#and i don't even want to think about my parents right now ^^

[tracksidebaby]

Best of Both Worlds

Summary: YN and Kimi are childhood best friends and closer than ever even with Kimi away at races every other weekend. So when Kimi starts falling behind there is no question that YN is gonna be there to help him.

Requested: Yes / Anon

Instagram /

liked by: kimi.antonelli and 2,901 others

yn.ln: if you see me crying in the library, no you don't

classmate1: caption is too real rn 😓

username: i need an xl coffee

kimi.antonelli: i understand nothing.

username: why is kimi in the comments

| username: they go to school together

| username: they've been friends for years actually, Kimi talks about her in interviews

Texts /

YN's Instagram Story /

Instagram /

liked by: kimi.antonelli, classmate2, and 1,289 others

yn.ln:  I slept on my notes hoping they’d absorb. spoiler: they didn’t.

classmate3: a few more months guys 💪🏻

classmate2: she's prepped with snacks and not much else

kimi.antonelli: if you're struggling then there is no hope for me

| yn.ln: we're gonna pass 💪🏻

username: new way alert??? @/f1gossips ??

Instagram /

liked by: kimi.antonelli, yn/ln and 69,847 others

classmate4: @/kimi.antonelli is back at school and now yn has forgotten that other people exist. This was yn's reaction to Kimi coming back and Kimi only has eyes for her.

yn.ln: wait why are we kindaaaa 👀

yn.ln: wag era, can i drop out of school

| kimi.antonelli: no

| kimi.antonelli: i need you to pass

| kimi.antonelli: after that i'll provide for you

| username: im so confused are they dating or not ???

| classmate5: theyre not dating but for years it's just been the two of them, they might as well be dating

username: who even is this girl 💀

username: not kimi's classmates just exposing them btw

| username: right like i'd be so annoyed

Instagram /

liked by: kimi.antonelli, classmate6, lando and 13,441 others

yn.ln: and it's all too much for little @/kimi.antonelli

username: THE CAPTION

username: imagine kimi buying you coffee

username: aw he fell asleep

username: matching pjs and theyre not dating, ok

kimi.antonelli: why would you post that picture

| yn.ln: you're cute

| classmate6: i just know hes blushing

Texts /

Instagram /

liked by: kimi.antonelli, classmate7 and 8,901 others

yn.ln: I tutor him in math but I think he needs to tutor me in formula one because what is this?

kimi.antonelli: YOU WATCHED A RACE?

| kimi.antonelli: I got points!!

| kimi.antonelli: maybe you are my good luck

| username: wait thats actually so cute

| yn.ln: so so proud of you even if i didn't understand anything that was happening !!!

classmate7: this isn't a big deal to the rest of you but yn hates all sports so this is huge

| yn.ln: please don't expose me like that

Instagram /

liked by: yn.ln, mercedesamgf1, and 792,901 others

kimi.antonelli: best of both worlds

yn.ln: ok hannah montana

username: kimi still being at school is so funny to me 😭

| username: right??? if that were me id have left the second i signed that mercedes contract

| yn.ln: mamma wants him to study so he studies

| kimi.antonelli: i love mamma but she scares me

| yn.ln: me too, i had coffee with her the other day and i was on EDGE

| username: so she has coffee with kimi's mom and we're supposed to believe they're just friends?

| username:  i mean they have known each other since they were kids, its not that out there

| username: i've known people since i was a kid and i would not be having coffee with their parents without them there 💀💀

yn.ln: also omg i made it onto a famous f1 drivers instagram !?!?!?

| kimi.antonelli: blocked

Texts /

Instagram /

liked by: kimi.antonelli, classmate8 and 12,901 others

yn.ln: one thing missing.

classmate8: had the best time

username: shes def talking about kimi with that caption

| classmate9: 100%

| classmate10: kimi may as well have been there with how much time they spent of ft

| yn.ln: excuse me why am i being exposed like this in my own comments

kimi.antonelli: so sad i missed this

| yn.ln: stfu you just got p6 in Japan thats like infinitely cooler

| kimi.antonelli: not as cool as hanging out with you

| username: oh ok so he's down BAD then

| classmate11: yeah those two have always been a little too into each other

| username: but they're not together??

| classmate11: nope

classmate8: btw she wrote 'yn & kimi' on the wall

Instagram /

liked by: yn.ln, mercedesamgf1 and 992,901 others

kimi.antonelli: another one.

username: lmao the dry asf caption

username: kimi being salty hes at the gp instead of a class trip

username: my man got points on the board and he just wants to be in school

| username: more like he wants to be with his girl

username: imagine being one of the most promising rookies on the grid and not being able to celebrate properly because of a school crush

yn.ln: ok well if you're not gonna celebrate i will

| yn.ln: P6 IN JAPAN KIMI YOU DID THAT!!!!

| kimi.antonelli: thank you, angelo

| mercedesamgf1: we like you, @/yn.ln

| kimi.antonelli: back off, admin, she's mine

| username: KIMIYN CONFIRMED?!?!

yn.ln: is that lewis hamilton? damn i finally recognise someone that isn't you

YN's Instagram Story /

Instagram /

liked by: yn.ln, mercedesamgf1, and 992,901 others

kimi.antonelli: the more time i spend here, the harder it is to leave.

username: what he meant to say is: the more time i spend with her, the harder it is to leave.

* liked by kimi.antonelli

yn.ln: @/mercedesamgf1, please stop taking him away from me

| mercedesamgf1: we need him

| username: someone get this girl on the track

| mercedesamgf1: 🫡🫡🫡

yn.ln: another post tho omg is this what fame feels like

| kimi.antonelli: youre the worst

georgerussell63: looking good mate, enjoy the week off

username: so they're just straight up gonna post this and still deny they're together

username: the best couple😍

username: im sorry they fall asleep like that but aren't dating??

username: ah childhood best friends to lovers i live for this

Instagram /

liked by: kimi.antonelli, mercedesamgf1, georgerussell63 and 43,901 others

yn.ln: "a few more weeks and we're done, a few more weeks and we're done, a few more weeks and we're done" I mutter, angry, sleep deprived and never wanting to see another number again

kimi.antonelli: imagine how i feel

kimi.antonelli: if it weren't for you tutoring me i'd have no chance

| yn.ln: yes you are very lucky to have me

mercedesamgf1: poor thing, we know just the fix

| yn.ln: what does this mean?

| username: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

kimi.antonelli: and it's all too much for little yn ln

Texts /

Instagram /

liked by: kimi.antonelli, georgerussell63, lewishamilton and 398,382 others

yn.ln: life when your best friend is famous

kimi.antonelli: life when your best friend does something nice for you and you ditch him for lewis hamilton

| yn.ln: just be proud i know a driver who isn't you

| kimi.antonelli: i'd rather you know nobody.

| yn.ln: dead

| yn.ln: also lewis hamilton has nothing on you....apart from like a couple hundreds of millions and a few championships

| yn.ln: but id take you any day

| kimi.antonelli: you better

username: kimi being jealous over lewis is so funny

username: wait he really invited all of his school friends thats adorable

username: toto leaves for one race and kimi's turned the garage into a playground

username: ok but yn was serving looks

| username: she knows shes gonna be a future wag one day

| yn.ln: i'd be a brilliant wag

| kimi.antonelli: go be lewis' wag

| yn.ln: as if you'd let me

username: lewis in the likes tho 👀

Texts /

YN's Instagram Story /

Twitter /

Instagram /

liked by: kimi.antonelli, mercedesamgf1, georgerussell63, and 102,901 others

yn.ln: is this...fame?

username: OMG SHE POSTED THE F1GOSSIP POST 😭

| username: she is iconic

kimi.antonelli: you enjoy this way too much

| yn.ln: i told you i'd make a good wag, the people agree

| username: WAG HER UP RN

username: kimi might not want her but damn i do

username: can kimi fight??

mercedesamgf1: our fav duo is back

Twitter /

Texts /

Instagram /

liked by: kimi.antonelli, georgerussell63, mercedesamgf1 and 692,901 others

yn.ln: THAT'S MY GUY RIGHT THERE!! P3 FOR MY ROOKIE OF THE YEAR!!! THIRD YOUNGEST DRIVER IN HISTORY TO FINISH ON THE PODIUM!!! THAT'S MY KIMI!!! so so proud of you, @/kimi.antonelli

username: im not even going to ask if she can fight because you just know for him she can

| yn.ln: id fight dirty too

kimi.antonelli: il milo angelo, thank you for being here, thank you for celebrating with me

| yn.ln: so so proud of you baby

username: the hard launch we have been waiting for omg its here

classmate13: OMG FINALLY

georgerussel63: What a win, well done mate

| yn.ln: well done on p1 george!!!!

mercedesamgf1: that's our kimi

| yn.ln: admin, i love you please don't make me fight you

Instagram /

liked by: kimi.antonelli, georgerussell63, mercedesamgf1 and 992,901 others

yn.ln: imagine we get p3 in Canada and then mere days later we're forced to sit our final exams. wish us luck 🤞🏼

kimi.antonelli: im sorry ?? WE won p3 ?? i must have missed you in the car

| yn.ln: your wins are my wins

| kimi.antonelli: i won't argue with that, they are all dedicated to you, amore mio

username: yn actually perfectly summed up kimi's life with that caption because wtf

georgerussell63: good luck kids

| username: george calling them kids omg 😭

classmate13: can confirm yn pulled up in kimis car and they kissed each other good luck before going in

| yn.ln: i hope you fail all your exams

Instagram /

liked by: yn.ln, mercedesamgf1, georgerussell63, oscarpiastri, lewishamilton, olliebearman and 992,901 others

kimi.antonelli: exams are done and now we celebrate. @/yn.ln, Grazie mille for everything you have done for me, for being by my side and helping me manage my dream and my studies. mamma already loved you but this just made her so sure you were the one for me. and you are, te amo, il mio angelo. i am so glad you are my best friend and love of my life.

georgerussell63: congrats mate, you've killed it this season with school and racing. go celebrate with your girl

username: omg i love them

username: best friend and love of his life i am SCREAMING

yn.ln: te amo, baby, couldn't dream of doing life without you

[boopjuice]

@bluerosefox so... it's been six months... sorry about that. But on the bright side, I have one part after this and an epilogue planned out now! Hope you enjoy.

Everything went a little too well. True to his predictions Danny didn't sleep a wink, which meant that he was able to get some pancake mix prepped and get out the door before his parents came up from the lab. Dan and Ellie were just waking up when he got to Sam's, coming downstairs right as Danny was phasing through the door.

"Morning, Dad," Dan mumbled, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Morning, Stardust. You sleep okay?" Dan made a grumble of affirmation, walking over and burying his face into Danny's leg. Danny gently ruffled his son's hair while Ellie made her way over to the breakfast counter, climbing into her seat and splaying her top half over the counter in an attempt to get a little more sleep. It was amazing to think that, between his two children, both had at one point not only tried to kill him but that his future self, who had well and truly hated him, was the one who clung to him more.

He chuckled, picking up his son who proceeded to bury his face into Danny's neck, and walking into the kitchen. He used one hand to grab a pan and some cooking spray before setting his son down in his own seat. The six year old whined at the loss of contact, and Danny chuckled.

"I know, Dan, but I need both hands to make pancakes."

"Y're makin' pancakes?" Ellie slurred, lifting her head from the cool counter. Her hair was sticking up every which way, probably from the way she tossed and turned last night.

"Yep. But you two need to be dressed and ready for school if you want to have some." His kids, still half asleep, groaned at that, but dutifully hopped off the chairs to drag themselves upstairs and get dressed for the day. "Remember to wake up Mar'i," he called gently after them.

The pancakes went well. He didn't even burn the first one, which should have tipped him off. The kids came down, Mar'i in tow and dressed in some of Dan's clothes, and they all appeared much more awake than when the first two had come down. Sam followed down soon after, wrapping Danny in a hug and giving him a good morning kiss that the kids all fake gagged at. Even ghostlings and aliens, it seemed, thought shows of affection between parents were odd.

"Tuck had to go home for the night, but he'll take Dan to school," Sam said, picking up a few pancakes for herself.

"Alright. I'll be dropping off Ellie and Mar'i separately at the daycare. Ellie, think you can keep your invisibility up for a bit when we go?"

"I can!" she said through a mouthful of pancake.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Sam chided, sitting at the breakfast counter next to Mar'i, who was the picture of well behaved. The kind of well behaved that meant she was planning mischief.

"Mar'i, I'm going to be dropping you off at the daycare with Ellie."

"What? But I'm seven! I don't need to go to daycare!"

"I know, Riri. But my friends and I need to go to school, and we can't bring you with us. We can't take you to school with Dan, because you aren't enrolled. And before you try to say you can stay alone, you are seven. I'm not about to leave a seven year old alone no matter how capable they might be. So, unfortunately, you'll be at the daycare."

Mar'i huffed a bit, crossing her arms and pouting. "Hey, that means we can play together! Together, we can lead the daycare to rebellion! Freedom for Kids!!!" Ellie said, promptly floating up and brandishing her fork in the air.

"Ellie, if you start another revolution at the daycare, you'll be staying with Grandpa Clockwork while we're gone," Sam said.

"What?! But he's sooooo booooooring!"

"Then no revolutions," Danny said, turning to level his best "parenting look" at his youngest. "And no ghost powers while you're eating."

Dan snickered as Ellie floated back to her seat, sticking his tongue out to tease her. Mar'i, thankfully, was a little less pouty than before.

The flight to the daycare was uneventful. Ellie stayed invisible the whole time while Danny told Mar'i that she couldn't use any powers she had at the daycare. She likely already knew, but it was good to remind her.

The attendant was a little skeptical about taking on a seven year old for the day, even with the favor she owed Phantom, but with the explanation that it was for one day and a little extra cash she let Riri stay. He told her that Riri would be getting picked up with Ellie, then went around the block, shifted back to his human form with Ellie, and walked them both to the door to drop her off too.

He got to school the same time as Sam and Tuck did, greeting them both with a hug and a quick kiss before they headed off to class. He texted Tuck the plan for the day, slipping his phone into his pocket right as the bell rang for first period.

As the day went on, things kept going well. He didn't cross paths with Dash. Lancer didn't have a pop quiz. There was even pizza for lunch.

All of those things should have tipped Danny off that something was going to go wrong.

When the last bell rang, he walked out of school with his partners. They chatted along the way, trying to get his story straight about which clubs he was in, since someone had told his maybe-bio-dad that he was in several. By the time they got to the elementary school to pick up Dan they'd agreed on Danny being in the Robotics and Astronomy clubs, since Danny had at least some idea of what each of them did.

The walk to the daycare was filled with chatter from Dan as he talked about what he'd done that day, the things he'd learned and what activities were most important to him. Apparently they were going to start music lessons soon, and he'd get to bring home a recorder to practice. In his excitement, he didn't notice how his parents all looked at each other in resignation for the terrible screeching that would be Dan practicing for the next few months.

Picking up Ellie and Mar'i went smoothly as well. Fortunately, Ellie had not tried to start a revolution. Unfortunately, Mar'i had somehow found her way into the air ducts and had spent an hour playing a one-sided game of hide and seek with the attendants.

The six of them walked towards the bus stop, Danny checking his phone to see a text from Dick. He was almost to town, and would probably get to the meeting spot before him. It would be another five minutes before the bus got there, so Danny texted back to let him know.

"Hey, good luck with your-" Tuck glanced at Mar'i, happily chatting with Dan and comparing notes about their days as Ellie chimed in with important details. "With your dad."

"Thanks. I'll be home as soon as I can."

"We know, Spooky. We'll all be waiting to hear how it went." Sam wrapped him in a tight hug, Tucker joining not long after, and Danny squeezed them back. He didn't know what he'd done to get lucky enough to have these two in his life and afterlife, but he wasn't about to question it now.

"Right. Kids, say by to Riri," Tuck said once they all pulled away.

"Aw, can't she stay a little longer?" Ellie begged, giving her best puppy eyes.

"Pleeeeeeaaaaase?" Dan joined in with the puppy eyes.

"I know you guys had fun, but Mar'i needs to go back to her parents," Danny chided. "But I can talk to them and see if there's a way that you three can get together and play again. Sound good?"

"Fine," Dan huffed, before enveloping Mar'i in a hug. "Bye Riri."

"Yeah, bye. Don't let ghosts get you." Ellie said, also joining the hug.

"I won't. And if they try, my Mommy and Daddy will be there to keep me safe!" They all pulled away. "I'll see you later!" Mar'i said, taking Danny's hand as Sam and Tuck picked up a child each and started walking to Sam's house.

"Alright, Riri. Ready to see your parents?" Danny asked.

"Mhm!" She nodded with her whole body, and Danny couldn't help but smile.

~~~

Dick was bouncing his knee as he waited in the Waffle House next to Kori. He needed to make sure his little girl was alright. He needed to ask Danny how sure he was about the whole "being Dick's kid" thing. He needed to check on his maybe-son's partners and kids and wasn't that a thing to think about? That he might have grandkids? That would make Bruce a great grandfather, and Alfred a great great grandfather. If he hadn't been so stressed about this meeting going well, he would have laughed.

Kori's hand rested on his shoulder. "Richard, you will break the chair at this rate. It will be fine."

"But what if it isn't? What if he isn't my son? Kori, what if he is? What do i do?"

"I do not know. But panicking will not make this easier, you know this." He sighed, reaching up to grab his wife's hand.

"Yeah. Yeah I do."

The next twenty minutes of waiting was agonizing. He did everything he could to relax, but he still felt anxiety eating away at him. The chatter on the TV in the corner didn't help. What was he supposed to say? He knew he needed a DNA test, but did he just come out and say that? What if the partners were there, what then? What did he say to them? What if Danny brought his kids?

All his worried thoughts were cut off when the door jingled and a familiar shout of "Mommy! Daddy!" rang through the dining area. He was on his feet in a moment, falling to his knees to cradle his daughter in a tight hug.

"Thank god you're safe," he whispered into her hair as Kori collapsed next to him, cradling them both in arms he knew were carefully gentle to not hurt them. Dick pulled back from his daughter slightly, checking her without letting her go.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" He didn't really expect an answer, and his mind went blank for a moment when he saw the bandages on her wrists and ankles.

"I'm fine. Mr. Danny and his friends were really nice, but i did have to go to daycare." She huffed out the last word like it was some prison chamber instead of... well, a daycare.

"And I'd have you go again, Riri. I wasn't about to leave you alone." Dick finally took his eyes off his daughter, looking towards the voice he'd only heard over the phone before.

Danny was the spitting image of him when he'd been in the Titans. Same lean build, same black hair, same eyes. There were a few bits that didn't quite look right. Danny was a bit paler than he'd ever been, enough that people would have likely just dismissed it as a tan in a place like Illinois. His cheekbones were a little off, and his chin was a tad more pointed than his own. But Dick could have slapped a domino and some multicolor spandex on the kid and mistaken him as a younger version of himself.

"You must be Danny," he said when he found his voice."

"Yep. That's me. You must be-" the kid snorted a little. "You must be Dick." Dick smiled a little at that, standing and holding out a hand.

"That's me. Thank you for taking care of my daughter." Danny took his hand, keeping the shake short. It didn't keep Dick from noticing that the kid's hands were cold. They would have been clammy, if there'd been any perspiration.

"It's nothing, really. Ancients know I wasn't about to just not help." Danny's eyes drifted to where Kori was still fussing over her daughter, asking about the bandages. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. "Oh..."

"Apologies, I'm a little frazzled. This is my wife, Kori." She looked up at her name, standing and holding her own hand out to Danny as Mar'i grabbed her other.

"Hello. Thank you for keeping our daughter safe. I do not know what we would do if she were hurt."

"Think nothing of it," Danny said, looking at Kori in awe. "Uh... Mar'i said you were a Tamaranian?"

"Yes. I am. Is there an issue?" Kori had noticed the way the kid was staring, and was doing her best to remain polite.

"What's space like?" And just like that, Danny started spitting questions non-stop. "What's Tamaran like? I found a few articles, but I imagine they only cover the broad strokes of culture. Oh! When was your people's first interstellar mission? When did you discover there was other life in the universe? What galaxy is Tamaran in? What planets can you see from it? Wait, no, which stars? Do you-"

Danny seemed to catch the overwhelmed look on his wife's face and snapped back to himself. "Oh, um... That was probably a lot. Sorry. Space is just... I guess you could call it an Obsession of mine," he said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to word-vomit like that."

"It is quite alright," Kori said, smile returning. "I did not expect those kinds of questions. I must admit, I am uncertain how long ago we reached space, but it was quite a long time ago."

Danny nodded, the stars not quite gone from his eyes, and the room warmed back up. When had the temperature dropped?

"Anyway, Mar'i, would you like to go and get some ice cream?" Kori said, looking to the young girl.

"Yes please!" Riri turned her green eyes on Danny, and Dick waited to see how he reacted. While most people were generally very accepting of his daughter, it was still common for people to squirm a little under her full gaze and inhuman eyes. Danny did no such thing, just smiled back, eyes almost reflecting hers for the briefest of moments. "Bye Mr. Danny."

"Bye, Riri. Stay safe."

"I will! Come on, Mommy, let's go!" Mar'i tugged her mother towards the door, and Kori said a quick goodbye before letting herself be dragged away. Dick had already given her the replacement tracking bracelet for Riri, since her last one had malfunctioned. He turned to Danny, the both of them still standing awkwardly in the middle of a Waffle House.

"You said you wanted to talk," Dick started. Danny nodded, looking as tense as Dick felt.

"Yeah." They both sat at the table he and Kori had occupied. Dick had to right his chair, he'd accidentally tipped it over in his haste earlier. With the both of them seated, Dick started questioning.

"First off, how did you end up finding Mar'i? She was... being held hostage, and then she just fell into a green portal. Was that you?" Danny looked at the table, chewing the inside of his cheek like Dick used to do.

"... yeah. I... I'm a meta." Years of experience had taught him when someone was lying. This kid was. "It's sort of an empath ability? With a little bit of other stuff mixed in. I don't really understand all of it." All a lie.

"What I know is... It felt like my sister- My other sister, the one I grew up with- it felt like she was in danger, but also not? So I just... I made sure whoever it was was safe. It just ended up being Mar'i." Danny locked eyes with Dick then. Nothing about that last bit was a lie. "I know it probably scared you really, really bad. Ancients only know what I would do if Dan or Ellie went missing like that."

"Your kids?" Danny nodded. "Your son's name is Dan?" A fond smile overtook Danny's face.

"Short for Dante, but yeah. It's... a bit of a story."

"How old are they, if I may?"

"Dan's six, and Ellie's four." Danny was 17. That meant he'd had Dan when he was 11. 13 when he had Ellie. Dick felt a pit start to open in his gut.

"And they're yours?" Another nod.

"Yep. I know I'm young, but I've got Sam and Tuck with me. We've been making it work."

"You mentioned they weren't Miss Manson's. Who's are they, if I may ask?" Danny froze, then chuckled and looked away. He rubbed the back of his neck, slouching into the chair.

"That's another long story. But I don't know if I'd really change it." The pit that had started to open in his gut widened to a gaping chasm. Had someone-

"Anyway, you're a detective. What's that like?" Danny said, and Dick filed away the subject for later.

"It is what it is. I'm not in a great spot, lots of the people I go to work with are bought out by some crime lord or another. I try to do what I can from the inside, but there's only so much one person can do. It's why I work with Nightwing on a lot of cases."

"He's the vigilante in Bludhaven, right?"

"Mhm. Used to be a Robin before going there. He's a lot of help with the local crime." It was exceedingly strange to talk about his vigilante life like this with someone who didn't have more than passing knowledge of him. "But what about you? I hear there's a vigilante in your town too."

"Yeah, we've got one. Phantom. He's a ghost, so opinion on him is pretty mixed." And there was something he'd been meaning to ask about.

"Hang on, ghost? You mean those touristy sites talking about "The Most Haunted City in America" weren't bullshitting?"

"Nope," Danny said, shaking his head with a tired smile. "Ghosts are very real, and we have the property damage bills and insurance plans to prove it."

"Is that why opinion on Phantom's mixed?"

"Yeah. There's a pretty big camp that isn't happy with the damage his fights cause, or just straight up think ghosts aren't sentient. But there's also a lot of people that he's saved, or that just think he's cool."

"What about you?" Dick asked.

"I mean..." Danny was very hesitant, looking at his hands as he spoke. "I... Ghosts are sentient, to get that out of the way. And yeah, he's caused a lot of damage over the years, but the ghost hunters would have caused a lot more. He's saved ghost hunters from ghosts before, and he pretty regularly has to save ghosts and regular people from ghost hunters so... I think he's just trying his best to protect everyone. Plus... i mean, it's kinda my fault he's here in the first place."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... my parents have a... a lab? In the basement. They're ectobiologists, and they spent most of their lives trying to build a portal to what they call the Ghost Zone. And they did, but it didn't really work at first. So I took a look at it, and... well, there was an accident. The portal turned on with me inside, and it's how I got my meta powers. But it also let Phantom and all the other ghosts through. So it feels kinda wrong to hate the guy when I'm the reason he's here in the first place."

Dick had a hard time parsing out that last part. On the one hand, there was a lot of truth to what Danny was saying. But he was still lying. There was something he was hiding.

"But to actually answer your question, I'm sort of on the fence about him." Danny was pretty clearly uncomfortable, and the Bat in Dick wanted to press for more information, find out all the pieces. The part of Dick that knew this could be his kid decided that a subject change was much needed.

"That's fair. Your boyfriend mentioned you were in a couple clubs. What are they?"

~~~

Danny and Dick chatted for another hour before Dick brought up DNA testing. It was a bit of an awkward moment, but it needed to be done.

"It's just a precaution. It wouldn't be the first time someone did something like this for less than genuine reasons."

"No I totally get it. it was the first thing I did when I found Ellie."

"I thought you said she was yours? Did you not know the mother?"

"Ah-" and Danny was shrinking in on himself again. "Well... she doesn't exactly have a mother? Dan either. Like I said, it's a long story involving my fruitloop of a godfather and-" Danny took a deep breath, and Dick did the same, trying to make the blood rushing in his ears quiet.

"Danny... what happened?" Danny took another breath.

"Ellie and Dan are both clones. There's... I know you're worried, but I'd rather not talk about it." Dick was certain Danny could hear the way his heart was thundering, demanding retribution for something the kid so clearly had found violating. Hell, the guy at the register twenty feet away could probably hear it.

"Of course. I'm sorry to have pried." Danny nodded.

"Anyway, yeah. I get the need for a DNA test. No worries."

"Okay. And... if it comes back positive, what would-"

"Breaking News! There's a ghost attack on 50th Street and Olsen Boo-levard. It appears Plasmius is set on destroying an ice cream parlor. Please, steer clear of the area. I repeat, steer clear of the area. Ghost hunters are on the way, so civilians are encouraged to stay off the streets. We will update as-"

"I have to go," Danny said, standing abruptly. "Do you have a way to call your wife? Make sure she's okay?"

Dick was already pulling out his phone, rushing outside. Kori had a panic button, as did Mar'i. Both were inactive as he looked, and he wanted to sigh in relief. Then both went active, almost in unison, at the intersection of 50th and Olsen.

"Danny, wait!" Dick said, striding to catch up with the boy. "Please, please tell me you drove here."

"No? I took the bus, and then we walked." Dick cursed.

"Okay. Okay, this is fine."

"What? What's wrong?"

"Kori and Mar'i are there," Dick said, heart squeezing. Danny went pale as... well, pale as a ghost. it almost looked like he wasn't breathing.

"Don't arrest me." Danny walked out the door, Dick following close behind. He watched Danny break the window of a nearby car, slipping in and hotwiring it in seconds.

"Do you know how to drive?" he asked, face an echo of what Dick's used to be when he was Robin.

"Yeah, I know-"

"Good, because I drive like my dad, and he believes in road safety as much as he does lab safety. get in, I'll nav." Dick didn't need to be told twice, though he did want to ask what exactly Danny meant by that.

Dick peeled the car out of the parking lot like a Bat out of Hell. Which, he reflected, might have been something that actually happened and no one mentioned to him.

Danny guided them through the city, having them stop in sight of the destruction. Kori was fighting off several green glowing vultures, the blasts she fired from her hands barely singeing the things. There was distant cackling, and Kori tried to dart further in, away from where Dick and Danny were exiting the car. The vultures knocked her off course, harrying her and preventing her from getting to where she was going.

Dick checked the locations of the panic buttons. Kori was right in front of him, but Mar'i...

"She's still in there," he breathed out. Danny turned to him.

"What?"

"Mar'i's still in there. I-"

"I'm going to find her." The kid wasted no time, running towards the conflict.

"Danny, wait!" Kori was a member of the Justice League, and she couldn't do anything to the creatures that were clearly just stalling her. Danny was a civilian, he was going to get hurt.

But he ran on, dodging the lone vulture that dove at him with what looked like practiced ease, continuing his sprint until he was out of sight. Dick cursed, following what might have been his son.

He saw Danny duck into an alley, just before a bright flash of light poured into the street. He turned the corner and...

There was Danny. But he was... wrong. Black hair had turned white. Casual clothes had been swapped for a black hazmat suit with white gloves and boots. He couldn't see the boy's face, his back turned, but he watched the boy take off out of the alley, phasing through buildings as he gained height and flew towards what was likely the epicenter of the destruction.

Dick shoved his confusion and dawning realization down, continuing in the direction Danny, no, Phantom had flown.

~~~

Danny should have known better. Today was going too well, so of course, of course, everything had to go wrong. He flew towards where his core tugged, where Mar'i was.

He found her, cowering against a destroyed wall as Vlad towered over her. "You know, I didn't think my little badger could have a heart for anything not his own flesh and blood. Perhaps, however, he could be persuaded to change his mind with a little... incentive."

He leaned closer, and Danny felt a flash of pride as Mar'i fired a small green bolt at his mortal enemy. Vlad, for his part, did nothing more than hiss. "You little brat!" He snatched Mar'i by one wrist before Danny could intervene, flying up, no doubt to try and find him.

"Ah, Daniel. What a lovely surprise." Vlad said, dangling Mar'i by a still injured wrist. "I was wondering when you'd show up. I must admit, I have a few questions for you."

"Sure, Vladdy," Danny said, savoring how the man snarled a little at the nickname Danny's dad had given him long ago. "Just set her down first and then we can talk all you want."

"Somehow, I doubt your sincerity," Vlad said, squeezing Mar'i's wrist until she whimpered. Danny's core ached at the sound, but he stayed where he was.

"What do you want?" he ground out.

"The answer to a simple question."

"And that is?"

"Why her?" Vlad spit, shaking Mar'i a little. "Why spend your time caring for some random girl you've never met? What is so special about her that you would let someone who shares no similarities to you whatsoever into your core, but you won't even consider letting me, your same species, mentor you?"

"Maybe because she isn't trying to kill my dad and fu- marry my mom, fruitloop!"

"I simply don't understand it, Daniel." Vlad said, the hand not holding Mar'i lighting up in fire. "But, that does not mean I am foolish enough not to take advantage of a situation such as this.

"You may either come with me, bring my children with you, and accept me as your mentor and rightful father, or-" he held the flame up by Mar'i face, her green eyes reflecting the pink flames. "She dies."

Danny froze. Everything around him froze too. The air dropped until frost formed on the rooftops above him, cement creaking at the sudden and drastic change. Mar'i's breaths came out in clouds of white as her breath condensed in the chill and she started to shiver.

"Honestly, little badger, enough of the temper tantru-"

Danny crashed into Vlad, pulling his flaming hand from Mar'i fast enough he thought he heard something in Vlad's arm pop. He let his legs dissolve into a shadowy tail that curled around her waist as his other hand began to squeeze down on the wrist Vlad was using to hold Mar'i.

"Get your filthy hands off my sister." There was a snap and Vlad cried out in pain. Danny knew from experience that the break would heal in moments, thanks to the ectoplasm, but it was enough time to grab Mar'i and bolt.

He searched for Dick with his core, startling when he found the man nearly directly beneath Vlad. She whipped down, depositing Mar'i in his arms with a quick "Get her to safety," before taking back off, intercepting Vlad halfway.

It had been a long time since Danny had felt the need to truly go all out against Vlad. The last time he had, it had been all he could do to keep the upper hand in the fight. This time, it was clear just how outmatched Vlad had become.

Danny did what he could to keep the fight in the air, but collateral damage was inevitable when Vlad used every chance he got to try and take pot-shots at Dick and Mar'i. It was his only bet if he wanted to get Danny to do what he wanted, since overpowering him was so clearly out of the question.

He even called his vultures in to try and help, though Danny made short work of them, souping them quickly and going back to Vlad before he had been able to get out of Danny's range.

When Danny could finally think straight again, he was standing over an unconscious Plasmius, thermos gripped tightly in his hand. He let out a breath, pointing the thermos at Vlad and letting the device pull him in. With the threat gone, he phased the thermos into his chest.

That had been... intense. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so furious without wearing the Ring of Rage. Then again, he was a protector spirit, and Vlad had been directly threatening his sister. It only made sense he'd-

Something hit him, burning into his back, and he cried out in pain, collapsing where Vlad had just been a moment prior. "Yes! Finally, we've got you, Spook!" Danny heard the voice of his Dad, turning to see both his parents, fully suited up, standing over him. Before he had the presence of mind to try and move, His mother held out another thermos with a sickeningly sweet smile and sucked him inside of it.

~~~

There were a lot of things going through Dick's mind as the fight wound down. First, the kid who may or may not have been his son was a vigilante. Which brought up all kinds of questions about whether or not the kid was alive or not, since the town vigilante was commonly considered a ghost.

Second, the person- ghost? Whatever. The entity that had cloned his maybe-son without his consent was not only the kid's godfather, but also likely did so in an attempt to convince Danny to be his son. Which was creepy, even by bat standards. Like, Ra's al Ghul trying to convince Tim to become his protégé, creepy.

Third, Danny's parents didn't know. At the very least, they didn't know about their son being maybe a ghost, since they'd pretty blatantly shot him in the back right after he'd captured the actual threat.

Which Dick had seen because he was coming back after leaving Mar'i with Kori to see if he could try and help, or maybe get some clarification from Danny about what the hell had just happened. He'd seen the confusion on the boy's face, followed by terror, and then he'd been sucked into some weird looking thermos thing.

"We did it, Maddikins!" Mr. Fenton said, whirling to look at his wife as she removed the hood and goggles of her hazmat suit.

"That we did, Jack! Oh, I can't wait to see what's inside of it! Just think of all the tissue samples we'll be able to collect! We can finally see what really makes a ghost tick!" The two turned back towards the amalgamation of parts and tech that could only loosely be called a car.

"I know! I'm just so excited! Last time the blasted thing got away, but not this time! We've beefed up our security, so there's no way it'll be able to get out! Oh! We'll need to remember the muzzle, so there's absolutely no risk of it manipulating us to let it go."

"Of course, dear. I've had it ready and waiting on the table since the last time it escaped."

Dick was almost glad the two piled into the car when they did. The doors slammed shut, cutting off his ability to hear their conversation and what a relief that was. Danny had mentioned some people thought ghosts weren't sentient. He had failed to mention that those people included his parents.

Dick pulled out his phone, calling a private number that only the rest of the family had. When the line clicked on, he didn't wait for the voice on the other side to speak.

"Tim, I need you to find out everything about the Drs. Fenton," he growled into the receiver, striding towards where he'd left Mar'i and Kori. "I'm opening a case."

He hung up without letting his brother speak a word. Right now, he needed answers and a safe place for his daughter. Lucky for him, the Manson household had both.

Hmmm

I'm on a Danny is Dick's child kick rn so I'm making more.

But lets add in some Ghost King Danny!, Dad to a deaged Ellie and Dan! And toddler Mar'i Grayson.

Danny was conceived during Dick's amnesia year when he was Ric and the woman couldn't find him to tell him (or maybe the Owls caught wind of the pregnancy and took her) and he ended up somehow (hmmm maybe a meddling time keeper?) with the Fentons.

Danny grows as a Fenton, he knows he was adopted btw, then becomes Phantom, protects Amity, becomes the Ghost King and things seem to be going okay between Amity Parkers and the Infinite Realms since they took care of the GIW problem, AND has been a good doting teen dad to his deaged 'cousins/clones' turned kids.

Danny was going to go pick his kids up from daycare one day when CHAOS happens. Just as he wrangles Ellie onto his shoulders, cause she wants to be tall today, and about to take Dan's hand cause he's and I quote "A big boy and not a baby like Ellie, Dad!" he suddenly feels the tug of his family being in danger.

Thing is, its a blood related danger. Meaning someone blood related to him was in grave danger, and by the emotions he can feel, its someone young, way younger than him.

Problem.

The only people Danny knows with his blood in their veins and are young enough for the feeling are with him.

So who?

But due to Danny being a protector spirit AND knowing the feeling is from someone as young as his own kids, Danny decides to use his Ghost King Powers to summon said person from the danger to him.

Danny opens his free arms out just as a tiny toddler with black hair like his own but with bright green eyes, even the sclera were green, in a ruined party dress drops from the sky from the summoning circle that had opened above him.

Danny stares at the terrified child, whose hands are tied by rope and was crying, and takes notes of certain traits she had that he saw every time in the mirror or on his own kids, same eye shape and cheekbones. He can tell his ghost core has claimed her as family but not as his kid though.

No the connection that formed was almost like his connection with Jazz but a bit stronger.

This kid, was his sister. His blood related one.

-Meanwhile-

Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing, and his family were freaking the fuck out.

Dick was already panicked when his daughter Mar'i had gotten kidnapped just a few hours ago by the Joker.

Now he was feeling pure dread when his daughter, who was about to be killed, was suddenly pulled into a strange glowing circle at the last minute and disappeared into thin air.

[allsteddie]

Eddie is the fun parent and Steve is the strict one, sure. But let’s talk about the times Eddie gets mad.

Their kids would be throwing tantrums or being difficult for the sake of being difficult and Steve would try to deal with them. A teenage daughter getting frustrated because Steve won’t let her go to a party everybody is going to that weekend because they’re supposed to visit grandpa Wayne back in Hawkins.

She tries to argue, to plead, but Steve keeps saying no. It’s been three months since they paid Wayne a visit and it’s his freaking birthday so, no, she can’t miss the trip and go to a party. And in the middle of their argument, their daughter screams “I HATE YOU!!” to Steve with such rage that Steve stops, stunned.

When he recovers from the shock, he just says, “Hate me all you want, you’re still not going to that party,” then leaves their daughter’s room.

Five minutes later Eddie comes in and closes the door quietly behind him. Their daughter is about to snap at him too, but she closes her mouth when she sees her Papa’s dead serious expression. He crosses the room and stops right before the bed, where their daughter is sitting, and looks her straight in the eye.

“Listen here, darling, you’re gonna put on the best regretful face you can, apologize to your father and you’re gonna mean it. Do you understand?”

“But—”

“Nah, ah. I don't think you're understanding. This is not a discussion, so I'm gonna say it again. You're gonna go downstairs right now, you're gonna apologize to your father and you're gonna mean it. Do. You. Understand?”

“Yes, Papa.”

“Good. You’re also grounded for however long I’m still pissed. So, if I were you, I’d be in my best behavior when we visit Wayne this weekend.”

(Nobody makes Eddie’s husband cry. Not even their own daughter.)

[lostbookmark]

MNDI 🔞

Main Masterlist here

Game Masterlist here

Summary: After the death of your brother and his wife. You find yourself adjusting to a new role in your life. A single parent to your teenage nephew. How do you help him heal? How do you help yourself heal? You're not sure. You don't think you can, until an annoying basketball coach enters your life and turns everything around.

Pairing: Basketball Coach Yoongi x Single Aunt F. Reader

Genre: Romance, Angst, Smut, Strangers to Lovers,

Warnings: Death Of Parents / Brother/ Family, Car Accident (Cause), Swearing, Explicit Sex, Arguments, Physical Fighting, Past Abusive Relationship, Talks Of Domestic Violence, Use of words, slut and whore. Sexual Harassment, talk of prescription pills. nightmares

A/N: Another filler chapter, another step closer to Yoongi learning her secret!.

“I think I'm going crazy,” Yoongi says, staring at his phone as he relaxes back on your couch for the night .

“What?” You ask, looking over at him.

“I think I need my glasses,” he says, squinting his eyes and you move closer to him on the couch cushions to look over his shoulder. “Is this your name on the sign up page for the mid-season banquet?”

“You're an ass,” you say, getting off the piece of furniture and stomping your way into the kitchen.

“I'm sorry,” he laughs, getting up to follow after you. “I'm just in shock. You're WILLINGLY going to volunteer, or did the mom's guilt you into it? Did they find out you're not actually a widow, and are they making you do it?”

“I did it all by myself,” you answer, crossing your arms over your chest.

Yoongi's mouth drops open just a bit, and then a look of smugness crosses over his face after a moment. Reaching out, he places his hand on the counter by you to lean into you.

“Did I give it to you that good the other night?” He smirks. “Does my dick hold that much power?”

You scrunch your face and lift your hand to his covered chest to where his nipple is located and effectively twist it. He swears lightly and covers the aching area as you glare at him.

“I'm just trying to support you,” you tell him. “You and Nicky, but if my efforts are just going to get me made fun of, I'll just take my name off of it.”

You reach for his phone, but he quickly holds it above his head, out of your reach.

“I'm sorry,” he apologizes again. “This is just…. unlike you.”

“Yeah, well…,” you drift off and look down at the floor. “I just want to be better for you.”

“Where the hell is this coming from?” He asks, bending slightly to look you in the eyes, and you just shrug one of your shoulders. “No, that's not good enough. Talk to me.”

“I just did a lot of thinking after meeting your friends…,” you start, but the look he shoots at you makes you stop talking.

“What exactly did you and Yeri talk about?” He questions.

“Nothing,” you lie, licking your lips, and it makes him smirk.

“WHO did you and Yeri talk about?” He asks, rephrasing his question.

“Well you clearly already figured it out,” you snap. “I'm sorry if I'm trying my best to be nothing like her.”

“You don't even have to try,” he argues. “You are nothing like her. I just don't want you signing up for things and being miserable.”

“But, I WANT to support you,” you promise him. “Just because I don't care about basketball …. I still care about you and Nicky.”

Yoongi wraps his arms around you and lifts you up on the kitchen counter. Looking at you more comfortably, he tucks some hair out of your face as you try not to look affected.

“I know you care about me,” he insists. “I also know you have a lot on your plate right now, and I'm not going to force you into things that make you uncomfortable. Banquets with the parents will probably be a nightmare for you.”

“Do you want me there?” You ask.

“I always want you there,” he answers.

“Then I'm going to be there,” you say, and Yoongi looks down at his phone again with a smirk.

“Can you even bake?” He questions after checking what you signed up for once more. “In the few months we've been together, I've never seen you bake a single thing.”

“I'm going to make my mom do it,” you inform him. “She loves doing that shit.”

“That's more like it,” he laughs, grabbing your face to mold your lips with his.

“Can we talk about no kissing in the kitchen?” Nicky says, pushing past the two of you to get to the refrigerator. “You're going to ruin my appetite.”

“You know you have been getting pretty mouthy lately,” you tell him, still sitting on the counter. “I don't like it.”

“I wonder where I get it from,” he says sarcastically, making you pull a face.

“I am not mouthy,” you argue and Yoongi snorts, causing you to shoot a glare his way. Fine, I am mouthy but you need to knock it off. It's not cute when it's aimed at me.”

“Then who can I aim it at?” He asks, and you turn your eyes to look at your boyfriend.

“Hey!” He exclaims, making you laugh. “Why are you ganging up on me?”

“Better you than me,” you answer, shrugging, jokingly.

“You know,” he says, leaning in close to your face. “There are still several open slots on the volunteer sheet for the banquet. Thank you for signing up for them.”

Yoongi smirks at you and unlocks his phone as you stare at him in disbelief. Nicky laughs as he carries on his mission to find a snack. You look between the two of them in a panic, not knowing if he was joking or not.

“You're joking, right?” You ask. Yoongi just smiles at you before walking away from you. “He's joking, right?” You ask your nephew who shrugs. “Yoongi, are you joking?” Hopping off the counter, you run out of the kitchen after him “YOONGI!”

“Cheesecakes, cookies, brownies, sheet cakes, mousses are all acceptable forms of desserts,” soup mom informs you.

“Yes, nothing that melts,” pizza dough mom says. “We can keep things warm, not cold.”

“Yeah, thanks for the advice,” you say, trying to scooch past them to enter the gym.

“I have a lot of recipes if you need them,” chicken parm offers. “BUT … it's okay if you want to use your own, of course.”

“I have it covered,” you say, backing away slowly. “I appreciate the offer, though.”

“Oh also,” soup mom continues. “Our mid-season banquet is pretty dressy.”

“Yeah,” you nod your head like you knew that. “Yeah I knew that. I'm good to go! Thanks for all your help, ladies.”

Hitting the gym doors with your back, you finally enter the gym and drop the fake smile. Walking quickly over to Mark, you sit down and watch the boys stretch on the floor. Yoongi and Jungkook both stand together, heads together, going over something in a huge white binder.

You sigh in defeat.

“How dressy is dressy when it comes to this banquet?” You ask, your friend.

“A suit and tie dressy,” he answers.

“But for me,” you specify. “What type of dress do I need?”

“One you wear,” he answers, not helping you at all.

A whistle blows, and all the boys line up against the wall. You bite your lip and try not to laugh out of panic. A dress you wear, he answers. What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

“Half way, back, all the way, back,” Yoongi instructs. “Dribble the entire way. If you lose control of your ball, it's a hundred push-ups. Do you understand?”

“Yes, coach,” they all answer in unison.

A dress you wear!

You're screwed.

911

You texted him fifteen minutes ago as you paced around your bedroom. You were so caught up in your stress, Yoongi scared the hell out of you when he came bursting into your bedroom, looking out of breath.

“Are you hurt? Is Nicky hurt? Who's in the hospital?” He asks all at once.

“What?” You ask, clearly confused.

“What?” He asks back.

“No one is hurt,” you say, shaking your head.

“What was the 911 for?” He asks, and you take his hand, pulling him to sit on your bed. “Did you have me rush over here so we could have sex?”

“You wish,” you say, moving to your closet and opening the door. “The banquet is less than four days away. I didn't know it was like … DRESSY. I thought it was only like a little dressy, but it's like DRESSY! ”

“You should really read things,” he stresses. “We use these banquets to teach the boys to be… professional and proper off the court. The parents need to set the perfect example of that.”

“I have NOTHING, Yoongi,” you say, taking a stack of hangers in your hands. “I have nightclub dresses that I use for free drinks,” you tell him, tossing the garments at him. “I have the dress you had a feast in.”

“Oh, I remember it fondly,” he laughs, catching the dress once you throw it at him.

“I have…” you start.

“Where the hell is the rest of the dress?” He asks, snatching the neon cutout dress from your hand.

“That's it,” you say.

“It's literally just strips of fabric,” he comments as he holds it up to inspect it. “There is no way this covers anything.”

“It covers enough,” you say, waving his concern away. “Then last but not least. I have a funeral dress.”

He looks up from your party, girl days, dresses to your black mourning dress, and shakes his head. Dropping the dress from your hand, you groan and fall face first onto your bed. Yoongi tucks his hands underneath you to turn you over to look down at you.

“I'm failing at this supportive girlfriend thing,” you say. “A good girlfriend would have been prepared. I should have a ‘mom’ dress, but no. Nope, I have slut and sluttier. How does it feel to be dating a whore?”

“Stop talking about yourself like right now,” he says, seriously. “You can get a new dress in time. I don't give a shit what you have in your closet.”

“Yeah right,” you say, sitting up to hold up the barely there neon cut-out dress. “You should have seen the look on your face when you saw this dress.”

“Yeah, because I kind of want to fuck you in it but … I'm a gentleman,” he says and you lightly push at his arm. “I'm serious though. I don't care about these dresses. They don't bother me.”

“I might have to miss a practice to go shopping,” you warn. “I can't miss work. Elly is training me to take over for her when she's gone on her honeymoon.”

“I can watch after Nicky,” he says like it's the most casual thing.

“I don't think that's a good idea,” you say, tapping him on the nose. “That would be suspicious. I'm sure my dad can take over for me.”

“They are going to have to find out eventually,” he says softly. “I don't want to hide you forever.”

“I know,” you agree. “I just want to cause problems for you.”

“You won't,” he promises. “I've told you before we know what the problem would be and if she tries something … she's gone.”

“Can we just,” you pause to think for a moment. “Make it through the season first. I don't want … us… to affect Nicky and his relationship with his teammates. I don't want anyone to think he gets special treatment because we're together. ”

“I get it,” he tells you, cupping your cheeks. “Get your dress. I'm sure whatever you get, you'll look great in it.”

“Okay,” you say softly.

“Now,” he says, picking up your little neon number. “Why don't you put this on and show me exactly what this covers.”

“I'm a parent now,” you tell him, taking it from his hand and standing back up from the bed. “I can't wear things like this anymore.”

“But…” you shake your head no stopping him.

“Sorry,” you shrug. “Guess, you should have met me like …. a year ago,” you tell him.

“That's not my fault,” he argues, standing up and stalks up to you, making you back up into your dresser. “Try it on for me.”

“Nicky is awake,” you push at his chest weakly.

“There's nothing wrong with just trying a dress on,” he informs you with a smirk.

“Thank you for your help, Coach Min,” you say, throwing your arms around his shoulders. “I think it's time for you to go.”

Yoongi drops his head onto your shoulder in defeat, causing you to laugh. This is what he gets for payback for scaring you about signing you up for more banquet shit. Revenge is so sweet sometimes.

“Here,” you say, handing Nicky a tinfoiled dish filled with a mix of chocolate chip and sugar cookies as you grab the other two pans of brownies and mini cheesecake cups. ‘I have the other two. Let's go.”

Carefully, you shut your car door with your hip and cautiously maneuver around the parking in your heels to get to the Heritage Center. For a ritzy building in a small town, their parking lot had pot holes the size of craters that was just waiting to take you down.

“I still have to pretend like you and coach aren't a thing, right?” He whispers.

“Right,” you confirm, walking stiffly. “How's my dress?”

“Nice, I guess,” he says. “It's a dress.”

“All you men are all the same,” you grumble as you make it to the building and climb the stairs. Pushing against the door, you and Nicky enter the historic building, and suddenly, once again, you feel as if you don't belong. The moms, who you only know by nicknames, all seem to be wearing black dresses that hit well below the knee. A few of them turn to look at the two of you, and you see how their eyes take in your lacy top burgundy dress that well, hits … above the knee.

“Oh, no,” you say more to yourself.

“What?” He asks.

“Nothing,” you smile at him. “Let's figure out where to put these.”

“It's further inside. I remember from last time when Uncle Chris and I were here,” he says and walks ahead of you, leaving you trailing behind.

As you walk further into the building, you enter the actual space setup for the dining area. Along the side, you see tables set up where you see covered dishes of what could only be food. Sighing with relief, he continues to lead the way over before you get cut off by Yoongi, grabbing both pans from your arms.

“You look beautiful,” he says.

“Thank you,” you say, stepping away from him.

He walks over to the tables, placing the desserts next to the cookies Nicky just placed down. Your nephew, however, was nowhere to be seen. Looking around, you spot him with a couple of his teammates sitting at a table by the stage at the front of the room.

“You think you're funny, don't you?” Yoongi asks, suddenly serious.

“I don't know what you mean,” you answer, feigning innocence. “Could you explain?”

“The two pictures you sent me,” he whispers, hands in his hips.

“You're the one who wanted to see me in the strappy dress so bad,” you remind him.

“What about the second one?” He asks next, and you tilt your head in confusion. “A couple of those straps were pulled down.”

“Were they?” You question. “My bad. I guess I shouldn't have sent them to you right before I left the house.”

Smiling, you leave him standing there as you walk away in search of … well …. nothing. Walking back out into the sea of parents, you exchange what you hope were pleasant smiles with some of them as you find an empty wall to lean against. Pulling your phone out of your bag, you watch your surroundings out of the corner of your eye. Watching as the parents mingle amongst themselves, talking and laughing with one another. Spying, as arms wrap, loving around waists and eyes sparkle under the lights.

Something inside of you clenches.

You've never felt so alone as you do at this moment.

“Hey, there you are,” Mark says, coming up to you.

“Look at you, looking all dapper,” you say, putting your phone away.

“I see you found a dress,” he comments. “Been here long?”

“No, thankfully,” you sigh.

“Yeah, I just got here too,” he says. “Jun got here a bit ago with his mom and her husband.”

“That sounds fun,” you say sarcastically.

“You know it,” he responds, checking his watch. “We should head in. We can get a table in the back before they fill up.”

“Good call,” he offers his arm, smiling, you slide your arm through his and he guides the two of you back into the dinning area.

As the two of you head toward a table in the back corner, you notice Yoongi do a double take as he not so subtly watches as Mark pulls your chair out for you. It makes you feel bad. It really does. You know nothing is going on. Mark knows there is nothing going on. You'll just have to make sure Yoongi knows nothing is going on. Hopefully, you can corner him sometime this evening.

“Which one is she?” You ask as you sit, tucking your dress under you. He nods his head across the room to where a pretty woman sat with a man. Nodding, you clearly recognize his son talking to them before walking off and joining his friends. “Hmmm.”

“What?” He laughs, sitting next to you.

“She downgraded,” you tell him.

“He's a doctor,” he tells you, amusedly.

“OOOOHHH, she's a gold digger,” you say, nodding your head.

“I'm a doctor,” he says, and you look at him with wide eyes.

“Are you really?” You ask.

“No,” he answers with a smirk. “I'm an electrician, but I scared you, didn't I?”

“You're so funny,” you say and nudge him with your elbow. “She's looking over here. I'm going to smile and wave.”

“Don't,” he hisses. “She'll know we are talking about her.” Lifting your hand, you wave, giving her your most dazzling smile. “You're ridiculous.”

“I hear that all the time,” you tell him as you hear your phone vibrate in your bag. Grabbing it, you unlock it, and immediately, your stomach sinks.

How's your date going?

“Damn it,” you say quietly.

“Yoongi?” Mark questions in confusion. “Why is Coach Min asking about a date?”

You flip your phone around quickly on your lap, hiding your screen, and you look at Mark. It's a look of pleading that he will drop the subject, but his look of confusion quickly turns to one of realization. “Oh my god. You and Coach Min.”

“Shhh,” you shush him. “Are you trying to start a riot? I can't run very fast in heels.”

“How long has this been going on?” He asks quietly as the other seats around you start to fill.

“A while,” you answer vaguely, and he shoots you a look. “Not long after he suspended me.”

“Damn,” he whispers. “Is that why Ara says he favors you?”

“She doesn't know,” you whisper harshly. “At least, I don't think she does. Also, he doesn't favor me.”

“I was just joking,” he says, putting his hands up in surrender.

The lights in the room dim as Yoongi steps up to a podium in front of the room. The light chatter in the room completely dies out as his presence demands everyone's attention. He didn't have to fight for their attention or their respect. He already had it. He earned it years ago, way before you, and you hope that you don't cause him to lose it all.

“Thank you all for coming here tonight,” he starts. “I wanted to start by congratulating the boys on an amazing season so far. Coach Jeon and I couldn't be more proud of how they have come together as a team to work as hard as they have. Next….”

“On a level of 1 to shit storm,” you whisper to your friend. “What would it be if our relationship came out?”

“Most won't care,” he whispers back. “You two have hidden it really well. However…”

“I know,” you agree.

“She can't go after the President's girlfriend,” he tells you. “But if looks could kill …. you'd be gone right now.”

Your eyes sweep around the room until they land on Ara and her husband sitting not too far away from you. It takes everything in you not to glare back at her. SItting up straight, you take a deep breath and try to focus your attention back on Yoongi, who was finishing his speech and making way for a guest speaker.

“It's none of my business,” he whispers. “But, did something happen between them?” You look at him, trying not to give anything away. “I always thought something was … off between them. She was constantly trying to be … I don't know … clingy, I guess with him, and I literally watched him run from her once before.”

“Don't make me answer,” you say, playing with your phone in your lap.

“Everything makes so much sense now,” Mark sighs.

“I didn't mean for this to happen,” you say. “I tried to scare him away, but for some reason…”

“I don't blame him,” he says. “I was going to ask you out, but you scared the hell out of me.” You laugh quietly at that. “Don't tell him I said that. He kind of scares me, too.”

“Your secret’s safe with me,” you promise.

“And so is yours,” Mark promises back.

Looking around the room, maybe Mark was right. Maybe the other parents wouldn't care that you and Yoongi were together. Maybe it would be freeing to let the secret out. Maybe you could have local dates instead of sneaking away after away games, hoping you don't get caught. It was a BIG maybe, but it was still a maybe.

Fixing your dress in the mirror, you walk out of the bathroom and head down the hallway, leading to the front of the building. It felt nice to get up and walk after sitting through three guest speakers and dinner. Unfortunately, you didn't get a chance to talk to Yoongi, and there was no way you were going to text him to knock it off about Mark. Texting can lead to miscommunication. It needs to be done in person.

“Well, hello again,” Ara's husband says, stepping beside you.

“What do you want?” You ask, crossing your arms and taking a step back from him.

“You don't need to be hostile,” he says, looking you up and down.

“And you don't need to be in my space,” you snap. “Go back to your wife.”

“Did Min not do it for you?” He asks with a laugh. “Moved on with Mark?”

“You can think what you want,” you say, turning away to continue your journey.

“Tell me,” he says, stopping you and backing you up against the wall. “After Mark, who's next, and where do I fall in your line up?”

You stare at him, jaw hard, teeth clenched.

“You'll never fall in my line up,” you grit out.

“Why's that?” He asks, leaning into, trapping you, making you almost feel claustrophobic.

“Because,” you laugh humorlessly, trying to calm your breathing. “Your dick isn't going to work.”

He raises an eyebrow in amusement.

Swiftly, you bring your knee up between his legs, effectively nailing him where it hurts the most. Dropping to his knees, he makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat as you flatten yourself back against the wall, heart racing.

“What's going on over here?” Jungkook asks, jogging over to the two of you.

“Fucking bitch,” he coughs out.

“Y/N,” Jungkook says softly, touching your shoulder.

“He…. he…” you don't finish before you bolt down the hallway and out the main doors.

You run around to the back of the building and tuck yourself into a corner. The light brick catches the material of your dress as you hide yourself, trying to make yourself small in the darkness. You haven't felt like this in so long. Why did you let him get to you? You should be beyond this.

You need to focus.

You need to breathe.

In and out.

In and out.

You're not in danger.

You handled it.

You were never in danger.

You handled it.

Sitting on the ledge of the building, you rest your head against the hard, rough surface and take in the cold, evening air. You can't believe you ruined this night for Nicky … for Yoongi. Why are you such a failure? Why do you ruin everything you touch?

“Y/N,” Yoongi calls out, and you cover your mouth as the tears escape. “Y/N!”

You don't say anything. You need him to go away. He has many more important things to deal with right now. You didn't need to be his burden right now.

“Doll, where are you?” He asks, voice sounding closer. Your hitching intake of breath, giving you away, has his footsteps hurrying against the fallen leaves on the ground, making them crunch under his weight. Out of the corner of your eye, you see him round the corner and push yourself further into the corner of the building. “Doll?”

“I'm sorry,” you say, weakly.

“What happened?” Yoongi asks, trying to pull you away from the building, but you shake your head at him so he stops. “Kook is dealing with Ara and her husband. He won't let me anywhere near that son of a bitch.”

“I'm sorry,” you say again. “I ruined tonight.”

“You didn't ruin anything. No one knows anything is going on,” he promises. “Everyone is enjoying dessert and talking. Now, what is going on?”

Yoongi takes off his suit jack and maneuvers it around your shoulders.

“He … called me a slut,” you tell him, not meeting his gaze. “He trapped me against the wall, asking me when it was his turn. So, I kneed him.”

“That mother fucker,” he spits out and stalks away from you.

“Yoongi, don't” you say, chasing after him. “Everyone is here. The boys are here.”

“I can't NOT do anything,” he says, continuing his journey back into the building.

“Yoongi,” you plead.

“Not this time,” he says, walking away from you.

Following after him, the two of you enter the building once more and enter a small room that you hadn't noticed before. Right away, you notice Jungkook getting berated by Ara while her husband stood there silently, letting it all happen. It wasn't until she saw you that she was ready to turn her fury to you, but Yoongi was ready.

“I have the code,” Yoongi said. “Let's bring up the security camera.”

“EXCUSE ME!” Ara snaps, stepping up close to him. “Are you calling my husband a liar? She threw herself at him, and when he turned her down, she attacked him.”

Yoongi pursed his lips and cocked his head to the side.

“Then the footage will tell us exactly that,” Jungkook says.

“No,” her husband says, pulling her back to his side.

“No?” Yoongi questions, running his tongue over his teeth. “Why not? If Y/N physically ‘attacked’ you unprovoked at a sports function, she will be kicked off the team. Kook, bring up the footage.”

“I said no,” he snaps. “Ara, get our kid and let's go.”

Her husband storms out of the room, and Ara looks furious as she watches him go. Turning back, she looks at Yoongi, and you swear you could see steam coming out of her ears.

“You better count your lucky stars that I don't kick you off the team for this,” Yoongi hisses at her.

“I didn't do anything,” she snaps.

“If I ever see your pathetic excuse of a husband anywhere near Y/N or my team again, you are gone, Ara.” Yoongi informs her.

“He should be allowed to see his son play,” she argues.

“And Y/N shouldn't be afraid that he's going harass her again for the THIRD time,” he growls. “I suggest you go get Jake, go home and think … really think if this is something you want to continue.”

“What happened to you?” She asks. “You changed after she came along. Things used to be so good around here.”

You put your head down at her words, unwilling to meet anyone's looks.

“Go, Ara,” Yoongi points to the door until she finally gives in and walks to the exit of the room. “Also, I think this is probably his last season.”

“Are you kidding me?” She glares at him.

“Players are complaining about him,” Yoongi tells her. “He doesn't want to listen or focus. He doesn't want it anymore. Frankly, I think we are all wasting our time.”

She stands there at the door and laughs, but clearly, it's not out of amusement. Looking over at her, you see her look between you and Yoongi as if she was trying to dissect what was going on between the two of you. Her eyes zero in on his jacket around your shoulders and it's as if realization sets in. Nodding her head, she leaves the room and leaves the three of you standing in an awkward silence as the door slams shut behind her.

Shit!

You think she figured it out.

“...... invited the whole team. So, can I go?” Nicky asks as you walk into your house.

“What?” You ask, clearly not paying attention to what he was saying. “I'm sorry. Can you say that again?”

“Are you okay?” He asks, throwing his suit jacket on the chair and kicking his dress shoes careless off.

“... Yeah,” you nod.

“You know my counselor at school says it's okay not to be happy all the time,” he explains. “You can even be happy, sad, and mad all in the same hour, and it's completely fine.”

“Well, are you happy?” You ask him, and he nods.

“Yeah, I'm happy right now,” he answers. “Are you happy right now?”

Pause.

Do you lie?

Fuck, you're tired of lying.

“No,” you whisper, eyes watering. “I'm not.”

Your nephew wraps his arms around your shoulders and gives you a pat on the head. You're not sure why, but it makes you laugh and cry at the same time. What did he become old enough to try and comfort you?

“And that's okay,” he tells you, repeating words he learned from his guidance counselor. “Now, like you always tell me. Go to bed, you need sleep.”

“But…” you try, wiping your eyes.

“Goodnight,” he says, dismissing you.

“Nice try,” you say, pointing your finger down the hall before you lock the front door and making your way down the hall into your own bedrooms. You look in the mirror hanging above your dresser and sigh. “It's okay. It's okay.”

It's still not okay.

It's never going to be okay.

No matter how much you lie to yourself.

Your wet hair hangs over your shoulders as you sit in the middle of your bed. Your look at the orange pill bottle in your hand. Sleep didn't come easy on nights like these. You haven't used the sleeping pills hidden away in your bathroom in forever. In fact, you hate them. You think that they make your nightmares worse. They make your monster in the closet seem all too real in those dreams. You would just rather deal with the insomnia, but tonight was … bad. It was just so fucking bad. You just wanted to sleep but you didn't want to risk it. You didn't want to risk seeing him … not Ara's husband but … him, Jay. Sucking in a shuddering breath, you lean your forehead against your hand, examining the bottle in your hands. Letting out a silent cry, you close your hand around the object. How can such a small object that will dictate how hellish your night will go?

“Doll?” Yoongi asks, coming into your bedroom. Your head snaps up, tears flowing down your cheeks, and knuckles white around that orange container. “Nicky texted … I used the spare key…”

“Yoongi,” you cry.

You don't even register that he moves from the doorway before his arms are wrapped around you and you're sitting in his lap. You wrap your arms around his shoulders tightly, pressing yourself as close as you could to him. You needed his warmth, that warmth you had at the bonfire. The one you had on the nights he spent the night with you. Your arms slide under his shirt, finding his bare skin, seeking his warmth there.

“Hey,” he says. You shake your head. He gently takes your arms and pulls you away from him so he can look at you. “Look at me, doll. What's going on? Kook said you looked scared and frozen earlier. Honestly, you scared me too … you still are.”

“I'm sorry,” you whisper.

“What's this?” He asks, taking your occupied hand in his, opening it to reveal your pill bottle.

“I can't sleep sometimes,” you tell him.

“It's okay,” he tells you. “It happens. Sometimes, we need help to sleep.”

“No,” you shake your head. “You don't understand. They give me nightmares.”

“Doll, nightmares aren't real,” he says gently with a small smile.

“Mine are,” you whisper back, and his smile fades, staring at you seriously.

“Well,” he licks his lips and takes the bottle from your hand before placing it on your nightstand. “Let's try not using them then. Let's lie down, try to sleep, and see what happens.”

You move off his lap and watch as he lies down on his side facing you, waiting for you. Taking a deep breath, you lie down facing him, pressing yourself as close as you can get to him once again. His leg slides comfortably between yours, and your hand finds your way up the back of his shirt once more. Searching for that warmth.

“How long can we stay like this?” You ask, face pressed against the soft fabric of his shirt.

“Forever,” he whispers into the hair at the top of your head.

Closing your eyes, you finally feel that warmth and you'll be damned if your ever going to fucking lose it.

You're going to keep it.

Forever.

《Chapter 16》

Tagged Readers

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[ysrjune]

SCOTT BARRINGER X PREGNANT READER @ MT. HORIZON.

• Scott isn't pleased to hear that you're pregnant. He knows that this falls on him for the most part because he didn't use protection, but he's still upset. Despite the way he feels, he does the right thing and stays with you.

• He has now become even more protective of you. Anyone who dares to make any sort of joke about you or the baby growing inside your tummy is 100% getting checked by him. Your pregnancy isn't a joke to him, and he won't let anyone else take it as one either.

• Shelby and Juliet are upset once they find out you've been knocked up by Scott. The guy they both had before you. They don't exactly like each other, but they do enjoy talking about you.

“She probably trapped him.” Shelby rolls her eyes. “Yeah. There's no way Scott wanted to stay with her. She did this on purpose, knowing that he'd stay because he'd feel bad..”

Even though Jules is jealous, she's not that bad. If she sees that you're having trouble because of the baby, she'll put on a fake smile and warm tone and help you out. She's mad at you, not the baby.

Shelby, on the other hand, will just stare and smirk, watching you struggle with whatever you're doing. “Should have thought twice before deciding to let him do it without a condom.” She says while passing by you.

• Peter and the other counselors let Scott into the girls' cabin ONLY because of you. He told them that if anything were to happen to you and he wasn't the first one to know, he wouldn't feel right. He needs to know how you are 24/7.

• He ignores all the girls in the cabin if they aren't talking to him about stuff the group is going to do the next day or during the day. He's also not in the cabin much. If you're not in there, it makes him uncomfortable to be in there all by himself with the other girls.

• None of the girls can ever hear what he says even if they're a bed away from you and him. Scott talks in a very low voice because he doesn't want them to know what he's saying. He keeps your business on the low: Appointments, the day that you and him are leaving Horizon for the day of your baby shower/gender reveal, and the gender of the baby.

• When the guys ask him what the baby is, he simply shrugs and says he doesn't know, and you won't tell him because it's a surprise. He doesn't want to get into the "Well what if it's a girl and when she's this and that -" blah blah blah. He doesn't want to discuss it with them. Although he's glad that you're having a boy, he would be okay with a girl.

“What should we name him?” You ask. “Definitely Junior.” Scott winks with a chuckle. “Oh, sure.” You roll your eyes. “Be serious, Scott.”

“Matthew?”

“That's my ex-boyfriend's name.”

“Oh, right.” Scott icks at the reminder. “Something with an L? I like L names.”

“Landon? Lawrence? Leslie?”

“Leslie?” He almost looked offended. “No. No to all of those. What about Leonardo? That's not a bad name.”

It was really that easy and quick to choose the baby's name.

• Waking up at three in the morning in a rush to go tell one of the counselors that you needed to go to the hospital ASAP because you were in labor was not fun at all. He was so stressed and tired.

• He had to stay at Horizon while you were taking care of Leo back at home. He wasn't happy at all about it, but his parents and the staff of Mt. Horizon thought it was best for him to get better before really becoming a father. He thinks it's so stupid because you and Leo need him. He has a fear of Leo not remembering who he is.

• Thankfully, you and Leo are allowed to visit every Saturday. Scott thinks that he should at least get both days out of the weekend, but if this is what he has to deal with, he accepts it.

@bxbyysstuff @anakinstwinklebunny @lovethestarrs @valloos @anisangeldust @xo-yaaaaaas-xo @anakinca @dollfilmz @gothams-sweetheart @sockiess @sythethecarrot @speaknow-sw @loveamira @alealuvshayden @mvst4far @prettiestmini @amiratheangel @blckberrie @literally-izzyy @litt1e-misssunsh1ne @chanelluvstvd @hearts4sammonroe @fratbrochrisgf

[nanenna]

Sour Apple Rock Candy

Danny frantically searched as he flew through Metropolis, Clark was in trouble and he needed to get there quick. It didn't take long to find him, collapsed in a heap on a rooftop, an empty power suit nearby, and between Clark and the suit stood Lex Luthor holding a fist sized lump of glowing green crystal. Ugh! This was why it had to be Danny and not any of the others.

Danny’s red boots crunched on the crusty rooftop as he landed next to Clark, "Dad!"

"Nova," Clark gasped out.

"Well, if it isn't Supernova," Luthor said in a voice that sounded too much like Vlad. "Careful there, wouldn't want to get too close to this." He held the ominous crystal higher.

Internally Danny cheered, he knew exactly what he was going to do. Externally though he had to keep his shit together. He made uncomfortable eye contact with Luthor, keeping his face as blank as possible as he walked towards the bald man.

"W-what?! What are you-" Luthor's feet stuttered as he took a few steps back, not nearly quick enough to get back to his power suit before Danny was standing uncomfortably close to him.

"There's something you don't know about me, Luthor," Danny said sternly.

"What?" Luthor asked, clearly having trouble processing what just happened.

Danny leaned forward and opened his mouth wide, then took a bite out of the chunk of kryptonite. He grinned far too wide and let his eyes flash green as he looked up at Luthor, "I'm adopted."

"You're…" Luthor stared blankly at the half eaten crystal in his hand.

Danny straightened and plucked the whole rock right out of Luthor's limp fingers, unhinging his jaw so he could toss the whole thing in. It wasn't easy or fun to do that in his human form, but it was worth it to see Luthor's brain shut down in real time.

"Mmm…" Danny said as he chewed what was essentially ghost rock candy. "Tangy, juicy, fruity… sour apple? Not my favorite flavor."

"You're… adopted…" Luthor said blankly.

"Yup," Danny popped the P, hoping to keep Luthor distracted while Clark recovered. "And this isn't even a recently discovered survivor of Krypton type deal, I'm not Kryptonian."

"Then what are you?" Luthor sounded genuinely curious.

Danny grinned even wider, showing off a row of razor sharp fangs, "Human, of course."

"Human," Luthor sounded like he didn't believe that.

"Born and raised here on Earth, human parents, human friends, red blooded human through and through."

"You are not!"

"Oh Lexie, I can call you Lexie can't I? Oh Lexie," Danny floated up high enough to easily pat Luthor on his bald head, "any human can do this. It's not my fault you haven't unlocked your full potential yet."

"Supernova," Clark said warningly as he grabbed the back of Luthor's shirt and lifted him up, but the twinkle in his eye told Danny he wasn't in any real trouble.

"Feeling better, Dad?"

"Much. Now to just take care of him."

"Put me down this instant!" Luthor demanded.

"Dad, can I keep the robot? I wanna see if it has any more rock candy hidden in it." And take it apart for parts, it would be so much fun to tinker with.

Clark made a show of thinking it over, "Sure, bring it to the Fortress."

"Yes!" Danny did an aerial fist bump before zooming over to his new pet project.

rambling under the read more

So I have an idea for a fic, and then I have an idea for the sequel to this unwritten (not even started yet) fic that's mostly vibes and THIS scene. Considering my track record for finishing longer fics uh... that's probably never happening, so have this scene sans context.

I do think Supernova is too perfect a name for Danny!

Confuses people into thinking he's a Super, which is great when that's his goal!

Space!

It's not just a star or even a dead star, it's specifically a star's death. The moment of a star dying, too perfect for the boy caught eternally between life and death.

For his costume I'm thinking something like the manty-less more modern versions some of the Supers wear. Main color would be navy blue (as opposed to the sapphire blue the rest wear), a yellow starburst outlined in red on his chest, and red boots/gloves (unlike Kryptonians Danny does have fingerprints to worry about). Maybe some yellow accents. He does go out in human form like this so he can spend time hanging out with his new family both in and out of costume. It doesn't hurt his power suite is pretty convincing to anyone who doesn't spend an extended amount of time hanging with Nova. (So other heroes he hangs out with know something, but not everything.)

He can and does still go ghost when needs to lay down a particularly brutal smack down, or when it's something ghost related.

[sleepyheadnat]

Every interpretation of Ragatha's behavior (in light of recent revelations) I've seen so far has been different from my own. I thought I'd share my take then!

We now know Ragatha grew up with an abusive mother who demanded way too much from her and was probably emotionally unstable and emotionally unreliable—"I sure don't miss all the yelling." The thing with children with "time-bomb parents", though is that they sometimes end up taking it upon themselves to try and be the "glue that holds the parts together". All you want is a peaceful family and you trick yourself into thinking that you can make that happen, you can fix your parents, your siblings, etc., and finally achieve the familial stability you dream of.

That might mean becoming preachy and self-righteous because you're constantly trying to direct people towards the "right" behavior that will lead to the peaceful family you wish for. That might mean rushing to diffuse every conflict because you never learned to deal with that in a healthy way—you were a child, every conflict was armageddon. That might mean not being in touch with your emotions because you only ever worried about what is the "right" and "proper" and "safe" thing to feel, not what is actually real. That might mean becoming selfish because, at the end of the day, you only ever lived in survival mode, only ever thinking about what you need, what you want, and how to get others to act in the way that will benefit you—sometimes, even glossing over others' feelings and reasons for being in conflict (you just want the conflict to end).

I think that description fits Ragatha quite well.

[thatbitchery]

On Today's episode of me doing everything but the thing I actually get paid to do, here's some subtle things that tell you're a people pleaser

Explaining yourself when there's no consequence to being misunderstood. In fact in my books this is a sign of a weak backless wet tissue person. The people pleaser need to be understood has roots in trauma and bla bla as does everything but I find it the most disgusting because why are you doing that. When you rush to clear your name when there's literally no consequence to it not being cleared you give off such submissive vibes and mark yourself for bullying and you'll find the more you explain yourself the more you get misunderstood. People don't misunderstand you because they don't have adequate information they do it because it makes them feel bigger and stronger. And when you play into it you just feed into the monster. If they wanted to understand you they'd have looked for the truth before making baseless accusations.

Arguing. I'm going to need you all to stop doing this why are you so intent on being right? We've talked about this before, everyone else is right. You are wrong. Argument is sibling and husband/wife privilege everyone else is 100000% right let it go. STOP engaging people's egos pls. If you don't share parents or a contact in AG joining you in matrimony they literally do not matter. Spouse or sibling. Everyone else is right.

Apologizing every time someone alludes you've made a mistake. I see this in eastern pop culture where Thai/Korean/ China stars apologize everytime the fans say they're wrong and just cringe. Pople deciding you are wrong does not equal you are wrong and even if you're wrong so what? Every ongoing or retired people pleaser knows once you start apologizing you'll never stop people will start finding fault in the way you talk walk breathe exist have skin etc. I'm not saying never apologize I'm saying unless you can clearly see you were wrong don't. More often than not it works in your favor it made Jordan Peterson millionaire and public figure from a random professor. It works in your favor to not always apologize and against you to act like a mindless thing that can't think for itself. See what it did for Andrew Tate? Nicki Minaj? It's always better to be the villain than the hero. I told y'all from day one I am a gold digging lying narcissistic misandrist witch and I have never once strayed from it I said I hate men I said I am a gold digger I said I only care about myself and I believe in the stars is it not clicking? So you know not to try and virtue signal me I don't even have virtues and I don't apologize. I said fuck you and your god now what. What are you going to do? Make a post? Its better to be the villain than to be the good girl always. I said exactly what I said. What about it? What's the worst you can do?

Giving your two cents in everything, even things that don't concern you. I understand why celebrities care about Palestine why do you? HuMaNiTariAn yes people pleaser. You fake goody two shoes i saw you with an iPhone and Apple is contributing to the war throw it away. NO? HM. Who cheated on who is none of your business

In conjunction with above, picking sides on things that have nothing to do with you. Especially this one lol. This one actually because i literally learned about it in class.

Trends.

Changing your opinion when it gets opposition. This especially is funny to see on this app when you get one disagreeing reblog / comment and all of a sudden you agree. Is the backbone in the room with us? Mind you its a website on the internet I don't even want to think about in real life. If you are someone that changes your opinion without thorough convincing and facts and reports we can see that wet tissue back from this side of the planet. This ties to no.1 because you are trying to escape consequences that don't even exist. What will we do, block you? And then? Do we pay your bills? lol.

Caring about people that you know for a fact if the cards were reversed wouldn't care about you. As an African IDGAF about world wars because we have been having literal genocides and I didn't see one single #freecongo so wtf is Palestine? what is Iran? Give me my coke bro idc. So YoU dOnT caRe BecAuSe- yes exactly. exactly. wipe each other off the face of the earth for all I care. If the cards were reversed- they have been for 20 years- and no one has cared. I'm not donating matter of fact I'll rob you stop. This is how men gage you btw. This is how men know if you matter or not. This is what Shera7 has been trying to get you to see from day 1. If the cards were reversed, they'd leave you to die. This is what Khanyi Mbau was trying to say in that one clip. Y'all do too much for people that would leave you to die for fun.

Having no hobbies. Because?????????????????

Stan culture. Fan I understand, but stan? we lost a sister.

Not wanting compensation for effort. This one omg. That 'good girl' shit will have you door matted please. You put your effort / knowledge / etc you get paid. Be a gold digger that matryrdom will just leave you dead and broke. This is also how men trap you into free labor. Men and the corporate world. If the paycheck is for x do x and go game if they want Y weaponize incompetence or get paid for Y. Be a gold digger. Want money. Let it be known yes I love money pay me or let me be why are you taking pride in not being paid? Demand compensation. DEMAND. People really take pride in being free donkeys. At LeasT I'm nOt a GolD digGer YoU onLy CaRe AboUt MoneY yes? Yes?? At least I'm a gold digger? YoY WaNt MoNeY you dont??????????????????????????????

Buy Me A Coffee

[malfiora]

OH BOY DO I HAVE FEELINGS.

1. Love is complicated.

We have to start here.

In the English language, and thus in American culture (where we must situate these boys since these are kids raised in the US, written by US authors) we really only have one word for this emotion (with add-ons to try and get more precise), and the word you use for your mom or granddad is the same as the one you use for your friends and siblings and the same as the one for partner. This feeling is messy and complicated and not discreet and definitely not logical. These boys love each other, and that comes with the complexity and messiness that love engenders. That complexity isn't despite the love — it is proof of the love.

And their patterns of behavior demonstrate that this love is multifaceted. Sometimes it looks like father/son (very very early on, as I explained in my mutualism post), and of course fraternal, but also infatuation (e.g. Jason's obsession with him and Dick being partners, Dick looking through Jason's dating profile).

2. "They don't entirely love or hate each other."

My beloved friend is right. As usual, the truth is somewhere in between. Yes, they have a mutual devotion to and admiration of each other. And also, there's definitely resentment there, too. As sunlitlemonade points out, Jason dealt with the pressure of living up to Dick's example, for better and worse. In the pre crisis run, the moments after Jason officially inherits the suit, he grows somber. He had wanted this thing for so long and when he finally gets it, he seems almost regretful about it. His very first villain as Robin is a guy who wants to kill him because he (Crazy Quilt) thinks Jason is Dick. Mistaken identity has been a core part of his experience from the beginning. On the other hand, in the post crisis run, Dick doesn't have a choice in Jason becoming Robin (a cruel twist imo I wish they had kept the original run but eh, I'm asking for way too much from the people who keep calling Jason the angry Robin), plus, as sunlitlemonade said, Jason was adopted before Dick (for very good reasons but it probably still hurts).

And to top it all off: their moral alignment has diverged. Jason no longer abides by the no-kill rule that Dick has organized his entire life around — that's bound to be messy lmao. Plus they both have markedly different perceptions of their relationships with Bruce now (though I'd argue that they're similar relationships, at least in terms of abuse and victimization and toxic projection, but that's a whole separate topic).

They can't stay away from each other but they find ways to hurt each other in ways that others can't or don't. And there is still love. (See also: my post about conflict.)

3. "They can't shake the feeling of kinship. Was it the Robin suit?"

Father/son vs. older/younger brothers archetypes.

I'm making this its own point because I feel it's important to explain why I alluded to a father/son paradigm for these two. As I explained in my mutualism post, this is the original concept that DC had for their relationship — Dick was fully prepared (emotionally, not logistically lmfao) to adopt Jason after Jason's parents died. He saw his own grief in Jason and wanted to be there for him. While this has obviously been retconned, the resulting themes have not been. In fact, each retelling of their meeting seems to double down on it. There is a pattern of inheritance that bears itself out in 3 ways:

Jason inherits Dick's Robin suit.

Jason resembles Dick to such a degree that other characters mix them up / point it out, even those who know them personally (looking at you, Donna).

Brothers in Blood reveals that they both subconsciously view Jason as Dick's successor (i.e. the moment Dick thinks about quitting being Nightwing, Jason shows up as Nightwing and shit gets really weird).

It is apparent that the narrative is trying to draw our attention to a top-down relationship here. However, there is clearly a fraternal relationship here, as well. Dick's sense of identity shifts completely into this mentor/big brother figure when Jason enters his life, almost immediately rallying with Jason and conspiring (innocently) against Bruce, offering himself as a resource, and reassuring Jason that he's doing fine as Robin. He triples down on this with Tim. When Dick returns from being "dead" Jason is upset that Dick would lie to a fellow Robin (brother) — and, importantly, Tim agrees. So there's also a horizontal relationship here. When Jason needs help, he asks for Dick — who shows up even without knowing the context or even always believing that Jason is acting in good faith.

It's not an either/or — it's a both/and. Messy, complicated, love, and hate. It's all there, you can't separate it.

4. That word "partners."

I have to throw this in here: Partner is an interesting word. It comes in many forms. Generally, it can be either professional, platonic, or romantic. With these two, honestly that word can mean any combination of the three. And when I say that that includes "romantic," I do mean that, and I do mean the alternative definition of romantic (i.e. invoking lofty, idealized emotions). It is very interesting to me, therefore, that Jason straight up asks Dick to be his partner twice: once in Brothers in Blood, and again in Battle for the Cowl. Makes you wonder which definition he meant by that, exactly.

That's all I got for now. Will update with links if I find them appropriate. @sunlitlemonade I hope you don't regret showing me your post.

i feel like ppl are always on one extreme abt dick & jason's relationship....... like idk how to tell you but they don't entirely hate or love each other. thats not how they work. they barely know each other and yet can't shake the feeling of kinship they feel. was it the robin suit? bruce? guilt? what-ifs? wishful thinking for things to be different? where did they get cut for the trail of blood to mix up and end up in the same grave? the same dead dream of a brotherhood? was it because of those things or despite them that the stream of their lives cannot seem to diverge no matter what happens? just shut up and let them be complicated.

[julietcpulet]

Hi! It's me again 🤣

Thanks for the solid response! I appreciate it. It reminded me of what Joka said to Maomao in Volume 13, where she emphasized that Maomao shouldn't just be content with receiving in the relationship, but that she also had to become her best self. I believe Joka's words instigated Maomao's actions (as also seen in Volume 5). Maybe my interpretation of the situation is mistaken for taking her attitude toward her blood clan at face value. But to be fair, her dislike for nobility, status, and her clan has been consistent for the past 16 volumes, which is why it just felt so sudden to me that she started behaving like one out of nowhere. Especially when in Volume 14 she still states she does not consider herself part of the La clan.

I think the reason this strikes me as unfair is because Jinshi faces a similar predicament. Both of them dislike being forced into certain positions (the throne for Jinshi and the La Clan's Princess for Maomao), yet we root for them for different outcomes. We want Jinshi to be abdicated, so why do we want Maomao to accept her "rightful" place? I know it's essential for her growth and character, but something about this just seems to rub me the wrong way.

Then again, if they were to strip away their noble relations, they would simply become commoners, and I'm not really a fan of that ending. Maomao even brings this up with him in Volume 16, though my knowledge is based solely on leaks. This is why I agree with your point about them making compromises for their relationship. Part of me believes Maomao is willing to make this compromise only because Jinshi's love for her is overwhelming (for her), making her feel she has nothing else to offer in return (LN 12). But also because it comes with many benefits career-wise.

In fact, I think the next hurdle Maomao has to face is her communication with Jinshi. She's willing to take this risk and accept his feelings, but I don't think he's aware of how far Maomao is actually willing to go. He still doesn't want to inconvenience her, which is why he's willing to let her go if the worst-case scenario happens. Perhaps the answer to their problems will be the same: they'd get married, not as a royal nor a commoner, but somewhere in-between (still nobility). A compromise.

I am so sorry this became long but I really love reading your analysis for this series, so I just had to turn to you! I hope you don't mind.

Oh I don’t mind at all, so glad you liked the response! And don’t worry about long responses, as you can see I have no problem with writing haha, just may take me a bit to reply cause I want to be thorough 😄 (Spoilers below)

To me the reason there’s no unfairness in Maomao’s elevation vs Jinshi’s demotion is because of what each position does for the person. Where it’s been clearly shown that Jinshi will only be destroyed as the Emperor due to his kindness, like Maomao noticing he loses sleep and overworks himself, Maomao is elevated by being in the La clan, she thrives at being able to provide things for herself and to move amidst these higher ranks where before she couldn’t without having to seek out someone else’s assistance.

Also I think the reason we root for Jinshi to not be Emperor is because, while he has good leadership qualities, the palace is a source of constant strife and a lack of meaningful relationships for him. He doesn’t even know his true relationship to his parents and his once more friendly back and forth with Gyokuyou is now contentious because she wants Maomao back in her service but believes he’s making that difficult in pursuing her as a wife. And of course the biggest relationship hindrance between him and Maomao, where they’re unable to marry and have children because of the risks to her life and him being sucked into succession talks which has kept him from being as affectionate with her as he’d like to be out of respect. So we look at his situation and see only misery and obligation keeping him there where he is vs if he were to walk away or at least take a lesser position he could be free to be with the woman he loves and maybe surrounded by genuine friends and relationships.

For Maomao in contrast entering the clan comes with being surrounded by family who are welcoming to her even if it’s an odd dynamic. She and Lahan’s brother are on good terms, Lahan functions as a brother and they bicker like siblings even if she wants to act like she doesn’t like him all the time and Lakan is her father who is willing to dote on her despite not being best at understanding her, not to mention Luomen who would then officially become her family not just by adoption. I do also really see her rejection of the status as her personality quirk of continual denial when most of the time she’s already doing said thing she denies. Like knowing who Jinshi was when she kept saying she didn’t know. She already has functioned in her capacity with the La Clan several times just fine and is even developing a taste for the finer things yet continually says she doesn’t like it or is against being nobility. As I mentioned I think this is because there are more personal reasons why she wouldn’t want to accept, like feeling separated from the Verdigris House or what she’s become accustomed to than it is necessarily the position itself.

This is all speculation on my part of course and I don’t know what the author’s real intentions with the plots are but I also think this is one of those times where Apothecary Diaries does good flipping things on its head. Where we expect to see the man in power have all the enjoyment and privilege but he’s actually the most miserable and we want him to get out of that position due to his lack of freedom and ability to have fulfilling relationships. On the flip side we expect that the serving woman would have the saddest life with no possibilities but that isn’t the case. Maomao so far has been the most free of the two of them and the one with the possibility for advancement open to her so we want her to succeed and take those opportunities so she can have the life she wants. To me that’s the deeper aspect to this Jinshi leaving royalty and Maomao stepping in story is the underlying dynamic of really upending our expectations about who has real freedom and not taking everything at face value.

As for Maomao entering the La clan as a compromise because she sees Jinshi’s love as overwhelming compared to her own and she’s not sure what she can give, I do get that sentiment and I think if she could believe this were a compromise on her part to meet him where he’s trying to do so much for her and them to be together, that could be a good thing and not a bad one. It would show she’s willing to do something uncomfortable and put herself in a position she may not like as much for the sake of someone else who’s been doing the same for her for years at this point, which Jinshi has. The idea would be that in her doing this it could help them both find a way out that’s mutually beneficial. Love doesn’t always mean one side takes all the discomfort and the other all the ease, if both sides can bear some burden then it’s less stress for both. So if Maomao entering the La Clan would be a way for her to alleviate Jinshi’s struggles in the palace as they work towards a solution, I’m all for that. Obviously he doesn’t see her feelings as less in any way and so she doesn’t need to do anything to prove something to him but gestures can be meaningful whether the person needs them or not.

Overall, from a fairness point of view, I like this moment in LN 10 where it’s honest that between the two of them she’s the one less fair than Jinshi:

Jinshi was a man who could have had anything and everything he desired. And yet, he was such a straight shooter that it caused him to beat around the bush like this. He didn’t want to take the shortest route to what he wanted, but the one that would be best for the other person. Too bad that doesn’t exist here. So it was that Maomao pretended not to know, even though she did. Not fair of her at all.

He’s just wishing he could hold her here but dismisses it again out of not wanting to be inappropriate and she feigns ignorance when she really does know what he was looking for. It shows that their whole dynamic is centered around him working hard to do what’s right by her when he could’ve gotten things the easy way but chose not to. She respects that, even if it frustrates her at times his lack of openness about what he wants and she has a hard time finding ways to reciprocate until later. The story does good showing that there’s a balance between them that works for them but in these rare moments we can admit that Maomao is often on the better end of the deal than Jinshi is and he sacrifices a lot for her benefit. So if she in turn would choose to do the same at some point for him, say like joining the La Clan if she truly does consider it distasteful and isn’t simply being deflective, that just would go to show the kind of growth she’s gone through and how she’s emotionally developed to be even more selfless towards someone and reciprocate those feelings she was worried she could never feel, like love.

Completely agree on your last point about their relationship. I think once we see them truly communicate with each other on how far they’re actually willing to go for one another we might see the final conclusion be worked out then. Right now they’re both doing so much for each other but neither one knows it, ironically. But this has been their fatal flaw since day one, not being able to be upfront with each other, they dance around until finally one gets too tired, over the edge or blurts something out and then finally their feelings are revealed. Troubled pasts make for complicated futures. All in all though it’s sweet because they want the other to be happy and are working towards that end in such a selfless way without putting themselves first but it’s funny that if they’d just tell each other they might come to a solution good for both of them 😂 I agree though I don’t necessarily want them to be commoners in the end, somewhere in-between would be best for where they’ve gotten used to and could help people which is what they both seem to really want, not complete obscurity just normalcy.

[kenaihayley]

Some photos of strange accounts of a cyber stalker harassing Rachel (Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson situation).

I have seen certain specific accounts on TikTok, Instagram, Tumblr, YOUTUBE, Reddit, but those accounts, which is probably the same person, spend their 24/7 harassing Rachel, or any fan who shows a minimum of support for her, the stalker will delete their accounts, make some new ones, change their name 100 times, but always, always is harassing cybernetically, attacking her physical appearance, spreading false and horrible rumors, and waiting for Rachel to step on the wrong foot to start saying terrible comments towards her. (Stalker has some “official/constant” accounts, which are the ones that sometimes changed their name, in fact, I remember that there was one that had changed her name more than 20 times, but I think she also has other accounts that she deletes and creates easily, and the crumbs that remain from those deleted accounts or deleted comments, are when on social networks, any Rachel Fan responds to the stalker, and only the fan's comment remains and an “@“, that when you click "no longer exists" or "not loads").

I'm 100% sure that a while ago Rachel and her friends once talked about that cyber stalker, please, if you have that clip, let me know, and pass it on to me, you would be very helpful haha ❤️.

According to me, I didn't want to get involved in anything negative about Rachel and Hayden (since a crazy anon came to my asks box). But I still wanted to publish this, since some have been talking about this topic.

Here I leave only some accounts, although rest assured that she will get defensive, again she will change names or delete and create accounts, and the same cycle will be repeated. I want to put all the accounts, but obviously, I can't hahaha.

(The names I remember the most are Lilah, Camila, Sophia, there are more but I don't remember well (and now she calls herself Isadora) (Same person or a group of friends, I don't know, but this is not right).

(I will put the accounts, and not the horrible comments, since that would be a longer post than it already is, and anyway you can see it for yourself, since it is not a secret the amount of hatred that reaches Rachel)

(These are NOT accounts that casually left a bad comment, these accounts are people who were literally staking, harassing, bullying cyber-minded in a very DISTURBING way, too manyyyy creepy comments)

I saw a certain post and I couldn't agree more, haters disguised as fans are always saying that Hayden is very intelligent, and polite and smart when talking too, and that he got a Harvard scholarship, etc, etc.

And at the same time, they will treat him as a stup1d child who does not know how to make his own decisions, as if he had no say in the decision to spend time with Rachel, or how he manages his co-parenting with her.

Haters will say that Rachel is in need of attention and will hate that she is published or that her name is together with Hayden's name in a post, but at the same time, instead of ignoring her, Haters will harass and speak with a hate speech obsessively of Rachel, giving her just the attention that they hate Rachel receives.

I really think Hayden is a good man, and he's smart. I don't understand why they infantilize him in such a strange way when it comes to "R".

Even if now they are family. They are no longer together romantically, not that we know of. Anyway, what does it matter to us, whether they are together or not, it will not change anything for the fans, or for anyone.

Don't you like her? Okay, understandable, but let go of this weird parasocial relationship, stalkers will literally focus more on whether Rachel stepped on the wrong foot, instead of supporting HAYDEN.

[m0owu]

I’m not going to say which fanfic this is. I just want to talk about a situation that upset me, because I need to let out my emotions.

A large number of people in the SVSSS fandom, at the very least, dislike Yue Qingyuan. But that doesn’t mean he deserves unfair treatment. The fact that he doesn’t explain his reason isn’t because he wants to keep it from others, but because he thinks that staying silent is the better choice. Maybe that’s foolish, but it’s not a reason to treat him badly. He wanted to do what he thought was best. If you don't think so, then let’s blame a child who accidentally killed someone out of ignorance, indirectly?

And then sj's partner made a decision on behalf of sj without even asking him? Isn’t that the same “I know what’s best for you” attitude that yqy is being condemned for? yqy just needs to be shown what’s right. You can compare yqy to a parent who wants the best for their child, but does it in their own way. That doesn’t mean we should cut ties with them. We should show them how we need to be treated so we can feel better. If they still refuse to listen, then it’s okay to walk away—but not without even giving a chance for them to fix things.

When sj wasn’t feeling well, another character (sj's partner) forbade informing yqy about Shen Qingqiu’s condition, even though yqy was the one who caused it, even though yqy cared deeply. I can understand not letting him visit Shen Qingqiu, but why forbid simply informing him? yqy was concerned, sincerely cared, felt guilty—and this other character wouldn’t even let him know, which only increased his guilt. There was no point in hiding it. Just prohibit physical access if you're afraid it’ll worsen Shen Qingqiu’s state.

Then sj says he doesn’t understand yqy, and another side character asks if he wants to understand him. sj replies no. (Right. We believe sj, ignoring his past desire to know the reason, his hidden curiosity. If he actually learned the reason, he would have wanted his past self to know it too.) And the side character says that in that case, there’s no need—some people don’t deserve the effort it takes to reach them. And yet it’s sj who “deserves” it, and yqy who doesn’t? Are we just not going to help people who are deeply ill or in pain, physically or mentally, because it “won’t change anything”?

Toward the end, another character tells yqy that sj may never forgive him and that he doesn’t have to (which is true). But why not at least try? They were close to each other. They still cared after everything. And this other character just says sometimes it’s better to walk away. That some things are broken beyond repair. But why not try to make them even a little better? If this person truly wants to help sj heal, why not address the core wound—one that will remain horrible if ignored? And healing doesn’t always mean “go find new people and abandon the one who hurt you.” yqy will continue to carry unbearable guilt. sj will have an even deeper sense that people can abandon him—worse than it would’ve been if they’d tried to resolve things. People with PTSD, for example, don’t get better just because things around them are “good” now. They’ll still expect the worst.

Another character tells yqy to go make new friends. Then changes their mind and tells him to get a pet. “Not a person, an animal. Find something else to be gentle to.” Instead of showing him how to treat people right, instead of working through human relationships after realizing his mistakes, Yqy —who now has no close friends, no one to talk to emotionally, not just professionally, and who is hated and feared by his entire sect—is told that he “pierced his heart while having the best intentions,” meaning he traumatizes everyone. And now he’s basically being isolated from society. But humans need other humans to have meaningful conversations. It’s a real psychological need.

In the comments, people were saying that yqy finally got what he deserved. Deserved for what? For sincere motives, for trying his best to make things right as quickly as possible, for showing concern for sj? There were a few moments that maybe made yqy “deserve” what he got (like yelling), but to me that was pure OOC every single time. And if the author doesn’t think it’s OOC, then their interpretation of the character is just… wrong.

To help clarify, here’s a parallel situation involving another character:

Someone told the entire Cang Qiong that sj had been a slave and used to go to a brothel just to get some sleep. And instead of helping sj restore his relationships with the peak lords, they said, “You’ve done enough damage. Leave this mountain (and preferably never return, either directly or indirectly).”

Explanations:

Yes, the author has full rights to delete or block my comment and to not want any criticism. I even checked before writing whether she mentioned anything about that. I clearly stated at the beginning that this was a critique, and to read it only if interested. So calling it “unsolicited” criticism when it’s clearly optional to read feels wrong.

I wasn’t demanding that anything in the fanfic be changed. I just thought the author was trying to help the main characters resolve their problems in a healthy way—so why not yqy too?

[phannie-elvis]

Phannie Census Update #3 (My Favorite Write-ins)

Phwoah dads, handing it over to the mod again!

Hi! As I said in my last update, Dan and Phil are right, we really are funnier than them lol. Reading all the write-in responses made me laugh so much, so I figured I should share some of my favorites. (If any of these are yours and you don't want them shared, just send me a message or an ask and I'll take it off the list!)

Total responses as of 3:00 PM 6/22/25: 1686!

(Questions 1 and 2 did not have write-in options)

3. What's your sexual/romantic orientation?

"Idk man i just work here", "🤷"

4. What's your gender?

"I am my own being that just looks cool as fuck", "formless blob" (can't believe I didn't think to include that as an option lol), "I’m whatever gender makes the joke land (in this case I am an evil mix of woman and man >:3)"

(Also, the google form is annoying for this one and only lets me see about half of the write-in responses, so sorry if you wrote something really funny and I didn't see it!)

5. What's your gender identity?

"confusing", ""cis" but specifically with the quotation marks", "Uuuuuuhhhhh", "None gender left beef", "¯\_(ツ)_/¯"

6. What was your assigned gender at birth?

"Italian", "Sadly they told me i was a female so oops they messed up", "MALE I SWEAR!!!! !111!!1! (lol female)"

7. What's your race/ethnicity?

"Unfortunately very white:-("

8. What's your age?

"69 joke im 18", "Gay"

(Questions 9 and 10 did not have write-in options)

11. Which of the 4 Gs of the Dan and Phil demographic are you?

"Gamers", "Girlfail", "Bisexual Communist Formless Blob 😂", also shout out to all the people who said they were girlies in vibes/for the joke even though they weren't actual girls

12. Did Dan make you trans/question your gender?

"HE MADE ME QUESTION IT ALL SO YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES", "Honestly no, but it's funny so I pretend like it was him", "yes he made me trans and my name is dan now lol"

(Question 13 had a write-in option, but none of the responses were really funny since it was just asking what year you joined the phandom. Questions 14 and 15 did not have a write-in option.)

16. Are you a dannie or a phillie? (with nuance)

"Currently a Phillie. It's 4AM, I have no nuances to give. Brain no work!!", "Golden piggie", "phil lester's mind is so beautiful i want to swim in it", "dan howell infests my brain like a little parasite", "please do no separate", "Porque no los dos, my comrade", "I vacillate back and forth so frequently im vibrating", "Im a child of phivorce who cannot choose which parent to go with :(",

(I also can't see all the responses for this one so apologies if you wrote something really funny and I didn't see it. One from memory that I can no longer see was: "Phillie born, phillie bred, and when I die, I'll be PHILLIE DEAD").

17. Are you some kind of mentally ill/neurodivergent?

"No im just simply a slaying human being (i am diagnosed mentally ill)", "Yes, not diagnosed but my therapist looks at me with concern", "yes. but o would like to undiagnosed and just be manic pixie dream girl pls :p", "Who really knows atp", "Never diagnosed but something ain’t right upstairs"

18. Specifically, are you autistic?

"Im dyspraxix autism and adhds love child", "prooobably?", "Probably but I have a job so I can’t worry about that right now", "not assessed but my doctor said i should be so like schrödinger’s autism"

19. If you identify as transmasc, do you consider Dan or Phil to be gender goals?

"Both merged into one big gay ball", "white boys? no", "I do not aspire to twinkdom but they are cute boys", "sister daniel I'm sORRY", "I would kill innocent people to have dan's profile"

20. What's your political orientation?

"Strict Doofenshmirtz politics. Whatever allows me to be a gay supervillain", "the gay one", "Oh god the world is burning"

21. Which is better, phyuri or phaoi?

"HOW DARE THY ASK ME TO PICK ONE THY IS EXTREMLY RUDE THY SHALL NOT EVER ASK ME TO PICK ONE AGAIN" (I would like to point out that "How dare you ask me to pick one?" was in fact an option, but this person felt so strongly that they felt the need to clarify beyond that lol), "um gulp??"

22. Are you a furry?

"currently going down the pipeline but not quite there yet", "I have rabbit tendencies….", "I wish but im broke and need to develop my art skills ill call myself a furry in training"

23. Do you think Sister Daniel is hot?

"UHM DO I HELL YEAH I DO THERE ONE SEXY MOTHERFUCKER", "So hot she needs a longer answer", "Sister Daniel is my gay awakening", "Once k get over religious trauma Yes", "she has the exact same mannerisms as my sister and it makes me wildly uncomfortable" (yikes sorry that is unfortunate), "Too asexual and too repulsed by the catholic church to really have any opinion tbh", "my boyfriend (catholic) loves her 😔", "Queer joy is death by sister daniel", "AWOOOOOOGAHUMMINAHUMMINA CARCRASH"

Also final shout out to the person who put the repeating "Crazy? I was crazy once. They locked me in a room. A rubber room. A rubber room with rats. And rats make me crazy." joke for every single write-in. It did make me laugh at first, even if it eventually got annoying (not that annoying though, no hard feelings), but I'm sure you had fun doing it lol.

Next week: I'll share what I'm planning for my full analysis! I'm probably going to stay away from complicated statistical tests that can help make generalizations about the population of phannies, since I don't know how well this spread beyond my normal circle of people on tumblr, but I'll share the questions I'm aiming to answer so far and my methods. If you have any other questions you think I could answer with the data, feel free to leave a reply on this update or next week's and I'll see if I can answer it in my final analysis!

Athankyouverymuch everyone!

[fandomsmadness]

TBHX episode 12 rant

Ngl I'm disappointed in a multitude of things this ep, but as always there is timeline and worldbuilding to keep me going.

Biggest dissapointments:

The parent thing was about Liu Zhen? It wasn't even anything big? Idk, but I thought Queen being a journalist's daughter would not be a big bad secret with the level of fame she had since she was a teen. Big letdown

Like I was hoping last ep, the Bowa/Queen rivalry wasn't used to comment on the patriarchy pitting women against women (it's still there if you squint, but that was the case last ep too) and instead was just a flashy showdown

We concluded the Queen arc but we still don't know enough about her as a person! This has to be the least fleshed hero in the lineup so far. Hello, this is the no. 2 and top-ranking female hero, we need more juice than this!

No X :( [this one is deeply personal and totally biased, and should not be taken seriously]

I have also decided I am categorically a simp. I don't think this requires elaboration.

On to what I liked, which may somewhat contradict my disappointments because they're two-sided.

Firstly, while I didn't like that Bowa/Queen was never really addressed as being a manufactured rivalry (would've been nice for the two to, idk, talk?) the fight scene was visually fantastic. Musically, it was heartbreaking. And storywise, it was tragic. So so tragic. I hated it. I loved it. My feelings have not reached a consensus on the matter. And I was also, very unrealistically, hoping for X to swoop in/change animation/do something because this was just downright painful to watch sometimes.

But someone please tell me why Bowa's attacks are all suddenly X-shaped. Once? Sure. Twice? Coincidence. Three is just too many.

Secondly, we may not know much about Queen as a person, and in particular she's lacking a lot of background details (you lied to Cyan, we all saw it), but I do like what I've seen and how her principles tie into her hero personality as someone who makes rules, abides by them, and uses them to strengthen her own resolve.

BUT

This sounds an awful lot like wanting to dismantle the existing system, Queen. Hmmm...

What on earth are these symbols?

We needed Bowa to explain to us what your power is??? Although I admit, that power is neat and once again, very much in character

And yet another nod to Queen's trust coming from within (see X breakdown from last ep for more details)

She's also terribly terribly loyal to her friends, believes in taking the right way to the top, rejecting Cyan's offer of good luck multiple times, and is overall not as cold as the last ep wanted us to believe.

Thirdly, Bowa was fleshed out pretty well for a secondary character, and her arc was just...tragic. i have many thoughts, not all of which can be articulated right now.

Side note does having trust value affect how monstrous fear can make you?

Other things:

The Commission has a... police force equivalent?

DOS is investigating X lmao. Idk why this is funny to me, but it is. Who is Nine tho? X knows Uncle Rock? (Boo) X doesn't have a good relationship with Uncle Rock? (Yay!) Who is the other hero? And why is Wreck there? Right colours, wrong ship DOS!

As much as the fight scene was visually appealing, so much property damage I cry. That must've cost the economy billions

BIG JOHNNIE? What are you doing in the cliffhanger? Loli's arc is next, get back in your lane!

And speaking of the upcoming Loli arc, we've seen next to nothing of her so far...?

[pianocat0-0]

Got Murdered Yet Somehow Gained Spouse

Jiangshi (Self-proclaimed Husband) x Reader

Tw: Mentions of bloody animal meat, implied murder, brief hatred towards Manchurian people (this is just to be historically accurate on the views of the Han people, in no way am I trying to say that you can be racist. I could talk more about it, but basically Manchurian people ruled the Qing dynasty and a lot of Han people did not like them.), breaking into someone's house, delusional ass bitch

(Don't have really good ideas so I'm gonna go with urban legends cuz idk it's cool-)

Jiangshi specifically. I don't think not a lot of people don't know about the creature outside of like asian countries so here's the explanation (brought to you by wikipedia) : It's like a zombie, but it can also suck your blood. So a vampire zombie. It's known to hop around, but personally all the stories I've read they can like run- so whatever you want to interpret that as. They're known to wear clothes from the Qing dynasty, the most recent dynasty (1600s-early 1900s).

There's a lot of causes to how a body can reanimate but I'm going just to list the ones I think make sense to what I'm writing about: The use of supernatural arts to resurrect the corpse; Corpse absorbs enough Yang Qi (Positive life energy); the corpse can also com eto life if the person who has recently died still have their soul in their corpse.

Appearance: Like I mentioned before Qing dynasty clothes are what's the most commonly seen with any media adaptation. This also goes with the hairstyle. They're known to have like dead skin, so I personally headcanon like a pale grey colour. They'll also have like a yellow tag with red writing attached to it, a tailsman. I think it's super cute becuz it's always attached to their hat in the front so they can see as well.

Skills: They're super powerful, and driven by hunger they're like feral dogs. So they're like definitely scary since they can run too.

(Now that the brief explanation of what they are is out of the way, here's the actual story)

(Did I just use my grandpa's name cuz I'm lazy? Yes. Thankfully we use a lot of the same characters as Chinese)

——————————————————

Yiguang was just one of the many assistants under the emperor. Even if he had a fairly good government position after passing his exams, he was incredibly unhappy. For two reasons: the Manchurians and being alone.

Who were they to run the throne? As far as he knew, they were nomadic. Why are they running the biggest empire in the hemisphere? Regardless if they had power or not, the Han people had their own spot in their nation.

Yiguang was a smart man. Hence why he managed to get such a government position even if he was a peasant. He was an excellent writer and knew his boundaries. Hence why he worked for the Board of Punishments. Any criminal got their fair punishment under his word, other than maybe his boss.

Despite making a decent amount of money, he didn't have anybody by his side. His parents would constantly complain that there was no point in being wealthy if there are no heirs. Except he had specific standards. He just hadn't found anybody that caught his eye. So he continued on with his job, writing out sentences left and right.

One night, when he was on the way home after working much later that he usually does due to a destructive criminal, he decided to stop by at a restaurant. He didn't feel like cooking. As he stepped in, there was a banquet of some sort going on beside his table. It was loud, but he didn't pay it no mind. Ladies were singing and dancing while men drank themselves to sleep.

Yiguang simply ate his meal, only thinking about his schedule tomorrow. He was gonna have to meet a lady, one his parents managed to schedule a date with. Regardless, he hated it. As far as he knew, she was stupid, and knew no value of things other than her father's money pouch.

He found stupidity unattractive.

After he finished eating he left, deciding to take a more scenic route home. A slighly extra walk, but nothing he couldn't handle after sitting all day.

The path passed by a few taoist temples, forgotten after the increased oppression from the government. They were still nice to look at, even if some parts of the building were crumbling. He eventually decided to loiter and step into one.

They were all sorts of statues and incense pots, but that didn't interest him, so he walked further down the hall. Eventually he came to a small praying area, with a small statue. He stared at it, confused by its appearance. It was a statue of Yue Lao, the deity of love. Except half of his clothes were scratched off, leaving the stone underneath behind.

Scratched by a beast of some sort.

Yet he ignored and decided he would pray to Yue Lao. He wasn't the most religious, but it wouldn't hurt to pray for his high expectations to be fulfilled. He saw some incense lying around on the floor, but there was nothing available to light it, so he decided to just hold it in its raw form as he prayed.

A few seconds after, he decided to stick the incense into the abandoned pot, and stood up. Just as he was about to leave, the air felt slightly cooler. He turned his body away from the statue, and took a step. He then felt a gust of air, and blue cloth fluttering in his peripheral vision.

Huh?

Why was his body just lying there beside him? Where's his head?

.

.

.

Oh.

——————————————————

It was a crisp spring day, the breeze ever so slightly cold enough to make a person shiver. A ship crew were loading cargo for a ship heading from the Eastern Coast to several destinations. One of the men grunted as helped carry over a delicate red, wooden box to the platform.

The box had no label, no destination, just a tag that said 'fragile ancient artifacts inside'. The men didn't pay no mind to it as they continued to haul more objects onto the ship.

Soon the ship was off, heading onto its long journey.

Too bad no one paid attention to what was inside the box. there was a damaged statue of Yue Lao, and underneath some cloth a body lay there. The Qi slowly swirling around the corpse, making its heart beat once more.

——————————————————

Thunk.

Yiguang woke up at the sharp pain, gasping as his lungs took a few raspy breaths. His lungs felt stuffy, as if they hadn't been properly working for eons. He sat up from his bed, glancing around.

He was in a forest, the leaves yellow and orange, a few birds chirping at him. Why was he in a forest? Last he remembered he was on a pathway home...

He stood up, and look behind him. He saw a read box, with several layers of cloth underneath. The cloth was a light teal colour, stained with a crimson ink of some sort.

He hissed in pain, he leaned his neck to the side to crack it. Ow. It hurt way more. He stretched his body for a bit before noticing that his skin looked sickly. Too pale to be recognizable. He blinked before feeling his neck pop.

Just like he felt his face hit the dirt. He groaned. His body moved forward, and picked his head up. Picked his head up. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

He tried to curse a Yue Lao, leaving him with a weird phenonom while he was still alive. Yet his body felt a sharp flash of pain creep into his very being. Was he being cursed?

Why did he feel so hungry? Like he craved warm meat, and some blood.

His body moved on its own as it started to run, stumbling through the woods like a maniac. It was late at night, the moon gracing him with its moonlight. He let out a hiss as he tried to locate prey. He never felt so animalistic before. It felt humiliating, but at the same time exhilirating.

This was the first time his life hadn't been flooded with rules and writings.

He continued to dash through the forest, his jade and red wooden beads fluttering around his neck as he continued to travel through the forest.

He ran and ran, until he came to a house. The light wasn't on. He wondered why his body brought him to such a place. He let out a coo of joy as he hopped into the fenced area. He sniffed the air, trying to locate a scent. There was nothing recent for him to snack on.

He scratched at the door, trying to get in. He decided to simply barge into it. Once it fell, he scrambled in, breathing heavily as he searched through nearby shelves and cupboards.

Eventually he arrived to a place that seemed to be kitchen. Except what were all the weird rectangular metal boxes? This was not a kitchen he was familiar with. He then saw his prize awaiting on top of one of the metal boxes.

A juicy, slab of meat.

He snatched it away from the surface it was resting on and took a huge bite out of it. It was cold. The middle still dense and firm. He chewed it easily though. His sharpened teeth allowing him to maneuver the meat down to his stomach.

He felt much better.

He decided he would learn more about these strange functions before him. He saw one with a weird hanging metal arm. He could see a few levers beside it. He decided to hit it.

Water immediately blasts out, and he shrieks. The kind a threatened animal would probably make.

He did not like this contraption whatever it was. He hit the other lever, and the water seemed to only burst out faster. So he continued to hit either lever until it stopped. A demon this contraption was. It's so dangerous for anyone. Who would have such a machine in their home? It needed to burn and die.

Just as he calmed down a bit, he heard a scream.

He turned his head. Another person stood not far from him, their bag forgotten on the ground. They looked pretty. He could smell their scent from afar. For some reason, the scent was wonderful. Like a love potion made just for him. He couldn't help but purr and pounce at the person.

——————————————————

You had just arrived home from a long day of work and founded a strange man sitting in your kitchen, playing with your sink. Not to mention the beef you were defrosting no longer there. You couldn't help but let out a scream as you saw his strange twitches and sharpened teeth.

"G-Get out! I'm gonna call the police if you don't!" You get out your phone as you trained your eyes on him. As you took a better look at him, you note that his clothes weren't modern at all. They looked like something for a cosplay or a historical image of some sort. The fabric looked old, but of high quality.

He even had several necklaces. The famous jade material too. You saw a yellow tag hanging in front of his face. You recognized the writing. Some form of Chinese.

Before you could even talk to him once more, he let out a purr and tackled you, knocking you to the ground. He nuzzles your neck and jaw, hugging you. Your body could feel slight pain. He was way too strong to be human. You panic as he spoke in a raspy voice, "Mate...where have...been?"

His voice sounded like it hadn't been used in years, or just severely dehydrated. Either way why was he snuggling you? This was creepy.

You tried to shove him off, but he only held on tighter. His claw like nails combed through your hair as his cold skin pressed against yours harder. He let out a huff as he started to drag you to the living room. He lifted his body away from yours, before running out the door like nothing happened.

You lay there in absolute shock, flabbergasted because of what happened moments before. So you just laid there to process everything.

——————————————————

You were tucked in bed, ready to fall asleep. When you bedroom door flew open, and the same man stood, his iris and pupil completely black as he carried a slab of meat in his mouth. He let out a purr, before holding a broken plate. He let go of the food, and let it sit on the plate before hopping over to you.

He held out the plate like a proud man. Like he had just achieved something wonderful. You could make a grimace in disgust as you stared at the raw, bloody meat. "Please get out of my house-"

He hissed. He set down the plate on your bedside table before burrowing himself into your bed. He let out a few chirps and grunts before shoving you into his chest. Once against suffocating you with his strength.

"Eat...mate."

He seemed to stare at you with eager eyes; hoping for you to eat what he hunted for you. Providing for you. Oh, he's just so elated that he finally found his person. Even if he's dead, he still go what he wanted most. Now all he has to do is to make sure they're taken care of. He's going to be such a good husband.

"Eat..." He insisted once more. Loosening his grip as you sat up. He made a little smile, equivalent of a doggy wagging his tail. Except he's an undead being.

You wanted to gag as you saw the grotesque sight before you. You needed to get this creature out of your house.

——————————————————

Yue Lao what the fuck did you do?

——————————————————

(I'm 100% writing a 2nd piece that details more about like his behaviors he does with his new form/home but I'm gonna end it here for now just so I can get something out)

(I know this isn't NSFW [becuz I would get banned if i did] but I still think it should fall under the monsterfucker category just because it is in fact a beast so- yeah. Please don't cancel me lmao)

(Lowkey running out of ideas so if anyone wants to drop something in my inbox as a request or just to talk about some possibilities I'll happily receive it)

- Celina

[partyof4game]

Mild NSFW?

What's their favorite part of their own body, and what's their favorite part of their partner's?

Now something cuter:

Are all the ROs open to having kids?

If so, what kind of parents would they be?

And in a hypothetical scenario where the MC becomes pregnant regardless of their gender, what would the RO want the child to inherit from them and from the MC?

Something like, 'my eyes and the MC’s smile.'"

I love when characters can be confident about their traits! I'll add everything under a cut since I think this'll get long!

Jem: His favorite thing about himself is his hands. Besides his face, which he's not really fond of, he's gotten the most compliments on his hands and takes pride in that. When it comes to his partner, he likes their mouth, especially if they're fond of smiling often.

Jem is leery on having kids. He's the youngest child of 10 and was neglected in many ways. He's terrified of repeating that experience but being the adult in this case. In the end, he'd be open to having one child to give his undivided attention, maybe two at most. He'd be a bit on the overprotective side, but a well meaning and loving father.

He'd hope for the child to look just like MC, but maybe with his eye color.

Vana: Likes the way her breasts look. They're not too large, but are perky and palmable. She thinks they lend well to her figure when in armor. In her partners she likes those who look physically strong, because sometimes she wants to be the one who is protected.

Vana has always assumed she would have kids — at least one, as her family is always reminding her that she needs an heir, especially if she insists on consistently risking her life as a hero. She's never given any real thought into if it's something she wants, however. She could be convinced either way. Vana would seem like a distant mother, but she shows love in less physical ways, such as by never saying "no" directly, although it can be implied... lol. She wouldn't want her children to be burdened with the same expectations she is fraught with.

She'd hope for a child with her hair and eye coloring, since she's been told often how striking it is, and with MC's face shape, it'd be one gorgeous kid.

Sweets: They love their hair, that it lends itself so well to change and fashion. In others they're always looking for someone interesting, maybe a facial birthmark or a strange gait, they're always surprised by the different ways humans present themselves.

Sweets doesn't really want kids — or at least not now, not with their current lifestyle. They've seen plenty of brothel babies struggle to grow up well or at all. So it's more of a far-off hypothetical that they don't see a point in thinking about right now. Sweets would make for a doting parent and would be very adamant about giving their child a name that wouldn't try to define who they are as a person before they can even have a personality.

Maybe a bit egotistical, but Sweets would love to have a mini version of themselves. But, well, if MC is tall, they'd give in and say they'd like their child to be a taller version of themself. 😂

Maymie: Loves her legs. She's short, but her legs are proportionally long, which she likes to attribute to her acrobatic skill in combat. She looks for similar proportioning in her partner's too. Loves long legs all around.

Maymie wants to be a mom more than anything. She wants to have a bunch of kids and give them the love she never received — it's why she works so hard to save up gold. She wants to have a good nest egg for the future in order to live out her dreams in relative luxury. She'd be a strict but loving mother, and expect her kids to struggle for the things they want in life.

She'd want her kids to have her purple eyes, due to their rarity, but would hope they had MC's hair color.

Raena: Likes her face in general. She's been told that she's conventionally pretty often enough to believe it. And she thinks her freckles are cute. She always looks at her partner's eyes first and enjoys romantically comparing the color to things she sees.

She's torn between choosing a life devoted to her God, and thus remaining celibate, and living a life of adventure and new beginnings. If she became a parent, she'd be very happy, although she'd put all of adventures behind her out of fear of making her child an orphan just as she was. She would be an encouraging, if not nervous, mother who wants the best for her kids but also to protect them all the time.

She'd want her kids to have MC's personality with her curly hair and upper arm strength, because of course she's going to teach them to shoot a bow.

Linzel: Likes his overall build. He's lithe, flexible, and has a great ass. Couldn't ask for much more! For his partner, he enjoys someone taller than him, but it's not a deal breaker.

In general he does not want children. He's the last (that he knows of) of his line, an entire way of life — gone. Having children would feel like prolonging the death of a people, adding more suffering into the world. If he happened to become a father, he wouldn't shun the child, but he would have a hard time being emotionally available to them, but he'd protect them fiercely.

He'd want a kid that has his eye-shape and the thickness of his hair. Otherwise he'd be content with a child that was the spitting image of MC.

Aslo: He loves being tall and having broad shoulders. Having a traditionally beautiful partner is what he thinks he wants, but he can be surprised.

If he had his way, Aslo would have between four and six kids, maybe more depending on his situation and if there was space and money. He loved having many siblings growing up, and would like to replicate that feeling. He'd be an enthusiastic and involved father — probably to a fault.

He's be pleased any kid, but if they ended up taller than him, he'd be chuffed. But a kid that had MC's face would be his favorite.