#so glad I can legally move out next year

[thatrandomlemononyourcounter1]

literally about to scream

[imaginesbymonika]

From the dining table | Part 7

Pairing: Damon Albarn × Gallagher! Reader

Plot: Everyone's favorite topic during the '90s and 'OOs; Y/N Gallagher. The mysterious and beautiful younger sister of the two loud brothers rarely spoke during interviews but played the guitar like no one else. And even though she never said a word about her dating-life, the list of her rumored boyfriends kept growing longer with each passing year. Yet, there was one name in particular that just kept on popping up...

Previous part | Masterlist

(2024)

Damon hasn’t been able to stop thinking about the look on Y/N‘s face; the bitterness and disappointment. He received a call from Noel the same night. “You know, I’m sorry.”, he said to him, the tone of his voice genuinely pitiful. There were also some tweets made by Liam in the following days. Damon understood that they were about him- maybe even addressing him directly.

He knows that he deserved it.

The blonde is sitting on the couch, next to his daughter while the BRITS are playing in the background. He hears how Missy eats her dinner, while his gaze continues to shift between the TV and the window.

It’s only when he unexpectedly hears Y/N’s voice that his eyes move back to the screen. He leans forward. She’s holding a multicolored sculpture in her hands, while a huge (and gorgeous) smile plays on her lips. The words “best feature” are flashing up underneath her. “She’s so cool.”, Missy mutters, while bringing the spoon up to her lips. Damon doesn’t reply.

“I haven’t pre-written anything, considering how winning this wasn’t something I assumed to be even a ‘maybe’. So please, bear with me. First of all, I want to thank Taylor for reaching out and asking me to be on her record again. I remember that back in 2014, I felt somewhat relieved that it didn’t make the cut but now after all those years it does feel good to have it out in the open. I also want to thank my brothers, Liam and Noel- you guys mean the world to me and I’m so glad you two made up.”

The woman pauses and looks down at the trophy, before opening her mouth again to say something. However, when she quickly closes it again and looks up there’s hesitancy flashing up in her eyes.

“God.”, she lets out:” I am so going to regret this… considering what happened a few months ago. But well, okay. So, I want to thank someone else as well. After this song came out… people on the internet started to speculate who I was singing about. And I guess, this has been following me for a while now. But yeah, the people on the internet were right. I want to thank Damon Albarn, who has been the first person to tell me that maybe my voice is good enough to be on an album. I’m somewhat glad that my first time being on an album is because of him. Anyway, thanks so much.”

Missy almost drops her spoon while Damon immediately jumps up from his spot next to her. “Dad?! What the fuck?”, she yells after him, but he is already out of the house and hurrying to his car. His hands are frantically searching his pockets for his keys. The drive to London must be what? 4 hours? He can be there in 3- maybe even 2 and a half. Not in a legal way, but he can and will be.

The second he’s out the gate and on his way to the main road he dials Noel’s number.

“It’s the NoMad.”

“What?”, Damon asks positioning the phone between his ear and shoulder. “Her hotel. I figured you called because of that.”

He hears Liam’s voice in the background:” Is that him?! Give me the phone, I-.” Noel merely chuckles:”I’ve got to hang up. The NoMad. Remember. No Liam, get off-.”

[pinkiemachine]

GOTHAM FILES: SEASON 3

Okay, so from here on out, things may get a little more bare bones, as i haven’t put quite as much detail into the next few seasons…

After season 2 comes JUSTICE LEAGUE: HEROES RISING, and is immediately followed by THE MIGHTY TEEN TITANS. (I have the first two seasons for that show outlined, and in it we start to see Dick begin to want to spread his wings a little more.) Then after all of that, we get Gotham Season 3. We begin with a small time skip. Dick is now 17, he’s more than ready to get out of Bruce’s shadow, they’re fighting more often, they’re not as in sync as they used to be, especially as the premier is all about Bane, the man who breaks Bruce’s back and nearly kills Dick. Bruce almost relives his greatest nightmare and he can’t bring himself to allow that to happen again. They manage to team up and together they defeat him, but it was an exceptionally close call for everyone. These past few years, Bruce has been learning to actively be there for someone else. Dick NEEDED him to be there for him, personally, and Bruce had gotten so used to just tuning people out that it was hard for him to actively be a part of someone’s life like that. Now, though, he’s beginning to relapse a little. Dick’s almost an adult and can take care of himself. He feels like now’s a good time to start pushing him away and going back to a solitary oyster. Dick doesn’t take this very well, but he’s also glad to have an excuse to strike out on his own, so… oh well. He’s off to become Nightwing and work full time with the Titans.

While he’s away, Bruce spends a few days completely alone. We check in on how things are going with Catwoman, and the two of them are still kinda flirty and beating around the bush, but neither one of them feels like they’re in a place to really make a move, you know? They still got issues.

THEN who should appear in crime alley… but a young teenager named Jason Todd. He’s trying to steal the Batmobile’s tires. Batman confronts him, but he’s not scared. In fact, he actually tries to attack Bruce with a tire iron. Kid had guts! So much so that he actually gets Bruce to laugh. But seriously, he does need to set this kid straight, he can’t be going around jacking people’s tires. Jason can’t exactly go home to his parents, though. He doesn’t have either. He’s alone, living on the street, hanging with some bad people. His dad was never around from the start, and his mom was… in a bad place. Literally and mentally. Now she was gone too. So, Bruce tries to get Jason set up in the foster care system, but… yeah, in Gotham, that’s not much better. He finds him back out on the streets a short while later. And this time, instead of stealing the tires, Jason tries to stow away in the Batmobile to get inside the infamous Bat-Cave. Okay, now Bruce needs to put a stop to this. At first, he only intends to bring him back to the cave as a means of scaring him straight, but the longer he hangs around, the more Bruce is kinda actually growing fond of him. When he wasn’t acting like a total punk, he could be very funny and charismatic. And again, the kid had no where else to go, so… despite the fact that Bruce said he wouldn’t have another kid… he lets Jason stay a while… which turns into forever, because Bruce signs the papers and Jason is legally under his care now—what? Bruce doesn’t know what just happened. Anyway, Jason is here now and for him, adjusting to the Manor is a much bigger deal than is was for Dick. He shows up with all of his belongings filling up one plastic bag and his first night, he feels like he can’t even sleep in the fancy bed. He’s more comfortable just laying on the floor. He was really put off by the whole “fancy Manor life” thing, but now that he’s here, he starts to become really appreciative and almost never asks for very much. He’s also beyond excited to head back to school. He dropped out when he was, like, twelve. He was a good student and eager to learn. He liked learning. Nearly laughed in Bruce’s face when he showed him the Gotham Academy uniform, though. Anyway, his journey to becoming Robin started when he was just down in the Cave one night, using some of the workout equipment. Bruce suddenly found himself giving pointers and before long they were training together and the next thing he knew, Jason was asking if he could wear the Robin mask. Bruce is naturally very hesitant… but then, behind his back, Dick shows up and takes Jason, as Robin, out for a night on the town. He definitely thinks Jason’s got what it takes. He’s a tough fighter. And Bruce could use the company/backup. Bruce still doesn’t think it’s a great idea, but he allows it.

This is also the season when they adopt Ace, the German Shepherd, aka Bat Hound! Jason finds him and smuggles him home one night, and Alfred discovers him immediately, then Jason begs Bruce to let him stay. Says that he can come along on missions too, be extra backup. Bruce initially doesn’t bite, but… the dog does make Jason happy… fiiiiiiine the dog can stay. (He and Ace end up becoming real good friends, lol.)

Later, we tackle the Arkham Asylum storyline, there’s more villains introduced, more appearances of old favourites, Batgirl shows up, Nightwing shows up, AND THEN…

Tragedy.

Joker has Jason’s mom in the season finale. Acting impulsively, Jason goes alone to save her… and ends up failing. Joker captures him, brutally tortures him, but Jason refuses to give up. He’ll never stop fighting. In the end, he manages to break free and get his mom to safety, but he can’t stop the rest of Joker’s evil scheme in time. Before Bruce and the others can show up to save him, a bomb explodes in the warehouse where Jason was held prisoner… Bruce finds his body in the rubble. Jason is dead.

His worst nightmare has come true again.

Thus marks the beginning of a very dark time in Bruce’s life.

Part 4 👇

Part 2 👇

[moonlightreal]

How can we help?

I dunno about y’all but I’m very keen to live in a world where LJ Smith has some good things happen to her for a change, and we get to read Strange Fate. So is there anything we can do to make those things happen?

First, Strange Fate.

The only thing I can think to do is spread the word. Post on your socials, drop the news into the off topic channel of any remotely bookish discords you may be in. “Anybody read these books back when? The author reappeared!” Tell random YA readers you know. There are a bunch of people who liked the Night World books but haven’t thought of them in years, and a bunch of people who remember them and do the Strange Fate deepdive periodically, and those are the people who’d like to know that things are moving again.

I just wish we knew how fast things were moving! Spreading the word is a bit suboptimal when the word is, “Strange Fate is coming… sometime in the next few years, really this time!” But still, folks will want to know. Alas, fan enthusiasm cannot grease the slow wheels of publishing!

I think there will be a time for telling the publisher how very excited we are, but I’m not sure that time is yet. And if things don’t work out with publishers, there may be a time when we can kick in to a Kickstarter, but that time is also not yet.

Second, Ms. Smith.

This lady fought her way through some serious slings and arrows of outrageous fortune to finish the book we want to read. She deserves some good stuff to happen in her life and we can deliver some of that good stuff!

Ms. Smith would like to have action on the website. Importantly: emails do not go directly to Ms. Smith, she has her “staff writer” Jesa who seems to be both assistant and friend handling correspondence. Which is good! Dealing with a whole entire fanbase of delighted but very impatient people might be a bit too much for Ms. Smith who is still having medical issues, she needs a buffer and I’m really glad she has one. So say nice things to Jesa!

-Send questions for Ask LJ. I tried to think of questions that I really am curious about, that would also be fun for Ms. Smith to answer. One was what kind of anime she’s into, and I'm super curious to know if we have the same taste.

-Send fun stories. Did anything really wacky ever happen because you’re a Night World fan? Ever had a funny conversation with another fan in the wild? Did you roleplay or cosplay as your favorite character? This series has been part of our lives for ages—probably not a super big part, I mean there’s lots of fandoms, but if you’re here now it’s been a part for a long time.

-Send fanart. Jesa reports that Ms. Smith loves to see fanart! Also while I know we all have lots of opinions on AI pictures, Ms. Smith likes them and if you can wrangle a prompt to make a scene from one of the books she’d probably get a kick out of it. Or if you can draw, think of it as giving her some better art!

-Do not send fanfiction or story ideas. This is a bummer for those of us who happen to have the written word as our medium, but there are tangled legal and copyright things that make it VERY BAD for official authors to read any fanwork of their own stories. Ms. Smith wants to interact with her fans, so we need to make sure we’re fans who are safe to interact with!

And be nice, and be patient.

[schrijverr]

I Didn’t Mean to Say I Do, but I Do. I Do. 5

Chapter 5 out of 50

Secret marriage of convenience buddie slow burn AU, where Buck and Eddie have been married for years so Buck could adopt Chris and no one at the 118 knows.

In this chapter, Eddie and Evan decide to get married, so Eddie can go off to war. Evan has to deal with being a parent alone, with Helena judging his parenting. Not to mention Eddie getting send back injured.

On AO3.

Ships: Buddie (slowburn)

Warnings: ableism, emotionally abusive parents, insecurity, homophobia

~~~

Chapter 5: Mr. & Mr. Convenience

They’ve run over the numbers an unholy amount of times. If Evan’s senior year math teacher saw him now, she’d have a surprised induced medical emergency with the amount of calculations he’s done. No matter how they count, Eddie is right. He’s going to have to re-enlist.

When the reality sinks in, Evan feels a fear grip his throat and softly he asks: “What’s going to happen to me and Chris if you do? You know your mom is never going to let me stay with him.”

A part of him thinks, this is it. I have finally overstayed my welcome and Eddie is going to leave to fight a war and Chris will go to his grandparents and I am no longer useful. It hurts, these past few years have been hard, but they’ve been so good too. He doesn’t want to lose the best family he has ever had over medical bills, but it seems like that will be his life.

Before his thoughts can spiral into anything more depressing, Eddie says: “They can’t do shit if you’re his legal guardian. We can do paperwork about that, right?”

“You want me to adopt Chris?” Evan has to check, because that can’t be right. This is the part where people leave, not where people pull him closer.

“Do you- do you not want to? I mean, you don’t have to, I get-” Eddie stutters, suddenly realizing just what he is asking Evan to do. He has already done so much, it keeps surprising him every day that he is still here.

“Of course I want to,” Evan cuts him off. “Are you sure you’re okay with that?”

“Evan, you’re basically his other dad. This will only make it official,” Eddie tells him as seriously and heartfelt as he can. He still isn’t great at emotions, but for Evan, for his family, he’s willing to try.

“Thank you,” Evan says, hugging him close, despite the awkward angle and the table digging into both their stomachs.

“No, thank you,” Eddie replies, glad that Evan starts crying so he doesn’t have to explain his own moist eyes.

He leaves Evan to go on a research binge about how to best tackle this, while he sits back, mentally trying to process what re-enlisting will mean. He’s going to have to say goodbye to Chris again. It seems even more difficult than it had been the first time around. They’re going to have to let his parents help again too.

As much as Eddie wishes he could, he knows Evan can’t take care of Chris by himself when he is gone. He is already doing way too much by trying. But Eddie is sure that if he lets Chris go to his parents now, he’ll never get him back. He can’t allow that to happen.

That helpless frustrated feeling is back and Eddie hates it. He needs to move. He wants to run away, but that isn’t possible. So, he makes a pot of coffee instead, it is already a late night and it’ll probably become a later one. He is used to it, but Evan is going to need the caffeine.

His own coffee is black, but Evan takes his with two sugars and way too much milk. Eddie thinks it is not how coffee is supposed to be drunk. No one likes the bitter taste, you just have to get used to it. However, he makes Evan his version of coffee without complaint.

When the coffee is done, he puts Evan’s mug next to him, taking a sip of his own as he leans his hand on the table, taking his place behind Evan’s chair to look over his shoulder to see what he’s doing, though not actually reading anything as he asks: “So, what did you find?”

Evan rubs his face with his hands as he takes a break from staring at the screen. He says: “All of them take a long time, too long for the timeline we’re working on with those bills. Unless you want to get married.”

Eddie can admit later that he chokes on the sip of coffee. However, he recovers in record time and actually thinks about it. He and Evan are a lot like a married couple when he thinks about it. They live together, raise a kid together, even sleep in the same bed (albeit practically never at the same time). He’s not gay and Evan has never mentioned being gay either, but you don’t have to be in love to be married. His marriage with Shannon wasn’t entirely out of pure love either. It’ll just be for convenience.

“Alright,” he says after a beat. “Let’s get married.”

“What? Are you serious?” Evan exclaims, giving Eddie wide eyes. He won’t mind being married to Eddie, even if it’s just so he can adopt Chris, but he never thought Mr. Toxic Masculinity Was My Childhood would go for it.

“Yeah, it’s legal right? And it’s the easiest. They don’t actually check if you fuck when you get married and take it from me, being divorced isn’t the end of the world either,” Eddie tells him.

A little feeling that Evan has been refusing to name feels a little crushed at the word ‘divorce’, but he doesn’t let it get to him. They’re friend. Best friends. And co-parents. He would withstand a lot for Chris, and it isn’t exactly a hardship to be married to Eddie. So he says: “Okay. Yeah. Sure. Let’s get married.”

“Cool,” Eddie smiles at him.

“Really? Cool?” Evan guffaws, playing it up to make Eddie laugh. “I don’t know if I’ll marry someone if their proposal consists of ‘cool,’ I’ll have you know.”

Eddie does, in fact, laugh, before dramatically dropping on one knee and saying: “Evan will you do me the honor of giving me tax benefits and parenting breaks.”

“You’re a fucking dork,” Evan informs him gleefully, though he’s unable to stop himself from blushing either.

“Is that an I do?” Eddie asks, leaning in and suddenly much closer than he has ever been.

Evan feels a little breathless as he nods: “Yeah, I- I guess it was.”

“Great,” Eddie smiles, then pulls back as he gets back up, groaning as he does so.

“You’re twenty-four, not eighty,” Evan rolls his eyes.

“Shut up,” Eddie retorts. “We should go to bed. We have a wedding to plan in the morning.”

He starts putting everything away and Evan follows suit in their familiar dance of doing the picking up. “We’re not actually going to plan a wedding, right? Or do you have your sights set on Chris being the ring bearer or something?”

“As adorable as that would be, we’re not actually going to plan a wedding. Do you have any idea how expensive those are?”

Evan doesn’t know how to feel about that exactly, but he lets it go for now. They get ready for bed together and get in. They’ve been sharing the bed for a long time now, but it’s feel weirdly different to lie next to each other now. Technically engaged.

After a few moments of them lying side by side staring at the ceiling, Eddie softly says: “You don’t have to, you know that right? It’s not as if my parents can come snatch him out of your hands.”

“I want to have the legal backing if I’m going to try and pick him up from Helena’s house after she babysits. I don’t think a kidnapping charge would look good on my record.”

“I know, I’m just saying that I won’t be mad if you change your mind or-”

“Shut up,” Evan hits him with his pillow, earning a squawk. “I want to, I’m going to. Now sleep, I have work in the morning.”

And that’s that.

They call the same lawyer that did Eddie’s divorce in the morning and Eddie goes over to get a prenup made, not wanting a repeat of having to sort everything like he had to do with Shannon, because this is just for now. This isn’t going to be permanent, at some point Evan is going to find someone he loves and marry her. Eddie doesn’t know why that thought stings.

He also gets the adoption paperwork ready for when they come over after their wedding. Doing that doesn’t leave the same weird feeling in his stomach, he just takes it to mean he’s making the right choice, letting Evan into his life more. If that’s even possible.

A week later they’re at a courthouse with only Chris as their witness. Both are unreasonably nervous and the press of lips feels weird, but also not. Neither can look the other in the eyes afterwards.

The people who work there take some pictures of them and it’s so ridiculous that it breaks the tension. The two of them, along with Chris, do some weird poses and they’re pretty happy with their wedding day photos, even if they’ll probably get stuffed in a drawer somewhere and then forgotten.

Neither of them think anything will really change, they tied the knot because it is convenient, not because they want to be married. It’s just the best solution they have for now.

This assumption is proven to be incorrect when they eat dinner the first day after they got married when Chris asks: “Did you have a good day, papi?”

Eddie startles a little and sends Evan a look to see if he knows what’s happening, because Eddie has always been daddy. By the looks of it, Evan is just as confused as he is. Eddie turns back to Chris and says: “It was good, mijo.”

“No, silly, not you,” Chris giggles. He is going through a phase where he likes the word silly, he thinks it sounds, you know, silly.

“Me?” Evan asks, eyes wide as he points at himself.

“Uh-huh,” Chris nods. “I told Ms. Jane you are married. She says you’re my daddy too. But daddy is already daddy.”

That makes a surprising amount of sense, but as much as Evan would adore being referred to as his dad by Chris, he doesn’t want the kid to do anything he doesn’t want to. “You don’t have to call me anything you don’t want to Chris. Not because Ms. Jane told you so.”

Eddie surprises him by adding: “But you are allowed to if you want to. You’re right. Evan is your other daddy.”

He meets Evan’s eyes when he says the last part, trying to imprint it onto him that he means it. If there is one thing he knows about Evan, it’s that he can be insecure. Like, they’re married and he’s still worried about overstepping.

Chris is quiet for a second, thinking, then he smiles: “Okay. I’m going to.” Before asking again: “So, did you have a good day, papi?”

“I did,” Evan smiles, thrilled at the development and endeared that Chris is asking him. He always asks the same when he comes home and it seems Chris has picked up on the habit.

Another thing that changes, is their relationship with Eddie’s parents. Evan doesn’t go with him to tell them he re-enlisted and Evan is taking care of Chris while he is away on tour. The news is not well received. Evan will swear he heard the yelling all the way back home.

When Eddie comes back, he looks about ten years older and Evan cautiously asks: “So, how did that go?”

“Well, let’s see,” Eddie sighs, rubbing his face, before ticking off on his hand. “If this were a real relationship, they’d never support it. They can’t believe I’d go this far to keep their grandchild from them. I’m a horrible father for leaving Chris. Again. Especially because I’m leaving him with you. But they are willing to work with us, for Chris’s sake.”

“That… That is a lot,” Evan says, processing what Eddie has just said.

“Yeah, it is.” Eddie throws himself on the couch next to him. “And I don’t trust their motives either, but it’s not like we have a choice.”

“No, we don’t,” Evan sighs, also slumping into the couch. “Beer?”

“Please.”

The Diaz parents knowing also has another side effect of their business being spread all over town, which half-helps against homophobes, because Ramon makes it very clear that his son is being a rebellious kid, who is making idiotic decisions and Evan is the queer villain, who is tricking their son and stealing their grandchild.

Not ideal rumors to have going around, but Evan has a lot of practice not letting things get to him and Chris is too happy of a presence and sadly also too used to whispers following him.

The whispers get worse when Eddie actually leaves, but Evan never tells him. He has enough to worry about in a war zone, he doesn’t need to deal with Evan’s hurt feelings. Unless they get to Chris, it’s not important.

God, Chris. Telling him daddy had to leave again is one of the hardest things either of them have ever had to do.

He screams and cries and refuses to let either of them go for days. Evan thinks he’ll never be able to forget Chris wailing: “No, daddy, no! You can’t go, because you come back, but then papi will leave, I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want either of you to leave.”

Evan hugs Chis close and promises: “Papi is never gonna go, sweetheart. I’m not going to leave you, even when daddy comes back. And he’s going to come, it’s not forever. And I’m going to be right here. Always. Okay? I promise.”

It’s the first time he ever referred to himself as papi, but he doesn’t even get to panic about it, too busy making sure Chris is okay. He teaches him the secret of the pinky promise, trying to ignore how Maddie didn’t keep her pinky promise to him. He vows that Chris will never have to learn that pinky promises are as meaningless as the normal ones.

When Eddie leaves, it is hard all over again. Evan and Chris drive him to the airport, Eddie in the backseat with Chris so they can cling to each other for as long as possible. Evan watches them fondly through the rear view mirror, heart aching and heavy, despite the fondness it is filled with.

He is about as ready as Chris is to drop Eddie off. He knows it’s for the best, did the math himself, then had someone more competent do the math as well. He would’ve offered to go instead in a heartbeat, but Eddie never would have let him. Evan knows he’s doing better for Chris, but sometimes it is so clear that he needs to be the man of the house. Needs to provide. So, here Evan is, having to let him go.

Evan doesn’t feel ready for it, but he supposes no parent feels ready to do it by themselves.

He’s seen how Shannon wasn’t ready and crumbled under it, seen the panic in Eddie’s eyes the day he realized he’d have to do it alone. He made sure Eddie never had to do it alone, but here he is and he is hoping with all he has that he’s not going to crumble like Shannon did. Chris won’t survive it if he does and he can’t do that to him. So he prays a little, even though he doesn’t really believe.

They park the car at the airport and Evan gets out alongside the others. Eddie unbuckles Chris, while Evan goes to grab his bags. Chris happily lets daddy carry him as far as he can, then tries to hold on for longer, hoping that if he can make him miss the flight, he won’t leave them.

It’s almost more heartbreaking than telling Chris when Evan has to pry his little fingers from Eddie’s clothes as Eddie backs up far enough that Chris can’t grab him again.

He holds Chris in his arms while he cries, pretty sure Eddie is crying too as he backs away further into the airport, still waving and refusing to turn his back on them until he absolutely has to. Evan wants to cry as well, but he keeps himself as strong as he can. For Chris. So, he takes Chris’s hand in his own and makes it wave, hoping that’ll be enough of something to make up for departure (he knows it won’t, nothing ever will).

The two of them stand there until Eddie has long since disappeared into the crowd. Neither of them are ready to leave yet. It’s almost as if they stand there long enough, Eddie will return.

Usually, it’s Eddie who makes the difficult calls, since he is Chris’s actual dad, no matter what the paperwork might tell you, so he has the final say. But now Evan is the one that has to make all the decisions, including the hard ones. So, he is the one that has to walk away.

Chris starts crying again the second he does and Evan doesn’t think he’ll ever feel like a worse person than he does in that moment, carrying a protesting, quivering, crying Chris back to the car and away from his dad.

Without Eddie there, the house is quiet. They lived alongside each other more than with each other for most of the time, but Evan is missing the little pockets of time he used to fill with Eddie.

It feels weirdly empty.

Lonely.

Especially the first few weeks when Chris doesn’t speak unless he has to. Evan knows Chris misses the empty spaces Eddie leaves more than him and he doesn’t blame the kid for being upset. It just hammers home how unprepared he is for this, how much he can’t do this alone, how he’ll never measure up to Eddie as a presence in Chris’s life.

However, Eddie calls. Evan can’t always be there when it happens and he knows it isn’t the same as having him there, but it gets Chris out of his shell again.

Those first weeks he only talks to Eddie, then he slowly starts talking to Evan again. A few days later, he talks to his grandparents too, something he learns because a smug Helena informs him of it when he comes to pick up Chris.

She is going to use it as a reason she should keep Chris there longer, since he is obviously more comfortable there. She hadn’t been able to sway Eddie before he left, but she has been trying again with Evan from the second they came back from the airport.

But, Buckley stubbornness is nothing to sniff at, so he just smiles pleasantly and says: “Good to hear he’s opened up here too. He was already talking at home a few days ago, but for a second there it seemed me and Eddie were the only ones that were going to hear his voice, it’s nice that he’s coming back to himself. Settling in again.” And Buckley pettiness is also pretty strong.

Helena’s face drops at that, twisting into something displeased as she replies: “Yes, with his sensibilities, it’s good that he’s recovering from the shock Eddie put him through.”

Talking to Helena always leaves a sour taste in his mouth and the time he spends talking with her has increased considerably since Eddie left. He specifically doesn’t like how she undermines Eddie and babies Chris. It gets on his nerves. His two Diaz boys are capable and she doesn’t get to decide they aren’t.

It makes his blood boil and he wants to fight her every single time he comes to pick up Chris. But he doesn’t want Chris to grow up around arguing, and neither does Eddie. It’s one of the things that they agreed on when it came up during the late nights when Eddie opened up about everything. How Chris has been around enough arguing already.

So, he tries to bite his tongue and scrounges up some sympathy to extend to Shannon for putting up with it for three years. Though, when he reflects, he’s also getting to the three years. He met Chris when he was three and birthday number six is coming up. It’s crazy how his short stop in El Paso for some more travel money devolved so quickly. Not that he regrets a thing.

With strained politeness, he forces out: “Chris is a strong kid and Eddie is caring for him, he knows that. He just has to adjust. Now, we need to go.” A little louder he calls out: “You got your stuff, Superman?”

“Yes, papi,” Chris calls back and he sees how Helena’s face sours even more at that.

She doesn’t like that he lets Chris walk to the car by himself and she certainly doesn’t like that he calls Evan papi. If it were up to her, Evan would’ve never met Chris or Eddie. He should have disappeared right alongside Shannon and the fact that he didn’t is quite the affront to her. Evan tries not to care, he’s used to parents not wanting to have him around, he can take it.

As Chris makes his way to the car, she can’t help but comment: “Be careful Chris that is dangerous, let Evan carry you.”

“Do you want to be carried, Chris?” Evan asks, before she can continue or Chris can reply.

“No, I can do it,” Chris says.

Evan shoots her a look that says ‘what can you do?’ not being very apologetic or genuine about it as he says: “He can do it.”

He allows himself those little petty moments. To stay sane. He can do a lot by himself, but with his hours he can’t pick up Chris from kindergarten, so he has to rely on Helena – and Ramon when he is in town – to do it for him and watch him until he is let off.

It’s not optimal, but he makes do. Eddie trusts him with his kid, Eddie married him, so Chris would be taken care of. That is so far beyond what anyone has ever granted Evan and he refuses to let him down. Even if school gets tense around him being in Chris and Eddie’s life like that and they have to switch where Chris does his PT.

Chris blows out his six birthday candles on a video call with daddy, surrounded by strained family relations. It’s not much better than his fifth, which he spend crying because mommy didn’t come back to celebrate. Evan hopes his seventh birthday will be better.

Evan tries his best to make it a good birthday, he saved up to buy him some nice presents, plays nice with Helena and Ramon, and showers Chris with as much love and attention as he can, trying to make up for the two missing parents.

He forces on cheer the whole day, infusing the birthday with as much love and happiness as he can, then tucks Chris in bed at the end of the night, crawls into his own and cries.

He cries, because he doesn’t want to do this alone, he can’t give Chris the childhood he deserves and he doesn’t know why Eddie trusts him with it, because he’s incompetent Evan. The child his parents don’t want, the idiot who couldn’t finish college and traveled all over to escape his failure and the disappointment. Who accidentally tripped into the best thing that has ever happened to him and is now ruining it.

Chris is old enough that he’ll remember this period. He’s likely not going to know much from Shannon’s struggles, but he’ll remember Evan’s. He will remember how much Evan can’t measure up against all the other people that care for him, how he lets Chris call him papi even though he doesn’t deserve the title at all.

Evan is probably fucking Chris over for life and he can’t stop, can’t walk away, because the only thing he can imagine that is worse than being bad at raising Chris, is not raising Chris at all.

Still, the overwhelming feeling of being insufficient and being lonely presses down on him and he cries a little more, silent tears rolling down his cheeks. That night he wishes Eddie would be there with them again and he is pretty sure Chris wished the same when he blew out those candles.

He regrets making that wish a few months later when he picks up the phone to find a very official voice asking if he is speaking to Evan Buckley, husband of Eddie Diaz.

It’s still weird to hear that said out loud, despite being married for almost a year now, because no one around him acknowledges it really. Not that’s real, beyond the fact that it is real. So he stumbles for a moment as he says: “Y- yeah, uhm, yes, that’s me.”

“We’re calling you, because of an incident involving your husband,” the person on the other end informs him and his stomach just drops, the world collapsing in on itself.

No. No.

This can’t be the call. His legs are jello and his lungs aren’t working.

The voice continues on: “He was injured in this incident and has been transported to Germany to recover, once he is stable enough to make the journey, we’ll bring him home to you,” which brings some relief, because he’s not dead, but Evan’s world is still off kilter, because Eddie is injured.

Eddie is injured. Eddie is badly injured. He isn’t stable enough to come home. He could have died out there.

There is a buzzing in his ears and he is perceiving at the world as if he’s looking through a layer of water. Dazed he makes it through the rest of the conversation with the military person about the state Eddie is in and the logistics of getting him home and getting into contact with him. He retains it all, because it’s important, but it doesn’t feel real. He doesn’t want it to be real.

Evan feels entirely disconnected from his body, because yeah, Eddie is alive. Eddie is probably going to be okay. But for a second there, Eddie might not have been. For a second Evan thought he was getting a very, very different call.

And that scares the shit out of him.

That moment wherein Eddie wasn’t coming back, wherein Evan wasn’t just taking care of Chris by himself until Eddie came back, but had to do it alone for the rest of his life, that scares him.

He keeps telling himself it scares him, because Chris would have been devastated by the news that daddy is never coming home. That it’s not about Evan, but about the kid that is his son, because Evan is just the guy that Eddie married so he wouldn’t have to fight his parents. Because Eddie will come back from war, divorce him and try to find stability without him. That Evan only has a place in his life, because he’s useful to Chris.

But he is realizing now that it isn’t just Chris, who has been waiting for a loved one to come home, it’s Evan too.

It’s a horrible thing, to finally name that thing you’ve been ignoring as nothing but a small crush as love. To realize it’s much more than a fleeting thing, that you’re in love with his best friend while he’s injured and on the other side of the world and you’re at home watching his kid, married to him, but not together.

So, he collapses, lets himself cry and grieve a relationship that will probably never be, then pulls himself back together again. He can’t break down, he still has to tell Chris daddy got hurt.

~~

A/N:

I am making up legalities for the fic, I do not actually know how to adopt a child easily and it can be wildly inaccurate, but I don’t care, bc it helps my plot xp

Also Chris would be hit harder with this additional third tour I’m giving Eddie, since he’s older and can process the leaving, especially after Shannon already left, so I’m hoping it’s not too out of character for people, since I do also love our resident sunshine boy :D

(in my mind he did a tour when Shannon was pregnant, then after she gave birth and now this one)

[greyauras]

This is like 600 words.

Everyone headcanons Ghost and Soap's living conditions like Ghost is a frequent visitor of r/malelivingspace and Soap has like a slightly cozy, filled just enough with furniture type of place. I think that's cute and hilarious, but I'm just thinking about the opposite.

That Ghost actually has this REALLY nice place somewhere near the base that Price *legally* finances for him but pays out of pocket for. King sized bed, some cacti, has an elderly neighbor that waters them for him if he's gone for too long and everything. I'm pretty sure Ghost was canonically a butcher (I hc him that way anyway) so he probably can make a good steak, and eventually learned how to cook for himself and it's become a hobby. He grew up without, so now that he has the money and the luxury to have a quiet space of his own, he takes full advantage of it.

I believe he likes stability, and while the base is where he feels the most like himself, the bustle of it all irritates him. Sometimes it's nice to drink your weird ass flavored tea with your pink cacti. Best date you'll ever have if you squint past the red flags Tom Cardy style.

And Soap? Pretty big, concrete, studio loft. Completely empty save necessary appliances and the fullest place being his art space with easels and canvases in front of the large windows, a cot with boxes of his shit next to it. And a bean bag chair begging for life. The only thing he knows how to cook is ramen and MRE tuna packets. He tries family recipes, but fucks it up so badly he hopes his nan doesn't see it beyond the grave. Growing up, he took care of himself while his parents worked constantly and could have been away for days at the time. It's easier to take care of yourself when your only obligations are feeding yourself, doing homework, and going to bed before midnight. Being an adult has similar rules but for some reason it's much worse.

Being in the military, it's an automatic rule to take care of yourself (physically). You stink, you'll get a bath one way or another. He doesn't buy anything because why need a bed if you'll only sleep on it for a month or so? Why a couch and TV when paying for a streaming service would be a waste? (Laptop disc player kind of guy, got a box of classic movies too, “THIS IS SPARTA!”) Really shouldn't even invest in a flat, he doesn't really celebrate holidays with his family anymore since they're the vacation on Christmas type. The only time he's there is when injured, forced or both.

But since Simon moves to Scotland and brings all his stuff with him, the big place gets filled a lot quicker. John gets some shelf racks and finally unpacks his boxes. I would say and maybe vice versa since Soap doesn't have a lot of stuff, but Price is glad to get that freeloader’s lease off his name.

Extra: They're all hanging out in the base’s living area.

Gaz: Does anybody need a couch? My sister's selling one, might even give it away if I ask.

Soap perks up from his spot on the floor: I do! I've been sleeping on the floor for 3 years!

Ghost: Johnny, I thought you said you had a cot?

Soap: I did. The legs broke, now it's just a framed mat.

Gaz: Bruv, what the fuck.

Soap: Does it have a stench?

Gaz: No?

Soap: I'll take it.

[asmutwriter]

My Angel (Part 2)

DESCRIPTION: After hearing about your friends problem you decide to help her out

WORD COUNT: 1587

From beginning / Previous / Next / Master List  

WARNINGS: Steve, Natasha and reader being stubborn, angst, talk of safe house, completely unrealistic scenario, swearing, reader calls Steve 'Shoulders', Steve is a gentlemen, talk of theft

DISCLAIMERS

- This is fiction. Please always talk to your partner before doing anything and make sure they are ok with what you are doing beforehand

"Glad to see you're still a good fighter" Natasha says. You roll your eyes. Holding your hand out to which she takes. Letting you pull her up before you offer the same hand to Steve.

"I had a good teacher" She gives a small smirk. Pulling the man up as you speak. Steve drops your hand once he's up. You go over to the door. Locking it properly before turning around to speak to them. "Why are you in my house?" Nat's eyebrows raise slightly. Eyes watching you like a hawk.

"Your house?" She chuckles slightly. Shaking her head. "This is not a 'home'. This is a safe house. For people who are trying to not get found"

"Which begs the question as to why you're here?" You query. Folding your arms over your torso. Meeting her steady gaze.

"Don't ask to many questions now Mia. It'll only get you in trouble". You roll your eyes. Meeting hers again. She remains silent. Any sort of humour seems to have disappeared from her being.

"Are you seriously not going to tell me?"

"No".

"Fine" you say. Moving and bending down as you pick up the bat from the floor. Resting it over your shoulders as you stand tall once again. "Then get out of my house. Or I'll call the police"

"Ok. Why don't we just think for a minute" Steve interjects.

"Nothing to think about" you say. Looking at the tall man. "You are intruders. Now get out of my home"

"This isn't your home" Natasha says. Eyes going back to her.

"I have squatters rights. I've been living in these abandoned premises for 4 years now without any trouble. So it is legally my home. Now respectfully-" You unlock the door. Opening it for them. "Get the fuck out". They both look at you for a minute. The three of you staying silent.

"We need your help" Steve breaks the tense silence. You look at him.

"Interesting and none of my business. Goodbye".

"Just shut the door and hear us out". You take in a breath. Slowly placing your palm to the back of the door. Pushing it shut. Resting a hand on your hip as the other lets the bat swing by your leg. Leaning against the now closed door. "Natasha is right. We can't tell you everything for your own sake. Just know that we aren't the bad guys" You give a small scoff. Turning your head to the side. Tilting it towards him once again when he continues speaking.

"We need a place to stay. One off the radar. We believed this place was empty so we came here. I think we can both see that we were wrong in that assumption. We will find a different place"

"No. We can't". Your friend says. Both you and Steve facing her. "We have two places that we could stay."

"Ok so we both go to the somewhere else. Leave Miss Mia here to her life"

"They'd expect us to be together. We're safer if we split up. Its why we left Bucky right?" He takes in a sigh.

"Whose Bucky?" Ignoring your question as she turns to you.

"Does anyone else know about this house?" She questions you. "Your clients or friends?"

"No. I always go to other peoples houses or hotels" she nods.

"Good. The only people who know of its existance are the people in this room"

"Making it a safe house still" Steve finishes her thought. She nods. A small smile taunting her lips.

"Exactly"

"You should stay here. I'll go to the other house" she shakes her head at his request. Her smile quickly fading as she looks away.

"No. I know Mia on a personal level. They could link me back to her". She runs a hand through her hair. "You have no direct ties to her though. You should stay here". Raising your brow as you look between the both of them.

"Do I get any say in the matter?"

"No" Natasha says. "We're running out of time. The longer we stay together the likeliest they'll find the both of us"

"Let me get this straight" you quibble. Putting a hand out to make them both actually listen to you rather then dismiss your thoughts. Their heads turning to face you. "You want to kick me out the place I've been living in for half a decade now just because you feel unsafe anywhere else?"

"I never said you have to leave" she taunts. You roll your eyes. Her taunting gaze changes to a more serious one. "We need this place Mia. I know its a lot to ask and I'm sorry to put you in this position but we need this safe haven". You look at her. Then at Steve. "Would I be in danger?" She takes in a breath.

"I can't guarantee you'll be safe if you help us. But if - once we sort this mess out then I will pay you back. Ten times the amount of this favour".

"And all I have to do is room with Shoulders?"

"Really?" Steve looks at you. The stern expression on his face mixing well with the mild glint of amusement and annoyance flashing through his eyes.

"That's all you have to do". You rub your face with your hands. Looking at the man before you. A sigh leaving your lips as you eye him up and down. Your brow furrowing slightly.

"One condition". Your eyes go to his as you bring up a solitary finger. "I'll buy you a couch but I'm keeping the bed". He chuckles slightly. Lips upturning as he nods.

"I have a condition of my own"

"Shoot"

"I want my wallet back".

"I don't..." you trail off. His hand pointing towards your bed. To the wallet embroidered with the letters S.R. on them. "Fuck". Looking back at him. Taking in a breath and holding your hand out. "Deal". He takes your hand. Giving it a shake before dropping it. Natasha looks between the both of you.

"I can tell you two will become best buds". You roll your eyes at her. "I need to be going". Steve turns to her. You look away slightly. Letting them say goodbye properly. She turns to you. Drawing your attention back to her. Hugging you too. "Thank you so much for this Mia". She speaks in a quiet tone.

"No worries. Anything for the woman who saved my life" she gives a small chuckle. Moving from the hug.

"Right. I'll see you both around". You both watch as she goes to the front door. Her hand resting on the door handle. "Try not to kill each other". You give her a small wave. Opening it and closing it behind her. You go over. Doing the latch back up. Realising you still have the bat in hand. Going and placing it by your bedside once again. Gently patting the handle before turning to him.

"How long have you and Nat been dating?" He looks at you. Shaking his head.

"Oh... Oh no. No. We aren't dating". You raise your brow. Scanning him before giving a small 'mhmm'. "We aren't. We've just been through a lot of stuff together. We're close but not... that close"

"Sure Shoulders. Sure"

"Can you..." he lets out a sigh. Watching as you go to your small fridge. He looks away as you bend over to grab something out. "Can you not call me Shoulders?" Turning back to him as you open a can of coke.

"What do you want me to call you?"

"Steve. It is my name"

"Sure thing Shoulders". You smile at him. Taking a sip of your drink as he glares at you. Moving he grabs his wallet from the bed.

"We are going to fall out if you arent careful". You chuckle. Bringing the can back down. Placing it on top of the fridge.

"What did you bring with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're on the run right? You must have like spare toothbrush and shirts?" He shakes his head.

"I didn't have time to pick up anything when I ran". You give a small nod. Motioning with your head.

"There's a shop down the road that sells shirts and things. We could go later tonight and see what we can swipe". Taking a sip of your drink. Turning your head to watch his face. His disappointed face.

"I'm not stealing clothes". You roll your eyes. Going over to your drawers. Opening it. He curiously looks at what you're doing. Very quickly looking away as he sees a lace thong on top of your clothes. A small blush coming over his features. Vanishing before you notice.

You take out a wad of cash. Shutting the drawer with your hip. Turning to him. "Right. So we need new clothes plus a sofa. I have about 200 quid but I don't want to spend it all as its next months rent. However I'd rather be living with a man who owns more then one pair of underwear then be able to pay next rent". You go over to him. Holding it towards him. "Go get yourself something nice". He goes to take it but you snatch it back. "You owe me big time". You look up at his blue eyes. Putting the money back down. He gives a small nod. Taking the cash from you. Looking at you through his lashes.

"Where can I buy clothes and a sofa from?"

Previous / Next

TAGS

@wonderlanddreamer

[the-dye-stained-socialite]

@the-masterless-press hi EJ! i was your secret swap partner for the @fallenlondonficswap this year! I hope you enjoy the fic!!

Griz's Day Off Pairing: Virginia and The Efficient Commissioner (can be read as a ship, or just teasing)

Word Count: 1,903 Summary: Griz is invited out to one of Virginia's spas along the Railway, and has a nice day before winter sets in.

The train rattled along its journey, wreaking hell on the Effecient Commissioner’s already sore body. A particularly brutal shake caused her to wince. Honestly, how did this thing not derail between every station? Another jolt, and a shock of pain went right to her hip. The seats were in desperate need of improvement. Perhaps that would be something to bring up at the next meeting. Griselda rubbed at her freshly-pained joint through her woolen suit. Thank the False-Stars that the trip to Ealing was so short , she thought with a sigh. Else not, she might not have the leg strength to get back off the blasted train. 

With Hallowmas done and past, the weather change was beginning to take its annual toll on her body. She felt its frosty grip more and more each year. Winter, even in the Neath, especially in the Neath, was cruel and unkind to her. Increasingly frequently she would wake up painfully aware of each of her joints and old injuries. Stiffness pierced her like a preserved bug, and held her unable to move how she pleased. Efficient as she was, even she could be slowed down by the cold and pain, and what a terrible time to be slowed down it was! Winter was always the busiest for her. Lacre, Tragedies, and contingencies consumed every waking thought that was not devoted to her pain. Another sigh escaped her. This was likely to be her last day off until the next Feast of the Exceptional Rose. She dreaded the mounds of paperwork she knew she would face in the coming season most of all. Yet she did it anyway, to keep London safe as well as she could.

The train rolled to its stop, and forced Griz from her thoughts. She grabbed her travel bag and headed out to the station, glad to be on steady ground. Her knees creaked in sympathy, and she was reminded of an abandoned house. 

Among the station’s crowd, a Deviless in a red pillbox was waiting.

“Hello, Virginia,” Griz said.

“Hello, Griz,” the Deviless greeted. “It’s nice to see you accepted my offer.”

The Commissioner was always wary of Hell, for it and London had an uneasy shared history, and their legal system was near unnavigable for even her. Virginia herself was a unique matter. Deeply entrenched in the politics of both Hell and London, and a large and unignorable contributor to the Great Hellbound Railway. It couldn’t have existed without her, at least not in its present state. Griz attributed a fair few of her migraines over the years to this Deviless in particular. Yet here she was now, inviting Griz to the spa she ran here in Ealing for a relaxing day. Wary as she was, the idea was all too appealing for the Commissioner to turn down. The two walked side by side on their way to the bathhouse.

The spa was only a short distance, though the journey was stretched by Griz’s slower pace. Virginia said nothing however, and Griz found herself wondering how much the cold affected a Devil. Perhaps the slowness was for both of their benefit. 

When they arrived, Griz was shown to a changing room, which mercifully had a chair. She was able to change into her bathing suit, and swapped her walking boots out for slippers. A working Devil came to take her bag and clothes soon, and she left the changing room. Virginia had also taken the time to get changed it seemed, for she had exchanged her formal attire for her own swimsuit. It was a thoroughly infernal cut, so tight that Griz was shocked Virginia could move without popping open a seam. The tailors they must have in Hell!

She approached Griz with a smile, and hooked a warm arm around one of Griz’s own. “Deviless I may be, running a spa such as mine is more useful for me than being treated in it.”

“But?”

“But,” she continued, leading Griz down a hall. “Even warm waters can be a boon, Deviless or no.”

Griz laughed, caught off-guard. Her laughter turned to more wincing when something in her ribcage shifted.

Virginia offered her a look of sympathy, or maybe pity. “Besides, I find little point in allowing aches to set in if I’m already paying the heating bills.”

“This conversation feels a little pointed,” Griz chided.

“Your joints had more to say than you did last meeting, Griselda . I caught the Minutes-Taker attempting to transcribe the argument between your spine and your knees.”

Griz flushed bright red. “He did not! I read those minutes thrice over, and there was scarce mention of my joints, thank you .”

She snickered. “He was doing a rather poor job of it.” She opened a door before Griz could get in another word. Faintly sulphuric steam billowed out. “And that right there is the other reason. You rarely take a break from your work, and even when you’re away from the Bazaar you don’t stop. Do you know the effect that has on one’s soul?”

“Seeing as I’m not a Devil, I don’t, actually. Would you care to enlighten me?”

“No.”

Griz groaned. Virginia smirked.

“Come this was, I assure you that we’ll get it fixed.”

Griz huffed, but followed her through the door anyways. “And how do I know that it needs to be ‘fixed’?”

“Seeing as you’re not a Devil, you’ll just have to take my word.”

“Ah, because that’s exactly what I want to do. You’re even worse outside of the boardroom, did you know?”

Virginia laughed again, and Griz found herself joining in. For as little as she’d ever care to admit it, this sort of petty banter was fun. So much of her work was serious arguments and work-arounds and loopholes, that being able to use those skills for joking jabs was an enjoyable turn of events. 

“Ah, just one moment,” Virginia said, her laughter ending abruptly.

Griz watched as she untwined their arms, and walked over to another of her workers. She seemed to be giving the Devil instructions. Griz took the opportunity to look around the room.

It was a touch difficult to make things out given all the steam, and the low lighting of course, but it wasn’t foggy enough that she felt like she couldn’t navigate. The room seemed to be unoccupied save for her, Virginia, and a few workers. No one else was here for a treatment, then? Perhaps they were just in other rooms. The spa itself was a mostly circular pool, a few feet in diameter, with a set of stone steps leading down into it, and a wooden railing. The pool was deep enough to soak in, but neither deep or wide enough to make swimming a viable option. She guessed that it was likely a natural spring, which the bathouse had been built around, with a few modifications. Though Griz had only been standing for a few minutes, already the steam had begun to warm her body from the cold’s biting chill. Her knees had begun to complain again though.

Just as she had noticed this, Virginia had re-appeared at her side, and the worker she had been talking to was nowhere in sight.

“Are you going to stand there the whole time?” the Deviless teased.

“Well, I wasn’t certain if you needed to treat the water first, and I thought you had wanted me to stay here so-”

“So you need orders .”

The Commissioner's face flushed for an entirely different reason. 

“Hah!” she laughed. “Well come on then, get in the water. That is where most of the benefits come from, you know.”

Griz huffed. “I do know.” Still, she padded over to the waters, careful to remove her slippers before stepping in. 

The water was so warm it was nearly a shock. Oh , how good it felt though. Griz lowered herself in the water almost too quickly, eager for the relief. Virginia followed shortly behind her. She found somewhere comfortable in the pool and settled in, Virginia taking a seat nearby. 

The relief on her smaller joints was near immediate. Those which chilled first, also thawed first. The water coaxed them back malleability again with its wet heat. Griz took the time to stretch and roll her wrists, to open and close her palms, enjoying how quickly her aches had dissolved. Her tendons too seemed looser and more relaxed. All of the writing her job demanded has taken quite the toll on her hands over the years, and though this did not undo it, for one blissful moment it seemed to have wiped away decades of use. She sighed with pleasure. Yes, her daytrip was worth it for her hands alone. Besides, her feet no longer hurt from the walking either.

Griz knew how much she was being pampered when the worker came back to present her and Virginia with large wine glasses. She accepted hers with pleasure, and took a tentative taste. She was surprised to find it tasting of genuine grapes. Griz would take care to enjoy this then. 

“So,” the Deviless began. “Anything that you needed to get off of your chest?”

Griz snorted. “You’re well aware I can’t talk about the Bazaar to people like you.”

Virginia raised an eyebrow over her glass of sherry. “I never said anything about the Bazaar. You could talk about anything really.”

“Hm, yes I suppose that one’s on me isn’t it?” Griz paused to straighten her posture. She felt things shift pleasingly back to where they were meant to be. The water had taken on a softer quality now, which she had not noticed initially. The knots in her shoulders unspooled as she sat, thinking. The heat had started to permeate deeper now that she had been soaking in it. It sank down to her very core in the very best way. “Well, I suppose… There was quite an incident with paperwork over this summer.” Griz chose her complaint carefully. Something that had genuinely bothered her, yet nothing that would cause diplomatic complications if she said too many details.

“Oh, yes, paperwork incidents tend to be quite the worst of things, don’t they?”

Griz chuckled. “I can’t imagine what you have to deal with.”

“Oh, you’d never believe the stories I could tell!”

Thus, they had found their conversation. Mutual complaining about legal systems and incompetent interns. As Griz let out her mental frustrations, she felt her body relax too. Tension slowly melted away in the spa. Her hips, knees, spine, all of it ceased its complaining. She was content to savour the euphoric feeling. At one point, she became convinced that such looseness could only be rivaled by a puppet, cut from its strings. Groans and creaks became happy sighs and light laughter. Her body no longer seemed so heavy, physically and emotionally. 

The water seemed to have an effect on Virginia as well, for at one point Griz became aware of a contented-sounding hum, coming, inexplicably, from her companion. It continued even while she talked.

Griz was very glad she had taken a day off. There was nothing better she could think of than to continue enjoying this moment of luxury. She even got to complain about her coworkers, and wasn’t that nice? Both winter's painful bite, and her Tragedy-based worries were kept at bay, and she could truly relax, at least for a little while.

[m-jelly]

You can turn this down if its to uncomfortable for you or not. Violinist teacher levi x violin student reader. Where shes a starts the violin at a late age because no one supported her when she.was young so she decided to start now so she met levi. First she tries to ignore levis good looks (really who could?) And levi tries not to make any advances but hange, erwin, mike, etc. Helps them get together. I hope it's not too awkward for you because technically they are legal adults. Please consider

New strings

Levi x fem!reader

Modern AU, fluff, romance, teacher and student, both adults, falling in love.

You'd always wanted to play the violin, but never got to as a kid or teen. Now with spare time as an adult and with your job as an at-home writer, you get lessons. Your instructor is a dream man, but you resist so you can learn. Levi is also attracted to you but also resists as you're his student. However, you can't stop your feelings and with the help of Levi's friends, you both face your feelings head on.

@ladycheesington @levisbrat25 @nyxiieluna @li-anne @galactict3a @youre-ackermine @thebobaprincess @2moth-anon2 @cypidity @nbinairyn @bts-spnlvr12 @notgoodforlife @demonic-bird

Levi was enamoured with you as your fingers moved and the bow flowed perfectly. The elegance that you had in your movements just captivated him. He'd taught many people, but no one could compare to you. Most people started young, but you were only a few years younger than Levi and you seemed to just take to the violin.

The passion and love for your craft was very clear. You made the violin weep one moment and sing the next. It was like you embodied the music because you were full of so many emotions. Recently you played a lot of romantic love songs as if you were so full of deep love for someone.

The two of you had been dancing around each other emotionally. It was clear you were both attracted to each other and the more time you spent with each other, the more you fell in love with who the other was. Both of you were holding back though. No one was willing to take the plunge.

Levi's friends were beginning to get irritated by you both. So, they had a plan in place and tonight was the night that it was going to happen. Levi rented a space to teach people, a place his other friends taught things as well, a place where they had keys to and could easily lock up.

You lowered your violin and smiled. "Well?"

Levi clapped for you. "Wonderful. It was so beautiful. You are such a pleasure to teach."

Your cheeks heated up at his compliment. "You're too kind."

He moved closer to you. "You're very good with your hands."

You reached over and took Levi's hand. "You're better." The two of you locked eyes with each other. The tension in the air was electric. Your lips tingled as you both thought about kissing each other. You quickly pulled back and put your violin away. "I should head home. I don't want to keep you any longer."

"I wouldn't mind if you kept me here longer."

You gazed at Levi. "You're sweet." You cleared your throat, collected your violin case and walked to the door. "Thank you again. I love our lessons."

"Me too." He pointed to the door. "I will walk you out."

The two of you walked down the hall together. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He grabbed the door handle and pulled it, but it didn't open. "Tch, shit." He patted himself. "Where are my keys? Shit."

You hummed a laugh. "Guess we're staying here for a bit."

He released a long sigh. "I'm so sorry about this."

"It's okay. I don't mind spending more time with you."

Levi's cheeks burned as his heart fluttered. "I'm glad."

You slowly walked back to Levi's office. "Shall I make us a cup of tea?"

"Please. I'll call my friends and see if they could help."

"Sure."

Levi smiled at you before leaving you to make the tea. He called up Erwin first. "Erwin, hey. So, I am locked in."

Erwin hummed. "I know."

"What?"

"Well, Mike, Hange and I know you really love her and she loves you. So, we locked you in so you two can work things out."

Levi gripped his phone. "But she's a student."

Erwin released a long sigh. "She's what? A few years younger than you? You're both adults, both close in age, both like the same things and you two are madly in love. You should make a move."

"But."

"In my office are two beds. In Mike's room are blankets and pillows. Hange has snacks and a few games to play. Now, get to dating and I'll let you out tomorrow."

Levi went to protest but Erwin ended the call. He sighed and made his way back into his office. He called your name. "We won't be let out tonight."

You smiled. "That's okay."

"There are some beds here, blankets, pillows and snacks. A friend will get us in the morning."

You giggled. "A sleepover sounds fun!"

"It does."

The two of you worked together to set up a little sleeping area in Levi's office. You cooked some dinner in the communal kitchen as Levi cleaned the place up and set a nice sitting spot. You sat together talking for a while as the sun started to set. You snuggled close to each other as the cold air drifted in.

You wrapped a blanket around you and Levi. You snuggled up to him as you both blushed. "Better to keep warm this way."

Levi hummed and tapped on his phone. "I'll turn up the heating, but we'll snuggle together too."

"Perfect." You fiddled with the blanket. "So, did your friends do this on purpose?"

"Yes." He sighed. "They know I have feelings for you and I haven't made a move because I'm worried about how you feel and I'm your teacher. I know we're close in age, but I just worry."

You gazed at Levi. "You have feelings for me?"

"I do."

You lightly gripped his shirt, leaned over and kissed him. "I do too."

Levi cupped the side of your face and crashed his lips against yours. He bit your lip and slipped his tongue into your mouth. He sighed through his nose and shifted his body to face you. He gripped your hip with his other hand and dragged you closer.

He pulled back and panted. "Mm, sorry I got too excited."

"Don't stop."

He smiled at you. "You sure?"

You nodded and kissed him. "Very. I want to be with you. No more holding back."

"No more holding back." He chuckled as his heart filled with love.

[tobbesdiscordkitten]

hello, I am one of your mutuals but wanted to be on anon for this.

I took a paralegal program in college and studied criminal law. I have done my research on little michelle and shelia. although I don’t have access to tiktok I read many articles and this is what I think. 40+ years is a LONG time to wait to prosecute axl. If something happened in the 80’s there would be evidence at the scene. first, where is the evidence and if there was any, like dna it would be destroyed by now. I also read some where that axl originally rejected her because of her age at the time. nothing makes sense, it would be an open and shut case even now. finally, why, is she putting on tiktok bio what happened. That’s really bad, make it make sense. right now it’s he said/she said case with zero evidence.

I think she needs therapy and needs to learn to forgive axl, he gets so much hate he doesn’t deserve. he deserves children and a family 🥺😞

Hey, that's alright! I'm glad to still see you in my inbox ☺️

I agree. I'm not a big fan of digging up dirt from somebody's past, especially if it happened 20 or 40 years ago. I am, however, a big advocate for fixing things right away, ideally within a span of 10 years, if the victim needs time to recover and heal from traumatic events. But why even bother bringing it up now, in 2024, when it won't solve anything?

Michelle's best chance was filing a lawsuit against Axl in the '90s when both Stephanie and Erin did, but she didn't. Another good time would've been during the early 2000s when Axl was out in public and touring, but, again, she didn't. She's wasting her time and breath on him when she needs to be an advocate for survivors - educating people, raising awareness, and providing legal support to families of SA victims. She's focusing too much on one man when she needs to turn her focus to a larger group of individuals who share similar stories. That is what will make a huge difference, NOT taking Axl to court.

It also disturbs me how she puts everything on her TikTok bio. She wants to forever be remembered as the girl who was r*ped by Axl Rose, which is kinda sad because she could have the potential to change her legacy and be remembered as a strong leader/fighter for r*pe victims. Unfortunately, she wants the public, and her audience on TikTok, to see her as this fragile woman who is hanging on by a thread. Oh, the sympathy!

Which leads me to my next point that you mentioned earlier, she does need help. She needs to talk to a therapist, find coping mechanisms, learn to forgive the past, and move on with her life in order to help other people, as l've mentioned before. It would make her have a purpose in life instead of wallowing in her own self-pity. Axl learned to heal, why can't she do the same?

Michelle mentioned that she's speaking out now because of the lies she's read about her incident. But this just begs the question, had she not read those lies, or had Slash not written about her story, would she still speak out, or forever hold her silence? 🤔

Axl already talked about her story a long time ago, saying how she was crazy and ran out of his place, down the street butt-naked, not being able to remember her own name, probably because she was strung out on drugs. Yet, that's not the reason for her speaking out. It's because of Slash's book and what the other GNR members said over the years, not what Axl said.

Another question I have for Michelle is: how far long were you when you had the miscarriage? It seems she's only mentioning having a miscarriage because Erin had one, and I think - maybe - she's trying to fabricate her story so Axl can FOR SURE pay his dues 😒

I explained in another post that Michelle might be trying to "cancel" Axl or take him out of the music industry, but some people took my words out of context 😅 So, to clarify, here's why I think that might be her intention.

On Michelle's TikTok, she shared a news video about women, from four nonprofit organizations, who were "hoping to bring changes" to the music industry. There is a report they compiled called Sound Off: Make The Music Industry Safe and it's “being released as sexual misconduct lawsuits" that accuse "some major names" in the industry like “Danny Elfman and Axl Rose.”

four nonprofit organizations (left), Sound Off report (right)

Below are the women's goals they want to execute with this report:

"NDA's (nondisclosure agreements) are one of the many tools that the music industry uses to silence and suppress survivors."

Although Michelle isn't part of these organizations, she still supports the report, and I can't help but think that she's using her own voice, in a similar fashion, to try and take Axl out with her story.

I will always question the universe on why Axl didn't deserve to have a family and kids of his own. It's all he ever wanted, and it could've fixed him 😭

[themastaralex]

Your heart and soul is mine (and mine are yours) - Chap 2

Chap summary: The first thing to know about being a Jujutsu Sorcerer is how to control your CE, from there it's just basic manipulation. And also meeting your nephew/not really nephew Megumi Fushiguro.

notes: I'm probably not gonna upload for a solid month after this chapter, or maybe after the 3rd chapter's done idk. maki and the gang pull up in the next chapter, and GODDAMN, she is RUDE. but its funny

she's gonna be like that probably until before yuta pulls up once we get to the jjk0 storyline- another thing to note is that since jjh is a year round school, they likely start school in may because they have a summer uniform, winter uniform, blah blah, you get it

After that first very impressionable meeting with your long-lost half-brother, he wasted no time in gaining guardianship over you.

He gained it rather quickly actually.

Even you were surprised as to how fast he gained it, but he has both connections, proof of his relation to you, and money to make it faster.

So after a month or two and him coming back every week, he could finally say he became your legal guardian, and he talked to both your aunt and you about moving to Japan with him.

Sure, you have no idea as to how to speak Japanese, but you'll go to school, learn there as he helps you as well.

Over the course of the next few weeks, you packed up most of your things and moved to Japan with him.

Tokyo, Japan. 

You don't want to be one of those people who acts all weird with it, but for the first few months of living there, you definitely did. Not to mention that Satoru never once mentioned Megumi and Tsumiki while he was talking all about Japan.

Your first meeting with Megumi wasn't too bad. The boy stayed pretty quiet the whole time.

“So.. Do you like comics?”

You tentatively ask, as he raises his head slightly, looking as if he's thinking about this.

“..yeah. The new 52 Batman comics are my favorites.” You grin, seeing the corner of Megumi’s lips turn up. It seems he's glad enough to have someone new in the house who likes comics.

“Awesome. I personally like the Civil War book that came out a long ass while ago. Cap dies, but I think that's fine. We need more permanent deaths in comics anyways.”

He nods his head in agreement, as you continue to talk about the 2006 Civil War comic.

‘She seems pretty cool.’

He's not going to say that out loud though. Megumi already kind of is starting to like you, and that's saying something. Maybe it's because you're very close to his age, or because you're not hounding him with questions on basically one of your first meetings.

“Anything else you like? ‘Cause I have a lot more I could talk about.”

You smile, and now Megumi can definitely tell you're related to Satoru. Both your tendencies to talk seem similar, even when you're clearly asking him if he'd like to talk more.

And he's glad for that. He's glad you're a little like Satoru, but not enough like him that you're unbearable to talk to or be next to.

Even then, Megumi contemplates your question for another few moments, thinking of something else he actually enjoys. His voice comes out a little quieter than normal, as he scratches his chin for a moment. 

“Well, I also like Iron Man. The movies are pretty cool. The Avengers movie was awesome too.”

Common interests make this bonding with Megumi easier than he would make it normally. He's quiet, sometimes unusually so, but that's fine by you. It's nice to have someone to share opinions with- Even if they're very opinionated like Megumi’s.

You're sure you can get along with Megumi quite easily.

——

A few days later, after Satoru comes back from his business trip, he sits you down to talk to you, one on one. In a serious tone, he speaks, sitting down at a table across from you.

“We need to talk.”

His hands are interlocked in front of him, as his face forms into a serious look. He's really trying not to smile at all.

It doesn't make you nervous per say, but it does make you narrow your eyes at him as you start to suspect something. Satoru isn't very good at being serious in these types of situations, so this is killing him.

“So, I'm sure you have no idea what I do when I leave, right?” He's referring to his “business trips”, so you nod your head. He seems to understand, and keeps talking. “I would guess so. Anyways, you don't know what Jujutsu is, do you?”

At this point, you just stare at him with a ‘Are you fucking stupid?’ look. Of course you have no idea what that is.

“What the fuck is “Jujutsu"? Fightin’ style?”

You narrow your eyes at him, eyebrows slightly furrowed in confusion. You've only ever heard of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and those pretty much sound the same. That's probably what he's referring to, right?

“No, no, it's something else. It's kind of like super powers.” He watches you for a moment, watching you burst out into laughter shortly after his words.

Satoru's serious gaze doesn't falter, even when he already probably would've burst into laughter himself as well, but he wants to introduce you to this, because he can definitely sense a huge amount of cursed energy from your body. Especially a few months ago, when you were still reeling back from your mother's death.

“I want you to take this seriously.”

His words coupled with his tone makes you stop laughing, and instead pay heavy attention to his next words.

He’s never done anything to lose your trust, and he's certainly never lied to you (so far). So when he asks you to take him seriously, no matter the topic.

So after that, he starts yapping all about jujutsu, curses, the Jujutsu society, and the fact that because you have blood of the Gojo Clan in your veins, you have the extreme potential to be one of the strongest Sorcerers of this generation.

In all seriousness, you don't believe him for a good while. Until you try touching him to slap him (as a joke) and you can't touch him.

You can't touch him because of his Infinity. He explains it to you, both Infinity and his cursed technique: Limitless. Not just Limitless, but his Six Eyes technique.

He first explained that the Six Eyes and the Limitless come together in one sorcerer every 400 years. He’s an extremely rare case of a sorcerer: possessing two techniques in one brain. Then he explains it all a bit more in depth, then moves onto you. He’s not sure if you’re like him- in the sense that your eyes sense cursed energy better than a regular sorcerer would. But then again, he has noticed your narrowed eyes around both him and Megumi quite a lot. Your squinting eyes can only lead him to the assumption that you see cursed energy better, like he does.

He didn’t want that for you, but it’s too late now. At least now, Satoru can teach you how to control and harness your cursed energy- not to mention, give you his old high school glasses to help you with the overload of cursed energy, and just overall your eyes being sensitive to many forms of different things. Like him. 

——

And so, as soon as he got some time off and a safe spot to help you start to work on your jujutsu, he got right on it. Honestly, Megumi is slightly surprised that Satoru’s doing all of this, but he knows the man isn’t cold-hearted. Quite the opposite. Satoru took him in, so he knows firsthand how generous he can be, even if he’s a bit childish at times.

Right off the bat, he teaches you how to channel your cursed energy; how to not be wasteful with it, especially considering your overwhelming amount of it- from what he can tell, with his blindfold/glasses on or off. 

It’s not tough to learn it, but the hardest part is mastering it by repeating it over and over. All it is is using your negative emotions and channeling them into a layer of cursed energy over your body.

Over and over. Satoru had you practice channeling cursed energy into your fists, hitting him with his Infinity up, even if it did nothing. After all, it didn't do ‘nothing’. It helped you practice CE manipulation, and helped you control your emotions, especially your grief after your mother’s death.

“The body is the soul, and the soul is the body. If you don’t understand that, you don’t understand the basic principle of jujutsu.” He’s a good teacher when it comes to application and technique. After all, he’s been a jujutsu sorcerer ever since he could use his techniques. And you…

He didn’t even know what cursed technique you had until around a year after the initial start of your training. And when he found out what it was, he was absolutely thrilled. The technique itself was Special Grade 1, and with your mastery so far, how well you’ve exceeded on the minor missions Satoru sent you and Megumi on to test your skills, and the knowledge of jujutsu you have- even after only a year- you’re already definitely top tier Grade 1 material.

Not to mention your skills in martial arts; with boxing as your primary, Muay Thai for more power in the weaker areas, and karate for leg strikes.

As for your CT…

Cursed Technique: Time Dilation.

Your CT is one of the most powerful- but volatile- techniques. A user of Time Dilation hasn’t been heard of or seen since the Heian Era. Already, Satoru knows you’re a slight danger- or at least he knows that’s how the jujutsu higher-ups will see it.

With the power of your CT, you have the ability to slow time to almost a halt, and at your current mastery, only for around maybe 2-3 seconds per usage.

You have potential. Great potential. Just like him. 

Just like Satoru Gojo.

[sibillascribbles08]

Babysitting

Morning, I actually wrote a HypnoWarren fic, sort of. They're already married by this point so

Note the fic also established Jasonnie so if you can't stand that uuuuh sorry bye

Hypno let out a sigh as he sunk into the giant, plush sofa in the living room. He had half a mind to turn on the TV, but after a morning filled with the joyful screams of children at the nearby kindergarten, he preferred the silence. Besides, the light was on over Warren’s door which meant he was currently recording. The less noise the better. 

The silence kind of made him want to nap. Maybe just a quick one. He did have to wake up early to get ready, after all.

But just then he heard the faint creak of a door. Hypno glanced down the hall to see one of Warren’s doors open, the light up top going off.

One of his doors, because two smaller ones were built into the main door. 

When Donatello built this apartment complex, he took great care to renovate all the flats to accommodate whatever mutants wanted to move in. So for the worm’s bedroom—in which all the furniture was designed for his small size to the point it was practically a house—had a door up top for him to hover out of, and a door on bottom for him to crawl out of.

The upper door opened this time, and Warren hovered into the hall on the little hover scooter that Donatello also built. The worm mainly just used it to get around the building. Otherwise he just sat on Hypno’s shoulder. 

Warren looked like he was going to head to the bathroom, but then his gaze met Hypno’s and he smiled.

“You’re home earlier than I thought.” The scooter shot across the room and stopped next to the sofa. “How were the kids?”

“Eh, could have been worse.” Hypno didn’t hesitate to pick his husband up and put him on his shoulder. The hover scooter gently drifted down onto an empty cushion. “Got the new episode recorded?”

“You bet.” Warren beamed, hands on where his hips would be if he still had them. “I was excited to get to work on it this week. Breaking news, famous chef making a comeback with a new restaurant for mutants and yōkai alike.” 

Hypno’s ears perked up. “Oh gosh, is the opening next week? We gotta go down and tell Rupert congrats.”

Warren waved a hand. “Way ahead of you. We can tell him on opening night, I got us a reservation. A romantic date and a chance to do a follow up report with a review. The listeners are gonna love it.”

‘Listeners’ referred to the hundreds of mutants and yōkai who tuned into Warren’s weekly news podcast. Not the same as being an anchorman, he often insisted, but it was familiar enough that he enjoyed it. He had fans again, and a means to earn them some extra income. 

Plus, mutants and yōkai in the city had been complaining for a while about their lack of personal news outlets. It’s where Warren got the idea in the first place. 

“I’m just proud of Rupert.” Hypno leaned back against the sofa. “Took him so long to give up all that crime stuff.” 

“Yeah, well, even if Orange Boy hadn’t enticed him with that deal, I’m pretty sure the power houses those turtles turned into would have changed his mind.”

No kidding. Hypno was glad he and Warren started going on the mend years ago. After ruining Leo’s first magic show and having to work at a bagel shop to pay it off, the slider actually did something nice by giving Hypno some work recommendations. With a far more reliable and legal source of income, he and Warren didn’t have to stress too much about a living space.

And when Donnie built this first apartment complex, well, that just sweetened the deal. No insane rent costs. As long as you paid your portion of the utilities and for any damages you caused, the rent was rather low.

He supposed the owner of a very successful tech company didn’t really need the extra money. 

“So, what’s the plan for the rest of the day?” Warren knocked Hypno’s top hat off and climbed up on his head. His tiny fingers played with the hippo’s hair. “I need to get to editing that audio, but I can do it tonight. Should we go to the park or something?” 

Hypno thought about it for a bit, and was going to fire back a reply, when someone knocked on the door. He immediately turned his head to the right, forcing Warren to look that way as well. 

“Who could that be?” The worm muttered. His tone obviously frustrated that they were interrupted.

Hypno got up. “Possibly just a neighbor who ran out of something in their spice cabinet.” It happened more than once. Especially considering that while mutant sightings were common these days, going to the grocery store was still an ordeal. 

Hypno didn’t even peek outside before opening the door. He was a bit surprised to see Donatello standing there, but not by much. The turtle lived just a few doors down. 

“Oh thank goodness you’re home.” Donnie's eyes looked absolutely exhausted as he closed them and clasped his hands together. 

“Sure are, Flapjack,” Warren said. “Need a favor?” 

“I know this is extremely short notice. But could the two of you watch Holly this afternoon?”

Now that did surprise Hypno. He knew Holly, of course. He’d seen the infant turtle more than once—mainly because her dads could not stop showing her off—but baby sitting? 

“You sure you want us to do that?” Hypno pointed to himself.

Donnie groaned. “Look, Draxum is at work. Holly Blue and Jason are also at work and stuff has gone absolutely off the walls there. They need my help. The sooner I get over there the better so trying to drag one of my siblings over to watch her isn’t an easy option. You guys live right over here.”

Hypno didn’t know if it was worth bringing up their history considering they hadn’t fought in, what, a decade at least. 

Still, “I don’t know all that much about infant care.”

Donnie kept running his hands over his face. “Not a problem. She doesn’t act like a typical infant. It’s super easy, I promise, if you guys are free at least.”

“Well—”

“We’re not doing it for free.” Warren mumbled.

“Warren.”

“What?”

“No, it’s fine.” Donnie waved a hand. “If you do this, I’ll waive your water bill for the month.” 

The hippo balked at that. Not having to pay for water? That meant he could take as many long soaks in the tub as he wanted. He usually tried to limit it—despite how badly his skin needed it—due to, well, how much water he had to use per bath. 

Warren must know exactly what he was thinking, because the worm snapped his fingers. “Deal. Show us what we’ve gotta do.” 

“Sure.” The turtle nodded. “Grab anything you think you might need and meet me over there.” He turned and left.

Hypno wasn’t sure they’d need much, and they could always just hop back over here if they did, but Warren insisted they grab a couple of those canned coffee drinks just in case. He also insisted Hypno change out of his work clothes.

Yeah, that was fair. 

Now with a much more casual button up, Hypno carried Warren and the coffees over to Donnie’s apartment. The door was propped open so they let themselves in.

Always so surreal how different it looked despite the similar floor layout. Where Hypno and Warren’s apartment was decorated wall to wall with posters and had silly nicknacks and props in every corner, Donnie and Jase’s apartment looked far more sleek. The fancy TV and speaker system, the massive massage recliner chair, and all the purples made it feel like something on a sci-fi themed cruise ship. 

But as they followed Donnie to Holly’s room, the entire vibe shifted. At present, the tiny turtle baby mostly stayed in a personalized tank. Not that it was small by any stretch of the word. The tank was custom built, taking up half the room. The entire thing was built in a U shape—likely so you could reach her from anywhere while giving her plenty of space to move around. While some areas looked like a traditional tank, with sand, plants and water, the other half looked like a tiny bedroom. Blankets, pillows, and toys were scattered all over it. 

Hypno wondered where the child even was, but the smallest squeak alerted him. He finally spotted her pressing her hands against the glass wall as Donnie reached in and picked her up. 

She was definitely bigger than the last time Hypno saw her, but still tiny enough to fit in the turtle’s hand, and therefore Hypno’s as well. 

“Okay,” Donnie began, eyes unfocused. “You guys know Holly. Holly, this is Hypno and Warren.”

The baby turtle didn’t even look in their direction. Her attention was completely fixed on her father.

“Good news, you don’t have to bottle feed her. She knows how to drink water and eat solid food, though I recommend you chop it up small for her. There’s a number of containers in the fridge labeled for her, just pick what you like.” Donnie pointed to a pair of bowls in one part of the tank, then a bottle that hung from the glass. “She has water in more than one location, food goes in that bowl.”

“Kinda sounding more like pet sitting than babysitting,” Warren mumbled. 

Hypno gave his shoulder a sharp shrug to jostle his husband.

“What?”

“No, you’re right,” Donatello sighed. “But truthfully, even if the mechanics are different it’s not that far removed from raising a human baby. Moving on.” He pointed at Holly, more specifically at the cloth wrapped around her bottom half. “Diapers. We have to custom make them and they’re all cloth. We keep clean ones in that drawer.” He pointed to the dresser that was barely visible over the array of fabrics. Were those just the ones not yet cut up? “Used ones go in that hamper.” He pointed to what looked more like a trashcan than an actual laundry hamper. Probably for smell reduction. “Any questions so far?” 

Warren asked, “Do we just leave her in the tank?”

“Pretty much. She’s allowed to wander around this room but only this room. We haven’t baby proofed the rest of the apartment.” 

“So why call us?”

“Because she eats. A lot. And she can also get bored pretty easily. And also I just worry a lot about something going incredibly wrong if one of us aren’t around.” His eyes went so wide they looked like they might fall out. Then one of them twitched.

Hypno would suggest the guy take a nap, but that would probably be rejected immediately. 

“It’s just the afternoon.” Donnie lowered Holly back into the tank. She let out a few high pitched squeaks of protest. “Jason and I should be back at six at the latest.” 

Six? That was more like the whole day considering lunch hadn’t even passed. 

But this did seem like a fairly low stress task. Make sure she didn’t hurt herself, toss around some magic to keep her entertained, order some delivery for them to eat?

And also, no water bill for the month. 

“We’ve got it.” Warren answered. “Go do what you need to do.” 

“Right.” Donatello nodded and went for the door. “You have my number if you have any questions or there’s an emergency or—”

“We’ve got it.” Warren insisted. “Go help your husband out.” 

Another nod. Hypno peeked out into the hallway to watch Donnie leave. The turtle gave him a few looks, one more curious and the final one deathly serious. As if to give a brief warning of, “Nothing better happen to my daughter or else.” 

And yeah, Hypno knew that. In fact, what worried him the most about this was if something did go wrong, Donatello could blast him and Warren into the next country. 

It’d be fine. Low stress.

Hypno went back into the room and sat on the floor. At least there were plenty of cushions around here to use. Holly was already moving about her tank. She went straight for the big pool of water and dove right in. 

“Yeesh, four-month old is already swimming.” Warren slid off Hypno’s shoulder and onto his lap. “I bet she’ll be walking in another month.”

Quite possible given that the turtle was already crawling. 

“Did you put those coffees in the fridge when you came in?”

Hypno shook his head and got up. “Nah, let me go do that. I’ll locate the food too while I’m at it. Make sure I know where to find it.” 

He found the cans still sitting on the small table in front of the sofa where he left them. Hypno picked them up and went to open the fridge. The frigid space was far more organized than his, but not to the point it looked unnatural. Donnie wasn’t kidding either, multiple containers had Holly’s name tapped on the top. Hypno picked up a couple to glance at the contents from the bottom. Looked like sardines, ham slices, and even peeled shrimp. 

Hypno put them back and returned to the bedroom. Warren managed to pile some of the cushions together for him to climb up to look into the glass of the tank. Holly pressed herself against it as well, staring at him with her tiny eyes.

“Keeping her entertained, Love?” Hypno stood behind him.

Warren smiled when he looked back. “She seems to be enjoying the silly faces, at least. Why don’t you see how she reacts to some magic?”

Well, why not? Hypno leaned over the top of the tank. Holly almost fell over when she tried to look at him, appearing a bit more nervous. 

Then Hypno reached into his sleeve and plucked a flower out of nowhere. The child didn’t laugh or clap, like most children did, but those small eyes widened. Hypno lowered the flower into the tank and she instantly reached for it. Her little fingers wrapped around one of the petals and then she tried to bite it.

Only to quickly reel back and stick out her tongue. 

Hypno and Warren both chuckled and he pulled the flower back out. Just in case eating it wouldn’t be good for her. 

“Man, this is gonna be the easiest job of our lives.” Warren snapped his fingers.

Hypno shook his head. “Don’t count your rabbits, Love.”

—-------------------------

Well, at least so far it was going well. 

The kid really did get bored easily. She needed as much stimulation as some of the toddlers Hypno would do tricks for. And he mainly took the charge for that, on account of the fact he could summon tons of colorful flowers, sashes, and even balloons. He did make the mistake of popping one, however, which resulted in Holly hiding under a few pillows for a solid ten minutes.

Warren lured her out with a snack. She seemed to really enjoy the peeled shrimp. 

The biggest problem came from diaper changing, but that was mainly because Warren had to do it with his smaller hands and he had to complain about it the entire time. 

Hypno could see right through him, however. Especially after the anchorman washed his hands and picked the kid up to return her to the tank. Her little hands touched his face and she squeaked and the worm melted in an instant. 

Maybe it was just due to the rare occurrence that Warren met anyone smaller than him these days. Even human babies were typically larger. 

“News flash.” Warren posed as he held her. “The most handsome man in the world spotted with the most adorable child in the world. Ron, take a picture.” He waved his free arm. 

Hypno chuckled and took a few shots. “Let’s not turn her into a photo op, Love.” 

“Are you kidding, she was built for the camera.” Warren held her up and she giggled. 

But not long after that, the kid got wiped out. Hypno placed her in the tank where she immediately curled up in a nest of blankets. The sight of it was so cute, Hypno took another photo. He sent that one to Donnie, just in case the guy needed some reassurance. A miracle the turtle wasn’t spamming them with texts asking if she was safe. 

Donnie replied with a heart emoji, then a thanks, and then a message saying that Jase appreciated it too. 

Hypno added some details about how well it was all going.

“Well, with her asleep we should take a break.” Warren scooted toward the door. “How about a snack and those coffees?” 

“I’d feel bad taking their food.” Hypno stood. “I think I’ll hop back over to our place to grab something. You good with getting to the kitchen?”

Warren rolled his eyes. “Oh I can get to the kitchen just fine. Getting to the coffees… might be tricker.”

Hypno chuckled and opened the door. “I won’t be long.” 

And he wasn’t. They hardly locked their doors in this building so it was simple to grab a couple of apples for himself and a bag of Warren’s favorite chips. 

He returned to Donnie’s apartment and got the coffees out of the fridge before placing them and his husband all on the table. They ate and drank and chatted about weekend plans. 

Only about thirty minutes later, when they finished up, Hypno went back to the bedroom to see the door open.

“Warren, did you not shut this?” He glanced at the worm on his shoulder. 

His husband crossed his arms. “Why should I? Kid is fast asleep and she can’t get out of that tank anyway.”

Hypno’s ears went back as he went inside. “Better safe than sorry, you know?”

“Come on, Babe. The kid is right—” Warren pointed down to the blanket nest, but it was empty. “Er…”

Despite the stab of panic, Hypno didn’t let it consume him. The tank was huge. The kid could have gotten up and wandered somewhere else in it. But after searching back and forth in there—and turning over every pillow or other large object she could hide under—they found nothing. Hypno even dug into the sand at the bottom of the pool. 

“Did she get out?” Warren shouted. “How?” 

Hypno darted over to the door to shut it. Just in case the kid was still in here. “It doesn’t matter. Start looking. If Donnie finds out we lost his daughter we are going to get launched to the next state.”

“Donnie?” Warren raised his voice even higher. “Are you kidding? You think Donnie is the threat here?”

For a second Hypno wasn’t even sure what his husband meant. 

Then he immediately recalled the short lived mess where Donnie got kidnapped by some business rivals. He recalled the look on Jason’s face when he left the building that day. And he recalled the news report less than an hour later of a massive dragon tearing a warehouse down to nothing but scrap. 

Hypno put his hands on his head. “Jase is gonna have his dragon rip us to shreds.”

“Just start looking!” 

Hypno did. He let his husband focus on the floor while he checked everything else. He didn’t rule out the shelves, cabinets or even the drawers. He tossed aside every piece of clothing, every box, and even tipped over the empty water pitcher just in case. 

They still found nothing.

“I’m going to start looking outside.” Hypno tossed the door open and went into the hall.

On the bright side, all the other room doors were closed, including the bathroom. So that meant Holly had to have crawled into some place in the living room or the kitchen. 

Hypno crawled around on the floor, looking under the sofa, the chairs, and even peeking under the rugs. Then he checked the TV stand, every shelf and behind any of the blocks of machinery. Still nothing.

Eventually Warren came out to help. Hypno hoped that his much smaller husband would have an easier time checking out the more cramped areas, but it still didn’t work. Damn it, Holly was so small. Could she have fit into the ventilation. Oh no! They’d never be able to get her out of there. 

“What do we do?” The panic was definitely getting to him now. “Warren, what do we do?”

“I don’t know.” The worm snapped back, just about as good at dealing with stress as he was. “Wait. Wait! Newsflash!”

“What?”

“The shrimp.” He pointed to the fridge. “She loves that stuff. Pull some out, maybe we can lure her.” 

A brilliant plan as any right now. Hypno got out the container and gave a piece of the shellfish to Warren who sneered at the smell of it. Still, he began to crawl around, waving it.

Hypno did the same, though in the kitchen this time. He was still on the floor, praying that the tiny child hadn’t found a way to climb up on the counters or something. There were knives up there! 

As he moved closer to the fridge, he heard a squeak.

Hypno’s ear and then his face turned toward the noise in an instant. “Holly? Is that you, Love? Come here.” He waved the piece of shrimp closer, hoping the smell was strong enough. 

Another squeak, a bit louder. Then finally the tiny turtle wiggled her way out from underneath the fridge.

Just how did she get under there? When?

Hypno snatched her up in an instant. Holly squeaked in surprise and even struggled for a second. 

“Warren, I got her.”

“Oh thank goodness.” The worm shouted. “Let’s get her back.”

Hypno headed in that direction, but then realized just how much dust and grime Holly had picked up on her little adventure. “Maybe we should give her a quick wash first.”

“Fine, but make it quick.” Warren reached up. “We need it so her dads have no idea this happened by the time they get home.”

Hypno agreed. He handed Holly the shrimp—that she kept reaching for—and then put his husband on his shoulder. He carried them both to the bathroom where he plopped Holly in the sink. Donnie didn’t give them any bath instructions, but there was a tiny basket on the counter with some light soap and a soft brush. 

Warren handed her the other shrimp and turned the sink on. “I hope she doesn’t splash a lot.”

Hypno chuckled. “Don’t count your rabbits.” 

—----------------------------

One messy bath later and a lengthy dry off—which was mostly Warren trying to fix his soaked shirt—the pair returned Holly to the tank.

Upon which her method of escape soon became clear. As soon as they left her in there, Holly stepped away from the glass only to take a running leap at it. She tried to grab the edge, but missed it, smacking into the glass instead. 

“Hm, Donnie’s going to have to make the walls higher.” Warren pointed to one of the pillows. “Kid is too smart. Prop one of those up so she doesn’t bruise herself.”

Hypno did. And it sort of worked, with Holly crashing into the plush material instead. 

“How does she still have energy?” The hippo sighed. “No wonder Donnie looks so wiped out.” Even he was feeling it at this point. 

Thankfully, after a few more failed jumps, Holly gave up. With a tiny yawn she fell back asleep on the blankets, and this time Hypno kept watching her to make sure she stayed there. Warren climbed onto his lap as he sat, also flopping over like he’d take a nap. 

Hypno began to doze himself, but then he heard the front door open. 

The hippo sat up straight, jostling his husband in the process. Warren complained, but didn’t protest as he got picked up and placed on Hypno’s shoulder. 

He opened the door right when Donnie got to it. 

“Hey,” the turtle didn’t look any less tired. “Everything good?”

“Yeah,” Hypno gave a nervous laugh. He waved at Jase who came up behind Donnie, then stepped aside as the guy came into the room to kneel next to the tank. “You guys might want to raise the walls a bit though. Seems she’s learning how to jump out.” 

“What?” Donnie groaned. “She’s barely grown two inches since she’s hatched but she’s doing this?”

“Are you really surprised?” Jase carefully lifted his sleeping daughter out of the tank, cradling her in his hands. “Your dad did say you guys were escaping into all kinds of places as babies.” 

“Yeah, but he didn’t have a custom built tank.” 

“We’ll just put a few extra inches of cushioning to block her.” Jase shook his head. “Thanks for babysitting, guys.”

“Yeah, of course.” Hypno smiled and glanced at the two of them. They both looked beyond exhausted. “Anytime, actually. You guys look like you could use the break.” 

“Probably,” Donnie admitted. “But we knew what we signed up for.”

“Still,��� Jase added. “We could probably allow someone else to watch her for a bit by this point.”

“After I adjust the tank.”

“Of course.” 

Hypno chuckled at their usual banter.

“Well, this was fun.” Warren snapped a finger. “But I’m hungry. Have you guys eaten?” 

“Nah,” Jase sighed. “Came here right after work.”

“Oh, let us go get Chinese then.” Hypno slipped past Donnie. “Our treat.”

“Our treat?” Warren scoffed.

“Well, they are paying our water bill this month.” 

“Fine, fair enough.” He waved a hand. 

Hypno looked back at his neighbors. “Is that good with you guys?”

“Well I definitely don’t want to cook,” Jase said. “So yeah. Just get our usuals.” 

Hypno gave them a thumbs up and headed out of their apartment and toward the stairs.

Warren was oddly quiet on the way down the steps. Usually he loved to ramble after such a chaotic event.

Hypno shrugged his shoulders to nudge him a bit. “Something on your mind?”

“Hm?” His husband blinked. “Well, no, maybe. Mostly tired. Just made me think um…” He kept looking up as he tapped his chin. “Did you uh… ever want to have kids?”

Hypno’s ears went up. “What brought this up?”

“We just babysat one.”

“I know but… did you want to have them?”

“Not really?” The worm cringed when he said that. “I mean, I guess I wouldn’t hate it, but it’s not something I really want to do either. But we still haven’t talked about it even though we got married years ago so…”

“Ah, I guess that makes sense.” Hypno opened the side door and stepped out onto the street. “Can’t say it’s something I really want to do either. Sides, I think helping look after that little one will be more than enough.” 

Warren chuckled, a genuine smile on his face as he leaned against Hypno’s head. “Yeah, you’re telling me.”

[sardonic-sprite]

Part 4 of Dad!Tim AU!

(Thanks for reminding me Q /gen)

(Tw for... idk general shitty stone-age misogyny?)

Part 1

They've had Eira for a month now, and honestly... Bruce was wondering when this would happen

He's very glad that Jason's at home with Tim tonight, because otherwise God only knows what would have happened, but there'd have been a lot more blood, Bruce is sure

Instead it's just him and Damian at the very edge of the city limits when a woman, bleeding and disheveled and bruised, nearly past recognition, sprints close, slows to a stagger, and collapses on her knees before them, one hand reaching out to fist in each of their cloaks as she gasps for breath

But Bruce could never not know those green eyes. The ones his smallest son shares with his

"MOTHER!"

"Talia! What the hell-"

But he doesn't wonder for long. And again, he really should have known it would happen by now

A group of assassins steps out of the shadows, weapons raised and still wet with Talia's blood. She drags herself up, beside Bruce, in front of Damian, and raises her own sword, but Bruce steps in the middle, finding that ice-cold place of fury that he's struggled for half a year now to keep hidden from his children because of how ugly it is

"Stay out of my city," he snarls. He reminds them of the piss-poor but completely binding treaty, that the league is forbidden to cross the city limits

"Except to redress grievances, Detective."

"You wanna talk about *grievances?*"

But the assassin just smirks. He starts pontificating about children and fathers and PROPERTY like its still the damn stone age. Then he starts pushing the idea of claiming ownership, as pointed as his weapon, and says, "The boy Lord Ra's is willing to grant you. But you are now harboring two stolen possessions of the Demon's Head, and he wants his property back."

Talia spits out a string of Arabic, all words Bruce has heard, but never in so... creative an order. Behind them both, Damian stifles something that might be either a sob or a giggle. Or a choking on air.

This is why Bruce is glad Jason is at home

What Bruce wants to say - shout - is that Talia is a WOMAN and Eira is a BABY and they are HUMAN PEOPLE not CATTLE and HOW DARE RA'S--

What he says, moving his hand behind his back to signal Damian to turn on his comm, maximum reciever volume, is that Ra's is not in fact the nearest male relative of woman or child

Talia's nearest man? Its Bruce. Yeah. Do they wanna see the marriage license? Talia smirks next to him, because they've had that thing ready for this exact situation for YEARS

He feels shitty claiming "ownership" but he knows Ra's is the shitty one and Talia knows what Bruce really means.

Damian makes another very odd noise.

Anyway, Eira? Did Ra's forget that Tim is her fucking FATHER? They've got birth records RIGHT NOW stating that she belongs to HIM, proving her legal existence and citizenship and EVERYTHING.

The assassins hesitate. Bruce knows they're searching. He prays. Talia's hand finds his and squeezes. The marriage record is there, one hundred percent legal, witnessed, valid, only kept secret because thats what had suited them for so long.

The birth certificate... all those other documents...

Its clear the assassin is suspicious, but Bruce thanks God for Barbara’s speed, because the assassin can't tell him the records aren't there. Can't even prove they were dashed together by one woman in the space of five minutes

"As you can see," Bruce says, grin downright feral, "They are both within my protection. Come one step closer to my family and it will be Ra's who violates the treaty

And I *will not hesitate* to call the entire Justice League to war."

The assassin scowls.

But they all melt away, conceding defeat.

When they're gone, Talia sways and nearly collapses again, but Bruce and Damian catch her and call for the car

They go home

Part 5

[rainedragon]

I usually post Lolibrary content on the site's facebook page, and not my personal Tumblr, but this is a little more personal. This is my 5,000th Lolibrary entry. Lolibrary celebrated it's 13th birthday last month, and as of right this second we have 84,951 published entries.

I did the math a couple days ago for a post on the FB or twitter, and for lolibrary as a whole, it comes out to something wild like 17 entries per day. And that is 'counting' the fairly long time around 2018 when we couldn't make entries at all.

I'm not the biggest contributor to lolibrary. That is Onlyeasy, who entered more than 1/5th of the content on lolibrary and recently has retired from being an active senior lolibrarian. Followed by our late founder, Amethystcitrine. Amy entered more than 1/10th of the content currently on lolibrary. Lately, I was thinking 'I should record some videos on how to add measurements' because that seems to trip up a lot of new contributors. And, I keep thinking about the videos she made, which makes me really miss being able to talk to her about lolibrary.

The 3rd biggest contributor to lolibrary is theladymienshao (9.22%) who currently enters Baby/Pirates, and then Sucre-Dolls (6.94%) who enters Angelic Pretty. I am so impressed by the constant updates of the new items, because I've never been able to do that.

The person with the next most entries is azuki-mikan (pita-tenshi), again, absolutely fantastic, azuki-mikan has made 7.3% of the entries.

And then me, I'm 6th with 5.88% of the entries. So, I'm definitely not the most active when it comes to entering items. I do some other things with lolibrary, like I make most of the Facebook and Twitter posts (which is why they are very inconsistent). I also count up when an indie brand goes over the minimum threshold for tag, and the minimum threshold for being promoted to a brand, and then recently I've been manually moving the entries across for those too. I also did a lot of the manual checking on the shoe entries when we imported those in recently, and like all the other senior lolibrarians who are active, I do some of the pending submission approvals. And of course, I do some degree of book research & scanning with my magazine & catalog collection, some degree of item identification, etc. I also spend a lot of my time adding images to existing partial listings to flesh them out. But there are other people who do other tasks that aren't entering items too. Like Sage-Blossom who does a ton of corrections & tag clean up work, for example. And our development team who do the coding, and one of our other admins who handles all of the legal and financial pieces so we can pay our bills and maintain our status as a non-profit. And then there are a lot more very active contributors too! I think one of my favorite things about lolibrary is that it is a community project and it is made up of lots of people doing lots of different things. I think also that's one of the reasons that lolibrary has had the longevity it has had. And through it, I've met a lot of wonderful people who I absolutely think the world of. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm very glad that lolibrary exists, and I hope it continues on for many years to come. <3

[ciaossu-imagines]

i felt like my earlier message & asks were kinda rushed, so i wanted to take a moment to properly welcome you back! i’m so glad to see you active again, dee 💕 i hope things continue to get better for you and that running the blog brings you some joy while you heal.

i’m all caught up on your posts, and it’s so exciting that you’re planning to start a new college course next year for your career advancement!! that’s definitely something to look forward to, and i hope it ends up being fun and fulfilling for you (and i have a very, very great feeling you’ll do just fine 😊 i know you’re going to succeed in everything you set your mind to 💓). as for me, today marked my last day of nursing practicum, and while i still have major exams and graduation requirements to finish up in the coming months, it feels like it’s all coming together quickly, and i’m this close to getting my bachelor’s degree. i hope everything goes smoothly for both of us as we move forward and that you get the growth and success you’re aiming for 🧁🎀

- nix

I didn’t find them rushed at all! I was so happy seeing asks pop up from you, as I always do, so it was a joy 😊 I know you’re a busy person with a lot going on so I’m just appreciative that you find the time to send in anything. But thank you so much for the longer message and such a nice welcome back. I’m so excited to be back on here again and active. It’s making me truly happy and bringing me joy, taking these little bits to get on here and write, especially since I’m not pressuring myself to constantly be writing and to keep the queue stocked and am allowing myself breaks to just play silly phone games, to watch things, to read, to do my other hobbies. After the rough end to 2024, 2025 can only look up for me and I plan to make it a fantastic year. I also hope 2025 is going to be a spectacular year for you and all the other readers.

Thanks so much for reading all my posts 😭 That means a lot! And I’m very excited for the course and I’m working hard to make sure everything will be on track for me to start it. I know it’s going to be difficult – I’ve said it a million times but I think it bears repeating again. School is not as easy as a lot of people make it out to be. Students have a lot to deal with and I have so much respect for anyone who is currently a student of any sort, as it comes with a lot of stress and pressure. But I also am so excited about the course because a lot of the things I will be learning are endlessly fascinating to me. I’ll be digging deeper into learning all the different drug classes, the individual drugs themselves. I’ll learn more about the legal side of pharmacy stuff. I’ll get to learn more difficult compounds, stuff above what we can currently do at work as we’re only able to do simple compounds. We have to send more difficult or higher-class compounds to a proper compounding pharmacy (things like sterile compounds, stuff that gets injected into the person’s blood or tissues or put into their eyes are things we can’t make and we don’t really touch compounded medications for hormone replacement or specifically for pain). I also get further training in methadone/suboxone, injection training, training to counsel on diabetic training/devices, etc.  It all just sounds really fun and while I’m definitely a little nervous about it all, I’m so excited at the same time! Thank you so much for saying that 💜 That means a lot to me, the sentiment is so returned, and I will definitely be doing my best!

OH MY GOD! That’s so exciting and I’m so happy for you!!! Now that your practicum has wrapped up, did you have fun with it over all? Did it help you narrow down at all into what you’re hoping to do in the future in terms of specialties or anything? I have no doubts you’ll kill those major exams, though! I send so many good luck wishes and I hope, when you pass, that you’ll be able to treat yourself to a wonderful celebration for all the work you’ve put in! Is it too nosey to ask what the graduation requirements are? Seriously though, I know I’m just a stranger on the internet, but I am so proud of you and so happy for you! That’s some killer news and I squealed when I read it. We’ve both got this, I know, and we both have amazing futures ahead of us, no doubts 💜

[escapistfantasymanual]

so this fall, I got an ADHD diagnosis and started meds (whooo!!). the biggest benefit to having a diagnosis is a shift in perception. I've always been self-critical; now, I find I'm better able to give myself grace and the room to try new things.

might do a post later listing some of the life changes I've made in the last few months and rating how effective (or ineffective) they've been, BUT what I'm interested in right now is tracking my efforts to get an organization system in place, primarily for papers/files, of which I have a LOT.

this is all going to amount to mostly talking aloud, but oh, well. this is a thing I'm doing for me - if you're reading this, welcome, glad to have you along for the ride!

body of this post is below the read-more.

so, this is what I've got going as of December 22, 2023. I'm about a week into this project.

bold and italicized = a collection/group of papers n' stuff

BOLD AND ALL CAPS = a category in my overall system

semi-comprehensively, clockwise from the top-ish right: the brown paper bag is for tossing recyclable material into. stuff that needs to be shredded goes in a different location, out-of-frame. metal file box with a handle to the right and slightly behind is for IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS (medical/insurance, financial, car stuff, career, and education). papers in front of it will go inside once I review 'em.

moving down to the bottom right: the pile with a red legal-size folder and pink album is PERSONAL ARCHIVE stuff, specifically the bulkier objects. white papers in front of the file bin are stuff I need to take action on before filing away, probably in the IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS metal file box. the big clear file bin is for PERSONAL ARCHIVE materials, and is waiting to be filled. the medium clear bin and green metal box contain extra office SUPPLIES, to be consolidated and whittled down a bit.

(some stuff on the bed, not going to worry about that right now)

the gray archival box (a gift from a former internship supervisor!) is for PERSONAL ARCHIVE stuff, mainly photos and newspaper clippings. those are in front of it, along with papers to archive.

above that, we've got a mini-binder on top of extra folders and notebooks I'll most likely keep on hand somewhere as SUPPLIES. then the small clear bin and stack of notebooks above, to the left of the yellow file tower, are a bit tricky. they're creative notebooks I've kept over the years - most filled, some partially. I want to eventually invest in a quality archival box for them, preferably fire- and waterproof. I'd love to have them in a place where I can quickly flip through them, but as it stands, I don't dig into them very often. they can probably be kept in a STORAGE area. (another alternative is to digitize them. it'd be too much work, I think - something to consider later. for sure there are additional notebooks in a shoe box outside the frame of this picture that I want to transcribe.)

and then there's a blue hanging folder with papers that eventually need to go into one of two binders that are in the OUTPUT & QUICK REFERENCE part of my overall system, which I'll discuss later. (sometimes you know you just don't have the brain-space yet to start filing/discarding a set of papers. for me, success at this stage of the project is just grouping like things. I know where 'xyz set of papers' is. I know where it'll eventually go. I can come back to it in multiple passes when I have the capacity, and I can task-switch to another group if I get bored or tired.) the rest in this picture - the bookshelf, the bench - is also stuff to worry about later.

(edit: oh also the brown recipe card box, it's got letters and photographs to archive or get rid of)

that's the current status. more to come about what's next, the thought processes/~emotional journey~, and hopefully the end results.