#this takes place several years before where the actual story will pick up but just to set the stage :)

[gohandinhand]

one word prompt : resisting (have a very nice day !)

thanks for the prompt! here's a little thing to kick off dragonrider au

//

Beatrice watched from the audience tiers, eager eyes and still face, as the candidates marched across the hot sands, faces nearly as white as their robes. An egg, a larger one towards the edge of the hatching grounds, rocked violently, and the low hum of the dragons grew louder. The nattering of her father and the other lord holders seated nearby ceased as the crescendo grew loud enough to vibrate through their bones. As one the eggs began rocking and then, suddenly, the humming stopped. In the disquieting silence the crack of the first shell was audible, and then the air filled with the squawking and crooning of dragonets as they fought free of their casings, glistening and awkward. 

The first was free of its encumbrance, staggering as it tried to balance its overlarge head atop the gangly body and long neck. The candidates ⁠— looking so young under the weight of their apprehension, though Beatrice reminded herself they were at least equal to her own sixteen turns ⁠— stood still and tense as the dragonet lurched towards them. It fell face-first into the sand at the feet of a tall dark lad who knelt, reached out a hand to help the little brown balance and then froze, staring into the whorling rainbow eyes. The first Impression of the day was made. 

Beatrice’s own eyes were locked on the scene, filled with the sort of deep longing she was so practiced at ignoring, as the new partners crooned softly back and forth, the Istan lad ⁠— judging by the weave of his sandals ⁠— wore a plainly exultant expression as he caressed the wavering head and stroked along the damp wings. So fixated was she, she hardly noted the sounds of more eggs cracking open, spilling their occupants into the heat of the sands. 

It was only seconds that she allowed herself to be caught in their secondhand elation, but it was enough to miss most of the action; all the eggs had hatched nearly at once, and there was only one little green and one bronze left searching for their bond. She heard the excited cries as the green Impressed but continued watching the bronze with a frown as it paced through the candidates, mewling piteously yet butting candidates out of his path, clearly still searching for just the right match. 

“Whatever is the matter with the thing?” Beatrice’s father questioned imperiously. 

“He must want someone not on the Ground,” a rider sitting in the row behind them answered. 

“Oh, he’s going to hurt himself!” It was out of Beatrice’s mouth before she could catch herself, only just keeping to her seat as the little dragon made for the steps that led up the tiers. 

The little thing did hurt itself, slipping off the first step and banging his chin on the hard stone steps, nearly wrenching the wing that lay trapped between the seats. He let out a sharp cry of pain that was echoed much more loudly by Ruth, still brooding over her clutch near the entrance of the grounds. 

“Turn around!” Beatrice called out, now unable to stop herself flying up and towards the hatchling ⁠— ignoring, for the first time in her life, her father’s stern command to sit silently and cease drawing attention to herself. It was not by choice; Beatrice found herself so panic-stricken for the hatchling’s safety that she fell, sliding down several steps before her feet found purchase. She heard the crack of her elbow against the stone but did not even feel it, although she would later. 

She plummeted down the remaining steps, using her leg to cushion the bronze’s chin from another harsh contact with the stone and reached out to unhook the still-soft wing from the groove of the endcap seat. The hatchling crooned at her, the whorls of its eyes spinning from distressed red to blue and purple of love and devotion. 

It was Ruth, bugling exultantly, that startled her into motionlessness. 

“I can’t!” she gasped at the little creature. She glanced about for confirmation - her father, glaring at her from further up in the stands, the Weyrleaders closing in on the scene with looks of consternation and amusement. “I can’t!” she says louder, “I’m not allowed to Impress! I’m not an eligible candidate!” 

“No use resisting now, Lady Beatrice,” Shannon says from beside her, Weyrleader Vincent glowering over her shoulder. “The dragon is never wrong, and it’s you he’s chosen.” 

With one last startled look at the Weyrwoman, Beatrice turned back to the little dragon and met his eyes for the first time… and found herself lost in his regard. 

A feeling of complete joy suffused her; complete acceptance, affection, tenderness, and unalloyed respect and admiration flooded her, heart mind and soul. Never again would Beatrice be alone in her desires; never would she lack a defender, a confidante, one who sees every fingersbreadth of her mind and heart, every atom of longing she harbors. How wonderful was Beatrice, the thought encroached into her ruminations, how kind, how clever, how thoughtful and brave! 

“Silly darling, whatever have you done?” Beatrice crooned to the baby as she gathered his head, nearly the same size as her torso, into her arms. He blinked at her sadly, aware of her lingering distress, and she scratched soothingly along his eye ridges in forgiveness. His wing hurt, he reminded her, and carefully she lifted it from where it was fouled and folded it back along his dorsal ridge, obligingly attending to his other eye ridge when he nudged at her. 

Wonderingly, she looked up, unerringly finding Shannon’s grinning face once again. 

“He says his name is Path!”

[genericpuff]

holy crap okay so

I'm two episodes into Kaos

normally I keep my expectations pretty minimal because, let's be real, the Internet - and especially Tumblr - has a tendency to severely overhype new series to be way better than they actually are and it often leaves me sitting there like "that's it? that's what people were freaking out over for weeks?? that was just a bunch of cheap ships and tropes that i've seen 123785902380 times before" LMAO

BUT thankfully compared to other series like Hazbin Hotel and The Amazing Digital Circus, I haven't been worn out on excessive fandom exposure prior to watching Kaos, so I didn't really know what to expect going in besides what folks have told me so far - it's a modern-day Greek epic, and it stars Jeff Goldblum as Zeus (which is, unsurprisingly, peak casting).

That said, I'm very pleased to say that so far, the show is absolutely blowing me away. The set designs, characterizations, weaving of all the players into a central narrative led by a very coy narrator, all of it feels both refreshing and respectful to the source material at the same time.

so uh yeah that LO animated TV show... we have reason to believe now that it's gotten picked up by Amazon Prime, at least according to the showrunner's LinkedIn and posting history from February of this year that seems to imply LO may have been picked up by Amazon-

(but still, nothing's really been confirmed because they're being so tight-lipped about this you'd almost think it's because there isn't a show happening at all cough)

But even then, that means at best we still won't see anything of the LO TV show adaption for another 2-3 years, depending on how production goes.

Why am I talking about LO right now? Well it should be obvious - Kaos double-whammied LO by beating it to the punch at its own game.

I mean, just look at the creative choices alone in the design of the Underworld and its rulers, our beloved Hades and Persephone.

And yes, the entire Underworld is color-graded like this, something so simple and yet effective in communicating the nature of the Underworld and what it stands for - a place where the past lives on through the dead, paused in time, devoid of the vibrant color grading found in Olympus - or "Olympia" as its been named in this retelling - which is, by the way, a visual treat to take in every time it's featured.

(and yes, that is S-tier-companion Billie Piper on the left, but I will not tell you who she's playing, you actually really should go into this show as blind as possible for the thrill of figuring out these characters as they're introduced <3)

That's not even getting into the narrative structure of the plot itself or the phenomenal casting and acting, but again, I don't want to spoil too much as the show is quite new, and I want to actually finish watching the show myself before I get more into the details of its story and how it delivers it (I'm very much hoping I will still be singing this show's praises at the end of its 8 episodes, please for the love of god don't jump the shark, I don't think my heart can take that kind of pain again.)

All that's to say though, Kaos is, so far, exactly what us disappointed fans of LO deserve after all these years, and frankly, I feel like whatever is coming for the LO animated TV show is really gonna have to step up to the plate to both live up to the bar that Kaos has set as well as stand on its own without being affiliated as a cheap Amazon knockoff living in its shadow. Sounds a little familiar and a bit ironic, doesn't it?

[innerfare]

Ace Fluff // Angst Compilation 

Summary: A compilation of Ace angst and fluff from my multi character posts (You're Wounded, Brushing Your Teeth Together, Flowers, Type of Date, You See His Cabin, Fighting and Making Up, Paradise, Nightmares, I Love You, You're Jealous, Wearing His Hat).

Genre: Fluff // Angst

CW: None // SFW

———

You’re Wounded: 

Makes a light joke, inspects the wound himself even if there’s a doctor present, will help bandage you up if you need it. Pretends to be nonchalant about the entire thing, is panicking inside. Fully realizes the depths of his affection for you, is terrified to realize it’s love.  

Brushing Your Teeth Together: 

Never washes the sink out after he spits toothpaste in it. Always manages to get toothpaste on the mirror, too. And though he doesn’t consistently steal your toothbrush the way Zoro does, he has no qualms about using yours. 

Flowers: 

He’ll bring you bouquets with a lot of variety that the nice lady at the flower shop helped him put together. He usually builds these bouquets around sunflowers or orange lilies, and he gets very smug when his flowers brighten your day. He’ll also pick flowers for you, but he’s very conscious to only pick the ones that are not weeds. If he finds a field of sunflowers, you will be getting as many as he can carry. Never, ever visits you empty-handed, always brings at least a bouquet of flowers with him. Treats securing flowers for you like hunting for dinner and is always so proud of his bounty. 

Type of Date: 

Ace will take you either go karting or rock climbing, probably the former. He won’t admit it to you, not even to himself, but he is the sort to let you win, though he pouts when he loses. Like he’ll plan to beat you, but he just can’t stop himself from taking his foot off the gas just before he reaches the finish line. After you’re tuckered out, he’ll take you to a ramen place, where you end up starting several inside jokes. Once you’ve been dating for a little while, he’ll take you on longer dates to parks and even camping on the beach; anything outdoors. 

You See His Cabin For The First Time: 

His cabin is pretty sparse because he tends to travel light. He has a collection of animal teeth secured from a menagerie of wild beasts he’s taken down over the years, and he’s very proud of those teeth. He'll tell you about each one if you ask, is practically bursting at the seems with stories. He has way more animal teeth than he does clothing or books. Also has a pretty sick tiger pelt for a rug (he had intended it as a blanket, but he runs so hot he can’t actually sleep with it). He has Luffy’s wanted poster on his wall, and beside it, a note reminding himself to send money back to Dadan on the first of every month. Buried in the chest at the foot of his bed, he has the original ASL flag. 

Fighting and Making Up: 

His low self worth causes a lot of fights between the two of you. Sometimes, it’s you getting mad because his self doubt led him to, in turn, doubt you without realizing it. Other times, it’s him getting angry because you were a little too nice to another man and triggered his fear of you leaving, causing him to lash out. No matter who was in the wrong, Ace is consumed by the desire to apologize right away but ends up getting wrapped up in the fear of you rejecting his apology; thus, he acts all tsundere instead. But as soon as you approach him, usually with a piece of candy in hand as a sort of white flag, he melts, dragging you into his arms and holding you extra tight, saying in your ear how much he missed you even if you were only ignoring each other for an hour. He also has a habit of leaving candy for you as his own way of making up, but he won’t actually confront you with it, will just leave it somewhere you’ll find it as a way of reaching out and hope you start the conversation, much like a cat leaving a dead lizard on your porch. You two usually end up splitting the candy and talking about whatever happened, but only after you've finished kissing it better.   

Paradise 1: 

Meandering through the woods in search of the tallest, most impressive tree, him giving you a boost up to the first branch to get you started before climbing up himself, staying behind you the entire time so he can catch you in case you fall. Finally piercing the canopy and poking your heads up above the forest, his hand on your leg to keep you steady, the two of you grinning as birds fly by, basking in the afternoon sun. 

Paradise 2: 

Sitting out on the deck of the ship long after everyone else has fallen asleep, climbing into their lap once the two of you are alone, both of you staring up at the sky and picking out constellations in the night sky. The conversation eventually shifting from actual constellations to the ones you two invent on the spot, with wild fables to go along with them. 

Nightmares: 

It starts off normal, him approaching you on deck and wrapping his arms around you, intending to say a joke in your ear that will have you giggling and him grinning proudly. But then you shove him off and sneer at him. He doesn’t recognize you, doesn’t recognize the look on your face as you look up at him. You look disgusted, completely and utterly grossed out by the mere idea of his arms around you. You begin taunting him, saying all the things he’s used to others saying but never you. “You’re a monster. You were never supposed to be born. How could I possibly love someone like you?” When he finally wakes up, he doesn’t thrash around or cry. He’s completely paralyzed by the nightmare, by the fear, and accustomed to the feeling of rejection, even if it hurts more coming from you. Even when he wakes up, the nightmare isn’t really over.  

I Love You: 

Your first, more implicit confession came one night before you two were ever in a relationship. You noticed he was a little off and saw him slip away from the crew as they were drinking the night away. You found him sulking by the water and sensed he was hurting, especially when you asked to say and he told you he’d rather be alone. Before you leave, you tell him, “I just wanted you to know that I’m happy you’re alive.” You had no idea that it would strike a nerve, just got the feeling he needed to hear it, and this was confirmed by him grabbing you by the wrist as you walk away and pulling you into his arms. You continue finding implicit ways to tell him you love him such as, “I think the world is a better place with you in it,” and, “I’m so glad you were born,” and Ace is never really sure how to respond, but he soaks your words up like they’re sunlight and he’s a plant. This culminates in him blurting those three words out one day when you’re sitting in a tree together, Ace avoiding your eyes for fear you’ll reject him. When you lean in and kiss his cheek, instead, he almost cries (and he does when he’s alone later on, your love the purest thing he’s ever known). 

You’re Jealous: 

He collects people without trying, and often times, without realizing, either. Ace thinks he’s just making friends, but you see the way the women he laughs and shares drinks with are drawn to him like plants to the sun. He promises them freedom and adventure (and he has a very nice laugh), and you can see how it excites them. You don’t really mind it, knowing Ace well enough to see the way he holds those women at arm’s length, even if he seems close with them (such is the magic of Fire First Ace). But Yamato makes you jealous. It’s not hearing the way they laughed together but hearing the way they fought that gets to you. You know how Ace lives to fight and even just roughhouse, you know how he’s a rough and tumble guy, and you worry you’re not tough enough. Should you be punching his arm when he makes a joke? Should you be trying to trip him out on deck? What should you be doing? When you finally come clean with Ace about what’s been bothering you, he actually laughs. “If I wanted to be with someone who gives me hell, I’d be sleeping in Marco’s cabin every night. Besides,” he says, scooping you up in his arms, “I like being able to manhandle you.”

———

Hope you enjoyed it! If you want more, you can check out my masterlist here!

[redbirdandbluebird23]

The Kids from Yesterday - Alternative Beginning

Masterlist

A/N: As I said in the poll, this is only 356 words of basic set up, there is more explanation about where this story would have gone under the break. I don't currently have plans to flesh this out into a full story, but I could be convinced to if people like this bit!

Jason was struggling to remember exactly how he’d ended up standing at the white, slightly peeling apartment door in front of him. The last thing he remembered clearly was picking up the phone to find Tim crying on the other end of the line. 

“Jay, it’s Dick. They-they didn’t make it time. Fuck, Jay, Dick’s dead.”

Tim started sobbing in earnest then, but Jason had just hung up. He still didn’t know if Tim had just called him as a courtesy (none of the other bats had even tried to reach out), or if he knew more about what was really going on between him and Dick than he let on. But either way, Tim’s words completely pulled the rug from under Jason’s feet. He had been so sure, even when they unmasked Nightwing, that it was all going to work out. After all, it was Dick, he always found a way out. Not necessarily always in one piece, but he always made it out. 

But apparently this time he hadn’t.

Jason’s heart barely had time to break before he grabbed his ready packed to go bag, shoved several of Dick’s hoodies and shirts inside, packed a few other little keepsakes he couldn’t bear to part with, and then took off running. 

Now he found himself staring at the peeling white paint on the apartment door trying to work up the courage to knock and ask for help. He took a deep breath and finally reached up and knocked. He fiddled with the strap of his bag as he listened to muffled mumbling get closer to the door before it was pulled open to reveal a dishevelled Roy.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Roy asked, exhaustion seeping into his tone, and Jason almost felt bad for waking him up. 

Jason stayed quiet, knowing the moment he tried to talk would be the moment the facade he put up in Gotham would crack and everything would come spilling out all at once. 

Roy seemed to see that anyway. “Oh, Jase. Come on.”  He stepped to the side and Jason walked into the apartment.

So yeah, the main change would have been the story taking place in the Spyral arc and all the angst that comes with that, including shit dad Bruce rather than protective mama bear Bruce. But the main plot points would have been:

Jason finds out he's pregnant during the time Dick is away fighting the crime syndicate and doesn't have a chance to tell him before he's captured, unmasked and strapped to the murder machine

Jason runs to Roy because he knows Roy will know what to do and guide him through everything

Which Roy does, and Jason moves in with Roy full time during the pregnancy, but keeps it from the rest of the family because he doesn't trust them

Tim, being Tim, eventually tracks Jason down and Jason lets him have limited access to his pup on the condition that Tim never tells anyone else

Tim is okay with this because he wants a relationship with both his remaining big brother and his niece/nephew

Something, something, something

Dick comes back from Spyral to half his family hating him, Bruce's indifference and Jason missing

He absolutely loses it trying to figure out where Jason is, but with Tim quite literally working against him, he doesn't have any luck

Tim lets Jason know Dick's not actually dead, but he's just as mad as Jason and agrees not to tell Dick anything about where Jason is

Jason's still living with Roy and they're basically best friends/roommates raising a pup together, so Jason doesn't think he needs Dick even without Dick's 'betrayal'

Something, something, something

Dick somehow finds out where Jason is and decides to just drop in unannounced

Only he comes face to face with a year old pup with Jason's curls, but Dick's mom's eyes

Jason grabs his pup and locks himself away in their room as Roy deals with Dick

Dick's honestly too shocked at the revelation that he's a dad now that it doesn't take much for Roy to throw him out

Dick's absolutely reeling from the revelation and hating himself even more for leaving, while Jason's losing it because he thinks that now Dick knows, Bruce will find out and they'll take his pup away from him

Roy immediately moves them to another city and gets Ollie and Dinah on board to help against Bruce if it comes to that

Something, something, something

Tim eventually finds the video of Bruce essentially beating Dick into submission to get him to agree to go to Spyral, as well as the recordings from Dick basically begging to come home

He sends them all straight to Jason because why wouldn't he

This brings another layer of problems for Jason, because on one hand, Dick clearly didn't choose to leave, but on the other, he stayed gone when he could have left before joining Spyral and he didn't try and tell anyone what Bruce did

Jason can't see himself ever getting back together with Dick, or letting him around their pup with the possibility of Dick defending or folding to Bruce's orders

Dick's finally beginning to realise this himself; that his codependent relationship with Bruce is toxic and it's going to kill one of them

So Dick leaves Gotham, and Bruce, behind for good

I didn't have the ending completely planned out, but you can imagine that they eventually make up and Dick proves that he's reliable enough to Jason to let him back into his and the pups lives. I've said it before, but I don't think I'll ever be capable of giving these two boys anything but a happy ending.

[nomoreusername]

Out of Denial

Pairing:Gally x gender neutral reader

Summary: Seeing Gally again brings up emotions you thought you pushed past.

“You were supposed to be dead?!”

“Good to see you too.”

“That's not-that isn't what I meant. It's just-I-we watched you get impaled. That would kill anyone. How are you here, Gally? That's insane. This is insane,”I rambled.

“So is life, seeing as I’m still in it.”

“This is crazy. This just feels like a nightmare,”I admitted, handing him the icepack for his nose. While it didn't look swollen, Thomas had still punched him in the face. Who knows what he would look like tomorrow?

Who even knew he would be awake tomorrow?

I certainly didn't.

“I don't know what you want me to say. I survived, I got picked up, now I’m here,”He listed, placing it on his face.

“That’s an insane thing to survive though. It’s almost unsurvivable, and you're just alive? I mean I’m happy about that. I really am, but it's still a lot. You could always be unexpected, but this is a new level,”I tried to explain.

“I’m alive though. Shouldn't that make you happy?”He pointed out.

“It's not that easy. I have been grieving you for almost a year now. I lived my life in constant mourning for people dying in front of me and for the person who means everything. Now that you're actually here, my mind has this urge to deny everything else. It wants to make up stories where I can see Alby and Winston and everyone else again,”I sighed, purposely not saying Chuck. Sitting beside him, I rested my head on the couch as I looked at him, my feet tucked under me as I took in the information.

“This is good though. It should be good that I’m alive,”He mumbled.

“It is, but it just makes me want to make up all these stories that I know aren't true. It's like since one person I care about isn't actually dead, maybe nobody else is either. Maybe everyone else is living out a secret life. And I know that sounds crazy, and I know it isn't true, but some part of me is so tempted to believe it.”

“I’m sorry. I really wanted to contact you, but I didn't know how. I didn't know where to even start looking, and I didn't know if anybody would want to see me. I didn't mean to make it harder.”

“It's not that you made it harder. I used to spend almost all my time justifying exactly this. Justifying why you were actually okay and safe. Then, I had to push past that and accept that you were never coming back. Now you are back though, and I have to accept that that's not happening for anybody else. It's a lot to take in and accept, on top of what we came here for. There's just so much going on in so little time.”

“I know there is, and I hate that I just threw this on you, but I had to. I saw you, and I had to see you for real again.”

“Gally, do you think that everything will just go back to the way it was before this?”I asked slowly, my expression dropping at the thought.

“No. Not really, but a guy can dream,”He shrugged, leaning his head back. He placed his icepack in his lap before turning to face me. “So where do we start then? Where do we go from here?”

“I don't know,”I admitted.

“Well, I don't either. I wish I did, that I had the answers, but I barely have answers for what's been going on in the past several months, much less hours.”

“It's not your fault,”I repeated.

“Maybe. Maybe not. I can't tell anymore.”

“I can, and you know I’ll call you out when you do something wrong. Right now, you don't have to be. You’ve been through enough. We all have, and it's not your fault life won't give any of us a break.”

“You really mean that?”

“Of course,”I smiled.

“Well, thanks. For the advice. And the icepack,”He smiled back, holding it up.

“It was the least I could do after leaving you like that,”I promised.

“You don't think I blame you for that, do you?”

“I don't know. I’ve been trying not to think about it,”I admitted.

“But now you have to,”He added, reading my mind.

“Yeah. I guess I do.”

“And I have to help think about what we do next, don't I?”

“About us?”I confirmed.

“Yeah. About us.”

“Yeah. I guess you do.”

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Okay here's one. I really dont think I'm the asshole but my ex sure does.

AITA for refusing to buy my partner a jar of pickles?

So this story has like, a little background and some confounding factors i think but i really could go both ways on whether i was the asshole.

Ill start with both my ex (21nb) and i (23f) had severe mental health issues and were working on treatment when we were together. Theyd been in and out of inpatient stays throughout our three year relationship. Towards the Day of Pickles, i had my first inpatient stay where i got help i desperately needed to keep myself safe. This happened to be about a week after my 23rd birthday, but about two and a half weeks before their 21st birthday.

Anyway, at that time i had just gotten out of the hospital and started a new job at Joanns Fabrics (i outlived that retail fucker and im proud of it). I had been unemployed for the previous year and a half because of the pandemic and so the retail job was really my saving grace to have some sort of income to buy gas and groceries. My parents let me live rent free with them in their basement but i spent a LOT of time essentially squatting at my ex's dorm because my situation with my parents was not great.

Now my ex was also being financially abused by their mom so they had a monthly "allowance" of 200$ (of their own money they made at their on campus job) and no access to their bank statements. So i spent a lot of my own money on gas and groceries for both of us, and anything we wanted to do for fun, like visit the city. Without an income, this was SUPER stressful for me and i spiraled pretty hard with feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness. Supporting two people, even minimal living expenses, on an income of exactly 0$ is the WORST.

Anyway, i got out of the hospital and pretty much immediately went back to picking up as many shifts as i could at work because id been on staff for all of two weeks before hospitalization. Knowing retail, i was probably on the precipice of losing hours or being fired altogether.

My ex wanted me to take time off to celebrate their 21st birthday (they didnt celebrate my birthday that year) and travel to see their family and drink etc. I got scheduled for an inconvenient time. I would have to miss their birthday if i didnt find someone to cover. I managed to switch shifts with another coworker who was nice enough to let me have her morning shift, so i was able to at least travel separately and be a little late to dinner.

The night of their birthday my ex wanted to get drunk and so we went to the liquor store. Now im generally pretty picky about alcohol but if i get anything special i always get enough to share. Mysteriously, no one ever offers to share the expense or pay me back. So with all of 150$ in my account, i purchased enough alcohol for myself and the rest of the party, and a bottle of (cheap af) liquor for myself. I was broke af until my next paycheck and was pretty much planning on giving up meals and staying at home because the commute to work was shorter and meant less gas.

My ex picked out a jar of boozy pickles and asked if i would get it for them for their birthday. I should note that with all the stress i was under i had found a birthday present for them but hadnt actually placed the order (was waiting to get paid). I also didnt lie to them about this and had told them that i hadnt gotten their birthday present yet. They were upset by this and told me they felt like i didnt care about them, to which i snapped and raised my voice a little.

I gave them a bit of a reality check. I told them in no uncertain terms that i was under a lot of stress, from nearly killing myself to being flat broke with little to no help from my family other than a conditional roof over my head, ordering their birthday present wasnt super high on my list of things to do and that i knew what i was going to get them and that i intended to order it as soon as i had the money to do so. After years of the sole attention being focused on keeping them alive, i needed some support and acting like i didnt care completely ignored EVERYTHING i did to keep us both afloat.They cried and played the victim as they tended to do and i was too stressed to do anything but be angry.

So when they asked for the pickles i told them no. I have NOTHING left in my bank account, and anything that was in my account was already allocated for something else.

They told me i was being selfish for buying myself alcohol on THEIR birthday, not even getting them a present, yelling at them, and then refusing to buy the one thing they asked for, especially after i refused to take off work the day before to hang out with them and their family. In front of our friends.

I told them that i was purchasing the alcohol for the whole party, that the present had slipped my mind, and that they were accusing me of not caring about them when i snapped. Then i walked out.

My bff went outside to help me cool down and i told him what was going on and how stressed i was and he said that he agreed with me, it was childish to expect me to pay for everything with no help from anyone and then act like im unreasonable for having to put limits on what i can purchase.

My ex ended up getting so pissed by all of this they broke up with me two days later, saying that their birthday was the final straw for them after I'd been so codependent and relying on them too much to survive.

I think its all ridiculous given all of the stress factors i was dealing with at the time. I feel like we're all entitled to the occasional emotional outburst/bouts of forgetfulness when we're stressed. But my ex seems to think im a selfish asshole. We've been no contact for the last two years so this isnt like a pressing concern or anything but it does make me roll my eyes occasionally.

So tumblr, aita?

(Btw im also much more financially stable now that I'm fully and properly medicated and away from them.)

[vladdyissues]

so i keep thinking about just how thoroughly knocking vlad up would fix a lot of his issues (or it does in the series as my ass would write it). i also keep thinking the timing is SO bad on giving him any in the canon

SO

TIME TRAVEL

-Danny (late teens) is given a chance to change the past

-he decides to go and antagonize Vlad a few years before canon to distract him from murder attempts on Jack. draw his wrath onto himself and displace his previous rage target. that's a nice safe range of time travel right? how badly could he possibly throw things off when he already exists and is most of the way to who he was when he was starting out?

-small side effect--he catches Vlad's full attention. he hadn't planned to go after Jack and Maddie for a few years yet, when everything was lined up, meaning Danny is the ONLY one he has eyes for right now. it's a level of intensity he was not ready for

-Vlad, meanwhile, is unprepared for how he feels to see another half-ghost. he had been ready to go those whole 20 years totally alone, preparing for that perfect moment of sweeping Maddie off her feet. now it's a little difficult to focus on the big picture. he needs to figure out EVERYTHING about this stranger

-over a course of about three months, shit gets romantic. and physical. not necessarily in that order

-Danny realizes he's THOROUGHLY fucked the timeline as WELL as his archnemesis, so actually tells Vlad the whole story--he can't stay in the past forever, but his memories of being here and doing this will sort of... snap into place when this timeline's danny reaches the right age. Here's events between then and now, here's things he would like to still happen, here's things he never wants to happen

-he does NOT expect Vlad to wait and they're still in that spicy in-between part of enemies-to-lovers so Vlad sure as fuck isn't promising that, but he's certain he isn't obsessing on taking Maddie from Jack anymore, so looks forward to the option of picking up where they left off

-(dick so good it can fix homicidal rage)

-Danny goes back to the new future at the end of those three months since much longer and he'd start forgetting relevant details in living a day to day life and ohhhhh fuck, fuck, FUCK WHAT DID HE DO

-meanwhile in the past Bitter Reunions happens and Vlad has no desire to do anything to Jack or Maddie besides introduce them to his adorable tiny four, soon to be five year old daughter Danielle, with whom he plans to move to Amity Park soon when she starts kindergarten. openly offers to train Danny with no strings attached, he's just invested in making sure he survives for at least a few more years

-(jailbait wait, but make it sci-fi)

-Vlad is much more chill about things with an attainable goal and a small child that needs him at his best

-he doesn't see his Danny in this newbie, but now he knows the future, knows that if he's just patient and helps Danny out now, HIS Danny will come back to him

-when the timelines eventually sync, THERE'S THAT FULL, INTENSE, ATTENTION AGAIN

-as well as several years of memories of becoming intensely attached to Dani and Vlad being an infuriating jackass without being an antagonizing one, keeping some of that hateful spice without actively committing crimes against everything Danny values. in fact, his help was still instrumental in pulling things off

-Vlad has been waiting for this Danny for some time now, full-on obsession building up steam, so if Danny wants it to not happen, he had better say something about it

-he does not. he kinda dreaded losing it on snapping forward, actually. and Vlad managed to thread the needle of training him and building a bond with Dani without totally shifting their relationship's tone

Time Travel makes me cry because my stupid ogre brain is not good at parsing temporal phenomena but the parts I understood were excellent and make perfect sense. And the thought of Jack and Maddie being surprised (and maybe relieved, because 20 years without a peep from Vlad and suddenly a party invite? Kinda unnerving. Is he still mad?) to find their old college friend is a happy single father to an adorable little girl who—wow, Jack, doesn't she look so much like Danny when he was that age?—is just 💯💯💯

And Vlad knowing that there's something wonderful (a relationship, family, love, connection and understanding like he's never felt before) waiting for him at the end of this journey if he can just be patient would, I think, do a lot to tone down his villainous proclivities.

Vlad's essential problem is that he's so desperately lonely and impatient that he can't see beyond his immediate need to satisfy himself. He can formulate elaborate plans, yes, but he doesn't really plan for the future beyond those plans. He's totally still living in the past (at least until this AU happens), metaphorically driving a car with the pedal to the metal but looking nowhere except the rear view mirror. And this AU totally breaks that and gets him looking ahead, invested in the present again. I love it.

[fictionstudent]

How to begin writing TODAY!

Writing is like a plant. It needs time, care, and love. Your stories won't write themselves—you need to put in the time to learn to write, and then actually write them down, y’know.

All of it takes time. A lot, I’m afraid. And it takes even more time to start seeing any form of results. People spend years honing their crafts before they even self-publish a single novella on Amazon.

That's why people don't get anywhere if they don't enjoy just the writing part—you can never earn from writing until you’ve spent a lot of time and resources into the craft. It’s kinda like YouTube—you need that watchtime on your channel before you can monetize. But the thing is: writing doesn't have a watchtime feature. You can't quantify how far you’ve come and how far you’ve still got to go.

You need to discipline yourself if you wanna get somewhere. But… how do you do that, lol? Here’s my two pennies on how to start writing, and keep up at it.

***

#01 - When to Start

You can’t pick up your laptop one random day and just start writing a story. Nope, that's not how it works, even though some might say otherwise.

A good writer should understand when is the right time to start typing the words out, y’know. If you have an idea for a story, you need to have some form of outline. Yeah, you can be a pantser—it’s a term used for those fiction writers who write without an outline—but at least you need some form of story. Know the beginning, at least. And know your characters.

Know something about your story, and the direction you want to take it, before you start putting pen to paper.

The reason I’m suggesting you this is because just inspiration is not enough. It can get you somewhere, but after a point, you might feel lost. Stories often end up in places where you might not want them to be, and then you just feel disheartened. Or, ideas might just stop hitting you after some point.

An idea of where to begin is enough, but you also need an idea of where to end. I’ve personally tried several times where I just had a single-line idea of a plot, and I wanted to create a story out of it. Didn't work. I personally need some loose outlines to start first.

What I’m trying to get at is you should know what’s the best time for you to start writing your story. Some don't write a single word before they know exact what happens when, and how. Some, like me, need some loose outlines. Some don't need outlines at all—just the first scene is enough to get them started.

Know what you are—a pantser, planner, or plantser—and start only when you feel like you have enough ideas that could keep you going for a couple weeks. Or if you feel like you could churn enough ideas that could keep you going.

***

#02 - Time

Writing takes time. And if you wanna get somewhere, you need to have a schedule.

Y’know, different writers might commit different amounts of time to writing. Some write once or twice a week, some (liek me lol) write everyday. And, you need to know which one works for you.

And—and I hate to be the bearer of bad news—it doesn't depend on you. The amount of time you can spend on writing depends more on your life. Are you a student? Or do you work?

And how many friends do you have? How busy is your work?

You need to take care of all these aspects of life that you can't mess up with, and then softly rearrange them all to fit something like writing in it. That’s why I hated the times when I shifted schools, houses, or when I was promoted to college. Because those shifts meant that I had to rearrange my day’s schedule again, and somehow fit writing in it.

And, before you start rearranging everything, I need to tell you something else—you need to be realistic about it. You can't just come back from college and sit back to write, y’know. If you generally take some rest during that time, take your rest. Please. Don't cut down on the time you rest or eat or sleep.

Why, you might ask? Is it because I care about you fellow writer? NO!

The thing is: it just won't work. You need sleep and food and rest to keep functioning, and if you think you can cut on that time and allot it to writing, you won't be able to keep on doing it long-term. You’d relapse. There would be days you’d be hungry, or sleepy, or tired, and you’d think you should just rather go take care of yourself instead of writing. And then you’d do that. And soon, you’d stop writing altogether.

I wrote at six to eight in the morning everyday for a couple of months. But I’m just not a morning person. I can't sleep before twelve in the night, and so I was sleeping for, like, four-five hours a night. You can't keep on going with that sort of schedule.

Firstly, I was sleepy all the time. When writing too, yeah—even though I’d just woke up and taken a bath—but also during my lectures. I slept through all of my political science classes and nearly failed that course. Zero-on-ten experience, not recommended.

Secondly, like I said, you’d relapse. Be true to yourself. You can't keep going on like this, man. Going to bed at one, waking up at five won't work for long. A recipe for disaster.

That's why I urge you to be realistic with the schedule that you make for yourself. Yeah, make a schedule. And appoint time for writing only where you know it’d work. Take enough rest, sleep, and use enough Instagram too. 

***

#03 - Know When to Skip

Yeah. There are, no doubts, going to be days when you just don't feel like it. Writing feels like a pain, ideas don't hit you anymore, you’ve just come from a stressful day at work and are tired. We’ve all been there.

At that point, you need to ask yourself: are you really tired, or are you just tired for writing?

I mean, if it’s the first, you should probably work on your schedule. If it’s a one-day thing, that’s fine. Skip it.

But, if it’s the second reason, you need to dig deeper. Why does writing tire you now? Why are you not interested in your story anymore? Where’s the spark gone?

There's a high chance that you’re just not motivated to write this story, y’know. Writing can be a pain for a lot of reasons.

One thing you need to keep writing is to keep yourself motivated. To keep yourself interested. Because that’s how you’d be willing to spend more and more time as days go by, y’know.

And, if it’s the second reason: don't skip. Sit down. Write. And think about what’s not working. And why is it not working. You need to diagnose this problem yourself, and then fix it.

***

#04 - Know When to Go on a Break

I can’t even stress on how many times I’ve tried skipping on trips with my family just because I wanted to write. And I should stress even more on how many times I’ve kept myself going on when I was burnt down to my core and needed a break.

When you’re too pumped up, you do all that stuff. But, as they say, even a lot of something is bad for you. Same with writing.

It’s kinda hard to believe, but that’s true. Firstly, don't skip on stuff. Live your life. If there are days your friends are calling you for a party, and that means you have to skip writing—do it. Skip writing.

Go travel with your family. Go live life, man. You don't just need the skills to write, after all—you need these experiences too. So go get ‘em.

Secondly, know when you’re burnt out. Regular hiatuses are important for any author. Don't start working on the next book of your trilogy if you’ve just completed the first. Go take a break first.

Don't push yourself too hard. I did that. Very recently. I was burnt out to my core, and it was hard pushing myself through. But I loved writing, so I made sure I took out two hours of my day for that.

But my story suffered. I lost all interest in it. Writers’ block hit me hard—even though I was working on a second draft, so I mostly knew where I was gonna take the story forward. I averaged around three-four hundred words a day—and that’s when I could actually write something—even though I used to average around fifteen-hundred a day. A big fall. And, there were days I just wrote a hundred words in two hours.

Those were some hard times, to be honest. I literally thought that I was probably growing out of it, and I was afraid if I did. Luckily, it was just a burnout, and a two-week’s break was enough to get me back.

And I’d scrapped the old project, lol. It was seriously bad.

Anyway, what I mean is that you need to know when to take breaks too. Writing is not just about writing. It’s also about learning about life.

***

Conclusion

I have an important announcement to make today. I’ve finally launched my very own newsletter! Yeah, that’s right. Now you’d find a really annoying click-me-master link at the very end of every single one of my blogs.

So, if you want more blogs like this one straight onto your inbox, click here!

I hope you have a nice day. Meet’cha next time!

[lovely-lee]

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

I love stories where there is a journey MOSTLY because of how many settings can be crammed into it. A brand new setting for every leg of the journey, a new place to be introduced and have key moments take place..I can think off the top of my head some of my favorite books that have this including Lord of the Rings, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase (PLEASE if anyone has read this LET ME KNOW).

Adding to that list is the fanfic I've been reading along to since the beginning of this year, There Are Monsters Nearby by @uhohbestie. The original summary had the blurb “Desert Duo road-trip” in there somewhere and that little line drew me in so so fast. And the zombies, of course, as well. Very quickly I found myself the “Location Guy” of sorts. And before the epilogue of this fantastic fic, I have chosen my TEN top locations from Texas to Canada! I picked these locations mostly through just my own liking of them, but there's definitely key features that make it a favorite to me including plot importance, the overall atmosphere of the place, and just my own experiences as well. Also I’ll be looking back at my comments from the selected chapters to see what my thoughts were from back then, if I had anything to say about it then. So without further ado, we’re starting off with Number 10! (Also general warning for spoilers)

Number 10 – Chapter 17: The Grocery Store

“It’s a grocery store, albeit a small one, with a large sign above its door boasting an in-store butcher and fresh local produce. Even from a distance Grian can see that some of the plate glass windows that make up the front of the building are smashed, displays that had been stacked against them pushed out onto the parking lot, creating a mess of dented cans and broken bottles.

He hopes that means whatever had besieged the place has already moved on, leaving it empty and safe enough to loot.”

Ohh the battle of deciding which place would even make it on to the list was so intense. Choosing this location actually surprised me since it wasn't even on my rough list of my favorite locations. But it made it to the top ten for many reasons! This is defiantly as VERY important plot heavy location and it’s markedly special as its set in the first chapter where Grian and Scar are away from each other for a significant period of time. Grian is there with just Quackity which elevates the tense atmosphere so much already from being in a larger town with many zombies.

I think to me it’s just also such a zombie apocalypse location in general. A place of familiarity and sustenance now twisted with rotting food, broken glass, corpses, and zombies in hidden places. Also the Butcher Army references were REALLY cool. I think my past self just puts it all together very succinctly: “Grocery store….so scary….”

Number 9 – Chapter 20: The Hot Springs

“They follow the signs directing them where to go, taking an exit off the highway onto what rapidly becomes a rutted dirt road. The hot springs themselves are about six miles off the interstate—not all that far when they have the scooter to take them there. It’s a weekend destination, rustic and clearly mostly frequented by locals, but the location is beautiful, centred in a large open valley basin, hemmed on one side by a row of hills tinted jade in the haze of the distance, with an impressive view of a large, shallow lake spread out magnificently before them.

At a first glance it seems both secluded and empty. There are several small cabins set up where the dirt road ends, arranged around a single large central building with a low, sloped aluminum roof that Grian assumes must be where the hot springs are located.”

I’ve always wanted to go to a hot springs but all the ones near me have brain eating amoeba SAD. Anyways this whole chapter was SUCH a great vibe in terms of the locations. I honestly was struggling with either picking the hot springs or the house they get all the winter clothes from earlier in the chapter. Ultimately I picked the hot springs but it was close! Pour one out for Scar and his broad shoulders or whatever.

ANYWAYS. Hot springs. Making it to Oregon. Quoting my past self, “OMG hot springs how lovely..the whole place seems so quaint and nice..ough hot springs time”. Yeah. I think it’s funny this is the second place they had no plans of going to and Scar was like we have to go there. Thank you Scar for making this road trip an actual honest to god road trip. Honestly this chapter is funny to me. The two of the have miraculously gotten back to their tentative peace with each other after leaving Karlnapity and things are like kinda nice? We were settling in for another weird intimacy chapter but BOOM this is actually where they finally talk to each other about the same song and dance they keep on doing again and again. WONDERFUL location for it like it just heightens it so much with this backdrop of comfort and warmth they have found themselves in, that Grian let Scar take them too but it’s all for naught. And then booked with the next chapter? It’s a fun time all around.

Number 8 – Chapter 32 & 33: The Enormous Lakeside Cabin

“A single house.

Alone and enormous on the waterfront.

It’s clear that there’s no town associated with it—no formal community whatsoever. At the shoreline it has a pier, the dock protruding out into the water, but it’s difficult to make out any other details at a distance. It feels safe to assume that it’s a vacation property, though. No doubt for a rich family. Meant for hot summers, canoe trips, fishing, and cookouts.”

Thinking back on this location makes me realize just how nice these two chapters were. The time to feel safe and comfortable and just be happy with each other. The cabin and the surrounding area seem so mysterious to me. I remember they didn’t find much about who lived here since it seemed it was just used in the warmer seasons. Kinda spooky in its own way! Everything about this place though just felt like a respite, a beautiful oasis after being in this hellscape for so long already. It really was just a place to rest and no added scares or surprises. Also it had a generator which I mention in my past comment, “Finding such a big beautiful mansion cabin was so awesome, and a generator!!! I love generators they’re so cool.” Man I miss having a generator.

Number 7 – Chapter 16: The Hill in the Desert

“Together, they carefully pick their way down the bank, the dry earth cracked and dusty beneath their feet, walking in the direction that leads them away from the highway and towards a natural curve of the waterway that, over decades, had piled up silt at its bend, creating a hillock with a base of wind-worn sandstone that looms over them in the gathering dusk.

It’s picturesque but barren, though Grian supposes it’s as good a place to stop as any.

“Doesn’t it look like it should have a tower on it?” he asks, shielding his eyes as he peers up at the hill’s peak. The rise is the tallest thing around for miles, glowing red-gold in the light of the swiftly setting sun.”

There’s a bit more to this quote that I didn't add cause it was just getting too long, but soon after this part, Grian climb up the hill and imagines what this desert tower might look like. He then peers over one of the edges of the hill where it’s more of a straight drop than the slope he climbed. He then gets “an odd, weightless feeling settles in his stomach—indescribable, like deja vu.

Unprompted, he looks down and wonders if a fall from this height would kill him.” SO spooky god. Having this moment and more showing how the life series and hermitcraft are like past lives is just a really cool detail. Usually these moments are more feelings of familiarity or sometimes even dreams or similar kind of places from the life series, but having like a more physical exact callback of a location is ten times eerier. Especially that here only Grian is really pulled towards the hill. Scar doesn’t really hold too much interested from what we see? Maybe internally he was thinking something else, but Grian is the one who climb up the hill, images the tower he built, and peers over where he last stood in another life.

The timing of them finding it with Karlnapity is interesting to me. They’ve been in the desert for a while now but stumbling upon it with the other three and making this a moment of isolation for Grian even. It just makes it more creepy to me and a location to ruminate over. Anyways here’s past me’s comment, “Erm tower on a hill? A CASTLE? In a DESERT? Looks around nervously. HIM LOOKIG OVER THE EDGE.. ^_^ I love desert duo <3”. This is true I love desert duo.

Number 6 – Chapter 23: The Model Home

“Eventually they pass a billboard advertising a residential neighbourhood—construction dates and parcels of land remaining for sale splashed on top of pictures of a park with an idyllic mountain background, the kind of place families with young children would go to picnic and play catch. The area beyond it is cleared of all greenery, the earth pressed flat by the tire treads of backhoes and dump trucks, the skeleton shape of houses framed in plywood and two-by-fours looming up in the darkness.

Finally, Pops begins to relax, going so far as to pull a flashlight out of his bag and using it to light their way. They follow new roads with wide sidewalks, but only a single completed building stands out to greet them: a model home built with a sod lawn, a sign set at the end of the driveway offering open houses on alternating weekends.”

Jumping right into my past comment which puts everything I feel about this location very nicely, “Ough and yes the model home. I LOVE model homes cause I love looking around people’s houses and this is like the next best thing AND they feel kinda creepy as a bonus and that’s so true here. Empty neighborhood partially built and no one will ever live here now..” My family and I when I was younger used to go to model homes as a fun free activity to do like on weekends. I remember those times very fondly so yeah this model home defiantly stood out to me. But yeah this place is just SO creepy with the lone model home that never had anyone live in it, in a plot of land no other homes were ever built. Here being where Scar and Pops had a huge shootout of a zombie swarm walking by in the cold is just so unnerving too. I just like this place a lot.

Number 5 – Chapter 28: The Tiny Cabin at the Empty Campsite

“It’s an eerie feeling, walking along the road that winds through the location, imagining the place full of campers; pitched tents and vans, pickups towing trailers of ATVs with kayaks and mountain bikes thrown in the back. The place had no doubt closed for winter before the outbreak spread itself across the continent, but Scar can’t shake a profound sense of loss as they move through it, noting the lingering signs of human activity nearly everywhere he looks. Initials and dates carved into picnic tables, black coals and ashes left in fire pits, and small pillars of smooth river rocks arranged in cairn-like clusters along the shoreline.”

“Pops, on the other hand, seems to share none of Scar’s melancholy, ignoring the empty campsites completely as he leads Scar straight to a cedar plank structure near the centre of the campground. It’s a shed really, a seasonal residence meant for the forest ranger in charge of overseeing and maintaining the site. It’s boarded up but Pops makes quick work of it, stripping back the winterization of tarps and plywood in order to pry the door open, revealing a single room inside, large enough for a small desk, a wood stove, some shelves, and a cot.”

I’ve been camping a good couple of times, in tents and in cabins, and so seeing this campsite really remained me of the places I’ve been camping to. And Scar having that same kind of line of thinking of a guy that also had camped a lot with his friends is just an interesting feeling. Of going to a place so similar to one you have experienced many times but being fundamentally changed and different now. It being empty and going to be empty for who knows how long...It’s also just such a beautiful places described, deep in this forest and alongside the river. This is another place that has no real scares or surprises of zombies or anything, so it just being spooky from its emptiness is nice in its own way.

I love the little tiny cabin too so much. Just imagining the ranger that lived in this barely bigger than a shed place, with only is few furnishings but still being a comfort to Pops and Scar now, a place to rest and be out of the cold. I just really loved this place, and them leaving their initials behind just makes it more special as well. Also this is the chapter where I got the idea of doing this list which is fun.

Number 4 – Chapter 15: The Rancher Motel

“They approach the motel with caution, keeping quiet as they creep in close. It, like everything else, looks old. Vintage way that catches Scar’s attention. The large neon sign set next to the entrance to the parking lot reads The Rancher Motel, the mismatched letters on the marquee beneath it boasting: POOL, LAUNDRY, WIFI.”

Big part of course of the Rancher Motel making it so high up on the list is because of the Jimmy and Tango backstory CRYING. Like reading this whole chapter again makes everything just...shadowed under the tragedy of what could have been, and the story that this empty abandoned building tells. That every location that once was had people living, working there tell. This is also another place where we see the Grian’s and Scar’s physical intimacy with each other stagger and lurch around for its footing. With added bonus of SCAR initiating it. That’s another story though, I love this location for it being a weird and more than likely kinda dirty motel like the hundreds I’ve been to while on road trips. Nothing like an old and dirty motel!

Number 3 – Chapter 21: The Last Gas Station and The Surrounding Forest

“The gas station itself is small but looks reasonably well kept, positioned on the edge of a large concrete pad that Grian assumes must have been used by truckers who needed a place to rest for the night. A dinged marquee sign left out by the road advertises live bait by the bucket and nearby trail rides for both beginners and experts.”

Getting into the top three...This gas station is still so diabolical to me. I think one of my favorite themes from TAMN that comes up again and again is to not get too comfortable, too compliant about the dangers you know are there but are just so easy to forget. It’s frustrating because I forgot here too!!!They didn’t check the area if it was safe, if there were no zombies around. The gas stations had slowly became a symbol of rest, of stocking up and maybe even resting overnight in shifts. It became familiar and common place as they used to be, which I think made it even easier to forget the dangers. Especially coming down from the high escaping the mall with the wheelchair was. I think about how lucky the two of them have been for so long. So so many places that they were oblivious of how much danger they were in, but they always made it out alive. I think it speaks for the fic that realistically that luck had to run out somewhere if they solely relied on it. And it just all culminates into the physically manifestation of not being careful.

And then getting into the forest,

“He hopes that when he dies from this, he’s left out here alone forever, and he hopes that when he turns, he’s granted the dignity of wandering off into the woods never to be seen again.”

This is just one of my absolutely favorite lines of the whole fic. I really love this chapter.

Number 2 – Chapter 7 & 8: The Storage Unit

“Ultimately, the storage unit doesn’t have much for them to benefit from. When they finally get in, abandoning their attempt to force the lock and simply smashing a window, they find the front office empty and useless. The reception desk has nothing of interest on it, just a computer from the early 2000s and a phone without a dial tone when they lift it off its cradle.

Scar finds the staff room while Grian goes through the shallow drawers of the reception desk. The door opens into a small space with a thin slit of a window high up on one wall. There’s a sink and a sliver of counter, which is promising. There’s also an old fridge covered in takeout menus and hand-written betting pools for every sport imaginable in one corner, and a table with four plastic-backed chairs in the other. There’s no couch to crash on, but there is a door marked as a washroom”

Similar vein to the previous location, of an earlier time of getting too comfortable. This one was especially scary and frustration since I never expected a zombie to shove its way through a broken window!! That’s so scary, but also of course them going to bed with their supplies scattered and without sleeping in shifts. The whole storage unit also reminds me of all the ones I have ever driven by.

My family did use one for a time but I actually never went to it. Dropping my comment in here, “ohh a storage unit is another really great setting, it’s like such a weird kinda place in general” and yeah they really are. This place especially brings a lot of what I’ve talked about into one place. This being a place where people worked and just existed, seeing it in every little thing the two come across. It being another place where the two try and come together again and again, with Grian grasping for more and more and Scar wanting it in his own weird way as well. Which we see so clearly with him kissing Grian after shooting the zombie AUGH. This felt like a big turning point in how they realize the dangers of the world they are now in and how much they both mean to each other. It was just two really exciting chapters with a stellar location.

Number 1 – Chapter 3: The Farmhouse

“The farmhouse is a bad idea, but it’s the only option they have.

From where they sit, parked on the gravel shoulder of a service road that splits off from the highway, they can see the proper entrance to the farm. It lays at the end of a long road that skirts around the edge of several fields. It crosses a culvert and empties into a gravel driveway set between two large silos, a barn on one side and a simple saltbox house with a large garden next to it on the other.”

To me, there was absolutely no contestant for my favorite location. It was always going to be the very first place where I was like Oh. This is not going to be just your run-of-the-mill zombie apocalypse au that also has a cheating plot point as well. This was a story that was thought out on so many details that these locations Grian and Scar were going to felt like real places, taking up space and existing at that point of time. Of course, finding out that Lock and Key often times based these locations on actual places around the route Grian and Scar made so much sense. But it takes that skill and time to write these locations to feel like places that I’ve been to just through reading. And I first really felt that here at the farmhouse. The highway they park at, the fields, the silos, the culvert, the house itself and how it looks inside.

Here too is where we see how well Grian and Scar do actually work together, and where Scar gets his signature jacket. I think what really gives the chapter such an eerie vibe is of course that this is a home, where they even come across the people who used to live there, but already infected...It gives a finality that this has reached everywhere, not just the big city, or places frequented by many people, but even quiet outskirts of secluded homes. I really like my comment from this chapter, so I’ll just end it here with it, “I love every setting they’ve been to so far since leaving the city. The empty gas station and the restaurant on the stretch of empty highway and now super freaky farmhouse property off of the highway ough…”

[harryforvogue]

hello welcome back to me writing out some ideas that will never become actual full stories. this was super fun because i've never written the bodyguard trope. i won't be writing more for this, but isn't this so fun???? hope you like it! (if the French is wrong, that's on me) 2.5k idk

***

France, 1843.

The tavern will do for the night.

It’s inconspicuous, a perfect hiding spot. In fact, now that she’s been in her room for the past three hours, it’s safe to say that if anyone were to come looking for her, they’d be long gone by now. That’s why she changes into a fresh outfit (provided by the very nice hostess who got teary eyed by the story she made up.) She’s now in a simple dress, much better than the other outfit. After all, it would be weird to be traipsing around in a wedding dress.

Her family went all in for the dress too. She’s going to hold on to it, see how much money she can make from it.

She comes down the stairs quietly. At nearly sunset time, the bar is starting to get crowded. She can definitely get mixed into the wave of people, giving her more cover. She expected several people to come in around this time anyways. Despite it being 4 in the afternoon, the winter allows for the sun to retreat earlier. The visibility outside must be terrible, and with a snowstorm on top of that, the only people coming into the tavern will be loyal customers and those sheltering from the weather. 

Of course, her family is too highly opinionated to stop at a measly little tavern like this.

She skips off the last step and looks around. She's picked an excellent spot.

When she sits at the bar, it takes only a minute for the bartender to catch her eye. “Une bière.”

He retreats to pour her drink, and then slides it across the wooden bar.

She catches it and smiles sweetly at him. Then relaxes into her seat and listens to the music.

What a disaster of a day. The whole town will be talking about it tomorrow: the runaway bride. Well, maybe not this town. No, this place is smaller, and less wealthy. They care little for the problems of the rich folk.

The minutes pass by in silence and peace. That is, until the bartender comes by with another drink that she definitely did not ask for.

“Ça vient du monsieur,” the man says.

She looks over to where he's gesturing.

Sitting at the end of the bar is a man she’s all too familiar with. His curls aren’t wet with snow, nor are his clothes, which suggest he’s been here for a long time. Has he been waiting for her out? Did he follow her the moment she left the chapel, or was it that his guess was just correct? Pure luck maybe. Regardless of the how, what matters is that he knows where she is, and he answers her scowl with a smile of his own, lifting his glass in the air as if to toast her attempts at escaping him.

“Merci,” she grits to the bartender. She turns back to her drink, trying to come up with a plausible story before Harry makes his way over. The thirty seconds it takes Harry to show up, though, is simply not enough. 

He sits on the vacant seat beside her. He slides his mug over and lightly taps hers. “Fear not,” he says in English, grinning with his dimples on full display, “I’m here alone.”

Harry’s been her guard for several years. He’s young, barely 3 or 4 years older than her. He rarely speaks with her, but he’s always there when she goes out, even when she’s with her fiancé. He was posted with her years ago when her father gained some political opposition, out of fear she’d get in harm’s way. Thanks to Harry, that’s never happened.

Suffice to say, she’s less than happy to see him here.

Normally, he’s a nice face to look at. All handsome and diligent. He stands nearly half a foot taller than her, always dressed in nearly all black. He has women fainting over him. She, too, can admire his beauty. 

But she’s not going to tell him that.

“As if an army of my father’s men would frighten me,” she replies back.

“Aren’t you glad to see me? Out of all the guards that could have been here searching for the runaway bride, aren’t you happy that it’s me and not another?”

“I’d be more happy to see my fiancé.”

Harry raises an eyebrow. “Is he still your fiancé?”

“I mean, I still have the ring on my finger.”

“Would have figured you’d pawned it off by now.”

She narrows her eyes at him. “Are you going to force me to go back? Because let me tell you, I’m going to put up a fight. I will scream bloody murder if you touch me.”

Harry looks amused now. He rests his chin on his palm.

“That is quite a plan. It’s easy to see how you could be so creative about running away too. Let’s talk about it because I do feel the need to give you kudos, mademoiselle. Not only did you persuade your father to have a winter wedding, but you also picked out the most expensive fabrics and gems for your big day. You convince your fiancé that you love him and then leave him in the church where everyone is supposed to witness a holy union. You thoroughly humiliated him. Excellent scheming.”

He actually does seem impressed.

She doesn’t say anything.

“And to answer your question,” he continues. “I don’t plan on forcing you to go back. In fact, I was actually anticipating this.”

“Anticipating this, how?” She doesn’t want to be on the defense, but he’s acting strange. Too comfortable. 

He rolls his head back and looks at her incredulously. “You may not see me at all times, but as your guard, I do keep my eyes on you. And it’s a wonder how other people didn’t notice. The way your smile dropped at the mere mention of him, the way you had to leave the room with a pitiful excuse every time he showed up. The way you refused to let him kiss you after he very kindly walked you home all the time. Almost difficult to watch.”

She feels her face burn. “You’re not supposed to spy on me.”

“That is my job. I get paid for it, so I might as well be thorough, no?” He’s smiling again.

“All those things mean nothing. It was a last minute decision to run away.” She tilts her head back and finishes her ale.

“Ah, that I know. It was the most surprising part when you didn’t show up. I knew you would pull something like this, make an excuse of some kind. I anticipated that – but I didn’t anticipate it happening on your wedding day.”

“I wasn’t going to wait for an annulment. Don’t know if that would even be possible. And who'd want to marry me after that anyways. Running away was my best option.”

“He’s absolutely distraught, by the way. He’d be very unhappy if he knew we were talking like this. We’ve become friends of some sort.”

“Why would he be upset about us speaking?”

The incredulous look comes back. “It pains me that you don’t know how jealous your little fiancé is. You have such little awareness.”

“Jealous?” She suddenly laughs. “Oh please. As if he has anything to be jealous about.”

Harry finishes his drink and then orders another round for them. As he does, she takes him in. He’s in his black vest, white long sleeved shirt, with an undone white cravat, his jacket tucked away somewhere in the bar. He taps his perfectly polished boots against the floor, pristine black trousers fitting nicely around his strong thighs. His trousers are always perfectly fitted, unlike the rest of her guards. Or maybe she’s just spent a lot of time looking at him.

“He has plenty to be jealous about, mademoiselle.”

“All my attention has been on wedding planning and such for weeks now. I haven’t had the chance to even talk to another man.”

He glances back at her when she’s looking down at his thighs. He’s silent for a moment, but then says quietly, “Not all jealousy has to come from interacting with a man. It could just be from the way you look at one.”

Her eyes jump back to his face. His eyes are narrowed as if trying to figure her out. “He has nothing to be jealous about,” she repeats.

“He doesn’t?”

“As horrible of a woman I am for leaving a man at his own wedding, I’m not the type of woman to betray him, even though I don’t feel any particular affection for him. I respect him and myself.”

“I don’t think it has anything to do with respect, mademoiselle. It’s about desire. After all, you should desire the man you’re marrying, is that not true?”

“Yes, and that’s why I’ve run away.”

“And if you were to desire someone else, it wouldn’t be betrayal, given you’re no longer his intended.”

He says it so casually, but she sees the way his eyes slip down to her mouth for a brief second. 

“I still have the ring.”

He glances at her hand. “Will you keep it?”

“Not planning on it.”

“And until then, you’ll stay faithful to a man you have no intention of marrying? Forgive me, I can’t seem to make sense of this logic.”

She thinks about how much she should tell him. He’s had it figured out, it seems. Maybe she wasn’t as good at hiding her true feelings about the union. Or maybe Harry’s just watched her too closely.

She says, “Are you really not going to take me back?”

Harry shakes his head. “What good would that do?”

“My father would appreciate it.”

“Your father has overlooked many things that I think have been worth appreciating over the span of my career as your dutiful guard, mademoiselle.”

���I don’t know what you mean.”

Harry doesn’t say anything. He simply watches her, as if she’ll understand him just from his expression. She doesn’t.

“Tell me,” she demands.

“I’ve done things that deserve recognition, that is all.”

“Like what?”

He narrows his eyes. “Like keeping you alive for the past four years, you ungrateful wench. With all the stupid decisions you make on a daily basis, I should actually be getting a fucking medal for managing to keep all your limbs in tact.”

The way he says it is so sudden and harsh, she can’t help but laugh. 

“Funny, is it?” he grumbles.

“Hilarious. So, what type of recognition would you even have liked for keeping me alive?”

“It doesn't matter now, I think. Surely I’ll lose my job for not getting to you in time and bringing you back.”

She sits up straighter. “If I were to be brought back, what do you think you’d deserve for it?”

He sighs. “I shouldn't say.”

“I want to know.”

“You’ll hate me.”

She smiles real wide. “So what?"

He contemplates it for a moment. Finishes his second drink and then drums his fingers on the bar top. His knee gently brushes against her skirts beneath the table. “Did you know that before your father picked him to marry you, he had one of the other guards draft a list of eligible men?”

Her expression sours. “There was a list? How disappointing.”

“Mhm. It wasn’t a very long one.”

“What does this have to do with my question?”

He looks at her, unblinking. “If I were to bring you back to your father, and you still had to marry, I would like to be considered on that list.”

Everything falls away. Her smile drops, and her heart beats hard in her ears. Harry doesn’t look away from her, watching every expression take over her face. Surprise, worry, and then…

“Oh.”

The corner of his mouth twists. “Right. And a part of me wishes I’d throw you over my shoulder and drag you back to him. Just to be considered, even for a mere moment. Long enough for there to be a mental image of you and I at the altar in your father’s head. I’d be pleased with even a mere thought if it’s the only time we'd ever be together. But that wouldn’t be fair, would it?”

“No.” Though the thought of being draped over that shoulder is more than enough to get her knee bouncing under the table. Her leg jostles his.

“And of course,” he says, smiling tightly, “you are loyal to your man because of that ring.”

They both look down at the gem. It gleams in the light. 

Harry’s eyes dart back up to hers. He watches her for several long seconds before he reaches out.

With slow movements, he takes her hand. “Unless…” he murmurs, resting her hand on top of his knee. He gently twists the ring off her finger and drops it into his pocket. She keeps her hand on his leg.

Could he be trying to get her to make a move? She’ll be truly guilty if she advances first, but he doesn’t seem to be pulling away either. She holds her breath.

What she ends up saying is, “You said that as my guard, you’ve always needed to keep your eyes on me.”

“Yes.” His gaze is heavy. Dark.

“Even when I didn’t need you to?”

“I always looked out for you. I always will. It’s become second nature to me.”

That makes her feel a certain way. A way she’s never felt in her life. Her breath catches. 

"You do deserve something for that," she says softly. She carefully squeezes his leg, right above his knee.

His jaw visibly tenses.

Harry leans in, and this is when she realizes he’s moving first. He takes a hold of her chin and tilts it up, eyebrows drawn together as if he’s really trying his best to stay away but can’t. He brings his head down. He whispers her name and her body caves, leaning into him.

For the first time in her life, she's excited about kissing a man. Her impatience suddenly surpasses the limit. She puts her other hand on his knee and pushes herself upwards to meet his kiss.

Just before his mouth touches hers, the bartender returns with a gruff, “Il est tout à fait inapproprié de le faire ici. Allez dans votre chambre.” 

Harry pulls away, just barely, and looks down at her through his eyelashes. He keeps a hold on her face. “Shall we?” he asks her, ignoring the bartender. 

She swallows roughly. His eyes are drenched with desire, her heart pounding away in her chest. She licks her lips, enjoying the way he follows the movement.

He whispers, “I’ll be nice, darling.”

Excitement spreads through her like wildfire. She balls her hands into fists and takes a deep breath. “Come.”

He smiles then, and it takes her aback. As he stands, he genuinely looks pleased. Relieved even. As if he’s been waiting for this chance. He takes her hand and tells her to lead him to her room. 

And when he presses her against her door, hands tangled in her hair, a searing kiss placed onto her mouth, she realizes this is what it’s supposed to feel like.

[naughtyneganjdm]

Naughty or Nice - Chapter 7

Summary: Negan and his family join the Greene family on a visit to the nearest small town where Y/N's past brings back dark memories for her causing her to have an emotional outburst.

Characters: Negan, the reader (OC), Beau, Erin, Maggie, Glenn, Hershel, etc.

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51464518/chapters/132404527

Warnings: Swearing, dirty talk, SEVERE angst, small amounts of not very detailed sex, etc.

Notes: I really want to get this story done by Christmas. At least written and finished by Christmas. So I'm doing my best to update this as quickly as I can. Thank you to those who read this. This is a heavy one. Hershel is definitely a dick in this story, but remember it's AU.

Once Y/N gathered herself, she dried her hair and took her time to finish things before she headed back downstairs. When she did, she saw that Beau, Negan and Erin were all down on the floor with Hershel who was showing them the train set that he had beneath the tree. Erin was sitting in Negan’s lap while he cuddled her and Beau was working with Hershel who was showing him how to run it. Taking a seat with Beth and Annette, they all waited for Maggie and Glenn to show back up before having dinner.

What was surprising was how long Maggie and Glenn actually took to get dinner. They knew that the nearest town wasn’t incredibly close, but it was close enough that they should have been back by the time she was done drying her hair. But they did spend a lot of time together with the kids getting to play with the controls of Hershel’s train.

After everything, Y/N thought Beau would be weird, but he wasn’t. Negan wasn’t even really acting that strange. It was like nothing happened, so Y/N had to play it off that way too. After they ate and everyone was ready, they all got ready to leave for the town.

What was actually hard for Negan was having to take separate cars and having Y/N go with Glenn while Maggie went with them in their car. On their drive over to the small town, Maggie had reached across the car to place her hand in over Negan’s thigh to caress over it. Lowering his hand down, Negan hooked his fingers with hers and gave her a weak smile.

Once they parked and started following Maggie’s family out, Negan felt Maggie move in beside him to hook her fingers with his. Clearing his throat, Negan hooked his fingers tighter with hers knowing that they agreed to dragging things out a little bit longer.

“Daddy,” Erin ran to Negan, wrapping her arms around his lower half to give him a big hug. “Would you carry me?”

“Sure thing baby girl,” Negan reached down to pick her up with his free arm. Erin’s arms wrapped around his shoulders while Negan braced her. Once Beau saw Y/N walking up with Glenn, he quickly moved out to go talk to her about something.

“Those two connected quickly,” Maggie noted stepping in closer to Negan who noticed the excitement in his son’s face when he saw the setup of all of the lights at the center of town. “I’m surprised Beau opened up so fast to her. He’s always been so closed off…”

“They have a lot in common,” Negan informed Maggie, giving her fingers a tight squeeze. Following Maggie’s family, Negan did his best to stay quiet with things while they walked around the shops that were set up. Beau, Glenn and Y/N had walked off toward an art station to look at something and Negan gazed over at Maggie. “I’m sorry for what happened earlier. The paint was meant for me and it ended up hitting you. I just slipped.”

“It happens,” Maggie waved her hand in the air in a dismissive manner. Erin cuddled her head in at the side of Negan’s neck while she held tightly to him. “As weird as it sounds, I’ve probably gone through worse when Y/N was younger and going through a phase with her painting.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Negan snickered, finding himself curious with the way that Maggie was talking.

“When we were younger, we fought over something and we knocked over so much paint one year when she had a setup like that,” Maggie replied, releasing Negan’s hand long enough to wrap her arm around his waist. “Our father got so pissed off at us. That’s why she does the tarp now. We learned our lesson that day.”

“Did you both learn your lesson or was it just her?” Negan questioned hearing the huff that followed from Maggie. “I’m not saying that to be an asshole, I just get the hint that you got away with murder when it came to your father.”

“What about her father?” Hershel stepped forward and Negan immediately went silent. His Adam’s apple bounced in his throat causing Hershel to laugh at the glance that Negan was giving him. “Annette and I want to take the kids to see Santa. They take a photo with the family. You all okay with that?”

“Of course,” Negan assured Hershel, noticing the smirk that Maggie gave him after Hershel motioned them to follow. Shaking his head, Negan followed her family toward the line. Beau was still talking with Y/N and Glenn while they waited toward the back together.

“You don’t have to be scared of him you know,” Maggie suggested sliding her hand in over Negan’s back. Caressing up over his shoulders, she heard Negan sigh and knew that he must have been carrying a lot of stress in them. Resting her head on his shoulder, she felt Negan resting his head against hers and she sighed. “I feel like we haven’t spent a lot of time together since we got here.”

“It might be because your father put us in separate rooms like we’re teenagers,” Negan reminded her, his thick eyebrows bouncing up in amusement when Maggie lifted her head to stare up at him with her green eyes. A faint laugh fell from his throat when Erin wiggled in his arms in attempts to get a look at what was at the front of the line. “I mean we got here, your father tried to fucking kill me, you went to eat while I showered, then we watched the movies together.”

“Where you fell asleep,” Maggie commented eliciting a sheepish smile from Negan who nodded. “You were drooling on my shoulder through most of the movie watching.”

“I wasn’t drooling,” Negan defended himself with a frustrated breath, feigning being offended by what she was saying. “Even if I was drooling, I’m sure I looked good while I was doing it.”

“You were kind of snoring too,” Erin piped in causing Negan to grunt. “I’m just saying daddy.”

“I was not snoring. I don’t snore,” Negan grumbled getting a laugh from Erin while she adjusted in his arms. “I was probably breathing heavily and Maggie’s shoulder was blocking my mouth so I wasn’t getting the appropriate amount of air.”

“There’s always an excuse with you,” Maggie shook her head, a smirk tugging at her lips. Digging in her pocket, she pulled out her cell phone and motioned Negan in closer to her. “Smile Erin.”

Doing as she was instructed, Erin gave a big cheesy smile when Maggie took a photo of the three of them together. For the last one, Maggie placed her hand in over the side of Negan’s face to draw her to him. Her final picture was of her kissing Negan and when she pulled away from him, Negan licked his lips and dropped his head down.

“What?” Maggie laughed, stroking her fingers through Negan’s hair. Shaking his head, Negan sucked at his bottom lip and lifted his head. Seeing the way that Y/N’s eyes were on him, he knew that she had to have seen that Maggie kissed him. “Are you not okay with me taking photos of us kissing?”

“Of course I’m okay with it,” Negan assured her when Erin wiggled in his arms. “Use your words kiddo.”

“I wanna be with Beau,” Erin informed Negan and he allowed her down. Once he made sure that she was with Beau, Negan turned to Maggie and reached for her hands to give them a supportive squeeze.

“Give me that,” Negan reached for her phone, snatching it from her hands. Lifting it up, he pressed a kiss over Maggie’s cheek and took the selfie himself. Giving her a wink, Negan handed her back the phone and wrapped his arm loosely around her shoulders. He had to get through this until Christmas. Then he could be honest with her.

“I was going to say. You’re the furthest thing from shy. I have plenty of videos on my phone that are much worse than that,” Maggie mused with a wicked smirk. “Dick pics, those videos you took of me blowing you, a few sex videos…”

“Okay,” Negan placed his hand in over her mouth to get her to be quiet and he let out a hesitant breath. “We’re around children.”

“No one is going to hear us. There is music playing and everyone is talking so loudly,” Maggie countered, her face twisting with confusion seeing that Negan turned a light shade of red.

“Yes, but my children don’t need to know that we’ve made videos of the two of us having sex,” Negan hushed her, waving his hand about knowing that wasn’t exactly something he wanted Y/N to be hearing either. Turning away from the group, Negan moved in closer to her and cleared his throat. “I’m surprised you still have those.”

“And I’m supposed to believe you don’t?” Maggie poked at his ribs making Negan let out a snort and arch away from her. “I know how you are. You were super proud of that video you had on your phone of you fucking murdering my pussy that night.”

“Hey,” Negan stepped forward, a hesitant laugh coming from his throat when he reached out to cover her mouth with his hand. His hazel eyes got big when he felt her laughing against his palm. “Watch what you say.”

A disgusted breath fell from Negan’s throat when he felt Maggie dragging her tongue out across his hand and he pulled it away from her. Amused laughter fell from her lips when Negan brushed his hand off on his shirt, “You are so weird sometimes Mags.”

“And you are not a prude. That night you fucked me so hard and so long that I thought the bed was going to break,” she reminded Negan, tugging at his shirt to pull her in closer to him. Negan’s face flushed over with red when she started kissing in over his jawline. “I thought I was going to break. We both enjoyed that video very much. It was almost proof of a murder though. I couldn’t walk for a while. I don’t know what you had, but your dick was like the energizer bunny.”

“I am just good sometimes, you know,” Negan laughed uneasily, feeling her arms hooking around his lower half and he hooked his arms around her shoulders. “I’m good most of the time really.”

Reaching down, Negan brushed Maggie’s hair out of her eyes and he laughed, but tried to hold back on it, “What?”

“Nothing,” Negan felt her poking at his side, hating when he would try to deviate from things. “I was just thinking about my favorite video.”

“I thought the one I was talking about was your favorite video,” she reasoned with Negan, nipping at his jawline and he pulled his head back to shake it. “Which one?”

“The one with your eye,” Negan snorted and she rolled her eyes, releasing Negan and glaring at him. “You were so upset. And what was supposed to be what you wanted to be a sexy video to remember turned into a blooper.”

“Your cum…” Maggie started talking, but Negan motioned her to be quiet and she rolled her eyes. Stepping forward, she whispered and Negan tipped his head to the side. “Your cum shot me right in the eye.”

“You were the one that pulled back right as I started coming,” Negan whispered, burying his head at the side of her neck to keep their conversation quiet since there were so many people still around them. “You freaking out on me is probably the most memorable moment for me. You thought you were going to lose your eye.”

“I did not,” she pushed into his chest hearing his amusement that followed. “Negan, I didn’t!”

“You did. You were acting like you were going to,” Negan recalled with a long sigh knowing that times with Maggie were wild, but they weren’t things he really felt like he connected with. “You know, you’re the one obsessed with those things. Do you know how many videos you sent me during our time together?”

“Don’t act like you are above it,” she looked back over her shoulder to make sure her family was distracted. “You’re as naughty as they come.”

“I’m not denying that. I still have videos of me and Lucille,” Negan shrugged his shoulders letting out a long sigh when Maggie shook her head, a small laugh falling from his throat. “Us men are pigs. We like to keep that kind of stuff to look back on.”

“Women are no better,” Maggie assured him, her green eyes very serious. “I’ve still got things from my old flames too you know.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure none of them are as good as mine,” Negan scoffed, his eyebrows bouncing up when he released her shoulder and folded his arms out in front of his chest. “Hell, I’m so good that you told your sister how big my dick was and that I was an amazing fuck.”

“She told you that?” Maggie was surprised to hear Negan say that and he felt his stomach drop. Cussing to himself, Negan nodded his head and let out a long exhale. “Eh, I’m not embarrassed about it. It’s not like I told her that you were a bad lay. She was the one that said she thought you had a small penis.”

“A man has an ego and suddenly everyone thinks he’s trying to make up for something,” Negan joked it off, rolling his eyes dramatically before brushing his fingers through his dark hair. “Maybe sometimes that man is just that damn good.”

“Dork,” Maggie nudged Negan with her hip, going silent when Erin ran up to Negan with a stuffed polar bear in her arms. “Hey sweetheart! What do you have there?”

“It’s a stuffed polar bear. I named it Snowball,” Erin held it out to Maggie to show her before excitedly showing Negan. “Y/N bought it for me when I saw it. It was just so cute and I wanted it! So she got it for me!”

“Well that was really nice of her!” Negan boasted, lifting his eyes seeing that Glenn, Beau and Y/N were approaching them. “Did you thank Y/N for the stuffed animal?”

“Of course I did daddy. You raised me to have manners,” she reminded her father hearing his laughter follow. Grabbing a hold of her, Negan picked Erin up in his arms and held her close to him. “I was going to ask you to get it for me, but she did it.”

“I hope you don’t mind,” Y/N gestured to the stuffed animal and Negan gave her an immediate shake of his head. “She was more excited about the idea of the stuffed animal than she was about seeing Santa Claus.”

“Because it’s so damn cute!” Erin piped in throwing the stuffed animal out to show them again drawing a small laugh from all of them. “I’m serious.”

“And you’re right,” Beau agreed with her, reaching out to tap the head of the stuffed animal a few times. “He’s very cute.”

“I know,” Erin squeezed the stuffed animal in closer to her and huffed. “And he’s mine now.”

“I actually got you this,” Y/N held the bag that she had in her hand out toward Maggie seeing the expression that flooded Maggie’s features. Accepting the bag, Maggie reached inside to grab the gift that Y/N had bought for her. “We’re almost to the front of the line, so I can hold it if you don’t want it, but since you were so big on snow globes when we were younger…I thought you might like this one. It’s a little like the one your mother got for you when you were little. Just the Santa and the reindeer actually go around the thing.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Maggie shook up the snow globe after winding it to hear the song that it played. With a smile, she watched the snow globe and gave Y/N a nod. “I really like this. That was really sweet of you to do.”

“It was nothing,” Y/N brushed it off feeling Glenn moving in beside her to hook his fingers with hers and she accepted the gesture. “It was fresh on the mind after you told me about the whole thing with you and Glenn having matching snow globes.”

“We’re up,” Hershel interrupted them, pulling them away from the discussion. Maggie put the snow globe in the bag and they got set up for the photo.

Who really mattered in that moment was Erin. So they let Erin talk to Santa before they took the photo. They took the photo and got a few prints of it for each family. Outside, Negan was taking a look at the photo while Erin talked excitedly to her brother about getting to meet Santa. Other than being with his family, everything about this photo felt weird. Maggie was with him, Y/N was at the other end of the photo with Glenn. Looking back on this photo would certainly be awkward in the future since he was planning what he was with Y/N.

“You staring at how cute your kid is? Erin is cheesing big time,” Maggie moved in beside Negan to wrap her arm around his waist. Curling his arm around her shoulders, Negan sighed and lowered the photo down at his side.

“I have cute children,” Negan noted with a loud sigh, looking back over his shoulder seeing Glenn and Y/N talking after taking the photo. They were both laughing and when he saw Glenn steal a quick kiss from Y/N, the lump in his throat grew. “It blows my mind sometimes that they are mine. They are so sweet and perfect.”

“I think Annette is happy to have them around,” Maggie nodded toward the area where her stepmother was seated with Negan’s children showing them something. “I think they want to have a walk through the town to check out the lights. It’s only a few blocks. Maybe afterwards, we can get some hot chocolate. I know Y/N promised Beau she’d take them to see the reindeer that they let the kids see. They have an ice skating rink, but we planned that for another day.”

“I go where you go,” Negan gave her a firm squeeze, following through with the motions while they walked around the small town together. With Negan being used to New York City, this was really nothing for him. But he still enjoyed the small town charm to it. Beau spent a lot of time talking to Y/N and Negan found it amusing considering Erin wanted to be with her big brother, so both kids seemed to be talking her ear off. Stepping forward, Negan wrapped his arms around his son’s shoulders and gave him a big squeeze. “You are super chatty today. It’s nice to see you like that punk.”

“Dad,” Beau grumbled, his fingers hooking around Negan’s arm when they stopped at the Christmas tree they had at the center of the town.

“That’s it?” Erin tipped her head up, a scoff escaping her lips. A few people heard her comment and Negan hushed her. “What? The one at that one place is so much bigger than this. I mean it’s pretty, but it doesn’t compare.”

“It’s okay. She’s just used to the best,” Y/N held her hand out, offering Erin a knuckle bump. With a giggle, she jumped when she knuckle bumped Y/N before staring up at the tree again. “Things are just better in New York City. She’s not wrong.”

“Not surprised to hear something like that come from you,” Hershel stepped in beside her looking up at the tree. “Maybe New York City desensitizes people to the real beauty of the world. I find beauty in what we have here.”

“It does have a little more charm to it,” Glenn spoke up, stepping in beside both Y/N and Maggie to look up at it. “I don’t know. Being here makes me realize I kind of enjoy this whole feeling better. It feels more personal. Like you are part of the community. Not a no name in a group of many.”

“You’ve never been a no name,” Y/N stammered, her head turning to glance over at her fiancé. Glenn pushed his hands into his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. “You’ve always been special. Anyone that knows you knows that.”

“I don’t know Y/N. I find New York kind of sad. Sure, as a community they are strong and they come together, but when I’ve gone to a park and just sat there, I feel alone. It’s depressing. There are so many people that are focused on keeping their heads above the water. Whereas here, things feel more like family. Like people actually see you,” Glenn explained, his face flushing over when the cool chill of the wind got to him. “I get the appeal of living in places like these.”

“You’re not wrong,” Maggie piped in, shrugging her shoulders. “I love New York and it’s fun, but at the end of the day, places like these really stand out for me. It’s where I feel comfortable. New York, I always feel like I need to go above and beyond.”

“See. They get it,” Hershel pointed between the two of them before looking to Y/N again. “It was something you never understood growing up. Home is where the heart is.”

“Yeah, but…this is nice, but New York City is just…special,” Erin spoke up from where she was standing before Y/N. Tugging at Y/N’s hand, she got her to lower down. “It’s a lot prettier. The buildings are amazing. The lights…it’s dreamy.”

“It is,” Y/N agreed with Negan’s daughter, reaching forward to brush Erin’s hair out of her face when the wind blew. “It makes me feel like I’m living in a dream. Where I can be anything I want to be.”

“I like that,” Erin commented on what Y/N said with a big smile. “One of my favorite things is sitting at the window in our apartment and just looking at the city. I can do it for hours.”

“She’s not lying,” Negan confirmed what his daughter was saying. “There is always something that interests her. My kid is a people watcher.”

“Because people are so interesting,” Erin insisted with a shrug of her shoulders. “Everyone is so different. And that’s what makes things cool. How different, but so alike all of us are.”

“Hey, do you guys want to go look at the reindeer?” Beth offered, stepping forward and pointing in the direction she knew they were set up at. Erin eagerly nodded her head and held her hand out to Beth to take it. “Is it okay if I take the two of them with me?”

“Of course,” Negan held his hand out knowing that Annette and Hershel would be with them as well, so he had faith it would be fine. Beth accepted Erin’s hand and motioned Beau to follow her.

“I’m going to go get those hot chocolates,” Y/N pointed toward the area they were selling them knowing that she needed a breather from her family. “You guys can go ahead.”

“You sure?” Glenn confirmed, his face scrunching up when he pointed toward Maggie’s family. “I can go with you.”

“I’ll go,” Negan offered, stepping forward to follow Y/N toward the area. “I’ve seen a few reindeers in my life. Just take some photos for me.”

“Are you sure?” Maggie seemed surprised that Negan was willing to go with her sister. “I don’t want you to feel like we are leaving you out.”

“Well, someone needs to help carry all of those hot chocolates,” Negan winked at Maggie before bouncing his eyebrows and motioning her to follow her family. “Go ahead Maggie. I’ll be fine.”

Once they were alone, Negan playfully nudged at Y/N’s shoulder and let out a long sigh, “You doing okay?”

“Surviving,” she shrugged her shoulders, letting out an extended breath. “I feel like my father is always breathing down my neck ready to pounce whenever I say something wrong,” there was a sense of upset in her tone, but she was doing her best to keep it together. “I don’t know what I thought in coming here. I was hoping after all these years that maybe my dad had changed. That he might have regretted things that went down with us, but I see it’s exactly what it always was.”

Before Negan had the chance to respond, someone was slamming into them causing them both to huff. An overwhelming smell of alcohol surrounded them and Negan reached for Y/N to make sure she was okay, “Maybe watch where you are going next time.”

“Maybe don’t be in the fucking way,” a slurred voice responded and the man turned to face the two of them. The sight of the familiar face made her let out an uncomfortable sound and she lowered her head when the man’s eyes focused on her. “Y/N? Holy shit. What are you doing here?”

“Hey Shane,” she spoke up in a whisper, her jaw clenching when her first boyfriend recognized her. “I’m just here visiting family.”

“I thought you took off and never looked back,” Shane’s smile expanded over his features and he stepped forward almost completely ignoring that Negan was there in the first place. “It’s crazy to see you here. I heard you’re like crazy rich.”

“Did you?” her eyebrows bounced up, amusement flooding her veins that comment was one of the first ones that he said to her after so long. Stepping forward, Negan noticed her discomfort and he was making her know that he was there if she needed him. “Shane, this is Negan. He’s uhm…he’s Maggie’s boyfriend. We work together. Negan, this is Shane…he’s…”

“I was her first boyfriend,” Shane interrupted her before she could introduce him officially. “I was one of Maggie’s boyfriends too.”

“Ah, I actually know who you are,” Negan noted, his head tipping to the side and his face scrunching up. Considering this was the guy that Y/N was worried about earlier, of course it would still be fresh on his mind. “I’ve heard about you.”

“Well shit, it probably wouldn’t have been good things if it came from this one,” Shane mentioned, throwing his hand up to point at Y/N. Circling his finger in her direction, Shane dramatically bobbed his head about before laughing. “Then again, if it was from Maggie, I can’t imagine it being any better either.”

“Well, it was nice seeing you Shane, but we need to go get some hot chocolates for the family,” she explained, reaching out to Negan hinting that she wanted to leave.

“Hey! What’s with the eagerness to run away? You aren’t still mad at me, are you? It’s been years,” Shane insisted with a snicker, reaching back to rub at the back of his neck. “I thought after all these years you may have grown up a little bit. With you being successful and shit, I thought you would have been above holding a grudge.”

“Listen, I have no hard feelings,” she clarified hating that this whole thing was coming up after the day she already had. “You have to understand that Shane. You are just a part of my life that happened a very long time ago. A part I really don’t care to visit, okay? You’re just the guy that used me to sleep with my sister. You took advantage of my sister and didn’t tell her you were dating me. I’m just not really interested in having you in my life right now.”

“Say what now?” Shane snickered staring down at Y/N from where she was standing before him. “Yeah, no. I don’t know what Maggie told you back then, but Maggie knew I was dating you when she slept with me. When she started kissing up on me, I told her that the two of us were dating. Sure, I wanted to be dating Maggie first, but I was dating you Y/N. Maggie was the one that moved in on me. Not the other way around. And she knew that I was with you.”

“Y/N,” Maggie called out to her sister when she entered the area at exactly the right moment to hear what Shane had said to her younger sister. “Listen…”

“I honestly don’t care,” Y/N held her hands up in the air, trying to not get upset with this whole thing since Shane was a past for her that she didn’t want to revisit. “I’m not still upset over Shane. Shane meant nothing to me.”

“You know that’s not true,” Shane countered from where he was standing behind her, his brown eyes filled with amusement. “I still have some of those notes you gave me from when we were kids. You were head over heels in love with me and you know that.”

“I was a kid, Shane,” she reminded her ex-boyfriend feeling Maggie stepping in closer to her. “The two of us weren’t meant to be together.”

“It was nothing against you, you know?” Shane waved his hand about in the air before pointing back toward Maggie. “It’s just your sister was the catch. She’s still the catch. I think most people would jump at the opportunity to get with her.”

“Shane,” Maggie cut him off with an angered breath leaving Y/N’s face to flush over with heat.

“I’m just saying. Yeah, Y/N was the hot, angsty one. The artist that no one could reach, so in that sense it was fun getting to take her virginity, but when the hottest girl at the high school comes offering, the girl that everyone wants, you can only fight it off so hard,” Shane reasoned with Maggie who pushed into his chest to try to get him to step back and away from them. “I don’t know why you told her that you didn’t know I was dating her. You were the one that came onto me. I was waiting for her in the woods and you’re the one that jumped my bones. I even told you I was waiting for her and you did it, so how do I suddenly become the bad guy?”

“Wow,” Negan scoffed, his hands settling in over his hips while Shane ran his mouth off. Hearing how it went down only made Negan more tense about how he felt toward Maggie with things. “You’re a real winner, aren’t you pal?”

“And who the fuck are you? Maggie’s flavor of the fucking month?” Shane snapped at Negan, pushing away from Maggie enough to size up Negan when he stepped before him. “If you think you’re in love with her pal, I can promise you it’s not gonna last. She will be hopping on someone else before you know it. Maggie isn’t capable of being tied down. That whole family is fucked up. You have the slut and the emotionally unavailable one that is so fucking broken that she ran away from home and everything she knew just because she knew no one would ever want her.”

“One more word and I swear to fucking God,” Negan felt Shane shoving into him and he scoffed. “You’re not going to attack either one of them. I don’t care what you think about them but calling Maggie that word and emotionally abusing Y/N doesn’t fucking fly with me.”

“What the fuck are you gonna do about it you fucking toothpick?” Shane snarled back only to shove at Negan again. Going to try to hit Negan, Shane used all of his strength which had him falling over himself when Negan dodged Shane’s attempt at an attack. Shane hit the ground hard and he heard the sound of laughter when he had fallen over himself.

“You’re making an asshole of yourself Shane,” Negan suggested, urging both Y/N and Maggie behind him. “Don’t try it again.”

Shane got up, lunging himself at Negan only to have Negan redirect him and trip him into the trash can that was beside them. Another round of laughter filled the air when Negan simply shrugged and pushed his hands into his pockets. Shane let out another angered roar going to get up only to be stopped by someone in a police uniform.

“Enough,” the southern drawl ordered, the fierce blue eyes of the officer stopping them gazing between both Shane and Negan. “Before this gets any worse, you need to stop.”

“I want you to arrest him for assaulting a police officer,” Shane demanded making Negan let out a tense laugh. “Rick. I’m serious.”

“He didn’t technically assault you. He didn’t even touch you,” Rick informed his friend, keeping his hand firmly placed over Shane’s chest to keep him back. “You’re the one that shoved him. You’re drunk and you’re not thinking with a clear head.”

“Fuck that,” Shane shoved into Rick, who quickly move back to keep Shane back after he went to approach Negan again.

“You do something more and I will lock you up in the cell tonight. You understand?” Rick threatened his friend and Shane grumbled to himself. Glancing between the group, Shane shook his head and walked off in the other direction leaving them all alone with the new face for Negan. “I’m sorry for that ladies. He’s been drinking and you know how he gets when he drinks.”

“Thanks Rick,” Maggie gave the officer a small nod, her words coming out in a slur. Rick gave them a nod before walking off after Shane to make sure that he kept it together for his friend. Once they were gone, Maggie turned on her heel and gave Y/N an uncomfortable expression. “I guess I have some explaining to do.”

“I don’t care Maggie,” she went to leave, heading off in the direction that she knew the rest of their family was with Negan’s family, but Maggie stopped her. “Maggie! I’m not even surprised to hear that’s how it went down. You know that?”

“You have to understand, we weren’t all that close when we were younger,” Maggie reiterated with Y/N, holding her hands out almost in a plea. “You were so negative all the time, but you were always the person winning awards. Getting stories written about you in the paper. You were the person that was the most known in this town for all the accolades you were building up. I was jealous.”

“So you fucked my boyfriend to get back at me knowing that I would see you in the woods with him?” Y/N questioned and it made Negan feel uneasy that he was there to hear all of this, but he was. Especially since he knew that Y/N was worried about their affair because of this whole situation. “That’s really fucked up Maggie.”

“I understand that, but I would say at the same time, it was a good thing because you would have never been happy if you continued to be in a relationship with Shane,” Maggie objected with Y/N noticing the way that Y/N’s face twisted with confusion. “You were pathetic enough to do whatever Shane wanted. You probably would have ended up pregnant with his baby and you would have never left so I saved you from having to go through that. Someone had to stop you from sulking around and being that pathetic version of yourself.”

“Pathetic?” Y/N repeated the words that Maggie said. “I was depressed Maggie. I was fucking depressed and no one fucking cared. What is it with this family refusing to believe that mental health is a fucking thing? I was the black sheep in the family because my mother was someone that our father fucked when they weren’t married and I was born out of wedlock. So because of that, our father abused the fuck out of me mentally. I never knew my mother. I don’t even know what my mother looked like. I just knew that I was suffering because I came…” Y/N felt her words getting caught up in her throat and she simply shrugged her shoulders. “I came from a woman that I didn’t even know. I never knew unconditional love. You came from the love of dad’s life. You were his perfect angel. Beth came from Annette, the new love of dad’s life. And I came from dad’s mistake. And he never let me forget it. I won all of those awards because I hated myself Maggie. My art was all I had. So I buried myself in my art. No one ever truly, genuinely loved me. It wasn’t me being pathetic, it was me sad. It was me depressed because I had nothing and no one.”

Maggie shifted on her feet as Y/N continued to get emotional about the things from their past. Being called pathetic had really struck something inside of Y/N that Maggie obviously wasn’t expecting. Unfortunately, Y/N’s break had caught the attention of a few people in town and they were now noticing the fight between them, “Maybe that’s pathetic to you Maggie. I don’t know. But I’ve been gone this long because I was given an ultimatum. Stay home to make dad happy while working on the farm while wanting to desperately kill myself because I felt so fucking alone or leave where I could hopefully find a place where I belong. Where I could find someone that actually loved me, for me. Because I sure as hell wasn’t going to get that at home. So I decided to save my own life Maggie. None of you cared enough to even fucking see that.”

“Y/N,” a voice rumbled from behind them and she looked over her shoulder to see that Hershel was standing behind them, obviously hearing some of what their conversation was. “You’re embarrassing everyone.”

“What’s new dad? I’m sorry for being the family embarrassment. I don’t know what I was thinking,” Y/N was crying at this point and Negan stepped forward, his hand placing in over her shoulder to try to comfort her.

“Stop this, right now,” Hershel demanded of his daughter, hearing her let out a hurt breath when she looked around at the people that were standing around them. “None of what you just said was anyone here’s business.”

“You’re right,” she threw her hands up in the air. “What was I thinking in drawing negative attention to this family?”

“Enough Y/N,” Glenn breathed out, his face flushing over with embarrassment from where he was standing in the audience. “I think you’ve said enough. This is a conversation to have at home. Not in public.”

“Right,” Y/N let out a hurt breath, looking down toward the ground when Maggie stepped forward. It looked like Maggie wanted to say something, but she just lowered her head and licked her lips. “I’m sorry for embarrassing all of you. You’re right. I was wrong. I just got emotional. I’m sorry.”

“What was the point in you coming back here?” Hershel spoke up, drawing Y/N’s attention back to him. “So you can tell us what a horrible fucking family we were? You’re right Y/N, you’re the only one that doesn’t belong here. You shouldn’t have come back in the first place. No one wanted you here. No one cared that you were gone. So why force yourself into a situation you don’t even belong?”

“Hershel,” Annette called out with a frustrated sound behind Hershel from where she was standing holding Erin in her arms. A hurt whimper fell from Y/N’s throat and she gave a small nod. There were tears staining Y/N’s face while she tried to gather herself. Stepping forward, Negan was trying to let her know that he was there for her, but nothing was going to help.

“I thought maybe things would be better,” Y/N answered her father, her jaw flexing when she felt singled out in the middle of everyone. “That I would be able to reconnect with my family again. With Beth, with Maggie…”

“Everyone was better off with you gone,” Hershel spitefully muttered, causing her lips to part, her eyebrows to furrow and Hershel scoffed. “You’re right. You were my biggest mistake and you were always a drain on this family. Now we’re going to be the talk of the town for years because of your mouth. I hope you’re proud of yourself. If unconditional love is what you were looking for in coming back here, you’re not going to find that. You were awful then and you’re awful now.”

Pulling away from Negan, Y/N had gone pale after she had heard a few gasps in the crowd from what Hershel said. It was clear her body was trembling and she went to go say something, but there was no doubt that she was embarrassed to be crying in front of these people. Instead of saying anything, Y/N walked off and left the crowd that was around them silent. Maggie looked upset, Hershel was furious and Glenn was embarrassed. Negan was furious for other reasons, but before he could defend Y/N, he heard the sound of Beau’s raspy voice speaking up.

“What is wrong with you people?” Beau made his presence known, his face scrunching up in disbelief after he just watched what happened. “That woman just poured her heart out to you and that’s your response? To shame her. To call her an embarrassment? To tell her that she doesn’t belong here and that you don’t love her?” Beau was disgusted with what he just heard and he could see the way that Maggie’s green eyes met his. “Maggie, I know you’re kinder than this. You shouldn’t let your father talk like that to her. Your sister just told you that she had depression. That she felt alone in this world. Do you know how hard it is for someone to admit that they are broken? That they are hurting? To feel like they are alone?”

Speaking up had Beau getting emotional with his raspy voice hitching the longer that he spoke, “So what do you do? You confirm her fears? You let her know that she was right? I don’t care what happened in the past with you two Maggie. I know you. You’re like family and I know you’re better than this. You shouldn’t let your father talk to her like that. And Hershel…she’s still your daughter. Your flesh in blood and all she wants is for you to love her. Is that too hard?”

“Son…” Hershel began, but Beau stepped forward holding his hand up in the air. Erin wiggled free from Annette’s arms and moved over to her brother to grab his hand in hers to show her support for him because even she could understand that he was upset. “You don’t understand.”

“I don’t want to understand Mr. Greene. I know I’m a teenager, so you don’t think I understand, but I do,” Beau used his free hand to place it in over the center of his chest to express how he was feeling. “I had everything. The perfect family. A mom and a dad that loved me. But I lost the most important person in my life and I was broken. I am broken. I still have my dad and he’s the best dad I could ask for. He always shows up. No matter how busy he is. No matter how many times I change my mind on what I want to do in my life. There isn’t a day where I ever questioned how much my father loved me. Because he shows me every day of my life that I’m loved. He sees that I’m hurt. And your daughter saw that too. And she’s done nothing but try to make me feel better since I’ve been here. She saw my pain and she has gone above and beyond to be good to me. To make me feel like I’m special and that I deserve to be happy.”

“Hey,” Negan moved across the way to reach out to caress over Beau’s shoulder to try to calm him down since Beau was having a meltdown over the way he just saw people treat Y/N.

“It’s a wonder that she even turned out as successful as she did. She just told you that she wanted to kill herself, but she fought those feelings and she made something out of herself. Something that you should be proud of Mr. Greene. I don’t know what happened with you and her mom, but she did all that on her own. Never feeling loved. Never feeling supported. I don’t know if I could have survived if I felt that way,” Beau confessed and for the first time since Negan had been around Hershel, Hershel actually looked ashamed of the things that he had done. “Maggie, I do love you. I know there is good in you. I see it every time you come over when dad’s at work. You’re trying so hard with us and I appreciate you. Mr. Greene, I know there is kindness in you because you have showed it to me. And Glenn, anyone who talks to you knows that you are a good, kind person…but if you love someone, if you really love someone. You support them. Even when they are embarrassing. Because they need someone to stand up for them. Someone to understand the pain they are going through…maybe exploding in front of all of you wasn’t the way for this to go, but it’s been building up her whole life. Maybe if she actually felt loved this would have never happened.”

Beau led Erin to grab a hold of Negan’s hand as he backstepped toward the direction that Y/N ran off, “You should honestly all be ashamed of yourselves. You really should. I’m doing what every single one of you should have done a while ago and I’m going off to find her. The thirteen year old that barely knows her, shouldn’t be the one doing this. Just think about that…”

Giving the group one final glance, Beau shook his head and took off in the direction that Y/N had gone. Clearing his throat, Negan reached down to pick up Erin his arms and he gave her a big hug. Silence followed after Beau’s monologue and Negan cleared his throat, “No one? No one has something to say?”

“Negan,” Maggie stepped forward, her voice low and her face hot after everything that just happened.

“If you want to make things right with your sister, I think now is the best time to go talk to her,” Negan suggested seeing the way that Maggie glanced over at her father and lowered her head. Scoffing, Negan shook his head and squeezed Erin in closer to him. “Hey Glenn?”

“Yeah?” Glenn spoke up in a whisper, his chest falling and rising heavily.

“Would you please take Maggie home?” Negan requested of Glenn and a shocked expression flooded Maggie’s features when her eyes rose to Negan’s. “I think Y/N probably needs someone who isn’t involved in this whole thing to take her home. I’ll see you all when you decide to return tonight.”

Heading off after Beau and Y/N, Negan didn’t care of what the repercussions were. He was proud of his son for speaking up and saying the things that he wished he would have said. But hearing it from Beau was probably better than it was hearing it from him.

Once he spotted Beau and Y/N sitting on a bench together facing the opposite direction, Negan moved in slowly behind them, “You are not pathetic Y/N. Please don’t let them make you think you are. Your heart is so big and you deserved so much more than what you were given.”

“You shouldn’t have to be the one telling me this Beau,” she whispered with a saddened breath and it took Negan’s breath away hearing it. “This isn’t on you to have to carry. I shouldn’t have done what I did to begin with.”

“I’m not carrying anything with this Y/N other than showing you the caring that you deserve,” Beau reached out to hug Y/N hearing her deep breathing filling the air once Beau hugged her.

“Down,” Erin ordered of Negan and he slowly let her to her feet. Moving around the bench, Erin crawled up onto the bench with them and wrapped her arms around Y/N as well showing her support for Y/N with her crying. A shuddering breath fell from Y/N’s throat when Negan made his way around the bench. His hands pushed into his pockets and she gave him a saddened expression, but closed her eyes when Negan’s children showed her more affection in that moment than her family did ever. “Please don’t cry Y/N. You are perfect. Just the way you are. You’re pretty. You’re nice. You shouldn’t be so sad.”

“I know honey,” Y/N agreed with Erin, giving both the children a big hug. Lowering down before Y/N, Negan’s hazel eyes showed that he was worried about her, but she gave him a reassuring nod. “You’re right. I shouldn’t let people have the opportunity to hurt me like that. I’m sorry for crying like I did.”

“Don’t apologize,” Negan hushed her, reaching up to brush at the tears that were still over her face with his thumb. “None of us here have a problem with your tears. We just don’t want you to see you hurting or in pain. But if you need to cry, we’re here for you.”

“We promise,” Beau assured her, watching his sister give Y/N another big hug. Reaching out, Beau grabbed a hold of Negan’s hand and led it to Y/N’s. Placing it over her hand, Beau place his over Negan’s and gave it a firm squeeze. “We’re family. A newfound family. Small. Broken. But still good.”

“You stole that from Stitch,” Erin pulled back, her eyebrows furrowing when she heard her brother quote an animated film she was familiar with.

“I think it works for this moment Erin,” Negan suggested after Y/N let out a tiny laugh at Erin’s reaction to hearing her brother say that.

“True. I just know I heard that before,” Erin let out a long sigh and shrugged her shoulders while they sat on the bench. “Since we didn’t get hot chocolate here. How about we go home and have it there?”

“I think that’s a good idea kiddo,” Y/N reached up with her free hand to wipe at her face. It took a minute to gather herself, but she followed them to Negan’s car and they had a quiet trip back. Even though Beau kept checking on her several times.

Back at the farm, Y/N had made both Beau and Erin’s hot chocolate first. Getting hers and Negan’s together, she felt Negan moving in behind her and loosely wrapping his arm around her waist. It made her pause and lean back into him when he pressed a faint kiss over the side of her neck, “Let’s pack up and leave tonight. The four of us. We don’t need to be here. It’s not worth the pain it’s putting you through.”

“I made Beau a promise,” she informed Negan with a whisper and he sighed loudly, his nose nuzzling against the side of her neck. “And I’m going to stick to it.”

“You weren’t there, but Beau gave a very emotional monologue after you left and he put your family in their place,” Negan recalled what his son had done, pressing another kiss over her jawline. “I know my son, he cares more about your mental health over doing whatever it is that you promised him. We can leave tonight. Go back to my apartment. We can go to Bryant Park. See the lights at Macy’s. Go to the Rockefeller Center and see the big tree. Make sugar cookies at my place. Both of my children would understand. Don’t waste another minute on these people Y/N.”

“I need to do this Negan,” she reasoned with him, feeling strange about the way that she was feeling. “I just need to let this happen. It’s only a few more days. We’ll leave the day after Christmas. I’m done then.”

Y/N didn’t really give time for them to bicker about things before she carried their drinks over to the table. Instead of talking about what happened, Y/N got Erin to talk to her about her favorite things when it came to Christmas. Erin excitedly listed off things to her before they heard her family returning.

“I think we should go to bed Erin,” Beau reached for his sister’s hand which she accepted. Following his children, Negan gave Y/N one last supportive squeeze before following them upstairs to make sure they got into bed safely.

Sitting at the table, Y/N waited alone when her family finally made their way into the kitchen. Annette immediately moved over toward her and placed her hand over her shoulder and Y/N appreciated the gesture. Reaching up, she placed her hand over Annette’s and noticed that Beth pushed her way through to move to the table to sit down with her. Letting out a long exhale, Y/N felt Beth wrapping her arms around her shoulders to give her a hug. This was the first time that her family had gone above and beyond to show any kind of affection to her. Clearing his throat, Shawn pushed his way through as well leaving Glenn, Hershel and Maggie standing at the entrance of the kitchen. Shawn knelt down, nudging her with his head to show that he was attempting to be loving and support her.

“Are you happy with yourself?” Hershel wondered, shoving his hands into his pockets, clearing his throat as he spoke. “You’ve separated your family again. It’s what you were always good at.”

“Daddy,” Maggie spoke up, looking to Hershel with a sense of confusion. “Enough is enough. You…we all have put her through enough. Just leave her alone.”

“It’s okay Maggie,” Y/N stammered, clearing her throat uneasily. “I just thought I would let you know that I’m only going to be here until Christmas. The day after I’ll be picking up and leaving. I know the plan was to stay until the third, but I won’t force any of you to be around me any longer than I need to be here. I’m staying those days because I made a promise to Beau. And I want to spend some time with my little sister before I’m gone again.”

Getting up from the table, she gave Shawn, Beth and Annette a hug before stopping in front of Hershel, “I promise you will never have to put up with me or see me again after the twenty-sixth dad. I’ll do what you want and disappear. I’m sorry I came home in the first place. I knew how you felt and I should have respected that. You can finally let the memory of me die.”

“Y/N…” Hershel breathed out when she headed for the entrance of the kitchen to start walking away. When she made it to the bottom of the steps, Maggie called out to her and stopped her from leaving. Glenn was standing behind her and Maggie shook her head.

“I don’t want that,” Maggie claimed, her green eyes tearing over as she stared at her sister. “Regardless of what daddy wants, I want to have you in my life. I want to get closer to you and I was wrong for the things I did in the past. You’re not weak Y/N, you’re the strongest person I know and I should have seen how you felt. I should have been a good sister and I should have supported you the whole time.”

“I don’t hate you Maggie,” Y/N grabbed her sister’s hands in hers and gave them a firm squeeze. “If you still want a relationship after everything, I promise I won’t turn you away. You’re always welcome in my life, but I’m not certain you’re going to want to be.”

“Hey,” Glenn called out to Y/N after she gave Maggie a hug and then headed up the stairs for bed. “Don’t you think you’re maybe overreacting a bit? We planned to stay here until the third. I have someone watching the apartment until then.”

“I need to leave Glenn,” she whispered with a frown, shrugging her shoulders when she thought about the situation. “If you want to stay here, I’m sure someone will happily take you home when you want. It’s totally your call.”

“Y/N,” Glenn tried to reach for her hand, but she pulled away from him and headed toward her room leaving him alone in the hallway.

Kicking out of her shoes, pulling off her shirt and stepping out of her pants left her wearing only her panties and a white tank top. Crawling under the covers, she laid in bed just thinking about things. It was hard to fall asleep. So she just laid there.

In the middle of the night, she heard the door opening and amongst the small amount of light that was there, she saw Negan moving into her bedroom. Turning on her side, she felt him crawling into bed with her to get comfortable. Nuzzling his nose at the side of her neck, Negan was showing her the affection that she needed in this moment.

“Come here,” Negan instructed, pressing faint, loving kisses over her face. Taking her in his arms, Negan held her tightly and stroked his fingers through her hair. There was a sense of sadness to the way that she was breathing and Negan carefully moved in over her, lowering himself between her thighs as she stroked her fingers through his dark hair. “You are perfect,” Negan kissed at her temple making a shuddering breath fall from her lips. “You are strong,” Negan pressed another kiss over her jawline as she stroked down over the lengths of his body. “And you are loved. So fucking loved. What these people say about you. None of it is fucking true. Because they don’t know the real you.”

“I don’t know Negan, maybe there are right about me. Maybe I was always the problem,” she suggested, her chest aching when Negan’s thumb swept over her jawline. Shaking his head, Negan hushed her and his long eyelashes fluttered. “You and your family are the only people that have made me feel special. You really are.”

“Because you are special,” Negan whispered to her, his thumb dragging across her bottom lip. “I am so entirely drawn to you because you are everything that I want. I fucking promise you, you are amazing just the way you are.”

“Negan,” she breathed out, her eyes looking him over before she started to push at his shirt that he was wearing. Getting it halfway up his torso had him leaning back for her to pull it from his body. Setting it on the ground beside her bed, she felt her throat go dry and she shrugged her shoulders. “Would you make love to me?”

“You sure?” Negan muttered, his Adam’s apple bouncing in his throat while he gazed over her. With a nod, she knew that she was emotional, but she wanted to forget that pain and feel the kind of special that only Negan could give her.

Standing up slowly from the bed, Negan undid his belt and then his pants. Tugging them down his body, Negan allowed them to drop at his ankles. Stepping out of the material, he sighed and moved back onto the bed so he was just in his boxer briefs. Once he was on his knees before her, she reached for the waistband of the boxer briefs and helped him to push them down his body. When she got them down, Negan kicked out of the material and then reached for her panties. Carefully, he tugged them off her before reaching for her tank top to help pull it from her body. Leaning her back, Negan crawled in over her and felt her hands bracing in over his chest.

“I promise you, after all this…I will protect you. I will make you feel loved and you will never question it,” Negan swore to her, stroking his fingers over the side of her face when he got comfortable over her. Gasping out, she felt Negan unhurriedly pushing his hips forward to enter her. Pressing his forehead against hers, Negan made sure that they felt connected in this. That everything was passionate, romantic, slow, sensual…all the things that she needed in this very moment. Rolling his hips had her head tipping back, her lips parting when he claimed them in a fiery kiss that had her returning the gesture. The way he spoke to her, touched her and moved was so loving and affectionate toward her. He was doing exactly what she asked of him. Making love to her. “You deserve to be pampered with love and adoration.”

After everything tonight, he was showing her the love that she needed. This was his way of showing her what she meant to him with their bodies pressed together with his movements slow and steady, “I love you.”

Hearing that made her chest ache. She believed him. And she liked hearing it. But she didn’t know if she deserved it. This may have not been the right move for them. But it was everything she needed right now. It made her feel seen. Loved. Like the center of his universe. From his kisses, to his caress Negan didn’t fail to make her feel loved and that’s what made the moment special.

“I don’t know if I deserve you,” she breathed against his lips, causing his motions to stop. Staring down at her with confusion, Negan shook his head and kissed over her jawline. “You’re too good for me. Your family is too good for me.”

“That’s your family talking,” Negan whispered, the warmth of his breath lingering over her lips. There was no question that she was emotional right now and he knew that. “You’ve always deserved to be loved and pampered.”

“I’ve never been happy Negan,” she stroked her fingers through his hair knowing that it sounded terrible, but having him over her…inside of her, it was everything she wanted in life and that scared her. “The world never wanted me happy, but with you I’m happy. And I’m scared. Scared that life is going to take that away from me. It has with everything else.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Negan promised her in a firm tone, his nose nuzzling in against hers while he cuddled in closer to her. “I swear.”

----

Tags: @slutlanna976 @fuckthis-and-fuckthat @jennydehavilland @de-gabyconamor @ibelongtonegan @smallsadjellyfish @labyrinthofheartagrams  @msjamesmarch @thebeautysurrounds @hotfornegan @redmercysugar @caprithebunny @tuttifuckinfruitty @emoryhemsworth @a-girl-interupted @akumune​ @stoneyggirl2 @xsarcasticwriterx  @haleygreen23 @xhannahbananax03 @sanctuaryforthelost @burningredaffair @killaweiser @dead-of-niight @ayumi-wolf @hollyismentallyillhelp @promiscuousbarnes​ @tone-stark @lanadelnegan @flippittygibbitts @stickyhuesos

[northoftheroad]

Dick Grayson reading in Rebirth and forward

In the last few years, there have been several comics where Nightwing is guest starring that I haven't picked up, so maybe I have missed some smashing comics in here; just saying. As usual, take this list for what it's worth – my personal interpretations and reflections. (Please note that there is a difference between cover date and when a book is actually published, and I might have mixed these dates in the list. I mostly use them to help my own thought process.)

I gather DC lets their creators play in any sandbox/Earth/continuity they want, which means it's a fool's errand to try to understand what, if any, stories from Dick's past are supposed to have happened in the current continuity. But I never claimed to be quite sane, did I...? Here is me, trying to piece together stories chronologically story-wise:

Nightwing vol 4 # 82. Flashbacks to pre-Dick John and Mary Grayson.

Batman vol 3 # 54. Has some flashbacks from when Dick was new in Wayne Manor. He has nightmares, climbs a chandelier, questions why Bruce took him in, and apparently doesn't know Bruce is Batman: nothing special but a few nice pages.

The Precedent. In Detective Comics # 1000 (2019). Bruce's hesitation before he lets Dick become Robin. Unclear if it's supposed to be in the current continuity.

Robin and Batman # 1–3 (2021-2022). A three-issue story that takes place in the days around Dick's twelfth birthday. It's about how Dick eventually chooses not to be "the dark" like Batman, but something better – the light, Robin. Not in the main continuity, but another version of how Dick became Robin (also a first meeting with the other original Teen Titans - in this version, they already had suits and code names when Dick first became Robin).

Batman: Urban Legends # 23

Hot pursuit. In Batman: Urban Legends # 23 (March 2023). Cute short story; Robin drives the Batmobile for the first time (his second year as Robin).

Batman One bad day: Mr Freeze. (2022) Probably not set in the main continuity, Robin is small and wears a winter suit.

Batman/Superman: World's Finest vol 1 (2022). One of my favourite books from the current era (written by Mark Waid). It has a different tone than other in-continuity books (in a good way), but it is connected; the first story arc is a prequel to Batman vs Robin and the Lazarus Planet event. Dick has been Robin for a few years in the book except for a few panels. My favourite issue is # 6, when Dick is lost in the past, works in a circus and solves a mystery.

Batman/Superman (2019) # 16–21 and Annual 2021 # 1 is an outstanding story with DickRobin, albeit not the main Earth version.

Nightwing vol 4 # 78. There are a few pages of flashbacks, what might be Dick and Barbara's first meeting, fighting bullies at school. The bully, Shelton Lyle, will later turn out to be the villain Heartless – Nightwing fighting him is a story that keeps getting set on hold.

Batgirl vol 5 # 14–17 (October 2017– January 2018). Guest starring Nightwing, including flashbacks to when he was Robin and Dick and Barbara were in High School. Nothing special.

World's Finest: Teen Titans (2023). New book about the Teen Titans (the original five plus Bumblebee) when they're starting, also written by Mark Waid. One issue has been published so far; Robin is struggling with combining Batman's distrust with leading the team.

Nightwing vol 4 # 92. Another couple of flashback pages, from Dick's time as Robin, when he took on more than he could chew and got hurt saving a guy's life. Alfred refuses to let Bruce into Dick's bedroom unless he removes the cowl "and leave your disapproval at the door".

"A little nudge". In Robin 80th Anniversary Special (2020). It's probably not the latest official story about how Dick left Robin to become Nightwing, but I wouldn't mind if it were. Dick leaves Robin by his own choice; Bruce is a bit of a jerk because he's not emotionally mature enough to say, "I know you've grown up and should move on; I'll be fine without you."

Nightwing vol 4 # 79. Flashback page of Dick leaving the Manor, saying, "He fired me, Alfred" (he's eighteen at the time). So evidently, Tom Taylor goes with that version in his writing.

Nightwing vol 4 # 39

Nightwing vol 4 # 39. Flashback to when Dick was a student in Blüdhaven, after leaving Robin and before he became Nightwing. He goes out to look for a murderer dressed in old workout clothes that looks a lot like his original Nightwing suit. Part of the best story arc of Nightwing vol 4, so don't miss it!

Red Hood and the Outlaws vol 2 Annual # 1. A team-up issue with Nightwing with a flashback to when Jason saw the Flying Graysons. And to their first meeting at Wayne Manor, which didn't go well because Alfred decided to give newcomer Jason Dick's bedroom because the Manor evidently suffers from a shortage of beds... <insert rolling eyes emoji here> Eminently skippable issue...

Nightwing Annual 2021

Nightwing Annual 2021 (2022). Part of the book is a flashback story. Dick, who lives at the Titans tower, talks about how Bruce fired him and got a replacement. But when Alfred asks him to visit (calling Bruce his father), he comes to see Jason, who complains about how it's impossible to live up to the standard Dick set as Robin. They take the Batmobile (with Alfred's blessing) and head out. It seems to be their first meeting, which makes RHATO vol Annual 2 # 1 obsolete.

Nightwing vol 4 # 89. A team-up with Jon Kent/Superman, starting with a few pages flashback to their first meeting when Jon was getting his powers. Dick is wearing his red New 52 Nightwing suit.

Titans (2016–2019). I think the series was pretty meh, though Annual # 1 and Special # 1 have badass Nightwing moments.

DC Rebirth Holiday Special (2016) # 1, has a nice Titans story but nothing of further importance.

Rebirth Nightwing # 1. Dick returns to being Nightwing after the Grayson run, all set to pretend to work for the Parliament of Owls (see Robin War, part of New 52).

Nightwing vol 4 # 1 (September 2017) – # 4. Better than Batman. Nightwing is working undercover with the Parliament, partnered with the new character Raptor who, it turns out, loved his mum and has a personal vendetta with Bruce Wayne because he took Dick from his roots.  

Monster men. A storyline with the villain Professor Hugo Strange in Nightwing # 5-6, Batman # 7-8, Detective Comics # 941–942 (and some more books I haven't read). Dick is temporarily transformed into a monster and later saves the day by jumping into a monster to administer some antitherapy. Nothing of future importance but some nice panels regarding how well Dick knows Bruce.

Nightwing vol 4 # 7–8 (January 2017). Rise of Raptor. Nightwing discovers that Raptor has been stalking Dick Grayson since childhood. Raptor abducts Bruce Wayne and puts him in a death trap, but Nightwing saves him when he jumps. I quite enjoy the Raptor stories, I have to say.

Nightwing vol 4 # 9 (January 2017). A team-up with Superman, who was not a guy he knew at the time since this Superman had come from the pre-Flashpoint universe and somehow merged with New 52 Superman (no, I still don't understand it). It mostly takes place in Dick's dreams. Known for a quote from Superman: "Of everyone I've met here, you're the least changed from the version I knew. Always confident, always kind, always cool. Dick Grayson – the multiversal constant."

Nightwing vol 4 # 10 (February 2017) – 14 (April 2017). Dick moves to Blüdhaven (I think people got their memories or stolen time back at some time in Rebirth, which would explain how he was new in the city here, but had lived and been a cop there (as in Nightwing vol 2) later in vol 4.) He volunteers for a program for teens at a community centre, where he meets Shawn Tsang/Defacer, an "art terrorist" Batman and Robin once fought back in the day. Nightwing works to prove she and Gorilla Grim aren't murderers.

Batman vol 3 # 16 (April 2017) Has a fun couple of pages with Bruce and Dick, Jason, Damian and Duke at Bat Burger; Bruce warns the boys to stay out of Gotham and out of Bane's way, which Dick, Jason and Damian, of course, disregard. The issue ends with Batman finding them hanging by their necks in the Batcave. In # 17, we see they survived, and Bruce has left them frozen with Superman at the Fortress of Solitude for safekeeping.

Nightwing vol 4 # 15 (April 2017). Dick and Shawn Tsang/Defacer start dating. Interlude with many guest stars whom Dick talks to about his new life in Blüdhaven.

Nightwing vol 4 # 20

Nightwing vol 4 # 16 – 20 (July 2017). Nightwing Must Die. Nice if you want to see Dick and Damian together again. Shawn is abducted while having a pregnancy scare, and Damian follows Dick to save her. (He went to Blüdhaven because he was upset people counted on Dick to become the Batman after Bruce's retirement, but later confesses he was unsure what his place in Dick's life was now.) Dick is cut with a knife made from the nth metal and see visions of himself from different realities. Villains: Professor Pyg and Doctor Simon Hurt, both from Dick and Damian's time as Batman and Robin.

Nightwing vol 4 # 21 (July 2017). Nightwing and Flash (Wally West) hang out, fights criminals and save each other's lives.

Nightwing vol 4 # 22–25 (August – September 2017). Blockbuster, the villain whose death in Nightwing vol 2 was a huge deal, is suddenly alive and   menacing Blüdhaven and Nightwing again. Dick is job-hunting and ends up taking a job as a blackjack dealer to keep an eye on Blockbuster, who had earlier sold him out to Tiger Shark, a villain Dick fought as Batman in Black Mirror. # 24–25 has a pretty badass fight, Nightwing vs a boatload of villains, and he also saves everyone by hotwiring a contraption to expand a bubble that freezes time. Shawn breaks up with Dick.

Nightwing vol 4 # 26–28 (October – November 2017). Spyral. Huntress/Helena Bertinelli, whom Dick met during the Grayson run (New 52 era), turns up. They work together on a case, ending up at the Spiral headquarter, and start a relationship. 

Batman vol 3 # 33–35 (December 2017 – January 2018). At Wayne Manor, Alfred tells Dick, Jason, Damian and Duke that Bruce intends to marry Selina while the latter two are on some mission in Khadym. Damian is upset because his mother is in Khadym, and Dick accompanies him there in the following issues. Some nice moments here and there, but I've never cared for Tom King's (the writer) grand Batman arc.

Dark Nights: Metal. Storyline 2017–2018. (including Nightwing # 29) where Batman discovers a Dark Multiverse.

Nightwing vol 4 # 30 – 34 (February 2018). Raptor's Revenge. Raptor gets involved in Nightwing’s fight with Blockbuster. Helena/Huntress breaks up with Dick. # 32 has flashback to Dick and Raptor at the circus and the death of his parents. 

Batman vol 3 # 45–47 (June - July 2018). Booster Gold goes back in time to save Bruce's parents as a wedding gift. This completely alters the past, and for some reason, Dick becomes a Batman who fights a city of Jokers with lethal violence. Some amusing wackiness about what has happened to different characters – Selina is a serial killer, Tim has a menial job, and Jason has invented tires that give tire thieves a deadly shock of electricity, but nothing of future importance.

Nightwing vs Hush

Batman: Prelude to the Wedding. Nightwing vs Hush (2018) is a great issue for a Nightwing fan. Nightwing and Superman are taking Batman for a bachelor’s party, but Hush attacks them and he and Dick are transported to another universe (where Hush perishes, which hasn’t stopped him from turning up back in the main universe). Robin vs Ra's al Ghul has a tiny Nightwing as Damian's "good angel" on his shoulder, which is a fun but minor detail.

Batgirl vol 5 # 25. Takes place just after the failed wedding between Bruce and Selina. Barbara needs a friend; Dick takes her to the empty honeymoon suit. They talk as close friends about love, and Dick comes across as quite the romantic. Quite a nice story, in my opinion.

Nightwing vol 4 # 35

Nightwing vol 4 # 35–41 (February – May 2018)The Untouchable. My favourite arc of vol 4 so far, written by Sam Humphries (I'm sure he was supposed to stay longer because he talked in an interview about wanting to bring back Dick's Uncle George from Batman vol 1 # 22, but he only wrote the one arc). Includes some flashbacks to Dick’s time as Robin, and when he was a student post-Robin. He starts a new business, Grayson cross train studio.

Nightwing vol 4 # 42 (June 2018). Enjoyable one-shot. Damian tells his pets about how Dick saved him from capture in Tokyo. They pick up a dragon on the way.

Nightwing vol 4 # 43 (June 2018). Another enjoyable one-shot, with Dick, Damian and Roy Harper/Arsenal, bickering and fighting bad guys.  

Nightwing vol 4 # 44–47 (July – October 2018). The Bleeding Edge, a story arc with malevolent virtual reality and the "dark web". Feel free to skip it.

Nightwing/Magilla Gorilla Special # 1 (October 2018). As a crossover with a Hanna-Barbera character, presumably not set in the usual DC universe... But I rather enjoyed it; it was a nice little murder mystery and lots of thinking about the circus and Dick's parents. Though I wouldn't personally rush to the cinema for a movie about The Flying Graysons with gorillas as actors...

Nightwing vol 4 # 48–49 (November 2018). Harm's way, the conclusion of the Dark Web storyline. If you enjoy Nightwing on a motorbike and being a badass fighter, why not? I can't say the story made an impact or had consequences since Dick would spend the following two years (maybe half a year, in-universe) as Ric.

The Murder Club (in Batman: Urban Legends # 19–23, November 2022 – March 2023 ). Martha and Thomas Wayne turn up in the Batcave, apparently taken from the time before they were killed. The story has Bruce, Dick, Damian and Alfred and is good if one like the family feels. (Not sure if any story in Urban Legends is supposed to be "canon" for the current continuity, but time-wise, Damian is dressed in Robin colours, Alfred is alive etc.)

Batman vol 3 # 51 (September 2018). Dick stands in as Batman while Bruce is called for jury duty.

DC's Crime of Passion # 1 (February 2020), has some Dick/Barbara, nothing you can't miss, in my opinion.

Batman vol 3 # 54–55. # 54 goes between flashbacks from when Dick was new in Wayne Manor and apparently doesn't know Bruce is Batman and Nightwing trying to cheer up Batman after Seline dumped him. In # 55, Dick is shot in the head by KG Beast (just another of Tom King's plot points to make Batman as miserable as possible). In Batman # 56-57, Batman hunts down KG Beast. Again, these issues have some pleasant character moments. Still, I'm not a fan of the overall plot or the result for Dick (I've read that Tom King was open to healing Dick magically pretty much straight away, but someone wanted to "take advantage" of the situation...)

Nightwing vol 4 Annual # 2. Partly set just after Dick was shot. Bruce tries to jog his memory by showing him a video of when he was shot, further traumatizing him and leading to him storming out.

Nightwing vol 4 # 50 (December 2018) – 74 (November 2020). Dick lives in Blüdhave as "Ric" and has forgotten everything for approximately the last 15 years. He wants nothing to do with his former family and starts dating Bea Bennett. Meanwhile, four other people use his old suits to go out as vigilantes since the real Nightwing has disappeared. Besides the shot in the head, he is brainwashed (with the help of a magical crystal, if I understood correctly) to help his Talon grandfather William Cobb make him a Talon (he is, for a few issues). The Joker later gets hold of the crystal and makes Dick believe the Joker fostered him and that he is "Dicky boy". He fights the other bats before it's all over...

Nightwing vol 4 # 74 (November 2020). Dick starts to get his memories back.

Batman vol 3 # 99 (November 2020). Bruce gives Dick his Nightwing suit back after two years of suffering (for us readers) with Ric, Talons and Joker War, but not really worth reading for that.

Dark Nights: Death Metal. Reality-shattering, complicated storyline 2020–2021 with lots of evil Batmen. I have read very little of it, but Dick is newly back from "Ric". In Justice League # 53–57 (Doom Metal parts 1–5), he and some others are physically D&E-transformed while fighting. In Dark Nights: Death Metal The Last Stories of the DC Universe, there are some nice Titans moments (also, Batman performs a one-panel "wedding" with Dick and Barbara...)

Nightwing vol 4 # 78 – > (March 2021 and onward) The current run of Nightwing starts (writer Tom Taylor, art mostly Bruno Redondo). After the relaunch Infinite Frontier, parts of Dick's pre-Flashpoint history in Blüdhaven have been restored. He has, for instance, been a cop and lives in the apartment building he bought during Nightwing vol 2. In my opinion, the run is visually great and full of lovely moments between Dick and his friends and family, but it's overly sweet and kind of boring, though many people seem to love the writing too. 

Nightwing vol 4 # 78 (2021). Dick adopts a three-legged puppy (Haley/Bitewing) and is told he inherited Alfred's billions (he is currently richer than Bruce). He now lives in the block of flats in Blüdhave that was ostensibly destroyed in Nightwing vol 2.

Nightwing vol 4 # 80. Nightwing's first meeting with the villain Heartless, who steals hearts. That was 2021, and Dick still hasn't stopped Heartless or spent a lot of time chasing him because of so many interruptions.

Nightwing vol 4 # 82

Nightwing vol 4 # 81–82. He discovers he has an older half-sister, Melinda Zucco, conceived before John and Mary were married but brought up as the daughter of Tony Zucco. She is sworn in as the new Mayor of Blüdhaven. A big part of # 82 is flashbacks to the Grayson's and Melinda's backstory. Blockbuster, who should already be dead if what happened in Nightwing vol 2 is canon again, turns up as an adversary again (is later killed in # 94)

Nightwing vol 4 # 83. Dick announces The Alfred Pennyworth Foundation to make Blüdhaven a better place for everyone. The first goal is to ensure that no one lives on the streets a month later, "because it's getting colder".

Without a net. Unpublished tales from the DC vault # 2. (2021) One shot that is possibly supposed to take place in the current continuity; there's at least nothing to contradict it. Dick takes on a task because he feels he's the most qualified to dive 30000 feet from a flying castle (?!) into a lagoon.

Robin vol 3 # 5 (2021). The four former Robins chase after Damian, who has temporarily left Lazarus Island and wants to discuss what's happening. He gives them the slip – except Dick, who catches up with Damian and gives him a birthday present. They talk a bit, and Dick lets him go, telling the others that they will tell Batman "That we trust Damian and have faith in him." So a nice issue if you're looking for a few pages of Dick and Damian interaction.

Nightwing vol 4 # 84–86. Part of the crossover Fear State, where Scarecrow wants to control Gotham City using fear gas.

Titans Academy (2021–2022). I was never interested in picking up the book, but I guess it happened parallel to the Nightwing book until the start of Dark Crisis.

Nightwing Annual 2021 (2022). A tale of two brothers, Dick and Jason, now and then (when Jason was Robin). Dick refuses to believe Jason/Red Hood is killing people again and helps him clear it up, combined with a likeable flashback with Nightwing and JasonRobin.

Nightwing vol 4 # 88 (2022). Dick Grayson is targeted at the ceremony for starting to build Haven. It's kind of a nice issue if you like seeing what a great guy Dick is and his friends rushing to his side. Dick gets a new Nightwing suit made by Mr Terrific.

Nightwing vol 4 # 89, Superman: Son of Ka-El # 9. A team-up with Jon Kent/Superman, starting with a flashback to their first meeting when Jon was getting his powers.

"The Director" (in Batman: Urban Legends # 22-23). A story with Dick and Barbara takes place in Blüdhaven; not really my cup of tea, but readable.  

Nightwing vol 4 # 90–91, Dick's building in Blüdhaven is blown up, Barbara is kidnapped, and a master assassain comes after Dick. Guest starring Wally West/The Flash, guest villain KG Beast, the gut who shot Dick back in Batman # 55.

Nightwing vol 4 # 96–97. I think it's fair to say Dick and Barbara are a couple at this stage.

Nightwing vol 3 # 98

Nightwing vol 4 # 98 (2023). Dick gets his own imp from the Fifth Dimension, Nite-Mite. He ships Dick with Starfire but teleports friends and family in to wed Dick and Barbare. (Ok, I thought it was a rather fun issue...) Introducing Olivia, daughter of Blockbuster, who sold her soul to the devil Neron; Neron is on his way to collect her soul. Nightwing & Co save her.

Nightwing vol 4 # 99. Nightwing catches Tony Zucco, who is violating parole with attempted robbery. Melinda changes her last name to Grayson-Lin.

Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis # 1, Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths # 1–7 (2022). An event where the Justice League is presumed dead (Nightwing is sure they will come back), and super criminals attack en masse. Along the way, "the Great Darkness" tries to take Nightwing as its new host, but he fights it off. At the end of the event, the Justice League disbanded. I'm pretty fed up with big events (great art, though), but Dick is a central character, the first legacy hero, and the light in the dark for Batman. It sets him up as an important leader for the superhero community going forward.

Batman vs Robin # 3 (November 2022). Damian is possessed and recruits the four former Robins to fight Batman for him in this lead-up to the event Lazarus Planet. Dick gets the sword of sin, and Batman, waiting for him to attack, thinks, "Hand-to-hand, the toughest of them all". In the end, Batman pushes Alfred (or rather, some kind of replica of Alfred from the afterlife, as a spy for the demon Nezha) on Dick's sword to get him to hesitate so Batman can knock him out. (I should say I've only read this issue of the book. Damian and Bruce fighting got old a long time ago, IMO.)

Nightwing vol 4 # 100. Heartless stages a mass breakout from Blüdhaven's private prison, which is destroyed. Nightwing talks a lot of the escapees into changing sides. The Titans come to help. Guest villain again, KG Beast. Superman and Wonder Woman asks Dick to lead – not the Justice League, which currently is disbanded – but whatever kind of protection he chooses. Dick buys the destroyed prison to build a new Titans tower there. Dick and Bruce have a heartfelt talk by Alfred's grave, though it's debatable if "I love you, Dad" is in character for Dick to say.

Nightwing vol 4 # 101–104. The Titans work together to save Olivia from Neron. Including Dick getting superpowers like that of Superman, when Neron tries to tempt him. Back-up story of Nightwing and Jon/Superman, working a case at a circus.

Titans (2023). The adult Titans are working from Blüdhaven while the Justice League is (probably very temporarily ) disbanded in this new book. It's only been a couple of issues, but I've been enjoying it so far (though I have a hard time with the pairing Beast Boy/Raven, since I know them well from the NTT ear).

Books clearly set outside the main continuity

Future State: Nightwing # 2

Future State: Nightwing # 1–2 (2021), Future State: Gotham (2021–2022) As far as I'm concerned, DC's Future State titles are stories from possible alternate futures that will never come to pass. But it was nice to see Dick written as competent and tinkering with inventions. The Future State stories continued in Future State Gotham, where Dick used the enhancing drug Brane to gain an edge in the fight against the Magistrate and assorted villains and, in the end, sacrificed himself. It didn't seem worth reading, from what I've seen.

Future State: Teen Titans # 1–2. Another possible future book, it’s not as good as the Nightwing version, IMO.

Batman Beyond (2016) vol 6. Dick is the mayor of Blüdhaven and has a daughter who becomes Batwoman in this version of Batman Beyond. To my knowledge, he is in a number of issues starting with # 25. 

Batman/Catwoman, a 12-issue Black Label miniseries (2021–2022). Yet another book set in a possible future (or maybe an alternate universe). Dick is the Police Commissioner of Gotham. I haven't read the whole series, but Dick has a minor role.

In the Dark Multiverse, you can see Dick as a Talon, die during the Judas contract or be murdered by Damian if you like. (Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Hush, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, and Deathstroke (2016) # 50.)

Titans United (2021) and Titans United: Bloodpact (2022) was two limited series that was probably published to lure in readers that liked the Titans tv show, though it wasn't a tie-in. Pretty entertaining Titans stories with different team members. The digital-first Titans: Titans Together book (2020) also didn't connect to what's going on in other books but was all right reading.

– – –

Posted on July 16, 2023. Time will tell if it will get edited/updated in the future. 

[warden-melli]

Small Melli headcanon, if you will...

The 'flying croissant' line makes me want to think Melli either actually has family in Kalos, or pretends to have Kalosian roots. Japanese people tend to have a bit of a romanticised view of France and Paris, so it'd be pretty funny to imagine Melli occasionally using French to seem more elegant and refined!

Nice catch! A lot of people seem to miss the Melli French/Kalos connection, so it’s cool that you picked up on it! I’ve actually posted several analysis/theory posts about this before, so it’s always a topic I’m keen to discuss!

I firmly believe that he does have Kalosian ancestry, as hinted at in several point during the story, so I’m fully with you there. As for him only pretending to be Kalosian? It’s an interesting headcanon that’s for sure, and would make sense for a character that is so focused on projecting a certain image like Melli is, but I think there’s several factors that make that unlikely, at least for me to subscribe to it personally

It’s important to note that Melli actually speaks French several times during the game, so I think it’s pretty likely that he has some real connections to Kalos. We know that the Diamond clan are the descendants of immigrants who came across the sea to settle in Hisui, so I think it’s pretty likely that he could be the child of Kalosian immigrants, and that he’s learned the language from them. Mai confirms that he grew up with the Diamond clan, and with the clan being as isolated as they are, I can’t really think of another way he would even be aware of Kalos, its language, or of the way its perceived culturally without some sort of family tie to educate him. Especially as no other member of the Diamond clan shows any knowledge of the French language, or displays any overt references to its culture. It seems to be unique to Melli and seems to hold a great significance to him, which is a super interesting aspect of his character

You’re right! While it’s very true that the Japanese have a romanticised view of France, that comes from a long history of positive interactions between the two countries. This includes trade, cultural exchanges, and immigration. If we assume that the Pokémon world’s versions will the two countries share a similar history, I think it’s very likely that Kalosian immigrants could have settled in Hisui, especially as we know those outside trade connections are only being established at the time PLA takes place

It’s also important to note that when Melli does speak French/Kalosian, it is always in context, and is alternated into his “regular” speech, a phenomena common to people who are bilingual, or are the children of people who speak a language at home that’s different from the one most commonly spoken in the area they live in. There’s even the croissant line itself, which can be interpreted two ways. The first, that when he calls Cresselia a croissant, that he is referencing the pastry. Something he really shouldn’t be aware of growing up in an isolated Hisuian clan. The second is that he was actually just alternating speaking French, and was just commenting on cresselia’s moon (or crescent) shape, as opposed to saying she resembled the pastry (who is also named for its shape. Croissant is literally the French word for crescent) Either way he seems to have a knowledge of Kalosian language/culture that seems unusual/impossible for someone who grew up in Hisui, far away from Kalos or any Kalosian people

I think for me though one of the biggest problems with this as a theory is that the Diamond Clan is small, and as mentioned earlier it’s confirmed that Melli grew up with them. It wouldn’t make sense for him to pretend to be Kalosian if he actually wasn’t, when he grew up in a community where everyone knows him, his family, and could easily disprove any false claims. The Galaxy team has only been in Hisui for a short time (Jubilife village has only existed for 2 years at the time of PLA), and the Diamond and Pearl clans had limited interactions before the Galaxy team helped organise a truce between them. With this in mind we know Melli has had very minimal interactions with people outside of his clan for his entire life. There’s just no way I could see him getting away with a lie like that in such a small, insular community like the Diamond clan

Most importantly of all, Melli never actually ever claims to be Kalosian at any point. Melli’s overconfidence is a deliberate persona, and one that isn’t exactly subtle. If he wanted you to perceive him as Kalosian, he would outright tell you, as opposed to dropping subtle hints

But, as a headcanon it’s really fun, and is an interesting way to interpret Melli’s seemingly random Kalosian references, and I think it fits really well with some aspects of his character. Personally, I believe that Melli pretends to be a lot of things, but Kalosian just isn’t one of them

This is just my personal opinion, based on my own interpretation though, and it fine (and cool) that you perceive him differently ^^

[theoneeyedgoldenwolf]

Dance of the Deities

I know New Year's Eve is few hours from here (Finnish Time) but I want this out already. =) Also, fireworks are already going so it feels good enough a reason. ;)

The story in AO3 in case someone wants to read it there (and hopefully leave a comment):

Part of my Ranch Family AU, the modern Linked Universe stories.

Summary: New Year’s Eve is coming up within few hours but Time’s up for showing his boys something entirely different than the normal fireworks. He has planned things out well while simply wishing his decision is a worthy alternative to what the youngest of his boys wishes to see.

Notions: - Time has lost his right eye and has the scar over it. Fierce Deity’s markings will come soonish. - When Malon died, she had been pregnant. Malon and Sprite (Time) hadn’t been aware of this. The doctor whom had done autopsy few days later told to Sprite (Time) the information. Time hasn’t told to anyone about having lost a child too when Malon died. He had Malon and their little one buried in same coffin to let them truly be together. Time never saw his child. In the gravestone, beneath Malon’s information is simply writing of “Our beloved little one” with the same date of birth and death as is Malon’s day of death.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Come on, boys! If we won’t leave soon, we’ll miss it!” Time called from the start of the stairs. “Careful!” He nearly snapped when the youngsters dashed towards the stairs. He sighed in relief when the boys he had adopted throughout several years skidded into a stop and moved down the stairs calmly.

“Where are we going?” Wind queried before taking a swift dash to the front door to be first. The one eyed male chuckled a bit and shook his head as the others ran after their brother.

“It’s a surprise.” Time answers while taking it calmer. He let the boys get ready first before picking his coat. “Just go on. Get to the car.” He ushered while simply wanting to get some room to the entry of the house. The youngsters nodded and swiftly opened the door to get out into the cold of the winter.

The last day of the year was coming to an end in few hours and the ranch’s keeper had decided to give his boys something different. Each of the boys had seen at least one year’s fireworks. The youngest of the boys was still eager of seeing those bright and loud flashes of light and different colors while the oldest of the youngsters wasn’t that of interested of them anymore.

Time had rented a small minibus of sorts for this trip. It was bit expensive but it was the only way without needing to take the cart or forcing one to few of the older boys to drive their cars for this. “Come on, get in.” The one eyed male ushered while making sure each of the seven boys of his were inside before getting to the driver’s place.

“We’re gonna miss the fireworks, aren’t we?” The fourth adopted boy of the ranch’s owner half mumbled.

“Sadly, yes.” Time answered while fully wishing his plan would hold. “Yet, I do hope this’ll make up for it. If it doesn’t, I’ll figure out a way to make things right.” He promised after having checked that everyone had their seatbelts on. He started the car, reversed a bit and drove out of the ranch soon after.

“Just take a nap, guys, if you feel like it. It’ll be couple of hours drive.” The one eyed male warned while picking his road.

“Shouldn’t someone stay up just in case?” Twilight inquired bit worried.

Time shrugged a bit while putting his full notion into the road ahead. “Up to you, boys, what you wish to do. I’ve driven through nights before so I know what I’m doing.” He assured but he knew at least Twilight and Legend would stay awake to keep him company.

The couple of hour drive went past nicely. Each of Time’s boys actually stayed up while either enjoying of the starry night sky or then just coming up with topics to talk about. Soon enough the car was parked into empty parking area next to a dark looking forest.

“Just follow me.” Time called while getting out of the car. He made sure everyone was outside before he picked the backpack and locked the car. “Hold on to one another. Don’t want anyone getting lost now.”  He half requested as he led the way towards the entrance.

“T-Time…” Wind called bit fearfully while looking around the dark forest. He really hated it when he felt scared in this kind of places. Yet, the youngest boy was made for open areas and, most of all, into the rough waves of all kinds of waters.

“It’s all right, kiddo. Everything’s safe.” Time assured calmly while giving a slight squeeze to his boy’s hand. “I got you.” He promised while leading the way and glancing at his boys every now and then just to make sure each of them were following. He was grateful of Twilight keeping the rear while Sky was being third as an assuring and comforting presence for both Wind and Four. Legend was in about midway with Hyrule being in front of him and Wild behind him.

It took over a half an hour before they arrived into a clearing in middle of the forest. The road had been almost whole time into uphill which brought the area nicely high to see the sky well. “Here we are. The show should start soon.” Time told while letting the boys scatter a bit. “Don’t leave the clearing.” He half commanded, half requested as he took something out of the backpack. “Boys, come here!” He called after he had gotten the huge and thick blanket spread to the snow.

The seven youngsters were bit surprised of the protection between the cold and wet snow and them. “Take places.” Time nodded towards the blanket while laying down to the right side’s edge of the area. His boys frowned a bit but they soon picked places and bit gasped at the full starry sky.

“Is this the reason…?” Sky inquired while admiring the dark blue sky and the bright stars.

Time shook his head and bit sighed. “No. It’s a cool thing but not the main part.” He replied before grinning as the boys next to him gasped in shock and awe. “This is the reason.” He told as the Northern Lights appeared and lighted the sky with green, blue and reddish purple. Soon the sky was filled with color and wavy movements.

“The Northern Lights…” Four whispered astonished.

“Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, Dance of the Deities, Sun’s Power…” Time listed quietly but in the silence of the area his voice was easily heard. “Whatever you name them, it’s still worth of seeing.”

“How did you know these would be here tonight?” Hyrule asked while enjoying of the show.

“I got a friend in astral observatory, Professor Shikashi. He gives me the heads-up whenever there’s something worth of seeing at the sky.” The ranch’s keeper answered bit fondly.

“You know Professor Shikashi?” Legend sat up a bit to see Time better. He was fully awestruck by the information.

Time shrugged a bit while glancing at his boy. “Talon knew lot of people and introduced me to them. Professor Shikashi is one of few that I held contact to after…” He started before trailing off. He gulped once before shaking his head. “Anyway, I hope this is good enough countering to the fireworks.”

“This is absolutely awesome!” Wind exclaimed before tad frowning. “Wait… Are we… Oh gosh! Are we in the center of the whole show?!”

The caretaker of the seven boys chuckled and nodded. “Exactly there.” He mused while being grateful of having given his boys something of worthy being shown. “There’s a legend that goes with the Northern Lights called The Dance of the Deities. I kinda like it more than of the scientific explanation of things.”

“What’s the legend?” Wild inquired curiously.

Time smiled fondly and took a deep breath before sighing softly. “As the name says, the Deities are dancing. It is said that their festive is for giving good luck and great fortune for these lands. The Goddesses are dancing and the colorations we see are the hems of their dresses. The Gods are playing the music and hence they can’t be seen. Yet, the center of the area from where the colors spread is where the Gods are. The Goddesses are dancing around them. As they are in different realm than us, we can’t hear the music or see them but we can see the hems of the dresses the Goddesses wear. Yet, this isn’t all. There’s another part for it all. The times the Goddesses dance and the Gods play the divine music are the times the border between life and death opens up. The lost members of families are allowed to come and meet with the ones still alive. To tell all’s fine and good luck will arrive.”

The seven youngsters were silent for a while as they let the explanation fully sink in. “Have you ever…?” Sky started after a while with a quiet voice but he didn’t dare to finish his question.

Time sighed and shook his head. “No, never. Haven’t seen Talon, Malon or Wars even once.” He answered sorrowfully and shrugged. “It’s just a story but it’s kinda comforting idea nonetheless.” He explained softly while trying to keep his mind away from how much he really had lost within one year. “I haven’t see our little one either…”

The one eyed male took a deep breath and swiftly dried the few tears that had threatened to appear. “Anyway, let’s have something different!” He called as brightly as he could while sitting up and reaching for the backpack. “For warming up.” He told with a slight grin while starting to share out well packed and still warm sweet pastries.

The adopted boys of Time’s had first frowned but now they were giving out very delighted sounds at the offered snacks. The caretaker of the seven youngsters smiled fondly and watched his adopted kids enjoy of the special things as each of the pastries were bit different considering the filling.

Once the goods were devoured, the seven gave back the packaging as they really didn’t want to mess the nature around them. Time put them back into the backpack to be rid of rightfully. After that they returned to enjoy of the nature’s own show.

About hour later Time shared off one last treat of hot chocolates. They watched the Deities dance for the time it took to enjoy of the warming drinks. After that, as the colors of the light were dimming out, the one eyed male packed the blanket and started to lead his boys out of the clearing. Time still made certain that everyone was along and holding to one another to stay together.

It didn’t take long after the one eyed male had driven out of the parking lot for his boys to have fallen asleep. He didn’t mind of the silence and quiet sounds of sleeping. He just was fully happy of having given something very special for his boys.

When he finally parked the car back to the Lon-Lon Ranch, Time had bit of dilemma. All of his boys were asleep and he needed to get them inside but he really didn’t want to wake them up. Eventually he wrote a swift note and dangled it into the light switch of the small ceiling light: “I’m not far. Just carrying each of you one at a time to bed. =)” After that he started to work things as carefully and silently as he could while choosing to go from the smallest boys upwards. Luckily Wind was in the seat next to the door with Four being in the seat next to him.

It wasn’t easy to get the boys out of the car, lock the doors and get to the main house’s door and open it up. Yet, the bigger part was to get his own shoes off without needing to get his boy out of his arms. Somehow he still managed with the task while being able to carry the youngsters to their beds. Shoes, jacket, gloves and woolly hat off before picking up the spare blankets and gently tucking them over the kids.

Time had managed to get four boys of his inside and to their beds before Twilight started to stir. The one eyed male tried to calm him down but the youngster yawned and blinked his eyes open. “Just get inside and to bed. No need to wash up or anything.” He whispered while gently picking Sky up into his arms.

“Let me help.” Twilight yawned before working Wild into his hold. Time just nodded while feeling tad worried but he knew his boys were careful and considerate kids. They carried the duo inside and to their rooms before bidding good night and heading off to their own rooms. The ranch’s owner thought for a moment about washing up anyways but he decided against it in worry of waking up the others by the sound of the water and all.

Just as the oldest resident of the Lon-Lon Ranch was up for falling asleep, the boys, one after the other, just walked into his room. Yawning and bit rubbing their eyes, they just crawled into the bed and curled up around the soft mattress. Time just watched his bed get overtaken by the seven youngsters. He shook his head with a fond smile and carefully got up from the bed.

The one eyed male went to one of the wardrobes in his room and as quietly as he could opened one of the doors in there. One by one he picked the spare blankets out of there and gently laid them over his boys. Once he was certain the seven were comfortable, he returned to his earlier place and calmed down too. Soon enough the eight males of Lon-Lon Ranch were peacefully sleeping and dreaming happily.

[crimsonwolf715]

Singing Me To Sleep

{Yay, married NaLu! Things to note is that in this fanfic Natsu is dyslexic, so has a hard time reading. He can't read Lucy's hand writing at all though. This takes place as an alternate ending (so before 100 year Quest). I don't actually know how the story ends (I'm in season six timeframe), so there aren't any end spoilers that I know of.}

Lucy walks into her apartment with Plue. 

“Welcome home, Lucy!” Happy says excitedly as she closes the door. 

“You and Natsu are back soon,” Lucy says,” How was the mission?” 

“Mission was a complete success. Why couldn’t you come with us again?” Happy asks. 

“I told you, I had something that I had to attend to before tomorrow,” Lucy answers. She looks around and notices that her dragon is nowhere to be seen. 

“Where’s Natsu?” 

Happy flies over to the bed and pulls the covers back enough that Lucy can see Natsu’s head. He’s asleep, but it doesn’t look restful. His mouth is moving slightly and his eyelids are twitching. 

Lucy sits down on the edge of the bed and runs a hand through Natsu’s hair. Natsu takes a deep breath through his nose, then nuzzles up to Lucy’s hand. Lucy laughs softly, then Natsu’s eyes crack open slightly. 

“Lucy?” he asks. 

“Yes?” 

“You okay?” 

“Of course,” she answers,” Why?” 

“I’m just glad that you’re alright. Are we still on for tomorrow? Or is that today?” 

“It begs the question. What are you talking about?” 

“We’re supposed to go visit your parents' graves and then Mira’s throwing a get-together to celebrate Levy and Gajeel’s baby,” Natsu answers. 

Lucy nods,” Yeah, we’re still going to do that tomorrow.” 

Natsu grabs Lucy around the waist and tries to pull her next to him.

 “Not a chance,” Lucy says,” I still need to eat.” 

“Food?” 

“Food?” Happy echoes. 

“Have you two not eaten?” Lucy asks. 

“No food,” Natsu answers, shaking his head. He then lays his head in Lucy’s lap. 

She laughs,” Come on, then. We can go pick something up and then we can call it an early night, okay?” 

Natsu sits up, nodding. 

“That requires you to wake up,” Lucy says softly, shaking him gently. 

“I’m awake,” he replies,” I’m awake. I’m awake .” 

Lucy stops shaking him, so he starts tickling her. She attempts to get away from him, but he keeps an arm wrapped around her waist so she is unable to escape. The tickling stops when Lucy kisses him. They spend a minute just basking in each other’s embrace, then Lucy gets up and pulls Natsu up to his feet.

Natsu drags his feet the entire way to dinner. 

“Can you at least pretend to enjoy this?” Lucy asks. 

Natsu cocks his head and smiles,” What do you mean? Of course I’m gonna enjoy this. I’m here with you and Happy. What more could I ask for? I’m just tired.” 

Lucy smiles and grabs Natsu’s hand. Natsu eats enough for three people while Lucy and Happy share a meal. The walk home is spent talking about the guild and what the members may be up to at this time of night. As soon as they get home, Happy starts gnawing on a fish. 

“I’m gonna take a bath,” Lucy says. 

“Okay,” Natsu replies,” I’m gonna… I’m gonna attempt to read your latest manuscript.” 

Lucy laughs,” Okay, good luck.” 

Natsu sulks over to Lucy’s writing desk and picks up the first page of Lucy’s manuscript. After several minutes of being unable to read it, he turns to Happy. 

“Read this for me.” 

“Lucy said that she’d give me fishies and a playdate with the other Exceed if I don’t read it to you, so I can’t. Sorry, Natsu.” 

“She’s bribing you?” Natsu asks. 

Happy nods,” You know you’re my best friend, but I never get to see all of the Exceeds together anymore.” 

Natsu starts fuming, then remembers that he can just go to sleep. He walks into the bedroom and starts humming as he pulls his shirt off. 

“Whatcha humming?” Lucy asks as she walks into the bedroom. 

“That song that you were singing the other day,” Natsu answers. 

“Don’t know what you’re talking about. I sing a lot of songs,” Lucy replies. 

Natsu shrugs,” I can’t remember what you said the name of it was.” 

He falls forward onto the bed and strokes Happy’s head. Happy purrs. Lucy pushes Natsu further onto the bed and lays down. Natsu snuggles up to her and lays his head on her chest. 

“It’s really too early for you to be this tired,” she says as she grabs her book and turns on the book lamp. 

Natsu shrugs, then closes his eyes.

Lucy notices the moment that Natsu’s whole body starts trembling. She puts her book down to check on him. His heart is racing and he’s starting to sweat. She shakes him lightly, seeing if that’ll wake him up. His eyes pop open and he pushes himself away from Lucy. He sits down with his back pressed against the wall. He’s sobbing and sucking in heavy breaths. 

“Natsu.” 

She grabs his face and it seems to calm him down considerably. The sobs stop and his breathing starts to regulate. 

“Are you okay?” she asks,” Bad dream?” 

He nods,” Igneel… He… He died.” 

Lucy strokes Natsu’s hair and searches for where Happy is sleeping on the bed. Normally he sleeps between them, but since she hadn’t settled down yet. 

“Happy,” she says, hoping to get his attention. 

Happy flies out from underneath the bed and lands in Natsu’s lap. Natsu hugs Happy and grabs Lucy’s hand. After a couple of minutes, Natsu’s breathing is back to normal and he’s laying back down. 

Natsu starts to sing softly into Lucy’s ear. Lucy smiles as Natsu repositions so Happy can sleep between them, but keeps singing softly. Lucy laughs as he butchers the lyric placement, but doesn’t say anything. 

“What?” Natsu asks. 

“Nothing,” Lucy answers,” This is really sweet though.” 

Natsu’s outline shrugs. “I know you like this sort of thing.” 

“I do,” Lucy says,” Thank you.” 

“Of course. Anytime.” 

“So we can do this every night?” Lucy asks. 

“Yeah,” Natsu answers,” I’ll actually have to pay attention to the lyrics of songs, but I can do that.” 

“I don’t care if it’s the same two songs as long as you’re singing it,” Lucy whispers. 

“Thanks, but I’m really not that good.” 

Lucy laughs,” Okay, whatever you say.” 

She falls asleep listening to Natsu sing to her.

[nice-profession-mechanic]

While it's neat to see Braham's arc wrapping up with him doing his version of what he thought his Mom would do. Its also telling that Eir got that streak from the champion of coming-up-with-a-plan-that-might-kill-us-all:

Snaff

Spoilers for Edge of Destiny (Novel, 2010), Guild Wars 2 Base Game, Heart of Thorns, Living World Season 4, Icebrood Saga

While it might be hard to believe that Destiny's Edge was a particularly successful guild and if there was any reason to get the gang back together when outside of the dungeon stories the Pact seems to be doing more useful stuff in the base game's story, in Season 1 theyre almost all siffering from siccess and in Heart of Thorns they're all damseled (except for Caithe who has her 30k hurt comfort slash fiction come to a tragic end).

But before the base game: in the novel Edge of Destiny (which retells how the Guild was formed and their escapades until they broke up the first time) they had an astounding success rate that was unheard of before the commander took to the scene.

They succeed with 6 people what normally takes 50 players and a dozen NPCs to do in game: Kill a dragon's champion. They kill the champion of Zaitan, Primordus and Jormag (making the story from Icebrood Saga possible at all by vacating the position of Champion for Braham and Ryland to fill years later).

When they finally turned their attention to try and take down an Elder Dragon they got the inside scoop from Glint on a possible way to slay Kralkatorrik (who as this point in the story was still asleep).

Snaff had been using a magical mo-cap suit to control his golem and had found a way to reverse the magic to make people resistant to the tainting effects of dragon magic. And using the blood spilled from Kralkatorrik's last battle (that Glint had been so kind to collect and hold on to for several thousand years) found a way to use nothing but his mental fortitude and a stylish hat to wrestle the freshly awoken Elder Dragon out of the sky and bind him in place.

Just imagine that, the only characters we know that let their mind get anywhere near the core of a dragon lost all control of themself and were overwhelmed, essentially becoming thralls of the Dragon with their ego protecting itself in a corner of their mind. And then Snaff McBigBalls says, "While I've not tried to yet, it is possible that I can mentally armwrestle an Elder Dragon into submission. It would be bad science to not try."

And he succeeds.

As for why this actual titan of both magic and science isn't around and is barely mentioned in the base game? Cause that's the tragedy of Destiny's Edge, they arranged the most competent team of people Tyria had seen in years, and they forgot to not include Logan Thackery.

Logan bails mid fight against Kralk, the rest of the team is unable to maintain a defence around Snaff who is killed (doesnt stop mind wrestling Kralk the whole time, holding on each extra second in case thats all thats needed to deliver the final blow), Glint also dies here (Kralk has been meaning to kill her for a while and once they are free to move again they kill their own child). And the only one at the end who tries to pick up the pieces is Caithe. Who mirror's Glint's story and gathers up the crystallising blood from this fight with Kralkatorrik so when LWS4 comes around we have some to use it our second attempt on that guy's life (it also doesn't work, lets not kid ourselves, takes 3 real attempts to take the big laddie down).

So in the final story beat of Heart of Thorns where Trehearn asks you to kill him cause he can't stand up to the mental onslaught from Mordremoth, remember Snaff was in the same situation, but he was the one dominating the mind of an Elder Dragon.

He still did die though.

Eir takes this loss quite poorly as she was their big ideas lady. It was her plan to use Snaff's tech to pin the Dragon (her last plan to do a similar thing had gone way better). And these are the stories that Braham hears of Eir. Of taking the lead, sticking to your plans when they're a good plan, not asking other to make a sacrifice you're also not willing to make.

Things Eir and Snaff do that helps the plot later that the plot forgets to mention:

Push back the awakening of Primordus

Push back Jormag's influence from the areas near Hoelbrak

Show an Elder Dragon can be killed (if you bring more than 6 people)

Help Caithe get out of her abusive relationship

Give Zojja enough confidence that she gets a whole ascended armor set named after her

Put Zaitan on the back foot to prevent and incursion from Orr for several more years

If that was your mom, you'd throw yourself into danger too.