#empty nest

[angelique-of-the-volturi-guard]

A Batman concept that is being absolutely slept on: Bruce dealing with empty nest syndrome.

Don’t get me wrong, Bruce was (Somewhat ashamedly) relieved when Damian went to his home country to further his cultural studies, but it presented a problem that he hadn’t had in over thirty years- an empty manor with only Alfred for company. It isn’t as though he isn’t used to solitude, but it’s like wearing a shirt that’s a size too small for him- uncomfortable and restrictive. There’s no one in the cave to train with or bounce ideas off of, no one to check in on since all of his children are thoroughly capable of taking care of themselves, and no one coming to greet him when he gets home from work.

For the first few days, the solitude is a breather. The chaos of the house is gone, things are calm and orderly, and he can get everything done that he needs to in a given day, no questions asked. But after the novelty has worn off, he begins to feel the emptiness of the manor. There is no Damian to spar with in the batcave, or the sound of Jason tuning up a motorcycle. There’s no clicking of keyboards from Tim typing furiously, or the chatter of Stephanie and Cassandra echoing through the halls. There’s no Dick to banish the clouds from his mind with an infectious laugh and blinding smile.

At first, he throws himself into his work as he usually does, wielding every bit of power he has as Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Enterprises, and as Batman. He strikes more deals, takes more cases, meets more with the JLA. But no amount of work can distract him from that horrible hollow feeling he gets when he comes home from work to an empty home. As such, he holes up in the study most evenings with the excuse of doing his work, but is instead going through some of the family photo albums every night, reminiscing and having the occasional bourbon or scotch. And while he does attempt at times to keep up with his children, they’re often busy with their jobs, or patrol, or their own social lives, and it leaves him feeling bereft.

Alfred notices those subtle signs of depression in his master- the constant working, the lack of eating, and the creak of the floorboards of the manor as he walks the halls at night by himself. He gives it two weeks for Bruce to snap out of his funk on his own, and once he realizes that isn’t happening, he makes a phone call while Bruce is at work to Dick. As the first of his children and the one most able to open Bruce up emotionally, he knows that if anyone can get him to open up, it’s him. And after hearing of the situation, Dick agrees under the guise of coming for dinner that night.

The Bruce that greets him that night is not the one he knows. He seems genuinely delighted to see him, even pulling him into a hug when he comes into his office that evening. After getting over the initial shock, Dick soaks in the affection and begins to realize something that he’d never considered before- that perhaps he and his siblings had helped Bruce more than he had helped them, because they ensured he wasn’t lonely anymore. When Dick confronts him about his change in recent behavior, he’s surprised when Bruce readily admits to how much he misses his children.

“I didn’t choose solitude, it picked me.” He says. “And I was always fine with choosing it every time after that because it was what I knew. Until you and your brothers and sisters came along.”

Dick sits in the chair across from Bruce’s desk, and can see the loneliness and exhaustion in his face as he admits to not realizing just how much of a difference it all made until he no longer had it. As heartwarming as it is for Dick to hear that, he knows a solution is necessary. He asks to sleep in Bruce’s bed for the night for the first time in years in hopes that that might be enough to get him to sleep at least, and sure enough, it works. Bruce is out like a light for far longer than normal while Dick uses the time he’s sleeping to fill the rest of his siblings in on everything that’s happening and come up with a plan of attack together.

After that a routine is established. Everyone sends a text or gives a call on a different day of the week to check in with him. Once a week, depending on how everyone’s schedule’s work out, one or more of the kids comes to the manor for dinner or comes for patrol. And once per month, the family makes a point of having a family dinner and movie night as a way to catch up and reconnect with one another (Partners included). Bruce’s depression lifts, the bat family begins communicating more effectively, and everyone grows happier as a result.

[therpistlr]

“After the Last Lunchbox” for the mother whose hands are suddenly still

You packed the last lunchbox without knowing it was the last. The door closed, the car pulled away— and time moved too fast.

There is no parade for this kind of goodbye, no ceremony for letting them fly.

Just rooms that echo your silence, cups in the cupboard that don’t disappear, and a calendar that no longer revolves around someone else's year.

You gave them roots. You gave them wings. You made a life from the littlest things. Now the house is whole, but something's gone— and you’re still here, figuring out how to go on.

But hear this: You are not empty. You are expanding— into places you had set aside, into hours once filled with wiping tears, cutting crusts, soothing cries.

Now is not a loss. It’s a return. To dreams you pressed down, to a self you still yearn to know.

You are allowed to grieve. You are allowed to rest. You are allowed to feel a little lost in this nest.

But you are not finished. You are not done. You are a story still being spun. ______ A Superb Must Have Tool for Empty Nesters Moms

[domreader-headcannon-scenarios]

Empty Nest part 4

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

-You took a deep breathe, stretching in the bed you were resting in. It’s been centuries since you had slept. You open your eyes, vision a little blurry. You groan as the memories of the previous night come back to you.

Fuck, you wanted to start a family…but was it the best idea to choose Sebastian? You roll your shoulders and sit up. With a quick look around, you find Sebastian entering the room, fully clothed and holding a silver plate, it had a cover so you couldn’t see what was in it. He locked eyes with you and gave you a small smile.

“I’m sorry,” He spoke softly as if you were a cornered animal that he didn’t want to startle. “I hoped to have breakfast ready before you woke up but I had to attend to the young Master, I hope you understand.”

You raise an eyebrow. Breakfast? You weren’t hungry, demons can go ages without food, you don’t have a use for human food aside from pleasure, you’d need a-

You freeze and take a deep inhale, recognizing the scent.

It’s…a soul? Where did he get one so fast? Did he go hunting after you fell asleep??

You couldn’t help the that your mouth was watering, it smelled so good, the love, hatred, sadness, anger, fear…you could tell from just the scent whoever he targeted had lived a full life, they’d be delicious…

Which led to your current concern.

Why was he offering you this? Demons don’t like sharing their meals, it’s difficult and not nearly as filling, so why would he go through the extra work? You sneer st him. “Funny, Sebastian. But you already got what you wanted, right? There’s no reason for you to do me a ‘favor’ now is there? I fucked you silly last night and you’re giving me breakfast in bed? Yeah right, what do you want?”

You really didn’t mean to sound so defensive but you were worried, was he just trying to get your guard down to hurt you? Was he trying to get you to sleep with him again? Is he that desperate for your touch?

Sebastian gives you confused look, grabbing a tray from god knows where and set it up, then placed the plate on it, taking the cover off to let you see the soul. It shined so beautifully and you wanted to tear into it, but you wouldn’t until you knew there were no clauses.

“Well, not particularly, no. I just want you to be safe, you can’t hunt while pregnant after all, right? I don’t want the love of my life to go hungry.” You grinned at his choice words…this…was odd, but well intended?

You ease back down onto the bed, still choosing not to eat, you could still hunt! But…you did owe Sebastian an apology…

“I’m not hungry and I can still hunt until I show signs, you should eat though, souls taste best fresh.” You pause taking a deep breath before talking again. “Also, sorry I got…upset with you,” A soft smile stretches across your lips as you look him in the eye. “Want a kiss to make up for it?”

Sebastian’s eyes lit up and his smile widened. “Would that be ok?” You nod and Sebastian leans down to give you a kiss, you reciprocate the motion, being gentle with it and letting his touch linger over you for a few more seconds. If it made him feel better, then why not, it’s not like it’s bothering you anyway. Sebastian gently climbed onto the bed with you again, placing his head on your shoulder.

You held the ‘snack’ in your hands and motioned for him to come closer for another kiss. You placed it in your mouth, when Sebastian opens his mouth you quickly slip half of it into his mouth and hold him there with a grin. You make him bite off half before pulling away. You swallowed the half you had fast, Sebastian is just sitting there starting at you in surprise.

“Eat it, I only wanted half.” You say and he obeys. He goes to thank you but you interrupt. “Thank you for the food.” You start to get up deciding now was the time to get out of bed. Sebastian gently eases you down.

“You’re not sore? You feel ok, right?” You know what he’s applying and nod. You say you’re fine and get up, deciding to explore the manor today. Sebastian quickly followed you, almost like a dog…

(Next tba)

[refinestein]

My youngest moved out last week. That culminates 32 years of parenting, with the last 15 being solo. Not sure what to do w myself now, ha. Anyway, the kid traded AK for AZ and bought this ride. Not my style, but she’s a beauty… Pray he keeps it upright!🙏🤞

[jackie-q]

THIS FIC MADE ME CRY

'Midnight Blues and Late Night Tunes' By halfagone (milkywxy) on ao3 (for anyone who can't access the link ;D)

PLS READ IT IT'S SO GUD!!!

[djkerr]

Parker's Pastries | 🩷📦🧑🏻‍🍳 French macaron

Kasie: Whoa, this is serious. That was a French macaron and Parker didn't even smell it.

NCIS 22x01 Empty Nest

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

[poisonappleeater]

regina/roni wanting to mommy everybody is so cute and also so sad bc shes experiencing empty nest syndrome :(( also just shows how compassionate and affectionate shes become with others :(( ALSO also bc i got mommy issues too n i want her but ANYWAY

[lyricalmusingstuff]

I will see this to the end. I have no need to pretend.

[mrssmith622]

Hold on to Hope

It’s hard Watching you hurt Being fruitless to fix it Standing by useless Unable to bear your burdens My life has been dedicated  To keeping you safe Helping you grow. Seeing you discover Repeatedly  The pain the world  Offers up freely, carelessly  Breaks my heart You are made of light  The world needs you You can survive  The hard things. Hold on to hope. -Nicole Smith,…

[nature-scares-me]

[gramarobin]

[tivajunkie]

Seamus Dever being back on my screen makes me happy.

[oblivionwonderlust]

my mom who’s been dealing with empty nest syndrome for the last 2 years literally found an abandoned nestling and is taking care of them

[djkerr]

Behind the scenes of NCIS 22x01 Empty Nest.

📷 @gabrielburrafato via IG

[elcomfortador]

Did Golden Girls creator Susan Harris call Rita Moreno a slut? Well, kind of. It's not as simple or as mean as that makes it sound, but there's a kinda public spat between these two powerhouses that you can watch play out between "Empty Nests," the season two finale to Golden Girls, and Empty Nest, the spinoff show that debuted a full TV season later, based off that failed attempt.

Basically, Rita Moreno was the original pick to star in the spinoff to Empty Nests, but it did not work out, for reasons I explain in this video. And the fallout of this backdoor pilot reverberates through the actual Empty Nest pilot in interesting and surprising ways — and one of them is the line, "You name a kid Rita, you get a damn good chance of getting a slut."

It's all in the video, but there's even more weirdness to this Golden Girls episode that I get into in the most recent episode of my podcast, Gayest Episode Ever. Have a listen!

Subscribe to Gayest Episode Ever: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts