#it might make sense to put an animal in foster for a bit if you have someone saying they're going to be checking back for them

[alex51324]

Bunny!

Bunny! Is! Thriving!

i HAVE to stop looking at shelter cats until i'm moved but BUNNY

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

What does a traditional family/House dynamic look like, especially in terms of children?

[Does the whole House live in one large building, or is the House more of a common family space? Are children usually cared for by their parents, or is child minding more of a communal responsibility along the lines of "it takes a village to raise a child"? Etc.] < please treat these questions as additional questions like the ones on a school test that the teacher puts in to make sure that the student understands the original big question. I only included them so you could know what I meant when I say "House/family dynamic", because I know that can be confusing

Gosh, I wish you'd have written my exams.

What does a traditional family/House dynamic look like?

Houses are both residences and familial hubs containing a lot of related Gallifreyans. Here's what the dynamic typically looks like, especially when it comes to raising children:

🏠 Brief House Overview

First, a bit of context - Gallifreyan Houses are huge, often sentient structures. They're designed to support entire extended families, often containing multiple generations.

Interior Design: Houses often have high ceilings, large rooms, and sprawling corridors. This setup is on purpose - designed to make newly loomed Gallifreyans feel like children (many loomlings are created with fully-grown adult bodies).

Living Spaces: Houses contain individual bedrooms, communal living spaces, and operational facilities such as the Loomshed. They also have their own crypts for dead House members.

Animated Features: The Houses often have animated furniture, which, if not properly trained, might chase people around. Paintings whisper at passing cousins, and Druges, large automated humanoid servants, roam the premises, performing various duties.

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Family Dynamics

Gallifreyan families tend to be large and very hierarchical, with cousins, aunts, uncles, and other relatives living under the same roof. There's a strong thread of communal responsibility and shared upbringing when it comes to childrene (childe = singular, childrene = plural):

Childcare: Childrene are typically cared for by a combination of their parents and other relatives. Parents are present and will look after their child, performing the usual trips out to the galactic zoo or whatever.

Education: The responsibility for education and upbringing is communal, with older House members playing a significant role in brainbuffing (the educational process designed to shape young Gallifreyan minds). This is supported by the help of Avatroids - mechanical beings who were (basically) enslaved by the Time Lords. The boy Doctor had his own personal Avatroid named Badger, whose job it was to protect and educate him.

Communal Responsibilities: Given the House's size and structure, childcare is often a collective effort. The extended family takes part in guiding the children's education and development, with the aim of instilling a sense of duty and obedience ie. House values.

🧒 Children and Brainbuffing

As mentioned, childrene undergo brainbuffing, a rigorous educational process that equips them with a ton of knowledge before they step out into the big wide world. This process involves both formal schooling and informal training at home.

Early Education: During the first eight years, childrene are educated in writing, culture, mathematics, and science, surpassing the knowledge level of many human college students. Extended family members play a significant role in this process.

Traditional Activities: Despite the emphasis on duty, childrene can happily engage in activities like lushberrying and playing with onion dolls. However, there are no playgrounds on Gallifrey due to the focus on obedience.

Communal Upbringing: The entire House contributes to the upbringing, fostering a strong sense of community and collective responsibility.

🔥Then Comes Life

At the age of eight, children are snatched away from all of this and put into Chapter Academies away from their Houses and families for around 200 years. Bummer.

🏫 So ...

Gallifreyan Houses blend family living with communal responsibilities. They focus on fostering a sense of duty and service, with a significant emphasis on education and discipline. While parents play a crucial role in raising childrene, the communal approach ensures that every child has a network of support and guidance throughout their early years, which is then completely turned on its head.

Hope that helped! 😃

More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[safety-writes-noms]

do you have any hcs of Orion and Jane?

yup!

VORE UNDER CUT!! NSFW/FEEDERISM BLOGS DNI PLS IM A MINOR

Orion:

Orion is a cautious sort of person, he’s grown up in a harsh environment and he works a moderately dangerous job and it kinda bleeds over to his nomming tendencies. He’s the type of pred that will always check in on whoever he’s going to gulp down, triple checking if they seriously want to do this, being exceedingly gentle during the whole process to make sure they don’t get hurt.

His stomach is pretty soft on the inside, despite his outside being hard cold metal. It’s not really a stomach but more of a place to store extra parts or items of value. Usually, items are put inside through the sliding panels on his chest and it’s pretty secure. But he can also access it through his pharynx tube through his mouth.

He usually noms people through there because he’s worried that nomming them through his sliding panels might be more dangerous. His insides are pretty heated, since he needs the temperature to keep some of his functions running and it’s completely dry inside. It’d be a problem if any liquid were to get inside his storage hatch since it could potentially get into any other delicate inner workings of his.

he’s pretty aloof most of the time, but he’s fascinated by humans as a whole, since their species and their planet are so vastly different from his own. He doesn’t have a lot of info on them though since everything about humans is locked up tight by space government laws, but now that he has a living specimen to observe he’s been pretty curious about them. When he was younger he always dreamed of being a scientist to help better lives or some sort of job that specializes in humanitarian (but like, the robot version of humanitarian) sort of aspects. Obviously he didn’t get to fulfill that dream seeing how he’s working as a smuggler. he also likes to nom people through his mouth bc he feels like he can get a better feel for them or to just make sure they make the trip down safely. He doesn’t do it often despite the fact that it feels nice for him, but if anyone asks, he’ll oblige willingly.

Jane:

she’s thinks its a weird alien custom. It makes sense that Orion’s biology is way different from anything on Earth, but dear lord, it still freaks her out a bit. She puts some trust in Orion (grudgingly) since he’s the only ally she currently has on her side. Also he’s figured out that she’s not some animal and has been attempting to communicate with her with mixed results. It had been rough in the beginning but at least they’re making some progress.

Jane doesn’t trust him entirely though, and she’s fully ready to ditch him as soon as she thinks he’ll turn on her and give her up for some soulless cash. Sure, they’ve managed to have some very basic and stunted conversations with the limited vocabulary theyre working with, but she has one goal and that’s to get back home.

while she wants to be able to let her walls down around someone, anyone really, she just can’t bring herself to be truly vulnerable. For her, it’s easier to just not care anymore so it hurts less when they either turn on her, leave her, or just decide to kill her.

secretly, she likes being nommed because it reminds her of a hug. Being surrounded by hostile aliens who could crush her underfoot doesn’t leave her with many opportunities to get a hug from someone. She’s awfully homesick and just wants to get back to earth. Although she’s mostly alone and drifting through the foster system, she craves being able to simply connect with another person without hand symbols and confusing language exchanges.

She’s found that Orion seemingly doesn’t mind tucking her away in his storage either so occasionally when her homesickness gets to be too much, she’ll ask him to nom her. however, she considers that as her “breaking” or giving up on her vow to stay distant and usually after becomes warier to Orion, frustrated at herself for giving in to the temptation of comfort and the promise of safety.

While Orion doesn’t really understand why Jane always withdraws from him after he thinks they’ve made some emotional connections, he still tries to help or nudge her back into her usual habits. He doesn’t like to admit it but he’s grown attached and worries about her feelings and safety.

[siflshonen]

I wish the Bakugo family featured a bit more! I'd like to see more of their dynamic. I wholly believe little Katsuki was a genuine overachiever by nature, but were his parents too? Did they foster that in any way? Did they make an effort to make him so self-sufficient (proficient at cooking and cleaning, superorganized, etc.) from a young age or was that his own neurotic brand of rebellion? Does he share hobbies with his dad apart from hiking? I need moar bb!Kacchan crying and beating older kids

(In many ways I sometimes wish the series cut other characters and was instead more about him, which would include his family...)

From what I have seen in extra content (TUM omakes, comments, the main manga), I have every reason to believe his family made an effort to support all of Katsuki's most socially-acceptable-productive and anal habits. However, I don't think they had to try that hard.

I think part of the reason Katsuki gets pissy when people give him instructions like "put away your shoes" or "clean this thing" or "get that adversary" is because Katsuki is already in the middle of doing it so he thinks it's patronizing and annoying when people tell him to do it. As a result, him saying "Don't tell me what to do" doubles as him saying, "Don't treat me like I'm fucking stupid! God, how much of a fuckwad do you think I am?!"

...But that could also be me projecting because that's the way I felt as a kid, and the way I still feel about some instruction even now.

As for Mitsuki and Masaru's feelings on their explosive bundle of joy, I get the feeling they were excited. When his quirk manifested, I'm sure Masaru had a comical moment of "oh no he's a bomb!" but it was only for laughs. I'm sure Mitsuki took charge of that situation with an iron grip and a slapping hand.

Besides. If Katsuki misbehaved in overt ways beyond just being generally rude and grumpy*, I'm pretty sure Mitsuki just beat the hell out of him. She smacks him all the time for the minor stuff, so I'm sure it was more extreme for major infractions about things that actually mattered. Dunno.

But my sneaking suspicion? Katsuki's ultimate punishment whenever he did something really bad was likely making one or both of his parents cry, tell him how disappointed or upset they were in him, and not give any obvious punishment to him at all. If the size of his self-loathing and internal guilt and grief for other events that happen in the series are any indication, they probably made him sit and stew without the obvious feedback of a whack on the back of the head.

I'm sure baby Katsuki had cute little new quirk hijinks that he'd be mortified if we found out about. I'm sure Izuku knows about them all and may even have photo evidence somewhere. And I'm sure that, as a kid, even at his snottiest and most nasty, he adored his parents and this was for better AND for worse in both directions. I just get that sense. In some of the extra content we see him, like, kinda bullying his dad when they play together and acting like he's sort of a fuddy-duddy, but if watching Katsuki interact with his friends and Izuku tells me anything, well.

I think Katsuki gets attached very quickly even if he acts mistrustful, distant, and like a shithead about it. I think if anything major (more major to the sports fest's critical onlookers, of which 1-A themselves were mostly blissfully unaware) happened to the other students of 1-A and his parents (lost job, public ridicule, major family shame) as a result of Katsuki being in the public eye in conjunction with All Might's retirement, I seriously wonder if he might've crawled into a hole and died. Like, at that point, apologizing to and protecting Izuku might've been the singular thing keeping him going if that happened.

As far as Katsuki's room goes, based on Horikoshi's description, I think I have a good idea of what it looks like - and I think I already pictured it correctly the first time that scene came up in the anime. It doesn't bother me that we don't see his room because - and I know this is going to sound weird - I think, given the nature of his relationship with the public and other people getting into his personal business, it is okay with me that he has some privacy even from us, the readers.

*the Deku-Bakugo situation in middle school is complicated, has different cultural connotations than in the west, and we don't know how much Mitsuki and Masaru did or did not know about it, so I'm not counting it here.

[kapil-sharma-123]

Sustainable Marketing Practices Strategies for Ethical…

Sustainable Marketing Practices Eco-Friendly Campaigns for the Modern Marketer

Ready to chat about a topic that’s burning up the digital landscape sustainable marketing. We’re not just talking about throwing some earthy tones on your website (although, hey, that can’t hurt!). We’re going to talk about crafting ethical and eco-friendly digital campaigns that resonate with today’s conscious consumers – and help your brand shine bright.

Why Sustainable Marketing Matters?

Before we dive into the strategies, let’s take a moment to understand why sustainable marketing is so important. As consumers become increasingly aware of environmental issues, they’re looking for brands that align with their values. By incorporating sustainable practices into your marketing efforts, you can

Attract eco-conscious customers

Differentiate your brand from competitors

Improve your brand reputation

Reduce your environmental impact

Let’s Get Practical Actionable Tips for Sustainable Marketing

Alright, enough with the why, let’s get to the how! Here at Orion Digital, we’ve been putting our heads together to brainstorm some actionable tips you can integrate into your next marketing campaign

Content is King (and Queen of Sustainability) 

Forget the clickbait and focus on creating informative, engaging content that educates your audience about sustainability. Think beyond blog posts. Develop creative content formats like video explainers showcasing sustainable practices within your industry. Host interactive webinars with sustainability experts, or even create engaging social media challenges that encourage eco-friendly behaviour. Imagine a fun Instagram challenge where users share tips on reducing single-use plastics at home. Not only is it informative, but it fosters a sense of community and brand interaction.

Know the Power of Email (Done Right) 

Mass email blasts are a digital dinosaur. Segment your audience based on interests and tailor your content accordingly. This not only reduces unnecessary emails floating around in the digital void (saving energy!), but it also boosts engagement as recipients are more likely to find your content valuable. 

Think Green When it Comes to Design  

Heavy visuals and excessive animations might look snazzy, but they can also guzzle up energy.  Here’s where you can get creative! Opt for a clean, optimized website design that uses eco-friendly fonts (yes, those exist!) and reduces server load by optimizing image sizes and implementing lazy loading techniques. Every little bit counts! Don’t be afraid to experiment with a minimalist aesthetic that prioritizes user experience and functionality.

Partner Up for Positive Impact  

Collaborate with eco-conscious influencers or organizations!  This isn’t just about expanding your reach; it allows you to leverage their expertise and amplify your sustainability message. Partner with local sustainability groups for a community clean-up event and document it on social media, or team up with an eco-influencer to create a co-branded product or service that gives back to environmental causes. The possibilities are endless! 

Incorporate Sustainable Messaging

Finally, don’t be afraid to incorporate sustainable messaging into your digital campaigns. Highlight your brand’s eco-friendly practices, educate your audience about environmental issues, and encourage them to make sustainable choices in their own lives. Just be sure to avoid greenwashing – make sure any claims you make about sustainability are accurate and backed up by real action.

Optimize for Mobile

Mobile devices are more energy-efficient than desktop computers, so optimizing your digital campaigns for mobile can help reduce your environmental impact. Plus, with more and more people accessing the internet via their smartphones, optimizing for mobile is simply good marketing practice. Make sure your website and landing pages are mobile-friendly, and consider using mobile-specific ad formats like in-app ads or SMS marketing.

Beyond the Campaign Building a Sustainable Brand

Sustainable marketing goes beyond crafting a single green campaign. It’s about integrating eco-friendly practices into the core of your brand identity. Here’s how

Build Transparency 

Consumers are savvy; they can sniff out greenwashing a mile away. Be transparent about your sustainability efforts, even the not-so-perfect bits. Share your eco-journey with your audience, outlining your goals, the challenges you face, and the progress you’re making.  Authenticity is key to building trust. 

Rethink Your Resources  

Take a critical look at your marketing materials. Can you eliminate unnecessary brochures and flyers?  Explore digital alternatives like e-documents and interactive presentations. When physical materials are necessary, opt for recycled paper and eco-friendly printing processes.  There are even seed paper options that sprout wildflowers when planted, adding a unique touch to your marketing collateral.

Consider Your Carbon Footprint  

Business travel is a significant contributor to carbon emissions. Explore video conferencing options for meetings and prioritize local partnerships whenever possible. There are also carbon offset programs you can participate in to compensate for unavoidable emissions. 

The Future of Sustainable Marketing A Collaborative Effort

Building a sustainable future requires a collective effort. Here’s how you can contribute.

Support Sustainable Businesses  

Make a conscious effort to partner with vendors and suppliers who share your commitment to sustainability. This strengthens the overall sustainability message within your industry.

Advocate for Change 

Use your brand voice to advocate for environmental responsibility. Support relevant policies and legislation that promote sustainable practices.

Inspire Others  

Share your sustainability journey with other businesses.  Host workshops or participate in industry events to raise awareness and inspire others to adopt eco-friendly marketing practices.

Remember Transparency is Key!

While these tips are a great starting point, the most important thing is to be genuine. Don’t just jump on the green bandwagon – make sure your sustainability efforts are reflected in your entire business operation. Share your eco-journey with your audience,  even the not-so-perfect bits. After all, progress over perfection, right?

At Orion Digital, we believe in marketing that’s good for your business and good for the planet.  If you’re looking for help crafting a sustainable digital strategy, we’d love to chat!  Get in touch with our team of experts, and let’s get your green marketing mojo flowing.

[the-price-of-magic]

"I do... You need one in the foster system, or you might just listen to the bad social workers and find yourself cold on a street corner somewhere trying to make money illegally..." Marie frowns. "Especially when you develop early..."

"No, I didn't. I'm sorry if it ever felt as if I did, but I only ever wanted you to be yourself and to be happy... But I'd been so disingenuous for so long that I had no clue how to tell if someone else was putting on an act without seeing their future... I took your lie about the flowers at face value and never asked if you were really alright but I should have... I put being a savior above being your fiance and friend and for that I truly am sorry."

"Well, I mean, that makes sense... It has been studied and determined that cuddling a person or stuffed animal improves sleep quite a bit," Neal shrugs, showing his smarts more than usual.

"He treats those around him like property, dolls to play with... The pirates he pushed around, the fairies on the island, the lost boys... All slaves to entertain him"

Ruth and Marie enter the bar. They go to grab a booth.

“Do you want to do dessert or just appetizers?”

A white haired man looks up as a darker haired man drags him into the Bar.

@storybrooke-and-cinnamon

"Up to you, I'm probably gonna get the cheapest food on the menu regardless, it's usually the least risky for sensory issues and my wallet," Marie shrugs.

Bae grins, "c'mon, you're learning how to flirt today! You need to learn how to socialize in all ways!"

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi! I'm writing a story set sometime during the mesolithic/neolithic period (8000-3000 BCE). My characters are all from this time period. I've run into a scene where it would make sense for a character to swear. Of course, modern swear words don't exist yet. What kind of words might they use instead?

More broadly, how should writers writing stories set in fantasy worlds or the distant past or future approach swearing and expletives?

Thanks for the help :)

Neolithic Swear Words/Fantasy Swear Words

The first thing you have to remember is that your characters wouldn't even be speaking the language you're writing in anyway. So, none of the words you're using to tell the story or that they're speaking in dialogue existed in 3000 BCE. But just as we don't write modern Viking sagas with characters who actually speak Old Norse, or stories set in Ancient Egypt where the characters actually speak Ancient Egyptian, you're not expected to have your neolithic characters using "neolithic-appropriate" swear words.

Now, I will say that if your story was set during a period with a known ancient language, like Old Norse or Ancient Egyptian, you could throw in some Old Norse or Ancient Egyptian vocabulary here and there to give the impression that your characters are speaking that language. This is the same method used when characters speak a different language than the one in which the story was written. An example would be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak which takes place in WWII Germany with German characters. In reality, Liesel, Rudy, and Max would all speak German, but since the majority of the book's readers wouldn't be fluent in German, it doesn't make sense for the characters to actually speak it. So, instead what the author did was use German vocabulary and slang to give the impression of the characters speaking German. For example, Liesel's foster mother calls everyone "saumensch" and "saukerl" which apparently along the lines of calling someone a pig. This is a useful method if you are fluent in the language your characters would speak, or if you can get help from someone who is fluent in the language. But...

The problem in your case is that we don't really know much about the languages that were spoken during the neolithic, much less during the mesolithic, so this is not an option that's available to you. Writers of stories set during the stone age have made up for this by doing a little bit of conlang, or in other words, constructing a fictional language. You obviously don't have to construct a whole language, but you can put some thought into the sound of the language your characters might have spoken. What letters are the most prominent? What sounds are prominent? Use these same sounds and words in your characters names and the names of places, too.

For example, let's say you're going to use a lot of B's, O's, H's, and S's in your language. You might have a character named Bo'sa, a character named O'hb, and a character named H'sbo. They might live in a village called Hahob'a. If you're writing your story in English, your characters will speak English on the page, but you can throw in made up vocabulary and swear words that match your made up language. Your characters might wear bone armor called Oohsh, and they might eat a seaweed and fish dish called Lo-bah. And your MC's favorite swear word might be th'oba meaning "shark shit."

And, "shark shit" leads me to how you can come up with fantasy swear words. Ultimately, swear words are pretty limited in terms of their meaning. Pretty much any world related to the bodily functions of humans or animals, body parts, and anything that's perceived to be offensive or unpleasant in some way (bad smells, bad tastes, bad textures, things that look ugly or weird.) So, think about what those things would be in your character's environment. I was imagining a neolithic village by the sea in my example, which is why I went with "shark shit" as a bad word. Maybe there are stinky monkeys around your character's village called N'olbos, so someone might say, "Shut-up, N'olbo-butt," as an insult.

And if you don't want to make up a language, just go with the regular words... shark shit, monkey butt, fish gut breath, whatever works.

I hope that helps!

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[brattata]

Hi!! I hope your having a great day!! I don’t know how many have submitted these yet but if i’m too late that’s totally okay and just ignore this 🫶🫶

My fandom of choice is hxh, my age range is 18-30. (I’m 20) My preferred pronouns are she/her and i do not have a preference for gender. I have a very all over the place personality, some days i’ll be very bubbly, i’ll be cracking jokes left and right and im known as the funniest one in my friend group. I’m also known for my sense of style, my outfits are always looking different everyday depending on how I feel. But other days I literally shut everybody out and don’t get out of my bed all day. Sometimes I can have random bursts of anger directed towards whoever I’m talking to at the moment. For my hobbies I often foster dogs and cats (so far only kittens) who are in need of a safe home after being abused or abandoned.

For my dislikes and dealbreakers, if the person i’m dating has age-play or chews loudly 😭 That’s all i can think of 💀

For my letters can i please have O and D from the nsfw list and C from the fluff list!!

(bonus) My sun is a pisces, moon in leo, rising sign is aries. Venus is also aries. I’m an INFJ, and my love languages are giving gifts, physical touch (cuddling, holding hands, the little things, etc) However if my partner is not into physical touch that is totally fine.

I think that is all! Thank you so much and I hope you have a great rest of your day!! 🫶

Alright, a HxH request! And a little NSFT too, huehue. 😏 Since there are some spicy headcanons below the cut, any readers under 18 should please skip this post.

Now, back to the matchup! Reading your info, the person who jumped out to me the most was…

Knuckle Bine!

Side note: There were so many GIFs to choose from, holy shit! Look at him, carrying Meleoron all cool…

You’d make for a very fun and flashy couple, imo. Clearly Knuckle is a dude with a very strong personal style, and I think he’d appreciate that in a partner too. He shares your love for animals - tends to be a little more of a dog person, but come on, who can resist a kitten? 😽 He’s not going to be put off or scared away by your occasional outbursts, and though his response might often sometimes be an outburst of his own, he gets over it pretty quickly. He’ll whine and scold you about PDA being embarrassing, but I bet he’s a cuddlebug in private.

C is for Comfort

So…the first time Knuckle witnesses you spending a whole day in bed, he doesn’t handle it very well tbh. When he’s feeling down or angry, being active makes him feel better, so it might take some time for him to get that you’re different. Not being sulky or lazy, just processing your feelings in your own way. He loves you though, so he’ll adjust, although he still just doesn’t feel right leaving you totally alone all day. Might insist you keep a puppy or kitten with you for company - you know, because they whine too much when they miss you. 🙄

D is for Dirty Secret (NSFT)

I don’t know why, but I feel like Knuckle has a scent kink. It initially started as something very innocent - smell is the sensation most strongly tied to memory, so it makes perfect sense that he’d want a piece of your clothing to remember you by when he has to be away from you for a long time. Right? Morel and Shoot tease him pretty hard when they catch him wrapping an old shirt of yours around his pillow one night. So, he would literally rather die than have them find out about the pair of your underwear he keeps stashed for when he’s really “lonely.”

O is for Oral (NSFT)

Knuckle slightly prefers receiving to giving. He’s naturally a bit of a hair puller and head pusher, not because he’s trying to be “dominant” (unless you’re into that 👀) but because he just gets too caught up in how good your mouth feels. He will also eat you out very enthusiastically (though you might need to ask), and may make it a personal challenge to see how fast or how many times he can make you cum with just his tongue. Bonus dirty secret: he likes oral fine, but he really prefers good old missionary sex because he’s a romantic who wants to be able to see, and kiss, your face. 😘

Ngl, it’s been a minute since I watched the Chimera Ant Arc, so I hope I did Kuwabara Knuckle justice! 😉 Thanks again for participating in my matchup event.

[millylotus]

you have most of the basics, just gonna drop like the general age differences cause those kinda help with interpreting relationships & all that jazz. Also fandom tends to scrunch the ages up [DC isn't better Tim is still fucking 17], so this is like vague canon stuff that makes things make sense.

Alfred & Bruce: Alfred was in the secret service right before he started working for the Waynes, like right before his dad [the previous butler] died & told him to go to Gotham, then like a year later Martha & Thomas died. So he's like Late 20s Early 30s when Bruce is like 8. They have a sort of father son relationship but Alfred's also kinda where the suppress your trauma thing" started [what with him having been in one of the WWs] & he kept an emotional distance from Bruce, calling him Master Bruce for the the most part.

Bruce & Dick: The age gap is just small enough between these two that it could be feasible for Bruce to have been a teen/college dad, but sometimes it's just big enough where Bruce could have been like thirteen. Mostly though it's the first option & Bruce takes in Dick when he's like 26-28 & Dick's like 8-10.

Dick & Babs: Now this ones a bit more varied because writers like to put these two together [and Babs with like all the other batguys but Dick is the most common & consistent & honestly not many like the other situations]. But at most I've seen a 4 year age gap between these two, at least like a 1, Babs is usually older than Dick.

Dick & Jason: Biggest back to back age gap between siblings I think & most noticeable cause it's written like that when Jason first started. At most like 8 years apart, with Dick being like 19 & Jay 11, at least like 6 with Dick being 18 & Jay 12. Also the first proper sibling dynamic in the family really, even the Dick was being very obtuse & distant at times.

Jason & Tim: Not that big of a gap actually, like at most 4 years, at least like 2. Makes all the shit Jason pulls a little bit funny but I digress.

Dick & Tim: Sidenote, Dick kinda tries to be a better brother to Tim after losing Jason & feeling like this is how he can make up for not being a so stellar brother.

Tim & Steph: Literally the same age, like in the same school year, dated for awhile before breaking up, Steph also kinda died for a second there, it was whole thing really. She was Robin while Tim was on house arrest by his dad Jack, but she got sucked up in some big mafia shit & was tortured to death by Black Mask. She's fine now, but still there's a "Dead Robin's Club" joke for a reason.

Cass: Okay so technically she's a little bit older than Jason, like 3-6 months or so. But her age is fucked with alot & she mostly acts & is written like she's Steph & Tim's age. Fans joke alot about her & Tim being twins. She joined around the same time Tim was Robin, & was basically co-parented by Babs & Bruce [those two where not getting along in that comic let me tell you that].

TSC & Damian: So Damian shows up when he's 8 & Tim is 17, that's smth I'm like 90% sure about, so they have a 9 year gap. But this is comic logic to that gap if fucked with & Damian is reaching that point where one day he might be older than Tim if DC doesn't get their act together. Damian's actually a sweet kid, if really guarded & prideful, don't let anyone lie to you & say he didn't get his love for animals from his mother's side of the family. Check out Ra's Al Ghul, One Bad Day, it's pretty good.

Duke [cause he's not talked about enough]: So Duke technically shows up when he's 8, during No Man's Land, he & his dad Doug fish Bruce out of the sewers [flooding dw bout that]. So he's known who Bruce is for awhile. Time skip he's like 10-12, & the Joker tries to recreate what happend to Bruce & his parents to Duke & his [mom's name is Elaine]. Bruce ends up saving Duke, but his parents get jokerized. Duke get put in foster care, major time skip, he's at most 15 at least 14, joins We Are Robin [look for the comic under that name], shit happens he wakes Bruce up from his amnesia by putting them in front of an on coming train. BOOM he becomes Signal.

Duke & Damian: There's like a 2 year gap between these two & Imma stick by that cause that's what an eighth grader & sophomore interacting lowkey feels like [same gap bw me & my sibs].

Also more characters you haven't mentioned so I assume you just missed them:

Kate Kane/Batwoman: Bruce's cousin on his mom's side, his age, maybe a lil younger

Bette Kane/Flamebird/Batgirl: Bruce's other maternal cousin, not to be confused with Beth Kane, Kate's twin & only sibling, like Dick's age

Luke Fox/Batwing: Generally cool guy don't know much about him now that I think about it, like 5 or so older than Babs

Lucius Fox: Luke's dad & often one of the main share holders of Wayne Inc., good guy knew Thomas Wayne sometimes

Jace Fox/Batman: Luke's younger brother who sometimes acts as NYC Batman for some reason

Tamara Fox: Jace's twin sister & both Tim's old secretary & gf, same age dw

Tiffany Fox/Batgirl: Youngest Fox kid don't remember where she is on the rest of the scale

Carrie Kelly/Robin: Kinda out of the timeline but she is often an alternate Robin & does show up in a bunch of 20+ time skips

Gotham Girl: I think her last name is Clover, don't know shit on her but she's blonde

Helena Bertinelli/Huntress: Bird of Prey, Babs' age, not to be confused with Helena Kyle/Wayne who is often depicted as Bruce & Selina's future possible child

Terry/Batman & Matt/Robin McGinnis: Batman Beyond TV show does them best honestly go watch it it's good, basically Batman & Robin after Bruce is Alfred's age

Jarro/Robin: Alien mind controlling starfish, I don't... I don't even know man

That's about it, there's like a bunch more info about them all but honestly for more focused stuff just straight up look up the character's names on here & go to the blogs named after them. Best curated shit ever.

Okay, I'm trying to familiarize myself with Batfam stuff, because I lowkey think they'd be fun to write for. (Never seen any of the animated series or read any Batman comic with Robin in it.)

What I have so far:

Bruce Wayne. Obviously. That's a Batman. Parents killed in an alley outside a theater, he maybe trained with some assassins (and Talia al Ghul is a character who's related to that somehow I think; she might be an assassin), and he's Batman. I know who Batman is. He doesn't kill; that's his rule.

Alfred. Butler. Secretly really good at weapons? Just generally hypercompetent and would probably be killing people if not for Bruce.

There's a bunch of Robins, which I will list. It seems like a lot of them have straight black hair and blue eyes; if true, it's wild that they didn't vary that more. I hope the fandom does something else, lol.

Dick Grayson first. He's the circus one who got adopted when his parents died. He's good at flips and stuff because circus. Not sure the specifics of his parents' death, but I suppose it triggered Bruce? And so Bruce was like, "I gotta adopt this kid." And he later became Robin. And then he did Teen Titans (which I haven't seen, but one of my college roommates watched Teen Titans Go a lot) and dated Starfire. I think he's the one whose costume is sometimes blue? But I'm not sure. Personality-wise, I think maybe he's generally positive and responsible. This is the first Robin, so he's probably got standard Robin characteristics and grew up with the standard amount of superhero angst. Not too much, not too little. I feel like I'd like Dick Grayson if I knew the character well. Oh! He's also called Nightwing, right?

Jason Todd next. He's, like...a street orphan? And I think he's the one with the white in his hair. He got killed by Joker with a crowbar and then came back angry because Batman didn't kill Joker. And I feel like things remained tense with him after that in canon but fan works have them resolve things, but like I said, I have not consumed any of his canon. I'm just going on vibes. Personality-wise, I'm thinking rougher-edged than Dick. Um, Red Hood, right?

Tim Drake is next. I genuinely don't know if and when he was adopted, because I'm pretty sure everything I've consumed about him was just like, "No, he has parents. But he figured out that Bruce Wayne is Batman, so he gets to be Robin." But I also think he lives with them? I think he's more upbeat than Jason; he fully opted into all of this.

Wait, Barbara Gordon is somewhere in there, right? Probably before Tim. I don't know what she's really doing, but she's Jim Gordon's daughter and I think she becomes Batgirl. Does she get killed by Joker? Jim Gordon is like, Batman's favorite police guy. He's the one who's always lighting the bat signal.

Full disclosure, I know Stephanie Brown is someone, but I have no idea who she is or what she's doing or when she comes into play, and iirc I think I saw a Tiktok that implied she straight up lives somewhere else. I guess Barbara probably does, too. And I guess Dick probably moved out to do Teen Titans, although it would be very funny if he didn't. I'm sure a lot of fan works just have them all live together; if the Marvel fandom could put everyone in Stark Tower, the DC fandom can move everyone into Wayne Manor.

I know that Cassandra Cain is deaf, and I think she's a street orphan, too? And I feel like there was some connection between her and the kid from the Birds of Prey movie. Maybe same character; I feel like I remember reading criticism about her not being deaf in the movie. I also don't know when she comes into play, but I'm pretty sure she's one of the straightforwardly adopted ones. But I'm just guessing that because I'm not aware of any reason for her not to be.

Duke Thomas is the black one, and I think he was kind of on the Tim Drake track of figuring out the Batman stuff. I don't know how he came into play either. I think he's called Signal? Does he have an electricity thing, or am I mistaking him for a different character? There are a lot of black superheroes with electricity powers. Personality-wise, I think he's just generally cool and good-natured, but I'm not sure whether that's an actual canon thing, or if I've just consumed content that misrepresents his whole deal. Whatever the case, I'd probably love him if I knew more about him. I feel like I'll like all of these characters.

Damian Wayne, biological son of Bruce and Talia. (Though, if I'm mistaken about that, then that's really funny.) He's, like, an analyst type, which means we've got a lot of characters who are specifically characterized as analytical. (I hope knowing more about them will make it easier to vary the kind of intelligence. I want them to have different specific strengths and weaknesses. They probably do.) And I think he might have also been trained by the assassins, but I'm not sure. Personality-wise, I'm pretty sure he's distinctly creepy. Like, I think he's the creepy genius child trope, and all serious and formal. I like that trope.

[comfortbucky]

I asked for the doctor!bucky andd you don't have to write but I forgot to ask... He is like a really busy doctor and it surprises the female reader that he is going to do her stitches... Wanda is his assistant. He has to give you a pain numbing shot in your cut and he comforts you when you scream and writh in pain... Thanks xxx

𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯 ⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆ ｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚ ⋆ ⋆｡˚

pairing: doctor!bucky x fem!reader

warnings: descriptions of bloody injuries, medical settings, stitches, needles

A/N: omg i’ve never written for doctor!bucky before so i’m excited hehe :) thank u for ur request! // i changed around who was administering the numbing agent and doing the stitches btw i hope u don't mind, just made more sense in my head for bucky to be able to comfort her if his hands are free!

hope u enjoy! <3 sorry if this isn't that good asjdfhaldf

Y/L/N = your last name

also let me just indulge myself and sprinkle some of my own experiences in this bc a couple months ago i literally slammed my head into a wall and cut my eyelid😃nothing bad enough to get stitches but i do have a scar💗

word count: 2k

my masterlist!

completed requests!

“Y/N! Come quick!”

Y/N was digging through her dresser for a sweater when her roommate, Darcy, called out for her. She lifted her head up and spun it without thinking, completely forgetting that her dresser was situated in the corner of her room, slamming her head into the wall.

Her ears started to ring and she bent over in laughter, her natural response to pain, as tears threatened to fall down her face.

“Y/N?” Darcy was met by silence, Y/N struggling to respond, her body overcome with laughter so hard she was inaudible. Concerned that Y/N had knocked herself out cold, Darcy peeked her head around the corner of Y/N’s doorway, to find her hurled over, a hand over her left eye, drops of crimson blood on the ground.

“Holy shit, are you okay?” Y/N lifted her head, calming down from her fit of laughter, and nodded.

“Yeah, of course, this would happen to me,” she replied chuckling, taking a tissue from Darcy to put pressure on her cut.

Carefully making her way to a mirror, Y/N grabbed her phone on the way. She stared at her reflection and slowly removed the tissue from her face to examine the extent of her injury. It was steadily bleeding, most likely a bad sign. Y/N placed her tissue back over her cut and reached for her phone and Facetimed her friend Matt, an EMT.

“Hello- What the fuck happened to you?”

“Hi Matt,” she replied, shooting him a grin through the screen. “Slammed my head against the wall, by accident.”

“I would hope so,” he sighed. “Let me guess, you’re wondering whether you should go to the ER or not?”

“You know me so well, Matty.”

“Has it stopped bleeding?” Y/N removed the tissue and felt a warm liquid trail down the side of her face.

“No.”

“Go to the ER, please.” She groaned.

If there was one place in the world she despised, it was a hospital. But Y/N knew she wouldn’t be able to convince either of her friends otherwise, and dragged her feet as she reluctantly followed Darcy to her car.

It was a normal night in the ER, which meant a fury of organized chaos. Bucky found himself needed in 6 places, all at the same time. But this was an environment that he had become accustomed to, almost finding comfort in the madness of it all. Although the ER was bustling with patients, there weren’t any injuries that were very severe, mostly just broken bones and lacerations. Simple enough to the point where Bucky felt like he was operating on autopilot mode. Going through the motions of whatever task he needed to do, but not anything more than that. He felt numb. For the last several years of his life, the hospital was all that he knew. Bucky kept himself busy with work, leaving him with only a small social circle and his cat, Alpine. It was enough for him, but he never really felt complete. Which is why he threw himself into his work, drowning out his inner thoughts about a missing piece he never thought he’d find.

“Dr. Barnes, paging Dr. Barnes to bed 25.”

Bucky took a quick sip of his coffee and sighed before heading off to see his next patient. Wanda appeared from around the corner and started walking with him.

“This one’s a simple laceration, just might need stitches.” Bucky nodded in response to her, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

She was one of the select few who he considered a friend. Which was a little odd considering he was an attending and she was only a resident. But she was a good student, a fast learner, and one of the only residents he was ever willing to work with. He took her under his wing, fostering a friendship by spending time together in his office, reviewing various medical cases and files.

“Alright, you up to do them?”

Wanda came to a halt, Bucky taking a couple steps before looking back at her, tilting his head, waiting for a response.

“Y-Yeah, yes!” She stammered. “T-thank you, Dr. Barnes.” He nodded his head and turned back around to continue walking, Wanda close behind.

Y/N was sat on the edge of the bed, one hand holding a blood-soaked tissue over her left eye. Her leg was bouncing, a nervous tic she had developed from a young age. The adrenaline had worn off, forcing her to feel a throbbing pain, her eyes brimming with tears. She avoided crying in front of people whenever possible, so as soon as Darcy left to grab some coffee and snacks from the cafeteria, she let the floodgates open. The sound of footsteps approaching made her freeze and she used her sleeves to sloppily wipe away the tears that were streaming down her face.

“Ms. Y/L/N?”

A firm, but somehow also gentle, voice called out to her before the curtain was pulled open to reveal a tall man with dark brown hair, a stubbly beard, and stunningly blue eyes standing next to a woman with blazing red hair and contrasting green eyes. Y/N’s gaze was immediately fixated on the man’s eyes, unable to look away for a moment, before she realized she was staring. She quickly looked down and cleared her throat.

“Y/N, you can just call me Y/N.”

The man nodded and set down his clipboard at the end of the bed before speaking.

“I’m Dr. Barnes and this is Dr. Maximoff.” The woman gave a slight wave as she began charting on a computer. “Can I take a look at your eye?”

Y/N nodded, feeling her anxiety rise as the doctor pulled some gloves on and approached her.

He pulled over a stool to sit on and carefully removed the tissue that Y/N had been holding in place to assess the injury. While Bucky looked at her cut, he stole a glance to study the rest of her face. He couldn't help but take note of the pained look on her face, her eyes still watery and her button nose red from crying. It was the first time in a long time that he felt a twinge of pain while looking at someone's injury, that he felt practically anything at all during a shift. She felt his warm breaths on her face for a moment before he pulled away and replaced her bloody tissue with some gauze.

“Do you mind if she takes a look as well?” Y/N nodded again. Bucky got up from the stool, allowing Wanda to take his spot and assess her eye.

“So it looks like you just need 2 or 3 stitches, very simple procedure.”

Y/N felt her entire body tense up at Wanda's conclusion. She could barely stand sitting in a hospital bed alone and now she was about to get poked and prodded with needles. Bucky noticed and attempted to ease her worries.

"We'll administer a numbing agent, so you won't feel any pain, just pressure at the site."

She looked up at Bucky, who had a kind, tired expression on his face. It looked like he was having a long night and she didn't want to make his job any more difficult than it probably already was. Y/N gave him a small nod and Wanda started to gather the necessary supplies.

She laid back in bed with Wanda and Bucky sitting next to each other on her left. Her hands were folded on her stomach, eyes shut.

"You're gonna feel a slight pinch, okay?" She nodded and bit her lip to try and distract herself.

Wanda proceeded to administer the numbing shot and Y/N squeezed her hands tight, whimpering in pain. Bucky observed the pained expression on her face and placed a hand on her forearm, reflexively rubbing his thumb in small circles. When Wanda pulled the needle out, Y/N slowly fluttered her eyes open and was greeted by Bucky's warm smile. A blush crept to her cheeks and she turned her attention to the ceiling. Immediately, Bucky realized how unprofessional his action was and removed his hand. He had no idea what had come over him, but he'd never felt so drawn to someone like this before.

"Now I'm going to do the stitches, okay? You should just feel a slight pressure." Just as before, Y/N shut her eyes after Wanda spoke and gripped her hands tight. She felt the pressure that Wanda was talking about and couldn't help but squirm at the feeling. Another wave of anxiety rushed over her and she felt herself start to hyperventilate.

Wanda removed the needle and quickly turned to Bucky, a panicked look on her face. He gave her a reassuring look before speaking softly.

"Y/N? Do you think you could hold still for just a little longer?" She opened her eyes, brimming with tears.

"Sorry, I just, I hate needles." Y/N fiddled with her hands as she kept her gaze up, trying to avoid the tears from escaping. Bucky felt his heart sink in his chest at the sight.

"What do you think would help you relax?"

Thoughts ran through her head as she tried to find a solution to relieve her anxiety. Y/N thought back to when she was young and chuckled, remembering a stuffed whale that she got at an aquarium, that went everywhere with her.

"This is stupid but, when I was a kid, I would carry around this stuffed animal around and it helped to hold it whenever I had to get shots."

Bucky thought for a moment and ran a hand through his hair, wondering if he was going to regret the words about to leave his mouth.

"You could hold my hand."

Y/N and Wanda both looked at him with surprised expressions, regret instantly hitting him.

"If you're comfortable with it," he quickly clarified. Y/N felt the corner of her mouth curve into a smile as she nodded.

She laid back down and Bucky took her hand in his. The instant transfer of heat soothed Y/N and she shut her eyes to allow Wanda to get to work.

When she felt the pressure on her eye again, her hand automatically gripped Bucky's tighter, and he squeezed it back to help calm her. Y/N focused on the callousness of his hands, how his hand seemed to fit into hers perfectly. Suddenly, she was thinking about his eyes again, those glimmering blue eyes. Blue was always a calming color for her, reminiscent of her trip to the aquarium where she got her beloved stuffed whale. As she felt Bucky's thumb gently rub the top of her hand, she realized that her whale could never provide as much comfort as he did.

Bucky felt a sense of pride as he watched the tension in Y/N's face disappear. Suddenly, he found his eyes wandering, looking at the loose strands of hair on the right side of her face, the rosiness of her cheeks, how she glowed. His heart started to palpate and Bucky realized a flame had kindled inside him. He was feeling again.

"All done!" Wanda chirped, stepping aside to let Bucky check her work. He smiled at her patted her on the back with his free hand.

"You did good." Wanda beamed and thanked him, walking away to complete her charting.

Y/N's eyes fluttered open, still feeling the warmth of Bucky's hand in hers. He greeted her with a tender smile and slowly helped her up, placing his other hand on the small of her back.

"See? Wasn't that bad after all," he grinned, releasing her hand. Y/N's smile faltered, missing his touch, and nodded.

"Thank you, Dr. Barnes."

"Bucky," he stated. She raised an eyebrow. "Call me Bucky."

The pair stared at each other in silence, enjoying each other's presence before the PA system snapped them both out of their trance.

"Dr. Barnes, paging Dr. Barnes to bed 16."

Bucky sighed, slowly getting up from his seat.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Y/N."

"You too, Bucky."

He turned around and was about to pull the curtain open when he paused, turning back around to face Y/N, scratching the back of his head. It took one look at her face and Bucky knew he didn't want to let her go just yet.

"Would you like to get coffee sometime?" She beamed up at him and Bucky felt his knees go weak.

"I would like that very much." He chuckled in disbelief and smiled.

Bucky had finally found his missing piece.

[shoutaaizawas]

aizawa x fem!reader family headcanons

tags/warnings: abuse mention, child mentions (obviously lol), domestic fluff, overall very fluffy  a/n: for someone who doesn’t really like kids and definitely doesn’t want them i’ve thought about this a lot lol (shout out to @winnies-headcannons​ for suggesting this and giving me the excuse to write this all out)

Aizawa

At first Aizawa thinks he doesn’t want to be a dad

He works so much between teaching and being a hero

He basically already has twenty two children with Class 1A

It was hard for him to accept you into his life and make time for you

Of course it’s the best decision he’s ever made but it was daunting at first

He didn’t want to disappoint you or give you less than you deserve

But the idea of having kids scares him the same way having an s/o did

What if he wasn’t good enough?

What if he didn’t have enough time?

What if they got hurt?

What if something happened to him?

But things change quickly after Eri comes into your lives

Eri

She needed Aizawa for her safety and others safety

But when he looked at her sad little face he couldn’t help but love her

When he brings her home to you your heartbroken at all the things she’d been through

You both just want to protect her and give her the best life she deserves

Sure it was technically a job for Aizawa to watch her but it never feels like one

When they mention what they’ll do with her once her quirk is under control it makes Aizawa so sad

He loves watching you play with Eri and take care of her

Coming home to you two having a tea party with her stuffed animals makes his heart so full

He can’t imagine letting anyone else take care of her

He comes home and brings it up

He isn’t direct, he doesn’t want you to feel like you have no choice

He mentions that they will look for a new home for her once she’s able to leave

You start tearing up before he even finishes

“Shouta we can’t let her go.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page then.”

You hug each other and are both so happy that you let Eri into your life

You hadn’t even thought about having kids much less talked about it before Eri but it felt so natural for the both of you

One night your finishing up some papers for work and Shouta is cooking dinner

Eri comes up to you, staring up at you with her wide eyes

“Can I call you mommy and daddy?” She asks in her little voice

Eri thinks she said something wrong when you start crying

Shouta is quick to run over, hearing the conversation from the kitchen

He scoops up Eri and sits down next to you on the couch, wrapping an arm around the both of you

“Did I say something wrong?” She asks

“No, sweetie. She’s not crying because she’s sad, she’s crying because she’s happy.”

You wipe away your tears and take a deep breath

“Of course you can call us that.”

It makes you both so happy to know she feels comfortable and safe living with the both of you

Shinsou

It was common for Shinsou to be around the house

After he trained with Aizawa he would come over for dinner

You liked having him over, he was so polite and sweet and had a good sense of humor

He gets along well with Eri, listening to stories she tells him or playing with her toy she shows off to him

He reminded you a lot of Aizawa

You weren’t sure if it was his personality or if Aizawa had been rubbing off on him

One night you and Aizawa are laying in bed tangled in each others arms

He’s nervous, he knows what he wants but he isn’t sure if you’ll want it to

“Shinsou is a foster kid.” He brings it up like it’s no big deal

“Really?” You ask, you can sense he’s nervous so you run your hand through his hair hoping to soothe him

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t know that, is he in a good home?”

There’s a tense pause before he answers

“When we’re training there are bruises that I know aren’t from training.”

You let out a sad sigh

Shinsou is such a good kid it break your heart to think he lives in a house that he can’t feel safe in

“He goes through enough with how cruel people are about his quirk. He works so hard, he should at least have a safe place to go home to.” He says, his tone low

You can tell how upset he is about it

“We have an extra room.” You say. “We could clean it out, there’s not much in there.”

Aizawa is filled with emotion he wasn’t ready for, this is the outcome he was hoping for but you had agreed to it so quickly

In fact you didn’t even agree to it, you offered it freely

“A-Are you sure?” He tries to hold back his tears but the stream down his cheeks

You take his face gently in your hands

“Shouta I think about your childhood a lot, how I wish someone had seen how you were suffering. Seen what you were going through and helped you. Took you into a loving home and supported you. If we have the opportunity and more than enough means to do so it would make me happy. He deserves it. He’s a good kid.”

Shouta pulls you into a crushing hug, more tears running down his face

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” You tell him. “You know he kind of looks like you, if he was younger people might think he was our kid.” You joke.

Aizawa asks Shinsou about moving in

Shinsou is shocked, he didn’t see it coming

At first he’s overwhelmed, almost wanting to say no

He doesn’t want to be pitied or a burden

Aizawa opens up to him about his childhood, being moved around from foster home to foster home, the bruises, the burns.

How he was kicked out the second he turned eighteen and how he was homeless for a long time even while doing hero work

Shinsou had no idea his mentor had been through so much but knowing he understands makes him more comfortable accepting Aizawa’s offer

It’s a bit weird moving in with his teacher (if you teach at UA two of his teachers)

He feels like he’s intruding at first

He feels wrong walking around or going into the kitchen to get food, he prefers to stay in his room

You and Shouta give him space and let him get comfortable

But you also take time to draw him out

Invite him to watch a movie with everyone

Ask for his help in the kitchen and teach him how to make his favorite dish

He gets comfortable quickly, he likes being around everyone and it doesn’t take long for you all to feel like a family

You come home to Aizawa grading papers at the dining room table while Shinsou is on the couch with Eri teaching her how to play Animal Crossing

You see Aizawa pause his work to look up at Shinsou and Eri and smile at the sight of them smiling and laughing

You wrap your arms around Aizawa’s shoulders and press a kiss to his cheek and think about how thankful you are to have this perfect family

The Twins

With Eri and Shinsou the house feels full of life and love

You’re laying on the couch after the kids went to bed watching TV

His arms are wrapped around your waist as you sit on his lap

You aren’t expecting your husband to ask this question

“Have you ever thought about having more kids?”

You turn your head to look at him

He looks nervous about asking the question

“I don’t think there are any more students to adopt” You tease him

He gives you a smirk

“I mean we could adopt another kid or... we could try having our own.”

You weren’t expecting that, of course you had wondered what a baby with Aizawa would look like but you never thought he might want to have a baby with you

You hadn’t talked about kids before adopting Eri and you always assumed it would be easier if you didn’t have any

“I’m certainly not opposed to that.”

“I didn’t want kids at first, I worried about everything that could go wrong but after having Eri and Shinsou with us it doesn’t feel as scary.”

So you start trying for a baby

And you’re both overjoyed when your pregnancy test comes back positive

You tell Shinsou and Eri 

Eri is so excited to have a little brother or sister and goes on and on about all the games they can play together

Shinsou isn’t as open with his excitement but he’s looking forward to the new baby and he makes sure to let you both know that he’s willing to help out

When you go to the doctors to see what the gender of the baby will be you get a surprise you weren’t expecting

You have not just one baby boy on the way but also a baby girl on the way

Your scared that it might be overwhelming for Aizawa, it is for you but he just gives you a warm smile

“Honestly I had a feeling having one more kid would make me want another, so this is just a bonus.”

Aizawa is the best when it comes to taking care of you

He will get you any food you crave, will help you out with anything you need and he will make sure that him and Shinsou handle most of the household chores, even Eri helps clean what she can

When you finally have the babies everyone is so excited to meet the new additions to the family

Aizawa is at your side the whole time letting you squeeze his hand as hard as you need to, his low voice reassures you the whole time and tells you how much he loves you

The doctor hands you your new babies, it’s hard to tell who they resemble more but they both have their fathers dark hair

Aizawa holds they after you and he doesn’t hide the happy tears that stream down his face

When you take them home it feels like the whole household revolves around them

Aizawa takes time off to help with the babies

Eri loves to sit on your lap and watch them sleep in your arms

If they start crying she’ll run and grab their favorite toy and give it to them

Shinsou will take turns and put them down for their naps

He always tries and helps with all the laundry that comes from the babies, they go through a lot of clothes and blankets

It makes your heart warm how gentle and sweet they both are with them

It makes you so happy when you go out to the store and leave the babies with Aizawa and when you return home you find him fast asleep on the couch with both of them cradled against his chest sleeping peacefully

Overall

Aizawa never expected to have a family but he is overwhelmed with how happy he is with your perfect little family

It brings him so much happiness

He definitely has pictures of all of his kids in his wallet and a picture of you as well

He is private about his family mostly for their safety but the people who know about you will constantly be hearing him brag about how amazing you all are

He loves you all more than he could ever express but everyday of his life he makes sure to show it every way he can possible

[harryspet]

sweet sister | peter parker

[Warnings] dark peter parker x innocent reader, reader is extremely innocent, manipulation, male/female masturbation, somnophilia, stepcest, hj, vaginal sex but not really? 

A/N: This is based off a request I got for a innocent reader where Peter teachers her about sex. Reader is 18 and Peter is around 21. DARK THEMES SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

In which you’re May and Happy’s foster kid and Peter takes advantage of your innocence. 

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word count: 2.9k

You came home from school like it was a normal day. Walking up the steps to your family’s brownstone, clad in your school uniform, and loud music blaring in your headphones, “May!” You shouted too loudly, walking down the hallway towards the kitchen, “Did my package come?”

You stopped in your tracks as you saw three figures standing in the living room. Happy, May, and … some kid you didn’t know. Your eyebrows raised in confusion at the young man standing with your foster parents. 

“Y/N, this is my son Peter!” May smiled, trying not to be awkward. She approached you, urging you forward. Now you recognized him and your eyes widened because of how easily you missed it. He was in all the photos on the mantle but, now, he looked a bit older. 

You were not what Peter expected, at all. By May’s description of you, he thought you might be a middle schooler. His eyes trailed over you, the way you filled out your uniform … Peter snapped out of it, moving forward to hold out his hand to you.

“Hi, I’m-” Interrupting him and surprising him at the same time, you went in for a hug. Peter hesitated for a moment before hugging you back. You noticed he had a strong grip. 

“She’s a hugger,” You heard May whisper. 

You pulled away and offered your hand for him to shake. He took it, smiling, but still a little confused by the long greeting, “I’m Y/N. You look just like May! I mean, you’re very pretty like her.” Happy always went on about how pretty May was and you always agreed. 

You watched as his cheeks reddened. Was it something you said? ''Thank you very much, I haven’t heard that one before.”

You looked back at May who seemed to improve the interaction. You smiled, worrying that you had made him nervous, “Peter finally has a break from his busy schedule to come see us. He’ll be here with us for at least a week. May and I thought this would be a good time for you two to get to know each other.” 

May had taken you in two years ago but this was the first time you were officially meeting Peter. He was always halfway around the world fighting crime and could only stop at May’s work every once and awhile. You never thought you’d ever have a full family like all the people on the television did. 

“That sounds like a lot of fun,” You heard Peter say and your heart did a little backflip. Your very own big brother.  “What’s this about a package?” 

“Oh,” Your face fell, “Uhm, they’re just books.”

Peter gave you a look of inquiry, stuffing his hands into his pockets, “You like to read? What kind of books?”

You opened your mouth to make up some excuse but Happy interrupted you, “I put your package on your bed, sweetheart. Why don’t you show Peter his new room?” Right, you had taken Peter’s old room. 

“Okay!” You perked back up, glad the subject of books was over, “Follow me, big brother!”

That was easy, Peter thought. She didn’t seem to give a second thought about accepting him which was endearing but scared Peter to a certain extent. How trusting was she exactly? May had warned him that she was a little eccentric … and a little emotional. 

Peter tried to keep his focus up as he followed you up the stairs. A part of him was a little let down that you were wearing shorts beneath your plaid skirt. 

“May says you have like a sixth sense. And that you can sense when danger is near. She talks about you a lot, you know? You call it a Peter tingle, right? I thought that was a really cute name but I’m not supposed to bring it up around you apparently-” You were rambling, as usual, and had passed your bedroom but you noticed that Peter wasn’t following you anymore. 

“You made it pink,” You heard Peter say as he peeked into your room. He adjusted the black backpack on his shoulder and you couldn’t help but notice his muscles. He was like the boys you read about in your books but … he was technically your stepbrother. 

You walked toward him, “May said I could decorate it how I wanted. Do you hate it? You hate it, don’t you? I’m really sorry. It’s just that it’s my favorite color and-”

“No way, I like it!” He quickly assured you, not wanting to see what happened when you finally ran out of air. Peter walked inside and you followed him. There was no twin bed anymore but a regular-sized bed with a white canopy. 

There was a pile of stuffed animals in the corner that Peter noted, “You have a lot of stuffed animals …”

“Those are the ones they give you in family court,” You explained to him before pointing over to your bed, “I keep the ones Happy and May give me on the bed, those are my favorite.”

“I see,” You spoke so casually about being in family court that it made Peter wonder what your story was. There were at least ten stuffed animals there, “Which one’s your favorite?”

You liked that question, smiling wide, as you walked over to your bed. Peter watched you carefully as you bent over to grab a gray penguin, “I like penguins a lot. My first Christmas here, May got me this and a penguin puzzle. I’ve done it a million times now but we could put it together if you wanted.”

“I can’t imagine anything better, Y/N.”

You were going to be very fun to get to know, Peter thought. 

+

The family had gone out to dinner that night and had been the rest of the evening putting together a hundred piece, penguin puzzle. It was one of the best days of your life and, as you expected, having a family was wonderful. Having Peter was just an extra bonus. You wished he didn’t have to leave. 

The next day, as you walked down the steps that lead from your school, you didn’t expect to find Peter waiting for you. You ran up to him and hugged him, of course, and you savored the moment when his strong arms were around you. Some girls you didn’t know gasped and practically swooned as they watched you two. 

“I have strict orders to take you straight home so you can start right away on your homework,” You frowned until Peter continued, “But I think we should stop for ice cream.”

You were practically bouncing with excitement as Peter grabbed your hand and lead you down the street. 

At the small parlor, you licked at a cone of chocolate ice cream while Peter stuck his spoon into his ice cream sundae. Peter���s eyes wandered over to your mouth, imagining your wrap your lips around his-

“You never said what you liked to read, Y/N.”

You blushed, your nose wrinkling, as the embarrassment filled you, “It’s silly … you don’t want to hear about it.”

“I do,” Peter insisted, “I won’t tell anyone, don’t worry.”

You took a breath, “They’re … they’re romance novels. It’s a series one of my friends at school told me about. She thinks I’m too … too babyish. Apparently, there are scenes in it ... “

“Scenes like what?” You blushed even more. 

“Bad scenes,” you whispered and Peter pretended to think the subject was taboo, “She wants me to learn about … dirty stuff. These guys are taking us to prom and she wants … she wants us to have our ‘first times’ together. I don’t even know what that means! But I can’t tell her that or she’ll think I’m even weirder than I already am to her.”

Buried treasure. Peter had stumbled upon pure gold.

“Y/N, you’re talking about sex?” Peter narrowed his eyes at you. 

“Sex?” You spoke the word like it was completely foreign on your tongue, “I think that’s it. Sounds gross, right?”

Peter couldn’t help but chuckle, “It’s kinda gross if you think about it too deeply but it’s not meant to be gross. It’s not as scary as you think. It’s quite beautiful, actually.”

Her eyes went wide, “You’ve done it a bunch, haven’t you?”

Peter shrugged, “A few times but only with special people. If the guy who’s taking you to prom isn’t special then you definitely shouldn’t give him your first time.” Peter would have to do some research on this guy and make sure he didn’t even think about coming near her. 

You looked solemnly at your melting ice cream, “I must be a total weirdo then …”

“You’re not, Y/N, trust me. Eighteen is still young.”

You leaned forward, whispering, “I haven’t even kissed anyone, Peter. People do that in middle school.”

Peter leaned forward next, entrancing you with his eyes, “Do you really want to get some experience? Because … I could help you. I’m probably better than those trashy books.”

You raised an eyebrow, “Do brothers and sisters normally talk about stuff like this?”

“Don’t you want to be friends too?” You instantly nodded, “Then I can help you out, as a brother and a friend. But if you want to read your books-”

“No, no, you can teach me!”

And you easily stepped into his trap. 

+

That night, Peter slipped out of his room clad in his pajamas. Your door slowly creaked open and you sat up in your bed. You rubbed the tired from your eyes as Peter peaked in, “My room is freezing … and I can hear Happy snoring through the walls.”

You pulled back your comforter, patting the spot next to you, “You can sleep in here with me,” Peter entered all the way before slowly shutting the door. 

“Really? I can sleep on the floor …” 

You shook your head, “It’ll be like a sleepover.”

Peter moved in the darkness, climbing in beside you. You pulled the covers over him and you both lay down. Peter watched as you turned over before tiredly murmuring, “Goodnight, Peter.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

Peter waited a good hour before moving closer to you. In a slow movement, he had pressed himself against you, taking in the scent of your hair, as he admired the lines of your body. It was a risk but he touched your waist, his hands trailing over to your stomach. He felt the soft skin of your back as well before reaching into his pants. 

He touched himself to the thought of you and he almost panicked as you moved. You turned to your other side, not facing him. Watching your sleeping face sent Peter over the edge and he muffled his grunts with a pillow. 

He wasn’t in your bed when you awoke the next morning. 

+

Happy had surprised May with a romantic dinner that night so Peter and you were left alone that evening. You were brushing your teeth in your jack and jill bathroom when Peter walked in suddenly. You looked over to see him only wearing a pair of basketball shorts. 

You blushed, looking back at the mirror before spitting out the foam in your mouth. He stalked closer to you and you noticed something different in the look in his eyes, “I was thinking something, Y/N, about what you told me at the ice cream shop.”

You put away your toothbrush, turning off the sink before wiping your mouth with a hand towel, “I thought you had forgotten …” 

Peter smirked, “Far from it, actually. I was thinking about how you said you want more experience. With kissing boys and things like that, right?”

You nodded slowly, growing nervous. 

“I think the first thing you should learn is how to pleasure yourself before you learn about pleasuring someone else,” He held your hand, rubbing soothing circles into your palm. 

“Pleasure?”

Peter nodded, “Sex is all about pleasure,” Peter held your hand it slowly brought it against his crotch. You felt something hard and flinched away, “It’s okay, don’t worry.” 

It was such a weird feeling. Only recently had you learned that boys and girls even had different parts. 

“Right here is where guys can feel pleasure,” Then Peter reached out to touch you. Through the fabric of pajama pants, you could feel his fingers brush against your folds, “This is where girl’s feel pleasure. Let me show you.”

He assured you that everything was going to be okay as he slid down your shorts. Before you could step out of them, Peter swiftly lifted you onto the counter and you yelped at the sudden movement. 

He took your hand and pressed your fingers against your crotch. He tried to guide you as best as he could, standing between your spread legs, “Oh my stars …” You breathed out, savoring the foreign new feeling. You wanted to run away from it and run to it at the same time. You looked at Peter with frightened eyes as he slowly moved his hands away.

“That’s it, good girl, keep rubbing,” He praised you, loving the sight of you discovering your own body. You kept going, rubbing circles over that sensitive area through your light pink panties. You leaned back, lifting a leg on the counter, so you could get a better angle.

“Is this good Peter?”

“You’re doing great, Y/N. Doesn’t that feel good?”

You nodded, practically whimpering. You looked at Peter differently than before, you didn’t see the boy you saw before. You thought about how handsome he was and how sweet he’s been to you all week. You felt the wetness growing beneath your legs and you blushed as you look down, “Peter, I-I  think I’m peeing …”

Peter gave you an amused smile, “That just means that you like it, Y/N. That you’re aroused,” Peter grabbed your hand and moved it away from your crotch. You found yourself missing the feeling and you watched as he slid off his pants and underwear. The sight of his manhood felt foreign but aroused you at the same time. 

Peter slowly palmed his manhood as he leaned into you. You practically froze as his lips touched yours. He didn’t even have to speak because as he slowly left soft pecks on your lips, you started to lean back into him. Your hands touched his neck as you started to move your lips against his. You liked it … No, you loved it, “Your lips feel squishy,” You gushed and Peter laughed, turning his head as the kiss became more passionate. 

You let your leg fall back over the counter and, as it did, Peter slowly slid off your underwear. Then suddenly, he lifted you. You wrapped your legs around him as he carried you into your room. He sat on your bed, leading you to straddle him. 

“I want to try something,” Peter said before pecking your lips again. 

You were all in. 

He laid back on your bed, and you sat on his legs, “Touch my cock,” You thought the word was silly but you could tell what he meant. It felt harder than you expected and as you gripped it on your hand, a guttural moan exploded from Peter, “Spit on it.”

“Peter-”

“It’s okay, it’ll feel better that way,” He tried to assure you and you hesitated before pulling your hair back. The trail of spit fell onto his member and you felt gross for a moment until you saw his reaction. 

That sound he was making you even wetter. 

Peter grabbed your legs, pulling you up more until your private parts were positioned right over his, “I want you to rub yourself against me, can you do that?” Peter asked. With all his fantasies coming true, he wasn’t sure how long he’d last. 

You nodded. You held onto Peter’s chest as you slowly dragged your private parts against his. His cock was pressed against his stomach and your lips moved up and down his length. You felt it then. That pleasure and his pleasure mixing. You kept going, starting to feel something building up in your core. 

You bit down on your lips, liking the feeling of when his tip rubbed against your sensitive bulb. Your wetness acting as even more lubrication, you thought you were making quite the mess but Peter didn’t seem to mind. 

You moved faster, Peter’s groans encouraging you and your curiosity of that thing building up inside you kept you going. Your toes curled as you got the feeling of a waterfall rushing off a cliff. Your mind went blank for a moment and your body shook as that damn finally broke. 

You moaned, riding out the feeling and that's' when you felt Peter convulsing. You felt his cock twitch as white spilled from the tip of his member and onto his stomach. Peter’s head rested all the way back and you couldn’t help but smile as you realized that you had both reached your tipping points. 

“Well, was that it? Did I do sex?”

“Sort of,” Peter said, completely out of breath. The eagerness in your eyes wasn’t something he expected, “You have a lot more to learn, Y/N.”

“Then can we do it again, Peter?”

+

Hope you enjoyed this! Feel free to check out my masterlist for more Peter fics! There is a short sequel to this! 

PART TWO

[laniidae-passerine]

okay!! here are all the subtle manipulations that Curtain uses in his conversation with Sticky. They’re in linear order, as accurate as I could get them and I added in what I believe to be the intended effects of these manipulations as well.

“There are times in life where one must stand in the spotlight and take a bow. At first you might find it difficult to outshine those people that are close to you. But that thinking is weak. It’s a trap.” - Clearly intended to further Sticky’s burgeoning sense of superiority that Curtain is fostering and to set him against Reynie and any other allies. However, look at the use of ‘weak’ - a term that many people may use in regards to Sticky due to his anxieties and cautiousness. Curtain wants to remind Sticky of how people see him when Sticky is being his authentic self and turn him against the idea of being anything but the polished, controlled version that the Whisperer and Curtain can create. ‘It’s a trap’ is also smart considering how Sticky has repeatedly warned against Kate’s rapid fire action plans in fear of unforeseen consequences. He fears the unknown and that which he can’t understand, a fear Curtain exposes and draws upon.

“I tell you, unlike others around here, I do not find your knowledge of facts and figures annoying at all!” - Of course, the backhanded… is it a compliment, really? Either way, it’s a two pronged attack. The use of ‘others’ clearly referring to Reynie, Kate and Constance implies that Sticky should be weary of those he trusts - that the three of them actually find him dull and irritating. Furthermore, Curtain establishes that he is the exception to the rule: everyone else thinks Sticky is a pathetic walking dictionary but not Curtain, the only one who understands. The second prong is centred around the word ‘annoying’ - establishing that Sticky can be seen as irritating or overtly obsessive. This will likely be used by Curtain as a way to keep Sticky down; he plants the fear of being annoying in Sticky’s head now and later, if Sticky falls out of line, will warn him that he is becoming tiresome to Curtain with his endless encyclopaedic chattering. Calculated and utterly premeditated abuse.

“I gotta be honest with you. I actually thought it was your roommate who had the potential.” - This one doesn’t work because Sticky is loyal to the end (you go Sticky ily my boy) but this is clearly meant to be a way of both boosting Sticky’s arrogance and pride while reminding him that he’s replaceable. While Curtain dismisses Reynie’s compatibility with the Whisperer, there’s a reminder that at the start, Reynie was the golden child. Therefore, we have the possibility of a threat against Sticky’s new star status - Reynie working hard enough to be a good fit for the Whisperer, replacing Sticky and leaving him unwanted. Again.

“That’s where your greatness lies, Sticky. Within.” - As I believe someone else has mentioned before, what a goddamn sweet Mr Benedict line we have here! Alas, because it’s Curtain, all the preceding lines point to this being another manipulation. See, Curtain has just established that, implicitly unlike other people, he doesn’t see academic success as being able to recite things or pass tests but the ability to reveal inner strength. This positions him uniquely as a person who can do such as thing and thus when it’s paired with a line stating Sticky’s actual worth is inner, it implies that only Curtain can draw that out. Nobody else can see nor can help unleash Sticky’s true potential - the only person he needs is Curtain.

“You earned it. And don’t over-sauce. It’s clumsy and dishonours the animal.” - Anyone familiar with being emotionally abused or manipulated is likely familiar with the ‘praise and put down’ technique. First, you are praised for something, making you remember how wonderful it is to be lauded by someone you care about. Then follows a jab to put you back down, leaving you yearning to please the person manipulating you so they won’t insult or belittle you anymore. Sticky, a child, is using a little bit too much horseradish on a fillet of beef probably too sophisticated for his palette. It’s unnecessary and obviously cruel but! It’s a way of putting Sticky down while reminding him that Curtain knows best. Sticky needs the leadership of Curtain to guide him, obviously, or else he’ll make embarrassing mistakes like being a child who eats wagyu with too much horseradish. As well as this, the word ‘dishonour’ will make Sticky feel the worst as he seems to pride himself on being polite and useful to others. Overall, this is a reminder to Sticky - I can build you up, but I can bring you right back down.

[avengerscompound]

It’s You and Me - Chapter 16

It’s You and Me: A Hawkeye Fanfic

Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Clint Barton x  F!Reader

Word Count:  2306

Rating:  E

Warnings:  action, canon typical violence, mentions of past child sexual abuse

Synopsis: You and Clint Barton go way back.  Since you joined the circus as a child, he took it upon himself to keep you away from the people who really wanted to hurt you.  For years the two of you danced a line between dark and light.

When he chooses light the two of you go your separate ways.

Fifteen years later he tracks you down.  Those feelings the two of you shared never went away, but now he is not only an Avengers but a single father.  Can the two of you make it work after all this time when your lives have gone in such different directions?

A series told in flashbacks and current day.

Chapter 17: Then

Clint was nervous as he followed you along the edge of the rooftops.  Not because he was afraid of being hurt, or getting caught.  You and he had been living in Brooklyn for a few years now in a shitty little apartment in a not great neighborhood and yet things had been going pretty smoothly.  They had a regular gig at the Coney Island Circus Sideshow and Clint even had a part-time job teaching kids trapeze at a trapeze school in Brooklyn.  It was generally enough to pay the rent and utilities and buy food.  On weeks things might get particularly tight because of an unexpected bill or doctor’s visit, you would find some sketchy wall street guy to cat burgle, and the two of you would have enough to make sure you wouldn’t need to do that again for at least a couple of months.

It wasn’t ideal, but the two of you were happy.  He loved being with you, and he loved this sense of stability you had together.

Then around four months ago, things had started to change.  He’d brought up the idea of having kids.  He knew despite the fact he felt his life was more stable than it had ever been, the reality was, you and he were in no position to raise them right now - he just wanted to put the idea out there.  If there was a plan to do it, then maybe you could work towards that as a goal.

You had completely shut down.

“No… no, no, no.  You can’t do this to me, Clint,” you said, moving down the couch away from him and hugging your legs.

He looked at you confused and more than a little hurt.  “What?  You don’t want to have kids with me?”

“I don’t want them at all,” you said.  “I thought you’d be on the same page as me.”

“What?  But why?  I love kids.  Working at the trapeze school is so much fun…” Clint explained.  “You always seem to get on with kids during the show and back when we were at the circus.”

You shook your head.  “I like them fine.  But Clint you should know… what we’ve been through in our lives… why would you want to create a life and put them at risk of repeating that?”

Clint blinked at you.  “But you would never hurt a kid.  Neither would I.  I want to give someone the chance at a happy stable life because of what mine was like.”

“What if something happened to us?”  You said.  “We don’t have any family.  They could end up going into shitty foster homes just like you did.  Or.. or… they …”

You stopped talking and hid your face in your legs.  He moved closer to you and put his arm around you.  He wasn’t sure how he felt.  He’d always seen himself as a dad at some point.  Even when he was young and angry he wanted to have a family … almost like it would be a way to finally fill in that box he’d never been able to check before.  But you didn’t want that, and he loved you.  You’d stuck by him through so much and he’d stuck by you.  To throw that away now when he was happy seemed crazy.

So he dropped it.

The problem was it seemed to cast a shadow over things.  He wanted to move forward but you were pulling away.  And then one day you came to him and said you had a job.  When he pressed you about what the job was or even why you had set one up when money had been fine lately, you wouldn’t talk and just asked him to trust you.

Only he still had that stupid issue with trust.

He tried though.  He had gone along with it and followed you into the mouth of the lion completely unsure if it was an old circus cat trained to keep his jaws apart or a young wild animal ready to tear you both apart.

After jumping over more rooftops than he’d care to count, you stopped suddenly and indicated for him to drop.  The two of you crept to the edge of the roof and peered over the roof to the one over from you.  There were a group of people standing around a bunch of crates talking.  Some were armed with guns, but he noticed the sword hanging from a large man’s hip.  He narrowed his eyes and slowly it dawned on him. 

“Is that Jacques?”  He whispered.

“Yes,” you said in a soft growl.

“What’s in the crates?”  Clint asked.

“It’s not important,” you said.  “It’s not why we’re here.”

Clint turned his attention from the group on the roof to you.  You opened and closed your hand on the hilt of your sword as you stared daggers at Jacques.  “Why are we here?”  Clint asked.  You didn’t reply, but your fingers twitched on the sword.  “Sugar… why are we here?”

“Revenge,” you seethed.

Clint’s jaw dropped open and he grabbed your arm, spinning you to face him.  “That’s not what we do.  If you wanted to get back at him, you should have just called the cops. Obviously whatever he’s doing is illegal.”

“After what he did to me?  To us?” You hissed.  “He broke your leg and left you for dead, Clint?  You told me that yourself!  And you’re just going to let him go about hurting other people?”

“This isn’t the way…” Clint implored.  “Come on.  Let me just call the cops and we’ll leave them.”

“I need to do this, Clint,” you begged.  “Please.  You want this life with me, and I can’t… I want you to have it, but I can’t if he’s out there.”

Clint was going to try and reason with you more, or beg you not to do this when a commotion on the roof drew his attention.  A group of people burst through the stairs with their weapons drawn.  They looked like government agents - feds or CIA - and everyone was shouting as they swarmed onto the roof.

Chaos broke out.  Swordsman and his group scattered, trying to escape the agents swarming the roof.

“He’s getting away!”  You shouted and jumped out, bounding over the roof after Swordsman.

“Sugar wait,” Clint shouted.  He took off after you, quickly nocking and loosing arrows, taking out anyone that came close to you.

A helicopter swooped in, lighting up the area as a firefight broke out.

Clint kept his attention on you.  He didn’t want you to kill anyone.  Even Jacques.  Especially Jacques.  As much as the Swordsman had been responsible for so much pain, he was also one of the only father figures Clint had.

“Sugar!  Stop!”  He shouted as he followed after you.

You and Jacques began to duel, your swords flashing with the light from the chopper.  “You think you can best me, girl?”  Jacques sneered as he cut your bicep.  You flinched and he took the opportunity to run again.  At the same time, one of the agents aimed his gun at you.  Clint reacted without thinking.  He loosed his arrow and it clipped the agent’s gun barrel sending the shot wild.  At the same time, two agents tackled him to the ground and wrestled the bow out of his hands.  You spun around and screamed his name.

“Run!”  Clint shouted, but it was too late, another agent grabbed you and knocked you down, sending your sword flying as he pushed a gun barrel into the back of your head.

“Don’t struggle and we won’t have any reason to shoot you,” one of the agents growled.

“You’re letting Jacques get away,” Clint argued, as they dragged him to his feet.

“How about you worry about the prison time you’re about to do,” the agent growled.

Clint’s shoulders ached.  He felt like he’d been sitting at this bare metal table with his hands cuffed for hours.  He worried about you.  No one would tell him where you were or if you were okay.  People would come in and ask him questions and then leave again.  He hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink and his bladder felt like it was going to explode.

A guy with an eyepatch came into the room with a tray of food.  Two agents that could practically have been twins flanked the door.  “You must be getting hungry,” eyepatch said, putting the tray just out of Clint’s reach.

“Need to pee,” Clint grumbled, squirming in his seat.

“You haven’t let him use the bathroom?”  Eyepatch said, looking at the agents.  When neither reacted, eyepatch uncuffed him from the table.  “Take our friend to relieve himself.  We aren’t animals.”

Clint hadn’t appreciated a piss as much as he did that one in his entire life.  By the time he was wrestled back to the table, he was already feeling a little more comfortable.

“So,” eyepatch said, pushing the tray over to him.  Clint grabbed the bottle of iced tea off it and popped the cap, swallowing the sweet liquid in large gulps.  “We’ve been asking around, and the only one of the group who even knows who you are was the girl with the sword.”

“Is she okay?”  You asked.

“Nasty cut on her arm.  Needed stitches,” eyepatch said.  “She’s in our medbay.”

“Who’s our?”  Clint asked, taking a bit from the meatball sub on the tray.

“We’re asking the questions, Mister Barton,” eyepatch said.

Clint choked on the bread and took another drink to clear his throat.  “How do you know my name?”

“We know a lot of things, Clint,” eyepatch said.  “Can I call you Clint?”  Clint shrugged.  “The names, Fury,” eyepatch added, offering Clint his hand.  Clint shook it awkwardly before going back to the food.  “For example,” Fury continued.  “We know you were in the circus with Duquesne.  So if the two of you came from the same place how do you explain your being there if you didn’t have anything to do with the rest of them?”

“Like you said; we know Duquesne.  I’d say the reason we were there was not far from the reason you were there,” Clint snarked.

“You shot at one of our agents,” Fury said.  “Doesn’t seem like we were on the same side.”

“I knocked his gun off course so he wouldn’t shoot my girlfriend,” Clint said.

“You expect me to believe you made that shot intentionally?”  Fury snarked.

Clint took the lid from the iced tea and flicked his wrist.  “Camera, thing one, thing two,” Clint said as it spun through the air.  It hit the security camera cracking the screen.  The two guards turned to look at it and it ricocheted off and hit the first one in the forehead, bounced up, and came down right on top of the second one’s head.

“Mister Barton,” Fury said.  “I want to offer you a job.”

Clint hurried into the medbay, still being flanked by the twins.  They left him at the door and Clint rushed to your hospital bed where you were sitting, handcuffed.

“You okay?”  He asked, patting you over like he was checking for breaks.

“I’m fine.  Just some stitches.  I don’t even know why they’re keeping me here,” you said.  “Mind games, probably.”

“They offered me a job,” Clint said.

You looked at him and tilted your head.  “What?”

“I know, right?”  Clint said.  “They said I’d be an asset to the organization.  Imagine us - spies.”

“Spies?”  You asked.

“Yeah,” he said.  “We’d make so much money and … we could get a house.  And a dog… Maybe even… if you wanted to… kids?”

You opened and closed your mouth like a goldfish.  “I - I can’t… I can’t join them.  Clint… they’ll control us.”

“It won’t be like that…” Clint argued.

“How do you know?  How do you know what it’s going to be like?”

Clint shook his head.  This was not going at all how he expected.  “But it’s you and me… that’s how it is.”

“Clint, I can’t let people control me like that.  I can’t.  Why do you think I do the things I do?”  You asked.

“Because we have to… to get by,” he said.

“No,” you said with a hollow laugh.  “I can’t trust people Clint.  Only you.  I don’t even trust the manager at a McDonald’s to not try something.  If I steal shit, I’m the one in control.”

“Sugar… I want to do this,” he said.

“Then… then I guess you better do it without me,” you said.  “I can’t… I can’t…”

Clint sight.  “Well, maybe… maybe we can… I’ll take care of you.”

You laughed again.  That same hollow sound as before.  “Sure, Clint.  The spy and the thief.”

“Are you saying you want to break up?”  Clint asked.

You shook your head.  “That’s not what I’m saying.  I want you to choose me.”

“But… but they said… they said if I don’t take the job I’m gonna go to prison,” Clint said.

“What?  See Clint?  I’d rather go to prison than take that option,” you said, a tear rolling down your cheek.

He leaned in and kissed you deeply, cradling your jaw.  He wanted it to reassure you that it would be fine.  And maybe it would in the sense that neither of you would end up in jail for this, but it wasn’t going to be okay between you.  He pulled back slowly and looked down at you.  “I’ll make sure we both get out of here.”

He strode out of the room and was met by Fury in the hall.  “I’ll join,” Clint said.  “But you need to let her go and leave her alone.”

“Great,” Fury said, clapping Clint on the shoulder.  “Come along Agent Barton, you’ve got some papers to sign.”

// NEXT

[greenandribbonred]

evermore | s. stilinski

chapter ii: in threes

summary: crows, a tattoo & a new threat

word count: 3,7k

warnings: dead animals (ya know, the crow scene) / burns

a/n: big thank you to everyone that has read and taken the time to like and reblog the last chapter! honestly, it means the world, even if it’s such a small gesture. also, I wanted to point out that since Sadie is still figuring things out, she’s a little bit in spectator mode for the moment and that’s why a lot of the chapter is just her thoughts and reactions. promise you’ll get more character interactions soon. thank you for reading and let me know what you think x

series masterlist

“I can’t believe you’re making me go to school,” Sadie complained for the eleventh time that day as she walked into the unfamiliar building, flanked by both Scott and Stiles.

She had protested about it when the boys had dragged her out of bed that same morning, made a fuss about it as she drank her orange juice a little after, and whined the whole car ride from Scott’s house - now also her temporary residency- all the way to school while Stiles tried to talk her into it and reassured her everything would be fine.

“Especially after telling me I’m a werewolf.”

Stiles shushed her with his eyes wide like saucers, a hand over her mouth and an overly dramatic expression of sheer terror plastered on his face. “Sadie, what have we talked about?”

“Sorry,” she threw her arms up in defense. “I’m still processing.”

It had been over a week since Scott had sat her down at the kitchen table and carefully explained to her what had actually happened when she had been attacked and what that bite was going to entail. She had been confused, to say the least, at what was going on and it had taken her a few hours of contemplation on her own before she was brave enough to go back downstairs and face the reality.

Turns out, - and this was just Deaton’s best guess - the full moon had affected her very strongly and very quickly after she was bitten, and she had wandered through the woods like a lost soul for two whole days, even in broad daylight, until she was able to break out of the haze, ending up in Beacon Hills to be found by Scott and Stiles.

Finding out Scott was also a werewolf was possibly the best news she had ever received - though she guessed it was easy to find anything to be a silver lining after discovering her new condition.

He had assured her that she wasn’t going to go through this new chapter of her life on her own and that they would be there for her every step of the way - that she was part of their small and abnormal pack now and they were going to take care of each other. She cried for an hour straight, not really sure if out of relief because of his words or terror for what had happened to her.

Scott had been nothing but supporting since the moment they had found her in the middle of the road, and she thanked the stars every night since then that it had been him who had stumbled upon her that night and not some other person.

For the very first time in a long time Sadie felt like her luck might have been changing - which could perfectly be the understatement of the century since she had just turned into a furry beast with claws and fangs and glowing eyes.

Everyone had been so helpful and welcoming to her and she didn’t know how to feel about it. She was extremely grateful, of course, but she wasn’t used to it, and she was unsure about what the appropriate reaction to it should be.

Scott had talked to his mother, who had kindly agreed to let her stay at their house for as long as she needed; Stiles had given her his old phone, so she could get in contact with them at any moment in case anything happened, and had managed to sign her up at school extremely last minute, which she appreciated, as much as she had complained about it.

Deaton, who she had found out was Scott’s boss, had helped her make sense of her new condition and had offered his help for anything she needed, whenever she needed; Lydia, who Stiles had introduced to her as another supernatural creature which they were still trying to figure out, had been so excited to take her out to buy some clothes, which she had also paid for.

Everyone had been so nice to her, and Sadie wasn’t used to people caring so much - not since her father’s death, at least.

“Besides, how did you even get me signed for this? Isn’t there like a ton of paperwork you have to fill out-”

“You don’t wanna know.” Stiles shook his head, pursing his lips and staring at her absentmindedly like he was recalling something. “Don’t worry your little head about it. Now,” He clapped loudly, slamming his locker door and making both Scott and Sadie jump. “Let’s just focus on going to class, do normal teenager things, don’t think about any of the stuff that starts with a ‘W’ or an ‘A’” He said, peering at Scott, who only stood there awkwardly.

“Anyway,” Stiles went on, dragging them both to their first lecture of the day - english.

The three of them entered the classroom, the boys sitting down next to each other. Sadie looked around as more students settled in their seats, panic slowly coursing through her as some eyes started falling on her.

They’re not looking at you, Sadie, you’re fine.

But they were - they obviously were. She began to feel nervous as the reality settled in. She was actually in school.

Sadie had never liked school - or the teachers, or the classmates, or anything that had to do with it, really. It had always felt more like a prison to her, instead of the safe haven that all the social workers had tried to convince her it was. School was supposed to be very important for foster kids, something that could give them stability and so very needed friendships and social connections, but it had never felt right to her.

Socializing or making friends wasn’t her forte, and neither was studying, so she always felt out of place and on edge. Leaving foster care had meant she didn’t have to go to school anymore, - that being one of the reasons she had left early - but there she was, once again.

“Sadie,” Stiles called out, grabbing her hand from where he was sitting. With a comforting squeeze and a reassuring smile, he guided her to the empty seat to his left.

Sadie smiled back at him, nodding her head and sitting down as she mouthed a ‘thank you’ that she had meant to actually say out loud, but had instead got stuck in her throat.

She settled down and opened her books, watching the painfully awkward exchange Scott was having with his ex-girlfriend, Allison, and she couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle from the second hand embarrassment, already feeling so much better now that she knew she wasn’t the only one going through it at the moment.

Scott glanced her way from his seat with a dumbfounded expression. Stiles gave him a sarcastic thumbs up accompanied with a silly grin, and she chuckled again, this time a little louder.

Scott had told her about Allison and their short lived love story, and it genuinely saddened her that so many things had come between them to the point where it was best if they weren’t together anymore. They were just teenagers. She couldn’t even imagine what it was like to be basically forced to stay away from your first love when there’s clearly something still between them.

Suddenly, all phones in the classroom started buzzing and ringing, including Sadie’s. She reached into her back pocket for it, surprised since the only people that would message her were all sitting down right next to her. She unlocked the device to find it was a message by an unknown number.

“The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway, leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky, seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.” A young woman that appeared to be in her late twenties walked into the class, all eyes fixed on her with bewildered expressions as she quoted the message that had been sent to all of them.

“This is the last line to the first book we are going to read.” She spoke. “It is also the last text you will receive in this class.” She continued with a smug expression. “Phones off, everyone.”

That was one way of making a first impression to your new students.

Sadie wasn’t sure if she liked her for her unusual and original introduction to the class, or if it felt a little too pretentious and stalkerish given she had managed to get a hold of everyone’s phone numbers. It was kind of strange, in her opinion.

• • •

Thankfully, Sadie was good at English. She liked that a lot of it was subjective and left to the reader’s interpretation, opposed to the strict logic of mathematics or the confusing physics. She enjoyed English, and it made sense to her.

Ms. Blake had assigned them some exercises to complete in class, and Sadie had managed to stay focused on them until a voice disturbed her peace.

“Mr. McCall,” Ms. Blake called out.

Scott looked up at her with a confused expression as she gestured for him to get up with an overly kind smile. He picked up his things and followed her out of the classroom.

“Where’s he going?” Sadie whispered, leaning into Stiles’ side.

“I don’t know, can you hear anything?” He said, leaning in too and pointing at his ear so she would understand what type of hearing he was referring to.

Sadie didn’t quite yet know how to put her newfound supernatural abilities to use, but she had gotten the hang of the enhanced hearing fairly quickly.

Trying to focus under the expectant stare of Stiles, she managed to catch what they were saying, though it still sounded a little muffled and distant, not being able to completely isolate their voices from everyone else’s in the school. She still had to practice.

“His mom called, she needs him for something. Do you think it’s something-” she paused, implying she was referring to the supernatural.

“Could be,” he answered. “Let’s not worry yet, okay?” he said when he saw her concerned expression.

Sadie had only known Scott and Stiles for a few days, but she already felt very protective over them. They had been the ones to save her that night and she felt like she was in debt to them in some way, even if they had insisted multiple times - every single time she had thanked them, actually, and it had been many times already - that she didn’t owe them anything and she was a part of their bizarre little family now.

Getting close to people had always been very difficult for her. When she left foster care she wasn’t emotionally prepared to be thrown into a situation like this - creating new bonds and friendships she wasn’t used to and having to trust unconditionally. It had never been her intention to get close to anybody new, afraid of what could happen if she did, and yet there she was. Caring about people.

It’s not that she was cold or a hard egg to crack that simply didn’t care for meaningful relationships with other people. She was the complete opposite, actually: way too sensitive sometimes, extremely caring and warm; compassionate, kind and overall a sweetheart with a heart of gold that had been broken way too many times for her young age. It was just hard for her to show all of these things sometimes. She couldn’t afford losing anyone else, so she mostly kept to herself.

Stiles had told her to not worry - at least not yet - so she tried to distract herself and focus solely on the exercises Ms. Blake had assigned them. She found it extremely hard though with Stiles’ loud whispering to Lydia, who was sitting right in front of her.

“Has it ever bitten you before?”

Lydia shook her head to his question, visibly annoyed at him. Sadie could already see the wheels turning in Stiles’ head, putting two and two together like she had seen him do multiple times already in the few days they had known each other. He was a clever guy that saw things clearly where others didn’t. She really admired him for that.

“Okay, what if it’s, like, the same thing as the deer? You know, like, how animals start acting weird right before an earthquake or something?”

She was about to ask what he meant with the deer, but refrained from doing so when she saw the look Ms. Blake was giving them for speaking. She didn’t want to be told off on her first day of school.

“Meaning what? There’s gonna be an earthquake?” Lydia was clearly done with him and all she wanted was to get back to her exercises.

“Or something, I just-” he insisted. “Maybe it means something’s coming. Something bad.”

Sadie didn’t like the sound of that at all.

“It was a deer and a dog. What’s that thing you say about threes? Once, twice,” Something slamming hard against the glass window behind Lydia interrupted her, leaving a gruesome patch of blood and black feathers behind.

“Oh, god,” Sadie jumped back from the window in shock, pushing herself back on her chair towards Stiles.

Everyone in the classroom stood still in confusion at what had happened, staring at the window the poor bird had crashed against. All of a sudden, the sound of birds shrieking could be heard clearly. All eyes fixed on the windows, they saw what almost seemed like a hundred crows approaching the school, as if flying away from something.

“Stiles,” she stuttered, their eyes quickly meeting in panic before darting back towards the birds.

“Get down!”

One after the other, the crows flew right into the windows of the classroom, and the glass gave in, shattering as more and more of the birds crashed against it. Pure instinct coming over her, Sadie reached forward towards Lydia, crouching down and covering her with her own body. She felt someone doing the same to her, their chest pressed tightly against her back and their arms wrapping around both her and Lydia.

After what felt like minutes of terrified screams and sheer panic, it was over. Sadie locked eyes with Stiles when he unwrapped his arms from around her.

“You okay?” He asked as he helped her and Lydia up, looking around the devastated classroom. The tables had been pushed around and there were black feathers and dead birds laying down everywhere.

Sadie chuckled at his question, trying to ease the tension and the adrenaline still rushing through her veins. She had to laugh at something or she would start crying.

“School is great.”

• • •

“Yeah, I see it. It’s two bands, right?” said Derek, flashing his glowing red eyes towards Scott’s arm.

Scott hummed in agreement.

Derek, who Sadie was finally meeting for the first time after hearing countless tales of him, came off to her as a much nicer guy than Stiles had described him to be. A bit dry and brooding, yes, but nothing she couldn’t get behind.

“What does it mean?”

Sadie and Stiles had left school right after the accident with the birds, too shaken up to go on with the rest of their lectures. Stiles had told her about the terrified deer that had run into Lydia’s car the day before and why he believed they had a reason to be worried about it after what had happened at english class. She trusted his instincts and if he was sure something was going on, then she believed him.

Scott had told them to meet him at Derek’s old house in the woods, without further explanation. Turns out, he had had a bit of an encounter at the hospital, where he had gone to after his mother had told him Isaac, another werewolf, had been badly injured by an alpha.

“I don’t know,” Scott replied. “It’s just something I trace with my fingers,” he drew a small circle surrounded by a bigger one on the dust that had accumulated on top of a table.

“Why is this so important to you?” Derek asked, referring to the tattoo on Scott’s arm that wasn’t visible to the human eye.

“Do you know what the word ‘tattoo’ means?”

“To mark something,” Stiles jumped in, playfully winking his eye at Derek, who only looked at him with an indifferent expression.

Sadie bit down on her lip, holding back a chuckle at their interaction.

“Well, that’s in Tahitian,” Scott continued talking. “In Samoan, it means ‘open wound’. I knew I wanted to get a tattoo when I turned 18, I always wanted one. I just decided to get it now, to make it kind of a reward.”

“For what?”

“For not calling or texting Allison all summer. Even when I really wanted to, even when it was hard sometimes. I was trying to give her the space she wants. Going four months later, it still hurts. It still feels like,”

“Like an open wound,” Sadie finished for him in a shaky voice. She knew a thing or two about open wounds.

He loves her so much, she thought. He understood she needed her space and time after her mother’s death, and he had refrained from contacting her all summer, even if it pained him. She admired him for that. She couldn’t fathom what having to stay away from someone you love felt like. She wouldn’t be able to.

The three men gazed at her, her eyes glinting and throat burning. She swallowed hard and tried to compose herself, blinking the tears away and twiddling her mother’s ring between her fingers. Stiles looked at her with a soft smile.

She hadn’t told him - or anyone, really - about her parents, all he knew is that she had been at foster care before they met her. Still, he could tell by the little things she had let slip here and there in between conversations, and he understood.

“The pain’s gonna be worse than anything you've ever felt,” Derek carried on, picking up a blowtorch and a lighter.

“Ah, that’s great.” Stiles pouted, nodding in nervousness at what was about to happen.

“I don’t know if I can look at it,” Sadie turned around, facing Stiles who looked as uneasy as her.

She didn’t feel like watching Scott in excruciating pain as Derek burned his arm with a freaking blowtorch. Stiles didn’t like the situation either.

“Do it.” Scott said convinced.

Derek proceeded lighting up the blowtorch and Sadie almost passed out.

“Oh, wow.” both Stiles and Sadie cried out at the same time.

“That’s a lot for me, so, I’m gonna take that as my cue. I’m just gonna go wait outside.” said Stiles, hands in his pockets and already exiting the room under Derek’s deathly stare.

“No, you stay,” Sadie pulled him back towards her. “Moral support.”

“You can help hold him down.”

Stiles walked behind Scott reluctantly and held onto his shoulders. “Oh my god,” he exclaimed as Derek got closer to Scott with the blowtorch.

Sadie crinkled her nose up as the fire made contact with his skin, his eyes glowing yellow and his fangs extending. She had to turn away and face the wall when his pain filled cries got louder. All she could hear were the earsplitting screams Scott was letting out as his skin boiled under the fire.

• • •

“Well, it looks pretty damn permanent now.” Surely enough, the two black lines had appeared on Scott’s bicep right after he had passed out from the pain.

“It looks great,” Sadie said sincerely, giving Scott a genuine smile.

“Thanks, I kinda needed something permanent.” Scott agreed. “Everything that’s happened to us, everything just changes so fast. Everything’s so...ephemeral.”

Both Sadie and Stiles stared at him with impressed faces at his usage of the advanced word. The three began walking out of the house and back to the jeep.

“Studying for the PSATs?” asked Stiles.

“Yup.”

“Nice.”

With a gleeful and proud smile, Scott opened the door, already stepping outside before he stopped dead on his tracks.

“You painted the door,” he pointed out to Derek, staring at the red door with narrowed eyes. “Why’d you paint the door?”

Now, that was weird. Why would Derek paint the door of his abandoned house? The place definitely needed a much bigger makeover than a layer of paint on a door.

“Go home, Scott.” Derek said with a defying tone.

“And why only one side?” Scott wondered again ignoring him, his brows furrowed. He flicked out his claws and scraped out the paint with one of his fingers.

“Scott,” Derek called out, walking towards him as he started scratching at the door furiously to remove the paint.

And surely enough, whatever inkling Scott had had about the newly painted door was, in fact, correct. A symbol was drawn under the paint. A symbol, or some kind of warning.

“The birds at school and the deer last night...just like the night I got trampled by the deer when I got bit by the alpha,” Scott was starting to put two and two together.

Derek didn’t look happy.

“How many are there?”

“A pack of them,” Derek sighed, finally giving in to Scott’s questions. “An alpha pack.”

Sadies eyes went wide.

How was that even possible? And what did the symbol on the door mean? How worried should they be?

“All of them? How does that even work?” Stiles asked, as if reading her mind.

“I hear there's some kind of a leader. He's called Deucalion,” Even the name sounded scary. “We know they have Boyd and Erica. Peter, Isaac, and I have been looking for him for the last four months.”

Sadie was still catching up with everything that Scott and Stiles had told her, but she recognized the names of Boyd and Erica as Derek’s betas.

They were just teenagers. They had been held by this alpha pack for four whole months? She was terrified now.

“Let's say you find them.” Scott stepped forward. “How do you deal with an Alpha pack?”

“With all the help I can get.

Sadie was ready to help. She couldn’t even imagine what the poor betas had been going through for months. They had to help them.

“Where is she?” Another voice suddenly jumped in. It was Isaac, another one of Derek’s betas who had been passed out on a table the whole time they had been there. He had just woken up from the anesthesia. “Where's the girl?” he inquired, a panicked look on his face.

Everyone else in the room looked at each other with the same confused expressions.

“What girl?”

[keanureevesisbae]

Protection - Chapter 2

Summary: August might’ve made a pretty bad impression on Mia, however, will she help him when he has a slight problem?  

August Walker x Mia Makaruku (ofc)

Wordcount: 3.5k

Warnings: None

Masterlist // Previous chapter // Next chapter

The next morning I finally decide to do the smart thing: I get up at seven in the morning, to clean my apartment, start prepping some meals and work through the piles of laundry I have neglected these past few days.

Okay, I didn’t necessarily do that because I decided to be a productive woman for once and try to get most out of my day, but it is mostly because I couldn’t sleep anymore. I have been having nightmares since I can remember, which is probably since the fatal car crash that killed not only my parents, but also my brothers.

At least, that is what I’m told.

I remember crashing, I remember being out of the car and waiting for the emergency services, but I don’t remember my family maybe running away, their bodies being dragged away from me. They could be anywhere, really.

Dead or alive.

But ever since that crash, I have nightmares. Sometimes there is a loud crash or a fire I can’t escape or I’m drowning.

Usually I wake up at least once—but mostly twice—in the middle of the night, but last night I slept through. That seems nice, but I was woken up abruptly, since it felt like I was falling off a building.

While I’m putting the salad in the containers and I place them neatly in the fridge, I hear someone knocking on my door. This early? What idiot is up already and wants to bother me? I walk to the door and once I open it, a nasty surprise awaits me.

‘What do you want?’ I ask the one and only August Walker. After yesterday, I have decided that I don’t want to be his friendly neighbor. He hurt me feelings and doesn’t deserve anymore of my kindness.

‘My heater is broken,’ he simply announces.

And for that he knocks on my door? ‘Sucks to be you,’ I tell him.

‘I only have one blanket and my other clothes are coming in later this morning, just as the mechanic.’

I’m flabbergasted to say the least. ‘And you are sharing this information with me, because…?’ I know damn well why he is sharing this with me, but I’m not that easy.

August sighs, visibly annoyed. ‘Because I was hoping I could stay here with you for a while.’

I bark out a laugh. ‘Are you kidding me? After what you said to me yesterday, you honestly think I would let you in my apartment? I would be bat shit crazy if I did that. You insulted me, August.’

‘I barely insulted you.’

He has some nerves. ‘You said you hated women’s soccer to a professional female soccer player.’ I give him a do I need to explain any further-look.

‘You told me my moustache made me look like a pedophile.’

I cock an eyebrow. ‘That was only after you insulted me. Had you never been mean to me, I would’ve kept it to myself. But that is beyond the point, really. The real question is: why are you bothering me?’

He clenches his jaw. He probably thought that with his brooding look and broad build, he could intimidate me into letting him in my house. Well, he thought wrong. ‘I just want to stay here for a few hours, till eleven. I won’t bother you, I promise, but I’m really cold.’

I lean against the doorframe, as I check my watch. ‘That is three hours,’ I tell him. ‘I can barely deal with you for three minutes, let alone three hours. The answer is no. Just fuck off, will you?’

August wants to hold back a laugh, but fails miserably. ‘You sure mean that,’ he chuckles. I know I shouldn’t think like this, but he looks actually very friendly when he laughs, even if he is laughing at me. ‘Listen, I might’ve made a bad impression on you yesterday.’

‘You might’ve? Goodness gracious, do you have any self reflection? You definitely made a bad impression.’

He sighs, but almost has something from a growl. ‘It’s a few hours, Mia. What’s the big deal?’

What’s the big deal? This man has got quite some guts, it’s almost admirable. ‘Well,’ I say, incapable of saying no to him, ‘if I can get an apology, you can stay here. Saying sorry is not that hard, even you can do it.’

‘I don’t do apologies.’

Of course he doesn’t. I’m not even surprised. ‘And I don’t give shelter to my shitty neighbors, even if it’s only for three hours. Goodbye August. Please, freeze to death.’

I want to close the door, but he simply places his hand on the flat surface. Fuck, he is strong, those arms certainly are not lying. The battle August Walker vs Mia Makaruku is a quick one and not in my favor, I can tell you that. ‘I don’t want to freeze to death, so I’m gonna say this one time and one time only, so you better listen carefully: I’m sorry I was rude.’

I smile. ‘See, it wasn’t that hard. I also liked it that you really sincerely apologized, meaning in from the bottom of your heart.’

I know I’m pushing the limits here. August glares at me, but even through the death glare he is sending me, I can actually see some humanity in his light orbs. I actually feel a bit sorry for him. I know, that surprises me too.

‘Come on. Just don’t bother me too much and the second the mechanic is here, I want you out of my apartment.’

‘Doable.’ I have barely stepped aside, when he barges into my apartment. He has the audacity to plop on my couch, grab the remote and turn on the television.

‘Yes August, please make yourself at home. Do you want a coffee with that? Some homemade chocolate croissants? A fucking massage?’ I slam the door shut and when I look at him, I notice the smug smile on his face because of my offers. I let out a growl. ‘Don’t even think about it.’

Unbeknownst of the company, Bobo trots into the room. When his eyes land on the stranger on the couch, he arches his back with his hackles raised and hisses. I’m glad to know my furry companion thinks just as lowly of the—sort of—uninvited guest as I do. ‘I’m not a big fan of cates,’ August notes.

‘I’m almost assuming this is your first time you’re over at someones place,’ I say. ‘You sure know how to not behave yourself. If you don’t like him, go back to your own place.’

‘Okay, okay, I’ll stop. What do I do if he comes near me?’ August looks up at me. ‘Do I just hiss back?’

Thankfully I can manage to keep a straight face. ‘That’s an option,’ I tell him, as I walk back to my kitchen. Do I hiss back? It’s nearly endearing, especially since it’s coming from a tough looking guy like August Walker. I prepare my coffee machine and ask: ‘Do you want some coffee?’ While I don’t necessarily want him here, I might make most out of it. Besides, I can’t possibly imagine someone is as rude as him without a reason.

Maybe he had a shitty youth. I mean, I encountered my fair share of foster siblings and some of them were rude as hell, but when I learned about their family situation, prior to this foster home, I realized they had every reason to act like they did. While my coping mechanism is to charm my ass off and make a good impression on everyone (and I mean literally everyone), August’s way to dealing with his trauma’s can be to push people away. However, I do think he desperately wants to make a connection. Despite not totally getting it, he did come to me when his heater broke, so that must mean I’m maybe the only one who is trying to be nice to him? Give him a chance, while he might not deserve it?

Right?

‘Sure,’ August says, while keeping a close eye on Bobo, who stares at him with his back still arched. ‘What’s the cat’s name?’

‘Bobo,’ I answer him. ‘I got him from the shelter. Fun story: I was actually looking to adopt a dog, but when I walked passed Bobo’s cage, I couldn’t say no to him. Like it was an instant click between us.’

August doesn’t say anything, so apparently he doesn’t agree on this being a fun story. While the coffee is running, I walk back to the living room, but as I pass a mirror, I manage to hold in my gasp.

I look like crap! I’m still wearing my flannel pajamas that are actually three sizes too large for me and I actually don’t think I can call this frizzy mess on my head, hair. I also have not put on any moisturizer yet and it shows.

To kind of make myself a bit more presentable, I twist my hair in a bun, to sort of contain it.

Yesterday I looked pretty put together. Today I look like an utter mess. I can barely blame August for not taking me seriously. I plop on the seat and Bobo jumps on the armrest. The orange cat sits down, but continues to take August in.

‘The staring is making me uncomfortable,’ August mentions.

‘You seem so tough, but looks can be very deceiving,’ I chuckle.

‘That’s not funny.’

‘It’s hilarious, you should grow a sense of humor,’ I retort. ‘Okay, tell me something fun about yourself.’

August frowns. ‘Why on earth would I do that?’

‘Because I’m providing you shelter,’ I say. ‘Honestly, it’s the least you can do. Tell me something fun. There must be something fun about you.’

‘You have to give me more than that,’ he mutters. ‘I don’t like talking about myself and I certainly can’t do it on the spot.’

Okay, that’s fair, I can’t do that either. ‘From where did you move here?’

August lets out a deep breath, as I watch him caressing his own thigh. It almost looks like he is soothing himself. Is this question making him uncomfortable? ‘Montana,’ he says, but it’s not very convincing. Hearing from his tone, he doesn’t want to talk about it.

‘You want a pet?’ I continue trying to strike up a conversation. I don’t want to stare at him for three hours (not that I would complain about it, because the view is pretty okay, it’s just slightly weird) and I need him to talk, because otherwise I have to kick him out.

‘I’m not a big fan of animals. As a matter of fact, I don’t even like animals.’

‘That’s really sad,’ I say, as I scratch Bobo behind his ears, earning me some load purring. ‘Animals are very nice and you always have someone to cuddle with. Or doesn’t August Walker like cuddles either?’

He looks over at me, not amused. ‘Do we have to talk?’ he asks, expertly avoiding my question, sarcastic or not.

‘Yes, we do. If you don’t want to talk, ask me something and at least pretend to listen when I do so.’

August cocks an eyebrow, before he thinks about it for a while. ‘Are you ever afraid of life?’

‘Geez,’ I exclaim, ‘way to make it this depressing in the morning!’

He simply shrugs. ‘You wanted me to ask you something.’

I sink deeper into the backrest of my soft one person sofa. The question does make me think. I’d like to surround myself with positivity, ignoring the bad things happening in the world and not think about the darker aspects in life. I know that is not very healthy and you should be aware of the things happening around you, but it has helped me through tough times in life.

But when I think about it, about the uglier side of life, I realize one thing. ‘I am afraid of life,’ I say.

‘Why?’ he asks.

‘Because it can be scary sometimes. Unpredictable.’ The sounds of screeching tires, a loud crash and the car tumbling over all flashes through my mind. ‘It can be painful.’ Realizing how upsetting this all sounds, I grab a pillow from behind me and throw it to August. ‘Why are you so damn miserable?’ I ask him. ‘We should start the day on a happy note, not make it this depressing.’

August breaks out in a smile and when he does so, he looks approachable. Not like my shitty and rude neighbor, but like a nice guy. ‘Well, your questions were too generic.’

‘Yours are too depressing.’

For a few seconds we simply look at each other, before we both burst out in laughter. It’s nice to see August Walker like this. He doesn’t look stuffy anymore and he lost the arrogant glow. ‘Well, while you think of more lighter questions, I’ll get the coffee. You want milk or sugar in it?’

‘No, just black will do.’

I walk to the kitchen, pour in the coffee in two bright red mugs and hand him one. ‘There you go,’ I say to him.

He simply takes it out of my hand, but I continue to hold it. ‘What are you doing?’

‘One usually says thank you when he or she receives something from someone.’ I remember it clearly, when one of my first foster parents taught me some lessons in being polite. Back then it was said in a loving way. Now I recreate the entire scene in more of a mocking tone.

August rolls his eyes, exactly as I expected him to do. ‘Thank you,’ he grumbles. ‘You happy now?’

‘Absolutely delighted.’

◎ ◎ ◎

At eleven ‘o clock sharp, August left because the mechanic arrived. Not long after that, I had to go to practice. Because of the presence of my neighbor the entire morning, I actually forgot about having to train with Tristan on the side of the field. I wondered what on earth I did to displease coach Riley. Okay, I know she does this because it is for my own good, but for fuck’s sake, I have never felt so humiliated in my time I’ve trained with the Red Stars.

Thankfully the awful training finally ended and at around five in the late afternoon, I’m back at my apartment building. When the doors slid open, I see Harold standing behind the reception as usual. I glide through the hallway and manage to stop right in front of him on the other side of the desk. ‘Hello Harold,’ I say to him.

‘Hello miss Mia,’ he says to me, as he places his under arms on the flat surface of his desk. ‘You seem awfully cheery today. I thought you had to take it easy today during training.’

Am I cheery? My teammates said this to me as well today, before I remembered I had to train on the side of the field and now Harold mentions it too? I don’t really know why I would be— Oh no! Does this mean what I think it means?

Did I enjoy August’s company this morning?

Well, to be honest, it was actually quite nice from time to time. I have been spending most of my time alone in my apartment (actually all the time). I mean, I love my teammates and we hang out after practice sometimes, but they have their own lives, their own families.

I don’t want to intrude, though they invite me from time to time. It’s more that I’m scared to join them. What if they only ask me to join them, because they want to be nice and polite?

After we talked for a while this morning, August and I, we spend some time watching television. It was almost as if we were alone together and that felt quite nice.

‘Just woke up in a cheery mode,’ I say, though it’s not exactly the truth. ‘Is there any mail for me?’

He shakes his head. ‘No, miss.’

‘For my new neighbor then?’

Harold shakes his head again. ‘How is he anyways? Heard about his heater being broken.’

I smile. ‘Well, he quite nice actually. Bit stuffy, like you said, but once you get to know him, he can be nice from time to time.’

‘Is that why you are cheery?’ he asks.

‘What?’ I exclaim. How did Harold guess that right away? Yes! ‘No, what on earth would give you that impression?’

Harold tries to keep a straight face, but he fails and I realize I’ve been caught red handed. ‘Well, miss Mia,’ he says, thankfully not adding any fuel to this disastrous situation, ‘I’m glad to know that you manage to make even him likable. You are a very special lady.’

‘Right,’ I say, after I cleared my throat. ‘I’m gonna go. See you later, Harold.’

He chuckles. ‘Later, miss.’

When I step out on the right floor, I let out a deep sigh. Is it true? Am I cheery because of August Walker? Who would’ve guessed. When I pass his door and I fumble with my keys, I hear a door open. I look to my side and see August stepping into the hallway.

‘Good afternoon, neighbor,’ I say to him. ‘How are you?’

He doesn’t smile and the nice August I saw every so often this morning, has disappeared into thin air. While I want to be annoyed by it, I can’t help but notice to see the slight pain in his eyes. I saw it this morning and I see it now. From the looks of it, he is hurting and I relate. I know how it feels.

But what I also know is that deep down there is a lovely soul, it’s just protected by a very thick wall.

‘Good afternoon,’ he hums. ‘I realized I took this from you.’ He holds out the red mug I handed to him three times this morning. This man gulps down coffee as if it is water and for a second I was genuinely concerned he would have a caffeine overdose.

He seems to have managed just fine.

‘Oh, thank you,’ I say as I take it from him when he stepped closer to me. ‘I probably wouldn’t have missed it. I have way too many mugs, but thanks anyways.’

The way August is hot and cold within a matter of seconds, is something I should put up with from now on. I have decided to give this man with some pretty poor social skills the benefit of the doubt. Besides, I actually quite enjoy having him around.

No wonder I was cheery today.

August buries his hands in his pockets and is probably waiting for me to say something.

‘Your heater fixed?’ I ask.

He simply nods. ‘Yes, all good now.’

Is he waiting again for me to say something? This man… Before I can even think about the pros and cons of my very impulsive idea, I ask him: ‘Do you have plans tomorrow night?’

‘I don’t,’ he says, before he frowns. 'Why?’

‘I have two tickets for a Bulls game.’

He looks confused. ‘A what game?’

‘Bulls game. Chicago Bulls. Basketball,’ I clarify. ‘I mean, you can go with me if you want.’

‘And why would I want to do that?’

‘Because I’m the loveliest neighbor and human being for that matter, you have ever encountered in your life and you desperately want to spend more time with me.’

August doesn’t smile. Maybe he is conflicted, because he occasionally let his guard down this morning.

And maybe this question is way too much. I don’t really understand I was questioning his social skills this morning, while I’m out here overstepping all sorts of boundaries.

‘Sure,’ he however says to my surprise. ‘I can’t really think of worse things to do tomorrow.’

‘You’re such an asshole,’ I tell him. ‘You were quite nice this morning in my apartment.  What changed?’ I don’t give him time to answer. ‘Oh wait, I think I get it. It’s this hallway that turns you into a complete asshole.’

‘You can still un-invite me,’ he says, with an amused glimmer in his eyes.

‘I can do that of course, however believe it or not, I barely have friends and the few I have, all have their own social circles and don’t like to go to Bulls games.’

‘Then why did you purchase two tickets?’

‘Because it was cheaper to buy two tickets and I’d like to live up to the stereotype that the Dutch are stingy cheapskates.’

‘I can tell you, Mia, it’s working,’ he says. ‘Someone without friends who want to go to Bulls games with her, purchases two tickets, simply because it’s cheaper.’

I stick out my tongue. ‘Well, whatever. It starts tomorrow at six and it’s within walking distance from here. You have time?’

‘I sure do.’

‘And you still want to go with me?’

He nods.

‘Well, see you tomorrow then, August.’

He looks at me, a long and intense stare, before he says: ‘See you tomorrow, Mia.’