#also giving Hank green vibes

[jupiterslifelessmoons]

You can’t tell me this isn’t about Carlos

[zepumpkineater]

I want to talk about my personal favorite fanon interpretation of Hank.

It all begins with Hank driving through a ruined Nevada, not an uncommon scene at all in Madness Combat. This cartoon begins with the typical expectation, in classic Hank fashion he's on his way to cause untold violence unto those who wish him harm.

And in no time flat, Hank does exactly that. One by one, the bodies of AAHW begin to rack up, incorrectly colored blood Engineers and all. All in all, it's a pretty good action scene. Not the smoothest animation the Madness animation scene has provided, but pretty impressive for 12 years ago.

But here's where this cartoon changes pace, and begins to divert from your traditional Madness animation. We see Jeb and Sheriff, characters that we're used to seeing in an antagonistic role, promising a better Nevada with their brand new Factory. Kind of wild how this parallels Jeb's misguided attempts at saving Nevada in the main series, when this one aired in 2011, before we even had Nexus Classic to give us Jeb's backstory. It's clear this factory is doing Nevada no good, and the story changes from here.

Here we see a looming, massive tower, not at all unfamiliar to the sight of the Nexus Tower looming in the distance, a symbol of Nevada's destruction. This tower is no different, Hank looks over it and his goals are immediately recontextualized. Hank's violence suddenly seems a lot less meaningless, less fueled by the pure desire to cause chaos and to kill. Instead, the goal is clear. Get to the top. Destroy the factory. Save Nevada.

A familiar foe stands in his way. Is he up to his old tricks, to play with his old pal Hank, or is there something darker hiding beneath that metal mask? I always got the vibe that Tricky wasn't fighting for himself here, but rather because he had to.

After a prolonged battle with the Clown, we are greeted with a most unique sight in a Madness cartoon. Blue skies, green grass, flowing water. Serene music as the birds fly through the air. Hank looks alien here, like he doesn't belong, a product of a ruined world in a small bastion of perfection.

This is one of my favorite shots in the whole cartoon. Hank, this bloodthirsty killer we've come to know and love, doing something so very vulnerable and human. Reaching for the sun, basking in its warmth. Something he probably hasn't felt in a very long time. Something worth killing for, something worth dying for.

And die he does. With the last of his conscious self, Hank fruitlessly reaches for a flower next to him as he dies. Hank doesn't look any less like a foreign invader here, an entity from a world that doesn't belong here, and I really appreciate that contrast. This small gesture of him reaching for the flower speaks volumes on the kind of Hank this is, one who has some love for the world he so effortlessly murders his way through. Someone who, somewhere deep inside, wants that killing to stop. One who wants to appreciate life, instead of living in death.

Jeb doesn't look any less alien here, a savior twisted and corrupted by the doomed world he promised to save. Again I'm extremely impressed in how Pegosho managed to capture Jeb's moral ambiguity here, in spite of it being somewhat nonexistent in the cartoons at the time. I think it also says something that his halo appears to be more in line stylistically to the world around him, as he sticks out like a sore thumb.

Jeb's last moments are spent looking in awe at the corpse of his fallen adversary, with his own factory's slogan taped onto the bomb that's about to spell his doom. Say what you want about Mr. Wimbleton, but you can't say he doesn't have a flair for irony. Maybe it's spite, one last spit in the face of Jebus, or maybe it's because he really does believe in that slogan. He wants the world to be alive, and maybe he has to die to accomplish that.

My personal favorite shot in the entire cartoon. A massive tree, perfectly contrasting the intimidating tower producing a cloud of suffocating smog, now breathing life into this ruined world. Hank's sacrifice was not in vain, and though he didn't live to see it, he bought back a piece of life into the cruel and merciless Nevada. It's hopeful, it's beautiful, it's everything Madness normally isn't.

As we all know, Hank is acting very out of character in this cartoon outside of his murderous pursuits, but I enjoy and love it all the same. Again, this is a favorite fanon interpretation. This Hank has so many layers of depth to his morality, his goals, his violence, and he never speaks a single word in the entire cartoon. He simply acts. Through small gestures and actions we can glean his personality and how it contradicts his canon counterpart. It's really great.

I love this cartoon. It's called Madness: Ascend. Please consider watching it, in spite of its age, it's one of my favorites.

[haveyoureadthiscomic-poll]

Okay it is Infinity Inc. propaganda time it is time to show off the niche kiddos

Infinity Inc. propoganda under the cut

The day is Christmas Eve, 1983, and the JSA are having their annual Christmas Eve meeting, and Hawkman (blissfully unaware that his family is about to come to him) suggests adjourning the meeting so that all of them can get back to their families, and Green Lantern (blissfully unaware that fate is about to kick him in the balls... TWICE.) retorts that he doesn't have a family, this is kind of dickish of Alan but like... it's ALAN lol. Suddenly, the old men are being tormented by waves of stupid children, all demanding to be allowed to join the team... and also one of their villains children doesn't actually ask to join the team but he does... for some reason go "when I am asking for help from my father's enemies, the thing to do is to illusion myself to look like my father, and then tear a hole in their wall, wait, why are they trying to arrest me?! RUDE!!! I am sulking now!"

Thank you for your input Henry.

Anyway, since the old men respond... somewhat reasonably to whatever the fuck that was, their kids decide to band together and make their own superhero team, where they get PAID! (less than minimum wage).

Infinity Inc. is an interesting team series that I mostly enjoy because of the characters, a lot of the time in team books the characters all feel the same, and are all at each other's throats constantly, Infinity Inc. presents the reader with characters who all have very defined personalities, even if most of them do share the character trait of "stupid", and by the end of the series you feel like you genuinely love all of the characters and want to spend more time with them.

DC notably decided that all Infinity Inc. characters should spend the next decade dying or going evil btw.

BUT THEN THEY GET BETTER. The Infinitors are kind of notable in that there are entire arcs of JSA 1999 where the old men try to rescue their kids, and all of them end up being considered JSA kids, including Hank who is being chased around the planet by Jay Garrick holding adoption papers (uncertain if this is continuing now that Jay has Judy tbh I do not trust Geoff Johns)

(context, Wildcat hits Hank with the 'kid of a supervillain' stuff well after he thought the JSA was fine with his general existance, my favorite scene because all of the Infinitors are instantly protective, and all of them give vibes of being really close, even if DC refuses to allow a full team reunion)

Honestly in my years of getting people to read Infinity Inc. it's notable that every single time someone has come out with a different fave, and I think it's a testament to the characters being really good, ESPECIALLY HECTOR AND LYTA who are JSA characters and NOT Vertigo characters and Vertigo shouldn't be allowed to stop them appearing in JSA comics.

Also the boys do this in hallways for unknown reasons

What was meant by this?:

Read Infinity Inc. today so you too can be convinced that Hank King should be the next character DC makes gay, unless they decide to do Norda first...

Tbh if I'm being honest they should probably just pull a Young Avengers and make every Infinitor gay.

[artofmissdemeanor]

Saw @respectissexy making fan castings for both the rat grinders and bar parents and I probably would add the fantasy high teachers because a abott elementary type season would be so funny.

Let’s start with the rat grinders though.

Kipperlilly Coperkettle

I agree that Aabria Iyengar is the only right choice here… i’d love to see her to play what is basically an even meaner Suvi.

Ruben Hobclapp

Look hear me out: Sam Riegel as Ruben. It be so funny, also Sam would be a bard again which is just good for nature and he always has great chemistry with Aabria.

Mary Ann Skuttle

Though one for me but I think I will go with Jasmine Bhullar over Rekha Shankar on this one. Jasmine is already so good with just little creatures in coffin run. Also I’d love to see her as a player. Also I think she can play her respectfully and still really fucking funny.

Oisin Hakinvar

Ross Bryant! I was between Iffy, Hank Green and Ross on this one but I believe Ross is the Choice! I just want him in the dome. Also he gives secretly buff nerd vibes.

Ivy Embra

Ai👏mee👏Car👏rero👏 She plays magnificent bitches so well please. Also great chemistry with Aabria she deserves to be chaotic with Aimee for once instead of getting her shit wrecked by her.

Lucy Frostblade

Persephone Valentine. Again another player with great chemistry with Aabria but also she already broke my heart as Sam Nightingale, I’d allow her to do it a second time as Lucy. Also the looks she would serve. Lucy deserves the glow up she is my favorite of the rat grinders after all.

Buddy Dawn

I’d rather would like to have campaign with my girl Lucy but if need id need Damian Haas to make Bobby acceptable to me.

[tacosrobot]

Meet the gang! Or don't, I guess.

Actual character bios under the cut!

RUSTY JACOBS

Full Name: Russell Jacobs

Nickname: Rusty

Birthday/Age: 24 – 5th of April

Place of birth: Somewhere in Colorado

Place of Residence: Somewhere out in the middle of nowhere

Education Level: Highschool graduate but barely

Occupation: Vampire Hunter (self-appointed)

Pets: n/a

Appearance: 

Height: 5’9

Eye colour: Green 

Glasses/Contacts: N/A 

Prominent features: Freckles, lots of freckles.

Distinguishing Marks/Scars: There’s a thin scar running down the back of his right shoulder to his elbow. He has a few tattoos, too. They’re mostly around his shoulders and on his arms, he has no tattoos on his back but has tattoos on his chest and waist. They vary in nature but he holds the record in his friend group as ‘Guy With the Most Spider Tattoos’, he has three.

Hairstyle/Colour: He has ginger hair, cut by himself, of course, is choppy and layered. It reaches just below shoulder length and was once styled into a very fashionable mullet.

Style of clothing: He’ll wear anything he can get his hands on. He doesn’t care about conforming to any sort of gender norms and thinks fashion is a great way to express himself. He always has paint-covered yellow boots on.

Other: He has two nose piercings, a septum piercing and a bridge piercing. He almost got a tongue piercing but he chickened out and got another tattoo instead.

Personality:

Optimist or pessimist: Optimist

Introverted or extroverted: Extroverted

Conflict Avoider or Seeker: Conflict seeker

Personality description: Upon first meeting Rusty, people usually sum him up in one word: ‘irritating’. Once you get to know him a little better, however, you soon learn that it’s not entirely true. Rusty can be annoying, don’t get me wrong, but he can also be considerate and caring when he needs to be. He may give off the vibe that the whole world revolves around him yet outside of trying to be the centre of attention, he’s a gentle guy with a somewhat gentle soul.

Traits and interests:

Strongest trait: Individualistic

Weakest trait: Arrogant

Habits: He cracks his knuckles, or just his fingers in general. Sometimes this extends to his neck too.

Hobbies: 

Photography

Scrapbooking

Painting

Favourites:

Favourite colour: Pink

Favourite music: Electro-pop or anything with synths

Favourite Food: Greasy foods of any sort.

Favourite Literature: Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, but literally anything to do with Vampires. He thinks that it’ll give him some sort of advantage over the vampires.

Goal: To get back to Colorado.

Motivation: Seeing his younger sister again.

Relationships:

Parent(s): Hank Jacobs, May Jacobs (deceased)

Sibling(s): Mildred ‘Millie’ Jacobs (younger sister)

Best friend: Janey Brinkley

Other friend(s): Emeric Moore (belongs to @viaterra) Donovan V. (belongs to @ross-stories)

Partner: N/A (his last girlfriend died)

Enemies: WILMER KRAUS. WILMER KRAUS IF YOU’RE OUT THERE.

RODDY FAREBROTHER

Full Name: Toddman Farebrother

Nickname: Todd, Roddy (he calls himself that)

Birthday/Age: 19 – 12th of November

Place of birth: Wothead.

Place of Residence: Wothead.

Education Level: Got expelled in year nine

Occupation: Stay-at-home nuisance.

Pets: a hamster named Cricket

Appearance: 

Height: 5’6

Eye colour: Brown 

Glasses/Contacts: N/A 

Prominent features: A significant number of freckles, primarily on his face. He also has a tooth gap; he’s missing his second tooth on the left.

Distinguishing Marks/Scars: N/A

Hairstyle/Colour: Roddy takes good care of his hair, despite how it may look. It’s short, layered and very messy. At some point, he decided to dye it redder than it was originally then settled on some weird shade of pink.

Style of clothing: Anything he can put a worn-down brown leather jacket over. This can vary from shirts to vests and even (albeit very rarely) jumpers. Trousers are often a second thought. He’ll put on whatever’s clean.

Other: He went through a phase of wearing fingerless gloves, no one knows why he did this. It didn’t even look that cool.

Personality:

Optimist or pessimist: Pessimist

Introverted or extroverted: Ambivert

Conflict Avoider or Seeker: Conflict seeker

Personality description: Roddy has a problem with any kind of authority. Friends, family, the police; he doesn’t care because he knows he’s in the right every time. There are exceptions to this rule, he respects his sister and like one other person, plus his hamster, but that’s it.

Traits and interests:

Strongest trait: Independent

Weakest trait: Abrasive

Habits: He has no idea what he’s supposed to do with his hands so he often picks things up to play with. Also scratches his left cheek regularly.

Hobbies: 

Sports, including but not limited to football, cricket and tennis

Cycling

Nature walks

Favourites:

Favourite colour: Red

Favourite music: Whatever the Clash and The Ramones have going on?

Favourite Food: Sausage sandwich with brown sauce and a sprinkle of salt

Favourite Literature: He doesn’t tend to read much, but The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle has a very special place in his heart.

Goal: Play football professionally.

Motivation: Making money.

Relationships:

Parent(s): Phillip Farebrother (deceased), Catherine Farebrother (absent)

Sibling(s): Patricia Farebrother (older sister)

Best friend: ‘Harry’ Hamilton

Other friend(s): That’s literally it. You could be his friend if you wanted but I don’t recommend it.

Partner: N/A

Enemies: Kenneth.

THE CROW

Full Name: Hayden Hayes

Alias: The Crow

Birthday/Age: 24 – 7th of March

Place of birth: London

Place of Residence: Still London, it’s a small world, ok?

Education Level: University Graduate. He got a degree in some sort of science. He doesn’t remember

Occupation: Museum security guard

Pets: n/a

Appearance: 

Height: 5’6

Eye colour: Blue 

Glasses/Contacts: N/A 

Prominent features: His hair is pretty prominent

Distinguishing Marks/Scars: Nothing overly distinguishing about any of him if you look past the fact he’s a vigilante crime fighter.

Hairstyle/Colour: It’s short, black and really messy. It fans out at the sides and cannot be tamed, so don’t bother trying.

Style of clothing: Ignoring his big crow-inspired get-up, Hayden primarily wears whatever’s on sale. He tends to lean towards black clothes, though and has had the same coat for almost five years.

Other: He always, always, always carries a tie with him? For some reason? He calls it his ‘emergency tie’.

Personality:

Optimist or pessimist: Optimist

Introverted or extroverted: Introverted

Conflict Avoider or Seeker: Conflict seeker

Personality description: To be honest, Hayden is kind of mixed up. He doesn't know if he wants to be the goofy comic relief hero or if he wants to be the stoic brooding type. He's street smart but not smart smart. He knows what he wants but he doesn't know how to get it sort of thing. He’s still figuring it out.

Traits and interests:

Strongest trait: Humorous

Weakest trait: Muddle-headed

Habits: Will cut you off while you’re talking. He’s not doing it on purpose he just a little bad at conversations.

Hobbies: 

Reading, he’s a big fan of non-fiction but will sometimes read fiction, too.

Calligraphy

Watching documentaries

Favourites:

Favourite colour: Yellow

Favourite music: Early 2000s dance music

Favourite Food: Crème Brulee

Favourite Literature: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Goal: Stop the stupid idiot guys running this weird underground network of illegal stuff.

Motivation: Keeping his family safe.

Relationships:

Parent(s): Keith Ashbee (step-father), Polly Hayes

Sibling(s): Dylan Hayes (younger brother)

Best friend: ???

Other friend(s): He goes out with his co-workers a lot; I suppose they count.

Partner: N/A

Enemies: Those freaky little guys in suits who are doing weird illegal stuff under London.

[ijustkindalikebooks]

I don't know if I can say February was disappointing reading, cos I did read alot, I completed 32 books and most were pretty good, half of them all being either 4 or 5 star, but I also read books I was highly hoping to be good and then they were not.

I also think classic titles can be truly hit right sometimes and even some that you feel are similar just don't (take for example how I feel about Deerbrook and Under The Greenwood Tree, similar themes and settings, one I loved, one I had to prop my eyes open to finish).

One thing I will say that though some of these books I do suffer (and that is my choice) don't do that to yourself, if you are reading, do not suffer the book, I read these books cos I bought these books and want to read my shelves, but I'd definitely recommending going with the vibe and selecting something that will bring you hoy, this is not the year for choosing to suffer.

These are my favourite books of February!

Where The Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire - If I really need to read a book that I know will be five stars, I go to a Wayward Children series novella. These books are tiny worlds full of incredible settings and brilliant characters delivered in under 200 pages. This book sees one of the girls from the school go to Whitethorn an alternative and stricter school that gets the kids to forget their doors and move on and become 'normal' again. Brilliantly finished and not over the top in melodrama, I liked how these characters got their stories.

British Landmarks And Legends by Jo Woolf - An ARC I asked for after going to an art course that revolved around local folklore and legends, this book has been a handy book when it comes to finding something a little unusual. Covering a range of places from mythologised castles to bleeding rocks in creepy forests, this book covers an incredible of different places, be that known like Stonehenge or The Bleeding Stone of Lynn. Highly recommend this and the 'Fantasy: Realms Of Imagination' exhibit at the British Library which I believe has events around the UK currently.

Other books I enjoyed this Month:

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green - In my post-project for awesome haze, I knew I finally had to read this book and I really now need to read the second. A fantastic book on the power of social media and how we as humans can be heroic and flawed and messy, this book certainly delivers fantastic characters and funny moments that give you a glimmer of insight into the world today. I think April May is my favourite least-likeable character ever made.

Ask A Historian by Greg Jenner - Jenner was one of the authors who worked on Horrible Histories (the TV show, you know the one that gave you a thing on Dick Turpin, right? *leaves quietly*) and this book makes clear why. Informative, witty and smart, this book is a learning circle, never mind a curve. A range of fantastic questions, that does take in international figures (I find history books tend to be quite western focused) this book is a fun read.

What have you been reading in February? I'd love your recommendation and reviews!

Thanks again for reading!

Vee xo

[adri-2022]

Fate

Fandom: Chicago PD

Characters: Jay Haltead x FemReader / OC Jackson Y/L/N

Warning: some cursing, angst, fluff, a bit cringy

Word count: 3644

Jay Halstead Materlist

A/N: Hi guys it's me again, here is another Jay Halstead story, I hope you guys like it. And thank you for your support and good vibes, they mean a lot to me. Hope you enjoy! Also the second gif is how a imagine readers son would be (you can imagine whoever you want this is more like a guide to me when I'm writing), and I will probably use Noah Jupe more in the future.

Don't be afraid to leave a comment!

If you want to request a story you can send me a message and I'll do my best to make it possible.

-----------------

Your heart dropped. Your ears were ringing, and you couldn’t hear anything around you. You felt like someone was pulling the air from your lungs. There was a hostage situation at the museum your son’s school took him in his fieldtrip. You received a call from your godfather Hank Voight who’s the sergeant of the Intelligence Unit in CPD saying that there was an active hostage situation and that there would be a cop car waiting for you outside your house to take you to the scene. Not something that would normally happen to a civilian, but you were family to Hank, so he wanted to keep an eye on you, knowing you were alone in Chicago, divorced 2 years ago -your son is 7 now- and pretty much it was just your son, Hank and you relaying on each other.

Jack- your son- didn’t really miss his father, he had been very absent in pretty much every important moment in Jack’s life you had divorced when Jack was 5, job always came first. After the divorced was settled neither you nor Jack ever saw his father again, one day there was a document in your mail saying that he had given up his parental rights -it made you mad, at how easy he could just up and leave and just sing any relation he had to Jack in the process-. And you should have seen it coming, the loneliness, the guilt, and the shame. You thought it was your fault Chris had left and that you were the reason Jack didn’t have a constant father figure -not that it was true- but in your mind you thought that maybe if would have put more effort into fixing your marriage he wouldn’t have left.

And here you were pacing and silently crying in the sidewalk in front of your two-story home waiting for the cop car to show up. Just when you were about to call Hank for an update in that ride a matted gray Ram truck parked in front of you, the driver rolling down the window. Inside there was a guy brunette, green eyes, you were confused for a moment and as you were going to say something he spoke first,

“Hey, are you Y/N Y/L/N?” you gave him a weary look, before nodding. He told you he was part of Hank’s team, but you were kind of not sure. I mean your son was a hostage and you didn’t know what was going on and now this guy- dare to say handsome- was trying to get you in his car, this situation screamed stranger danger to you. Just when you were about to run back into your house your phone rang, you picked up without looking at the screen,

“Y/N, gray matted Ram truck, that’s Jay Halstead get in the truck” Hank said without further do, you go in the passenger side as fast as you could. Jay pulling out as fast as he could turning on the sirens and police lights -ok he IS a cop-

“Do you have an update, Hank?” you asked voice, hands and pretty much every cell on your body shaking.

“Nothing yet, I promise that he’s going to be okay Y/N” “You can’t promise me that, you don’t know if he’s okay if- if- I can’t lose him I won’t survive” you were pretty much having a meltdown from anxiety, and you could feel the handsome guy giving you brief side glances as he drove trough the streets of Chicago.

“Hey, you won’t okay. Talk to you soon you’re in good hands, just get here safe, then we’ll take it from there”

“Okay, please keep me updated” hanging up the phone you stared at the lock screen. It was a picture of you and Jack at the park, you are smiling while hugging him and him giving you a kiss on the cheek. This couldn’t be happening, the more you looked at the picture the more your eyes watered.

“Are you okay?” Jay asked after a moment of silence, trying to keep his voice low as to give you some sense of calmness. You shook your head wiping the silent tear that left your eye. You were going to save the tears for later, for when you had you son back in your arms safe and sound. Because as of this moment you didn’t know if Jack was inside that museum, a lot of people had fled when they saw the guys enter with ski masks.

You were trying your best to keep it together until you knew the facts- but God it was hard, this feeling you had was a million times worse than getting divorced- this was you baby, your only child, the only light in your very stressful life. Unknown to you Jay had keep glancing towards you making sure you were okay within the circumstances, and keeping up with his task to stick with you and make sure you were okay. His sergeant’s orders and even if he didn’t know for a fact who was trapped in there he knew the person meant so much to you and it had to be someone important for Hank to mobilize his team for a hostage situation that SWAT could’ve handled.

As soon as you arrived on scene, there were cops everywhere, there was fire department, there was the security of the museum and there was- God- you son’s teacher. You ran to that direction praying your son was there within the multitude of kids, Jay had followed you there not really paying attention. You stopped in front of Mrs. Ramirez reaching up to touch her shoulder and get her attention. When she turned around and realize it was you, her face fell, and that was when you knew, Jack didn’t make it outside with the other kids.

“No, no, no, no. He ca- He can’t. Where. Is. He?” you asked frantically looking at her for an answer which she didn’t give. You grew scared, so scared you bend down hands on your knees trying to catch your breath. Jay noticed a couple of feet away that something was very wrong when you started screaming in the face of a woman who only looked at you as if she had committed the worst crime in history.

When he noticed you were bending down he knew it was time to step up, running to your side. Putting his hand on your back to get your attention, you turned around and buried your face on his chest. Even though you didn’t know him you weren’t paying attention to that because your baby was probably alone and scared and you were thinking the worse.

It was an understatement to say that Jay was very confused, who was in there? Who was he? But nonetheless he felt it was his duty to protect you and keep an eye on you. Call it weird but he felt the need to protect you. So, he didn’t waste time in wrapping you in a comforting hug trying his best to give a sense of security and encouragement. When he noticed that you were only panting harder, he pulled back in order to look at your face,

“Okay. You’re having a panic attack- its okay hold my hand- squeeze my hand- there you go deep breath in for four out for two- there you go” Jay said giving you his hand to squeeze while he rubbed your back in circular motions. At this point you both were standing behind a police car, because thankfully Jay was the only one thinking straight at the moment.

“T-Thank you” you said talking deep breaths and now looking into his very pretty eyes.

When Jay figured you were calm enough, he proceeded to take you to were Hank and the team were gathered not letting go of your hand. The team saw you approaching and gave some questioning looks as to who you were, and some gave concerned looks by the state you were in, given that almost none of them knew who you were. When Hank noticed you in Jay’s arms immediately came to you and gave you a side hug,

“Y/N were doing everything we can to get Jack out of there” Hank said as he tried not to detonate your anxiety again. He then gave Jay a thankful look and a squeeze on his shoulder as a thank you for taking the task to take care of you without questioning. Because even if he didn’t demonstrate or said it, he was grateful that you had someone at your side. He then proceeded,

“Team this is Y/N, she’s my goddaughter” that gave the team some recognition and some sense of urgency to help in anyway they could to get Jack -even though they didn’t know who he was- back in your arms. They all gave you a welcoming smile and proceeded to give Jay some information and start working on getting Jack out.

“Sarge, we got a visual” Jay said

“Show me” there in the middle of a room were 3 guys with ski masks a couple of hostages, the majority were grown ups but there in the side was a little boy not older than ten-year-old sat with his feet crossed and an old lady with her arm over his shoulder keeping him in her side.

“That’s sick, who would take a kid hostage” Jay commented without knowing a thing but once he noticed Hank’s expression, he gave a questioning look.

None of them noticed you looking over their shoulder until they heard a sob making them turn around, they both got a hold of one of your arms each and kept you steady while your world was turning upside down. You didn’t know you could feel so much in such little time it was like you were under water and couldn’t hear anything around you, your gaze pinned into the monitor that showed a live feed of the inside of the museum. Just then you saw Jay’s face in front of yours blocking your view and his lips were moving but you couldn’t hear anything, you knew someone else was grabbing your hand -probably Hank- you thought.

“Sarge, you gotta tell me who’s in there!” Jay said in urgency without turning his gaze to meet his sergeants.

“Her son” and then it all made sense to Jay, why you were drowning in land, why your eyes were not focused you were disassociating from reality, from the fact that your son was in there in that situation and you couldn’t do anything about it. As if reading Jay’s thoughts

“We’re gonna get him out, but now I need you high up with SWAT and if you have the shot. You. Take. It. You hear me?” Jay hesitated for a moment unsure if leaving you in this state was the best decision. Jay then grabbed your face cupping both of your sides and looking right in your beautiful eyes

“I promise, I will get Jack out of there. You have my word. Stay strong, okay?” you nodded your head slightly.

You didn’t know how he could just calm all your nerves with just looking into your eyes. He disappeared to God knows where, while you stayed there with Hailey -apparently, she was part of Hank’s unit and Jay’s partner, sweet woman you liked her at first glance-.

Suddenly you heard a couple of gunshots, and every good thought went out the door. An ocean of people started coming out of the museum but you couldn’t see Jack anywhere. Until- there he was in Jay’s arms, how the hell did he managed to get to Jack from the top of the opposite building in a no time. But what you didn’t realized was that after hearing the gunshots you were frozen at your spot, giving Jay the time to come down and glance at the front doors trying to spot you running to your son, so when he saw little Jack coming slowly out of the doors wide eyed looking for someone familiar he took it into his own hands to get to him first and bring him to you save and sound. Jay approached Jack with caution as to not scare him even more,

“Hi, buddy. My name is Jay Halstead I’m a friend of your moms” Jack didn’t hesitate to launch at Jay and that’s all it took for Jay to pick him up and start walking to you. When you finally could move, you started sprinting to your son immediately picking him up from Jay’s arms and squeezing the life out of him.

“Oh my god baby! Are- are you okay? Are you hurt? What do you need?” you bombarded him with questions, while the tears rolling down your face didn’t stop, kissing all over his face at the same time.

“I’m okay mom, your friend helped me” he responded. With him giving you some indication that he was okay -not before you glance all over his body just to make sure he was telling the truth-. You looked at Jay, taking the words that Jack had said.

“I think he’s okay, didn’t let them get close to him” “Thank you so much Jay, you don’t understand how grateful I am” you said while taking his hand and squeezing it while Jay smiled at you and Jack. He made a promise to you and he intended to keep it no matter the cost.

It’s been almost a year since the whole ordeal of the hostage situation. Jack was doing better, at the beginning he had some nightmares, but thankfully Jay was there giving you a hand. You and Jay had gotten close, and you were ecstatic that you had someone to count on the good and bad days. He would come to Jack’s soccer games, he would help you picking him up after school when you couldn’t, spending time with both you and Jack on weekends -didn’t matter the time or day, he would never say no-. Today was no difference but a surprise. While you were at your backyard enjoying the beautiful day, there was a knock at your front door then you heard pitter patter running towards the door at full speed.

“Jackson Matthew Y/L/N, you better not open that door” you yelled while rushing to the front door a little to late for it though. Since your son was already clinging onto Jay’s neck with a big grin and an even bigger grin on Jay’s -oh men those fucking eyes got you out here blushing and shit-.

“Jay, hi. What brings you here in this lovely day?” you said in the sweetest voice.

God and did that voice make Jay feel a fucking zoo in his belly. The thing was that neither of you would take the step towards sharing your feelings with each other. In some part you were hesitant because you didn’t think you were worthy of love or to be loved ever again, your ex husband made it clear that you were worthless and everything was your fault pretty much all your marriage.

Jay on the other hand didn’t want to make you feel pressured, because he knew your past situation pretty much since after the hostage event Hank had sat him down and told him everything-well just what he needed to know in order to help you- and Hank knew, I mean what didn’t he know in Chicago? He knew Jay had a thing for you and you had a thing for Jay but that the two of you were and quote “just plain stupid”.

“Well I just bought a baseball set and wanted to try it with Jack. I mean if that’s okay with you of course” he immediately said questioning all of the decision that led to this moment.

A part of him just wanted an excuse to see the both of you. Jack was a really sweet kid that made Jay’s heart melt at every smile. And to Jack- well Jay was like a father figure- since his was in God knows where, doing God knows what, with God knows who. You smiled and let them both to the backyard and while you sat there looking at both of them you knew, you knew fate had brought you together in the worst circumstances ever. There they were chasing each other, play fighting, laughing, they talked about football, baseball, they were even planning their next trip to see the Chicago Cubs.

Jack was telling Jay all about the grades he got on Math and English, given that Jay hadn’t slept anything the night you got home from working late -Jay had picked Jack from school and brought him to your house-, and they were in the kitchen table practicing for Jack big math’s test. After a while it got dark outside and you all got inside to get Jack to take a shower while you and Jay were in the kitchen preparing some food. You were facing each other leaning on the kitchen counter just enjoying each other’s company and falling in love with one another- in love- that’s a strong word.

“Don’t look at me like that” Jay shook his head averting his gaze to his feet. You furrowed your eyebrows trying to figure out what he meant.

“Like what?” “Like I’m the best thing that has happened to you. Because if you keep doing it, I’ll have to do something about it- and I don’t want to get my hopes up because I love you and if you don’t feel the same way I just don’t want us to not talk anymore. And God only knows how much a want to kiss you right now. But- but I haven’t because I respect you and Jack” that left you speechless, but no, you weren’t good enough you ex had drilled that into your brain like a CD. You shook your head without looking at him,

“You can’t love me Jay” “Why?”

“Because I’m not good enough for you” you said just in a whisper afraid of Jay confirming your thoughts. You saw him move from the corner of your eyes, and that’s it, that’s how this ends you’ll be heartbroken just because you weren’t worthy. But instead he moved in front of you, cupping your face in his hands, looking at you with a pained expression.

“God. Who put that in your head?” “I just…” he shook his head telling you he wasn’t finished yet.

“Who in their the hell would tell you that you’re not good enough? What’s being good enough? If anything I’M not good enough for you and Jack, I’ve been trough a lot in my life and I- even sometimes a feel like my mind is not mine. But here you are being so selfless and denying yourself what you deserve. You. Are. The most beautiful, sweet, innocent, loving and goofy woman I’ve ever met. I want you to be the one I wake up to, the one I come home to. I would give anything to be here or somewhere else with you and my kid every day. And knowing for a fact that it doesn’t matter what shit a go trough in the day I’ll have you both at the end of the day to make me forget every bad thing about this shitty world” that- that left you speechless you didn’t even notice that you were crying and gripping the wrists of his hands while they stayed on your face. You gave him a smile and when you were about to answer you heard Jack say

“Did you call me your kid?” that made you both Jay and you turn around and freeze- shit.

“You’ve never called me like that before” well now everything is going to hell. But the thing was that Jack didn’t look mad or confused he looked- he looked excited, happy, joyful- Jay looked at you as if asking for permission, you smiled and gave him a nod.

“Of course your my kid, Jack. If you want it to be that way” at this point Jay was slightly bend down to meet Jack’s eyes giving him an insecure look. Just then Jack smiled even bigger and launched himself at Jay wrapping his arms around Jay’s neck.

“Hell yess” that made Jay laugh picking Jack up with him still gripping his neck and turning around to meet your teary eyes. Jay gave you his handsome smile again approaching you until you were feet apart.

“Mom, you should kiss him” Jack said with his face buried in Jay’s shoulder closing his eyes as to not peek at any adult details- so innocent, and he better stay like that- you thought.

That made Jay and you burst out laughing. Jay got closer to you and pulling you into him by your waist looking at you expectantly. You knew he wouldn’t dare to cross that line until you communicated that you were ready. And without thinking about it, you stood on the tip of your toes giving him a kiss. Men you were feeling and earthquake, you both smiled into the kiss pulling apart to put you foreheads together and for Jay to rub his nose with yours. Pulling apart he gave you a wink and pulled you to him and Jack in sweet and comfortable hug. At that moment you realized this- this right here is what you wanted, fate has some funny and scary ways of working but everything worked at the end. Jay saved you from yourself that day, he made you a promise to save your son even though you didn’t know anything about each other and now the three of you were taking a leap into the beautiful unknown.

[acorrespondence]

*grabby hands* gimme all the heavy heart secrets pls pls pls

Did I already tell you that heavy heart had a different working title? I feel like I did, which means it’s no longer a secret. If not, it was “i’ve sent your saddle home,” after a line in the Hank Williams Sr. Song “Dear John.” I think the overall vibe of Heirloom by sleeping at last (where the posted title comes from) fits the vibe of the fic way more, so I’m very happy to have settled on it.

Another secret, I suppose, is that I had an extremely difficult time coming up with Pemberley’s name. I don’t even generally like regency romance as a genre, at least in its traditional structure with its common tropes, and found Pride and Prejudice a bit of a slog when I read it in high school. But I was trying to think of names inspired by literature and came to it kind of randomly. I guess the thought process was thus: I was considering the tradition in the American South of giving children the mother’s maiden name (or other family name that disappeared through marriage) irrespective of gender, and it didn’t seem too much of a leap from literary surnames to literary place names (it fits the same theme of reclaiming lost inheritance, particularly the kind of inheritance that’s traditionally barred to women, as an overwritten surname being reclaimed in what’s by necessity a roundabout/bastardized way, that being the only way available; plus, inheritance in a less tangible sense—inheritance of trauma, inheritance of a place and its ghosts and memories—is very much one of the story’s central themes). I also thought it was pretty recognizable as a Name Inspired By Literature, from a very popular set of books, and therefore something that a) Pem’s mother might have thought of if Boyd suggested Literary Names despite maybe being less well-read (at least when it comes to the “classics”) and b) is unique and pretentious enough Boyd would have agreed to it.

In the vein of names, another secret: Pemberley’s middle name, Anne, was inspired by Anne of Green Gables. Felicity’s was originally going to be Jo after Jo March, but then I decided that since Felicity isn’t literature-inspired, they probably made a conscious decision to let that be Pemberley’s Thing. So, I switched it to Joan after Joan of Arc (not-so-coincidentally, I think this warrior’s name fits her personality just as well. Plus, I like the symmetry of Felicity Joan and Pemberley Anne.)

(Ask game here)

[maranull]

Books I read this year and quick thoughts about them cause last year when I did this I had fun remembering them.

Under the cut cause there are a bit too many.

~

Ratings are 100% subjective. Going by order I've read them, not rank or whatever. I'd generally rec everything above 3 stars.

~

Crier's War by Nina Varela

What if you were a human, the slave race under the ruling androids and you wanted to kill the "daughter" of the lord of your city, but she was actually nice. Gay and technically enemies to lovers..? Though only the human wants to kill the other. Just a pretty nice, enjoyable fantasy. 3/5

Iron Heart by Nina Varela

Sequel to Crier's War. Here it becomes less conflict between the main characters and more world-wide troubles. Consisted quality with the first book and it also has a scene where the main characters decide to pretend to be wives to trick their way into a mansion. Hilarity ensues, which was a great break from the world-wide conflict. 3/5

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

No notes needed, I think. As of writing this, this is the best essay I've ever read. Even though you can see its age at some points, I feel it's still very relevant. 4/5

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

In a remote mansion, a father and a daughter take on a sickly woman. At points it felt like I was reading a lesbian romance. Which is wild considering this is written by a man in the 19th century. Absolutely horrid ending. 2.75/5

Carmilla and Laura by SD Simper

What Carmilla could and should had been. Same premise, much, much better ending. 3.75/5

Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen

Quindlen has this uncanny skill that makes me feel and almost miss teen years I never had or would I have (cause all her works are set in the US). This particular book was a very... I think good portrayal of not fitting in, and what you might be willing to do and sacrifice to do so. And then the growth that (hopefully) comes through such experiences. 4/5

Whipping Girl by Julia Serano

Not much to say. The description, twice, promised arguments that included her knowledge of biology. That wasn't the case. A fine book to read, but the rating I gave it reflects my annoyance with that description and its setting of wrong expectations. Pay more attention to the title in this one. 3/5

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Top tier vibes. An orc adventurer settles down and makes a coffee shop in a town that doesn't know what coffee is. Did not vibe with the climax or the romance (that felt shoehorned in) but overall a very enjoyable read. 3.5/5

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Giant alien sculptures appear all around the globe, and the world tries to understand what they are. The main character is one of the first that finds them. One of the most interesting premises I've read. And a very interesting book right up until the ending, which I really, really didn't like. Maybe book two fixes my problems with it, but it was too sudden and I was not in a good place to give it a try then. The rating might be too harsh, but it is what I felt right after finishing it. 2.75/5

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

A pretty cool retelling of the Sleeping Beauty. A very hopeful book, even if the main character starts it by celebrating their last birthday. 3/5

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin

I still think about this story sometimes. Absolutely insane how Le Quin managed to write something this short and this good. I found out more about myself from this story. I know me better through thinking about this story. It's just amazing, read it and think on it. 4/5

Short Stuff by Kate Fierro, Alysia Constantine, Jude Sierra, Julia Ember, Jen Sternick, Tom Wilinsky

A short LGBTQ+ stories collection. I was in a really bad place at the time of reading it, I barely remember anything. Though I do remember that some were really good though, while others were... pretty meh to even just... bad. Overall 3/5.

Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost

Praise be the dystopia that got me out of my reading slump! Really cool concept, I loved it. The magic and technology is also very well made. 3.25/5

The Druid's Call by E. K. Johnston

A book made to accompany the movie D&D: Honor Among Thieves and to expand on Doric's character. It's basically her whole backstory leading up to the movie events. I think there's nothing to say here, right? There is? Okay. I've watched, listened, read and played through maybe too many stories. Seen thousands upon thousands of characters. No one ever came close to how much I relate to Doric and her story. This book is the most accurate description of abandonment and trust issues I've ever read. It was also aware how something like that might heal, and how blind you might seem (or be) when carrying such baggage. Again, my thoughts are very subjective and biased, but this is one of the best books I've ever read. 5/5

The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

I'm not writing a description for this. You know what it is. Dense writing and worldbuilding, but it so happens that I'm into that. :P 3.5/5

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

Not writing a description for this either. You're reading this on Tumblr, therefore you know the show. :P Some parts are better than the show, some are not. The kids' characters are much more well developed here, I think. Same with the Witch. Worth reading if you've seen the show, worth if you haven't. 3.5/5

A Different Kind of Us by Kelly Quindlen

At her first job, the main character finds out that her ex-best friend and first love works there as well. A fun, sad and more adult take on the type or stories Quindlen tends to write. A nice change to see adults struggle and work towards coming to terms with themselves and their relationships. 4/5 (Quindlen is one of my fav authors, I'm biased, shut up)

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

A deadly heist, attempted by a skilled band of thieves and thugs that you will end up loving (the vast majority of them anyways). It had been a while since I've read YA fantasy before reading this, and it was a bit surreal feeling like a 15yo again. The book itself is really interesting, but the characters are not 16yo, I'm sorry. Still, they are really, really cool in their own unique ways. The magic system is a really good one as well. 3.5/5

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Sequel to Six of Crows. Great book and a damn good ending. I would kill for Inej and Jesper. 3.75/5

Say the Name: A Survivor's Tale in Prose and Poetry by Judith H. Sherman

This is a book that I believe everyone should read. It's not a fun or light read, but I think it should be in everyone's library. It describes the experiences of a 14yo Jewish girl (the author at the time) who was imprisoned in the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp during World War II. No other book, movie or documentary about that part of history has hit me more than this book. I think that when we're just seeing numbers, it's so easy for our mind to numb out the horror each individual experienced. The way Say the Name focuses on a single experience gets you away from numbers and statistics, and the focus on one person was, to me, so much more impactful. Read it. 4/5

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

You meet a hot girl in your commute, but it turns out she's lost in time, stuck in the subway for eternity. What do you do? An absolute joy of a book. Main and side characters were all fantastic. It's a great story and top tier romance. One of the few books I loved so much that I went out of my way to grab a physical copy. It's better read while on the train by the way. It truly enhances the experience. 4.5/5

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Big themes of following expectations (your own and others) and depression. Not an easy read, and I think it would touch some people more than others. 3.5/5

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

A big cast, and many different stories that are all interconnected through various means. I think this is another book that should be read by everyone. 4/5

Love Beyond Body, Space & Time by Hope Nicholson with David A. Robertson, Cherie Dimaline, Gwen Benaway, Richard Van Camp, Mari Kurisato, Nathan Adler, Daniel Heath Justice, Darcie Little Badger, Cleo Keahna, Grace L. Dillon, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair

Another short stories collection. Some are amazing, some are meh and some I would had loved if they were more lengthy. A lovely collection overall. 3.25/5

The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien

Started great, then kinda slowed down to a point that even though I thought I like his writing style, it became quite tiring to get through. Still a really good book. 3.25/5

Bitterthorn by Kat Dunn

A Witch haunts a city, taking a young man every generation or so. Our protagonist is the daughter of the current duke, and in deep depression. So when the Witch comes for her toll once more, she volunteers instead. Very atmospheric. But I think what won me over, is the characters and their interactions. There's this thing in fiction, where you make two characters have a fight, but they reconcile because they each can see the error of their ways and are willing to swallow their pride cause they care for each other. That is a "trope" that I will eat up every single time, and it is done greatly here. 4.25/5

~

And now I haven't touched a book for over a month... Here's hoping that I'll start reading again by January. :P

~

[positivelybeastly]

𝐓𝐀𝐆 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑!

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑(𝐒): I would say . . . hunter green. Yeah, I know, it's probably a surprise that it's not a shade of blue, but I find green to be just immensely relaxing and soothing to look at.

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑(𝐒): Sour. I like lemon sorbet, I like lime cordial, I like sour candies, I like sour. I also enjoy anything with a shit ton of garlic and cheese on it, because of course I damn well do. Also fortune cookies.

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂: Oh boy. Uhhh, hmm. I actually really dig movie and game soundtracks? Like, I adore James Horner's score for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, I love the energy behind Resident Evil 2 Remake's escape music, I feel soothed by pretty much any Studio Ghibli soundtrack. If I had to pick a more conventional genre, I suppose classic rock/prog rock or new wave?

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄(𝐒): Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Skyfall, Airplane!, Moulin Rouge!, Princess Mononoke, the 90s Gamera trilogy, Moonlight.

𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Doctor Who (specifically the revival series 1-4), Sharpe starring Sean Bean, Chernobyl, Andor.

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆: "The Fear," by Lily Allen. Also been vibing to "Charmless Man," by Blur, "Level of Concern," by twenty one pilots, "Dead Man's Party," by Oingo Boingo, and "Touch-Tone Telephone," by Lemon Demon.

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒: Uhh, I'm guessing this means last thing I finished? My boyfriend and I just finished Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2. It was incredible. Episode 9 is a musical. I know all the words now.

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄: Last thing I would've seen was the Barbie movie in cinemas. It was incredible. I cried. I also recently rewatched GoldenEye, because it's basically my comfort movie.

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆: I don't tend to read a ton of books, honestly (yeah, I know, Hank would be ashamed), but I think the last thing I was actively reading was an unofficial of the Resident Evil series. If you count comic books, I'm currently reading the classic J.M. DeMatteis run of The Defenders.

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆: The 90s Spider-Man show, on and off. I'm also probably going to carve out some time to watch season 4 of Star Trek: Lower Decks in a binge, and also the final new Doctor Who 60th anniversary special thing. Wild Blue Yonder was incredible.

𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍: Staying alive? Christmas, mostly. I have a lot of shopping to do and not a ton of money with which to do it. I'm also on-again, off-again working on my Irredeemable Beast fic, but I've kinda stalled on it a little bit. Maybe I just need Ben Percy to release another affront to my very being to give me some new energy to go off of.

tagged by: @themckaytriarchy

tagging: Anyone who would like to do it. :)

[bi4bihankking]

Hi hi hello! I do not have a single clue what you are talking about most of the time because I don't interact with enough of the same part of the DC fandom as you do, (I am but a simple man who is horney for a fish) BUT I want to LEARN. PLEASE tell me more about your faves! I must know!!!

Okay so around the time season 1 of Stargirl was coming out, I ended up getting into baby boy Hank, mostly because Stargirl made him kind of the emotional core of the first season and then killed him off so his wiki page was blowing up, and I have a thing about exactly the type of character he is so I ended up reading Infinity Inc.

Infinity Inc. is a team made up of the kids of the Justice Society, I guess it was kind of like the Titans but it was mostly bio kids, with some adopted ones mixed in, and Hank is the kid of a JSA villain, who...

Putting it very nicely, because what he did was immensely stupid, but also really funny, and cemented him as my fave, he's a telepath, and ended up picking up his father plotting with another telepathic villain, so he went to the JSA to warn them, but they did not listen (because for UNKNOWN FUCKING REASONS he decided to pretend to be his dad), and the entire team of old men started trying to beat him up. He ends up meeting with the rest of Infinity Inc. and to sum up the first arc:

The villains make the kids go evil and send them back in time to the 1940s, and Hank has to run around World War 2 trying to get 40s heroes in the past to help, but hasn't really improved his tactics, but eventually the problem is solved, and they go back to the present, where the villains are making the parents go evil to try and get them to kill the kids, except Hank's dad is... well, he's terrible, but he loves his baby boy, so when the other villain attacks Hank, his dad betrays the operation, and gets killed for it. (I also should mention that Hank's dad is like... the Lex Luthor or Joker of the JSA, he is their biggest villain, him dying, permanently, to protect his kid is really surprising in the context of who he is. He never gets brought back aside from flashbacks and Blackest Night).

But Hank's dad decides to give his son his powers as he dies, which is initially a very sweet thing and I DO NOT think he knew what was going to happen when he did it, but intermittently during the course of Infinity Inc. there were a few moments where an illusion of Hank's dad would pop up to torment him, and this really did not have good implications for what was to come.

Anyway, during Infinity Inc., Hank dates Jade, the original Green Lantern's daughter, Alan DOES NOT like Hank very much, mostly because of his dad, Hank and Jen as a ship are very sweet but they give off very baby's first college relationship vibes, and also I think a lot of people who read Infinity Inc. ship Hank with her twin brother instead. Back in the 40s Hank's dad made Alan think he committed a mass murder, which might add context to this situation. Hank's also the nephew of the leader of Infinity Inc. by adoption, because his mother was the Girl of 1000 Gimmicks, Brainwave Sr./Merry is the weirdest ship in the world, btw, and yeah Hank and Syl's dynamic is also very cute, it's a bit more like siblings because they're close in age, and Hank enjoys being an annoying younger brother it seems.

(He also has a half sister, they have not met, we only found out she was alive like 2 months ago, yeah I am desperate for them to meet, this is not really related to anything else but here you go).

Anyway Cameron is another kid of a JSA villain, his dad is Icicle, who is actually a Green Lantern villain, but who absolutely hates his kid because Cameron is a meta, and his power is ice, and you really really do not want ice inside your womb, just as a warning for any prospective mothers out there, and Cam's dad thinks Cameron is responsible for the love of his life's death. Cameron is kind of semi-adopted by 3rd JSA villain the Wizard tho so it's fine in the end. Cameron is actually a villain, and during the very last arc of Infinity Inc. is involved in Sylvester's murder.

The Infinitors do not last long after Sylvester's murder, btw, Hank peaces out, and when we see him again he's in the middle of a mental breakdown, and is in a fight with an arm of the Justice League, the team manages to beat him, and figures out he's going through severe mental health issues, and basically say if he gets help and rest he'll be fine.

This is where Alan Scott, the Original Green Lantern, re-enters the picture, he builds a special asylum to house Hank, because knowing what his dad was like, he thinks he could be a huge threat, but staffs it with people who are uhhhhhh... not people who want to help Hank get better, they explicitly say they want to study him, and Alan pretty much just wants him locked up too. When he gets out, he is not happy with Alan, especially since he knows that Alan didn't do it because he cared what happened to Hank, he did it because he didn't want Hank dating his daughter.

Anyway, around this time, Hank starts working with Black Adam and Atom Smasher (another member of Infinity Inc., ordinarily a very cute himbo) during their Invasion of Kahndaq, there's 3 other people involved, one of whom is Yolanda Montez's (another member of Infinity Inc.'s cousin), one of whom is Northwind (another another member of Infinity Inc., they may have been a short lived team but they got everywhere) who has unfortunately been de-evolved into a bird man in what is kind of racist writing Geoff Johns, and Soseh, who I only know from this arc lol.

The JSA goes to Kahndaq to try and get their kids back

They completely fail, btw, Alex and Soseh die, Carter rips his godson's wings off, and they have to leave Al behind. They do get Hank back though. Anyway at this point Hank is revealed to have Mister Mind in his head, who is controlling his actions, and maybe was a little bit before, but probably not for the initial breakdown.

So now Hank is better! Yaaaay! And he's living with his mom who was dead but showed up in Young Justice so she just abandoned Hank as a child in a way that made him think she was dead (this is never dealt with)! Also Jay now wants to adopt him and actively tries to do so in future issues! This is an improvement!

Hank is not canon queer yet but there's a few things that make me think it was planned at some point, most notably a scene where Sandy Hawkins (a character most JSA 1999 fans thought was going to be gay) saw him outlined in the stars of his future dream, and a scene where Mister Mind asks Black Adam if the Black Reign team suspects he's possessing Hank, and Black Adam says "Northwind might but I believe it no longer matters to him", which is very strange because Hank and Northwind WERE NOT close in Infinity Inc. this may imply UNSEEN EVENTS.

Also at some point he finds out people used his dad's DNA to make children, sneaks out of the country without the JSA knowing so he can try to keep those kids safe, but then his younger siblings get turned into gods and he loses them again. DC will not let him have 1 thing.

We do get this amazing panel though:

Karen is like... consistently so mean about his mental health issues, unfortunately I feel like DC comics would use that as a basis for a het ship.

Anyway that is everything with Henry up to date. Other than him currently getting kidnapped and tortured.

I ship him with Cameron because of this:

Ice bukkake, but also because thematically it makes sense for Hank to date a villain, he's a lot more understanding of criminals than the rest of the JSA, and I think it would cause drama.

[ancient-cats-unite]

Ototo's New Recruit

Elmo joins Ototo's development team.

Elmo strutted out of his room, Yoyo tailing behind him.

"So what's next on the tour?"

"We only get this hallway. However we do have a small kitchen!"

Yoyo led him to the kitchen near the entrance. Pots and pans were neatly stored in cupboards. A small stove sponsored by the Iron Legion had some grease stuck to it. A cat eating rice sat on the ground.

"That's T-Bone, she's like a black hole. Shes also our culinary expert, her lasagna can feed the whole Cat Army."

Elmo walked over to stand where T-Bone was.

"Hello!"

She gobbled down the last bit of her rice. She put the bowl in the sink.

"Hi. Do you like cookies?"

"Yeah!"

"Great. I can get some for you, but you need to get something for me."

Elmo scratched his head. Then he had an execllent idea.

"Do you like carrots? My friend gave me a good one. Brave Cutter Approved."

"Brave Cutter? The Grandon Mining Cutter? Alright lets see this carrot!"

Elmo went back to his room and got the carrot. It had a couple bruises but no mold. He went back to the kitchen and gave T-Bone the carrot. She ate the tip.

"Mmm.. that's pretty good. You weren't kidding. Maybe I'll make some soup with it."

"That sounds pretty good."

T-bone handed Elmo a bag full of sugar cookies from the shelf.

"Here you go. My treat. See you around."

"Oh wow! Thanks!"

-----------------------------

The two were going to leave the cabin, but a crackling sound caught their attention.

"What was that? Did something pop a fuse?"

The two ran to the sound's origin. It came from a dark painted door. "KEEP OUT!" was written on a large sign. "Please?" was written on a smaller sticky note.

"Oh. Thats Gordy's room. He'll be fine."

"Hold on, I have something I wanted to give him."

Elmo held up a fragment of the green crystal from his overalls pocket. It glew brighter, the etchings pulsing with energy. Taking a deep breath, he head inside.

Gordy was hacking up smoke in his room with some wiring gone wrong. He was working on a panel covered by a white tarp. The mysterious curtain covered a large margin of the room.

"YOU! Disgusting vermin, leave immediately!"

Gordy hissed. Yoyo and Elmo backed up.

"Not you, new kid. You can stay."

Yoyo huffed and left the room, closing the door. Gordy appeared behind Elmo and draped him with a part of his coat.

"Have you decided? That these WORTHLESS FOOLS aren't worth your time? With me, we will conquer the world with our MERCILESS ROBOT ARMY! Right now they're just cleaning robots, but THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

Elmo got some distance from Gordy. He pulled out the crystal, who strongly reacted to the machinery. Gordy snatched it immediately.

"You.. YOU.. You are a BLOODY GENIUS! This is a fraction of true power, I can power up my precious! Witness my creation, my dear assistant.. WITNESS THE BRINGER OF DESTRUCTION!"

Gordy unveiled the tarp to reveal.. to reveal.. a small metal Bun Bun. It makes a dent into the floor.

"Ah. I just need to implant it. I'm very grateful, these things grant immense power!The world shall be in my paws! Nya hahahahahahaha!!"

Elmo just stared. Gordy got nervous.

"Laugh with me. Its awkward."

So the two bringers of destruction laughed together.

Gordy hands Elmo a scrap metal cat. Its in decent shape with working cameras to boot. Elmo pats the cat on the head.

"My minion shall serve you well. Now begone! Evil awaits!"

----------------------------------

Elmo left the cabin. Yoyo wasn't anywhere, so maybe he could vibe with Hank? Hank was lying down, Ototo with him.

"Don't eat the butterflies anymore, Hank. Please."

"But.. preety.."

Hank perked up when Elmo came by. Ototo looked up as well.

"Frend! I got you preety butterflies!"

The jar had yellow butterflies in it. They all had cat faces.

"Ooh! I'll put this on my shelf. Thanks Hank!"

"Hey Elmo. Oh good, the uniform fits. Hank, could you go for a sec?""

Hank got up and ran somewhere else. Ototo looked Elmo up and down before putting two paws on his shoulders. He pulled out a beaded bracelet covered in metal and gold beads.

"Yoyo wanted to give you this. Remember you got really sad when you lost that friendship bracelet? He made you another one."

"Aw! I'll put it on right away!"

Elmo slipped on the bracelet. He gave Ototo a big hug, the mentor returning the favor.

"Thanks for letting me on the team."

"No problem Elmo."

______________________

//What a nice wrap up! Probably the most I've written. A little bit of everyone is here! Let me know what else you want!//

[brw]

New kids you say 👀👀

YESSSSS okay first is ramona grant-pym, the second child of greer & hank except without Skrull this time. her name is not an intentional scott pilgrim reference and hank yelled so fucking loudly when bill pointed it out to him but everyone calls her noa. she's abt 6 years younger than william and is a lesbian! she has some incredibly curly hair that tigra tried to keep long but noa kept Going In The Dirt and cleaning the fur already takes so long so she gave up n noa has short hair. when she's older she wears it in a mohawk. when she's 14 she'll get diagnosed with OCD & ADHD, she does have traits of bipolar but they weren't severe enough for her to get diagnosed but she has a pretty supportive family so she's doing okay. by 19 she has three PhDs, one in microbiology, one in cybersecurity, & one in biomedical engineering. i imagine when she's a baby hank & greer will give her to steve to look after for a bit and he'll put her in his shield with a little blanket & hank let's her vibe in the lab. viv babysat her & william together too.

second is archie mccoy-turner, the 15 year old son of hank & melanie turner, a woman he met on the avengers who did not tell him abt Archie when she had him bc he did not show any signs of the x gene & she thought it would keep him safe. it's not until he's 15 & is in some cataclysmic everything is dying event where he develops his mutation of gravity manipulation & goes to krakoa to live with dad. he is gay & is hyper intelligent but wasn't interested in perusing this much & instead makes indie gay songs on soundcloud that aren't like... bad... but are very much so written by a 15 year old. hank isn't disappointed necessarily but he is 😐 abt it. their entire relationship is so awkward bc hank only knew abt him 15 years into his development obviously and never thought he'd have a teenage gay son n archie isnt like.... resentful but he's also not that interested in knowing This Random Guy who is also committing war crimes. he might develop lime green fur in the future idk havent worked that out.

[jodistorian]

Lol I totally get you with the Neil Gaiman dislike. Him being on tumblr to show how quirky, young and hip and totally unthreatening!!!! he is, doesnt sit right with me. He gives me the same vibe as the other author Hank Green who was on here. Its giving : On here I can prey on young girls under the guise of "interacting with fans".

Celebrity m*n should not be on tumblr. Honestly no m*n should be on here.

Also didnt he write some weird pedo shit in his books. Something with a young girl "falling in love" and "seducing" an adult m*n.......

youre so right😭him being involved in the good omens fandom like that is also so off putting...men in fandom spaces ruin everything & then him being there as the creator is even worse. hes so weird abt it too “nooo theyre not gay men theyre just two entities in love no homo!!!”

idk anything abt the pedo stuff but wouldnt surprise me

[blairsanne]

Hello! For the random questions: 13, 39, 83 and 140

Have fun :) 🌸🐍

13. What is your favorite background noise? (Ex. Water dripping, people talking.)

Environmental background noise? Probably traffic. I grew up right next to a major highway so it was pretty hard to adjust to living out here where it's so quiet. (We'd also hear the trains in the distance!)

When writing, I like to put on those lofi study playlists, or any playlist on YouTube that's like "work fast instrumental music to concentrate" or whatever hahaha. It just helps shut out any distractions externally and internally.

At work if I'm feeling anxious, I'll put on ASMR in my headphones. (I don't write with ASMR because it will make me too sleepy.)

When cleaning the house, I like to have podcasts on in my headphones (lately I've been catching up with Dear Hank and John, but it varies).

39. Name the last book you read.

The last book I finished was 'An Abundance of Katherines' by John Green and... it wasn't my favourite by him, but it wasn't awful.

83. What is the worst advice you’ve ever been given?

So one time my irl BFF told me to do something that resulted in my computer being destroyed? 😅

Beyond that... hm. Probably the well-meaning advice to simply cut people out of your life the moment they do anything slightly outside of your preferences. I think if you're going to have genuine relationships with people you have to allow room for discussions around boundaries, behaviour, etc. If you don't give people an opportunity to change the behaviour or learn your boundaries, you will ultimately end up alone, and that's not what I want. (But of course if people keep doing those things after you explain why it's upsetting you, then yeah, that's not cool!)

140. Biggest turn ons and turn on offs.

My biggest turn on personality-wise is someone who is secure in who they are and doesn't care if it's popular with others. My husband is so vanilla it's weird, and he genuinely dgaf if other people think so because he knows what makes him happy and it doesn't hurt anyone. My fictional crushes tend to be weirdos, or very confident, irreverent people.

Physically, I mostly am attracted to masculine features, though I couldn't say anything in particular is a deal-breaker. I like the idea of someone taller than me but my husband isn't, haha. I've been attracted to both lanky and beefy men, so IDK. I've never been with a woman and probably won't.

Poor hygiene is the only physical turn off I can think of specifically.

Biggest non-physical turn-offs are lying and flakiness. I simply can't see ever feeling secure in a relationship with someone like that. Those are absolute deal breakers, for me personally.

As you might have guessed I'm mostly attracted to the person rather than their body. 😅 Though I definitely have a preference for men, and for masculine people in general, whatever that means. I am not sure I can describe it, it's just a vibe I get.

Thanks so much for these asks!! ♥♥ Ask game

[dem-obscure-imagines]

Try

Warren Worthington III x Reader

Fandom: Marvel/X-Men

Summary: Warren has been through hell and then some, but will meeting his soulmate turn that around?

Note: That’s right, it’s ya girl, back on my BS. I watched Apocalypse again and BIG SURPRISE, I’m in love with Warren and Kurt all over again. Still hyperfixating on Pietro also, so…expect more fics for him as well. Anyway, I’m a ho for soulmate aus and I haven’t written one for birb boi in literal years, so here ya go.

Reader is: Gender Neutral

Warnings: swears, mentions of alcohol

Word Count: 2.8k

Warren knew one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt: he didn’t deserve a soulmate. He didn’t. There was no question in his mind. Anyone who was destined to end up with his winged, alcoholic ass had been fucked over by the universe. No one deserved to be stuck with him for the rest of their lives. And yet, these thoughts didn’t seem to erase the words written on his forearm:

Hey, um, you’re Warren, right? The Professor wanted me to talk to you.

Professor. He scoffed. He was never going to college. If his parents had gotten their way, their son “cured” of his wings, he would have ended up at Harvard or Yale or somewhere similar. But it was far too late for that. Sitting in a cage in the back room of an illegal underground mutant fighting club in Berlin…it was far too late for that. He’d probably die before he met his soulmate anyway, rendering the prophecy on his wrist—and theirs, for that matter—useless. A waste of space.

That was all he was anyway.

He spiraled. His dependence on vodka got worse. The fights got harder. He wasn’t making it out unscathed anymore, winding up with burns and scrapes and cuts, depending on what kind of mutant he was up against. One night, one of his cuts had gotten dangerously close to the writing on his wrist. He stared at it for a long time, tears burning his eyeballs until they escaped and dripped down his cheeks, angry and hot.

He hated it, but even after everything, he still had hope. He still had hope that things would get better; that he could be better, even if it seemed impossible.

And then it got…worse.

Apocalypse had come, turned his wings to metal, tuned into his anger, his rage at the world, turned him into a monster, complete with knives for feathers and winding tattoos framing his face. He wished he could blame it on mind control or something, but Apocalypse hadn’t brainwashed him, only used his anger against him. Turned him into a weapon.

And then everything went black.

When he woke up after the battle, he was in an unfamiliar room, large and white and sterile; it smelled like hand sanitizer. He heard the steady beeping of a heart monitor and when he sat up, he noticed how sore he was. His whole body hurt. His head spun. But he was alive. And when he looked down at his tattoo, the words were still there. Wherever his soulmate was, they were fine. His stupidity in joining Apocalypse hadn’t caused anything to happen to them.

For the first time in what felt like years, he breathed.

“You’re awake.” A voice said as a tall man with brown hair entered his room. “I’ll let the Professor know.”

“Where…” his deep voice rasped and the man pointed to a glass of water sitting on the table adjacent to the cot he was situated in. He picked it up and took a few long, greedy sips, not realizing just how thirsty he was until the cool drink hit his tongue. “Where am I? What is this place?”

“This is the infirmary at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.” The man told him, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “You’re safe here.”

Warren nodded hesitantly, but didn’t say anything else. Safe. The word was almost a myth to him at this point. But at least he felt like he could rest for a little while.

***

It had been a few weeks since Apocalypse and his horsemen had almost ended the world. Erik had decided to stick around, and two of the younger horsemen, Storm and “the Angel of Death,” respectively, had been absorbed into the school’s student body. You didn’t know the Angel’s name. No one really talked to him, not even Ororo, Storm, who had been quickly adopted by your friend group.

Supposedly, Peter had tried to talk to the Angel guy, but he didn’t say anything to him. Ororo theorized he probably felt guilty about the whole thing. She did. But you all knew she didn’t know what Apocalypse was really trying to do. He probably hadn’t either, but that didn’t seem to keep the grim expression off of his face.

It was on a nice, sunny day that Xavier called you into his office, and you went down without complaint, knocking on the door a few times before he called you inside. You sat in the chair across from his desk.

“Hi, Professor. What’s going on?” You asked.

“Ah, yes. Just the empath and healer I wanted to see.” He smiled brightly. “(Y/N), if you don’t mind it too terribly, I have a small job for you.”

“Of course! What do you need?”

“I’m sure you’ve seen our newest pupil, Warren, around.”

You thought for a moment. “The, uh, guy with the wings? The big metal ones?”

“Precisely.” He nodded. “Warren…he’s been having quite a hard time adjusting.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“He came to me yesterday discussing…well, quite simply, he was wondering if any of our mutants here would be capable of…reverting him to his previous state. His wings, before Apocalypse, were made of feathers. They’ve been serving as quite a reminder to him and it’s been weighing pretty heavily on him, both literally and emotionally.”

“Yeah, I’ve, uh, caught his vibes from across campus.” You nodded. “It’s like there’s always a rain cloud hanging over his head.”

“Yes,” Xavier agreed. “It doesn’t have to be right away, but at your nearest convenience, if you see him around, would you talk to him? Tell him I sent you?”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll see what I can do.” You promised him.

As an empath and a healer, your first priority was helping others. And even if he was known to be a bit intimidating, you wanted to help him if you could.

So, you walked out of Xavier’s office, attended your final class of the day, and when it was over, you wandered out into the courtyard where, because of the nice weather, students were everywhere. And luckily for you, just as you suspected he might be, Warren was sitting under a tree, still sporting his leather jacket despite the warm weather.

You shielded your eyes from the sun and walked over towards him, your heart racing as you built up the courage to talk to him. So, you took a breath and said, “Hey, um, you’re Warren, right? The Professor wanted me to talk to you.”

He stared up at you for a long moment, his green eyes wide in shock. He took a breath, blinked a few times, glanced down at his wrist, and then back up at you. You could have sworn you saw tears beginning to form along his waterline, and you didn’t realize why until he said, “You’re my…No…Oh my God…I’m…I’m so sorry.”

You froze, your knees going weak. You glanced down at your bare forearm and read over the words he’d just said, exactly the way he’d just said them.

You’re my…No…Oh my God…I’m…I’m so sorry.

“Why are you sorry?” You whispered, lowering yourself onto the grass beside him, not trusting your legs to support your weight for much longer. Now you were the one with tears in your eyes. “Don’t be sorry.”

“You deserve so much more than me.” He insisted, his eyes locked on his boots, unwilling and unable to meet your gaze. “I can’t drag you into…this. Me.”

His emotions were heavy, a bleak blue and gray haze and you felt it radiate off of him in waves. His pain, his everything. And you felt it, deep within his chest. He thought you wouldn’t want him anyway.

“Warren…” You shook your head. “Why…Why would you think I don’t want you?”

He was shocked into silence for a few seconds, thinking over his words carefully, his jaw tense and hands shaking. “You’re a telepath?”

“Empath.” You corrected quietly. “And…a healer. Which is why Xavier sent me.”

“Oh. Right.” He swallowed thickly, nodding. “Did he…tell you why?”

“He did.” You smiled softly. “And I’m willing to try if you are.”

Finally, his eyes met yours and he could tell that you meant more than just the healing when you said it. The weak little voice in the back of his head was screaming for him to push you away like he pushed away everyone else, but looking into your eyes, a genuine and warm smile on your face, he just…couldn’t lose you.

He couldn’t lose anyone else.

***

Today was the day. Warren was sitting on a stool in the infirmary. Hank had run his vitals and the two of them were in the room waiting for you to come down after your class was over.

“(Y/N) is the one who saved you, you know.” Hank told Warren while he jotted down some notes.

“What?” Warren asked, snapping out of whatever daydream he had been caught up in. “What do you mean?”

“(Y/N) found you in the rubble. We didn’t think you would make it, but…they healed you. They insisted we bring you back here. Give you a chance.”

Warren was quiet for a long time, thinking about what that meant. Part of him wondered if (Y/N) had known back then that he was their soulmate, but he decided that would have been impossible with just their tattoos alone. Especially without context. They hadn’t known and yet, they’d still wanted the best for him.

“Didn’t know that.” Warren said, his voice soft and deep. He stared at the words on his wrist for a little longer, a hint of warmth swirling around in his stomach. Was this happiness? Was that what happiness felt like? He barely remembered anymore. But he knew there must have been a reason that when you walked through the door, his heart started beating a little bit faster.

“Sorry I’m so late. Professor Leaf kept us a little later than she was supposed to. Are you ready?” You asked taking off your backpack and setting it against the wall. As soon as you looked up at Warren, you felt the way his heart rate was increased and you didn’t miss the warmth swirled with the anxiousness. The anxiousness, you had expected. Even you didn’t know if you could pull off what you were going to attempt to do, but the warmth…it was a pleasant surprise.

“Don’t worry about it.” He told you, shaking his head. Was he…was he smiling? It was a small smile, sure, but you didn’t think you had ever seen him smile before. It looked good on him. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Alright.” You nodded, walking over towards him. Underneath where he was situated on a stool, Hank had laid out some pads from the training room, you assumed, to catch his metal feathers if they fell out rather than transforming back to his normal…feather feathers. None of you really knew how this would unfold. “Again, I’m not sure this will work. I don’t want to get your hopes up in case it doesn’t.”

“I’m not expecting it to.” Warren assured you, but it wasn’t in a rude way. “If it does, I’ll be pleasantly surprised. Cross my heart.” What he didn’t say was: You could never disappoint me. Not even if you tried.

“Okay.” You nodded, taking a few steps closer until you were standing right in front of him. He looked up at you and for the first time, you didn’t feel any negative emotions from him. Only anticipation and that lingering warmth. “Here goes nothing.”

You focused on the warmth in your own chest, the tingling yellow healing power that constantly swirled around your heart, and you forced it into your palms. You reached forward for his hands and he took the hint, his larger hands wrapping around yours.

Immediately, he gasped at the sensation, warm tingles running up his arms, down his spine. It stopped in the center of his back, right where his wings intersected with his body. At first, he didn’t feel anything. And then, he felt everything. The pleasant warmth flooded his metal wings, and one by one, the knife-like feathers fell out, each one landing with a thud against the mat situated underneath him.

Hank’s pencil jotted against his notebook as he took notes. He knew you were powerful, but he’d had no idea you were capable of something like this.

Neither had you.

Once the metal wings were gone, Warren felt a new sensation: another pair of wings, this one soft and familiar, slowly emerging from him. Part of him expected the process to be painful, like the one Apocalypse had forced upon him was, but it wasn’t. Warren chuckled to himself. Of course you would never hurt him. Not even unintentionally.

After a few minutes, the feathery wings had fully emerged, stretched out to his full former wingspan and he stared up at you in awe. You stopped your flow of power to him, but he held onto your hands, squeezing them to keep them in his grasp.

He looked back at his new wings, flexed them and moved them. They felt familiar, like they had always belonged to him.

“Thank you.” He said, giving your hands another squeeze, the warmth in his chest brighter and bolder than it had been before. “Thank you so much.”

“Of course.” You told him, squeezing his hands right back in a way that caused his heart to lurch. “I’m glad I could help.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but do you mind if I keep some of these for research?” Hank asked.

“Keep all of them, if you want. I don’t want them.” Warren told him, standing up from his stool, his hands still in yours. “So, um…do you want to go grab dinner or something?”

“Sure.” You nodded, smiling up at him. “See you later, Hank.”

“Bye, guys, have a nice night.” Hank said as you and Warren walked out of his lab. He couldn’t help but notice the way one of your hands remained in one of his as the two of you left.

***

Later that night, after dinner and after you and Warren had split for the evening, you were walking back to your room from Jean and Jubilee’s and you found Warren, lingering in his doorway, his toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. His eyes widened when he spotted you and he held up a finger, indicating you should wait for him, so you did while he went into his bathroom and rinsed out his mouth, returning a few moments later.

“Hey.” He said, the word casual as it fell from his pink lips.

“Hey yourself.” You chuckled, feeling ridiculously underdressed in your pajamas. But then again, he was wearing his pajamas, too, a large black Metallica shirt and a pair of plaid pants.

“How…how are you? Feeling?” He stumbled over his words, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his neck. You felt a wave of nervousness rush through him. “Hank said sometimes you get tired after, uh, bigger healing jobs?”

“I’m fine.” You nodded. “For whatever reason, I never get tired when I’m healing you.” You chuckled, your cheeks heating up the slightest bit. “Well…I think I know why…”

“Heh, yeah.” He nodded, mulling over his next words very carefully. “Did you, um…I don’t know how to ask this. Did you mean what you said about…trying? About us trying…this. Trying us.”

“Of course I did.” You nodded and took a few steps closer to him. “You’re my soulmate.” You reached for his hand and he gave it to you, letting you play with his fingers. You felt the way his heart fluttered when you did. “Of course I want to try.”

“I’m broken.” He told you. “I’ve never done this before. I’m…I’m a lot, and I know that.”

“Well it’s a good thing I’m a healer, huh?” You tilted your head. “And if we’re being honest, I’ve never done this before either. So how about we teach each other? Learn together?”

He smiled softly, nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, let’s do that.”

You let go of his hand and instead took the last few steps between the two of you, wrapping your arms around his torso. He froze for a few seconds, unsure of what to do. It had been…a long time since anyone had hugged him. But after a few moments, his arms got the hint and wrapped around you, pulling you to his chest. He rested his head atop yours and exhaled a long, long breath. And for the first time since you’d met him, you felt a wave of peace wash over him, encasing him entirely as his wings gently cocooned you in their warmth.

You felt his lips brush against your temple, pressing a soft kiss there. You looked up at him and his eyes met yours before fluttering shut as he leaned in to press his lips to yours.