#babs to me is one of those people who just grabs you during conversations

[mistergreatbones]

i like to think that bruce is as bad about physical affection as he is with verbal affection so the kids have to take it upon themselves. cass is a total cuddlebug and just grabs him when she wants to snuggle, dick is always drapeing himself over bruce's shoulders, jason likes to use him as a foot rest, damian tends to lean against him, duke will just randomly punch him in the arm or tap him while walking by, stephanie will squeeze into his chair when she wants to show him something on her phone, barbara grabs his hand when they're talking, and tim just. sits on the floor against his shins. for some reason.

[wishingicouldfly]

I've been actively blogging for more than six months, even though I've had a tumblr account for ten years. I started reading One Direction (specifically Larry) fanfiction about the same time.

Originally, I read exclusively canon compliant fiction--I was hungry for industry insider, what-could-have-happened narratives. But I've slowly branched out into other genres. I find fanfic--good fanfic--super calming. When I've had too much stunting, too much noise, I grab a fanfic and immerse myself. So I thought it was time to do a post about my favorites. Keep in mind, I'm terrible at cataloging, and I have over 150 bookmarks on my A03 Account, so this is by no means an exhaustive list.

I'm not including the classics like Tired, Tired Sea and Escapade. While I do love both of those (so well written), because a lot of people know about those already.

My all time favorites are by @helloamhere

1. The Multipicity of Powers - https://archiveofourown.org/works/28580229

Maybe in another universe he isn’t different. Maybe he hadn’t been given an impossible choice. Maybe he wouldn’t have lost everything and broken everything and then fallen impossibly, irrevocably in love with the first next thing that was kind. Maybe in that universe he doesn’t feel like he’s never breathing, always pretending, teaching the kids even though they all have to learn alone, trying hard not to read the headlines, and so afraid, every day, that he won’t be a good enough teammate to the superhero he can’t live without. He knows that love isn’t supposed to feel this way, slid secret under your skin like a surgical razor, an invisible war held close over the tender vein that keeps you alive. On the other hand, Louis wonders, had he ever known how to do it any other way?

Maybe there’s a universe where he doesn’t have to keep all his secrets on the inside.

But this isn’t that universe.

//an X-Men AU.

Me: I never thought I'd love a super hero 1D cross over, but this is so well done. The backstory, the pacing, the characterization, the friendship. Read it.

2. Saving Symphony Hall and it's prequel Night Out - https://archiveofourown.org/works/12633921

“I think I have an idea,” Louis said. Slowly, and reluctantly, but with a growing sense of the inevitable. “God damnit, I think I have a really good idea.”

“Oh christ, that's the problem-solving face,” Babs said. “Last time we saw that face, he sold a company.”

“Wait, what?” Zayn asked.

“Right place, right time,” Louis said. “Also, fuck my life,”

“What?” Zayn repeated. Niall patted his hand.

“I usually just roll with whatever Louis is about to do,” he said. “It’s better for us all.”

“That’s the attitude,” said Louis, “I’ll tell you tomorrow. Tonight, I need to do some research. Zayn, give me your number. I’m gonna save our symphony.”

Me: The best sex scene I've ever read is in the prequel Night Out. Sexy, but tender. I love the characterizations in this duo--ABO but not traditional. Doesn't feel out of character.

3. Just Let Me -https://archiveofourown.org/works/11695350

The party was going well. So well, Niall had already sworn undying love to one multi-tiered chocolate cake, two friendly corgi-poodle mixes, Zayn’s hair, and the entire population of Los Angeles. So well, Zayn had only laughed and ruffled Niall’s hair and not even twitched towards a cigarette. So well, nearly everyone had spilled far past the boundaries of the night’s original plans, extracting bottles of vodka from the cabinets and losing a lot of clothes. Harry had proclaimed that he was finally going to throw a small and very grownup dinner party and of course here they were three hours later, fifty people half-naked in the pool. Soon to be full-naked, if Louis had to guess. Everybody in LA loved a heated pool. Everybody loved Harry.

Me: I love love love this. Harry is so gentle, and Louis is so stubborn and needy. It's ABO but subtle. I'll read this one again and again. It's comforting.

@HelloAmHere is one of the best writers I know--amazing stuff. I also love their werewolf story, but it's not finished, so I won't link it here.

Other favorites:

1. Seven Up by cherrystreet - https://archiveofourown.org/works/5828539

Very loosely based on the British TV show "The Up Series" and somewhat inspired by the song “Something I Need” by Onerepublic, we follow the lives of Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson in an interview setting every seven years. They fall apart and come together, their lives and emotions recorded. Harry calls it a time capsule. Louis calls it a pain in the arse.

Me: Trigger Warning, major character death. I literally SOBBED through the end of this. It was lovely and devastating. So good. But be warned.

2. Light, Spark and Fire series by @greenfeelings

Life’s pretty ordinary for Harry. He lives with his best friend, got into university just like he’s planned, and manages to support himself just fine for an unbonded omega. If he sustains that lifestyle by getting paid to help alphas through their rut every now and then, that’s nothing to be hung up on. Until he’s hired by an alpha that turns everything upside down.

Or, Louis and Zayn run a music label, Liam is Britain’s up-and-coming pop star, Harry’s working on taking Louis’ walls down until he builds his own up, and Niall holds them all together without realising he does.

Me: A nice healthy three-parter. Characters you just want to live with for a while.

3. Relief Next to Me by dolce_piccante - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1117942

AU. What happens when a baker and a graphic designer meet via a very specific Craigslist post? Fate, friendship, food, and maybe more.

Me: This one is super long, so be prepared when you dive in. It's got a lot of lovely bits, and some great smut.

4. 2012 'Verse by ashavahishta - https://archiveofourown.org/series/27601

Me: This is a five-parter and satisfies my love of canon compliant stories. It spans most of 2012 and into 2013, and illustrates the difficulties of Harry and Louis' relationship amid the band success and management disapproval.

5. Love After the End of the World by mercurial-madhouse (writing_practice) - https://archiveofourown.org/works/31251434/chapters/77248901

Society shattered when all electricity suddenly cut off across the globe, plunging the world into darkness. Now, Prometheus Industries is the sole remaining supply of power, a saving grace to those who survived Lights Out. As fugitives in no-man’s land struggling to break into Prometheus HQ, death lurks around every corner for Louis and Zayn. Things get complicated when a routine recon falls apart and Louis collides with Harry and his mates Niall and Liam, survivors with their own agenda.

When staying alive is already a constant battle, the deadliest weakness is to be in love. For Harry and Louis, finding each other sits on top of the endless list of What Else Could Go Wrong.

Me: Really unusual (as far as I can tell) end of the world story. I loved the characterizations of soul mates here at the end of the world.

6. Flightless Bird by audreyhheart - https://archiveofourown.org/works/6401653/chapters/14656807

AU where Louis Tomlinson is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. When his rival from ballet school, moody dance prodigy Harry Styles joins the company, old wounds are reopened and old passions reignited. During the company's production of Swan Lake the secret that doomed their love is finally revealed, but will it be too late?

Me: Trigger Warning, sexual assault (by an original character to a major character). This was a little brutal because I hated to see a broken Harry, but it was well written and has a happy ending.

7. Wear It Like A Crown by zarah5 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1816771/chapters/3900322

AU. As part of a team of fixers hired to handle a gay scandal in Buckingham Palace, Louis expects Prince Harry to be a lot of things—most notably a royally spoilt brat. Never mind that the very same Prince Harry used to star in quite a number of Louis' teenage fantasies.

Me: I loved Louis in this one--actually they are both pretty great. Scratch that, they are ALL pretty great.

8. Shake Me Down by AGreatPerhaps12 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/3331958/chapters/7285322

Harry's new to college, fresh out of Catholic school and conversion therapy camp, and Louis runs the campus LGBTQIA organization.

Me: I don't like the self-hate here, but it was necessary for the story and H comes around. Found family vibe.

9. Gods & Monsters by Velvetoscar - https://archiveofourown.org/works/2090982/chapters/4550871

The instructions were simple: seduce and destroy Harry Styles. Not once did they discuss the option of Louis actually falling in love. So, naturally, that's exactly what he did.

Me: I loved Harry in this one. Louis gets there. I don't like Liam, but I don't think you're supposed to. Zayn is great.

10. Own the Scars by crinkle-eyed-boo (KimmieRocks) - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1010796

Louis has never felt like he was good enough: for his stepdad, for his life-long best friend, for the life he's supposed to want. After an accident that nearly costs him his life, Louis' parents send him to rehab where he’s forced to face his demons. On the long and difficult road to recovery, Louis must confront the truths he’s been avoiding about his future, his relationships, and his sense of self-worth. Because before he can love anyone else, he’s got to learn how to love himself first.

Me: Harry is lovely in this one. Trigger warning, substance abuse and near death.

11. Wild Love by purpledaisy - https://archiveofourown.org/series/1030904

AU: Two best friends try to date each other for forty days. It's supposed to be fun until emotions make it complicated.

Me: I loved this way more than I thought I would. It's lovely and messy and I love it.

12. Victorian Boy by audreyhheart - https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosann1986/readings?page=6

Victorian AU. Harry the virgin Duke of Somerset knows little of love, while Louis the sly Duke of Warwick knows too much. When the two dukes come together for the Bilsdale fox hunt in York, Harry finds himself drawn into Louis' bed. But when secrets from Louis' dark past come to light, Harry fears that the fox isn't the only one being hunted.

Me: Historical fiction I didn't intend to love. I LOVE Harry in this one. LOTS of smut, so be warned.

13. Keep Me Closer by zanni_scaramouche - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30752633

Louis expects Harry to react poorly, maybe even file a formal complaint and that’s gonna suck ass but Louis won’t say shit cause he knows he deserves it, so he prepares an apology before Harry’s even turned around.

What he doesn’t expect is Harry to fucking drop.

Me: lovely, protective Louis just trying to do the right thing.

14. Turning Page by purpledaisy for SockstheDog

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11826345

AU: Harry Styles tries to get lost in a place he’s never been.  Louis Tomlinson has been perfecting the art of being lost for years. What they don’t expect to find is each other.

Me: sweet love story. Niall owns a bar, and is pretty great.

15. Freedom Always Comes With a Price by Cyantific - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30278514/chapters/74624262

A shared dream brings them together onto the X-factor stage, but one decision changes Harry and Louis’ lives overnight. Thrust into a world of instant stardom, they're forced to live a lie to sustain their dreams, but years of living in the shadows and under strict management takes its toll.

With the bands impending hiatus, there’s no better time for change, so they think.

Desperate for a solution, they turn to an unlikely source with a radical plan. An unfortunate accident sets everything in motion, but not how they intended, leaving Louis’ memories altered, Harry broken-hearted and full of regret.

Can Harry figure out a way to fix everything? Will he even want to once he sees how Louis moved on after the hiatus? Will Louis ever find out the truth of their past and can he forgive Harry after all this time?

In the end, two friends find out that memories are elusive, trust is everything and love is the only antidote.

Me: Heartbreaking when they lose each other, but really good in the end.

16. Little Technicolor Things by scary_crow - https://archiveofourown.org/works/6025519/chapters/13821628

Louis is a poor writer and recent university graduate, depressed, anxious, and living in London when he meets Harry, an artist with a secret who likes to paint sunrises and pretty boys from California.

17. Hold You Now by solvetheminourdreams - https://archiveofourown.org/works/30253536/chapters/74556744

Three years ago, Harry Styles said goodbye to communications consultancy firm McQuiston Worldwide, leaving a life of travel and agency PR behind. When he accompanies his best friend to a family wedding across the Atlantic, he'll be forced to reopen old wounds and face his past—one that no one wants to hash out, but may just have to.

Me: Niall is great. They almost miss each other in this one, and you just want to bash them over the head. But they figure it out.

18. At Risk, I Fold by clare328 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/26542480

2015 is a stream of hotel rooms and whisky on the rocks, tired glances and touching hands under tables. It’s the bears and the bees under a rainbow sky, and Harry and Louis have to figure out how to grow up together, instead of apart.

Me: A canon compliant fic that feels like it could have really happened. Set in 2015. Lovely first chapter and scene where Harry writes If I Could Fly--i could read that chapter over and over.

19. Into The Blue by zarah5 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/1035822/chapters/2065499

AU. In which Louis is Harry's scuba instructor and quite happy to provide the requested special treatment, pun fully intended. It can't be all that difficult to convince Harry that they're on the same page, right? Also, Niall and Liam may or may not be dating, and Zayn is surrounded by emotionally stunted idiots. He bears it with dignity.

Me: AKA the Scuba fic.

20. Tie Your Heart by ArcadianMaggie - https://archiveofourown.org/works/546688/chapters/973236

Harry grows wings.

Me: How can you not love a fic where Harry grows wings? Trigger warning: injury of a major character.

21. I think I'll end this here. My last and probably first favorite (read it more than once) is...

my heart is breathing for this moment in time by usedtothebeach - https://archiveofourown.org/works/934996/chapters/1820282

When Louis first saw Harry at the 2010 X Factor Auditions, he thought he was watching a peculiarly special stranger. But Harry has known Louis ever since he was five years old.

Because Louis has a rare genetic disorder that causes him to Time Travel to important moments in his past and in his future - and to Harry, always to Harry. When they're put into a band together, it seems like everything Harry has been waiting and wishing for has finally come true. Except for the small fact that Louis doesn't know that Harry is in love with him- that Harry's always been in love with him. Fate, it would seem, is just getting started.

A story about growing up and growing together, and the impossible love that makes it all worthwhile.

Me: I LOVED the Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and I'm a huge fan of time travel, so this is right up my alley. It's really well done, weaving canon into fantasy and then going years forward in tme. I love everything about it. Great character development. Really good smut. Trigger warning, there's a little underage sex, so be aware. Anyway, LOVE this one so much.

I'll add to this but it's already longer than I meant it to be.

[catxsnow]

OLD WOUNDS PT. TWO

Summary: Dick’s words broke you more than a bullet ever could, it was time to fix that once and for all. No matter the outcome. 

Warning: angst, some swears

A/N: Part two babyyyyy. Wasn’t planning on this but I’m glad that I did! 

Word count: 3.5k

GIF not mine

Part one

It took weeks for your bullet wound to heal. Weeks of not being able to go out on the streets, weeks of being stuck at home, and weeks with nothing to do except for think about the words that Dick Grayson lashed out to you.

You knew that he was being honest about what he was thinking. Dick never yelled at you unless there was a reason and this one was loud and clear. Dick hated you. He hated you for leaving everyone behind without a second thought. He hated you for abandoning the people that you once called family.

And he was right to do so. You left for your own benefit and didn't think about anyone else while doing so. It was selfish of you, and you regretted it. Of course you did, leaving them left you with no one. You had been alone for years. You didn't want the pain of Jason and Wally's deaths leaning on you, or anyone else that you couldn't save.

Those weeks had left you in a mess. Sleepless nights of wondering how different things would be if you hadn't left. Stressing over whether or not you should ever show your face outside of your apartment again. Most of all, you felt the kind of sadness in your chest that never truly went away.

Dick's words hurt more than the bullet he took out of you.

It was what you needed to hear. You needed to know that you hurt so many people because of your actions. The pain that he cracked against you like a whip stung deep, but the true pain came from knowing that everything was your fault. You took his happiness, and you ruined him for years.

Babs, Kori, they were better than you, they always had been. Morally, skillfully, they always won against you and yet Dick wasn't happy with either of them. He was happy with you and you broke him in return.

By the time that your wound had healed, you needed to get out of your home. You needed the fresh air, the harsh punches against criminals. That was the night that you wouldn't mind if a thug got the upper hand on you.

You had left Gotham the moment you left the Wayne Manor. It wasn't fair of you to stick around after already causing so much pain. Home was only a few cities over, you could never bring yourself to veer too far off.

It felt refreshing to leap from roof top to roof top. The crisp cold air woke you up out of the sluggish state you had been in. This was what you lived for, fighting crime and bringing peace to the people. It was too bad that you could never bring peace with your friends, if they dared to call you that anymore.

That night, you had taken down a few people. An idiotic thief, a pickpocketer, a group of men who were getting a too handsy with an innocent woman. The moment you jumped from the roof you knew that you were way outnumbered. There were too many men at once and you were stuck right in the middle of it all.

It was what you felt like you deserved. More punches than you normally would receive, but not enough that you couldn't take these bastards down. By the time the last one fell to the ground, blood dripped down your cheek and your lips. You spit out a mix of saliva and blood and stormed away from the scene.

The rest of the night was quiet, and quiet was what you were trying to avoid. It wasn't until you passed by your old hideout did you finally stop. It was well abandoned now, you hadn't been there since leaving the team. With a sigh, you headed over to the building. The access code was still the same - Dick's birthday.

Dust covered all the computers but nothing had been changed. You spent a lot of hours in that room. Between you and Dick, it was easy to clock in over thirty hours a week there. You spent a lot of time with him there and being inside only brought back memories that you were trying to diminish, not resurface.

However, you pushed on. You flipped the lights on in the room, looking around at everything that you once had. Dick was right, this was your fault. Everything that happened was because you weren't strong enough to be there.

You fingers trailed over the desks and you walked towards the Zeta Tube Bruce allowed you to have. It made it a hell of a lot easier to get to the mountain or the watchtower rather than going all the way over to Gotham. The machine whirred to life, and with a moments of hesitance, you typed in where you wanted to go.

The likeliness that they kept your name in the roster was slim, and you were sure that it wasn't even going to work. However, when you were beamed out of the room and to the Watchtower, you were more surprised than anything. The robotic voice spent chills down your spine as you arrived.

The Watchtower looked the same as it always had. Cold, empty, never home. Mount Justice had been your home for many years when you finally settled from going from mentor to mentor. The team was the first time that you ever felt like you had a stable life. Leaving it and having to come all the way up there? It never felt right.

You didn't realize you were walking towards the large window that overlooked Earth. A smile made its way to your face as you thought about the amount of times that you and Dick would watch from above. You spent hours with him up there, watching, talking, simply loving him and everything there was to him.

Fuck, did you miss him.

The loss of him hadn't hurt you this badly in so long. Seeing him again destroyed you just as much as him. You hadn't realized how much you missed having him by your side, whether it was fighting crime or in bed. You needed him in your life and it had been years since you had him.

"It's been a long time."

"Bruce," you acknowledged. You hadn't heard him come up behind you but you knew the sound of his voice. "I'm surprised you didn't cut off my access. Not very Batman of you."

"It was Tim that insisted," Bruce finally stood by your side. You could hear the underline in his voice though: Tim, not Dick. Tim always looked up to you when he had the mantle of Robin. He copied your fighting style in many ways and had a similar thought process to yours. You didn't know how he felt after you left.

Tim and Dick were as close as any non-blood related brother could be. During missions, Dick relied on Tim to be the leader of the group, he knew that he could handle things when things got tough. You both did. Tim was just another poor soul that you crushed upon your leaving.

"I take it you healed just fine?" Bruce continued upon your silence. You managed to avoid him, and anyone else in the Manor as you left that night. You weren't surprised that he had still managed to find out about your brief visit.

"Physically, you bet," you nodded. This time, Bruce picked up on your tone - Dick had laid a new one on you. He didn't know what conversation went on between the two of you but Dick had been on edge and snappy ever since you left. "Thank you, for saving me. I owe you one - I owe you lots."

"You could come back," Bruce looked over at you. His lips were in a tight line and his eyes couldn't be seen beneath his cowl. The long black cape draped his shoulders and you couldn't help but wish that you too had a cape to hide within. "We could use you on the team, either team."

"It's been years, Bruce," you sighed. I'm not welcome back, was more like it. You felt traitorous to even show up there, you couldn't consider rejoining the team. When the pain of your friends deaths started to dim, you dared showed your face there again? No, that wouldn't fly with half the members of the team. Dick wouldn't allow it.

You couldn't put him through that. He could barely meet your eyes, how did you ever expect that he would trust you again on a mission? Or trust you to have his or anyone else's back? No, your spot on the team was long gone, you didn't deserve it anymore.

"I'm not the same person that I used to be," you continued. Bruce looked at your bloody, bruised face. Beneath your mask, he could see the outline of fresh purple bruises. A small cut dragged across your cheek and although you tried to wipe the blood from your busted lip, some of it was still smeared around your mouth. In all the years that he knew you, you would never allow someone to get that many face hits - this was on purpose.

It wasn't just the beaten face you referred to. It was the aggression. Your tactics became more violent, less with the law. It was hard to maintain a sense of justice when justice killed your friends. Doing the right thing didn't always get your somewhere in life, it got you killed.

Even your suit had changed. Oliver had designed your original one. It was form fitting, covered any exposed skin and protected your from the harms of your world. Now, you showed off a dangerous amount of skin, not caring what could happen to you.

"Dick has gone through too much in his life, I can't put him through this," you pulled your mask off with a sigh. You eyes that once shone bright at the sight below you were now cold and sharp. Bruce could see the exhaustion on your face and how much being back here was tearing you apart.

"I did a lot of bad things in my life but leaving him was the worst thing I could have done. Doing things right by him isn't me joining the team again, it's me leaving, for good. I'm not coming back Bruce, ever," You fished out the device that he had given you and handed it over to him. He never made a move to grab it. "I can't keep causing pain in other peoples lives just to try and lessen my own pain. Leaving for good might just solve that."

Bruce reached into his belt to pull out a small velvet box. He handed it over to you and with confusion in your eyes, you grabbed it. Inside was a ring, an engagement ring.

"Weeks before Jason died, Dick was going to give this to you," Bruce told you. Tears stung your eyes and your throat tightened up. It had been just over three years that the two of you were dating before Jason died. "He wanted Jason to be one of his groomsmen., Wally to be his best man."

"Why are you telling me this?" You didn't want to hear about how you ruined his plans for his future. You didn't want to know that Dick loved you enough that he wanted to marry you. The reality of how much you hurt him amplified.

"Running from your problems was what caused this in the first place," Bruce didn't accept the ring or the beacon as you tried to hand both back to him. "Dick and I don't always see eye to eye on things, but we both knew that you were good for him."

Bruce said nothing else to you. He glanced down at the items in your hand once more before leaving. The velvet box in your hand seemed to be burning a hole into it. The idea of marrying Dick would once excite you, bring you joy about your future with him because at one point he was your future. Now? Now all you could feeling was the unwelcoming pain of shame.

"Fuck," you muttered. You crouched down, the ring box pressed to your forehead as you tried to decipher your thoughts. Dick was the love of your life all those years ago and you truly fucked that up. No greater mistake could have been made on your behalf. "Fuck."

Why hadn't you just stayed? Why did you have to make the unwise choice of leaving for your own benefit? To pull yourself away from the people that you cared about so that if they ever got hurt you wouldn't have to feel heartbreak? Where did that get you? At home, miserable because you had no one. Miserable because you knew that just as much as you missed your friends, they missed you more.

All this time you thought that you left to avoid the pain, but being back here? That hurt you more than all those years away. The reminder that you once had people that would trust you with their life, that wanted to spent their life with you. Now, you had no one. No one would be willing to take a misfit like you back into their life, not after they had just gotten back to where they were before you left.

Maybe it would have been easier to not have pressed that beacon. Maybe it would have been easier to let those men take you. Whatever pain that they would have inflicted upon you had to have hurt less than what you were feeling now. Emotional pain never went away, physical wounds healed.

You wanted to apologize to Dick. You wanted to tell him how you really felt about these past years but you knew he wouldn't stay long enough to hear you out. Hell, you didn't even have a way of contacting him. The device in your hand suddenly felt heavy. You had one way of getting him to come to you.

"Fuck," you repeated one last time. With the ring weighing you down in the other hand, you pressed the button. Who knows if he would even come but you needed to see him once more. If he truly wanted you out of his life, you would heed to his words - trying to force your way back in wasn't going to be fair to him.

You stood there and waited. The Earth below you was cascaded with darkness as the sun had been on the other side. Darkness of the world seemed to be no less dark than you.

Your heart raced as you heard the animated voice - someone was arriving in the zeta tube. You stood there, still facing the large window that cast into space. Being all the way up here made everything down there feel impossible irrelevant. All the problems that you had within the planet seemed to disappear.

"Why are you here?"

Dick. You turned to face him, unsure of what you wanted to say. There were so many things racing through your head and none of them seemed good enough to even sightly make up for what you did. Nothing you could say would ever make up for it, but you hoped that maybe Bruce was right, maybe there was hope for redemption.

The anger that was on his face fell to one of worry as he saw the state of your face. The bruises that covered your jaw, cheeks, and the blood that had dried up on your skin. No matter how angry he ever was at you, even when you were still here, he was always concerned with your safety first.

"What happened?" He changed his statement. Dick stood at your side, his hand reaching up to look over what was wrong. No matter how tender his touch was, you couldn't help but flinch away. You didn't deserve his comfort. Dick's hand dropped back down to his side.

"Nothing I didn't deserve," you assured. He was in his civilian clothes, but he looked tired. Bags were under his eyes, his shoulders drooped while his hands were in his pockets. "I know you don't want to see me, but I wanted to talk with you."

"I'm here," Dick surmised. That was enough to tell you that though he didn't want to be there, he would listen to what you had to say. However, his gaze went from your face down to your hands, he recognized the small box in your hand. "Where did you get that?"

His voice became harsh. So harsh that you winced and cowered back. Wish shaky hands, you handed him the ring. "Bruce," you answered. "Dick I could apologize to you a thousand times and it would never be enough to make up for what I did, I know that. I could announce to the whole world that I'm a fuck up and that I deserve to be frowned upon and that wouldn't come close to enough.

"Fuck, I know that there is nothing in this world that can make up for my mistakes. What I did, to you, the rest of the team, it was awful of me. I know that. I shouldn't have left but you were right: I am weak. I was too weak to face my fears so I ran. If I would have known better, I should have ran to you instead of away, but I didn't.

"It's too late to change things, to change what I did. I just hope that one day that you won't have to look at me with that same anger in your eyes that you have right now." You played with the small velvet box between your fingers. With a sigh, you handed it back over to him. "You deserve a happy life Dick, and after all of this, the life shouldn't have to include me."

Dick grabbed the ring from you. "I bought this less than a year after we started dating," Dick finally spoke after a long moment of silence. You couldn't tell what he was thinking. "I knew I wanted to marry you. After being friends for so long, I couldn't picture myself with anyone else. You were always the one."

"I'm sorry I ruined that," you sighed. You looked down at the mask that you held in your hands. It was the one that Dick got you when you first joined the team. Even if your costume changed, you couldn't bare to part with it. Reluctantly, you handed that over to him as well. He smiled a little as he held it.

"I came to say goodbye, Dick," his gaze abruptly shifted from the mask, to your bruised eyes. "I put you through too much in this lifetime, I can't keep doing this to you. I figured after all this time, a proper goodbye would do us good. I understand that you don't want me here anymore, I understand no one does."

"I never said that," Dick cut you off. "I never said I didn't want you here. It wasn't fair of me to blow up at you the other night, I'm sorry for being so reactive but I'm not sorry for what I said. You left us, you ran away, but if you truly want to make things right, then you need to stop running.

"You want to make up for everything that you've done? You work your ass off here, on this team. You lead the kids to make the right choices and not to make the same mistakes that you did. That's how you earn my forgiveness, that's how you make things right with the team, with your friends."

Your head hung low. "If you want me to stay, I'll stay. If you want me to leave, I'll leave. Whatever choice you make, I promise you with my life that I will stick with it."

There was another silence between you. Dick's gaze turned away from you and towards the window. "We spent a lot of hours here, looking down at the world that we give our lives to protect. Couldn't bring myself to spend a lot of time here after you left," He honestly told you. Dick handed your mask back to you. "I'm tired of seeing you walk away."

"Then I won't. Ever again," You grabbed your mask from his hand. The same calloused hands that would cup your face when you were feeling scared, the ones that would grab your own hands when you needed comfort, the ones that fought against so many people to protect you.

"Dick, I-" you cut yourself off with a staggered breath. You wanted to tell him so many things: I love you, I never stopped missing you, I want to be yours again. You couldn't. If Dick ever wanted you back again, it would have to be on his terms, not your own. You didn't even know if he ever wanted that.

It didn't matter though. You would live a lifetime in pain just to make him happy for even a second.

"I'm glad to be back."

tagged: @gotta-get-back-to-johnlock​ thanks for getting me to do a part 2!

[kimberly-spirits13]

For Wandering Dreamers (Pt. 2)

 Synopsis: After hearing your parents argue about something for what feels like the zillionth time that night, you escape to your books and comics for some escaping of reality. Just as the argument ends with slamming doors, a note and locket landed on your bed. Inscribed on the note was a promise of new adventures and a better life awaiting you.

Notes: Y/F/D= Your Favorite Drink  Y/N= Your Name   Y/N/N= Your Nickname   Y/F/P= Your Favorite Playlist

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1979

          You woke up to the sound of someone trying to wake you up and small beams of golden sunlight peaking in through the curtains of your bedroom.        

           “Y/N, it’s time to get up.” You rolled over and rubbed your eyes to see Damian stepping back. His emerald green eyes sparkled in the light and you smirked some siting up and taking your hair out of the two braids that it was in, revealing wavy hair

           “What time is it?” You mumbled yawning.

           “it’s 9:15 in the morning. Alfred has breakfast prepared downstairs.” He informed you as you rolled out of bed fixing your shirt.

           “Thank you. I’ll be downstairs shortly.” You said, “Wait, where is the kitchen?”

           “So, you can make your way to the Batcave and the Fortress of Solitude but not the kitchen?” He chuckled, “You surprise me more and more every minute.”

           “Well, I have seen blue prints on Google of the house but it was how someone imagined it so I cannot guarantee that that is actually how to get downstairs.” “And also, you will find that I am in fact very impressive in multiple ways.” You smiled getting out one of the outfits that you packed.

           Running into the bathroom as Damian waited outside on the bed for you, you changed into your favorite colored thinner hoodie, denim jacket, dark grey ripped jeans, black and white Adidas, and you put your hair up. After that you brushed your teeth and then headed out to go downstairs with Damian.

           “Try and take the lead.” He challenged, “Just see if you can make it to the kitchen.”

           “Fine.” You replied walking down the hallway, eventually to a set of stairs.

           “Oh, what floor are we on Damian?” You asked.

           “Just the second.” He answered.

           “Cool.” You walked down the flight of stairs which seemed never ending and then to a double staircase that led to the massive living room and to the side, the kitchen.

           “It wasn’t that hard.” Damian remarked behind you.

           “Mhmm.” You rolled your eyes getting a small laugh from Jason who was leaning on the counter.

           “So, you must be Y/N?” Jay asked.

           “Yep.” You answered, “Oh Jason, just for your information, all of Tumblr wants you to know that you’re awesome.” “It’s a social media platform where I’m from.” You explained, “I don’t know if you guys have it.”

           “Finally, some recognition around here.” He threw his hands up in exasperation, “And what does Tumblr say about the rest of the crew?”

           “It’s pretty unsurprising really.” You answered, “Dick is the mother hen, you’re the awesome one that everyone loves, Tim is the sleep deprived little bean,” you laughed some and continued pulling up a link on your phone, “According to this, Damian is a small deadly cupcake, Cass is an amazing and beautiful person who everyone would seriously die for, Steph is a waffle queen, Babs is just a queen... no a goddess, Bruce is the mom jeans dad, and Alfred is superior to all. Oh, and Kate is a badass, Duke is the sane one, and seriously at the end of this it says that the writer would die for every one of you guys.” “So yeah, you guys are pretty popular.”

           Jason was wheezing laughing at Tim and Damian’s description and Dick was slightly offended before be introduced himself. You guys talked a lot much to what seemed to be the to the jealously of Damian for some reason. You wouldn’t admit it but Damian was your favorite Robin. You had had a crush on him but you know, that didn’t need to come to light.

           You sat down at the table and was talking to Damian again who was seated next to you as everyone sat down. They were asking questions and introducing themselves little by little. It was just as you had imagined it on the nights that you dreamed of leaving home or scrolling through some sort of fan fic. The breakfast was amazing and was enough to make you remember that you actually had a life outside of this. Plus, would Bruce pay for education? You weren’t really expecting that but it was the summer time so you assumed that there was no need to worry about that yet.

A few weeks later...

           You were walking around Gotham with Damian the day after the third gala that you had attended. It wasn’t hard to become fast friends with Cass, Babs, and Steph seeing as how they were literal queens of the entire Batfam and the rest of the family welcomed you with open arms, but recently you and Damian haven’t been spending as much time as the two of you would like to. It was something that he had “voiced” after kind of ignoring you for a few days which led to some interrogation on your end, plus some slight teasing.

           Finally, you guys were doing something that didn’t involve six other people, even if those *other people* were very much welcomed. The two of you walked down a sidewalk into a coffee shop where you proceeded to grab a table for the two of you and Damian got the drinks. He came back and smiled some, sitting down and passing you Y/F/D.

           “Thank you.” You said taking a sip from the drink.

           “Anytime.” He answered before the look of an idea graced his face, “There’s a book store not too far from here that you’d probably like.”

           “Is it a Barnes and Noble or just corner/ local shop?” You inquired.

           “It’s a corner shop just down the street. Trust me, it’s better than any Barnes and Noble you’ve ever seen.” He answered.

           “Wanna bet on it Dames?” You chuckled some.

           “Only if you’re prepared to lose Y/N/N.” Damian challenged, “If this is the most impressive book store you’ve ever walked into, I get to take you out on a date Friday night.”

           “Well, then, I might purposely lose, Wayne.” You smiled at him some, the look of brilliant trouble glazing over your eyes, “And if I win, you can take me out and kiss me after the store.”

           “I might do both regardless.”

           You raised a brow, “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go see this awe -inspiring book store.”

           You guys walked down the street, swarmed by the media and paparazzi as they were getting pictures of Gotham’s newest unconfirmed couple. The two of you stopped in front of a store that read, “Corner- Shop Books.”

           “Straight to the point I see.” You said sarcastically as you guys walked inside.

           “Mhmm.” Damian looked to see your reaction which was almost immediate.

           The shop was bigger than you expected. There were shelves everywhere and a small sitting area near the middle of the store. In the back, there were stairs that lead to another floor of books and the seemingly infinite sea of literature drew in anyone that gazed into its glass doors. You were still for a second, admiring the large room and then walking around some, leaving Damian behind for a few seconds.

           To Damian, watching you was like watching a kid in a candy shop. You gently ran your fingers over some of the intricate spines of the books, making your way to the classical literature, and then myths, history, and up the staircase to where the fiction and fantasy was.

           He smiled as you looked so at peace in the world. It was the first time that he had really seen you this comfortable aside from some of the moments where you two were alone in the library reading or out in the gardens having conversations on whatever subject or topic you were interested in discussing. The thought that you guys might be here for hours crossed his mind, but was quickly brushed away once he saw the excited look on your face as you found something that was interesting enough to grab hold of your ever -wandering attention.

           “What is this one about?” He asked referring to the hard -back book with a beautiful pale pink and gold cover, and what looked to be part of a castle on the spine.

           You were reading the synopsis of the book before answering him, “It’s a book about a princess that comes from a lineage where the first of the family was a “god killer” of sorts. He defeated the goddess of death when she decided to take over the land and now the goddess, 300 years later, is back to reclaim her throne.” You stopped for a second, “It’s also got a male character who acts as an assassin for the king and may or may not be the romantic interest of the trilogy.”

           “The boxed set is right there if you’d like it.” He picked it up and handed it to you.

           “I’d like to not spend a ton of money on books until I find a job or something.” You said putting the book down.

           “I’ll get it for you. Just get what you’d like, the bookshelves in your bedroom are looking empty as of late except for the few you managed to bring. I can see how you stare at it sometimes with the look of dissatisfaction during some of our conversations.” Damian offered, joking some at the last part.

           “Dames, it’s okay I-“ He cut you off.

           “I insist Y/N.” He said handing you the box of books.

           You gratefully smiled at him and offered a thank you before continuing along in the store to hunt for more books. It was maybe three hours before you guys left. You had a few bags of books and thanked Damian profusely. He insisted that it was totally fine and you kind of stopped once you reminded yourself that he was, in fact, the son of a billionaire.

           Once back in the manor, you had run upstairs to start organizing your shelf, you know, as any book worm might. It wasn’t long before you got a knock at the door and you were pretty sure you knew exactly who it was.

           “Come in.” You turned off Y/F/P and waited for the person to come in.

           Damian walked into your room and shut the door, “So, about the bet.” He asked, “Was it the most impressive book store you’ve ever seen?”

           You thought for a moment, “Well I mean, the one in New York was really cool that one time, oh there was that one from Jersey...” You looked up and smiled, “Just kidding. And yes, it was by far, the best bookstore I’ve ever seen.”

           He smiled and walked to you, putting his hands on your waist, “Then I hope that you will keep your end of the bargain and accompany me to dinner Friday night?”

           “I will.” You replied, your breath hitching some at how close you two were, “I am slightly disappointed that you didn’t lose though.”

           “And why is that Y/N?” He asked.

           “Because now, you don’t have to kiss me.” You smirked some as he stared you intensely.

           “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to.” With that, he pulled you into a long kiss, you ran your fingers through his hair at one point, and he pulled you dangerously close to his chest.

           Once you broke apart he spoke up, “Y/N, would you be my girlfriend?”

           “That’s an offer I cannot pass up.” You answered, “100%.”

           “Well then beloved...” You smiled at the name remembering it from the fan fics, “I hope you have something to wear for our date.”

           “I’ll find something.” You looked at your stack of books debating whether or not to start shelving them.

           Your thoughts came to a stop when you heard that dinner was ready, you would just do it while Damian was on patrol. You were a night owl anyways, so it wouldn’t matter.

Ya’ll I’m dying I haven’t had literally any sleep but here we are lol. I hope that you guys had a great Easter and are doing well. If you have any requests, please send them in. I hope that you guys are staying safe and are well have a good day and keep sane! 😊

[ranger-jedi-knight]

A New Hero Chap 14

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20887313/chapters/59619589 Taglist: ASK AND YOU SHALL BE PUT ON~~!!!!

Ok, so here’s the next chap! Sorry about the wait, life got....interesting to say the least. At long last tho, we have Mari n Co heading to Gotham finally! Cant wait for the small reunion later this chap!! I FORGOT THE TWEETS AGAIN DAMNIT!!!!!! I am SOOOO sorry i WILL remember to keep addin them on at the ends!!!

“Your brother wants me and Lana to what?” Alya asked looking over at Dick tired.

“Stay put. Easy!” Dick replied and Alya glared at him.

“Uh, huh. He wants, me a Detective to not leave the precinct, and Lana, a college student to not move even tho she has cleanses to go to?” she repeated and Dick pressed his lips together.

“Ok, when you put it like that-” he started but got cut off by Alya putting her hand over Dick’s.

“Damian isn’t even here. Why does he care what we do since your his brother who should get his butt over to the airport since his flight should be landing in 20 or so minutes and its already 9:50. Get your ass over to that airport to give your brother a hug,” Alya said glaring and Dick yelped. “Ya, give a call when your getting back since well, you’ll see,” she said gripping his shirt and pulling him close and DIck swallowed the lump in his throat, “that Babs ain’t the only one to kick your ass into shape.”

A smirk grew on Dick’s face at that. “Is that a promise?” he teased and Alya scoffed pushing him back.

“You had your chance buddy. Now get outta here before I make you regret being late to seeing Damian arrive,” she said and Dick gave a mock salute before scurrying off, grabbing his keys as he ran while their fellow cops laugh around them.

“Did he really have a chance?” A British African American FBI agent asked as he watched Dick leave, his accent still going strong even tho he’s been in New Jersey for the last 5 years.

“Eh, possibly, Xavier. I do have eyes you know,” she said and Xavier snorted as he straightened his stack of papers. “Once maybe, until you realize he’ll only have eyes for Babs,” she continued and Xavier nodded.

“You’ll find love, I’m sure of it. If Shrek can find love as an Ogre, so can you,” Xavier said and Alya made a fake offended sound in response.

“Are you saying I look like an Ogre?” she asked and Xavier raised his hands in defense. “Not at all!” he said and some people hummed at that.

“It really sounded like it~!” the precincts secretary, Mira, hummed out with a smirk and Xavier glared over at her.

“Don’t anger the Goddess! She’ll rain down on you the wrath of almighty Zeus himself!” a different cop, Sarah she thought, shouted causing Alya to snort.

“I ain’t no Goddess, silly!” she shouted over to them. The cop in question, it was Sarah she can recognize that golden blonde ponytail anywhere, stuck her head out the break room with a look.

“No, you are a Goddess. Especially in that flowing dress, you wore for the Halloween party Dick threw,” she called and Alya rolled her eyes as some nodded agreement.

“You guys are ridiculous, get back to work,” she called and that had everyone nodding agreement while Alya chuckled to herself as she went to her desk. Xavier followed and leaned against the desk with his hip.

“Sticking a pin in that ‘Is Alya Grayson a Goddess or Not’ conversation,” he said chuckling softly, “I do hope whatever it is Dick’s brother has planned for you is nice,” he said and Alya smiled at him while nodding slowly.

“So do I. Now, isn’t Agent Fornell waiting for those documents your holding?” she asked and Xavier nodded with a smile.

“That he is. Talk to you later then. Goodbye!” he said beaming as he walked backward, waving to everyone who returned it before he left the precinct.

Alya shook her head as she pulled her phone out and texted Lana: Als: Heads up, Damian apparently wants you and I to stay put where we r

Eagle-eye: whys that???? We rnt the closest

Als: who knows. Dick was just sending the message. idk, maybe Mari wants to hug us when she arrives?

Eagle-eye: maybe. I dont got time to theorize, got a test to do

Als: GL!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mari was bouncing between Damian and Xander as they boarded the plane finally after waiting for so long. They had to deal with morning traffic which took forever it felt like before they arrived an hour and a half arrive before their flight left making sure they didn’t have to worry about security taking forever. And the whole time Mari stared at the desk with her leg bouncing.

With 30 minutes to spare, Ms. Bustier arrived, the last one too. The other students had converged in the gate slowly at different times but with enough time to not worry. But Ms. Bustier arrived with less than 30 minutes to spare causing her class to worry.

Which to say the least?

Was awkward.

Alya and the others that didn’t know sat at one side of the gate looking at Mari and the people that knew awkwardly. They felt bad but knew they messed up.

BIG time.

Like MEGA BIG TIME that a simple apology wouldn’t work. It didn’t help that Mari’s friends didn’t let them thru. Kim, Nino, Chloe, Sabrina, Max, Lila, Xan, and Adrien all glared at them while Damian focused on Mari. Meanwhile, Alya, Alix, Mylene, Ivan, and Rose all tried figuring out what they could do to earn favor back from Mari. Juleka was the only one in the pure neutral middle ground. She skimmed the email and knew a movie was being filmed.

But didn’t know Lila was lying for sure.

She could guess. When Mari tried saying that and the disagreed she figured she’d stay quiet. She didn’t need anyone else trying to make her life hell. So Mari was neutral toward the girl as she hasn’t been present at that moment. So she was silently supporting the group and offering tidbits to help them realize that they need to change themselves before trying to regain Mari’s trust and friendship.

Only Time Will Tell.

They boarded the plane and sat back for the long flight. Most of them slept during the trip. Mari and Lila included. The two leaned against each other while Xan and Damian talked. Well, Damian talked. Which was odd. But it distracted Xan from the anxiety pooling in his gut as they flew.

After some time, and some crackers, the dread settled down. Damian told him everything that’s happened in Gotham since he left. Some he didn’t like hearing. But as Damian reminded him, everything was ok. No one is hurt.

Soon after Damian finished, Mari and Lila woke up. Lila smiled as she and Damian switched seats and she took Xan’s hand into hers. “It’ll be fine. They’re going to be so happy to see you,” she said quietly and Xan nodded.

“Even knowing what happened?” he asked and Lila hummed, tracing a finger along the back of his hand in nonsensical patterns.

“Ya, I think so. I think that they’re just going to be so happy that you survived everything and came back to them. From what it sounds like, if you didn’t, you wouldn’t be here today,” Lila whispered leaning her head against his shoulder. In return, Xan lightly leaned his head against her head with a sigh.

“Ya, that’s what Damian said too. I know it’s true, but my head just keeps pushing all these doubts,” he mumbled.

“That’s fair. It’s been 8 years since you’ve seen them. Lana watched you get hit. And then, seemingly right before her eyes, you disappear. People change with time. But, those bonds? They don’t typically change. I bet they still miss you as if it was just yesterday,” she replied and Xan nodded slowly, placing his other hand over their hands, squeezing her hands.

“Thank you,” he whispered as they relaxed in their seats and played a movie for the rest of the flight.

“I hope they enjoy the surprise,” Mari whispered and Damian gave a small nod at that.

“I have no doubt that they’ll love it,” he said and Mari smiled softly at that.

“Ya, and they have you to thank for that,” she said and Damian gave a shrug.

“You did most of the work and helped him get better,” he pointed out and Mari smiled as she pressed a kiss to his cheek, a faint blush on her cheeks from doing that, not seeing Damian’s faint blush either.

“Well, I wouldn’t have been able to help if you hadn’t helped him escape. You may not have stayed, but you certainly did help,” she said softly and Damian nodded slowly at that. He remembered it clearly. Even tho it happened over a year ago, it was clear to him.

Damian had turned the GPS off the batjet and flew to Nanda Parbat. He remembered the boy that his mother kidnapped and brought back to life. He remembered training with him a couple of times to let him know he wouldn’t tolerate anything but perfection. He didn’t know what happened to the boy older than him when he left. But then he learned and regretted everything.

Xander was the little brother to Dick’s partner Alya who disappeared. He learned from Issi that Xan, or better known as Whisper in the League, was alive still and there. She had wanted to help get him out since she helped care for him, but she couldn’t without getting caught or killed for real. But now he’d fix the mistake he made.

It was quite easy to sneak into the building. He made his way to where he remembered his bedroom was. He knocked out any guard he saw and pounded on the door. Xan was wearing his training gear when he opened the door. He didn’t recognize Damian as the angry 9-year-old that beat him up when he first arrived. He was wearing all black with a hood and mask on to hide his identity. “W-who are you?” Xan asked suspiciously as he picked up the sword he kept next to the door.

“Do you want to stay here?” Damian asked and Xan looked at him confused.

“Wha-?”

“Do you want to stay here or escape? I can get you out,” he said and Xan glanced around before nodding slowly.

“I want to go back home,” he said and Damian nodded as he then started tugging Xan out. Damian was shocked he was still able to recognize Xan after all this time and all the changes. He wasn’t the same short, scrawny 11-year-old. He had filled out and was taller than Damian by quite a few inches.

“I’ll get you home then,” he said leading them out. As they ran out in the snow, Damian was behind Xan making sure he didn’t get hit. Which was a miracle in the storm, slipping on hidden ice as they ran. But he had been. So the best bet was to get him to Mari and Fu who would help him heal. So when he reached the outskirts of Paris, he cloaked and flew to an alley near the fight and helped Xan out. “This is as far as I can get you. I’m sorry,” he whispered as Xan gripped his head falling to the ground with his backed pressed to the wall.

“I just wish I could have brought him home all the way,” he whispered and Mari took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

“You did what you could, Dami. He was hurt and needed help. If he had been taken directly to Gotham, who knows what would have happened,” she argued and Damian nodded slowly.

“Yes, I know. I just....when he recognized me when I saw the tat on his back. I....I wasn’t prepared to see the tat on his back and I forgot he was there still. So much happened since I got him out, I forgot he was with you. And he didn’t remember me helping him out. And I told him and he was happy. Even thou I didn’t get him out safely, he was happy,” he said at length and Mari once more squeezed his hand. “Well, that’s probably because he knew you did your best. You went back to get him out of that place unprompted. You could have left him there, but you didn’t. You got him out with only a head injury that made everything fuzzy. Give yourself credit, Dami,” Mari said and Damian gave her a small smile at the end of her little speech.

“Thank you,” he whispered and Mari beamed at him.

After some time, the plane landed and they went thru the sequence to leave. Mari smiled as she watched Dick hug Damian with his brothers behind him smirking at his mock displeasure. When Xan appeared talking to Lila, the entire Wayne Family froze in shock. “Y-you-!” Jason started shocked.

“Xander?” Dick asked, a heartbroken tone in his voice. Xan froze where he was and looked up at the family. He didn’t seem to be breathing as he nodded slowly. “Your alive,” he breathed out before making his way over and setting his hands on Xan’s shoulders. Dick started looking him over while the other two made their way over. He then pulled Xan in for a bone-crushing hug causing a surprise sound to leave Xan. “I’m so glad your alive,” he continued.

“Man, this is your surprise, Pixiepop?” Jason asked and Mari nodded with a smile. “They’re going to love it,” he said messing up both Xan’s and Mari’s hair.

“I hope so,” Mari said and Tim gave Mari a reassuring look.

“Mari, they are going to love this. Dont doubt yourself, you’ll see,” Tim said as the rest of the class left the plane.

“You got him?” Mari asked and the boys nodded as they followed everyone to baggage claim.

“Ya, just meet us at the precinct in 20 minutes. I wouldn’t want you to miss the surprise,” Dick replied and Mari smiled with a nod.

Mari-aculous @MDC_Designs The BIG SURPRISE is in 20 minutes~!! Cant wait to see their faces!!! #soexcited #sosoon #almostthere #surprises Dick @ FlyingGrayson Theyre going to LOVE it! Be prepared for lots of hugs Mari!!!

Ok, so here it is!!! The next chap!!! So this was takin while to push out that I decided I wanted to give the reunion scene a proper thing by giving it its own chap. Next chap we will see the Grayson Reunion!!!!! I cant wait for you guys to see it!!! until next time!! ~Love Willa<3<3<3

[w-k-smith]

The Deetz-Maitland-Beetlejuice family is coping pretty well with shelter-in-place, until Adam invents an extremely complicated board game that no one else can understand. As more of them stop playing, the more obsessed he gets with perfecting the rules, leaving Lydia worried about what the endpoint might be.

Read here on AO3, or below the cut. All my off-topic ramblings author’s notes are on AO3, though.

 Day 1

No one knew what Adam was up to until it was too late.

The Maitlands loved their hobbies. Barbara often said picking up and putting down new hobbies was their only consistent hobby, and Lydia considered it to be one of the most fun things about them. Every couple of months, Adam and Barbara found something new they wanted to try, and asked a living member of the household to pick up supplies at the craft or hardware store.

The Maitlands would be the first to admit that they often had more enthusiasm than talent, but sometimes one or both of them turned out to be really good at something. They’d knit sweaters for every person, living and dead, in the house for Christmas. Beetlejuice refused to admit how much he loved the pullover his boyfriend and girlfriend made for him, and wore it nonstop for weeks, and only Barbara’s puppy-dog eyes had convinced him to part with it for one afternoon so she could wash it.

So Lydia was curious when Adam gathered an armload of scrap paper and cardboard and disappeared into the attic. She hoped it would be fun, or at least interesting, because she was anxious and bored enough that she was starting to miss school.

Connecticut’s shelter-in-place order had cast a new energy on the house. Lockdown was going fine, with a few bumps. Even with the protection of Beetlejuice’s sandworm-wrangling skills, the ghosts didn’t leave the house much, and were happy for the extra company. Beetlejuice had volunteered to do grocery shopping, but wasn’t one for sticking to a list or following directions, and had come back with eight boxes of Kashi cereal, a kumquat, and fish food. Delia was coping by meditating and doing yoga in the backyard up to six hours a day. She’d banned any discussion of the news in her presence, and Lydia still found her stress-vaping on the porch at three in the morning.

Lydia was annoyed at how well her father was doing. Charles was adept at sewing masks out of scrap fabric, and kept his hands busy by making piles of them during his endless Zoom work meetings. He’d also forced a quiet hours rule for those Zoom meetings after Lydia and Beetlejuice played a game of tag that ended with a broken window.

“Restricting the movements of the people is a symptom of a fascist state,” Lydia told her father.

“Go do your schoolwork,” he said.

“It’s Saturday. And I did it already! How do you think I know so much about fascism?”

He pressed his thumbs between his eyebrows. “I don’t care if you play around with Lawrence all day.” Charles had taken to calling Beetlejuice by his first name, because he had to explain Beetlejuice’s presence whenever Beetlejuice was around when visitors came over, or, these days, whenever Beetlejuice barged into his office while the webcam was on. “This is Lawrence, my oldest,” Charles typically said, quickly and gruffly, and people seemed to assume he meant “my oldest son, who I have from a previous marriage,” rather than “my oldest dead roommate who is my daughter’s best friend and is in a committed relationship with the deceased couple in the attic.” And Charles himself seemed fine with the assumption. It delighted Beetlejuice utterly. “Please just be quiet for a few hours.”

Lydia sighed, and stormed off. “We have to make as much noise as possible today,” she told Beetlejuice when she found him sitting at the top of the stairs.

“Normally, I’d love that, but we have a new problem,” he said. “Adam’s being weird.”

“Everyone in this house is weird,” Lydia reminded him.

“Adam’s destroying the living room.”

Lydia leaned over the banister. Adam had covered the living room floor with scribbled-on pieces of paper, figurines, and little improvised game pieces. He was speaking intensely to Barbara, but her head was tilted to one side, like she did when she was confused.

“What are you doing?” Lydia asked, walking downstairs. Beetlejuice floated behind her.

“I invented a board game!” Adam said.

“He did. It’s called, um…?” Barbara trailed off.

“It doesn’t have a name yet,” Adam said. “But it’s part Risk, part Monopoly, part Dungeons and Dragons.”

Lydia frowned. “That sounds–”

“Do you want to try it?” he asked, and his eyes were so bright and excited Lydia couldn’t turn him down.

“Let’s all play,” she said. “I’ll get Delia.”

“I’ll get Da-CHARLES,” Beetlejuice said.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was sitting in the living somewhere that wasn’t covered with paper. Adam gave them all a set of pieces, but they each seemed to have a different assortment, because, as far as Lydia could tell, they were playing against each other. Except where the game was collaborative. Except where they had to group into different factions.

“I’m very confused,” Delia whispered to Lydia.

“I am, too,” Lydia whispered back.

“Why don’t we all ever play the games I make up?” Beetlejuice asked.

Charles didn’t look up from the board. “Because, Lawrence, much like you, most of them are very messy and hard to understand.” The roots of Beetlejuice’s hair started to turn purple. “Ergo, you are not allowed in charge of family game time.”

“Family game time?” Beetlejuice repeated, and the purple faded back to green.

Lydia saw Barbara catch Beetlejuice’s eye and mouth Oh, he loves you right before Adam announced he had an idea for a new challenge play.

 Day 2

One by one, the players dropped out of the game.

Charles was the first to go, because he got an emergency call from the vice-director-of-blah-blah-blah. Beetlejuice kept cheating, was ejected from the game by group consensus, and spent several hours sulking behind the couch.

Delia gave it a valiant try. She put more effort into following along than anyone except Barbara. Her enthusiasm started real, became fake, and ended with her asleep on the floor wrapped up in her caftan.

Lydia stopped playing, but stayed in the living room. She messed around on her phone but kept an eye on the Maitlands, wondering how far the game would go.

Finally, right before midnight, Barbara gave up. “Are you going to be OK on your own for a while?” she asked.

“Sure!” Adam said. “I’ll have this perfected in no time.”

Lydia watched him tape two pieces of poster board together, then went upstairs to go to bed. She hoped he’d be done by morning.

 Day 3

Lydia began to get worried. Adam’s game spread across the living room like a spider’s web, as he added more pieces, more levels, more intricate steps that only he could understand. It still didn’t have a name.

“Ghosts can get obsessed,” Beetlejuice told Lydia. “How do you think some of them keep haunting the same hallways for centuries without imploding from boredom? I’ve never seen a ghost get this wrapped up in a board game, though.”

“Something you haven’t seen?” she said. “That’s concerning.”

 Day 4

Lydia made Barbara and Beetlejuice sit down in the kitchen.

“I need your help,” she told them.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Barbara asked.

“Whose body do you need me to hide?” Beetlejuice asked.

“We have to stop Adam.” Lydia pointed behind her at the living room. “This is madness. And not good madness. You guys have to stop him.”

Barbara nodded. “We have talked to him. But he’s pretty determined about this game. I suppose we could start another conversation…”

“I don’t mean that,” Lydia said. “I meant other stuff.”

“Other stuff?” Barbara asked, frowning. But Beetlejuice was grinning, because of course he was.

“I mean distract him romantically,” Lydia said. “Look, kissing is gross – you’re just mashing your food holes together. But this house is getting desperate. If you alloromantic people can’t use your wiles–”

Beetlejuice choked on nothing. “Wiles?”

“–What’s the point of having them?”

“That’s not appropriate, Lydia,” Barbara sighed.

“I’m offended you assumed I hadn’t tried already,” Beetlejuice said.

“We have to scare him out of it,” Lydia said. She and Beetlejuice stood in the foyer, right outside the living room, watching Adam drift around his enormous board. “Like the hiccups.”

“I’ll do the snake face,” Beetlejuice said. He started to storm in, but Lydia grabbed his sleeve.

“He’s seen the snake face. You do it all the time,” she said.

“Ooh, oh, what if I make the furniture come alive, and they all behave like different wild animals, and they all have teeth–”

“That’s not shocking enough. How about that thing where you turn yourself inside out?”

Finger guns. “I like the way you think, scarecrow.”

Beetlejuice strode into the living room, out of Lydia’s line of vision.

“Hey, sexy,” she heard him say. “Having fun – aaagh!” A squelch, splattering sound, a howl through an inside out mouth.

“Hi, BJ,” Adam said, his tone distant. “Can you hand me that deck of cards?”

“There are cards now?” Lydia whispered.

She heard a wet snap as Beetlejuice put himself back together. “Sure. Happy to. This isn’t disappointing at all.”

 Day 5

“Hey, guys?” Adam asked from the other room.

Lydia walked in cautiously. The debris of the game was still strewn all over the living room, so you couldn’t tell if the current round was in progress, or if a tornado had hit a hobby store.

“This is nothing, isn’t it?” Adam said, in a tired, defeated voice.

Lydia nodded. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“I just wanted a distraction,” Adam said. “I know we’re all as safe as we can be in here, I just get so worried.”

“Adam’s back! C’m’ere, hot stuff” Beetlejuice charged down the stairs, tackled Adam onto the sofa, and kissed him on the mouth. “Babs and I thought we’d lost you for good!”

“We didn’t think that,” Barbara said. She squeezed Adam’s shoulders.

“I completely understand, Adam,” Delia said, coming in from the kitchen. Charles was close behind her. “I’ve found diversion to be the best way of coping when life gets upsetting. When I was kicked out of that all-women ska band in the ’90’s, I threw myself into underground poker tournaments, and long story short I was briefly engaged to a prince of what turned out to be a micronation.”

“I’ll clean up the mess,” Adam sighed. Lydia suspected that would be easier said than done, because Beetlejuice was still sitting on Adam’s lap and wasn’t acting like he was planning to move.

“Then let’s do something fun together,” Delia said.

“Monopoly?” Lydia suggested, unable to hide her grin.

A chorus of “Absolutely not!” and “That’s not funny, young lady!” with Beetlejuice adding a mock-offended “Lydia Cordelia Deetz, who raised you?” though that wasn’t even close to her middle name.

“I’m kidding,” she said.

“How about a movie?” Barbara said, scooping up the closest pile of papers.

“Make it something with a lot of sequels,” Charles said. “We’re at home for the long haul, after all.”

“We’ll have to remember all this for the next plague,” Beetlejuice said. Lydia could have asked him why he sounded so sure when he said “next,” but decided it was just better to get some popcorn and ignore it.

[jeanvaljean24601]

Teen Mom: Ranking the Most Insane Feuds of All Time!

From on-camera brawls to social media feuds and legal threats, the cast of Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2 sure know how to go hard. Moments that made you cringe 'cause they were so painful, or smile ear-to-ear. Scenes that were fights, or made you fight back tears.

The franchise really does have it all, and as such, it's become one of the most entertaining in the history of the reality TV genre.

Below, we look back at some of the MTV gang's most explosive feuds, and however you might rank them, this much is undeniable: Way back then. Not so way back then. Last year. Last month. Last week. Probably right now. There is no shortage of beef.

NOTE: We’ve saved the craziest for last, so we suggest that you a deep breath, sit back, grab a hat and hold the f--k onto it …

When Briana DeJesus joined the Teen Mom 2 cast in 2017, she was not welcomed with open arms. In fact, she quickly became persona non grata at her first get-together with the cast - with one exception. Jenelle Evans, Briana said, “is the only one who was acting like her s--t ain’t stink. Plus she was the only one who wasn’t acting fake and choosing sides.” Leah Messer’s response was to “pay no attention to those who try to bring you down … they’re just envious of where you are and how well you’re doing.” As we'll get to in a bit, relations haven't exactly gotten more amicable since.

Maci Bookout and Taylor McKinney's relationship has produced three kids, and they seem very happily married ... most of the time. Like, 85 percent of the time. Bookout alarmed fans with the confession a few years ago that revealed some trouble in paradise: “Eighty-five percent of the time we’re good to go … Fifteen percent is hell. All of our stress and emotions, we take out on each other. When the cameras leave, we’ll drink and freak out. It’s always literally the smallest things. It’s such small stuff but it blows up. It’s not going to go away.” Yikes ... but at least they've had plenty of time to work on things?

So Jenelle has this weird thing about Chelsea -- she accused her of copying her because she made a website for herself after she'd already made her own, because making a website is something totally special and unique. She also kind of accused Chelsea of copying her when she gave birth to Watson the day after Jenelle gave birth to Ensley, which is just wild. On another occasion, Jenelle went off about Chelsea ignoring her older daughter, Aubree, after having Watson, insinuating that she's a bad mother. Chelsea liked a tweet from someone who called Jenelle "pathetic" for bringing up Aubree, which is pretty much the most she's ever participated in this feud.

This one is pretty weird -- one time Babs "jokingly" threatening to "kill Kail" during an Instagram Live session with Jenelle. Lowry was understandably not amused and threatened to quit the show over Barbara's threats. That didn't happen, of course, and it's no longer an issue since Jenelle and her family are no longer on the show, but how bizarre, right?

Brooke Wehr was never a Teen Mom 2 cast member, but due to her mercurial relationship with Jeremy Calvert, her impact was felt just the same. A few years ago, the couple's engagement ended after Brooke accused Jeremy of cheating on her with multiple women, one being a Teen Mom 2 producer, another being her best friend, and a third possibly being his ex-wife Leah Messer. Brooke even shared a screen shot of a text message conversation between Jeremy and the best friend as proof, while Calvert responded in a drunken stupor that yes, maybe he did sleep with Brooke's best friend, but ... only because Wehr slept with some other guy first. Or, as he put it, Brooke was "f-cking his brains out, every day," and he was single, so "my dick was happy to do whatever the f-ck it wanted to do, and it did." Shocking that these two didn't work out ... but neither party was completely off base with their allegations. Just saying. Jeremy and Leah did hook up.

Briana hooked up with Luis in a bathroom while she was drunk, and she got pregnant. They tried to make a relationship work, but he cheated on her and was generally just not great. He's never really been around for their daughter, Stella, but he did come back around last year for a bit. Briana even decided to give him another shot -- except this time, she got the clap. So yeah, they're not on the best terms.

Devoin is the father of Briana's first child, Nova, and they haven't gotten along for many, many years. Briana says that Devoin is a deadbeat dad, Devoin says that Briana won't let him be an active father, it's this whole thing. However, things got especially bad last summer when Briana let him take Nova for an overnight visit and he ended up getting drunk while he was with her alone at a pool. More recently, she criticized him for not giving her any money to help with Nova.

This feud has been going on for years, but has taken on many new forms due to ever-changing circumstances and new tensions. The main point of contention for awhile was Javi's relationship with Briana DeJesus, who came on board the cast of Teen Mom 2 in 2017 amid a lot of controversy. Bri and Kail are bitter rivals (more on that later), so it's not surprising that Ms. Lowry would take issue with DeJesus hooking up with her ex ... or proposing to her. Kail was so salty over Javi's new relationship that she even canceled plans to collaborate on a pair of memoirs with Marroquin. android tv boxThese days, the two of them seem to be doing OK for the most part, but of course that could change at any moment.

Jenelle and Leah used to be friendly, but then things changed -- possibly because Leah became so close with Jenelle's mortal enemy, Kailyn Lowry. Jenelle has thrown plenty of jabs at Leah on social media, like the time she claimed CPS removed the twins from Leah's care and that there were more shocking details about all that that no one knows about. She's also criticized Leah for allowing her daughter to wear makeup and short skirts for cheerleading. As for Leah, she doesn't really seem to pay too much attention to anything Jenelle's ever said about her, although she did speak out after David killed Nugget, Jenelle's dog.

There was a time when Jenelle and Farrah were friends, but no more -- to be honest, both ladies seem to have trouble maintaining friendships with anyone. Jenelle has made remarks about Farrah's plastic surgery and her adult entertainment ventures, and Farrah has called Jenelle out on her bad parenting and her horrific taste in men. After Jenelle left David last year, Farrah offered her support, then ultimately decided to block her on social media because it's none of her business.

Jenelle didn't like Cheyenne from the moment MTV announced she was joining the cast of Teen Mom OG because of some tweets she'd made about white people several years ago. But the feud really started last year when Jenelle made a comment about Amber Portwood's assault charges -- Cheyenne tweeted that Jenelle "should be the last person throwing shade." Jenelle told her that she had no clue what she was talking about, then Cheyenne hit back with "Coming from the real racist, dog killer, abuser and honestly the most unstable individual I’ve witnessed.. GREAT STATEMENT.. get custody of ALL your kids and stay out of court before you talk about me." Jenelle tried to come back from that by calling her a "replacement," but Cheyenne said "And you're fired... soooo?" Beautiful.

Mackenzie has often criticized the network that made her a D-list star -- she once blasted both MTV itself and Teen Mom viewers who have been critical of her relationship with Ryan, particularly her decision to let him drive to their wedding while he was so high that he lost consciousness behind the wheel. "It’s easy to show the ‘half truth’ and portray it as a whole," Mackenzie wrote in a lengthy social media tirade. "But that’s ok because regardless of what happens, whether right or wrong, you’re considered scum.” She's also accused MTV of making her and her husband look bad with editing, but we'd argue that Ryan has always made himself look bad just because of who he is as a person. android tv box

Jenelle Evans' relationship with David Eason has been suspect from the start, even to members of their inner circle - and their own families. One of the loudest voices of disapproval of Jenelle is David Eason's sister. Her complaints were nothing new - Jenelle's a bad mom, a violent criminal, a drug addict, etc. But just because Jenelle's heard these criticisms before, that doesn't mean she took them lying down. In a public Facebook exchange that was at once amusing and horrifying, Jenelle tore into Jessica Eason Miller, accusing her of child abuse and hard drug addiction. Jess shot back by accusing Jenelle of going to great lengths to keep her numerous abortions a secret. Needless to say, these sisters-in-law won't be meeting up for cosmos anytime soon.

Following a slew of gossip stories shared by her co-stars a few years ago that she deemed unflattering, the Carolina Hurricane unleased her legal fury ... to widespread mockery. Jenelle sent cease-and-desist letters to a number of her co-stars, including Leah Messer, Chelsea Houska, and Chelsea's father, Randy Houska. She also took legal action against peripheral friends such as Ryan Dolph, and even her own mother, Barbara Evans. It's yet another reminder that Jenelle is not someone you want to mess with. Not because there's any legal merit to what she was alleging, but just because she's certifiably bonkers and when you kick a hornets' nest of that size, you open yourself up to all kinds of mayhem, bedlam and chaos.

Farrah hasn't gotten along with her former co-stars for years, but on one memorable occasion, she hopped on Instagram to allege that Lowell is a closeted pothead and Baltierra is secretly gay. Yes, for real. Catelynn was unable to defend herself as she was in rehab at the time being treated for various emotional issues; Tyler simply dismissed Farrah's claims as the ravings of seriously unstable woman. Probably the best way to conduct one's self in that situation, but they don't always brush it off. Tyler later stirred the pot once more when he said MTV was right to fire Farrah for her porn career, to which Abraham responded with an iconic word salad in the third person. android tv box

Catelynn has also attacked Farrah over the years - who could forget when she called her fellow Teen Mom a "hoe bag," or when she pretended not to know who Farrah was and instead started talking about Farrah Fawcett? What about the time that she charged out during Farrah's reunion fight with Amber yelling "TRASHY BITCH"? And then there was the time that Catelynn posted this just before Farrah's canceled boxing match with Hoopz. Stay classy, everyone!

This was a feud no one saw coming. Apparently Ryan was active on the dating app Tinder, despite the fact that he's, ya know ... married. When Mackenzie found out about this RIGHT AFTER they tied the knot, she was understandably not pleased. Catching your husband swiping and chatting with other chicks after you married him days earlier? Insane. But, instead of taking out her frustrations on Edwards himself, she decided to let loose on a random girl he was chatting with online. Edwards' Tinder Girl was the undisputed victor in this one, destroying Mackenzie's argument simply by stating, “Your husband is the one on Tinder.” Enough said, really. Incredibly, they stayed married, Mackenzie got pregnant ... TWICE. To quote the legendary Kieffer Delp, "You know how choices be."

Jeremy has never been a fan of David and Jenelle -- he spoke out against the homophobic remarks that got David fired, and he got into a spat with Jenelle after she was shown pulling a gun on that guy (he called her a "dumb bitch" in case you forgot). Later, David commented on a photo that Jeremy shared to tell him that he looked "like a bitch," and Jeremy went off on him in a long rant that concluded with "keep f-cking with me and I'll fly my ass to nc and I'll show u what kind of bitch I am pretty boy." So yeah, they don't like each other.

Where do you even start with these three? Ryan and Maci have experienced their share of rough patches over the years as they've struggled to peaceably co-parent their son, Bentley, but in the past, they've always been able to sort out their differences eventually. But then Ryan started doing heroin and brought Mackenzie into the picture, and that's not really the case anymore. Maci thinks that Mackenzie enables Ryan, Mackenzie thinks that Maci stresses Ryan out -- it's a mess. The two ladies have said plenty of nasty things about each other over the years, while Ryan went in and out of jail and rehab. Like we said, it's a mess. Poor Bentley.

Farrah has said a lot of things about the network that made her famous, like that time that she bizarrely claimed that MTV forces stars of the Teen Mom franchise to continue having children, even when they'd prefer not to. Abraham also accused the producers of encouraging Amber Portwood to attack her during their reunion show melee (more on that later), and even claimed she was fired from the network for partaking in "adult" pursuits on the side. Even more amazingly than the fact that she threw around the term "hate crimes" to describe how MTV treated her? The apparent fact that the folks who made her famous are actually willing to continue working with Farrah. Or were, until she finally got fired or quit, depending who you believe. With Farrah, every day is another day in the Post-Truth Era.

Where do we even begin with this. In late summer 2019, a 911 call was placed from Javi's home, following a dispute there. No charges were filed, but the truth came out. You see, Javi had recently gotten engaged to Lauren, with whom he welcomed his second son. Not long after that, he got busted cheating on her, banging one of the members of his CrossFit gym ... IN HIS BATHROOM while Lauren was asleep (or so he thought) IN THEIR HOME. As if that weren't crazy enough, he then called Kailyn to mediate; Kail later put him on blast, claiming he'd been cheating on Lauren back when she was pregnant and chastising him for wanting her to "clean up their mess." Don't worry, Javi posted a cheesy apology on Instagram, for everyone to see, and it was all good with Lauren after like 12 minutes.

There's always been some seriously bad blood between Farrah and Debra -- remember that time that she hit her in the early days of Teen Mom OG? Deb forced Farrah to become a mother when she insisted she wasn't ready, she didn't support her after Sophia's father passed away, and she was just generally awful towards her. Things got so bad between them that at one point, Farrah said that she'd wished that her mother would "just f-cking die already." They've been estranged for a long time now, although Farrah does sometimes allow Deb to see Sophia.

Jenelle Evans and her mother, Barbara, have always had a tumultuous relationship, with Babs unafraid to dish it out as much as she's forced to take it. In previous years, they would fight a lot and trade zingers (such as this classic image), then eventually put it behind them. For a good long while, Jenelle and Babs were at each other's throats more often than not, and the stakes couldn't have been higher. Barbara now has permanent custody of Jenelle's oldest son, Jace, and Jenelle has mostly come to terms with it. Thankfully, they're not fighting so much these days -- yep, they're actually managing to get along. For the moment, anyway.

Things neared a boiling point between Amber Portwood and Matt Baier after he vowed that would never marry her ... because she wouldn’t marry him on the spot in Las Vegas, obviously. “I will not marry her,” he said. “I will not marry her now, ever! I’m not gonna let her [brother] dictate my life. That f—king f—got. She wants to marry her brother. That’s who she wants to marry. F—k her. She just humiliated me on TV. I’m done!” Matt, who was livid at Amber’s reasoning for not eloping in Vegas - her brother Shawn not being present - went on to tell a producer, “I don’t care who you have to give oral pleasure to, keep the Amber and Matt wedding thing off [the air]. She just embarrassed me in front of 12 million people.” We’re pretty sure you did that to yourself, Matt …

As if it wasn't bad enough that Matt Baier offered Catelynn Lowell a Xanax before a press event, casting serious doubt over whether or not he remains drug-free, he ultimately took a lie detector test to prove his faithfulness to Amber Portwood ... and failed. The polygraph revealed that Matt made sexual advances toward other women during his relationship with the Teen Mom star, and that was it for her. "Trash! TRASH! I got you money. I got you deals! And you tried to f--k her! F--K YOU!" Their breakup, which was a long time coming, was not undone despite a stint on Marriage Boot Camp ... though she did meet crew member Andrew Glennon while on the set and went on to have his baby. Matt also got married (seriously) to Jen Conlon. Funny how life works out. h96 max tv box

Perhaps the longest-running feud of the franchise, Chelsea Houska and Adam Lind face off mostly through their lawyers these days, because the derelict of society can't stay out of trouble or pay child support. In recent years, he's failed drug tests with meth in his system, and he's also been arrested more than once for domestic violence. Because of all of that, he's only allowed to see his daughter with Chelsea at a visitation center (which he rarely seems to do), and he gave up his parental rights completely for his other daughter, Paislee.

Amber and Jenelle have never interacted all that much since they were on different shows, but still, Amber felt the need to speak out after one of David's many abuse scandals -- she ranted about it on Instagram, calling him names like "bitch" and "disgusting clown." Jenelle told her to leave her family alone, and she also said "You’re the one who went to jail for domestic violence but you’re sitting here pointing fingers at my husband?" Amber then threatened to beat her up, because of course she did. Their feud was reignited months later when Jenelle started saying that it was unfair that she got fired when Amber got to keep her spot on the show. Amber never responded, but a source did report that “She doesn’t feel the need to get into a feud with Jenelle with everything going on in the world right now."

This feud has been going on for a long, long time, and it started back in the day when Jenelle needed Kailyn to post bail for her, but then she never paid her back. These two have traded insults over the years, and Jenelle was actually low enough to leak the news of Kail's pregnancy with Lux. Since then, they've been making snide remarks about each other on social media, with David even joining in to insult her about things like her weight and her sexuality. Most recently, Jenelle took a break from her newfound body positivity to call Kail "a giant compared to me," and Kailyn hit back by saying that at least she has custody of all of her children. Classic stuff there.

Nathan and Jenelle were terrible together, and things didn't change after they broke up. The big issue was that she didn't waste any time in getting with David, and David has always hated Nathan. Like, a lot. The feeling became mutual after a while, and Nathan started claiming that Kaiser had told him that David was abusive. Nathan once even tweeted photos of some suspicious bruises on Kaiser that he said were from David hitting him with a stick, but Jenelle turned it around, suggesting that Nathan was the abusive one. Nathan has been talking about getting custody of Kaiser for a while now, but of course he has his own issues on top of everything else.

Amber Portwood and Farrah Abraham’s iconic beef may never be topped, at least in terms of how it came to a head on an MTV reunion special with the cameras rolling. It was pretty standard - or at least it was until Farrah said that Amber's then-boyfriend, Matt Baier, looks like a pedophile. With Farrah and her then-boyfriend, Simon Saran, just trolling Matt incessantly, Portwood hit her breaking point off camera. She stormed the stage, trying to fight Farrah, hurling insult after insult at her rival, and even throwing a punch that missed. Baier and Farrah's father, Michael, then got into it physically, forcing security to break it up. Crew members stormed the stage to pull Amber away from Farrah and it was all a mess. An epic, chaotic and glorious mess. h96 tv box

The bad blood from their epic reunion fight lingered long after the dust settled and only worsened in the years since.. Farrah said Gary Shirley should have full custody of Amber’s daughter, and that Amber needs to stop "using me to get attention … I want nothing to do with [her] criminal behavior or lying evil groups of people [she associates] with.” Fast forward to 2019, in the wake of Amber's arrest for assaulting Andrew Glennon (below), Farrah said again: "I do not speak to others who are very vulgar and abusive. I haven’t spoken to her. I feel that children, adults, family members, everyone associated should be treated with care, love. And that’s where the society and the world is going. I really hope that, not only Amber, but I hope Catelynn, I hope Maci… gets some help. They seriously need it." Vintage Farrah word salad.

This feud never really stops, but boy does it take more twists and turns than we can even count. Most notably, Javi started dating Briana, and even proposed to her in 2018, resulting in a lot of bitter feelings from Kailyn. THEN, he broke up with Briana and started dating Lauren Comeau ... who quickly became pregnant with his child, prompting more feelings from both Kailyn and Briana. THEN Kailyn revealed that after his split from Briana, but prior to him impregnating Lauren, Javi tried to bang Kailyn repeatedly. After that, it came out that Javi was actually juggling all three women at the same time. Who has the energy?

One of the best, for obvious reasons. As we mentioned, Bri's was dating Kailyn's ex-husband, Javi Marroquin, a move that effectively drove a dagger into the heart of their friendship - whatever that consisted of. They had a very heated argument at one reunion, and at the next, they wanted to physically fight each other. First, Kail invited Briana for a private chat in a room backstage, but Briana left before things could get bad. Later, when it was time for all the girls to to onstage together, Briana tried to attack Kailyn, but security guards were able to keep them away from each other. They don't do reunions together anymore, but they do get sassy about each other on social media!

There's a lot here, so let's just breeze through, all right? Kailyn met Chris at college, she slept with him when she was still married to Javi, and he ended up impregnating her when the marriage was over. He was never around throughout the pregnancy, and she even said he had another girlfriend, though he did show up for the birth and for a little while after. Kail has said that things went bad a few months later, and she's even claimed that he broke into her house and broke a window in her bedroom at that time. Still, she had a big thing for them, and they hooked up every now and then. Eventually, he got her pregnant again, and she soon got an order of protection against him. Right now, she's nearing the end of that pregnancy, and things don't seem to be much better with Chris.

Nothing funny about this one. On July 5, 2019, Portwood was arrested and charged with two counts of domestic battery and one count of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon after she struck her boyfriend, Andrew Glennon, in the neck as Glennon held their son James in his arms. She then threatened to commit suicide by overdosing on pills, and used a machete to attempt and break into the room where Glennon was hiding with their son. She was convicted on felony charges of domestic battery and intimdation, and she's currently on probation. Later, audio recordings were released in which Amber could be heard verbally abusing Andrew, and in one she even admitted to punching him in the face. There's no contact between them now, and Amber has been allowed visits with their son. h96 tv box

Where do we even begin? Jenelle and David have always gotten in awful fights, and they've only gotten worse as time has gone on. In the beginning, they argued a lot, but a couple of years ago, she called 911 in hysterics, claiming he pushed her down so hard she thought he'd broken her collarbone. She called again a few months later because she'd locked him outside and he was beating the door down. Last year, she left him for a while after he killed her dog, which resulted in them losing temporary custody of the kids, and she even got a restraining order against him after telling a judge she feared for her life. She went back to him, but things definitely haven't been good -- she recently left him again and threatened to get a restraining order. She didn't, and we guess things are supposed to be OK right now, but it's only a matter of time until things get bad again.

[the-zodiacs-written-in-the-stars]

Chapter 15: Team Lionheart & the Unicorn Princess Squad

Tanya furrowed her brows as she leaned against her counter and watched her ex. Babara wasn't a regular at her place, hadn't been for a while, yet here she was again and she looked as tense and serious as the last time. Still, Tanya wasn't going to push her.

“We gotta talk”, stated Babs with a frown.

“Okay”, nodded Tanya and walked over to sit opposite Babs. “What is it, Varya?”

“No, not we. Not the 'two of us' we. The 'all of us' we”, corrected Babara and shifted a little.

“Who is... all of us?”, asked Tanya slowly, unsure.

“Your team and my team. It's time we talk”, stated Babara.

Tanya wanted to huff, to question what Babs was talking about. But Babs looked so very serious – and that was so unlike her. So Tanya didn't reply and instead she waited, until Babara heaved a sigh and started glowing in a soft purple. A gasp escaped Tanya as she backed off startled.

“Your team and my team”, repeated Babs, looking at Tanya from behind Scorpio's mask.

Scorpio, the magical girl superhero and partner of Leo. Oh. Was this how Babs had really figured Tanya's secret out? Because she had recognized Tanya during a fight?

“You know”, huffed Tanya softly. “The last time you were here, we made fun of Jamie for never being able to figure out his ex would be standing right in front of him in a costume.”

“Ye—eah”, laughed Babs, finally relaxing a little. “I bit my lips at that to keep from laughing.”

“You're Scorpio. Why... Why didn't you tell me when you confronted me?”, asked Tanya with a frown. “Wasn't that... Weren't you being a bit of a hypocrite there?”

“Not... exactly”, offered Babara slowly. “It was about more than just me. It's more than just my secret. And I couldn't... risk you finding that out.”

Realization dawned on Tanya and she groaned softly. “Both my exes are... Oh...”

“That's exactly why I didn't tell you”, muttered Babara. “You're not... I promised him... I...”

“Fair enough”, sighed Tanya and ran her fingers through her hair. “My partners' identities aren't... my secret to reveal either. And one and one together, that really wasn't hard to figure out.”

“Yes. I'm aware Matt di Girasole is Sagittarius, by the way”, noted Babs. “Like you said, one and one. It's not that hard to figure out that the archer in your team is your archer best friend.”

“Why do you want our teams to meet?”, asked Tanya.

And she couldn't help put look at Babs – at Scorpio – more closely. She had met Scorpio during fights before, but it was always quick and busy. She had no time to focus on the other superhero. But damn. The frilly skirt, the skin-tight white top with the deep cleavage. Tanya bit her lips and shook her head for a moment. There were reasons Babs and Tanya broke up and they had never been about a lack of physical attraction. If anything, it had been that their relationship was too heavy on the physical side and lacking a more basic understanding of each other.

“You got more information than us in some respects, we got more information than you in others. We're all on the same side. So we really have to sit down and talk. Even if we never actually reveal our secret identities to each other, even just in costume, we have to talk”, sighed Babs.

Biting her lip, Tanya nodded slowly. That had also never quite been the problem between them. For how playful and mischievous Babs could be, she could also be serious when the situation called.

“You're right. I'll talk to my team, you talk to yours. But... where?”, asked Tanya.

“That... That is an excellent question”, muttered Babs and furrowed her brows.

“Rooftop of Chiron Training?”, suggested Tanya after a beat.

“Okay. That's good, I suppose. Tomorrow at sundown?”, suggested Babs.

“I'll see you... and your team... then”, replied Tanya.

~*~

Mike was holding hands with his fiance as their team arrived on the rooftop of Chiron Training. Tanya had brought them here – flew them over. Leo and Scorpio were already there, together with two people they didn't know. Though Mike had heard about them; the police station was always keeping up on the new vigilantes popping up around the city. Virgo and Aries.

“You think kitty-cat over there is ready to work with us?”, asked Matt dryly.

Mike huffed a little bit and tugged Matt close enough to kiss his temple. He knew that Matt admired Leo in his own right, the red-clad hero was strong, determined and really good at his job. Matt was mainly just frustrated that Leo so adamantly refused to work with them.

“I still would like to know how exactly you managed to set up this meeting”, questioned Mel.

She was side-eyeing Tanya in the same way all three of them had been doing since Tanya talked to them about this. She claimed that she had run into Scorpio during the last fight, but... Something about that felt off. One lesson Mike had learned a while ago was to not challenge the scary Russian lady about anything though so he was gonna take Tanya by her word.

“Okay”, drawled Matt with furrowed brows as he looked at the board waiting with the other heroes.

“I put that up earlier”, offered Tanya. “Because those are the things we have to talk about.”

It was her conspiracy theory board. Mike, Matt and Mel had helped putting it together. All the information they had. And it wasn't much. Mike knew that, he was a detective after all. He knew that they had no solid leads, so much information was still missing.

“But what makes you think Leo would be willing to share anything?”, asked Matt.

His tone was irritated. Mike leaned in to kiss him again. That always helped. Though Mike had to admit, Matt's obsession with Leo was both amusing and a little bit ridiculous. Matt kept track of every news from Leo, he kept glaring at the red-clad hero every time they met. He had never quite done good with competition. All his life, Matt had fought hard and he tended to perceive people who were standing in his way and telling him he couldn't do something – well, he didn't take that too well so he tended to get growly. Mike thought growly Matt was kind of cute.

“He's a good hero, Sagittarius”, sighed Tanya gently, nudging her best friend. “You know that. You know he does a damn good job and from what they said, his suspicions... aren't unfunded.”

“Still”, grumbled Matt with the slightest pout.

“I'm more curious about their new members”, noted Melanie.

Leo, Scorpio, Virgo and Aries approached them reluctantly. Mike had to admit that Leo looked really good. Lean, well-trained from what he could see, that skin-tight leather hugging him perfectly and the fact that his pants and jacket were open on the sides revealed quite some too.

“Just so you know it”, stated Leo with a fierce look in his eerily familiar green eyes. “I'm only here because I trust Scorpio with my life and she said this meeting is important.”

He had a glare etched into his features as he crossed his arms. Matt next to Mike tensed a little and Mike in return wrapped his arm around his fiance's waist to sooth him some more.

“We're more than aware of that”, grunted Matt. “You've made it clear that you don't trust us.”

“I have no reason to trust you”, stated Leo and straightened up.

It... It wasn't very effective. Mike grinned down at the shorter man. That however just made Leo glower even more. Something about all of that was very familiar and made Mike feel oddly warm.

“That's exactly why we're here”, countered Mike, trying for a kind, welcoming smile. “We figured the best way to build trust would be to share information.”

Leo nodded sharply and walked straight up to the board, while the girls followed him. Melanie grabbed Mike by the arm, giving him one of those looks with which they learned to communicate years ago. She was concerned, unsure if this was really the best idea and if Leo wasn't going to do something. Whatever. Mike sighed and answered with a look of his own. He thought that if they wanted Leo to trust them, they had to also put a little faith in Leo, put some trust of their own in him and his team. Melanie tilted her head a little in what Mike knew to mean she half agreed with him.

Both siblings' attention however was then drawn to Team Lionheart as Leo made a pointed sound and started moving things around on the board. Mainly, he was moving Aries and Virgo over to Team Lionheart, which yes, that made sense now. Mike furrowed his brows and stepped up behind Leo with the rest of his own team, because this was actually the reason why they were here.

“Okay”, grunted Leo, sounding a little frustrated. “This is a good... start.”

“Right?”, chimed Tanya a bit smugly.

~*~

Jamie rolled his eyes behind the mask. Aquarius didn't need to be smug. She was on thin ice anyway, the only reason Jamie had agreed to this meeting was because Babs had said so. Babs had claimed that Aquarius was at least trustworthy enough to have this meeting.

“We got the eight of us covered”, stated Jamie.

He looked over at his team – Scorpio, Virgo and Aries (even though he was still uncomfortable about his sister being a superhero) – and then over at the other team – Sagittarius, Cancer, Taurus and Aquarius. Eight out of twelve Zodiacs. If the other four were really trustworthy.

“Stop being paranoid for two hot seconds, Leo”, hissed Jessie next to him, elbowing him.

He rolled his eyes. Also, he now had two of them bugging him. Wonderful. Like Babs and Jessie teaming up on him in real life wasn't irritating enough. He took a deep breath.

“Gemini is... good information”, nodded Jamie, figuring a bit praise won't hurt.

“It's not solid, but it's what we're assuming to be the case so far-”, replied Aquarius.

“O—oh. No, you are super on point with that!”, declared Lizzy all of a sudden.

“Come again?”, inquired Sagittarius, the archer cocking one eyebrow.

“I think I have a 75%, no wait make that 85%, suspicion who Gemini might be”, stated Lizzy.

“Okay”, drawled Jamie slowly, side-eyeing Lizzy questioningly but figuring they'd have to have that conversation outside of costumes later. “That means we have ten out of twelve accounted for.”

“...Ten? Did you forget how math works?”, asked Jessie, squinting at her brother.

“Libra”, replied Babs uncomfortably.

“Is... there a story there?”, asked Lizzy confused.

“Wait, you haven't even told your own team?”, inquired Taurus doubtfully.

The dark-haired woman in her dark-green suit had kind of a judgmental aura to herself. Jamie turned toward them, regarding them. Babs cleared her throat at him and he heaved a sigh.

“We... in the beginning... we were working with Libra”, replied Jamie reluctantly. “She had appeared, seemed nice and well-trained. And then she literally stabbed me in the back.”

“Literally?”, echoed Jessie, her voice pitching.

“It's all good, I healed him”, assured Babs gently. “It just... We trusted her, she was a stranger and she betrayed us, nearly got Leo killed. That's why he had such a hard time agreeing to this meeting. Because he has very justified trust-issues.”

“What do you know about Libra?”, asked Sagittarius carefully.

“Nothing much, really”, offered Babs casually. “We met her in costume, since Leo's always had an edge of paranoia. I think that was what pushed her over the edge into fast betrayal too, because she wasn't getting what she wanted from us.”

“Okay, so the only ones we know... nothing about... are Capricorn and Pisces?”, asked Jessie.

“Maybe they never went into contact with humans?”, mused Lizzy. “I mean, we only found ours a little while ago. Perhaps they landed somewhere... off.”

“And what do we know about the bad guys?”, asked Jessie, turning toward the other team.

~*~

Melanie knitted her brows as she looked at Virgo and Aries. She still found it mildly suspicious that the other team had gained two members, even though Leo didn't seem to offer Melanie and the others the benefit of the doubt. She understood him, fundamentally. Trusting strangers was dangerous, especially considering the betrayal they had already faced.

“We know little about them”, admitted Melanie after a beat, stepping up right next to Leo, having Team Lionheart step back to give her some room. “Serpentarius is the leader. We haven't met them yet, but we heard the name said by Serpens a lot. Who is their second in command. We think that Hydra and Hydrus are high-ranking officials too. Others are... more minor.”

“Serpentarius' earlier reincarnation was Hades. Hades wasn't a bad guy!”, argued Scorpio.

“It's not Serpentarius himself who is evil”, countered Melanie gently. “I've been doing all the digging on past incarnations. Serpentarius is... Well, the thirteenth, unofficial Zodiac. Be it Hades, Loki or Seth, important but... not necessarily perceived as a heroic god.”

“If he's not necessarily evil, how exactly is all of this happening?”, asked Aries, shifting a little. “I'm just... still not entirely sure what is even going on.”

“That's the thing”, whispered Mike lowly. “The companions aren't very forthcoming.”

“Why? They haven't held any information back”, countered Leo pointedly.

“They also don't share anything willingly”, countered Matt, eyebrows raised. “They only answer when we ask specific questions. They only share about the things we specifically ask about.”

“...Okay. You make a good point there”, agreed Leo reluctantly. “I didn't...”

“Notice. Because they do answer and they do explain, but only when asked”, nodded Matt.

“Why is that?”, asked Leo pointedly and tapped his marble. “That's a serious problem.”

The rooftop glowed very brightly as all eight companions appeared. Melanie raised her eyebrows and patted Taurus between the horns, the bull mooing at her happily. On Mike's head sat the blue crab Cancer, next to Matt stood Sagittarius, the unicorn tilting her head in a nearly judgmental way (Melanie had never realized that horses could do that), with Aquarius at Tanya's feet, one dragon-wing brushing against Tanya's leg. On the other side of the roof stood Leo, Scorpio, Virgo and Aries – the animal-versions right next to their human partners. Melanie had gotten to see Leo and Scorpio in passing before, so she was eager to take a closer look. Leo was a dark-red lion, with his mane literally on fire. Scorpio however... was not a scorpion. Melanie furrowed her brows as she knelt down to take a closer look. A scorpion-tailed lion. A manticore, fascinating.

“Oh. Oh, a sphinx”, whispered Melanie excitedly as she spotted Virgo. “That makes sense. Bastet used to be one of your partners and you were a great hunter all the time.”

An orange cat with wings, tilting her head at Melanie. “I like this one.”

Aries next to her was rather obviously a ram, light-red in color and with curled horns. Melanie tilted her head. She had done the research on previous incarnations of the Zodiacs. Virgo had a track-record of being partnered with strong women, mostly associated with hunt and fight – Artemis, Skadi, Bastet, Nicneven. Aries was a tinkerer, a creator in all incarnations – Hephaestus, Alvis, Khnum, Belisama. Leo was usually a leader of sorts for the team, a figure of authority associated with fire or lightning in that way – Zeus, Thor, Amun-Ra, Lugh. It was Scorpio who made Melanie uncomfortable in that she couldn't grasp her – Hermes, god of thieves, trickery, travel, travels, Hela, goddess of death, snow and the weather, Serket, goddess of healing and magic (though associated with scorpions, so that checked out), Abonde, the goddess of snow, magic and misery. In a way, she had figured that 'trickery' and 'magic' might align, considering the realms and gods were more on a metaphorical level. Melanie just liked to analyze things.

“Spill it, guys”, prompted Leo pointedly.

“We... can't legally tell you anything on our own”, offered the fire-lion next to him.

Melanie raised her eyebrows and turned toward Taurus. “What does that even mean?”

“Your planet is underdeveloped”, replied Taurus cautiously. “Like we said, we can't let the majority of people know the truth about this solar system. And at the same time, we are technically not allowed to tell you everything. So, the loophole in our contracts is that we are obligated to answer your questions to the full extend to not hinder the missions. But if we tell you; where is the line to draw? Where do we stop? Do we tell you all the history of the universe? All of the technology that you can't even begin to grasp yet? So we're only allowed to say what you figured out on your own.”

“That's bullshit”, snarled Leo, the red-clad hero looking furious.

“It is what it is”, countered his companion. “We can't change it. It's for your own safety.”

“Okay, so we gotta figure this shit out on our own?”, sighed Virgo exhausted.

~*~

Lizzy had her eyebrows drawn down as she stared down at her partner. This was irritating. She had thought that things were going well, but the fact that their partners only shared the information they were specifically prodding for? That was going to be a pain in the ass.

“So, we know that you all came here for a reason. And by 'here' I mean not just Earth, I mean Los Angeles specifically. How much do we have to find out to get you to tell us why?”, asked Lizzy.

“We know that? Why do we know that?”, asked Cancer with a confused look on his face.

Cute. Kind of reminded Lizzy of an adorable puppy. ...A puppy she might have met before because that feeling was oddly familiar, as though there had been a human puppy she felt like that about too. She just couldn't place it right now. Maybe it'd come to her later.

“We know that because with the right prodding, we got it out of our companions that they were given specific coordinates to come to and they got separated on the landing, hence the me and Aries only joining the team now”, supplied Lizzy casually. “Which means that your Zodiacs most likely arrived at the same spot, or at least rather close-by too.”

“Which does beg the question: Why here? Why this part of the planet?”, agreed Sagittarius.

We... can't answer that”, sighed Virgo, the kitten purring and brushing against Lizzy's leg.

“What. We don't know enough about this to access this knowledge?”, asked Lizzy pointedly.

“No. We actually can't because we don't know either. We got the coordinates based on the concentration of signals from the opposition”, offered Virgo with an innocent cat-shrug.

“But they came here with a certain goal in mind”, guessed Lizzy. “And we have to figure out why.”

“Among other things, that should rank pretty high on our list”, agreed Jamie with a frown.

Sagittarius stepped up to Jamie. “Does that mean you're willing to work with us? Together?”

Lizzy arched her eyebrows as she watched them. She might not be the closest to Jamie, had always been closer to Jessie and Babs there but they were a package deal. She knew enough about Jamie to know he had huge trust-issues and getting stabbed in the back, literally, was... not helpful there. She highly doubted they'd ever get past the impasse with the Unicorn Princess Squad.

“We're not a team”, stated Jamie firmly, squaring up against Sagittarius, having about an inch on the yellow-clad hero. “This is good, but it's not enough to make me trust you. It'll take more than that. But... I'm willing to cooperate with you for now.”

Lizzy heaved a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She wanted this to work out, wanted them to actually make progress. Because yes, she wanted to be a hero, but ever since she had realized it entailed lying to nearly all her friends as well as the man she loved... So right now, she was at a point where she hoped the bad guys would go away quickly and all would go back to normal before her guilt over lying to Ricky was going to kill her.

“How do we do this then?”, inquired Sagittarius with his hips cocked. “I'm assuming you're not ready to share your secret identity with us yet then.”

“Certainly not”, confirmed Jamie, nodding in agreement.

“Me and Aquarius have exchanged numbers, so we can contact each other”, offered Babs.

To her credit, she didn't even flinch when Jamie turned a pointed glare at her. Those two knew each other. Sometimes, when Lizzy watched them, she felt more like Babs was Jamie's sister instead of Jessie. But then she remembered that actually, she wasn't that close with her siblings either and more in tune with her own best friend than them.

“...Very well”, agreed Jamie after a short stare-down. “If you people are okay with it.”

“Fine by us”, agreed Sagittarius and reached a hand out.

The two team-leaders shook on it and everybody around them looked both relieved and a bit exhausted, because they knew that working together would be better. But Jamie was too cautious and Sagittarius seemed to be not doing well with competition. Lizzy wondered how good they would do working together; both clearly loved being in charge.

“So we'll see you at the next big attack on the city”, stated Cancer with a quick nod.

“See you then”, agreed Jessie, winking at them amused.

~*~

Jessie heaved a sigh as she got comfortable on the couch. The kids were out – of course they were; all adults in the apartment had gone to a super secret superhero meeting. So they had parked Andy and Ally with Babs' cousin (Basty? Not the biggest fan of babysitting, but since his girlfriend Angel was a huge fan of kids, he didn't get too much of a say in it).

“Seriously, do you have anything personal against them?”, inquired Jessie. “Like, I understand you not... trusting people. I understand it better than anyone, deartháir.” [Irish trans: brother]

As always, the reminder of their childhood did the trick to make Jamie glare at her. She truly understood it, even if he didn't like knowing that she understood it. With a sigh, Jamie leaned forward and rested his head in his face for a moment to take a breath.

“I took a chance on Libra, because she knew exactly what buttons to push”, admitted Jamie lowly.

Lizzy came to lean against Jessie's seat, arms crossed over her chest as she raised both her eyebrows. Babs all the while sat down next to Jamie and took his hand in silent support. Jessie disapproved; she knew that support, in those cases, only made him feel like he didn't have to talk. The goal here however was to make him talk. Sure, Jessie loved her brother, she also loved Babs a lot, but Babs tended to coddle Jamie too much at times.

“She manipulated me into trusting her, thinking we had... something in common”, muttered Jamie. “Who's to say that... those four won't turn out the same.”

“Fair, fair”, nodded Lizzy. “But also, consider this: If you never ever trust anyone, you're gonna be very lonely and very tense. So how about you trust us to have your back with them, mh?”

“I'm... going to try”, sighed Jamie, rubbing his eyes.

“How about I go and pick the kids up and we do something not superhero related?”, suggested Babs. “It's been a long day. Most days have been lately.”

“I could give you a ride to your cousin, Babs”, offered Lizzy.

“I'll make dinner. You take a bath, Jay. Maybe it'll help you relax”, sighed Jessie.

Jessie saw Lizzy and Babs out before heading to the kitchen, hoping Jamie really was going to relax. She sure knew that he needed it. This whole superhero business was getting to him a lot; like owning a bar and raising two kids wasn't enough on his plate. At least it distracted him from the pining he did for Mike Maguire and Matt di Girasole. Everything had an upside somewhere.

~*~

Ever since Babs had moved out of the apartment she used to share with her cousin when she and Basty had first move to Los Angeles, Basty had turned the empty second bedroom into a guest-room. That did prove practical for every time either of their parents came to visit, or when Babs, Jamie and Jessie really needed a babysitter for Andy and Ally.

“I'm letting myself in”, called Babs out as she unlocked their door.

She still had her key, after all. Honestly, she loved Basty. He was a great guy, he was her family, the family she was the closest to. But he was an absolute disaster with children. They made him uncomfortable because he tended to treat them like adults. And while doing that to some degree was beneficial... Basty had no grasp on what was child appropriate literature.

Ally was fourteen and while thinking that YA literature aimed at girls her age was impossibly insulting – her words – she loved reading manga, especially sports-genre. Basty, he had experience with manga to an extend thanks to Babs who used to force him to watch anime with her during the summers they used to spend at their grandparents when they were children.

And Andy, on the other hand, preferred to read comics, Western comics in that case. Basty always had a field day trying to make those two kids read actual books. It was always hilarious to watch.

“Urgh, Babs, finally”, groaned Ally as she marched out of the living room.

Babs laughed and wrapped her arms around the teenager to pull her into a tight hug. Ally leaned forward and groaned again, grumbling against Babs' midsection. Babs patted her head.

“Basty bore you by trying to make you read stuff that doesn't interest you?”, asked Babs.

“He suggested Hunger Games. I saw the first movie and urgh. Another stupid teen romance. Another stupid dystopian chaos. How about you don't make the children take care of the apocalypse and taking over the regime and all that for a change?”, huffed Ally and rolled her eyes. “It's super boring and super stupid. Like. There are adults. How about they adult??”

Babs laughed softly and shook her head. “You might be the only child I ever met who actually hates seeing people her own age be heroes.”

“I'd rather see them do cool stuff. Like win a volleyball tournament”, shrugged Ally.

“I love this kid. I absolutely love this kid”, stated Babs and pointed down at her.

“It figures”, chuckled Angel gently from the doorway.

The beautiful blonde was leaning against the door-frame, watching Babs and Ally. Sometimes, it amazed Babs that her nerdy, dorky librarian of a cousin had ever managed to land a literal supermodel – seriously, famous supermodel, right there, being smitten with Babs' dorky cousin.

“Babara”, sighed Basty out in relief from the other room. “I tried to make those fiends watch the Hunger Games movie, since the books themselves don't work. To wet their appetite.”

“...You did not watch that scary dystopian shit with my nine year old nephew, right?”, asked Babs slowly, eyes widening. “Boy, you better hope that Jamie never hears of that.”

“It's okay, Babs. It was pretty cool”, assured Andy with a broad grin.

“That's frightening. You're too young to watch child murder Colosseum”, muttered Babs.

“It's educational”, argued Basty upset. “They could learn something from it, about-”

“Corrupt governments, sure. Totally what kids are into”, snorted Babs amused.

“Mon amour, can you go and check on dinner while I see our guests out?”, suggested Angel.

“Of course, my love”, sighed Basty. “Good bye, Babs. Children.”

While the kids got their shoes and jackets on, Angel pulled Babs aside with a concerned look on her face. “Babsie, is everything alright? Lizzy and Jessie looked very... distressed when they dropped the kids off. Like they had a lot on their mind. And... I've noticed that about Lizzy in the past week already at work, you know? I'm not the only one either. Joss did too, bringing it to my attention first. Just, tell me, is this related to how distressed you were the last time you were over?”

“Distressed being the word of the day?”, muttered Babs and made a face. “We're not... We're not distressed. It's just... been a lot, you know? With the kids. None of us were ready to be parents and... lately, Jessie has been dragging Lizzy into it a lot too. Not to mention, Lizzy got this huge-ass ad that she's shouldering, it put a lot of pressure on her.”

“I know about that. I play the Artemis in those ads”, offered Angel with a smile. “She is... She was really working hard on that. I suppose there is a lot of pressure there; Chiron Training is the biggest name she ever worked for. Oh, I hope the dear is alright.”

“You”, whispered Babs with a smile before pulling the blonde into a tight hug. “You really deserve your name, Angel. You're the softest, sweetest girl I ever met. Why are you not gay?”

Angel laughed as she hugged Babs. “Because your cousin deserves some love too. Also, no offense, but if I were gay, I would most definitely be dating Noxia.”

“Mh... point taken. She's really bossy and really hot”, agreed Babs.

“...Why aren't you dating her then?”, inquired Angel at that, cocking an amused eyebrow.

“Uhm. I. That's not how that works”, offered Babs and blinked doe-eyed. “Just because someone is really hot doesn't mean I get to date her. Still requires more than both being lesbians.”

“But I think it's a good start”, suggested Angel amused.

“No. No, no. I really am too busy these days to think about dating”, laughed Babs and shook her head. “And speaking of busy, Jess is going to grill me alive if we're late for dinner. So, I'll be seeing you around... at one point. Have a nice evening, Angel.”

Angel smiled as she watched Babs, Ally and Andy leave the apartment. The walk to the bar back wasn't very far from them and since Babs had no car of her own (and Lizzy had dropped her off here), the three of them were walking back home. That gave the kids enough time to tell Babs all about their day and how much fun they had with 'weird uncle Basty' and 'really cool aunt Angel'.

“But aside from all of that, you did finish your homework, right?”, asked Babs concerned.

“Ye—eah, aunt Babs”, sighed Ally and rolled her eyes.

“Good”, grinned Babs and patted Ally's head when they reached the bar.

They made their way upstairs and into the apartment, where the scent of Jessie's shepherd's pie already filled their senses. There wasn't much Jessie could cook – Jamie was the cook in the family, after all – but she did make a pretty good shepherd's pie.

“We're home!”, called Andy out, looking around for Jamie.

“Dinner will be ready in ten”, called Jessie back. “Get cleaned up, kids. All three of you.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny”, huffed Babs and rolled her eyes. “You heard her, guys.”

It could have been a really nice, calm family dinner and a good evening to end a stressful day. Emphasis on 'could have', because the five of them barely got to sit down after setting the table before something literally ripped the roof off the kitchen.

“Holy shit!”, exclaimed Jessie wide-eyed, pushing Ally behind her.

Jamie grabbed Andy by the waist and hoisted him up as they stared up at a gigantic lizard. Andy gasped and clung tightly onto Jamie's neck while Ally made a slightly excited noise.

“It's like Godzilla”, whispered Ally.

“Having a fan moment about the giant monster attacking our home later, flee now”, ordered Babs.

She glared. It was too dangerous to change. Not just because they'd reveal their identities to Ally and Andy – they could potentially be fine with that. But whoever was this Godzilla-like lizard would also see. And so would the gaping people on the street and in the bar, as the lizard tore through the floor. There went their kitchen. Babs made a distressed sound.

“What do we do?”, hissed Jessie as they tried to make their way to the balcony to get out.

“I have no idea. We're... We're stuck. Helpless”, whispered Babs and swallowed hard.

~*~

For once, Matt and Mike actually had plans of planning their wedding. They had taken the folder and decided to head to the bar, drink some, eat some, plan some. It'd be a good way to end the day and take Matt's mind off of that infuriating Leo – such a stubborn person, so sure he was the best fit for everything while no one else was as capable, huh. Also, the additional plus of maybe getting to talk to or see Jamie, which never failed to improve Matt's mood.

At this point, Matt was pretty sure they'd never finish planning this wedding though, because they barely rounded the corner on the pub to see a gigantic lizard attack the place. Immediately, Matt and Mike backed off around the corner again, noting the alley was empty thanks to the attraction on the street. They used the chance to summon their hero-costumes – no one was attacking the St. John's Pub, no one was allowed to harm Jamie and everyone else inside that building!

“Mattie, I will try to lure the lizard away, you check inside for Jamie and the others?”

“Okay”, agreed Matt, pulling Mike close enough to kiss quickly. “Be safe, amore.”

“Already calling Mel and Tanya for back-up and telling Tanya to contact Team Lionheart”, assured Mike with a grin. “We got this. We got even more back-up now. We'll be fine.”

Matt sighed, hoping Mike was right to place his trust in Leo and his team. Because this was... more than just a regular attack. This was personal for Matt. He quickly made his way up into the apartment, notching an arrow and, in the middle of turning around mid-air, he shot the lizard. After, he landed smoothly, right in front of an injured Jamie. By the looks of it, the Irish man had tried to distract the lizard on his own so his family could escape.

“Are you okay?”, asked Matt tensely. “Is anyone else in the apartment?”

Jamie gave him a look, an odd look that Matt couldn't quite place. It was... different from the usual. Then again, Matt wasn't necessarily Matt right now, he was in full superhero getup. Jamie didn't know it was him beneath the yellow mask. Furrowing his brows when Jamie didn't react, Matt shot another arrow at the creature before apparently Mike managed to get its attention. When the lizard turned away from the now roofless building, Matt turned around and knelt down next to Jamie.

“Hey”, whispered Matt gently. “How bad are your injuries? And are you alone in here?”

“I... yes. Both. Yes”, muttered Jamie. “My... Everyone else got out. I drew the lizard's attention so they could make it downstairs. I think... I hope... everyone got out of the pub safely too.”

Matt nodded, relieved, before helping a slightly uncooperative Jamie up onto the couch to check his injuries more closely, while still keeping one eye on the fight outside. There was a guarded look on Jamie's face as he reluctantly allowed Matt to check on his wound.

“You know, you're a regular human, you shouldn't fight monsters”, noted Matt chidingly.

“My kids were here”, growled Jamie fiercely. “I'll not just stand by and let anything happen to them. I don't need to be in a ridiculous getup to protect the people I love.”

“Ridiculous?”, echoed Matt wide-eyed.

“You're literally only wearing a vest”, pointed Jamie out unimpressed.

“Sagittarius!”, called Tanya out loudly as she landed in the living room. “Taurus is outside, containing the lizard with roots, Cancer is fighting him off. We got here as soon as we could.”

“Great. Where's the rest of the backup?”, asked Matt sharply.

“I...”, started Tanya, looking unsure for a moment. “Can't reach them.”

Matt snorted to himself. “Making great speeches about being unable to trust us but the moment we call on him, Leo's too busy picking up the phone, huh? Whatever. We don't actually need them. We can do this alone. Protect our city and the people we care about alone, if he's not willing to.”

Matt tilted his head up to stare at Tanya fiercely and by doing so, he missed the unreadable expression on Jamie's face as he took in Sagittarius' determination and sincerity.

“For now, help me gather the injured and bring them to safety”, suggested Tanya.

“Of course”, assured Matt before offering a last gentle smile to Jamie. “You're going to be fine. A bruised rib, at max. Don't worry, I'll not let that monster hurt you, or your family.”

Read here on AO3!

Previous Chapter <- || Masterpost || -> Next Chapter

[gothambatsnews]

Podcast 6: Feeling Good During Fall and Winter

[“Spoiler Alert Podcast” theme song plays. There are two feminine voices in the background. The conversation fades, there are three taps on the mic.] [Stephanie:] “Hello Gotham High School and welcome to Spoiler Alert! I’m your host Stephanie Brown, and today, unfortunately, I won’t be joined by my usual co-host Dick Grayson, he’s actually too busy. Buuuut I am joined by the one and only CASSANDRA CAIN! Say hi, Cass”

[Cassandra:] “Hello, Cass.”

[Stephanie:] “Funny. So as you probably know, there’s a veeeery big game coming and our boys are training a lot these days. Thankfully I’m able to use a few minutes here to present you our podcast, but it’s quite wild for the cheerleaders too, as you may assume.”

[Cassandra:] “They’re going to Central City. Playing against the Cougars, next week. Saturday.”

[Stephanie:] “Right. That means for today, it’s a girls only show. I mean, for the hosts. Anyone can benefit the advice in this one, don’t get me wrong.”

[Cassandra:] “Everyone can feel down and suffer from lack of light and warmth in Fall and Winter. Meaning you are welcome to stay, no matter your identity.”

[Stephanie:] “Exactly. As you can suspect it, today’s topic is about Self Love and how to feel better during these dark times. Even if summer’s over, along with its refreshing watermelons, autumn’s got its own little perks. [Cassandra:] “Like Pumpkin Spice Latte.”

[Stephanie:] “Yep. Looking at you, Jason.”

[Cassandra:] “Sound of the rain? When the leaves go crack under our boots? Boots, actually.”

[Stephanie:] “Mmm.. the leaves yes. Boots shopping?”

[Cassandra:] “Just wearing boots, too. Spending time with friends. In the mall? It’s nice and warm.”

[Stephanie:] “Just staying inside where it’s cozy actually.”

[Cassandra:] “With a nice cup of tea?”

[Stephanie:] “Yes, and cocoa if tea isn’t what you like. There’s plenty of good things in Fall and Winter. Not to mention the snow and the unspeakable joy of throwing snowballs straight into people’s faces. But what to do when you’re feeling low nonetheless? Let’s get down to business an-”

[Cassandra:] [In song.] “... To de-feat the Cou-gars?”

[Stephanie:] [Chuckling] “You had to quote Disney, huh? But no, to get into the heart of the matter!”

[Cassandra:] [Sounds like she’s smiling.] “Today we picked four main things that won’t cost too much. Most of us are students and can be hard to follow advice when it’s too expensive.”

[Stephanie:] “Yeah, not everyone is a Wayne, sadly. But the first point may or may not involve getting some supplies, but usually you can manage without buying anything.”

[Cassandra:] “Yes! Art therapy is very popular. Creating is good for our mood. Grab a pen, some pencils, colors, yarn, whatever you have or want, and do something creative. Paint, draw, doodle, just have fun. It doesn’t have to be nice or good looking, you just have to have fun!”

[Stephanie:] “Actually, pretty sure that cooking can be included in that point. Except if your name is Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Damian Wayne or Tim Drake, in which case it’s just living dangerously.”

[Cassandra:] “Calling them out, Steph? They’ll get revenge. You and I know that.”

[Stephanie:] “They can bring it on, this is a free podcast! FREEDOM OF SPEECH!”

[Cassandra:] [Really laughing this time] “Heheh. That only protects your speech, not from the boys.”

[Stephanie:] “I’ll face the problem when I get to it.”

[Cassandra:] [Snorts] “But yes, cooking, especially since it’ll be good for you to eat a balanced meal.”

[Stephanie:] “Don’t just throw a snack in the microwave, or cereals in a bowl. Don’t be a Dick! Make something. Start small. Maybe a smoothie or something, if you’re uncomfortable with the stove and oven. But make it yourself. It’s less expensive, usually healthier, and way better in the long run.”

[Cassandra:] “And fulfilling!”

[Stephanie:] “And once you master the basics you can begin to improvise. Add stuff, cook with new ingredients,... Make heart-shaped waffles…” [happy sighs] “I just want to wake up some day to a tray of heart waffles covered in chocolate, maybe a rose next to the plate. Romance tip, get your significant other heart waffles.”

[Cassandra:] [With a very neutral tone] “Someday, maybe, who knows?”

[Stephanie:] “Ah, but I got distracted, my bad, my bad. Where were we….” [Shuffling paper noise] “Ah right, here. Planting something.”

[Cassandra:] “Taking care of a plant is very relaxing. Don’t know why? It helps to have a tiny bit of nature inside. Especially in Gotham. And you can grow herbs to cook. Bonus points.”

[Stephanie:] “Ok I’ll be honest, I’m terrible with plants, BUT I got a workaround.”

[Cassandra:] “You do?”

[Stephanie:] “Fake flowers. Expensive ones though, not the cheap plastic ones. I got a few ones, mostly made out of fabric, and I switch between the different sets to maintain the illusion it’s fresh flowers. If you don’t look too closely, it’s alright.”

[Cassandra:] “So the parsley I got you…?”

[Stephanie:] “The one you named Peanut? Dead, sorry. So so sorry, I didn’t want to tell you!”

[Cassandra:] “Next time I’ll just get you a scarf like everyone else.”

[Stephanie:] “PLEASE NO!!” [Silence] “I mean… I already got 12 scarves thanks to Dick and Tim and Babs and other friends, I don’t even wear a scarf most of the time.”

[Cassandra:] “Fine. Mittens it’ll be then. Which leads us to the next point, go outside. Get fresh air.”

[Stephanie:] “Get ready to go outside, too. Don’t just make two steps outside with dumb sweatpants and a lazy bun, get ready! Always get out of the house like you’d like a potential date to see you for the first time. Not all out, but pretty enough and comfortable. Put on some makeup too. Nothing much, but if you’re feeling low, there’s nothing compared to putting on some lipstick to see it bring the life back to your face.”

[Cassandra:] “I thought that was the blush powder’s job.”

[Stephanie:] “Or the blush powder, yeah. Any of those. Also for our male listeners, never underestimate the power of a good concealer. Don’t be shy and get some. It’ll cover for all your long nights spent studying. Or anything else, really.”

[Cassandra:] “I thought the makeup topic was for another week?”

[Stephanie:] “It’s never too early for concealer, Cass. Just make sure you got the right tone. Erm… Oh, right. If you don’t know what to put as clothes to get out, stick to the basics.”

[Cassandra:] “Black?? But we said..”

[Stephanie:] “No no, I know what we said, get some colors. Sooooooo… WEAR THE RED AND GOLD!!! GO BATS GO!!”

[Cassandra:] “But at this time of the year be prepared to be mistaken with a Gryffindor student.”

[Stephanie:] “What’s wrong with that?”

[Cassandra:] “Some of us prefer the other houses. Not me, obviously, but you maybe. Or the boys. Especially Damian. He really enjoys being sorted in Slytherin.”

[Stephanie:] “Ok I’ll give you that. But you got to admit that at least it’s easy to get decent clothes, you just have to gather your Gotham High School merch- Oh god, wait.”

[Cassandra:] “What?”

[Stephanie:] “We’re talking about Harry Potter and Tim isn’t ev-”

[A phone dings. There’s some noise as Steph fishes for it]

[Stephanie:] "Oh god, it's Tim." [Cassandra:] "What did he say?" [Stephanie:] "'Tell them about my Dumbledore theory.' No, I'm not gonna. Goodbye Timothy."

[Sound of her phone being placed down.] [Cassandra:]"But you know he'll try to-" [A phone dings] "Text me." [Stephanie:] "Don't do what he says!" [Cassandra:] "He's threatening. He'll come here to crash your podcast."

[Stephanie:] “Please no. Tim if you hear us, don’t. Seriously don’t.”

[Cassandra:] “He’s probably already practically here or something, Stephanie.”

[Stephanie:] “Ok let’s finish this before he comes then. The last thing you probably heard it a thousand of times, but just turn off your phone and computer, and take a bit of time to just breathe.”

[Cassandra:] “Meditation. It’s called meditation. It helps lower the heart rate, and to put things in perspective. Makes people happier too.” [Stephanie:] “It doesn’t have to be hours long, just one or two minutes are already enough. We’ll… Talk about it in depth in another podc-

[Sound of a door being slammed open. A scream on Steph’s side] 

[Tim:] "LET ME TELL THEM ABOUT MY THEORY STEPH, COME ON!"

[Cassandra:] “NO! TIM GO!”

[Stephanie:] “And that’s a topic for another tiMELOVEANDSPARKLES!!”

[End of Episode 6]

[undertsums]

One shot Undertale Crossovers that I never finished

I actually started on Crossovers before so I am going to post the two below.

Note these are not finished and will never be finished for many reasons.

UnderHeart (Undertale and Kingdom Hearts Crossover)

Sora, Donald and Goofy were travelling the universes trying to track down Kairi and Riku, they had discovered a new world. A brand new world...born during this time of heartless and worlds fading, "maybe the King is in this new world" Goofy said, Donald hummed "I don't think so...look at it, so tiny" he complained. "Well Kairi and Riku might be down there" Sora said as Donald sighed "fine..." he said not wanting to argue with Sora, they went to land and found themselves on a bed of golden flowers "gowsh these sure are pretty" Goofy said as he picked up a golden flower.

Suddenly a girl landed in Goofy's arms, quite a young child "where did she come from?" Donald asked worriedly, Sora looked up and saw a hole "looks like she fell" he explained, the girl seemed to shuffle her eyes weren't open but she saw Sora and gasped slightly as she struggled out of Goofy's grasp, she quickly ran away into the next room "wait up!" Sora yelled running after the girl "SORA!" Goofy and Donald yelled running after him.

"...Asriel?" Sora stopped and turned "why did you stop?" Goofy asked "I thought I heard something..." Sora said "nevermind we have to chase after that girl" Donald said, Sora nodded as he ran into the next room and saw the girl with a goat monster "oh...hello my child" the goat monster said with a kind smile, the girl turned and quickly hid behind the goat monster "um...hello" Sora said wondering why the girl was so scared of him. "My name is Toriel, I am the guardian of the ruins...follow me, I'll take you to my home" she said as she took the girl's hand, Sora quickly followed the two.

He gasped at the ruins, red flowers by some stairs and an open door "follow me" Toriel said letting go of the girl's hand and walking on, the girl walked up to the flowers as Sora noticed a flashing yellow star as the girl held out her hand to it, he saw words pop up, Chara LV 1 EXP 0...maybe it was her name? If so she didn't talk much...she didn't talk at all, Chara stared at Sora and looking back to the previous room, "come my child" Toriel said as Chara quickly followed Toriel, "she's a bit strange" Sora whispered "well this is a new world Sora" Donald replied, "these ruins will be your home from now on" Toriel said as she was teaching Chara about the puzzles, so far there wasn't a single heartless in sight.

"I must leave you for now my children...wait here, the ruins have become more dangerous and I wouldn't want you hurt" Toriel said "I will give you a cell phone, call me for anything" she added handing Chara a cell phone, then left "so...what's your name?" Goofy asked Chara, she stared at Goofy in silence before giving a small smile. Words appeared in front of her 'FIGHT', 'ACT', 'ITEM' and 'MERCY', Chara picked act then talk "I'm Frisk...it is nice to meet you" she said, "but I saw Chara when you touched that golden star" Sora said, Frisk frowned and picked act then check. *Sora, AT ?, DF ?, is the chosen one... Frisk stared at Sora nervously she then picked talk "you are not of my world...are you?" she asked, Sora frowned "no we're not...I'm trying to find my friends, Riku and Kairi" he said, Frisk frowned as she picked talk "you won't find them here, I know everyone...you are the first new people I've met in years" she said, Sora, Donald and Goofy stared confused "what do you mean by that?" Goofy asked.

Frisk seemed to sigh at the fact as she picked talk "in a few minutes, Toriel will ring up" she said, "how do you know that?" Donald asked before the phone began to ring, Frisk answered keeping quiet making the conversation impossible to follow since Sora and the others couldn't hear Toriel. Frisk began to move "wait aren't we supposed to wait for Toriel?" Goofy asked, Frisk turned and rolled her eyes picking talk again "no...she will be held up, there is no point in waiting...I just want to get through this place...maybe you will make it exciting" she answered, Sora couldn't understand but there was no use in waiting so he followed Frisk.

"RIBBIT!" a frog said worriedly as it ran toward the group as a group of dark creatures were chasing it, "HEARTLESS!" Sora yelled about to fight them...instead he noticed the whole battlefield turning black and white as the heartless were stuck in place, unable to attack, those same words appeared again Frisk picked act and check. *Heartless AT ?, DF ?, has no heart...can not be spared. Frisk frowned at this as she picked Mercy then flee as the battlefield returned to normal, leaving Sora and the group to fight.

UnderHeart would be an awesome concept to see, especially if you decide to make Donald, Goofy and Sora into human kids (as human children are the only confirmed to fall down). It is odd that there isn’t many crossovers of Undertale and Kingdom Hearts especially since some of the music can sound similar, also considering, souls are a thing, heartless could be used effectively, especially with Flowey, heck Frisk at the end could show themself as a keyblade master too, (wouldn’t be too out of reach considering they have determination and it would only be used during Omega Flowey fight).

Anyways there needs to be more fanfics of this.

Once Upon a Tale (Undertale and Once Upon a Time)

After defeating Hades, Emma and the others thought they were finally done with the weirdness of Storybrooke, but that was far from the truth, it seemed like a normal day...the birds singing, flowers blooming...perfection.

BOOM!

The ground was shaking and from the forest appeared a mountain out of nowhere, everyone heard and felt it, but only a few felt the powerful magic coming from the mountain "what the hell was that?" Hook asked, Emma stared at the forest "I don't know...but I just felt some powerful magic" she replied "so did I" Regina added looking at Emma worriedly "we better get there before Rumple does" Emma said.

At the mountain Frisk walked out and saw the little town, it didn't seem familiar to them "WOWIE IT'S AMAZING" Papyrus said excited, Sans stared almost confused "yeah...it's cool" he added "everyone, this is a new start between humans and monsters" Asgore said, "I WILL GO AND GREET THEM" Papyrus declared as he hurried off, "I'm coming Paps" Sans said as he followed his brother. Frisk kept silent as they stared "so...my child, I'm guessing your going to go on your way now" Toriel said upset, Frisk shook their head and grabbed Toriel's hand "my child...you wish to stay?" she asked, Frisk gave a quick nod "then let us go my child" Toriel said leading Frisk down the mountain.

"Bro we should let the kiddo greet the humans" Sans said "NONSENSE SANS, I AM THE BEST AT MAKING NEW FRIENDS" Papyrus replied not intent on stopping, Sans frowned "I know bro but...we're monsters" he said making Papyrus stop "HMM...YOU HAVE A POINT BROTHER, OKAY I WILL WAIT FOR FRISK" he said, Sans gave a sigh "thanks bro..." he said looking around at the forest area  "hey...what do ya call a monkey with no skin?" Sans asked holding back his laughter, "SANS NO..." Papyrus said annoyed, "a", "NO", "bab", "NO", "bone" Sans finished "NYEEEEEEEEH!" Papyrus yelled in anger.

"YOUR PUNS ARE NOT FUNNY!" Papyrus continued yelling as Sans began laughing the two soon stopped when they heard footsteps, Papyrus turned seeing a bunch of new exciting people "WOWIE LOOK SANS, HUMANS" Papyrus said, Sans stared at the new 'friends' "heya humans...nice to meat ya" he said with a wink, "YES NICE TO MEET YOU" Papyrus said not picking up on the pun. "What the hell are they?" Hook asked "I dunno...Paps what are we?" Sans asked, Papyrus glared at Sans "WE ARE SKELETONS" he said, "oh good, for a moment I thought I was a human, maybe that's why everything goes through me" Sans said "SANS NO" Papyrus said annoyed, "you boys better be behaving" Toriel said as she and the rest came from the trees with Frisk.

Frisk saw the new people and gave a smile as they walked up to the group and began to sign 'hello, I am Frisk these monsters are my family, they are friendly', Emma understood the language "what's with the hands?" Hook asked "it's sign language" Emma replied as she kneeled down "I'm Emma Swan" she said, Sans's eyes seemed to sparkle "oh I get to make bird puns now" he said seeming excited "SANS" Papyrus said with a growl.

Frisk giggled as they shook Emma's hand, Emma's eyes widened the magic power she felt...it was from this kid. *Making a new friend...fills you with DETERMINATION* Frisk liked this ending...something new, something exciting...maybe she will stay for awhile, Emma stands back up "welcome to Storybrooke" she said, Sans couldn't hold back a chuckle "oh god the names" he said "SANS PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL" Papyrus said "bro...you hurt me..." Sans replied, "anyways...I gotta head back anyway...I'll catch up with ya kiddo" Sans added as he walked off. "Is he going to be okay on his own?" Henry asked "OF COURSE GIVE US A TOUR OF YOUR...STORYBOOK" Papyrus said as Henry gave a laugh "sure follow me" he said leading the monsters into town, Frisk stared until Sans was out of sight..."are you okay?" Emma asked, Frisk nodded 'I am going to follow mother...' they signed as they hurried up to the group.

Sans hummed as he walked through the forest "okay...what ending is this?" he asked himself taking a book out of his jacket, "lets see, sparing everyone, breaking the barrier...nothing seems to be different than a normal pacifist run...then why this ending?" he asked to himself, he stopped suddenly "heh...ya can come on out..." Sans said soon hearing footsteps and seeing a man walk out. "Heya...you weren't with the other humans, I'm Sans, Sans the skeleton" Sans said holding out his hand...the man stared causing Sans to become a little nervous, "heh...rude, oh well...ya come to just stare?" he asked as he put the book back in his jacket.

For people who don’t know Once Upon a Time it’s really good, it’s got fairytale stuff (mostly disney, but other stuff too), but much darker. Anyway I sadly won’t go into too much detail about Once Upon a Time as I don’t have great explanation skills.

Anyway this fic would have had Rumple (who is like the main villain in the show) try and sway Sans that Frisk (who has constantly reset many times, almost done a genocide run too), to help him. That he could take that power away so it would never be used again. Basically he is Bill Cipher and you can’t trust him.

Actually that’s a good comparison, except Rumple does stick to his deals more than Bill does.

Anyway Emma would have to try and stop Sans, (Emma has magic powers because she’s the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming), but neither knowing that Chara before falling had made a deal with Rumple. So blah blah, bad stuff, blah blah, possible deaths, blah blah reset.

Anyway I really wanna work on a Steven Universe one and am trying to think when I want it to take place, obviously I don’t want it too early or too late, so I may place it after The Trial, when Steven gets home.

[jinkisbelly]

Colors - 5/?

Pairing: Jongyu

Rating: mm pg

Warning: Age gap, (but everyone is legal)

w/c: around 2.3k, First part here [x], second part here [x], third part here [x], fourth part here [x] can be read on aff also here [x], This is about them saying I love you for the first time, and other stuff

Jinki happens across a small period diner with a flirty, young waiter who is full of color.

The lights were twinkling around them, the white snow cascaded over the landscape sparkling a little with the bulbs reflections. Their hands were intertwined between them, swinging softly as the two men walked through the paths of the zoo. There weren’t many people here, but it was going to end the next week and Jonghyun really wanted to go before it did. “Oh, Babe can we go see the Polar bears?”

“Sure, just lead the way Baby,” Jinki replied quietly with a soft smile.

Jonghyun almost bounced in excitement. “The little babs are probably having so much fun in the snow with their sweet tiny hearts.”

The younger man was so bright and warm despite the frigid air around them, and the lights never stood a chance against his beauty and vibrancy. His hair was fading, his dark roots growing into the pale lavender. His big parka was basically swallowing him whole, but it was the cutest thing. “Maybe we can get a polar bear plush from the gift shop.”

“You think they have one?”

“Most definitely.” Jinki chuckled, “Taemin always wanted a new plushie every time we came here.”

“Does he still have them?” Jonghyun asked with a soft laugh, cheeks, and nose pink from the chill in the air.

“I think they’re on his bed to be completely honest with you.”

“I have to confess something to you,” Jonghyun quietly stated, and worry bubbled up in Jinki’s chest.

“Is something wrong?” He asked as he slowly tugged Jonghyun out of the middle of the path and came to a stop.

“Nothing too serious I promise,” Jonghyun squeezed Jinki’s hand before bringing it up to press a kiss on the leather gloved hand. “I just wanted to tell you that I hide my teddy bear under the bed when you come over so you don’t judge me.”

“Oh God,” Jinki breathed, a relieved laugh leaving his lips. “Baby I thought you were going to tell me something horrible or break up with me.”

“No!” He pushed up to press a kiss to Jinki’s lips, a big smile on his face. “Nothing of the sort.”

“Good,” After a deep breath Jinki smiled, “So do I get to meet your teddy bear next time?”

“Totally.”

After a moment Jinki nudged him softly, “So how about those polar bears?”

“Ah! Right, this way.”

--------

On the drive home Jonghyun was snug in the passenger seat, one arm around his new polar bear plush he named Winter and the other bent to accommodate holding Jinki’s hand in his lap. “So, what do you feel like for dinner?”

“Mm, I kind of want Ramen.” Jinki could see that Jonghyun was beginning to tire out. “Is there any place open?”

“Probably not,” Jinki hummed, checking his mirrors before merging over a lane to the right. “I have some at home if you wanna come over. You can have my bed again if you want to just crash there again.”

“Is that okay?”

“Completely,” When he stopped at the red light he leaned over to kiss Jonghyun’s temple. “And since tomorrow is Saturday, there’s no rush.”

“Only if I get to make breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“Deal,” Jinki turned left at the next intersection instead of staying straight to go to Jonghyun’s. The rest of the car ride was silent of conversation, but it wasn’t completely silent with how Jonghyun was humming along to the soft music playing through the speakers. Once they were parked Jinki opened Jonghyun’s door for him and they headed over to the elevator, the smaller man curled into Jinki’s side.

Once inside the apartment, Jonghyun hung his coat up and made his way to the couch to pull the blanket laid over the back down around his shoulders. He beamed over at Jinki, “I’m cold.”

“You warm up, I’ll get the food ready.” He kissed the top of Jonghyun’s head before heading into the kitchen. The pot was put on the stove to boil as he brought two eggs out to fry them. Once the noodles were cooked and the eggs were slid onto the top, he moved to grab a fork. It was then he heard the soft sounds of cloth shuffling against the carpet. When he looked up there was Jonghyun, wrapped in the blanket. He resembled a burrito more than a human being. “Hey you, I thought you were getting warm.”

“I was, but then I realized I can become swaddled and move,” Jonghyun smiled cutely.

Jinki felt warmth burst in his chest, and the words came from his mouth before he could stop them. “God, I love you.”

“Excuse me?”

Flustered Jinki fumbled over his words, “I didn’t mean that.”

“So you don’t love me?” Jonghyun’s voice was gentle and full of hurt.

“No, no I do,” Jinki groaned, running his hands through his hair as his eyes fluttered shut. He took a deep breath for a moment before opening his eyes and smiling, “I do love you. I just didn’t mean to confess like that.”

“Oh,” Jonghyun softly giggled, hiding his nose and lips behind his blanket covered hand, “I love you too Jinki.”

Jinki chuckled, “Leave it to me. Confessing over ramen when you’re a blanket burrito.”

Jonghyun shuffled over in quick little steps, opening his arms to wrap Jinki up in the blanket too. He looked up happy at him, a smile curving on his lips. “But that’s us.”

Their lips melded together slowly, Jinki’s hand warm on Jonghyun’s jaw. When they parted he bumped their noses together. “Let’s eat before it’s cold.”

He was almost vibrating, “It looks delicious.”

“Try it before you shower me with praise.”

“Aye aye!”

-------

What do you get when you mix a dog and a fish?

Jinki laughed softly at the message, I don’t know, what do you get baby?

A seal, awrf awrf

Im concerned Im rubbing off on you too much, Jinki texted back with a soft smile.

We have been dating for like 3 months Babe <3, Jonghyun replied a few moments later.

Time really flies when you're having fun, He set his phone down on the table and returned to his dinner. Taemin was looking at him intrigued from across the table, fork laid against his plate as he leaned on his hand.

“Hey Dad?”

Jinki looked up with a smile, “Yes, Taem?”

“Who are you texting?”

He could feel the heat in his cheeks, but he still tried to change the subject. “Ah, just a client. How's the new job?”

“Job's great Dad, but,” A slow smile spread on Taemin’s face. “In what I can remember in my 24 years you've never smiled like that about a client.”

Jinki ran a hand through his hair and scratched his neck as he sheepishly smiled, “Am I that obvious?”

“Yes. Like a giant flashing billboard,” Taemin beamed, leaning more on his elbows toward his Dad, “So what's their name? How long have you been talking? What are they like?”

“Is this how you felt when you dated Naeun in high school when your Mom asked you a billion questions?” Jinki asked flustered.

“Yes, but stop deflecting.”

“His name is Jonghyun and just over 3 months.” Taemin’s eyes widened and Jinki asked, “What?”

“You've been dating someone for 3 months and I was unaware?” Jinki nodded softly and Taemin frowned, “You should have told me.”

“I didn't know how you'd handle it,” When Taemin looked confused Jinki continued, “Accepting I'm gay and accepting me actually being with another man are two different things.”

“Oh Dad, I'm happy for you!” Taemin smiled sweetly, but it fell slightly as he said, “Not sure how mom's gonna handle it, though.”

“Pardon my language, but your Mom can kiss my ass.” Jinki looked down at his phone when it vibrated, but didn't pick it up. “Jonghyun’s great, though. He makes me feel young again.”

“You sound very happy Dad.”

The smile on Jinki’s face was soft and easy going, “I am.. I'm very happy.”

“Dad,” Taemin quietly said a moment later when they resumed eating.

“Yeah?”

“Check your phone,” Taemin chuckled, “I can see your eyes flicking over to it. I don't mind.”

Jinki flashed a tiny smile and mumbled, “Thank you.” before flipping his phone over to slide it open. There were 3 messages from Jonghyun and 2 from Minho. Including 3 missed calls from his secretary. He clicked Minho first, it being extremely odd he would he texting him this late.

Hey boss I know you're out with your son, but Ms. Cho is here. Jinki pressed his lips together, annoyance bubbling up in him already. I came back to get the case files for tomorrow's court appointment and she was berating the janitor. She says its urgent.

It's quite alright Minho, is there any way you could handle it?

The speed in which the young man texted back was concerning, I tried sir, but she refused to talk to anyone but you.

Ask her if a Call would suffice, please.

“You look pissed Dad, something wrong?” Taemin quietly asked, laying his utensils down next to his plate.

“There's a client who knows after 6 I'm not reachable at the office and if the need to get in touch with me arises they have my cell phone number,” Jinki sighed before sipping his water, “But instead of using that she's stressing my secretary out at the office.”

“Do you have to leave?”

“If I do it'll be after we finish.” Jinki gave him a comforting smile before checking the new message from Minho.

She says only in person Boss.

Alright. I’ll be there as quick as I can after my meal.

Okay sir. Ty sir.

He was about to check the messages from Jonghyun when he remembered Minho would be stuck with her until he got there. Oh, and Minho?

Yes sir?

Your favorite sport is football right?”

Yes, but why?

You’ll see. Be there soon, If the poor man had to deal with Ms. Cho during his off hours so he could finish his meal peacefully the least he could do is get him something. Game tickets seemed like a good fit, being how often he mentions the sport.

“I’m guessing by your face you have to go in.” Taemin said softly, moving around his pasta.

Jinki hummed as he clicked Jonghyun’s messages. “Unfortunately.”

Babe you should come over after you have dinner with Taemin, Jinki continued to read, completely ignoring his dinner for a moment. I got a new canvas..was thinking we could paint since we're both off tomorrow ^^ I even have chicken!

Jinki frowned deeply, I'm sorry Baby but I have to go into the office right after. I don't want you to wait up

:c its okay, you can come by when you're done. You know I'll be up ^^

Okay Baby, I'll call you when I'm omw

I love you, drive safe

Love you too Baby

“How long do you think it'll take to save your secretary?” Taemin asked after putting his drink back on the table.

“Pretty quickly, but saving myself from her?” Jinki laughed, “Your guess is as good as mine Son.”

-------

After dealing with that exhausting woman for 3 hours over stuff that could have been done at a later date, all Jinki wanted to do was hug Jonghyun. He texted Jonghyun quickly that he was finished, and asked if he still wanted him to come over.

Of course I do ^^, Jinki sighed relieved as he turned the car on. I was thinking we could throw paint balloons~

Sounds great Baby, I’ll be there in about 15 minutes okay?

Okay, See you soon! Before Jinki tossed his phone into the passenger seat he saw the next message, I love you <3

Jinki quickly typed out, I love you too.

The phone was tossed into the passenger seat and he put the car into reverse. He was exhausted, but just the thought of Jonghyun made him more relaxed.

------

“Do you think your shirt is big enough Baby?” Jinki asked with a soft laugh at the sight of Jonghyun in the large white shirt coming out of the bedroom.

He grabbed the fabric with his hands and make it move happily. “Very roomy. Good for aiming the balloons.”

“Ah,” Jinki snorted, “Is that your story that you’re sticking too?”

“Why yes,” Jonghyun crossed his arms over his chest with an exaggerated pout on his face. “And it’s a good one!”

Jinki reached into the giant box full of water balloons filled to the max with different colored paints. The room was dimly lit by the far lamp in the corner and the numerous candles lit around the room. There was a big sheet under their bare feet up until the wall just under the big canvas. Gentle music swayed from the stereo across the way where Jinki’s iPod was connected. He held the balloon out to Jonghyun with a warm smile, “Do you want to start?”

Jonghyun shook his head as he grabbed his own balloon from the box, “No Babe, you go.”

With a hum Jinki looked over the canvas to choose where he’d aim it. When he let go of the balloon he hoped it’d land somewhere in the middle, but it ended up too far to the right. He flashed a smile over at Jonghyun as blue paint splattered on the once blank canvas. “I meant to do that.”

“Sure you did~”

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