#and kyle grew up without a dad too

[incorrect-green-lantern-quotes]

Kid heroes are so common these days that it seems like you can't take more than a few steps without tripping over one. Feels like every other week some teenager is finding alien technology in a junkyard or inheriting supernatural weapons from their great-granddad, then immediately going out to fight bad guys. It usually turns out for the best 'cause us capes look out for each other.

But it wasn't always this way. There was a time when putting on a mask to save the day was an adult's game. The rules were different then. You stuck to your own territory, kept your identity a secret from even your loved ones, and you never involved kids.

'Course that all changed over time. Sometimes one of your rogues would decide to try their luck in another town, and you'd follow 'cuz they were your responsibility. And if the city they hit next had a local hero, the smart thing to do was to work with the guy who's familiar with the territory. That's how the first superhero team-ups happened, or so I've been told.

I don't remember who the first sidekick was. Some say it was Robin, others will tell ya it was Speedy. Doesn't really matter, that first batch of them all sprang up around the same time. It was probably bound to happen, s'not like metahuman genes or lab accidents wait until you're eighteen to spring powers on ya.

Still, we weren't about to let the rugrats run wild on their own. Especially if they had powers that were new to them. So fellas like the Flash and Aquaman who had kids with the same powers as them began to train them. I think it was supposed to be like an apprentice thing, but most of the time the heroes acted like they were parents, not just teachers. And back in those days, you didn't tell someone else how to raise their kid.

Unless you were crazy ol' Hal Jordan.

Now, being a Green Lantern, Hal was already different from most heroes. His apartment might've been in Coast City, but he was the lawman for the entirety of Sector 2814. All of Earth was just a part of his beat. So where other heroes might hesitate to take charge on someone else's territory, Hal would always barge right in. That's just the kind of guy he was.

And once he became friends with other heroes like Green Arrow or the Flash, Hal was the cool uncle to the kids. Probably because he always treated them like they were heroes in their own right, not just tagalongs of their mentors. Like this one time, Kid Flash got his speed stolen somehow, so Hal just gave him a power ring and made him a deputy GL for the day!

Those kids, they grew up of course. Went from being the sidekicks to having sidekicks of their own, some of 'em. I reckon that they would've done things differently anyway, having been on the other side themselves once upon a time. But I also know that a lot of the heroes from the Titans generation appreciated the independence and trust that Hal showed them despite not being their mentor, and they followed in his footsteps.

[runtwithwolves]

SOUTH PARK X HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON AU This is south berk! a south park au set in a mix of the httyd first second and third movies! Now heres an extremely long winded explanation of the lore ive come up with so far :D

Dragons have been integrated into viking society to the same degree as work horses, and while the vikings care for them they arent protected or treated nearly as well. A big point in the AU's story that shows the difference is in Stans lore. Stans dad Randy is chief of berk- he leads the growth of berks main agricultural source, their weed fields. Vikings on Berk arent allowed to travel beyond the outer isles for fear of raiders and foriegn dragons and disease. Berks main food source is fish, and the dragons on Berk are almost exclusively fed fish as to not deplete the islands limited vegitation and livestock. HOWEVER On Stans tenth birthday he was gifted a Monsterous Nightmare- which he named Sparky- and had snuck out with that same night to go flying with Kyle who had already been given a dragon. (Kenny and Cartman had also been riding on the back of Kyles dragon) The group flight didnt last long though as Stan out paced the others by leagues on his fully grown dragon. They raced high and low, getting closer and closer to the outer isle border when they had been overtaken by a flying horde of dragon, many of which Stan didnt recognize. Stan fully lost control of Sparky and while trying to regain his attention they were suddenly taken from below by Shelly - Stans sister. Her own Monsterous nightmare began to wrestle with Sparky as Shelly commanded Stan come home. Stan and Shelly argued as their dragons fight became vicious, and without warning Sparky bit out the throat of Shelly's dragon. In a panic Stan tried to pull Shelly onto Sparky, but Sparky lunged for her after letting her dragon fall. Shelly pushed away from Stan but too late, as she and Stans left leg were crushed in Sparky's mouth.

Stan fell as Sparky flew to rejoin the dragon horde, and awoke on his fathers ship. The grief of losing Shelly affected both of his parents and eventually Stans mom passed away, and Randy grew colder and over protective. Stan never learned to ride and isnt allowed into the dragon training or fighting classes. He mostly attends meetings and agricultural lessons. Kyle on the other hand excelled with his dragon, a deadly nadder he named Wendy. Coming from a prestigious family he and Stan grew up extremely close. He joined the scouting party that reports dragon sightings as well as hunts for game and scavenges for food. Kyle is also an extremely talented inventor and creates weapons- like his flame sword- and prostetics! He is particularly focused on Stans leg and creates a new joint for him to try every other week. He also takes Stan on scouting missions when they can slip away without Randy's notice.

He likes to decorate wendy with bells and ribbons cause shes his girl. Cartman also joined the scouts, however it had nothing to do with an affinity towards his dragon. Cartman was told from a young age that a dragon ate his father before they had been tamed to work alongside vikings, and so has never had a gentle hand or understanding of them. Infact, Cartman grew to be big and concerningly strong, and was assigned to the scouts simply for his ability to throw a mean axe. He had gone through many trails with dragons but wasnt able to tame or bond with one till he met a sweet Gronkle that was the only dragon able to tolerate him. He initially named it proffessor chaos however when he realized it would respond to any variation of the name- specifically professor gay-ass, by Kenny- he changed its name to Butters. Cartmans favorite food.

Butters is a weak flyer and shoots the smallest fire balls any one has ever seen a gronkle produce. Kenny’s father and mother are fishermen, a job thats considered low work. Fishermen create their homes on the boats they sail out on, however children are not allowed out to sea. Because of this Kenny lives alone with Karen in a fishermans shack except for one week out of the year where his parents fully dock- during yule and the new year. When Kenny was ten his older brother, Kevin, stole a ship and sailed off beyond the outer isles. Kevin and Shelly had been dating, and after her death Kenny assumed Kevin left to find and slay Sparky. He never came back, and his crime brought shame onto Kenny's family. To make money Kenny mixes and sells medicine, as well as doing healing work on both dragons and people. To collect herbs and also to goof off he rides along with Kyle and Cartman while Karen is in school.

Karen is sweet and gets along with dragons easily- however she has the unfortunate tendency to take in injured strays. Her favorites being terrible terrors. Jimmy rides on her back as his hind legs are crippled. Tolkien is a particularly pretty dragon who never learned to fly. And Clyde is dumb. Lastly the story picks up when the New Kid arrives. New kid is from a wandering group of religious dragon trappers. This group worships a Queen dragon they ride on the back of. This queen allows them to build homes on her back functioning as a roaming island as long as they keep her fed. The cult makes sacrifices to her, mostly dragons they catch, and occassionally their own followers. The trappers also eat dragons they catch, as well as fish, and no part of the dragon goes to waste. The cult wears dragon skins, giving them an effective armor- and use different gases and venoms from different species. The New Kid joined this cult along with his parents as a child. He rarely participated and kept his head down reading books on dragons he had traded for and filling in his own dragon journal. Till it was his parents turn for sacrifice. In exchange for his parents lives the New Kid offered to catch worthy dragons to take their place and sailed on his own. He had followed the sound of thunder hoping to come upon a large dragon when he was caught in a storm and nearly drowned. That was until he was plucked from the sea by a Night fury. The New Kid assumed the Night fury had mistaken him for a dragon based on the skins he was wearing and carried him to a cave it shared with a Light Fury. The Light Fury was obviously sick and anxious and seeing that the Night Fury wouldnt leave him, the New Kid captured them both injuring the Night Fury's tail in the process making sure he couldnt fly away. When he returned to the cult the New Kid offered the exchange, but to his horror his parents refused and were willingly eaten by the queen. The cult leader accepted the dragons and promised to use them for a greater purpose, and had assigned the New Kid to sail out the next morning to continue hunting for Furies. In the night, the New Kid stowed away with the Light Fury's help- which he named Tweek- half carrying the Night Fury and the new kid directing his remaining tail wing. They crash landed on Berk, and were spotted by Kyle, Cartman, Stan and Kenny. Tweek bonded with the New Kid and is the only human he allows near him. However the other dragon, which Karen names Craig, barely tolerates him.

The New Kid is hiding where he came from along with the fact he is the one who messed up Craigs tail. Hes working alongside Kenny to heal Tweek and build a new tail for Craig with Kyle. He stays near the dragons and feeds them, at the same time of filling out his own journal of dragon knowledge hes been collecting. The only person Craig seems to not hate is Stan, and the two are slowly getting along, though Stan is wary of dragons and Craig is wary of humans.

all of this while hiding the new kid and the furies existence from the chief and village! what could possibly go wrong. If you read to the end of this i love and appreciate you!! Feel free to ask questions or request anything from this AU! id love to draw responses and fill out the world and story :D

[spider-jaysart]

Today I'm introducing a dear oc created by both me and my friend @paladin-of-nerd-fandom65 !!

Marco Grayson!!!

(Click for better quality) The first pic is their hero suit and the second one is their casual, default outfit

Name: Marco Grayson and Markoand'r in Tamaranean (which is a name of one of Tamaran's first Kings/Warriors "Markoand'r the deathfire". A little headcanon by @pin-crusher2000 )

Hero name: Starwing

Age: 6-7 years old

Personality: Fierce, stubborn, is always too brave without a care, sometimes is weird in his little way, often passionate/determined, and is a sweet kid with a good heart

Orientation: Gay

Random facts:

Marco is the third and youngest child of Dick and Kory

Marco's favorite Uncle is Damian. Marco looks up to him a lot too and they get eachother, since they're mostly similar in their ways, and are usually chaos together because of it

For others Marco is also close with besides him, it's their Siblings Mar'i and Jake, their 6 year old Aunt Helena Wayne, Wade West, and two playful civilian friends from school named Jarred and Lizza

Marco is in a hero duo with Wade West (aka The Blur) called SpeedStar. They are best friends who grew up knowing eachother ever since they were babies (another headcanon by @pin-crusher2000 )

Marco loves dinosaurs and they are their fave animal. They even own lots of toys and other things of them because of it and they also know lots about them too, because of their interest in them. Bruce and Marco bond over this a lot and on special days, Damian will usually gift them cool art of dinosaurs too

Marco's fave films are the Jurrasic park movies and they're also not the type to mind the gore and instead thinks horror like that is cool

Marco has the condition CIP, which never let's them feel pain at all. This causes many worries most times from family, especially their parents. Dick and Kory usually have to check them to see if they're really okay anywhere, even on normal days for anything, since they don't understand how bad pain is or what it's like at all, which can often make them feel overbearing to Marco, but they only do it cause Marco would never be able to tell them themself if there ever was a problem, so they both have to always keep up with them for their child's own good just to be sure

Marco actually has 7 stomachs while both their siblings have 6

Marco's voice sounds like AJ's from TellTales the walking dead games series in season 4, but slightly lighter on the heavy part

Marco is ticklish on their feet like their Dad, but their most sensitive spots are their ears and ribs

Marco will eat anything, which can also be concerning sometimes. They get this from Kory who isn't a picky eater and Dick who just be tasting anything that's apart of clues like it's normal💀 Marco's fave foods tho are cookie dough and their Mom's more stranger cooking, which are unlike her usual Tamaranean dishes

When Marco becomes a teenager in the future, they begin going by They/Them pronouns and have a boyfriend by that time too, who is Dorin (aka Green Troia), the Son of both Donna Troy and Kyle Rayner, and is also a popular supermodel who sometimes takes up gigs in his spare time (once again another headcanon by @pin-crusher2000 and that oc is created by him)

Marco got help on their hero suit from Mar'i and Jake and got it approved by Damian after immediately taking it to him for reviewing lol. Damian was impressed by the results of the design and the only thing he suggested was a mask, but Marco rejected the idea, since they like the idea of being free like their Mother and big Sis, which left Damian a bit grumpy internally but he just dealt with it lol

Marco is a proud member of the Robin!Damian defense squad/fan club with their Aunt Helena, since Damian is one of them that just gets too much hate a lot of times

Unlike others who often make fun or judge it, Marco actually loves Damian's horned boots and thinks they're so cool, since they remind them so much of dinosaurs

Damian has a nickname for Marco, which is Goofball

Marco is one of the only special ones Damian gives out forehead kisses to as a habit from Talia always doing it to him when he was younger. But it's only between them, cause he has a tough reputation to keep still lmao

Marco has the the unique ability called Starblast, which is being able to breathe out a huge blast of Starbolt energy from their mouth after transferring it from both of their hands up into their lungs (think like Godzilla)

When Marco watched fireworks for the first time at 3 years old, they got so excited and overjoyed from the show, so since Starbolts are so similar to them, that's when their powers finally came out, when they were imitating them with their hands

[whorbidmore]

okay, so, I've fallen victim to the leon kennedy brainrot steadily overtaking me, following me from Tumblr to Pinterest, to Instagram and even the absolutely fucking dreaded application of TikTok. I don't even use it that often??? and the algorithm is just like 'wow, yeah, this little fuckers gay as hell send in the 40 year old meow meow!!' and having watched Death Island fairly recently, I'm gonna have my opinions on what this dude would be like. Cus my brain loves to rationalize shit and think ab 'what if this mf was someone real?' so... fuck it.

Leon Soft Kennedy Headcanons

SFW

accidentally bigoted. - im sorry but let's be so fucking real here. he's a 40 something year old man who spent the majority of his life in either the military, a police training academy in the 90's, or otherwise working under the U.S Federal System with minimal/no time between missions to unpack absolutely everything he's got going on... the guys gonna have some problematic tendencies. Obviously that doesn't mean he means any of that or is incapable of change, etc. etc., but I know for damn certain this dude would laugh a little at Bill Burr's borderline to blatantly misogynistic material and has probably chuckled unironically at the attack helicopter jokes. But, he's not a complete dick, and would definitely become more critical of those kinds of jokes if it's pointed out to him.

honest to God, Dad Without Kids™ - it's not simply enough for me to leave it at 'but it's the vibes!!' so, I'm gonna break this shit down. Leon is absolutely Gen X incarnate. I can fucking guarantee you that on his off days he accidentally ends up dressing as an undercover cop; I'm talking cargo shorts, light blue button up, those fucking standard issue boots cus "they're perfectly good shoes" and those stupid ass sunglasses... you know the ones I'm talking about. Let's say you're living with him, right? And you're... you, and you wanna watch something on TV. This dude would strain himself getting up like a turtle fallen backwards on its shell, stand up, walk right in front of the TV screen and stand there with his hands on his hips. It doesn't matter that he had to piss, he needs to get a better look of what's happening! Does those really loud, obnoxious coughs and sneezes, absolutely blows his back out doing one at least five times a year.

Only watches British Reality TV - Considering he's canonically a film buff, I'll say that this is purely for whatever he gravitates towards on general streaming services. I honestly don't see him being the type to regularly tune in to standard American cable TV, or only does so under specific circumstances like American Ninja Warrior or maybe Forged in Fire if there's absolutely nothing else. It's not something that's exclusive to Americans, — I'm from New Zealand and I do this too, — but Leon absolutely falls into the category of watching British Reality and Game shows purely because of the accents. I'm talking Jeremy Kyle, The Big Fat Quiz of Everything, Taskmaster, The Great British Bake Off and so on and so forth. It doesn't matter that baking isn't his forté or a passion of his, if Josephine curdles her buttercream by over mixing, his hands are in his hair in utter disappointment. 100% tries to mimic their accents too. We all do it, don't lie.

Has... very dated music tastes - I don't know if you could guess, but the last paragraph included me calling myself out and name dropping some shows I watch anyway or grew up watching, and I'm just saying that this is gonna be no different. If anything? This'll be worse! Since I'm very passionate about the music I listen to and have the inability to keep my interests separated from the other, of course my love of particular bands will bleed over into my interpretation of Leon's character! Anyway, all that for me to say that Leon fucking LOVES 90's grunge musicians, specifically Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, as well as early nu metal bands like Korn (their dubstep phase did not happen.), TOOL, and Rage Against the Machine — and no, he unfortunately doesn't see the irony of him being a fed and listening to Rage, — but would also have a soft spot for psych rock, post-punk and shoegaze. My man's definitely laid awake at night, sobbing without expression as he struggles to accept that Ada never really wanted him like he wanted her while listening to fucking Slowdive. My hottest take here is that he doesn't really listen to Deftones. Like he'll occasionally blast My Own Summer, Change, Bored or Rosemary, but anything outside of those? He just didn't listen to 'em. My second hottest take is that he does NOT like Slipknot, which kind of pains me 'cus I do, but I fucking bet you this dude would actually adopt one piece of "Gen Z lingo" or whatever just call them cringe. Though admittedly he would've been jamming the fuck out to Psychosocial and The Devil in I when they came out. Went off the deep end in Vendetta, obviously, and drunk-cried himself to sleep on the couch listening to Linkin Park.

Very confusing spending habits - On one hand, we all understand that Leon came from money, — he was implied to have been born into a mob family from my understanding? And I doubt he'd ever really had to worry about being fully, irrevocably broke, — but I'm sure that growing up in the U.S Foster Care System made him at least a little more cautious of where his money comes from, where it's going, what he's spending it on, etc. So, on the one hand, he's apprehensive to spend recklessly, particularly on perishables. But also, if he can drop over $100,000USD on a motorcycle that got absolutely fucking cheese grated into the road, and spend a perceived, metric fuck ton of money on designer leather jackets and massive watches, it's gonna be hard for me to call him 'financially conscious'. On one hand, he gets apprehensive on spending more money than he needs to on food since he's "just gonna shit it out later", but if he sees a cool watch or a nice suit in a shop window? Money's suddenly not an issue! Not because he's materialistic, but because the one thing he really maintains a sense of control over in his life are his possessions and the way he dresses. The D.S.O can call him in for another months long mission whenever they please, and all he can realistically do is allow the government to tug on his leash and put him where he's needed. He may as well spend their money on things he wants!

Gets out... enough? But also, not really? - So, personally I've pegged Leon as more of an introverted person, — amateurly typed his MBTI as possibly ISFJ? — so he doesn't really feel the need to go out and meet new people or really hang out with anyone. If somebody invites him out? Sure, he'll go. Otherwise, it rarely occurs to him to meet up with friends or colleagues at a cafe or anywhere. I think he'd prefer to just go there alone, mostly for the sake of having somebody else cook for him as opposed to actively seeking out the atmosphere. It's pure convience in his mind. And remember when I said in the beginning about him accidentally being at least a little misogynistic? Yeah, that was me trying to say that he regularly tries to hit on younger waitresses. Not because he actually wants anything to do with them, but simply because it's an ego boost. He likes that he can make girls half his age blush or offer him their numbers, because it tells him that he's still desirable, and ultimately, that gives him the power to reject them politely and go about the rest of his day. If they don't reject him first, of course. Admittedly, Leon's audacity towards women peaked during Infinite Darkness.

Since I'm planning on posting more NSFW headcanons for this guy, — and more NSFW kinds of posts, — here is the obligatory Minors DNI attachment. For your own safety, I don't care if what I have to say is tame so far, you can hold it off I promise.

[lillaydee]

The Unlucky One Part 12

Joel Miller (No Outbreak AU) / F Reader

When it comes to love, Lady Luck seems to have lost your address. After being left at the altar without so much of an explanation, you decided love is no longer something you are interested in. Not even meeting an unlucky-in-love-himself Mr. Grump could change your mind.

Right?

Let me know if you want to be tagged, or if you want to be removed from the tag list.

WARNINGS: Protective Joel (The Last of Us), Good Parent Joel (The Last of Us), Soft Joel (The Last of Us), Joel is Bad at Feelings (The Last of Us), Joel Needs a Hug (The Last of Us), Hurt Joel (The Last of Us), Grumpy Joel (The Last of Us), Jealousy, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Idiots in Love, unlucky in love, Child Abandonment, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Alternate Universe - No Cordyceps Outbreak (The Last of Us)

@peelieblue, @vickie5446, @harriedandharassed, @lovefreylove @martuxduckling @kikookii @liciafonseca @wowitsafemale @noisynightmarepoetry

SERIES MASTER LIST

Part 11

---

***WARNING***

Implied sexual assault and child pornography ahead. Also, some vague descriptions of a murder.

“I had to, Aria,” she told you. “I had no other choice.”

You sat across from her, a police officer standing right behind you, just in case.

“I know you hate me. I know that. I hate me too. But I needed you to hear this from me.”

You didn’t move, didn’t react. You just listened.

**********

Mother never let Nell forget she was adopted. The day she was brought home, the car ride was filled with Mother reminding her that no one wanted her, that she should count herself lucky to have someone as good as her to take such an unwanted girl in. You will want for nothing, she had told Nell. You will have everything you had ever wanted. Mother’s got you.

Nell had been excited to see you when they got home. She finally had a sibling! You were nice to her. Tried to play with her, talk to her at the beginning. But no, Mother warned her that you were deranged, not right in the head, that you may seem all sweet, but you were pure evil on the inside. That you had turned your grandparents against her, that you turned your father against her. You would turn everyone against her too.

It didn’t take long for Nell to believe her. You would disappear to your Dad’s, and Mother would tell her that it was because you didn’t want to see her face. Every time you came back, you would have new clothes and books and toys, all of which she really wanted, but Mother told her they didn’t have the money to get them. She believed Mother back then but would get sad that she didn’t have the nice things you did. So Mother took them from you and gave them to her. Mother stopped her from talking to Grandpa, telling her he was just like you, someone who pretended to be nice to her face but really hated her and didn’t want her around, just like everyone else. Mother was the only one who loved her, wanted her. She made sure she was the only person Nell trusted.

Nell grew up thinking Mother was right. That you had started dating Kyle simply because she liked him, to stop her from getting him. That you pushed Kyle into liking boys because you didn’t want her to be with him, just like you didn’t want your Dad to be with Mother. She liked your other boyfriends too, so Mother taught her what to do when they came around, so that they would like her instead of you. They never came around again. Again, Mother whispered to her that you had hid them away from her, just so she couldn’t get them. She had some boys at school she liked, but Mother told her those boys were boys. She shouldn’t be with boys. She should be with men. Mother introduced her to the men she would sometimes bring home, but those men left after a few minutes, angry at Mother for some reason. Mother would be angry after, and Nell was terrified Mother would throw her out. So she tried her best to get the men to like her, but none of them did, for some reason.

Mother never let her have any friends. She took Nell out of school once she started making friends. She didn’t need anyone, Mother told her. All she needed was Mother. Mother would make sure she had everything and everyone she needed.

When you started seeing Eric, Mother wouldn’t stop talking about him, how she had seen him around town with you, how tall and handsome he was, how perfect he would be for Nell. How he was wasted on someone like you. He was going to be a doctor, so Nell would be set for life with him. So Mother asked her to do one thing when Eric finally visited, told her what to say, what to do. She did as Mother asked, but Eric left too. The day you and Eric left, Mother brought a man home to help Nell feel better. She hated that man, hated the way his breath smelled, hated how he hurt her, hated how he touched her. That man stopped coming after a while, and Mother was angry again. So she went along with Mother’s plans to get Eric to stay. She knew Mother lied about the baby, but she was excited to marry Eric. He’s nice. Surely he would love her once they married, that’s what married people do, they love each other. And then they could have a real baby and live happily ever after.

But Eric didn’t love her. He hid from her. He never even talked to her. He stayed in your room, and she hers. Pushed her away every time she tried to touch him. Nell didn’t dare tell Mother this, worried that Mother would call her a bad wife. So she lied to Mother, telling her that she and Eric did get together. But the reality was, he acted like she and Mother didn’t exist. Eric only talked to you, sometimes. Only ate what you brought him. He ignored Mother too. Nell saw, even heard Mother trying to get with Eric sometimes. She heard him yell at her, calling her a pervert and a vile woman. Eric got angrier and angrier over time, not even looking at her. He was basically just another presence in the house, one that existed in your room and walked in and out of the house like a ghost, very rarely seen or heard.

Nell believed mother when she said you had influenced Eric to hate you and her, that his rejecting of her and Mother was all your doing. Eric entertained her that night, it was clear he wanted her, he even agreed to marry her, so he must have loved her. But you got to him, she said, you made him hate her. It wasn’t her, it was you.  

Mother was extremely angry when Grandpa died. Grandpa had been giving Mother money every month. But when he died, he left all his money and properties to you, and none for her and Nell. She told Nell that this was proof that you had been pouring poison in Grandpa’s ears all along. She was plotting something, something to get Grandpa’s money back from you. But it didn’t seem to work. She got angrier and angrier at you, blaming you for the hard life that was going to befall the two of them.

But then, you left, and never came back. Nell realized then how wrong she had been all this time. That she had trusted the wrong person.

Mother changed. Without you to be angry at, Nell became her target. Everything became her fault. She brought men after men home, and Nell had to entertain them, even if she didn’t want to. They paid Mother money after. She told Mother she didn’t want to do it anymore. They hurt her. But Mother hit her, telling her she was an ingrate. Hadn’t Mother always kept her safe? Hadn’t she clothed and sheltered and fed her all this while? Hadn’t she taken her in when no one else wanted her? It’s time to pay her dues now. They didn’t have any income coming in. Money didn’t grow on trees. The money Grandma left her will run out, and Mother needed her to contribute to the household, for once in her life.

So Nell obeyed. She didn’t have a choice. She knew no one. She tried to get Eric to help, but he was never around. He came home really late at night and left really early in the morning. Mother watched her like a hawk, making sure she never tried to tell Eric anything. She even slipped a note under his door once, but Mother caught her and beat her black and blue. So she never tried again.

After months of this, her period stopped. Mother told Eric the happy news, implying he was the father. Mother didn’t know that Eric had never touched her. She believed her when she told her they did have sex when Mother was asleep or away. Eric had no idea about the other men, Mother made sure of that. She must have thought Eric would step up. He was a good guy, after all.

But the next day, Eric left and never came back. Mother was furious. But after a while, she realized that Eric was no longer a hurdle to hide her secret income generator. She brought more and more guys home, sometimes men would line up for their turn with her. Mother didn’t stop even when her belly got bigger and bigger. Mother forced her to work days after she gave birth. Nell never healed properly from her birth after that, having trouble walking properly as a result. The only happiness Nell had was when everyone had gone home, and she was alone with Ellie in her room, the innocent baby making her happy, and for once in her life she understood what love really was, that she would never do to Ellie what Mother was doing to her, what Mother did to you.

When Ellie turned two and was old enough to walk and talk, Mother began taking pictures of Ellie. Nell didn’t know what the pictures were for, but she didn’t like it. Whenever Ellie threw a tantrum, not wanting to have her pictures taken, or was hungry or tired, Mother beat her too. Nell began locking Ellie up, not letting Ellie out of her sight. Whenever she had customers, she locked Ellie in her closet as she worked in the very same room. That was the only way she could think of to make sure Ellie was safe, at least she was there, and not outside with Mother and the strange men. She locked Ellie in the closet at night to sleep too, worried that Mother would take her.

But soon, the men began to dwindle. Mother was angry at Nell, telling her she should’ve done more, made sure the men remain interested. Nights without customers became more and more common, and on those nights, Nell and Ellie were locked in her room without food or water.

A man came to the house one day. He talked to Mother for a while, Mother telling him something or other, crying and sobbing to him. Nell thought he was just another customer, but he wasn’t there for that. She didn’t know what the man wanted. She only saw him because Ellie had run downstairs while the man was there. Mother had taken Ellie by the hand and introduced her to the man, and Nell saw red, snatching Ellie from her and running upstairs to hide her in the closet.

The next week, more men came to the house, this time to yell and shout at Mother, demanding money from her. She didn’t know why. But Mother went out after they left and came back with a van. She told Nell they needed to leave. The men were dangerous. Nell packed what little she and Ellie had and left with Mother. Much as she hated her life with Mother in it, Mother and Ellie was all she had. She didn’t know anyone else.

They lived in that van from that day on, going to different parts of the town every day, Mother all jittery and nervous. The day they left the house, Mother saw your Dad’s car at his old office and went out to see him. She saw him yell at your Dad, Eric’s name mixed in somewhere as she attacked him with her words. All she could see in your Dad’s face was pity. He pitied her. He looked at Nell, and she saw the pity in his eyes intensified.

Whatever Mother said to him must have affected him. Mother told her your Dad gave her some money, and they drove out of town, stopping every now and again to use the bathroom and buy food. Sometimes, Mother would stop somewhere and forced Nell to work. Once, she made Ellie go to a complete stranger to beg for money. Nell locked Ellie in her toy chest, not wanting to expose Ellie to anything like that. Mother was angry but couldn’t do anything about it. Nell may be weak, but she would do anything to make sure Ellie remained safe, and Mother knew that.

Mother received a phone call one day, and immediately drove to Austin. When Nell saw you again, she saw how stable your life was. You had a nice house, perhaps a nice job. How happy you were, how many people loved you. She understood then that all this while, her jealousy of you wasn’t because you had more things given to you, it was because people loved you. Your dads, Grandpa, Kyle, Ethan, Maria, Eric. Even your ex boyfriends loved you. Good people. Not people like Mother. She saw how people rallied around you, how they all wanted to protect you.

That little girl loved you, she yelled at Mother for threatening you. She wondered if Ellie would ever do that for her. If Ellie even loved her. She knew she kept Ellie safe. But she couldn’t give Ellie anything, couldn’t even feed her right, couldn’t even keep her clean these past few weeks. Couldn’t buy her nice things. Couldn’t even send her to school. Whenever Mother beat Ellie, she was always too late to get to her, only getting there when Mother had already had a few swipes, and even then, all she could do was push Ellie into the closet or the toy chest, locking her in. Ellie would never have the life that little girl had, a stable life where she was loved and cared for.

When they went back into the van, Mother was furious that she was unable to get to you, to get money from you. She got drunk that night, parked at some local grocery store, and spilled everything to Nell. She had borrowed a lot of money from some dangerous people. And now they came to collect, and she didn’t have the money to pay them back, blaming Nell for everything, for not earning enough. For forcing her into a situation where she had to borrow money to survive. Ellie’s hungry sobs broke the small window of silence, and Mother stared at the toy chest, thinking for a while, telling Nell that there was one way she could make up for what she was lacking.

All their problems would be over if she unlocked that chest.

They could make a lot of money if they used Ellie.

Men would pay a lot of money for Ellie.

The two of them could be rich.

Nell trembled at those words. So, when Mother fell asleep, she broke the bottle Mother was drinking from and made sure Mother would never touch Ellie again.

Ever.

She dropped Ellie off at your place the next day and drove as far as she could. She disposed of Mother’s body, taking her heart as proof that she was gone, before making her way back to Austin and turning herself in.

She refused to tell anyone what she did with Mother’s body. The detective told you that they will compare the DNA sample from the heart with yours. If there was a match, that was enough to convict her, even if her very detailed confession and the blood in the van were not enough, which they were.

**********

“I know I deserve everything coming to me, Aria, I know that. But Ellie did nothing wrong. Please, Aria, take good care of her. Never tell her about me. I hope to God she doesn’t remember me, ever. This is the one good thing I can do for her. I know you don’t owe me anything. But please, Aria. Take care of her. I will do anything, sign anything, as long as you promise you will keep her safe, love her, protect her.”

You looked at this woman in front of you, shocked at how much sadder you were at her state of mind than you were at the fact that your mother was dead. In all your life, you had never once thought how fragile she was, how badly she was manipulated by your mother, thinking all this while that she was just some spoiled kid your mother preferred to you.

And as selfish of a mother you had always thought your mother was, you never thought she was just evil.

You didn’t know what to say to her. You stayed silent as Maria and some people from CPS and social services talked to her about Ellie, and before you knew it, she had willingly signed her rights to Ellie away to you, officially making you her guardian.

You remained quiet as Maria told her that she knew some people who would work pro bono to help her, maybe argue for a lighter sentence? No, Nell told her. She will take what was coming to her. She killed her mother willingly, no one told her to do it. She didn’t regret it one bit. Please, Aria, don’t come to the trial. Don’t let Ellie see. Keep her away. Please.

She did ask for one favour from Maria. To help get a divorce for her and Eric. He had been unfairly tied to her for too long. Maria promised she would help.

When the officers finally came in to take her away, you found yourself feeling things you never thought you would feel. You didn’t even know what to call the feeling. But your feet were suddenly drawn towards her, and despite the protests from the officers, for the first time since she came into your life, you hugged her. Tight.

She wept in your arms, pulling herself from you and following the officers out, stopping at the doorway, saying goodbye to you.

That was the last time you saw your sister.

**********

Joel drove you, his hand never leaving yours the whole silent journey home. You didn’t cry, you were just quiet. He didn’t ask you anything, he was just there for you. You remained quiet as you walked into your house, hugging Ethan and Kyle, thanking them for keeping an eye on Ellie. You slept in Ellie’s bed and remained quiet for the next few days, only speaking to Maria, Kyle, Ethan, and your dads on the phone. You didn’t want to see anyone.

He knew what happened, Maria told him. But you never told him anything.

You watched Sarah and Ellie play, watched movies with them, did everything they needed from you, but you didn’t speak to him. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to pry or force you into telling him anything you were not ready for. So he waited. And waited and waited some more.

One day you received a phone call and retreated into your room with Ellie, locking him out. Maria later told him that the DNA results were in. That heart did indeed belong to your mother. Give her some time, she told him. She just needed to process this. He nodded, leaving you alone, texting you night after night, telling you he was there for you if you needed him. He watched your window every night, waiting for you to call him, to talk to him, but you didn’t.

He was starting to worry, but everyone who knew you well kept telling him to give you some time. You will come around.

So he waited some more.

You didn’t know why, exactly, but you were feeling things you couldn’t identify. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to talk to him. You wanted to, wanted to tell him everything you were feeling. But you didn’t know what it was. You were so confused. There was a boulder in your heart, and you didn’t know why. Your mother was gone, Nell was gone. So why weren’t you happy? You should be, right?

After about two weeks of this, there was a knock on your door. Eric had come to visit. Tess told him about the whole thing, how you had withdrawn after.

The moment you saw him, you burst into tears. He pulled you in for a hug, and you wailed into his chest, holding onto him for dear life. Eric let you cling to him, stroking your hair, rubbing your back as you cried, kissing the top of your head as you cried. You finally eased, asking him to come in, and shut the front door behind you.

Joel watched as you did so, his heart beating so fast he thought it would break his ribs.

Shake it off, Joel. Eric had known you for a long time. He had been through a lot with you. Of course you trusted him more, felt more comfortable around him to open up to him. The two of you had only known each other a few months, a result of a one night stand, just two broken hearted people who met at the right place at the right time. You will open up to him one day. Right?

But Eric didn’t leave that night. His car remained in your driveway all night.

Shake it off, Joel. Maybe you will open up after tonight. You just needed time to vent to your old friend.

Correction.

Your old boyfriend. The first man you had ever fallen in love with. A man who was taken away from you in the cruellest, most unfair way possible. The man you didn’t get over for years.

And he was spending the night at your place.

Joel was getting ready for bed when he saw your bedroom light turn on, Eric sat on your bed, you closing the curtain. The light was turned off after a few minutes.

Joel couldn’t sleep that night. You wouldn’t do that to him, right? Maybe you slept with Ellie? The bed in the guest bedroom was too small for Eric. He was a tall man. Maybe he slept in your room for the bigger bed? He tried his hardest to shake the images of you and Eric in bed together out of his head, but to no avail.

It didn’t help that he saw the three of you leaving the house together the next morning, getting into Eric’s car, looking like the perfect family. Nor did it help that you came home late that night, Eric carrying a sleeping Ellie in his arms, and spent the night again.

No, Joel, shake it off. You had an explanation for everything, he was sure of it.

**********

You continued sobbing as Eric sat you down on your couch. It was as if the floodgates flew wide open, and you couldn’t do anything to stop it. Seeing him made you realize what you were feeling.

Grief. Anger. Confusion.

You were grieving your mother.

She’s gone.

As much as you hated her, you couldn’t help but feel it. The few times you felt as if she didn’t hate you, felt the things you yearned for from her – the love of a mother, as few as such instances may be. And to your horror, you missed them. You missed those few instances. Memories of the few times she stroked your hair as you slept came flooding back. That night she cooked dinner for you and Eric, smiling and joking, serving you your favourite dish, one you didn’t know she knew you liked.

Before she ripped all of it from under you.

Before you realized how much hatred she really had for you.

Before you realized how much she wanted to destroy your life.

And now, you were so confused. You didn’t understand why you were sad she was gone. She was an evil woman. You should be happy she’s gone. She will never bother you again.

But your mind and your heart were giving you conflicting justifications.

She was evil.

But she was still your mother. The very reason you were here.

She was so evil. She used Nell for money. She tried to… use Ellie for money.

But she was still your mother. She gave birth to you.

And you hated that while you hate her with everything you had, you still had an ounce of love for that woman.

Eric held you, telling you that what you were feeling was completely normal. She was your mother. Of course you loved her, even if you hated her. Feel it, Aria, feel it. Let yourself feel, you will be able to let it all go soon.

He himself was conflicted, he told you. He hated your mother, hated Nell for what they did. But there were times they were nice to him, Nell was always nice to him. Your mother made sure he had something to eat always, and Nell had always tried to get him to eat, but he was too paranoid to do so, worried your mother would drug him again. He felt bad now he knew what Nell went through, felt bad that he didn’t realize what was going on. He would’ve stopped it if he had known. A part of him told himself that he was too bogged down with his own issues to notice, and the other had to reassure himself that your mother made sure he didn’t. She was evil incarnate, and despite the few nice things she did for him, she was not a good person. Remember that, Aria.

He distracted you, watched movies with you and Ellie, cooked dinner for you, reminisced about your college days with you. You got to know him again. By the end of the night, you felt better. He stayed over, sleeping in your room instead of the guest bedroom – he was over six feet tall, he didn’t fit on the queen bed in that room. He asked if Joel didn’t mind you putting him up in your room, you told him you would explain everything to him.

The next morning, you showed him the small box Maria had brought you from the PD. The ashes from your mother’s heart. You wanted so badly to just flush it down the toilet, but you couldn’t do it. He suggested you dump it somewhere else, he could do it for you, just so that you wouldn’t feel the guilt. So he took you and Ellie out, you went to the zoo, Ellie excited to see the animals for the first time. He came back to you sans the box, telling you the deed was done. He wouldn’t tell you where he dumped the ashes exactly, but it was gone.

That was all you needed to know.

He left the morning after that, having spent the time with you to be your friend again. He got to know Ellie better and wanted to get to know her better. As bad as his memories with Nell were, she was never cruel to him, and Ellie did nothing wrong. He wanted to be there for Ellie, and you were more than willing to let him.

**********

Joel practically sprinted over to your house when he got your text. You were finally ready to talk to him. As soon as you opened the door, you hugged him so tightly he couldn’t breathe. You kept apologizing to him for icing him out, you will explain everything over some shit coffee, you told him, making him laugh. You thanked him for his patience, asking him if you could kiss him, you missed him so much. He willingly kissed you, backing you towards the kitchen counter, missing your lips so much he couldn’t think straight. He felt light, all the worries he’d been carrying around these past two weeks floated away. You were back. You were going to explain everything. Everything was going to be alright.

You stopped kissing him when the toaster spat the bread slices out, turning around to get them while he reached for a bag of the shit coffee. Everything just felt normal again.

The doorbell rang.

He kissed you one more time and told you he was going to get it. Ellie came down, asking him for a piggy back, and he happily obliged. He opened the door, a man he had never seen before standing outside, the biggest bouquet of flowers he’d ever seen in his arms, a huge suitcase by his feet. The man looked taken aback to see him.

“You must be Eric,” the man hesitantly said, offering a hand for Joel to shake.

“Who is it?” your voice came floating to the front door before Joel could answer.

“Aria,” the man called out when he saw you.

“Andrew.”

---

Part 13

[hatchet0r]

Shaun’s Backstory BBG’s

TW: Mentions of an absent parent, wanting an abortion, abuse, and alcoholism

Shaun was an accident. Harsh, but it’s true.

She was a hookup baby. A drunken one night stand Max had while at a party with a girl named Charlotte (the hottest girl). The two of them hated each other. Charlotte was a shallow, uncaring, entitled woman and Max was…well, himself.

A month after the party, Charlotte found out she was pregnant with Shaun. Charlotte didn’t want the baby and told Max she wanted to get an abortion but ultimately decided to carry the baby to term because she didn’t have the money to terminate it. Max was relieved about this, but he would never tell her that.

Charlotte wouldn’t tell him anything: not if the baby was a boy or girl, when the ultrasound dates were, when the baby was due. Nothing. All the while, his father berated him for getting a girl pregnant and ‘ruining his life’.

Shaun was born three weeks early and, by the time Max got to the hospital, she was already an hour old and Charlotte was nowhere to be found. Apparently, the second she had given birth, she demanded to be transferred to a different hospital. She wanted nothing to do with Max or the baby.

When he got to the room, Shaun was crying and nothing would get her to calm down. Until they handed her to Max. From the moment she was born, she clung to him like her life depended on it.

She looked like him too. Scarily so.

Charlotte didn’t even sign her birth certificate or named her. Shaun had been alone and nameless for the first hour of her life. Max signed and named her and stayed in the hospital with her the entire time.

He cried the day she was born. Sure, Shaun wasn’t planed, but damnit, if he didn’t love her with his entire being.

He took her to school with him and he was…nicer. But if anyone said anything bad about Shaun or asked about her mom or made fun of him for being a single dad at eighteen, they were getting clocked.

Max’s dad only got worse once he brought Shaun home. He started drinking even more and would mercilessly beat Max. Max had enough and didn’t want to endanger Shaun so he packed a bag, a left. To where? He didn’t know.

Kyle found out that Max was essentially homeless and forced gently encouraged Max to move in with him and his grandma for the time being. Max reluctantly agreed. Kyle helped Max with Shaun until Max managed to get enough money to afford his own place.

He graduated and went off to college, keeping Shaun at his side the whole time. As Shaun got older, the more and more she resembled Max. She never met her mother or her grandfather.

And she never would.

Kyle had been dubbed her Uncle Kyle and Shaun loves him dearly.

She grew up to fit the role of a Jägerman perfectly. Sure, she was born tiny and was pushing 5’0 until she was ten, but she shot up as soon as she hit her early teens.

Shaun was now 5’11, the star quarterback for the Hatchetfield nighthawks, a karate champion, and could benchpress Max’s bodyweight. She was the American Dream. Exactly like her dad.

Max absolutely adores Shaun and Shaun adores him. He has been nothing but an amazing father to her. Shaun never once knew a day of pain inflicted by his hand or his words. Sure, he was still a jerk but he was…softer now. More emotional, but only ever with Shaun.

Max is a good father, he’s nothing like his dad.

Shaun is everything he ever wanted, without her, he doesn’t know where he would be. He doesn’t want to imagine where he would be.

Shaun changed him for the better.

And he loves her so, so much. And he makes sure she knows that.

Shaun is his world and Max is Shaun’s. Even though Shaun wasn’t planned, he wouldn’t give her up for anything. He would go through it all again in a heartbeat.

Because she’s worth it.

[traitor-boyfriend]

Louise I'm dying to know what this 150 page fic is about...

in the interest of full disclosure i have had SO many ideas for fics and have drafted all of them in varying degrees. that one is definitely the longest but there are a couple not too far behind. i have no idea if it will ever see the light of day (knowing myself, probably not -- but not impossible!) so i'll try to give it a brief synopsis.

story basically takes place in two parts: we start with stan, who is now 31 years old. he lives in a farmhouse in south park (initial idea was mr. jenkins' property, though since i began writing this pre-tegridy, which is already a bonkers sentence, trey comes in clutch with the assist and hands me an easy rewrite.) and is married to bebe, who is a livestock veterinarian. stan works as a handyman in town. bebe is also 4mos pregnant with their first child.

on a nondescript afternoon, kyle waltzes onto his property and back into south park for the first time since he abruptly and without warning left eight years prior. he is in town for two weeks to help his parents square away their finances and sell the house in preparation for their retirement. kyle wants to reconnect; stan does not. does anyway. cue a lot of passive aggressive sexual tension and miscommunication amidst all the nostalgic navel gazing.

notable side characters: butters is the elementary guidance counselor. craig is the 6th grade science teacher. kenny is a bartender. cartman is a public access televangelist. wendy is in the middle of her campaign to become mayor. randy is randy. sharon is terminally ill in palliative hospice care and is expected to die within the next six weeks. her death occurs towards the end of kyle's stay, which prolongs his stay by a short while.

second half takes place eight years later. stan and bebe are freshly and (mostly) amicably divorced, with a 7 year old daughter. stan is having trouble adjusting to his life as a middle aged divorced dad. kyle again waltzes back into his life to disrupt it by revealing his intent to move back home to south park. well intentioned and poorly timed chaos ensues wherever kyle rears his head.

it's definitely a stan/kyle story but a lot of this was also the backdrop for me to do an indulgent character study of stan. i_just_think_he's_neat.jpg

while i'm at it, as i've been pouring over flashdrives and hardrives and google docs and .docx files the last few weeks, i'll mention a few other fics i've written significant amounts for under the cut if anyone's interested.

-- 60s period piece. stan/craig and stan/kyle. desiring more out of life than accepting defeat and returning home to a life in the lumberyard or the sugar beet factory like his peers back in his quiet mountain town, stan drops out of college nearing the end of his first semester sophomore year of college as he's failing miserably. he rides the rails to new york to pursue his real dream, which is to be a folk singer. he lands at the doorstep of the only person he knows in new york -- craig, who is living in greenwich village. craig left south park immediately after high school and is an aspiring playwright. he and stan had an exploratory sexual relationship as school boys out of convenience, and their correspondence since has been sparse. craig immediately wants to tell him to hit the bricks, but he feels some pity for stan and allows him to stay with him, so long as it is short and temporary (narrator voice: it was not).

meanwhile, kyle is something of an upper crust socialite in manhattan, with deep ties to the art world. his grandmother, cleo broflovski, was a pivotal figure in the dadaist movement and her body of work has established the broflovskis as a family of significant wealth, which is aided in the modern day by gerald's rising star as a preeminent lawyer in the booning world of 60s corporate IP law after abandoning his early specialization in civil rights. this is a point of estrangement for kyle, who grew up idolizing his father, as he finds his work unethical. but not unethical enough to refuse the rewards. there is also the open secret of kyle's flagrant homosexuality, which embarrasses gerald deeply. ike plays baseball at penn state. kyle has an indefinite room at the hotel chelsea and spends his days reading, smoking, having gay sex, and scouting the city for creatives in need of a doting patron. he is also hopelessly addicted to cocaine.

stan make pennies busking outside the cafe wha? when he's spotted by recording manager eric cartman, who is looking for a new cash cow that is young, dumb, and easy to trick in order to take advantage of the folk revival, and he's just found it. simultaneously, craig is preparing to have his first meeting with kyle about his potential interest in craig's stage play. he was put in touch with him via friend wendy, who has worked with kyle in the recent past. wendy's cousin is the manager at julius's, a de facto gay bar that kyle frequented until he was forbidden due to his "disorderly" conduct (see: cruising). she proposed quid pro quo -- she will convince her cousin to rescind kyle's ban if he will read craig's manuscript. kyle agrees to the terms.

they meet a week later at said bar, and stan asks to tag along, figuring he should try to get to know as many people as possible. craig reluctantly agrees. craig knows of kyle through conflicting reputations, depending who you ask. at the bar they make brief small talk. kyle is polite, if not suspiciously so when he tells craig that he sees promise in his work but feels no attachment to it. craig, impatient and not wanting to wait to have something come of his current squalor, implores kyle to reconsider. this goes back and forth before kyle takes this as an insult to his judgment. he rudely tells craig his work is derivative and that tennessee williams has too many poor imitators as is. craig throws kyle's drink in his face and turns heel to leave. kyle, high as a kite, finds this all delightful. stan, horrified by craig's behavior, immediately apologizes and begins dabbing kyle with cocktail napkins and attempting to save face for craig. craig calls for stan like a dog and tells him to knock it off, or he's on his own to figure the way out home. stan apologizes profusely again before following suit. kyle is unbelievably charmed by stan's boyishness and unassuming affect, the guitar on his back, his role as the lamb in the lion's den in the duo, and finds himself overwhelmed with the inexplicable urge to know as much about him as possible. kyle, with wendy as the intermediary, reaches out to craig to let him know that he has indeed reconsidered his position, and would like to speak to him and his 'associate' again. craig wants to tell kyle to go fuck himself, but relents when stan makes the case for not wasting the opportunity.

-- surrealist horror and also black comedy. not necessarily relationship focused, but stan/kyle is very much in play. background: stuart elopes with a younger woman and abandons the mccormick family; at the time kenny + boys are 15/16, karen is 13. due to the stress of carol working two jobs and doing a great job at being an okay-ish only moderately neglectful parent, karen begins frequently running away. she usually just stays the night with a friend or is only 'gone' for a few hours until kenny finds her or she willingly comes home. real "boy who cried wolf" situation. until one day, karen runs away and has now been gone for three days. detective yates assures they are looking for her (they are not) and that she'll probably come home any second (she doesn't) because the kicker is that karen, legitimately, is missing. the morning of this fourth day, kyle, cartman, stan, and kenny all wake up to find dead coyotes with slit throats on their doorsteps. what a really weird coincidence, right.

as a group, they have been canvassing the neighborhood for a few days, asking all of karen's friends -- they assure none of them have seen her. kenny is unable to focus on anything else as stan and kyle try to offer empty hope. as they progress through the school day, they are alarmed when an emergency assembly is called. detective yates and the police department are there. they are now taking karen's disappearance seriously, as in the night, two of their fellow students have vanished and are reported missing: butters stotch and heidi turner. this is alarming to cartman, as butters was supposed to finish his book report on wuthering heights last night. who will he boss around now. this is debilitating to stan, as heidi turner has been his girlfriend for the last four months. the police encourage the students to go about their normal day, beware of strangers, lock their doors, and stay off the internet. kyle is trying to figure out what the connection between karen, heidi, and butters could possibly be, and if the coyotes on their doorstep are also involved somehow. they resolve after school that it's up to them to find their friends.

what neither kenny nor karen nor anyone else knows is that karen is also a netherborn. because the curse was made at kenny's birth he suffers the effects of immortality but the curse doesn't only affect one child; carol's womb is cursed forever and any child birthed thereafter suffers as well.

and what they also don't know is why she's missing, which is damien. damien is hellbent (ha) on destroying south park and kenny, kyle, cartman, and stan for driving him back to hell. he needs a female netherborn host after she has reached the age of menarche in order to cast the earth unto darkness, and the only thing that can kill a netherborn is, of course, another netherborn. on the day karen runs away, she runs deep into the woods. south park, with a history as an old mining town, has a series of collapsed mines, some deeper than others. damien mimics the voice of someone in distress, guiding karen toward him and pretending to be an innocent who explored too deeply in one of these mines, and uses this to lure her to him. after, he has systematically lured the person each of the boys care most about. well, except for kyle.

that night, it's about 7pm, the boys are now scouring these very woods in search of karen or any clues to her disappearance. it's at this point that stan asks kenny if he has every thought to check the proximity of any mine shafts, or whether karen would go to them. kenny doesn't believe she would, but no stone unturned. the woods diverge, and kenny and cartman take the right path, stan and kyle the other. they communicate with high range walkie talkies they all agreed to get two summers ago. we focus on stan and kyle's leg of the journey and their conversations -- hypothesis on what's causing these events, stan's nervousness for heidi's safety, kyle's hormonal and passive aggressive gay angst, etc. they happen upon another coyote. stan is too upset to look closely, and falls back to wait by a tree while kyle investigates. his back is turned only for a minute or two, but when stan provides no response to his out loud thinking, kyle turns around to find stan gone. he calls for him a few times with a growing sense of impending doom. when he tries stan on the walkie, it's only unnaturally loud and ear piercing static.

oh and what no one knows again is that kyle also has psychokinesis.

-- stan/kyle, established relationship. stan and kyle are in their 40s, they now live in michigan. stan is a departmental manager at a grocery store after a nearly fatal injury forced him to give up his career as a firefighter. kyle is a school administrator. they have three children: a boy, 15, who is ike's biological son that kyle has had custody of since he was 6. they also have two younger girls, 8 and 5. ongoing argument is about their son's desire to leave his current school in order to attend a boarding school 7 hours away due to its illustrious hockey program. the girls are precocious and shy and a little bit neurotic. it's a normal day in the marsh-broflovski household until stan is shaken awake at two in the morning by kyle and informed they are flying back to south park, as gerald has just had a stroke and is in the hospital.

back in south park, they head to the hospital. things are not looking good. adult kyle has a very strained relationship with ike and gerald specifically, but his duty first and foremost is to his mother. their lives were all derailed when five years after it first started, gerald was tried and convicted on two counts of manslaughter and serves eight years in prison after he resumes his online skankhunt trolling, which is so prolonged and so malicious in nature it causes two teenage girls to kill themselves. the public outcry and national attention it receives hastens the sentencing despite the precedent for it being currently charted territory. anyway gerald dies several hours later without regaining consciousness.

kyle takes charge of all arrangements to be made immediately, including the fact they will now be in south park for a week in order to observe shiva for gerald. stan and kyle agreed that the kids would be raised jewish; stan took a few conversion classes, but it was never all that important to kyle that stan convert specifically and the importance of doing it gets lost for stan in the day to day of life. all this to say he did not realize this was happening. gerald's funeral is the following morning and for the next seven days kyle, stan, their children, ike, ike's current girlfriend, sheila, and gerald's brother sit shiva in the broflovski household; over the week, kyle has to confront and reconcile with the difficult relationship he has with his family in a town full of people he hoped to get away from forever who are now only an unlocked door away.

-- short story. stan/kyle, and i guess in a coy way also jimbo/ned. when stan is on the cusp of puberty, jimbo begins a 'tradition' that the two days before thanksgiving, he takes stan on an uncle/nephew hunting trip. stan hates this tradition. their freshman year of community college, stan invites kyle on this trip. kyle, meanwhile, is dealing with sheila's sudden and untimely death just before they graduate high school. stan is trying and struggling with how to be there for kyle, cos he's different now. during the trip, kyle kills a wounded animal. stan and kyle fight about this, though the fight is Actually About A Lot More Than That. stan has a private conversation with jimbo about his concern for kyle after it's only the two of them, and after getting surprisingly sensitive advice from his uncle, stan attempts to resolve their conflict. they do, in an odd manner. thanksgiving is consequently weird, with the broflovskis joining the marsh's for thanksgiving as a show of love and support during this difficult time. death makes everything weird.

i have others but these are what i have the most fleshed out for. i realize parent death is a recurring theme and don't worry, one day i will think of a great idea to kill randy.

[reigningqueenofwords]

Kyle's Accident

Pairing: Bruce x Reader Word count: 2,194 A/N: Okay, so I know that part of this one doesn't make complete sense with a previous chapter. I couldn't really figure out how to fix it once I noticed, and no one is really reading this anyway, so it's whatever.

Read on AO3

Part 9 of Without Me

Later on, after your shower, the pair of you held each other close that night. “I hadn’t told my parents yet about the promise ring, just in case they ask.” Bruce said gently. 

You nodded. “Obviously I hadn’t told mine, either.” You teased in return.

He let out a breath. “True.” He chuckled. “They’ll just know I’m serious when they find out.” He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and kissed your temple.

“Me, too.” You squeezed him. “Think they’ll like each other?” You asked, trying to picture all four parents in the same room.

“No clue.” He laughed. “Guess we just have to wait and see.”

You grinned. “I can’t wait.” You giggled.

He kissed your nose. “Me either. It’ll be our families together and that means a shit ton.” 

Finally, his parents were on their way. Nicole was sitting by you as you waited while Bruce chatted with your brother. You couldn't stop smiling as you watched them together. With that, you didn’t notice Nicole watching them with the same fondness. Her heart warmed at the sight. Maybe Bruce wasn't so bad after all.

You stood up quickly when the door the door rang, eager to greet them. “Hello, Martha.” you hugged her gently.

“Hello, sweetheart.” She smiled brightly. “I love the area you grew up in. It seems so peaceful.”

You beamed. “I’m glad.” You motioned inside. “Welcome to this crazy house.” You giggled. “Bruce is playing with my younger brother, Noah. Good luck getting his attention.”

She smiled. “I can’t wait to see that.” She stepped in quickly. “I always wanted to give him a sibling, but it just wasn't meant to be.”

“He’s great with him.” You assured happily. 

“Hello, Bruce!” Thomas chuckled, making your boyfriend jump.

“Jeez, Dad.” He placed a hand on his chest before standing. He smiled at his parents. “How was your drive?”

“Wonderful. We hadn’t been this way in quite some time.” Martha grinned. “Who is this lovely young lady?” She asked, motioning to Nicole.

Nicole stood and smiled instantly. “I’m Nicole, her sister.” She held out her hand. “It's nice to meet you.”

“Such pretty genetics in this family.” Martha praised. She noted how Nicole blushed. “Clearly with such beautiful parents.” She went to greet them excitedly. 

You chuckled as his parents instantly befriended yours. You moved to wrap your arms around his waist, kissing his shoulder. 

He rubbed your arms affectionately and grinned at the big hugs that were shared. He chuckled with he heard your mother’s voice. “Did you help Bruce pick out her ring? It’s beautiful!”

“Ring?” Thomas asked, glancing to you. “Are we getting a new daughter?” He asked.

Bruce was surprised at how calm he sounded at that. “Ah. Not yet, I guess. It’s a promise ring.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s all.”

“Bruce!” Martha beamed. “So sweet!” She teared up. “Let me see what our boy gave you.”

You went over to her shyly, with a smile and your hand out. “I love it.” You told her. “I had only sent him out for food.” You chuckled.

“I didn’t know he was a romantic.” Thomas chuckled. “I guess the right woman will bring it out in any man.”

“Heck yeah.” Bruce agreed with a beam. “She's stuck with me.”

“Proudly.” You nodded. Kissing his cheek, you gave him a squeeze. 

All four of your parents beamed at the two of you. “Can you come back to playing, Bruce?” Your brother asked sweetly.

Bruce grinned at your brother. “Sure thing, bud.” He glanced at you. “Sorry, babe. Your brother calls.”

“Eh, I’ll get you after this week anyway.” You grinned. “Go play.”

Bruce ran over like a kid himself. Nicole went back to watching them while ‘playing’ on her phone. 

“Let’s get some drinks going.” Your mother led his parents to the kitchen. “Dinner should be done in about half an hour.” You heard her.

You went to go sit with Nicole. “What do you think?” You asked, wanting your sister’s thoughts.

“He’s sweet.” She said easily. “So, his parents are even sweeter of course.” She shrugged a shoulder. 

You nodded. “Approve?” You asked, hopeful.

She glanced over at Bruce and eyed in him thought. “Maybe.”

“Well, that’s better than a no.” You sighed. “What's your hang up?”

“He doesn’t seem like the settling down type. Even giving you a ring and all.” She explained. “Seems like he's just getting excited. And excitement doesn't last forever.”

You sagged. Her opinion meant most to you and you trusted it. It hurt, but Bruce seemed to have changed since you got together. You really felt that. You played with your ring, your eyes glancing at it.

Nicole stayed looking at Bruce, but to you that just meant she was criticizing him. You didn't see that it was something very different.

“Would you like some drinks, dears?” Martha walked in. She glanced at Nicole, and then her son, raising an eyebrow. “I see.” She said to herself before going to set a few soda cans on the coffee table. 

You glanced at her and gave her a smile. “Thank you.”

She nodded and glanced at your sister. Martha wanted to say something, but what? She was positive she saw what she saw, but she didn’t want to cause trouble. “Y/N? I forgot something in the car, walk with me? I'd like to hear some memories of your home.”

“I’d love to.” You agreed instantly, standing. “What would you like to hear?” 

Martha let out a breath as you walked out. “Tell me how close you are with your sister.” She glanced at you. 

You shrugged a shoulder. “We're sisters. Not best friends or anything, but we're close.” You told her easily.

“I see.” She nodded. “Do you have the same taste in men?”

You raised an eyebrow at her. “Rarely, but….” You sighed. “It has happened.” Not a nice memory, either.

She nodded. “I just know how ladies look at my son, and Nicole definitely was giving him some type of look.” She admitted. 

“Oh…”

She rubbed your back. “I don’t mean to cause trouble.”

You shook your head. “You're not, I promise. Just...old wounds.” You sighed. 

“I thought so.” She said sadly. “I know girls like her…” She sighed. 

“When I was 16, I was dating a guy a couple years older. I wouldn't sleep with him. Well, she would.” You explained.

She looked at you in sadness. “Bruce wouldn’t do that.” She told you gently.

“I know. I trust him.” You said confidently. “I love him. And he loves me.” You nodded. “It's more my faith in her that's shaken.” You looked at her. “Thank you.” You smiled sadly. “for telling me.”

She nodded. “Of course. I consider you family now.” 

Hearing that made you smile at her. “That means a lot.” You stopped to hug her. “Now, did you actually forget something in the car?” You teased.

She laughed. “I did not. My memory isn’t that bad yet. Though I say that now.” She teased back. “I’ll just say that I wanted some time with you for a moment. How would you like to have a girl’s day tomorrow? You, me, your mother, and your sister?” She seemed excited. While she was displeased with your sister, she wasn’t one to leave her out. 

“I’m sure we’d all enjoy that.” You nodded instantly. “My mom doesn’t get out much since we’re not here.” You told her.

She nodded. “And I’d love to have some girls around. These Wayne men.” She shook her head with a grin. “Man children!” She laughed.

“Like when Bruce had a small cold and it was the end of the world.” You shook your head. “It was insane. And then, boom! He was hyper!”

She laughed further. “He’s always been like that.” She told you. “Be glad you weren't there for the chicken pox!”

You facepalmed. “I could only imagine. Was he a cry baby?” You teased. 

“At times, and then at times he would deny anything was wrong. He broke his arm as a child, and tried to tell Alfred he was fine.” She said as she fondly recalled her son’s childhood.

You snorted. “I can picture that.” You grinned. “I can't wait to meet Alfred.”

“He will adore you.” She nodded. “I just know it.”

“I’d like to see how he’d keep Bruce in line.” You chuckled. “He sounds like an awesome uncle.”

“That does fit his description.” She chuckled. “He is like family. He's off visiting his niece at the moment.”

“He seems like he’d need a vacation when dealing with Bruce.” You giggled, following her back. 

Bruce looked up, smiling. “Was starting to miss you.” He smirked. “Did mom get what she forgot?”

“I did. Can’t forget to take my medicine!” She grinned, ruffling her son’s hair as she went to return to the kitchen. 

You leaned against the nearest wall, watching Bruce with pure love. When he winked at you, you shook your head with a grin. “Talk and after dinner walk with me later?”

“Sure, babe.” He agreed easily. “Wanna see the LEGO house I made?” He lit up at the question.

“A big kid is what you are.” You said fondly, but went over eagerly to see his build. “Are you gonna want your own Legos now?” 

“I already have some in my cart online.” He teased. “Hope you like Lego decor for the living room.”

You snorted. “We’d break it!” You told him.

He gasped. “No! We would put them up high so no paws or small hands can get to them!”

You raised your eyebrows. “Oh, and where would these paws and small hands come from?”

Bruce shrugged playfully, and went back to playing. He was instantly emerged in more LEGO building. 

“Kids, dinner!” Came your dad's voice moments later.

You blinked and followed your brother as he got up excitedly. What was on your boyfriend's mind? It seemed he got shy whenever you pressed. You'd mention it later.

“You can sit here.” Nicole told Bruce, motioning beside her. 

Licking your lips, you shook your head. “I was hoping to sit next to you. How often do we get together?”

Nicole shot you a look. You instantly shot one back and went to sit down triumphantly. Martha had a smirk on her face for a split second. “Why’re you being rude?” Nicole whispered at you. 

“I'm not the one eyeing my sister's boyfriend.” You hissed.

She gasped, looking offended. “I wouldn’t.” She defended.

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. “Whatever.” You muttered.

“Girls?” Your mother asked worriedly. “Everything okay?”

You gave her a forced smile. “Just sister stuff, mom.”

She nodded. “Well, alright.” She looked skeptical. 

Bruce looked between the pair of you, curious. He kissed your hand when you rubbed his shoulder. When you smiled at him, he smiled loving in return. With that, both your parents relaxed. Nicole let out a small huff and turned her attention to the food.

Bruce smiled as he helped with the dishes, eager for your evening walk. But first, he had offered for you and him to do the dishes so all the parents could relax.

You flicked some bubbles at him as he dried and kept your face innocent. He reached over, wiping bubbles on your cheek, making you look at him in feigned shock. He shrugged with a boyish grin. “Are you saying I'm dirty?” You asked.

“Not the kind that can be cleaned.” He grinned. 

Laughing, you leaned over and picked his lips. “You’re funny.” You patted his chest. “And all mine.” You beamed proudly.

“You bet I am.” He kissed your nose. “Proud of it, too.”

You smirked. “How proud?” Dishes were now on the back burner.

He hummed, smirking as he thought. “Well, I really want you to become a Wayne one day.” He said happily. “And...I want you know...other Waynes.” He mumbled shyly. 

You bit your lip, moving closer. “Yeah?”

He nodded, blush dusting his cheeks. “Yeah.”

Wrapping your arms around him, you kissed his cheek. “Well, my answer would be yes, and for the second...one day.”

He brightened and squeezed you tightly. “Happy to hear that.” He sounded thrilled. “One day sounds good.” He pecked your lips. “Walk time?” He asked, hopefully. 

You intertwined your fingers with his. “I’d love to.” You agreed, feeling at ease with him.

“Sweet.” He grinned dorkily and tugged you along. 

“We'll be back, guys!” You told the parents as you passed through the living room.

“Have fun!” Your mother grinned. 

“No eloping!” Martha teased.

“They don’t have hours this week, I checked!” Bruce teased back. 

When the pair of you shuffled back in, everyone’s faces fell. “Dear?” Martha got up, looking between you and her son.

You looked up at her. "Kyle was in an accident. He didn't make it."

Your mother instantly went pale. “Oh, sweetie.” She brought you into a hug, tearing up. “I’m so sorry.” 

Bruce moved to hug the pair of you, as well. “His funeral is tomorrow.” He breathed, the two of you were still trying to grasp that he was gone.

[high-functioning-fang1rl]

Barclay-Pierce!!

It’s Andy’s idea to hyphenate their last names.

One night while they lay in bed discussing the wedding, Nica mentions how strange it is to think that no one she grew up with will be there. She says that even though she had a tenuous relationship with her mother and sister, she thinks she would’ve liked for them to be there, and she can imagine little Alice as the flower girl- which renders her quiet for a minute when she realizes that Alice would be too old to be a flower girl now if Chucky hadn’t cost her her life.

“It feels kind of bittersweet…Kind of like…I was the last Pierce standing, and when my name changes…it’s like we’re all gone. It may be for the best; without my Dad around, I didn’t ever connect to the name. But it’s kind of strange to think.”

Andy knows her too well to tell her she can keep her last name; he’s seen how stubborn she is, and witnessed first hand the soft, dream-like smile that lights up her face when someone mentions the wedding and calls her Mrs. Barclay.

When the thought finally comes to him, he takes a gamble and decides to surprise her, running to the internet and calling on Kyle for input. When the package arrives at the cabin, he nervously brings it to her, asking her to open it with him.

“Before we open it, I need you to know that this comes with no strings attached, and if you don’t want it, that’s okay.” He prefaces.

Nica looks at him curiously, warily, but when she finally sees the sign, her lips part with shock, her eyes wide and brimming with tears.

“Welcome to the Barclay-Pierce Home!” it reads.

Apprehensively, Andy tells her “I thought it would be the perfect way to keep your family alive and join it with mine. If you don’t want to, I understand, but I’d be honored to take your last name too.” And no sooner had the words left his lips than Nica pulls him into a kiss, pouring every ounce of love and gratitude she can muster into it.

“Thank you.” She whispers, a lump forming in her throat, a few of her happy tears finally escaping as she lays her forehead against his.

Later that night, as they fall asleep, Nica plays with the ring on her finger, smiling to herself, finally falling into a peaceful sleep as the words her fiancée told her earlier echo in her head.

“You’re not the last one, baby. *I’ll* be your family. And I’m with you. Always.”

*****

I figured before our lives are destroyed tomorrow we could use some fluff so, hope you enjoyed! This headcanon has melted my heart and stuck with me in the best way 🥺 I love these two 😍😭🥰

[green-alm0nd]

[Medieval!poet!Anakin Skywalker x gn!reader]: When Icarus tried to fly away

----

Summary: Your father is one of the greatest poets of the Century, and you are the actor on the theatre plays he's based off his own poems. One day, you finish a theatre play and a young man catches your eye. Ever since that day, he's been coming to see the theatre plays, and you finally decide to talk to him.

Warnings: Mentions of greek mythology (Icarus had wax wings and got too close to the sun, so the wax melted and fell down and died), a bit suggestive at the end if you squint, fluff and tons of fluff. Slightly cocky reader too. Also, just cheesy type of comedies back on the 16th century.

Author's note: this is actually inspired by a few Spanish places called 'Corral de comedias', which is basically a barn with animals that also is a place where people used to make tragicomedy plays the rest of the time. There's currently three left in Europe, all in Spain. However, these places were taken to South America and there's some there too.

I hope you like it!

----

Your acting partner fell to the ground, accepting his inevitable demise. Or, at least, thats what the script said. You seemed overwhelmed, maybe because you had spent the last two hours acting for hundreds of people without stopping for a break. A long 'beep' filled your ears, as the sound of clapping became louder ans louder several seconds after. Your acting partner, Kyle, got up. Along with other acting buddies, you all got on the centre of the small stge and bowed at the people several times while you all held hands.

Your father came towards the stage, the crowd following his gaze.

"Thank you, everyone. I feel very flattered that you are all here to see my latest poem story: Flowers covered in winter blood. I hope you all enjoyed this, and I ask for a grand applause for our actors. One of them, I am glad to call my child" He said, as everyone clapped and cheered.

You smiled, your father always had his ways of making the crowd scream for him. It was admirable, to be honest. Once you were old enough, he let you act on his plays and have a bright future where peoplr would look up to you.

You didn't realise you had zoned out looking at a man's eyes, they were blue. And very pretty. You could swear he was looking at you too, his dirty blond hair contrasting with his eyes. You felt your face go red as he smirked and winked at you, your face growing red. You looked away and decided to focus on your father's speech. You felt the man's eyes on you, but you didn't look back at him.

It was late night when you finally headed home, eager for your body to touch the bed. Your dad stayed where you had acted to finish up some things for the stage to be ready fot the next play, while you were already opening thr door and basically dropping your body on thr bed. You kicked your boots and threw them away, closing your eyes as exhaustion flowed around your body. The last thing you thought about is that attractive man staring at your eyes.

Ever since that day, the man would show up at your theatre plays. He must've been a good fan of your father's writing. You chose to ignore it, and focus on your main thoughts, and the plays.

It had been a few days since the man had first showed up, and your interest grew more and more. He'd always do something that would catch your attention, like winking at you, smirking, trying to catch your attention. Your father asked you why you were so distracted, but what could you say when there was a very attractive man staring at you for all the hours the play lasted every single day?

Eventually, you decided to take a chance and find out why this man was coming to your father's plays. To see the play? Because of your father? Or...

Because of you?

You shook the thought away, and focused on the last play you'd do before you faced this man. You gave your best performance, you had already learnt the script completely without any mistake. Your acting partner was also a good actor, always improvising on his own.

The crowd clapped. It seemed louder that time, more than other times.

As always, that man stood on the corner of the fifth line. Clapping and smirking at you. The curiosity killed the cat, after all. And you coudn't take it anymore, you needed to know who he was.

You could swear you were blushing, but shook the feeling away and left. It was nighttime when you had changed into more comfortable clothes and left your father, along with all your acting partners, inside the barn. You headed towards the exit, where a well-known man was waiting for you.

"Impressive acting." He commented.

You nodded. "I appreciate it."

The man nodded, leaning against the wall.

"I don't think we ever had a proper presentation. Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight." He said, with that smirk you had thought about at night.

You looked away, blushing incontrollably. However, you decided to take a chance. "Well, I think you know my name well enough. After all, you've come to the plays often enough fot you to know my name." You replied, which made him chuckle softly as you leaned against the wall too.

"I do, actually." He started. "(Y/N) (L/N), your father's poems and plays are quite famous around the world. I must say, it is wonderful that your father knows the beautiful projection of art. I must say, you did catch my eye too." He explained.

You hummed, wanting to play his game. "You did catch my eye too, Skywalker." You confessed.

He chuckled softly, as he stopped leaning on the wall to approach you. "Tell me something, (L/N). What is it, that catches your attention from me?" He asked.

You gulped quietly, and smiled. "You. You seem to catch my attention along the crowd" You kind of teased.

He smirked, yet again. "You like to play with fire, don't you? Let me tell you a story, Do you know what happened to Icarus?" He asked.

At this point, you swore you were being cornered by Anakin. "He died because he got too close to the Sun?" You replied, earning a chuckle from him. He was really close, and you felt him put an arm above you. He was alomost leaning towards you.

"You seem to know the story. Good, you are playing with fire now. Just like Icarus" He sang.

You smirked.

"It's good I don't have wax wings, then" You said.

And like that, he pinned you down and kissed you with almost hunger. Your eyes shot open, but closed immediately. His lips felt like fire, and his tongue seemed like it was liquid gold in your mouth. You kissed back, almost with the same passion like his, as you bit his lower lip.

His hands held a strong grip on your waist, not wanting you to let go even if you wanted to. He kissed you deeply, passionately and fiercely.

He pulled away, a stringof saliva still connecting your mouths.

"So, what do you say?" He asked, with a smirk as he lifted you chin up with his fingers.

You hummed.

"I like you way of thinking, Skywalker." You chimed.

And that marks the day you sold your soul for a guy that has watched you act more than twenty times.

----

This is actually my first time writing online, so I'm sorry if it's bad-

[incorrect-green-lantern-quotes]

Father's Day with the Green Lanterns

Alan Scott is old enough to remember a time before Father's Day. It wasn't declared a national holiday until 1972, and by then the prejudices of the world had led him to believe that he would never have the full experience of family, let alone children of his own. He figured the only legacy he'd leave behind was that of the Green Lantern name. But then Jennie and Todd had found him, followed in his footsteps as heroes. He'd missed out on their childhoods, hadn't even known they existed, but they wanted him all the same, and he is so very, very proud of them. So every year on Father's Day, Alan holds his children tight and whispers his thanks to the universe for the gift he'd never expected.

For Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz, Father's Day is a day not that different from most others. They'll send cards to their dads by mail or call them over the phone, chat about how life has been and sit through the inevitable "so when are you going to settle down and have kids of your own?" Simon's father knows he's a Green Lantern, and though he is proud, Mr. Baz also knows how dangerous that life is. Jessica hasn't told her dad that she's a superhero, she thinks he worries about her enough as it is. And though Simon and Jessica do love their fathers, they can't help but breathe a sigh of relief after they hang up the phone.

Kyle Rayner usually forgets about Father's Day until it's already over, if he even remembers at all. When he was a boy, it was a day where he especially missed the parent missing from his family. As he grew up, it became an annual bitterness to endure, a reminder of what he lacked. After tracking down Gabriel Vasquez though, Kyle has found a measure of peace. They're not close, and probably won't ever be. But what was once a deep and aching wound has become just another scar amongst many.

When Jo Mullein accepted a post in the Far Sector, she'd left Earth behind without so much as a goodbye to even her family. She'd a few messages back during that year on the edge of the cosmos, but the vast distance between Earth and the City Enduring meant that communication took months, and then she'd been called to her next mission by yet another crisis that shook the Corps, and has been too busy to come home. At least, that's the excuse she gives. In truth, she knows she could've tried harder. Mr. Mullein had always pushed everyone around him to strive for better. She fears that she's disappointed him, and that's why she's let two Father's Days pass without seeing her dad. But there will not be a third because she is a Green Lantern, and fear is just another obstacle to overcome.

Years ago, Guy Gardner and John Stewart had met in the same bar by coincidence and ended up drunkenly commiserating over their shitty abusive fathers. It turned into a yearly tradition of getting beer and takeout and yelling at the football game. They invite the other Lanterns of course, but it's almost always just the two of them. Sometimes Kyle will turn up, though he'll usually tune out and start doodling idly during the game. This year though, it's Keli Quintela who's sitting between John and Guy on the couch, screaming excitedly at the other kind of football playing on the television. She's not so much a daughter of the Lanterns as she is the youngest sibling of their family, but watching her grow and thrive in the home that they've all built together makes the ghosts of Roland and Henry weigh less heavily upon their sons.

Every year on Father's Day, Hal Jordan goes to visit his dad. In previous years, his brothers would usually be there too, but after Jack died and Jim had his own children, it's just Hal who makes the trip to Coast City's cemetery. He sits on the grass and talks about what adventures he's been on in space, the troubles he's been having readjusting to life on Earth. He tells his dad about Carol and Sinestro and Kilowog and the unorthodox family he and the other Earth Lanterns have cobbled together. Sometimes he wonders if this life is what Martin Jordan would've wanted for his son. But he knows his dad is proud of him regardless. And every year, Hal Jordan gets up as the sun sets, dusts off his battered old jacket, and tells his father's gravestone "See you next year, dad."

[4lbon]

👀😈🧠👩‍🏭???

👀 Do you have any WIPs that you would never let see the light of day? If yes, what are they about?

i have several fic ideas that have just petered out and i'm resigned to not finishing. it's not about not sharing them, it's about making peace with never finishing them. (i also have several fics i havent touched in months but im DETERMINED to get back to but that's a separate problem.)

one of those is, sadly, femdomverse 3 (and everything else i had planned). i have shared bits and pieces about it before, and it was going to be called "points present" bc she leaves a pair of her underwear as a ~treat~ for getting his first points ladkfjasldkfjaslkjf

i think my big problem with femdomverse was just down to teething problems. i wrote fdv1 on impulse in under 24hrs, i dont think i would've even finished fdv2 if i wasn't trapped in my appt with covid (thanks covid.) it sorta grew into a much larger idea than it started as and trying to figure out planning it out once i was already in the middle of it. i think it was a good lesson for really taking the time to think out longer projects fully before i post anything in the future.

but fdv still has such a place in my heart and its spirit lives on in my other girlfics!!!!

😈 Is there anything you enjoy doing that you think your readers hate?

this is such an interesting question because i spend very little time thinking about this. i write what i wanna write and if yall like it thats just a bonus :P new ask game tell me things i do as a writer you find annoying??? lol i suppose one thing i do a lot is talk about fics and just not get them finished or posted in a reasonable amount of time. WHICH ANNOYS ME TOO TO BE FAIR. idk. let me know~

🧠 What’s an idea you have that you can’t quite call a WIP yet?

ooooooh gio for u. as a treat. i'll talk abt my sargewood fic idea. this doesn't really count as a wip yet bc i haven't written anything yet, BUT circling back to the first one, planning out longer forms fics is important for me in the writing process. i've only talked abt this with care in DMs so i guess this is its first proper public sharing.

so, it's an au where kyle never really got into racing, he and logan knew each other in carting but kyle's career petered out and he and logan fell of of touch. for logan, his career progresses as we know it irl, until he gets dropped at the end of the 2024 season and he ends up without any sort of drive, goes back to florida in a sort of career limbo. and runs into kyle again!!!!!

but!!!!! surprise!!!! kyle's a dad! (this was all thought up around this btw. i was like how do i make singledad!kyle as a concept into an actual story with substance.) kyle and a high school ex had a baby, kyle realized he was gay so they broke up, she's very very smart and got into law school or smth so she's off doing smart businesswoman shit and kyle is the primary parent who gets child support. (amicable coparenting!!! just to be clear!!!!)

so with all of logan's new free time he can spend all this time with kyle and his kid to the point where lines start to blur and he now has all this free time to unpack any feelings that might pop up. writing a chaptered fic would be so so daunting but i think it'd be a good challenge for me, i just rly need to sent aside time to rly work on outlining everything i want!

👩‍🏭 If one of your fics was going to get you arrested, which one and why?

i'm not quite sure how to answer this question aldfjaslfjasldfja i'm big on. feeling morally neutral abt the fiction we all write. HOWEVER i do know that like, oscarmark is ~controversial~ and i do have this wip. that i havent touched in a while but i love the concept so much i still rly want to get back to at some point. the wip actually predates fdv and i originally was like 'oh i'll just anon post it i'm too embarassed' but now any embarassment abt the wierd shit i write is GONE lmao. i did talk abt it in the replies of this post and thats the most i've said about it before. it's really just a contrived silly little plot all just to set up oscar being fucked over the side of a boat. which is public sex technically which is also a crime. its v self indulgent its very For Me i hope i can take it out of wip purgatory someday :'(

[skeletonsucker]

Honestly

I say Simon

She's already adopting kids like my brain farting out ocs at me

I love Kyle with all my heart and imaginary balls but that man is too much of a sweetheart and I imagine higher class expectations type for that imo, also if man ends up wanting kids that child is probably gonna have a completely different upbringing than their siblings and the other kids will probably notice? Wether that's a good or bad thing is up to interpretation

Johnny would be great for the environment and kids, but the learning curve would be really fucking high, also I feel like he'd want alot of his own kids too so- yk

John would be great because I feel like he'd WANT kids, and not having to raise the kids since baby + he already has dad vibes, BUT I think it would be harder for him to bond with them than Simon? Idrk? Plus I feel like he DOES want kids (and if he does that kids gonna be spoiled rotten because of that mans grandpa vibes and the siblings are probably not gonna help in that front, aka all grew up in bad environments protect younger child, but without the seed of fear Kyle dad vibes bring)

Simon doesn't want kids (my hc at least) like, not doesn't want I guess more like, I feel like he's scared of it because of what he's been through? And scared of how he'd be as a dad, but he'd be able to relate to kids with rough upbringings, you can fuck up a baby you can fuck up a child that only has you as refrence, but it's harder to fuck up a gaggle of children who've been through hell and survived especially when he obv has to earn and keep the trust of every single one

ESPECIALLY since he's categorically the most "scary"

Boys' Home - Part 2

Ghost had noticed the rustling in the bushes where the grass met the trees. Price had convinced him and a few of the guys to buy up a worn-down building in the woods as a fallback base. 

"Think about it, a safe house that is off the books of the 141 and lets us relax on leave if we need to be alone. After the nonsense with Sheppard, I would be more comfortable having a hidey hole in our back pockets."

Simon agreed and pledged some money to the purchase of the property and repair of the buildings on the land. Now he stood among the old trees watching the bushes. Trying to decide if it could be an opossum or family or raccoons, he crept closer. Using all of his special forces training to not startle the creatures before he satisfied his curiosity. 

Four small, decidedly human, faces spilt in fear and sounds he could only compare to the scream of an incoming missile stabbed his ears. They took off into the underbrush and quickly were swallowed by the trees. 

"Donne ye know to no scare the locals?" Johnny yelled to him from beside the dumpster that had been delivered early this morning. 

Simon fired back with a rude gesture and headed back into the house to keep pulling old furniture from the upper floors. Johnny's laughter trailed after him. 

At one point, between the heat and the oppressive moisture of the upper floors, Simon pulled his mask off and shoved it into his back pocket. Trundling down from the third floor Simon dropped his load into the dumpster. Stepping back out he noticed a woman with a collection of faces he had scared away earlier in the day. Interesting.

He knew Price, Johnny, and Kyle were all out in front of the house. He had seen them on his trip to dump the trash. They had been looking over the original architectural drawings. The drawings were stretched across the hood of the truck. They were deciding which changes they wanted to make to the building and if the costs would be worth it. He called out to them, causing them all to come around the dumpster.

Watching your eyes, Simon knew when you decided on who to approach first. More and more interesting. He watches you walk over, introducing yourself to Price. Everyone seemed to agree to ignore the children surrounding you like a skirt.

John straightened and offered a hand.

"John. This here is Kyle, Johnny, and Simon."

Everyone nodded their greetings at their name. Simon folded his arms across his chest. You nod back to each of them. Simon looks from the woman to each child, none of them look remotely like her.

“I wanted to come by and introduce myself. My boys were by earlier and reported that someone was in the old house.”

One of the smaller boys tugs on her hand. "Momma, I don't see the skeleton."

Simon tightens down on his muscles to prevent him from flinching under the eyes of his teammates. Johnny thumbed his nose and winked at him.

John looked down and smiled at the boy.

"My friend over there," hooking a thumb back over to Simon, "Was wearing a skull mask a little bit ago. He uses it to scare away the monsters, do you believe in monsters?"

The child narrowed his eyes at John. Good, someone needed to call his captain on his bullshit.

"Momma says monsters aren't real. My teacher says that they aren't real either. So, I think you're lying."

Kyle and Johnny fought back chuckles, even Simon couldn't prevent a smile from cracking one side of his lips. You glance at Simon as you let out a small laugh, taking his measure before turning back to Price.

“Thanks, Sam. Now, John, we wanted to welcome you and your guys to the neighborhood, such as it is. I wanted to let you know that my boys will not be bothering you,” You toss a look at the boys at your waist, the message clear ‘Do not make a liar of me’. “They aren’t allowed in the old house for safety reasons. And if y’all are going to be fixing it up then they doubly need to leave it alone. If you see them poking around your things or your property, please feel free to follow the trail back to our house and let me know.”

“And if you’re not home?” Johnny asked.

You look to Johnny, “I’m a teacher at the local high school, I will be home if the boys are.”

“Thank you for the heads up. We will be sure to watch out for them,” John replied.

“I appreciate it.” Looking to your boys you lifted a brow, “Ready to race?”

They all jumped back, energy crackling off their bodies, even the preteen looked ecstatic at the prospect.

“Yes!” Their voices overlapped as they all agreed.

“How long of a head start today? Five seconds?”

“Three!” Cried the oldest.

“Alright, one,” they took off. “Two,” your voice a bit louder. “Three!”

You took off after the boys, disappearing between the boughs of the trees.

The men all watched you dart away, stride confident.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Kyle said.

“Pretty lass in the middle of nowhere with four boys who look not a lick like her? Unexpected indeed.” Johnny replied.

“Alright guys, back to our jobs. We only have a few days here before we ship back for another mission, might as well make the best of it,” John put a bit of his captain voice in place and everyone set off to their tasks.

Simon made a mental point to crawl out onto the roof access and see over the tops of the trees the closet building to the east of their fixer-upper. It matched the direction you and the boys had run. He would check it out after dark. 

Ugh these guys haunt my DREAMS. I can't decide who is endgame here. Any thoughts?

Part 1 | Part 3

Masterlist | AO3

[bookofkatherine]

The Perfect Ink

When Alexander Skarsgard loves through shared artistry.

When I met Alex in 2014, he was working on his acting career. But when a dangerous mission for the Order forced him into a safe house in 2015, his fingers grew restless.

That's when I learned that Alex had begun sketching fashion designs as a young boy. Sadly, his father beat him for it until Alex stopped. But Alex had gone No Contact with his dad for nearly a year by the time he found himself in the Order's safe house..

His dad is not only an alcoholic, but he also ran up more than $20 million in gambling debts under Alex's name without ever informing him! That's one of the benefits of joining my team in The Order: I find out all ways people have been screwing you over- and then I do whatever I can to help support you and set everything right again.

It took a number of years and some setbacks, but Alex has paid off more than $30 million of his father's debts now. And his dad has stopped crashing Alex's sets to try and suck more money out of him. Nope. Stellan Skarsgard is the rest of the family's problem now- unless they finally get smart and dump him too.

Anyhow. Back to 2015.

When Alex was alone in that safe house, I let his fingers fly when they wanted to. I got him a stack of sketch books, sketch pads, charcoals, pens, inks, watercolors, pencils - everything he could possibly want or need to dump the designs he'd been storing up in his head back onto paper once more.

Fuck his dad. Alex fucking saved the fashion industry. I don't know if you remember what fashion was like before Alex came along, but you can definitely see the effects in the before and after photos when he stepped onto the scene.

You see, fashion designers have to put out so many designs and collections a year that they simply have to contract out the work. They hire other designers and artists to makes pieces for their collection - or in Alex's case, they often hire him for their entire collection.

But Alex is in high demand now. Each design costs a fortune. Take this look that Kendall Jenner commissioned from Alex in 2021 for the Met Gala:

She paid Alex $12 million dollars to make it. But look at the smile on her face! Oh, I always know when Alex made a design for someone. Their face shines like neon. Even the models changed after his stuff hit the runways.

Suddenly the models could move again. They could walk without pain or torture. But more importantly, the models felt beautiful again. And that's just made our world a better place... honestly. To have joy return to one of the darkest corners of the world? Wow.

See that perfect fit?

But sometimes Alex goes even further and uses his fashion to flirt with me.

For example, the day he decided to flood the runways with roses for me, in honor of Book of Katherine. He and the whole Order kept it a secret. And then they flooded by feed on the day the runways began. And my heart nearly burst.

Valentino's show in Rome, for example, happened on the Spanish Steps that my uncles Stefan and Gustaf built 300 years ago. Kyle Redd wrote and produced the music Labrinth sang as the designs went down the steps. And Alex drenched the models in roses and sparkles and maribou feathers... in bright reds, whites, silvers, blues and hot pinks.

It was a runway designed for me to enjoy. It was a gift to celebrate what was about to come: the premiere of my first movie one week later.

And then there was the time I dove into Anna Ismagilova's watercolors with a feverish gusto.

See a theme?

Can you already guess what Alex did in response to my editing of her work? (I'd been put in charge of a certain art project and spent one entire wall focusing on Anna Ismagilova's works. I've edited a lot of artwork in my years on this Earth, and I've rarely been as happy working with a collection from a single artist as I was working on Anna's pieces.

It was pure joy. And so - the amazing man that he is - Alex gave me this:

Have you seen the Fall 2022 Schiaparelli Haute Couture show? My jaw just dropped to the floor, and then I simply wept.

I mean, the man blacked out the entire runway and then donned the models in gorgeous wide-brimmed hats. And then he gave them the very silhouettes Anna had throughout her fashion designs - but focused on the ones I myself would wear.

And God - he designed the goddamn red lip into the designs. The RED LIPS!!! God! Peeking out from under those wide brimmed hats!? Complete with lighting to emphasize it!?

Ohhhh... and it was such a hit, Schiaparelli pays top dollar to ensure that he designs for them - I don't even think they sew the designs. They want him sewing them. No one else. And that's how you getting fucking majesty like this:

And you get haute couture designs that are instantly iconic, like this:

But recently Alex surprised me with a new flirtation.

You see, before I fell ill with my neurological disorder, I used to paint. I used to do watercolors, charcoal and ink pieces.

And my ink has a very, very, very specific look. I used to have a few of those pieces hanging on my walls. But then Satan attacked and Merlic had to tear them all down.

But Alex remembers. I know he remembers. And I think he looked up the videos of me making them - because The Order did that - they recorded my whole life. And certain Knights have access to that library.

So when I saw these designs suddenly released, I gasped.

How the hell did my style of ink end up on clothing designs!?!?!?

And I knew it. I knew it instantly. Alex was letting me know that he not only remembered, he loved what I'd done. And he didn't want me to forget either.

He knows I don't like my art. The Knights - through things like this by Alex - have been helping me see my artwork differently. They are helping me see the beauty in it.

Oh, Alex, what perfect ink.

So I wrote him today:

[violetswritingg]

Only in Darkness

Jason Todd X OFC!

Description:

"Only in Darkness can you see the stars."

Or

Marlowe Knight stumbling upon a girl prophesied to end the world and going on the adventure of a life time.

Rating: M (Blood, cannon typical violence, sibling rivalry, scars, torture, trauma, angsttttt)

Want to read the other chapters?

Click here

2

Detroit, Michigan

2018

Bleary eyes cracked open, deep as the Pacific Ocean in winter and blood shot. Waves slowly sliding around the dark room and newspaper covered windows. A sense of dread and panic slowly building as her confusion grew.

"Hey sleepy head." Every hair on her exposed arms stood on end, gooseflesh plaguing every inch of open skin. Automatically trying to move away from the bouncing echo pulled at the tender flesh of her bound wrists. The old rope burning her skin red with irritation.

"Everything's okay. I promise." The warm voice, the loving tone she had forced herself to forget ripping through her ears like claws. Drawing blood and demanding attention. A whimper involuntarily fell from her lips as she continued to pull, more violently now, at her restraints. The chair's back digging into her spine just like she remembered, exactly like she had done her best to erase from her head. But not even the most extreme compartmentalization could save her from this.

"He lied! Our entire lives he lied; how could you side with him?!" The voice was paired with a face now, one so painfully familiar she could feel her stomach wanting to empty it's contents all over her shoes. A boy standing at six feet even with midnight black hair and hazel eyes with thick lashes most girls would be jealous of. Darkness crawling in at the edges of his blurry figure, the edges of his waist and shoulders atomizing and reforming over and over.

An armored body suit the color of pitch clinging to the built muscles he had gotten from training since he was barely a teen. Poison green stripes going down the sides of his suit, with matching gloves and mask. Paying homage to his roots and deciding what side of the story he would be on.

The snarl on his chapped lips causing his nose to flair, something that only happened when he was really upset.

"I'm not taking anyone's side. Please Kyle-" Her voice sounded without her moving her lips as the memory audio played out. Her at the mercy of the past. The chocked sob ripping from her throat silently as she was subjected to her own personal hell.

"I should have known, why would the perfect princess want to go against daddy dearest huh? Even with knowing what kind of person he truly is. God! I'm so stupid." The betrayal rung out and sharp, boiling hot tears ran down her face. Knowing what came next and feeling as if she was suffocating. Her chest filling up with a pressure she associated with holding her breath underwater for too long, burning.

"This is going to hurt."

The pain was indescribable.

Her voice box tearing itself to shreds, blood curdling screams filling the otherwise empty warehouse. Her every atom under his bare fingertips being ripped apart and mixed up into a misty version of herself. Being mixed around, tossed, and put back together without a care.

Sirens wailed, flashing red and blue lights filtering in harshly through the newspaper covered windows.

"You're okay. You're okay. Dad's got you. You're okay."

Marlowe's eyes jerked open; face covered in a sheet of ice cold sweat. Choking on an invisible substance as she shot up and out of the computer chair. Muffled chattering entering her ears as she tripped over her feet and fell back onto the ground. Eyes wide and filled with terror as a black and green figure approached her, hands held out and reaching for her.

No, no, no, no.

The Cosmic Staff ran through the mirage, the intense glow burning her eyes almost as bad as the computer screen had done all night. The living weapon swooped down, nudging their wielder and letting out comforting clicks and shifts of light. With her chest heaving Marlowe shakily grabbed onto the Staff's body with a clammy palm and let them pull her to her feet. The Staff holding most of her weight as her knees shook.

"Thanks Cosmo." She breathed, squeezing the Staff appreciatively. "I can always count on you. Huh?" The Staff let out an indignant sound of agreement. Attuned to her every emotion and thought, just as she was to theirs. 

The mental-emotional link being formed through intense training, time, and trust. "What time is it?" She let out a breath, looking to the screen on the wall that rivaled the flat screen in the living room. Seeing a bright set of numbers displayed in the corner. A groan passing through lips quietly at the early hour, Marlowe just now realizing how raw her throat was.

She had been screaming again.

That hadn't happened in a while. It only seemed like her nightmares were getting worse the farther the Mist got from her. She had been at a disadvantage from the start but this was the farthest she had been from him since the beginning of her man hunt, her bookstore lead being worthless. Leaving her with hours of footage that was almost a week old, of him doing nothing but eating muffins and working on his laptop.

Picking up the overturned computer chair, she set it on its rolling feet and plopped down into the seat. The Staff across her lap, letting out more sounds of comfort.

"Any ideas Cos?" She asked futilely, knowing she had hit another dead end. Her frustration causing the Staff to bite at her and heat up in her hands. "Sue me, Cos. Fuck." Letting the Staff rest in her lap she brought her hands up to her blood shot ocean eyes and rubbed at them, the dark bags underneath big enough to swallow her face whole.

What now?

~~*~~

When Dick answered his phone on his usual morning commute to work, he didn't expect where it would take him. But being a cop, walking onto crime scenes was normal. However, one in a book store – where seemingly nothing was stolen – and with two uniforms in the hospital... it was safe to say this wasn't a normal crime scene for him.

Not in Detroit at least. Gotham? Just another day on the job – an easy day.

"What happened?" His question was clipped and to the point, the officer running point returning the same curt energy.

"Silent alarm was tripped, two officers responded. Called in backup soon after along with a robbery in progress but the offender took them down and fled before back up units could arrive." The Sargent, all grey hair and stocky shoulders, stopped at the mouth of the hallway leading into the part of the store meant only for employees. A dried puddle of blood at his feet, another smaller one down the hallway, outside an open door.

"The officers?" Dick asked, taking in the dried blood.

"The altercation, as far as we can tell, started over here with Officer Greenway after she interrupted whatever they were doing with the computers. Techs are still going through the hard drives back at the precinct." The Sargent walked down the hall to the slightly smaller pool stain, Dick following and taking in every smear of blood, dent in the wall, or scuff on the laminate floor. 

"There was a struggle, the offender took Greenway down. The paramedics rushed her to the hospital, something about brain bleeding. It's not good." A heavy breath of guilt passed through him, the aging man bringing a hand up to his five o'clock shadow. Dick looked back at him from his spot by the open doorway as his spoke again, words muffled by his thick fingers, but still discernable, "I put them on this beat."

"It's not your fault." Dick spoke, eyes softening from the detached air they had, for a split second. But as soon as it happened it was over and he was back to analyzing the scene. "What happened next?"

"Greenway was down, there was a knife wound in Jones's leg. CSU was thinking the offender threw it from here," The Sargent motioned to the pool, turning to the mouth of the hallway with a shake of his head, "Ripped it out on their way out, though Med couldn't tell me if that was before or after they broke two of his ribs and fractured his jaw." Dick, after giving the computers in the room one last glance walked over to stand beside the Sargent. Calculating the distance in his head, his eyebrows shooting up in mild shock.

"Where did the knife land?"

The older policeman looked at Dick like he had a few screws loose but answered anyway, "In his leg... like I just said."

"Where specifically?" Dick clarified, walking over to the larger dried pool of crimson.

"His thigh, I heard one of the EMT's say something about him getting lucky it missed an artery. Lost a decent amount of blood but not enough that it would kill him."

"And they pulled out the knife when they left?" Dick asked, more to himself than anything. Automatically profiling the offender in his head. The mix of aggression and restraint confusing him though. 

"Yeah, Greenway's gun was found next to Jones, so I'm thinking the perp got a hold of it in the struggle. Used it to pistol whip Greenway while she was down." The man's teeth grit together in building rage, "It was found beside Jones, no evidence of it going off though." Dick's head tilted slightly, something not sitting right with him.

"Prints?"

"Wiped clean. I hate it when they're smart."

Possible criminal record.

"Not that smart." He muttered under his breath; the person who did this didn't catch the silent alarm. They were either in a rush or just sloppy, but that didn't mix with the sophisticated aspects he was seeing. 

They were skilled, there was no denying that. A precision knife throw, from twelve feet, solely meant to incapacitate - in the dark no less - was not an easy feat. He would know. On top of the skill that it took to take down two armed police officers, with the force that had been exerted...

Whoever they were, they've had training.That much was clear to him. 

"CSU did find some blood by the wall they believe to be the fucker's who did this. They took samples."

Dick's eyes met the Sargent's, "The offender was hurt?"

"Yeah, Jones was able to get a shot off, GSR on his hands and his gun missing a round confirm that." The Sargent nodded, "We already put out a notice to all the hospitals in the city to look out for GSW's coming into the Emergency rooms."

Trained but borderline incompetent. 

"If they aren't dead already." Dick said and the Sargent scoffed out a humorless laugh. His tired cobalt eyes steeling with malice.

"One can only hope."

Dick forced a tight grin and finished up at the crime scene, the Sargent promising that all the relevant files and evidence would be sent his way. Dick's mind consumed with thoughts about what someone would want with whatever was on the computer of a mom and pop book store.

~~*~~

Food.

Laughter and the bell like clinking of spoons against tea cups mixed with the smell of freshly baked blueberry muffins and croissants. Assaulting her senses.  A Parisian vibe that hit a little too close to home in the set up and soft music playing overhead. The color scheme a calming combination of sage green, crème, and dark brown. The nostalgia bittersweet, with a hurtful aftertaste. Ghosts dancing in front of her eyes as she approached an indoor table.

Four people, two adults – parents with their kids. One of the children distinctly older than the other, a boy and a girl respectively. The mom the odd one out with her mane of ginger locks in a sea of raven black. Even though Marlowe knew it wasn't real, a chill went up her spine. 

"Maybe leave some of the gold medals for the others next time yeah?"

"Oh, leave her alone Jack. We're celebrating remember?"

Marlowe had almost forgotten how much she missed Sadie's - Her mom's - voice. Guilt for ignoring the woman who helped raise her ate at her. Sadie hadn't really done anything to deserve it like her dad had, but for some reason it still hurt to think about her. Bubbly giggles that belonged to her past-self echoed around her head, feeling like sandpaper on skin.

"Miss?" Marlowe's head snapped to the side, where a waitress stood with concern in her eyes. "Is everything okay? Can I get you anything?" Her French accent was a pleasant surprise. And Marlowe automatically responded in the language that had surrounded her almost as much – if not more – than English her whole life.

"Juste en prenant dans l'espace. Cela me rappelle la maison."  Marlowe plastered on a soft grin, sitting at the table and ignoring the hallucination atomizing and leaving the table empty. (Translation: "Just taking in the space. Reminds me of home.")

"Ah! Êtes-vous de France?" The waitress got excited.

"Non. Ville d'Opale. Louisiana. Born and Raised." Whether she knew it or not, a spark of warmth flickered in her ocean eyes. Her smile a little less forced. The waitress recognized the name and nodded, her smile and excitement dimming slightly but not leaving entirely.

Opal City, the well know sister city to New Orleans. It's French ties something the city celebrated just as much as New Orleans did theirs. That wasn't what made the city infamous though.

"Have you ever seen Starman?" The waitress asked quietly, leaning in like they were exchanging a secret. A child like glint in her eye.

Starman, it was a name that left Marlowe with a bitter feeling in her chest. And apparently it showed on her face as well. The waitress – Clementine – instantly becoming more reserved as she leaned back and wet her lips nervously. 

While the dark aura shocked the server, she could see there was a tiredness there. The girl's shoulders sagging, as if the name Starman was the sky and the girl the cursed Titan forced to carry it.

"A couple times." Marlowe forced out and Clementine didn't push the subject. Quickly taking the teen's order – A double espresso and their breakfast special – and disappearing to the kitchen. Marlowe's eyes trailed out the window beside her, glazing over the street, cars, and pedestrians walking by the corner store across the street. Looking to the sky on instinct, as if she would see the signature golden streak. A sight she used to find comfort in, knowing her dad was there watching over her.

 Starman, Jack Knight, her dad, was Opal City's protector once upon a time. Flying around with the Cosmic Staff, welding goggles, and an oil covered black leather duster jacket.

There had been other Starmen before him. Two in fact, neither of which she had met.

The first Starman, her grandfather, Ted. He dressed up as if he was the physical embodiment of Christmas – as in bright red body suit with a gold star on his chest, neon green superhero undies on the outside and everything. The old time photos of him from the forties gave Marlowe some serious second hand embarrassment. But he was the one who created the Staff his successors use to this day, so...

The second Starman was her uncle, David, who took over once her grandfather retired. He donned the obnoxious suit for all of two weeks. Until he died.

Until he was killed.

A final act of revenge by The Mist, Ted's archnemesis that David inherited when he picked up the Staff. Though The Mist hadn't been the one dolling out the bitter pill – the sick fuck made his kids do his dirty work – he made sure it had been swallowed before he himself bit the bullet and went totally senile in his old age. 

The man leaving behind his two children a son and a daughter, Kyle and Nash, to whatever fate had in store for them – which was nothing good considering they're both dead now.

It could be argued that they did more damage than their father ever did to the Knight family, but that was a debate for another time.

David's death wasn't where the feud between the Star people and The Mist had started, not by a mile, but it was a defining moment that irrevocably changed her family's future in ways no one could have predicted. The ripples of the event still able to be seen to this day, with her and the newest iteration of the Star people's number one most wanted.

Halfway through her breakfast, something in the air changed. Approaching sirens could be heard, followed by the pop pop pop of gun fire that made most of the patrons in the café jump and look around. Marlowe's eyes however were glued to the corner store across the street. If you weren't paying attention, you'd miss her exit.

The girl quickly throwing down some cash on the table and taking off out the back exit and into the alley as she shed her jacket and sweatshirt. 

~~*~~

[practically-an-x-man]

14, 11, 7 and 4 for Katherine? 🎬, 🤩 and 📖 for you?

Thank you so much!

OC/Ship Ask Game: Firsts

14. First time facing their fears

She was aggressively bullied throughout school, especially for her curvy build and her vitiligo, so for a lot of her teenage years her biggest fear was dressing in a way that showed off her figure. Moving to New York and starting art school helped, since she was suddenly around a lot of openminded and creative people who helped her feel more comfortable in her skin; and of course Ahk and his unconditional love for her helped shake the last of that selfconsciousness too.

Her first time really facing that fear was Homecoming, sophomore year of high school. She'd found a dress that she really loved, though she had to weigh that against the potential discomfort of being seen in it at the party, and she finally decided to commit to it and face her fears.

11. First "big purchase" they ever made on their own

When she was about 12 and getting more involved with art, she learned that Copics were The Good Markers and decided she really wanted a set, so she moved lawns and babysat her neighbors' kids all summer until she'd saved up enough to get a nice array of colors.

7. First time they experimented with their personal style

This is tied to the answer for 14 - it was about when she got into art school, escaped her high school bullies and found that more welcoming crowd, and started to build the confidence to dress the way she wanted. Really, it's still and ongoing process, and she does sometimes fall back into her old self-consciousness, but she's gotten a lot better about it.

4. First time experiencing grief

She wasn't in touch with a lot of her biological family, but she grew up in a really interconnected neighborhood and really saw all of them as her extended family. Her first time experiencing grief was when she was a kid, and her "Uncle" DeMarcus down the street passed away from a cardiac event.

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🎬 - First fandom(s) you wrote for, and if you still write for them

I remember writing like 4 pages of fanfic in the Terfy Wizard Fandom when I was about 8 years old and didn't even know what fanfic was, if that counts. It goes without saying that I absolutely do not write for that fandom anymore, it can die in a fire.

However, the first fic I wrote with the active knowledge and intent to post it as fanfiction was the X-Men fandom, and I do still write very actively for that fandom lol.

🤩 - First big inspiration for writing (an author? a piece of media? a plot idea?)

Honestly... it's a lot of things. I was a super avid reader as a kid (and still am), so I was just really inspired by a whole lot of different stories. My dad read Tolkien (among other books) to me and my sister when we were kids, and I think that played into my love of the hero's journey and epic tales like that. I also got really obsessed with Percy Jackson, Wings of Fire, Maximum Ride, and other YA adventure series like that, which I also drew a lot of inspiration from (the first piece I really remember setting out to write was effectively a Maximum Ride clone lol). And of course, comic books were a huge inspiration to me, with everything about superheroes and grand tales and fast-paced action.

📖 - Piece you'd recommend as a "first piece" for a new reader to enjoy

In general, I prefer to recommend pieces based on the person's individual interests and preferences, since my writing tends to vary a bit in length, tone, and style. I mean, you could read whumpy oneshots with Eris, or you could read longfic romantic fluff with Jasper and Kyle (though there's angst to come), and the people who will enjoy those stories don't always overlap.

But if I had to make a generalization... I'd say Taking Flight (Kestrel's main fic). It's in a small fandom, but I've written it so that you can go in completely fandom-blind and still enjoy the story. It's some of my more recent writing so the quality is good, and I'm especially proud of the worldbuilding and fantasy elements (both how I've worked with canon and expanded on it).