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dccomicsimagines · 3 years

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My Business - Clark Kent x Reader

Requested by Anon - A superman x reader imagine with the prompt: "I found your nose! It was in my business."

Requested by warblinglion0 - Hi! Could I request a Clark Kent imagine please??

***

Clark closed his eyes against the blowing snow. He flew over the city, using his super hearing to guide him. The city was quieter than normal. The snowstorm had shut almost everything down.

He sighed, swooping down to help a woman carry home groceries. “Thank you, Superman,” she shouted once she was at her building. Clark waved at her and took off into the sky again.

Most of his day was spent helping stranded people with the storm. He had already written his article about the impact of the storm on Metropolis’ sewer system. Perry could forgive boring content when the storm created a slow news day. Clark snorted. He bet Lois found some kind of amazing story in this weather.

He landed on the top of the Daily Planet. The cold air felt sharp in his lungs. It reminded him of winters at home. He looked out at the snow covered city, thinking of turning in. A cup of hot chocolate while watching that documentary he felt would give him an edge in a story he was researching. He felt warm already.

“Get lost, jerk.” Your voice hit his ears. Clark’s eyes widened in surprise. It was like he was subconsciously listening for you sometimes. Your voice always came to him in the moments he never suspected.

He floated into the air, searching for you. You sounded too close to be at your apartment across town.

“Stupid, country bum,” a man’s voice echoed near you. Clark heard a door slam. He flew faster before slowing when he found you trudging through the snow in the street. His stomach dropped at how underdressed you were. You didn’t even have a coat on.

He almost flew down to you, but he stopped himself. People couldn’t see Superman around you. Too risky. He quickly flew to his apartment only a block away. Changing into regular clothes, he made sure to pick up an extra coat for you before zooming back to you.

***

You wrapped your arms around yourself and cursed your situation. Why didn’t you bring a coat? Why did you decide to go the the club during a snowstorm? You shook your head, feeling the snow settled on your head. Everything was shut down. You shivered, crossing the street to make the long walk home.

“(Y/N)? What are you doing out here?” Clark’s voice made you jump. You spun around, seeing him run over to you. Ironically, he was dressed for the weather. Funny since he couldn’t feel the cold. “Where’s your coat?” He had an extra coat over his arm, which he quickly wrapped around you. You slipped your arms in the sleeves, noting how warm it was.

A shaky laugh escaped you. “I found your nose. It’s in my business...again.” You tapped his nose before struggling to zip up the coat. Your fingers were already numb, burning from the cold. Clark shook his head, smiling as he zipped it for you.

“Come on. It’s too far for you to go home now. My place is nearby.” He wrapped a strong arm around you and led you home. “Now why are you out in this weather?”

He was so warm and his big frame blocked the wind. “Well, I got invited to a club by some friends of Lucy’s.” You bit your lip. “I thought I’d go, but then one of the guys started making fun of me when I didn’t know what...” You stopped yourself from spilling the embarrassing conversation. “Never mind.”

“You’re always getting in trouble.” Clark unlocked his building’s front door and held it open for you. You hurried inside, stomping your feet to knock off the snow. Shivers rocked your body, you could have swore ice was forming on your body.

“And you’re always popping up to help.” You rolled your eyes. “I never would have thought my good old brother, Pete, would ask you to keep an eye on me so much. Do you two even talk that much anymore?”

“We do.” Clark bit his lip. Pete Ross didn’t call him that much, but they always caught up when Clark went home for a visit. It was actually during one of those visits that Pete asked Clark to keep an eye on his younger sibling who got it into their head to move to Metropolis. Pete thought you were in over your head, and honestly, most of the time you were.

You pulled Clark’s jacket closer as you both headed to the elevator. “I mean there was that time where I was in that bad roommate situation, so you helped me move. Then I wanted to rent that one place for really cheap and you stepped in to show me how bad it was. Of course, then you came in with that offer to live with Lucy Lane in a nicer part of town.”

Clark blushed slightly. “Well, it’s the least I could do. I mean you’re practically family, (Y/N).”

Your stomach soured slightly. You were afraid he only saw you as Pete’s little tagalong sibling. Who could blame him when you felt so helpless most of the time? “I personally think it’s because you want to make up for breaking up my mud mask business in the fifth grade.”

He laughed hard, almost doubling over. “You were taking mud from the pond and mixing it with your mother’s perfume. It made three people break out in hives.”

“I had a warning label on it.” You smiled at his reaction. “And it was five dollars a bottle.”

Clark shook his head. “Ma actually bought one from you. She didn’t use it though. In fact, I think she still has it sitting in the garage.”

“Too bad for her. Lana swore by it. Said it cleared up her acne just like that.” You snapped your fingers, chuckling along with him. The elevator doors opened and Clark led the way down the hall to his apartment.

“In all seriousness though, you shouldn’t have went out with a storm on the way. The city shuts down during snowstorms.” Clark unlocked his apartment door and pushed it open to let you in first.

“The club was still open.” You wandered inside, flicking on the lights to take in the bland surroundings. The only personal items were a framed newspaper article and three family pictures of the Kents.

“Stupidly still open, yes.” Clark shut the door and locked it. “I’ll make some hot chocolate. Make yourself comfortable, (Y/N).” He took off his coat and shook it out before pulling off his shoes. You kept the coat on, still warming up.

Clark went into the kitchen and you trailed behind him. “Were you as helpless as me when you first moved here?” you asked suddenly as you took a seat at the counter. Clark blinked, turning to look at you while he turned on the stove.

“Yes. I had no idea what I was doing and I had a few tricky situations myself.” He smiled. “I’m glad I can help you not to make the same mistakes I did.”

You hummed. He turned back to start warming up the milk. “Of course it was easier for you. Being Superman and all.” Clark flinched, looking at you with wide eyes. You laughed at the sight. “I know. I know. We’re not supposed to talk about it. It’s the thing we know, but never speak of.”

Clark sighed. “I don’t think that made it easier for me.” He cleared his throat, turning back to the stove. “It was hard to hide my powers. To have some much noise around me all the time. Not to mention when I decided to become Superman.”

You watched him, noting the tension in his shoulders. Part of you wanted to go hug him, but you resisted. You didn’t know how he would react. “I remember the first time we knew for sure that you were something special. It was during winter break one year. You, Pete, and Tommy Johnson were trying to go ice fishing at the lake. I followed you because you wouldn’t let me come and I was being stubborn.”

“You fell through the ice because you walked on the thin part.” Clark hummed, getting out the chocolate mix.

“No one would have noticed, but you heard me scream.” You crossed your arms. The chill from the freezing water felt like a permanent scar every time you thought back on that day. “I went under the ice and I couldn’t find a way to get out.”

“I dived in after you.” Clark mixed in the chocolate slowly. You wondered if he was remembering how cold the water was too, even though he didn’t get cold. “I had to break through the ice once I found you. Pete and Tommy ran over to help. I let them pull us out. Tommy couldn’t believe I broke through the ice, but Pete told him it was thin there too.”

“None of us said anything about it, but you did save my life that day.” You took a deep breath, slipping off your chair. Taking off his coat, you were finally warm enough. “We always knew, but never really talked about it. I remember I tried to ask Pete to ask you to lift this big rock for me and he slapped my face.”

“He slapped you?” Clark spun to you, staring at your cheek like Pete just slapped you right this second. You chuckled and touched your cheek. It had stun a lot. You cried at the time.

“Pete was protecting you. Like I said it’s the thing we all knew, but never talked about.” Your face burned at the concern on his face. “I’m fine, Clark.”

Clark bit his lip, turning away to grab two mugs out of the cabinet. You snorted when you saw he had a superman mug. “Ma gave this to me. She thought it was funny.” He handed you a filled mug and turned off the stove.

“It is if you know.” You took a sip, licking your lips. “This is good.”

“Thanks, I learned from the best.” Clark took a sip of his own hot chocolate. “I was going to watch a documentary for work if you want join me? Otherwise, we can just watch regular TV, I’m not picky.”

You headed into the living room and made yourself comfortable on his couch. “The documentary is fine. I like learning.”

“I bet Mrs. G just rolled over in her grave at that.” Clark laughed. “I remember how you made her so mad that her face turned completely red like she was going to burst into flames.”

“Good times.” You laughed, relaxing as Clark sat down beside you. Shyly, he grabbed a blanket and covered you and himself with it. You hesitated before cuddling into his side.

Clark paused. You saw a mixed expression of emotions cross his face. “You comfortable?”

“Yep.” You took another sip from your mug. Clark relaxed and turned on the documentary. The two of you snuggled while the snowstorm raged outside.

***

The next morning, Clark was startled to hear eggs frying in the kitchen. He slowly got out of bed and was about to leave his bedroom until he remembered you. Quickly, he pulled on an old Smallville High t-shirt. No reason to scare you with his bare chest.

You were in the kitchen. Clark stopped in the doorway, his breath taken away. He had forgotten he had given you a shirt of his to wear. You turned when you heard his gasp. “Good morning.” You waved innocently before turning back to the stove. “I hope you don’t mind that I made us breakfast. I figured it was the least I could do since you let me stay here last night.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to send you out into the storm.” Clark sat down at the table. His body threatened to burst into flames. Why did you look so good in his shirt?

“You could have flown me home.” Clark watched you as you made a plate for him. He almost groaned at how domestic it was. Part of him wished you could be here every morning. However, the other part of him knew you were Pete Ross’ sibling. Off limits.

Clark cleared his throat. You set the plate in front of him. “Thank you.” He dug into the food to distract himself from the racing thoughts.

You laughed and made a plate for yourself. Clark tensed when you sat down right next to him. “So it’s still snowing outside,” you said, picking at your food.

“It is.” Clark glanced out the window at the winter wonderland outside. “I’ll have to insist you stay here.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t have to insist.” You met his eye, winking at him. “But what are we going to do all day long?”

Clark took a big bite of eggs. His heart fluttered at your wink. “I do have to write an article, but after we could...I don’t know...maybe break out that game we used to play?”

“You still have that? And you have it here?” You gasped, clapping your hands.

“Ma sent it to me a year ago. Said I might need it.” Clark chuckled. He avoid mentioning that Ma only sent it after she found you out were moving to Metropolis. Come to think of it, Clark wondered if Ma knew something he didn’t. Then again, she always did.

You went into a story about when you all first played the game. Clark listened, remembering it himself. You, Pete, and Clark played the game for the first time in the basement of his house while there was a tornado warning. A warm fuzzy feeling came to his chest. Clark decided then and there that he would call Pete once you went home and ask him for permission to ask you out.

#clark kent #clark kent x reader #clark kent imagine #superman #superman x reader #superman imagine #dc comics imagines #dc reader insert

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 4 years

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Once Bitten, Twice Stupid

Pairing: Klance: Keith Kogane/Lance Mcclain

Summary: Lance has lived a pretty simple life since being turned into a vampire. He’s got his house, his cat, and his two besties that have no idea he’s a vampire thanks to his awesome acting skills... He thought he was happy, that things were fine, that he wasn’t drawing too much attention to himself... and then he met Keith.Big, dumb, hot, emo, stupid Keith. Keith that went and flipped his life upside down, because, seriously, Keith really was a special kind of stupid.Vampire Lance x Vampire Hunter Keith

READ ON AO3

People sucked. People truly, madly, unequivocally, completely and totally sucked. That’s why Lance had brought his farmhouse outside a the tiny speck of a town barely found on most maps. He hadn’t lead a particularly long life, at least not when compared to others suffering from the same condition as he had, yet in his short time, he’d come to hate people. Don’t get him wrong, he didn’t hate everyone. He had two best friends that meant the world to him, Pidge and Hunk. Both paranormal investigators, and both blind to his unusualness. No. What Lance held issue with was the continued hunting of his kind by the Vatican. His “ancestors” may have bathed in blood, and sacrificed virgins, all that kind of hooky-huha that one reads in scary stories, but before he’d been made a vampire, he liked to think he’d been a happy enough well liked kid, and he liked to think that even these days he still carried an air of that charm whenever he was forced from his home.

Garrison was a tiny town 50kms away from Platt City, founded during the Third World War, the city held plenty of ghostly secrets which had drawn both Hunk and Pidge to the area. Boasting a single Main Street, the highlights of the town were limited to tourist traps and three pubs on the Main Street. It was while studying at Platt University that he’d met both his best friends, twenty years his juniors, yet thanks to his unwanted immortality his body had stopped maturing roughly around the age of 18, making it easy to join the crowded university with a few falsified papers. His intention was to refresh his legal skills in order to keep up with the time’s. With the help of his Mami, he’d moved somewhere small and private, to a dead beat town that accepted weirdness as an everyday occurrence thanks to the tourists that came to see the ghosts of soldiers passed. When he’d been a kid, he’d always dreamed of being an astronaut, yet had chosen law to help those less fortunate in some kind of redemption for his condition. Being immortal meant keeping up with the times, though his house retained much of its old “Victorian” charm. Plus, with Platt being so close, it made for an easy drive up there every three weeks to pick up new blood bags. He was in no way a stereotypical vampire other than his need for blood. He wore glasses, because his eyesight was so good his mind couldn’t process everything he was seeing. This came with the unfortunate side effect of being clumsy as hell. He’d come from a Catholic family, meaning he believed in the presence of God. He’d also never drunk from a human, and never taken a human as pet or a lover like some did. When he wasn’t tagging along with Pidge and Hunk to ensure they didn’t accidentally summon something nasty, most of his time was devoted to providing low cost family legal advise.

Perhaps because he hadn’t been born a vampire, he’d retained many of his human ways. Sunlight didn’t turn him to ashes. Garlic gave him pretty bad stomach cramps and indigestion, which could be fobbed off with the excuse of an allergy. Silver gave him hives, again, something that could be passed off as an allergic reaction. He refused to harm animals for blood. He refused to bite another human, despite the fact a bite wouldn’t turn one anyway. They needed to be drinking his blood for that to happen, and after how he’d been turned, there was no way he’d ever do that to a mortal. He showed up in photographs, though his eyes always came out red instead of their usual bright blue. Mirrors weren’t exactly his friend, but not because he couldn’t see himself, instead because he hated seeing himself. They didn’t magically show his “vampire face”, instead they reminded him he’d never grow old. At the ripe age of 44 he looked 18. Even when he turned 100, he’d still look 18. It was thoroughly depressing. Unlike some vampires he didn’t have a coven, or a pack. His house only held him and his cat Blue, who he’d found as a tiny kitten under the steps leading up to the porch. She’s was black, fluffy, and an absolute princess in his eyes. Other than the general upkeep of his house, blood costs and the very occasional splurge on new clothes, most of the money he made went to spoiling his little princess. He wasn’t sure if Blue was part vampire, her teeth had always been sharp, as kitten he’d dug her out by the scruff of the neck, her tiny little teeth were far too cute as they buried themselves into his hand. She’d never acted like she was, but she also preferred to stay inside and had a personality that rivalled some of the most twisted “Queen” vamps he’d met. Then again, everyone knew cats were temperamental arseholes, so maybe Blue was simply being the snobby cow she was born to be.

All in all, Lance had nothing to complain about in his life. He was happy, content, safe in the knowledge no one about to ruin that anytime soon.

Pulling into the parking lot of their usual dive, Sal’s burgers wasn’t the most popular place in town, making it the perfect place to hang out. Located 10kms out of town on the road to Platt City, seemingly an inconvenience the locals, most of Sal’s customers came from tourists needing to stop because their kids needed the toilet. A few of the older locals had dedicated seats at the service bar, and maybe one or twice a week people spiced it up from their usual coffee shops on Main Street, but all in all, the lack of customers is what Lance loved about it. The whole place looked as if the 50’s had left it behind, from its pastel pink exterior to the cheesy green and silver breakfast stools at the c go heck board service bar. From his parking space he could already see Pidge and Hunk waiting for him in their usual booth. Hunk’s head thrown back as he laughed at something, probably at Pidge’s expense.

Cutting the engine, Lance grabbed up his wallet, phone, and gloves. He wasn’t exactly the warmest of people to begin with, but this freezing weather was likely to turn him into an undead popsicle. Already dressed in his favourite khaki jacket, Lance did a quick double check pat down before climbing out his battered blue four wheel drive. She was old, had one too many rust spots and didn’t like starting on days like today, but he’d had her since he’d graduated college the first time around. His Mami was always nagging at him to get rid of her, to use some of his money to buy something better, something that didn’t have roll down windows and a dodgy CD player. His first car was his first real taste of freedom after being turned. They’d been through a lot together, leaving him unable to say goodbye to her. That’d be like cutting him own arm off.

Sal gave him a wave as Lance walked in, the man was a teddy bear under his perpetual 5 o’clock shadow and greasy apron. His policy seemed to be that if someone couldn’t respect him like this, they weren’t worth his respect in return

“Hey’a there, Lance. Pull up a seat and I’ll bring your usual over”

“Thanks, Sal. You’re the best!”

Sal grumbled, Lance pretending he didn’t hear every low word about him. Bringing up that Sal secretly liked him well enough would only leave the old man flustered. For the sake of their “friendship”, he played along with Sal’s mumbling translating into how much of a pain he was. With a bounce in his step, Lance headed over to Pidge and Hunk, throwing himself into the booth as he wrapped his arms around Hunk

“Lance!”

“It’s soooo cold! Warm me up!”

Hunk hugged him back

“I’ve got you, bro! You’re freezing...”

“And you’re late. You were supposed to be here half an hour ago”

Lance sighed dramatically as he rolled his eyes at his favourite tech gremlin

“You know how she gets in cold weather”

“Who? There better not be anything and wrong with my Princess”

“Pidge, you should know by now that when Lance talks like that, he’s talking about his car... right?”

Lance grinned

“Of course I’m talking about my girl. And my Princess is perfectly happy. Blue was curled up under my blankets when I left”

Pidge pouted at him

“You could have brought her with you. I miss my Blue cuddles”

“You could try coming by the house. She was in a mood when I left”

Lance had a backpack carrier for her, but Blue would have frozen her perfect little toe beans out in the weather today. He’d left the heated blanket on a timer for her, unable to keep from spoiling his princess. Pidge’s hand left her laptop keyboard to grab her mug of coffee

“But your house is soooo far away. Anyway, we’re here to talk about work. I was on this forum last night, and someone swore they met a werewolf. Can you imagine? Hunk told me to stop scaring him”

Hunk... Hunk was the biggest ray of sunshine Lance had ever met. The poor man got every single form of motion sickness know, but that never once stopped him. He was terrified of ghost stories, not the best constitution to have when one is a ghost hunter... No, paranormal investigator. He’d been told there was a difference, but honestly it all sounded the same. People loved to think of the unknown, that world existing just out of their everyday mundane lives. Having been in that world for as long as he had been, Lance would happily pay for a boring mundane life

“I wasn’t scared... I’m... cautious”

Pidge clucked at Hunk, Hunk flipping her off. Laughing at him, Pidge wasn’t easily swayed

“You’re a chicken. What about you, Lance? Do you believe in werewolves?”

Werewolves were dicks. He’d bumped into a few over the years, and they’d done nothing to persuade him that they weren’t. The only thing they had going for them was their commitment to their mates and family, other than that, they were testosterone filled morons with claws.

“I don’t know... I feel like they’d all be too stupid to hide their existence”

“Wolves are incredibly smart... Fine, let’s put that one the back burner. Now, about work, there’s a group of tourists that want to come through the old hospital. The visitors centre in town gave me a call about it. Apparently they pay reeeeeeally well”

They’d have to. The old hospital was “cursed”. It’d been converted into a professional centre, but three years after the renovations they closed the building down thanks to the high number of injuries. If there were ghosts there, it was doubtful they’d care to bother with the employees. They all had their own issues. Lance held the opinion it was more a spate of psychosomatic symptoms resulting from the first accident. The building had been handed back over to the town, where it’d sat empty until it reopened as a military museum. With a bored sigh, Lance resigned himself to the fact that Pidge had already gone ahead and decided this was happening. Patting Hunk on the arm, the big man let him go

“When is this all supposed to be happening?”

Pidge’s eyes twinkled with mischief. Lance loved that about her. The top of her head barely came to his chin, but her pint sized stature didn’t stop her. She was always up for a laugh, and frightfully adapt with all things technology based. One of their first conversations came about because Lance had dropped his phone down the stairwell, smashing the screen as it bounced. Seeing her notice pinned up at the campuses cafe, he’d reached out to her with no idea they’d still be besties so many years later. From memory she had an older brother who was as much of a nerd as she was, while her mother and her father both worked in some private sector. He’d met them once over a family dinner Pidge dragged him to, seen them half a dozen times on their front steps as Pidge fled from their parental yelling, and finally been stuck in a very awkward conversation with Pidge’s father, Sam, when he’d found Bae-Bae, the missing family dog who Pidge had brought along on one of their ghost hunts

“Tonight. We’ve got permission to start once the museum shuts for the day. The tour starts at 8, so we’ll go in, set up, have something to eat, then scare the shit out of them at 8”

“You didn’t tell me it’s tonight!”

Poor Hunk. His poor heart had no time to come to terms with this. His worrying only made Pidge smile wider

“Relax, it’ll be fiiiine. Lance is coming with us. He’ll protect you from anything spooky”

“Why do I have to protect you? What are you going to do? Sue the ghosts for giving you the heebie-jeebies? Sorry, that’s not my specialty”

Pidge slid her glasses down to the tip of her nose as she puffed her chest out

“Ha, he, ho, I’m Lance and I have a fancy law degree! Those ghosts better think twice before looking at me”

Lance laughed way too hard, tears leaking out the corners of his eyes, his black frame glasses nearly falling off. Pidge pushing her glasses back into place as Sal brought over Lance’s pancakes and coffee. The man simply placing them down before backing away without a word

“Oh my god, Pidge. That was awful”

“It wasn’t that awful. So, Hunk, you’re in snacks for the night. Lance is in charge of driving, and I’m in charge of the tech. What are we forgetting?”

“That we value our lives and don’t really want to do this?”

Pidge sank lower in her seat, a soft thud coming as Hunk gasped in pain

“What was that for?!”

“Being a chicken”

“I’m not a chicken”

“Are too...”

Picking up his fork, Lance calmly cut in on their fight

“Children, don’t make me seperate the pair of you. Hunk, you’re big, brave, and very manly. Pidge, you’re so fucking short you couldn’t even covertly kick him under the table. If we’re going out, I need to stop by home on the way. Blue needs her wet food for the night, and no, she’s not coming tonight. It’s going to storm as it is”

Crossing her arms, Pidge slumped back in her seat

“You just want to keep my Princess all to yourself. Hunk can leave his car here and we’ll take yours”

“I thought my house was too far away to visit?”

“It’s not when you’re the one driving. Hurry up and finish your pancakes, I wanna go already”

Lance looked down at the forkful he’d been about to load in his mouth, purposely cutting the stack in half to annoy Pidge. Scoffing down Sal’s pancakes was an insult to the man who’d made cigarette ash in pancakes edible. The lack of hygiene may have been another reason why the locals stayed away, but when you’re immortal, standards kind of went out the window

“Laaaaance. Nooo. What are you doing?”

“Enjoying my breakfast. Order another coffee... actually, order some warm milk, I can see you practically vibrating from the amount of caffeine in our bloodstream”

“I’ll have you know that the level of blood in my caffeine stream is just fine. Plus, you’re like the only person in the world who enjoys Sal’s pancakes!”

“Oi! I heard that, Katie Holt!”

Pidge ducked down further in her seat at Sal’s voice. A couple of regulars laughing at her embarrassment, as Pidge blushed

“Now look what you’ve done”

“Not my problem, Pidgeroonie”

“Watch your back, I’m going to get you tonight, then steal away Blue”

Lance shrugged, unfazed by her threat. Tonight would be another lame arse tour under the belt, the most exciting thing they could expect was some jump scare.

#accidentally started a new fic #klance #bottom Lance #mpreg #voltron

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thotsforvillainrights · 4 years

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~Perfect Birthday~

Au: Kaishi

Part: twelve

Theme: Fluff? Comedy? Who knows lol

(These 2 are going on an adventure)

"Buttercream? No that wont do. Vanilla with a touch of banana or Strawberry? Shoot! What about...hmmm...." You focused on the ingredients so hard that you were developing a light headache. Meanwhile, your husband sat across from you at the kitchen table, scrolling through his laptop for themes and present ideas. "Y/N, just settle on chocolate and call it a day." Kai announced while his eyes hovered on a Circus theme. He shuddered lightly at the thought of animals being involved. 'Absolutely not' he thought to himself. You sighed and put the ingredients list down. "I cant settle on Chocolate. I'm worried that someone might have an allergy to it. I'm also so worried about the vegan adults that might be here. What about the picky eaters too? Kai, I feel like I'm going insane right now." You gripped the sides of the chair you sat on. He peeked up at you and notices your incoming distress. He sighed and stood up to move behind you. He softly gripped each of your shoulders and began to give you an impromptu massage. "Stop worrying so much about it so much, Angel. Just do chocolate cake since its the brat's favorite flavor. We can go with a vegan cupcake option that should be safe for the people with chocolate allergies as well. As for the others, there will be other food and even beverage options. You're working so hard for people I dont even care about. This is all for my son and no one else but him. His happiness is my only concern."

You sighed and reached up to place a hand on your husband before turning to smile sweetly at him. "Kai, you're being sweet today." You teased him and he scoffed. "Anyway, I know you only want to focus on Kaishi but having other kids here for the first time, other than Ishida, is like his dream come true. It took me a lot of time to get on the parents good sides. It took a lot of time for them to want to bring other kids around Kaishi because if the yakuza affiliations. Had it not been for the fact that you've began working into charity for the city, I dont think anyone would've given us a chance. Bow we have parent friends, and now Kaishi has a chance for an amazing birthday this year. Let's not mess this up, okay? That means NO EXCESSIVE GERMAPHOBIA, and NO ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR okay?" You drilled it home at the end. He sighed in annoyance. "Ugh fine. I'll try to conversate with the other scum as if they never insulted the yakuza before. You had better be lucky I appreciate you and Kaishi at this point or this wouldn't be happening." Kai complained before pulling his medical mask down and kissing you lightly on your lips. "You two are being icky again. I'm going to tell Grandpa on you guys." Kaishi's voice brought you two back to reality. "Oh hush, and mind your business." Kai said as he ruffled his son's short hair playfully. Kaishi giggled and swatted the gloved hand away. He took a seat at the kitchen table next to Kai's laptop and peeked over to see what was on the screen. While you went to fix him some oatmeal, his father bolted to the seat and slapped the laptop closed. "No peeking. Havent you any manners?" Kai fussed lightly while Kaishi smiled. "Its okay daddy, I already know you two are planning my birthday for tomorrow." The boy said proudly. "That may be so, but it doesnt mean we cant at least surprise you with the decorations and food." Kai explained. You placed breakfast in front of Kaishi and sat down with your boys. Pops had just entered the kitchen at this point. "Family breakfast? Dont mind if I do." He smiled and took a seat next to you. "Grandpa, what will you give me for my birthday?" Kaishi asked excitedly. Kai flicked his cheek. "Dont be rude brat, respect your elders." He scolded him as Pops laughed. "Oh calm down, Chisaki my boy. My grandson is very calm at this age compared to how you used to act." Pops said with a smirk as you laughed and Kai blushed lightly with embarrassment. "Anyway, my Grandchild your gift will have to remain a surprise until tomorrow." Pops winked and Kaishi groaned. "Aw man. Well, mom/dad? What will you get me?" He turned to look at you in anticipation. You put a finger to your chin to think for a second. Then you snapped and made an 'Ah-Ha' expression. "I'm going to get you a fancy suit! Maybe I'll get some toys too. Just maybe, you'll have to wait and see." You teased him and he smiled. "Daddy, what about you?" He looked at Kai for an answer. "Just like Pops said, it will be a surprise. However, I'll take the time now to ask you what you want as a gift from all of us. It'll serve separately from the gifts we'll get you so dont worry." Kai watched his son expectantly as Kaishi searched his little mind. Seconds later he piped up excitedly:

"SMOOGLY!!!" He shouted happily and raised his arms dramatically in the air. You and Pops laughed while Kai tilted his head in confusion. "Smoo-what? Are you well? Are you speaking in tongues???" Kaishi giggled at his father's confusion. You turned towards Kai to explain. "Kai, Smoogly is a character from Kaishi's favorite show. He's this giant lollipop that dances and sings. Yknow, kids love that stuff." Kai stared at you for a second before nodding. Then he turned his attention back to Kaishi eating breakfast finally. "Alright then, you want Smoogly then that's what you'll get." After breakfast, Kaishi went to call Ishida on the phone. You monitored in awe, gushing as your baby talked to his little crush over the phone. The two were fast friends, and she was the first/only child in the class to accept and support Kaishi to the fullest degree. Meanwhile, Pops went to the backyard to water the flowers and feed the Koi in the pond. Kai headed out to the car to call Kurono/pick him up. "Chrono, I know I've given you the off day but I need a favor." Kai spoke on the car wireless phone while he drove. "Yeah man, what's up?" Hari answered from the other side. He was currently face deep in a 3rd bag of chips as he reclined on his sofa. "The brat's birthday is tomorrow and it's his first big one with other parents and children expected to be there. He wants some actor there to perform or something. Some thing called Smogie or Smothly or something like that."

"OHHHHH!!!! You're talking about Smoogly!" Hari shouted excitedly, his voice boomed over the car speakers. "Yeah whatever that mess is. Anyway, help me track him down and I'll give you tomorrow off to repay you from today. You can also have some leftover cake." Kai offered him. "Bet!" Kurono answered shortly before hanging up and getting ready. In moments Kai was at his door to retrieve him. The two men drove around for a bit while Kurono did some searching online. Lucky for him, it wasn't that hard to find Smoogly's booking information. "Found it, Kai. It says here that we can email and make a down payment, or call the home offices for a response in about...14 days." Kai almost slammed on the breaks. "14 days??? No that's not possible for a booking that could be denied. My Kaishi's birthday is tomorrow. We need to get this Smoogly there as soon as possible." He felt a bit of panic set in. Kai would never forgive himself if he couldn't get his son's biggest wish for his birthday. "Hey man chill. We'll just go to his office and speak to him directly. I mean, we've got a little pull when it comes to money. Also, we're yakuza so..."

"I know what you're thinking Chrono, and the answer is no. We cant push too many buttons or we'll end up leaving the gray area in which we operate in. I cant afford to get arrested on Kaishi's birthday." Hari rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Whatever man. Just take a left onto the main freeway and we should reach the exit in like 30 minutes. After that, we just follow the main road for 4 more minutes, take a right at the stop light, and turn off the Broadway drive. Smoogly's office should be right between a steak restaurant and a car dealership." Hari explained the directions. Kai nodded and the two were on their way. Once they made it to the offices, they took a number and sat in the waiting room. The wait wasnt uncomfortable to Kai...it was the old man across from them that kept coughing that made him uncomfortable. He felt hives pop up on his arms. Luckily the two were called before he went insane! Only minutes later they were standing before a chubby man smoking a cigarette behind a desk. He had dark hair, and was balding right in the middle of his head. His skin was just a step away from being super pale (no doubt because he had the costume on a lot) His noticable feature was the large mole on his cheek. He was clearly a foreigner from some city somewhere, thanks to his accent.

(!!!Reader, think about Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force!!!)

"Alright, what can I do for you two men? Wait a minute, you two are the tax guys right?"

"Uhhh, no. No we're here to inquire about an opening to hire you? The pay will of course be-"

"Yeah yeah yeah. Pay doubled blah blah. I've heard this a million times before. I get bastards like you that come in here every single day asking to pay extra just so I can come to your event. The moms are even worse since they also think they're entitled to my services." The chubby man interrupted Kai. "Please. It's my son's birthday. You see, this birthday is special because he's never had-"

"Pshhh...yeah buster, you're kid is special. Just like everyone else that's come in here before you to say the same thing. Bottom line is that I ain't doing it. If you want my services than file through email or take it up with the front desk. Deposits non-refundable if you get denied. Have a nice day." He put out the cigarette and picked up a rather inappropriate nude magazine. Kai looked at Chrono and sighed as if to say Hari can take over. Hari smiled darkly and went to approach the desk. The chubby man hadn't looked up from the magazine as he spoke. "Look man, I said piss off. What, you didnt get the picture the first time or-" he immediately froze and turned his attention to Hari when he heard the click of the gun. When he turned, he was staring down the glock.

Hari spoke up darkly. "Hey buddy, I'm a changed man but that doesn't mean shit is sweet. I've killed a dozen people before and I'm not afraid to go to prison. Either you do my nephews birthday party tomorrow, or we wear your face on a memorial T-Shirt. Fuck is it gonna be? Eh???" The man gulped and shakily reached his finger out to the voice machine on his desk. "Deborah cancel all my appointments tomorrow, I've got a birthday to go do." Hari and Kai smiled when they heard the voice reply 'Right away, sir.' They bid the man goodbye and left the office. The next day, Kaishi rushed to the backyard after taking a quick shower and getting ready. It was decorated beautifully with bounce houses, a splash area, party games, an extensive food/present table, swings, slides, etc. Most importantly, the parents actually showed up with their kids. Kaishi almost cried tears of happiness when he finally had friends to play with. Meanwhile, you and Pops chatted with the other parents until Smoogly arrived to perform. The kids absolutely loved every bit! Every once in a while, the Lollipop turned to look at Kurono standing in the corner, smirking menacingly and daring him to slip up just once. Smoogly quickly turned around and kept performing. At the end of his shift, he was paid extra just as Kai promised, and Kaishi got to take a picture with him. Finally it came time for presents. Kaishi was happy to receive so many gifts, but he was more eager to get his gifts from you, Kai, and Pops (even Hari got him a secret gift at the last minute). Kaishi smiled at the wooden box Pops had given him. When he opened it, it revealed a small pin on a soft cushion. It was shiny and brand new. It was the symbol of the Hassaikai, the infamous flower design. "My grandson, when your father was younger I had given him this very same gift. Please be sure to take good care of it." He gently placed a hand on Kaishi's head. The boy nodded excitedly and passed the box for you to hold while he opened up the remaining gifts. It was a surprise jacket from you to him. It was just a smaller version of Kai's jacket! Plus that suit you promised, and a few other Smoogly themed toys as well. From Hari, he recieved a new helmet for his new bike. Finally from Kai he received a matching mask. With the suit and the jacket, he was the matching embodiment of his very on father (aside from inheriting some of your skin tone depending on your color, my dear reader).

This was truly the perfect birthday.

»—————————–———————————————————–✄

TIp Jar: https://cash.app/$YuTakeyama

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doom-dreaming · 5 years

Text

Kindness Conditioning: Part 2

Y’know, I was gonna go all the way with this one, but decided to stop it at the end of the ceremony because my brain turned to mush. @cacklefrendly it was nice knowing you, enjoy the afterlife

Reader uses he/him pronouns. If you’re not familiar with The Menagerie (aka: Twins’ Pet ‘Verse)...then you’re probably better off not knowing. Kidding. Mostly. I had no idea what I would be getting into when I started this whole thing, but I love it.

(Link to Part 1 here. I edited it to fit the backstory.)

- - - - - - - - - -

It was strange, going from one kind of captivity to another. Even stranger was the fact that, so far, the infamous Calypso Twins—rumored to be warlords in their own right—were gentler and more forgiving than your previous master. They’d fitted you with a simple collar, just a strip of orange leather with a small metal ring in the front, but that was the extent of their direct involvement with you for the first few days.

Mostly, you kept to yourself, watching their other...pets. You hadn’t been entirely surprised to find out you weren’t the only one—the shock had come from how many others there were. You wanted to get to know them, learn the social structure, but you were just too nervous. You felt out of place. How long had they been here? How had they been chosen? Were they found like you? Offered? Hand picked? You had too many questions and not enough courage for the answers.

The others, thankfully, didn’t go out of their way to bother you. They acknowledged you, offered reassuring smiles when they caught your eye, but didn’t approach—just let you sit by yourself and observe. The atmosphere was an interesting one. Surprisingly pleasant, for what you assumed was essentially a harem, not that you had any frame of reference. They didn’t seem to have cliques. Favored friends, sure, but they all got along, no one seemed to dislike anyone else. They laughed, joked, complained, fantasized.

You quietly filed away the information they gave freely in their conversations. Troy likes to bite. Tyreen is sloppy kisser. Both of them are incredibly protective. They like to cuddle in the mornings. Tyreen snores, but only Troy is allowed to tease her about it. Every pet had their purpose—which was, more often than not, in regards to something carnal. When the subject came up again on the third day, your expression must have given away your distaste.

“We’re not all here for that,” one of them remarked, barely glancing up from the book they were reading. “They know who’s not into that and they don’t give a shit. They want us for other things.”

“Yeah, there’s a reason we call you ‘Troy’s Chew Toy,” another laughed. “He goes harder on you than anyone else.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

Your brain swam with this new information. Did they really mean… Were you supposed to take that literally?

“Don’t listen to them.” A young blonde with a sunny-yellow collar twisted the cap back onto the bottle of nail polish she’d been using. “They’ll find out what you like on the night of your collaring ceremony.”

Your breath caught in your throat. “C—collaring?” Your voice left you in a weak whisper, raspy from disuse.

“Oh! He speaks!”

“Shut up, leave him alone. Everyone goes through a public initiation ceremony,” the blonde explained, crossing the room toward you. “We get new, fancier collars—”

“Yeah, these are just the casual ones they can yank us around with.”

“—and you spend the night alone with both of them—”

“And the walls aren’t soundproofed around here, so—”

“Twins’ sakes, will you let her talk?! He needs to hear this from someone who isn’t horny.”

“Ash gets horny!”

“Yeah, but she’s not right now.”

The blonde—Ash, apparently—sat down next to you, rolling her eyes. “You’ll get used to them. They’re right, though. About the collars. ...and the soundproofing.” She studied your face for a moment, then sighed. “Don’t stress about it too much. It sounds worse than it actually is.”

Telling you not to stress was like telling a rakk hive not to hibernate, but you knew she meant well. You just hoped she was right.

- - - - - - - - -

The rest of the week leading up to the ceremony passed quietly, uneventfully. The twins made an appearance in the common room almost every night, sometimes bringing gifts or food for you and the others. They encouraged you to spend time with them, but never forced it; they didn’t get upset when you shied away from their hands and would ultimately leave you alone, retreating back to their private rooms with their chosen bedwarmers trailing closely behind them.

During the days, when the twins were out, occupied by their facade of godhood, the other pets showed you around, letting you in on the essentials and secrets of your new home. There was, in fact, a single soundproofed room. It was known as The Sanctum, and it was a completely twin-free zone. You’d expressed your disbelief, but the others assured you that the twins themselves had implemented the system. You could spend time to yourself, free of consequences, without the possibility of being summoned.

“Everyone has bad days where they just want to be left alone,” one of them had softly quipped, adjusting her glasses with a friendly smile. “They understand that.”

Gradually, your fears began to subside.

- - - - - - - - - -

The night of the ceremony felt different from the others. The air was charged. The ambient bustle of the stronghold seemed louder. The other pets were excited. And you were in a bath. An actual, warm bath.

“Hand me that soap, Troy? Thanks.” Tyreen’s hands were firm but gentle against your skin—you were still very aware that she could eviscerate you, but your eyes were shut and it was impossible to do anything other than relax while submerged in warm water, so you allowed it.

“Feels good, huh?” Troy’s voice was somewhere to your left, kinder and lacking the overtone of brashness it usually carried.

You nodded silently.

“Gonna get you all prettied up for the cameras…” Wait. Cameras? Your sudden tenseness drew a sigh from Tyreen. “They didn’t tell you, did they?” Her fingers rubbed over your shoulders. “There’s gonna be cameras. And a crowd. Just relax, we’ll be right beside ya the whole time, won’t we, Troy?”

“Yep, just you and us up on that stage. ‘Sides,” you opened your eyes in time to see him reach out and press his fingers under your chin, tilting your head so you were looking directly into his clear blue eyes. “Tonight? You’re the important one.”

- - - - - - - - - -

It was the first time you’d been outside since they’d found you. Dusk was falling across the desert; the cooling breeze caught the hem of your sheer hooded robe. You toyed with the fabric, trying not to pay too much attention to the sounds of the growing crowd below. Earlier in the week, the twins had taken your measurements; you hadn’t had the courage to ask why at the time. It clicked after your bath, when they’d presented you with a gauzy, golden, multi-layered robe. You’d been expecting some sort of regalia, given that it was a ceremony, but you honestly hadn’t expected something so beautiful. The back was sheerer than the rest, showing off your shoulder blades and neck. It shimmered in the light when you moved. Of course, it fit like a dream.

You’d begun to believe Troy’s words when you’d slipped into it, twirled in the mirror, seen the expressions of fond pride on the twins’ faces as they watched you. You’d begun to understand how easily they’d crafted their divinity and convinced so many people they were gods. You felt like one. Some of the confidence was fading, however, as you stood on the balcony. You couldn’t see the crowd, but it sounded…substantial.

“All you gotta do is stand there and look pretty,” Tyreen chirped, fixing your hood. “It’s not hard, that’s all me and Troy ever do.” She laughed to herself. “We’ll handle the talkin’, you just follow our cues.”

Troy stepped into place on your right, setting his hand on your shoulder. “You got this, Tiger.”

You didn’t have time to look up to see his expression before they escorted you to the edge of the balcony. The noise from below reached a deafening swell. All the anxiety of your past life resurfaced, shooting up from the dark corners of your mind where you’d been trying to leave it and forget about it—

Troy raised his right arm and the crowd fell immediately into hushed murmurs. The tracker-cam hovering just off the corner of the railing bobbed and whirred. “Another lost lamb has entered the Sacred Flock!” An enthusiastic but conservative cheer rose from below. “Rescued from a cruel fate at the hands of heathens!” The cheering became rowdier. “He joins us now as part of our family! To be respected, protected, and included in the collective of the Children of the Vault!”

The cheering crescendoed until Tyreen signaled in the same way Troy had, only with her left arm. “The Twin Gods demand he be treated with the same reverence you show us! Failure to do so will result in appropriate punishment!” Her markings flared, glowing visibly even under the floodlights.

Troy gave your shoulder a barely-perceptible tap. “Step forward to receive your blessing.”

You did as he commanded. You felt your hood being pulled back as you took the few necessary steps to the edge of the balcony, but barely had time to wonder if it was part of the ritual, because as soon as your head was uncovered, the entire crowd dropped to one knee.

“Blessed lamb of the Sacred Flock, accept this symbol of your devotion to the Children of the Vault.”

You fought to stay still as Tyreen lifted your new collar out in front of you for the crowd—and the cameras—to see. Dainty, doubled chains hung down in half-moons on either side of the sturdy, solid center ring. Silver studs set into the bright teal leather reflected the lights, and there in the center, fastened just below the ring, was a tiny blue bell. It was gorgeous.

“This collar signifies your loyalty to the Twin Gods,” Troy continued as Tyreen brought the collar up to your throat. You felt the delicate chains settle against your skin. “It grants you protection and privilege.” Warm fingers fastened it at the back of your neck. You couldn’t suppress a shiver. “Wear it with pride.”

As soon as the last words left Troy’s lips, the crowd bowed their heads. “The Children of the Vault welcome you, Blessed Lamb. Live your life bathed in the glory of the Twin Gods.”

- - - - - - - - - - - @corpseyb0nes @afterthedreamer @mischiefsilvertongue @marigold-magpie @tricerathotss @vanderlinde-exe @ayilachan @zipp0flare @luxury-of-insanity @nikyri-reaper @argentineanweaboo @vanillabuttercreamm @anni000001 @imchaoticnerd

#borderlands fanfiction #my writing #calypso twins x reader #reader insert #the menagerie #twins pet verse #cacklefrendly #pet: tiger

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raybansandcoffee · 5 years

Text

Adventure of a Lifetime: Chapter Ten

You can locate the first nine chapters HERE.

“So are you going to tell me now about you and Jeremy?” Frankie asked. I’d been right. She had slept in my room. We stayed up late talking, getting about two hours of sleep before Frankie’s crazy-ass internal clock woke her up which meant she woke me up. Thankfully, she went and made coffee and delivered me a cup before sneaking up to her room to shower. She knew just how cranky I was in the morning without my magic bean juice. She was now laying on my bed with wet hair, black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt and a plaid shirt. Her makeup wasn’t done yet she still looked way better than I would even after I was done getting ready.

“Why do you think I’ll tell you this morning but wouldn’t tell you last night?”

“Because you’re usually much more talkative when you’ve had time to internally freak out about a situation for a few hours, which I’m sure you’ve been doing.”

“No, I haven’t.” I had.

“Liar.” I was.

“We are just friends. Last night was nothing.” It wasn’t nothing, it was everything? Okay, maybe that was too much. It was a really great first date, calling it nothing diminished how I felt about it. But honestly, I didn’t want to have my sister analyzing it this morning.

“Last night wasn’t nothing. If last night was nothing you would’ve freely given me details to the night without hesitation. Your hesitation shows me it’s something. Was last night your first date?” She’d now come into the bathroom where I was putting my makeup on while my hair was wrapped in a towel on top of my head and hadn’t gotten dressed yet.

“Why does it matter?”

“Because you haven’t been on a first date since you started dating Patrick. I haven’t been on one since I was 18. The idea of a first date makes me want to break out into hives but I’d be really excited for you.”

“Yes, it was our first date,” I begrudgingly told her. “He technically asked me out on a date like two weeks ago and I found every excuse humanly possible to delay it. Last night I ran out of excuses.”

“Why would you want an excuse to not go out with him? He seems really great, in addition to the obvious that he is super hot.”

“First dates also make me want to break out into hives The last first date I went on I was in my 20s still and it was Patrick who I’d known for ages through mutual friends so it wasn’t really that intimidating. Outside of that shit, I don’t need to add more complication to my life. I need to focus on the kids. I don’t need to worry about having a life. I just need to provide for the kids, do my work, and that’s it. I don’t need the rest.”

“You might not NEED the rest, but you fucking deserve it. Charlotte,” she sighed. She never called me Charlotte. As a little kid she couldn’t say it because the double T gave her trouble, thus all of the nicknames. Plus my Dad loved that his girls had typically male nicknames and were named after his two favorite uncles. “Charlotte, honestly. Do you really believe that you are just supposed to be their mother and nothing else?”

“I mean, no. But the judgement I get when I attempt to have a life is just something I can’t deal with.”

“Who the fuck is judging you? Honestly. It’s not me or Ryan. Dad and Mandi both would support you in opening your heart again and finding love. Tony won’t pass judgement on anything, he’s 22 -old with no future plans living in his sister’s guest house. And clearly our mother has no room to judge anything. She packed up the house and moved to a different fucking continent when you were 13. Who else has an opinion that matters?”

“People.” I didn’t want to get into it. Frankie was a beast when she was in an argument and knew she was right.

“Is it Jane or Robert?” I shook my head. “Are you afraid of what Patrick will think?”

“Of course not. I understood why he left. The life I have is not the life he wanted, I mean it’s honestly not the life either of us wanted it’s the one that was handed to me.”

“And you did the most honorable thing I’ve ever seen and took it without any complaint and all you did was love those kids. Who on Earth are you worried about? Charlotte, who is it?” I refused to look towards her and into her eyes. “Is it Alex? It’s Alex right?”

“No, of course not.” I paused for a moment before shrugging. “Yes, it’s Alex,” I replied sheepishly.

“Alex is just a bitch. I mean I love her but she’s an incredible bitch a lot of the time.” She tried to keep her voice low in case Savannah woke up. She didn’t want to risk trash-talking her mother because honestly we both grew up with a lot of adults trash-talking our mother and it made life difficult. “Alex is still jealous that Sam and Michael trusted you with the kids. Which baffles me, has she somehow missed how upside down your life has been for the last year? Every plan you had in life changed because of one night. But it’s Alex. She fully expected when that will was read at Dad’s the morning after that it was going to say the guardianship of the kids went to her or at least someone in Sam’s family. She didn’t expect it to be you.”

“No one did, except me and Dad. I knew I’d answered yes when they asked and had to sign a form agreeing to it. Dad was their attorney so he drew up the will. Which they updated fairly regularly. It seems super weird for someone my age and I made fun of Michael for doing it when he was 30 because it’s a thing I really only imagine old people doing but because Michael lost both of his parents young he wanted everything in place. He lived in flux between aunts and uncles and grandparents for so long he wanted to know that there was somewhere stable for the kids to go.”

“I knew they were coming to you. Sam asked me if it was wrong to ask you. She respected that you didn’t want to have kids but she also didn’t want anyone else to raise hers if something happened to her. She knew of everyone in her life you would be the person who would raise them in the way she would. You would let them grow and learn and become who they were meant to be, not what someone thought they should be.” I hadn’t known this. Sam never told me she consulted my sister and Frankie never told me that she knew I’d said yes. She let me go on and on about how the societal pressures of motherhood on women in their 20s and 30s were ridiculous and listen to my feminist rants and my Gloria Steinem quotes about how I was never having a child, not ever for any reason possible would I become a mother. “I told her that there wasn’t anything in the world you loved more than family and those kids were family. Well that Ellery was family, they weren’t even pregnant with Axel yet.”

“They are my family. They are my universe. I always thought all of you were crazy about the ‘it’s different when they are yours’ bullshit. I get it now. You know how much I hate admitting that you are right. But you were so right. They aren’t even mine and it’s different.”

“They are yours. Ellie calls you Mom. Axel’s first word was Mama and he said it to you. You didn’t just get handed Sam and Michael’s kids, you essentially got handed their lives just without a partner to do it all. You opted to sell the LA house for obvious reasons, but you could’ve kept this place and stayed in the city. You’re still dealing with everything that weekend thrust upon you. Getting kids and PTSD in a weekend is no fucking cake walk.” I had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder shortly after they died. Seeing their house when it was still a crime scene with evidence markers, crime scene tape, and just about every horrific thing your mind can come up with if you’ve ever watch an episode of Law and Order. Then being the one to identifying their bodies because Sam’s parents weren’t in LA yet and I wasn’t sure Jane and Robert could handle doing that. I definitely didn’t handle it well, but I wanted to save them that pain. Taking part in planning the double funeral of my two best friends was so hard I wanted the San Andreas fault to open up and swallow me whole. Then becoming a Mom, that wasn’t something I’d ever even imagined being possible. It was a lot in the span of about four days and had left me a mess. A year’s worth of weekly therapy and I was doing a lot better though I still wasn’t great and obviously still dealt with residual trauma, like my nightmares. “I don’t blame you for moving here.”

“Seriously? You’ve been mad at me for 11 months for moving.”

“I know and I still am, but for purely selfish reasons. I miss having one night a week where I got to leave my kids with my husband and have dinner with my sister. I miss that on Saturdays in the summer we’d all somehow end up at Dad’s to swim without planning it and we wouldn’t go home until I had to put the kids in bed on Sunday night. I miss that if I wanted to see you that it was a short drive and you didn’t just exist on the screen of my phone. I miss having you at soccer games and dance recitals. I miss our coffee dates in the middle of a work day. I miss our brunches with way too many mimosas. I just miss you, a lot.”

“I miss you too.”

“I do also know that you bringing the kids here was probably the best decision for you and those babies. It gave you a chance to remove yourself and the kids from the immediate aftermath of the nightmare we all lived through. You didn’t have to run into friends at Whole Foods who look at you with sad eyes and try to pretend like it didn’t happen. Trust me. I’ve gotten those looks when I run into your friends. They ask how you are doing, some ask how the kids are, they all pretend that you didn’t become a mother because some crazed maniac murdered your best friends. It fucking sucks and every time I get in the car and cry about it I am just so thankful it wasn’t you in the store and that it was me.”

“The few times I’ve been back in LA that’s happened. I miss Los Angeles like crazy sometimes but honestly not running into people who know me has been nice. That happened once here. It was over winter, I ran into someone from college at the grocery store, they were here on a family vacation. It was awkward but it was only once. Los Angeles feels like a small fucking town now because I literally can’t go anywhere when I’m home without running into someone.”

“If you still lived there I think it would be easier but you’re starting to get happy here. Is Jeremy part of that?”

“I mean I haven’t known him that long. But having another adult human to talk to is really nice. I mean I see Jane and Robert, which is nice. But it’s still kind of awkward. I don’t think there will ever be a time that I talk to them when it isn’t 100% about the kids or how they are doing without Sam. Robert isn’t sure he wants to go to LA for the trial. Jane is going, she’s staying at my condo. Until there’s an answer to that and closure I don’t think they will every move through the stages of grief. While I still miss them every day I had to get to the point where I didn’t lay in bed crying every night because Sam and Michael were gone. I had to take care of the kids.”

“How often do you see them?”

“Once a month when I drop the kids off at their house. Which I really need to start catching a plane to LA for those weekends every month. Last month when they were gone wrecked me. Savannah spent the weekend with the dude she’d been seeing. Being in this house when it was completely silent was too much.”

“Maybe that will be different now that you have someone in your life that isn’t Savannah or the kids.” My sister shrugged. I knew she was happy to see that I’d put myself out there to even attempt to build relationships here. Even if it was just a new friend.

“Maybe, I don’t know. He’s going back to LA next weekend for a while. His ex-wife lives there and they share custody differently when school isn’t in session. So it’s not like I really need to be concerned about it. He’s going to leave and I’ll be here.”

“Well you’ve been talking about coming home for the trial. Maybe you do that. It gets you to LA for longer than a few days. Bring the kids back home for a while. Relax. Get some sun. Give me my sister back for a while.”

“I mean it will be hard to relax considering I’ll be there for a murder trial. Sort of puts a damper on a vacation.”

“But if you come back for a couple weeks or a month it will only hopefully be like a week of it. Plus we can do Ellery’s birthday in LA.”

“I’ll think about it.” She sighed. “Just finish getting ready. I know you brought your makeup over here so you could have an excuse to spend time with me this morning. So just do your makeup and let me do mine. And don’t sigh at me about this.”

“I just miss you and would love to have you home for part of the summer.”

“Like I said. I’ll think about it.” We finished getting ready both eventually drying our hair and attempting to curl it. Watching her in the mirror next to me made me laugh inside. She was who taught me how to do my makeup and do my hair. Our motions were almost identical. The only difference was her hair was much shorter than mine and I always settled for a more subtle makeup look than she did.

“Good morning, girls,” Mandi said as she walked into my room.

“We’re in the bathroom,” I yelled back.

“You both look beautiful this morning.” She sat in the chair. She was fully dressed. Her hair perfectly curled and makeup perfectly done. “Charlie, you might want to put some more clothes on.” I was in a pair of booty shorts and a t-shirt that I only slept in.

“I’m gonna put clothes on but since you two have been secretive about what we are doing today I hadn’t picked out clothes yet. I know I’ll need to be dressed a little nicer for our dinner tonight.”

“No, you won’t. We will just be eating here,” Mandi said. “Your Dad wants to do homemade pizza night like we always used to do when you guys were kids.”

“That sounds perfect. So we’ll need to go to a grocery store at some point today. Start setting this place for everything this weekend.” I could tell Frankie was already building a grocery list in her head.

“Do you know how many people will be at dinner tomorrow night?” Mandi asked.

“Umm. Our family which is 11, Jeremy and Ava make 13, Alex’s family makes 18, Jane and Robert are 20, plus their family which makes 23. I’m prepared for 25 in case Sam’s cousin brings her boyfriend. When I talked to her last weekend she wasn’t sure. I also wanted to make sure that if Savannah wanted to bring her boyfriend that she could.”

“And Saturday?” I looked to Frankie for an answer; she’d been the one keeping track of that.

“We estimated like 35ish but it could get up to 50 depending on if assholes that didn’t RSVP showed up,” Frankie answered.

“50 people in my house? Who the fuck did you and Alex invite?”

“The list we agreed on. Alex had a few extras she thought might want to be here. I thought she cleared that with you.”

“Of course she didn’t,” I replied. “What was the total list you sent out? I got at least 15 or 20 emails or texts from people who couldn’t come.”

“I think the total was like 80.” Frankie shrugged.

“I hate this. I don’t want that many people in my house. I don’t have the space for that many people in my house. I don’t like being around that many people unless I absolutely have to for work or the kids.”

“You’ll be fine,” Mandi said. “Your Dad and I will be here to take care of you.”

“Beyond the whole ‘I don’t like people’ aspect of this, my house is not big enough for that many people. My kids will be completely overwhelmed by that many people. And the last thing they need is people crying to them about how their Mom and Dad died.”

“It’ll be okay. Most of it is outside,” Frankie said. She could sense I wasn’t just anxious but I was angry. I was trying not to blow up because I knew it wasn’t completely her fault but she and Alex had invited all of these people to my house when I really just wanted a small gathering of the closest friends and family. I didn’t need a large party of people.

“Alright girls, let’s calm down. How about we leave the house for a little while?” Mandi suggested. “We can go get mani/pedis and maybe grab lunch somewhere. Just the three of us, hell the four of us. Let’s grab Savannah.”

“Are we sure we can leave all five kids with Dad, Ryan, and Tony?” I asked.

“They’ll be fine,” Frankie said. “The three of them on the five of the kids will be fine. The girls will probably all end up playing with Barbies or something and it’s not like Ryan hasn’t changed his fair share of diapers in the last decade.”

It didn’t take long before we were finished getting ready. I threw on a pair of jeans that had probably too many holes in them We kidnapped Savannah, left instructions on feeding lunch to the kids with my Dad and brothers and we were out the door. We all climbed into my Jeep and took off towards town. I’d opted to leave the GLS at home in case the men decided to take the children anywhere. They’d at least mostly fit in it. We grabbed coffee from my favorite coffee shop before heading into the salon and being seated for pedicures. It was actually really nice to have time today with just Mandi, Frankie, and Savannah. I rarely ever got girl time that didn’t involve the 5-year-old girl in my life. I felt my phone vibrate in my lap and picked it up to see a text message from Jeremy.

Good morning, Gorgeous.

Oh. Gorgeous huh? One date and we go from you calling me Charlie to pet names.

I mean, you are gorgeous so it’s more like an accurate description than a pet name.

How did you sleep?

As good as one can when sharing their bed with their older sister. I told you she’d sleep in there. Kept me up WAY past my bedtime to try and get details on what last night was and who you are in my life.

Better you than me. I came home to two very whiny dogs.

Bring them today as long as they promise not to maul my cats.

Harrison could kick the shit out of either of my dogs.

True story. He’s a chonky fucker.

Chonky?

Yes. Chonky. If I call him fat or chunky I’m shaming him. He’s chonky. It’s a term of endearment in the cat mom community.

You are one of the strangest people I know.

So what time do you want me to come over today?

Well, right now I’m getting a pedicure with Mandi, Frankie, and Savannah. We are going to also get manicures and then lunch. So I can text you when we are done. I mean you’re welcome to go over there now if you want to hang out with my Dad and brothers. I’m sure they would be at least half as annoying as the women are right now.

Why are they annoying?

This is the line of questioning I’ve received today:

So was last night a date? How long have you and Jeremy known each other? How did you meet? Did he kiss you at the end of the night and if so was he a good kisser?

I’d continue but my sister is starting to ask questions that I’m essentially answering with the middle finger.

Okay. Now I need to know those.

My sister is nosy. She wants to know if you’re a good kisser, which I didn’t disclose that I’d kissed you so she’s making assumptions. They are correct, but no less they are assumptions.

She’s funny and she will definitely make a great lawyer if she decides to practice and not stay at her non-profit.

For the sake of the world, I hope that this is just so she has another set of letters after her name and not so she can practice law. She’s terrifying.

So did you answer any of the questions?

Ugh you are just as bad as they are. I did finally confirm that last night was a date. Frankie started bugging me about it last night when we went to bed and all morning.

No answer on if I’m a good kisser or not.?

The answer was a middle finger.

You’re cute when you’re angry. You’re tiny and filled with rage.

You are barely taller than me! So just shut it.

Okay. I’ve been caught. Frankie says hi but if I don’t stop texting you she’s stealing my phone.

Text or call me when you’re on your way home. I’ll come over to meet you there.

Okay.

For real. If you’re bored just go over to my place. My Dad and Ryan are harmless. Hell my Dad will probably end up making you talk music for hours on end. The kids are all at home with them.

Not worried about me around your Dad without you?

Nah. I like you. I’m just refusing to give information to the women because it drives them crazy. My whole plan was for everyone to get to know you today.

I’m glad you like me. I like you too.

And you are a good kisser. So live with that knowledge while I refuse to share it.

You’re a good kisser too. I sort of regretted not staying last night by the time I got home.

You should learn to trust me. I’m always right.

You also have such a fucking ego. Enjoy your pampering, and I’ll see you in a few hours.

“You’re so smiley,” Savannah said. “I can’t even tell you how happy that makes me.”

“So, since she won’t spill everything, what can you tell me?” Frankie was determined to learn what she could about Jeremy’s role in my life.

“Umm, Jeremy’s daughter Ava and Ellery are best friends. He’s a great dad, super-nice, and has been a lot of fun to have around. Charlie is smiling more but I don’t think it’s just Jeremy. I think she’s starting to settle into life. It’s been a year. The first year of anything is hard right? College, post-college, marriage, kids, or at least that’s what I’ve been told. She’s survived a year in the worst hell anyone could imagine. She’s got the Mom thing down, well as much as one can. She deserves to get her personal life back to where it should be. Dating is a normal thing and she perhaps lucked out on her first try.” I smiled and knew I was blushing.

“Okay, okay! I told you! It was a date and he’s a great guy. He asked me out weeks ago and I was terrified that I wasn’t supposed to be dating so I tried to avoid it. I ran out of excuses last night and he planned a really fantastic first date. We’ve become good friends. He makes living here feel a whole lot less lonely. But it was ONE DATE I have no idea whether I got lucky on my first try. I mean if I were him I would run for the fucking hills. His date ended by meeting the woman’s ENTIRE FAMILY. Okay, not entire but basically my entire family. He should run far, far away.” By now we were sitting and getting our nails done while our toenails dried.

“But you were giggling at your phone which usually means you are texting with a guy you find cute,” Frankie said. “You’ve been like that since you’d hide on a laptop on AOL Instant Messenger while trying to come up with your moody lyrics to use as away messages. So you clearly hope you got lucky on your first try. And from what I saw of him last night, he seems amazing.”

“He is,” Savannah said. “She didn’t even hesitate to tell him about Sam and Michael or how she became a mother.”

“Seriously?” Mandi asked.

“It felt like he wouldn’t judge me and maybe he’d have some insight on the single parenting stuff I’m doing. He asked if I planned on having any other kids, I said I hadn’t planned on having them and life was too hard with two little ones on my own. He asked if their dad was in the picture and I just told him what happened.”

“Everything?”

“I mean I waited to tell him about the PTSD and the nightmares until we’d known each other longer than a couple of hours, but yeah, he knows everything. He hasn’t been scared off by any of it. He’s watched me cry. He’s gotten a phone call or two in the middle of the night when I woke up with a nightmare and couldn’t fall back asleep. He offered to stay with me this weekend because he was worried about the nightmares. They’ve been happening more frequently.”

“And you’ve told your therapist?” Mandi asked.

“I have. She wants me to take some sleeping medication for it but I’m too scared I won’t wake up. At some point I’ll feel like I can take it but right now everything just seems like too much.”

“Well, I think he sounds like a fantastic person. And everything you’ve told me about him makes it seem like he’s almost too good to be true.” I’d disclosed a little about him to my step-mom over the last couple of weeks. My sister, however, knew nothing. I didn’t want her to start to question me about him when there was nothing to question me about.

“How long have you known?” My sister turned to our stepmom with the look in her eyes that told us she wasn’t going to take any hiding from the questions.

“She text me about him the first day of summer break. It was the day Tony drove out here.”

“I was texting you that day, and you mentioned nothing.”

“You’re right. I didn’t. It was the first day he and I really spent together and you were trying to lecture me about letting our brother run away from home to live with me.”

“Well, you were.” She had to be right. Always. Even when she knew she wasn’t right, she would find a way to refuse to admit to Tony and me that we were right.

“Tony is doing great living with me. He’s not sleeping the summer away. Most mornings he’s in the house before I even come down for breakfast. He’s been working with me on the score I’m writing and has been a huge help with that. I was stuck for so long. He stole the copy of the film from me one night, watched it twice before bed and then came into my studio the next morning, sat down at my piano and fixed a song I’d been essentially screaming into the abyss about for weeks. I submitted the first draft of the score yesterday. I was running behind and got it sent in a week early. I may never let Tony leave my house.”

“He’s really been loving that he can just create with you every day. He sounds happy every time he calls home. As a Mom, that’s the only thing you can want. Which by the way, Frankie, when your sister calls home, she sounds happy too. So lay off it for a while. She has enough to worry about; we don’t need to add to it.”

“I’m just so confused by why everyone else knew but me. Well, Ryan too. Even Dad knew.”

“Frankie, you refer to my ex as Dickhead. Patrick didn’t do anything wrong, and you call him Dickhead. To his face even.”

“Well, he is,” she defended.

“But he isn’t. If the situation was reversed I would’ve left him. We had agreed that babies were completely out of the picture and marriage was a maybe. I broke our agreement and while he understood completely why I broke it, I also understood why he left. He never wanted kids of his own or anyone else’s so his girlfriend/roommate suddenly having a 4-year-old and an infant were dealbreakers. I will never be angry at him for what he did. It’s time for you to stop being angry about it.” I rarely spoke like this to Frankie, especially when there were people around us. “He didn’t do anything wrong. He did what was best for himself and in the end what was best for me and the kids. He wouldn’t have been happy which would have ended up making me miserable and I wouldn’t have been here for Ellie to meet Ava and you wouldn’t be grilling me about the first date I went on. So in fact, you should send him a fucking thank you note.” Mandi and Savannah both started to laugh as Frankie sat there with her mouth open. She was at a loss for words, a true rarity.

We finished with our nails and went to one of my favorite lunch spots. Lunch was much more normal conversation. We talked about the weekend ahead, family, and completely avoided the topic of my love life. It was a welcome break for a little over an hour. Once we were in the car, I quickly sent a text to Jeremy telling him we were on our way home. I pulled up the driveway to see his truck already there. I laughed a little on the inside knowing he probably had gotten bored and come over earlier because I hadn’t gotten a response from him. We climbed out and went into the house which seemed oddly silent for having four adults and five children in it.

“Where are they?” Savannah asked.

“I’m assuming the basement but the silence has me scared,” I replied. My house was only silent in the middle of the night when I was the only person awake. I put my purse down and headed downstairs. As soon as I made it to the bottom landing someone grabbed me lifting me up off the ground as I screamed. “What the fuck?”

“Hi,” Jeremy replied as I stopped moving and realized I’d been thrown over his shoulder and was now staring directly at his ass.

“Hi. That’s all you have to say. You just scared the shit out of me, and all you have to say is hi.” He flipped me back, so I was on my feet in front of him. I heard the three women I’d just had lunch with laughing along with the sound of my brother-in-law’s incredibly distinct laugh.

“Umm, how was lunch?” I balled my hand into a fist and punched him in the arm before he grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug. “You look beautiful and smell really good,” he whispered into my ear.

“Lunch was fine. Now why on Earth is my house this quiet? This house is never quite.”

“Well, the big kids are all in the theater watching a movie. Axel is upstairs taking a nap.” He waived the baby monitor in front of me so I could see that he was listening to hear if he woke up. “And the grown-up kids are all in your studio. So it’s quiet because we’ve got things handled.” He smiled the cutest smile at me, and honestly, all I wanted to do was kiss him but realizing that a portion of my family was standing with us, I held back.

“Did you put Axel in bed?”

“I did. I got here as the kids were getting finished with lunch. He looked exhausted and needed cleaned up before I put him down. He and I are becoming besties.”

“You’re too sweet. Thank you.” It was in that moment that I realized we were holding hands. I almost yanked mine away but realized that I didn’t care.

“What movie did the kids turn on?” Savannah asked.

“Trolls,” Ryan replied. “Carter got outvoted by all of the girls. Poor guy wanted to watch one of the Cars movies.”

“Ellery is OBSESSED with Trolls. I can’t even tell you how many times a week we have a dance party to that Justin Timberlake song. She’s been stuck on it for what seems like her entire life,” I replied.

“Carter will be fine. You know all three of the girls are obsessed with it, he’s seen it enough times. Plus he knows he can come in here and read his comics. We bought him a bunch of new ones and a new graphic novel right before we left town so he’d keep himself occupied when he needed a break from everyone,” my sister interjected while she rolled her eyes a little. Carter was a lot like me. We could both handle crowds until we couldn’t handle them anymore and we needed quiet alone time. It often drove Frankie crazy how much alike he and I were. When we had family functions a lot of the time the two of us would disappear and they’d find us snuggled up in a chair together with a blanket and books. We were the nerds of the family.

“Your Dad told me when you got home, you were supposed to come to the studio,” Jeremy said.

“If Dad is playing with your instruments, I’m out.” Frankie was laughing. “I’m going to go watch Trolls with the kids.”

“I’ve got to go get some laundry and homework done before my family gets in town tomorrow,” Savannah said. “I’ll keep an eye on Axel too.” She held her hand open for Jeremy to pass the baby monitor to her. My sister and step-mom headed to the theater, where all of the kids were watching the movie. Jeremy pulled me into a tight hug once we both realized Ryan was out of the room.

“Sorry about earlier. I just thought it would be funny.”

“It was funny but also scared the crap out of me.” He leaned forward to kiss me. “So when did you get here?”

“When you were still getting your pedicure and told me to come over here if I was bored. I text Tony and he said that they were feeding the kids and breaking into the instruments when you were out of the house. I thought a good way to get to know your Dad and brother-in-law without you was to come over and bond over music.”

“It is always the best way,” I replied before kissing him again. “You also put my baby to sleep.”

“I did. He’s too fucking cute to resist. Fell asleep in my arms after I got him cleaned up and in pajamas.”

“Were you singing to him? That’s my trick. He hates the rocking chair which is honestly the worst thing to have happen with a kid who is a chunk like him. But if he can feel a warm body and you sing to him he’s out after a few little dances around his bedroom.”

“I did sing to him.”

“What did you pick?” I wanted to imagine in my head what it sounded like when he sang to my little dude. I could picture it and what I saw him my head was perfect. Mainly because Jeremy showed up today in jeans, a white t-shirt andgrey zip-up hoodie.

“I noticed you had song lyrics on his wall.” I bit my lip to stop myself from crying. In our final visit here together, Sam and I decorated Axel’s nursery. She was seven months pregnant, incredibly bitchy and knew any moment she’d be unable to travel. She kept fearing he’d come early because Ellery had come a few weeks early and had a short stay in the NICU. Sam was terrified that would happen again. Axel however came a week late and was the fattest happiest little baby.

She’d been unable to decide what to do with his nursery in Tahoe. In LA everything was pristine and a neutral color palette to match the modern farm house decor. Tahoe was harder because the house oozed personality. Deciding on the name Axel of course made Michael want to do every bad Guns N’ Roses themed idea he could come up with. He wasn’t allowed on the trip, in fact it was just a girls trip. He kept Ellery at home with him and we spent a full weekend in Tahoe just the two of us, Alex had been unable to come because of work. We laid on the floor of the room the first day throwing ideas out until one finally hit. We used the best of our art skills to paint a mural on the wall that looked reminiscent of the area the house was in. Lots of trees and a lake below them. In her perfect calligraphy Sam traced lyrics into the mural and filled them in. It looked like a greeting card or a notebook you’d end up paying $20 for at some fancy boutique or Anthropologie and then fear writing in because nothing was worthy of the notebook.

“Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you. And everything you do. Yeah, they were all yellow,” Jeremy softly sang into my ear as he held me in another hug.

“It was cheesy. It was an idea we saw on Pinterest. Coldplay was this weird love we shared. We saw them in concert so many times. We ridiculously took trips to under the false pretenses to visit my Mom so we could see them in London. Michael wasn’t really a fan but he allowed us to have that moment, though he told us we should’ve put the lyrics to ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ instead. He was outvoted 2-1.” Jeremy laughed. “If you’re ever in his room when it’s completely dark outside, wait a minute in the room after turning the lights off. We painted glow in the dark stars all over the sky of the mural and the ceiling.”

“That’s awesome. Though I would’ve totally been on board with a Guns N’ Roses mural.”

“Of course you would.” I kissed him again and just hugged him to me as I breathed my way through the memory I was in the middle of reliving.

“We should go back with your Dad and brothers. They will get suspicious.”

“They definitely will. Especially considering Frankie has had ample interrogation time today, and Tony has gotten none. He was so pissed last night that she wouldn’t let him come in my room with us as everyone headed to bed. He wanted to know how our date went.” Jeremy laughed before grabbing my hand and walking with me towards my studio.

“He did ask me how it went when it was just the two of us for a minute. I told him that it went great, and I was glad you finally weakened to my ways.” I laughed at him. “He said he was glad you might have a life finally.”

“Okay, this idea of you and my brother becoming friends is maybe not okay.” He laughed at me as he opened the door, pulling me into the studio. “So, what of my instruments have you destroyed?”

“None of them,” Dad said. “But when you moved you took some of my favorites and I missed them.” I loved seeing my Dad comfortably sitting with a guitar in his lap while Tony sat at the drums and Ryan at the piano.

“They’ve missed you too. I mean, you could come visit your kid once in a while.” I winked at him.

“Oh my middle child, my smartass and the one who ended up with my humor how I’ve missed you.” I sat down on the couch next to my Dad as Jeremy sat down in the comfy chair in the room. I rested my head on my Dad’s shoulder. I took a deep breath, breathing in his cologne. The same cologne he’d worn my entire life. It was Polo and came in a green bottle with a gold logo on it. It was the smell of comfort and safety.

“I would’ve much rather stayed home with all of you. They made me get all girly.” I held my hand up, showing my brand new, very fake nails. My rebellious act in being forced to do this was that they are pitch black. I always had incredibly short nails; it was truly an occupational hazard. They claimed that I needed to appear a little more ‘refined’ this weekend. I agreed if for no reason other than occasionally having long nails was fun and maybe they’d make me appear sexy or something. Honestly, I had no idea why I agreed to it, but I did.

“Can you still play with those claws?” Jeremy asked.

“Yes, they frequently force me into this situation. I learned quickly.” I reached for my Black Strat plugging it into the amp next to me. Without even a moment of hesitation I went into the opening guitar riff of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” causing Jeremy to laugh loudly as Tony started in on drums and Ryan stood up to do his best Axel Rose impression. It was obvious he’d immediately fit in with his wife’s misfit siblings the first time she brought him home. She’d been worried we’d embarrass her. My Dad sat back laughing and watching all of us. I knew this made him happy. This was what home felt like for us, I knew by the end of the night we’d get enough alcohol in my sister that she’d even join in. Normally Mandi would pick us over a movie but she hadn’t gotten time with Ellery in ages so I was sure she was just trying to soak up time with her granddaughter before the rest of the weekend came and she had to share her.

“Is there anything you can’t play?” Jeremy asked. Over the last few weeks, he’d discovered that I could typically play a song by ear. He’d played a few of the songs he was working on for me and I’d picked them up quickly. I had yet to figure out if it made him mad that I could play them without him teaching me or giving me sheet music or if he thought it was hot that this woman he was interested in could join in on one of his songs without lifting a finger.

“Yes, there’s a lot. In fact the solo in this song is one I’ve never been able to figure it out and it pisses me off. I’ve spent SO long trying. I hate it. Tony can play it. Ryan can play it.”

“I can play it,” Dad interrupted. “t pisses her off when I can play something better than her.”

“You can’t, but let yourself believe that, Pops.”

“You are still unfairly talented,” Jeremy said.

“Oh, it’s fair. I had no social life because of this.”

“She lies.” Of course, it would be my little brother that revealed my secret. “She had a social life, but it was all with other music nerds. She tried to be in a band, but it was all guys, and Dad put a stop to that quickly.”

“She was young and one of them had tattoos. I am a Dad.” Everyone in the room laughed. Dad was extremely protective of his girls. I had tried to join a band in high school with some of my guy friends and one of the guys in the band was 20 or 21 at the time. He did have a right to be concerned.

“I have tattoos,” Jeremy said. I started to laugh.

“So does she,” Dad replied. “Eventually, I lost all control of her.”

“Eventually, every kid grows up, Dad. Just wait someday I’ll call you screaming because Ellery has a tattoo.”

“Don’t put that image in my head.” He shook his head, causing all of us to laugh. “Did you ladies go to the grocery store to get stuff for dinner?”

“No, I did however order groceries to be delivered later today. It’s way more convenient. I have also had a nervous breakdown in the grocery store so I try to avoid it during daylight hours.” I laughed at myself as I saw Jeremy’s eyes get big. “You would’ve had one too. It was like rush hour grocery shopping on a Sunday. Elle had the flu and we were getting stuff for her so I could get her home, get her medication and put her in bed. She puked on me, herself, her brother and our groceries from where she was standing in the cart’s main area at her insistence. Then…her brother projectile vomited on me and a grocery shelf. Worst motherhood moment of my life.”

“You called Frankie bawling because you almost threw up in the car on the way home.” Ryan started to laugh. It was funny now, but it wasn’t when it happened.

“All three of us were covered in vomit. It was so horrible. Frankie had literally left the day before because she’d been here for WAY too long and with Ellie starting to get a fever we didn’t want her catching something and taking it home to the kids.”

“She was of course too late,” Ryan said looking at Jeremy who was the only person in the room that didn’t know the story. My family clearly all shared everything with each other and the rest of the universe with ease. “She was about half-hour from LA when she had to pull over and throw up. She barely made it into the bathroom in the house. By the end of the next day all five of us were sick.”

“It was horrible. I made Savannah wear a mask and threatened a hazmat suit. She was the only one who didn’t get sick. Even I was throwing up by the end of the day. It was Ellery’s payback for making her go to a some open play thing to make friends that Frankie found online in some Mom group. She did not want to go and she came home sick. She did not have to go back to it.” It was a little over an hour that we were having our own little jam session before the alert went off on my phone that the grocery delivery was at the gate. I went up to let them in and get the groceries. As I made it to the living room I realized Jeremy was on my heels.

“Need some help?” He knew I wouldn’t need it but also seemed to know a moment alone would be nice. I nodded as I walked to the door I’d directed the delivery driver and he helped unload the groceries into the butler’s pantry that was by the dining room table. Jeremy and I then quickly moved the groceries to the kitchen and started to put them away. He’d been here enough that he almost knew where everything in my kitchen went without needing guidance. “You okay?” He’d let me get most of the groceries away while being quiet. He seemed to know that occasionally I needed to say nothing and to let me do that.

“I’m okay. Just a lot of memories rushing back today. It was a year ago today that I had my last really good day with Sam. We sat in the studio, we didn’t have work to do because she was technically on maternity leave with Axel because he was only a few weeks old. But she wanted out of the house so she took Ellery to a friend’s house for a play date and left Michael and Axel at home by themselves. We laid in the studio, listening to our favorite songs, playing music together and just having a really great best friend day. We recorded some of it for shits and giggles. I haven’t listened to it in a year. I have it but I’m afraid to. We weren’t singing anything we wrote, we were singing our favorite songs and being goofballs.” I took a deep breath. “And tomorrow. Tomorrow is their wedding anniversary and it will be a year since I saw my best friend alive. A year since I hugged her. A year since I told her I loved her and her reply with her usual ‘of course you love me, I’m fucking amazing’ and then she’d pause and say ‘I love you too, Chuck.’ A year since I saw her beautiful smile light up her face when she looked at her kids or her husband. A year since I told Michael to remember how lucky he was to marry her and get me as his bonus wife. Tomorrow is their 8th anniversary. Sam’s lucky number was 8.”

“I’m staying here tonight,” Jeremy said as he pulled me into a hug as the tears started to fill my eyes and I felt the lump in my throat that had lived there for the last 364 days.

“You have to get Ava in the morning.”

“I can get up early and leave. But I know that you need someone around tonight, and rather than letting that someone be your sister, I’d like it to be me. If you’re okay with that.” I nodded as I took a deep breath and felt a tear slide down my face. “Do you have room for Ava and I both tomorrow?”

“Of course. The girls would love to have Ava as part of their sleepover all weekend. I was going to suggest it whether you decided to stay here or not. The stuff will go late both nights, and I want you here with me. Ava will fit in perfectly with the three girls. We’ll have three boys here too. It will be a houseful. You and Ava will be the perfect addition.” He pressed his lips into my forehead.

“I think tonight you should show me all of your tattoos. I was trying to be a gentleman our first day hanging out, and while I saw some of the tattoos because you were in a bathing suit, it was high waisted, so I have a feeling I missed a few.” I laughed. It was the perfect thing to break my mood and make me smile.

“If you’re lucky, I’ll let you see them. Though I know, there is one you haven’t seen that is easy to spot.”

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow at me. I pulled my arms back from around his chest as he kept his around me. I took my Apple Watch off, there on my wrist, in beautiful dainty handwriting, all lowercase letters, were the words ‘time makes you bolder.’ “Interesting.”

“It’s my Mom’s handwriting.”

“Like Stephanie? Your biological Mom?” I nodded. “When did you get that?”

“It the winter after I turned 28. I was struggling. I was working for a composer occasionally and getting a handful of really small jobs, nothing anyone would even really even know was me or ever see. So I disappeared for a few months to London to see if I could find work there. My Mom was still living there and Sam was there, she thought she was still in love with some guy she met when we went to stay with my Mom for spring break our senior year of college that she moved to London for. She was working in a coffee shop and playing open mic nights when she could. My Mom’s name is Stephanie. Most people call her that, it’s what she goes by professionally, Stephanie Rossi. But at some point in her life my Mom decided she wanted to be Stevie Nicks, she lucked out that her parents named her Stephanie. When they were still young and in love my Dad started calling her Stevie and it stuck. Honestly, Frankie and I both call her Stevie. I can’t remember the last time I called her mom.”

“So the tattoo?”

“Well, I’d been struggling with not doing what I really wanted to with music. I was considering that I’d gone the wrong direction and should maybe produce or focus on songwriting for pop and rock music instead of composing. Thought about putting a band together. I was lost, thus ending up roaming around England and Europe with my Mom. She understood how it felt to feel as lost as I was, fuck she left her entire family because she needed to chase her dream. I got my first big offer which got me to go home. I wasn’t going home to work for anyone else anymore. I was going to do the unthinkable and if necessary live off my trust fund until I was where I wanted to be, I was going to give it a year. Mom was so excited to see me make this GIANT bold decision. Sam realized it was the decision she needed to make and literally packed her bags in a split second to catch a plane with me. But the night before we left my Mom and I went to a tattoo shop and I got this. It’s from “Landslide.” Time makes you bolder, even children get older and I’m getting older too. My wrist clearly didn’t have space for all of it so Mom decided it should just be time makes you bolder.”

“And it’s made you bolder.”

“WAY bolder. Before my Dad told me to take time to go see my Mom I was positive I’d done everything wrong and should’ve gone to law school. I told Dad I was considering that I might need to work at his firm if I ever wanted to have a real-life and real job. He didn’t want to see that and knew Stevie would take care of any crazy ideas I had about being a real grown-up. I was their dreamer.”

“Do they get along now?” Jeremy asked.

“Yeah, fairly well. Things with Stevie were always hard for all of us. But she always says the one thing in her life that wasn’t a mistake was giving my Dad his girls. Even if it wasn’t the life she imagined for herself, it was the perfect life for him. She and Mandi is a different situation. She sort of threw us on Mandi without asking. Vinnie got a say in it and didn’t really give his wife an option. I mean, it’s better now but still not great. Small doses, and they are good.”

“She still isn’t coming this weekend?”

“No,” I said as I put my watch back on. “She’s off somewhere on a shoot and loving it. She called me yesterday morning to see if I had changed my mind and she offered to catch a flight. While it would be nice to have her here, it would just make everything worse. My Mom and Sam’s parents don’t get along well, which makes the whole fiasco of the funeral a worse thing than it could’ve been.”

“Why don’t they get along?”

“Well Sam moved to London at 24 and because moving directly in with a guy she fell in love with in the span of a week was a bad idea she crashed at my Mom’s place. Well her parents thought that she did. She really lived with the guy. But she told them she was moving in with my Mom. They thought my flighty mother had convinced their daughter to runaway after a guy that she introduced her to. It was a mess.” I laughed. “Stevie didn’t tell her to run away for love. I mean Stevie loves love and is always waiting for her next romance. But she wouldn’t encourage it with anyone else. Hell she tried to convince me that moving in with Patrick after 3 years was too fast. But because of that she and I both felt it would be best for her not to be here. She’ll be back in LA this summer and either come stay with me and the kids for a while or I’ll go home, stay with Dad and spend time with her.”

“That’s good.” He hugged me tighter again. “I wish I could hit fast forward on this weekend for you. Ryan said you had a meltdown on Frankie this morning because of the number of people that she and Alex invited.”

“Yeah, they invited 80 people. It’s possible that Saturday there will be 50 people in my fucking house. I am so NOT prepared for that.”

“That is a lot of people. But we will get you through it. Sunday will be a day at the pool with only the closest family. Monday when they are all gone I’ll just spoil you and let you sleep. Either I can help Savannah with all of the kids or we can bribe her and Tony to watch them so you can recharge and I can take care of you.”

“Are you real?”

“Yes?” He seemed confused by my question.

“I will absolutely need to recharge.”

“I know. Too much action is gonna stress you out.”

“Right. Well, I spent years with Patrick, who would always be mad that after a vacation or holiday or birthday party or work event or really anything, I’d need like two days of silence and sleep before I could be a functioning human again. He hated it. I finally started letting him stay at our place and would check into a hotel for a couple of days and sleep.”

“That’s odd, especially considering it was your condo.”

“Right? Okay so maybe he was a Dickhead sometimes. But you for real seem like you’re fictional if you’re going to let me have a day of silence after this.”

“I just want to make sure that you feel your best. Especially since I leave next weekend.”

“Don’t talk about that. I don’t want to think about it. We are so new if we are even a we, I don’t know. You leaving already sucks.” I pouted. He pouted back at me.

“You know if you hadn’t blown me off for two weeks we wouldn’t be so new, we’d just be mostly new.”

“You’re right but also shut up. I had my reasons.”

“I know, and I fully support them. You needed to get to the point where you felt okay attempting to be more than just their Mom. I get it.” I rested my head on his chest. “Do you want to go back downstairs?” I shook my head no.

“It’s quiet right now. I like that it’s quiet. Once they are all around again it won’t be quiet and I won’t be able to stand here like this with you. I’ll have to go back to basically pretending there’s an invisible forcefield around you that if I touch you I’ll get electrocuted.”

“Except you don’t. They all know we’ve been on a date. They will all know I’m sleeping here tonight and no offense, I’m not sleeping out at Tony’s.” I laughed. “I mean I can sleep on the couch in your room if you don’t want me in bed with you but I’m sleeping in your room. Maybe I’ll get to be the lucky one to stay up all night with you.”

“Maybe you will.” I stayed quiet for a minute as he swayed back and forth with me still in his arms. It was like I did sometimes when the kids cried. I’d try to soothe them with movement. It was working. I was fairly certain if I could figure out how to balance and not fall over I could fall asleep in his arms like this. “I’m sorry I hesitated.”

“Don’t apologize.”

“No, I need to. There’s a lot in my life that I’ve been afraid of the last year. I shouldn’t have been afraid of this.” I looked up at him and smiled before pressing my lips into his.

*****AUTHOR'S NOTE*****

First, I apologize for the delay with this chapter. It took much longer to get up than I expected. You may or may not have seen this so I will share a little bit about it again. It was just over two weeks ago that my grandfather passed away. Losing someone is never easy but it made some of this writing feel too real so I had to take a step back last week as we held his funeral and I worked my way through the beginning stages of grief.

Last weekend I started to feel more myself. I got back to work in a normal and productive manner. I work for myself so it was incredibly beneficial to be able to take the time necessary to process, grieve, and do the things I needed to do for myself. My grandfather was a very important person in my life and a huge part of who I am. I am obnoxiously proud of the fact that I am an Italian-American, my grandfather was the youngest son of two Italian immigrants who came to America for the hope of a better life. His father died when he was 18 months old. His mother could not read or write. His house was bilingual, mainly because their Mom struggled with English and her 7 children helped her to learn it based on what they were learning at school. There will likely never be a day in my life that I don't miss him, he was the strongest person I knew. He was 96 years old. He watched his parents, every one of his siblings, their spouses, some nieces and nephews, almost all of his cousins and a good portion of his friends die. But the hardest for him was losing my grandma. She was the center of his universe. I honestly think if he could've had it his way he would've held her hand while she died to help her through the end and then died right there with her. But instead, he lived on, for seven years without her. He missed her every day until he didn't have to miss her anymore. The unique thing for me is one of my friends was one of his nurses. She was able to tell me about her experience with him and the stories he was telling all of the staff about his bride and how he couldn't wait to see her again.

Needless to say, the sadness is still present and the tears still come like a waterfall on occasion, but working Charlie through her grief was honestly a helpful thing. Being able to sink my teeth into a chapter was not only healthy for me, it was freeing. I could take the feelings I have, adjust them for the purpose of how Charlie would feel and go with it. Writing is also my creative outlet. As someone who deals with depression and anxiety in a major, life-altering way my writing helps me to stay sane. So it's been an immense help. And I finally hit a good flow. I already have over 3,000 words of Chapter 11 on the way.

Okay, now about the chapter. I know it's long which most people love and it's maybe got stuff that doesn't seem important to people but I felt like the details about Charlie and who she is were important, especially as this awful anniversary approaches her. The happy memories are sometimes the hardest to face and she's facing them all head-on while still trying to be a good daughter, sister, mother, friend, and who knows maybe at some point be a good girlfriend. Having her family around her makes her feel whole. It's the thing about Italian-American families. We will argue and drive each other crazy but when it comes down to it family comes first and we'd protect them to the end. I know it sounds stereotypical but honestly, growing up in a city with a tight-knit Italian-American community has shown me how true it is. Italians also really know how to hold a grudge but that's for another day, haha. My Dad calls it Italian Alzheimers, they forget everything but the grudge. The closeness of the family and community of Italian-Americans is one of the reasons I'm drawn to writing characters that are part of that community. Also because it's what I know. The traditions, the family, even the arguing, it's my life and while I am not Charlie and don't have a ton in common with her, it's easy to write the interaction of her family. It's also why Everlee from In the Heat of Los Angeles was easy for me to write. There was a bit of a reflection of my family in theirs.

I am enjoying writing the shift in the relationship between Charlie and Jeremy. They are fun to write. They are an interesting couple for me to write. They have so much in common while still being very different from each other. Jeremy is quickly becoming a huge support system for Charlie, which is what she needs. It doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes and a good kisser.

As for the news recently about Jeremy. I am an outside observer, a fan. I don't know what is true what isn't true. I believe that cancel culture is toxic, even the law states innocent until proven guilty. I am going to continue this story because the Jeremy I've created is a character I love. If at some time the circumstances regarding the news from this week change, I'll re-evaluate. But for now, we will continue on this Adventure. I hope you are all willing to stick with me.

I'd love to hear what you thought of this chapter, good and bad. It's been a tough few weeks for me so my writing could be completely off of it's normal. Your support, even if it's silent, means a lot but I would really love to hear from you. What intrigues you about this? Why you started reading it and maybe why you're still reading it? If you've read any of my other writing I'd love to hear how you feel about this as it is obviously very different from my past writing.

I am filled with endless gratitude for you all. Thank you for letting me take the time this needed. Hopefully 11 continues on as easily as it has started.

xx. Annie

#jeremy renner #jeremy renner fanfic #jeremy renner fan fic #jeremy renner fanfiction #jeremy renner fan fiction #Elizabeth olsen #Lizzie Olsen #Elizabeth Olsen as Charlie De Luca #oc fanfic #oc fan fic #oc fan fiction #oc fanfiction #original character fan fic #original character fan fiction #original character fanfic #original character fanfiction #marvel #hawkeye #mcu

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simplyoriginalcharacters · 7 years

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((I want to apologize for not doing another profile redo, but I recently did this one and I was wondering what you think. My cousin and I did a character swap, so I gave them Troy-Logan and I was given Otruta. I like her because she’s a good villain and I like having a strong, female Villain in my character list because she’s pretty formidable. I wanted to know if she’s got a good story and background, if that’s alright? EvangelionUnitKenway made her photo.

Hello! This is D with your critique. The full profile and review are under the cut.

World: Although our world takes place in 2036 in an anternate Earth, She is one of the antagonists in our Space series.

Some Facts: The Shershen’ and the Makarasans are constantly fighting. Sometimes it gets so bad that they destroy other planets. In general, Makarasans are Mean, which explains Ortuta’s hostility to everyone and everything.

Shershen’ are genetically designed to be loyal to those that they serve under. Although this can be a good thing, it does have drawbacks at times.

Also, I think that its rude when people call her a slave. Also, people assume that she was abused by Heriotza, but that was not the case at all. He was just kind to her and she trusted him. I don’t mean to offend anyone at all with her story))

Name: Otruta

Aliases: Traitor, “That mean one” by Ren Silla.

Gender: Cis Female

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Age: She is 18 years old, Which is 30 in Shershen’ years.

Species: Shershen’ Warrior

Birthplace: Sector 8 of Acoa

Occupation: She works as Emperor Heriotza’s closest advisor, bodyguard, and representative.

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Affiliations: She’s always been affiliated with the Makarasans and Emperor Heriotza.

-Family-

Emperor Heriotza: Heriotza is like her adoptive parent. He found her and raised her alongside his own children. She knows how to handle herself around Makarasans, and her other siblings.

Hilkutxa: In her opinion, Kutxa is the nicest sister between her and Gaiatorix. She enjoys talking to her and she is willing to fight for her instead of her sister.

Gaiatorix: She’s never liked her because she feels that she is using her fathers name for illicit reasons. She also feels that Gaia is too cruel and impulsive to be an effective ruler.

-Best Friends-

Aeron: Her and Aeron have a weird relationship. They were both raised on Izzuria, but they have opposing views on Makarasans. They occasionally team up with each-other, and they are friends with benefits, but that’s about it.

Relationship Status: With someone

Significant Other: She and Aeron have some sort of thing going on.

-Other Relationships- Dvorrah: Dvorrah is actually her hive mate. They come from the same sector and they were raised by the same Queen, but she was displaced and raised on Izzuria. She doesn’t like him because he’s one of the Queens soldiers and he is one of the biggest threats to her Emperor.

Height: 6'9

Weight: 378 lbs

Build: Curvy and muscular.

Skin Tone: Her skin tone is a mix between cerulean and deep blue. She’s seen as being fair skinned on her planet

Hair: Jet black. She keeps it very long and as of now it goes to her backside. It’s cut straight though.

Eyes: Her eyes are trim colored. She has red irises and yellow sclera, but between her irises is a small hint of orange which signifies that she is a Hunter Class Shershen’.

Identifying Marks: Besides her long hair, she has cheetah-like tear marks on her face and a nose piercing.

Appearance: Otruta is a beautiful, Shershen’ woman who chooses to express herself through her outer appearance. She has her black hair and the typical blue Skin that all Shershen’ have. She keeps her hair straight in the front and back and she’s never had it shorter. Her eyes have an orangeish highlight signifying that she is a Hunter Class Shershen warrior.

Along her body, she had tattoos that signify that she works for the Makarasans. She typically wears the red and black colors of Emperor Heriotza, even having her armor painted the same way. Her wings are bright orange with slightly red tips, and they are very strong.

She has modified her armor so that it resembles a Makarasan hunter, having back spikes, longer claws than normal, and a helmet that looks like horns.

Personality: Otruta is known as being rather level headed and analytical. She has a typical Shershen’ personality, being very brave, strong willed, and extremely loyal to those that she serves under. She is anti-social, only choosing to associate with people that she wants and she has no qualms about starting a fight. When it comes to her family, she acts like an older sister to Gaia and Hilkutxa. She will help them out and she does give them advice, but other than that, she keeps to herself.

She completely mistrusts other Shershen’ and she is not afraid to kill any of her past hive mates. This behavior has gotten her into trouble multiple times, but she does not care.

Beneath that, she is someone who wishes to find where she belongs. She doesn’t identify as a Shershen’ and she doesn’t identify as a Makarasan. She is simply Otruta.

Motivations: Loyalty. She wants to keep her Makarasan family safe from harm and danger.

Current Goal: She is currently trying to stop Gaiatorix from taking over the universe.

Life Goal: She wants go find some safety and understanding in her life.

Motto: “I serve only my Emperor”.

Best Quality: Her loyalty is extremely admirable. She has devoted herself to her adoptive father and siblings, and she will do whatever she can to make sure that their family survives.

Worst Quality: She’s not a nice person. Unless she likes who she’s speaking to, she will kill someone out of boredom. This is a bad habit of hers, but she doesn’t really care at all.

Likes: Eating, modifying her tech, hanging out with Hilkutxa, fighting, being alone, and reading.

Dislikes: Shershen’ warriors. She has no love for her sisters-in-arms and as far as she’s concerned, they are her enemies.

She also hates Dvorrah because in her opinion, A male should not be a leader in the Shershen’ army, he has no place there.

Fears: Any of her adoptive siblings getting killed. She truly loves her siblings and she feels like they are her responsibility.

Hobbies: Metal working, modifying her armor, Flying to new planets, taking language lessons from Kutxa.

Talents: Since living with her adoptive family, Otruta has developed a talent for using fear to her advantage. She can intimidate and manipulate others so that they listen to her. Also because she is a Hunter Class Shershen’ she is very good at tracking and finding.

Skills: She is fluent in multiple languages, she knows different fighting techniques, and she is a master at armor crafting and metal working.

Abilities: Otruta has a multitude of natural and enhanced abilities. She has heightened senses, the ability to fly, super strength, she’s naturally immune to radiation of any sorts, she is able to climb walls, and she can see ultraviolet light. She also has the ability to harness ultraviolent light and she can create beams with it.

From the synergetic implants that she has, she is able to control her ZX-11 battle armor. The armor doubles her strength and speed.

Weaknesses: Like all Shershen’, she has a weakness to extreme cold, Deep water, and strong scents. Strong scents dull her senses and it makes it hard for her to detect things.

Secret: She truly wants to work with Hilkutxa, but she knows that if she did then she would be betraying her Emperor.

Influential Memory: She truly remembers being adopted by Emperor Heriotza, which is impressive because Shershen’ and Makarasans are mortal enemies.

Role Model: Her sibling, Hilkutxa. She is a really kind person and she tries her hardest to bring goodness to their family, but she is always thwarted by her sister.

Crush: She has a slight crush on Emperor Sava because she thinks that he’s really cute.

Source of Embarrassment: Deep down she’s embarrassed by herself because she knows that she’s a Shershen’ and that she was made to serve her Queen, but she hates her own people.

Source of Pride: Her armor. She created it herself from remnants of other Shershen’ armor, and she wears it proudly.

)( History )(

Otruta was born under Queen Merrilyn in Sector 8. For the first 10 years of her life she was put through the rigorous Shershen’ Hunter training and she passed with flying colors. For their final test, she and a few other Shershen’ trainees were taken on a recon mission on the Makarasan planet of Izzuria.

Otruta never really trusted her General Vasyll because she heard rumors that she was known for making deals that never worked out correctly. At the same time, the current and most affluent Makarasan leader, Emperor Gorupa, was obsessed with creating a super race of aliens that could completely wipe out the Shershen’ forces, so after enslaving the N'Kairens, he started to take Shershen’ warriors as his prisoners. To settle her debt, she sold her trainees to this Emperor.

Life on Izzuria was horrible and Otruta had to fend for her life. Emperor Gorupa’s son, Prince Heriotza, was appalled by his fathers bloodlust. He was nice to Otruta and the other remaining trainees, and he would talk to them. Otruta liked that he was nice to her and that he tried to keep them safe. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but there was a rift and Gorupa killed the rest of the Shershen’ trainees. Out of anger, Heriotza killed his father, which made him the new Emperor of the planet.

The Shershen’ got word of this and they chose to raid the planet, but General Vasyll lead the charge. She did find Otruta, but to cover herself for what she had done, she said that Otruta was a spy for the Makarasans and she was left behind.

She lived on Izzuria trying to figure out how to get home. She was desperate, so she approached Heriotza and asked him if she could live with him. She knew that this was a grave risk, but she took the chance. He was relunctant at first, but after a while he accepted. She pledged herself to him and she served as his personal bodyguard.

As she got older, She started to recognize him as her “Ruler”. He thought of her as his daughter and he treated her as such. Because she felt out of place, she started to take on a Makarasan identity. She started to act like them, and anyone who commented on her race was swiftly executed, giving her the nickname “Butcher”. Heriotza then had children of his own and he raised them with Otruta. She liked her siblings and she did her best to treat them well, but she felt like he would soon get rid of her.

One of her siblings named Gaiatorix was just as mean as her grandfather. She did things her own way, undermining her fathers command and taking what she wanted, whenever she wanted. Heriotza asked Otruta to keep an eye on her and she obliged, keeping tabs on her every move and action. She saw that her sister was going out on a mission on her own and she chose to follow her, sneaking aboard her ship.

She learned that Gaiatorix made her way to a Shershen’ outpost. She killed two of the soldiers that were there, but she got injured in the process. Otruta went into action, not wanting her sister to die on her watch and she started to attack the remaining soldiers. She let her sister escape while Otruta took the fall for her actions. After being discovered by another Shershen’ recon unit and exiled from her original planet of Acoa all together, Otruta made it back home to Izzuria. Gaiatorix threatened her to keep what had happened a secret, but Heriotza demanded that Otruta explain to him what really happened. She told him the whole story and because she nearly caused an interplanetary incident, Gaiatorix was exiled from Izzuria. Heriotza thanked Otruta for what she did and he promoted her to being his closest advisor. She was grateful for this and she pledged to serve his Empire to the best of her abilities. She found it easier to live on Izzuria and she was starting to feel at home.

I don’t have all that much to offer regarding Otruta. Her profile is pretty consistent in how it presents her. She’s initially characterized as a cold, ruthless soldier with a lot of determination who follows those she deems worthy, and that’s pretty much how she stays. The idea of Otruta not identifying either with her own species or the Makarasans is interesting, especially in the context of her being ruled over by the enemy alien race and working with them.

However that does seem to diverge a bit with her backstory, in-particular when the more familial relationships Otruta develops with the Makarasans – and especially with the comment in her History section that she began to adopt a Makarasan identity. That directly contradicts the comment in the end of her Personality section that says Otruta doesn’t identify with them and wants to find out where she belongs. Having Otruta learn the customs of the Makarasans would make sense given her position, but being considered that close to a race her species has been at war with seems… strange. I think the general nature of Otruta’s relationships all work but the specific context may need to be revised a bit (IE her opinions on them are fine, but the context in which they see each other may need tweaking). That, or possibly emphasize that she identifies more with the Makarasans now than the Shersens. Although if that’s the case, I’d also highlight more how Otruta relates to the other Shersen captives that work alongside her and what she does when facing them down in battle.

One thing I will say that I especially liked was that, for all her villainous traits, they weren’t the only aspects that composed Otruta’s character. While there are many people she dislikes (for a variety of reasons), she does have people she trusts and even people she’s attracted to. Otruta has moments, however fleeting, of emotion and thought beyond just the negative/antagonistic aspects. While rather focused mentions in her profile they do a nice job of keeping her from seeming like an archetype rather than an individual.

With that said, Otruta definitely comes across as villainous in her attitude, with clearly defined capabilities and a distinct role within the context of the story. I think if her identity and the nature of her relationship with the Makarasans (especially those she directly serves under) were lined up a bit more, it’d make her profile mesh that much better.

I hope this helps!

-D

#SOC Critique #OC Critique #Backstory Help #Development Help #General Help #submission #yokaigemini

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numbuh-7-knd · 7 years

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Jinxed Archer Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of my Teen Titans/Young Justice crossover, in which Jinx and Artemis are the same person. Also on AO3

Summary: Jinx had the opportunity to rid herself of magic, and she took it and disappeared, Wally blamed himself. Now his new team has a new Archer whose attitude reminds him of his old girlfriend, but never would he have imagine it was really her.

(http://archiveofourown.org/works/10425393/chapters/24442635)

Chapter 3: A conversation. Wally and Barry have a very important talk.

This is more filler than anything, and I haven't had anyone beta read it, nor have I done a grammar check.

It had been a few quiet days in at the temporary HQ. They spent time together just being themselves , watching the TV, watching movies, and getting used to Jinx knowing about Wally's secret identity. He told her about his past, and tried to get her to share hers. She kept quiet, but would occasionally share small tidbits. They even had an animated movie night:

“So Jinx, I know you don't wanna talk about your past, but can you at least tell me your favorite movie from when you were a kid? Halloween Town or Nightmare before Christmas maybe?” Wally smiled kindly at the pink haired sorceress before throwing some popcorn into his mouth.

“Nah, actually ‘Alice in Wonderland’ was more my style.” Said sorceress looked up at him from her half-hearted attempt to watch a movie.

“Seriously? I thought for sure it would involve pink, or magic… Or a big villainess” He gestured to her hair as he spoke.

“I mean, that was before I got like this… after… after I didn't have time for kid stuff.” She glanced down at her lap, tugging on her sleeve quietly.

“How, how old were you? When did-” he couldn't get the words out without sounding rude, or being scared he'd upset her, so he stopped himself.

“I was about 8 when it happened, and I joined Hive a few months after.” She hoped he wouldn't ask more questions. This was painful enough.

“Jinx, I know you hate talking about your past, but how does an 8 year old join a criminal organization? Where were your parents?”

Where indeed. Sportsmaster certainly didn't mind selling her to HIVE, that's for sure. “Who do you think sent me there?” Did he really thinks she could have joined on her own?

“Oh… um… so do you have any other favorite movies?” He glanced back at the TV awkwardly.

“Even before I got my powers, I didn't really get to do a lot of kid stuff… Alice in Wonderland was kind of a fluke.” A theater in Gotham had playing it as part of a promotion and Jade convinced their parents that it could be educational for her to see it after reading the book recently, but she wasn't going to tell Wally that.

“Okay… so, since you didn't watch a lot of movies as a kid, wanna watch some now?” Wally watched her carefully as he spoke.

“Isn't that what we've been doing?” She motioned to the TV, showing some action movie where the hero was fighting some mobsters, or maybe they were aliens, she hadn't really been paying much attention.

“Yeah, but, you know, kids movies. We could have a movie marathon!” He smiled a very, very excited smile.

They sat through watching several old Disney movies and otherwise animated movies, most of which Kid borrowed from the main Titans Tower. (This confused Cyborg and Beastboy, who watched a red and yellow blur run by the television, taking one or two VHS or DVDs at once, and then returning a few hours later to return them and get more.)

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A few days passed, and Wally received a communication from the Flash asking him to meet at a diner in Coast City, wearing civilian clothes(thus why they were meeting in Coast instead of Central or Keystone, as people are bound to recognize the boy still being put on missing posters, or maybe recognize Barry and wonder who the kid is with him.) Wally bid a goodbye to Jinx and went to meet with his uncle.

Wally ran the relatively short (for a speedster) distance to Coast City, glad it wasn't too far from his and Jinx’s location. There he changed into a brown hoodie and jeans in an alleyway and then found the small diner. Barry was wearing his usual work attire of a long sleeved collared button up shirt covered by a sweater vest and tie, only missing his CCPD CSI identity card and his lab coat.

“Hey Wally, it's good to see you again.” He smiled warmly at the teen, if a bit awkwardly.

“H-hey Uncle Barry. So what did you want to talk about that couldn't be done over the phone?” Wally slid into the booth, glancing around quickly to make sure he wasn't being watched.

“I wanted to know if you had thought about coming to live with Iris and me. Besides, I was already here for a team up with Green Lantern.” Barry double checked his communicator, making sure his friend didn't need him.

“Oh, that… I've thought about it, but I'm just not sure how it would work.” Wally looked down at the menu, frowning as he chose.

“How what would work? You'd live with Iris and I, and you'd go back to school.” Barry looked at him quizzically and raised an eyebrow.

“Well yeah, but I'm a Teen Titan now, I have duties, I can't just walk away from that.” Wally looked Barry straight in the eyes, serious and trying to get the message across.

“I thought you worked with a partner instead of with the main Titans.” Barry took a bite from one of the many pastries in front of him as he talked.

“Yeah, but we still go on missions sometimes with the other Titans, besides I think Jinx would be lonely living in the bunker by herself. Not to mention it would be weird running halfway across the country everyday.” They grew quiet as a waitress arrived to ask about Wally’s order, he ordered a strawberry milkshake, 2 large fries, and two burgers. She brought him the milkshake right away and told him the rest would be out soon.

“Everyday? Why would you- Jinx is your partner right? Surely you two can still keep in touch, maybe meet on weekends, and she could always work with another Titan, or maybe she could use a break, some time off while you get used to being at home and working alongside the League and I.” Barry tried to reason, knowing what it's like to work with a partner on occasion, such as right now with Hal, but still apparently not getting it.

“Wait, what about the League?!” The red-headed speedster did a double take, what was this about the Justice League?

“The League has taken notice of your work in Paris, and we want you, Robin, and Speedy to join us. We want to work with you.” Barry put his food down as he spoke, trying his best “Serious and Diplomatic” impression.

“You want the Titans to work with the League?” Wally was shocked, to say the least, the league had barely acknowledged the Titans before this.

“Not-Not necessarily. I'd be fine with it, but the others aren't sure about those on the Titans we haven't worked with before. We want you. The Titans don't necessarily need you three. But we do.” Barry didn't want to scare his nephew off, and he truly thought more young heros working with the league could only be a strength, but his teammates sadly did not share this opinion.

“I'll think about it… but what about Jinx?” Was Barry really asking him to abandon Jinx? After everything they've been through together?!

“Like I said she can work with someone else, or maybe find a mentor, she's only been good for a few months, right? Are you sure this is a permanent change? And even if it is, maybe she can go home to her family, or live with the rest of the main Titans.” Barry raised an eyebrow, if Wally really didn't want to live with him and Iris, couldn't he just say so? Before Wally could respond his food arrived, resulting in him quickly devouring one of the burgers, making it disappear in under a minute.

“That's great and all, Uncle Barry, but Jinx isn't just my partner in crime fighting, she's also my uh, girlfriend.” Wally awkwardly wiped some ketchup off his cheek from his burger, hoping his mentor and uncle wouldn't react to badly to this news.

“You're dating her?! But she was a villain!” Barry was flabbergasted, didn't he teach his sidekick better than to date the enemy?

“Ex Villain! She's reformed! Besides, it's not like you've never flirted with a supervillain” Wally could remember plenty of times that his uncle distracted the villain or villainess with flirtations.

“I'm married to your Aunt!” Barry glanced at his wedding ring in confusion, he would never cheat on Iris!

“Yeah, but before that…. besides, I've seen you and captain cold. Not to mention some others, like Killer Frost, and-” Wally had a whole list planned, and fully planned on saying it all before he got interrupted.

“Enough, Wally, I get it. But seriously? You're a 15-year old kid. How serious can this relationship be?” Barry looked at Wally with worried eyes.

“Pretty serious Uncle B. She needs me. She doesn't have anyone else. She isn't close to the other Titans, and she had to cut ties with her old friends because they were all villains.” Wally needed her, too. She likes him for who he is now, not the kid he used to be, or the hero he could be. She sits across from him as he talks about physics with a fond smile on her face and calls him a dork. She likes to sketch everything from unicorns to the kitchen utensils to him; he really likes it when she draws him. They work out and train together, figuring out how to work best as a team. They debate the news. They argue about little things like tv or pizza topping out of boredom but usually comprise and wind up cuddling. She even calms him down without even meaning to when he has an anxiety attack.

“So what about her family? Is she an orphan?” Barry wanted to understand, but he still worried that Wally was too young for such a serious relationship. Maybe the league could set her up with a legal guardian to take her in, make it so she isn't only relying on his nephew for emotional support.

“I don't know, probably? Maybe. She doesn't want to tell me about her past.” Wally just wanted this conversation to end, picking at his fries and dipping them in his milkshake.

“How much do you really know about her? What's her real name? Can you really trust her?” Can I trust her with you?

“I know I can trust her. But as for the other two I don't know… I don't even know how she got the way she is now… maybe she doesn't really even have a name other than Jinx… I asked her the other day, but… she didn't have an answer.” Wally trembled, looking from Barry, to his plate, to the other patrons. Why couldn't Barry just accept Jinx? He glanced back at Barry and narrowed his eyes, hurt and angry at the accusation against one precious to him.

“Alright… maybe that was… out of line of me. Kid, I know she doesn't want to talk about it, but from what you're saying, she could probably use the League’s help. If you can talk her into it, we can probably at least get her a therapist, to make sure she stays on the right path, and to help her with any issues she might have, which, if her childhood was anything like yours, and with having to go to a school for supervillains… she probably needs. I know you Titans like being independent, but the League is here if any of you need us.” Barry felt dumb, he seriously did want to help, but he was probably doing more harm than good at this point. He knew the Titans probably didn't have that many resources (he knew for a fact that they got a lot of financial and technical support from Bruce Wayne, who had kept supporting his son even when they weren't on speaking terms) and after seeing what Wally had been through, and knowing many of the Titans were kids who ran away from home, were kicked out, or were orphaned or otherwise without a place to go, didn't want them to suffer.

“Thanks for that, Uncle B. It was a little mean of you to say that, but I know you're just worried about me.” Wally had just finished speaking when his Teen Titans communicator went off “Sorry, I have to answer this… Hey Rob, what's up? Trouble in Jump? Alright, I’ll go get Jinx and meet you at the T Tower… No she's not with me, I was meeting with the Flash… See you soon.” He glanced up at Barry, shoulders slumping as he sighed and said “Sorry, but the Titans need me and Jinx for a mission in Jump City. Say Hi to Aunt Iris for me, bye!” He rushed out as quickly as possible without arousing suspicion from the regular patrons of the diner.

“Heh, he was in such a rush he didn't even finish his fries...Oh well, more for me!” He ate his food and Wally's leftover fries quickly, trying to figure out what he would tell Iris. Suddenly his comm. link buzzed “Flash here, what's up… oh hey Hal. Yeah, I finished talking to Wally, no I think I messed up. You found the guy? Great, I'll meet you there.”

“Jinx, I'm home!” Wally entered the bunker, to find Jinx all dressed and ready at the door.

“I can see that kid, now come on, the others are waiting!”

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment and tell me what you think!

#jinxed archer #jinx teen titans #flinx #kid flash x jinx #artemis crock #wally west #wally west x artemis crock #spitfire #young justice #teen titans

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