#which was very fun i think i’m gonna do it like this more

[peachhcs]

i love your wonder years works!! i feel like you write young and pining will and samy sooooooo welll 🫶🏽 would love more of them and their friends in highschool they are so cute - (i just reread the jealousy blurbs). you are so talented 😊!!

aww wait i’m so happy to hear that bc i loveeeee writing the wonder years so much and i always feel like people don’t like it as much 🥹🥹 anyways you ask and you shall receive!!

i feel like most of the pining happens senior year because that’s when both of them have feelings for one another so here’s new year’s eve 2022 in samy’s basement where she has a bunch of people over to celebrate and her breakup with kevin is still somewhat fresh but will’s feelings are at an all time high (and so are samy’s!!)

warnings??: underage drinking, will lowkey being a perv by looking at samy constantly but like not because he’s also a 17 year old with a huge fat crush on his best friend

au masterlist

will seriously shouldn’t have come to this because how was he supposed to stay away from samy on new year’s eve with alcohol in his system knowing how good she looked standing five feet away from him, but she just broke up with kevin not that long ago and will was pretty sure it was really wrong to drunkingly make out with her like they sometimes did because she just went through a breakup.

he was so fucked.

the blonde tried keeping his eyes on gabe and drew where he stood with them talking in their small circle, but the urge to look over at the brunette was so much stronger. too strong. he peaked a glimpse and every time his breath hitched in his throat and his brain short circuited for a good five seconds when his eyes traveled the expanse of her outfit. her, marcie, lauren, and riley had a mix of similar outfits on, something they planned. will’s gaze was trained on her black mini skirt that was reused from halloween and her shiny, sequined long sleeve top where he could totally see her black bralette underneath.

he needed to stop looking. he was being weird and creepy and someone was definitely going to clock him on it if he didn’t quit it, so the blonde tore his gaze away again and tried focusing on the words leaving drew’s mouth.

“honestly, i think we’re gonna win the whole thing,” the taller brunette mumbled taking another sip of his drink.

will was pretty sure they were talking about u18 worlds in may. “i mean why wouldn’t we? we’ve got the best lines, the best defense, the best players. we’ve got nothing on them,” gabe listed off on his fingers.

the other thing will couldn’t shake from his mind was that kevin was here. samy still invited him since they were still friends and will knew he didn’t really have anything to worry about with him anymore, but he just couldn’t really shake the feeling of all three of them being in the same room knowing how tense things used to be. kevin was on the other end of the room talking with his soccer friends, very oblivious to will’s erratic heart beat and racing thoughts.

“i need another drink,” will muttered because he couldn’t focus on what his friends were talking about and he also just wanted another excuse to walk past samy and check her out without being too obvious.

he squeezed past her and she happened to look at him as he passed. she flashed a wide smile at the blonde and his knees almost gave out seeing that smile directed at him.

“you having fun?” she turned to talk to him for a second.

“yeah, this is great,” will nodded, forcing his eyes to stay on her face.

“i’m glad!” she turned back to her friends leaving will to continue to the drink table.

he mulled over his options when he got there wondering which one would maybe help him forget the feelings he had and make him remember that samy was strictly his best friend and would never see him as something more than that.

he hoped the high noon would do the trick.

“hey,” the voice snapped the hockey player from his thoughts. kevin stood beside him, eyeing the drinks too.

“hey?” will wondered what he wanted.

“maybe i just see it more now that samy and i aren’t together, but you’re really obvious,” kevin said.

“what?” the blonde was caught off guard.

“come on, man. it’s so obvious you have a thing for her. you’ve been staring at her for the past like..hour,” kevin laughed and will’s face flushed hot with embarrassment. was he really that obvious?

“well she doesn’t like me. she never will,” will took a large sip of the high noon to wash that thought away. he didn’t notice the way kevin grimaced because he actually did know how the soccer player felt, but he wasn’t that shitty to tell her secret.

“i mean how do you know that? you’ve never asked,” kevin said instead.

“you really think i’m gonna go up to her and ask? real funny, man,” never in a million years would will put everything on the line to ask samy if she liked him the way he did.

“i dunno. what’s it gonna hurt?”

“our friendship?” that felt like a given, but kevin just shrugged.

“all i’m saying is that i think everyone at this party knows you like her.”

“why are you being so nice to me? i thought you hated me,” will found this interaction weird because him and kevin have never been able to talk to each other like this.

“i’m just trying to make up for being shitty to you. trying to help is all,” the brunette mumbled and walked away before will could respond. he pinched his eyebrows together, watching as kevin went back to his friends in the corner.

what he didn’t know was that samy had been watching their entire interaction. as soon as kevin approached, her eyes were on the two like a hawk. she knew her and kevin were fine and he promised to leave will alone, but she still worried he’d get set off and do something stupid again. surprisingly, nothing happened and maybe kevin was gonna chill out from now on.

“you’re staring again,” marcie mumbled when she caught her friend’s eyes on will’s back. samy quickly snapped her attention back to the group.

“sorry,” the youngest hughes blushed.

“this is totally your chance. he’s been staring at you all night,” riley poked.

“no he hasn’t. you’re delusional,” the brunette shook her head, never believing her friends when they started saying stuff like that.

“i’m being serious! he totally thinks you look hot at least,” riley continued meaning samy’s outfit. all the soccer play did though was shake her head.

“he’ll never see me like that.”

“what about all that shit him and kevin argued about? wasn’t that about you?” lauren piped up.

“kevin says a lot of shit. will and i are just friends,” samy mumbled, drinking the rest of her “tropical, fruity” punch as marcie liked to call it that was just a huge mix of different chasers and vodka.

“i could not be friends with someone that i kiss when i’m drunk,” lauren shook her head, but samy quickly shushed her.

“shut up. we don’t talk about that,” her and will hadn’t even done that since summer because of her thing with kevin.

“i can’t wait for the day you two finally put your pride aside and realize how much you like one another,” marcie mumbled.

“i’m getting another drink,” samy determined because she desperately wanted to escape the conversation and will still hadn’t moved from the drink table.

she shuffled her way over there and leaned her head on will’s arm. “found you again,” she looked up at him with a smile.

“hi again,” the blonde chuckled, but internally he was freaking out.

“can you pour me so more punch?” samy pointed to the big bowl and held her cup out. will nodded.

“are you having fun at your own party?” he wondered

“i’m having a blast. best new year’s party don’t you think?” she wondered and will nodded again. he handed her cup back, unable to stop his gaze from dropping below her face for a split second to stare some more.

“i don’t think i’ve been to one as good as this,” the blonde admitted because he hadn’t really been to a party like this before. being in michigan with samy meant that she introduced him to a lot of random house parties her high school friends were throwing on the weekends.

“i’m honored. you flatter me,” the youngest hughes giggled.

that urge will’s had all night only got stronger standing so close to samy. he wanted to kiss her so bad, but he had to think better of it because he wasn’t a rebound and they were drunk (not like that’s ever stopped them before though).

“found anyone to kiss on new year’s yet?” samy teased and will flushed.

“i haven’t. have you?” he asked and hoped she would say no because will did not think he’d be able to handle it if he saw samy kissing someone that wasn’t him.

“nooo, i probably won’t kiss anyone. i’ll kiss my myself,” the girl giggled, the alcohol starting to talk for her.

“self-love is very important,” the blonde smiled hearing her little laugh and then took another big drink of the high noon because he couldn’t be having these thoughts.

if will had any new year’s resolutions it was that he needed to stop believing he had a chance with samy. maybe in 2023 he’d finally find someone that would get his mind off of her. (wrong)

“guys, it’s almost midnight!” someone yelled and then everyone turned their attention to the tv stream of the local ann arbor news that did their own countdown.

samy grabbed will’s hand to the tv so she could see better. the boy flushed feeling her hand in his and even worse when she didn’t let go.

“ten, nine, eight, seven..”

the countdown faded out of will’s ears because the only thing he could focus on was the girl beside him jumping with excitement about the new year. she squeezed his hand tighter when they got closer to 1 and everything in the hockey player was short circuiting.

“..three, two, one! happy new year!” the whole basement erupted in cheers as everyone jumped onto one another in excitement.

a few people kissed because of the alcohol buzzing through their systems and will was caught off guard again when samy jumped into his arms screaming in his ear.

“happy new year!” she smiled widely and will couldn’t help but smile back.

“happy new year,” he said and his stomach flipped when he watched her gaze drift down to his lips briefly. was he seeing things or did she actually do that?

he didn’t have time to question it because samy jumped towards her friends before he could even say something. will watched her hug marcie, lauren, and riley when his friends went over to him. they excitedly jumped onto his back and the boy because immersed in their excitement, the thoughts of samy almost kissing him leaving his brain as he celebrated with the boys.

[holidaywishes]

Out of Control

Hate Sex Part 5

Requested: 👍 and 👎

Summary: Over the last year, Auston keeps getting into trouble

Warning: angst, fighting,

Author’s Note: So, this is kind of like a prelude to the next chapter which was a request for a new chapter, I'll post the full request in the next chapter, I had it all as one but it was like 20 pages in Google Docs before I even got to the heart of the request and even this is still very long. Finding a way to make it all flow is what has taken me ages to edit and post, so this is my solution. hopefully, this means I’ll have the next part up soon but 🤞. Anyway, thank you loves and Happy New Year!

masterlist

masterlist part ii

the other masterlist

xx

Auston's P.O.V

You missed her. As much as you didn’t want to, as much as she made it clear that you’re not what she wanted, you missed her. You spent two months wallowing or focusing on nothing other than winning as if that could somehow fix everything. On the few days off you had between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, you drank until you passed out and you could tell that your mom was starting to worry but every time you slowed down, you thought of (Y/N).

  “Don’t you think this is getting a little bit dangerous?” Willy asked as he helped you up from the floor of your apartment after you’d fallen to the floor

  “I’m in my own apartment, we don’t have a game for a few days, I’ll be fine for practice,” you slurred as he set you back on the couch, “don’t worry about me”

  “Auston, this is ridiculous,” he scoffed, “if I’d known that this is where you were at, I wouldn’t have agreed to hang out tonight”

  “Calm down,” you huffed, pushing yourself up from the couch, nearly crashing into Willy as you did so, “I’m fine. We deserve to have a great New Year’s Eve, to celebrate!”

  “I think you’ve already done enough celebrating for the both of us”

  “Look,” you said, placing your hand on his shoulder, “Morgan and Tessa are having a baby… so we’re not gonna see him a lot. Mitch is… married. We can try to get him to come out but, chances are, he’s already got plans. We should be having fun, a few drinks aren’t gonna hurt anybody. Hangover’s don’t last forever.” You took a sip from the beer bottle you’d grabbed off the table and waited for Willy’s answer; he was about to cave, you could see it but you had to wait

  “Fine!” he agreed, sighing slightly

“Atta boy!” you cheered, walking to the kitchen to grab him a drink, “now, get started, I’m gonna go change.” The night started slow but when it finally got going, you did your best to keep the mood up but the closer to midnight it got, the more you noticed couples forming around you.

  “Don’t do it,” Willy called to you as you pulled out your phone, “nothing good can come from checking her stories”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about” you lied

  “Celebrate here. Find someone here, it should be easy.” You rolled your eyes but tried to follow his suggestion, looking around at who wasn’t paired up. Your eyes landed on a petite (Y/C/H) girl in jeans and you decided to make a move, chugging the last of your drink before heading over to her

  “Hi,” you smiled as you leaned down to the girl’s ear and she turned around, “I’m Auston.” She smiled in return before outstretching her hand, you were suddenly flooded by images of (Y/N) in your head

  “Hi, Auston,” she said as you shook hands, bringing you back to the moment, “I’m Laura, nice to meet you”

  “Nice to meet you,” you replied, “so… wanna dance?”

  “I-” she hesitated

“No pressure,” you continued, moving closer to her, “we could always just wait around until midnight, sipping Champagne.” You felt someone knock your shoulder and you just scoffed, rolling at your eyes before saying to Laura, “some people hey?”

  “Yeah…” she started before you heard a voice from behind you

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he yelled

  “Back off, bro,” you replied, turning around to face this angry guy whose face was red with rage, pushing his shoulder once, “I don’t need this tonight”

  “Why don’t you back off, bro?” he added, getting right up until your noses were practically touching

  “Hey, what’s this romance about?” Willy joked, trying to calm the situation down

  “This clown was harassing my girlfriend” the guy said, gesturing to Laura, who was now crossing her arms in front of her chest

  “Whoa,” you started with a scoff and your hands up in defence, “I was not harassing her. I didn’t know she had a boyfriend, I didn’t know you had a boyfriend” you repeated, turning to Laura

  “Well…” she tried, “you didn’t really let me…”

  “She was waiting for me, dickhead,” the boyfriend spoke up again, this time forcefully turning you around to face him, “you should learn to show a little respect”

  “Coming from the douche bag yelling in the middle of a dance floor”

  “Auston…” you heard Willy sigh before dropping his head in his hand before the boyfriend’s eyes narrowed and his fist was flying through the air. The first punch flew past you and, out of pure instinct, you threw a fist in return; connecting with his face immediately. The small feeling of pride soon dissipated when his fist finally met your jaw and the crowd around you quickly stepped back so they didn’t get in the way of the fight. Eventually, you felt hands tearing you away and telling you to stop fighting before you were tossed out of the club. “What the actual fuck, dude?” Willy shouted, pushing your shoulder as you walked down the street with a bloody lip

  “How the fuck was I supposed to know she had a boyfriend?” you yelled in return

  “You didn’t have to get into a fucking brawl!”

  “It wasn’t a brawl, relax”

  “Auston, we just got tossed out of a fucking building,” he said angrily, “if you hadn’t been physically pulled away from this guy, it could’ve been really bad”

  “Well, then I guess it’s a good thing it wasn’t,” you scoffed, patting your lip to see how much blood was there, “I just need to get back home, you can do whatever you want. Happy New Year…”

  “What is going on with you?” he said calmly, stopping at the corner to talk to you, “you’ve been drinking a lot and now a fight? Even before we left, you were so out of it that you could barely stand”

  “That’s dramatic,” you scoffed, “I’ve been drunk a handful of times in the last month and this is one fight. It’s not like it’ll happen again”

  “Better not,” he replied, “because it’s not gonna impress her…” You rolled your eyes at his statement before the two of you went in your own directions. You weren’t trying to impress (Y/N) and, even if you were, you knew this wasn’t the way to do it. She’d hate this. Hate the bravado, hate seeing you like this. You just got caught up in it this time, that’s all. 

xx

4 months later

  “Rumour has it, Auston is the captain of the Leafs now,” Mary said while the two of you walked toward your brunch spot

  “Calm down, Mary,” you scoffed, “it’s just a rumour…”

  “That’s true,” she folded briefly, “there’s still lots of time for things to change, people to change, that kind of thing…”

  “I guess,” you sighed, pointing at a spot to sit when you walked into the restaurant, “why are you bringing this up anyway?”

  “It seemed like a big deal. I thought maybe you’d be interested”

  “Well, thanks but no thanks”

  “(Y/N)...” she smiled and tilted her head, “I know it’s been a while since you’ve talked to him, or seen him for that matter, but you were pretty invested for a minute”

  “I wasn’t invested”

  “I beg to differ” she responded before looking at the menu, forcing you to shake your head in annoyance

  “Look,” you said, “we… I took myself out of his world. Tessa and Mo are the ones I see, they’re the ones I’m friends with. Auston is just… he’s-”

  “Out of control” Tessa interrupted, apparently having heard the conversation you’d been having with Mary

  “What?” you and Mary said, watching Tessa and her pregnant belly maneuver into the patio seat

  “He got into a fight” Tessa finally said

  “I thought that was on New Year’s Eve?” Mary asked

  “Wait what?” you scoffed but the two of them continued

  “Oh yeah but that was then,” Tessa added, “he got into another one like two nights ago at some restaurant”

  “What was it about?” Mary asked

  “Who knows!” Tessa exclaimed, “Mo tried to ask but Auston just got mad and walked away”

  “Well, he’s young. He’ll move on,” you smirked to yourself, sure no one was listening to you only to be met by scolds from your two friends, “what?”

  “You don’t perhaps think this has something to do with you?” Tessa asked, irritated

  “Me?” you scoffed, “what would it have to do with me?”

  “Halloween, 2023” Mary said, dramatically

  “You mean 7 months ago?” you huffed

  “I was going for dramatic effect,” she continued, “but yes”

  “What about it?”

  “Seriously?!” both Tessa and Mary threw their hands up before Tessa tried to get through to you, “whatever happened at that Halloween party, however you ended it, whatever you said to him… it clearly affected him”

  “Hey,” you said sharply, pointing your finger in her face, “it is not my fault that he’s gone off the rails. He’s making his own decisions”

  “He’s hurt, (Y/N),” Mary said softly, “he had real feelings for you. You have to know that, don’t you?”

  “And you were feeling it too. Mo and I saw it, Mitch and Steph saw it, they brought it up after you stopped coming around when you knew Auston would be there. It’s okay to admit it…” Tessa added and you dropped your head, rubbing your forehead as you tried to think of something to say, if only just to get them off your back

  “I couldn’t imagine being in a relationship that started with so much negativity, so much drama,” you finally admitted, “it wouldn’t matter what feelings I had or how strong those feelings were, I’d always be waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for the toxicity to show up again and again and again. I saw his feelings, I heard him confess them to me, I felt it from him and I could tell he was being vulnerable with me so I… I made a choice to let things end before he could get any more attached. So he could realize that he’d be better off without the constant up and down of whatever we were doing”

  “And now he’s getting into fights,” Tessa said

  “Like he’s taking it out on the world,” Mary cooed, “he’s really hurting”

  “Mary,” you groaned, “I don’t know what’s going on with him, I really don’t, but even if he was really hurting, he shouldn’t be acting so immature. Especially, if they’re actually gonna make him captain.” Your phone rang suddenly and you were able to get out of this loop you’d found yourself in, except you couldn’t because Stephanie was on the other line screaming about Auston and Mitch getting into a fight, “slow down, what’s wrong?”

  “Auston is about to get beat up,” she said, clearly scared and on the brink of tears, “Mitch tried to stop it, tried to stop him, but Auston kept riling this guy up…”

  “Where are you?” you asked, Tessa and Mary looking at each other quickly before they looked back at you

  “Grace O’Malley’s” Steph replied

  “Grace O–” you sighed, “I can’t get down there in less than half an hour, you’re gonna have to find a way to calm him down”

  “Can’t you hurry? Just speed through some red lights?” she joked

  “I’m out with Tess and Mary, we took the train,” you said, watching Tessa mouth that she took an Uber, pointing at her phone. You waved her away and went back to Steph, “I’m sorry. Is he drunk?” you asked, not sure which answer you were hoping for. If he was drunk, you could understand it more but it would mean that he was drinking in the middle of the day, if he wasn’t drunk, he was just being an asshole

  “I think, maybe a little,” she admitted, “he’s had like three beers?”

  “You could call the cops?” you offered, voice squeaking as you suggested it, knowing no one would be on board with it

  “ARE YOU JOKING?!” yeah, there it was. Steph’s shocked yell said it all and Tessa’s face added to it. You rolled your eyes at the whole situation, “there’s no way that would fly with the coaching staff”

  “It’s not like anything would actually happen,” you mumbled to yourself to which Mary’s eyes went big and pushed you to do something, “give him the phone”

  “What?” she whimpered

  “Can you get the phone to him? Let me try to talk some sense into him…” you waited for her to give him the phone, looking at the girls in front of you waiting for answers but you could only shrug. You eventually heard a bunch of yelling and swearing on the other end while Stephanie took the phone over to Auston

  “Auston!” she yelled, “AUSTON! (Y/N) wants to talk to you”

  “I’m not talking to her,” he yelled at Stephanie, “tell her to fuck off.” You waited for some kind of response but it did seem like the fight was dying down, so that was a plus

  “He doesn’t want to talk to you…” she said truthfully, “but it looks like he’s out of the fight. I’m so sorry for calling, I was just nervous and I didn’t know what to do”

  “That’s okay,” you smiled to yourself, “are you okay?”

  “I’m okay” she said and you let her know that if she ever needed anything, you were happy to help however you could and then it was back to the two faces looking at you.

  “What?” you said dismissively as you hung up the phone and tried your best not to hear the anger in Auston’s voice anymore

  “Everything okay?” Mary asked

  “What was all that?” Tessa added

  “It’s all taken care of,” you replied, “Steph was a little worried about a fight Auston was in but it’s all over now. The three of you went on with your brunch as if the call never happened, as if Auston didn’t get into another brawl, but your mind started to wander. You started to think about how many fights he might have gotten himself into since the last time you saw him. Almost a year ago? That can’t be right, can it? You thought to yourself, you must have run into him at some point in the last 7 months. Playoffs? No, you were out of town for work. New Year’s? No, Mo didn’t have a party because Tessa was in her first trimester… the more you thought about it, the more you realized you had completely distanced yourself from him. But that’s what you said you wanted, wasn’t it? So, it shouldn’t be a problem. It wasn’t for you, but it clearly was for him. Yet, you couldn’t help but ask yourself, why, after almost a year, is he acting out now?

xx

  “He’s been doing this for months” Stephanie explained when you were out with her and Mary for brunch nearly 5 months since the last time, having yet another conversation about Auston’s downward spiral, “New Year’s was a tense night but he wasn’t out of control yet”

  “Probably because the season was still going” Mary added and Steph nodded

  “In between New Year’s Day and Michael’s wedding, he was all over the place. He went to France and like.. went down on some girl on a public beach but it was in a private cabana or something so there was no fine,” she continued. “When he was at the NHL awards, he took his sister to a casino and - from the way he explained it to Mitch - some guy wouldn’t leave her alone, hitting on her non-stop, so Auston yelled at the guy and the guy was drunk, he pushed Auston and they both had to be escorted out”

  “Oh my god,” you said before taking a sip of your drink, “and that fight at the pub was in the middle of all of this?”

  “Kinda,” Stephanie said, trying to recall the timeline, “the latter half for sure, close to Michael’s wedding. That’s about the time John told him that becoming Captain was gonna be a reality. It was like a wake up call”

  “John still thought that he was ready for it? After all of that?” you scoffed

  “I think he is,” Steph exclaimed quietly, “I think he’s just.. going through something”

  “We know what that is…” Mary said under her breath, straw between her teeth, with her eyebrows raised

  “Take a drink, Mary,” you said, rolling your eyes, “Steph, if he’s acting like this because he’s going through something in the off season, how’s he gonna be any better during the actual season?”

  “I mean, these Original Six hockey cities are insane to play for. The highs are massive and the lows are excruciating. Auston’s respected by the entire team and the coaches love him”

  “But,” you questioned, gesturing with your fork in your hand, “do they respect him as a leader or as a goal scorer? He’s got great scoring streaks and he’s friends with pretty much the whole team. The coaching staff love him because of what they can make from him and the guys love him because they like hanging out with him off the ice.”

  “What they can make from him?” Stephanie scoffed, “is that all you think they think of him?”

  “All I’m saying is that Captains are supposed to be leaders on and off the ice. They’re supposed to be stable. They’re supposed to have strong character and if Auston is fighting all the time, maybe he’s not ready to be Captain…”

  “Maybe he just needs the right push” Stephanie said

  “Or maybe he needs the right people to believe in him,” Mary added, “if he’s respected, he could do extremely well as Captain”

  “Or,” you stated quietly, because you knew no one else was going to say it, “he’s going to get eaten alive.” The start of the season was coming soon and hearing about Auston becoming Captain was impossible to escape; Stephanie believed in Auston, whether that was because Mitch believed in him or because she thought Auston was really ready for it, you weren’t sure and Mary was trying to play to your emotions, as she always did, so you tried to swerve the conversation into something else so you could enjoy your time together before life got in the way again.

When you finally made your way to the train, saying goodbye to Mary and Stephanie, you let out a long sigh before letting your mind go blank; your apartment was a refuge at this point. No one was going to bother you or talk to you about bad decisions you’d made in the past, you could just take your shoes off, free yourself from the prison that was your bra, and fall asleep on the couch - something that took immediate effect when you walked through the door. You found the remote and clicked on the power before tossing it lightly on the table in front of you

  “...I think everybody knows the news,” a voice said as the colours of the screen filled your dark apartment, “..to announce Auston as the 26th captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs”

“Are you kidding me?” you thought to yourself, scoffing at the cruel irony of not being able to escape him, even in your sanctuary.

[orbweaverspidergirl]

Chapter 2: sometimes love is not enough

summary: Jason Todd was your twin. He was your brother through thick and thin, and nothing would ever change that, but his death did. You're reminded of him every day. From his clothes you kept after his death to his ugly Robin suit that you still can't believe Bruce let him wear. Sometimes, you think you see him too. He's always in the corner of your eye when you're on patrol and you think maybe, just maybe, that he's watching over you.

tw: brief talks of reader being shirtless.

A/N: I also deleted the tags for batbro x batfam because it's hard for me not to envision the reader as a woman. I'm really sorry to my male reader, but I have my other work, The Coffee Shop, that is gender neutral. Also, the reader is a queer woman.

Gotham City

Drug Bust

2007

March 20

You shove a man against a wall, your hands coated in his blood. He’s a low-grade wannabe villain, but he was a pain in the ass to deal with. “Shocked, you had all this money, drug boy.” In the back you hear your partner, Shadow, snort.

“Doesn’t mean much to call him names when he’s passed out, Green.” You look at the middle-aged man passed out against the wall. 

“Aw shit. B’s gonna be so pissed, I was supposed to interrogate him.” You sigh; exhaustion clear in your voice. She pats your shoulder and hauls him with the rest of his goons on the floor. 

“Well, I’m sure that’ll be fun, but I gotta dip.” You nod and smile at her through the mask, but you know she can’t see it. 

“Be safe out there, Shadow.” She shoots pointer finger guns and jumps out of the second story window. You can’t see her as she disappears into the night and you think she picked the name, Shadow, perfectly. You look at the men on the floor and turn away. 

“Green, Batman is on the way.” Oracle speaks through the comms, and you nod. 

“Cool, I’m gonna get some fresh air, so tell B I’ll be on the roof.”      

“Heard.” She goes mute once more and you jump out the window, similar to Shadow. The air swoops your hood down as you grapple up the roof. It’s chilly and you wish your suit was more heat resistant. You’ll have to talk to Tim about upgrading your suit, he certainly had some sense after being the one to add pants to that horrid Robin outfit. You sit down on the ledge, legs dangling in the air. 

It was nice outside, even if you didn’t like the cold that much. Jason would have liked it. It was peaceful tonight, which was rare enough in Gotham. You turn your head when you hear footsteps and for a moment you think it’s Bruce, but you listened, and the footsteps reminded you of Jason. They were strong, but cautious and you could tell from the weight it was a man. 

You turn around and see a man in a wanna be Batman setup. You look him up and down, tranquilizer gun in your grip. “No need to pull out your toy.” His voice was modulated, and you scoff. 

“Says the wannabe Batman. Who the hell are you?” It’s Jason, you have a small voice in the back of your head whispering in your head and you falter because of it. You shouldn’t put the gun away, but you do, and you think the bastard is smiling under the mask, which makes you all the more mad. 

“I’m no one.” You roll your eyes. Anyone who has ever said that was someone that eventually became a pain in your ass, like Catwoman, but he didn’t have her charm, or her comforting touch after stealing something right from under your nose. 

“Try again, and don't pull a Catwoman on me, you aren’t very good at it, I’m afraid.” Your voice drips with sarcasm, and he walks closer. You think that he’s dumb, but maybe he knows you can’t bring yourself to shoot him. He reminds you too much of Jay, and that’s a bad thing because if he reminds you of your twin, then that means you're weak. You’ve learned the hard way that being weak gets you killed, that’s what happened to him after all. You were too weak to save your brother, and he paid the price for your mistake. 

It won’t happen again. 

You hear footsteps again and you see Bruce standing there, arms crossed. The wanna be from before is gone and you squeeze your fists. “You should always be aware of your surroundings.” You turn around, facing towards the city, rather than him. 

“I know, B. Won’t happen again, promise.” You feel him grow closer, and he pats your shoulder. He’s grown soft. For a moment, you feel angry. You wish he was soft with you when you were younger because that’s when you needed him to be soft. That’s when Jason needed him to be soft. If he was soft then, then maybe your brother wouldn’t have felt like he had to prove something. If Batman was soft, then maybe, just maybe your brother would still be alive. 

“We all have our off days.” You eye him. 

“I guess.” The conversation ends there. You think it’s for the best. 

Gotham City

Gotham University

2007

March 21

College wasn’t as whimsical as it was made to be. You thought it would be a breath of fresh air from the house you call home. You thought that it was going to be fun and free, you weren’t wrong, but you also weren’t right. Maybe for someone else it was that way, but not for you. Not when you can feel everyone’s pitiful glances and whispers thrown your way. 

“Isn’t she the girl who lost her brother?” A girl with blonde hair whispers behind you in American History. You recognize her as Tiffany, you had AP World History together. You never liked her much. 

“Yeah, but why’s that matter? Her family’s loaded, she probably got therapy as soon as her brother died.” If they counted crime fighting as therapy, then yes, you suppose you did get therapy. When he first died, you wouldn’t have reacted this way, calm and collected. You would have punched the bitch in the face. 

You were mean when he died. You think you always will be. In a sense, you took the place of Jay. He was on the gruffer side as a child, and you know plenty of people who would describe him as mean or scary. But now, it’s you. The brutish daughter of Bruce Wayne who went off the rails when her brother died. A tragic story indeed, is what you remember one reporter saying. He looked you dead in your eyes while saying it and you recall Dick tackling him to the ground. 

The media went wild for days, calling Dick protective of his little sister. He was, but you think they forgot the fact that Jason was as much of his brother as he was yours. Dick loved Jason more than his parents, you think. That was his first brother and Jay would always hold a special place in his heart. He felt the same about you, except you’ve been his one and only sister. In fact, you think he’s gotten more protective over the years, especially when you started bringing suitors home. 

You remember his eyes when you first brought a girl home. She was splayed out on your chest, and you held her hips, then your door was kicked in like no one knew what fucking manners were. And in all your glory, Dick saw a girl straddling your hips and hickeys on your neck with no shirt. Fun times. 

The class ends and you grab your bag. You think the girls knew you heard them because they fall behind and are the last ones to leave the room. Dumb bitches, you thought. Of course you would hear them, they practically fucking sucked at whispering. You try to calm your nerves by breathing, but it doesn’t work very well. Maybe you should get therapy. 

You smirk at the thought. The day you get therapy is the day Bruce cries in front of you or just cries at all. That’d certainly be a sight.

[the-100-days-of-junkan]

Day 94

Drowning by aparticularbandit

I’m Excited!~ 

Both because I just really like todays fic, and also because this is another piece that I’m particularly fond of both with the end result and the process of making it!

Let’s talk about the fic this time first! Spice it up a little!

Love this one! A lot! And if I’m not having a severe lapse in my memory this was actually my introduction to Bandits work! While I haven’t read all of it (yet), what I’ve managed to take in so far is truly lovely! Bandit consistently has a very strong way of putting words together, the inner monologues written for whatever character we happen to be following are so good! Go read!!

I mentioned Drowning quite a few days ago, as it inspired two of the pieces playing with the idea of Junkan’s dynamic when portrayed using the Alter Ego flavor of Junko. So it seemed pretty fucking obvious that when making a list of what fics to make fanart of in this section of the project, that Drowning would have to be one of the first ones I did.

I love the process of Mikan internally explaining how it felt to finally remember Junko after being forced to forget her in the Neo World Program. I think there’s still intricacies to the wording that I’ve yet to pick up on, but it’s such a fun and readable description of how that feels! I love it! And the fun little anecdote about the two watching Horror Movies together is so fucking pleasant just as an aside. Love that.

I really like Monokuma’s implementation here, short as his tenure in the text is. He is just a silly little guy amidst this very serious oneshot and then Mikan says “Junko” and he isn’t fucking around anymore. I love it! The description of Blood in DR is also nice!~ Now the like, actual Junkan part of the Junkan fic though. It’s amazing!~

First off, Mikachin as a nickname is adorable. Second off, I’m not sure how to adequately articulate WHY i love the rest of this so much? Like I can say I really, really love the kiss scene, it drives me up a wall how good it is like god DAMN. But the rest? It’s just so fuckin well put together, pure artistry, excellent. And the end? Mikan “swimming”? Perfect, cinema even. Good work. God damn.

As for the art it’s actually both a cover, AND an adaptation. The combo.

When trying to figure out how to handle this I knew a few things. I wanted Monokuma, and I wanted the cave by the beach, since I love that fucking metaphor. After a lot of thought I decided to make it an adaptation of the scene where Mikan pets Monokuma. Albeit adding my own interpretation of things, which may have been misguided depending on your perspective. There’s a chance that when drawing Junko here I softened her up further than what might have been intended. That’s the one thing that usually happens whenever I read these Junkan Fics taking place in actual canon, it’s always a little bit hard for me to tell what the general intention with Junko is in terms of her feelings towards Mikan. Not by any fault of the author(s) of course, it’s more me trying to tell if it was actually intended to be a softer Junko who does care for Mikan, or if that’s my own biases clouding my interpretation of the text. 

I just really liked the visual of Junko watching over Mikan while she figures things out until they can be together again, like a ghost but less sad. Except it’s a little sad given y’know, it’s Alter Ego Junko and also this is in canon so Mikan’s gonna ���die” relatively soon after this, but also they don’t need to know that. 

I really need to draw Monokuma more often. I definitely draw him a bit . . . cuter? With a much smaller body compared to the size of his head, usually at least. I do draw him more on model sometimes, kind of a random chance whether that happens. 

Lighting this fuckin pic was so enjoyable, like some of the most fun I’d had in a while. I don’t really remember why I did the glowing pool below them in place of a floor, beyond the motif of water, but i’m really glad I did. Junko? Amazingly fun to draw, I made the color palette a bit more muted this time around and I think duller colors really work for Junko, which is funny given how maxed out she normally is. Her hair, was so god damn fun to draw, oh my god. 

Fun fact! This pic was actually how I introduced myself to Bandit sometime earlier into the event, and they’re an absolute fuckin treat to talk to, very glad I worked up the confidence to do so. Definitely adds a bit more sentimental value to this art in specific!~ 

As always, Reblogs, Comments, and Little Notes in the Tags are appreciated!~ They always make my day!~

[slightlyplant]

kyoutani, 8F, pspsps please!! (bc i can absolutely see him making that face and you draw him so wonderfully :))

AWWW THANK YOU!!! i’m glad u like my kyoutanis you’re my favorite mutual now <3 i cherished the opportunity to draw him :))

[urfavedumbcunt]

Putting her shirt on and having my brain go fuzzy bc it smells like her >>>>>>>>

[kirisclangen]

Larchpaw

She/her, 8 moons, cis molly

[crossbackpoke-check]

yOu'Re gOiNg fOr a LiTeR? | "Habs react to Quebec Maple facts", 10.22.24

[cuteniarose]

ATLA for the ask game!!

*stares blankly at my screen as I try to remember the last time I've felt any strong emotion for an AtLA character*

(no genuinely those guys just kinda Exist to me istg I’m not invested even when I’m actively rewatching the show)

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most) – This one’s easy: Azula. One does not simply go through their teenage years as a severely mentally ill girl with a shitty dad and emotionally absent mom who favours the other child and end up normal about Azula lmao. I need any and every canon media to leave her the fuck alone. No I do not have a vision as to what happens to her post canon. Yes I do think that what the creators went with sucks ass and thus is not canon in my multiverse thank you very much

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped) – Appa. Just Appa. As a bonus, baby Appa. I need a plush of him more than I need to breathe (though Hanička might get to it so.. how good that idea is may be debatable). Oh, and The Duke. Have you ever seen him hugging Toph in the background of the last episode (I believe)?? Babies, absolute babies, they deserve the world, your honour

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave) – …. Mai? I feel like Mai doesn’t get enough love in the fandom. My current objective is trying to get the friend I’m making watch AtLA for the first time like her :P

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week) – Okay, I’m gonna be honest, I’ve thought over this one for a good 20 minutes and haven’t been able to come up with anything because I Genuinely Do Not Care That Much, but during this past rewatch I’ve been doing with my friends I have had a *Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme* moment at every reference to Yangchen thanks to A CERTAIN SOMEONE, so… might not be me who never shuts up about her, but she still counts (though I did go on a small infodump when my friend asked me “which one’s that one?” during the Avatar State montage in Book 2 Episode 1, so… perhaps there is more of a case to be made here). Oh, and Smellerbee. I wanna know what Smellerbee’s deal is. No one ever talks about Smellerbee :/

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave) – Hama. Partially for Ming-Hua related reasons, partially because I’m obsessed with the concept of bloodbending (and yet cannot give two shits about Amon or Tarrlok 🤔 Hm, correction: the concept of bloodbending women :D), partially because I wholeheartedly believe that she was brought back to the South Pole and she and Kanna got to be lesbians together for whoever many years they had left – side note, how come every bloodbending woman is a lesbian? – and there’s a certain subsection of the fandom who have proven to not be able to be normal about victims of colonisation, hence the “problematic” category. (Also… not a character, but the Great Divide is a fun episode and you all are way too mean about it. Yes, it does have some.. questionable implications, but all the arguments about how it doesn’t further the plot are stupid as fuck because IMO, if we have time for half a dozen random Fire Nation adventures and a whole episode dedicated to Zuko’s sob story and the trashfire that Ember Island Players is, we have time for the Great Divide. Argue with a wall)

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason) – Zuko. This is because I do not like him. No further commentary lest this fandom tear me to pieces. And Jet. This is also because I do not like him. And Sokka. But I actually do like him, I just think it’s funny when he suffers (/affectionate)

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell) – Pakku. It has been 11 years since I watched AtLA for the first time and never once have I been convinced that Kanna actually married him. Absolutely not, to superhell with you. If there’s any NWT waterbender who deserves to get with Kanna, it’s Yugoda. Hama/Kanna/Yugoda polycule when???

[danielnelsen]

so if you romance and ascend astarion you can kick him in the balls when he tries to turn you and it’s just very funny, he’s so pissy about it. so much for the most powerful vampire of all time or whatever, he stamps around like a toddler and then leaves forever

[dashiellqvverty]

i try not to be too obnoxious about liking kids media but i will be honest my one thing that really gets on my nerves is when people compare shows like idk the owl house or whatever to shows like bluey or like talk about them as if they are similar. like yes i logically realize they are probably exaggerating in order to frame all cartoons as especially childish but it still makes me want to tear my hair out like do you know how wildly different the target demographics for these shows are!!! do you realize that preschool television is generally a whole different world from tv for older kids!!!!

[clegfly]

Mark. Im Sorry. I love you. But you SUCK TO DRAW

[songofwizardry]

think it shouldn’t have been legal that my first day of teaching of the year coincided with grey and rain and storms. however! have some very lovely new students, some very enthusiastic returning ones, there’s new cookies in the cafe, and I get to play with pendulums tomorrow, so there are some (many!) positives

[exopelagic]

okay I severely misjudged spaghetti guy he’s actually just really cool

[mars-ipan]

i do love my family very dearly but the internalized ableism the men in here struggle with is. so much

[tracle0]

I’m having trouble with TCD in terms of there’s about 6 characters I need to Know and have fleshed out but I just don’t and my brain is not willing to spit many out.

These characters will be antagonistic and need to bicker and argue with each other quite often. I know some of them will die in due time. I could probably pull the number down to four without too much grief. So…