#but we don’t know how to explain that to our family members that think having a phd is a big deal

[bonchobrick]

Dead on Main au where Jason is of course Danny’s Fright Knight and like all knights do he has a weapon—except it’s his gun.

The batfam + justice league + everyone (except ghosts duh) don’t know that his normal average everyday gun is actually like a super powerful spiritual soul shooter that is, yaknow, capable of blasting someone into an alternate dimension where their greatest fears become real.

So imagine there’s like a big battle where a ghastly ghoul reigns terror on Gotham. The world sends their best hero’s—wizards and occultists are notably high highest in demand—to stop the ghost but, nothing works. All of the weapons and spells and chants fail.

But,

As the fights worsens and the heros scream for people to flee suddenly--

Loud squeaking footsteps echo across the ground. Jason yawns strolling into the battle zone in a ghostbusters t-shirt plaid pants bunny slippers--he strolls up in pajamas--as if annoyed at being woken up and cocks his fucking normal 'i could buy you at walmart' gun at the ghost.

His brothers screech at him yelling ”Are you insane” and to "get the hell out of here" in fear and panic because their idiot brother is trying to kill a real life ghost with a damn gun.

But then Jason shoots the ghost and it works.

The ghost fizzles down with a cry into just a little blob.

The young man then spends 30 minutes lecturing the spirit saying things like “you’re glad I’m not calling the big guy” and “you know our highness would not be happy learning what you’ve been doing” before taking out a thermos of all things and sucking the ghost into it.

Jason then sighs and walks away as if he hadn’t just defeated a hell raising ghost with a gun people can buy off a corner pawn store and a soup container.

Immediately the bat family swarms him with questions

Dick grabs him by his shoulders tense with worry, “Are you okay?”

“Um yeah—“ Jason tries to reply squirming in his hold

Damian cuts him off, “How the hell did your gun a physical weapon hurt that ghastly demonic spirit!”

“Uh that ghost is actually pretty chill you guys just pissed him off." Jason replies plain

They stare at him with a look saying 'you did not call a ghost that has been decimating gotham chill' probably because he did just that.

Tim is the first to break out of the disbelief stupor as he very inteligently says, "What?"

Jason responds easily with a confused quirk in his brow, "Second, my gun affects entities of all sorts, perks to my job and all that."

"How did being a vigilante and also probably crime boss give you a gun that could do that?" Dick asks

Jason sends him a look saying "are you an idiot" as he replies, "Yea, sure, kicking petty thieves and druggies got me my all powerful spirit weapon--No you dumbass, it's from being the bodyguard of the King of the Infinite Realms! How the hell did you guys not think of that!”

Tim breathes in, then breathes out, then breathes in again and screams, "Why the HELL WOULD WE THINK OF THAT JAY?!"

"The--" Batman, suddenly beside them, chokes, "Bodyguard of T-the what."

Jason blinks at his family then his eyes widen, "Oh shit."

"What?!" His family screech in panic

"Oh fuck," Jason says with a growing hysteric smile, "Danny's gonna have a big ol' fucking laugh with this."

"Brother who is Danny!" Damian demands for an answer

Jason coughs into his palm, "Oh yeah you guys really dont dont know. So I may have forgotten to explain some... things."

Bruce levels him with a stare that says "you think?"

Jason chuckles nervously, "So y'know how I'm half dead?"

pause

Damian very eloquently responds for the suddenly dying screaming combusting members of his family, "...sure."

"Well I met the King of the afterlife which is like the Ruler of Everything and he was really cute--" Jason says distant in his own world

"Theres a afterlife?" Superman asks casually appearing beside the emotionally wrecked family

"Yea its pretty cool. So I start flirting a bit with the guy and we hit it off, I now im his zombie ghost knight boyfriend lover for all time. Oh and i got this sickass gun." Jason says with a happy grin

"That is a pretty sick gun." John Constantine nods

"I know right?" Jason chirps

"You wouldn't mind if I inspected--" John reaches his hand

Jason slaps it away, "Not a chance you soul whore. Y'know your basically the tax evasionist of the Ghost Zone right?"

John only sighs and leaves

"But yea so I'm like the ghost world equivalent to married with the king and became his knight and thats how I was able to stop that ghost guy." Jason reiterates as if explaining a simple question, "Y'guys get that?"

Tim is on the ground trying to decide whether; sobbing hysterically, interogating jason to find out all the things he doesn't want to know or sleeping would be a better use of his time.

Dick has decided to blame himself and has started to draft a reddit post in the middle of the street starting with "I (23 m) have a younger brother (19 m), who I used to resent but really regret now, he died and came back and doesn't even tell me about what goes on in his life anymore. How do I fix our--"

Damian is just staring at the gun and... Jason pushes it deeper in his holster and shifts to the side, better to be safe than sorry with this thieving shit.

As Jason adjusts his weaponry he hears Bruce sob in the background, "He didn't even invite me to the wedding! Am I that horrible of a father!"

Wonder Woman pats his shoulder reasuringly whilst the rest of the League seem to be trying to calm him down

Jason looks around tiredly at the mess he had created and decides fuck it

"Alright I'm heading out for the night, you guys get home safe!" He yells and without caring to listen to anyone and everyone voicing their confusion he zips open a green portal and stumbles in

He crashes down on an unbelievably comfortable bed

Danny blinks blearily before sending the young man a sleepy smile, "Hey Jay, what kept you up so long?"

Jason slipping under the blankets with a yawn says, "You would not believe the night I just had."

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

Edit: UMM HII The fic is out now here!! you guys are awesome I'll post the new chapter 2 in a hot sec after editting ^^

[dbs-scans]

April Fools’ 2024

This is our translated version of the event held on AidaIro’s twitter account for April Fools’ Day 2024. We hope you enjoy!

(Read it on twitter.)

You're a member of a certain occult forum. Among the various spooky stories posted every day, you find one a bit stranger then usual... Almost as if it were a cry for help—

――Hello, is anybody there?

POLL:

There is ✅

There isn't 

Thank God, somebody replied!

I know this is out of the blue, but will you hear my story?

POLL:

Sure ✅

No thanks

When I woke up, I was sitting in an unfamiliar train. Instead of what I usually carry, there was an old cellphone in my pocket along with a piece of paper that said "Use when you're in a bind." There's no service, so I can't call anyone or anything like that, but for some reason I can access this website.

I heard about this once from Teru-nii... But this is THAT website, isn't it!? The anonymous forum for talented freelance exorcists!? I mean, everyone's name here is "Anonymous Exorcist", after all!

POLL:

That’s right ✅

We’re regular people

Sweeeeet! In that case, I'll tell ya what's been happening over on my end, and you exorcism experts can tell me what to do! Thanks for the help!

First off, it looks like I'm inside of a train. I don't take the train to school, so I don't know what line I'm on or anything... About 30 minutes have gone by, but it hasn't stopped at any stations yet. It's hard to explain, but something’s off...I get the feeling this is no ordinary train.

POLL:

You should take a good look around the train car ✅

You shouldn't move around unprepared

Got it! I'll take a look around the other cars, then.

... I've explored around 2 to 3 cars by now, but it's about the same everywhere. Like me, a number of other people are riding the train, but they all seem to be asleep.......Ahh!! 

Excuse me for the outburst, I just recognized one of the other passengers. I'll try waking him.

Rise and shine, bud. Now, how'd you wind up in a place like this...? "I just woke up here"...? Guess I have no choice but to take you with me, then.

Oh, looks like the train's stopped. I'll see if we can get off now.

Looks like this station's been deserted. Nobody's here, and it's weirdly quiet, too...gives me the creeps. Now how do we get home...?

There's a signboard with the station's name on it, but it's so worn out that I can't make out what it says... It's made up of 4 hiragana characters, though. Do you have any ideas, my expert exorcists!?

POLL:

Ki 1️⃣

Sa 3️⃣

Ra 2️⃣ 

Gi 4️⃣ 

Ah, so this is Kirasagi Station! Yeah, now that you've said it, I remember thinking it was that... You guys are insanely in the know...but who would expect less from a group of exorcism experts!

By the way, while I was waiting on your replies, I took a look around the station and found a telephone box. I only have a single 10 yen coin on me, but...I'm thinking I should try calling someone. Who's my best bet? 

POLL:

You should call a family member

If you have one, maybe a dependable upperclassman? ✅

An upperclassman...? Got it. I'll give them a call. I can't talk long, since it's only a 10 yen coin, but...hopefully I learn something useful!

――Brrrring brrring... click! ???: "Hello? Who's this...?"

Nene: "Kou-kun!? Why are you calling from a suspicious number!?" "You're lost in a mysterious train station...? O-oh nooo!" "Hanako-kun, what do we do!?"

Hanako-kun: "Hey, kid. You in trouble again?" "I have two pieces of advice for you:" "First, if you want to go home, then you should follow the train tracks." "Second..."

Hanako-kun: "The signal's weak inside the tunnel, so be careful, okay?" Click! Beeep, beeep, beeep...

It disconnected. I hope I didn’t worry senpai... Anyway, for now I'll just do what Hanako said and follow the train tracks. He may go out of line at times, but despite being an evil spirit, I don't think he's all bad...but uh, that's a story for another time!

Come on, Mitsuba, let's go! ...I'm a can't-function-without-instructions earring?? Look who's talking! Now shut up and follow me.

... ..... ...Hm?

There's someone on the tracks just ahead. A forest surrounds us on both sides, so the only way through is forward...

I feel like they're trying to tell me something... ...Do you guys know?

POLL:

It's someone you don't know

It's someone you know ✅

Someone I know...? You mean someone in trouble like we are? ...No?

???: "---eyyyy. Heyyyy!"

Huh!? That's...hey, that's Hanako! But I just talked to you on the phone...and now you're lost? In that case, you can come with us and...

???: "It's dangerous to walk on the train tracks." "It's dangerous to walk on the train tracks." "It's dangerous to walk on the train tracks."

W-what!? You're not Hanako!!! L... Let's get outta here, Mitsuba!!!

???: "It's dangerous to walk on the train tracks." "It's dangerous to...."

Th-that was close... Looks like he isn't...chasing after us... I never would've expected a fake Hanako to show up! We've gotta proceed more carefully next time... Sh-shut up, Mitsuba. I wasn't scared!!

We've been walking for a while now, yet we haven't come across a single station... Hm? Is that-- ...A tunnel?

We can't see what's up ahead, but me and my buddy here are gonna go ahead and check it out anyway. I'll update you guys after we've gotten inside!

POLL:

Just don't let go of their hand, alright? ✅

Who is that beside you?

The road splits into two from here. I can’t see the end of either path… Right or left, which should we choose……? Let’s ask the experts!

Huh? I can’t post anything anymore. Maybe there’s no signal here... Hm? What is it, Mitsuba?

You can hear festival music coming from the left path? Flutes and drums? “It sounds lively and fun”? But I don’t hear anything...

…You want me to come with you?

...No. I'm not going left with you. You know what...

💻

POLL:

Kvu'a sla nv vm opz ohuk. (Don’t let go of his hand.) ✅

Sla nv vm opz ohuk. (Let go of his hand.)

You...

You're coming with me!

I see light! The exit's near! Just a little fur--

--THER!?

???: "I can't follow you any further. So long, Minamoto-kun." "Take care of yourself, alright?"

......

...Huh? I'm at...the neighborhood tunnel? What was I doing all the way out here? I feel like I was just with someone, too, but I can't remember who... Hm? There's something in my pocket...

It's a broken cellphone. Maybe someone lost it. It ain't mine, that's for sure... --Oh, crap! It's gotten really dark outside. I better hurry home...

Thanks for all the help, guys! ...? Uhh, who am I thanking exactly...? Eh, who cares.

I'm hooome!

🚃 The End 🚃

[magics-neptunes-things]

Snowball and Jealousy

Hello everyone!

As chosen in the survey, here is a Christmas story with Leah Williamson! I hope you like it:) I imagined it in the same world as Fire and Ice 1 and 2.

Also it's longer than I first thought.

Happy reading!

TW: Still none.

You started dating Leah a little over a year ago, a few weeks before Christmas. Both felt it was too early to officially introduce yourself to your respective families, so you flew to Norway, your home country, to reunite with your family and spend the holidays with them. That didn’t stop you from thinking about Leah about every secondm and you had to refrain from harassing her with messages. You know very well how much the blonde cares about her family and how much she cherishes the moments spent with them.

This year, though, you’re going to spend Christmas with the Williamsons. You have already met Leah’s parents, brother and grandparents, but it’s true that you have not yet met everyone officially. I mean, that was before you walked into the huge house of one of her aunts, with almost all of the Williamsons. Hearing the noise, you instinctively take back a few steps, despite your hand tenderly entwined in Leah’s. She laughed at you and your sister-in-law patted you on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it" she told you before Leah laid a kiss on your cheek.

"Let’s go find my grandmother" Leah says, and you agree.

It was a long way to get to her. You probably had time to greet everyone in the room before you got to her. You don’t have a large family on your side, your parents have made the choice to have three children because they themselves were only children. So you don’t have any cousins, while Leah has so many that you can’t remember all their names.

"Oh, my favorite, finally!" said the old woman, joyfully, holding out her arms in your direction.

You smile at her and willingly give her a hug letting go of Leah’s hand for the first time since you arrived.

"Well hello to you too Nan" says Leah sarcastically before kissing her grandmother.

You exchange a few words with her, which you appreciate very much. You miss your family when you are in England and she quickly took the role of the grandmother of heart. Which Leah seems to enjoy immensely, despite her teasing.

"Let’s go find our place" Leah said after a few minutes, when her aunt asked everyone to sit down.

You follow her closely and you have no trouble locating your seats, next to Jacob, Leah’s brother and his girlfriend. There you meet new cousins of Leah and you find yourself quickly to be part of their conversation. After the second entrance, you noticed that a girl around you and Leah’ age look in your direction very often. The first times your eyes crossed you thought it must be a coincidence, but with the passing of time you are not so sure.

"Who is it?" you discreetly ask Leah, leaning in her direction.

Leah’s gaze briefly flies in the direction you show her before she rolls with her eyes.

"Hailey, a cousin. We never got along, we only see each other at Christmas"

The answer makes you gently frown, you thought Leah loved every member of her family deeply. Seeing your look, Leah smiles at you and kisses your cheek, whispering that she will explain to you later. You nod again, putting your hand on her leg.

"Christmas games!" Leah’s uncle happily screams after everyone’s entries are over.

A big smile appears on Leah’s face, a smile you know well. The same as when someone offered a game of Fifa, the same one she has before a game of Uno. The one who announces that she will take the competition to heart and who amuses you a lot. Leah’s competitive spirit is known to everyone, as is her bad losing side. It amuses you a lot, especially when you have to cover her with hugs and kisses to cheer her up when she lose.

You smile a little less that said when the draw separates you from her. Luckily you find yourself with Jacob’s girlfriend, Joanna, as well as Hailey. You have unfortunately forgotten the names of other people, except James who is one of the children of his cousins.

"So you’re Leah’s new girlfriend?" Hailey says as you watch Leah’s team thrown into a game of Piccionnary.

"They’ve been together for a year and a half, I wouldn’t use the term new" laughs Joanna, sitting on the other side of you.

You nod and just smile, not taking your blonde out of your eyes. You smile as you see her little dance of joy and you find yourself letting your eyes slide over a particular part of her anatomy when she leans over to take a pen. Of course, this is the time she chooses to look back at you. Her amused smile and arched eyebrow make you understand that she perfectly understood what you were doing. You smile back and shrug, who can blame you for ogling your girlfriend?

"You’re from Norway, right?" asks Hailey

You turn your attention to her to answer her, also answering the questions she asks you about your native country. You could talk about it for hours. You’ve taken Leah twice already there and you can’t wait to leave for a whole week with her at least in January. You have to admit that you get a little lost in your conversation and you wonder why Leah and she don’t get along. She looks pretty nice. You don’t notice that says Leah’s upset look at you from a distance.

When the game is over, Leah quickly makes her way to you and puts her two hands on the armrests of your chair to lean over you.

"Come breathe some fresh air with me?"

"With pleasure" you smile

Leah doesn’t back down when you get up even if she gets up when you do. Your lips ghost hers, causing electric currents throughout your body. Your smile expands and you let her willingly put a kiss on your lips, before grabbing your hand to train you in the snowy garden. All of that, ignoring her cousin with perfection.

Children, dressed from head to toe, run and play, shouting joyfully. A soft smile appears on your face this time, the memories of your winters in Norway coming to mind. Since there are fewer people, you allow yourself to put your two arms around Leah’s waist and let yourself go against her. A year and a half has passed and you still find it frustrating not being able to touch her as much as you would like. But Leah is more of the kind to be discreet without being secret and you obviously respect her choices. On the other hand, you don’t see yourself going into an intense kissing session in public.

Leah puts her arms around you and puts several kisses on your face.

"Great victory" you do mischievously.

"As if it was going to happen otherwise" Leah replies with a goofy grin.

"I’m disappointed though, I won’t need to give you dozens of kisses to make you forget your defeat."

Leah laughs and you look up at her with a smile on her face. You love her laughter and being the reason of it.

"So, what’s the deal with Hailey?" you ask after a few minutes.

"Nothing special except she spent her teenage years flirting with my girlfriends or crushes and trying to steal them from me." sighs Leah, frowning. "It worked one time"

"Oh" you mumble while playing with her sweater. "She even tried with Jordan?"

"She never met Jordan. The first time she was in Australia and then Jordan was in her family. I didn’t really want them to meet, to be honest."

"Why?" you ask while frowning.

"I didn’t particularly want to see my girlfriend get picked up by my cousin."

The answer is logical, but your question involved something else. Leah has always been very honest with you about her relationship with Jordan. But you have to admit that to see that some people always seem to regret their relationship while you don’t hide yours… It’s painful. It obviously has nothing to do with a confidence you wouldn’t have in Leah, quite the contrary. You have complete and complete confidence in her. But your mind doesn’t wait à second to play with you. Are you less important on Leah’s life than Jordan was?

"Why am I here then?" you whisper after a moment of silence, trying to ignore the strange sensation in the pit of your belly.

"I thought she would have changed over time" sighed Leah "I was wrong."

Your insecurities give way to misunderstanding this time. You rise your eyes again, so that you can observe her at best.

"What are you talking about?" you ask while frowning.

"Oh please Babe, don’t tell me you didn’t notice her little game"

"We were just talking about Norway?"

You are lost and you look at Leah without understanding what she means. The pretty blonde looks at you a few seconds before smiling and rolling her eyes, realizing you aren't playing with her.

"It’s true that you have trouble realizing when someone is interested in you, I practically had to jump on you in a hospital bed for you to realize it"

You pout, even if your memories of that moment are intact in your memory. Like your first kiss, for that matter.

"When someone talks to you looking into your eyes, leaning in your direction with a hand on your arm or your knee, it’s an seduction attempt, Y/N."

"Oh."

Leah rolls her eyes again and smile before biting the corner of your jaw with a playful air on her face. You shove her elbow playfully, trying to escape her hold. You finally succeed, running away. Your feet slide on the snow trampled by others before you, but you manage to get away from Leah, passing the corner of the house. Knowing that you will not be able to walk away for a very long time, you take advantage of the few seconds that you have to take a handful of snow and turn it into a ball.

When Leah appears at the corner of the building, you send her the snowball, aiming a little too well since it arrives in full head. Fortunately, you didn’t squeeze the ball too much and the snow spread quickly in all directions and doesn't hurt her. It doesn’t seem to soften Leah, who stops dead and looks you right in the eyes.

"You’re so dead, Darling."

You swallow. You're so dead.

"I’m sorry?"

She resumes her race to catch you and you try to keep her in distance but she managed to catch you after a few meters, tackling you in the snow. The cold and humidity make you squeek, but it doesn’t stop Leah straddling your waist.

"I thought the Norwegians weren’t afraid of the cold?" said Leah maliciously, leaning over you.

"I never said anything about the snow getting in my clothes"

Leah laughs and throws you a handful of snow in the face to make a good figure and not show how much she has a soft spot for you. She has a reputation to uphold after all. But that doesn’t stop her from helping you rise up and take you back against her right after. You sigh at ease while putting yourself against her, your face in the hollow of her neck.

"I’m glad you’re here" said Leah after a few seconds, her lips in your hair.

"Yeah?"

"Mhm" she hums softly. "Just remind me to make sure to keep you away from Hailey next time."

"Will I really need to remind you?"

Your request is made with a small laugh and you lift yourself from her to look at her with amusement. Jealousy is a trait that you didn’t prepare for in her. But since you consider it a proof of love, it’s far from disturbing you. She’s jealous, but not so possessive. The difference is important to you.

"No, certainly not" Leah laughs before kissing your lips. "You’re mine."

"Yours"

You barely have time to exchange a new kiss that a cry of child sounds near you, making you both turn. Covered in snow from head to toe, James seems satisfied to find Leah.

"Lee! Jacob said the Arsenal players suck and then he threw me in the snow!"

"What?! I’m coming!"

Without hesitation, Leah hurries to join James and the Arsenal defenders in the snowball battle that began outside the house. When you come back with Leah’s coat, she’s already soaked, but she accepts it with pleasure. Her gloves too. And since you’re here, she takes the opportunity to steal a kiss from you before training you in battle. After all, it’s also your duty to defend Arsenal, right?

[wingzie]

Jikook and the Importance of Photos

Photographs are special. They map out our lives through precious memories. They leave a footprint in time that can forever be part of our history. These glimpses of our past, make us who we are and show what or who is important to us. They are full of so much love and emotions, even more so when they are shared with those most trusted to us. This goes for every photo shared by the members.

 I personally think it’s amazing that we can tell when a photo of Jimin is taken by Jungkook, there’s a certain style to it and it comes across even at a glance. One of my favourite photos of Jimin by Jungkook is this one:

This photo was taken from the behinds of Life Goes On. Each MV was beautifully directed by Jungkook, and it’s hard to miss the references made from within their old dorm. I know Jungkook isn’t keen on photos but, just like during GCFT, Jimin is looking at Jungkook and not the camera here with that smile. With that one look, that we are so familiar with, we can trace every single moment within their history which has that same shining expression. It tells a story over time, but also that one photo itself is so telling in the way that it was captured. One of my favourite photos of Jungkook by Jimin is this one:

There’s something raw and delicate in this photo.You can see it in Jungkook’s eyes. Each item in the photo tells its own little story, from the Birthday cake to the polaroid photos on the table that we never saw. This photo is all we saw from the night of Jungkook’s Birthday in 2019 and sometimes I am reminded that with these glimpses into their lives, there are still so many moments of theirs that we are unaware of. For example, Jungkook had a hickey on his neck during MOTS:Online and none of us had any idea until the DVD Behinds came out. 

For every selca or video that Jikook has shared with us, it shows a part of them that we are so lucky to witness. To be able to watch their growth over the years is magical and something I will always cherish. Why am I going on about photos and memories though?  Because they give so much of themselves to us and I will never take it for granted, nor expect them to give more to us than they want to. Some of their memories are for them only, but we can still hold dear what we know already…

Some of you know this already, but I have been caring for my Mother lately. Over the last few months, her memory has worsened. In an attempt to help, we play memory games and repeat simple tasks together. However, her memory is something that cannot be simply fixed with such methods. I had the idea to get out family photos, until I realised that we had stopped taking them when my parents divorced. It’s made me more proactive in archiving things that I do each day. Every little thing I see or hear, I note it down or save the song. In a way, it’s also how I associate with BTS or Jikook. When the BTS World soundtrack came out, I was having a really bad day and it gave me a lot of comfort. I smile whenever I hear Pied Piper because it’s one of my friends favourite songs. Any time I hear “Jungkookie” or “Jimin-ssi”, a barrage of memories come to the front of my mind and I grasp onto all of them whilst I still can. 

I'm sure it's not just me who does this either, Jimin and Jungkook probably do this themselves. You could see that when Jungkook was watching Jimin’s compilation with us. He was recollecting the same memories as us, but he also has access to an entirely different set of memories that we don’t know of. We also saw that with the way Jimin and Jungkook both explained the Rainy Day Fight. During the Festa video, Jungkook mentioned “rainy day” and expected Jimin to understand what he meant. Later on, Jimin and Jungkook gave their own versions of what happened in their separate lives. They both more or less experienced the same thing, but blamed themselves for their actions and not the other. 

They love adding to their own collections of memories. Every single time that Jimin watched Jungkook rehearse and the other way around, enough so that they could probably be a backup dancer. All the clips they have but haven’t shared. The moments we don’t find out until later, the inside jokes they have without context. We don’t understand, but that doesn’t matter. Only they have to and we just watch and smile. Their memories are a huge part of them, it’s what makes their bond so special.  

[cameronspecial]

hi! are you taking requests rn?

if so, i would love to read about rafe x reader with ocd like cleaning, checking windows & doors. how would he handle it? like pls soft!rafe calming her down when she’s having a meltdown after the hopper etc step inside with dirty shoes

ty<3

Dirty Floors And Wrinkly Hands

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x OCD!Reader

Warnings: Swearing

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 0.8K

Masterlist

It’s a constant voice in her head. Telling her that it needs to be clean. That any possible germ could enter a family member’s or her body and get them sick. She spends so much of her day obsessing over everything being clean and then the other half just making sure she did something right. She knows the way she obsesses over things is unhealthy, but she does it to keep herself safe. To keep her loved ones safe. The compulsions are just as bad because they make her feel like she is in a constant state of déjà vu. She gets home and locks the door. As she steps away from it, she doubts that she did it properly. She locks the door again. But what if by relocking it, she did it incorrectly? She has to try again. After all, the third time’s the charm. She relocks it one more time before stepping off of the doormat. Shit. She forgot to take her shoes off before she did it. Now, the floors are dirty. The germs from her shoes are slowly infecting the whole front entry room. She takes her shoes off and heads to the laundry room. She thinks about taking the mop out, except if she uses a sponge, she can really put elbow grease into getting the floor clean. 

That’s how Rafe finds her when he gets home an hour later. She is on her knees, hunching over the tile floor. Her fingers are shrivelled up and ache from the pressure she is putting into digging the sponge into the floor. Rafe locks the door as hard as he can to reassure Y/N that he did it. He wipes his shoes on the front mat and then takes them off. Before he greets his girlfriend, he washes his hand like a surgeon. Even if she can’t see how he washes his hands, he will know he didn’t do it correctly. 

He pads back to the front room and carefully walks over the drying floor. He squats down to be closer to Y/N, cringing at the sight of her hands. He slowly reaches out to place his hands on hers. Her movement stops as she flicks her eyes over to him. “I stepped on the floor with my shoes,” she cries, trying to get back to cleaning. The corner of his lip curves a little, “And it’s okay that you did, Sweetheart. Remember what Dr. Palmer said. You only need to clean things once. The germs can’t hurt you if you do that.” “Yes, but I cleaned it and then I accidentally touched it before I washed my hands. So it made it dirty again,” she explains, wiggling her hurting fingers. Rafe shakes his head, “I understand, Sweetheart. I just saw you clean it now, so it means it is clean. Right?” She nods her head. “Then how about we go wash our hands now? It would mean your hands and the floors are clean.” He stands to his full height and offers his hand. She takes it so that she can stand as well. He leads her into the bathroom and steps back while she washes her hands. When he sees she goes to wash it again, he gently pulls her away from the sink under the guise of needing to wash his own hands. 

———

The next day, Y/N is watching TV in her living room when a knock comes at the door. Rafe calls out that he is going to get it and he lets Topper in. The boys are stuck in a conversation, so Topper forgets to take his shoes off before stepping off of the floor mat. The boys don’t notice it, yet Y/N does. They turn at the sound of her running to the laundry room. Topper looks down and notices his shoes are still on. “Fuck, I’m so sorry, Man,” he apologizes as he takes his shoes off immediately. Rafe claps his hand on the other boy’s shoulder, “It’s okay. Do you mind just going into the other room while I help her out?” Topper’s head moves from side to side as he makes his way into the living room after putting his shoes away. 

She comes running back into the room with a bucket of soapy water and a sponge. Rafe’s hands drop on her shoulders. “Hey, why don’t you let me clean it? You know I know how you like to get it clean and you can watch to make sure I do it right,” he offers, taking the clean tools into her hand. She quietly agrees and steps back. Her eyes observe as he follows every single step she has talked about when it comes to cleaning. He goes over every square of tile twice and puts as much pressure onto the sponge as he can. Once he is done, the nagging voice in her head has died down. He looks at her for approval and she gives him a tiny nod. He gets up, putting everything away for her. He washes his hands under her surveillance before giving her a kiss. They make their way hand and hand to the living room so they can watch TV. Y/N can’t help but thank the universe for giving her a boyfriend, who is so understanding and doesn’t mock her for her OCD.

Taglist: @winterrrnight @loves0phelia @thelomlisrafecameron @victory-in-the-llama @wickedlovely121 @starkowswife @drewsmusee @maybankslover

[boldlyvoid]

Yours, mine & ours | Part 1: meeting matthew

Eddie Munson x Steve Harrington | Single Dads fic

Summary: Eddie has a 6-year-old brother in need of a new legal guardian

Warnings: set in 1993, Eddie was never a part of the upside-down shenanigans, foster care, child neglect, death of a parent, Al Munson is a monster, Wayne Munson is the loveliest man on earth

Word count: 4.7k

Masterlist

When he got the call from Child Protective Services, his first thought was: “Do they have the right Eddie Munson?” His second thought was: “of course, my dad would have another one of his offspring taken away.” 

“So, will you take him? Or should we set him up with one of our emergency families until we can find a permanent foster placement for him?” The woman asked, as kindhearted as possible. 

“Uh… yeah? Do you have to like vet me or check out my place?” He asks, worried he won’t have enough time to make his trailer look presentable. He’s only had it a few months now, just a few spaces down from his uncle Wayne, but that didn’t stop the ‘Eddie tornado’ from wreaking havoc on the space in such a short time frame. 

“A small one. I’ll bring Matthew with his things and I’ll take a look around, make sure it’s up to code,” she explains. “I know you were also taken in by a family member when you were a kid, so I’m sure you know what it’s like. He’s had a very rough day and I would like to have him settled with someone he can trust tonight.” 

“Yeah, yeah I remember… How old is he?” He asks, unsure if she’s said it already or not. His mind was in a bit of a fog, this was all a little surreal. He was 27, how the heck did his dad have another kid? What did he get out of jail? What did he do this time? His mind is absolutely racing. 

“6,” she says and he can tell she’s frowning about it. “I don’t think he’s ever been to school…”

“I missed a lot when I was with Al, too,” he shares. “I’ll get him enrolled. 6 is what? Kindergarten?” 

“It is, he should be able to catch up quite easily, he’s a very sweet and quiet boy. I think he’ll greatly benefit from being around children his own age.” 

He knows that’s true. “Okay, well, I’ll clean up a bit and get things ready here… when are you bringing him?” 

“We’re just in Indianapolis, so I’ll be there in an hour-ish?” She says, more so asking if that works for him. 

“Sounds good.” 

“Thank you, Eddie.” 

“Anytime.” 

He hangs up the phone on the receiver and looks around the room. He’s fucked. There’s no way he can clean everything and make it look presentable in an hour. 

But he’s damn sure going to try. 

He throws all his clothes in the washing machine, he rushes through dishes, and he runs the recycling and a few garbage bags down to the trailer park's dumpster. He tidies his room, and sets up a few spare blankets on the couch so that the kid knows he has a spot to sleep tonight before they get him set up with more… and just as he’s changing his shirt to something less heavy metal, there’s a knock on his door. 

“Coming!!” He shouts as he slips into the shirt and makes his way down the hallway. He’s barely got his arms in the sleeves as he’s opening the door. 

He’s not sure what he’s expecting, but it’s still a shock to see a woman no older than himself holding a garbage bag in one hand and holding hands with a little boy in the other. She’s in a dress suit, hair all pulled back and a small smile on her face, “Eddie Munson?” 

“Hi,” he says, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He looks down at his brother then, “You must be Matthew?” 

He has the curliest hair, curlier than Eddie’s ever was at this age. He has chubby cheeks, big brown eyes and the longest lashes on earth that batt against those big cheeks each time he blinks. He’s adorable. How the hell could someone have a child so sweet and put them in this position? Was he this cute when he was little? Was this how Wayne felt when he was on his doorstep at 12? Or was he long past that cute phase and more into the annoying tween people felt bad for, stage? 

Matthew nods, reaching up to brush his curls out of his face, he looks so tired. His eyes are red, he doesn’t smile, he’s in tattered old running shoes and pants too short for his legs and a sweater Eddie’s seen before… that used to be his. He left it when he was gathering things to leave for Waynes. It was too small for him then, but now it’s a bit too big for Matthew. 

“Come in,” he steps aside and lets them in. “I uh, I cleaned as best as I could with short notice. I’ll do more tomorrow once I can borrow the vacuum from my uncle down the way, he’s at work right now. He works nights.” 

“That’s okay,” she smiles, letting Matthew in first.

He takes a look around, arms crossed to protect himself. He doesn’t make eye contact, he simply wanders over to the living room to take a look at the figurines Eddie has on the shelves. Wayne would call them toys, they could be if they weren’t so expensive, but with their price tag, they are made to stay in their little acrylic cases and sit on his shelves collecting dust till he has the time to clean again. 

“You like Star Wars?” He asks, trying to make conversation but Matthew just shrugs. “I’ll have to show you the movies sometime.” 

“Okay,” he says, quiet and meek. 

He doesn’t notice the social worker looking around. She opens the fridge, nods a bit and then closes it. She looks in the cupboards and drawers, and she notices that there are clothes in the washing machine tumbling around in soapy circles and she looks impressed. She keeps going down the hall, peaking in the bedroom, “Is it just you who lives here?” 

“Uh, yeah, I just got the trailer a couple months ago… I was renting downtown for a bit but then I got the opportunity to own this place,” he explains. “I’m thinking I’m going to get a pull-out couch for me and he’ll have the room. That’s what my uncle did for me.” 

“Sounds good,” she gives him a smile. “He seems like he’s good here.” She references over to Matthew who’s flipping through pages of a comic book, sitting criss-crossed on the floor. “Here,” she reaches into her pocket and hands Eddie a white envelope. 

“What is this?” 

“You’re not technically a foster parent, but because you’re under the poverty line and taking him in, I pulled some strings and you’ll be receiving a $500 allowance for him each month,” she explains. “It should help with groceries and clothes, and I can help you file for medical and dental benefits through some charities that focus on children going through tough situations.” 

“Damn, okay,” he’s so shocked. Where was all this when he was a kid? “Wow…” 

“And then in the bag, there is a manilla envelope with his birth certificate and other important documents. We couldn’t find any records of him getting his vaccines, so he should see a practitioner before going to school.” 

“Okay,” he nods along, feeling overwhelmed. “I uh, I don’t even have a doctor… does he need a kid doctor or will any do?” 

“A pediatrician would be best,” she explains. “In Indianapolis, we have a local pediatrician who does pro-bono work for children in the system. I included their number in the envelope, my cards in there, too, tell them I referred you.” 

“Thank you. This is more than anyone did for me when they dropped me off with Wayne,” he says, trying not to tear up a bit. “I’m going to take good care of him.” 

“I know you will,” she gives him a real smile, she touches his arm and then makes her way to the door. “You call if you need anything, but I think we’re all good here. Bye, Matthew!” 

He looks up from his book and gives her a wave, “Bye.” 

And then she’s gone. 

It’s just them now.

He has a kid.

A kid that will live with him and depend on him for… 18-6 is 12 but he’s 27 and still dependent on Wayne to an extent, so that’s 21 years. He’s going to have this kid forever. 

Eddie just watches him read for a moment, carefully keeping his distance. “Are you hungry?” 

He nods, “kinda.” 

“Do you have any favourite foods?” 

He shrugs, “Pringles.” 

Eddie sighs, of course. He remembers being fed Pringles and candied nuts and beef jerky from the gas station for years. He never had a real meal between his mom's death and moving in with Wayne.

“Have you ever had Mac and cheese?” 

Matthew shakes his head, looking confused. 

“Well, then I guess I’m going to have to introduce you to my favourite meal.” 

He fills a pot up with water and sets it on a burner, throws in a bit of salt and turns it on high. He pulls a box down from the cupboard and walks it over to Matthew, “See, this is Mac and cheese, it’s these little elbow-shaped noodles and a cheese powder that you mix with milk and butter and it becomes so delicious, you’re going to love it. You can try it by itself, or you can have ketchup on it like I do.” 

“I like ketchup,” he gives Eddie a little smile. “The lady at the drink place gives me ketchup with my fries.” 

He knows he means the bar. His dad brought him there for dinner a lot too because most nights a plate of fries was free when you ordered 3 or more beers. Sometimes, he’d get a burger or even some chicken tenders if the bartender thought he was cute… that stopped after he turned 8. By then he was a lanky, dirty kid no one wanted to deal with.

“So, Matt, how are you feeling?” 

“Hew,” he says, looking displeased. 

“What?” 

“My name is Matthew.”

“Oh, yeah, I know that. My name is Edward but people call me Eddie. It’s called a nickname,” he explains. “I know our father wasn’t big on nicknames, which is weird considering his preferred name is a nickname… but you don’t have to only go by Matthew. People can call you Matt, or Matty.” 

“Oh,” he settles with that. “So my dad is your dad?” 

He nods, “yeah… I mean he’s our father. There’s a big difference between a father and a dad.” Matt looks confused so Eddie starts to ramble. “You see, any man can father a kid, but not every man can be a dad. A dad is someone who takes care of you. Someone who reads you bedtime stories and tucks you in at night and kisses your forehead to see if you have a fever… a dad is someone who loves you and is always there for you. When I left our father, I moved in with his brother, Wayne. He did those things for me. He made me feel safe and cared for. Wayne is my dad.” 

“Oh,” he softens, looking behind Eddie, sad. “My mom did those things.” 

“My mom did too,” he understands. “Where is your mom?” 

“She’s an angel,” Matthew sighs, missing her. 

“So is my mom,” Eddie presses his lips together, awkwardly, trying not to smile but wanting him to feel comfortable. “But that’s okay, we’ve got each other now. I’m going to make sure we get you into school, and maybe tomorrow we can go shopping?” 

He nods excitedly, sitting up straight, “For what?” 

“Well, let’s see what you need,” Eddie says, looking for the bag of his things. He puts the box of Mac and cheese on the counter, the pot still isn’t boiling, it takes forever in here. He grabs the garbage bag and unties it, turning it over and dropping everything onto the carpeted floor. 

It smells so much like cigarettes that it honestly takes his breath away. “oh wow,” he tries not to gag. He smokes, sure, but not as much as Al, and definitely not in the fucking house. 

The pile of things is small. He starts to sort everything, he folds 2 pairs of jeans, 6 shirts, 3 pyjama bottoms and only 1 matching long sleeve top. He has 4 pairs of underwear that look like they’re for a toddler and no socks. There is 1 stuffed elephant and a picture of his mom in a frame… she looks a lot like his own mom. 

Al Munson has a type. 

“Okay,” he places his hands on his knees and bites his lip. “Well, looks like we need a bit of everything… new shoes, a good coat, some socks, a toothbrush, bathroom things? When was the last time you had a shower?” 

He shrugs, “I don’t remember?” 

“Okay, do you know how to shower alone?” 

He nods, standing up, “I do everything by myself.” 

“I figured… um, so while I make dinner do you want to go have a shower? I’m going to put your clothes in the wash later so you can wear one of my old shirts after?” Eddie offers, grabbing one of the other pairs of underwear out of the pile and standing up. “Come on, I’ll show you where everything is.” 

He shows him how the shower turns on and off, sets out some towels for him and tells him just how much shampoo he should use. He gets him a new shirt, places it on the counter with his underwear and heads to leave. 

“Thank you, Eddie,” Matthew says, giving him a little smile before he shuts the door, leaving him to do his own thing. 

In the kitchen he can hear the pot boiling, so he pours the macaroni into the bubbling water. He sets the cheese packet to the side and heads right to the washing machine. He switches his clothes over to the dryer and loads Matt's stuff into the washer. He’ll put it on when the shower turns off so he has good water pressure to get the soap out of his hair.

It’s remarkable how easy it is. 

This time yesterday he was eating cold pizza and drinking a beer, thinking he’d never have the kind of life his co-workers did. Today, he has a kid. Today he’s doing laundry and making dinner and he’s going to have to tuck a kid into bed. Tomorrow he’s going to have to take him shopping. He has no idea how he’ll keep doing this every day? If he’ll be good at it? If he’ll have the money, the strength, the energy… 

All he can do is try. That’s what Wayne did, and Wayne did a fantastic job. But Wayne also had help, he had friends with kids whom Eddie got most of his things from, ladies who watched him after school and neighbours who made sure he was up in time for the bus when Wayne worked late. 

He still has 6 minutes till the macaroni is done, so he heads to the phone, dials the number to his coworker and he waits. 

“Hello?” Daryl’s deep voice picks up. 

“Hey, it’s Eddie.” 

“What’s the van doing this time?” He asks, sounding annoyed. 

“Oh, nothing. No. That’s not why I called. I uh… my kid brother is going to be living with me from now on. He’s 6—

“Oh shit,” Daryl can’t believe it. 

“Yeah, you and Laurene wouldn’t happen to have your boy’s old clothes still, would you?” He asks, feeling bad but he has to ask. 

“We’ve got buckets of their shit down in the crawlspace, I’ll ask Laur to go through it later. I don’t think we’ve got shoes, though. Our boys went through shoes like mad— I swear if they weren’t outgrowing them they were blowing the souls out dragging them on the playground,” he goes off. Eddie can just imagine he’s shaking his head as he explains it all. 

“I’ve got an allowance for him from the state, so I can get him new shoes,” Eddie assures. “He has like 4 shirts and no socks. I need to get him a coat and a backpack, and do you guys have a good doctor? He needs to get a doctor.” 

Daryl laughs, “I never thought you’d be coming to me for parenting advice.” 

“Me either, but he’s my brother. I wasn’t going to let him go into the system. I was with 1 family before Wayne, it wasn’t terrible but I’ve heard the horror stories. I can’t let him go through that shit.” 

“You’re a good man,” Daryl compliments him. “I’ll see what we can find tomorrow, I’ll bring it by the trailer. You think he’s a regular-sized 6-year-old?”

He chuckles a bit, “I think? I’m not sure really. He’s so small. I don’t think I was ever that small.” 

“We were all small once,” he smiles through the phone. “How about you come over tomorrow for lunch, he can meet our boys and we’ll figure out sizing that way?” 

“Sounds perfect,” Eddie agrees. “Thanks again, Daryl. I really appreciate it.” 

“Any time kid, you have a good night.” 

“You too.” 

—

Dinner goes well, they talk about his favourite colours and if he likes music. He likes blue and his dad listened to the radio a lot. He hummed some songs he liked, nothing Eddie could really recognize cause it was probably new-age country. They put their plates in the sink, Eddie shows him where the ketchup goes in the fridge and they talk about getting some groceries tomorrow. Fun food. Things for snacks and easy dinners, and Eddie’s gonna have to start packing him lunches when he goes to school. 

He’s going to need a backpack and a lunch bag, a pencil case and pencils and crayons and Eddie’s going to need to help with homework. He doesn’t even know if the kid can read or write yet… 

Matt grabs the comic book again and sits back down on the couch, flipping back to the page he was on before, and looking at all the pictures. 

“Can you read?” Eddie asks, coming to sit beside him. 

He shrugs, “kinda.” 

“Cool,” he’s honestly impressed. “Have you ever had a comic book before?” 

“No… is that what this is?” 

“Yeah, I have a whole bunch. This is Wolverine 27, there’s 26 that come before it. I have most of them, you can read them all if you want?” He offers. “I also have some X-Men comics and a bunch of fantasy books— but they might be too advanced for you, so maybe I could read them to you?” 

He nods, a sweet gleam in his eyes, “Can you read me to sleep later?” 

“Of course, buddy,” he doesn’t even have to think twice. “Maybe I could read you my favourite book?” 

“What is it?” 

“It’s called Lord of The Rings,” he says with a smile. 

Maybe raising a kid could be fun. 

After explaining the plot to him and grabbing the old, well-read, book off the shelf, he looks at Matthew and the couple sheets he has laid out for him, “Would you want to sleep in my bed or out here on the couch tonight?” 

“I usually sleep in Dad's room,” he explains. “I have a bed in his closet.” 

The fucking closet again. Sure, it gives them both privacy, but a 3x5 room is nothing. It's stuffy and gross and you still hear everything Al gets up to in the middle of the night with his stupid friends. His heart breaks for Matthew. He wished he knew he had a brother sooner, he would’ve gotten Matthew and his mom away from Al as quick as humanly possible. 

Now all he can do is make it up to him. 

“Well, I was thinking you could have my room and I could get a couch that turns into a bed for me to sleep out here,” he explains his thinking. “I'm going to put all my clothes in the closet, I might get a new dresser or something for out here so you can keep all your things in your room.”

“Really? You mean it?” He lights right up. “I always wanted my own room.” 

Eddie smiles right back at him, “Well, now you’ve got one. It might take a little while for me to move my things out here and make it feel more like your space, but you’ll like it.” 

He nods, really happy with the thought of having his own space for the first time in his short little life. So happy, he gives Eddie a hug. 

“Oh,” he’s a bit shocked at first but then he softens, holding him back with a soft smile on his face. Eddie could really get used to this. “I’m glad you’re here, buddy.” 

“Me too,” he whispers against him, snuggling in, clearly tired after a long day. 

“Do you want to go to bed?” 

He nods, “Can I sleep with you?” 

“Uh… yeah, I just have to clean up a bit out here after I read to you but I can come back to your room?” Eddie compromises. He really wants to put his stuff in the washing machine before they go out tomorrow. 

He holds his hand and walks him down the hall to his bedroom, flicks on the light and watches Matt’s eyes light right up, “woah?” 

“You like it?” He smirks, it’s pretty basic. White paint covered in posters and homemade flags with his band's name on them. Homemade artwork from campaigns, photos from gigs and tickets from concerts and festivals he’s been to. 

“It’s so colourful,” he says as he lets go of Eddie’s hand and wanders over to his Iron Maiden poster. “He’s so… wow?” 

“His name is also Eddie… he’s the mascot for Iron Maiden, I’ll show you their music tomorrow in the van,” he promises. “You sure it’s not too scary to sleep in here?” 

He shakes his head, “No, it’s cool!” 

He can’t help but smile, it must run in the family to love this shit. He suddenly can’t wait to show him all the music he has, maybe teach him how to play guitar or hell, he might be into drums or bass and the boys can help him out. Having a little brother is a gift he never expected. This kid is so much like him, it’s going to be so fun. 

He never wanted a kid of his own… really, he just didn’t want to knock up some woman he didn’t love in the name of pretending to be straight. He didn’t want to change diapers and be up all night trying to soothe a crying crotch goblin. He’d do it if he had to, but he never put himself in the position to need to. Now he has Matt, he’s at a fun age, and he’s still mouldable. He can still be made into a good person, he’s not affected too much by their father which is a blessing. He was only with him half as long as Eddie was, and he turned out semi-okay? 

He turns the covers down, fluffs a pillow and flicks on the lamp light instead of the big light. “Come sit,” he offers, going to get his book from the shelf. 

Matt crawls into the bed, pulls the covers up over himself and sits there with his hands in his lap, patiently waiting for his story. 

“Has anyone read to you before?” 

He nods, “My mom did. Just little books, though,” he points at the massive book Eddie’s holding. “Not like that.” 

“I know, but the best part about these big books is that we can read this story every night for a while. It took Wayne a whole year to read it to me at bedtime,” he explains, taking a seat in the bed beside him. “So, it starts off kind of different… the narrator gives a rundown of the world first so that when you start reading, you’re not completely lost about what a hobbit is or where they live.” 

“Okay,” he nods along. 

“And the way the characters talk might be a bit strange, and the words are a bit long and some don’t exist in our world. If you need help understanding, don’t be afraid to ask me what something means,” he explains. “It’s hard to understand sometimes, but I’ve read it so many times I know almost everything about it.” 

He nods, leaning into Eddie’s arm and looking at the pages. “Are there pictures?” 

He shakes his head, “No, but I have drawn some of the scenes in my sketchbook, I can show you them later?” 

“Okay,” he settles against him and that’s how Eddie knows it’s time to start. 

“This book is largely concerned with Hobbits, and from its pages a reader may discover much of their character and a little of their history…”

He reads in his most normal voice, he’ll introduce voices for the characters later. he’s actually really excited about that. Wayne used to try and do voices for him, but he never could keep them consistent. Eddie, on the other hand, would do voices in his head when he read the book to himself. 

“They do not and did not understand or like machines more complicated than a forge-bellows, a water-mill, or a hand-loom, though they were skilful with tools. Even in ancient days they were, as a rule, shy of ‘the Big Folk’, as they call us,—

“Wait, so Hobbits are tiny?” Matthew asks. 

He nods, “Yeah, they’re probably about your size when they’re my age, but they have big hairy feet.” 

Matthew laughs, “I think I’m going to like this book.” 

Eddie smiles, “I think so, too” 

—

Wayne doesn’t work the same night shifts that he used to. He’s too old for that shit. Now, he comes home around 11pm, gets to sleep all night and goes back in at 3pm. He likes it this way. He’s always been more of a night owl, he enjoys sleeping when the sun is up more than anything, it runs in the family. It took Eddie most of his life to get onto a “normal” schedule for his 9-5. 

Wayne knocks on the trailer door lightly just as Eddie’s switching the laundry over. He rushes to the door and holds his finger up to his lips as he opens it, “Hey, let me come out here.” 

Wayne’s a little confused but he backs up and lets Eddie outside. “What’s goin’ on? You got someone over?” 

“Al had another kid after he got out, or during? I’m not sure about the logistics, but he got arrested again and now Matthew’s going to be living with me,” he explains. 

“That old fucker got another woman knocked up?” Wayne can’t believe it. “The courts should castrate ya after CPS takes two kids out of y’r care.” 

Eddie just chuckles, “Yeah, well, at least this one got away at 6.” 

“6?” Wayne repeats, eyes wide, “are you sure y’r up for that?” 

He nods, “he’s pretty calm and quiet. The social worker got us set up with an allowance so I’ll get $500 a month to take care of him and Daryl and his wife are going to hook us up with some hand-me-downs. Tomorrow I’m getting him some new shoes and underwear and a coat. And socks. He didn’t come with any socks?” 

“You didn’t either,” Wayne reminds him. 

He sighs, remembering all too well just how hard it was to be with Al for so long. “Yeah, well, we’re getting him everything he needs now. I need to get him set up at school, he needs a doctor, too… but we’ll be okay.” 

“You said his name is Matthew?” 

He nods, “had to teach him what nicknames are too. He likes Matt so far.” 

“Good, good,” Wayne places his hands on his hips and shakes his head. “Wow, never thought I’d be here again.” 

“I told him you’re my dad,” Eddie explains. “Al’s just the man who made us, but dads take care of us.” 

Wayne lets out a huff and presses his lips together, his eyes well a bit, “boy…” 

“I know, I know,” Eddie laughs it off. “You’re not good with emotions, but it’s true. And who knows, he might start calling you grandpa with this logic.” 

“You’re gonna be a good dad to that kid,” Wayne compliments, meaning it with every fibre of his being. 

Eddie just reaches out and hugs him, “Yeah, well, I learned from the best.”

General Taglist 

@ncsls0515 @stevesmunsons @reidsbookclub @sweetyyhippyy @manuosorioh @mrs-dr-reid @k-k0129 @squishyturtle @katsukis1wife @buckleyhans @mrs-ssa-hotch @ssavanessa22

Steddie

@nosaladallowed-ao3  @wifeyreid @girl-with-an-orange-cat @sunshinemunchkin @luna-munson83 @manda-panda-monium @steve-thehair-mamabear 

Single Dads fic

@stevesbipanic 

[ephemeral-cryptid]

why some gods are more commonly worshiped than others

So, we all know that some deities are much more commonly worked with and worshiped than others, and most of us have our own ideas as to why. I think there’s a multitude of reasons, including the unsavory myths surrounding them, cultural bias, and lack of pop culture fame. However, the factor I want to talk about in this post is this: a lot of the less popular deities are deities with less obvious/direct impacts on our lives. 

I’m going to go through each of the 12 Olympians (plus Hestia) and explain how I believe this impacts our view of them and how we can recognize and get closer to them in our everyday lives. I’m only doing the 12 Olympians because I am most familiar with the Hellenic pantheon and if I did every single deity in this post, it would take a million years. I might do other deities in the future if anyone is interested or I feel called to.

Zeus:

So, I have to address the elephant in the room on this one. The big reason that people are wary of working with/worshiping Zeus is because of the popular myths surrounding him. With that out of the way, another thing influencing his worship, or lack thereof, is the fact that many people only think of him as the god of thunder, lightning, and rain. So, for the people that live in very dry areas, especially areas in a drought, it might feel unimportant to worship him. 

However, that is silly, as Zeus is not only the god of rainstorms. He also rules over the sky as a whole, all forms of weather, law and order, destiny and fate, and leadership.

Some ways to connect to Zeus in your day-to-day life are admiring and appreciating the sky and the weather, being thankful for nice weather, following fair rules and laws, acknowledging their importance, and being appreciative of them, taking initiative when necessary, and being a good leader if you’re in a leadership role. Zeus affects everyone in a very direct way, but a lot of us fail to realize it.

Hera:

Another deity whose worship is negatively impacted by her mythology is Hera. She is also affected by the common misconceptions about her dominion. For lots of people, when they think of Hera, they think of weddings. Everyone knows she’s the goddess of marriage, but a lot of people ignore the part that comes after the wedding, and weddings aren’t exactly an everyday occurrence, so this means a lot of people skimp out on their worship of her. 

She is not only the ruler of weddings though. She also rules marital harmony (the part that comes after the wedding), family, women, and a protector of women during childbirth/some say the goddess of birth itself. 

Some ways to connect with her in daily life are spending time with your family and/or partner, showing appreciation to your family and/or partner, setting healthy boundaries and having an open line of communication with your family and/or partner, researching parenthood/childbirth before you have kids or if you already have kids, expressing your femininity (this goes for men to, everyone has different levels of femininity and masculinity, no matter the gender) if you feel comfortable doing so, celebrating/appreciating the miracle of birth and fertility, and just in general being a good family member, partner, and parent. 

Poseidon:

Poseidon also has negative connotations due to his myths, though to a lesser extent than Hera and Zeus. Many people also choose not to worship him because they live inland far from the ocean. They feel disconnected from him because they’re so far from his domain (or so they think). Many of us don’t take into consideration his other aspects besides being the lord of the sea.

However, he also lords over earthquakes, any ocean-related storms (such as hurricanes and tsunamis), horses, droughts, and floods. If you have a connection to horses or experience a lot of floods, earthquakes, and/or ocean-related storms, you probably have a deeper connection with Poseidon than you think.

Some ways to involve him in your everyday life include being aware of and prepared for any incoming storms, possible floods, droughts, and earthquakes, getting involved with horses if that’s something you are interested in and capable of doing, conserve water, support foundations dedicated to cleaning the ocean, hurricane/drought/flood relief, and horse rescues if you are able, staying hydrated, doing what you can to reduce pollution (like not littering and picking up garbage off the ground), learning about geology/the ocean and the creatures in it/horses, and just appreciating water, horses, and the earth.

Demeter:

Demeter is an interesting case because I feel like a lot of us know how directly she impacts us but don’t feel close to her because of how uninvolved most people in first world countries are from the harvest. Most people inhabiting developed nations don’t grow our own food, so we aren’t knowledgeable about planting and harvesting, therefore we don’t feel connected enough to Demeter to worship her, much less devote ourselves to her.

She is primarily the goddess of the harvest and agriculture, but she also presides over fertility, plants in general but specifically grain, the life cycle, sacred law, and soil.

Some ways you can include her in your daily routine are planting a garden or even just a few flowers, appreciating and being grateful for the food you eat, educating yourself on what types of plants grow in your area and how to grow/harvest them, growing your own food when possible, learning about the life cycle, acknowledging the beauty of life and death, enjoying nature, and grounding yourself with the earth. 

Athena:

Athena is perhaps the most popular deity on this list so far, but she is still underappreciated in the modern era. I’m not exactly sure why she is worshiped so little. Perhaps it is because many people find her primary domain (wisdom) to be boring or maybe they just don’t think they’re “smart” enough or “good” enough to worship a goddess so revered as Athena (which I personally think is likely in a lot of cases). 

Athena is not only the goddess of wisdom but also war, good council, weaving and sewing, handicraft of any form (pottery, arts and crafts, etc.), and practical reasoning. You don’t have to have a certain “level of intelligence” in order to connect with her, only the desire to gain wisdom and knowledge.

Some ways to honor and connect with Athena in your everyday are learning about what you’re passionate about, reading, doing any form of crafts or handiwork, sewing or weaving, using your reasoning skills when you need to, making well-informed decisions, asking for and listening to advice from people more knowledgeable than you (if the advice is good), controlling your temper and impulses, learning how to channel your anger into something productive, standing up for yourself when necessary, and just in general pursuing wisdom and knowledge. 

Ares:

Ares is also a victim of unfavorable myths and representation in pop culture, which makes him less popular to worship. Unlike many of the other deities on this list who are unpopular only in the modern era, Ares was never popular, even in Ancient Greece. He suffers from having a domain that not many individuals like and most people nowadays will never directly experience. Most people in most developed countries will never go to war and a lot won’t even know anybody directly impacted by war, so they don’t think worshiping Ares is important. Seeing the Russia-Ukraine war is not enough for a lot of people because they’re just not there. In reality, everybody is impacted by war all the time, but I think a lot of people just don’t really consider how deeply it affects them. War is a core foundation of the human experience, but a lot of us fail to realize it.

Ares is the god of war (particularly brutal war), courage, battlelust, civil order, and the spirit of war personified. For this reason, I believe a lot of people are also afraid to worship him, but war is a constant in the human experience, whether we like it or not (which most of us obviously don’t), and Ares is much more important than people give him credit for.

Some ways to connect with Ares on the daily are being as courageous as you possibly can (without being stupid, of course), educating yourself on wars of the past, why they occurred, how they went down, etc., educating yourself on and perhaps getting involved in ongoing wars (what I mean by this is just spreading awareness and donating money if you can), being an activist for causes that are important to you, standing up for yourself, learning how wars from the past and ongoing wars are still affecting people in the modern day, acknowledging both the positive and negative aspects of war, and channeling your anger in a productive way.

Hephaestus:

Hephaestus is unpopular, in my opinion, mostly because people either think he’s unattractive and wrongfully judge him for it and/or they don’t do metalwork themselves, so they think that he has little impact on their lives. Of course, that’s not the only thing he rules over, but that’s what he’s most known for, so people tend to forget him.

Hephaestus is not only the god of metalwork and blacksmithing, but also fire, volcanoes, carpentry, the art of sculpture, metallurgy, artisans, and technology in general. (I personally also see him as a protector of people with disabilities, but that’s just a UPG.) The device you’re using to read this post right now is a blessing of Hephaestus.

Some things you can do to include him in your daily life are acknowledging and appreciating all the ways technology helps you everyday, building and putting together things (this can be as simple as building with legos or doing a jigsaw puzzle), building a fire in a fireplace or creating a bonfire if possible, appreciating the beauty of fire and acknowledging how it benefits you, sculpting if that’s something you enjoy, and creating new things (even doing art falls under Hephaestus’s sphere of influence). Anytime you are creating something new, you are honoring Hephaestus.

Aphrodite:

Aphrodite is the first deity on this list that I feel doesn’t suffer from a lack of popularity, likely because love is something almost everyone has some form of experience with. Aphrodite impacts us all in a very obvious, direct way, which makes approaching her easy and desirable. It’s crazy how much of our lives revolve around love.

Aphrodite is the goddess of all forms of love, beauty, sexuality, desire, lust, fertility, and procreation. 

Some ways you can honor Aphrodite are by being a good friend, family member, and partner, seeing the beauty in everything, setting boundaries and having healthy communication in your relationships, loving the little things in life, being kind and loving to others, seeing the beauty in yourself and others, having confidence in yourself, not feeling shame over lustful feelings, educating yourself on reproduction and healthy relationships, not judging others for their physical appearance, and appreciating the beauty of life and fertility

Artemis:

Artemis is less popular than Aphrodite, but she doesn’t have the lack of popularity that the other deities on this list do. She has a very direct impact on people’s lives as well. The moon is something everybody has experience with and it comes out everyday and nature is everywhere, which makes her sphere of influence very noticeable, hence the popularity. Nature and wildlife is also everywhere and has a very easily observable effect on our lives. She is also a very empowering protector of women, which adds to her popularity. 

She is the goddess of the moon, the hunt, nature, wildlife, young women, animals, virginity, archery, sudden death of women and girls, and childbirth.

Some ways to get closer to Artemis everyday are appreciating the beauty of nature and the moon, treating all animals with kindness (unless they’re endangering you or something), volunteering or donating to animal shelters if possible, not littering, cleaning up litter, learning archery if you are able and want to, getting involved with feminist movements and other movements you’re interested in, help hurt animals or women that need it, if you go hunting, thank your prey after you kill it and use all parts of the body that you can, thank all the meat that you eat for their sacrifice and don’t take it for granted, get educated on reproductive health, treat  all people, but specifically women, nature, and wildlife with respect and kindness, learn about the wildlife and nature in your area, and learn about moon cycles and how the moon affects the earth

Apollo:

Apollo is arguably the most popular deity among modern day polytheists, which makes sense given the sheer amount of domains he rules over. Health, the sun, art, prophecy, and archery are probably the first things that come to mind for most of us, but that only begins to cover the things that he rules over.

Apollo is the god of health, archery, prophecy and oracles, music, all forms of art, plague and disease, protection of the young, the sun, knowledge, herds and flocks, light, truth, guilt, poetry, protection of cities, and more (if I listed everything, we’d be here for days). So you can probably see why he’s so popular.

There are so many things you could do to honor him in your daily life. You can make art, music, or poetry, you can listen to music, read poetry, or look at art, you can keep yourself as healthy as you can, you can learn archery if you’re able, you can help the sick and the young in any way you can, you can sit outside and enjoy the sunlight when it’s out or just open your curtains, you can learn about things you’re interested in, you can try to be as honest as possible, you can work through your guilt and overcome it, you can protect children if you see they’re in danger, you can learn an instrument, you could share your knowledge with other people, and I’m sure you could think of much more given his wide sphere of influence.

Hermes:

Hermes is probably the second most popular deity in modern days after Apollo. Again, this makes sense given how many things he has dominion over. His realm of influence is also very important and easy to see the direct influence of in your real life, which also boosts his popularity. He’s also said to be the “most human” god because he interacted with them the most often through his messages and being a psychopomp, and he’s known to be quite easy-going and easy to work with, which definitely helps. 

He is the god of communication, herds and flocks, travelers, hospitality, trade, thievery, cunning, heralds, diplomacy, language, writing, athleticism and competitions, astronomy, astrology, merchants, wit, speed, commerce, and he was a psychopomp and messenger of the gods. Like Apollo, I’m sure there’s some things that I’ve missed, but if I covered everything it would take forever.

There are soooo many things you can do to connect with Hermes, more than I could ever list, but some things you can do are improving your communication skills, setting boundaries in your relationships, travelling if you want to and are able, learning a new language, journalling, working on your writing skills, being kind and hospitable to strangers, talking to people, doing sports/taking a walk/anything athletic, participating in competitions if that’s something you enjoy, learning  about astronomy and/or astrology, and being diplomatic in your conversations with others (unless you have a good reason not to). Again, I’m sure there’s much more, but these are just some ideas.

Dionysus:

Dionysus is another fairly commonly worshiped deity among current polytheists. Unsurprising considering how popular alcohol and theater is in most cultures. Dionysus has always been and will always be popular due to his fun, chaotic nature and how popular his sphere of rule is. 

He is the god of alcohol (specifically wine), theater, madness, ecstasy, festivity, insanity, orchards and fruit,  vegetation, fertility, and wild frenzy. 

Some things you can due to get closer to Dionysus in the day-to-day are drinking alcohol if you are of age (responsibly), watching live theater and movies/tv, doing things you enjoy, dancing (bonus points if you’re dancing erratically), eating fruit or drinking fruit juice (especially grapes), taking care of your mental health, educating yourself on mental health, learning about the history of theater, and just enjoying life.

Hestia: 

Hestia is another deity that does not get enough appreciation. She used to be one of, if not, the most universally worshiped deity, but now it’s very rare to find someone that regularly worships her. I think maybe a part of it is that she’s considered more “boring,” but I also think lots of polytheists are uneducated on what she actually has influence on. I think people hear that she’s the goddess of the “hearth” and think that she must be outdated since we don’t have hearths anymore. Meals also aren’t as valued as they were back in Ancient Greece because they are so much easier to access, so she just isn’t quite as relevant as in the past. 

Hestia is the goddess of the hearth, the home, sacred and sacrificial fire, virginity, family, and the state. She has some very important influence in our life, but a lot of people just don’t know what she’s really the goddess of.

Some things you can do to honor Hestia are cooking, cleaning, burning a fire in your fireplace or starting a bonfire if you’re able, being kind to people, being good to your family, and being a contributing member of the state.

I hope some of you found this useful. If you disagree with me on anything, that’s alright. My word isn’t law. This is just my opinion, and you’re free to leave yours in the comments. There are many nuances and details that are left out of this post because it’s not comprehensive, so just know there’s a lot I left out. If you got this far, thanks for reading, and I hope you got something out of this :)

[hannyoontify]

seventeen '95 line and their love languages

warnings | none :) js kie being an idiot

notes | based on pure speculation and my guesses by reading their “vibes”. i have a feeling it might be a little diff since the way that they treat their members is probably gonna be different from the way they would treat their s/o. listed from greatest to least (imo) and feel free to drop an ask abt ur opinions i would love to have a discourse abt sebong's diff love languages lol 95 line | 96 line | 97 line | maknae line

seungcheol : gifts, physical touch

no bc have you guys seen this man spoiling yoon jeonghan. he does not HESITATE to shower his loved ones with gifts and he also loves receiving gifts (bro can get so petty if he doesn’t receive gifts on his birthday) and it’s not in a conceited, materialistic way. he likes the whole process of considering what you might want/need, going out of his way to go out and shop for it, wrapping it and packaging it, and delivering it into your hands. he loves that entire process and he loves the way your face lights up when you pull out his gift ‘how did you know i wanted this?!’ oh he feels SO proud and he’s filled with that warm, fuzzy feeling whenever he gives gifts. and vice versa! he can get emotional when he receives gifts, imagining the other person going thru that same process of finding a gift for him. 

physical touch!! i’ve got eyes bro don’t even try to hide it. he’s the youngest son in his family so i’m sure he’s used to being doted on and being the maknae (my reasoning for why his third would be words of affirmation). and i’ve noticed that since he has an older brother, his physical touch can get.. aggressive at times. like he’s still a schoolboy at heart (at least some part of him) and has a sense of mischief that he doesn’t show often bc he’s the leader of 12, but roughhousing is js a part of him esp since he grew up with an older brother (victim: lee chan) but this man loves skinship like i think he’s always holding hands or leaning on a member in every gose ep or any other content. he simply finds comfort in his partner’s presence (platonic or romantic, doesn’t matter) and wants to be with them at all times

jeonghan : physical touch, words of affirmation

i personally think yoon jeonghan is our resident king of physical touch. he loves putting his head on members’ shoulders (smth that made me sob the first time i noticed where can i get a yoon jeonghan) and he’s also one of the members who i think is always initiating some sort of physical contact with the others in gose episodes and any other content (if deemed appropriate). and he also likes to have an emotional support object in his hand (his hammer is so fucking cute) so i think when you guys go out on dates and stuff he always has his pinky interlocked with yours or smth. like he js needs to feel you at all times to know that you’re there. BIGGEST CUDDLE BUG but doesn’t like to admit it. after he thinks you fall asleep, he would cuddle up against you and nuzzle his face into your neck. he would entwine his fingers with yours and wrap yours and his arms around your waist and js cuddle you i’m literally gonna cry

i’ve noticed that jeonghan’s constantly complimenting and reassuring members but knows when to do it jokingly and when to be serious and when it’s needed. we all know that he’s always checking up on the other members and making sure that they’re doing okay, and if they ever have a problem, he’s always willing to listen. i think he’s a really good listener and has super fast 눈치 which idk how to explain in english. like he picks up on things super quick and i think he’s one of the smartest members in terms of ’street smart’. like he notices small things super quick and picks up on them really fast. that + his fast brain + smart mouth = him knowing what to say at the spur of the moment to make the other person feel better. jeonghan who immediately applauds whenever junhui does anything. and when jeonghan receives compliments, i think he kinda deflects and downplays it (mostly as a joke) like that one time in ttt and hoshi was like “this is really good, jeonghan” to jeonghan after he cooked some beef and jeonghan said “beef tastes good no matter who cooks it” with a joking tone but i’m so sure my man was grinning like a child on the inside and feeling shy. OH LIKE THE CAMPING TTT when they started talking about how much jeonghan cares for the team and he got all shy and covered his face like, my sweet sweet baby (he’s 27)

joshua : gifts, words of affirmation

i think the members mentioned that joshua is a gift giver and is consistent with bday gifts (but considering the track record of the rest of the group, i’m gonna assume that the bar is on the floor..) like rich LA boy went shopping and spotted something that reminds him of you so he bought it and brings it home with a proud smile. ‘ta da! i saw it at the mall today and it reminded me of you’ oh i think this is pretty big in korean culture, but my boy would be so careful not to spend too much on luxurious gifts that cost thousands bc he knows that it can get burdensome even though you both know that he makes enough to buy you anything you want. oh and his recent love for making bead bracelets!! this is a lot less materialistic but he loves making bead bracelets for the people he loves. him taking the time to make a bracelet for you, picking out your favorite colors as he imagines what your initial reaction would be when you see it 💔 he js loves spoiling the people he loves because they mean the world to him and what better way is there to show them that than through gifts??? you’re his entire world so the least he can do is you give you some piece of the universe. (this was more romantic in my head)

immediately thought of that one clip of drunk shua and sober vernon from in the soop where shua was drunk (he’s so fucking cute) and they go to sleep and shua’s like “good night i love you” and vernon’s like “hmm i %@#%#$^ you too” and shua’s like “why aren’t you saying it back >:(“ and so vernon says i love you too and shua goes “really?” and you can literally hear the SMILE IN HIS VOICE GOD I’M CRYINGGGG like when he’s worried or anxious, hearing someone tell him that he’s doing great and there’s nothing to worry about puts his heart at ease (jeonghan comforting shua during the carnival gose ep) but besides that js hearing simple messages like “you’re so special to me” “you deserve every compliment” “thank you for being here” etc etc i think joshua is one of the members who tend to repress their emotions more, so i think hearing/reading these short messages mean a lot to him 

reblogs and feedback is always appreciated ^-^

a/n : *in shua's voice* surprise! first and foremost i apologize for my sudden disappearance, i had a mini depressive episode and cut off contact with the entire world and stayed in bed for 4 days straight (whoops) but i’m doing all better now so don’t worry! as an apology, i present to you, sebong’s love languages!! i tried my best to include both receiving and giving although i don’t specify in the headings hehe oh and dw i will be adding 96, 97 and the maknae line! i was gonna do all of them at once but i wrote so much so i didn't think i would finish it in time

[wolfjackle-creates]

Ghost!Robin Part 8

Look at you lucky ducks! Two WIP Wednesday excerpts today! I'm afraid you won't be able to get used to it. Going forward I may update each fic on alternating weeks. I have a busy few months coming up if everything goes to plan and could use the buffer in case I can't get much writing done. We'll see, though.

I'm going to start leaving a fic summary at the beginning of every excerpt in case people find this in the wild and want to know what they're getting into.

Summary: Danny is finally going to meet Jazz's boyfriend Jason. At Jason's family's mansion. He spent weeks making sure he could have an evening off of any Ghost King business. But when he meets Jason on the steps of the mansion, he can barely pay attention to the guy because his focus is on the ghost of the dead Robin hanging off his shoulders. Who is very happy to find someone who can actually see him.

Word Count: 1.4k

First, Previous

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“Right. Um… Well, I do just kinda do whatever is necessary or find someone who can. Because, um, well, I’m… kinda the High King of the Infinite Realms? There’s a bunch more titles after that but I refuse to memorize them because ugh.”

Danny looked down at his plate, not wanting to see everyone’s reactions. Jazz must’ve made sure he got a piece of pie because it sat in front of him. It looked so good. Did they even know about the Infinite Realms? Justice League Dark members did, but did Batman? Jazz reached over and took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Tim and Barbara’s typing seemed to get faster. And then a pair of pixie boots and legs settled on the table next to his plate. He looked up and met Robin’s eyes.

Robin reached out an poked Danny on the nose. He gave a little trill of safe, friends drawing a smile out of Danny.

At the same time, Duke exclaimed, “That’s why you have a crown!”

And Steph said, “Okay, I may be out of the loop, but what the hell are the Infinite Realms?”

Damian snorted. “Aren’t you too young to be a king of anything?”

Danny half stood. “Look, do you want to go spar or something? Is that why you keep picking fights? Because we can do that. Fighting is good for young liminals. But I really don’t think this is the time or place.”

Jazz groaned and dragged him back into his seat. “Stop it, Danny. You’re on Earth right now.” Speaking over Danny’s protests, she explained to Damian, “We wish. Managed to get them to delay until he turned eighteen at least, but his grandfather wouldn’t let us wait any longer than that.”

Danny let the fight drop, but he did notice how Damian’s grip on his spoon tightened. Looked like they would be having that spar tonight if Damian had anything to say about it. Still, Jazz was right and he had to follow human customs on Earth so he bumped his sister’s shoulder and spoke to her instead. “You know as well as I do that he would’ve if it was possible. But thanks to Pariah, there are things that haven’t been done in a thousand years and it’s been causing so many problems.”

“Steph,” said Barbara. “The Infinite Realms are the spaces between universes according to Constantine. His documentation states that the Realm’s inhabitants are all incredibly overpowered and should not be approached under any circumstances. Just one being can evade all methods of capture with standard supplies.”

Jazz nodded. “And our parents dedicated their lives to building a portal to the Infinite Realms, or the Ghost Zone as they call it, and destroying all ghosts.”

“By ‘ghosts,’” asked Bruce, “Do you mean beings from these Infinite Realms?”

Jazz nodded. “Yes. Most beings from the Infinite Realms come into being when a living creature dies in a traumatic way, with a lot of emotion, or near a large source of ectoplasm. Usually some combination of all three.”

Both Tim and Bruce tried to ask further questions, but Jason’s voice cut in over theirs. “Jazz, when you say your parents wanted to ‘destroy all ghosts,’ did they stop after Danny’s accident?” Jason’s question did, at least, cause silence to fall as everyone stared at the two siblings.

Jazz looked down and gripped the tablecloth tightly, jaw clenched. Now it was Danny’s turn to lay a comforting hand over hers.

“No,” Danny said. “They didn’t. They didn’t know what happened for several years and when they found out… Well, there’s a reason I can’t use their last name and Jazz won’t call them ‘Mom’ or ‘Dad’ anymore. But”—Danny clapped his hands—“this is a great segway into what is actually important. Does the Justice League know about the Guys in White? More formally known as the Ghost Investigation Ward? Or even just GIW?”

“That name is unfamiliar to me,” said Bruce.

Tim agreed. “Babs and I aren’t seeing anything in the JL databases.”

Even Robin just shrugged.

Danny didn’t expect the jolt of pain that sent through his chest and Jazz turned their hands around until they were gripping each other’s hands with more force than any baseline human would’ve been able to.

“I told you, Danny. They didn’t know. They didn’t know.” Her eyes were wet, but she forced a shaky smile. “You could’ve had help.”

Danny just shook his head. “Even if I had believed they didn’t know… Without meeting them, without knowing how many of their own were in danger, I would’ve never trusted them. Too many people rely on me for me to risk it.”

“Care to enlighten the rest of us?” asked Dick. His posture was relaxed, but his voice had an edge that hadn’t been there earlier.

Robin nodded from where he sat staring at Danny. He sent out a questioning Danger? pulse at Danny.

“Yeah, danger,” agreed Danny. “Barbara, Tim, if I give you a law code number, can you pull up the law I’m referring to?”

“Of course,” agreed Barbara. “Just a moment… And shoot.”

Danny gave them the code for the Anti-Ecto Acts. “The Guys in White are the government agency responsible for enforcing the Anti-Ecto Acts which classify all ‘ectoplasmic entities’”—he made the air quotes—“as non-sentient and non-sapient and excludes us from the metahuman protection acts.”

“What the fuck!” shouted Duke.

Next to Danny, Dick suddenly was sitting up tense. “That’s impossible.”

“The league would’ve noticed such an act being passed,” said Damian, though he didn’t look as sure as his words would seem.

Cass merely tilted her head and looked at him while Steph choked on her drink.

Bruce looked to Tim and Barbara. “Is this true?” he asked them.

Robin pointed to himself and mouthed the word ‘Me?’ at Danny.

“I’m afraid so. And Bruce, Cass, Steph, and Damian as well.”

Dick’s spluttering got louder. “How are they all in danger?” he demanded to know.

Before Danny could reply, Tim was speaking. “It’s all true. And far worse than Danny implied. Not only are ecto-entities not protected by the metahuman protection laws, but they are to be actively hunted and turned over to the GIW for experimentation and extermination and anyone who assists them is declared guilty of treason.”

“When did they pass?” asked Bruce.

“Four years ago,” said Barbara. “While Luthor was president. They were hidden in some laws about green energy.”

“Ghost are made of ectoplasm,” explained Jazz. “Ectoplasm is a fantastic energy source.”

“It happened a few months after I defeated the previous king but before my coronation,” added Danny.

“Why do you think myself, Damian, Cass, Stephanie, and Jason will be targeted by this Ghost Investigation Ward?”

“It’ll be easier to show you.” Danny reached down and pulled up his bag. The thing was made in Pandora’s realm and was bigger on the inside. Once open, it took him a moment to find what he was looking for. He could see Robin signing to the group next to him. “Here we are,” Danny said as he pulled out three devices. “These are all different ectoplasm detection devices. One is my own design, one is the Guys in White’s design, and one is my parent’s design. I’ll show you mine first because it’s the best.”

“Might be a dumb question,” started Dick, “but what the hell is ectoplasm?”

“So you know how all the elements in this universe came about from nuclear fusion of hydrogen in the cores of stars?” asked Danny. When most everyone nodded, he continued, “In the Infinite Realms, that base element is ectoplasm. But there’s no need for a star to transform it into anything else. It will mold to the shape any consciousness that interacts with it wants. When sentient creatures slip through, either by a portal or through death or any other means, they shape the part of the Realm they’re in to their will. The stronger the ghost, the larger the area they control.” Holding out his hands, Danny called forth a ball of ectoplasm, shaping it into a glowing-green ice duck. “Something like this,” he commented grinning around the table.

Only to be met with horrified looks as most of the table were staring at his hands with distrust. Damian had his knife out again. Jason, his gun with the other arm held protectively in front of Jazz. Bruce was standing and Cass tense.

“What’s wrong?” asked Danny. “It’s just an ice duck sculpture. Completely harmless.”

Jason’s voice was low and threatening. “It’s an ice duck made of Lazarus water.”

More alarming than his voice was the way his eyes glowed ecto-green and the fear-anger that filled the room.

----------

Next

Challenge: Stay on one topic for more than two sentences.

Outcome: Failed.

They keep getting side tracked with more questions. And Danny still hasn't had a bite of his pie. This evening will never be over.

Tag List Part 1

@addie-lover-of-stories, @justwannabecat, @gin2212, @amercurio, @regonold, @overtherose, @readerzj, @sjrose1216, @echoednonny, @deeterzz, @blu-lilac, @number-one-jew, @rowanaway-fromthisbs, @vythika96, @tired-yet-awaken, @themirrorghost, @emeraldcorpral, @all-mights-asscheeks, @darkhinauniverse, @blep-23, @phandomhyperfixationblog, @larkcoe1, @thegatorsgoose, @job-ross-the-second, @britcision, @lenacraft, @bubblemixer, @androgynouslordofescapism, @purefrickingspite, @leftmiraclechaos, @lizisipancardo, @starlight-sparks, @miraculousandmore, @gildedphoenix, @sometimesthingsfallapart, @letmesayfuxk, @phoenixcatch7, @skulld3mort-1fan, @abaowo, @dhampir-princess, @idkmrpianoman, @sarina-elais, @ballzfrog-blog, @undead-essence, @spookytragedyshark, @flyingpansaurus, @akintoabitch, @marivictal, @8-29pm, @justreadingthefanfics, @happybear135, @kisatamao, @spoopyspoony, @adorablechaos, @sara0055, @screamingtofillthevoid

Looks like 50 is the limit for active user tags in a post. Good to know

[samgirl98]

Forgotten Demon Twin 4/?

Prev | Next

Damian crossed his arms. A part of him wanted to be angry at Danyal. How dare he lie to them? They wanted to ensure he was fine, and here he was, not telling them the whole truth.

Then, the guilt set in.

Damian wouldn’t have to have asked if he had checked up on his brother if he had remembered he had a brother. Why was he so angry? They were strangers to Danyal. Of course, he would keep his secrets close to his chest. He had lied to the League, knowing that it could result in his death. Lying to the famous ‘no killing allowed’ Batman must’ve been easier.

Danyal sat in midair, his legs crossed.

It was difficult to see Danyal as, was he a ghost? Was his brother dead?

“How did you gain powers,” Richard asked, “Neither Talia nor Bruce have the metagene.”

Danyal shrugged but didn’t answer.

“Listen, I appreciate that you guys care enough to come and visit me, even if it is years later,” he mumbled the last part. It still made the family flinch, “But I don’t owe you guys anything. I don’t have to explain the ifs, whys, and buts. Just because you guys feel guilty, you can’t just uproot my whole life and claim to care and want to take me away from the only loving family I have ever known.”

“I’m not in any danger here—”

“You’re a child hero without adult supervision,” Bruce said.

“—And I have everything under control.”

“You shouldn’t have to have everything under control, Danny. I understand the need to help, but you’re young. You deserve to have some help.”

“What makes you think I don’t have help?”

“Really, do your parents know you’re Phantom?”

Danyal said nothing.

“We want to help, Danyal,” Damian said.

A look of anger marred Danyal’s face.

“Help? Like when you said you would help me train, shoved a sword through my shoulder, and then pushed me from a tower?”

Damian flinched and ignored Tim’s judgmental look.

“That was wrong of me. I apologize for everything I’ve done to you.”

Danny was about to say something before stopping. He still wasn’t one hundred percent sure this wasn’t a trap and didn’t want to give Damian a reason to take him back. So far, it looked like the League was no longer involved, but Batman and his…children were an unknown factor. If he could convince them to leave…

“Daniel James Fenton, you are in big trouble, young man!”

Uh-oh. Irate older sister alert.

Every member of the Batfamily was surprised that an angry teenage red-haired girl had snuck up on them.

She was carrying a green and white baseball bat, and her eyes seemed to glow.

Duke noticed she had a weird aura around her, too. It wasn’t as strong as Danny’s, but still there.

“Who are you people? Why is a group of mostly adults meeting my younger brother in the middle of the night in a desolate park?”

The girl looked at everyone at them and gave a double take when she spotted Damian. She turned to Danny.

“Why are they here,” she asked loudly.

“Jazz, this is Bruce and Damian Wayne. They are my biological father and twin brother. Oh, and everyone else is Bruce’s adopted kids, I guess.”

Wow, he had Damian’s introduction skills.

She turned around and crossed her arms. The bat was still in her hands.

“I’ll ask again: why are you here?”

“I just found out about Danny and wanted to meet him?”

Jazz walked up to Bruce and, without hesitation, poked Bruce’s chest with the baseball bat.

“Oh, and you couldn’t have waited until morning and talked to our parents first? You just had to lure my baby brother away from the safety of his home and basically ambush him?”

“Jazz,” Danny whined, embarrassed.

“I’m just saying it how I see it, little brother.”

“There were some outside circumstances that would’ve made meeting,” Jazz interrupted Bruce by banging the end of the baseball bat on the floor. It left a crater.

“I don’t care about you’re ‘outside circumstances.’ Most of you are adults, and you have a minor with you at night without his legal guardian’s knowledge. If you want to talk to Danny, meet our parents first and set up a meeting like a normal person.”

“Jazz, you don’t understand who they are—”

“I don’t care if they’re the president. Rules exist for a reason. Now come, Danny, we’re going home. Tucker and Sam are worried.”

Danny detransformed and followed Jazz. The last thing he heard was the butler say, “I like her.”

He sighed. It was going to be a long ride back home.

____

Tim had yet to learn what happened.

One minute, he was introduced to the Demon Brat’s twin brother (who seemed more mellow than Damian). The next, they had been attacked by some creature that Danny beat in under ten seconds.

He knew Danny had been lying when he opened his mouth, and Cass had confirmed it. He hadn’t had time to interrogate the kid, though, before an angry red-hair, who reminded him a bit of Barbara, showed up and chewed Bruce out while holding nothing more than a baseball bat.

“Well, that was…interesting,” Duke said.

“I like her,” Jason said, “She stood up to Bruce.”

Bruce glared at Jason. It wasn’t often he got chewed out, and it had never been from a teenage girl. He didn’t like it.

“So, next course of action,” Tim asked.

“Tt, obviously we get Danyal out of this…situation. He shouldn’t have to deal with all of this alone.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, baby bat.”

“Why not?”

“Danny seems to be attached to his adoptive family. He’s suffered a lot in the League. Don’t you think we should consider his feelings?”

The brat thought about it before deflating a little but said nothing.

“So, I repeat: what now?”

Bruce said nothing, not sure what to do.

Suddenly, the smell of earl grey tea was heavy in the air, and he felt the phantom hand of his late surrogate father.

He took a deep breath and said, “It’s time to meet the Fenton.”

[hiraethwa]

one summer day

06 saturn ii. where ushijima’s words take you by surprise. 

<< 05 saturn i. | >> 07 sun and moon. | << the collection >>

pairing: ushijima wakatoshi x reader a/n: i am back from my trip now, i will be posting more regularly again, thank you for staying! i loved reading the tags on your reblogs of one summer day, they make my heart go WAHHH! my inbox is always open if you want to chat <3 - ave word count: 1.5k warnings: angst, childhood trauma, parental neglect/verbal abuse, past death of a family member

april, second year

“you don’t have to be the person in your house with me.”

since he stayed with you that night, there has been a medley of conflicting feelings swirling in you. you had felt embarrassed in the morning, but also relieved for his presence. and this burning shame in your chest whenever you see him and his eyes seem to ask, are you alright? 

you could tell he wants to ask so many questions, but he is holding himself back, waiting for you to tell him yourself. worst of all, you wanted to tell him, consequences be damned. but you were afraid he would see you differently. you don’t think you could bear the person who’s seen you at your worst decide you were not worth his time. but if you wait any longer, perhaps he would decide that anyway. 

“what i mean is, you can be yourself around me, always.” you know that. deep down, you feel it. 

“ushijima–” you start, staring down at your shoes, thinking about how to explain that day to him without trauma dumping on him. 

he corrects you, “wakatoshi”

your cheeks color, testing the way his name rolls off your tongue, “wakatoshi… i owe you an explanation…”

you decide it is easier to start from the day everything changed. so you tell him what you haven’t been able to tell any of your friends since that day eight years ago. about your sister, akiko’s death anniversary. that she passed away in an accident, and that it was your fault for leaving her outside the house when your mother tasked you to look after her. that even though eight year old you went in to get some water for the both of you playing outside, it was still your fault. that she had ran out after a stray cat and did not see the car coming. that it was your fault. 

“am i a terrible person?”

and then you hold your breath, knowing there is a possibility that he would have that accusing look in his warm brown eyes. beautiful with tiny flecks of greens and golds. you think those are your favorite features of him. and fuck, it would hurt like hell if that is the way he looks at you from now on. but you had taken a leap of faith, all you can do is hope for the best. hope that the feeling in your gut is not wrong.

“and your parents, why weren’t they around?” for their daughter’s death anniversary goes unspoken. of all the questions he could have asked, he sure did pick the most difficult one, you thought. 

“let’s just say we all cope in our own ways. akiko’s death… it changed our family for the worse. my father threw himself into work to forget about it… my mother… her grief made her meaner, colder, it changed her.” 

he gives you a concerned look, causing you to hurriedly explain that your mother is not abusive. “she’s just different than the mother i had when akiko was still here. she cared less about us, her words became sharp, like knives designed to hurt, especially when it comes to me, but she never laid a hand on us. i think her grief morphed into anger, and she never stopped blaming me for that day.”

“it isn’t your fault, you know that, right?” he grabs your wrist, turning you around to look at him. 

your next words comes out in a whisper. “i know, but if i hadn’t left her, akiko would still be here. if i had done what i was supposed to, my parents wouldn’t have lost their daughter, and we could have been happy,” your voice cracks. 

“you were a child. it wasn’t your fault. do you understand?” his strong grip on your shoulders forces you to look into his eyes. there was no judgement in them. no accusing look, no blame, only resolution. and they made you feel safe. “you cannot be blamed for your parent’s decisions, and it was their responsibility to look after their children’s well-being, not an eight year old child. your only duty was to grow up.”

an unidentifiable feeling overwhelms you, welling up tears in your eyes. what is it about me and crying in front of ushijima? you had been fine, just fine before he came along and messed up your coping system. every year before this on that day, you wouldn’t even cry, believing that all your tears had been spent when you were eight. that all you could do is feel empty and sad and self-destructive on that day while lying in your bed, staring at the ceiling until the sun comes up. 

oh gods, you were eight, and you had believed that it was your fault your family lost a sister, a daughter, and your mother let you believe it. she never let you forget it. all the hurtful words hurled at you. all the pain you swallowed and carefully locked away in a box. 

your home stopped being a home that day. 

home should feel safe. home should be a place you long to be after a long day, not somewhere you dreaded. home should feel like a warm blanket on cold winter days, not a house that is a place to eat and sleep. home should feel safe. but it doesn’t.

you had known it for a long time. but you had been running away, refusing to face the fact. that maybe if you pretended hard enough, it would all go away. all this heartbreak that you had hidden away would vanish. 

“i don’t think my mother fully forgave me for it. i don’t think she forgave herself either.” but you were only a child. and all you wanted was her love, and approval, and support, and presence in your life. 

you look up at the stars shining in the dark sky, wondering if your sister is one of the millions smiling down at you from a far away distance. “she would have been in junior high if she was still here.” you smile sadly at the stars, thinking of the life that she could have had ahead of her. all taken away in one unfortunate moment. 

“your sister would want you to be happy, to live for yourself. i think she would find solace in that.”

you turn sharply to look at ushijima. “i–i have been doing my best to survive.”

his voice turns gentle, “but not truly living.”

“have you spoken to anyone about this?”  he inquires, though you think he knows the answer.

you clench your fists, looking away, a rising feeling in your chest that you identify as discomfort. oh, he is safe, but he is not afraid to tell you the truth, no matter how much it hurts. “you’re the first.”  

no one would understand anyway. not your parents, if they even cared enough to listen to you. not your brother, who had pushed you to open up, he lost his sister that night too. 

“then you no longer carry the burden by your lonesome. live, y/n, for you and your sister.”

live. he says it like it is so easy. as if living in that house doesn’t make you gasp for breath. if only your house did not also feel like your prison. if only being alive when your sister no longer breathes does not feel like a sin. as if everyday does not feel like being trapped in the past. 

and then with excruciating realization, you admit it. “i don’t know how.” 

the recognition leaves your head spinning, and you seek the comfort that you had felt in his arms. looping your arms around his torso, you bury your head into his chest. how do i do this how do i do this how do–

“you take it day by day. one foot in front of you at a time. and you keep looking forward.” he tilts your chin up, searching your eyes. “i will be right next to you.” he promises. 

“don’t say things you don’t mean.” please don’t make promises you can’t keep.

“y/n, i only say things i mean.” you hope he sees the gratitude in your eyes. you really hope he means it. because you think you can make it, with him by your side. when you’re with ushijima, you can truly breathe. with him by your side, you can see a glimpse of your future tonight. maybe not tomorrow, not a month from now, but one day, you could be happy. 

akiko, did you send him to me? thank you. i love you. i miss you. i miss you so much. but i think i need to learn to let you go now. 

reblogs and comments are appreciated!

[gingerjunhan]

boyfriend headcannons - han hyeongjun

☆彡 EEEEEEKK it’s Jun Han time! :D 🩷

word count: 690 | pronouns used: none | genre: fluff, established relationship | cws: YouTube like is safe!!, all caps, (Hyeongjun’s) insecurities mentioned, eating mentioned, I love him, not proofread, lmk if I missed something

← previous member | next member →

obviously, I have a lot to say

here we go

first things first, Hyeongjun shows you how he loves you instead of telling you

there was some radio interview they did one time where the other members said he doesn’t say “I love you much”

so he makes sure to physically show his appreciation for you

what’s that? you were stressed from your workload? Hyeongjun made you dinner and cleaned up your place while you were out

you’re feeling nervous about a big job interview? he got you flowers to wish you good luck

stuff like that

I also feel like someone somewhere said that Hyeongjun is really good with dates?

idk maybe I’m gaslighting myself into thinking that

but he never never forgets anything!

birthdays, anniversaries, important events- he’s there

I also think a lot about the one Knock Down Debate that they did where Hyeongjun yelled at the others because they never pick up their phones when he calls them

so hey, at least he’s good at communication in that aspect

I don’t think Hyeongjun is one for pet names

I literally cannot picture him calling someone a pet name, but I could easily be wrong

if he did I feel like they would be simple

“honey”

“love”

“sweetie”

short and sweet stuff

he gets flustered easily if you call him something though!

I feel like it would be really easy to fluster him

STOOOPP imagine Hyeongjun meeting your pets

forget about your family- let this man meet your cat

okay but fr this man is sweating buckets meeting your family

he’s afraid that they would think he’s too quiet or too boring :(

but once they get to know him and once he warms up to them that’s obviously not true!

I mean, come on, look at the way that man can shred on the guitar. there is not a boring bone in his body

he’s a kiss on the cheek typa guy

no big fancy gestures

just something cute, simple, and sweet

he actually doesn’t strike me as a big gesture guy at all?

no wait let me explain

let me cook

not big on PDA, not the best with words, and he wouldn’t feel like his acts of kindness are very big

like, he let you hold on to kkito while he was away for a few days so you wouldn’t miss him- why are you crying?

ugh I wanna squeeze him :(

he will come to you with any sort of problem no matter how big or how small

he trusts you completely

he would literally be your friend first and your boyfriend second

Hyeongjun strikes me as the type to not need affection much, but when he does he’s a little nervous to ask

“Jun, what’s wrong?”

“I need a hug.” :(

you almost don’t hear him but y’all are so close that you can figure it out

you can basically read his mind

I feel like a relationship with Hyeongjun would go slow, and that’s okay!

why mess with perfection 😉

no need to rush first kisses or first I love yous

you’re just having fun together!

HE MAKES A PLAYLIST OF SONGS THAT REMIND HIM OF YOU 😭😭😭😭

“This song played in the restaurant during our first date.”

“This song was stuck in my head right before you kissed me for the first time.”

“This song was-“ STOP IT I can’t do this anymore

ALWAYS makes sure you’re taking care of yourself

making sure you eat meals and get enough rest

he’s so open minded!

I feel like he has strong opinions, but he’s chill with most things?

those two things literally cancel out but whatever

he buys clothes that he also thinks you would like in case you want to steal them 😼

pays very close attention to detail!

no new haircut or nail color goes unnoticed!

he draws little pictures of you in his sketchbook all the time :(

loving Hyeongjun is gentle, calm, and fun- like sitting in the grass on a sunny day

no pressure, no rush, just you two having fun being together 🩷

god I love him so much

taglist: @dazzlingligth , @mini-mews , @mxlly143 , @somethingaboutcheese , comment to be added!⁎⁺˳✧༚

[alyssaforevermore]

Unearthed ↦ Daryl Dixon season one, part two

Synopsis: Based on the events of The Walking Dead television series, Y/N Grimes, younger sister of Rick Grimes, attempts to survive in a world now inhabited by walkers. Family has always meant everything to her, but in this new world, can she keep her family safe and together?

Show: The Walking Dead (S1-S11)

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x fem!Reader

Warnings: coarse language, violence, character deaths, drug and alcohol references, series spoilers and general The Walking Dead content warnings!

Tags: @1ivinqdeadqir1 @callmeyn @thegeorgiahuntsman @mellxander1993 @bigbaldheadname @cjmonsterwolf @abbi23323 @actuallyklee

Masterlist

Later that night, you sat around the campfire with your family and other members of the camp. Rick was recounting his journey here, but you couldn’t quite seem to focus on anything he was saying.

You couldn’t get that look on Shane’s face out of your head; the one when he saw your brother. No matter how hard you tried, you just couldn’t explain it away. That feeling twisting in your stomach, making you question what Shane had told you that night. Had he simply made a mistake or was there something more to the story?

It killed you to question him; he had saved your life, after all. He had saved the life of your entire family. Rick had been his best friend their entire lives and you had to believe Shane would never just lie about something like that.

“I felt like I’d been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else.” Rick spoke. “For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever.”

Carl’s response finally grabbed your full attention. “Mom said you died.”

You looked at Shane, his face white as a ghost as his eyes were fixed on your brother. 

Rick nodded, his voice soft. “She had every reason to believe that. Don’t you ever doubt that.” 

“When things started getting really bad, they told us at the hospital that they were going to medevac you and other patients to Atlanta, but it never happened.” Lori spoke up.

“Well, I’m not surprised after Atlanta fell.” Rick responded. “From the look of that hospital, it got overrun.”

“Yeah, looks don’t deceive.” Shane finally spoke up. “I barely got them out, you know?”

Rick looked at you, his lips curled downwards. “Were you there when-“

You shook your head. “I had a shift that evening, but I hadn’t stayed there that night.”

This was the first time since the fall that you wished you had been there. Rick was alive all this time; you kept thinking about how if you’d stayed, maybe you could have felt a pulse that Shane didn’t. Maybe you could have gotten your brother out of there. Maybe, just maybe, you would’ve never left to begin with.

Rick’s eyes shifted to Shane, a small smile forming across his face. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane. I can’t begin to express it.”

Dale smiled, leaning back in his seat. “There go those words falling short again. Paltry things.”

The sound of a log being dropped into a nearby fire caught your attention. You glanced over at the Peletiers, Ed sitting back down in his seat. Every night since you’d all arrived here, he had insisted that his family have their own fire. He wanted to keep Carol and their daughter Sophia as far away from the rest of you as possible, and you knew why. It made your blood boil.

“Hey, Ed,” Shane spoke up. “You want to rethink that log?”

“It’s cold, man.” Ed responded.

“The cold don’t change the rules, does it?” Shane huffed. “Keep our fires low, just embers so we can’t be seen from a distance, right?”

“I said it’s cold. You should mind your own business for once.”

Clenching your fists, you went to stand up but stopped as Shane gave you a knowing look. Instead, he stood and walked over to Ed.

“Are you sure you want to have this conversation, man?” Shane asked, his eyes darting towards Carol and then back at Ed.

Ed thought for a moment, finally giving in. “Go on. Pull the damn thing out.”

Carol nodded, standing from her seat and quickly pulling the log from the fire. Shane shook his head, mumbling under his breath as he stomped the flames out. Finally, he knelt down in front of Carol and Sophia.

“How are y’all this evening?”

“We’re just fine.” Carol gave a small smile. “I’m sorry about the fire.”

Shane shook his head. “No apology needed. Y’all have a good night, okay?”

“Thank you.”

Shane stood back up. “I appreciate the cooperation.” He spoke to Ed before heading back over to his own seat.

Dale cleared his throat, everyone having clearly been watching the situation as intensely as you had. “Have you all given any more thought to Daryl Dixon? He won’t be happy to hear his brother was left behind.”

“I’ll tell him.” T-Dog announced. “I dropped the key. It’s on me.”

“I cuffed him.” Rick noted. “That makes it mine.”

“Guys, it’s not a competition.” Glenn spoke up. “I don’t mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy.”

T-Dog shook his head. “I did what I did. Hell if I’m gonna hide from it.”

“We could lie.” Amy suggested.

“We need to tell him the truth.” Andrea responded. “Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed. Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's.”

“Is that really going to help matters?” You asked. “We know Daryl isn’t going to be rational about this. It’s his brother. Hell, if I knew someone left Rick behind to die, nothing would stop me.”

You glanced at Shane out of the corner of your eye, him swallowing hard at your comment.

“I was scared and I ran. I’m not ashamed.” T-Dog said.

“We were all scared. We all ran. What’s your point?” Andrea asked.

“I stopped long enough to chain that door. Staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It’s not enough to break through that… Not that chain, not that padlock. My point is, Dixon’s still alive and he’s still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That’s on us.”

The camp went silent, everyone reflecting on the conversation. Nobody really wanted to tell Daryl anything; he was a loose cannon, but nowhere near as bad as Merle. You just hoped that nobody would get hurt.

…

The next morning had started off fairly slow, everyone partially looking over their shoulders, anxiously waiting for Daryl to return. You stood by as Dale and a few other men took apart the car that Glenn had come back in. He was clearly devastated by the scene, his arms folded across his chest.

You felt a hand on your shoulder, almost causing you to jump out of your skin. “Good morning.” Rick spoke, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Good morning.” You smiled, pulling yourself together. “How did you sleep?”

“Better than I have in days.” He chuckled.

Glenn let out a huff, his arms falling to his sides. “Look at ‘em. Vultures.” Dale looked back at him, shaking his head. “Yeah, go on, strip it clean.”

“Generators need every drop of fuel they can get. Got no power without it. Sorry, Glenn.” Dale responded, carrying on his work.

“I thought I’d get to drive it for at least a few more days.”

“Maybe we’ll get to steal another one someday.” Rick smiled, before turning to you. “Have you seen Lori?”

You nodded. “I think she was folding laundry. I should probably join her.”

You lead Rick towards where Lori was standing, taking clothes off of the clothes line and folding them before placing them in neat piles. 

“Morning officer.” Lori smiled, noticing her husband coming up behind you.

Rick smiled, kissing his wife on the cheek. “Good morning.”

“Did you sleep okay?”

You began to help Lori, zoning out in the process. You always found peace in household chores. Just sitting in your living room folding laundry was one of the only times you didn’t really need to think; your job already took up enough of your brain power. It was now an escape from the worries that constantly plagued your mind. 

“Are you asking me or telling me?” Lori spoke, her voice hushed but pointed enough to grab your attention once more.

Rick swallowed hard. “I’m asking you.”

Before Rick had been shot, you knew of his constant arguments with Lori. He had always been cautious not to speak to you about it, but you were sometimes present for those moments. When Rick had found you all again against all odds, you had really hoped the arguing was behind them.

“Well, I think it’s crazy.” Lori responded, folding her arms over her chest. “I think it’s just about the stupidest way to break your son’s-“

Screams echoed across camp, your ears locking onto Carl’s voice calling for his mother.

“Carl?” Lori asked, her eyes darting across camp to try and figure out where the screams had come from.

Everyone sprung into action, grabbing weapons and rushing into the woods. You had managed to grab a wrench from Dale’s tool kit.

It wasn’t too long before you came across Carol, Sophia and Carl. 

“Dad!” Carl called out, rushing into Lori’s arms.

Lori fell to her knees, caressing Carl’s face. “Nothing bit you? Nothing scratched you?”

Carl shook his head, letting go of her. “No, I’m okay.”

Rick, Shane, Glenn, Jim, Morales and Dale continued further into the woods, you trailing close behind with a wrench in hand. 

You reached a small clearing, seeing a man hunched over the body of a deer. The sound of snarling filled your ears, urging you to position your wrench to swing at any moment.

The men began to circle the scene before them, catching the attention of the walker. His snarling intensified as a piece of the deer’s meat fell from his hands.

Rick took the first swing, hitting the walker in the head with his shovel. When that wasn’t enough, everyone else joined in, hitting it with as much force as they could muster. Finally, Dale took a swing with his ax, taking the walker’s head clean off.

Everyone struggled to catch their breath, you knelt over with your hands on your knees. 

“That’s the first one we’ve had up here.” Dale commented. “They never come this far up the mountain.”

“They’re running out of food in the city.” Jim spoke, wiping sweat off of his forehead.

You let out a sigh. “What does this mean for us? Are we even safe up here anymore?”

“It’s just one, right?” Glenn asked. “Maybe this is a one off.”

“We should still have a bit more time before more make their way up here, at the very least.” Dale responded.

Shane nodded. “We should start thinking more about safety measures, getting traps and tripwire signals set up.”

A twig snapped behind you, earning everyone’s attention as they held their weapons high once again. After a few moments, a familiar face poked his head out from behind the brush. Daryl.

��Oh, Jesus.” Shane huffed, lowering his gun.

“Son of a bitch, that’s my deer!” The man snapped, walking towards it. “Look at it. All gnawed on by this filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!” Daryl kicked the body of the walker with each word.

“Calm down, son.” Dale said. “That’s not helping.”

“What do you know about it, old man?” Daryl asked, getting into his face. “Why don’t you take that stupid hat and go back to On Golden Pond?” 

You shook your head. This was typical any time Daryl or Merle were around. You had begun to get used to the peace around camp without them here.

“I’ve been tracking this deer for miles.” Daryl bent down, grabbing his arrows from the deer. “Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?”

Shane shook his head. “I would not risk that, man.”

Daryl nodded. “That’s a damn shame. I got some squirrel—about a dozen or so. That’ll have to do for now.”

You looked back at the severed head of the walker, his teeth smashing together. Amy, who stood off to the side with Andrea, let out a gasp as she turned away.

“Come on, people. What the hell?” Daryl asked, loading up his crossbow and shooting the walker in the head. “It’s gotta be the brain. Don’t y’all know nothing?”

Daryl turned away, following Amy and Andrea back towards camp. You and Rick shared a knowing look, joining everyone in heading back there as well.

This was it.

“Merle!” Daryl called out, entering the main camp area. “Merle, get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrels, let’s stew them up.”

“Daryl, just slow up a bit.” Shane spoke, his voice calm. “I need to talk to you.”

Daryl turned to face him, his eyebrow arched. “About what?”

“About Merle. There was a—there was a problem in Atlanta.”

“Is he dead?”

“We’re not sure.”

Daryl shook his head. “He either is or he ain’t.”

Rick stepped forward, getting between Daryl and Shane. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it.”

“Who are you?”

“Rick Grimes.”

“Rick Grimes,” Daryl huffed. “You got something you want to tell me?”

“Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He’s still there.”

Hold on, let me process this.” Daryl stepped back, facing away from everyone as he wiped his eyes. It took a moment before he turned back to Rick. “You’re saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?”

“Yeah.” 

Without missing a beat, Daryl flung the rope of squirrels at Rick before rushing to tackle him. Shane jumped into action, body slamming him to the ground. Daryl then pulled out a knife, swinging it back and forth at the two men. Rick was able to sneak in a gut punch, allowing for Shane to get Daryl into a choke hold.

“You’d best let me go!” Daryl yelled, thrashing his body.

Shane shook his head. “I think it’s better if I don’t.”

“Choke hold’s illegal.” Daryl spoke through gasps.

“You can file a complaint.” Shane responded, Daryl continuing to thrash in his arms. “Come on, man. We can do this all day.”

Rick knelt in front of Daryl, looking him in the eyes. “I’d like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?”

Daryl thought for a moment, before choking out a quiet “Yeah.” Shane looked to Rick for reassurance before letting the man go.

“What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others.” Rick began.

“It’s not Rick’s fault.” T-Dog chimed in. “I had the key and I dropped it.”

“You couldn’t pick it up?”

“Well, I dropped it in a drain.”

Daryl shook his head. “If that’s supposed to make me feel better, it don’t.”

“Well, maybe this will.” You responded, earning the looks of your fellow camp members. “T-Dog chained the door to the roof, right? With a padlock.”

Rick nodded. “That's gotta count for something.” 

“To hell with all y’all!” Daryl snapped. “Just tell me where he is so I can go get him.”

“He’ll show you.” Lori spoke up, looking at her husband. “Isn’t that right?”

Rick stared at his wife for a moment before finally nodding. “I’m going back.”

“Like hell you are.” You snapped.

Lori shook her head, storming off towards the RV.

Rick stepped towards you. “I have to.”

You shook your head, stepping away from your brother. In this moment, you felt like you were losing him all over again.

----

AN: Thank you for reading this chapter, I really hope you all enjoyed it! I originally intended to end this one with them getting to Atlanta, but this chapter was way to long already. We will follow that rescue mission in chapter three! If you'd like to request to be tagged in future chapters, you can do so here. Please be sure to like and reblog <3

[ladylooch]

a fic where nico fucks the reader in the shower?

A/N: Omg… I thought you would never ask 😉 Enjoy!!!! Also, Idk what it is about a man washing hair, but it gets me every time. Like it’s so sweet… and innocent.. and mundane.. but so romantic. AH!

Word Count: 2.3k

P.S. How do we like this banner 👇🏻? Is it clear to you what you’re getting into? I’m thinking of adding this to all my smut fics, but was curious on how it would be received. 

My second time in Switzerland with Nico is going swimmingly. We have indulged in amazing food, done some sight seeing, and explored a couple hiking trails through easy, lower elevation spots. I’m even starting to recognize my way around Bern when Nico and I visit the local cafe for espresso’s each morning.

But the Hischier family reunion is proving to be much deeper water than I anticipated. Nico told me it was a family party, but as we were walking in to the hotel event space, Luca explained it was a reunion. Nico had looked at me with concern, but I shrugged it off, wondering how hard this was actually going to be.

The problem? Not many of them speak fluent English and I don’t know more than a few words in Swiss German. I don’t think spewing swearwords at his extended family members is a good first impression. 

Nico was instantly pulled in so many different directions, as per usual. At first, we tried to stay together, but it became impossible with the size of the crowd and attention. I’ve had so many family members come up and try to speak to me. We sputter through the little English they know before they move along to someone else they can communicate with. The noise in the room is loud with laughter and animated talking. A throb is beginning to pulse through my brain. I try to ignore it, but know with my history, this will be a long night if I don’t find some quiet. Luckily, we have a room booked upstairs for the night to avoid any sort of traveling after the consumption of numerous adult beverages.

I scan the room for my husband. Nico is with his parents and a few cousins I’ve met before. I sneak up next to Nico, but the way Rino is standing, I can’t get completely into the circle. I awkwardly reach out and lace my fingers with Nico’s left hand, catching my finger prints on his ring. He looks over his shoulder at my touch and smiles, turning sideways to pull me in.

“Oh I’m sorry, y/n.” Rino says when he sees me, making even more room for me. Shit. I just wanted to let Nico know I was heading upstairs, not be consumed in another conversation. 

“It’s okay.” I give him a sweet smile and then drop my gaze to the floor. The group laughs at something Nico’s cousin is saying in Swiss German. I tilt my lips in acknowledgement, but it’s all I can muster right now. I turn to look into Nico’s face. He looks so happy and at ease. I feel shamefully guilty for wanting to leave, but I know if I stay here and continue to socialize, I’m going to start shutting down in overwhelm.

“Babe.” I whisper to him, hoping to only get his attention. It works. His brown eyes slide to me and his hand on my lower back pulls me tight as he leans his ear closer to me. “I’m going to go back to our room.” My voice stays at whisper level; he nods in acknowledgement.

“Are you okay?” He whispers against my ear after brushing our cheeks together.

“Yeah, I’m just… tired.” I say because I can’t think of what else to describe meeting every family member of your husband’s extended family in one night in which you can only communicate well with about four of them. Nico pulls slightly away and looks into my eyes. I know he can see what I mean. He gives me a reassuring, sweet kiss.

“Okay.” He turns so his back is blocking me from the group and he places a hand on my hip to nudge back. Then, he ushers me to leave without making a scene. My eyes flutter gratefully at him and I make a dash to leave without any more interruptions. As I leave, I can feel Nico’s eyes on me. Something about it feels possessive and my skin breaks out into goosebumps.

When I get to our room, I immediately begin to shed my clothes. Since leaving the loud space, my head has begun to pound in sync with my heartbeat at my temples. I know a nasty tension headache is coming for me. Despite cold showers being generally better for headaches, a warm one always helps ease mine away. I place my hands on the cool, porcelain sink and suck in a deep breath. The relief I feel at finally being alone consumes me. I am so tried and weirdly sore? The tension in my neck and shoulders needs to be rubbed away. I’m hopeful this shower will do the trick. 

I reach for the stainless steel knobs and turn the glass shower to a soothing heat. The water is hot, but not so hot that it will scald my skin. Instead, it will wrap around me like a warm blanket with the steam. I don’t bother to close the door to the bathroom, knowing there is no risk to unwanted eyes on me here. The Swiss sure know how to create an air of privacy and seclusion.

When I step into the shower, I sigh in happiness as the warm water begins to tap along my neck and shoulders. I dip my chin to rest almost against my chest and feel the releasing of my muscles. The steam swirls around my legs, wrapping them in it’s warmth. I close my eyes to allow the water to cascade over my face, taking my make up off with each drop. I already feel a little better. 

I grab my face wash and scrub at my eyes to get the remaining mascara off of them. The rest of my makeup washes away effortlessly with the soap. I hold my fingers to my temples and press into them for a count of ten, then release and feel the next edge of pain wash away with the water. I suck in another deep breath, holding it and then releasing it. I’m feeling better with each passing second.

I turn around, letting my brown hair fall down my back and soak in the stream of the shower head. My eyes are closed to avoid the water spray but I step slightly forward so I can open them to grab my shampoo. My gaze immediately lands on Nico. Despite his sudden appearance, I am not shocked to see him. He leans just inside the door of the bathroom by the light switches. His brown eyes are molten black and I can see his erection straining his gray shorts from here.

“You just going to watch from there?” I ask him as I squirt shampoo into my hand. A sexy, smug grin tilts his lips apart. I watch as his hands come to the buttons on his navy shirt as he pushes off from the wall.

“I only came up here to check on you. But then you lifted your arms to run through your hair and your tits bounced in a way that wouldn’t let me leave.” He says while he steps out of his pants and boxer briefs.

“If you weren’t so sexy, that might be a little creepy.” 

“There’s nothing creepy about my eyes on you.” Nico says as he steps into the shower with me. His hands come to my waist and he pulls my wet body to his. I’m slippery from the dripping trails of my shampoo. His hands glide across my sides, then up to soap up my breasts. His fingers thumb at my glistening nipples and a breathy gasp drops from my mouth when he twists.

Nico walks me back carefully so I’m back in the shower stream. His fingers come to my hair so he can massage the soap out of it. The act is intimate- a pleasurable and practical motion that has my pussy throbbing for him. I can feel his erection bouncing against my stomach with each one of his movements. It’s a teasing gesture that builds the passion between us. I reach my hand out to give him a firm squeeze at the base. He’s rock hard and his skin barely gives to my grip.

“Usually, I’m not a shower sex kind of girl.” I murmur. He knows this and we both agree that it messes with natural lubrication, but right now, the ache is so great between us, that it shouldn’t be an issue. “But that looks painful, so I’ll make an exception.” I turn, placing my palms flat against the shower wall. I extend my arms fully, walking Nico back so that I’m out of the shower stream and my hips press eagerly outwards, begging for him to fill me. He sighs happily, bringing his middle finger to my opening, testing me. What he finds there is warm and  thick readiness.

“On your toes.” He requests and I do so. Now, I’m at the perfect height for him to plunge into me. He refused to wait longer, thrusting inside of me in one steady push. My head immediately curls back between my shoulder blades. My mouth opens for a moment before I grit my teeth at how damn good he feels inside of me.

“I’m going to need your help to stay up.” I wheeze out as he starts to move. The pleasure is so intense right off the bat that my muscles keep melting into mush, making it hard to stay on my toes like he asked. His hands come to my hips and his grip is tight as he keeps me in place. I’m quivering already. I hear Nico laugh from behind me when he feels my muscles shaking. “Shut up.” I snap, causing him to snicker louder as I reach back and slap his forearm. I dig my nails in pointedly, “If you can laugh, you can fuck me harder.” 

“Baby!” He chokes out in surprise then lets out a groan. “Keep that up.”

His hips move faster. I press back hard against him so my face doesn’t go too far into the water. Nico took my challenge to heart. His thrusts are deep and my inner walls are clenching at him with each movement, begging him to stay inside of me. I tighten around him and he releases a deep, desperate moan. I can feel his abdomen tightening and I know we are ending this round together. I reach back to hold onto his hip, keeping us smashed together with each thrust. I pull my upper body a little further up and that creates the perfect angle for us both. I can feel my orgasm pulsing deep within me, pounding at my walls to be released. Nico removes his right hand from my hip and dances his fingers along my wet clit. 

“Yes!” I scream as I come crashing down. I dig my fingers into his hip and my entire body convulses. My muscles tug at him inside of me. Nico releases into me with the same fierceness, an extended moan falling from his plumped lips. When the last wave has rippled out of me, I dip my head forward into the shower stream, sucking in quick breaths to try and settle myself. My legs are shaking. My calves are screaming at me to get off my toes, but I can’t until Nico slips from me. “Babe, out. My legs… are cramping.”

“Sorry.” He murmurs, wrapping an arm around my stomach and pulling from me. His arm stays as I go back down onto flat feet. I lean back into his solid chest, the water from my hair dripping all over us. His other arm wraps around me to hold me tight, massaging my heavy breast. I run my fingers up the outsides of his arms and grip his large biceps to hang onto him. “I’m so glad I came up here.” He chuckles against the top of my head.

“Me too. My headache is gone.” I note. The afterglow has assaulted us in the shower and we are both lazily rubbing our fingers against each other’s wet skin. “Do they think you’re coming back?”

“I don’t know. And I really don’t care. I’m not leaving this room now.” I nod in understanding. “Did something happen down there?” He wonders. “You seemed fine and then you weren’t.”

“No.. I was just overwhelmed by meeting so many people.” I say to him, watching as flecks of water patter our reflection on the glass shower door. “Ended up getting a bad headache.”

“Yeah, I didn’t realize it was going to be a family reunion.” He mutters, shaking his head. “I would have prepared you for it if I knew.”

“It’s okay. This helped.” I grin, tilting my head back to look up at him. His lips find my temple and we stay like that for a moment, eyes closed in contentment. “Wanna wash my body?” I ask him, feeling that he has softened completely against my butt cheeks.

“You know where that is going to lead.”

“Yeah, kinda why I asked.” I turn to face him, tossing my arms around his neck. I bring his face down to mine, walking us back into the shower stream. The trails of water fly down our faces, melding in our mouths with each lap of our tongues against each other. Nico’s hands slide down to my ass, gripping tightly and smashing me to his chest. 

“You taste so fucking good. Wonder how you taste here.” He slides down my body, settling on his knees in the wet shower and shoving his tongue between my legs. My head knocks back, being sprayed by the warm shower head. My leg hooks over his shoulder and I settle my hand on top of his head for balance.

“Oh my god.” I moan to our hotel room.

Of all the Hischiers downstairs right now, I’m glad this one is mine.

[miryum]

Foundling Villa- Chapter 2

Royal!Charles Leclerc x Reader. Princess Y/n is arranged to marry Prince Charles. There will be many ups and downs that the author hasn’t planned out yet, but read along to find out more! (Yes, I know that sounds super cheesy) Warnings per chapter. Hope you guys enjoy!

Warnings: mentions of sex, mentions of war

ao3 link  next chapter>>

Charles didn’t want to leave the palace. Leaving the palace meant seeing Princess Y/n. Leaving the palace meant getting married. Leaving the palace meant throwing away his freedom. 

“Charles, let’s go,” Lorenzo beckoned his younger brother. “Don’t throw a tantrum like a child.”

“I thought I would be able to choose,” Charles insisted for the umpteenth time. 

Queen Pascale sighed. “We had always known it was a possibility. Williams is a fine kingdom and Princess Y/n is a wonderful girl.” 

“We don’t need Williams,” Charles protested. “And you’ve never met Princess Y/n.” 

“They have excellent resources,” Lorenzo explained. “It will be a much needed boost to the economy. With Redull suspiciously on our borders it would be beneficial to remain strong. Also, since when do you care about marriage? Other than a few flings here and there, you’ve shown no interest to anyone in court. What could you possibly be throwing away?” 

Charles grumbled, refusing to let Lorenzo’s excellent argument get to him. “It’s not about if I have a girl, it’s about my freedom.” 

Arthur snickered. “You think you won’t have any freedom? Whenever you want you can get out of here. Go on a trip to Aston or Alpine. Y/n can’t stop you.” 

“Y/n?” Charles scoffed at the informalities. “Are you best friends?!” 

“She’s my future sister-in-law,” Arthur pointed out. “I’m not going to call a family member by their title.” 

“She’s hardly family,” Charles frowned. He wanted to cross his arms like a child. 

Pascale hit him on the arm. “Charles Marc! Do not talk that way about your future bride!”

“You’re wrong.” Charles continued to rant, “everyone talks about how when you get married, you’re tied down. You have to run everything by your spouse. You can’t just wake up and decide to spend all day shooting ducks. You need to tell her about it and then she may refuse you to do it.” 

“Charles, I’m sure she’s feeling the same way.” Pascale tried to talk some sense into her middle child. “She probably has hobbies she enjoys and is worried you’ll forbid her from continuing them. If you allow her to continue her endeavours, she’ll probably let you do yours. I had the same anxiety when I married your father,” she placed a loving hand on King Hervé’s arm. “But then I realised that he was a loving and kind man. I got very lucky, and if you do not make Princess Y/n feel the same way, I swear, Charles, I will skin you.” Charles flinched backwards and Arthur laughed loudly.

“Have you done it yet?” Lorenzo asked abruptly. 

“Lorenzo!” Queen Pascale cried, “What is with you boys today?!” 

“We’ll talk later,” Lorenzo made sure Charles agreed. “You too,” he said to Arthur. “Both of you need to know what you’re doing.” 

Charles almost gagged. Arthur grimaced. 

“Your Majesties,” a knight announced. “Princess Y/n of Williams has entered the palace gates.”

“Oh my!” Queen Pascale exclaimed, “Everyone outside! Let’s go! Aren’t you excited? Look your best.” 

“Hey, Charles,” Arthur took him by the arm and held him back as the rest of the Leclercs walked outside. “Don’t screw this up.” 

“Inspiring words,” Charles rolled his eyes. 

“I mean it,” Arthur grabbed his brother’s arm. “Papa was conversing with Jules the other day. I overheard them talking about the prospect of war.” 

“War?” Charles stared at his brother. “Arthur, are you sure your mind isn’t playing tricks on you?” 

Before Arthur could answer, the knight stepped back inside. “Your Highnesses, Queen Pascale is demanding your presence.” Charles shot Arthur a glance, but walked out the door. Arthur shook his head and followed. 

The two younger Leclerc brothers barely made it to their places before your carriage pulled up. However, you didn’t get out. Blurry shapes in the carriage danced around and Arthur whispered to Charles, “looks like she’s nervous too.”

A footman soon jumped down and sprung open the door. You grasped the footman’s hand and stepped down, your gown swishing around your ankles as you steadied yourself. Charles blinked once, an eyebrow quickly lifting before steadying his expression. His mother was right; you were beautiful. That hardly meant anything, though. Many girls in the court were attractive but were vain and only looked at him and his brothers as pocketbooks. When he saw you, however, all past concerns went out the window. You looked much more demure than he thought; much more fearful than he wanted you to be. You didn’t seem like the type of person to take control of his life. In fact, Charles felt an odd need to protect you. Your anxiousness worried him and he didn’t want you to feel scared in your new home. 

Awkwardly, you slowly faced the royal family. Charles made quick eye contact with you. His muscles contracted, keeping him in the rightful place with shoulders back, chin tilted slightly upward, hands clasped firmly before him, and feet shoulder-width apart. 

“God, be a statue, why don’t you?” Arthur muttered. 

You, on the other hand, bowed your head in silent greeting, fingers fiddling with your dress. One of your maids said something into your ear and you nodded, glancing back at her, eyelashes brushing your cheeks. You murmured something back and the footman readily moved to the back of the carriage and began unloading. Charles noticed how you peeked up at the sky, seeming surprised at the sun high in the clouds. He remembered Williams had a much colder climate than Enza did and wondered if you were regretting your choice at a long-sleeve dress. Taking a deep breath, you paced forward to stand before the King and Queen. 

“Your Majesties of Enza,” you curtsied, keeping your voice low and clam. “Thank you for housing me. My mother and father, King and Queen of Williams, send their regards and best wishes. It’s an honour to be here.” 

“Princess Y/n,” King Hervé said. “It’s a pleasure to have you join us in Enza. We welcome you and any of your guests with a warm heart. We hope you’ll be happy and comfortable here.” 

“Thank you,” you gestured to your maids. “This is Elena and Sara, my handmaidens. I hope they can accompany me during my stay.” 

“Of course,” Queen Pascale spoke up. “Any friend of yours is a friend of ours. Will you be joining us for dinner?” 

You tried to conceal a grimace. “Unfortunately, I’m feeling awfully tired after my trip. I’m sorry to disappoint, but the ride was incredibly long. I hope you don’t mind if I lay down?” 

Queen Pascale looked worried. “Whatever you need, dear. We can send up some food, if you like?” 

“That would be wonderful, thank you.” 

“In the morning, Prince Charles could introduce you to the palace and show you around.” It didn’t sound like a request, though you knew Queen Pascale was just trying to instigate a relationship between you and Prince Charles. 

“I would love to accompany him.” Admittedly, you wanted to get to know Prince Charles. If you were to marry him, you thought you should at least know the bare minimum. It would look bad if you didn’t know your husband’s favourite food.

King Hervé said, “Prince Charles can show you to your room if you would like to get settled in.” 

“That would be excellent, thank you.” 

Prince Charles offered his arm to you. The rest of the Leclercs sneaked inside, leaving the two of you alone. Elena and Sara dropped back, offering some space. 

Charles noticed your sky blue dress as the colours of Williams. He felt bad that your wedding dress was to be light red. Although, his pocket square and tie were to be blue, the same colour of your dress you now wore. It was supposed to be symbolic of the joining of unions and the intertwining of kingdoms. However, it was clear that you weren’t ready to let go of your kingdom. 

You slowly accepted his arm. Charles felt a pain in his chest. He didn’t want you to be frightened of him, even though he was against the marriage as well.  

If you got nothing else, he was satisfied with being friends with you. 

“I know you may not ever love me,” he started talking, leading you inside and up a flight of stairs. “And I’m fine with that. This doesn’t need to be a romantic marriage. However, I would like to be on good terms with you. I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to.”

You were suspicious. “I would thank you for that,” you said cautiously. 

“I understand you’ll need some time to trust me.” Prince Charles seemed thoughtful, a quality you were grateful for. He didn’t seem like a controlling man. Maybe if you both agreed to stay out of the others’ way, this marriage wouldn’t turn out as bad as you thought. 

“I know neither of us want this,” you admitted. “But you’re right; we could be cordial to one another.”

“I would be accepting of that,” Prince Charles nodded. 

Prince Charles stopped in front of a large door.”This is you. If you want, your maids could be placed in a room close to you.”

“I would like that, thank you.”

“I’m supposed to tell you that a week from now, we’ll finalise plans for the wedding. The actual marriage is to take place in a month. Your parents are aware, but if you would like to invite anyone else, I would suggest writing to them now.” Charles monologued the script he was expected to tell you.

“Understandable,” you said. “I hope you sleep well tonight.”

It was simply formalities, but Charles replied kindly, “Thank you. You as well.”

You gave the prince a half-smile as you stepped into your new room. Your maids scurried in after you. Charles decided he liked your smile. He wanted to see it more often, as good friends would.

Being forced to marry you wasn’t the worst that could happen. After all, at least you didn’t hate him.

[tinygreybearpaws-blog]

Smarter Than He Realized

𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 Spencer has been trying to his his crush on the new girl on the team, but after a seemingly innocent interaction he’s caught by a fellow profiler.

𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader (Fluff)

𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 none!

𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 896

♡♡♡

“Y/n, how do you have the patience to do those?” Morgan asks.

We’re sitting on the jet headed back to Quantico. We all have little routines on the way home: Rossi always takes a nap (doesn’t matter the time of day), JJ makes her calls to her family, Hotch calls Jack and then finds a file to read, Blake normally plans for her next lecture, I read a book or two (depending on how long the flight is), y/n works in her Sudoku book, and Morgan interrupts everyone else’s routine (unless he’s sleeping).

I glance over towards y/n, but only for a second. In such a close proximity to profileres it’s been really difficult concealing my crush on her, but I’ve been successful for the past few months. I always time my glances at her, taking in account who is around and how much they are observing.

She normally has a new Sudoku book every two weeks, but she’s still working on the same one. I noticed the cover didn’t say ‘extreme’ like it normally does.

“Leave her alone,” Hotch protects her.

She’s been on the team for half a year now and the most I’ve ever heard her speak is when we’re working a case. No one knows anything about her that you can’t read from her file and even though it’s an unspoken rule that we don’t profile each other, we couldn’t profile her even if we wanted. And I want to, I really do.

I’ve read her file a dozen times trying to read into her background, but even on paper she’s evasive. The only thing in her file are her previous addresses, where she attended school, and her scores for the FBI entrance exams (which were way above average).

She’s beautiful, but that’s obvious, at least to me. It’s her hair that entrances me most: her hair is almost always in a braid in some way, a different series of knots day to day.

But I didn’t truly notice her until three months ago. Most of the team was out working on preparing witnesses, leaving her and I the only members of the BAU in the bullpen. I went to get some coffee and the door was opened slightly so I could hear the conversation: one of the FBI clerical workers was speaking to her.

I didn’t recognize her voice as her own at first because she was angry.

“You don’t even know him,” was the first line of the tense conversation I heard.

“I’m just saying, how does anyone take him seriously? He wears sweater vests, for god’s sake. He looks like a thirty year old virgin!” the male worker had said. My stomach dropped realizing he was gossiping about me. But the sinking feeling was soon replaced with y/n’s next response.

“Spencer has the greatest mind in the FBI and we’re lucky to have him on our team. Plus, I think his sweater vests suit him, he fills them out just fine.”

“I wasn’t trying to make you mad, it was just a comment,” the man retreats.

“Spencer would take a bullet for anyone on our team, probably for anyone in this whole building, including you. So I suggest you keep your comments to yourself,” she ends the conversation before opening the door fully and turning around.

She made eye contact with me, realizing I had to have heard at least part of the conversation. I nodded and she nodded too. She handed me the coffee in her hands and touched my shoulder before finding her desk.

The case we just finished was a tough one emotionally, but we were able to catch the sexual sadist. During however, I had to explain the names and purpose of too many sexual abuse objects. I’ve never seen y/n so uncomfortable.

Hotch was right in telling Morgan to leave her alone, she needed time to process.

“Hey Reid,” she says quietly, breaking the silence.

“Yeah,” I say, my voice cracking. I thought I would grow out of these voice breaks, but it seems to be a part of who I am now.

“Can you help me with a few of these?” she asks, holding up her book.

I nod and cross the aisle so I’m sitting beside her. She smells like sugared cranberries.

“I only want one number for each of these five puzzles. I’ve been trying to get these for way too long and they don’t have an answer sheet in the back,” she tells me.

She’s never spoken a complete sentence to me outside of a case.

I glance at the first one and find myself stumped too. Frustrated, I grab the book from her hands and look closer.

“Oh,” she realizes. She grabs the book from my hands, and I can feel how soft they are in the short exchange. “There’s an error in the print,” she mumbles. 

She scribbles out the printed numbers and rewrites them in the box to their right.

This is what she adds to the team and why my crush on her grows each day: she’s intelligent and sees things we don’t realize we could look for.

I smile to myself for a split second after our reaction. When I look up I make direct eye contact with Morgan. He smirks, seeing what I have been trying to hide since I meet y/n: a crush.