#further irritating the situation between rio

[stupidlicious]

spider-man (to get your attention)

so i was sitting here doing my makeup and thinking about Officer Morale and Uncle Aaron and all that good stuff (spoilers for both movies ahead I think)

and i was thinking, how was there not some big scandal about The Prowler dying and being discovered to be the brother of Good Cop Officer Morales, soon to be captain???

weak theory 1: officer morales managed to keep on the down low that his dead brother was wearing the prowler suit and either in good faith or with money managed to have his fellow officers and the coroner not say anything.

weak theory 2: the prowler was SO GOOD at his job that nobody ever saw him and so when he died and his suit was found, nobody was concerned because nobody knew.

realistic theory: plot armor

anyway

[starrynite7114]

snapshots: fostering II

A/N: Good morning beautiful people! I posted in a previous post regarding why I haven’t update, but basically, I got COVID and it was just not a fun time. 

I am back with an update! This one took some time since I could hardly concentrate while i was out. But I finally have an update. These are the following updates I plan on posting in no specific order.

EZ request

Lake Part Two

Sex Guru Angel

Everything is you: part 12

Another EZ update

Rio request

Two Daddy Angel request: Snuggling and Trip to the aquarium 

That’s my plan before going back to school at the end of the month. Given, I may sneak in a few things in between those things I have mentioned above. 

Prior to me getting sick, I turned off anon, but I have turned it on again. Hopefully New Year, no hate? Regardless, my inbox is open!

Enjoy the update! Love you all!

Shoutout: To my better half, @angelreyesgirl, thank you for helping me map out the rest of the fostering chapters. And thank you for just being fucking you. I LOVE YOU, even though you put me through emotional turmoil with our shows, especially last night. lol 

Groupchat for updates! Please join since the tags could be a bit iffy at times!

If you would like to be added to the tag list, please let me know! My tag list is a little messy, but please let me know if you want to be added!

Masterlist

Snapshots

Word count: 4786

Warnings: Fluff, Infertility, a smidge of angst

CREDIT TO THE ORIGINAL GIF MAKER

“You did tell Angel right?” Gilly helped you bring in the crib his cousin had graciously let you borrow into your home. 

You looked at Gilly as you held the six month old in your arms, who was comfortably sleeping. You and Angel had discussed the possibility of fostering, but there was no final decision that was made. The agency called you and it was an emergency after the baby was brought to an emergency room last night by his mother and was taken away since the mother had tested positive for amphetamines. Since it was an emergent situation, the social worker begged you to take the kid for a few days while they got him situated. You figured it would be a good start for you and Angel was out of town due to an extended run up north.

“It’s just for a few days.” 

Gilly groaned, placing the crib in your room. “That literally did not answer my question, yet it fucking answered my question.” He shook his head. “You have to tell Angel. There’s no guarantee the kid is going to be gone by the time he comes back and what if they head back early?”

“Eva said three days tops. And Angel literally told me they won’t be back till the weekend. The baby will be situated with a foster family by then.” 

And somehow, Gilly didn’t believe that. 

Gilly helped you set up the crib and buy a few things for the baby such as snacks, formula, diapers, and wipes. He watched as you settled on the couch with the baby boy.

“What was the name of the kid again?” Gilly questioned as he settled on the arm chair. 

“Believe it or not, it’s Angelo.” You chuckled. Looking down at the baby in your arms, your heart swelled. It further cemented that you wanted to try this whole fostering thing, to see foster children while they wait for their forever homes. Though, you know it would be difficult, it was a first step. You knew that you and Angel weren’t exactly ready to adopt yet, so you opted to be an emergency foster parent when the need arose. You just didn’t expect it to happen as quickly as it did. 

“Oh man, you’re not going to be able to part from this one.” Gilly saw the way your eyes marveled at the baby in your arms. The way you were holding the child, smiling at every little movement. The baby looked incredibly comfortable in your arms, smiling whenever you smiled at him. Angelo would laugh this hearty laugh when you would make faces at him.

Ares entered the living room, taking his usual spot beside you. He eyed the baby curiously and looked up at Gilly, before looking back down at the baby.

“Wow, now it’s going to be Angel and Ares fighting the baby for your attention.”

“No it won’t because the baby isn’t staying long.” 

“Come on Y/N, you honestly believe you’re going to be able to give Angelo back knowing his mother is a drug addict.” Gilly could just see the wheels turn in your head, your heart clenching at the idea of having to give back Angelo to such an unstable home. 

“Look, stop, I can give Angelo back, regardless of his mother’s choices, I heard that she tried her best to care for Angelo.” You were thankful that Angelo didn’t appear to be harmed by whatever his mother chose to do in her life. 

“She’s been getting by with luck. But you should tell Angel so he doesn’t freak out when he comes home and you have a baby.” 

“Guessing keeping this a secret is out of the question?” You gave him a sheepish smile.

“Oh no, absolutely not. This is too big for you to keep to yourself.”

But you did keep it to yourself. 

And much like Gilly predicted, baby Angelo was still with you Saturday morning and Angel walked in your shared home on Saturday afternoon, doing a double take when he saw Angelo laying his head on the half circle nursing pillow with Ares laying down against the pillow, providing some sort of support as you made faces at him, blowing raspberries on his tummy. 

“What the fuck is this?” Angel knew of your intent to do fostering. You completed the classes two weeks ago, but he didn’t think it would be this quick. And he definitely didn’t expect to walk in and have a baby in his living room. And he definitely didn’t expect the dread at the pit of his stomach, feeling defeated when it came to his hope of you two conceiving your own child. He didn’t have a problem with adoption, if that’s what the cards had for you two, he didn’t mind. But being faced with the decision that you seemingly made on your own, it slightly irritated him. He felt like you were giving up without even trying.  

“Babe!” You stood up, smiling at your boyfriend. Ares lifted his head before jumping down the couch. He walked over to Angel and nuzzled his cheek against Angel’s leg. 

“Oh no, even the fucking dog is trying to sweet talk me. You’re both in fucking trouble. Baby, what the fuck?” Angel’s eyes couldn’t part from the baby on the couch. 

“I know, I know, this looks bad, but it was an emergency.”

“An emergency? Like last night? Cause I know you would have told me if you emergently had to foster a baby.” Angel walked closer as if the baby wasn’t real, that if he moved closer, it would all be an illusion. Because he knew for a fact that you would tell him something as enormous as this.

You sighed. “Try three days.”

“Three days?!” Angel gave you an incredulous look, his higher octave of tone scaring Angelo. The baby began to cry, causing you to frown. You picked up Angelo, trying your best to comfort the baby. “Y/N, this is, this is unacceptable. How can you not have told me you were fostering a baby?”

“He was supposed to be gone before you came back.” It was a terrible reason, you could attest to that, but it was all you had. 

“I don’t give a fuck, this is our home. You’re bringing in a baby into our home. I have the right to know these things. This isn’t a fucking puppy or a toy. You can’t just bring the baby in and bring it back out as if it’s nothing.” Angel didn’t think you thought of this as a game, but he knew how simple you thought things through at time. For you, just like your computer software, you make the software, test it out and hand it over to the company that requested the said software. You came to help the company from time to time, otherwise, it was no longer your headache. And that was how Angel saw your thought process was when it came to fostering. He loves you, but this was the reason he was apprehensive about the idea of fostering. Not only would you have a difficult time parting with the child when the time came, but the way you handled it wasn’t ideal. This wasn’t a toy baby for one of those subjects in high school and it wasn’t a dog that could charm their way to people’s hearts. 

This was another human life. 

And the way you handled the whole thing, it showed Angel that fostering was definitely not right, at least not right now. 

“I know he isn’t a toy or a puppy. Don’t insult my intelligence.”

“Then don’t insult mine. We’re a fucking team. Regardless if the baby was going to be here for an hour or a year, you should tell me. This is why we shouldn’t foster a child, you can’t even communicate to me that we’re fostering one.” Angel shook his head. “You’re not even going to try for a baby?”

His words pierced through your heart and you could tell Angel immediately regretted his words. 

“I’m sorry, did you say, not try for a baby?” You scoffed. “That’s rich. You’re all talk about being okay with not having your own biological child, but now, fostering a child is staring us right in the face and the only thing you can do is give me flack for bringing a child in our home.”

“I am okay with not having my own biological child, but I would at least like for us to try and explore every possible fucking option. It’s like you got one opinion and shut down. Why can’t we get a second opinion?” Angel did not want to be arguing with you. This was not how he saw his day going. He wanted to get home so he could take a nap, take you out on a nice dinner and make love to you till Sunday afternoon. Now, you two were arguing and Angel knew it wasn’t going to be swept under the rug any time soon. “I meant what I said, I want to be with you regardless if you can have a baby or not, but again, one opinion you shut down. You’re an IT specialist, you look for every way to fix a fucking problem with a software, but with your own life, you got one solution and that’s it, you gave up.”

The tears that welled up in your eyes made you look away from Angel as you rocked Angelo in your arms. You didn’t just look at one solution, you got a second opinion in Arizona and the doctor more or less told you the same thing. Rafael gave you the number of his cousin who saw a specialist in LA, but after having two opinions basically stating the same facts, it was hard to hear over and over again that couldn’t have a child. 

“You know, you can be a real asshole at times.” You walked away from Angel, Ares following suit as you closed the door, choosing not to slam it since Angelo finally calmed down. 

“Fuck!” 

=================

You were laying on the bed, Ares at your feet and Angelo sleeping soundly right beside you. You had a long body pillow on his one side and you on the other. The tears have subsided, but you were still quite upset at Angel. You understood why he was upset, you should have told him about the baby, there was no rhyme or reason as to why you didn’t. You sniffled, wiping your nose as you had your hand on Angelo’s little tummy, watching him as he slept. A new batch of tears formed in your eyes as reality set in that you could never truly have this, a child created by you and Angel. A child with Angel’s smile and beautiful brown eyes. A child with a mixture of your personalities. 

It upset you that you couldn’t give that to Angel. The fact he assumed that you didn’t look at other options hurt you, but, it’s not like you told him either. 

You felt Ares rest his head on your calf, his warmth bringing some comfort to you. Hearing the door open, you closed your eyes, not ready for another showdown with Angel. You heard him sigh as he closed the door. You weren’t certain if he walked back out or was inside the room, but you kept your eyes closed.

The bed dipped under his weight. You felt him rest his hand above yours that was on Angelo’s tummy. 

“I wish you knew just how much I love you. Seeing you with a baby is painful because I know you’re hurting more than anyone else about your current predicament. It’s the reason why I don’t want us to foster, at least not yet. Knowing you can’t have a child, I know it’s killing you and I’m just trying to protect you.” You felt Angel softly squeezed your hand. “You’re the love of my life, if I can protect you from the world I would.”

You weren’t sure what you did to deserve Angel’s love, but hearing him say those words, it made your heart swell.

You felt him move, most likely getting in a more comfortable position. 

“What are we going to do with you little man?” You heard Angel sigh. 

Angel heard the faint cries at first and he was going back to sleep when he realized it was the baby. He cracked an eye open and saw Angelo on his belly, his face scrunched up, small cries coming from his lips. Ares lifted his head and was about to stand up when Angel gestured for him to stay down. 

“Hey papa’s, you doing okay?” Angel had his fair share of babysitting jobs when he was younger so he knew how to care for a baby, but this was different. This baby was technically under your care and it wasn’t someone he could give back at the end of the day. It was one of the things he feared too. You two didn’t know what kind of baby or kid you would end up with. What if they ended up becoming serial killers?

Angel knew it was ridiculous, but he thought of your safety, that was his main priority. 

Angel picked up Angelo, holding the baby in his arms. He stood up, hoping he could rock Angelo back to sleep, but the cries came before he could do anything. Moving towards the kitchen, he hoped you prepared bottles for the baby since he didn’t exactly know how much formula to use or the ratio with water and such. Thankfully there was a bottle. He warmed up the bottle and checked the temperature. Once it was good, he placed the nipple at Angelo’s mouth which he gladly sucked on. Angel chuckled, making his way over to the couch to sit down. Ares joined him, resting his head on Angelo’s legs.

“At least you adjusted well to him.” Angel sighed, watching as Angelo greedily drank the milk. “Man, you’re hungry.” Ares adjusted himself and watched Angelo drinking his milk. “Don’t get used to him, we can’t keep him.” Ares looked over at Angel and for once, Angel saw this demon dog of yours give him the puppy dog eyes. “That only works on your mom, not on me, nope.” He looked down at Angelo and he assisted him by holding the bottle for him. “Wonder why she had to take you in so suddenly.”

When Angelo finished his bottle, Angel burped him, moving to sit back down. Angelo reached for the necklace around Angel’s neck that rested on his chest. Angel watched as the infant became enamored with the necklace, playing with it, slightly tugging on it. He laughed, the sound slightly startling Angelo before a smile broke out on his own face. Angel couldn’t believe he was thinking it, but all he wanted was to keep that smile on this precious baby boy.

“Oh no,” Angel groaned. 

Ares sat up, pawing at Angelo and Angel petted him under his neck, and just shook his head. 

“I think he’s cute too, but we can’t keep him.” Ares scoffed and turned away from Angel, laying down. “You can throw a tantrum all you want, but we’re not keeping the baby.” Angel shook his head. “I have no idea what she got in her head, but we can’t keep you little man.”

Angelo snuggled his face against Angel’s shirt, the gesture making Angel’s heart melt further. As much as he wanted to keep Angelo, he didn’t know how good of an idea that was. You two were still working on your relationship and he still wanted to try to get a second opinion for what was going on. He had faith that miracles could occur, but as he said, he didn’t mind if you two ended up adopting. But he wanted to at least try, to at least put the effort of having a child. He saved up money and he was certain your medical insurance would help with it. 

=================

Before you knew it, sleep overtook you and when you awoke it was due to Angel waking you up.

“Baby,” Angel shook you awake, your eyes blinking adjusting to the light. “We need to get more diapers. What size are his diapers?”

You yawned and pointed at your closet. “He has more in there.”

Angel nodded his head and went inside the closet, taking a diaper before laying Angelo right next to you. Sitting up, you looked down at him and looked over at Angel. 

“I didn’t hear him cry.” You commented.

“Yeah, I know, he started getting fussy so I picked him up.” Angel cooed at Angelo as he picked him up. “What’s his name?”

“Angelo.”

“No shit,” Angel smiled. 

“Right?” You returned his smile. Watching Angel hold Angelo, it made you tear up all over again. You wanted this so badly for Angel, for Angel to have his own child and seeing this, it made you happy yet, it saddened you. Maybe you should call the doctor in LA just to see if the third time’s the charm. 

He looked up at you and sighed. “I hate fighting with you.”

“Me too.” You frowned. “I’m sorry for not communicating it to you that Angelo was here. I don’t even know what I was thinking.”

“Just make sure it doesn’t happen again. You can’t just drop a baby on us. We have to discuss this, we’ve always been a team, that hasn’t changed.” Angel reminded you.

“I know,” you crawled over to him and Angel held you with his free arm, pulling you against him. “I think the excitement of having him, it just threw me off and I guess I was being a little selfish. And maybe some part of me wanted to surprise you.”

“Consider me surprised querida.” Angel kissed you. Pulling away, he looked down at Angelo, who was just looking at you two then back at you. “Fuck, I’m going to get used to this and it’s going to suck when he leaves. What’s his story?”

You proceeded to tell Angel the story of how you gained emergency custody of Angelo. You saw how Angel’s eyes softened and the anger that also appeared.

“That’s messed up. How can,” Angel paused and shook his head. “We can’t give him back to her.” Angel’s overprotectiveness has come out and you knew that letting go of Angelo was going to be difficult on you both. 

“Angel, babe, I agree, but she still has custody.” You had temporary custody of Angelo, once things settled with his mother, they would most likely give him back to her. You truly hoped the report was right and that his mother just recently relapsed and was working on getting better, but addiction was hard to kick. 

“She’s an unfit mother.” Angel spat out. He shouldn’t be preaching, he killed people and was part of a heroin trade, but he would never endanger a child.

“Babe, we don’t know that.”

“Don’t know that?” Angel scoffed. “She continued to do drugs with her child in the same home as her, that’s unforgivable.” 

You loved how passionate Angel felt about Angelo. He’s only known him for a few hours and he loved the little guy already. It made you smile and you hugged Angel once again, which surprised him. He sighed and kissed the top of your head, his attention back on Angelo.

“I was so worried that you couldn’t give him back, but I think it’s going to be me.” Angel chuckled. “How come you still have him?”

“Thanksgiving is next week, guess people aren’t in a rush to handle the case.” You shrugged. “We have to talk about the possibility of keeping Angelo. It’s a long shot, I doubt his mother would give up custody, but maybe we should discuss it in case it is presented to us.” 

“I’m in.”

Angel’s reply surprised you. It’s not that you didn’t think Angel was going to be on board, but you two just argued earlier about having biological children and now, he was on board with keeping Angelo.

“What?” You pulled away from him, choosing to sit on the bed. Ares laid beside you, laying his head on your thigh. “We literally just argued about having biological children, and now you want to keep him?”

“I never said I didn’t want to adopt a child with you. I’m on board with whatever you want mami, you know this. But I just want you to at least consider getting a second opinion.” Angel began to rock Angelo back and forth, the baby falling asleep in his arms rather easily. Placing Angelo in his crib, Angel leaned on the wall beside his crib. “I want everything with you. I meant what I said when I told you I was okay with not having children of our own, but I want you to at least explore every fucking option.”

“You don’t think I did that?”

“I don’t know baby, did you?” 

“I got a second opinion in Arizona and the doctor basically told me the same thing. I wanted to come back to you Angel, but if I came back, I wanted us to have an option to have a child together.” You confessed. “When you came for me, I knew it was a matter of time before you broke down through my walls and I was back in your arms. But before I came back, I wanted for us to know our options. So I got the second opinion and it still wasn’t great news.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know, I was already disappointed that we can’t have kids and the way you reacted the first time frightened me. I figured you didn’t want to hear another disappointing fact about me.” You were mostly disappointed in yourself. You knew it wasn’t something you could control, but knowing you couldn’t have a family in the traditional sense, it hurt. 

Angel moved to kneel in front of you, taking your hands that were on your lap. “From now on, we talk about everything, regardless of disappointment or whatever. I love you. Let me be your support system. I know you’re used to counting on yourself, but it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s been us against the world since we were thirteen fucking years old and that hasn’t changed. Regardless of what’s occurred the last six months, that hasn’t changed. You’re my girl and I’m yours.” 

You nodded your head, wiping your tears away. “There’s a third option Rafael told me about. It’s in LA.”

“Okay, make an appointment, we’ll go.” Angel rested his arms on your lap, his hands holding your hips. 

“Angel, maybe we should wait till after the holidays, I don’t know if I really want such sad news during the holidays.”

“Nope, let’s do it, regardless of the results, I’m here for you. We’ll face it together. Make the appointment for next week and we’ll handle this.” Angel cupped your face, bringing your lips to his. 

“I just don’t want you to be disappointed. Maybe we should just give it time.”

“Nope, this is your defense mechanism, putting shit off. Fuck no baby, let’s meet with the doctor and we’ll go from there.” 

“What if it’s the same results? That’s what’s killing me Angel.”

“Then we’ll think of other ways.” He pursed his lips. “I know it’s hard, but don’t you want to explore every option so we can at least look back on this twenty years from now and know we did everything we could to have children?”

Angel got you there. You wanted to live life with no regrets and he was right. When you looked back on this moment years from now, you want to know you tried every option.

“I understand the fear of disappointment, but there is no disappointment if we know we tried every viable option that we had.”

“When did you get so wise?” 

Angel chuckled. “Coco is rubbing off on me.” He kissed you again, wrapping his arms around you. 

“I’ll make the appointment.” 

“Good, just let me know when and we can make a day out of it. I can visit my tio and tia while we’re there.” 

You smiled, nodding your head at his suggestion. You picked up your phone and noticed a missed call from Eva. Before you could even call her back, the doorbell rang. Angel made his way to the front door to answer the door. You followed after him and found Eva with her usual purse and folders in arms. 

“Hey Eva!” You greeted. “I was just about to return your call, we had a nap.”

Eva chuckled. “You’re fine, I figured you were napping or occupied with a seven month old child.” 

“This is my boyfriend, Angel.” You introduced the two finally since you usually just mentioned them to one another. 

“Very nice to finally meet you Angel.” Eva shook Angel’s outstretched hand.

“Likewise.” 

Eva was in her mid-forties, her hair style reminded you of a 50’s housewife. It fit her face well and she was honestly one of the kindest people you knew.

“It’s five in the afternoon on a Saturday, you’re still working?” Angel commented as you all sat down in the living room. 

“Yes well work never stops.” Eva shrugged with a content smile on her face. You knew Eva was a workaholic. Many social workers have gotten a bad reputation these past few years, but Eva always seemed so genuine to you. “But, I want to make this visit quick and hopefully it’ll work out for all of us.”

“Sure, what’s going on?” You were seated beside Angel, your hand in his.

“Angelo’s mother has given up custody of Angelo and I was wondering if you would be interested in fostering him till we can handle all the necessary paperwork.” Eva was hopeful. She saw how you quickly bonded with Angelo and the last few times she’s seen that occur, the child ended up being adopted by their foster parents. And if she was being honest, she was hoping this would be the case here. “Or if you’re interested, maybe you would like to adopt Angelo.” You were an ideal candidate. Regardless of your marital status, you had a steady, stable job and you also had a home and a good support system. 

You looked at Angel who squeezed your hand, placing a kiss on the back of it. “You already know how I feel.”

“We would love to adopt Angelo.” You said quickly, Eva laughing at your enthusiasm and clapped her hands together. 

“I knew you would, this is perfect. I’ll handle the paperwork, but I wouldn’t expect anything till after Thanksgiving. Honestly, I do not foresee any trouble with the proceedings, especially since his mother gave up custody of Angelo to the state.” Eva stood up. “I will keep in touch, but have a very happy thanksgiving and I will speak to you both after next week.”

“Yeah, of course.” You were in disbelief how quickly everything was happening, but it made you feel as if it was meant to be, that everything was just simply falling into place. You and Angel said your goodbyes to Eva and as soon as the front door was closed and locked by Angel, you ran over to him.

Angel caught you, your legs and arms wrapping around him. Your lips were on his, one of Angel’s arms rested around you and his hand cupped your face. Pulling away, you rested your forehead against Angel’s.

“Fuck, baby, this is so quick.” You wanted to scream in joy, but Angelo was taking a nap. You felt Ares nudging your back, wanting to join the festivities. Going back on the ground, you hugged Ares, happy that you got to keep Angelo after all.

“It’s just things falling into place baby.” Angel sat on the floor next to you, Ares coming to Angel and giving him kisses. 

“We have a baby.” You breathed out. You rested your head on Angel’s shoulders. “Holy shit, we’re parents.”

Angel laughed. “You’re really stuck with me now. Cause if you even try to leave, I’ll take our kid and the dog.”

You laughed along with Angel. The appointment for next week made you nervous, even though you weren’t sure if you would even be able to book an appointment. Regardless, whatever the outcome of next week was, you were happy that you had Angelo. 

You and Angel were building your family.

That was the most important thing to you. 

=================

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[hood-ex]

Prey to Sentiment

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Batbro Ages:

Dick: 20 Jason: 17 Tim: 13 Damian: 10

The sound of music was the first thing Damian noticed when the passage to the batcave opened. It was an upbeat tune that seemed to pound through the rock and limestone interior of the place. It was so jarringly loud compared to the rest of the manor that he found himself tuning into the lyrics without consciously choosing to. To his confusion, it seemed to be a song about a woman named Rio who enjoyed dancing on the sand.

Damian wanted to plug his ears with cotton to drown out the offending sound, but more than anything, he wanted to know who was blasting music in the cave. Surely his father did not listen to such garbage, nor did he allow it to play while he was working. Within the week Damian had gotten to observe his father, he knew that the man was nearly always silent. Bruce Wayne ate in silence, read in silence, exercised in silence, and patrolled in silence. It only made sense that his workspace would retain his preference for silence as well.

So no, it would be completely out of character for his father to play music in the batcave, which meant that someone else had been down here earlier. Judging by the sudden tenseness in his father’s shoulders, Damian could only guess that the culprit was still lurking around.

The only people Damian could imagine would be down here would be his father’s caped associates. That insufferable alien called Superman or possibly the blabbermouth speedster. Unless… his father was testing him and was planning to have him attacked as some kind of training exercise. Even though it was unlikely, Damian kept his eyes peeled for any sense of danger.

“There are some people I want to introduce you to,” Father said. He began to descend down the staircase, his feet making no sound. Damian followed suit and resisted the temptation to cross his arms over his chest. If there was someone threat worthy down here, he’d rather his hands be free to grab the knife tucked in his pants. He did allow a small scrunch of his nose since there was an unpleasant earthy smell in the cave mixed with a sharp saltiness that Damian couldn’t place.

He scanned beyond his view of his father’s backside and noticed that there was something different about the lowest level of the batcave. Typically, that was the section of the cave where his father kept his jet skis, ski boat, and the submarine. When Damian saw the cave for the first time a week ago, he had briefly looked down and saw that there was just enough seawater inside the cave to keep the vessels afloat. There had also been a large door at the entrance of the lower level that blocked off more ocean water from coming in, though it was obviously more of a device to keep people from entering the cave. The door had been locked tight before, but now it was completely wide open, allowing ocean water to slosh gently against the lower walls of the cave. The saltiness he had detected moments ago made sense now.

“Are you planning on going fishing?” Damian asked. He ended up crossing his arms anyways, hip cocked toward the support of the ridged wall. His father continued heading towards the lower level platform. The platform was only a few feet higher than the top surface of the water, making it easy enough to hop onto the boats. His father made no move to board any of the vessels, rather, he stopped at the edge of the platform and turned to meet Damian’s eyes.

“You’ll have to come down here,” Father said, “They won’t climb up there to meet you.”

Damian pushed off the wall with his shoulder and came down to the lower platform. “Who on earth are you referring to?” His arm nearly brushed his fathers when they finally stood next to each other. “Surely you don’t mean to introduce me to that trident wielding clownfish man.”

For a second it looked like his father was struggling between a glare and a small grin. Damian decided it must be a look of disapproval. People were rarely amused by him.

“No, not Aquaman,” Father said. Oh, of course. That was the clownfish man’s name. “Although somewhat related to him. You’ve met mer people before, haven’t you?”

Damian had, in fact, never met a mer person, let alone multiple of them at the same time. He’d certainly seen them when he was with the League of Assassins. Sometimes he would see them darting through the waves of the ocean, but he mainly saw them when his grandfather brought them in as prisoners.

Regardless, they were beautiful creatures, even though they rarely showed themselves above water. There were laws in place that kept mer people from being hunted like a typical sea animal, but it hadn’t always been that way. Damian supposed that was why the people of the sea were hesitant to make regular appearances outside of their habitat.

“Not officially,” Damian said after a few moments of silence. His eyes narrowed into slits. “I’m about to, aren’t I?” He instantly took a few steps back away from the ledge. His tongue curled, ready to reprimand his father for allowing mer people into the cave. Before he had the chance to do so, his father held up a hand.

“You don’t have to be scared of them. I’ve known each of them for a long time now and they know who I am.”

That only made Damian tense even further to the point where he was practically a replica of a dog with its hackles raised. He couldn’t believe his father had revealed his identity to others. Who were these people that had his father’s trust? Why were they privy to such a private part of his father’s life before Damian himself was? Damian technically knew the reason for the last question, and he couldn’t help but feel a little jealous that his father’s affection for the interlopers was likely stronger than his affection for his own son.

His father’s blue eyes watched him with calculated precision and Damian quickly schooled his features. He’d rather have his father think he was nervous instead of pinpoint his insecurity.

“I know things between us have been rough this past week, but try to be civil with them.” They mean a lot to me went unsaid. Damian rolled his eyes before dragging his feet back to his father’s side. He gave a stiff nod.

His father reached up towards the comm in his ear, which was interesting. That meant the mers had a means of communicating with him in the water and vice versa. While Damian was certainly wary of the situation, he had to admit he was a little curious about his father’s “associates.”

“Tim,” his father said into the comm. There was a small pause where this so-called Tim must have responded. “I have Damian with me. You can come inside now. Tell Jason he can’t have any of Alfred’s shrimp for a week unless he disables the music loop.” Then, muttered through clenched teeth as if pained to admit it, he said, “It’s been driving me crazy all morning.”

“Tt.” Damian had been ignoring the music still pounding through the cave up until that point. There had been another terrible song playing for the past three minutes. It went something like, “I’m having your baby. It’s none of your business.” It hit a little too close to home for Damian’s liking, and by the way his father was openly scowling, he figured he felt the same. However, it didn’t become an issue because the music abruptly came to a stop. The Jason character must have decided the butler’s food was worth far more than an annoyed Batman.

There wasn’t much indication that the mers had entered the cave other than the water itself taking on a more rippled effect. Seconds later, the water started sloshing more harshly against the walls and platform. Damian lifted his foot just in time to miss a wave of water from soaking his shoe. By the time he dodged a few more wayward splashes, hair and skin were beginning to emerge from the murky depths.

Two dark-haired males then rose up until their arms and chests were exposed to the air, water droplets trickling down their skin. The male with the larger and more muscled torso looked to be older than the slimmer, pale male. Both of their eyes were blue and rid of any irritation that a normal human’s eyes would experience when exposed to seawater. Their hands also had webbing between each finger, though the small white tissue scars covering them suggested that the webbing was not entirely durable. While interesting, Damian was more excited to see the mer’s tails, but so far neither of them had moved far enough out of the water to show a glimpse of them.

His attention was drawn towards the teardrop-shaped obsidian stones that were fastened to each of the mer’s throats by short silver chains. He wondered if they were gifts from his father since the necklaces did not look like the kind of colorful jewelry mers were known to wear.

During the time Damian had taken to carefully observe the two strangers in the water, he realized they were doing the same to him. The more intimidating mer drifted closer until he was leaning his arms against the side of the platform, making Damian take a few steps back. His eyes seemed to be drawn to the knife that Damian had concealed in his pants. How the mer had detected it, Damian had no idea, but it instantly made him feel more guarded.

His father placed a hand on his shoulder, and normally Damian would have shrugged it off, but somehow it made it easier to look at the mers without showing his unease over the situation.

His father looked at the larger male. “Damian, this is Jason Todd.” This was said with a pointed glare at the mer, and the mer instantly sported a wolfish grin that displayed his sharp teeth.

Father then motioned to the smaller male. “This is Tim Drake.” Tim gave a hesitant wave, his webbed hand stretching out to full capacity. Father sighed. “Where’s Dick?”

Damian raised a brow, unsure of what that was supposed to mean.

“He got sidetracked,” Drake said, swimming up beside Todd. “A kid from a passing pod snagged his tail between two rocks and broke a few scales. Dick said he was going to show the pod where the mer-medic was. He should be here any second.”

From what Damian remembered, a pod was the mer people’s equivalent to a family unit. They mostly traveled while children in the pod were young before becoming more stationary in one area. From what he could make of their ages, Damian assumed Todd and Drake’s pods must be close by. If that was the case then did their pods also know the identity of Batman? Did they also come into the cave and chat with his father? Once again, Damian couldn’t help but feel like a complete outsider in the situation.

His father started talking to the comm in his ear, apparently demanding to know where the absent mer was located. Damian ignored him in favor of focusing on the mers present. Arms crossed, he stepped forward to the point of nearly stepping on Todd’s fingers.

“My name is Damian Wayne,” he said, chin tipping upwards. “I demand to know your relationship with my father.”

Todd and Drake shared a look with each other.

“You demand to know?” Todd asked, Gotham accent taking Damian by surprise. He gripped the side of the platform harder and pulled his torso further out of the water, intentionally leaning into Damian’s space. “How about I demand you rephrase your question?” Todd didn’t even blink as a water droplet from his hair trickled into his eye.

“There was nothing wrong with the phrasing of my question, bottom dweller,” Damian said, using a term he had heard his grandfather use when referring to mer people.

Jason’s tail, a mixture of black and red, appeared for a split second before coming back down to the water with a loud smack. Water sprayed in multiple directions and a large portion of it drenched Damian’s jeans and shoes. Outraged, Damian stepped on the heel of his right shoe to loosen it. Then, with well practiced aim, he flung the shoe straight into Todd’s smug looking face. Todd’s head snapped back on impact. His arms gave out beneath him, making him sink back into the water. Drake dodged to the side to avoid Todd’s flailing.

Damian heard Drake and his father shout at the same time.

“What the hell!”

“Damian!”

Suddenly, a wet hand shot out of the water and snagged one of Damian’s ankles in a bone crushing grip. He was yanked so hard that he lost his balance and fell on his backside with a startled gasp.

“Unhand me!” he yelled while trying to scramble for purchase on the wet floor. It was no use. He felt another tight squeeze around his ankle, and before he knew it, he was dragged into the disgusting water.

Saltwater immediately stung his eyes. He squeezed them shut and blindly reached towards his ankle to try and dig his nails into Todd’s hands, but the water slowed his momentum. Even kicking became difficult against the water’s resistance. He could feel his body being dragged back and forth through the water, his hair ghosting over his face every other second. Lungs burning, Damian tried to use his hands to propel his torso to the surface of the water, only to have Todd give a harsh tug downwards, keeping him from reclaiming oxygen.

A second passed where Damian genuinely thought his father was going to let this psychotic mer drown him. A heavy feeling of betrayal fell over him and he tried even harder to kick Todd in the face. Clearly, no one was going to save him. He had to save himself. That’s the way it had to be. Just like it always had been with the League of Assassins.

Just as he was about to try reaching for his knife, a high pitched sound vibrated through the water. It sent shivers down Damian’s spine, and for a moment, he thought there was a whale with them in the water. A sound like that was far too similar to the whale songs Damian had seen videos of. But then the biting grip of Jason’s hands disappeared from his ankles. A different set of webbed hands grabbed his wrist, propelling him towards the surface.

Damian reflexively sucked in a large breath as soon as his face was out of the water. He felt dizzy from the lack of oxygen. He tried to open his eyes and immediately shut them again after feeling the sharp sting of salt in them.

Whoever pulled him out of the water had enough sense to keep an arm around his waist. Damian half-heartedly dog paddled back towards the edge of the platform with the arm’s support. Another set of hands, his father’s hands, grabbed him under the armpits and scooped him out onto the platform.

Damian gasped wetly and dragged himself as far from the water as he could with the dead weight of his wet clothes holding him back. He noticed his father’s presence disappear from his side, only to be swapped with another person, supposedly the person who saved him. Vaguely, Damian could hear his father yelling in the distance. It was hard to make out the words with the sound of his heart pounding in his ears.

The webbed hand returned to his back and gave it a few hard taps to help dispel any water Damian accidentally swallowed. “Go get him a towel and some tap water. He needs to flush out his eyes.” The voice was unfamiliar. There was no doubt that this had to be the other mer, Dick.

“Are you sure he doesn’t need some milk?” Drake asked from somewhere above them. And what? How was Drake possibly above them? He wouldn’t be able to breathe nor would he be able to walk with his tail. He tried to pry his eyes open to look, only to close them with a hiss after feeling how sensitive they were. Dick used his hand to slick Damian’s hair away from his face so more saltwater wouldn’t drip down into it.

“Oh krill,” Dick said, sounding exasperated and amused at the same time. “How long have you been waiting to use that reference?”

A bark of laughter echoed in the cave. “Way too long.”

“Should’ve waited longer!” Todd shouted during a pause in his and father’s argument.

“Jason,” Dick warned in barely concealed anger. “Shut it.”

Todd’s loud scoff startled the bats. Damian heard them scatter up above, their flapping wings getting farther away.

“Sure, okay. He insults me and hits me in the face with his steel-toed shoe, and I’m somehow in the wrong for showing him that actions have consequences?”

“Don’t even try to make it seem like that was a teachable moment. He’s just a kid—”

“Don’t treat me as if I’m some imbecile that needs to be handled with kid gloves,” Damian spat, rolling away from Dick’s gentle hand and sitting up on his own. “I’m capable of taking care of myself! I was just about to gut Todd with my knife when you stepped in unnecessarily.” Damian motioned in the direction of Todd’s voice. “I’d kill him right now if I was able to see properly.”

Damian felt his father’s hand close around his bicep. His first instinct was to knock the hand away, angry that people kept grabbing and touching him. First, it had been Todd’s biting grip on his ankle. Then, Dick’s supportive arm around his waist. Now, his father’s tense fingers on his arm.

He scowled. Their touch made him feel weak and vulnerable, and he was neither of those two things. No, Damian Wayne was no one’s victim. No one’s damsel in distress. He was too good for that. The blood running through his veins was proof of that.

“That had better be a joke,” Father said lowly. “I told you when you came here that we don’t kill. Ever.” The cold tone of his voice made Damian want to shrink and curl back up on the floor. Instead, stubborn as ever, he crossed his arms and turned his head in the other direction.

“I have the right to defend myself if he attacks me! If defending myself leads to his death then that hotheaded flounder was asking for it!”

Todd made a high pitched shrieking sound similar to the one Damian had heard in the water. Damian jumped slightly when Dick, who was still sitting right beside him, answered back with a mixture of shrieks and clicks of his own. It sent goosebumps down Damian’s arms. The shrieks didn’t sound as soft or musical out of the water as they had in the water. They were quick, biting, and fueled by anger.

“Ooh, you made mom mad,” Drake snickered, his voice sounding much closer than it was before.

Dick and Todd both clicked in the back of their throats simultaneously, which Damian could only assume was some variation of, “Shut up!”

Damian wondered if his father understood the mer’s heated conversation or if his silence was an indication that he was just as lost as Damian was. As far as Damian knew, translating the mer language did not come easy. Replicating it was even harder, if not impossible due to the different frequencies that could not be heard or replicated by the human body.

“That’s enough!” Father said after what felt like an eternity of nonstop vocalizations, causing the two mers to trail off into silence. Damian could have sworn he heard one of them hiss at one point. “You two need to cool off. Jason, get upstairs. Go help Alfred with dinner.” He paused for a second and then, most likely addressing Dick, said, “You’re drying up like a prune. Go soak for a few minutes.”

There was some mumbling and what sounded like feet pounding up the platform that connected to the top level of the cave. Damian internally cursed at the salt that was still keeping him from opening his eyes. He was desperate to make sense of how it was possible for the mers to be walking around the cave. All of them except Dick, apparently.

“You and Tim got the kid?” Dick asked.

Damian immediately scowled and clenched his fists. That was the second time he’d been called “kid.” Kids were not equals, and worse, they were not capable of much. Damian was the opposite. He would show both his father and these mers that no one was more capable than him. Then they would realize their mistake in referring to him in such a demeaning way.

“I got the water and towel right here,” Drake chimed in somewhere to Damian’s immediate left.

Dick squeaked twice, short and low.

“Huh?” Tim said. “Quit speaking in dialect.”

“Ugh. Forget it.”

Dick’s scales were rough and heavy sounding as they dragged across the floor. Damian wondered if it hurt or if the scales were tough enough to take some damage. His curiosity died as soon as he heard a large splash from behind him. He turned his attention to the remaining mer instead.

“What are you waiting for, Drake? Hand over the water immediately!”

Damian could only imagine the look of bewilderment on the mer’s face as Drake muttered, “Drake? You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

[yoshroomoto]

IkePri characters and who they remind me of so far~~

Okie so Ikemen Prince is finally out and even though I’m certainly confused as heck relying on a translator to get me by, I’m really enjoying it so far and seeing the absolute chaos between the characters. I wanted to compile a little thingy where I went in on each of the characters and talked about who they remind me of (so far) compared to other cybird characters. Since we don’t have any of the character notes yet, I was thinking about the “recommended if you like” bit when I put this together.

I will note though, this is just how I see them so far and I’m definitely not insisting these are the only characters they’re similar too, or that they’re completely similar to any which one- merely just an opinion ive gathered so far from reading and it could always change as I get further in and we learn more about them :D. So here’s my initial thoughts on each prince, and I put it in age order (the numbers they’re given) and then followed with Sariel and Rio. ~ enjoy!



Jin- Ayooo, this is a total mash up of all the other “mature adult” characters cybird has given us so far. He’s got some Sirius, Shingen, and Leonardo all rolled up in him and it’s certainly interesting. Now, the most obvious comparison to draw just from face alone is to Sirius of course, because they literally look like they could be twins. Aside from that, Jin has that same “smh these kids” part of him even when the Mc first meets him and he tells her to ignore their antics. Unlike Sirius though, this man is a complete FLIRT and is always chasing the ladies, which makes him a lot like ol’ man Shingen with his skanky wisdom. Jin is also known to be pretty close to Luke, and it seems they’re a good example of having a solid friendship out of the princes and that’s not totally unlike Shingen and Yukimura. Their relationship is probably more of just getting along well and maybe a little bit of mentoring instead of Yuki and Shingen’s constant mothering of one another, but the two of them are still a good example of a strong relationship with loyalty and understanding like Shingen and Yuki have, especially when a lot of the others seem to be more sporadic or lone wolves in regards to one another. Now then, let’s not forget Papi Leonardo!! Despite being the oldest and the “adult” of the group, Jin cannot whatsoever be bothered to be part of court life and taking his responsibility seriously, a lot like Leonardo who doesn’t care for being part of the upper clsss social circle in Paris or following what his family expects him to do. I don’t think this makes him unreliable or totally aloof (and Leonardo certainly isn’t either) it’s just more so that the thought of being in a formal position like that doesn’t appeal to him, and he’s more likely to be helpful and wise in a more casual sense.

Chevalier- Chevalier reminds me of a mix of Lancelot, Kenshin, and Nobunaga. He’s got the ambition and insistance that he’ll prevail in his goal (to be king) similar to how Nobunaga is in his quest for unification. He’s also cold and harsh like Nobunaga and the others, but maybe as time goes on he’ll be a bit softer around Mc when they’re alone similar to the other guys. The two of them also view people based on their utility; Whether thats a form of showing affection or simply stating how they judge people for worth, the two of them certainly talk about who is good for what purposes and keeping them around because of it. Now for his similarities to Lancelot- Like Lance, Chevalier openly calls himself a monster/beast and believes it, and continues to keep people at a distance to where thats how they see him. Also like Lancelot, he tells everybody that he needs/ will be the king in the end; and I’m curious of what his reasoning and ambition for wanting to o badly will be? Maybe like Lancelot he also wants to do it because he’s secretly trying to protect everybody and use himself as the bad guy to keep the others safe from some enemy. And finally, much like Kenshin, Chevalier is a STABBY boy- he’s quick to draw his sword on people and is infamous for being on the battlefield and cutting down his enemies. Not to mention, he’s also a bit of a grump when it comes to people. I hope he also shares some of Kenshin’s oblivious innocence to certain social trends too, because it’s always funny to see some big scary domineering guy adorably clueless when it comes to little things. Like all of these three, Chevalier is definitely domineering and intimidating, but I do also think he’ll be more sadistic than them- since the others don’t usually go too far in that direction with Mc other than being possessive, and Kenshin definitely doesn’t since he hates the thought of hurting Mc. To be honest, I’m most of all excited to just see Cheva’s soft moments and figure out what his surprising secret is 👀

Clavis-hohohoho THE problem child of the court, of course! I’m sure it’s very easy to imagine that the first person that Clavis is similar to is Mitsuhide. Both are sneaky and like doing things to get a rise out of people, especially the ones who are prone to mothering or managing the others- for Mitsuhide, he’ll do anything to piss off Hideyoshi and Clavis is much the same when it comes to Sariel. Neither of them ever seem to be very fourth coming and always seem to say something vague, misleading, or to stir up trouble and watch it unfold. Also like Mitsuhide, Clavis seems to be working beside somebody else and willing to often cause trouble on their behalf and serve as a left hand. What’s more fitting is that the person they’re working beside or for also happen to have some similarities as well, since Chevalier has a little bit in common with Nobunaga personality-wise. Even though they’re working beside another character, it’s not really evident that either are doing it out of loyalty, so it’s plausible to say (especially in Mitsuhide’s case since we know it’s true) that they may not be doing it strictly out of loyalty; but maybe out of a different reason such as their own personal motives/goals, obligation, or convenience. Clavis’s encyclopedia addresses the fact that it’s like he’s being “hunted” by Chevalier and brings up that maybe his beliefs or will to do Chevalier’s bidding is changing, so it could very well have been out of intimidation from or belief in Chevalier that got him in that position in the first place. Like Mitsuhide, it’s safe to say Clavis has a complicated and unique relationship with who he’s working with and neither have trouble being openly tricky and confusing towards them. I also see a tiny bit of Arthur in Clavis because of how they like to tease people (also like Mitsu). Honestly they’re both resident shithead of the house and that’s where my comparison of them stems from and I have no doubt there’s going to be a lot of inapropriate 👀 teasing to be seen in the future

Leon- Ngl at first I was going to glance past Leon because I figured he’s just another cybird poster boy oresama that they’re going to push to the top any chance they get, and I figured he’d be just like the other Oresama’s, but so far I’ve been pleasantly surprised in him!! Even though he definitely is still the oresama; which I’m not against, he’s a bit different than the others. Out of the ones we know already, he’s definitely the most like Napoleon in the sense that he’s down to earth and likes to engage with people without regard to title or past, he talks with people on equal stance, including the Mc. Ray is also like this and very like able and cool, but overall I think Leon is a lot friendlier from the get go; he doesn’t have the same brisk or elusive personality the other oresama boys have at first, he’s more of a friendly face from the first time you meet him and I do like that about him. Because of that, he also reminds me in a few ways of Kyle. Kyle tends to see people and situations as it is and is making sure everybody is alright regardless of who they are. He comes off as pretty passive and relatively easy going and is an solid candidate to the Mc to befriend because he’s usually not overly harsh or hard to approach. Leon has a good amount of this in him as well and even though he is of course much more imposing and intimidating energy-wise, (and isn’t an infamous drunk) he still has that “normal guy” charm that’s agreeable and level headed like Kyle does. Leon is a mix of everything you want to see in a solid guy, but also something exciting as well and I do think he fits his role pretty well.

Yves- If I had to sum up Yves with other cybird characters he reminds me of so far, I’d probably have to say Jonah and Louie. From the get go it’s obvious Yves has a side of him that’s drawn to aesthetic; he’s very posh and fashionable like Jonah in that regard, and like Jonah he’s initially shocked and irritated that somebody could ever not know who he is. At first, both also uphold a standard of formality and expecting the Mc to do the same, taking their positions seriously. Now whether or not Yves will follow one Jonah’s stead and learn as time goes on how to accept and address his faults I can’t say, but they are both very tsun and a little bit snooty upon introduction. Yves also reminds me of Louie since Louie is also very insistent on keeping up an aristocratic air and remaining cold towards the Mc when they first come to the castle. They both looked down on the Mc for being a commoner in such a position, and have a fair amount of doubt in her capability to perform it. I also see Louie in Yves because it seems like both of them, after you make it past the cold and snobby exterior, are really sweet but have to upkeep that personality because of the position they’re in, which they most likely both (cant say for Yves quite yet but it seems that way) have some amount of resentment for. Since they’re both considered royalty and held up to high standard, it makes sense that the amount of pressure and expectations people have for them would lead to adopting such a icy outwards appearance~

Licht- Tbh for being such an “I don’t like people” person, Licht has the most people I draw similarities from. I see a Licht as a mashup of Luka, Isaac, Yoshitsune, and Ieyasu tbh, and it all comes together to make him a pretty unique character. Like Luka and Isaac, Licht doesn’t really socialize well with others, and isn’t really willing to do so often. I think Licht’s reluctance to socialize is more like Isaac in the sense that he doesn’t trust people and less like Luka’s reluctance due to being shy, but it’s still there regardless. Licht’s encyclopedia also talks about him being an innocent and sensitive boy before something happened and changed him; and I think that also makes him like Isaac and Luka who are both pretty wholesome and innocent and definitely very sensitive and soft. They both also have parts where, what people did to them or how they treated them, played a big role in making them the awkward socializers that they are. Since something happened to Licht in the past that changed him, I feel like this also falls along those lines. Next, I see a bit of Yoshitsune in Licht’s personality as well as they both have a strange vibe about them that the Mc comments on. They’re both lone wolves regardless of having allies and people that care for them whether they realize it or not , and the unique energy that seems to captivate people is certainly noteworthy :D. Finally, there are a few things about Ieyasu that I see in Licht as well, starting off with something silly and amusing between the two of them is that both have somebody who just absolutely adores them that they could not be bothered with whatsoever haha. As much as I feel for Yves and Mitsunari and their adorable admiration of them, Licht and Yasu can’t stand the attention. In a similar light, both are pretty brisk and avoidant of getting attention from people in general; though Yasu tends to be a bit grouchier about it than Licht, who really just wants to get away from people. All in all, Licht seems to have a little bit of a lot of things in him and it’ll certainly be interesting to watch him progress in the story

Nokto- I feel like this one has a very very obvious comparison and we all know it. Of course Nokto is a lot like Arthur, and they’re both THORSTY boys through and through. Nokto isn’t the Shingen type flirt at all, he’s definitely the type to take it much further and be much more suggestive and dirty when it comes to flirting and teasing what he does with girls. Aside from the very obvious comparison between him and Arthur because of this, Nokto also reminds me of Leo. Not only are they both flirts and twins, but Nokto is also like Leo since he seems to be more willing and aware to play the political game at court and be involved, especially compared to his brother, who doesn’t really want to socialize or be involved in the social circle of the castle. That makes Nokto’s relationship to Licht a bit like Leo’s relationship to Alyn, but I don’t really know so far if their relationship is much similar beyond that. There might be some exasperation between the two since one twin is social and likes to tease and the other does not, but I’ll have to see more of the two interacting to see if it’s also like the Crawford twins in that way. Regardless, I expect in the future to see a lot more teasing and flirting from Nokto, which he’ll probably use to his advantage to find out something interesting.

Luke- An absolute UNIT through and through, this dude is a giant and carries a little teddy bear keychain and if that isn’t the most wholesome thing I’ve ever seen idk what is. AHEM, ANYWAYS, Luke is a little bit different in my eyes so far since he’s not too much like any one person from what I’ve gotten from him, but still does have some traits that I see are like other characters we’ve seen. The first small bit of information we’ve received about Luke is that he treats Mc like a little sister, which uhhh TRIGGERS a few flashbacks in my brain from getting the sister treatment from Hideyoshi. While I don’t think Luke is the mothering type at all, I do get the vibe that he’ll treat the Mc like this and dote on her to cover up his own feelings for a while similar to Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi also comes from a humble background and not one of power or prestige, and since Luke is known to be very friendly and in touch with the life of the towns people, I can tell that both of them are good at understanding and sticking up for the common folk, probably more so than the other princes since he shows a disinterest in court life. While I don’t see Luke too similar to Hideyoshi, I do think share those few traits that don’t make them totally different. Since Luke is very commoner-oriented(?) idk it that’s the right word for it but you get the point, I also see some Shingen in him as well. Shingen is very caring towards his people and sees standing up for them and doing things for them as the main driving factor of his goals. While Luke’s situation is less precarious then Shingen’s in that regard, he still in a way goes for protecting the little guys- also they both have the big burly bear thing going for them so there’s that.

Sariel- This man is a god tier shit stirrer and it’s absolutely chaotic since he’s supposed to be the guy in charge while the new king is picked. Sariel is a mix of Mitsuhide, Giles, and Sebastian in my eyes and I already know he’s going to cause a lot of drama. Aside from the evident scheme-y vagueness that he has in common with Mitsuhide, Sariel seems to be very intimidating and willing to go to scary levels to achieve his means, similar to how a Mitsu gets information out of people. Since he’s the court official in charge for now and is responsible for deciding that the Mc is the right candidate for the job, he’s a lot like Giles when he subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) intimidates the Mc into accepting the role. While Giles is a lot more genuinely friendly and willing to listen to the Mc and let her decide, both of them have the same I’m-smiling-but-actually-I’ll-kill-you-if-you-mess-this-up-for-the-castle vibe. Despite being LOWKEY scary sometimes, both had the same intuition and insight to see the Mc as the right person to make the decision and become the belle/princess elect (let’s ignore the fact that Sariel thought kidnapping her was the right way to do it tho lol). As for Sebastian, well these two love to instigate when it comes to petty little things and watch how it unfolds, and no doubt as court official and the only person left to really uphold the former kings position until the new one is picked, Sariel has all the tea on the princes and pulls some strings behind the scenes. Lowkey this dude is a lil scary but it’s okay I guess, it’s not like the mc’s life is in his hands or anything... Oh f*ck

Rio- ayeee we got a Yandere here folks, calling it now!!! Our newly lamented butler is a mash up of Loki and Nico in my eyes and I’m curious to see if he ever gets his memories back to see how it might change how he acts. As far as comparisons go I really see a lot of Loki in him when it comes to enthusiasm and being very attached to the Mc, as well as the whole pet vibe he’s got going. While Loki acts and refers to himself a lot in a cat like manner, Rio does the same but as a dog, going as far to try calling the Mc master (( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)) and pledging very strong loyalty towards her for saving him when he lost his memory. When it comes to Nico, I also see the same enthusiasm and friendliness yet again, as well as mischievous possessiveness over Mc. Both have their loyalties more closely aligned to the Mc herself and not the court/side she’s on, and both are her new butlers. Since Rio lost his memories I can imagine there will be some angst or confusion from him the future as he either regains his memories and probably remembers something significant; or him struggling to come to terms with himself due to that loss of memory. That might also be another comparison to Nico, since it’s a personal conflict with who they are and trying to navigate that confusing road. If that’s the case, his cheery sweetness makes him a bit more like Ranmaru as well, who also has moments where he struggled with who he is despite remaining caring and loyal/allies with the Mc. Either way, Rio definitely keeps his playful and intense loyalty towards Mc through and through which isn’t too unlike any of these boys.

[copiouscouples]

Brio Head Canon Part 2

Rio’s POV

If you’d asked Rio weeks ago if he thought he’d be working with 3 housewives, he’d have told you hell no. Yet here he was having these broads laundering his cash for him at Cloud 9 superstores. 

It was all because of her...Beth...Elizabeth. She’d left a string of pearls signaling her interest in his line of work and he’d been intrigued by her ever since. A better word might be obsessed. He didn’t choose the stalker life. The stalker life chose him. He couldn’t shake this middle class white lady out of his head. He kept perpetual tabs on her and when she called he always had time to meet up with her. 

She was pretty cute with all her little entrepreneurial ideas. Don’t get him wrong they were terrible ideas. Who needed Botox? And since when was money laundering a good idea as a pyramid scheme? But he got a big kick at seeing her face light up as she pitched to him.  She was trying. She wasn’t satisfied with status quo and he had to respect that.

And man did he love to look at her. Mmmm. That frame, those curves. Just thinking of her now made him bite his lip. The things he would like to do to her. 

Not that he would. Nonconsensual sex wasn’t really his thing. He knew the effect he had on women and wasn’t alone unless he wanted to be.

His girl sure made a lot of mistakes. Buying that necklace with his money was one of them (although it looked good nestled between her breasts like that and he had had half a mind to let her keep it as long as she wore it and nothing else). 

Her rotten egg was another. If it were anyone else, he’d make them take care of it themselves. But because it was Elizabeth...he’d handle it. He just knew she’d never be able to kill anyone.

But that woman was stubborn. Wouldn’t give him a name. Fine. He’d let her handle it. She was probably gettin’ taken to the cleaners just to keep the rotten egg from snitching. Rio chuckled. She didn’t want his help, wanted to be the boss. Then, she’d have to learn to live with the consequences.

Rio never got too worried about the FBI, but Elizabeth was starting to. He met up with her and discovered just how on edge she was about the whole thing. She asked him what she should say. And his dumb mouth suggests “tell them I was hittin’ it” and then he proceeds to tease her about making love and making sure she made him sound good. Why the hell was he advertising how much he wanted her? He remembered her flushed face and grinned as he realized it was worth it.

He decided to shut things down for a bit and Elizabeth was chomping at the bit. She was jonesing to get back in the game. He didn’t quite understand why. He figured it was probably partly financial, but there was something else too. He bet she loved the thrill of it...the power...the danger...just like him.

Then, they were back in business. And he had a special errand for Elizabeth. He thought he’d kill two birds with one stone. Get Elizabeth back in the game and see if he had a snitch on his hands.

He didn’t expect her response. She was heated because she thought he’d let her get caught by the cops. She didn’t trust him. If she didn’t trust him, then there was no point in them working together anymore. After her little hissy fit and throwing of the keys, he was done. His interest in her had given her too much power. He was just realizing now how deep he was in it. Hell, he might be developing feelings for this broad.

Then, she goes and asks when. When he was gonna kill her? Was this woman out of her mind? Didn’t she know? He shook his head and reined in his anger as best as he could. No. He needed her to go home now or he might regret what he would say.

And when the Feds got him - he was more hurt than surprised. He knew exactly who it was who’d turned him in

And when he made bail, he knew exactly whose house to visit. But she wasn’t there...that husband of hers was instead. And with the way he was feeling he was itching for a fight. He took his anger out on Dan or Dick or whatever the hell his name was. Then, he waited.

Finally, she came home. And she was surprised by the sight in front of her. He slid his gun over to her and dared her to shoot him. She wanted to be free of him? She’d have to kill him first. 

Yet he knew her. He knew she wasn’t a killer. Knew she wouldn’t have the guts to shoot him. Nah, he just wanted to see her squirm...torture her a little. But that bottom lip of hers trembled and all sense left his mind. Before he knew it he reached out to caress her face. This woman who’d caused him a hell of a lot of problems...and he was touching her face and speaking soothing words to her like some kind of fool. He wasn’t no chump. Rage at the way she affected him surged through him as he turned around and put a bullet through her husband. He wouldn’t hurt a hair on her head, but she had to learn he wasn’t one to be messed with. And shooting her husband seemed the best way to send the message.

He debated introducing Elizabeth to Marcus, but decided in the end that she had to know that she wasn’t the only one with a family. If she screwed him over, she was screwing over his son too. She looked straight up shocked to see him with his kid. Was it that unbelievable for him to be a parent?

Rio kept her in his sight over the next week. He’d pass the job of taking care of Boomer over to her. He probably should have one of his boys handle it, but he still hadn’t forgiven Elizabeth for what she’d done. She owed him. Plus her killing Boomer would give him just the right amount of leverage to make sure she didn’t rat him out again.

He wasn’t surprised and not even mad when he discovered that she hadn’t killed the grocery store manager. He’d listened to her cock and bull story about how she’d murdered him and color him impressed. That woman could lie like no other. It made him wonder how much she lied to him. 

Later he watched as she single handedly replaced a stop sign. She walked over to him afterwards and crumpled. She confessed to feeling tired of the situation and tired of lying to him. She was so vulnerable. Whenever she looked at him with those doe eyes of hers, she practically turned him into mush. He felt a need to protect her, to solve all her problems for her, and that fool hand of his found its way to her face again. He should be mad that she hadn’t gotten the job done but he found he wasn’t. Although it did irritate him that she asked him again if he was going to kill her. Instead, he responded with “I’m gonna teach you.”

So he gave her a few lessons on gun handling. She was ready. She could do it. Did he think she would do it? He wasn’t so sure. He knew she didn’t really want to but she always found a way to get things done.

And girl got lucky. Somebody else did the dirty work for her. She just had to dispose of the body. But Elizabeth had handled her business. In his eyes, she was definitely becoming a boss.

So he had a test for her. He’d hand over his business to her for a bit and see what she’d do with it. A lot of her ideas were crap, but some of them could actually be good.

She’d tried to give him the keys back but he knew it was just too tempting for her to resist. Try as she might she wouldn’t be able to stay away from that storage unit.

And try as he might he wasn’t able to resist her. He could sense her the second she’d walked into the bar that night with that shady husband of hers. He tried to focus on his drink but her eyes were boring into the back of his head. And when he turned to look she was twirling that hair of hers around her finger. Basically begging him to do her right now. “Aw, sh--” he muttered. He was done for. There was no way he was gonna be able to resist the opportunity to get his hands on all her lushness. 

He really should refuse. This woman was sketchy as hell. She lied to him, ratted on him, stole from him... He should stay as far away from her as possible. But when she headed toward that bathroom. He knew without a doubt he’d be following her into it.

When he stepped into the bathroom, he didn’t move, didn’t say anything. He just waited for her. Y’know maybe she just wanted to talk business. That thought quickly left his mind as Elizabeth hiked the hem of her dress up giving him the most tempting view ever.

From that point on, he needed no further encouragement and his willpower was gone. He had to touch her and touch her he did. HIs fingers shot straight for a moundful of boob. She felt as amazing as he’d imagined her to feel.

Fifteen minutes later, he finished buckling his belt and exited the bathroom. While it wasn’t the smartest decision he’d made, he regretted nothing. He’d just experienced heaven on earth.

But the thing was he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Now that he’d had a taste...he wanted more. So he headed over to that little car dealership of hers and let her husband know in no uncertain terms that they were partners now. Not him and Dean, but him and Elizabeth. He also wanted to let that clown know that he’d had his wife...twice, but Elizabeth’s eyes had pleaded with him. And yet again he was putty in her hands.

As they worked together, he found it harder and harder to keep his hands to himself. He wanted her again, but he didn’t want to want her and he sure as hell didn’t want her to know how badly he wanted her so he kept bringing it up but always made it sound like a joke. If she wanted to bang again, he would 100% be down for it.

But then she’d found out about the drugs in the cars. She was too clever and inquisitive for her own good. And now she’d screwed him out of 50% of profits. He was pissed at being got (not to mention more than a little hungry for her) and so he’d responded with a lewd suggestion about doing her on the desk. That had not gone over well and she practically gloated over getting more than she’d even wanted.

Fearing that Elizabeth was making him go soft, he had to work extra hard to keep up the front that all that was going on between them was just business. If he wasn’t careful, she’d become his Achilles heel. They’d talk about drops and nothing more.

Except when she’d come to him sick with worry over her daughter and crying about some stupid thing her daughter had left in the car, his whipped ass just had to go and get what she was missing. A blanket? Was she for real?

There was no way anything remotely good could come of this. If he knew what was good for him, he’d get her out of his life as quickly as possible. But he’d never been good at doing what he should do.

[believerindaydreams]

...it was quite possibly a mistake, to revisit Syb’s “dead dove do not eat” Blonco fic before writing a 70s au. partner on partner violence

still, it seems necessary also. this is still all the same first night of roadtrip.

“...so last time we were here, I punched Blondie like this- wham! Right in the kisser. You know what that smirk’s like, right? Well that little mouth didn’t look so good when I was done, I’ll tell you that.” 

Tuco waves his folk in the air for punctuation, nearly bedecking both of us in an overly sweetened honey braise. He’s been chattering a great deal between voracious bites of pulled pork, talking fast and too loudly. We’ve been in the restaurant less than a quarter of an hour and already more than one head’s turned, to look at the relentless monologuer and his silent audience. 

Yet a further argument then, in favour of the ultimatum I’d left Blondie pondering. 

We’re too noticeable like this. One alone is hardly safe in this line of work, two is pushing it, and as for three...if you won’t, I’ll have no qualms about telling him myself. Then at least we’ll know where we stand.  

Promise or threat, I might have meant it either way; though Blondie’s ashen-faced shock had left me in no doubt how my listener interpreted it. He’d never thought I’d call him on that, evidently, though nothing about Tuco’s careless joviality tonight suggests why. 

What’s even being protected here? A man capable of such ostentatious bravado...“Did you hit Blondie often?”

Now if this is why my inamorata left me- fearing more the devil he knew than the one he didn’t- we’re not so far from home for me to be unable to find a convenient ditch, some dark hole ready to take anonymous bones this very night-

(”Be calm, little rabbit.” My mentor preferred not to kill in haste, when avoidable; and until today, I never would have thought twice of that stricture.)

“Cristo, not all that much,” Tuco says, the confusion on his face far more bemused than angry. “This was back in the fifties, we didn’t beat each other up more than most kids. You know how it is.” 

I might tell him that I know of no such thing, that in my circles violence would always be taken for the threat it represented; but how close would that comment come to a transgression? How Blondie could lie to this man- years on end to his constant partner, and my sympathies are shifting like water tonight- 

“...oh, I forgot. One of those expensive schools, huh?”

I nod. It seems simplest. 

“Well, maybe you wouldn’t know then- but yeah, and anyway I had a good reason. This was back in the old days when you’d walk in a place, and maybe they’d point at the sign saying no coloured and point at you too. So then you leave again.”

“Would you keep the noise down?” a woman demands. A tired one whose efforts at beauty suggest more determination than success, eating a frugal salad with dainty fuss. She is, nevertheless, a person who somebody might miss. 

That her response to my glare is rather fonder than frightened, is a matter of some small irritation; but Tuco’s back is turned to her and he carries on without further interruption. 

“But Blondie knew what I wanted, and we had the money- that was lucky, we’d helped an old man push his car out of the mud that morning. The hustle, we hadn’t really gotten it right yet. Still trying to play it honest,” Tuco grins, splatters more sauce on beef already swimming in the stuff. “We’ve got a little smarter since than at least. Or at least I’ve got better about not believing everything we say, whatever...okay, but you wanted to hear about me punching Blondie.”

Not especially, I don’t say; not least because even with the words rising to my lips, it isn’t true. 

Mine is a world of secrecy above all else; if there’s crassness in this man owing to his faults so publicly, it’s attractive all the same. As is the tender joy in his eyes, the particular gusto that comes only when he tells me absurdities; 

“So I wait outside by the highway, that’s a good fifty yards away and getting cold- you know, I’d never been to the desert before, I didn’t know how cold it could be. Flicking my lighter every couple of minutes just to keep my hands warm, and it was getting dark, I didn’t like so much being out by myself. You start thinking about how big the world is, when you’re on your own- hey. Hey, if you’re not eating that I will.” He waves a fork at my half-consumed sandwich, teasingly. 

“Do you want this?” It is hardly as if this restaurant is liable to run short of its main dish; though the bafflement on Tuco’s features suggests that rhetoric was uppermost in his mind. 

“...I guess you could get another one if you wanted to, huh. Huh. No, I don’t want it- where was I? Oh, so. Dark. And windy...I was glad to see Blondie, I’ll tell you that. Almost ran up for a hug, and then I said to myself, maybe don’t do that Tuco Ramirez, it’s not so safe around here.”

My mentor would have disciplined me with all the severity in her nature, were I to calmly name myself in public like this. The entire restaurant is staring at us now and the man sitting across from me is enjoying every bit of the attention, damn his eyes. “And then?”

“Oh, well, Blondie comes out empty-handed, and says ‘sorry, sorry, I just couldn’t do it’. Morality, you never heard so many excuses! Not wanting to give money to bad people who wouldn’t let me in the door. Racist, whatever, I listened to ten minutes of nonsense like that, with my guts rumbling like crazy and then it was just, okay, if you don’t close that mouth of yours right now I’ll shut it for you.”

“So what happened?”

“Blondie says, as if, and then I just had to,” Tuco says. Lifts the bottle of hot sauce to his lips; thought I’d swear in the moment before, that I’d seen a precisely calculated gaze travel downwards from myself to what he held-

(for that matter, how had I not realised that he’d been staring at me all this time)

- he takes a long swig and coughs, tearing up with pain evidently no less real for being theatrical. The tension of the room dissolves into laughter, while he gulps water and swears imprecations at himself and the hot sauce and the entirety of the continent north of the Rio Grande. 

He seems, praise be, willing enough to make a ready exit after that; and the walk from restaurant to motel is as refreshing to me, as it evidently isn’t for him. 

“...christo, you’re not used to being in public, are you?” 

“No.” And perhaps Blondie will see fit to explain that part of it as well, though I could hardly hold out hope for that with any degree of fairness. 

“Just, I’ve never seen anybody be so miserable over a good meal before- well, someone who could be happy, I mean. You’re not like my brother being all ascetic, I’ve seen you grinning at Blondie and that’s not long suffering at all.” 

“...grinning?”

“Sure. You’re pretty cute that way, you know?”

“Cute?”

Both of us turn in surprise; it’s the woman from earlier, with the tired hair. 

“I just wanted you to know,” she says, panting. “That I have never, ever heard anything so uncivilised as- as a man in public boasting about beating a woman up-”

He’s trying to rein it in, evidently; but Tuco’s self-control can’t stop his smile. “You thought Blondie was a woman? Why, does it make it any better if I said he’s a guy? Yeah, Blondie’s a guy, he’s white, he takes it up the ass when I tell him to bend over. There, you feel better now?“

It proves just as well, that Tuco’s powers of self-defence prove a satisfactory match for a small infuriated whirlwind wanting to bash his skull in with a second-hand umbrella. 

My own abilities being so entirely disproportionate, to the ludicrousness of the situation...