#it fucked up the order sorry

[taffywabbit]

i have lots of flaws but i do at least take a fair amount of comfort knowing that, if i were a customer NPC in a fast food/retail management game, i would be one of the chill early-level ones that can wait a super long time before they start getting impatient, and you breathe a sigh of a relief when you see them show up in a harder level

[spaceistheplaceart]

the Knight of Chaos saving the Princess of Order...

Marina's daydreams about being rescued by Pearl are so cute, I had to draw something about it :)

Bonus Designs:

(Pls Reblog! and also pls use they/them for my agent 8 thx)

[xulips]

true friends shares the same tastes in yuri

an&toya yaoi (aka pt 2)

extras

[triglycercule]

horror being very specific with table manners and he berates people (dust and killer) for eating like fucking pigs

i think it'd be morbidly funny that because there was no food in horrortale but the cutlery and stuff was all there that maybe he would pretend to eat with no food on the plate. it was in a satirical way that he would joke maybe around horror paps or alone where he would pretend to eat and have really good table manners but then the satire joke became REAL and now horror is incredibly specific about how to eat food

you MUST hold the fork in the left and knife in right says horror. no killer you can't duel wield the fucking knives this is a table not a slaughterhouse. dust pick up your elbows off the table. actually how about you get your entire upper body off the table tf why are you SLEEPING ON THE FOOD??? killer's sitting fetal position in the chair because of course he wouldn't sit normally like the idiot he is. dust is forced to put his hood down and reveal his face no more mysterious shadow style because it puts horror at ease. they cannot have a single peaceful meal because once they get past the table manners phase it then becomes a completion to see who can eat the least (because they suck at everything including eating)

[doccywhomst]

if i were on doctor who i’d simply force the doctor to take alan turing to a pride parade at gunpoint

[iknowwhereyousnoozeatnight]

this one's for all the yuri enjoyers out there — nsft under cut

meronia event prompt(s): scar

[cluescorner]

I cannot imagine being a Damian stan right now. You've got both Zdarsky's bullshit (where he clearly doesn't give a shit about your boy) and The Boy Wonder (where Juni Ba clearly gives so many shits about your boy) coming out on the same day. The whiplash must be insane. I hope y'all get some nice warm soup for your efforts jfc

[hailsatanacab]

For the prompt ask game!

9. Sleep deprivation and/or 37. Secret Relationship and/or 40. Identity reveal/major secret reveal

(I selected a few so you can chose the one that resonates the most.)

For any DPxDC characters. <3

*emerges from a google docs, covered in blood and panting* i did it... it is done.

thank you for the prompt!! because i love a challenge, or because i can't stop myself, i went and did all of them!! for everyone!! everyone is sleep deprived and everyone is revealing secrets ^^'

Danny/Tim, mentioned Jazz/Jason

(๑•́ ₃ •̀๑) enjoy!! prompt ask game

kid napping

“Red Robin, sound off. Status?”

“All good here, Oracle. Everything okay?”

It’s been a slow night, never a good sign. Pent up energy itches under his skin and he stretches when he stands, preparing for whatever Oracle is going to throw his way. It’s going to be something, he can tell.

“Good.” Relief briefly colours her voice answers, before she becomes serious again, keys clacking away in the background. “There’s been a report from Agent A. It appears that one Timothy Drake has been kidnapped and is being ransomed for five million dollars and a helicopter. I’m tracing the call now.”

“A helicopter, too? Kidnappers these days, used to be they just wanted their money and that would be the end of it… a fucking helicopter, wow.” Red Hood scoffs, and Red Robin can’t help but join in the laughter over the comms.

“Doesn’t exactly sound like these are the brightest tools in the shed now, does it, Hood? Wonder what poor schmuck they’ve got instead.” Nightwing says, slightly out of breath. 

The smile slips off Red Robin’s face and clammy, cold dread shivers down his spine. A stone settles in his stomach. He wets his lips and clears his throat. “Oracle, can you pull up the CCTV on my apartment near WE? Any closer to tracing the call?”

“Still on the trace, they’re using a jammer. Agent A is cooperating so they should phone back soon, which will help.” she reports, falling into silence as he finds the video feed.

“You know who it is?”

“I hope not.”

It’s tense, he taps his feet on the rooftop, fingers tightening over his grapple as he fights the urge to fly off the roof and check for himself. It better not be him. Please, dear God, don’t let it not be him.

“What are you thinking, Red Robin?” Batman growls through the comms. Red Robin can hear the wind under his words, whipping fast as he no doubt makes his way over to his position.

“I had a, uh, a friend coming over tonight. From behind, he… he could be mistaken for Tim Drake.”

The jokes fall silent, the comms growing serious as they pick up on his tone.

“Well, fuck.” 

“Eloquent as always, Hood.”

“Shut up, bat-brat.”

“You were right, Red Robin, it looks like it was your… friend they caught, instead. About two hours before the call came in. I’m following their van now, I should have the destination soon. In the meantime, it looks like they’re heading towards the docks.”

Red Robin throws himself off the building, shooting his grapple as low as he dares to get the fastest swing he can. 

They have Danny. 

Worry gnaws at his gut even as gravity pulls it into his throat with another swing.

Danny is… And Red Robin means this in the nicest way possible, but Danny is fragile. They haven’t talked about it, but RR knows that Danny has health problems. Something plaguing him since he was young, that’s landed him in the hospital more than once. A weak heart, far too slow to be normal, possibly chronic fatigue—he’s always so tired, falling asleep anywhere he can.

Sometimes, he doesn’t even need to put his head down. Once, when they had gone to the corner store to get some popcorn to enjoy their movie (which Danny had explicitly and repeatedly promised he wouldn’t snore through this time), Danny had rested his head on Tim’s shoulder while they were waiting and he’d just… gone. On his feet, asleep, just like that.

He’d laughed, when Tim woke him up. Apologised. Said Tim made him feel safe enough to fall asleep just about anywhere and—

Red Robin grits his teeth and corrects his course as Oracle updates them with more precise coordinates.

Tim had carried him home that night, piggy-back for four blocks, but by the end of it, he wasn’t tired at all. And that’s another thing, Danny’s just so light. It’s concerning.

They never did watch that movie, but it’s a night that Tim can’t help remembering fondly all the same. They’d ended up rewatching some old sitcom that Danny’s seen countless times but Tim’s never really bothered with, Danny drifting off to sleep again and Tim eventually following him, because… sleep is easy with Danny.

It’s the same for him, he thinks. He can’t explain it, but he feels safe enough to sleep with Danny, too.

He needs to be alright.

“So… Is this friend just a friend? Or a friend friend?” 

“A friend, Nightwing. Now hurry up.”

He’s not in the mood to play these games, not now. There’s a reason why none of them know about Danny, and this is one of them. His family, as much as he loves them, are just too damn nosey for their own good.

“You know that doesn’t answer my question at all.”

“Then why don’t you ask something intelligible, rather than continue with your childish antics?” Robin snarks, and for once, Red Robin has to agree with him. Or, rather, he’s grateful for the distraction that it gives him.

Tim has secrets. He’s sure that Danny does, too, and so far—aside from the standard background check he always runs on new friends and friend friends alike—he’s done very well to respect them. He just can’t say that his family would do the same.

They can be overwhelming, to say the least, and Tim has tried his best to protect Danny from that.

Only to fail to protect him in every other way that it counts.

“How long have you guys been ‘friends’?”

“Nightwing, save it, please.”

“What’s his name?”

He ignores him.

Red Robin lands on the building first, thank goodness. He wastes no time in finding a skylight that can be pried open fairly quietly, slipping inside without a second thought.

“Wait for backup, Red Robin, that is an order!” Batman says, when he lets them know he’s in.

“Negative, Batman. I’m getting him back.”

“Red Robin!”

He weaves silently through the desks on the second floor of the warehouse, always moving, always keeping a trained eye on the shadows around him.

When he reaches the stairs, he hears voices.

“Looks like three of them, armed. The-the hostage is tied to a chair in the middle of the room, he…” Red Robin takes a steadying breath. The person has a burlap sack over their head is slumped to the side, from where he is, Red Robin can’t see if his chest is moving. There’s blood on the floor. “He needs medical assistance. Another two on the northside entrance.”

The comms explode in admonitions, everyone pleading with him to stay where he is, to wait for help, but fuck that. With a tap, he switches them off and he can finally, just about make out the words of the kidnappers as he creeps down the first few steps.

“—shouldn’t he have woken up by now?”

“I don’t know, man, you’re the one that hit him! Do you think he’s—”

“No! I didn’t even hit him that hard, I swear!” the man cries, holding his hands up in surrender. “I just couldn’t take any more of his stupid jokes!”

If there was any doubt in Red Robin’s mind that they picked up Danny by mistake, it’s gone now. Yeah. If you get Danny, you get his stupid jokes, too.

He creeps closer. 

There’s some storage crates between him and Danny, if he can get behind there without being seen then that leaves him in a good position for when whoever’s next in takes out the guys at the front. He can’t do anything without them gone first, not without risking them taking shots inside and endangering Danny.

The man that hit Danny circles round behind him and grabs at his hands.

“What are you even doing, Pat? Who gives a shit, leave him alone.”

“I’m just checking! I just gotta see!”

“Fuck’s sake, guys, who cares? We just gotta get our money, that’s it—”

“And our helicopter!”

“And our—”

“Shit, I can’t find a pulse! Shit, Frank, I killed him, I—”

Jason told him once that when the Pits overtook him, he used to see green. Instead of blacking out, he’d be swimming in that putrid Lazarus colour and he’d slip into that rage and bad things would happen.

He’s heard of people seeing red, too, but really, he thinks that’s more of a literary device.

Tim doesn’t see anything aside from his targets.

A barrage of birdarangs take the guns from the guys at the front, the three around Danny startling badly enough that the guy that kil—that’s behind Danny—stumbles, losing his footing.

Only one of them shoots.

Amateurs. 

There’s a round of curses on the comms as the shots come through. Oracle must have turned them back on.

“Fucking hell—Nightwing and I are at the front, Red Robin, don’t worry about them.”

Red Robin’s barely listening.

He spins, kicking the largest guy in the stomach hard enough so that he doubles over, wheezing. Following through the movement, another kick lands on the side of his head and he’s down. 

The second one, Frank, gets his wits about him and raises his gun, spraying wildly. He’s a shit shot, going wide in panic, and Red Robin simply ducks and rushes forward, keeping low. Tackling the guy, he grabs the gun off of him and uses it to smash him across the face, once, twice, three times, before he stops moving.

“Oracle, get police and paramedics on scene, now.” Batman says, the displeasure in his voice evident. “Red Robin, Robin and I are coming in from the top.”

Pat hasn’t even made it up off the floor yet, scrambling backwards, fear plain on his face. 

Red Robin stands, breathing heavily, gun still in hand.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I swear I didn’t mean to do it! Please—please, don’t, please!”

Red Robin doesn’t kill.

Well, no, Red Robin doesn’t normally kill.

No, that’s not quite right, either.

Red Robin has killed. Red Robin will more than likely kill again. Red Robin sees no problem with killing.

The gun is up, pointing towards the guy without any real thought about it.

Footsteps rush behind him, the familiar heavy footfalls of Batman and Robin, so he doesn’t bother turning around. The gun follows the guy as he keeps pulling himself backwards, snot and tears mingling down his face.

“Red Robin,” Batman says, softly.

It’s always weird hearing Batman’s voice like that. It’s not the first time, obviously—Batman can’t use his scary intimidating voice on victims or children, after all—but having it used on him is weird. 

“Breathe.”

“He’s dead. They killed him.”

If hearing Batman’s voice was weird, Red Robin can’t even recognise his own.

Distantly, he realises he’s dissociating. There’s a tightness in his chest, it’s hard to breathe, a growing buzz drowns out any noise in his ears and he can’t think, he can’t—

A heavy hand squeezes his shoulder, jolting him out of his thoughts. Batman reaches around and gently removes the gun from his grip, and Tim feels the instant loss of it. He should have done it, why hadn’t he done it?

Robin takes care of the last man, his crying cut off by a swift kick to the head. Nightwing and Red Hood join them, zip-tying the men on the floor and starting to drag them back to the entrance of the warehouse one by one.

No one says a word.

Shrugging off Batman’s hand, Tim moves towards the chair.

Shaking, he takes a deep breath and removes the sack. The small part of him that was left hoping it wasn’t him, it couldn’t be him, please dear God let it not be him, shatters.

Even dead, he looks peaceful.

Tim’s seen death. He’s no stranger to it, he’s seen what it can do to a person. There’s some blood coagulating over his eyebrows, but otherwise, he looks peaceful. Is that comforting? That he didn’t suffer?

Danny’s head lolls to the side as the sack comes completely away, his hair flopping over his eyes. Tim’s been on at him to get a haircut lately, he thinks it’ll be nice tidied up a bit, just on the sides. It’ll get rid of that permanent bedhead. Help him with job interviews, he’s got to be thinking about that now that he’s in his last year of college.

It’s about the only thing that’ll hold him back, Tim thinks. Danny’s brilliant. Any employer would be a fool to turn him down because of his shaggy hair, but employers are stupid so it makes sense to put your best foot forward and—

Tim falls to his knees.

Fuck.

He’s dead, he’s really—Danny’s skin is horribly pale, cold to the touch. Gone is his bright, cheerful smile. 

“Danny, I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry, I—” 

He stops himself with a deep, shuddering breath. He can’t break down here, he can’t, he can’t, he can’t.

Instead, he tips forward to rest his head in Danny’s lap, arms curling around himself. They were too late. They got here as fast as they could and they were too late.

 “Danny, I’m so sorry…” he whispers. “I… I love you, I love you, I’m sorry.”

Dimly, he can feel the others standing around them. Someone crouches down beside him, resting a comforting arm over his back, but he doesn’t turn his head to see who it is. He squeezes his grip on Danny’s legs tighter.

“Come on, baby bird. Let’s—”

They’re interrupted by a huge, honking snore as Danny jerks himself awake.

Tim’s head snaps up, staring at Danny with wide eyes.

“You were asleep?” Red Robin springs up, several different emotions rapidly flip flopping through him.

“Wha… What?” Danny heaves a yawn, blinking blearily down at him. “Sorry, I’m just… they were shit kidnappers, man, really boring. Honestly, worst abduction yet.”

“You were asleep? I thought you were dead!”

“Not mutually exlusive, you know.” Danny says through another yawn. He rolls his neck around with an almighty crack and glances at everyone. “Didn’t think I’d warrant the whole Bat brigade, though…”

“The kidnappers thought they had Tim Drake.” Batman supplies, while Red Robin tries to work through the emotional whiplash.

“Ah, makes sense… wait.” Danny sits up suddenly, squinting at Red Robin. “Did you say you loved me?”

“No, of course not, why would I—”

“Tim? Is that—are you—are you Red Robin?”

“Everyone, hold the fuck up!” Red Hood shouts from the other side of the warehouse, having finished securing the perps to a streetlight outside. “Double R is dating Danny fucking Nightingale?”

Well, there goes his identity… Oh, who’s he kidding, Danny’s smart. There’s no way he could have salvaged that. This was not how he thought the night was going to go.

“Cranberry, is that you?” Danny twists in his chair, somehow delighted to see Red Hood rescuing him, too. “I thought I smelled you lurking about!”

“Shut it, you little shit. Since when were you dating this dweeb?”

“I’m sorry,” Red Robin pleads, hands in the air to try and slow down the onslaught of information and insults, “you two know each other?”

“Cranberry?” Nightwing echoes, looking as lost as Red Robin feels.

“Yeah, Cranberry—The Cranberries—zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie. Obviously. Also he’s wearing a big, fuck off red helmet.”

“Yeah, sure, makes sense.”

It’s about the only thing that does.

“And please don’t call my boyfriend a dweeb, Cranberry. Especially when he just said he loves me for the first time.”

“He only said it because he thought you were dead.”

“I am dead, so it counts.”

“Only half, so I’d say that puts you at a solid ‘like’. Tim’s—and savour this, Tim, because I’m only going to say it once—Tim’s intelligent, so I’m sure he’ll come to his senses soon.”

Danny just throws Red Hood such a shit-eating grin. A level of feral that Tim’s only seen before in Damian. 

“That’s what I used to say about Jazz, too.”

Hood scoffs in offence, and to be honest, Tim’s not sure where he should go from here. What the hell is happening, how do they know each other?

“Come on, is anyone going to untie me or am I really meeting your family mafia-style?”

“Do it yourself, Slimer.” Red Hood laughs, crossing his arms.

“Ugh, you suck so much. I’ll fucking slime you, just you wait. Can’t believe Jazz even likes you, I preferred it when she was dating Johnny.”

And then, without Danny doing anything other than muttering obscenities at Red Hood, the ropes fall to the ground. In one swift motion, Danny stands up and stretches himself to his full height of 5’6.

“All of you need to explain, now.” commands Batman, and honestly, Red Robin’s very much on his side of it.

“I can’t believe it… Jason and Timmy are both in secret relationships? That’s… How come no one told me?” Poor Nightwing sounds the most shocked out of all of them. He turns to Damian and clasps onto both of his shoulders. “You’re not secretly dating, are you, D? Please tell me you’re not, please tell me you’re single, please?”

Of course, Robin just clicks his tongue and pushes his hands away. Really, Red Robin doesn’t think that Nightwing’s in any danger of that happening, he’d be surprised if anyone could stand Robin enough to actually date him.

He shakes his head and turns to Danny, who’s staring right back at him, worry clear on his face.

Fuck, he... He's alive. He's really alive.

Tim pulls him into a bone-crushing hug, fingers buried deep in his NASA shirt. Tucking his face into the crook of Danny's shoulder, he laughs wetly with the joy of it. He's alive. He hasn't lost him. He's safe.

“I’m sorry I haven’t told you before now, starshine, but…” Danny breaks the hug and softly pulls away from him to rise on his tiptoes to place a kiss his cheek. The skin burns cold where his lips touch. “I love you, too. Also, you’re gonna wanna sit down. This is going to be a lot.”

[sisterjaniswilde]

I am dead fucking serious when I say I wish I saw more fat women in public. I want to see fat models. I want to see fat women in department stores getting absolutely HYPE when they find racks and racks of clothing in their size and sizes up, so they too can get the "oversized, baggy fit" like women who fit into smalls and mediums. I want to see fat women wearing crop tops proudly and rocking mad midriff. I want to see fat women trying on clothing for their friends and family and saying "look! it compliments my body shape! it's like it was made for me!" I want to see fat women with "cankles" wearing pretty jingling anklets skipping and jumping just to show them off. I want to see fat women on TV, in magazines, on billboards, in all manner of ads, and in online shop images because I want to see my fucking self and all the women I know who don't see enough of themselves. I want to see fat women living, loving, and being visibly proud of who they are because they are beautiful, WE are beautiful. I want to see fat women because fat women need to see other fat women.

[charcubed]

RRR (2022)

[wtfforged]

combine your comfort characters for instant mood improvement

[gophergal]

jumping on the trend. I have never felt so mainstream in my picks

[prjctdiva]

literally 1984

[mmitwcomic]

Page 38

[nevaroonie]

Have You Met Them Yet

TW: mentions of inversion, character death, implied character death, cursing, guilt blaming (I probly missed some.. please click off if you find something that triggers you!) mentions of characters' actions(good and bad) {I don't know any southern slang- don't execute me..} {the ending feels a little rushed- I'm ngl}

it's my mission to make you cry let me know I how did!

I had a lot of fun writing this.. so um enjoy your readings! (no joking triggers this is a bit more serious than my regular writing style)

I met a person.. My person and of course like most of my relationships in this cursed.. After life. It started on the wrong foot. It seems a lot of stuff starts on the wrong foot nowadays.. Hmm.. Mamaw.. I don’t know why but I called them Darlin’ it just slipped out.. Then I encouraged them to do something stupid instead of telling their alpha. In which he found out later, but for now I'll focus on the beginning,  after we met and traded numbers.. I wanted to aid them in the search of that bastard.. I know you’re turning in your grave hearing me curse right now..

  And I'm sorry for that memaw.. Speaking of Bright and Fredrick they’re doing better.. I’ve been repairing and trying to compensate for how I acted toward Bright.. I don’t know if the dead can mess with the living.. But I felt you pinch my ear.. Haha. I wouldn’t be surprised- if you alone could.. But southern grandmas are like that. But I'm getting off track, one night I called darlin’ with some information, however when I called. It sounded like they were in pain.. Nowadays these ears don’t miss much- then again, they didn’t miss much back then either... But turns out.. My darlin’ hm.. Got into a fight with some vamps… they survived but got badly injured. They were acting recklessly.. And maybe it was the healer in me- or something else.. But unsurprisingly I practically drilled them with questions and eventually got some answers. That didn’t stop them from making it ten times harder than needed. But you could say I liked that about them. After all, in a way, we were still strangers to each other. 

Darlin was badly injured and needed some help and I’m pretty sure they were planning on bleeding out to death on their couch. And honestly, it seemed in character for them. That being said.. It wouldn’t have felt right on my conscious knowing I could’ve helped but sat around doing nothing about it. But I couldn’t just up and leave after all I chose to take responsibility for the newborns at the time. So I pulled some strings and got Vincent to look after them while I stepped out for a bit. You remember Vincent, right? Tall and annoying, with a heart in the right place- when he’s not being a little shit.. And now he’s got backup, that partner of his is just as devious.

Nonetheless, I made my way over there, you know my bedside manner ain’t never been as good as yours Ma. But it got the job done. Hell, I even made a little joke, if they stopped getting themselves in life-threatening situations. I’d improve my bedside manner… and for a while, they didn’t get in trouble. They called me and wanted to meet me. I didn’t know why at the time but they sounded troubled. So I went over, to figure out what was wrong. You know me Ma, putting my head where it doesn’t belong. And once again I put the newborns on Vincent. I’m slowly running out of favors with that boy. What we talked about was less than savory, Blood bonds aren’t rare but when they happen between a wolf and a vampire. After all, we tend to distance ourselves from each other… have I ever explained what a blood bond is to you Ma? 

I don’t think so, but whenever a vamp and another vamp come into contact with each other's blood almost always a bond is formed. Between 2 vampires you always know where the other is no matter what. However, between a wolf and a vamp, it’s a little different because of the 2 different types of magic at play. In the rare case that a bond is formed you get something different. You only know the location when the blood is outside of the body. And it seemed my companion, and Quinn formed a bond after their last encounter. And with that in mind. I practically begged them to stay safe, before I could finish my ‘’ friendly ‘’ chat. William called and someone wanted to speak to me. Hah.. I didn’t know David Shaw wanted to speak to me. It was surprising and sightly expected..  I went back to tell them some make-shift excuse, that I had to leave. And when he called I answered- and he asked to speak in person. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intimidated. He’s much bigger in person then what they give him credit for. 

Ha.. that night the only question he had for me was ‘’ Is My Pack Member Okay? ‘’ despite Darlin’ not feeling a part of said pack.. They cared about them. David wanted to get the full story/ at the time we only had parts.. David told me his and I told him mine. From what I learned their relationship with Quinn was more than friends if you catch my drift Ma; and my Darlin was done with him when they found out what and how he viewed humans. Not only did Darlin leave him, but they also reported him to the department. In return, he attacked their friend Darlin arrived in time to save them. But Quinn got away-  though Darlin fed him the lie Quinn was caught.. He heard about Fred and Bright and got curious.. And surprise surprise the truth came to the light… hm.

      David then told me he planned on confronting them that day after all he knew where they lived. I was given a choice- and I chose to warn them… I thought they’d hate me. I don’t know why but I did. But Darlin proved me wrong, they called and invited me over. When I got there they looked like a kicked puppy….Pun unintended.. I’m quite sure I’ve told you the story of Alexis repeatedly.. And god knows.. But because I knew the story of Darlin and Quinn I thought it’d only be fair for them to know the story of Alexis and I. how my descent into the after-after life started.  

And next thing I knew we were on the couch and I was staring into their eyes. God their eyes.. Were so fucking beautiful that night. I think that night is when I finally realized I loved them. Maybe it was before that.. I don’t know- but at that moment, I let all those feelings out. And my darlin’ let theirs out. And we fell asleep there on that couch, ( and if you’re wondering it's the same couch they almost bleed out on. ) but back to the story.. The next morning we awoke on the couch snuggled up against each other. And the plan was to hopefully leave before the sun rose. But when you’re with someone you care about you lose sight of time. 

I’ll save you some of the sappy details, that you’ve probably been told already.. Ha..- eventually I wanted to make Darlin some food just before our day of comfort and clarity ended. And well- they didn’t have anything and I mean anything. How do you have a fridge full of condiments? But no food.. My Darlin was always a confusing person. But I’m sure they had a good heart.. But before I left I wanted to make sure they had a least a decent meal.. You know me Ma. 

I would’ve just taken them to the store… but this damn immortality and practical allergy to the sun. Made that impossible and they wouldn’t have gone on their own. So I pulled out the more reasonable idea and with all this damn tech. You thought it was confusing back then.. But it’s only gotten worse now, like how many iPhones does one person need? Then the whole controller vs pc argument. There's just so much and this old man can’t keep up with it. Darlin tried to help me with it..but the lord bless their heart. But with this little knowledge, have i learned how to use a delivery app. I’ll admit, I struggled a bit- but we got the food Darlin wanted ordered.  And wasted the rest of the day cuddling on the couch.. A few days later, I invited Darlin over hopefully I could encourage healthier eating habits. Even if I had to roast them over the fire. At the time they knew what a fully stocked fridge and pantry looked like now. The newborns were finally adjusted in the best way possible.. I don’t think anyone could adjust best in this afterlife especially not the way the 2 of them were brought into it.

 Just as the the newborns were getting used to being vamps Darlin was slowly but surely adjusting back to pack life. They used to say knowing they care about me doesn’t help me feel like they care about me.. They were just so used to doing it on their own but they were getting used to everything again. 

In a random twist of events, darlin invited me to their pack solstice. You know the whole moon-bound sun-bound shit... We didn’t have to worry about that when we were alive.. After all, freelancers kinda go with the flow..  Nevertheless, I wasn’t expecting to get an invite to their pack solstice.. I didn’t want to invade their fun.. You know? A vamp at an all-wolf party? 

I was hesitant till Darlin said David wanted me there. I didn’t want to let him down. Had I not encouraged Darlin to speak up instead of shutting down I probably wouldn’t have gotten the information. 

And as much as I wanted to deepen our relationship. Mentally I couldn’t, darlin understood.. They always did. So in the upcoming days, I went to the solstice and well.. It reminded me how anti-social I am.. Ha, Darlin left to go get a drink and I nearly had an anxiety attack. The Shaw pack is good people they still are.. Even now with everything that has happened.. But Asher tried to make me feel comfortable.. And kinda made an ass of himself..

Milo came over as crowd control. And Asher of course made a short joke which in turn made Milo retaliate with an invite to watch Asher get his ass beat. At that moment I didn’t what to say. And eventually, they wandered off.. And David found his way over to me- he was glad I came. And made a joke about Darlin.. I wonder if they went out to in fact fight a bear.. But Darlin came back with a red cup- they went to get a drink we teased each other. And enjoyed the rest of the night. 

The inversion is still hard to talk about nowadays.. David almost lost his Best friend.. Vincent’s partner had to give up everything or die.. Maybe at that moment, I felt a small jolt of jealousy.. They had that conversation.. They got the choice I didn’t and the choice bright didn’t get. Maybe in that moment.. I felt selfish.. I.. god.. Ma.. you’d think I was a bad grandson.. It was something.. But my Darlin was right there when that ward went down. They were right there, the look they had on their face was just heartbreaking.. Then again everyone they knew and cared for was trapped inside trapped in inside a ward.  And the fucking department was no help. But that wasn’t surprising. Milo’s mate and perhaps a few others are the exception, they know how to do their jobs… and with all that had happened, I just went on a drive.

 I just kept driving, Darlin was busy with everything else doing their best to help their family.. Even if they're still adjusting, they can be just as stubborn as me. But when it was my turn to get some of their care- which I wasn’t aware of at the time. They sat outside waiting for an hour for me to get home. So when I pulled back into my driveway and saw them standing there I realized. How much they cared about me, and in that moment after I handed them the key to my house.. I realized just how much time I was wasting, they weren’t going to live forever for this never-ending game of cat and mouse. So when I handed them that key, I gave it my all. I stopped letting the past dictate everything I do. I wouldn’t let losing you, my parents or Alexis ruin what I had in front of me. 

And I guess Darlin thought the same. They called me their Mate that night. Hearing that would come out of their mouth was, something different.  Knowing something like that and then hearing it come out of someone's mouth hits differently. That night I learned to move on. I learned to accept and grow.. And so did my darlin. And honestly everything was going fine. Till maybe a day or 2 later David called with some information, quinn was supposedly up north.

And as soon as those words left that man's mouth. Darlin shot up like a crack on ice, and when David hung up. They started thinking.. I could it in their eyes. They thinking how far they’d have to go.. How fast they’d get there and how fast they could take him down. I tried my best. Had I not been there, they would have gone after him that night. Had I known any better I’d think they would sneaked out that morning. Hell, they’d get pretty far.. But I should’ve known something was wrong. Maybe.. Just maybe… but I somehow calmed them down. I made them a promise if the department doing do anything.. We’d go after the rat bastard ourselves.. Yeah.. yeah not the smartest thing I could have said in that moment.. But I don’t regret what I said that night. Quinn had caused everyone pain. And he’d been breathing too much and too damn long. 

And for the time being, things were fine. Darlin tried to teach me how to play Smash.. If you remember the last time. We talked about Smash, I lost.. Destroyed.. They beat my ass so bad. I never wanted to play that damn curse of a game again. But Darlin offered to teach me. And by teach they meant watching me struggle. And even laughed a little, as I said.. This old man ain’t used to this. After I got my ass beat a few times by the NPCs I won a game against a different group of NPCs..  everyone needs a break from the games.. Like I don’t know if I could take one more micro transition before losing my mind you know? 

So introducing Darlin to old-fashioned horror movies seemed like the best way to wind down. My big bad wolf kept getting scared out of their fur.. This time the pun was intended. And at this point, we made a habit of falling asleep on that damn couch. But now I can’t stand looking at that damn thing.. Then again I haven’t ever cleared their stuff out of our home… even now that it’s been months.. I can’t bring myself to do it. We moved in together almost a year and some change ago. And every moment of it was bliss. Once again I’ll save you the sappy details. I'm sure you’re gonna get fed them. And other teasing details. I wouldn’t expect any less from my Darlin. Unsurprisingly I got roped into playing Smash again mainly because Milo wanted a rematch. But like I said the pack is good people, and they need a shoulder to lean on.. As much as I do too. The night went by soundly.. Darlin set me up more than once. Which hurts by the way! But seeing them interact with the pack soundly was amazing. 

It was a fun night, but it wasn’t going to last forever.. I wish it did. Over and over.. Day by day.. But no one can change time, no one can fight destiny…. Pun unintended. Maybe a week or 2 darlin got a call from David. After I had to go to work… you already know I work as a restate agent.. Never thought It’d be a path I’d take but here we are.. I wasn’t expecting a lot of things. Quinn had been caught.. He managed to take out 2 of the arresting officers.. But he was brought in, only problem was he had a girl.. And she was on borrowed time. 

And the only person he wanted to see was me. He was refusing Darlin's Acknowledgment.. He had already run from them once. Now he was taking this away from them again…but I knew they needed to be in that room. Somehow, they convinced me everything would be fine. That they’d watch from the glass 

Every word that left his mouth hurt..like hot iron on the skin if I thought he was a monster before. Hearing him talk about Frederick.. And.. I, that girl was the only thing tying me to that room.. One thing I wasn’t expecting, was for him to air out his.. Romantic life with darlin.. You don’t do that to someone you supposedly love- then again he wouldn’t know what love is even if it slapped him in the face. It felt like hours before he shut up.. God I never wanted to punch someone so badly. Maybe that's a bit of a lie.. I’ve met a lot of people I’ve wanted to punch in the face. 

At that moment he just took the cake. I sat there listening to it all cringing.. I wasn’t my Darlin there’s no doubt they thought I was judging them.. I wasn’t. I promise you, the last thing on my mind was judging them. I wanted to leave that room and just hug them, and never let go. Eventually, he shut up.. I guess he realized he wasn’t getting to me. And he told me where that girl was. And with that information, I practically ran through the door. 

I needed to get to them. I wrapped them in a hug, they may have fooled the others with their poker face. But I knew. I saw through it like a glass door. I held them close in that moment. Kissed their temple even. I was doing my best.. I wanted them to feel safe. David helped them while I was in the room with him. He did his best. He promised them he’d get Quinn. I should’ve known the damage was done. I should’ve done so much more than what I did... because just maybe.. Had I tried a little more.. Maybe they.. Would’ve had.. 

They were already going through so much.. And it didn’t get better. After I tried to calm them down and make everything better.. Fucking David called.. With the worst news known to man. The girl was already dead.. She had been for 2 days. All the proof Quinn showed was fake, they were taken before he drained her dry. I was distraught and that creature.. Had taken another life, and his actions would claim another. 

Darlin and David told me. Everything wasn’t for nothing at least that girl's family got closure. I know that should’ve been enough.. But it wasn’t and I hate myself for that.. Me and Darlin drove in silence… ha.. You know Ma.. I’m a bit of a crybaby nowadays.. 

Have you met them yet?.. God, you too would have so much to talk about.. That night when we got home. After David's phone call..we-.. we just needed each other. I hadn’t realized they holding on to so much more than I thought.. People tend to say Stress kills. I just didn’t believe em. Darlin fell asleep in my arms.. They didn’t even try to talk my ears off. They went to sleep with a smile on their face, I should have known.. I.. my Darlin..was gone. I should’ve known.. When their body went cold.. There were so many signs, and I just brushed them off. Had I, just noticed something sooner than I did.. You guys wouldn’t be meeting as fast as you are.. They had so many years left. Darlin.. Hearing that girl didn’t make it. Having to relive everything.. To be exposed like that in front of the people you care about.. You were under so much.. I should’ve done better.. But you can’t take back the past. Only learn from it. 

I love you..you brought your light to this darkened cowboy's life. You showed there so much more to life. Then living in the past. So I came here, to tell you both.. I love you more than anything. And I would have loved to give you my last name in due time. 

Sam stands and places Red Orchids on the gravestone. As his tears rolled down his face. 

‘’ My big bad wolf.. With a heart of gold..’’

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WC: 3.5K (or if you wanna get specific 3504) another thing. the flower choice was very specific

[red-moon-at-night]

you know what. i'm really glad Man of The House got cut from Epic and became what it was (a cool little part of Legendary) because I genuinely think "Everyone wanted Helen of Sparta / I wanted someone smarter" would've been my villain origin story

Odysseus "I wanted someone smarter" King of Ithaca: *is immediately clocked by Helen when he sneaks into Troy in a beggars disguise*