#orphan au

[fanfictionsrookie]

I watched Orphan: First Kill a few weeks ago and I couldn't get the idea of an AU where Neo is the murderous little gremlin masquerading as a child out of my head so... Orphan AU?

[thelikesofus]

current buddie wips by the-likesofus (thelikesofus on ao3)

in the process of trying to get inspired to write again i have made banners for all of my current buddie wips:

the sea speaks more honestly to those willing to drown - (pirate au)

It's Only Been a Moment (It's Only Been a Lifetime) - (orphan au)

Platonic Co-Parents Don't Kiss Like We Do - (5+1 Kisses Outsider POV)

Cupid Works Hard (kameron works harder) - (besties babies fic)

Buck's Bad Hair Day (Eddie's Worst Nightmare) - (FREE THE CURLS)

Ask me about them and I may share some snippets <3 xx

tagging some mutuals cos i'm so proud of these banners:

@spotsandsocks @hippolotamus @thekristen999 @lilbuddie @thosetwofirefighters @rogerzsteven @shortsighted-owl @911onabc @loveyourownsmiilee @tomlinpun @sibylsleaves @bidisasterbuckdiaz @jobairdxx @spaceprincessem @loserdiaz @eddiebabygirldiaz @monsterrae1 @bekkachaos @elvensorceress @queerbuckleys @saybiwithme @daffi-990 @honestlydarkprincess @wh0re-behavi0r @bucklikesboys

(let me know if you want to be added or removed from my tag list because there have been so many url changes haha xx)

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

Predatory

Summary: Written for Day 22 of AU-gust 2024. Set during Httyd 1. Orphan AU, I guess. Hiccup loses Stoick during a raid and he's in shock. The wrong kind of man sees an opportunity.

Warnings: Implied Major Character Death

Rating: Teen and Up

Dead Dove: No

Words: 405

Prompts: Orphan

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Characters: Hiccup, Gobber, Spitelout

Pairing: /

Author's Notes: Completely taken by surprise myself. I saw the AU-gust blog place today's card and that gave me the sudden idea to write this fic. Might look back at previous prompts, maybe I'll write a couple more, who knows.

Enjoy!

-XOXOX-

He should probably feel sad or angry, he should curse the dragons as he watches the fire rise and consume the ship, but Hiccup feels nothing.

That is his father on the funeral pyre and he feels nothing.

“It’s okay to cry, lad. You know that, right?” Gobber asks softly, taking a knee next to him as his arm settles around Hiccup’s shoulders. All of Berk is here at the docks or up on the cliffs for the funeral, a silence dominates them. It was during a raid that Stoick died. He did so protecting his son, he died a father.

Hiccup doesn’t give him any sort of a reaction, simply stares ahead and watches the fire. Why should he cry? He feels nothing.

Gobber watches him a moment longer, not missing the hollow pain in his eyes, the way he just seems so dull and muted. Like life could go ahead and pass him by now and he wouldn’t miss it.

So he sighs sympathetically as he rises, his knees aching. No child should have to bury their parents this young, but Hiccup has no one now. His mother died when he was a babe, his father when he was 15 and he has no other blood relatives. No grandparents. That leaves him as the sole Haddock, still the heir, probably chief by tonight. It’s early morning now, Berk wasted no time building Stoick a funeral pyre, he deserves to be taken away to Valhalla to feast until Ragnarok.

With one last rub on his upper back, Gobber decides to give Hiccup a moment. He didn’t help with the pyre, he didn’t help with anything, but they don’t blame him like they would with his other mistakes. Every attempt to talk with him is met with silence, like he’s not even here. Everyone can tell that he’s in shock.

But when Gobber leaves him be, someone else takes his place and rests a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Boy-o,” the hand’s owner uses a nickname usually reserved for his own son. “You’ll be alright, we’ll make sure of that.”

Something inside of him causes Hiccup to move, to give some kind of a reaction at long last. He looks up and finds Spitelout standing by his side.

But he thinks nothing, he still feels nothing. And so he looks back at the fire consuming his father and Spitelout pulls the future chief closer.

[rorimoon9597]

"I don't wanna," Keith pouted. Takashi sighed, staring down at his hands.

Okaasan, what do I do? He thought to himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Patience yields focus. Remember that. He opened his eyes again.

"Akira, you have to, alright? School is important," Takashi said.

"But it's loud," Keith whined.

"I know, but once school's over you can come right back home where it's quieter, alright?" Keith studied him, probably trying to detect a lie in there somewhere.

"Okay," he finally conceded. Takashi felt himself relax. He offered a smile to Keith.

"Alright, then. Let's get you ready, yeah?" Keith just nodded in response.

Keith's response to why he didn't want to go to school was ever so slightly concerning. Takashi was fairly certain that school being too loud was not a normal reason to not go to school.

I'll have to see if I can do any research into it. I want to help in any way I can, Takashi thought as he went downstairs with Keith and took the lunchbox that was offered to him to put into Keith's bag and then the lunchbox offered for himself.

"Alright, are we ready to go?" Sarah asked. Keith just nodded his head.

"Yep," Takashi said. He led Keith out to the car, Sarah behind them to lock the door.

They went to drop Keith off first, seeing as his new school was rather close. Takashi went in with him to get him situated in his new classroom, while Sarah stayed in the car.

"Hello! I'm Ms Summers, do need any help?" A kindly woman with her hair tied up in a bun asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm here to drop him off," Takashi said, motioning towards Keith.

"Alright! What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Keith," he replied in a small voice. Ms Summers smiled kindly.

"Alrighty, then, follow me and I'll help you find your classroom." Ms Summers looked at Takashi. "You can follow along so you know where to find him at the end of the day."

"Thank you, Ms," Takashi said. Ms Summers waved her hand.

"Don't mention it. Let's go find your classroom, yeah?" Keith nodded. He was clinging to Takashi, which he'd gotten used to.

Ms Summers led them to the office, where Takashi gave them Keith's full name. Then Ms Summers led them to the room that they mentioned.

"You're in my class, Keith," Ms Summers said.

"That's cool, isn't it, Keith?" Keith just mutely nodded. "Sorry, he's been like this a lot recently."

"That's fine. A lot of kids his age are often nervous when they start at school, especially when it's in the middle of the year like this." Takashi nodded.

When they got to Keith's new classroom, Takashi bent down to hug him.

"I don't want to be here," Keith said.

"I know, otouto, but you have to be here, okay?" Keith nodded. "Have a good day, okay? I love you."

"I love you too."

"Mr Hippo will keep you company."

"Okay."

"Bye, Keith. Have a good day."

"Bye." Takashi walked out of the room, leaving Keith alone. Ms Summers distracted him by showing him around the room. She had a lot of experience when it came to this stuff. Teachers had to have this kind of experience when they taught younger kids who had only ever been with their parents for four years of their lives.

Takashi walked back to the car and hopped in.

"Right, let's get you to school," Sarah said. Takashi simply nodded, buckling himself in as Sarah started the car again and pulled out of the parking space.

His own school was five minutes away from Keith's school, so the ride didn't take that long. Sarah took him to the office to get his schedule and his locker number, then she left for work.

"You'll be shown around by another student," the office lady said.

"Thank you," Takashi said. The office lady smiled.

"You're welcome. Go wait over there while your guide comes."

"Alright." Takashi went and sat on a seat. He studied his timetable while he waited.

A girl entered the office five minutes later. Takashi watched as she walked up to the front desk and talked to the lady behind it. She pointed to Takashi, and the girl turned to look at him. He noticed that she was wearing a Harvard sweatshirt and baggy jeans. She had a head band on and glasses, too. She seemed like the kind of person to become a class president or become a lawyer.

Takashi stood up as she walked over to him, a bounce in her step.

"Hi there! I'm Emily, and I'll be your guide while you adjust to the school," she said.

"I'm Shiro," he replied. Emily smiled.

"It's nice to meet you Shiro," she said.

"It's nice to meet you too."

"May I see your timetable?" Emily asked. Takashi handed over his timetable. Emily scanned it. "Oh, you're doing Japanese?"

"Uh... yeah."

"Not many people choose to do it. They prefer more romantic languages, like Spanish or French. Japanese is a really cool language, though."

"Uh... yeah, it is. I'm actually Japanese myself," Takashi said.

"Oh! That's so cool! Now, you have English first up. I also have that now. Let's get going," Emily said. She handed him his timetable back.

"Thank you," he said, probably out of habit.

Emily led him through the halls, talking about some of the school's programs that he might want to consider, and then sharing information about some of the teachers. It was nice of her to do so, though Takashi didn't think that he would want to join any after school clubs, not when he still had to take care of Keith. Sarah might be their current foster mother, but Keith would only let Takashi help him.

This is going to be stressful, he thought to himself.

Emily led him to Homeroom, which he also had with her. He felt like the school had decided to put him in a few of her classes so that he would have someone he knew with him.

"Go sit wherever you would like," She said. Takashi nodded, and sat at the very back of the classroom. They had five minutes before school started, and the classroom was full already.

Almost as soon as he left to sit down, Emily was surrounded by a group of girls. They talked to her, glancing at Takashi far too frequently for him to be comfortable. He knew that they were talking about him.

He ignored them as much as he could, though it was proved to be hard when they were looking at him every five seconds. He chose to look around the classroom from his seat and watch how others around him interacted, trying to separate the different groups. It was only slightly hard, though he was only successful at separating the bullies from the rest before the teacher came in.

"Alright class, settle down," he said as the bell rang. Students rushed to their seats. "So, we have a new student today. Takayashi Shirogain, would you like to come up and introduce yourself?" Takashi cringed at the mispronunciation of his name, but he got up all the same and joined the teacher at the front of the class.

"Uh... Hi, I'm Takashi Shirogane, but I prefer Shiro," he said. There were giggles from some of the students.

"Do you have anything you'd like to share about yourself?" The teacher asked.

"No," he replied. The teacher nodded.

"Well, I'm Mr Baldwin. You can go sit back down." Takashi went and sat down in his seat. He breathed out a sigh of relief, but he could still feel some people looking at him.

Mr Baldwin started talking about something else, which slowly took the attention off of him. One of the boys was staring at him. Takashi ignored it.

After homeroom was, as Emily had said, English. There were different people in the class, and the teacher, who was a kindly woman, introduced herself. They played a bit of a game for him to get to know his classmates, then they started the lesson. Mrs Wilkinson caught him up on the work that they were doing. Which, right now, they were watching a movie.

He moved through the day with different guides, all from Emily's friend group. Emily would take it upon herself to be his main guide though, and during lunch she took the time to show him to the bathrooms and ate lunch with him. It was rather nice.

At the end of the day, he left, saying goodbye to some of the people who had helped him.

"How was your day?" Sarah asked.

"It was actually really good," he replied.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Some of the teachers butchered my name, but that's normal. Not many people know how to pronounce Japanese names," he said. Sarah hummed.

"Unfortunately, some people don't care to learn hos vowels sound in other languages. It's a shame, really," she said. Takashi nodded.

They got to Keith's school, and Sarah let Takashi go and get him. He walked along the path he'd taken that morning to Keith's classroom, where his younger brother was colouring in a picture quietly while his classmates ran around. Ms Summers looked up at him and smiled.

"Keith, you can go now," she said. Keith looked up, and his face lit up when he saw Takashi. He packed up his things and bounded over to him.

"Hey, Keith, how was your day?" Takashi asked.

"It was okay," Keith replied. He reached up to grab Takashi's hand. He let his younger brother take it.

"That's good. Are you ready to leave?" Keith nodded.

They waved to Ms Summers and walked out to the car, where Sarah was waiting. Takashi helped Keith then got back in himself. Sarah tried to make small talk with Keith about his day, and she got some answers. Simple sentences, nothing long, no long rants about his day like what Takashi got.

He supposed that it was progress.

When they got home, Takashi and Keith sat at the table together to do homework. Takashi helped Keith out, while Sarah prepared them an afternoon snack that consisted of chocolate chip cookies, apple slices, and bananas. She also gave them a glass of juice each.

When Takashi was sure that Keith's homework was finished, he let his brother go off and play by himself while Takashi worked on his own homework. When he was finished, he cleaned up his mess and took it back to his room.

He went over to Keith's room to find him playing with Duplo blocks. He looked up when Takashi entered, but went back to playing soon after.

"Hey, Akira," he said. Keith hummed in response. "Did you make any friends today?"

"No," came the reply. Takashi frowned slightly. Keith... wasn't the best at making friends. He knew this. Takashi could only hope that he'd be able to make at least one friend some day.

Life was lonely if you didn't have any.

Takashi didn't want Keith to be lonely.

How do I help him? He asked himself, watching as Keith continued to play, stacking blocks onto each other and driving cars along the board that they were stacked on, always in an order, in this one particular way.

_______________________

Pt1 pt2

[theprofessionalpromptmaker]

Person A is someone who works as a part-time reaper and runs an orphanage full time, after making a deal with death to continue their work taking care of the orphans under their care centuries ago. Person B is a new kid at the foster home Person A runs in the modern era, and is always causing trouble and doing risky things, and keeps having brushes with death but miraculously surviving. One day, when Person A is going out to put in their mandatory hours as a reaper, a period when no human can see them, Person B spots them leaving and follows them outside to confront them about leaving the kids alone at such a weird hour. Person A doesn’t know why Person B can see them, but Person B refuses to buy any lie they try to offer them, so Person A begrudgingly lets Person B come along while they explain the truth.

[brimstonesoul]

In the Orphn au, does Pyrrha get revenge on Ozpin or Ozpin get any comeuppance in some way? Just cause it feels like he deserves it.

Unfortunately, not really.

Salem is defeated and Ozpin is essentially retired. What is there for Pyrrha to do? Kill him?

All she gets is the chance to tell him how much she hates him for lying to her and saying that she will never trust him again.

It is a sad but realistic end to their relationship with each other.

[bloomeng]

more dc magical girlies 💕🤭✨💘

[pacificwaternymph]

Batfamily Beauty and the Beast AU where Bruce is the beast and with every child he adopts he becomes slightly more and more human.

He finds Dick in the woods, sobbing over the loss of his parents. A year later, he looks in the mirror and wonders if he's only imagining that he's gotten shorter.

Jason sneaks into the castle and steals a loaf of bread, hungry and desperate. Bruce takes him in and offers him a proper meal. As he's putting his new son to bed one night, he notices that his claws have shrunk.

Tim marches into the castle and demands Bruce take him, knowing the stories of the monster who kidnaps children. Bruce's snout feels flatter than it used to when he presses a kiss to his forehead.

Cassandra lasts a full two weeks before anyone even notices she's there. The fur on Bruce's arms begins to thin as he holds her close, and she smiles up at him.

Tim brings home Stephanie, who loudly insists that she does not need nor want a new father. His skin grows less leathery, and the beginnings of crows feet appear on the corners of his eyes.

Damian is brought to them by Talia, rigid and wary of everything, convinced of his birthright as the Bat's heir. The fangs in Bruce's mouth seem to smooth over as he learns to gentle his speech.

The day Duke joins the family, still reeling from the plague that claimed his parents, something clicks. Bruce steps out, and before them stands a perfectly human man, finally made whole by his love for his children.

[batfamhastwitter]

Part 45! Merry (belated) Christmas y'all! (And happy holidays to everyone who doesn't celebrate!) I've been sitting on this reveal for months at this point, enjoy!

Prev ~ Beginning ~ Next

[starry-bi-sky]

I am loudly pushing the batdad agenda i am loudly pushing the— DPxDC Prompt

“Woah. You look like shit."

Granted, that’s probably not the first thing Danny should be saying to the guy that just bit the curb, but in his defense; he’s not running on 100% right now either.

The man -- tall, towering, and broader than Danny is tall -- whips around on his heel, black frayed cape flaring out impressively. Danny would've whistled in appreciation, but he takes the time instead to wipe the back of his hand across his mouth, smearing the blood running from his nose across his cheek.

"Sorry." He blinks widely, not even flinching as the man with the horns zeroes in on him. "That was rude of me. I have a really bad brain-to-mouth filter; Sam says its what always gets me into trouble."

And she's not wrong either, per say. His smart mouth is what landed him in this situation -- with blood blossom extract running through his veins and cannibalizing the ectoplasm in his bloodstream. Thanks Vlad.

The man grunts at him; a short, curt "hm" that shouldn't make Danny smile, but he does because he's somewhat delirious and probably concussed. The man keeps some kind of distance, sinking towards the shadows of Gotham's alleyway like he dares to melt right into it.

If it's supposed to scare Danny, it doesn't work. Danny's never been afraid of the dark; he's always been able to hide himself in it. He blinks slowly at the mass of shadows.

"You look hurt." The shadows says, blurring together around the edges. Danny squints, and licks his lips to get the blood dripping down his chin off. Ugh, he hates the taste of blood.

"I am." He says, "My godfather poisoned me. M'dying." The agony of the blood blossom eating him from the inside out looped back around to numbing a while ago, so all he feels is half-awake and dazed.

"Hey," Danny stumbles forward towards the man, a bloodied hand reaching out to him. "You-- you're a hero, right? You're not attacking me; which is more than I can say for most costumed people I've met." Maybe it's a poor bar to judge someone at, but he's already established that Danny's not in his right mind.

The man makes no change in expression, but Danny realizes blearily that it's hard to tell with the shadows on his face. He stays still long enough for Danny to latch onto the cape -- stretchy, but almost soft under his fingers.

He looks up blearily into the whites of the man's eyes. "Can you help me? I don't-- I don't wanna die." Again. He doesn't wanna die again. He blinks slow and lizard-like. "I mean- I'll probably get to see mom and dad again, but I told them I'd at least try and make it to adulthood."

There's a clatter down the street, and Danny's ghost sense chills up his spine and leaves a bitter, ashy taste in his mouth. He immediately knows who it belongs to even before the deceptively gentle; "Daniel?" echoes down the way.

"Daniel? Quit your games, badger, Gotham is dangerous for children."

Danny's mouth pulls back, and blood spills against his tongue. "Please." He rasps, and grabs onto the shadow's cape with both hands. "Please. He's going to kill me. Please--"

"Daniel? Is that you?"

His lips part, dragging in air to plead with the darkness again. He doesn't need to, the whites of his eyes narrow, and the cape whirls around him before Danny can blink. Soon swaddled in shadows, the Night lifts him up, and steals him away.

[spicy-apple-pie]

Bruce is a widdle gwumpy :(

(btw, do you guys like the formatting in rows of two or single file if that makes sense?)

Prev / Index / Next

Commission Info / Kofi

[thelikesofus]

you americans have made my life so much more difficult by driving on the wrong side of the road and have made it is near impossible for me to plot out this scene while accurately remembering where on the road the vehicle is *pulls out hair*

[deich-was-here]

I have some brainstorming going on

[rorimoon9597]

They really didn't stay there for very long. It was barely a month, and Ulaz was picking them up to take them to a new foster home. Takashi packed up their things, put them in the car, and said goodbye to Emily and David and the other three kids. Ashton shouted goodbye to them, but Keith didn't say anything back. Just waved, then turned to look down at Mr Hippo.

Ulaz drove them through the city, to another suburb, and to another two story house. The lawn of this house wasn't filled with toys or bikes, but with flowers that were clearly well-loved. Takashi felt some sort of trepidation, because there was a good chance that this person was a total control freak. At least, Takashi knew how to contact Ulaz to get them out of there if they needed it.

It was the same sort of ritual as at the previous house. Grab their things, let Keith hide behind him as Ulaz introduced them, then go their new rooms as Ulaz and their foster parent talked.

Takashi took Keith into his room, first. He was... pleasantly surprised.

In one corner, there was a pile of stuffed toys. Dogs, horses, bears, dinosaurs and dragons, as well as a few cats. The bed was under the window, and there were glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. The walls had a medieval scene on them. A knight riding a horse with a sword raised, a castle, and a dragon. Takashi watched as Keith walked around, looking around the room. He investigated the toys, and the bed, and the scenes on the walls that had been painted red. He even opened and closed the drawers and the closet.

Takashi started to put all of Keith's things away, making sure that it was all neat and organised. When he was done, he put the duffle bag into Keith's closet. Takashi turned to face Keith, who was hugging Mr Hippo.

"What do you think, Akira?" He asked. Keith looked up at him, his purple eyes wide.

"There's no hippos," he replied, pointing to the toys. "She needs a hippo."

"You think so?" Takashi asked. Keith nodded, completely serious. "Maybe we can tell her that she should add a hippo to the pile?"

"Can we do that later?" Keith asked.

"Sure. Want to come and see my room?"

"Yeah!" Keith went across the hall, where Takashi's room was. Their foster mother, Sarah Cooper, had told them where their rooms were before they went up. Takashi was glad that she let them explore their new rooms by themselves.

Takashi's room was more mature than Keith's room was. The walls were a blueish purple colour, and the bed wasn't under the window. The desk, which was a deep brown colour, was set underneath it instead. The chair was one of those swivel ones. Keith went up to it and pulled it out. He sat on it and spun around. Takashi let him, and put his own things away. He hid the knife under the mattress, hoping that Sarah wouldn't find it.

He didn't want the last piece of his mother to be taken away from him.

When he finished, he put his suitcase into the closet, along with his bag. He turned around to see Keith lying on his side on the rug, watching him.

"Come on, Akira-Kun. Let's go and talk to Sarah some more, yeah?"

"I don't wanna," Keith mumbled. Takashi sighed and crouched down. Keith sat up.

"You have to," he said. Keith pouted. "Listen, we can't go home, and I can't take care of you by myself. I'll be able to do that when I'm eighteen, but for now, you have to let these people take care of you."

"What about okaasan?"

"She's gone, Keith. You have to remember that." Keith stared down at the ground.

"I miss her."

"I do too, bud," Takashi replied. He held an arm out, motioning to Keith. "Come here." Keith did, wrapping his tiny arms around Takashi as much as possible. Takashi pressed a kiss to Keith's head. They stayed like that for a little bit. "You ready to go downstairs?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Let's go."

They went downstairs, where Sarah was talking to Ulaz about something. They had cups of coffee (or whatever they drank) and they were clearly having a lovely conversation. They looked up when Takashi and Keith entered.

"What do you think of your rooms?" Sarah asked.

"They're really nice, thank you," Takashi replied. Sarah nodded.

"You two can add whatever you want to the rooms, personalize them as much as you'd like," she said.

"That- sounds like a nice idea. Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Sarah said. She looked down at Keith. "What did you think of your room, Keith?"

"It's nice," Keith replied.

"Yeah?" Keith nodded.

"The toy pile needs a hippo." Sarah wasn't outwardly surprised.

"We can add a hippo to it," she assured him. There was a smile on her face, one that was gentle and genuine.

"I should be heading off now. There are other things that I have to attend to," Ulaz said.

"Bye, Mr Ulaz," Keith said.

"Goodbye, Keith, Shiro."

"Bye," Takashi said. Sarah led Ulaz to the door and let Takashi and Keith wave to their social worker. Then, when he was gone, she led them back inside.

"When would you two like to go shopping?" Sarah asked. Takashi looked down at Keith, who looked back up at him.

"Not today," Keith told him.

"He doesn't want to go today," Takashi explained.

"Alright. Just let me know when you would like to go, alright?"

"Okay," Keith said. It was the first word he said to Sarah. He'd just waved at her when they got there. Sarah smiled at him, apparently happy that he had said at least one word.

"You two can go explore the rest of the house if you would like."

"Thank you," Takashi said. He moved away. He could hear small feet following him, and he didn't have to look behind him to know that Keith was behind him.

Takashi explored the house, just as suggested. Keith opened a few cupboards, curious about what was in the house. The bathroom had sanitary products in the cupboard under the sink as well as a First Aid kit. Takashi pulled it out to look through it. He wasn't taking any chances.

He put everything back into the First Aid kit once he was done and moved on.

They steered clear of Sarah's room, letting her have that privacy. Instead, they went to see where the laundry room was, where the downstairs bathroom was, and where the backdoor was. Takashi and Keith went out to the garden.

There was a sandpit, and a slide and a swing set. Takashi noticed that there was also a little house, and a goalpost, too.

"She's got a lot of stuff out here, huh?" Takashi said to Keith.

"Hai," Keith replied. He walked over with Mr Hippo to investigate the playhouse, chatting in Japanese.

"So you speak a different language?" Sarah asked. Takashi had heard her coming up, but he had chosen to ignore her unless she spoke.

"Yeah. We're Japanese," Takashi replied.

"Ah. I haven't actually fostered any Japanese kids yet. I'd love to learn how to say some things, even if it's simple phrases like 'good morning' or 'welcome home'."

"I can teach you," Takashi offered. Sarah smiled.

"That'd be very lovely, Shiro. Thank you." The two of them turned to watch as Keith examined the sandpit.

"Nii-San! Can we play together tomorrow?" Keith called out.

"Yes, we can," Takashi replied. Keith bounded over to him, happy.

"What do you think of the yard?" Sarah asked.

"It's cool. Mr Hippo and I like the sandpit," Keith replied. Sarah smiled.

"I'm glad. Now, let's go see what we can do about dinner, yeah?"

"Yeah!" Takashi smiled. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

__________

He was slightly disoriented when he woke up. He forgot where he was until he remembered. Then his door opened, and Keith came in.

"Nii-San, Ms Sarah said that we can go shopping today," he said. Takashi nodded.

"Alright, then. I'll be dressed and downstairs soon. Do you want help to get changed?" Keith shook his head.

"No, I'll be okay," he replied. Takashi nodded.

"Alright. Go get changed, yeah?"

"Okay." With that, Keith walked out of the room. Takashi sighed. He didn't think that Keith would ever warm up to any of their foster parents.

That... would cause them to move around a lot. And that would be a problem, because they'd have an extremely unstable upbringing. Sarah was nice, but how long would it take for her to get sick of them? Of how Keith didn't speak all that much around her, and if he did talk, it was in either singular words or in Japanese that Takashi had to translate?

Would their other foster families even allow them to speak Japanese and practice basic things from their culture?

He shook his head, pushing the thoughts away for the time being. He had to get dressed.

He grabbed a spare change of clothes and went into the bathroom. He located the towels and turned on the shower. While he was showering, he thought of what they would be doing that day. According to Keith, they were going to go shopping. Takashi needed some body wash and deodorant. Keith needed more toothpaste, and maybe a new toothbrush. He'd try to get one similar to the one he had now.

Takashi turned off the shower and stepped out, drying himself and changing into clean clothes. Then he went to put his pajamas back in his room.

Keith was waiting for him, sitting on his bed with Mr Hippo in his hands. Takashi put his pajamas away.

"Did you put your pajamas away?" He asked. Keith nodded.

"Under my pillow, like Okaasan told me to," he said. Takashi nodded.

"Good job, Akira. Let's go downstairs now, yeah?"

"Okay." Keith followed him downstairs, content to just be behind his older brother.

That... might end up being a problem in the future. Takashi didn't know how he'd deal with the problem if it became one. Though, he guessed that he could just deal with it when it came up.

"Good morning, Shiro. How did you sleep?"

"Morning. I slept okay." Sarah nodded.

"That's good. Are you two ready to go shopping?"

"Hai," Keith replied.

"That means yes," Takashi translated.

"Ah. So 'hai' is yes."

"Hai," Takashi confirmed. Sarah smiled.

"I see what you did there. Anyway, I made pancakes for breakfast. Eat your fill before we go out."

"Thank you," Takashi said. He sat down with Keith, who was already eating his pancakes. Sarah had put some chocolate syrup and berries on his pancakes, probably because she asked him about it and he said yes to it.

The pancakes were really good, and Takashi ate as much as he could. When he was done, he took his plate to the sink. Keith followed, trying to put his dishes in the sink. He pouted when he was unable to reach the sink.

"Nii-San, can you help me?" Keith asked. Takashi took his plate. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Five minutes later, Takashi found himself in Sarah's car with Keith in the backseat, holding onto Mr Hippo, going to the store. Sarah had given them an outline of what they were going to do - go to Target and Walmart, get some bedsheets and some other things to personalize their rooms more, and get some food.

Simple enough, even for a five year old child that refused to talk in full sentences to their foster mother.

When they got to Target, Takashi got Keith out of his car seat and onto the ground. He clung to Takashi, looking around nervously.

"Hey, it's just Target, Keith, you'll be okay." Keith just nodded mutely.

Sarah got a trolley, and they went into the store.

"Let's go look at the little kid stuff first," she suggested.

"Sounds good," Takashi agreed. He followed her to the bedsheets for little kids. "Go find something you like," he urged Keith. He looked up at Takashi, then walked forward by himself. He'd look back to see if Takashi was still there from time to time, but he mostly looked at the bedsheets that were for sale.

"Space," Keith said, pointing to a space themed comforter.

"Yeah, it's space. Do you want the space blanket?" Keith thought about it. Then he nodded. Takashi grabbed it and put it into the cart.

"Do you like space, Keith?" Sarah asked. Keith nodded. "That's so cool! Do you want to go to space some day?" Keith shrugged. Sarah looked happy to get non-verbal responses from Keith.

They walked around some more. Keith went to the toys when he saw them, and picked out a new hippo. He put it into the cart carefully, which meant asking Takashi to pick him up so that he could put it in. Takashi complied. He was weak for this child.

They moved onto stuff for Takashi when Keith made it clear that he was finished. He picked out his own sheets, and some decorations for his room. Then they went to check out. Takashi helped to carry their things to the car and load them in.

They went to Walmart next. Sarah bought them food that they wanted. If she saw them staring at something for a long time, she'd encourage them to get it. When they were done again, they checked out and took everything to the car.

"You take your new things to your rooms, I'll take care of the food," Sarah said when they got back home. Takashi nodded, and called Keith, who was holding both hippos.

Once he lugged everything into their rooms, he sat down in the middle of the floor in Keith's room.

"What's the new hippo's name?" Takashi asked, nodding his head towards said toy. Keith studied it.

"Frankie," he said. Takashi nodded.

"Alright, then."

"Play with me, Nii-San. You said that you would yesterday."

"Alright. What do you want to play?" Keith grinned widely.

"You're going to be an evil purple alien," he declared. Takashi hummed.

"Does this evil purple alien have a name?"

"Hmm... Zarkon."

"Alright, I'll be Zarkon," Takashi agreed. Keith grinned.

"I'm gonna be the hero!" He said.

"Going to," Takashi corrected. Keith ignored him.

__________________________

Pt1 pt3

[theprofessionalpromptmaker]

Crowded Nest Awareness Day & Loving Day & Magic Day & Superman Day

Person A lives in a world where magic powers are common but amplifies by having someone love you, so most people are desperate to find romantic partners. Person A instead focuses on running an orphanage to give back to the community and help kids, since Person A was also an orphan. Person A has always had such weak magic that they don’t think much of it, but Person B is a researcher whose ability allows them to sense magic level (even if unused) and is surprised Person A has more magic power than they’ve ever seen. Person B has a theory that the more people love a person, the more their power will be amplified, but Person A has no romantic partners, which is confusing since romantic love is the only love associated with the magic - because love of family and friends has never been considered as a type of love.

[kettlefire]

Prepare for the unexpected. (DPxDC)

Everyone knew about the reign of Pariah Dark. Even those who did not dabble in those realms have heard the tale of the tyrant. A power-hungry man who ruled over the dead with an iron fist.

Following the rise of Pariah Dark, his realm had been effectively cut off from communication. Many mystics and magic users knew better than to open the door of nightmares that could arise if Pariah Dark's reach went further than his own realm.

Except, the universe had plans to bring the realm of the dead back into the cards.

A new opponent, one that had all of Earth's heroes scrambling for options. A being with powers of a god over weather, destruction was on the horizon. A world ending threat.

It's the only reason the Justice League was doing this. In a deep bunker, far from close civilization as a precaution, the heroes looked on with grim expressions.

The world was already being threatened. It would be destroyed regardless of what the league did. So it only made sense to make the last ditch effort. To summon someone strong enough to defeat the threat.

No one wanted to do it. No one wanted to be the one to pull the realm of the dead back to the living. The consequences were untold if this succeeded. If Pariah Dark was freed and defeated the threat, whose to say he won't want control?

That was a problem for later. For the aftermath. For now, the league could only watch on with bated breath as Constantine completely the summon ritual.

They watched on as the shadows in the room seemed to darken and grow. As the sigil sputtered to life with a glow that was growing increasingly brighter. A sudden gust of wind rushed through the room, the temperature began to drop with eaching ticking second.

And then it was all gone.

The room stood perfectly still. Just as it had been moments before. Nothing changed. No giant king standing before them, no sign that the ritual worked.

The room stood deadly still for another beat before the murmurs started. The team trying to make sense of the situation, figure out what went wrong.

Constantine swore up and down that this was the correct ritual, taking offense that they would even think the problem was on his end. It only made it better when it finally happened.

A loud sound ripped through the room, pulling everyone's attention back to the summoning circle. Just in time to see a tear appear in the space above the circle.

A thin tear that ran the length of eight feet. The fabric of the dimension seems to curl at the edges, pulling back to reveal a deep glowing swirl of greens. A dark gloved hand reached through, fingers curling around the edge of the tear, stretching it even further.

A portal. The ritual had worked, but there had been a delay. A delay that had every hero nerves on edge. Each team member tensed, weapons at the ready as they watched the being stretch the portal to the right size.

Then, a foot stepped out with a heavy thud. A dark boot that looked otherworldly despite its similarity to mortal clothing. A deep black that seemed never-ending. A second foot quickly followed before a full body emerged from the portal.

Not many people in the room have ever seen Pariah Dark, let alone know what to expect. Based on what Constantine and Zatara had said, this wasn't Pariah Dark.

A man had stepped out of the portal, standing at almost seven feet tall, and built like a brick house. One glance at the glowing white hair, deadly red eyes, and shard teeth was enough to know this being was not to be messed with.

But there was no giant show of armor or royal garbs. There is no large crown at the top of his head or jewelry from the infinite realms laced around his neck.

Instead, the man stood before them in combat boots, worn-in ripped jeans, a graphic t-shirt, and a spiked leather jacket. Despite his almost normal clothing choice, the man's jacket seemed to be a never-ending depth of the dark night sky. If one was to look closely enough, the cosmos could almost be made out in the sea of darkness.

None of that would have prepared them for when the man spoke. His tone sounded more bored than anything as he took a step forward.

"Oh, so now you need the help of the dead." The man had spoken, running a hand through his hair. When Batman took a step forward to speak, the man raised a hand. Immediately commanding silence in the single gesture. "I'm on babysitting duty and have yet to have a cup of coffee. I'll be right back."

Just like that, both the man and portal vanished into thin air. Leaving behind a group of stunned heroes. Not only was the man not Pariah Dark, but he was also supposedly babysitting.

"Did that just-"

The Flash had been the first voice to speak up, his eyes trained on where the man had once stood. Except he had barely made it through the first few words before the man was suddenly back.

The man that now had a child hanging off his shoulders and another teen being held up by his scruff. Unlike the man, these kids looked human.

Too human for Bruce's liking. The dark black hair and bright blue eyes had every heroes eyes flickering to Batman for just the briefest moment.

"This isn't fair! I'm not even the king. Why do I have to be here!" The teenager had been complaining the moment the man had reappeared. Arms crossed tight over his chest and seemingly used to being held dangling. "Besides, who brings kids to a show down! Wait til I tell mom about this."

"Aw, come on, Danny. This is gonna be fun!!" The younger girl seemed in much better spirits than the teen, Danny. She had climbed up the large man, sitting on his shoulders and resting her arms on the mess of glowing hair. "It's like take your kids to work day! Ooo, Dan! Can we fight too!?"

Unlike the two kids, the man looked purely exhausted and annoyed. The man, Dan, dropped Danny like a sack of potatoes as he took a long drink from the travel cup in his hand.

It didn't take a genius to recognize the look of an exhausted parent in Dan's expression. A look many of the league members were well acquainted to. A look that even had Batman grimacing with sympathy.

"Can it, little shits. You two were grounded, remember." Dan had growled at the kids before shifting his focus back on the team of heroes before them. His glowing eyes set in a deadly glare. "Pariah Dark isn't coming, and he never will. He's been dethroned and banished. We're the best you've got."

A summoning that started with a group of on edge and scared heroes looking for the ghost king, ended in a way no one expected.

No one was even sure if it made any sense. They weren't sure if they should feel hopeful or in despair.

Because truly, what was a ghostly man with two seemingly human children against a godlike foe with the control over the weather?

The unspoken question of power and ability seemed to vanish following Dan downing the metal travel cup of coffee, and crushing it in his fist.

He tossed it to the side, straighting up his posture as he looked over the heroes. Dan might not be a hero, but he's been playing family for too long.

An almost feral, bloodhungry grin spread across the man's face, sharp fangs on full display. The look made the man suddenly look even less human. He looked closer to a demon from the pits of hell rather than the exhausted parent he looked just a few seconds ago.

"Point me in the direction of this bastard. It's been too long since I let loose and had some fun."