#the likelihood i would be brought back

[caffeinatedopossum]

Poetry prompt: something involving an pretty forest at dusk

(No pressure to do it idk if its dumb or not lol)

Oo thank you! This wasn't dumb, it actually gave me a lot of ideas. Here's the one I went with:

In the woods at golden hour,

I stand by the property line,

That invisibly seperates,

My neighbor's life from mine.

There's a barrier I cannot cross,

Though it's just a sparse tree line,

Accompanied by a yearning,

That I wish I could better define

For as long as I can remember

I've wanted desperately to run away,

But the sun is always setting,

And so I always stay.

In the woods at golden hour,

There is a menacing sign,

It reads "trespassers will be shot",

But it's no safer this side of the line

[july-19th-club]

one thing about getting sick for me is that before covid (the first time) my colds and flus and whatnot all went in a very specific pattern: i would get a sore throat for a day or two, then violently congested for three or four days, then a runny nose/drainage for three or four days after that, and finally a cough, which was my favorite part of the cold (if a person can be said to have a favorite part of a cold) because it meant it was almost over AND that the problem was largely not in my face and neck anymore. but any illness i've had since that first covid has been all over the map - either i don't get the sore throat at all, just straight into the congestion, or the sore throat happens at a different time, or longer, or worse, or i have to spit a lot because otherwise i get so nauseous from sinus drainage that i throw up, or the congestion and the runny nose happen concurrently with not just each other but ALSO the sore throat (which is what's happening right now and i hate it) and like. because it doesn't follow the pattern i spent twenty-six years of my life getting used to, i'm always freaked out. which i would be anyway because ever since i had the first covid getting sick freaks me out. and it should freak more people out if im being honest. but this is a weird one bc like. i dont know how it did that but it disrupted MY trusty sick pattern

[rubberbandballqueen]

>packaging on frozen meal says it's a balanced, nutritious meal

>meal doesn't even have any green vegetables in it

>:/

[fairuzfan]

"Israel also secretly hires Jewish Americans as spies to work out of its Washington embassy and its consulates around the United States to covertly surveil and monitor fellow Americans, including students. Thoroughly vetted to ensure loyalty to Israel, many of those hired have spent years heavily involved in pro-Israeli activities from the time they were in college and before. Among them was Julia Reifkind, who led a pro-Israel group at the University of California at Davis before moving on to become an activist with AIPAC. After she graduated in 2016, she was hired by Israel and assigned to its embassy in Washington.

Reifkind had good preparation for her assignment. Thinking that Kleinfeld was a fellow pro-Israel activist, over dinner at Washington’s Mari Vanna restaurant she revealed that while at AIPAC she spent much of her time deceiving college students about her covert connection to the organization. “Obviously, I’m an AIPAC-trained campus activist,” she said. “When you’re lobbying on behalf of AIPAC, you don’t say AIPAC, you say, ‘I’m a pro-Israel student from UC Davis.’ And when you’re meeting with students on campus I would never say, ‘I am the AIPAC campus rep.’ I’d say, ‘My name is Julia and I’m a pro-Israel student.’”

At the embassy, Reifkind focused on developing intelligence on fellow Americans, including students on college campuses. “So nobody really knows what we’re doing,” she said. “But mainly it’s been a lot of research like monitoring BDS.”

In a different conversation, Reifkind explained: “It’s mainly gathering intel, reporting back to Israel. That’s a lot of what I do. To report back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, and make sure they have the right information.” Among the ways she spies on pro-Palestinian activists and Palestinian human rights supporters is with phony Facebook accounts. “I have my fake Facebook that I follow all the SJP [Students for Justice in Palestine] accounts. I have some fake names. My name is Jay Bernard or something.”

Once Reifkind collected the intelligence on her targets, she passed it on to her boss at the embassy. Then it was sent to the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and other offices over a secure encrypted system called Cables. It’s “really secure,” she said. “I don’t have access to [it] because I’m an American.… I’ve seen it, it looks really bizarre…. And then they’ll send something back and he’ll translate it and tell me what I need to do.”

Since the brutal Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians on October 7 and the Israeli invasion of Gaza, the ICC and its US-based spy networks are no doubt working overtime. But there is little likelihood of interference by the FBI—well trained to look the other way when it comes to Israel. It was a situation that even frustrated a former head of the FBI’s counterintelligence division. When I asked him why no one would talk to me about Israel’s massive espionage in the United States, he simply shook his head.

“You don’t think Israel’s a sensitive topic?” he asked, requesting that his name not be used. “So, Israel has been looked at and is being looked at and that’s all I can tell you,” he said. “But nobody’s doing anything.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“You can imagine,” is all he would say, implying high-level political involvement. I then said that I was planning to write about the topic. “I hope you do. I hope you do,” he said. Sighing, he added, “I’ve been there done that. I know it. I’ve brought cases to the Department of Justice on Israel.” Cases that were never opened."

— Israel’s War on American Student Activists by James Bamford on The Nation

[a-small-writer-in-a-big-world]

Home

Pairing: Captain John Price x f!reader

Warnings: smut mdni (18+) it fades to black sorry, established relationship, fluff

Words: 3.4k

Synopsis: You and Price are on leave together...

You are currently reader chapter 1 of Duty Over Heart

October 2023

You were deep into a book when your phone buzzed beside you. It took you only a moment to break out of the spell of your book before you were fully immersed back into the living room of Price’s apartment. You had settled yourself in the corner of the couch, getting cozy against the plush fabric to the point where you had to read a book to keep yourself from dozing off into a nap.

When you picked up your phone you saw that it was Price. You didn’t hesitate to shut your book and answer it, a smile already pulling at your lips. 

“Why are you calling me?” You teased, your smile growing wider when you heard him chuckle.

“I missed your voice.” Price said and you rolled your eyes.

“You’ve only been gone for three hours.”

“I’d say that’s long enough after being around you for a week.”

You hummed as if you were trying to sound disinterested but you knew he didn’t buy it. You did have to admit that you were starting to miss him even though he hadn’t been gone for nearly as long as the many times you two had been apart. You tried to be unbothered when he had to go back to base for something right after being put on leave, and usually you were since you knew he’d come back, but this time it got you.

It had only been a week, not even, of being with Price uninterrupted without anything to do with work before Laswell called saying she needed a document from him, one that was only on his work laptop he had left on base.

It wasn't so much as him being gone but the knowledge that once he got back, he’d be stuck in his home office. One document always turned into two and then five, and then he was stuck doing extra reports because the workload needed to be split between him and Laswell. He’d spend most of his break working and you had hoped that this time would be different.

You should’ve learned by now not to get your hopes up.

“Isn't it risky to bring work home with you?” You wondered out loud, your smile now faded as you picked at the fabric of the couch.

“Would you rather me stay on base?” He countered and you sighed.

“No.”

You knew he was overly careful when he brought it home with him. You had never seen a laptop so full of protection before so the likelihood of anyone getting anything out of it was nonexistent but you wished that the risk would deter him from bringing it home.

“It won’t take me long, promise.” He assured you but you had a hard time believing it.

“How far out are you?” You asked to change the subject and got up from the couch.

“About forty minutes.”

You walked into the kitchen and saw that when he’d get back it’d be time for dinner. You wondered if maybe he’d skip the meal with you to get the work done as quickly as possible which made you start pulling out the things you needed to make it.

You might as well make it now if that became the case.

“Good, you’ll be home for dinner.” You placed a skillet on the stove and turned the oven on.

“It’s my turn to make it.” You could hear the frown in his voice and imagined his usual scowl. “Put it away.”

“Are you really going to complain about a hot meal being ready when you get home?”

“Absolutely, now put it away and I’ll make dinner when I get there.”

You snorted from the use of his “captain voice” as you called it but didn’t put the skillet away. Instead you fit your phone snugly between your shoulder and your ear as you began to prepare a favorite meal you both enjoyed.

“Okay.” You lied and you must’ve made enough noise for him to know it as he grumbled to himself. 

“You’re lying. Stop that.” He demanded softly and you smiled.

“It’s fine! It might not even be ready by the time you get home so you can help me.”

Price sighed heavily. There wasn’t much he could do since he was forty minutes away and talking to you on the phone. He would have to cut his losses on this one but you knew he didn’t want to and that he would surely find a way to get back at you for it.

“You’ll at least wait for me, yeah?”

“Always.”

You both went silent for a moment, taking in each other's presence even when it was on the other side of a phone. You would’ve been content staying on the phone with him until he got home but you also didn’t want to distract him any further than he already was. You could practically see the far off look he got in his eyes when he had a chance to sit in silence.

“Be careful, okay?” You said softly.

“Always. I’ll be home soon.”

The phone call ended and you set your phone down before you began to cook. You didn’t think about much after the conversion until you had to look at your phone for the recipe and you found yourself staring at the lock screen of your phone.

It was a relatively recent picture of you and Price where you had kissed his cheek just as the picture was taken. You had stared at the picture an embarrassingly amount of times but sometimes you couldn’t help it, especially when you got to thinking about how you got here.

You hadn’t expected to fall in love with him, at least not enough for him to know, but every time you were put on an assignment with him all those years ago you couldn’t help it. 

You’re not sure what hooked you, his charm, work ethic, his looks, or literally anything about him, but you didn’t have any regrets for having feelings for him now. It seemed like you became friends with him almost immediately despite him being a lieutenant at the time but neither of you cared about the difference in ranking. 

It took only three years after knowing him for you to realize that you loved him more than just friends, more than what was appropriate for your job. Back then you thought it was one sided but Price proved you wrong so quick you wondered how you ever had any doubts. 

Since then it was hard for you to remember a time without Price. You had spent every moment speaking to him over the phone and over text before the two of you got together, getting together only meant making the times you were around each other more fulfilling.

It was still relatively recent since you moved in with him. Before the task force had been made you two had to visit each other whenever you wanted to see each other when leave was granted and though neither of you had an issue with it, the task force gave an excuse for you to move closer.

“I think I found an apartment close by.” You had told him and he had given you an incredulous look. “What, you don’t want to see me anymore?”

“I thought you were moving in with me.” He frowned and your heart skipped a beat.

“You didn’t say I could.”

“It’s a given.”

It was unofficial. A paper trail connected to you both could cause issues if someone wanted to snoop around so it was better that you moved in and pretended that you found a place somewhere else. 

It had been four years since you moved in and no one had caught on. You couldn’t help but joke how easy it was for the two of you to pretend that there was nothing romantic between you because you had done it for so long.

Though, part of you wished that things would’ve changed when you were brought on the task force. There were different rules yet the secrecy of your relationship stayed the same.

Even if the task force blurred the lines of fraternizing with differently ranked soldiers, a romantic relationship between a lieutenant and a captain was far different than a friendship. 

Neither of you were sure if he’d lose his job or his reputation would darken, or if the same would happen to you. You may not have affiliation with your respective militaries, but some things carry over, especially because of how long the two of you had been together.

Next month would mark ten years. 

Ten years of love and some hardship. More than ten years of putting your life on the line for the greater good, but the ten years of being with him, loving him, made it more worthwhile.

This would be the first time in your entire relationship the both of you would be home for your anniversary. You always ended up having to celebrate it months after and while those times were special, you were excited to finally have the opportunity to celebrate it on the exact day.

You had no clue what you or Price planned, but you knew he was just as excited about it as you were. Almost every night he was bouncing off ideas with you before bed but neither of you could pick any of the options with how fun or exciting they sounded.

There were so many things you both wanted to do for every anniversary that now that you got the chance to celebrate it on the day, it was hard to choose.

No doubt you’d have the same conversation tonight only to end up nowhere. At the very least you both had the time to think about it without worrying about where the next war criminal or weapons deal was taking place.

The time seemed to flyby as you made dinner,�� though your mind was occupied for most of it. You were so preoccupied with cooking that you missed the front door opening and the familiar sound of boots hitting the floor.

Price expected you to call out to him like you normally did and was ready to reply but there was nothing. He wasn’t upset however because it meant he wouldn’t have to wait to see you after hearing you.

He set the bag with his laptop down a little unceremoniously. He knew you were a little upset that he had to go and get it because he was also more annoyed about having to get it as well. He thought he had everything finished before the task force was cleared for leave, but he should’ve known better.

He didn’t regret leading the task force but he couldn’t lie and say that the extra paperwork made the job worth it. He’d much prefer to just stay on the field and do his job there then report on intel or file things, especially since the paperwork seemed to get more and more with each mission.

It took up too much of his time. Time he could be using tying up loose ends or finding intel on Makarov or in this case spending time with you.

He huffed and pushed it out of his view. He’d deal with it tomorrow, right now he wanted to be around you. 

Price knew what meal you had made from the mouthwatering smell that came from the kitchen, a favorite of you both but one of your comfort foods you ate when you were upset. He’d hoped you would forgive him for it and he was about to apologize to you as he stepped into the kitchen, but froze when he saw you.

Even after almost a decade, sometimes when he saw you he still got that funny feeling in his chest. 

You weren’t doing anything other than finishing up dinner but just the sight of you in front of him, doing as you pleased with a content look on your face made him fall in love with you even more.

This happened often. It didn’t matter if you were doing the dishes or laundry, or if you were sitting on the couch reading a book or even just sleeping, he seemed to be completely enamored by you. He had to stop what he was doing just to watch, to drink in the fact that you were in front of him, around him, and at peace.

It didn’t matter how long the two of you were on leave for either. Months from now if he caught you making dinner he’d still find himself staring at you with the same sense of calm and warm heart.

The best part of all of it was the fact that you loved him.

In the past he wouldn’t have believed it if someone had told him he’d be spending leave with you in the same flat and dating you for as long as it’s been. He would’ve said it wishful thinking, he would’ve thought they were just trying to get his hopes up.

Yet now he got to watch you make dinner, the dinner he was supposed to make, in your shared flat and he couldn’t help but smile like an idiot.

“Smells good.” He said and you jumped, whirring around to look at him with your hand over your heart. “Sorry, love.”

“John.” You scolded him softly but reached out for him.

Price pulled you into him immediately and wrapped his arms around you firmly. He didn’t waste time placing a tender kiss on your lips that you reciprocated just as quickly. A smile tugged at his lips when you ran your hand through his beard and when you both pulled away, all you two could do was smile at each other.

You felt a little disheartened. It wasn’t like you wouldn’t see him again but you knew a lot of his time would be taken up with work once more. You were prepared to spend nights alone and almost having to beg for his attention while he poured most of energy into getting the work done.

It was unfortunate that his hard work ethic that got countless war criminals and black market dealers in custody or killed also made him spend most of his time trying to power through work to get it done as soon as possible. He spent most of his life working, on and off the job, and you wondered if it bothered him as much as it did you.

You should be used to it by now. You wished you didn’t get as upset as  you did after having been through it for four years now but sometimes it still caught you off guard. 

You’d just have to deal with it.

You tried not to let him know how upset you were but you found it hard to look him in the eyes. So instead you just gave him a quick smile and tried to step away from him.

“Do you want to eat first or…” You began but he squeezed your hip and gave you a quick smile.

“It’s tomorrow's problem.” He assured you and you brightened up immediately. “I’ll set the table.”

“Kate’s okay with that?”

“She will be.”

You grinned. You felt a little bad for Kate and you hoped that maybe she would take a break as well, but you were much more relieved that you had Price for at least the rest of the day. You’d prefer to have him for longer but you’d take what you’d get.

He gave you a quick peck on the cheek and before long the two of you sat across from each other eating dinner like nothing happened. 

The rest of the evening went by normal despite the hiccup. This time on leave seemed to be easier for the two of you to fall back into civilian life as if neither of you risked your lives nearly every other day. Sometimes leave was hard to get into but this time you and Price seemed to ease into it as if you’d never left it.

Later that night when it was time for bed, you lounged in the comforts of the bed while Price went through his nightly routine in the connecting bathroom. You scrolled on your phone through potential ideas for your anniversary, your current fixation being camping, specifically cabins somewhere that was far from people that it gave enough seclusion for a peaceful uninterrupted weekend.

“What about a cabin?” You called out and he hummed.

“It’d be quiet which means we can be loud.” He teased and you snorted. “I wouldn’t mind it.”

“Me neither.”

“But you liked the beach as well.”

You pursed your lips. It was true that you did find a vacation to the beach for your anniversary an exciting idea. The waves, salt air and warm sun would be the perfect place to relax and enjoy your time with Price…but the cabin would be a nice place too. The beach was expensive but you knew he didn’t have an issue with that and would chide you for suggesting it was too much.

“Dinner somewhere posh, maybe?” Price came into the bedroom and you raised an amused eyebrow.

“And then we could go somewhere nice after. Maybe a day trip?” You suggested and he nodded.

“But that doesn’t feel like enough, eh?”

You sighed. You looked at him and he looked at you, his hands on hips while the two of you stared at each other with slight amusement. The indecisiveness from you both wasn’t too frustrating considering you both understood why neither of you could manage to choose. 

There were just so many options, so many things that you never got to do until now, you both wanted to make the most of it. 

“We’re never going to choose.” You shook your head and he chuckled as he crawled into bed.

“We could just take the entire month.” He pulled you closer to him and propped himself up on his elbow so he could look at you. “Do all of it.”

“That’s a little overkill.”

“Ten years is a long time, lots to celebrate.”

You put your phone away and looked up at him. You were the only one who got to see his cold blue eyes, the ones that struck fear and respect into others, softened into pools of warmth. The only one who saw him truly relax and the only one who was on the receiving end of the lovesick eyes that he seemed to pull on you every chance he got. You were the only one who could run your fingers through his soft beard that had a few new gray hairs in and the only one who got to feel his lips against yours.

You were the only one who knew him as Captain and John. Your lifelong partner, the love of your life.

“That is a long time.” You mumbled while you ran your fingers through his beard.

Price leaned into your touch as his eyes fluttered shut. He hummed deep within his chest and wrapped his hand around your wrist, rubbing his thumb into your knuckles. His eyes opened when you snaked your hand behind his head and they darkened when you gave him a gentle tug.

He pressed a short kiss to your lips to tease you. He ran his hand down your side and snuck it underneath the shirt you stole from him. He continued to tease you while his hand roamed your soft skin to make you shiver, the rough pads of his fingertips just barely touching your nipples.

“John.” You breathed out a whine and he smiled. 

“What do you want, hm?” He trailed featherlike kisses across your neck up to you the shell of your ear as he continued to tease your breasts.

“Want you to touch me…be inside me.”

Price groaned softly and gave you a heated kiss. He palmed your breasts while he rolled on top of you and pinned you underneath him. He didn’t waste any time touching you the way you wanted, sparking fire across your skin and making electricity race through you while he stole every thought from you with each kiss he gave you.

You wrapped your arms around his neck to keep him there even as he made you dizzy. A moan escaped your mouth as he dipped his hand into your panties and spread open your wet folds, gathering your slick on his practiced fingers before he began to play with your clit.

He kissed your neck and you squirmed underneath him, clutching his shirt as pleasure raced through you.

It didn’t really matter if neither of you could choose as long as you were together.

A/n: sorry for the fade to black i'm just not in the mood for full blown smut. we'll have more chances in the future don't worry also sorry this took forever i got depressed lol

Tags: @thriving-n-jiving @writingmysanity @teconkaals @xb14 @misshoneypaper @hers-area @shuttlelauncher81 @mamanmae @sofasoap

[idontcaboose]

Haunter car au, pt 7?

Ngl, the past few chapters have fought me harder than giving the half feral cat my brother brought home a bath. I have deleted 3 potential full chapters and have needed to rewrite my bullet points. That being said, the likelihood of more than just Constantine being run over just went up.

P.s. my buffer chapters also got caught in the deleting because that flow was not having it. The only solace is that my last post was actually the perfect place to change direction. Have fun with a short Bruce chapter, cause Danny is going to have all the fun next chapter.

P.P.S. Look, a masterpost!

Previous. Masterpost?!

Bruce was in pain. Alfred gave him some of the good pain medication, but did not think the bruised to the point of almost fractured ribs and sprained shoulder needed the iv pain medication. The concussion was also minor, so Alfred gave him the mandatory 8 hours plus 6 more for the concussion, and added a ban on patrol for a few days because of the ribs and shoulder. Bruce could still check on cases and basic maintenance of gear until the stoic butler mother-henned him back to bed. Alfred had mentioned that the Batmobile was reported to be feeling a bit off by Duke, but it was followed up by Alfred asking telling him to park better next time.

Bruce made his way down to the cave to find Duke exiting the Batmobile. 

“Duke, Alfred mentioned something about the car. Do you know what was causing the problems?” Bruce was hoping that it was a simple fix.

“Ye- yeah, I think I want to try my hand in its maintenance though. Do you think you could have this one labeled as off patrol until I get it back up to snuff?” 

“We could work on it together, do you want to get it on the lift?” 

Bruce wasn't completely sure what response he was expecting from Duke, but a startled panic was not on the list.

“Uh-um, Bruce, you have a concussion working with any sort of machinery would be bad. Maybe next time you do a tune-up, I could join you?”

“Duke, what is wrong with the Batmobile?”

“I- I, uuuh.”

BEEEEP

BEEEEEEEEPPP

BEEEEEEEEEEEPPPP

Next

@kizzer55555 @sebas-nights @candeartist422 @trappednyourheart @fandom-life-corrupted-me @tkiesai @2lbballpeenhammer @admiralwidow @rewrittenwrongs @whotfevenknowsanymore @symmetricalastigmatism

@thespacedragons

@atinygracie @okami-love

[flamingpudding]

Part 4 of Ghost Kid in Gotham

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How to catch a baby brother

Richard 'Dick' Greyson had a problem. It wasn't a nuclear level of problem but it also wasn't a paper cut level of problem either. Because apparently he had a baby brother no one in their family but Damien knew about. Granted Damien had confessed that said baby brother was dead and had supposedly died eight years ago.

The explanation that Talia had apparently pulled another Jason was not helpful at all. According to Damien, in response to Tims findings, there was no other way for the twin to be alive other than Talia having preserved his body and then decided after eight years to drop it into the pits. Well lets just say his opinion on that woman if it was already down in the depth it certainly was now.

Which, considering the glowing Lazarus green eyes, could mean that there was now an eight years old child running loose in the Bat Cave with Pit Madness. Not just a simple feral eight years old that looked like perfect B adoption material and so happened to be blood related.

"Guys we need a plan. We can't just let our little teethling run loose."

"Richard, do not refer to my brother as little teethling." Dick only grinned. "Well the little biter needs a nickname and until I find something else fitting its teethling. Or do you have a better suggestion?"

Sweet little Baby Bird was now glowering at him. Oh protective were we, his little brothers definitely were the cutest. He was definitely going to tease sweet little Dami about this later once the first phase of new little brother crisis was over. For now they had to find the little guy first. The Cave wasn't exactly childproof.

"Let's use Jason as bait." Tim suddenly suggested causing the second oldest to grimace. "The little guy apparently likes biting him. We could use that as an advantage."

"Absolutely fucking not." Little Wing disagreed and Dick chuckled in good humor.

"Aw come on Little Wing, this is your chance to make a bond with our new baby before any of us can."

"For once I agree with Todd. Absolutely not, who knows where he has been. I will not have my brother become sick from biting him." He would have cooed at this, if Jason's face change from surprise at the agreement to a purely offended scowl wasn't so funny.

"Okay no biting bait. But we gotta draw out the little guy and calm his Pit Rage." If that feralness the kid displayed had even anything to do with Pit Rage.Considering the glowing eyes though he would think so. Dick eyed Jasons for a moment, he didn't seem to be affected at all nor had he said anything about the Pit being upset or feeling anything strange. So maybe the little guy wasn't suffering to an extrem from it? But he had apparently been brought back by a Lazarus Pit, so the likelihood with their experiences so far was slim.

"Well we gotta find a way to secure the little guy before B comes back or Alfie finds out." Jason mentioned still scowling at Damien. "By the way, I want to be here when you guys tell B about this. I wanna see his face and make fucking sure the little biter won't be turned into another kid soldier."

"Jason." He scowled, this was definitely not the right time for that sort of discussion but he had a point, they needed to find little… what had Damien said his name was? Wait did Damien even tell them the little guy's name? They all had just been using nicknames so far.

"Dami, what's the little teethling's name again?"

"I haven't told you yet." Ah okay so he didn't have a hole in his memory. "It's Danyal, but when we were younger he didn't like the way grandfather and our teachers called his name and insisted on being called informally as Danny."

"Okay right, so we better find little Danny and get everyone together to introduce-"

"Might I ask who this 'little Danny' is, Master Dick?"

He did not scream. But his heart rate shot up with Alfred just appearing behind him like that. Really sometimes Alfred could be as bad as Cass in the ways of sneaking up on people without them knowing.

"Alfred, hey hi what are you doing down here?" He was not nervous, no he wasn't. The way the butler narrowed his eyes at him did definitely not scare him at all, nope.

"I was informed that all of you returned uninjured." Though his eyes narrowed at Jason's hand that got cut earlier and his brother instantly tried to hide it behind his back when he noticed Alfreds eyes on him. "But the four of you, despite having returned to the Cave, have not come up yet. So I was merely checking on you, to make sure nothing was wrong after all."

He gulped. Really there was no way of ever hiding anything from Alfred.

"Jason brought a child to the Cave that we found out is Damien's twin that had died eight years ago but was brought back to life and is now feral and hiding somewhere in the cave."

At least it was Timber that blurred out everything they knew so far.

"His name is Danyal." Baby Bird added and the four of them waited for Alfred's reaction.

"I see. I will go prepare one of the rooms then and inform Master Bruce to return sooner from his meeting with the Justice League then. As well as prepare for a family dinner as soon as possible, I assume. Will my help be needed in finding young Master Danyal?"

"No worries Alfie, I think I have an idea on how to draw out the little shiiii-biter. You made cookies, right?" Jason at the last minute corrected his words because of the look and Dick couldn't help but snicker.

"I indeed did. If my help is not required then I will be on my way."

Giving them all one last look over, the Butler smiled before he turned to leave. Dick, Tim and Jason let out a sigh in relief once Alfred had left again to which Damien only eyed them strangely.

A little while later Jason went to get the cookies and came back with the plate and staring at a green post-it note. "Since when does Alfie stick green post-it notes with cryptic shit on plates?"

"What?" His brother only shrugged offering the note to him. Tim was looking over his shoulder at it and the two stared at the strange writing.

"I think Cass or Steph might be pulling a prank on us? These look just like random squiggles."

"Let's leave this for later and look for the little teethling." He passed the note to Tim, noticing the curiosity in his eyes. Oh boy, he probably should make sure his little brother gets some sleep instead of trying to encrypt whatever was written on that little note all night.

"Now everyone lets take a cookie, resist eating it and go hunt down our little teethling."

Damien narrowed his eyes on him. "I told you to stop calling Danyal that." The little baby bird still took a cookie though and marched away into the bat cave. They had separated wandering through the Bat Cave trying to cover as much ground as possible and by this point Dick was ready to call for Cass to join them, maybe even wake up Duke just so they would finally find the little kid.

That was until a familiar yowl of pain resounded in the Cave. The direction made Dicks stomach sink once he remembered just what was in the Cave in this direction. "Jason!"

Once he arrived there he feared for the worst. Jason avoided the area, because B had placed their Lazarus Pit there and his brother had often said that it was one of the reasons he didn't like coming to the Cave that much anymore let alone into this area of the Cave. To hear his brothers shout of pain from that area couldn't mean anything good.

Well that was until he got to the scene. Dick didn't know how long he stood there frozen but at some point he knew he took out his phone to take some photos of what was happening. Tim was already laughing and Dick was pretty sure that Babs was most likely recording this with one of the many cameras B had in the Cave.

Jason lay with his back on the ground, with one hand his brother was still holding the cookie waving it desperately before Danny's face who was biting down on the other arm sitting on the downed vigilante's chest. Little hands gripping onto the arm in an attempt to make sure no one was taking his chewtoy away from him. Meanwhile Damien was trying to lift the little biter off Jason by holding him with his hands under the kids armpits.

"You little shit! FUCK! Come on, here is the cookie! Take the fucking cookie! OUCH FUCKING HELL! How is he resisting Alfies cookies!"

"Danyal, No! You do not know where Todd was or how dirty he is. Let go of his arm this instant. We do not want you to get sick!"

"Hey!"

This was gold, Dick decided, and would go straight to the black mail as well as family memories folder.

[redstarwriting]

the clash | iii. black planet

hobie brown x goth!reader

word count: 2.5k

genre: enemies to lovers

warnings: language, insults, hobie hating you, you hating hobie, needles mentioned, slight injury from said needle

a/n: is this one long? yes. do i care? no because it was fun to write. it was 3 am when i finished this and make this a draft, so you know i had fun with this chapter. also, i’m about to go into work, so i will probably not be here but i wanted to post it beforehand so i can just worry about working on chapter iv later. and just wanna say i’m grateful to everyone who is reading and interacting with the posts! this has been such a warm welcome back into writing for the marvel universe and i appreciate each and every one of you :)🖤 also i have a question, feel free to answer in the comments or pm me, do i go all the way in the angst for this, or only some angst?

now reading: iii. black planet

previous chapter: ii. time bomb

next chapter: iv. london calling

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You open a portal to your world, and dramatically motion everyone inside. Gwen, Miles, and Pavitr step into it, and you glance at Hobie. “Are you actually coming, then?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he says sarcastically, stepping into the portal. You enter last, walking until you’re in the familiar darkness of your apartment. “Welcome to my home,” you say, going to your kitchen to get a glass of water. As you’re pouring, you hear one of your guests speak up. “Is that… a real skull…?” Pavitr asks, pointing to a human skull above your fireplace mantle. “Sure is. She’s my aunt,” you say, taking a sip of water. They all look at you with a look that reads ��is it… that aunt?’

You nod.

It isn’t brought up again.

Hobie sees a vinyl player and immediately walks over to it. He observes the multiple albums and singles and then comes across vinyls that don’t look like they belong to any band in particular. “You press your own vinyl?”

“Obviously. There’s just something better about vinyl than listening to it on my phone, so I press my own playlists,” you say, and Hobie glances up at you. “It sounds more real. Scratches and all, makes it feel authentic,” he says, placing a record on your player and placing the needle on it surprisingly gently. You raise your eyebrow at him. ‘Of course he would get the record thing,’ you think to yourself, ‘he is a guitarist after all.’

“I totally agree,” Gwen says, and you nod. Musician things. Ambient sounds accompanied by faint guitar riffs fill the room. You nod in approval. This is one of your favorite songs. Gwen smiles. “Your place is so fucking cool, (Y/n),” she says, walking over to the crystal ball and various tarot decks you have set up on your kitchen table. “Thanks, I take pride in it,” you say and Hobie makes a noise. “Could be better. Tell me, do you consider any color? Ever? Like what the fuck kind of plants are these that they’re all black?”

“They’re called Raven ZZ plants, and actually, they’re a bright green when new leaves sprout, but no. Color is not for me. The only reason I have the tiniest bit of pastel pink on my spider suit is because I need to continue to throw people off my scent.”

“How d’you reckon a tiny splash a’ color will do that?”

“There are various different types of goth. If I only used my own style, it would make the likelihood of me being me much higher than I would like,” you explain, and Miles looks around. “So… this place haunted?” he asks and you grin. “Yes.”

“Ghosts aren’t fuckin’ real.” Hobie scoffs, and he has to bite back a laugh at how quickly you turn your head to him. He actually does believe in ghosts, just a tiny bit, but doing anything to piss you off has become his new motto. Even if he has to lie.

“Shut the fuck up or I’ll make one of them possess you,” you say icily, and a cold breeze rolls through the room and blows out some of the candles. Pavitr shrieks and jumps into Miles’ arms. Gwen mutters something about that being ‘so cool.’ Hobie looks virtually unimpressed and you two glare at each other until you all get an all too familiar feeling of danger. You all turn your head toward your balcony, and you see an explosion in the distance. “Fuck,” you mumble, jumping into action immediately. You pull your mask on, and jump without a second thought. It’s a new thing when you glance over and see Hobie right by you. “Was that a bomb? Who could that be?” Miles asks and you sigh. “Probably the Green Goblin,” you say, and Hobie opens his mouth to say another sarcastic remark but is cut off when he gets to observe what your swinging is like.

You literally move like the wind. It’s fluid and smooth in nature, and he pays special attention to how you barely make noise when you land on a building to run. It’s actually impressive, and it makes him lose whatever rude comment he thought of. It’s the complete opposite of how he is. Erratic and loud. He doesn’t know whether to respect it or make fun of you for it later. Probably the latter. “Hey (Y/n)? Is the sky normally this dark? I thought it was like 6pm,” Pavitr asks as you all swing and you nod. “The sun is only out for like 2-3 hours a day here,” you respond. “Damn a little sunlight never killed anybody,” Miles says, and you shrug. “Honestly, here it might.”

“Is that why you’re so moody and negative? Only light you get is from the moon?” Hobie asks and you roll your eyes. “Actually, I was born that way. My style of living has nothing to do with my moodiness and realistic outlook,” you shoot back, emphasizing the point of realistic and not negative. He just shakes his head.

You all arrive at the location the explosive went off, and you notice there are still people inside the parking garage that was hit. “We’re on it!” Gwen says, motioning for Pavitr and Miles to follow her. The three of them take off in an instant, and you keep your eyes peeled and ears open to hear the wings of the Green Goblin’s glider. Hobie hangs back, not saying anything for once in his life. Until he gets an uneasy feeling. “Something’s close.”

“I know, idiot, I have the sense too.”

“I was just sayi–”

He’s cut off by a tiny bag of… powder… being thrown between the two of you. You both leap out of the way immediately before it explodes. “Found you!” Hobie hears a maniacal laugh, “Ohhhh and you brought a friend!” The Green Goblin of your universe giggles, and he realizes that the glider she’s on is a giant taxidermy bat accessorized with mechanical elements making it able to fly again. “Not their friend,” he yells at the Goblin before addressing you, “What the actual fuck is ‘at?” Hobie yells and you sigh. “That’s the Green Goblin of my universe, she’s a fucking lunatic who wants to turn me into a taxidermy sculpture and sell me at an art auction.”

“She an Osborn?”

“Yes, Harriet Osborn,” you say, dodging another… bomb? Hobie honestly doesn’t know what the fuck is happening. “Well, I’ve killed one Osborn already, what’s another,” he says, and you make a gasping noise. “Oh no… don’t tell me…”

“We can’t kill Harriet!”

“Why the fuck not?! She’s tryna kill you!”

“Because of personal reasons! You’re not about to come into my world, and kill my villains, asshole!” you scream, and he groans. “Fuckin’ fine. Whatever, we take her down, we don’t kill her,” he says, and you nod. “I take her down. Like I have countless times before.”

“Uh uh uh, I’m here for a reason, we take her down.”

“Gods, fine. Whatever,” you huff and the both of you dodge another explosive. You point to Miles, Gwen, and Pavitr who are motioning to you that they got everyone out of the garage. Without speaking, the two of you develop a plan. You immediately web into the garage, going down to the bottom floor. Of course, your Goblin follows you, completely disregarding Hobie even being there. He follows behind. It’s dark in here, all the lighting has gone out inside and the black sky outside makes it difficult to see. You use the stealth he observed earlier to your advantage. Even he has trouble picking out where you are, and he has super senses. He makes his way to a pillar that supports the garage as quietly as he can, which, luckily, is quiet enough that he goes unnoticed. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he hears in a sing-songy voice.

He carefully picks up a rock and glances around the garage. He’s behind a pillar that will help bring the whole thing down, he just needs to deduce which of the other pillars will assist in that. Lucky for him, you’re there too. He hears a noise behind one of the pillars, and sure enough, an explosion soon follows. He quickly realizes where the other weak points are and throws a rock at one of the others. Boom. Explosion. And then one more. He glances to his left to see you right next to him. You both nod at each other, and he hits a power chord. You roll your eyes. “A little flashy, don’t you think,” you say as the two of you leap out of the way and there’s one more explosion. “Not flashy enough, love,” he responds as the garage starts to shake.

The two of you expertly navigate the falling rocks as you make your way out of the collapsing building. Right when you get out, your eyes widen, and you twist your body so the glider doesn’t impale you. You land on top, and the Goblin turns around. Half of her mask is broken and she’s bleeding from being hit by one of the rocks. You can tell the glider was hit, too, because it seems to be stalling every now and again. It does get you farther away from your spider-companions, but they start webbing after you. “Found you,” she says. “No shit, Harriet. It only took you demolishing ONE building to do it this time, feels like a new personal record for you,” you respond, and she throws a punch at you. You dodge, and then see her pull out an unnecessarily large taxidermy needle. “Ah, shit,” you mumble as she starts wielding it like a dagger. You’re able to dodge most of her attacks, but the last one grazes your side. You hiss and realize she put another attempt of a knockout serum on it as well. Great. She laughs.

“Stupid spider! I didn’t need to stab you; I just needed a little graze! See, I put a special kind of toxin on my needle, and now it–” She gets knocked out by a single punch to the face. “You talk way too damn much, girl,” you mumble, webbing her to the side of a building as she falls off her glider. Oh shit. The glider. You leap off, despite the pain in your side and the woozy feeling that’s starting to show up and web the glider. You then go water skiing without the water. Or the skiis. And on the road. Oops.

You do your best to control the glider, swerving between cars and making sure it doesn’t run into any of the skyscrapers in downtown Night of Yore City. That’s when you realize it’s about to run straight into a building. You narrow your eyes. It’s time to do your Spider thing. You yank back on the glider, causing it to stall. You leap up onto the side of a building, detaching three webs onto it and leaping to the other one. You repeat until a full spiderweb is formed, blocking the glider’s way to the building, and repeat so it’s underneath the glider as well. You quickly web up the giant claws of the taxidermy bat, ensuring they can’t cut through your webs, and wrap the glider up, swinging around it in a circle. You attach the end of the web to the big spider web you just made and watch it slow down even more. It goes into the web in front of the building, and slightly indents into it, but that’s the further it gets.

You crouch on a lamppost, watching to make sure nothing bad happens. When you’re positive everything’s fine, you stand. A few citizens yell some thanks you’s, more glare at you because you just ruined their day, and some just ignore you completely. You look up and see the four other Spider-People chilling on the side of a building. You quickly join them. “Never seen someone make a web that fast and efficiently,” Gwen says, motioning to the web you wove. You shrug. “Thank you.”

“Unfortunate a buildin’ had to come down in the process,” Hobie says, not giving you a break or any type of praise. You roll your eyes. “Let’s not forget you were part of the reason the building came down.”

“I could have done it without the destruction.”

“Like you would have.”

“I wouldn’t have, but I could have. Obviously, you couldn’t,” he says, and you flip him off as you all begin webbing back to your apartment. Once you get there, you assess the damage the needle did to you. Some weird green toxin was in the cut, and you sigh. “Wait, (Y/n), that looks kind of serious,” Gwen says, noting the discoloration of the toxin compared to your skin. You shake your head. “No, it’s fine. She keeps trying to make a knock-out serum to use on me. None of them are strong enough,” you affirm, the slight wooziness you had felt earlier is completely gone. Now you just need to wash and dress this, and it should be healed by morning. “Or maybe she’s just a shit chemist.”

“Thank you, Hobie, for your doubt that I’m a capable Spider-Person,” you say, and he nods at you. “Always.”

You get out your first aid kit and clean your wound up. It stings, and you wince, and the others know that feeling all too well. “Right, well now that we’ve seen this gloomy, depressin’, dark ass world, why don’t we go see an actual fun world, eh?” Hobie says, starting to press some buttons on his watch. “Go to your world? What so I can be blown away with too loud amps and catch on fire because some dumbass thinks they can make a flamethrower with some sort of cleaning spray and a lighter? No thanks,” you mumble, and he rolls his eyes. “Not like I want you there anyways, love,” he says. You hate this new nickname he’s picked for you. It’s not endearing, it’s annoying. And he knows that it bothers you. You angrily put your first aid kit down and glare at him. “Fine. But hold on one second.”

You scale your wall and reach into an impossibly high cupboard, pulling out some cat food. Suddenly, the four spiders see two bright green eyes in the darkness of what appears to be your bedroom. You fill up a bowl, and your black cat saunters over to you. You pet his head, giving him a few scritches between the ears, his favorite spot. Hobie’s grateful you’re preoccupied with your cat because he does not need you to see the expression on his face. He loves cats. Especially black cats, they’re a perfect symbol of rebellion. Maybe he’ll come back here one day but only for your cat. ONLY.

“Alright, now that you’ve fed the cat, can we please leave? I can feel my soul bein’ sucked out of my body the longer I stand here,” Hobie says, impatiently, and you roll your eyes. “That’s the ghosts doing that, you know.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

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[meyousing]

𝔾𝕠𝕛𝕠, ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝

𝕤𝕪𝕟𝕠𝕡𝕤𝕚𝕤: gojo is always, always getting the wrong idea when it comes to your needs, and worries that you express, but it's just so difficult to correct someone who never thinks that they can be wrong. 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕤: yandere gojo x reader, nsfw, mentions of past kidnapping/captivity, cheating and manipulation. all sexual nsfw under the cut! <3

Three docile raps against the bedroom door, surely muffled to his ears on the other side from the sheer gentleness of your knuckles, if he was even nearby to begin with. It was almost as if you didn’t want to grab his attention, but you couldn’t wait much longer, these same four walls were beginning to drive you stir-crazy, and the ugly plush toys that he provided months ago could only entertain you for so long. 

“Mhm?” You heard him hum, followed by a quiet thud that you imagined coming from his leaning against the door. 

You jolted softly in surprise, not expecting him to be right there so soon. But you could easily see it; his lazy posture as his torso went limp against the wood like a petulant child–he certainly portrayed the immaturity of one most days. Even as he hummed you could detect a smirk on his lips; promptly shutting your eyes to block out that mental image and how mocking it felt even without the direct intent to.

“I need to pee” you lied, picking at your fingernails and twisting the material of your nightgown nervously, hoping the falsehood would suffice and he would relieve you of the suffocating claustrophobia brought on by this unchanging environment. 

Eventually, you began to understand that Gojo liked having you here as his little side piece; he saw you as nothing more than a pretty plaything, to keep only for himself, even though you were certain that he made time within his busy, busy schedule to partake in his own trysts with all kinds of other people–your thoughts were only made so much worse when he would come home smelling blatantly of another person’s fragrance, or looking a little more dishevelled than he normally should have, even after a genuinely busy, action-filled day. 

 You, on the other hand, were just too pretty to be shared or merely ogled at because he just knew that anyone with eyes would try and claim you for themselves–you had to stay stowed away here, with him, because that could not happen. Yet, that hadn't ever happened back when the Gojo that you knew was actually rational. Nobody had ever approached you when they could very clearly see you two walking hand-in-hand, arm-in-arm, so how could you truly grasp the likelihood of someone else ‘claiming’ you? That would have to be a possibility left entirely to mystery; a thought for you to dwell on for hours when there was nothing else to do while alone in this room. 

Having at least expected a verbal response before the door opened, you stumbled back helplessly as he swung it out suddenly, pressing his weight into the grip he had on the doorknob and standing before you. Your eyes slowly moved up to his, noting the lack of eyewear and cursing the way your stomach knotted when the natural attraction of his features drew you in like a lamb. Of course, the smirk that you suspected him to have was evident–even widening as he noticed your roaming eyes and the way you paused upon the sight of him. As if he wasn’t cocky enough. 

“Are you sure?” He asked mischievously–enragingly.

“Yes.” You tried to watch your tone, tried not to mutter the word in a way that portrayed how annoyed you were from this already too-long interaction that was intended to be as short as possible. But you knew that there was a semblance of snark in the way that your pronunciation of the last letter was rather sharp; a short hiss behind your teeth.

Gojo’s head tilted playfully and his eyebrows lifted, as if his face on its own was saying “I don’t think so!” while he leaned in closer to you, bent at the hips so his nose was immediately before yours without reducing his posture too much. Arrogant.

“I don’t think so,” he retorted lowly. Oh, how much better that he actually said the words too, joining the silence of his expression! You resisted the urge to snarl at him as you made the connection, growing impatient.

“I think I would know if I had to pee, Gojo.”

“Nope.” The way he popped the letter p as he said that made you cringe away, yet he was unrelenting; “I know exactly what you’re trying to do.” His smirk graduated into a grin, and he spoke oh-so confidently.

Your eyes widened only slightly. You weren’t technically doing anything wrong, at least not that badly just yet; lying to him about needing to use the bathroom when you truly didn’t. But he managed to instill guilt within you, making you feel bad for doctoring the truth. How could you go about asking him to just let you out of here for a bit without imagining him taking offence? Or being met with an immediate no, which would crush your spirit too soon. Your mind was still relatively strong even after being here for what felt like quite a while, and you wanted to hold onto that.

“You’d know ‘if you had to’ which means you don’t really need to. So… what is it? What do you really need from me?” He continued and leaned even closer, his words so playfully murmured in such near proximity to you.

He was getting the wrong idea. You knew this, but he was stubborn and thought he knew better than you at the best of times, so if you didn’t rush to convince him a bit harder without admitting the blunt truth, you’d be fucked.

“I-I need to use the bathroom, please,” you said quickly, unable to control the little stutter and immediately seeking a change in his gaze to see if he caught on. 

Of course, he did, chuckling softly under his breath and closing his eyes as he did. You’d only dug yourself deeper.

He stepped forward and you stepped back, effectively trapping yourself between him and the wall behind you as he subtly kicked the bedroom door closed. You felt your throat swell as his hands slid into his pockets, the newfound silence weighing down heavily upon the two of you. Gojo couldn’t help but remedy that quickly; couldn’t help but keep talking.

“I know you too well, Y/N. I think you’re feeling something else down there that you’re a little too shy to outright ask for, aren’t you?”

No, no, no. Absolutely not. 

“N-No–” You struggled to say this out loud though, and that one moment of hesitation did you in. When dealing with someone who always thought that they had the right answer to everything, there wasn’t much you could do anyway. 

“Of course, you won’t admit it to me.” He threw his hands up nonchalantly as if he were just a little exasperated with your apparent reluctance. “I’ve already told you to stop acting so shy… I mean, it’s cute and all, but I like hearing it from you. Doesn’t it feel dirty to be so honest with one another?”

His arms crossed over his chest and he simpered down at you again, taking your lack of a verbal response as a sign of that alleged shyness you seemed to have. 

“Ask me. I want to hear you say it.”

You remained still and your eyes stayed widely trained on him, unwavering despite your internal rage at the way he was so confidently wrong. What’s worse is how you were stuck now, and whatever would follow was inevitable. Would it be easier to just go along with it, despite the way that the mere idea of that was sickening?

“I…” you started but failed to continue when you could see how he watched you in a way that felt rhetorical, like he ‘knew’ that you would just be ‘too shy’ to get the words out. So, so annoying. This was proven further by how he could only giggle and give you no time to finish a word before chiming in once more.

“You…” He drew the word out as you paused, “...caught me in a good mood.” 

Was this statement supposed to preface his decision to suddenly whisk you into his arms and escort you the short few steps to the bed? After placing you down there, he wasted no time in getting on top of you, knocking your knees open with his thighs so he could slot his body between them with enforced ease. Now he was too near. You could cope with his intimidating tilts closer while you stood inches apart without distance ever being shut all the way, but the feeling of his clothed chest rubbing against yours now was a bit much; too indicative of what you could only dread to imagine coming next. Your heart began to race, and he could feel it. 

“Aw, you still can’t help but get a little nervous being with me, can you? How cute, really.”

While his tone was playful, the flash of sin that slid over his gaze didn’t go unnoticed, and sent an anxious chill down your spine. You couldn’t even find room to retort, instantly feeling your muscles go taut once his long fingers traced up your side, slipping under the material of your gown with an ease that came naturally. He felt the way that you tensed, and you felt a twinge of regret for your decision to go braless earlier when his fingertips glided over to your breast so he could tease your nipple, staring into your eyes as he did–watching for a reaction.

The sensitivity inflicted by such a tender caress made your breath catch. When envisioning your fate before; when you had been caught so soon within your lie, you knew that you were done for but you hadn’t imagined that you’d be fucked so literally–grunting softly in uncharacteristic frustration when he pulled away for a moment. 

He raised an eyebrow upon hearing the sound, suppressing a chuckle as his hands moved down to grab the bottom of your gown and start pulling it off of you. You couldn’t help but assist him, keeping your gaze aside so you wouldn’t have to see the knowing look he was surely giving. It was so awful, so horrible that rather than feeling sickened by going along with it, you could only feel internal anticipation. External as well, you supposed, given your lack of hesitation with helping him get you bare. You followed along with ease, like the lost, unguided puppy that he always made you out to be. 

“Rest assured, I’m all yours,” he said with a tone that you knew he intended to make sound genuine, though there was something underlying within it, like he didn’t really mean what he said at all. He would still screw around on you, fuck other people then come home and assert himself over you, disallowing you to even think about doing the same thing, to even think about other people. You felt yourself grimace as you thought about this, frowning while your nightgown was fully lifted up and off of you. He took notice of your expression, and rather than showing concern, he displayed intrigue. 

“Do you not believe me, baby?” was muttered with a ridiculously babied tone that you hated when he used it.

Ugh, stop with that. No. You didn’t believe him. But what would happen if you said that? There was rarely ever room for you to be defiant, Gojo had way too much power over you in so many ways that your obedience went without question, and you didn’t want to find out what he would do if you ever deviated. But right now it felt different—you had a very, very small window of opportunity. For once, you felt compelled to take it. 

“I don’t.” 

He hardly raised his eyebrows, only looking mildly surprised; as if he wasn’t very surprised at all. It was unnerving… what, had he expected you to say that? He, who was so used to hearing immediate fan-girly-toned exclamations of 'Yes, Gojo!', wasn’t even a little shocked by this? He lifted himself off of you a bit, your lower bodies still mostly in contact while he supported himself with hands gripped easily upon your knees.

“Well, why not?” A finger drummed idly against your perched leg, soft reverberations resonating through your femur, making you twitch slightly as the air and room surrounding you two began to feel heavier, and more tense. His tone itself was neither heavy nor tense, yet you felt a sense of dread anyway due to the unknown. Gojo had way too much power over you in so many ways that your obedience went without question. What would happen if he didn’t like what you had to say? You figured that he would certainly dislike a hesitant response after expressing such an atypical opinion, so with that added pressure you sputtered out the first thing that came to your mind, muttered like an absolute fool:

“Y-You always come home smelling like some cheap perfume, and I’ve seen lipstick marks on you before that obviously couldn’t have been from me!” You rambled this like a little outburst, sounding like you were finally relieving yourself from the burden of a thought that’s been weighing on your consciousness.

It only made Gojo smile. Not his usual cocky grin or his knowing little smirk, but a genuine, horribly attractive smile.

“You don’t have to be jealous.”

Of fucking course. You weren’t jealous, per se, you just felt that your being kidnapped and isolated into one room of his house while he forbade you from interacting with any other person may have been a bit unfair when he, on the other hand, could come home all leisurely with extremely blatant evidence of–at the very least–some foreplay-equivalent contact with other people all over his skin and his clothes, if you were to be so presumptuous. How to say this to someone who is so selectively dense, though? 

“It’s not that–”

He shut you up with a kiss, so it didn’t matter. It was a kiss that was neither messy nor rushed like his typical first resort when he wanted a quick fuck, but rather one that was too precise as he tilted his head to deepen it and eased his body back down on top of yours again. His hands slid down the tops of your thighs so he could hold you against him with the utmost affection at his fingertips. It made you shiver, you couldn’t help it. You also couldn’t help the way that you seemed to return his kiss, even as your body remained a bit wound from such an unusual situation and sensation. He pulled back slowly, intimately, almost causing you to follow his movement to prolong the moment. You weren’t dishevelled enough yet for that, but with Gojo, there was always a way for him to gain your reception eventually.  

“Honesty, Y/N.” His voice was a little raspier when he spoke. It sent something hot through you, and you swallowed the sudden lump in your throat when his eyes stared into yours, so heavily lidded, yet you could still see their gorgeous hue peeking through his depigmented lashes. You couldn’t shy away this time, because he was so close and on display. You also still couldn’t find a way to deny your natural attraction to him, unable to avoid falling victim to it in every instance similar to this. But now, with his intentional tenderness, it was that much more difficult–you were so much more malleable, you could tell. 

His demand for honesty made you nod in obedience. This, in turn, made him grin and bring a hand off of your leg so he could run it through your hair. 

“It’s really cute, you know, how you couldn’t outright ask me for this.” His fingers caressed your cheek before gliding down to your neck with a feather-light touch. “But I’m looking forward to the day when you can.” 

His hand remained light, hovering above your ever-rising pulse while he brushed his lips against yours without fully connecting them for a second time. Your breath shuddered when he did this–why did you feel such immense disappointment when he didn’t kiss you again? 

You couldn’t understand what kind of influence he managed to inflict upon you this time, what was so different at this moment–how it drove you to lean up and close that gap to your liking, satisfying the suddenly dire need to feel the plush of his soft lips properly. This managed to surprise Gojo, and he chuckled against you, his hand pressing down further on your skin only so he could stroke it, not adding much pressure for now. He waited until you had your fill, kissing you back until your neck unhinged and you rested against the pillow on your own time. You were the one to pull away, accompanied by a little smooch sound once you two parted fully. 

“Better.” His tone was one of satisfaction, him evidently taking this as your reception to his wish for more incentive on your part; more honesty. 

His hand was faster than you expected when you felt it return to your breast, tweaking an exposed nipple with a bit more force than before, causing a whimper to catch in your throat as you subconsciously arched into the rougher touch. This flustered you, and he took advantage of your state by bringing his free hand between your legs, lifting his hips off of yours so he could slide your panties aside. You only realized this had happened once a small bit of air brushed along your growing wetness, making you shiver and look up at him in mild surprise. He could only offer a conniving grin.

“You want me to touch you here, don't you?” His question was further punctuated by the tracing of his index and middle fingers up and down your pussy lips–not touching anywhere that would stimulate you yet, even in spite of how this still made you shiver. He wanted you to say it, to admit it, to outright ask. You were unfortunate enough to be getting so worked up by mere foreplay that you could no longer find it in yourself to even try and deny him, not when he looked down at you so knowingly. Like always. 

“Y-Yes” you admitted it with a quiet tone, sounding just as shy as he kept making you out to be. Maybe he was right after all, which bothered you. Feeling bothered hardly lasted though, because the immediate gratification from two of his slender fingers pushing into you made your breath catch and your thighs twitch. 

“Good.”

The short replies were odd for Gojo; he who could hardly go a moment without yapping every thought bobbing around in his seemingly empty but deceptively intelligent mind. You were left to believe that such immediate responses were all he could muster while he analyzed you, taking in every bit of information that he could; your physical responses to each unique touch, the pace at which you would reply, how much mental clarity you had left–in other words, the state of malleability you were in. It seemed that you had become putty in his hands now, quite literally. 

It took him no time to find your sweet spot, and his allowance for your time to adjust was minuscule once he began to stroke it with intent. Your body stiffened due to the infliction of such immediately intense pleasure, but it seemed that he was only laying it on heavy to act as a distraction. It worked, because you didn’t hear the shuffling sounds of material being slid down, and your eyes had fallen shut for a few seconds in bliss so you couldn’t see the way that he took a second to align himself with your pussy before pushing his cock in alongside his fingers. The intrusion made you gasp, your eyes shooting open to confirm the sight of him penetrating you in such a way. He caught your eyes with a chuckle and a devious little smirk, teasingly rutting his hips into you for a moment so there would be greater pressure applied now, making your body shake helplessly.

“I’d never fuck anyone else like this, you’re special to me baby.” 

He failed miraculously if that was meant to act as some sort of consolation towards your earlier expressed doubts of his loyalty. But you didn’t care about having your woes consoled as much as you would if you were in a clearer mind state, because the feeling of him now pushing deeply in and out of you right now was too good, too satisfying toward the arousal he had managed to build up within, even after you had started this interaction off with no such feelings, none other than annoyance and impatience. Now, you craved more; you craved release. That was all you cared for.

He rocked his hips in a way that was so precise, the blunt tip of his cock pushed his fingers harder into you and each meaningful thrust made you feel positively numb, made your mind grow delirious as he was all you could focus on. You could only wonder how it may have felt for him, though he showed no extra indications of enjoyment aside from his breaths coming out more ragged than those he exhaled previously.  

Not much time passed before you somewhat adjusted to the feeling, your thighs trembled around him yet he maintained a pace that was just enough to keep you on the cusp of a crest, each thrust he gave was accompanied by soft moans of need from your throat. He tutted after you moaned a bit louder and gave him an exasperated look; your eyes communicating a silent plea for more. 

“So greedy now, maybe your change of heart wasn’t so good after all” he teased, but before you could form any response he leaned down to kiss you in that same intimate way as he did moments before, thrusting into you a little faster and groaning against your lips at the same time. His own sound of pleasure sent something down your spine, made you squeeze around him, and you didn’t resist as he went to press his tongue into your mouth. You brought shaky hands up to his shoulders, holding onto them and taking the material of his shirt within your grasp as you became more and more worked up, needing an outlet to exert your buildup of elation against.  

As his mouth continued to caress yours, you gasped around his tongue when his thumb which was attached to the hand buried inside of you snuck against your clit, nudging it in time with each bump of his cock inside of you. The addition of sensations finally gave you that extra push, and as you pulled his shirt into your fists and clenched your pussy around him tightly; you finally came, hips squirming and back arching as each wave of delight washed over you. Gojo’s lips stayed on yours as you did, and he matched each writhe of your body to their fullest, maximizing how you felt with his body too. Amidst such a fuzzy state of body and mind, you could vaguely feel his hips stuttering against you before his warmth flooded into your womb, making your body feel even hotter, and forming a knot of risky excitement in your stomach as he chose to stay buried in you even as he finished too. 

When you ever-so-slowly recovered from the high, unlike any you had experienced before, he too moved slowly, except for the way that he pulled back from the kiss. He did it differently than the last; the previous was intimate from start to finish, but his departure now was rushed, as if he was timing it intentionally–ensuring that you were still in that blissed-out state of mind so you wouldn’t be able to question the depth of his next words:

“Now… you can stop questioning who I see, and what I do in a day.”

You heard what he said, sure, but your primary focus was on regaining proper breaths, in and out, while your lower body still twitched and tingled in the delicious aftermaths from such a tall height of ecstasy. So, you didn’t really hear what he said. You even nodded along with him like an idiot, tossing an arm over your forehead as you favoured focusing on slowing down your rapid heartbeat. You couldn’t see it, but he smiled in satisfaction and took another moment to get a good look at you and your vulnerability. Then you felt him leaving your body, a muted whine of dismay hiding behind your lips as you felt so empty now, aside from the sensation of thick heat from his release as it pooled at your entrance, threatening to spill out if you moved an inch. 

“Seeya!” 

Your eyes hardly opened as you looked up in confusion, and all you caught was the sight of his back as he closed the door behind him post-exiting the room–noting how he managed to fully dress up again in what must have been only a few seconds. The familiar click of the lock being instated rang out quickly, with his distancing footsteps growing even quicker; hasty, as if he had somewhere very important to be now. 

Was he off to meet someone else, perhaps? No bother to you, at least not yet. This was becoming a regular occurrence, him touching and filling you until you were reduced to a breathless mess, then leaving you with your thoughts, and the feeling of recovery following such rapture soon warping into bile-stirring regret; making you sick to your stomach after you realized that he had somehow hypnotized you into letting him use your body, as if there weren’t countless others he would be doing the same thing to later if he hadn’t already within that same day. He would make you feel so special, and tell you things you must have wanted to hear, yet it was all for naught when you understood that you were just part of a category for him–you were nothing special. 

Fortunately, you were still latching onto those final moments where you could feel remnants of exaltation, so the inevitability of those woes you’d soon care so much for was put on hold… for now. 

© meyousing 2023. do not share/export my work onto any other platforms. do not translate my work.

[chefkids]

Spoon Theory

This is arguably the single most important The Bear meta post I will ever make so please bear with me.

The first spoon we see in the entire series is when Carmy takes Sydney's spoon to try her stew. This is right after he cut his hand from not being able to find his sharp knife, and before he has to meet with Natalie to get Mikey's jacket, which was stressing him out. She "gave him a spoon" and a bit of positivity when he needed to calm down and get some energy by knowing at the very least Sydney can cook well.

Needing a spoon is needing help. When he hands over the brigade to Sydney he is waving around spoons the entire episode, when she really needed his help and his "spoons". Later on Sydney is not afraid to just ask him for his help.

With the risotto she gave him a "spoon" that would help the restaurant, that brought in a good review and customers, but he didn't have enough of his own "spoons" to deal with it as he was stressing out over the window that just got shot through and the IRS needing the missing tax returns. Right before trying the risotto Carmy had told Richie he is afraid of something good happening. He is afraid of Sydney and him doing well, because the better it gets the more it will hurt him when something goes wrong. That is why he keeps self sabotaging the restaurant and doubting Sydney.

After Sydney quit, she is still using her spoons for mental energy to make sure Marcus is okay and to try and figure out her next steps career wise. Carmy grabbed a spoon to open the tomato can lid, which he really didn't need because he could've just used the can opener, and then found the money. When he finds the money they both know they would be fine on their own, she could find another job, he could fix up The Beef. But they still need each others emotional spoons to achieve their passions, so he reaches out and she comes back.

In Season 2 she did need his "spoons" to help create the menu and decide on the details for the restaurant, but he barely gave her any because he was still so caught up in his past trauma and the literal and metaphorical forks in his life.

Fixing the table really didn't physically need more than one "spoon"/person. But he needed her there to work through his mental block. With the inspiration food tour, she did it on her own and she didn't physically need him for it, she needed his emotional spoons.

When they are not communicating well with each other and Carmy is trying to reach back and be involved again, he gets as close as he can to her spoon without actually using it.

And now the dark side of spoons.

The originator of spoon theory has lupus and first came up with this theory at a restaurant to explain what it was like living with the condition to a friend. They could've easily said Sydney's mom died of cancer or an accident or anything else. But this is all so intentional, out of all the things it is Lupus. I don't want Sydney to be sick as much as the next person, but Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that has higher likelihood of developing when you have a family member with it, and can be triggered by environmental factors such as stress. It is an invisible illness and Christine's own handle is butyoudontlooksick, which could really explain Sydney and what she has going on behind her walls that people can't see. She has been a rock to so many people and over exerting herself, but there might come a time soon when Sydney will genuinely need other peoples "spoons", especially Carmy's, because she's all out.

Now that Carmy said he is choosing to give Syd his focus aka his "spoons", will he actually be able to follow through?

Read The Fork Theory next

Read The Knife Theory

[the-travelling-witch]

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Anemo as the 5 Love Languages ﾟ☾. ࿐

summary: everyone gives affection a different way, so how about our favourite anemo users?

pairings: xiao : venti : scara : heizou : kazuha x gn!reader

warnings: minor spoiler for 3.3 archon quest [scara]

a/n: wow this really sat in my drafts since august, so much so that i still had aether in instead scara (so sorry, love)

XIAO

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Gift Giving ࿐ྂ

Xiao is still very new to relationships in general, romantic ones even more so, seeing as he kept others at least an arm length away at all times, so the prospect of openly showing his affection is daunting to him

He knows he’s not the best with words, thinks his statements are too blunt and sharp to deliver these confusing feelings in his chest, and he’s wary of his karmic debt tainting you if he reaches for you

So he settled for something familiar to him; by giving you adeptus charms, not only is he warding off evil spirits, he’s also bestowing a handmade gift upon you, something he’s observed mortals doing throughout the millennia, no matter the era

Before, he merely thought they were doing it to appease their partners, but after the first time he gave you a protective charm, he felt his heart flutter at your genuine gratitude and a warm sensation flooding his chest at the heartfelt smile you gave him

He was absolutely hooked

From then on out, he not only made you little talismans but also beaded accessories and decorative trinkets or brought back things he saw while doing his duty and thought you might like

And do not get him started on the rush of excitement he feels when he sees you tying them to your clothes or bag, proudly showing off his gifts or diligently caring for the flowers sitting pretty in a vase 

When he asked you about it and you merely replied “It’s like you’re always with me” as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, Xiao needed some time to get his thoughts and emotions back in order

Maybe showing affection wasn’t so bad after all…

VENTI

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Physical Touch ࿐ྂ

Of course it takes two for this love language to be established but Venti is the one initiating physical contact most of the time

It’s mostly small touches throughout the day, like pushing a strand of hair out of your face or straightening out your clothes when he notices some creases; it’s also very adorable when he latches onto your arm to show you something or swings your intertwined hands around when walking together

Despite being in a relationship already, Venti has made up his mind to try and woo you all over again in your day to day life, so expect the brush of his knuckles on your cheek or a cheeky kiss to the back of your hand

He also loves it when you sit next to him or in his lap (or he in yours) while he sings and plays the lyre; if someone makes the trip out to Windrise on a sunny day, there’s a high likelihood they’ll hear a soft melody accompanied by joyous giggles

All that being sad, Venti also uses physical affection to be a brat (<3)

From clinging to you, so you wouldn’t be able to get up to draping himself over you from behind while you’re working, it’s all a ploy to monopolise your attention but he’ll stop if it’s genuinely bothering you

Playfulness aside, there’s one element of physical touch that only comes to show when it’s solely the two of you, often late at night when the world has gone quiet and ugly memories are rearing their head

Whether it’s him holding you or you holding him, the weight of your body against his, hands trailing each others’ skin and warmth being shared, it helps ground him in the present and serves as a welcome reminder that you’re still here next to him, safe and sound

SCARAMOUCHE

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Acts of Service ࿐ྂ

If directly confronted with the topic, Scara would merely scoff at the notion of being in love or being „soft“ for you but as always, his actions speak louder than words 

He subconsciously looks out for you without giving the matter too much thought, making sure you’re okay and taken care of almost like it’s second nature to him

Ever since the Irminsul incident, he’s become more aware of his relationships and his treatment of the people around him and while he’s still far from being soft-spoken and lovey-dovey, he’s trying to come to terms with his feelings for you and also acting on them

Scara wouldn’t ever tell you but he’s truly scared his words would come out wrong if he tried to tell you verbally or he‘d somehow hurt you when initiating physical contact (although he’s so careful with you ), so he finds it safer to do small tasks for you, trying to make your life a little more comfortable 

It started out as him just wanting to make sure you‘d consider him useful to you, so you wouldn’t abandon him, but with a lot of reassurance from your side he grew more secure in your relationship and found genuine joy in doing little things for you and gladly baskes in your gratefulness (even if he gets a little too smug about it, just bear with it)

HEIZOU

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Quality Time ࿐ྂ

Lives can be stressful and hectic, keeping two people from seeing each other as often as they’d like; that’s why for Heizou every second he can spend with you is to be cherished

More often than he’d like, his job has him investigating far away from home for an indefinite amount of time and all he wants to do when he comes back is indulge in your presence until he’s satisfied

One of his favourite activities has to be solving puzzles with you; whether it’s jigsaw or some kind of logic puzzle, he’s genuinely enjoying seeing your thought process just as much as having you next to him

Likewise, just doing your own respective thing while existing in the same space is a very welcome form of calming down and unwinding; there’s something rather domestic about it and it’s making him all giddy (he is a romantic at heart)

He’s also found that whenever he's stuck on a case, talking things through with you helps tremendously; you don’t necessarily need to provide any professional input or expertise but just listening to him while he goes through all the available clues out loud provides him with a new angle on the situation; obviously, he will patiently sit and listen whenever you need to vent or clear your head as well

KAZUHA

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Words of Affirmation ࿐ྂ

Is it a surprise that Kazuha’s giving love language is words of affirmation?

With his natural aptitude and interest in poetry of all sorts, he supposes it only makes sense he would love to show his affection for you in the most expressive way he can

One thing about Kazuha, every word he speaks, he also means; so while he showers you in praise and reassurance, it’s always genuine and you can hear it in the sincerity of his voice and see it in the certainness of his pen strokes

Subconsciously or not, even when he’s not trying to write about you, he’ll often find a familiarity in his works as he examines them afterwards, smiling fondly at the notion of you inspiring him without even trying; a muse he couldn’t forget even if he wanted to

So while you’ve come to expect his smooth compliments, you never know what form they might take; one day he is reciting his newest haiku to you, the next you find a half finished sonnet on the margin of a random piece of paper or you wake up to a carefully worded letter on your bedside table

Although, one thing that never changes, is the way he whispers sleepy confessions and sweet nothings into your ear while you’re both snuggled up in bed at night, the sound of his calm voice lulling you into a peaceful slumber (and don’t think you’re leaving his side without equally affectionate words in the morning)

tagging: @mccnstruck @teyvattales @silentmoths @ainescribe @meimeimeirin @dustofthedailylife @nsojbbkkm

[jollyreginaldrancher]

I can't believe how underdeveloped the Taissa and Akilah dynamic is because let's not forget that Taissa is the only reason Akilah is even trapped in the wilderness with them. Taissa concocted that plan to freeze out Ali and Taissa broke Ali's leg and Taissa was the reason Akilah was promoted from JV to Varsity and Taissa is the reason she was stranded.

And I know the actress is rooting for more screentime where the only two black girls interact, but doing each other's hair and shit-talking Misty needs to take a back seat because there is a much more important conversation that needs to be had.

Do we think Taissa is nice to Akilah from early in season one because she feels guilt over her being there? She's a tough cookie who pushes most of the other girls away and even snaps at Van a few times. She's always trying to compensate and be nice to Akilah though. Is that because she feels the weight of her decision? The very real weight of the fact that this girl is here because of her...Akilah is her responsibility now. She brought her here.

Do you suppose Akilah will blame her? In her final moments will her eyes reach for Taissa's with a haunting look of betrayal? Or is she too young and kind and pure to think bad thoughts? We don't have time to develop all these characters but if we don't at least get some recognition in the show that Akilah in all likelihood will die because of Taissa I think it would be a massive copout.

Can you imagine Taissa coming back to Wiskayok and seeing Akilah's nephew, old enough to walk now, and old enough to ask for her by name, in some homecoming event? Can you see a little toddler held up in somebody's arms, looking at her and wondering if that's his aunt, not knowing that's the woman that caused her death? Because on some level Taissa is responsible for Akilah's death. The moment she slid into that tackle she doomed her. Is that something she'll ever claim or is this something else she will keep running from?

[ladykailitha]

You pardon me, I'm getting a little foamy at the mouth about this and if I don't rant about it, I may explode.

Lucas and the Game.

Which game? Both of them. Basketball and D&D. Because honestly I am a little lot weary of Eddie getting the lion share of the blame for what happened that Friday. Like I legit saw someone suggest that the school move the basketball game. Like what now?

Did Eddie make some CHOICEStm? Yes, yes he did. Lucas did not go to the dark side for playing a sport.

HOWEVER!

Lucas made some choices of his own.

Now, my information is 20 years old and I'm doing this based on memory, so if I get things wrong, also know I am from a different state than Indiana.

The play offs and championship games are announced ahead of time. There is no way Lucas was told THAT day that Hawkins was playing in the championship game. He had three days on the inside and a week on the outside of knowing when the game was.

Also take into consideration that the likelihood of Lucas PLAYING in said championship game is astronomical. Like the starting lineup and all the second string players would have to injured or fouled out before he could play. Because he's a freshman. He would have to wait out all the sophomores, juniors, and seniors(grades 10-12 respectively) before the coach would put him in. As opposed to a game that not only would he be playing in, he would be considered a valued member.

But as a club, Hellfire probably had set days they could meet. (Also, also, who the teaching advisor for that club and where the hell were they at any point during that season?)

So for most of the school year, the Hellfire club met on Fridays. Lucas would have known that.

So he had a few days to tell Eddie that he wouldn't be able to make it to the finale of their campaign, and he didn't. Then he didn't have to courage to tell Eddie himself and made Dustin and Mike do it.

So here's Eddie, president of the club (though, I can only imagine he was because no else wanted it, as something tells me I don't think they would have a let a double super senior president of anything), being told he's going to be down a player or be forced to move it. Something the other members of the club didn't want to do.

So why does Lucas's choice matter, but Gareth, Jeff, and the Unnamed Freak's choices don't?

So Eddie has to make a decision. Move it, find a replacement, or cancel it all together.

But since it was Dustin and Mike who brought to his attention THEY can find a replacement.

Because here's the thing about D&D and especially about being a DM. You build the fight based around the characters' abilities, classes, and magical items. And there is a lovely thing called CR or challenge rating. It's based on a party of four but can be adjusted for how many players you have. So a CR 10 would be a monster or fight that would take FOUR level 10 characters to beat. So six players, he would probably throw a CR 12 or 13 because of the extra players.

And if they are down a player it can really fuck things up, because what do you scale back and how?

We don't know what level all the characters were or what their classes were. We know that Lucas HAD played a ranger in the past so lets go with that. And since we know EXACTLY what Erica's character was: a level 14 half-elf rogue, so Lucas was probably of a similar level. And let me tell you TWO complete different skill sets.

Which is probably why the group is decimated at the end. Rangers are long range (heh) and rogues are better up close and personal. If Erica hadn't rolled a natural 20 both her and Dustin would have been dead when Vecna took his turn.

Sorry, I got off track a bit with the D&D stuff. But the purpose of that was to show that Lucas bailing last minute would have fucked things up for Eddie.

So TL;DR is that Lucas chose a game that he would likely be on the bench for for all of the game over a game he was an active participant in, didn't tell Eddie for DAYS and made his friends do it last minute, and then demanded the campaign get moved at the cost of the other members of the club's wants, and all because he wanted to be popular.

So, no. Eddie should NOT apologize for not catering to the wants of one member of his club over the needs of everyone else in said club. Maybe a bit on the traitor thing, but not moving the finale because Lucas thought basketball was more important? Nah...

[snowblack-charcoalwhite]

Just some pre-ep4 thoughts

Aemond, Aegon and their relationship have been what I cherished most in HotD ever since the brothers started interacting on screen as their teenage selves. I haven't been this invested in a bond between two characters for years. So, it's hardly a surprise that I'm devastated about what we have seen during this season so far (and about what we, with a very high probability, will see tonight and in the next episodes).

The rift between Aegon and Aemond's supporters in the fandom has already begun, and after episode 4 it will, in all likelihood, become so much worse. But for my part I would like to say in advance that there will be no either Aegon or Aemond bashing in this blog.

Do I think that Aegon behaved like an asshole towards his brother? Yes. Do I understand Aemond's frustration about always having to remain (at least in some ways) second to Aegon? Yes.

Do I acknowledge that Aegon's treatment of Aemond might have had reasons besides Aegon simply being a dick? Yes. Do I resent that according to the writers Aemond, apparently, doesn't give a damn about his family? Absolutely.

Do I think Aegon should get a free pass for his behavior? No. Do I believe Aemond's (still hypothetical for now) betrayal of his brother to be justified? Hell no.

Will I turn my back on either of my favourite F&B and HotD characters and start talking shit about them either because of the incompetency and utter stipidity of the writers or to remain on someone's good side? Not a chance. I refuse to let HBO and the bunch of morons they entrusted the story to entirely ruin the thing that has brought me so much joy and fun over months and months.

Also: while the fandom blow up about the characters seems imminent, please (saying this preeemptively), leave the actors out of it. Tom and Ewan are their respective characters' biggest stans and defenders which IMO is completely understandable: it is essential for an actor to find within themselves the love for their character with all the virtues and flaws they possess, just like real people love real people. Otherwise, establishing the connection necessary to get to the core of the person an actor strives to embody becomes impossible. Ewan doesn't deserve hate for staying loyal to Aemond no matter what the script does to him any more than Tom deserves being called a rape apologist (and God knows what else) for sticking up for Aegon - which means they do not deserve any hate at all.

As for the fandom fighting, I absolutely can get behind the desire to defend one's favourite character - but it really matters how one does the defending. My sincere belief is that the fans really should take the page out of the actors' book here. Tom and Ewan, with all the love, loyalty and empathy they have for Aegon and Aemond respectively, are very close friends (Tom's words, not mine) to this day. If they have managed to go about the way Targtower brothers' relationship was treated in the script like adults, than we all can do the same.

[fandoms-in-law]

Seeing Through

Summary: Today, Steve is moving out and his parents choose now to have one of their random days home.

Author's note: Why does it feel like half these prompts are the same or similar? I need to reduce the amount of Steve songs prompts I put down.

My Idea for this Fic: 'I see Through You' - Taboo songfic - Steve moving out, saying fuck you to his parents.

/\/

They weren’t meant to come home. Steve had planned everything around his parents never being there.

Except there they were pulling into the driveway as the Party helped him load all his things onto Eddie’s van; and his father did not look happy.

“Quit groaning, Wheeler, or you’re unloading all the boxes alone later.” Eddie laughed as he and Mike carried Steve’s mattress out. His parents would assume that was theirs, that Steve was taking furniture they’d brought with him, but after injuries and fighting the Upside Down for so long, he’d replaced it, saved and spent his own money to have a better nights sleep.

“Steven!” His parents had gotten out of the car now, and the yell had anyone close enough hurrying out, concerned looks on their faces. “What is the meaning of this thievery?”

Steve glanced from them back to the house, and around at the people he called his family. “I’m moving out. Not going to leave anything I brought in your mausoleum.” He replied, measuring the space between them and how much slower than a demodog they moved.

After everything they’d fought, after finally moving out, there wasn’t much power his parent could swing over him. Also Hopper was probably just inside, ready to either come out or go to his room depending on how his parents reacted now. The likelihood they’d try to call, or at least threaten them with, the police was decent but Hopper would cut that off immediately if they saw him.

“That mattress-” His father began again, gesturing harshly before Steve cut him off.

“-I brought myself. Yours will be back on that bed frame by now.” That had been his request, whomever was bringing his mattress down put the old one on before bringing it out, and Eddie double checked it just twenty minutes ago.

A cold laugh came in response. “You expect me to believe that? With the crooks van you got to move your things in plain view.”

Steve bristled, glancing over to check Eddie wasn’t about to react for him. “That van and its owner have done more honest work in the last 6 months than you two have in your entire lives. They’re my family; you’re strangers who share my DNA”

“At least we aren’t common thieves.” Hello Mother, nice of you to join the conversation, Steve thought meeting her narrowed gaze.

“Of course you are.” He scoffed, “White collar crime, Nancy called it. Underpaying workers, dodging taxes. You’re crooks in pretty clothes but common enough. I’ve seen through the mask and I’m gone. No more son for you to forget about.”

“We don’t forget you and the destruction you’re doing to our name.”

“Stop twisting your reality to fit your views. This is me taking my life out of your hands in the sweetest goodbye. Actually you’re making it a bit bitter by your presence. How about you fuck off as you usually have done?” Steve had noticed his father focus more on the van again, and Mike stood near it while Eddie disappeared into the back of it. Baiting them would keep the focus where it needed to be.

Possibly not that much though, as his father took a step closer, “You aren’t leaving. What money do you have to-”

“Quite a bit actually. Or did you assume the jobs you forced him to get paid nothing?” Robin was at his side now, Nancy’s handbag under her arm.

“Odd accessory choice. She got one of them?” He quietly asked, knowing that Nance was still likely to have two guns in her bag.

He didn’t need her now before turning back to his parents. “Also Grandfather died. I know you were far too busy for the funeral but I inherited a far amount from him despite you never allowing him contact. Guess you never were god.”

His father tried to retort, but didn’t get a word out. His mother simply levelled a judgemental look at him, one he hoped nobody suggested was similar to looks he pulled, before heading into the house, “And that was your Grandfather’s failing, wasting funds on untrustworthy youth. I shall be ensuring none of our things are taken.”

Once his parents were inside, Robin and Eddie were leaning on each of his shoulder’s, nail bat left leaning against the doors to the truck with Mike. “Wait, did you really inherit from your Grandad?”

“Yeah, we wrote letters for a while. First did it after finding his address, half sobbing cause they’d abandoned me. So many tears cried over such worthless people.” Steve replied, “I found better easily.”

/\

“Steven.” His mother called, stopping him from climbing into the van, some letters in hand. “Why are all these utility companies saying they’ll be cut off from tomorrow?”

He blinked at her, continuing to sit down. “Because I saw through you. You tried turning them off ages ago just expecting me to pick the bills up, so I did. And now I’ve told them all I, the bill payer, will no longer be living here. They were very understanding.”

With the door shutting Eddie had them on their way to the apartment they’d gotten. It wouldn’t be perfect, but it would be far more of a home and a family than he was leaving.

[cjsmalley]

Wished Away 8:

“Mom, Dad, help,” Dean said, holding a baby out.

A whirlwind of activity followed.

“He is Nephilim,” Castiel declared, having inspected the boy, “though I cannot tell his true parentage. It is being…hidden from me.”

The pediatricians took over as soon as the angel stepped back.

“Nephilim,” Danny said slowly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, “isn’t that half-angel or something?”

“Precisely,” Castiel said just as slowly, measuring his words like they were his last rations, “They are…it is Forbidden for angels to lay with mortals. The creation of Nephilim is even more taboo as the first, the original, were monsters more often than not. It is an intentional act, to create Nephilim; the angelic parent must give a portion of their own Grace to the child during conception.”

“So they purposely knocked someone up then ding-dong ditched the kid,” Dean growled.

“Perhaps they heard that we are romantically involved, Dean,” Castiel offered, “and hoped we would take in the child as our own.”

“Well, of course we are,” Dean huffed, rolling his eyes at his angel who shook his head fondly, “I’ve already picked out a name too. A good human name.”

“Oh?”

“Jack, after Grandpa Jack. Unless, you have a name?”

“Perhaps…James, after James Novak?”

“Hmm…Jack James…James Jack…JJ…no, definitely Jack James. I like it, Cas.”

“Well, little Jack is healthy as far as we can tell,” Doctor Peterson joined the little huddle, “every scan we can perform came up normal, perfectly within range for his age group.”

Both Dean and Castiel visibly relaxed.

“We’ll get you set up,” Sam promised her son and might-as-well-be son-in-law.

A servant brought David’s old wrap and Sam showed Dean and Castiel how to wind it around their bodies to carry little Jack close to their hearts.

“Does the heart even beat?” Danny asked Castiel with interest, referring to his Vessel.

“Yes, I have kept all systems functioning as intended,” Castiel confirmed.

“Good. Because babies this young are used to heartbeats,” Danny explained as Sam worked with Dean, “they just spent nine months with their mom’s in their ears.”

“I see,” Castiel nodded, “well, Dean has assured me that I have a perfectly human sounding heartbeat.”

“What’s the likelihood that his mom was the human?” Danny asked next.

“Oh, quite likely…angels with female vessels most often shutdown the reproductive system. It would also be quite hard to hide the evidence of the gestating Nephilim. His mother likely died in childbirth; her body finally unable to handle his Angelic self.”

Danny winced; that would be a horrid way to die and he fried like a French fry.

Within hours, little Jack was all ready to go home.

Over the next few days, a room in the Bunker became a nursery and supplies loaded in.