the trigger words and nothing happened. I’m free.” he repeated as if not believing it himself yet.

You started crying, too at that moment. You knew how much that meant to him, hell how much it meant to you. He had full control of his life back. 

“I’m so proud of you babe. You deserve this so much. The past is finally behind you and we can start into a new future.”

“I love you.” he whispered into your hair and started kissing down your neck.

“Oh, okay. So that’s where you are going. Hmm, I like that. But let’s go inside first.”

You pushed him backwards until you reached the hut and inside your bed. You pushed him down and straddled his lap. He grabbed the seams of your blouse and tore it down the middle so the buttons flew in every direction. 

“Someone is needy, hm?” you whispered while grinding down on his boner. 

“Need you so bad.” he murmured 

“You know I would give you everything. Come and take what you want. I swear I won’t break.” you kissed him intensely again before he threw you around and you landed with your back on the mattress. 

The next thing he did was rid you both of your clothing. The look on his face was absolutely feral. 

“Need to breed you baby. Fuck a baby in you.” he groaned and your pussy clenched around nothing.

“Gotta prepare you first.” he slurred just as he pushed a finger into your dripping wet cunt.

And the moment his tongue touched your aching clit you came with a cry. But he didn’t stop there. No. He kept on flicking your nub with his tongue and added a second finger to stretch your walls for his girth.

“Getting you nice and wet, baby.” he moaned. When he hit that particular spot you arched your back and pushed your pussy further into his face. It didn’t take long for you to come again. You drenched his face in your juices which he happily licked off of his face.

He climbed up your body and on the way nipped at your breasts and left hickies on your neck. 

“I can’t hold on any longer. Gotta be inside you.” those words were the last warning before he breached your entrance and pushed his massive length inside your tight channel.

“Oh, fuck Bucky. So big. Shit.” you moaned loudly which seemed to spur him on.

He pummeled into you with all the force he could muster.

His blissed out face was all you ever wanted to see again.

His rhythm got erratic. You put your hand in his hair and coaxed him “Let go baby. We’ll be fine. I love you so much.” 

That was all it took for him to lose it and he spilled deep inside you.

He collapsed on top of you and then rolled to the side, not to crush you. You winced when he pulled out.

“That was amazing.” you breathed out. “Yeah. Best sex I ever had.” he agreed. 

You two lovebirds spent 6 more weeks in Wakanda. Then Bucky got his vibranium arm and you left Wakanda to go back to New York. No matter what you told yourself, you did miss your dad. 

But you definitely promised to come back every time you got the chance. 

[shadow-sovereign]

Liu Zhigang Headcanons

Background:

I headcanon that Liu grew up on a farm, helping out with the livestock. A task that certainly became easier once he Awakened, though he didn’t get to experience it for long. The Chinese government started heavily recruiting Hunters once the gates began appearing. He would have had to have been a really weak Hunter to justify staying on the farm.

Hunting:

We know he must have been Awakened for at least 8 years, since that’s when Kamish appeared. So, I’ll say he Awakened in the first year of gates appearing, when he was in his late 20’s, making him in his late 30’s now.

Although initially annoyed at being drafted, he does enjoy Hunting more than farm work. And the money he gets from it allows him to support his family. They still have that farm, but his parents will be able to retire early now. And he can send his siblings to a good University.

Family:

Lives with his parents and grandparents. (Paternal grandparents, I assume? Since I’ve heard that women move in with their husband’s family. Though after Liu Awakens, he could afford to take care of his mother’s parents too.)

He grew up on the farm with a younger brother, maybe a few years younger. And if we’re going with realistic China laws, I think only two children would have been allowed? But maybe once he defeated Kamish, he’d get an exception for his parents, who always wanted another kid. Thus, a younger sister who’s about eight in the present time.

Liu isn’t as close to her as he is to his younger brother, since they didn’t grow up together. And with him living in the city now, they don’t get to see each other very often. But he makes sure to video call every week and tries to visit for a couple days every month, taking longer vacations to see them a couple times a year.

Personality:

Liu is shown in canon to be arrogant, which I believe is a reaction to everyone treating him like a celebrity. Crowding and annoying him, making demands of his time. He developed an arrogant mask as a coping method, learning how to scare the reporters away when it’s getting overwhelming.

Back home at the farm, he’s more down-to-earth, just chilling and joking around with his family, helping out with the chores. He doesn’t consider himself above such ‘menial work’ just because he’s the strongest Hunter in China. He grew up in a household where everybody had to do chores of some kind.

Hobbies:

Hmm. What can I see Liu doing in his free time? Before he became a Hunter, he would have just been a normal person, working on a farm with his family. Would he have had regular access to the internet? I don’t know how well rural places get internet access.

But they’d probably have board games. Just, stuff he can do with the family to unwind at the end of the day. Maybe video games with his younger siblings?

What counts as a hobby anyway?

Once he has regular access to the web, he browses the internet, finds stuff to watch and read online. Personally, I think he’d also enjoy going on dungeon raids, so it’s half job/half hobby.

Relationships:

If he’s dating someone who’s close to his strength, I can see him being a bit competitive? He’ll enjoy sparring with them, try his best to win, but it’s not going to sting his pride if the other person wins, assuming they’re not a jerk about it. He just likes the challenge. (Of course, the only people who could beat him are Jin-Woo and maybe Andre. Does canon ever say whether Andre or Liu is stronger?)

I see him as a bit blunt, somewhat playful, definitely not a smooth talker, but he’s respectful. He tries not to cross his date’s boundaries. If he’s interested in someone, he wants them to be comfortable with him.

[drwcn]

《 Without Envy 》 storyboard 10 - concubine/sleeper agent!wwx & prince!lwj

Other snippets and storyboards can be found on [Master List]

Exactly 851 days - 2 years, 4 months and 11 days - after Wei Wuxian arrived at Gusu and began his mission as a sleeper agent, he was activated.

That chilly morning, he walked into the pastry shop - a front maintained by a decade-long Wen spy - a walk he'd done hundred of times on hundreds of mornings since he arrived. He breezed past the packaging counter, skipped through the faded cotton drapes, and rounded behind the back staircase to the room where Xue Yang always waited for him. Only this time, it was not just his candy-obsessed, murder-happy shidi, but a face he hadn't seen in many, many months. "...Shifu?" Wen Zhuliu's visit meant the end of his carefree days. It's time. That night, Wei Wuxian did not look at either Lan Wangji or Jiang Yanli when he bid "dianxia" and "Jiang-zhuzi" good night. He pretended to retire to bed early, after washing himself of his servant's exterior and donning his robes of night-black. He laid in the dark, waiting for time to pass, and reminded himself of his true purpose. He was never meant to care about these people; love these people. Jiang Yanli was not his doting foster sister; Lan Wangji was not his beloved wangye. I am Wei Wuxian of the great Qishan Wen. Nevernight is my home. I am a spy. Gusu is my enemy. Wei Wuxian kept his eyes closed, his breathing even, and his heartbeat slow. In the lonely quiet, he waited, and waited, and waited. Until the candlelight around the princely manor dimmed to nothing, until the night grew still and the moon shone bright and high in the dark, dark sky. Reaching under the floorboard beneath his bed, Wei Wuxian retrieved his life-long companion from its hiding place and released it from its sheath. "Hello, old friend." He whispered, stroking the blade edge. Suibian's steel glistened with cold malevolence in the stark, pale moonlight.

It would be another year before WWX's identity is discovered. During that time, he lived a double life. In the day, he was Lan Wangji's precious Wei Ying, and at night, he was the blade in Wen Ruohan's hand, stealing, killing and destroying on command. His assignments were not always murder; sometimes it required him to break into secure facilities and obtain copies of certain documents. He was never alone on these jobs; there was always someone convalescing with him from within. Slowly, he began to realize just how deep Wen Ruohan's spy network had infiltrated Gusu's foundation. In a way, it excited him, to know that the posturing and pretending would soon be over, that in the near future a quick war would sweep across the land and unite the two nations. In another way, it frightened him to the bones.

Wei Wuxian killed 37 individuals within the span of a year, 37 men and women of different ranks, status and stations. He did not always know why these people needed to die; in fact, he often didn't and preferred it that way. If he didn't know the motive, then he couldn't argue against the reason, and thus could go on believing that what Wen Ruohan did was ultimately for the betterment of everyone. The men of Gusu were weak - Wei Wuxian was always told - they were not fit to rule. The people of Gusu would be better served under a united empire. He repeated this statement to himself before every job, but over time, the mantra on his tongue began to lose its flavour.

In the meantime however, Lan Wangji and Jiang Yanli quickly formed a strong plan on how they wanted to live out the rest of their lives. Lan Wangji never quite enjoyed laying with women, but Jiang Yanli had just enough wickedness behind her demure exterior that things were... well, interesting. In any case, it was not long before she came to him all smiles and whispered the good news over luncheon .

"Truly?" Lan Wangji set down his chopsticks. "Hm uhm." Jiang Yanli dapped her mouth delicately. "Now, perhaps it's a good time to discuss how dianxia should go about winning A-Xian's affection. He's under the impression you've cast him aside on taishi's orders and has been giving him the cold shoulder." "I wasn't." Lan Wangji defended himself, distressed and slightly offended. "It's just, huangshu's been watching me like a hawk. I was afraid any further attempt to be closer to him would give my uncle reason to remove him from my household entirely." Jiang Yanli was sympathetic. "The summer hunt is in two week's time, and afterwards, since bixia always likes to finish the night on the river with fireworks, perhaps...." She let the sentence dangle, a knowing smile playing at her lips. Lan Wangji felt hope.

Unfortunately, a little hiccup happened before the hunt could take place. Jin Ziyan falsely believed that Wei Wuxian had fallen out of favour with Lan Wangji and was itching to show him his place. Poor Mo Xuanyu was caught in the middle. Jin Ziyan knew Wei Wuxian was an audacious one, but not so stupid that he could be easily goaded into committing a grave offence. Thus, Jin Ziyan planned to cause an incident in the garden whereby poor Mo Xuanyu would unwittingly "offend" him, and he would publicly announce a punishment that was harsher than necessary. He made sure that Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian were near by, as they usually took a mid-afternoon stroll after lunch. True to his predictions, Wei Wuxian could not stop himself for interfering on Mo Xuanyu's behalf. Then in their altercation, Jin Ziyan would fall into the pond, making it seem as though Wei Wuxian was the one who shoved him out of anger. Oh but a lowly servant shoving Hanguang-wang's deputy consort into the pond??! He was as good as dead. What's more, everything happened on the same afternoon that Lan Qiren was scheduled to visit Lan Wangji to discuss matters of court. If it was only Lan Wangji, Jin Ziyan knew Wei Wuxian would suffer little consequence, but taishi tolerated no insubordination or churlish behaviour of any kind.

Lan Qiren was incensed, livid, but he was not hasty to deal the punishment. Instead he turned to his nephew and asked, whilst fully knowing the answer, "Wangji, your household follows the regulations that govern all princely manors, does it not?" "It does, huangshu." "Then tell me what is the punishment reserved for a servant for daring to lay hands on a deputy consort and to cause physical harm to said consort?" "It....I - huangshu -" "What is the rule?" Lan Wangji knew very well that the punishment was death for any servant, maid or eunuch who dared to harm any member of the harem. But Wei Ying, his Wei Ying... "Wei Ying is very precious to Yanli and to Yunmeng-hou. As well..." Lan Wangji hesitated. "Yanli is with child again. It is still very early so we thought it best not to announce it lest we have a repeat of last time. It would not do to upset her at this time." Lan Qiren was extremely dissatisfied with his answer, but conceded for Jiang Yanli's sake. "I'm glad, Wangji, that you've found your way back to your proper companions. This Wei Wuxian clearly has been spoiled to the point of impropriety. His actions today are utterly unacceptable and cannot be allowed to go unpunished or else others would surely follow his example. Guards!" "Detain Wei Wuxian. Have him strung up on a post in the servants' courtyard and give him fifty lashes. No food nor drink. Sun or rain, he is not to be let down until dusk tomorrow." "Huangshu!" Lan Wangji's head buzzed, as though someone had struck him squarely in the temple. His chest felt tight, and his heart ached where it rebelled inside him. "Please -" "He has his life. That is mercy enough."

Wei Wuxian was stripped down to his trousers only and tied up to a post, his hands bound together above him and his bare feet never finding purchase on the ground no matter how he struggled. This fucking suck ass. Jin Ziyan you're a dead man. When all fifty lashes were dealt, even the guards were sweating through their robes. They left him dangling there in the blistering summer heat. A young maid dared to try and sneak him some water but was thwarted by an older momo. "What do you think you're doing, lassie? Did you not hear taishi, no food or drink until dusk tomorrow. Do you want lashes too? Go on! Go!" It rained hard all through the night, only easing up at dawn, but the aftermath of the storm left the air muggy and humid. Combined with the heat, it felt as though he was being steamed alive like a wheat bun. At some point during the second day, Wei Wuxian finally lost consciousness. He was not aware when Lan Wangji barged into the courtyard against Lan Qiren's explicit orders and cut him free.

Really tho, i just want this scene to happen (╹ڡ╹ ) "I'm sorry." Wei Wuxian blinked at Lan Wangji's hunched figure sitting at his bedside. "Whatever for? You saved me, dianxia." Lan Wangji, "But it was my attention that put you in such a position in the first place. Huangshu was looking for a reason to punish you since that day he saw us in my study." Wei Wuxian, "dianxia..." "I find you... lovely, Wei Ying," confessed Lan Wangji with a heavy sigh. His ears burned red not only with the embarrassment of a youth in love but with shame. "I wish for your company, even when you have no desire to be part of my harem. Now I know my mistake. I should have respected the boundaries. I should've known my attention on you would incite jealousy from the others, and as a servant, you have no means of protecting yourself. This is entirely my fault." Wei Wuxian's heart fluttered despite himself. He quickly shook his head. "No dianxia, please don't blame yourself -" Lan Wangji, "perhaps I should send you back to Jiang-fu; I'm sure Jiang-xiao-gongzi would be delighted to have your company back. You would be safe there." Jiang Wanyin had come to visit his sister the very next day after Wei Wuxian was sentenced to whipping. He was one of the most accomplishment young men of his generation, anticipated to be a great general. Nie Mingjue had thought highly of him and had expected great things from this youth. Though perhaps what the late feng-jun found truly commendable was Jiang Wanyin's complete lack of pretense and his short-fuse temper. That is to say, he did not hesitate to get in Lan Wangji's face. His sister would have chastised him, had she not been so preoccupied by her tears. Wei Wuxian, "Jiang...Jiang Cheng was here?" "He was, and he was very upset about your condition. He left many fine medicine and ointments for you." Lan Wangji sighed again. "I shall speak with Yanli. If she is amenable, then I shall make arrangements for you to go back to Jiang-fu. You would not have to put up with me any longer." Lan Wangji stood up. Wei Wuxian grasped his sleeve immediately. In that moment, he could not tell if his panic was derived from his worry that he would not be able to complete his assignment if Lan Wangji were to send him away or if he simply did not wish to part with the prince. "Dianxia - I - I don't want to leave. I - it's true I had once rejected you, but...would you think less of me if I said your attention … hasn't been unwanted for a while, that I have come to enjoy them." At Lan Wangji's widened eyes, Wei Wuxian continued quickly. "You need not give me anything, no elevation, no rank. I don't care about any of that. I am a man, I have no ability to give you children. Nor do I have any family who would benefit from your continued favour of me. I am an orphan, dianxia, I have no place to go. I just....don't send me away. Please let me stay! I'm not afraid of Jin Ziyan, or taishi, or anything!" Lan Wangji sat back down. His hand trembled when he laid it on top of Wei Wuxian's. "Wei Ying...?" Wei Wuxian smiled, still radiant despite his pale complexion. "Dianxia -" "Lan Zhan. No more dianxia, I only want to hear you call me by my name." Wei Wuxian flushed pink. The blush was real, as was the pleased little smile he tried to hide. "Lan Zhan, Wei Ying is yours, if you still want him." The worst part of that was that he meant it. Just the mere thought of being held by Lan Wangji, of being kissed by him, of... so many other wonderful possibilities, made Wei Wuxian want to hide his flaming face into his pillow. Lan Wangji smiled. Quietly, he lifted Wei Wuxian's hand and pressed a kiss to the inner side of his wrist. "Rest, I will be right here." Wei Wuxian felt his treacherous little heart soar: oh no … oh no no no no ….. (Xue Yang's voice in narration: and it was in this moment, that Wei Wuxian knew, he fucked up.) The cruellest thing Wei Wuxian ever did was give Lan Wangji hope knowing that one day he would take it all away.

[bumblesimagines]

Green Thumb

Part 15

Request: Yes or No

Nebula and Tonys friendship was v cute and we deserved to see Tony be a dad to her. This feels v short so I'm sorry

~

"Maybe some company will do you good, (Y/N)." Natasha said softly, rubbing your arm. You stayed silent, staring at the table. Rhodes had offered you your old room back but you couldn't give him an answer. Your gaze shifted to the glass of water, brows furrowing when the water in the glass began to move. Natasha followed your gaze.

"I'm not doing that." You said softly, glancing at her. Steve entered the room, heading towards the exit.

"Something's coming." He called. Rhodes and Bruce quickly followed him out. You stood up, doing the same. You walked out onto the field, seeing Pepper staring up at a ship. You watched the woman set it down, looking back at you all. Steve ran forward, helping Tony off the ship. Pepper sobbed, running forward as well. You turned, walking back towards the facility.

"Great, the douchebag survived." You muttered, opening the door and sitting back down. You knew loss would come with trying to save the world but you didn't expect to lose everyone you loved. Clint and Natasha were still around but they were grieving as well.

"(Y/N), this is Carol Danvers, a friend of Fury." Natasha said as she entered the room. You turned to look at the blonde, giving a small nod. You watched as Rhodes pulled up images of everyone who had been lost to catch Tony up. Your gaze dropped onto the table when you saw your friends images appear.

"World governments are in pieces. He did.. He did exactly what he was planning to do. He wiped out.. 50 percent of all living creatures." Natasha explained, voices getting softer. You took in a shakey breath, sitting up and glancing at everyone. You made eye contact with Tony. He was skinny and weak but he held sadness in his eyes.

"Is Barton..?" Tony trailed off.

"Clint survived... Laura and the kids are gone." You told him, voice threatening to crack. Tony inhaled deeply, nodding.

"Where is Thanos? Where is he now?" Tony asked, looking at Steve. Steve frowned.

"We don't know. He just.. Opened a portal and walked through." Steve said, staring down at the floor. Tony hummed, turning to look at Thor.

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's pissed. He thinks he failed. Which, yeah he did but so did the rest of us." The talking raccoon, Rocket, said. You didn't have enough energy to question how a raccoon ended up in space, much less question how it could talk.

"Honestly, until this exact last second, I thought you were a build-a-bear." Tony said, looking at him.

"Maybe I am." Rocket muttered in a tired and defeated tone.

"Thanos has been missing for three weeks now. We've got nothing. Tony, you fought him."

"Who told you that? No, he wiped my face with a planet while the magician gave away the stone. That's what happened. There was no fight-"

"Okay, okay.. Did he give you any clues?" Steve asked. Tony blew some raspberries, shrugging. You sighed at his childish response.

"I had a vision. I didn't want to believe it.. Thought I was dreaming-"

"Tony, I need you to focus."

"-And I needed you. As in past tense. That trumps what you need. You know what I need?" Tony knocked over some glasses, standing up from his wheelchair. "I need to shave."

"Tony, Tony, stop." Rhodes approached him as Tony ripped off his IV needle.

"What we needed was a suit of armour around the world! Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not." Tony looked over everyone.

"Your project got Sokovia destroyed and ruined." You reminded him, finger running over the rim of the glass cup. Tony began stumbling as he argued with Steve, stumbling towards him. He ripped off the Arc reactor, putting it in Steve's hand before falling to the ground. He fainted afterwards so Rhodes and Steve got him to the medical unit.

"This is such a shitshow. I'm going home." You said, standing up and picking up the glass. Natasha turned towards you.

"Stay for a little longer-"

"For what? So I can be told nothing's gonna bring back by family? My best friends? I had nothing then I had something and now I have nothing again." You flinched when the cup shattered, pieces of glass and water landing on the ground. You sighed softly, taking the shards stuck in your skin out.

"Sorry. I'll clean this up." You mumbled, using your other hand to get the water off the floor. Carol blinked, watching in surprise. You opened one of the cabinets, pulling out the first aid kit. You turned your head when Carol stood beside you.

"Hey." You breathed out, running your hand under water to wash away some of the blood. Carol picked up the antibiotic cream, using a cotton ball to dab it onto your cuts. You didn't really feel like healing yourself.

"I'm sorry you lost so many people." She said quietly, picking up the bandages and wrapping them around your hand.

"Well, shit happens." You looked at your bandaged palm, sighing softly.

"I lost two best friends." Carol said, leaning against the counter.

"Nick and Monica, the daughter of a good friend." Carol looked at you, arms crossing.

"Sams' sister calls nonstop and I don't know what to tell her. She has two toddlers, both parents passed away, and she's a widow. How can I tell her that her older brother turned into dust and I couldn't do anything to save him? Dad and I can't even look at each other without noticing how empty the house feels. I wake up everyday hoping it was all a nightmare but then I don't hear Laura telling the kids to get up or Clint going on about teaching Lila archery." You looked away from her, eyes watering. Carol placed a gentle hand on your arm, giving it a light squeeze.

"You did what you could. What you have to do now is be there for the people who are still here. Your friends sister needs you. She needs someone familiar. Someone close to Sam and someone who was there in his last moments." Carol said, watching you.

"You'll never get back up if you keep knocking yourself down." She said softly. You let out a shakey sigh, nodding and sniffling. Carol offered you a napkin, patting your back before she walked away. You wiped away your tears and splashed some water on your face, patting your face dry. You turned and grabbed the broom and collector, taking care of the glass. You put the first aid kit away as Carol re-entered the room with Natasha and Steve following.

"Hey, we usually do things as a team here." Natasha said as Carol spun around to look at her.

"We realize up there is your territory but this is our fight too." Steve added.

"Do you even know where he is?" Rhodes asked, head tilting. Carol shrugged lightly.

"I know people who might."

"Don't bother." You looked at the blue android girl, Nebula.

"I can tell you where Thanos is." She revealed. The humans glanced at each other before gathering in the office to hear what she had to say. You leaned against the doorway, semi interested.

"Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me. When he worked he talked about his great plan. Even disassembled I wanted to please him.. I'd ask where we would go once his plan was complete. His answer was always the same." Nebula turned her head to look at everyone. "To the garden."

"That's cute. Thanos has a retirement plan." Rhodes mumbled as Rocket climbed onto the table, making a hologram of Earth appear.

"When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for ridiculously high cosmic proportions. Nobody's ever seen anything like it." Rocket said, making the hologram change to a different planet.

"Until two days ago on this planet." Rocket motioned to the planet shown. Nebula nodded, leaning forward.

"He used the stones again." Natasha whispered. Everyones attention shifted onto the planet.

"You can count me out. I have a therapy session soon." You called, turning around and walking down the steps.

"You go to therapy?" Rhodes asked, brows furrowing as he turned to face you.

"Yeah, it's called napping."

~~~~~~~~~~

You entered the house, taking in a deep breath. Neither you or Clint dared clean up the place. Everything was left exactly how it had been left after Thanos snapped his fingers. You entered the livingroom, gaze landing on the metal on the ground. You sighed softly, picking up the monitor. Clint had broken it. Clint not following the rules of his house arrest was probably the least of the governments problems. You tossed it onto the couch, walking to the kitchen and opening the fridge.

"Beer, beer, beer, leftovers, beer." You mumbled as you sorted through the fridge. You shut the fridge, looking at the drawings and pictures pinned to it with magnets. You swallowed, leaving the kitchen. You stepped over the Legos on the ground, going to the front door. You watched as Clint drew an arrow, shooting it at a target in the distance. All Clint did was practice. Probably to get his mind off things.

"Should I head into town for food?" You called out. Clint stayed silent so you took it as a no. You took out your phone, looking at the contact.

Sarah Wilson

You watched it ring, guilt creeping into your heart. You sighed, licking your lips and answering.

"Hello?"

"Oh, thank god! I've been trying to reach you for the past few weeks. I haven't heard anything yet about Sam and the others. How is Sam? Is he with you?"

"Sam.." You started, biting down on your lip as you shut your eyes. You let out a heavy sigh, taking a seat on the stairs.

"I should explain everything in person, Sarah. I'm not gonna make you wait until I get to Louisiana. Sam.. He, uh.. He didn't make it. I'm s-sorry." You sniffled, hearing a soft gasp leave Sarah.

"Oh, God.." She whispered.

"I-I'll stop by. I tell you everything but.. Sam.. Sam was a hero until the end." You said softly, hearing the kids in the background. You were relieved she wasn't completely alone.

"C-Could you just stay with me on the phone?" Sarah asked softly.

"Yeah, of course." You replied, answering her softly cry.

"What the hell am I gonna do now? Half the folks in town are gone and.." Sarah sniffled. You listened to her soft sniffles and sobs, sighing softly.

"I'm not gonna leave you, Sarah. Sam would have my head if I did." You smiled softly, hearing her chuckle.

"Thank you."

[drosera-nepenthes]

A Royal Recluse: Princess Clotilde

Just at the time when, in consequence of the weakness and folly of the republican government, certain French Monarchists are looking to Prince Victor Napoleon Bonaparte as the possible savior of their country, the Prince, whose marriage to Princess Clementina of Belgium recently brought him before the public, was watching by the deathbed of his mother, Princess Clotilde of Savoy, who breathed her last on June 25. The story of this royal lady is a pathetic one and, apart from the interest that is attached to her as the mother of the imperial candidate to the French throne, her personal character was one of rare beauty.

She was the daughter of Victor Emmanuel II, first King of Italy, and of Adelaide, Archduchess of Austria, and was born at Turin on March 2, 1843. Her mother died in 1855, leaving five young children, of whom Clotilde was the eldest, the others being Humbert, the future King of Italy ; Amadeo, Duke of Aosta ; Maria Pia, the queen dowager of Portugal, and a son who died in childhood. The Queen of Sardinia (Victor Emmanuel had not at that time laid violent hands on the independent states of Italy) was an exemplary wife and mother, and her orphan daughters were carefully educated by the attendants whom she had placed about them.

Never was a princess more ruthlessly sacrificed to political interests than the eldest princess of Savoy. When a mere child of sixteen, Clotilde was chosen to cement the alliance between France and Sardinia, and was promised in marriage to Prince Napoleon Jerome, nephew of Napoleon I and first cousin Napoleon III, the reigning sovereign. Princess Clotilde was connected with the Bourbons, her very name was French and was given to her in memory of the French Princess Marie Clotilde, sister of Louis XVI, who married a King of Sardinia ; but allied as she was by close ties of blood to the Bourbons, she had nothing in common with the Bonapartes who occupied their place, and a more ill-assorted couple never existed than the middle-aged, violent, cynical and free-thinking Prince Napoleon and the daughter of the most ancient royal house in Europe, who traditions and surroundings were strictly conservative and religious. Their marriage took place at Turin on January 30, 1859. The bride was sixteen and the bridegroom thirty-seven. He had a handsome presence and was intelligent and well informed and well informed, but neither his private life nor his freely expressed opinions on public matters made him estimable or lovable. His attitude with regard to his cousin, the Emperor, was one of constant opposition, and it was reported that his anti-religious views led him to take part in the banquets organized by a group of free thinkers on Good Friday. Under the Second Empire the French Government was officially Catholic, and Prince Napoleon's hostile and aggressive attitude was pronounced ill-bred, if not worse. Throughout France he was distinctly unpopular.

The young bride, married to this unsympathetic nephew of the great Napoleon, probably had few illusions as to the sum of happiness that awaited her in her new home. There are still some old men living who remember her when she took possession of the Palais Royal, Prince Napoleon's Paris house.: a slight, pale girl, with fluffy, fair hair and bright eyes, not pretty but singularly attractive. Her high breeding stood her in good stead in the somewhat parvenu atmosphere of the Court of the Tuileries, she had a royal dignity all her own, and her simplicity of heart was combined with much quiet firmness. From the first she ordered her life according to the principles in which she had been educated. An early riser, even at the Palais Royal, she gave much time to prayer and to works of mercy, but her piety, says M. Emile Ollivier, a former minister of Napoleon II, “never made her tiresome or intolerant. She believed that the most useful sermon was the practice of the virtues that are taught by faith.” Her husband, although so widely apart from her, acknowledged her goodness. “Clotilde is a saint,” he sometimes said ; “if there were many like her, I believe I myself should end by becoming devout.”

When the disastrous war of 1870 brought terror and shame upon France, the Princess was in Paris. During that fatal month of August every day came news of a fresh defeat, and the revolution that was to break out on the 4th of September was already distinctly perceptible; the infuriated and terrified people made the imperial government responsible for the reverses that so keenly wounded their patriotic pride.

Princess Clotilde was alone at the Palais Royal ; her husband was with the army, her three children she sent to Switzerland, where Prince Napoleon had an estate; but she steadily refused to leave Paris while the Empress Eugénie remained at the Tuileries. There was not much personal sympathy between the two; it was Princess Clotilde's feeling of loyalty that chained her to the post danger as long as there was a semblance of imperial government in Paris.

In vain her husband wrote imperious messages bidding her join her children at Prangins; in vain her father sent the Marquis Spinela to Paris to escort her ; the Princess so yielding in everyday life, was unbending in her decision to remain at the palace as long as the lonely woman at the Tuileries was the nominal ruler of France ; she had shared the splendors of the Empire, and it went against her noble spirit to desert the Empress.

The letter this young woman, a stranger in a strange land, wrote to her father on August 25, 1870, has been quoted by the French papers. It is a right royal letter worthy of the daughter of kings:

“I am a French woman,” she says. “I cannot desert my country. When I married although so young, I knew what I was doing and if I did it, it was because I wished to do so. The interest of my husband, of my children and of my country require that I should remain here. The honor of my name, your honor, my dear father, and that of my country also demand it. Nothing will make me fail in what I believe to be my duty to the end... You know that the house of Savoy and fear have never gone together, and you would not wish that they should meet in my person.”

At last, when the Empress was driven from her palace by the mob, the Princess considered that she was free to follow, but how different was the departure of the two women!

The brilliant and beautiful sovereign, closely disguised, was only able to leave Paris owing to the assistance of her American dentist, Dr. Evans; her young cousin made her exit as a princess. In an open carriage, accompanied by her lady in waiting, she drove to the railway station in broad daylight. The excited people, awed by her courage and dignity, saluted her as she passed out of their sight, a truly royal and saintly figure.

Princess Clotilde lived for some years at Prangins, near Geneva, where she devoted herself to the education of her three children; then, when her husband was allowed to return to France, the difficulties of her married life were such that by mutual consent she retired to the Castle of Moncalieri, near Turin, with her young daughter. Here, in the home of her childhood, she spent nearly forty years. They were years of peace, largely marked by sorrow. Four times only did she emerge from her retreat, once in January 1878, when she heard that her father lay dangerously ill in Rome. She had suffered cruelly from the spoliation of the Holy See by the house of Savoy, and the remembrance of her father's part in the matter prompted her to fly to his bedside. On the way she heard that he was dead, and she sadly returned to Moncalieri. In 1891, she again started for Rome, this time to visit her husband, who lay dying at the Hotel de Russie. Those who saw the Princess during those solemn days can never forget her sweetness, earnestness and gentle patience. What passed between her and Prince Napoleon none can tell, but Cardinal Mermillod a frequent visitor to the sick room, professed himself satisfied, after two private interviews, that the dying man was fully conscious. The Princess, whose married life, it is well known, had been a via crucis, remained near him to the end, praying incessantly for the soul that probably owes its salvation to her intercession. Again in 1903 and in 1904, she left Moncalieri to visit her sister-in-law, Princess Mathilde Bonaparte, whose deathbed she attended.

Her life, as it neared the end became more and more that of a recluse. Her sons lived their own lives in Brussels and in Russia; her daughter, having married a Prince of Savoy, was near to her, and their visits, occasionally brought an element of joy into the silent castle. Last autumn, Prince Victor Napoleon's marriage to the Princess Clémentine of Belgium gladdened his mother's heart. It was celebrated at Moncalieri, and to those who attended the ceremony the most striking figure present was the slight, gray-haired lady, plainly dressed in black, whose eyes had the far-away look of those who are nearing the eternal shore. Even in the days of her youth Princess Clotilde's spirituality struck M. Emile Ollivier. It gave her, he says a singular insight into all questions that touch on right and wrong; she possessed the gifts of the true mystics, “who judge human affairs with a clearness and rectitude born of detachment.” Her chief link with the outer world during the long, silent years of old age was her love for the poor, to whom she gave royally, with a loving kindness that made her gifts more precious. Their grief was great when they heard of her death, and their prayers will follow her remains to the royal mausoleum of La Superga, near Turin, where the daughter of the Sardinian Kings sleeps with her ancestors.

America. United States, America Press, 1911.

[anothertimdrakestan]

Lovebirds Damian Wayne x Reader

Words: 2.8k

Requested? Yes! From a few lovely anons!

“So far i am loving your blog and went through like all of your writing🥰💖💖💖💗💞! I was wondering if you could do 'star sapphire corp reader' x damien please? Like them getting together” and “Could you please do sapphire lantern reader with your choice of the batboys meeting on a mission?”

LINK TO PROMPTS  -> REQUESTS ARE STILL OPEN!

I absolutely love the sapphire corps! Thank you for these adorable requests! Dami plus a lover actually in tune with their emotions- hell they’re powered off the emotions- is too funny and so adorable! Also we are going to pretend that Raven and Damian aren’t a thing even though I’m using the DCAU teen titans alrighty? Plus it gives me a chance to ship BBRAE YEAHHHH! Hope you enjoy!

I’m so sorry it’s long it’s my first fic back I was so excited haha

“Deep breaths and English you got this” you stared at yourself in the mirror of your makeshift room in titan’s tower. Being the youngest member of the star sapphire corps you were the one tasked with the trip to earth, it made sense, no one wanted to work with teenage earthly heroes but you. Finally, a chance to meet a being similar in age to you! No more old hymns about the power earthly love, you were about to experience it first hand. 

Your mentor had called in a favor and you had been escorted to earth by none other than the physical embodiment of flirtatiousness, Hal Jordan. The trip itself was tiring so upon a midnight arrival you retired to your room without meeting anyone. Now, you could hear a bustling of voices, there was so much emotion radiating it seemed slightly overwhelming, so you opted to wait for Hal to come pull you from your room. 

At the familiar knock you shook away your nerves and flexed your hands into fists, feelings your ring almost pushing you to go outside. “Howdy miss l/n! Ready to meet your new team?” You were greeted with the cheesy grin that had apparently wooed your mentor, but always prodded you. “Good morning Hal, temporary team remember?” you replied, letting your aura be picked up by your purple light. Hal coughed awkwardly, “we walk on earth newbie, not many float here” embarrassed, you touched back down, clearing your throat as you exited your quarters. 

As you made your way down the hallway shouting grew, but upon you entering the room went quiet. With a small smile wave you scanned the room, noticing a green boy who was burning a strange looking food, two other boys who had froze to look at you but stood at a large table that made a strange sound, and lastly a raven haired boy who was sharpening a- sword? At ten in the morning? On the couch. The green boy came up to you first, “hello! You must be y/n! I’m Gar, there’s Jaime, Vic, Robin, and Raven isn’t here but she’s also part of the team! Nice to meet’cha!” Trying to keep up with the names Gar started shouting “SHE’S HERE Y’ALL” apparently to summon a woman who looked like the leader, as she was much older. Following her was a younger girl in a purple cloak, you quite liked her look and vibes, though she felt quite closed off. 

After learning more about everyone at a team breakfast with strangely prepared food you were with the team getting suited up as your mission to travel to Celea, a planet whose environment was toxic to any being over 18, making it a “teen titan’s mission” as they called themselves. As some of the titan’s changed into their suits and prepped themselves for combat you bonded with Raven and Blue Beetle as you had all loaded onto the ship fairly easily. “So why do you have a powerless human on your team? Do you not worry for his safety?” you wondered as you watched Robin methodically pack all his gear. “Trust me, Robin could take all of us out if he wanted to, he’s earned his spot on the team from pure skill and being a little bit of a monster- OOMPH” Jaime was cut off by Raven nudging him. You couldn’t help wanting to hear Robin’s story, as you were like him too- powerless but highly trained and craving to do more. Luckily you had a couple hours of flight to get to know the mysterious boy. 

The ship was large, built for a league of heroes apparently. This meant the team had spread out but you had stayed in the piloting area to assure yourself the team was on the right trajectory, apparently Robin was as well. “You actually know where we’re going?” his voice shook you from your calculations. “Yes, I’ve visited Celea before, but never to fight it’s people” you mused, wondering how in just a few years since your visiting a toxic group of manipulative outlaws had attempted to stake their claim to the beautiful Celea. “TT, not much of a fighter?” Robin mused snarkily, his flitted down to the ring on your finger. “Y’know your team here thinks you’re pretty strong, but I’d wager you’d be easy work for me” you teased back, twisting your ring around your finger as Robin came closer to you. 

(TW FOR BLOOD)

Sitting next to you he began, “my abilities come from my skill, my wit, and my determination. I don’t believe you can say the same princess” you scoffed, “you underestimate me Robin, this ring is nothing without me, not the other way around. Powered from my emotional control and my creativity, my skill takes focus and agility not just glorified muscle memory” you winked at him, enjoying the banter. He scoffed in return. “Yes and what can you do with that ring that I cannot defeat with my blades” he mused. This invitation was perfect. You got up jubilantly, started your lecture. “Clearly you lack certain knowledge Robin, hand me one of your so called blades” you stuck your hand out as Robin rolled his eyes handing you a bat-shaped blade. Without a second thought you cut into the side of your arm, wincing at the pain. “Y/N! What are you doin-” you cut Robin off, beginning to channel your power. “You see, true power is the ability to heal any cut your blades could make, to take was has happened and turn it into a place of love, not malice or hate” as you said this, the familiar purple tone washed over your arm, easily mending the break in your skin. You noticed it felt faster than usual, but wiped it off as adrenaline. 

(TW OVER)

At the display of your powers Robin was in awe. “That’s not all I can do” you laughed, creating a small purple hand that pushed Robin’s open jaw closed. He stumbled back angrily, mumbling about accepting your abilities merit. “You impressed now Robin?” you grinned, sticking out your hand to him. He closed the distance, returning your handshake. “Damian.” he said softly. You swallowed, Damian. It was becoming. Your ring began to warmly glow, Damian snapped his hand away wearily as you cooled your emotions. “Oh uh! Sorry, energy burst” you said, it was a half truth at least. Damian nodded, moving to go clean the batarang. 

The rest of the trip was short, upon entering Celea you’d divided, Damian was with you as the both of you entered publicly while Beast Boy and Raven entered covertly, planning to cover you if the diplomatic endeavors went south. Blue Beetle and Cyborg, unfortunately, weren’t allowed in Celea as their tech was apparently very old and triggered the planet’s defense system, so they stayed up in the ship was manning comms, prepared for an air fight. 

Upon entering you were taken straight to the capital, a sapphire corps was a rarity on Celea and they were all excited for your help. You and Damian met the governing leaders, explaining that you were here to help end the tyranny on the dark side of the planet. As you had hoped, they agreed, you could feel their love for their planet was strong, but that was about all the love on the planet as everyone was so young. It felt slightly difficult to keep a reign on your emotions on Celea, the planet itself was a safe haven for children, almost like a giant orphanage ran by beings that reincarnated frequently as to stay alive on the planet, the concept of pure love was foreign to many of the children and unharnessable. It all felt quite isolating in comparison to earth, a planet driven by intense emotions. 

“You look tired already” Damian mused. “I’m fine, just not a huge fan of a child-only planet” you responded as you made your way towards the large base, preparing yourself for a fight. Before Damian could respond you were joined by Raven and Gar. Their presence eased some of the pressure. “You guys love each other, it’s refreshing” you said, both of them froze, staring at you. “Oh uh, we haven’t really talked about that yet” Raven whispered, staring at Gar who was grinning like a child in a candy shop. “I love you too Rae!” he cheered. “Not how I imagined I’d say it but, yes, I do love you idiot” she huffed. Your cheeks flushed, “oh uh, my bad sorry, it just, seemed so obvious” you giggled, secretly glad you’d brought the two together. 

“Just a couple’a couples!” Beast boy teased, you felt your cheeks redden, glancing to Damian who was now suddenly interested in looking anywhere but at you. You felt your ring begin to glow again, covering it with your other hand. “Oh wow! Look at that! We’re here! Battle time!” you cleared your throat, setting the group focus on infiltrating the rogue base. 

The base itself was relatively small, it hadn’t been flushed out yet but the four of you were here to clear it before they had the chance. Trying to establish a child trafficking ring on a planet of only children was disgusting, and needed stopping before it got the chance. You were especially passionate about this endeavor, the reason for you channeling the power of love was when you lost your sister, that loss of love taught you it’s importance even at a young age, and after training harder than anyone you knew you earned the ring, promising to defend love the way no one defended yours. You would protect these children at any cost. 

There was no need for stealth as you had the permission of the Celean government, it was more of an ambush. As Gar shifted into a large tiger, Raven donned her hood, and Damian stripped himself of the Celean garb, you noticed his Robin suit, littered in weapons and ties, he looked like a hero. There was that damn glow again. Channeling it into your focus you felt the warm aura surround you as you lifted off the ground, ready for a fight. 

“Y/n should say it!” BB roared, Raven nodded in agreement. “Say what?” you looked at Damian. “We have this tradition where the leader says ‘Titan’s Go’ then we fight, and I guess you’re our leader today” he said, you noticed the light tint hiding beneath his mask. “Okay!” you said, positioning yourself, flexing your hand to feel your ring one last time before shouting.

“TITANS GO!” 

And you were off, soaring through the air while BB and Robin took the ground. You noticed a few scared looking kids were being held in pens, and you decided to free them first. As Raven covered you easily, you floated down to the kids, accidentally bonking heads with Robin who stared at you. “I’m so sorry! It’s just we always have to-” “Get the kids out first” he finished your sentence, a small smile dancing at the corner of his mouth. For just a fraction of a second, your eyes flitted down to his lips, feeling his gaze of you the moment felt like slow motion before you both snapped out. “Let’s go! This way!” you used your ring to break the gates as Robin herded the kids out to freedom. 

Glancing up you saw a couple rogues grabbing kids as they tried to run away, your heart stopped when you saw one pull out a laser blaster. “Enough!” you screamed, violet rays exploding from your hands as you easily knocked them out of your way. Leaving your post you flew up and began eradicating anyone who tried to harm a child. “No one hurts my sister!” you screeched, your powers growing stronger by the second as you began dividing your powers between knocking out bad guys and literally carrying children to safety. As the last of the kids were safe you escorted Beast Boy out while you and Raven combined your powers to crunch up the base, making it unfixable and uninhabitable forever. 

Feeling the adrenaline subside you glanced down to see a herd of children cheering, but your focus drew to Damian who was propped up against a barrel, nursing a laser bullet wound. Rushing to his side you quickly pulled open his suit, a trail of blood trickled into your hands. “Damn kevlar doesn’t stop their bullets apparently” he coughed. “Oh my god Damian don’t go” Gar shifted next to you. “He’s not going anywhere” you said, focussing your energy, feeling the pain and imagining turning the warmth of blood into mending, the pools of blood are just pockets of blissful love. 

This wasn’t a good time to tell the team you’d never healed a wound this large before. Positive self talk right? Or negative. 

I’m alone on a planet of useless children, surrounded by a glorified furry, goth, and stocked vigilante. No one is here to help you y/n you’ve gotta do this. You felt the wounds begin to mend, after all that focus you’d barely started. Damian you idiot! If you die right now how will I know why my damn ring is gleaming everytime I see your cute face. Fuck. I didn’t mean cute. Yeah I did. Okay, save the cute face. Maybe kiss the cute face if you save it? Yeah. That’s a good deal y/n let’s do that. Your head was rushing through a million thoughts, anything to motivate you to do the impossible. Halfway there, you could feel it. “Holy cow, look! The wound is closing!” Gar pointed at Damian’s chest. “Y-yeah. No help from you green bean” you mumbled. “Oh I know what’ll help!” Gar squeaked, running off. You turned to Damian who was just staring at you bewildered. “Don’t look at me like that when I’m literally repairing your organs bird boy” you whispered through clenched teeth. 

Then a surge of power came over you, it felt raw and unchanneled, you glanced up to see Gar mid-kiss with Raven, giving you a thumbs up. The love was short lived, but enough to keep your engine revving. Alright girl you got this, heal, then kiss, maybe. Definitely heal first. He has to live. C’mon. “JUST LIVE DAMMIT” you shouted the last bit, feeling the last of your power drain while the wound completely closed. “Holy shit I’m a badass” you whispered, before feeling intensely light headed. 

You woke up in the ship med bay, jolting up. “HE LIVED HE LIVED” you burst up, throwing a fist in the air. The other corps members would be so proud! Your first battle with death you’d won! “You’re right I did live, thanks to you” a familiar voice brought you back down to earth. Next to your bed was Damian, now in casual clothes with a little bandaging on his other wounds. “Oh! uh yeah, you’re totally welcome” you grinned. Awkwardly Damian scooted closer to you. “I think I owe you a certain gratitude” he said, emotions dripping in his voice you hadn’t heard before. 

This time his eyes snapped down to your lips, as he leaned in you felt like you were dreaming. When your lips connected you couldn’t help but smile into the kiss, feeling lightheaded with pure joy. The kiss itself was soft, blissful and lovely. Damian’s lips felt soft against yours, like they fit with yours like a puzzle piece. Pulling away you stared at him shocked. “I could hear your thoughts when you were healing me, had to live up to your expectations” he winked while you covered your face with embarrassment. “Oh my gosh that’s so embarrassing yikes” you mumbled into your hands. You felt Damian’s hand slide under yours, caressing your cheek, drawing your eyes to his. “I thought it was pretty endearing personally, I suppose it’s because I was being saved by the most gorgeous, fascinating girl I know” he mused, before bringing you in for another kiss, this time more passionate, as if to show his feelings through a kiss instead of words. 

You spent the rest of your earthly get-away with the Titans, finding a sort of family with them. When you were called back to your people you promised to return in a few weeks, hoping to move your station to earth. They could always use another lantern right? 

When you returned to your mentor, C.Ferris you told her of your earthly adventures. She laughed, “a Star Sapphire’s greatest strength and weakness all wrapped into a snarky earth boy body” and you couldn’t help but agree. And with that, you were sent back to earth, this time returning as Dove, because every Robin needs a lovebird to help them along the way. 

[thisisgodsland]

11 Days Left: My Senate Slate

Photo retrieved from Philippine Star

While undoubtedly the bigger battle here is still the Presidential race, we must also give huge thought to the 12 people we are going to give senate seats to.

In the Philippines, it seems there is a celebrity-to-public office pipeline. Everyone knows that Robin Padilla (who plays a bald-headed senator in a biopic) and Raffy Tulfo are running for Senate, but did you know that famed comedian Herbert Bautista from the hit movies Captain Barbell and Shake, Rattle, and Roll is running as well? Karla Estrada, the mother of Daniel Padilla, is running under the party list that voted against the renewal of ABS-CBN. Nora Aunor miraculously has a party list named after her and Richard Yap vows to be just as careful with his Cebu City congressional seat as he is with his heart. 

Our Presidential race even has its own set of former bold stars and welterweight champions. While this isn’t uniquely Filipino (see Donald Trump), it doesn’t mean that it will do us any good. Our government is already ridden with corruption, abuse of power, and political dynasties. Hell, if things go according to plan, our upcoming Senate slate will have two parent-child tandems (the Villars and the Binays) as well as two sibling tandems (the Cayetanos and the Estradas). Even the sister of one of the presidentiables is in Congress right now, after the Filipino people drove their dictator father and mother out of the country in 1975. 

Mind you, these people aren’t only lawmakers. They also approve Presidential demands (refer to how they extended both recent Martial Laws in the Philippines) and perform checks and balances on the President. Or, at least, they’re supposed to. If the sister of a presidentiable as well as his handful of cronies gets elected into these seats, don’t you think it will reek of bias and unfairness?

We don’t need celebrities in this stinky pot anymore.

These people are treating the government as their retirement plan. The Filipino people as their cash cows. We must recognize that whoever sits in the Senate is in charge of the laws that we have to follow. We need people who aren’t different from us. We need those who represent us.

That being said, here is my Senate slate:

1. Risa Hontiveros for representing women and fighting for the LGBTQ community 

2. Chel Diokno for his unending service to protect human rights, eliminate corruption, and support workers 

3. Neri Colmenares for his long-recorded human rights activism and his criticism on Duterte’s bloody “War on Drugs” 

4. Leila de Lima for her critical lens against Duterte’s executions from 2009 up to now, before everyone even knew (Note: Hours before posting this, Kerwin Espinosa, who testified against de Lima in 2016, has retracted all of her statements against her, noting that he was being coerced and threatened by the police.) 

5. Luke Espiritu for his fight for labor rights and anti-capitalist government approach 

6. Teddy Baguilat for representing the indigenous people community 

7. Carmen Zubiaga for representing persons with disabilities 8. Sonny Matula for advocating for labor rights and seeking an end to contractualization 

9. Roy Cabonegro for his environmentalist approach to government, society, and economics 

10. Elmer Labog for his 15 years of experience as a human rights activist and labor leader 

(Update 1: I just found out Carl Balita is a Marcos apologist. He made a poem to commemorate them in 2016 and refused to reveal his take on Martial Law in 2022. I will update the list once I find a substitute for him.)

(Update 2: Alex Lacson has been removed from my list. He is anti-LGBTQ and anti-divorce.)

Feel free to educate me or criticize me on my slate. I’m still open to changes even with 11 days left.

You know what’s funny about being a voter? This whole thing is a gamble. I don’t know if any of my bets even have a fighting chance to get a slot in that office. Even if they win, I have no idea if they’ll do their job the way I think they will. Yet, this is a gamble I’m willing to take because it’s a gamble for my future. I’ve chosen a slate of experts in their respective fields, not just people who know what they are doing, but people who know that what they are doing is right.

These people will decide my future. If this slate goes uncontested by May 9, they’ve earned my vote.

Check out the full roster here https://votepilipinas.com/candidates-senator.html

[dragon-swords-prophecies]

Frost & Fire: Excerpt!

I may be inconsistent, but I am doing this again!

So here's a bit from chapter 18, in which Enna is talking to her father (Read: Getting annoyed at) and then goes to visit her sister and gets dragged into helping her with paperwork.

WORD COUNT: 1140 TAGLIST: @golden-eyed-writer @writing-is-a-martial-art @livvywrites @magic-is-something-we-create @gr3y-heron @ihaveneverhadaclue @void-fireworks CW/TW: Swearing, references to death, references to stabbing

~~~~~~

Cessari said, “Enna, what do you mean?”

“I mean that we have to use Anne’s contacts! She knows people, Dad, and those people are damn useful. Howlers, especially. They’re mostly legal, and they work with the watch of Hythe, not against them!”

“Mostly legal?” Asked Cessari.

Enna sighed. “Fine. like 74% legal. But that’s more legal than us!”

“Enna, that is very concerning.”

“Not really, especially since the government of Bryn is way less legal than that, it’s like 55%. Maybe less, that was 20 years ago.”

“Yes, but the legalities of Bryn and its politics aside, what do you mean by 'us' being mostly legal?"

"Dad, your other daughter runs a thieves guild and I've killed more things than the number of years I've been alive. Your son taught me 23 ways to stab someone non-fatally and 19 ways to stab someone fatally, with a dagger, not even can counting the ways to shoot someone with an arrow in both categories. None of us are much concerned with legal matters, I didn't even care about them that much beyond not getting caught and jailed until you became Baron and shit and even now, the most legal thing I have done since I turned 12 was sell a bakery!"

"That's… that's the most legal thing?!"

"Yes, I think so."

"Well then. I guess you can do it, but please don't advertise this to the nobles. They hate the fact that Anne and you are what you are."

"You mean criminals?"

"Yes."

"Then just say it, father. You don't have to honey coat it. I'm a grown adult, I'm 97 years old. And I don't need you, or anyone, to honey coat it."

"Fine. Then just do it, but don't say I gave you permission," growled Cessari.

"Good." Enna stormed off, flipping open the hatch and attempting to slam it behind her, but the padding on its edges greatly negated that effect. She fumed as she walked back or the first exit outside of the castle walls, and she found herself walking past that one and plunking herself down in the chair in front of the desk in Anne's- underground- office to wait for her sister.

Seven minutes later, Anne showed up, grumbling about the armful of paperwork she had to one of her two- technically three, including Enna, who was semi unofficial- Lieutenants, a vertically challenged human of approximately four and a half decades. They shut the door behind him and Anne with a foot, and turned around to say to Anne, who was locking the door with her free hand, "Uh, ma'am, your sister is here."

"Gray, you know you don't have to call me- Wait, En's here?" Asked Anne, half turning.

"Hi," Said Enna, twisting her head around to wave.

Anne's Lieutenant waved back, shifting their own bundle of paper work to their left arm.

"Why're you here?"

"Enh. Wanted to see if you needed help," Lied Enna. She was a pretty good liar, and Anne didn't always know when she was lying.

And for once Anne didn't pick up on it, or if she did she didn't acknowledge it, as she said, "I mean, if you don't mind helping us review spending ledgers for inconsistencies, you can help. Otherwise you're welcome to stay, a third set of eyes might be useful."

"Especially since My eyes aren't what they used to be," Added the Lieutenant. Enna remembered his name now. Alexi Gray, former First Mate on a smuggler's sloop called Mallard before they retired after an almost mutiny about three months after the war ended.

Enna rose, and dragged a chair over from the corner for her to sit in as she let Alexi take her place.

Anne sat on the other side of the desk, placed her stack of paperwork on the floor and moved several other stacks of paperwork, three books, and several postcards and letters along with assorted odds and ends before revealing the wood underneath. Most of that stuff went on the already overcrowded bookshelf or to the extra table in the corner of the office, which was piled high with assorted items and papers.

Anne was not the tidiest person in the world. She was, in fact, one of the messier persons this side of the Oskgard Mountains, at least in terms of office organization. Her bedroom and apartment were actually fairly clean, considering the state of her office.

But back to the mission at hand.

Enna took a third of the papers, most of which were taken from Anne's pile as hers was larger. Anne rummaged around in a drawer for some pencils and pens, while Enna produced some slightly stale pretzels of the kind you get as snacks on road trips and passed them around, declaring, "Snacks."

Alexi grabbed a pack, opened them, but into one and grimaced.

"No offense Marie, but these are very stale."

"Not just slightly stale?" Asked Enna, grabbing her own, eating it, then her face contorting into an expression of dismay and disgust. Marie was her middle name.

"Point taken. I am truly sorry, Gray."

She threw hers into the trash can- they were basically inedible at this point- and swept the other bags into her bag of holding that she carried at all times.

She stuck her head into it after expanding the opening just wide enough for her head and then pulled it back out, hair a mess.

"So, no more snacks. Well I have a couple scones but I wouldn't eat them, last time I made those particular scones was like ten years ago, so they probably aren't edible either."

"Give 'em to Val?"

"Nah, she got most of that batch. She's the one who I made them for."

"Oh. Well, I found some pencils."

"Good."

Anne dumped a three stubby pencils on the desk's top and then picked them up again and handed on to each person before turning to her sister.

"Alright, Enna. Gray, you alright know what to do, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Enna, what we're doing is double checking for any inconsistencies in the tables, but you're going to check these-" Anne traded Enna's stack of papers for another one- "and make sure that no one's died, no one's missing, and then mark down their last known location, along with their status. Got it?"

"Last know location, status, not dead. Yep, I got it."

"Lovely."

Enna was grateful for the distraction. They worked quietly, with Anne and Gray comparing figures occasionally and Anne sighing sometimes.

Enna worked quietly too, happy to not be doing math and also happy to be confirming that people that mattered to her by their association with Anne were alive.

And when she got to the third page, a name that had 'retired' marked next to it, in status it read deceased. A name she knew.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios University

Emilia Rivales stood in her home after months away, shocked at what she was seeing.

“What the hell is this?” she shouted. “This should have been done weeks ago!”

Her house was in ruins with chairs and beds shoved together, walls knocked down, and drywall exposed. She and Yvette had just returned from their cruise, relaxed and recharged, only to come home to a disaster.

“The outside renovation looks finished, but nothing is done inside!” Emilia was trying to remain calm, but she had hired contractors to work specifically while she was gone so that she and Yvette could spend their retirement in a move in ready dream house, not this mess.

“Oh yeah, the contractors ran into some problems, which are delaying things. Something about water damage?” Emilia turned around to see her husband’s little sister, Ginevra trying to fix her mascara in a mirror. Her presence was yet another surprise.

“What are you doing here Ginevra?” she demanded angrily. “Why are you in my house at this hour? Why are you here at all?”

Ginevra shrugged, and continued trying to apply her makeup.

“Well, I don’t have a ton of gigs these days, and my latest album isn’t selling, and I remembered Gio promising me a place to stay if I ever needed one...so here I am.”

Emilia’s head was starting to ache from the stress. Of course her dear Giovanni had promised his sister a place to stay. He had always been kind, and worried about her. Emilia had always seen her for what she was though. Ginevra hadn’t even come to her brother’s funeral.

“While I’m sure that he would want you to stay temporarily here, clearly this house isn’t livable at the moment,” Emilia said sweetly. “You should find somewhere else to stay while the house is still being worked on.”

Ginevra shrugged again, just as impassively as before.

“It has a functioning bathroom and stove, I’m okay here.”

Emilia was just about to ask Yvette to draw up a legal notice about squatting in people’s houses when the doorbell rang.

Emilia excused herself from her sister in law, and left to go answer the door. It was nearing ten, who would be out at her door at this time?

To her extreme disappointment, it was her son Fabio and his family, including his cat.

“Can I help you?”

“Mom! You’re home! We saw the shuttle drop you off and wanted to say hello.”

Emilia rolled her eyes. Fabio never just stopped by, he always wanted something from her. Before she left, it had been money to buy the twins new shoes for school. He was their parent, that was his job to provide for his children, but like the sucker she was, she had still given him the money. After Kaeileen’s death, she only had the twins left for grandchildren. Maybe Jolanda might have a surprise kid sometime soon, but even if she or Pia had kids, Emilia didn’t know if she’d be around to enjoy them. Giovanni had died so suddenly, and without warning. She remained determined to love the grandkids she already had, even if their parents were intolerable.

“What do you really want?” she asked, feeling her headache worsen with every passing second.

“Well, now it’s not my fault, but Wanda’s kicking us out of our house at the end of the month and we need a place to stay,” Fabio said quickly. “We’d only stay until we found somewhere else to live.” “Why is Wanda kicking you out of your home? She’s president, not Jacob of Yacothia.”

Fabio looked sheepishly at his mother.

“Um, yeah about that...neither Alex or I have ownership of the house. It’s in Cain’s name, and he’s not technically dead. Even if he were dead, apparently Alex isn’t in his will as heir. Soooo, Wanda’s reclaiming the house as government property.Your grandchildren are going to be homeless because of that witch.”

Well, it looks like Wanda’s getting my vote next election. Does my idiot son really think he can steal a house when the real estate market in Arkhelios is already insane?

“My grandchildren will never be homeless,” Emilia said finally. “I’ll take them in until you two can get back on your feet. They need a stable environment to grow up in, which you can’t provide. All of the rooms are under construction still, so I can’t offer you a place to stay unfortunately. You could certainly rent an apartment.”

Alex and Fabio looked relieved. They weren’t getting a free place to stay with all their meals included like they’d hoped, but pawning off the twins for an undetermined amount of time was still amazing.

Just when Emilia didn’t think her family could sink any lower, Alex and Ginevra started up a very flirty conversation, right in front of everyone. They had a history with each other that Emilia and Giovanni had been convinced was in the past, but evidently not.

Cain ran to his grandmother and hugged her tightly.

“Thanks for saving us, Grandma,” he whispered. “I knew you would.”

Well, that was heartbreaking to hear. If only Giovanni were still there with her, he’d surely have harsh words for their son.

Yvette had graciously invited Emilia and the twins (and their cat, Boo) to stay with her family until the renovations were completed. Jolanda was staying with a potential love interest, and Pia was at university, so that took care of the rest of the house’s inhabitants. Yvette had given Fabio, Alex and Ginevra the name of a good apartment that been built recently to check out.

Before she left though, Emilia peeked down a familiar hallway, making sure that it hadn’t been disturbed in the renovation. There were no plans to change anything in that hall, she had made sure of that, and it looked like Ginevra hadn’t accidentally stumbled on anything important. Good. There were places in this house that held secrets that even Yvette wouldn’t forgive her for if they ever came out.

[hufflepuffhermione]

I’m on a Dad Josh kick - let’s go with 37. “Welcome to fatherhood.” if you feel like it? Thank you!

More fluffy future fic for you, because I also cannot get enough of Dad Josh.

Thanksgiving 2010

Josh closes the door behind him, pausing for a brief minute to ensure there’s no crying. He’s finally managed to get Noah down for a nap in the Pack’N’Play they’ve set up in what used to be Liz’s bedroom. He had refused to go down that morning for a pre-Thanksgiving nap, but by the time Abbey was starting to clear away the plates, it was clear that he was not going to last much longer.

That didn’t mean he went down without a fight, however.

Josh takes a deep breath when he puts his ear to the door one last time and hears silence. At all of seventeen months, Noah has definitely inherited his father’s stubborn streak. But if he’s down, he’ll get a good two hours of sleep and then they’ll have to fight him to step again that night.

Such are the joys of having a toddler. He wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Still, Josh thought he knew exhaustion. He’d certainly had his share of sleepless nights and had kept going for years on the few hours of sleep he could manage to snatch. But fatherhood is a different kind of tiring, and he isn’t as young as he used to be. He hasn’t slept through a whole night in three weeks.

That isn’t Noah’s fault, though. That’s the fault of the little bundle currently in the arms of the former President of the United States.

“She’s a good sleeper, this one,” Jed says, looking up at Josh as he enters the living room. Donna and Abbey and Zoey are all in the kitchen, and Charlie is somewhere with their six-month old, also trying to induce a nap.

Josh chuckles and takes a seat on the couch next to Jed. “Only during the day. At night, she’s wide awake for every feeding and hates to go back down again.”

“Welcome to fatherhood. Still, a nicer reason for sleepless nights than being stuck in the situation room, huh?”

“Infinitesimally better,” Josh replies, reaching out to stroke his daughter’s light hair. He hopes she’ll look just like Donna.

Jed smirks. “You do know, Josh, that while the word ‘infinite’ refers to a limitless amount, the word ‘infinitesimal’ actually indicates a very small number, so what you’re telling me is that it’s only barely better to wake up to your daughter crying than to troop movements in Kazakhstan?”

“See, sir, I don’t dread going into the Oval Office anymore because I know President Santos won’t lecture me on vocabulary.”

“Nonsense, you miss me in there,” Jed scoffs. “Will I ever convince you to call me Jed, though?

“Not a chance.”

His face softens as he asks the question he’s been waiting to ask this whole time. “You’re really stepping down at the end of the term?”

Josh bites his lip and nods. “Yes.”

“Why?”

He clears his throat. “Um… quite a few reasons. You know as well as anybody that working in the White House can burn you out, and very rarely does a Chief of Staff last longer than a term. Leo was unique.” It still makes his heart clench to think about Leo, and it’s not lost on him that the length of Leo’s tenure was not disconnected from his death. “And I’ve been in there for almost twelve years, give or take a few. I love the work, and I know it’s the most important work I’ll ever do, but… there are more important things in my life now.” He looks down to smile at his daughter. “And several doctors, including your wife, have told me I’d benefit from a lower-stress lifestyle. I want to be around to see my kids grow up, sir, and there are some potential obstacles to that but I’m doing all that I can to stay healthy and be around for them.”

“Those are all excellent reasons, Josh.”

“Do you know, it’s interesting, this summer when I was debating whether or not I’d stay on if we got another term… something you said came to me.”

Jed nods. “What did I say?”

“It was during the whole debacle with the Surgeon General, and Ellie made a comment to a reporter, and you didn’t fire the Surgeon General because of it and…” Josh shakes his head and smiles. “I didn’t think it was the right move, because it would look like you did it because Ellie wanted you to.”

“And what did I tell you?”

“That when I had a daughter, I’d discover there are worse reasons in the world to do something.” Josh lets himself chuckle. “When Donna and I found we were having a daughter, well… that’s the moment I knew that even if we won, I wasn’t going to go back for a second term.”

Jed looks down at the infant in his arms, who has just opened her eyes. “I think she appreciates that,” he says. His arms are starting to feel weak—while the reduced stress has certainly kept his health in check, he’s still prone to weakness—and so he shifts the baby into Josh’s arms. “I’ve kept her away from you long enough.”

“She’s named after you, you know.”

“Josie?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Josh says. He meets his daughter’s bright blue eyes and can’t chase the feeling of being mesmerized.

“I had my suspicions.”

“Well, Donna’s father is Joseph, so it’s partially for him. And for Josiah, of course. And it sounds a little like Joanie—my sister,” his voice tightens imperceptibly, “but it’s still something all her own.”

Jed reaches out to put a hand on Josh’s arm. “It’s lovely.”

“I can’t get enough of her. I mean, I felt the same with Noah, but I wasn’t sure with the second if I would… but it really doesn’t go away,” Josh whispers reverently as Josie closes her eyes again. “I want to be here for all her moments. I missed Noah’s first steps because I was in the situation room. I don’t want to… I mean, I know they won’t remember it, but I will, and now that Noah is going to start remembering things… I want to be a part of his life. I want to be a part of Josie’s life. I don’t want to be absent because I’m too busy with work.”

“Admirable. What next for you, then? I find it hard to imagine you tolerating unemployment well.”

Josh shakes his head. “No, I don’t do boredom. I’ve got a couple offers from universities—I might teach a few courses at Georgetown—and I could always do consulting. And I may have reached the peak of my career, but Donna certainly hasn’t hit hers. I’ve got big plans for her. When Haake out in the Wisconsin 2nd retires, which is still a little ways off but he’s in his seventies and I know he’s starting to think about it, I want her to run for his seat.”

“Donna in Congress? Well that’s an idea. You’d move to Wisconsin?”

“Part-time, probably. I could consult from anywhere and frankly, make a lot more money doing that than drawing a government salary. But I don’t imagine we’ll ever fully leave DC.” He lets out a sigh. “But Haake’s got another three or four terms left in him, so we’ve got a while before that happens. For now, she’s staying on with Mrs. Santos but I know the President is hoping to poach her and bring her to the West Wing.” He looks down at Josie and chuckles again. “Your mama’s really quite in demand, isn’t she?”

Jed loves the scene in front of him; while years ago he might not have been able to imagine Josh as a father, now he can’t imagine the younger man as anything but. “You’re really at peace with leaving. I never thought you’d get out of politics willingly—I figured they’d have to drag you out by your ankles.”

“I’m not getting out of politics, just… taking a backseat,” Josh says. “I’ve got other plans, too; there’s a Senate seat in California opening up in the midterms and I want it to be Sam’s.” He quiets, blinking reflectively. “How do you do it, sir? Leave the White House?”

Jed pats Josh’s knee and stands up slowly. “As long as you keep calling me sir, I feel like I never left,” he jokes. “You see the bigger picture. Realize there’s more to life.”

Josh leans into the back of the couch and shifts Josie so that she’s on his chest and shoulder. “You couldn’t have convinced me of that five years ago, but…there certainly is.”

“I’m proud of you, Josh,” Jed says, and Josh doesn’t think he’s ever received a better compliment. “Now, I think we’ve gone too long without bothering our wives, and I’ve found some room within me to consume some pie.”

Josh leans his head back and smiles. “I’ll join you in a minute.”

He closes his eyes, enjoying the feeling of his daughter resting on his chest, and lets his breaths align with hers, until Donna comes into the living room to announce dessert and finds her husband and daughter asleep in the living room.

“Fatherhood takes it out of you, doesn’t it?” she says softly to wake him.

He opens his eyes and sits up, smiling. “Never a more worthwhile endeavor.”