#if anyone wants elaboration on why i chose certain things for people i would be happy to

[dredgesnails]

stardew valley au where joel and skizz are new residents to pelican town (hermit town?). joel just inherited a large farm from his late grandfather and skizz is moving in with his old friend after reconnecting with him and wanting a fresh start. and the townspeople are like, kinda weird.

bdubs is fine enough - he’s a sweet man with a fun personality and he’s the local builder, but it’s almost frightening how fast he constructs new buildings when joel needs them. pearl, their resident postmaster, is also pretty normal other than the fact that skizz never seems to be awake early enough to catch her delivering mail. scar is lovely but he’s never available when joel wants another chicken. the mayor, xisuma, is pleasant too, if a little eccentric at times, but he doesn’t really seem to do much in town.

for the most part, skizz is settling in well. he’s moved in with impulse, who runs the local blacksmith in town, and he gets along well with most of the local townspeople. he’s started spending his evenings at the local saloon listening to ren regale the patrons with fantastical tales while he and stress serve up food and drinks, and he finds himself growing close with cleo, the local sculptor. he even gets a new wardrobe from hypno free of charge, and sometimes helps cub out with his totally scientific studies and creations.

skizz also joins forces with beef (who helps to supply the local general store that xb and keralis run) in terrorising the local manager of the corporate chain grocery store that no one likes. doc is a terrible manager but would make a fun supervillain (according to joe hills, the bookseller who appears once in a blue moon but seems to know doc more than anyone in town).

joel, on the other hand, seems to only be interacting with the strangest residents in town. he discovers the adventurer’s guild after only a couple weeks, and is only somewhat irritated by iskall’s refusal to pronounce his name correctly. false promises to give him prizes if he can kill enough monsters, which is not something joel had expected to be doing when he pictured farm life, but here he is. he stumbles upon a travelling cart one day, and the man inside insists he’s a knight from a faraway land, that he risked his life to make it all the way here to sell his wares. it’s all stuff joel can get cheaper elsewhere.

he’s pretty sure the local doctor has no real medical training, but then he passes out while fighting monsters and he wakes up completely fine, so zedaph probably knows what he’s doing. maybe. when joel isn’t passing out he sometimes makes trips to the library-slash-museum, which is probably almost completely empty because mumbo, who begs joel for anything to display, looks like he’s never fought a duggie in his life. eventually mumbo gives joel a key to the sewers, which are way cooler than they have any right to be, and that’s where he finds jevin’s secret sewer shop. jevin lives in town. he just also has a shop hidden underground. joel has stopped asking questions by now.

and then there are the three who live by the beach. etho spends most of his time tinkering around the fishing hut or hovering around bdubs, but sometimes he drives the bus to the desert. only sometimes. there might be something under his mask. no one knows for sure. gem runs the fish shop most days and she claims she’s a sailor, but joel has never seen a single working boat around despite all the ocean. she can also hold her breath underwater for an uncannily long amount of time, like, scarily so, and will sometimes disappear for a few days and return with an abundance of treasures. joel has never seen her leave by boat. grian fishes a lot and runs the shop when gem can’t, and he sometimes talks as though the sea can speak to him. skizz has caught him staring into space for extended periods of time. one time he waded into the water and just stood there, head down, muttering to himself.

apparently there used to be a lighthouse but “it’s gone now”. gem says if they ask bdubs nicely enough maybe they can build another one, but she and grian are banned from build requests after the last incident with their pet snails (joel has never seen the snails, but scar complains about them enough to convince him they’re real).

there also might be some kind of wizard who lives in the creepy tower in the woods. skizz has heard he’s the one who helps maintain the power in the valley, and joel’s convinced he hallucinated seeing him once until he recieves a letter from the wizard himself, and visits him only to find that the strange fire-creature he saw that one time was, in fact, tango, who is human for the most part, he just sets himself on fire sometimes.

[wishmemel]

hot take: the kind of partner satoru needs

so i kind of wrote my opinion on the kind of partner gojo satoru needs and for some reason everyone really seemed to like it (even though i was literally just ranting. i love you all so much.) but now i'm here to elaborate because i feel like some things weren't specific enough. (i'll leave the actual post linked above!)

when i say he needs someone soft, i absolutely do not mean someone who is a pushover or is super insecure with themselves. if you can't be confident in yourself, you won't be able to help anyone else do the same, right?

i mean soft in personality, yes, but they also have to be firm to a certain extent. otherwise satoru's pushing them back and forth, this way and that, and there's no actual development on his part or in the relationship?

the point is that he's unwilling to change, really. so if someone drops in his life and asks him to change with a pretty please thrown in, you can bet that it doesn't mean anything to him.

he needs someone who knows when to push and when to back off. and then when to kinda nudge him again. it's not a "i'll lay myself completely bare so you can observe and never do the same."

it should be more like a one by one thing. i tell you this about myself so now you trust me enough to tell me one thing about you. and the cycle continues until they're at a point where he can fully trust them and be willing to open up to them.

opening up to someone, especially when you have trauma (which satoru does) is not easy. like not easy at all. there's guilt and shame for opening up, and overthinking and why did i do that. what if they tell someone. they're just gonna leave again. what's the point. and that's just barely scratching the surface. he's already lost his best friend, so you can bet that it would be super difficult for him to reach even that level of trust with someone again. i wouldn't blame him if he started shutting people out or kept people at arm's length because that's just his defense system speaking.

I can say this from experience. when someone who you consider to be your best friend leaves, you are going to feel betrayed and you are going to feel hurt. all things considered, he handled their "break-up" pretty well. especially when you see that he still considers suguru to be his best friend. that's a very forgiving thing of satoru to do. and i haven't finished reading the manga yet, but as far as i know, we don't really get a glimpse into satoru's head of why he chose to do that or if it took him time to heal from that or anything. he and suguru went to school together. they grew up together. it wasn't just a few months thing. it was multiple years. so it was bound to hurt ten times more when he left, but satoru didn't seem to hold a grudge much. (except for the whole killing thing, but like... it's whatever. oh, and the impersonation of suguru when he was yelling about feeling stuff in his soul. good times.)

anyway, aside from that, to accept that suguru's gone, to know that yourself, to forgive yourself for "not being enough" and whatever else gets in your head during times like that, and to forgive the person who left is not a small feat. that's like years of healing. (it took me almost two years to forgive my closest ex-friend who was there for less than six months and ended up leaving. so to imagine being in satoru's position is crazy. but time really does heal everything.)

i need you all to understand this.

he. has. trauma.

and that's why so many people have the urge to "fix" him. he's one of those emotionally unavailable men and for some reason we all go crazy when we see someone like that. we all want to be the one to be able to fix him, but you know what, investing all your energy into fixing someone can leave you broken. that's not what you want.

it's so important for satoru to be with someone who they themself are mentally healthy or else this is just a cycle of who can screw each other over the most/fastest. you need to overcome your own demons to help someone else face theirs. you can't become his therapist because that builds unhealthy patterns in relationships where you constantly feel like nothing more than a brick wall. stand there. listen. give advice. repeat. reader is going to feel less like a partner and more like a medical professional.

so again give him someone to come home to, someone who cares, someone who will not betray or leave him. someone he can have to fool around with. someone who he can say it's us against the world to. someone who listens when he does need to vent and vice versa. give him a partner, not a therapist. (send him to therapy first though. then the partner comes in.)

again give him someone soft but someone who will not take any excuses from him when it comes to his healing. give him someone who cares so much that he has to put himself back together to be with them. give him someone who motivates him to be a better person because he doesn't want to lose anyone else and if they leave then that means that he's lost (but it doesn't mean that he's lost everything. because life has to mean more than one person. he has to be worth more than just one person. and honestly all he needs is a little shove in the right direction to understand it.)

so maybe their relationship isn't entirely romantic. or maybe the romance comes years later, after he's healed. maybe this is not a story of romance and love at all. maybe this a story of light and healing. let him find his way home but let him stand on his own two feet and do it himself.

[bratshaws]

goodness gracious 79. brb x oc

i will beat the shit out of you how dare you

a/n: OHHH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOD okay, OKAY OKAY WHEW I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE LIKING THE CHAPTERS SO FAR BECAUSE I AM BECAUSE I KNOW WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN AND AAAAAAAA

check out the fic's playlist made by the sweet @wiipes !!

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: Michael and Bea have a talk, Bea has to heal from some shit and Rooster has an idea uwu

chapters:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26/27/28/29/30/31/32/33/34/35/36/37/38/39/40/41/42/43/44

45/46/47/48/49/50/51/52/53/54/55/56/57/58/59/60/61/62/63/64

65/66/67/68/69/70/71/72/73/74/75/76/77/78

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!!)

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @shrimping-for-all @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2 @emilybradshaw @j-6o @louisahale @leobabbyyy @kulicny @winter-run @ktjmac @graciereads

-

“You know I’m not going to stop you from living your adult life, I just would've liked to have known about it.” Michael says while twirling the thick boba straw in his cup, slurping it loudly as the two are seated on the outside tables that overlook the busy streets on that Monday afternoon.

“We just wanted to resolve everything before we told anyone.” Beatrice answers, drinking her own boba tea with her brow furrowed just enough, “It wouldn’t make sense to say we were moving in together without a house.”

Michael hums in reply, popping the tapioca bubbles as he does so, with his sunglasses low on the bridge of his nose, “I guess it makes sense.” he mutters, crossing one leg over the other, bouncing the one supporting it quickly, “Did you tell mom and dad yet?” Beatrice shakes her head, holding the plastic cup with both hands on top of her lap, focusing her eyes somewhere else.

‘I will tell them,Mike. I’ll also…have to tell them something else.” her older brother’s inquisitive ‘oh?’ made her grimace, “I did a photoshoot…last week.”

“A photoshoot?”

‘Yeah, um, a friend of Evelyn’s who is a fashion designer asked me to be his model and I accepted because…it was really good money and I needed to save some for the car and…well the pictures were nice, they were just…swimwear.”

A tapioca bubble almost entered his lung when she said it, which in turn makes the fourth oldest Schiavoni cough up like a miner who spent forty years underground inhaling coal fumes. He hits his chest with his fist, clears his throat, then turns his eyes to his sister, who looked as guilty as before, “No, no,” he coughs again,” Don’t feel bad,I’m just surprised. You are a grown woman and you-” another one “You can make your own choices. So you had a swimwear photoshoot, so what? Good for you.”

“Really?”

“You don’t need our permission.” Michael explains once he finally gets his breathing pattern back, “You stopped needing it the moment you turned eighteen but some people in our family don’t think that way.” she knew he meant their parents and Guillermo, even if he didn’t say it outloud, “So listen, if it was fun and you got paid then what the hell do I care? It’s not like you were killing anyone.”

Beatrice’s lips curved in a thankful smile, looking down at the bright pink cover on the boba tea cup as she took in his words. He was right, she didn’t have to elaborate why she chose to do certain things anymore. She wasn’t a child. “Thank you,Mikey.” she says, her brother just waves his hand as if to say it was nothing for her to worry about, “And thanks for joining me on getting a new car.”

She did get the red Jeep wrangler she wanted, but she wouldn't be able to take it home until the end of the week,which was when all the paperwork and insurance would be resolved. But she was more than happy. Thankfully Michael was with her at the time, because he would casually lean over a Jeep, make a face and then turn to another one. Not to mention he knew more than the guy selling the actual cars, which made it easier for the transaction to happen.

“Do you think dad will be mad at me though, because of the pictures?”

“What is he going to do? Kick you out of your own house?” Michael scoffs with a smirk, gesturing to the air with his tea, “Bea, you’ll be thirty this saturday. You no longer need mom and dad’s permission for anything, if they get mad, well, that sucks because they don’t pay your bills or anything like that anymore.” he had a very good point, he always did, especially when it came to their parents.

Michael was the second middle child, making him the fourth Schiavoni sibling. He always said it was the ‘middle child curse’ that made him so opinionated and rebelled when it came to their family. Michael was never really afraid of their parents, he did respect them but he also called them on their bullshit often that he had to move to NYC with Guillermo when time came. 

Beatrice never told him, but she admired his no nonsense attitude a whole lot. He was the wild child, the rebel one that got tattoos at seventeen by lying his age, who would do the craziest shit without thinking if he’d get hurt or not. Having his support meant a lot to her, because she knew if anything bad happens because of this, he’d have her back. Well,Leo and Marina too when she tells them, “But I have a question.” he begins, making his sister look towards him with her eyebrows furrowed in question, “When is the,” he taps his ring finger with his thumb, “Going to happen?”

It takes Bea a few seconds to understand, but when she does her face flames up “W-We aren’t thinking about that yet.” she lies, knowing very well that she was thinking about that a whole lot and way more often than she’d like ever since she saw the bridal shop, “We are just moving in together, Mikey.”

“And what’s the very next step people take? Marriage!” she blushes so much more when he says the word, sipping her mango tea loudly to keep her mind anywhere else, “Plus, you two look married already, it’s just about popping the question.”

They never talked about it, she knew she wanted to but she didn’t want to pressure Rooster into something like that. Especially with them already taking such a big step now with the new house and such, “I…I don’t know,Mikey. I-I’ll have to…check everything.” she murmurs, trying to remove the thoughts of her wearing a wedding gown, “Plus w-wouldn’t you think it’s too soon?” says the woman who voiced her love for him after two months. Oh the irony.

Michael arches one of his thick eyebrows, the one with the scar on it and makes a face, “People get married in Vegas after four hours of knowing one another.”

“That's a terrible example.”

“Okay, let me make it simpler for you, sis.” he wets his throat with tea before continuing, “Do you love Brad, don’t even answer me I know you do. And he loves you, because the dopey, love dovey look he gives you every time is enough reason for me to believe that. So what are you two waiting for?”

Beatrice frowns, biting her lower lip, “I…I don’t know? We never talked about it Mike,” she repeats, emphasizing on the words “And…w-what if he’s not ready? What if I push him to go through it and he just notices it’s nor worth it and–” Beatrice continued her rambling with her older brother just staring, his face unimpressed but yat amused, leaning back on his chair to slurp the last tapioca balls since he was pretty much done.

He leans on an open hand, watching his sister use her fingers to number the reasons why it’d be a bad idea to do it right now, which to Michael made no sense…but he also knew her. She was very anxious, of course she’s gotten better now, but it’s about her own thoughts running wild that he worries. If she wants to take a while to talk to Bradley about it, she would, if she wanted to make sure he wouldn’t force her either, “Alright, alright, fine, I get it. You want to wait a while, that’s fine.”

Beatrice lowers her hands to her lap, rubbing her thumb over her knuckles with a small frown, “It was just an innocent comment, Little Bitty. I’m just asking because, well, everyone really likes Bradley…even Guillermo.” he pauses, “...It is very weird to think about it, but he does seem less constipated when he sees Brad so I take that as a win.”

She laughs softly, giving her brother a smile and a gentle squeeze of the hand, “Thanks Mikey. I’ll…I’ll work on it, okay?” if her mind lets her do it, that is. She didn’t want it to get too nervous thinking about it either, so it was time to change the subject. So she did, she ended up asking Michael about his new place, that was apparently just a few streets down her soon to be old house and his new job.

He was going to be a boxing trainer at his friend’s gym, which was understandable considering how long Michael was a boxer alongside Guillermo - except Guillermo chose another career path as an engineer since it’d be a more stable job for him. “I’m happy you are back.” she says with a smile, seeing his own lips quirk in a grin, “I missed you.”

Michael pouts his lower lip, slapping a hand over his chest, ‘Oh, my heart– but I missed you too. I know adult life makes you go distances you’d never plan to but I really missed Cali, I really missed…not having to wear clothes heavier than myself during winter.” he murmurs, earning a soft laugh from his sister, “Plus,I’ll be an uncle again so, guess who is going on a shopping spree buying every size of ‘my uncle is the best uncle’ onesie? Me.”

“Leo’s baby will have another uncle though, Mike.”

“I’ll print huge a huge Michael on it, then we’ll know.” he laughs, looking down at his watch to check the time, “What do you say we just walk around, like the old times- is Mr.Scoops still open?” Beatrice nods, making her brother groan in anoyance, slapping his forehead, “Why didn’t we just go there? Do they still have the Freeze Burn milkshakes?”

“I think so–”

“We are getting those then,” he says, already standing to his feet and tossing the empty plastic cup to the trash bin, Beatrice blinking her wide eyes and trying to keep up with his long strides to the car.

“But, we just had something sweet!”

“There’s never enough sweet stuff!” he adjusts the sunglasses over his eyes, “Come on! Live a little! Have a sugar rush before you turn thirty!” Beatrice noises out a complaint, but sighs and nods, following him into the car since she had no other choice. As soon as she enters the car, her eyes suddenly lift to a vehicle, a vehicle that she hasn’t seen in ages.

A blue Corvette, one of many that Eric owned. Now the person inside the car was too distant for her to identify clearly, but she kept her eyes on it until it disappeared by a roundabout, narrowing her gaze when Michael turned on the car, driving the opposite direction and furthermore making her lose the blue car from view. It’d be insane if it was Eric, she knew Shells said something about seeing him somewhere when she was with Bob but…no, it was just a coincidence.

That’s all it was, nothing more nothing less.

She just leaned back on the car seat, sighing through her nose and watching the buildings go by as Michael drove them away.

When they get to Mr.Scoops she refuses to get anything besides water, trying to hide her disgusted face when Michael grabbed the sweetest and artificially colored milkshake they had there, already slurping it soundly as they walk by the park close by. Beatrice just sips her water, feeling her own stomach turn just by watching him by the corner of her eye, “You don’t know what you are missing.” he says with the straw in his mouth.

“A violent stomach ache, that’s what.” she replies in a muttered tone, walking alongside her older brother down the stone path. She couldn’t help but remember how her first date with Bradley ended up there, on a bench not too far from them, making out and completely forgetting about their ice creams. Seems like it's been more than seven months now, “I don’t know how you do it.”

“It’s easy, it’s all about self control.”

“Which you don’t have.” Michael’s only response was a bored ‘eh’ and a shrug, continuing to sip his milkshake like a little boy who just got his favorite treat.

“You know, when I found out about you and Brad,I’ll be honest, I got a bit confused.” he says suddenly, making Beatrice turn to face him with her brows low, “Not because I didn’t think you’d be able to get someone like Brad, but because he’s a military man and such. I just thought that you know, with him traveling so much you wouldn’t get used to it.”

“He got deployed a few months back,” she explains, closing her water bottle, “I was okay during it.” she wasn’t okay, she was able to manage it.

“How long.”

“Two months.”

Michael nods, “I mean I know some people spend years away, two months is child’s play isn’t it?” Bea frowns at his words, she knew he wasn’t trying to be mean or pessimistic about it, but she couldn’t help how her frown deepened, “I mean how the hell are you going to give me nieces or nephews with him gone?”

Ah.

Of course.

“Michael!!” she scolds, eyes wide and face a violent red, slapping his shoulder with more force than necessary “Michael what the hell!” her brother hisses in pain, pressing the cold plastic cup against his red biceps to cool it down.

“That’s the very next step after the next step!” he defends, shrugging his shoulders, “What? He likes kids! You like kids! Make the kids to I can be the cool uncle again!” of course his reasoning would be that, “The more the merrier.”

Beatrice groaned, looking away from him to glare at a group of trees not far from where they walked, crossing her arms below her bust, “You are worst than mom, I swear…God and when she finds out about us moving in together, I’ll never get any sort of silence because of that.” the amount of teas, herbs and random gifts her mother would give because she wanted another grandchild would be astronomical, “Didn’t I say how we didn’t even talk about the ‘m’ word? WHy do you think I talked about the ‘c’ word?”

“What’s this? Middle school? You can say those words outloud, the fuck.” Michael murmurs, chewing the end of his straw to chew the flavored ice stuck in the plastic recyclable tube, “I’m just saying, that when it happens, you already know who will be the baby’s favorite uncle. Maybe I’ll even buy more onesies and keep them saved for you.”

Beatrice narrows her eyes in his direction then shakes her head thinking how her brother was just relentless and would never stop doing that. But…he wasn’t wrong, ever since she accidentally bought that duck onesie she couldn’t help but think about it. She had seen pictures of Bradley when he was younger, when he was a little baby with a scrunched up face and light blonde hair, he was an adorable child. Would it be wrong, or weird to think about it without talking to him?

Yes it would so she should just stop thinking about it right now.

“You are just awful.” Beatrice mutters bringing the water bottle to her lips, feeling the cold liquid travel down her throat and hit her stomach, the siblings kept on walking on the park until they reached a bench where Michael sat down without telling her, Beatrice just turned her head when she could no longer hear his footsteps only to see him with his legs crossed in front of him, sipping the rest of his milkshake.

“I’m not awful,” he says when she sits down next to him, “I’m just saying that hey, it’d be cool if you got married and gave me nephews and or nieces, I don’t mind either.” he chuckles, enjoying how his sister’s face warmed up and how her eyes rolled so hard she was sure she could see her brain. But she leaned back on the stone bench, watching the few people walking by that afternoon alongside Michael.

“You know what this reminds me of?” she hums in question, waiting for him to continue, “When nonna used to take us bike riding. You were still really young then but, man, she’d just get us after school and she’d even ride a bike herself.” he chuckles, shaking his head, “...crazy lady. Hard to believe it’s been seventeen years since she was gone.”

Beatrice frowns, biting her lower lip, “Yeah.” furrowing her eyebrows “It’s hard to believe.”

“She used to keep those soft candies in her music box, do you remember? I don’t know how she did it, but you knew every time the tinkling music showed up you’d get a caramel or something of the sort.” Michael chuckles softly, his own eyelids lowering at the memory, “I haven’t heard it in years. The music box.”

“Dad keeps it at home.” she says,”In his room.”

‘Hm…you know she left it for you right?” he says and she nods, still looking away, “Why don’t you take it with you when you move in with Brad? I think nonna would like to know you have it.”

But the brunette just chewed the corner of her mouth, crossing her arms tighter over her chest, “I don’t know if it’s a good idea. I haven’t touched it since–well, it’s been seventeen years since I touched it.” and she wasn’t sure if she’d be ready to get it again, to see it once more would probably bring back the tears she held for so long. It seemed selfish but she didn’t want to have that as a memory, she knew she’d remember a lot of things the second she held it in her hands.

“...did you allow yourself to grieve?” Michael’s sudden serious voice startles her, his eyes looking ahead, “Or did you cry for a little bit, got sad and moved on?”

“Of course I did!” she almost sounds offended when he says, “Why wouldn’t I?”

Michael’s green eyes turned to her light toned ones, licking his lips before he spoke again, “I just think it’d be good. You have avoided it for seventeen years, I don’t think you fully allowed yourself to cry and be sad about it.” 

“Michael–”

“Beatrice–”

She frowns when he cuts her off, glaring at the ground below her feet with her teeth clenched, “Michael I just…why would that–I mean…”

“Because,” he begins, using his half empty milk shake to gesture his words, “Nonna wouldn’t want you to hold onto that, especially when you are going to get with someone you love.”

Michael had a point. He always had a point. Okay, maybe she didn’t allow herself to feel sad, to cry and let go but it was because…knowing her nonna wasn’t there to see her live with someone she loved, to find the love she always wanted was…very disappointing. She wanted her to know Bradley, she wanted her to be there when she eventually got married, she wanted her to be there at the special moments.

But she wasn’t. And she didn’t know how to deal with it now. “...okay.” she says, quietly, knowing there was no way to win this argument. “Okay.”

“Good!We’re going to get it when I’m finished here.”

“What? But–”

“Ooh!I’m finished look!” he tosses the empty plastic cup into the trash can, “Time to get it!”

-

Bradley opens Beatrice’s front door with the extra key she gave him, blinking when he saw that her living room was quiet and empty, not even Jolene was there, “Baby?” he calls, not expecting to hear her voice coming from the bedroom in the loft area, it was too early for her to go to bed. He steps over to the staircase, seeing Jolene’s head pop over the last step with her body shaking excitedly upon seeing him coming up.

He pets the pittie gently, but his eyebrows furrow when he sees Beatrice sitting cross legged in the middle of her bed, supporting her face on one hand with a small box in front of her, “Hi.” her voice sounded quieter than normal, almost cracked and upon close inspection once he approached the bed, he could see the tear tracks on her cheeks.

‘Baby, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” He wastes no time in kicking off his shoes so he could climb on the bed with her, wrapping her in his arms so her head touched his shoulder, “What’s the matter?”

Bea sniffles, dropping her hand to her lap as if it was dead weight,”Do you remember how I said I never opened my nonna’s music box?” she asks quietly, his brain wracks for the memory and he nods, “This is it. I got it today from my parents’ house.”

Bradley’s eyes drop from Beatrice’s head to the vintage looking music box with floral patterns on the lid, the latch bronze in color and the wood a reddish brown, “Michael suggested it.” she explains after a few seconds of silence, “He was right, I didn’t…I didn’t grieve a lot and I guess…I guess I needed this.”

“Okay.” he murmurs, kissing the side of her head, “Did you open it?” she doesn’t move for a few minutes, but then he feels her arm reach from under his and unclasp the lid, slowly opening the small box. A tinkling music surrounds them, a tiny ballerina spins in a circular platform in the middle of the music box, where there were two compartments on the sides with a few pieces of jewelry in them.

Beatrice picks a specific one, “This was her engagement ring.” she whispered, holding it up for him to see, sniffling quietly, “She wore it until the last years of her life, then she kept it here in fear she’d lose it while washing dishes and whatnot…I thought she’d want to be buried with it.” It was a beautiful ring with a small diamond in the middle and two gems on the sides. He couldn't figure out what it was.

Beatrice was so focused on explaining what it was she didn’t see Bradley’s eyes intently staring at the ring. Earlier that day he ended up visiting a bridal website - for curiosity of course- hoping to find a ring that’d scream Beatrice’s name…but everything was too big, too fancy, nothing that would remind him of her. But this one. This one was a lot more of what he had in mind for her, small yet beautiful. “It’s really pretty.” he says after he noticed he got too quiet, but Beatrice didn’t seem to notice.

She holds it above her finger, “She had long fingers,” but she doesn’t try it on, “You know? She was…yeah…” she smiles sadly still holding it, “She was something else.”

“Are you okay?”

Beatrice’s response was a weak laugh, but she nodded, “I am.” she inhales deeply, still pressing her temple to his shoulder, “It’s just…strange I guess, to see everything again after so long…but Michael was right, my nonna would want me to do this.”

He didn’t know what sort of conversation she and Michael had, but she seemed a lot lighter than she usually was, like a weight dropped from her shoulders. “I’m going to take this to the house when we move in, I think it’d be like…a blessing of some sort you know?” she smiles, “She’d like to be there.”

“...Yeah I get what you mean.” the box of memories his mother kept would also go, he had decided a few days back that he’d probably get some things off the box to decorate the halls of their new home, maybe not everything, but some of the things would be good to look at whenever he walked around the place. “You think your nonna would like to know we are living together?”

“Well she was old school, Brad.” she murmurs, gently placing the engagement ring back inside and pushing the lid closed with a soft ‘click’ “She wouldn’t know how this works.” she chuckles, “To her it’d be strange that we uh…live together before anything.”

Marriage.

She didn’t say outloud, but he knew what it meant, “...would she be upset about it?”

“No, not upset.” she says a bit too quickly, her face reddening, “Just…confused I guess. But she’d like you so that’s always a bonus.” she smiles, picking the music box gingerly with both hands before she kisses his cheek, “I’m going to put this away.”

Bradley nods with a little grin, but his eyes drop to the side in thought when she walks away. He wondered if…no, he wasn’t wondering, he was going to do something about it after her birthday. He had to, he had to prepare. While they never talked about it, it was there, in the air, like a waft of something that never left: she’d want that, she would. Just by the way she spoke about it or the way she held her nonna’s engagement ring was enough of an answer for him.

While he was excited about the birthday party for Bea, he was even more excited for what would come after. And he just had to do some things first and foremost.

[mattysmind19]

Your Musical Theme

Music is a huge passion of mine. I love how music can take you back to time or place and you associate those feelings or experiences with certain music. I personally love all genres of music and am always open to listening to something I haven’t heard before.

When creating this playlist, I tried to stay in the overall theme of that warm climate place you maybe live in or travel to from time to time. For me it’s my home in Florida this is where I grew up, so I am no stranger to a beach playlist. I tried to compile songs that relate to that overall theme, but I tried to pull from multiple different genres. I chose 6 songs from the rock, hip-hop/rap, country, and electronic genres.

Starting with the rock songs, I have two. First is the song “In the summertime” by Mungo Jerry. This one might be a little obvious why I chose it for my theme of that warm climate destination. But to elaborate this song personally reminds me of that scene in movies when the characters all come together and just enjoy the time at the lake or at a pool and nothing matters, you’re just purely enjoying each other’s company and the summertime. To further paint the picture of summertime the opening lyric of the song is “In the summertime when the weather is high you can stretch right up and touch the sky” this makes me imagine a perfect summer day not a cloud in the sky. The song is also just fun it’s a fun instrumental and the lyrics are so catchy anyone can sing along. The song is also from 1970 a time I was not around for, but I can still appreciate this great tune!

The second rock song I chose is “Island In The Sun” by Weezer. This song came out in 2001 and has a strong guitar presence in the beat but again the lyrics are super catchy! If you put this song on the next time you go to the beach or the pool, I bet anyone close enough to hear it will sing along! The band sings “when you’re on a holiday you can’t find the words to say all the things that come to you, and I want to feel it too on an island in the sun” this snippet is the first verse and then the first line of the second verse. This about sums up most people’s tropical vacation traveling to that warm destination just enjoying being in the sun!

Song number 3 is none other than “Summertime” by Will Smith. If this summer classic isn’t on your beach playlist, I would highly recommend it. It is considered a rap song and yes Will is rapping but it is laid back and the beat is dare I say groovy. This song takes me back to the moments on the beach with loved ones while the sun is setting, and the day is coming to an end. This song to me just perfectly matches that vibe and setting.

Taking us to song number 4 which is “Summertime Magic” by Childish Gambino. Has the theme become clear yet? Like the Will Smith song this is song screams sunsets in the summer at the beach with your friends. The song with grab your attention right from the start with those steel drums that stay in the beat for the duration of the song. The childish Gambino comes in with his vocals again so catchy and groovy. With this song you can’t help but dance. Coming from someone who can barely clap on beat I can’t help but dance to this song I seem to lose control of my shoulders and hips once this song comes on.

For song number 5, I chose “As She’s Walking Away” by Zac Brown Band. This is my country pick for this little playlist. Now country has never been my favorite genre but there are a small group of songs that you’ll find in my library that are considered country. This being one of them I think this is great and fun song that all of us can relate to. The lyrics are about someone falling in love and contemplating what to say and what to do as they pursue the love interest. The summertime is a great time to meet someone or travel with your significant other. My favorite line is “Don’t be fallin’ in love as she’s walking away” this is kind of hard to avoid because sometimes we are paralyzed by love but it’s more important to share your feelings with that special someone.

Taking us to number 6 the final song in the playlist I’m going with “Sun Models” by Odesza. This is an electronic song but there are lyrics, however they are kind of faint throughout the song I personally connect with and appreciate the beat more than anything. This is the song you listen to driving home windows down music turned up loud and the cool wind whipping past you, but you’re kept warm by that suntan you just got from your beach day. It is the perfect song to end a night on!

So, this my playlist, short and sweet with the overall theme of those summertime moments in the sun shared with the ones you love the most.

Please find the links to all of the songs mentioned above below. :)

[the-lone-witch-and-secret-room]

Camila Noceda and Flawed Parenting

A perspective by a flawed person with loving but extremely flawed parents

I’m genuinely baffled at some people’s hostile reaction towards Camila. Like… do any of you have flawless parents that always know the best solution instantly, make no mistakes and never get emotional?

My parents are great. They’re super supportive and I love them very, very much. Overall I think I got very lucky in the parents department.

But god, they are far from flawless. I still live at home, and despite all the good, there’s moments when I can’t take my dad anymore. He’s the kind of dad that stayed up until two am to help me with homework when I was in school, and he does so, so many things to make sure I’m happy. I know that. But despite all of this, I have told my mom in emotional moments before that I’m not sure if I can keep living with him, because for all his good sides, he has a couple of fatal flaws that sometimes make him unbearable.

My mom listens to me and is very open to being educated on certain topics, but she has her flaws, too. She hates when I fight with my dad, and gets so torn up about it that I’ve once apologized to my dad out of fear of her getting into a car crash otherwise. She’s very vocal about certain flaws of mine, and sometimes uses the things she does for me as leverage against me when she gets very emotional.

And both of my parents pay a lot more attention to my brother because he needs it more, because he’s more of a “problem child” while I “seem so capable” even when I’m not.

And guess what? I’m not a perfect child. I make mistakes sometimes, some of them pretty severe. Just like Luz, I’m the kind of person that struggles to communicate certain issues of mine to her parents. I’m stubborn, and when I get emotional, I say very hurtful things sometimes. So do they.

And this has nothing to do with my parents being horrible or abusive. They’re neither of those things.

The takeaway from this should not be that my entire family is made up of terrible people, but that we’re all flawed in our own ways, despite loving each other and trying our best. There’s things about my parents I wish I could change, and there are things about me that my parents wish they could change. And to an extent, that’s perfectly normal.

In our strengths and flaws and frustration with each other, we’re all human.

Specific, spoiler-y Camila and Luz things under the cut since this got very long.

We have no indication that Camila has a pattern of emotionally manipulating Luz. Her “emotional manipulation” as I’ve seen some people put it, is people for some reason thinking that the second you become an adult, you’re suddenly perfect and can no longer make mistakes, lest you’ll be dubbed horrible and abusive.

The whole concept is absurd to me. There is no perfect way to parent. There simply isn’t. Of course, there’s some genuinely abusive patterns that are horrible and inexcusable. But out of the parenting styles that aren’t, which one works depends on a number of factors, one of which absolutely includes that every child is different and has different needs. Camila is an amazing parent for Vee, giving the kid everything she’s ever longed for. She’s not an ideal parent for Luz. And that’s because Luz and Vee have fundamentally different needs.

Likewise, Luz is a pretty great child for Eda, but not a perfect fit for Camila. Luz relates to Eda a lot more than she relates to her mom, and that’s why the two of them have an easier time understanding each other. Both of these mother-child relationships exist, and one is not more doomed to fail than the other, but I think you’ll agree that the better you understand someone and where they’re coming from, the easier it is to communicate, pick up on certain signs, etc.

As mom and daughter, Camila and Luz are both flawed and have issues seeing the other’s perspective because of how different they are. And we should simultaneously acknowledge both of their roles in the issue and give both of them the space to learn and grow past those issues.

Luz struggles to communicate her problems. She doesn’t want to burden people in the demon realm, and it’s a given that this started out as not wanting to burden her mom. So she keeps quiet about her issues. Camila tries hard but can’t read her daughter’s mind, so there’s only so much she can do to understand and help the way Luz needs her to. Hell, Eda, who Luz is a lot more open with than her mom, struggles to help her, because Luz doesn’t tell her what’s wrong. I don’t see anyone calling Eda a terrible mom for that.

Camila tries her best, but she struggles to understand her daughter because of this, and because of how fundamentally different they are. She loves Luz’s creativity, we actively see her supporting it in the new episode—she keeps the weird stuff Luz made because she thinks Luz will regret throwing it away, and even plays along in what she assumes to be some elaborate role play because “she’s glad Luz kept her creativity even though it’s not made things easy for her at school”. But at the beginning of the show, said creativity got out of hand and people got hurt. Luz could’ve gotten hurt. So of course Camila had to interfere. I love Luz dearly, but she thought it was okay to bring snakes to school and set off fireworks inside a school building. Creativity is great. Doing reckless stuff that causes people to get hurt is not.

In sending Luz to camp, Camila tried to have someone else fix her issue because she didn’t know how to help Luz. That was a mistake, and a bad one at that, but she’s realizing that. She looks disheartened when Vee tries to throw out Luz’s stuff, because she never meant to change her daughter or take that part of her away. She just thought Luz needed a reality check—which, for the record, is something the narrative actually agrees with.

Luz spends her time in the demon realm getting reality check after reality check, realizing that even her ideal fantasy world where she has everything she always wanted doesn’t mean she’s free of consequences. She goes overboard constantly, causing:

-Eda to be forced to fly into a trap because Luz is chasing a fantasy (Witches before Wizards)

-Eda to almost be branded by her sister because Luz doesn’t think through why Eda doesn’t use magic to publicly announce her presence constantly (Once Upon a Swap)

-Eda and the twins to get kidnapped by a Slitherbeast because Luz stole Amity’s wand (Adventures in the Elements)

-Her friends to get hurt when she goes overboard trying to help Willow (Wing it like Witches)

-Eda to be captured and almost petrified because Luz thought she could just steal from the Emperor with no consequences in an attempt to help (Agony of a Witch)

I’m like 90% sure these aren’t even all. None of those make her a terrible person, for the record, but as all humans are, she is flawed and makes bad choices. She learns from these experiences and matures, just like her mom had hoped she would at camp. She’s also made friends there, which was another thing Camila wanted for her daughter.

You’ll probably realize that a lot of Luz’s behaviors I mentioned follow one of two patterns: 1. Luz’s idealized fantasy world causing problems, when she walks around with rose tinted glasses and gets people in trouble in the process because she hasn’t thought about the consequences, and 2. Luz trying to help someone she loves, but instead making things worse in the progress. The issue with this one is often that she doesn’t communicate her ideas/listen to the people she’s trying to help—like when Willow and Gus said they’ve had enough of Grudgby, or how she never actually talks to Eda about the healing hat idea before doing something reckless.

…does the latter one sound familiar to you at all? No? Because it’s the exact same thing that Camila did.

Some of the things Luz does are reckless and actively endanger others and herself, and that’s something that I think we need to acknowledge before judging Camila. As Luz’s mom, it’s Camila’s job to interfere in those situations. That she made a mistake while trying to protect Luz doesn’t make her a terrible person, especially as, again, the narrative proves her right to an extent.

I’m not saying her making Luz promise to come back and stay isn’t something that hurt Luz—it absolutely is. But it was born out of desperation. She’s emotional and in shock. She’s so full of pain and regret. She just wants her fourteen year old daughter home safe, and there’s nothing abusive or even morally ambiguous about that.

From Luz’s perspective, what she says is absolutely heartbreaking, but from Camila’s, it’s perfectly reasonable. I doubt Camila has the full picture, but even if she does, she’s had a full fifteen seconds to process that her daughter has not only been lying to her for months, but chose to leave her, and is in the demon realm of all places. Of course she’d be emotional and upset about that! Who wouldn’t? Camila isn’t a robot. If she’d been calm about this I’d be way more concerned, honestly.

My parents don’t get mad that easily, but if I would lie to them for weeks on end, they’d be pissed off too, not even taking the running away from home part into account. That’s a normal thing. People don’t like being lied to. Camila is absolutely devastated in that moment because she’s scared that Luz left because she hates her, when Luz actively states that her leaving wasn’t about her mom—which is another thing we should really be acknowledging.

Abusive parents suck and abuse should obviously never be apologized or trivialized, but saying something hurtful in the heat of the moment isn’t the same thing as being an abusive parent. My parents have done this. I’ve done this. And yes, those things can be emotionally manipulative, but there’s a huge difference in whether that’s a habit or a person speaking out of hurt and desperation in a very specific context. I doubt there’s anyone on the entire planet that hasn’t had a bad moment where they’ve said something like this because they were hurting. People lash out when they hurt, and they beg for reassurance when they’re scared. That’s something we all do.

The whole mindset of “all parents have to be perfect and can never get upset or make any mistakes” is harmful as hell, and honestly also very unrealistic. No parent is perfect, and especially people like me who have a relationship with their parents that’s very good overall should know that.

Once you have a child, parenting is a non-stop learning process, every day for the rest of your life. Taking away that room to grow and expecting perfection isn’t helping anyone, especially not struggling single parents.

And I see Camila as someone who is very willing to learn, because at the end of the day, all she wants is for Luz to be happy. Let’s give her some time to wrap her head around this whole situation. Let’s see what she says once she sees for herself how happy Luz is in that world, may it be via the videos eventually coming through or Camila visiting and meeting Luz’s found family, her friends and her girlfriend.

Ultimately, I don’t think Camila will force Luz to stay at home, but we have to give her some time. She wants what’s best for Luz, and she’s gonna need some convincing that a dangerous magical world is what’s best. I feel like that’s very normal considering the circumstances.

Her and Luz need to work on their communication on both ends, they both have things to learn, but I’m certain they’ll manage to fix their relationship in the long run.

If the bunk bed is any indication, I think Vee is gonna stay in the human realm permanently while Luz sleeps at home but keeps attending Hexside in the daytime. That feels like a solution that keeps everyone happy, and allows Luz to spend time with all the people she loves. I can’t see her being forced to choose at the end.

As a closing statement: Eda isn’t an ideal mom, Amity isn’t an ideal friend or girlfriend and neither is Luz, Lilith isn’t an ideal sister… but that’s because no one is ever an ideal anything. Being flawed is a big part of being human. Everyone has different facets to their personality. Their flaws are what makes them such great, relatable, believable characters.

And I feel the same way about Camila. She’s an extremely believable character that reminds me of my own parents, flawed but very loving nonetheless.

(Also honestly, I think it’s pretty telling that some of you guys immediately bash the black single mom that’s obviously trying her hardest while giving the benefit of the doubt to Alador, who has been portrayed as neglecting and threatened his six year old daughter on screen. This was already a thing before we knew much about either of them, and I’m disappointed but unfortunately not very surprised that it still is.)

[anthonycrowley]

hey! i dm'd you but i want to thank you again for this, it was really sweet to, like, care. so i kind of want to go over why i chose to leave, why i genuinely don't like followers, and why i'm totally down to delete if it gets like that again.

basically, for about the last 6 months i was on my last blog, i wasn't in good place. it wasn't anyone's fault, really, and in hindsight i think it was mostly due to my personal life and ending up in a job i hated (i'm reasonably sure i developed some stress ulcers from it, but i'm out of there now and i love my current position and i'm fine), but the tumblr thing...wasn't helping. i think i got an influx of followers from getting into spn, and while it wasn't the first or even the biggest group of followers i had gotten all at once (that was probably gomens), it did seem to have the most. i don't know. people who treated me like a public figure or something. and on some level it was worth it because i made some amazing friends from that period, but it made my blog. just really hard to use.

and by public figure i mean it felt like for the first time it was kind of. hard to talk. on my own blog. it felt like everything i was saying was either getting criticized because it wasn't what people wanted me to post (i had someone complaining that i stopped posting as much gomens, and then when i remade blogs they continued to complain on all of my unrelated posts on my new blog that they chose to follow me on that i had stopped posting gomens. this was not an isolated incident, but it was the worst) or that i couldn't say anything without someone going 'elaborate on that' at best and 'i'm offended by this completely normal thing because i disagree with your analysis' at worst (and i don't mean me genuinely being shitty, OBVIOUSLY call me out on that, this was like personal opinions shit that effects no one). and a lot of this wasn't even from my direct followers, i was just a big enough blog that people thought they could come and just complain at me about something taken out of context.

the thing i'm getting at is that like. you want me to not feel weird around you? treat me like a real person who's on this platform for fun. i know i'm joking about tips and shit, but tumblr, unlike most other social media platforms, is not something you can make a career out of being popular on. people were treating me like i was, like, a youtuber with subscribers who between getting jokes is getting brands deals. i'm a fucking office worker, i don't make money at this, the only thing that made me popular here is funny one-liners. i'm not perfect. obviously. and if i've made a mistake, please, tell me, but i felt like i couldn't do anything right, so as long as people don't start that shit again i'm cool with not going heavy on the block button for your first offense.

that was the big thing, i guess. i think there's also a certain level of i felt like there was some parasocial relationships people were developing (similarly to 'why don't you post this' but this was like, assuming you were my friend and talking to me the way, for example, hallie or nessa - people who i have been friends with for years - would talk to me' instead of wanting me to perform like a dancing monkey. but that's neither her nor there), so like. again, i'm literally just a random person, please don't do that. and i think high follower count kind of just makes it so people think they CAN be parasocial with you on here, if you know the follower count is high, and honestly the more people in general the more likely it is that there's people who are going to be weird at you. hence why i really did enjoy having a small following, and honestly would prefer to not have followers. but i can deal, i guess.

again, as long as people don't start treating everything i say as if i mean everything literally or start treating me like we've been besties for years, i'll be fine. and i am in a much, much better place than i was a year ago. i just also learned how to use the block button and will nuke myself if i want to :)

[shades-of-stony]

Royalty Stony AUs

A King for Christmas by iam93percentstardust

Summary: In 1867, Tony Stark flees New York after refusing to marry the alpha his parents chose for him. His money runs out in the small kingdom of Dacia, ruled over by King Steven of the Rogers line. Somehow, and he’s not entirely sure how, he ends up accepting the position of nanny to the king’s four children: Harley, Peter, Sarah, and Morgan.

Tony bonds with the children easily but their father is harder to get to know. Steve is still grieving his wife’s death four years earlier. His continued mourning has turned the once bright halls into dark and somber shadows of their former glory. Tony isn’t entirely certain what he can do but he knows that he has to do something or else the whole country, so attuned to their leader, will sink into despair. He begins by reconciling the king with his young children.

Meanwhile, the children have decided that it’s high time their father fall in love again—and Tony is the obvious choice. They concoct elaborate plans to force the two together, hardly realizing that Steve and Tony are falling in love, not through their shenanigans but through the quiet moments they share bonding over the love they have for the children.

A Higher Form of War by sabremc

Summary: Tony is a King with a surprising number of people out to kill him. Steve and the rest of the Avengers are fighting for Pierce's rebellion and end up with Tony as their prisoner. Oops.

Basically one of those bodice-ripping romance novels I don't read (ahem) but with far more gay.

rearrange my heart (to fit your smile) by starklystar

Summary: "You dare," Howard's chair makes an ugly noise as it scrapes against the stone floors, the chatter of the room shifting into hushed whispers and stolen glances. "I am your father and your King!"

"My King is my husband," Tony tips his chin up, defiant. "And I refuse to hear you suggest that my husband has been anything other than good to me."

Next to him, he feels Steve's shoulders stiffen in surprise.

Howard's fist slams loud on the table. "Your husband does not even love you!"

Tony jerks back, burned. He knows that. Knows that Steve did not marry him for love – does not need any reminder of the cold truth, of what he desperately yearns for and can't even hope to have – but the harshness of Howard's words was scalding, and Tony can't afford for this to go any further.

----------

Or, King Steven marries Prince Tony, Tony is pretty sure he shouldn't panic when he falls in love with his own husband, and Steve tries his very best not to cause diplomatic crises.

Keyword: try

Fealty by  Lasenby_Heathcote and Robin_tCJ

Summary: Steve Rogers is Lord of America, and was gifted his corner of the kingdom of Starkland after amazing acts of heroism in the war against Hydra. A long, brutal winter forces Steve to go to King Howard for aid, and Howard agrees – under the condition that Steve bond with his Omega son, Tony. Steve agrees, of course, for the good of his people. Prince Tony is a trained Omega Consort – an Omega of status sent to a prestigious academy to become the perfect Consort Mate to high-status Alphas throughout the kingdom. At this academy they learn diplomacy, negotiation, proper manners, and, of course, the various ways to pleasure their Alphas.

I will wait by Shellhead616

Summary: Prince Stark was to marry a Prince he never met, for money he never wanted, to reign over a realm his father didn’t care for. But the Prince did care for his people. So he ran away, accidentally joined a group of misfits calling themselves the “Avengers”, with their fierce leader “The Captain". Although, when he discovers the secret the Captain has been keeping, everything changes.

one day by mvrcredi

Summary: One day.

One day Prince Steven would be king. One day he would have all the qualities to be an even better king than his father.

And maybe, one day, Tony would be his husband.

(But maybe, before that one day, Steven should reveal his secret to the man.)

My Loyalty to You by Hazein, Shi_Toyu

Summary: The Israelite nation has gone to war, Howard is acting erratic, and it’s everything Tony can do to argue with the war council to find the most advantageous strategies for their men. Then Thanos strides out of the enemy ranks and issues a challenge unlike any Tony has ever heard. If an Israelite can defeat him in one-on-one combat, their entire army will surrender. Too bad Thanos is twice the size of any man they have. Enter Steve Rogers, local sheppard and the king’s newest harp player, who claims he can fell this giant with nothing but a sling and a stone.

Whether he can manage it or not, Tony is just trying to figure out how you get to looking like that by tending sheep...

Arranged by NotEvenCloseToStraight

Summary: Royalty AU-- Howard arranges a match between Tony and Steve, but when Tony tries to run away with Tiberius instead, Steve goes after his betrothed and brings him home. Things are difficult between the couple at first, but an impulsive kiss leads to softer moments, and finally the arranged pair find happiness together.

Knight of Wands by  Sineala

Summary: Steve has reigned as king for ten years, and in a few days peace will finally come to his kingdom. Representatives of the Kree Empire are soon to arrive for the negotiations that will end the war between them once and for all. Steve is looking forward to settling down, with his hand-picked Avengers at his side -- led, of course, by the masked knight Iron Man -- and also his trusted advisors, the most beloved of whom is Tony, his court magician, the most powerful mage in all the land.

But when Steve's life is endangered, Tony makes the greatest sacrifice of all to protect his king, a sacrifice far greater than his life. And when Tony disappears under mysterious circumstances, Steve learns that even his closest friends keep secrets that he could never have suspected.

Chasing Daydreams by comecatchmeifyoucan

Summary: “Promise you’ll be there?” He mumbled into Steve’s chest.

“Of course.”

“Good.” Tony separated from Steve but his hand was still gently gripping the blond’s wrist. “Because the party only starts when I arrive, and I’m obviously not going if you won’t be there.”

Steve felt the brunet’s hand slip down to graze his, and he let it linger there for a second before it was suddenly pulled away from him. He could only hope that he had hidden his disappointment well.

Fortunately, Tony didn’t seem to notice Steve’s abrupt drop in mood.

✧ ─────── ♡ ─────── ✧

After years of pining for the brunet, Steve was finally going to get his chance to confess his feelings for Tony. If only he could find him in the crowd of masked-people first...

Luckily, when his hopeless crush is nowhere to be found, Steve meets a beautiful stranger to keep him company throughout the night.

heavy is the crown by theappleppielifestyle

Summary: “Why did you pick me? As a match. Howard forced you to marry, but you had - there were other options. Many of them.”

“Maybe I wanted to help you,” Tony says. “To help - anyone, for once. Your people needed it.”

Oh, Steve thinks dully. So it wasn’t about him at all. It’s - a comfort, in some ways. In others, it’s… less so.

“And-” Tony hesitates. "Everyone said you were kind. I thought… if I had to marry, I’d prefer to marry someone kind.”

(Or, Arranged Marriage AU.)

WIP:

The Crown- the stony au nobody asked for by Jo_StClaire

Summary: Tony is the sole Omega prince of Angsold, who falls in love with the Alpha Army Captain of a neighboring nation. When his father, King Howard, suddenly falls ill and passes, Tony's life is thrown out of wack when he becomes a reigning monarch at 25. Follow Tony through the struggles of being a newly-wedded Omega as well as a leader of a nation. He must learn to balance his love for his people with his love for his husband Steve. (Loosely Based off of the Netflix series The Crown)

No More, No Less by ABrighterDarkness

Summary: His father had been discussing it again, amongst his advisers. He was barely eighteen , what did he need of a wife at eighteen? Frankly, he was already tired of hearing about it. Tired of meeting the daughters of the various men that were deemed important enough. None of them had caught his attention in the least and he suspected that they never would. Not when his daydreams already consisted of intelligent brown eyes, rich brown curls and a wickedly charming grin.

Protea by Anonymous

Summary: After witnessing the injustice done onto his parents, Steve Rogers sneaks into the Ferrite Royal Palace to try and find answers. Fate decides to saddle him with solving shady scandals while unknowingly becoming involved with the nation’s omegan king, Anthony.

And deal with all the baggage and drama that comes along with it.

Or…

A Concubine!Steve AU

they're both princes in this one by vapaad

Summary: Steve Rogers is the first son of the United States The entire nation sees him as America’s golden boy. Handsome, smart, charming, and overall perfection– Steve is an icon to the youths of America. But Steve, well he has one little issue. He thinks Prince Anthony, yes the british prince, is a big jerk. Arrogant and an overall asshole.

So when an encounter between the two results in chaos, Steve and Anthony “call me Tony” are thrusted into a PR stint of being best friends. But soon enough, they both come to the realization that they want more, and there, bloomed a secret relationship between the first son of the united states, and the prince of England.

tell me i'm your national anthem by oopshidaisy for chasingconstellations

Summary: Red, White & Royal Blue AU. Tony Stark is the unwilling First Son of the United States, whose rivalry with beloved Prince Steve threatens UK/US relations. After an international incident involving a wedding cake, Steve and Tony are forced to fake a friendship for the public eye - a fake friendship that evolves into something real, and dangerous.

[nat-20s]

Part 5 of Wonderful! Au. *boyband voice* banter’s back alright!

Also on AO3

~*~

Jon: Hello everyone, and welcome back to our regular format. If my husband being horribly soppy-

Martin:-hey!-

Jon: -turned you off the how, this should be a refreshing return to formula, though I can’t guarantee there won’t be further horrible soppiness-

Martin, performatively under his breath: -most people thought it was charming-

Jon: -as that tends to happen when one is recording with the love of their life. If last week’s episode is the only one that you like, too bad, I’m back in full form, and should be at least through the rest of the season.

Martin: This show doesn’t have seasons? Due to the whole lack of a narrative thing?

Jon: I was referring to spring.

Martin: Oh, right.

[A beat passes.]

Martin, flatly: Oh. Great goof hon.

Jon, smug: Thank you.

Jon, sincere: Also, before we get properly started, I did want to actually thank everyone who sent well wishes.

M artin: Yes! We got positively inundated with lovely messages, it definitely brightened both of our days. I would even say it was wonderful.

[Jon groans.]

Jon: I am..not proud of the energy we’ve created for this episode so far, and we haven’t even hit the small wonders. Speaking of, do you have a small wonder this week?

Martin: Mine’s bad action movies.

Jon: Really? I had no idea you even liked them, let alone consider them wonderful.

Martin: Okay, so, saying I like them is a bit of a misnomer? It’s more that I like what they can do more than the movies themselves?

Jon: Elaborate?

Martin: It probably comes as a surprise to no one that I’ve tried my hand at a fair amount of mindfulness and mediation techniques. I’ve found poetry and journaling have been helpful for actually processing life events and whatnot, but when it comes to giving your brain a hard wipe and reset, nothing is half as quick and effective as a shitty shoot-em-up. Somethings about 2 hours of cartoonish, pg-13 violence held together with the absolute loosest of plots brings me to a state of mental blankness that would make a monk jealous.

Jon: How have I never witnessed you doing this? When are you sneaking off to go see Micheal Tarantino or who ever films?

M artin: That’s definitely not the right name.

Jon: Martin, dear, I don’t care. And you’re dodging the question.

Martin, fond: I’m not dodging anything. Since apparently we’re getting into it, you haven’t caught me cavorting with a movie involving more explosions than character development lately because I haven’t been. Haven’t needed it, in recent years. Turns out when you’re not crushingly lonely and working a literal nightmare of job, there’s less of a drive to try and escape your own thoughts. Shocker, I know. Still, to anyone out there that feels like their brain is on fire, go try watching a fast and furious. Any of ‘em, it doesn’t matter. Or even better, Chronicles of Riddick. I can’t remember a single goddamn detail of that movie, which makes it perfect for what I’m talking about.

Jon: I have the strong feeling that th is is a “mileage may vary” scenario.

Martin: Well, yeah, that’s this whole podcast. Plus, I imagine that movies like this would cause more stress to someone who cares about, say, world-building or rules consistency.

Jon: I wonder who you could possibly be referring to.

Martin: It’s a purely hypothetical person, love, don’t worry about it. Any small wonders?

Jon: Yes! Particularly relevant to the last week, my small wonder is stripping the sheets from your bed when it’s been too long between washes.

Martin: How very specific. M ost people would just say ‘clean sheets’.

Jon: Well, for one, I’m fairly certain that we’ve already covered clean sheets-

Martin: Shit, have we? Thank god other people keep track of this, otherwise this show would be unbearably repetitive.

Jon: Christ, yes. I typically check the website a good three times while prepping, and every about one out of those three times I find I’m trying to do an topic we did 30 episodes again. Anyway, um, it’s just nice, I think. When you’ve been too busy or sick or away for awhile, tossing the sheets in the wash makes a room instantly seem nicer. Of all the chores out there, this one, at least for me, has the highest reward to effort ratio.

Martin: Hard agree. Especially when the y have that slight funk of having been around to long, getting rid of that is such a relief. Speaking of, we need to change our sheets soon.

Jon: We can do it after the episode. Who goes first this week?

Martin: Considering last week was only me talking, I’m gonna say it’s you.

Jon: Alright, then. My first thing this week is Martin K. Blackwood.

Martin: Absolutely not!

Jon: Oh, you can do a whole episode on me, but I can’t do one little segment on my husband, whom I love very dearly?

Martin: Not while I’m sat here, no!

Jon: So you’re saying you don’t want me to tell the internet that your resolve to be kind even in the face of indescribable cruelty is one of the mot breathtaking things I’ve ever witnessed, or how I find it incredibly endearing when you get so emotional that your voice comes out as a squeak, or even that, on a more base level, you’re very physically attractive, and I could lose entire days thinking about your arms alone?

Martin, audibly blushing, voice the aforementioned squeak: Oh my god, Jon!

Jon, laughing: Then it’s probably for the best that my actual first thing is best friends.

Martin, peaking the audio levels: Oh you absolute bastard! Do you enjoy this? Do you get some sort of perverse sense of entertainment from riling me up?

Jon: Oh, don’t you start. As if you’re not as bad as I am. Maybe even worse.

Martin: That’s not…

Jon: Yes?

Martin: Okay. Maybe it’s slightly true. Really, what is romance for if not flustering your partner with compliments?

Jon, teasing: I certainly can’t think of anything.

Martin: Hush, you.

Jon: No, I don’t think I will.

Martin: Fine. I suppose you can tell our delightful audience about the power of friendship or whatever.

Jon: I would’ve assumed more enthusiasm, considering this segment is still, indirectly, about you.

Martin: In what way?

Jon: In the way that, to the shock of all, you’re my best friend.

Martin, pleased: Oh, is that what I am?

Jon, exasperated: Yes, dearest husband, I wouldn’t have married you otherwise. Though, upon reflection, I knew you were my best friend before I knew I held romantic feelings for you.

Martin: When was that?

Jon, letting out a breath that vibrates his lips: God it was...2016? I think it might’ve literally been the day after you told me about your CV.

Martin: That early? Huh. I wonder if that’s what people were picking up when they said they we were close.

Jon: What people?

Martin: I don’t know specifically, that’s just what Daisy told me.

Jon: Daisy? When the hell-?

Martin: It...was when she was interrogating me? And, because sometimes I have to be a parody of myself, pretty much my only take away from that interrogation was “people think me and Jon are close”.

Jon: Well then. It’s not like they were wrong.

Martin, smug: No, no they weren’t.

Martin, sincere: And you’re my best friend, too.

Jon: I was certainly hoping that you’re in this relationship for more than my good looks and incredible fortune, both in the monetary and luck sense.

Martin: You say that as if you aren’t good looking, which we all know is patently untrue.

Jon: You’re biased. You’d say I was good looking if I were nothing more than some primordial ooze with thoughts about its station.

Martin: I’m being completely objective. If you were primordial ooze with thoughts above its station, you’d be the cutest ooze of them all. That’s just scientific fact.

Jon: I’m starting to think we might be insufferable.

Martin: Starting to? Might be?

Jon:…

[Jon clears his throat]

Jon: What I find wonderful about the concept of best friends is, to me, they’re the closest thing real life has to soulmates. I don’t personally believe that there’s some..grand mystic force that drives people to be tied together in the manner that narrative typical soulmates are, and if there was I don’t think it would necessarily be the kind of emotional, heartfelt bond one would hope for, but I do believe that there’s individuals that get to know one another, and because of that knowledge, they chose to stick with one another. It doesn’t have to be a romantic, which is why I say best friend rather than specifically ‘spouse’, but I would argue that the basis of a strong romance like you and I have, is very much rooted in that connection. A true best friendship is an equal partnership, and there’s a sense of..matched sensibilities and understanding that can be utterly incandescent when it happens.

I also think that having one or more best friends makes living life on a day to day basis both better and just flat easier. The dark times aren’t as dark, and the bright times shine even more. I know from my own personal experience there are events that I..that I don’t know how I would’ve made it through without you. Hell, last week my..recovery period would’ve taken much longer if you hadn’t been there.

It’s an amazing thing to have someone to share things with, both triumphs and burdens. Um, also, according to Dictionary.com, the term best friends in English has been around since the 1200s. Something about that delights me, like, yes, we’ve had this casual way of referring to a Favorite Person for roughly 800 years. That makes it a hold-out from early Middle English. I dunno, it’s one of those things that make me feel overall very charmed by humanity.

Martin, audibly smiling: No, yeah, hard agree.

Jon: What’s that look for?

Martin: Nothing. Just. I love you a whole lot, you know that?

Jon, voice soft: I may have heard you say that once or twice. Per hour.

Martin: Only that often? I really need to be more diligent about that.

[There’s a bet of silence, presumably where they’re making doe eyes at each other.]

Jon: What’s your first thing?

Martin: Oh, um, right. Rats!

Jon: The expression or the animal?

Martin: Jon, have you ever once heard me say “rats” as an expression? Obviously I’m referring to the animal.

Jon: Ah. Should’ve known, considering that what, a third?, of all your segments have been on animals.

Martin: Yeah? And? You got a problem with critters? With creatures? With lil guys?

Jon, laughing: No, no, it’s very sweet. I’m just surprised you never became a vet.

Martin: Oh believe me, I wanted to. But then I learned that it was not, in fact, a job composed entirely of getting paid to play with other people’s pets.

Jon: You had that job, though, didn’t you? I thought I remembered you mentioning a month long stint at a doggie day care.

Martin, sighing dreamily: Best job I ever had. Too bad that place was shut down after it was revealed to be a money laundering front.

Jon: Good lord.

Jon: Martin did you...did you know it was a money laundering front at the time?

Martin:

Martin: Would it make you feel better if I said no?

Jon: Martin!

Martin: I figured it out like a week in, but, like, who cares? The pay was decent and the floor was super easy to clean, which is very much a plus for even a front of a doggie day care.

Jon: That’s...rather a lot. How about instead of getting into that any further, you tell me about rodents.

Martin: I would love to. But first, we have a shoutout!

Jon: Ooo, a shoutout. Does it specify who should read?

Martin: Let me check. It...does...not…..

...

Jon: Martin?

[A beat.]

Martin: Right! Sorry, um. This week’s shoutout is from Tim, to Danny. It says, “Danny! My favorite person who shares genetic material with me! I wanted to say thank you for your podcast obsession from 4 months ago, and specifically for telling me about these marrieds. They’ve gotten me through many a dull hour at the publishing house. Also, with this shoutout, I’ve officially gotten ahead on the Superior [Last Name Redacted] Brother scoreboard, so suck it. Love you lots, and looking forward to your visit next month, Tim.”

Jon: Oh.

Jon: Um. That’s very..sweet? I think? Mostly?

Martin: Yeah, I’d say so. Uh. We have to take a quick break because, uh, someone is..at our front door! Be back with you all in, from your side of things, just a moment.

[ellana-ravenwood]

Can you be friend with your husband's ex-girlfriend ? - Bruce Wayne x Fem!Reader

Synopsis : Everyone always think you and Selina Kyle don’t like each others, solely for the fact that she used to "date” your husband. But as usual in life, things are much more complicated than that...A fluffy Drabble mainly about how truly strong, Bruce and reader’s love is. 

Listen. My students were having quiet reading times, and I had a sudden burst of inspiration as one of them chose a French story in which a mother and a step-mother unite fronts to save their little magical kid (I love that story haha), and it suddenly inspired me. I LOVE Catwoman. Like. A lot. And in my head, her and Batmom have always been...Oh. No spoilers. The rest in this story ;). Hope you’ll like this little bonus story ! : 

My masterlist blog : @ella-ravenwood-archives

__________________________________________________

“You look beautiful mom, do you have a date with father ? I thought date nights were on Thursdays.” 

You jumped a little in the air as your son’s voice resonate in the foyer. Definitely didn’t hear him, sneaky little bugger. You turn around towards him, and smile, saying : 

“It is on Thursdays, my little buddy. I’m having a girls night out, tonight.” 

“Girls night out ?” 

“Yes. You know, Cass and I are the only girls of the family. Sometimes we need to vent to our peers. Cass usually goes to see Steph and Babs, I go out with my friends.” 

You smile at him again, ruffling his hair, and he can’t help but chuckle a little bit. In recent months, Damian found that he actually loves, when the one he came to call “mom” (you), ruffled his hair. It made him feel like the little boy he was, as odd as it could sound to anyone not knowing him. 

“I didn’t know you went on such nights.” 

“I do, once a month. You just haven’t noticed because it’s usually on nights you’re out with your father rather early.” 

“I see. If it isn’t too -he hesitates- personal, can I ask with who you are going out ? Who are your friends ?” 

Your smile widens. Because just over a year back, that boy would’ve never cared about this. About who you hung out with, or about you in general. 

Ah, since he came in your life, he went a long way. The mere fact he wanted to know more about you was proof enough, and you felt absolutely touched. 

Even more so as you realized that he not only asked about your friends because he wanted to know you, but because he was a little worried about who you might spend time with, wether they’d put you in danger or not...So, oh so sweet. 

“Well, as cliche as it sounds, I’m going out with mainly other supermoms. We like to vent about...Things -you were aware that telling your son you and your friends love to vent about them wasn’t the best answer right now haha- So, Lois, you know her of course. Jon’s mom. There’s also Dinah, Connor’s mom. You saw him a few time at the Watchtower, although he’s quite younger than you so I don’t think you interact much. I bet you already know she’s Black Canary, and married to Green Arrow, I saw you snoop in your father’s files.” 

Your son’s face redden a little, but you give him a reassuring winks totally meaning : “I snooped around too”, and it makes him smile. You continue : 

“And finally there’s Diana. She’s not a mom yet, but she loooooves to listen to our stories. She’s also great at changing subjects and partying, who would’ve thought right ? I guess having thousand of years of practice helps. I’m sure you know she’s Wonder Woman eh. Oh, and of course, there’s Selina.” 

“Selina ?” 

“Yes.” 

“As in...Catwoman ?” 

“Yes ?” 

You can see your son wants to add something, and you’re pretty sure you know what it’s gonna be. But you let him ask naturally, leave him time to gather his thoughts and dare to ask. After all, you want to instal an atmosphere of trust, between you and your children. You want them to know they can always ask you anything. So you wait. Finally, Damian says : 

“Why are you meeting with this woman ? Don’t you like, hate her ?” 

"Why would I hate her ?” 

You know exactly why he’s thinking that. But you want him to elaborate, to make sense of his feelings about the subject. Simply, to talk. 

“Well...her and father used to...you know...” 

It’s not quite as formed as you were hoping for, but you do know. And at least, he tried. There was a time he would’ve just gotten mad you purposefully pretended not to understand his meaning, and would’ve left this instant.

You smile at him once more. To be honest, so many people thought you and Selina Kyle didn’t get along. 

You guess it would make sense, it’t true, she’s your husband ex after all. AND one of the only woman for whom he truly cared about. Those, were very few...

In fact, there was only three of you, in Bruce’s life, that truly made a difference. Sure, he had been infatuated before, with quite a few women. But only three, truly stood out. 

Talia Al’Ghul, of course. Not his first love (that was Julie Madison, although he was much too young to really know what love even was, and compared to you, it was just mild infatuation). But someone that used to be important nonetheless. The reason your sweet Damian (yes, sweet, especially when around you) was alive. 

She was important, once. When he was training under her father’s guidance, before he realized who Ras really was. 

Talia was a complicated woman who unfortunately could never truly get away from her upbringing, no matter how hard she tried. She was “too far gone”, by her own words. It was clear to Bruce, that if even herself thought she was un-savable, he couldn’t do much either. He did try, though. But it just never worked. 

You were certain that she left Damian in Bruce’s care, when the boy was barely ten, exactly because she didn’t want him to turn out like her. Which in itself, was a little redemption act, no ? At least, you thought so. 

Didn’t mean that you thought you could change her mind about those “world domination” plans that were ingrained in her mind since she was born. Fact is, she gave Damian a chance. 

You never hated Talia. You actually felt pretty sorry for her. 

She could’ve had such a different life, if, all those years ago, she had been able to leave her father. Not that you would want to, it’d mean that you and Bruce would never be (even if deep down, you knew that you and him would always end up together, no matter what...it would’ve just been a little lethal for you, if Talia was more around um um). 

Talia never even really tried to get “her” son back. It seemed she completely accepted to “give him” to you. She self-admittedly never really knew how to be a mother, and there was that time she had him killed because she thought it was meant to be...

Not that, anyway, you’d ever let that happen again. You made it very clear you wouldn’t. And your resolve and anger could be scary, even to Talia Al’Ghul.

Plus, the day she had Damian killed, she realized she didn’t want that...anyway long story short, she was no longer in his life. And although if one day she changed her mind and wanted to contact him again you wouldn’t oppose it, you knew Damian was yours. Everyone knew that if one day she would come back, beyond the fact you, Bruce, and his siblings would be here to protect Damian...The boy would never choose to go back to the Al Ghuls. 

He changed drastically, since he came with you. He was no longer her son. And she knew it. And didn’t interfere so far (and you knew she never would). 

He called YOU “mom”. He told YOU he loves you. You. Not her. he never interacted with you like he did with her anyway. And you still didn’t hate Talia. She was part of both Bruce, and Damian’s past (AUTHOR’S NOTE : a little reminder that Damian was born from a “test tube” with Bruce and Talia’s DNA (to simplify things), and had a surrogate mother to give birth to him (although sometimes he’s seen in literal “baby pods” like in Death Stranding haha). He was born A WHILE after Bruce left Talia and the League behind. He wasn’t born 9 months after. This is important infos so things fit timeline wise :)).

The second woman who had a great impact on your husband’s life, and who used to be “his”, was...Selina Kyle. 

For a long time Bruce felt like she was the only one to understand him. The only one accepting him for who he was, with no compromise. The only person on this Earth that wouldn’t try to change him. And although things were often “on and off”, and complicated, it was nice, to feel like he belonged. And Selina... Selina was the only one giving him this feeling. 

But...Well, he was wrong.  

Because then, you, the “third” and yet most important woman in his life, appeared. 

You arrived years after his love story with Talia, and quite a while after he started to realize him and Selina were maybe not meant to be. Too many differences, even as they understood each others (or at least he thought they did).

Then you barged in. A bit younger than him. Unafraid to be yourself, bold and utterly stubborn. Turning his world upside down, and making him reconsider if he ever knew what the word “love” meant before you.  

But that, was another story. Anyone seeing you with him, and particularly the way he looked at you, would instantly know how crazy he was about you. How desperately in love he was. 

Right now, the question wasn’t about how strong your bond was, and how he never loved anyone like he loves you. 

Nope. Right now, it was all about how you didn’t hate his exes (not even Talia). How anyway, they were part of his life at some point, that was a fact you could never change. 

Before you, Bruce had a past. Past. 

A past. A path. A path that lead him to you. A path that taught him to not make the same mistakes he made before, and a path that showed him it was you. That it has always been you. 

A past path, that couldn’t compare to his present with you. 

You didn’t even feel particularly jealous of them, you knew how Bruce felt about you, and that they were just that...part of his past. 

Now, sure. You would probably never even be friendly with Talia. Who she was and what she stood for made it so. The opposite of you, really. 

But Selina ? Well. Selina was another story. 

You smile at your son, and say : 

“Do you think of Selina and I as “conventional women” ? “

His answer came without a second of hesitation, Damian didn’t even have to think to say what he thought of your question : 

“Certainly not.” 

“Exactly. Now. Maybe society teaches girls they should instantly hate their boyfriend’s ex, but I chose not to listen. It’s a toxic view of life, and not all exes are crazy jealous psychos as the people make it sound ? Sometimes, like in your father and Selina’s case, the relationship ends on good terms. Selina is a great woman. As soon as she knew your dad and I were actually a thing, she backed off.” 

Well. That wasn’t entirely true. She backed off of Bruce. But she still LOVED driving him crazy jealous by openly flirting with you. 

“And I know how your dad feels about me. I trust him, too. Trust is important, you know that now right ? -he nods- So. Why would I hate someone I have a lot in common with, and with whom I’d probably be friend anyway if you father wasn’t in the picture ?” 

“I...I guess you wouldn’t ?” 

“And I indeed don’t.” 

Your son was visibly confused, and you couldn’t blame him really. 

Because of how the World was, but also because of who raised him (Talia was...a jealous woman), you understood how he couldn’t quite understand you not feeling threaten in the least by the fact Selina was your Broosh’s ex. So you say, kissing his forehead :

“I’ll tell you a few stories, soon. And I think you’ll get it.” 

“Ok, mom.” 

You smiled. He hadn’t call you “mom” for very long, and you quickly noticed he used every opportunity to use the word. It melted your heart. 

“Now, I have to go ! If I’m late, Diana is going to fly me out of here, and your father HATES when she does that. Goodnight baby, see you soon. Make sure to eat a proper dinner. I told Alfred but I trust you to listen. And force your dad to have one too, when I’m not here, he forgets things...even as important as literally feeding himself. Too engrossed in his project, you know. Anyway, love you. Good night !” 

“Good night, mom.” 

And with a last smile, you go out and leave behind a son that has a LOT of things to think about. 

************

A few days later, it was Damian’s mandatory night off and he was going to bed early. Your orders. You convinced him, by promising to read him a bedtime story.

Many would think your son was too proud to even admit you still read him stories before bed, even as he was approaching the age of 12. But many would be wrong. 

If there was something Damian wasn’t afraid of, it was to tell the world how much of a mamma’s boy he was. Nobody could blame him, he never really had a “real” mom. Not one like you, at least, who taught him with love and patience, and not hired assassins and blood. 

“Ok Little Buddy, what will it be tonight ?” 

"The story of how you became friend with Catwoman ?”

Your taken aback for a few seconds, you had totally forgotten about telling him about your “girls night out”. But then you smile, settle down next to him on his bed, and as he threw his heavy and comfortable quilt on both of you, you start your story. 

The day she saved your life. 

The first time you realized you and Selina could very well become friends one day, was that time she literally saved your life. Definitely a hint that she didn’t hate you, at least. 

And you ? Sure, at first you were a little insecure because you knew she was Bruce’s ex and Selina was...Well she was a gorgeous woman, smart, witty, and very VERY hot. 

But after seeing her a few times there and there, and seeing how she interacted with Bruce...you knew Selina Kyle was not the “home wrecker” time. That she would never try anything with him, as long as she knew you two were a thing. 

Sure she was a thief, unscrupulously taking whatever she wanted from whomever she wanted...but “someone else’s man” was definitely where she drew a limit. She felt absolutely no pleasure being a mean spirited person. 

And she saw how happy Bruce was with you...Which lead to that fateful night during which you two started to get closer. 

Because sure, you fought off your insecurities about her being his ex, but you weren’t exactly friendly. You just...knew of each others. 

The change happened not long after Bruce made it official with the media that he was no longer “Gotham’s most eligible bachelor”, and was in a serious relationship with you. 

To your surprise, the people in the city took it really well. Bruce was a beloved figure, they were happy that after years of clearly love life instability, he found someone. Sure, a few women and men had their heart broken, their dreams shattered, and were totally jealous of you but...

Anyone seeing you with him just instantly knew you guys were the real deal. That it was true love, as cheesy as it sounded. It was just that obvious. 

Maybe too obvious. 

Clearly, soon, everyone in Gotham knew how much Bruce Wayne cared about his girlfriend. How he would do anything for her. And...Well. 

This was Gotham. Do you get the picture ? 

It was a time during which you hadn’t moved in with him just yet. You’d do that only a few months later, not long before you and Bruce would adopt Dick. 

But for now, you still had your studio apartment in the heart of Gotham (refusing to take any handouts from Bruce, who could definitely get you a better place), and you were going back there after a few meeting with your publishers. 

You were suppose to meet Bruce the next day, as tonight, he was working on some important “Batcases”. You didn’t mind too much. Sometimes, it was nice to be alone with yourself, gave you a moment of self-care and calm. 

You loved Bruce of course, and loved being with him, but it was still nice to have some alone time nonetheless. 

Anyway. You were walking back, feeling rather good about the bath bomb that was waiting for you back home (it was from your favorite artisanal shop, a gift from Bruce, who definitely had no qualms buying you hundreds of dollars worth of bath bombs haha...If he couldn’t help you get a better apartment, didn’t mean he wasn’t gonna spoil you otherwise). 

That’s when it happened. You never even saw it coming. One second you were walking down the street, the next you had a damp towel around your mouth and nose, and everything went to black. 

************

You woke up in a warehouse. By the salty smell in the air though, you guessed you were somewhere on the docks. Which didn’t tell much, there was a lot of docks, in Gotham. Perks of living on a city with a seafront view ?

There was a group of men in a corner, playing cards. In front of you, a camera. You were gagged, your arms and legs were bound, and your head hurt like hell. 

“Hey, she woke up.”  

A shuffling to your side. The men playing cards were moving. They came to you, one turned the camera on. The other one put on some headphones and slowly directed a mic towards you, as the last man pulled on a ski mask and settled in front of the camera. 

Nothing made sense to you. Until the man in front of the camera started to talk. 

“Bruce Wayne. We have your girlfriend. If you don’t bring us-” 

Oh. Oh. You were kidnapped. And those men wanted a ransom. An insane amount of money. That you knew Bruce had, but still. Ah. 

You had to get out of here. You had to. 

You looked around you, nothing. And there were the three men. Oh. Oh but the edges of your chair were sharp. And if you slowly made a back and forth movement with your wrists, you could see it slowly cutting the ropes. And so, you got to work.  

Only...

“Believe me, we won’t hesitate to hurt her. Here, a proof of “good faith”.”

Huh ? OUTCH ! The man in front of the camera had just almost knocked you out with the force of his punch in your jaw. You were wondering if he hadn’t broken it. You couldn’t quite think anymore, and could feel the tears slowly falling on their own from your eyes... 

Damn, it hurt. You didn’t see it coming either, too focused on slowly cutting the ropes while making sure they didn’t notice. 

“Ok, I think that’s good. Whaddaya think, Rupert ?”

“We can do another take if you want, and then edit the punch in ? I’m not sure she can handle another hit like that, she looks pretty shaken up.” 

“Ah well we-”

“Oooooh booyyys !” 

Your ears were ringing, everything was blurry, and your head hurt so much. But you definitely recognized that voice. 

“Catwoman, you’re early.” 

Huh ? What was she doing here... 

“Well, I thought I’d pop in a little earlier knowing you boys would be around. I’m sort of in a hurry. I accept cash of course, as usual. I think you’ll find the array of jewelries I brought today to be...What the hell are you doing ?”

“Mm ? Oh, her ? A little side operation. She’s Bruce Wayne’s sweetheart. Rumors has it he’d burn the world for her, we thought we’d take advantage of it and expend our business.” 

“That’s quite a jump from fencing stolen jewelries, to kidnapping, isn’t it ?” 

The man shrugged, and turned back to you. 

“Well, you don’t achieve anything if you don’t start new ventures. And there’s big money to be made here. For sure. That idiot Wayne will pay up, there’s no doubt.” 

You heard the click-clacks of heels, and a shadow came into your vision. 

“What did you do to her, you animals ?” 

“Just a punch. And maybe we weren’t too delicate with her when we moved her to our van, and then here. But it’s fine. Nothing too bad really.” 

Slowly you were regaining your vision. And the pain was retrieving. You had never been punched before. You kinda hope it would never happen again... 

The way those thugs were talking about the all thing was so casual, from them talking about how they’d edit the video destined to Bruce, to how they were just saying they were expanding their operation...For a little bit, you almost forgot you were from Gotham.

Gotham. 

America’s capital of crime. 

Where little thugs like those ones were plenty. 

Men who thought they could “make it big”.

Gotham.

A place that bred someone like your Bruce, and his nightly activities... 

Selina’s voice raised again, harsh and dry : 

“I give you all the things I stole in the past month, in exchange of her.” 

There’s a short silence, followed by a chuckle from one of the man, clearly the leader, who answers : 

“Oh please. We ain’t stupid. We know her value. And we know someone like you, wouldn’t trade anything in for her if she wasn’t valuable. You’re not exactly known to be a nice woman.” 

There’s a hint of anger crossing Selina’s face, and you immediately understand where it comes from. Sure. She was a thief. A criminal. And sometimes, she’d rough up some security guards, or some fellow criminals that think they could cross her. 

But she was no brute. 

She would never NEVER kidnap anyone, and especially not an innocent. 

She protected children, and defenseless woman in her neighborhood, and whenever she could. She wasn’t exactly a hero, like Bruce; That’s for sure. But she wasn’t a bad person. No. She wasn’t. 

And those guys words ? Just infuriated her. 

“Mm. Too bad for you. Don’t go out and say I didn’t give you a chance. Really, too bad. I liked doing business with you.” 

“What are you-”

In an instant, Selina sprout in action, and knocked the three men out before they could even realize. That was impressive. Even gagged, you could hear yourself utter a “wow” as she rushed back to you to untie you. 

She smiled as she saw you made a good way through the ropes, and were most likely be able to get out of your bounds at some point. You were glad you didn’t though, because you weren’t quite sure what you were going to do once free ? 

You fall forward on the floor and she catches you. Your head is still ringing, as you look at Selina. 

There is genuine concern on her face. 

How odd. 

"Are you okay ?” 

“Yes, I’m fine.” 

“Good. Cause I refuse to be the one telling Bruce the person he loves the most in this world died. Again.” 

“Yes. Thank you I-I...”

“Hey, are you okay ? (Y/N) ? (Y/N) ??” 

You could hear Selina call to you, and it felt like her voice was slowly fading into the distance...The adrenaline gone, the stress of it all gone, you had simply passed out. 

************

“Is she alright ?!” 

Bruce arrived, bursting through a window, and ran to you. Your head was in Selina’s lap (she felt bad just leaving you laying down there on the hard concrete ground), and she was casually sitting, her back against a container. 

She was surrounded by the knocked out bodies of your aggressors. 

“Yes. Yes she’s just sleeping. She got roughed up a little bit, but I checked. Nothing too bad. It’ll leave a few bruises. Nothing time cannot heal.” 

After saving you, totally by chance, Selina called Bruce on his red phone, so he would know it’s an emergency. 

It didn’t even take him more than ten minutes to drop the case he was working on, cross town, and arrive. 

He kneeled next to you, and checked every part of you to make sure Selina was right. But it did appear you were just asleep. The shock was too big, probably. 

“How did you know she was here ?” 

“I didn’t. It was all luck. Those men were some...um...Associates of mine.” 

“You have associates that kidnap women ?” 

There was anger in Bruce’s voice, but Selina knew better than to think it was aimed at her. No. It was anger he felt towards those men who hurt you, and towards himself, too, as he wasn’t there to take care of you. 

“No. She’s their first.” 

He looks at you, with a longing and love in his eyes that he never looked at Selina with. She recognizes it instantly. He’s more in love with you than he ever been with her. Was it even really love, between them, or a strong friendship ? Sometimes, the two were difficult to dissociate.

She stares at him, because it’s quite something, to see the Batman himself so desperately in love that he dropped everything he was doing to run to you, knowing that you were safe. 

It’s quite something, to see the Batman himself ready to give it all up just for one person. Something he was never willing to do before. Never willing to do with Selina... 

She stares at him, and smiles. An almost sad smile, because it hurts a bit, he never looked at her like that. But a smile nonetheless, because she knows now for sure, that he found his true love. 

Nobody would peg Catwoman for a romantic, but oh, oh she was a hopeless sap. Especially when it touched her dear friends. 

Bruce looks at her, and mistakes that look in her eyes for something that isn’t there. She can see it instantly. He thinks she’s sad, that she’s truly hurt he found someone else. That he moved on. 

She’s not. But of course, he would think so. 

“Selina I-”

“Don’t Bruce. It’s ok. You and I were never meant to be together, and we knew it. Doesn’t mean we can’t be friend. I actually think we work better, as friends, don’t you ? Take care of her. She’s definitely a keeper.” 

You slowly shift in Bruce’s arms, and he takes a look at you. At your wounds. His heart tightens, and he holds you with more force. 

“Thank you.” 

He barely whispers it, but Selina hears him. She smiles at him, happy that her friend found happiness. True happiness. 

All she ever wanted for Bruce, was for him to find a way to be happy. Clearly, she wasn’t that. But you...You definitely were. 

“I don't know what I would’ve done if she...” 

“Hey, hey come on Bat. Don’t think about this. She’s fine. Just tired from the shock. She’ll recover, she’s strong. And you’ll be here, right ?” 

“...Yes.” 

He didn’t sound too convince, and Selina could feel a big urge to slap him across the face. Because she knew what he was thinking. And he’d better not do it. 

“Bruce if you-”

“Thank you, Selina. I’m going to take her home, now. She needs the rest. And-And I do too.” 

And on that note, he exited the warehouse, holding you tight in his arms. And oh. Oh Selina hoped to everything she held sacred (and that wasn’t a lot of things) that he wouldn’t be a stupid idiot. 

The day she saved his heart. 

He couldn’t stop thinking of that time you got hurt. Because of him. Because he was Bruce Wayne...What if anyone got wind that he was Batman ? 

It’d be even worst. If someone like the Joker, or Penguin ever knew who he really was (and that was definitely a possibility), being with you would sign your death. 

He had to-

“Oh god Bruce you are SO cliche.” 

He slightly jumped in the air as Selina casually sat down beside him, looking down to the dark streets below. There was a slight fog, and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at how even the weather decided to join in ont he stereotype. 

“Excuse me ?” 

“You’re a living cliche. What, brooding all alone on a rooftop, on a full moon night, wondering if you should ruin your life or not, sacrifice your own happiness for dumb reasons.” 

“What ?” 

“What, breaking up with her to protect her ? Really ? Do you even know how dumb that sounds ?” 

“I didn’t-”

“Your thoughts are plain to see. I know you, Bruce. And I noticed your face, ever since she got hurt. And what you’re thinking? Leaving her for her own safety ? D-U-M-B. So dumb.”

“Did you not pay attention to the close call she just had ?!” 

“I was there to save her. And if I wasn’t, you would’ve barged in and save her. Or better yet, when I arrived, she had made her way half way through her bounds by slowly cutting it on the edge of her chair ! She might’ve escaped on her own !”

“Or gotten killed.” 

“But she’s alive.”

“No thanks to me.” 

“So what, you renounce happiness because maybe one day she’ll be in danger ? This is Gotham, Bruce. She is always in danger. And if you leave her alone, like I know you’re thinking about, she will definitely be an easy target. It’s not because you break up with her that people will stop thinking you care about her. In fact, after she got attacked like that, and it was made public, I bet the opposite will happen. Criminals in Gotham are a lot of things, but dumb is unfortunately not one of them. They WILL come after you if you leave her to fend for herself. If you break up.” 

“You don’t know that.” 

“I do know that. Come on Bruce. I was born here. You too. And her too. Hell, I saw her give a nasty right hook to more than one person, in the short time I’ve known her ! One of those being Mayor Hady himself, and that was BEFORE she started to date you, how fearless is she, huh ?” 

“That’s the problem.”

“Her fearlessness ? Sounds to me like it to be taken advantage of. Train her. Teach her to fight, to defend herself. Give her the keys, to survive. Just like you gave yourself the keys to go on your “justice” mission.” 

“I...I can’t.”

“Why ?” 

“Because she...She shouldn’t live this kind of life.” 

“A little late, no ? She knows who you really are already. And she stayed. Even then, shouldn’t this be her own choice ? Shouldn’t she decide on what she deserves ?” 

“Selina-” 

“Nu-hu. Don’t start with this. You tried to do the same with me, and I didn’t have the patience to stay. But I know she does. I know you can try to push her through the front door, she’ll climb through the window. She, unlike me or anyone else, will see right through your bullshit. Does, see right through your bullshit. And is willing to put up with it...You’ll never find someone else who does.” 

“I know...”

“Then, what are you doing ?”

And with that, Selina rolled her eyes, grumbled something about him being a stubborn idiot, said : “think of her feelings for once, and not your own. Because you damn well know Bruce, that if you leave her, it will be out of selfishness, not because you think it’s truly the only way.”, and jumped from the building to the one next door, leaving Bruce with too many thoughts and dilemmas...

Even if in the end, the answer became obvious to him.   

************

“As if I would ever let that happen anyway.” 

“I’m sorry ?” 

Years later, Bruce told you the story of how he almost broke up with you not long after you two moved in together, shortly before you adopted Dick. 

“She was right you know ? I would’ve climbed through the window. See. If I knew for sure you were leaving me because you didn’t love me, then I would leave you alone of course. But I would’ve definitely called your bluff.” 

“How can you be so sure ?” 

He smiles fondly at you, bringing you into a warm embrace as you roll your eyes at him. Ah but of course, even him always knew you could see right through him, even when he tried to hide his emotions. 

“Please, Bruce. You can’t fool me. You were never able to, and I don’t think you’ll ever learn to. Or I’ll just learn your new tricks, and crack you anyway. And believe me, if you had tried to leave me at that time...I wouldn’t’ve let that happen.” 

He lays his forehead on yours, unable to say another word. Tonight, he was able to tell you this story that was now “silly”, but that almost tore his heart away from him. 

Because if he had lose you to his own stupidness, he would’ve become just an empty shell. Back to those dark days of loneliness, and acting like a machine while his entire soul was hurting. 

Sure. Now this story sounded silly. But oh, oh if he had gone through with it. If-

“I’ll have to thank Selina though. Because she avoided me going through the trouble of drilling into your thick skull that it’s ok to be happy. And be afraid for those you love. Especially in your situation...” 

“I know.” 

He holds you tighter. Just as every time he realizes how lucky he is to have another shot at this “family” thing. How lucky he is, that you’re here, with him. 

And Selina was truly to thanks for that, in a way. 

Because, you were almost sure you could’ve change his mind and not break up with you. But there was this slight possibility, this slight one you’d fail...

Maybe you would’n’t’ve been able to convince him to stay with you. Maybe. There was still a chance, right ? So you’re thankful. Your thankful for having such a good friend. For having Selina in your life. 

You’re thankful that one day, a stupid mistake you made truly started this dear friendship. 

The day she became a friend. 

You had always been quite a “lone wolf” sort of person. So you didn’t have a lot of friends. Your childhood best friend, Alex, had moved across the country years ago. And making new friends as the wife of Bruce Wayne was hard. 

This was a time BEFORE you met the others from the League. BEFORE any of them knew the Batman had a family. 

Of course, before introducing you to them, he had to make sure things were safe. That they could be trusted (A/N : if you wanna see the day he does trust them, here’s the story I wrote about it haha : “You have kids ?? And…A WIFE ?”). 

So, you didn’t have many friends. And sometimes...You wished you did. 

Someone that wasn’t your Broosh. Or your kid. Or Alfred. 

You told everything to Bruce, but sometimes...Well sometimes certain issues, you couldn’t talk to him about. Like for example the time he annoyed the hell out of you. Sure you’d tell it to his face, and you guys would fight, then work it out, and finally  make up, and you didn’t want to bring back the issues you know ? You wouldn’t vent to him about him, eh ?

Bruce was definitely your best friend. But he was also the man you loved. And sometimes, it was nice to have an “outside” perspective. 

Someone with whom you could gossip a little (although you did gossip plenty with your husband, when at charity balls and galas). 

And then, slowly, you realized what you actually were feeling...

Selina. 

You were missing her. 

It had been a little while since the last time you saw her. 

Ever since she saved your life, and knocked some sense in your Broosh, whenever you saw her, you’d have such a interesting and compelling conversations. 

It was oh so pleasant, to gang up on Bruce and make fun of him. His pride was always hit, and he’d frown in such a delightful way. 

At the same time, she knew him rather well, and you knew him rather well, and you three had a lot in common and it sometimes felt like you were a trio from a very cliched “chosen one” story. 

Hermione, Ron, Harry. 

Percy, Annabeth, Grover. 

Any trio really. It even inspired some of your stories. Yet...Yet you wouldn’t call her quite a “friend”. Why that ? 

You weren’t sure. It just was never made official, and in your anxiety riddled mind it meant that you weren’t friends, then. 

Yet you missed her. And earlier in the day, you saw something that made you want to call her and talk to her about it ! 

Should you call her ? Send a text ? You had her number. She once wrote it on a napkin and slipped it in your pocket right in front of Bruce, just to mess with him. You kept it, and put it in your phone, not really knowing why. 

Taking your phone, you started to draft a text (it had to be drafted before being send, it you were even going to send it...your anxiety made it so that even with texts, you had to make sure you didn’t sound stupid or such). 

You didn’t really have any intention to send it. You were just toying with a few ideas when...

No. Oh no. 

Oh fuck. No. No no no no no no. 

Instead of hitting the “back” key to erase the text for good and move on from this weird move, you pressed “send”. Shit. Fuck. Motherfucker. 

It was such a dumb text as well. 

“Hey girlfriend, wanna hang out ?” 

You were just trying out different ways of writing a text, and were entering “stupid silly mode”, which was the step right before you usually gave up and didn’t send something (you had MANY of those moments when starting to date Bruce...Moments during which you almost send some really sappy and silly texts, making the mistakes a few time to indeed press “send”...mortifying...why, why were you never learning from your mistakes ?!). 

You were in your office, in the Wayne Inc building (you settled your writing office there, so it was more convenient to see your Bruce, but also to handle taking care of your son, Dick), downright panicking about this stupid text, when you heard a knock on your door. 

How long had you been beating yourself down about this ? AN HOUR ?! Damn. Anxiety never let you keep track of time. You-

“Hey...girlfriend.”

Bollocks. 

It was her. Selina. And you could hear her smug smile in her voice. You were facing your windows, not wanting to turn around, and it was getting a little awkward. Selina broke the silence : 

“Listen, I thought you did want to hang out and was just making an inside joke by being overly girly, you know, imitating those models Bruce used to date ? But I realize maybe this was um, a mistake ?” 

She sounds so unsure. You never heard her sound unsure before ! So you turn around, and here she is, a little shy. 

Catwoman. A little shy ? 

And all of a sudden, you realize she must’ve felt the same about you. Consider you a friend, but since you never talked about it never took it for granted, for something sure, settled in stone ? 

And your text maybe confirmed you were, indeed, friends ? 

And here it was. 

From that day, and on. 

The official beginning of your friendship. 

Of course, you both saw the other as a friend since a while before, but it’s with this embarrassing text that it really changed everything. 

Made it “official”. 

Made it clear to the both of you. 

It never occurred to you that Selina too, could sometimes have insecurities and be anxious. But that day, as she shyly responded to your call, hopeful it meant you were really friends...

Being her, it was also hard to make friend. 

She had been friend with Bruce for a long time. The fact she was yours now too, filled her with joy. Because she really liked the both of you, in the most platonic way that ever existed. 

Yes. Her and Bruce worked better as friends anyway. 

Ah. But wasn’t this how the best friendship started ? With a push from fate, a little awkwardness, and a lot of laughter once the initial shock passed ? 

Girls night out. 

It happened a day during which you, Dinah and Lois were...not in a great mood. 

Your husbands were aggravating, your children got into troubles and shenanigans, you had so much to do...it was a lot of stress, and it was all released at the same time. 

You all left your house yelling that you “needed air”, and left behind rather stunned husbands and children. Ah but yes, everything wasn’t always perfect, even amongst loving families.

And your first reflex ? To call each others. 

That’s it. That’s how girls night out started. The realization sometimes you needed to wind down with some friends. But quickly, you realized that the three of you talked mainly about your kids and husbands, and by extension, the “superhero work”. Which was fine, you needed to vent but...It wasn’t helping you relieve some tension. 

And that’s when you got an idea. 

Who better than Selina Kyle to make you NOT talk about your families ? 

You joined in a bar every first Wednesday of the month, starting at happy hours for you, Dinah and Lois. Ranting about your families, and about annoying habits your husbands had etc etc...And then you were joined a bit later in the evening by Selina and Diana. 

And that’s when the fun really began. 

It became a ritual. 

Girls night out (A/N : maybe I should write a story about that one day haha). 

This was one such night, and you had let lose a little bit more than usual because...for the first night in nine months, you could drink a little bit of alcohol. 

Alcohol had never been your thing, but a sweet cocktail there and there was nice. Now, while being pregnant with your youngest, Thomas, obviously you weren’t going to do that. 

And you had missed a few “girls night out” because you were too damn pregnant. 

But now, he was OUT, and you were TOO. 

Well. Diana said something like that, as she kept giving you more and more cocktails. 

Long story short, you were a little tipsy. And definitely not able to drive. And so here was your savior, Selina. 

She didn’t really drink, knowing you would totally let loose. So she drove you home. 

You were coming back a little later than usual, and you had forgotten to send a little text to Bruce to tell him so so he wouldn’t worry (Selina did it for you though, true friend had your back eh ? And she definitely didn’t want the Batman to come barge in on your girls night fun). 

He opened the door as you walked up the stairs, saying bye to Selina. She had that smirk on her face, the one you knew she always had when about to tease your beloved husband. And as he slipped an arm around your waist, and turned to wave goodbye to her...She did just that : 

“Careful Bat, I’m making good progress with her. If you’re not wary enough, I’ll steal her from you.” 

On that note, Selina winks at the both of you, puts on her sunglasses (while it was night...Oh Selina), and drives away, smiling widely of that very Catwomanesque smug smile. Which makes you chuckle. She always made you laugh rather easily. 

You turn to your bruce and...

Oh. That adorable “jealous frown” got you every time. Your smile shifts from amused to utterly affectionate, and you put your hands on his cheeks. 

He was looking at Selina’s car fading into the distance, the arm he had around you tightening slightly (you were pretty sure he wasn’t even consciously doing it). Your hands on his cheeks didn’t seem to register in his mind. 

So a further distraction was needed. You brush your lips against his cheek, as an attempt to drive his attention back to you and...it works. 

You smile at him, and in your little hazy state you whisper in his ear : 

“I love you, my Broosh.” 

He can’t help but feel a surge of warm feelings towards you, and bring you in a tight hug. Partly because he can’t help it, partly because he’s trying to hide the slight blush growing on his face whenever you surprise him with “I love yous”, and that always made him snicker at him...Only you could fluster him so. 

“I love you too.” 

You tripped on air, as, once again, you were a little tipsy, and he catches you...Good, he needed an excuse to carry you bridal style anyway. 

He always liked doing so, any excuse to have you near really. And as your face approach for a loving kiss you-

************

“Wait wait wait mooooom !! You don’t have to leave this gross part in !” 

“What gross part ?” 

“The sappy declaration of love, and the kiiiisses !!” 

“Oh ? But don’t every story have to end with a kiss ? And a happy ever after ?” 

“Nu-huh ! Also HEY ! None of your stories end like this, I know, I read them all !”

You chuckle slowly at your boy’s reaction, and kiss him on the forehead. Quite touched he read all your stories. 

“Time for bed, little buddy.” 

You say, slipping out of his quilt and tucking him in. You can see he pensively thinks about your little friendship story, and finally he says : 

“I’ll try to be nicer to Miss Kyle. I never trusted her, because of her past with father. But maybe she deserves a chance ?” 

“She does.” 

“If you say so, then I believe it.” 

It touches you, how much blind faith your son puts in you. You smile, giving him another kiss to his forehead, as he says : 

“Thank you for telling me the story, mom. It was nice.” 

Behind this “it was nice”, there isn’t just the story itself, but the knowledge that as you grow up...Your feelings change. 

You change. 

And you go through a lot of heartaches, before finally finding the right persons to surround yourself with. 

Beyond the story itself, Damian related to how it took both you and Bruce a lot of trials and errors, before finding each others. How you loved before you met the other, but it never compared to how you love each others. 

How you found good friends along the way, and how even when things sounded desperate and lonely...you made it through. 

So he could certainly do so, too ? Even more so since now, he was a big brother. 

Thomas was barely a few weeks old, but Damian had already taken his role very seriously. And you knew he was going to continue to grow, to love, to hurt too sometimes...and to evolve. 

Just like you and Bruce did. 

So. No. You didn’t hate Selina Kyle just because she and your husband used to be a thing. In fact...

In fact, Selina had become both of your best friend. Unfortunately for Bruce, she often took your side on everything, and LOVED to drive him crazy by openly flirting with you. 

And she had been by your side through many good moments, and bad ones. The first to respond when your family needed it. The one you’d always be there for, and vice versa. 

A best friend. 

Quite an important find. 

When you met Bruce, not only did you meet the love of your life, but also one of your best and most precious friend. 

Conclusion : is it possible to be friend with your husband’s ex ? Absolutely. 

Especially when that “ex” was someone as extraordinary as Selina Kyle, and when the love that linked you and your husband was so impossible to even graze. 

__________________________________________________

And yet another bonus story that I had no intention to write but suddenly felt the need to haha. Don’t worry, the rest of the stories I announced are still coming ;). I guess there’s nothing bad in having little bonus ones in between hehe. I hope you liked this, again it’s just a little drabble.

As usual comments and reblogs are always greatly appreciated and motivating <3.

PS : I wrote this, like all drabbles, in like thirty minutes. Didn’t re-read. Sorry for any typos. Don’t hesitate to point any huge ones to me, Ill change it x_x. 

[cinnamonest]

I got these and more asks regarding the post from last night so I wanted to elaborate and explain some things, and also make another point about the anniversary thing and clarify for anyone confused. After this I promise I'll shut up about this lol sorry

1) yeah please do NOT come after the VAs for any of this, not even the actual developer side either is at fault. This is largely an issue with the PR and marketing and higher up people. It's really awful that some people are harassing people who have no responsibility here. And thanks to the original asker's reply, I feel like I'm really bad at conveying my thoughts so I tend to overexplain lol, but thanks that means a lot.

2) I have seen people confused on this so if you didn't already, you should know that this isn't just about the anniversary so much as the anniversary was a final straw. While Honkai has similar rewards/exchange for irl money as genshin, mihoyo itself has some of the worst in comparison to other gachas from other developers. Games like Arknights, Granblue, Azur Lane, Dragalia Lost, hell even a cutesy casual gacha app like LoveNikki have much better real money to game currency ratios, huge anniversaries where they give out tons of free shit, and much more generous systems (such as Arknights giving free 10 pulls with a lot of events/new characters/etc). All despite being smaller, less profitable games. There's major glaring issues with the game that have gone unresolved for a long time despite people asking over and over to change it. It's a combination of the rewards, general stuff, and mihoyo's refusal to solve certain issues for a long time that has people upset.

In any industry, any company is going to be held to the standards set by the mainstream industry, which is what is happening here. It is natural to hold a company to it's competitors for comparison and expect them to match standards, especially when the company that is lacking is the richer one and could easily meet the standards if they were willing to.

This is especially true for people who put money into the game. Due to the nature of gachas/online games, companies that produce these games are usually very adamant on rewarding players because whales/P2Ws, people who buy welkin and similar stuff, etc keep the game alive. When they do not match the standard of the industry, those people will feel unappreciated and go elsewhere eventually, which means they will not be able to afford much progress, then even F2Ps won't have content, and the game will burn out.

3) I probably should have clarified this last post but, I know review-bombing does seem like a kinda shitty tactic at first and I get that, but the reason people are doing that now is because mihoyo has completely ignored people complaining for months normally, and even now has started to censor and ban people, deleted critical posts, etc. Basically it's clear that mihoyo will just ban and censor criticism until people do something that actually forces them to listen, hence review bombing. Banning/censoring criticism is a really, really bad move for any company, historically speaking, it's insulting to players who keep the company afloat and results in losses. The review bombing + a lot of people uninstalled the app apparently + people who usually pay refusing to do so anymore, all of that hits them to where they can't afford to ignore it when people do it en masse. Because it will cost them money/players.

What people are kinda really upset about, even more than rewards itself, is just the silence and censorship on their end, which is more frustrating than the lack of rewards itself. I did have some sympathy for them up until they started censoring and deleting criticism on their site. At that point they're doing this to themselves by doing that.

4) Also, notably, this has worked with plenty of other game devs. You may remember the disaster that was Fallout 76. Bethesda also responded poorly at first, but spamming bad reviews and horrible coverage for Fallout 76 got Bethesda's attention, and they went the whole nine yards formally acknowledging the complaints and more or less apologizing to the whole world of players at E3 and even gave refunds, which is a very surprisingly humble thing for a company of their level of fame to do. The situation calmed down because people felt listened to, and while Fallout 76 was kinda a lost cause and didn't get fixed, the idea is that the refunds/open and honest communication restored the consumer base's relationship to Bethesda. That was a big blow, but Bethesda was willing to take that hit to maintain the sense of communication and mutual respect/value between players and devs.

In contrast, with mihoyo, what most people have been trying to beg/bargain for for an anniversary rewards is a free permanent banner 5 star, which would cost mihoyo essentially literally nothing.

So far they have responded by banning people for literal years on hoyolab, deleting posts, banning people from various social platforms etc, for criticism. Even putting whether or not that's ok aside, it's very unusual and not how game companies usually handle these things, and can only end badly for them.

Also mihoyo has had time to fix this -- it's not like Fallout 76 where they released the game and then the backlash came very suddenly and they had to scramble to prepare a response/plan and needed time. People have been complaining about these rewards for well over a week, so they could have easily fixed it by now if they had any intention of listening to people's complaints, especially considering the proposed fix of a single free permanent 5 star would be very simple and quick to implement.

5) also? it's extra unfortunate and really a marketing team issue bc they could have *profited* from giving more, if they opened rewards to new players as most gachas do. Genshin is incredibly popular right now, to the extent that a lot of people in the gaming/weeb sphere who don't play it, but still know of it, and even know a bit about it.

If you were someone who had never played genshin but had been considering downloading it for a long time, but just kept putting it off or forgetting, and heard "hey join now and you get free Diluc/Keqing," that would have convinced a lot of people to go ahead and join, and they would inevitably get sucked into the game and bring mhy profit. So it's a little strange imo that they chose not to do that, it would have been beneficial to them.

6) also, be aware that the glider we're now getting was supposed to be paid originally. Releasing it free now is damage control. It's also, well, a glider. Again, while it is pretty, it's paltry in comparison to the industry norm and does not have much use to most people.

Finally, criticizing all of this/the game/mihoyo does not mean people hate the game. I do see some people lashing out in defense of mihoyo and I get that bc they produce something we all really like. I really really do not want to see genshin become "that one game that was super popular for a year or so and then died" -- that's why people want improvements, because if improvements aren't made, that's where it's headed. What people are asking for right now is stuff that is very easily in mihoyo's capability and would not cost them much of anything. It would be one thing to ask them for something that would cut their profits or take time to develop, but that's not what's happening. People are asking for very little in the scope of their capabilities/the norm.

[multiplefandomsblog]

Camboy Rantaro Head-canons

request; Do you take individual requests? If you do, headcanons for Camboy Rantaro? its totally fine if you don’t want to do this, thank you

warnings; sex toys(butt plugs), unedited, dirty talk, camboy!rantaro, praise kink, aural kink, unedited, masturbation(m receiving), mention of pillow humping, brat rantaro???? kinda but not rlly???????, this doesn’t really have a reader present.

note; I love this concept! It stirred up some brain juices in me :0 thank you for requesting this, it was fun to do! aha and I may have gone overboard with this one too-

◊ No one would have expected the Rantaro Amami, known for being very brotherly and often awkward around affection, a camboy. 

◊ It’s the last thing you’d expect from the chill, laid-back guy.

◊ Then again, he was also known for being mysterious, this secret could be one of many.

◊ Rantaro is actually pretty good at keeping secrets, however that doesn’t mean he likes keeping secrets.

◊ I head-canon that Rantaro doesn’t feel ashamed of his career as a camboy. In all honesty, he never has. He’s never found a reason why he should be ashamed; everybody has desires, why shouldn’t he have his own? And why shouldn’t he fulfill his? 

◊ That being said, Rantaro would have the same attitude to others if they had told him a kink they had, or a sexual fantasy and/or desire. Although I don’t think he’d enjoy talking about it so publicly, because even though kinks are a great thing to have and discuss, he thinks it may not be too polite to talk about it so openly.

◊ Although he definitely tip-toed around the subject and avoided it—that doesn’t come up all that often—he’s not ashamed of it one bit. He just doesn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable with his details of his job, and honestly, it makes him slightly uncomfortable to talk about his occupation.

◊ Now, to the actual camboy part.

◊ I can totally imagine being a pretty popular camboy, his voice and his body combined would kill anyone on sight. But if you ever told him straight-up about how popular he was or just treated him as a celebrity, he’d probably refuse the statement, saying he wasn’t as good as other camboys and girls, even dropping names of the artists he loves. In which, everyone swoons over his humbleness, only starting to praise him more.

◊ That being said, even if Rantaro doesn’t typically accept the statement of being popular, he himself as he actually very well known. And so, I don’t think Rantaro would be able to show his face on camera, as he would probably be recognized instantly. He’s always either always wearing a mask or keeping his head out the camera view.

◊ I think Rantaro would’ve chosen this career due to his repressed feelings he has from being selfless, putting others before his needs. As a camboy, he’s helping others with their own problems, and they’re helping him with his, it’s a lovely exchange. Elaborating on why Rantaro chose this career, I think Rantaro would’ve been lonely, as he lost his entire family. So seeing a few thousand people commenting and talking to him, makes him feel less alone when he’s missing the comfort of people. It makes him happy, and definitely more sure and confident of himself as millions of kinky compliments flood his live chat.

◊ Rantaro mostly does this for leisure, as he is well-off, he doesn’t really need the money. Despite what he says about his fans not having to pay him to do something, as he’ll do it for free, his charming personality definitely ends up getting him more rich unintentionally. 

◊ Rantaro’s comforting and carefree personality has viewers feeling less guilty, and potentially less shameful for indulging in things like this. His voice is definitely a huge turn-on, and a great comfort for many. It’s not uncommon to have viewers beg him to say specific things like, “Good boy/girl.” or, “Keep going, you’re doing so well for me.” Although, Rantaro says many things and moans many things, so he usually doesn’t get too many requests; he always leaves them satisfied.

◊ Rantaro definitely doesn’t end the stream until he knows everyone got off successfully, he’ll hold back and edge himself until everybody cums if he has to. However, the pained, desperate moans get everyone off quick, so he doesn’t have to edge himself for too long.

◊ When Rantaro gets hateful comments, he either tries to laugh it off- but before he could say a word, everyone’s already defending him. He’d be really glad to have people protect him like this, as the older sibling it was always the other way around. Though, he usually tells everyone they don’t have to, instead just blocking the person and moving on.

◊ I don’t think he’d be too affected by negative comments about him, or his body, it doesn’t faze him as much as he thought it would.

◊ I think Rantaro would be willing to try almost everything, he holds his viewers close to him and he doesn’t want them to be disappointed by him not doing a certain action to his body. Within reason, of course. Any request made by them, that Rantaro sees, will immediately put into action as soon as he sees it. It just gets him excited to being told to do something, despite not technically wanting it himself, the fans get what they ask for.

◊ He even sometimes begs them for a specific thing although he’s the one who controls mostly everything, he decided to give the control to his viewers.

◊ Some things Rantaro usually does when there aren’t requests, are just the occasional hand job he gives himself, butt plugs he slowly pushes in himself as he shows everyone more clearly by turning around. He puts on quite a show, sometimes wiggling his ass playfully, or playing with his nipples to tease the viewers. He can be a brat at times.

◊ The man definitely wears rings, even when they may feel cold against his skin, he wears them to show off his hands and, well, he just thinks he looks cool like that so he keeps them on. His fans do not complain, rings are hot now, it’s a trend, deal with it.

◊ The man has definitely given several thousands of people an aural kink. He probably ruined moans for people, his being the only one people can get off to now.

◊ Though he occasionally buys a new toy to try out in front of the camera, even when they aren’t requested, he buys them with his own will as he wants to keep his fans entertained(as well as wanting to try it out himself). What can I say? He’s adventurous, he likes exploring new things! 

◊ Another thing I can imagine Rantaro enjoying is praise. The man has a giant praise kink, you could praise any part of him, his body, his voice, his personality, he will be putty and cum in seconds. His fans know this, and they definitely take advantage of it; sending him praises about how good he’s doing, has whines and groans falling out his mouth as he throws his head back in pleasure of his own hand.

◊ If his viewers asked for it, he’d totally moan into the mic instructions on what he wants you to do to yourself as you watch, his voice soft, teasing but still stern. “Play with your nipples and imagine I’m the one doing it for you, and while you’re at it, go ahead and hump that pillow like a dog. C’mon, a little harder than that, yeah?” Like I said earlier, aural kink. 

◊ I also head-canon most of his fans are ones that are loyal to him, he has a charm that gets everyone attached, and so people who watch one stream of his, get attached immediately. He definitely is the type to recognize usernames, so if you ever came back to him, he’d be extremely happy and say your username specifically, thanking you for coming back.

◊ Since most of his fans are loyal, and regulars, his viewers are usually just the same ones with the same usernames. So he’d clearly notice if there was an unfamiliar username in the sea of the live chat, always making sure to greet them with a welcome whenever he can.

◊ Overall, he’s a very sweet, friendly and switch-type camboy.

[whatifxwereyou]

Ashes Chapter 11: Coffee

Fandom: Mortal Kombat 2021

Pairing: Liu Kang x Reader

A/N: This story will now update on Wednesdays from here on in! Hope that you're all doing well. It's wednesday, you made it halfway! You got this!

First Chapter << Previous Chapter Next Chapter >> Chapter Index

You didn’t sleep much that night. You were afraid to sleep. Between the vision on the roof and your night with Liu Kang? Sleep just wasn’t part of the equation. You hated that you wanted to be held through the night, but you felt too guilty to imagine Kung Lao doing it. You tossed wildly between feeling horribly guilty that you’d slept with Liu Kang like a human wrecking ball and angry that he’d lied to you all those years ago. You would have given anything to get your brain to shut up for the night.

The next morning, you tagged along with the other champions to meet with Johnny Cage. Liu had told you that you could stay behind if you needed rest, but you wanted to be anywhere but alone with your thoughts. Besides, you were curious about Johnny. Raiden had sent all of you to talk to him. Either he was impressive, or Raiden had ulterior motives. You were guessing the latter.

From what you’d heard, Johnny was as stubborn as they came but you hoped that deep down, he had a somewhat decent moral compass. It was difficult to tell just from watching a movie and meeting him would help. You were usually a good judge of character.

You were to meet with him at a coffee shop in Hollywood and he was impossible to miss. White blazer, bright blue half-buttoned shirt beneath it, gold chain around his neck, and the top letters of a tattoo of his own name exposed on his chest.

“When I agreed to meet with you, I figured it’d be just you and me not your whole crew of misfits.” Johnny gestured behind Sonya who had her arms folded so tight under her chest, you could see her veins bulging. She looked like she wanted to immediately break his nose. He must have made quite the impression on her the day before. Johnny made a big deal out of buying coffee even though most of you declined. You ended up getting a tea since Johnny seemed a little bummed that no one was taking him up on his ‘generosity’.

“Can you believe this guy?” Sonya whispered to you. You sipped your tea and shrugged. They had gotten to talking about the dragon mark. Cole had shown his off since it was the easiest to get to. “I’ve never seen anyone love the sound of their own voice this much.”

“I think he’s a little funny.” You shrugged. You’d decided he was harmless. Yes, he had a huge ego and cocky attitude, but he was also… well, harmless. He played it tough and made a lot of jokes, but you had met plenty of terrible men in your life and Johnny didn’t seem like one of them. Sonya huffed next to you.

“So, you’re telling me that you all have the same mark as me?” Johnny led them outside the café and took a seat, kicking his feet onto one of the tables. He held his latte close and looked at you over the top of his sunglasses.

“Yes. The mark means that you have been chosen.” Liu’s English was adorable. He had such a careful way of speaking and his accent made it even sweeter. You had to make a conscious effort not to smile. Liu explained Mortal Kombat, and it was nice to hear him sounding like himself for once. Maybe your night had done some good even if it had felt like a mess.

“Hold up, hold up. You all have the mark? I was just joking before.” Johnny kicked his feet off the table and leaned his elbows on his knees.

“Yes. We are the chosen warriors.”

“…that’s messed up.” Johnny sipped his coffee and set it down on the table. Then he pointed to you. “How’s the tea? Good?”

“It’s fine. Thank you.”

“Focus.” Sonya’s every word to Johnny was accompanied with a cringe or a sigh. You, again, had to actively try not to smile. He waved off your gratitude with a motion that said it was no big deal but looked pretty pleased with himself.

“Is this a joke? Are you guys pranking me? It’s… pretty creepy that you all have my mark.”

“It’s not your mark and it is not a joke, I assure you. Like we said, it means that you are chosen to fight.” You bowed your head politely.

“Wait, I think I’ve got it.”

You stepped behind the others to allow them to handle it. It was too hard for you not to laugh. Jax and Sonya exchanged annoyed glances in front of you. No laughing, you reminded yourself.

“Have you?” Cole seemed skeptical.

“This must be an elaborate pitch for a movie. Am I right?” Johnny’s grin was infectious. You could see how he had wound up semi-famous. Arrogant, good looking, funny. He was a little annoying, but you understood the appeal. The movie you’d watched the night before had been terrible but also fun to watch. Sometimes that was all a movie needed to be. Cole was trying not to laugh and had taken a step back so it wouldn’t be so obvious. Sonya and Liu continued to try and get the conversation back on the rails, but Johnny was excellent at derailing it.

Jax’s arms were literally made of metal and Johnny was still convinced that it was some Hollywood practical effects nonsense.

“What do you make of him?” Jax asked you quietly. He’d taken a step back with you, eyes still narrowed as he watched the conversation unfold.

“I think… that he’s harmless and we should just maybe… corner him in an alley, knock him unconscious, and drag him back to China.” You shrugged. If you couldn’t convince him with words, then you could show him the truth. Jax laughed and then his smile faded as he realized you weren’t joking.

“…are we allowed to do that?”

“I mean, legally no but… who’s going to stop us?”

Jax laughed again but you were serious. You could knock him out and bring him back to China. He seemed like a good guy with good intentions, but he wanted proof and you weren’t sure that he’d believe anything you did without making a wild excuse for it. Some people were so stuck in their head about what they thought reality was that they refused to believe the truth when it stared them in the face. Lord Raiden was the ultimate proof. Then again, Johnny Cage would probably be missed if you took off with him without a word. And you supposed that Jax and Sonya were military and might object to you breaking the law. Maybe you could talk to Liu and Cole about it later and figure something out.

Sonya was easily exasperated which was funny to watch. She’d dealt with Kano with far more grace. Something about Johnny seemed to get under her skin. You were just happy that it wasn’t you for once who was obviously frustrated. All things considered, today you were doing fine. “No offense, but I only agreed to this because I thought I could buy you a coffee and charm you into having dinner with me.” Johnny clearly had a thing for blonds. You continued to try not to laugh.

“We can prove it.” Cole interrupted. “Prove that it’s all true.” He was playing mediator on Sonya’s behalf. It was kind of sweet. You also kind of wanted to see Sonya break Johnny’s nose. That would also be fun. “A fight.”

“With you?” Johnny looked him over skeptically and Cole’s affronted expression was delightful.

“No. With him.” Cole nodded toward Liu who bowed his head.

“…really?” Johnny looked skeptical but then got to his feet. “I’m not sure what kind of movie you’re trying to pitch to me, but a challenge is way more up my alley than shoving a script in my face.” You had turn away to keep from laughing, not at Johnny, but at how hard Jax had rolled his eyes. “There’s a gym down the road and I’m sure they’ll let us fight.”

“Privately.” Cole added before Liu could agree to the terms. It wouldn’t exactly be good for Liu to set the world on fire in a public place.

“Weird request, but okay.” Johnny led them down the block and walked backwards, turning to face them as he adjusted his jacket with a grin. “But if I win then you leave me alone about all this and blondie lets me take her to dinner.”

“Not part of the deal. If we win, you listen to us and come with us to China.” Sonya went to continue on what you were certain to be a hilarious tangent, but you elbowed her and urged her to agree. “Ugh, fine. Deal.”

“I’ve gotta warn you little man, I am a force to be reckoned with. You’re about to step into the cage.”

“If Liu loses, I’m skipping town.” Sonya muttered to you.

“Liu won’t lose. Trust me.”

Sonya continued to grumble. You were confident in Liu’s skill. You had the utmost faith in him. Johnny led them along the longest and shortest walk to a gym in your life. He could talk. Again, he was harmless, but a little annoying.

Johnny brought you to the most pretentious gym you had ever seen. It was huge. He’d been able to talk his way into getting you access to an indoor tennis court so you could have some privacy. You pulled Liu aside and reminded him not to set the whole place on fire which he seemed to think was funny. You weren’t sure you could explain that away so easily. You’d tried so if the worst happened then it wasn’t you fault.

There were backless benches on the sidelines of the court, so you took a seat in the center to watch Liu and Johnny fight. You weren’t sure why all the champions had to be here for this. It seemed excessive. Maybe you would reach out to Raiden and explain that your talents were being wasted. It would be better to just show Johnny the truth than try to talk it to him because that boy could talk his way out of anything, it seemed.

Johnny was a talented fighter, but he also showboated a lot. You watched as Liu easily stepped out of the way of Johnny’s every strike. Johnny droned on and on while they fought. You wondered how long it would take before Liu put him in his place. It was almost embarrassing to watch the fight with Johnny not taking anything seriously.

You tuned out the noise of the fight and the others trying to convince Johnny from the sidelines. Instead, you chose to admire Liu doing one of the things that he did best. It was easy to forget how impressive he was when you spent most of your time arguing and being neck deep in your grief and drama. These were some of the things that had attracted you to him in the first place.

Maybe you should tell him how highly you thought of him. It had been a long time since you’d had anything nice to say to each other. Cole came to sit next to you, and you paid him no mind at first.

“This is silly.”

“Very.” You tore your eyes away from the fight for a second. Hm, interesting. Sonya had disappeared at some point. You couldn’t blame her. Johnny was making her uncomfortable. It was a shame though. You had been looking forward to seeing Sonya snap and put Johnny in his place. “How’s the family today?” You hated small talk, but it seemed appropriate.

“Good. Doing some more sightseeing. They liked you, by the way. I’m glad you got to spend time with them.”

“It was nice.” You wanted to say that it had been good to be out of your head, but you weren’t very close to Cole and were still cautious around him. You had a feeling that he understood what you meant. “So, what do you make of this guy?”

“I’m starting to feel like this is a waste of time. Every champion of Earthrealm is here catering to his ego rather than doing… honestly, anything other than this seems more important.”

“I agree. I’m not sure why Raiden sent all of us. You three could have handled it. Raiden has his reasons. He always does. He’s funny like that.” You took to watching the fight again. Johnny had finally started to take it seriously. Liu should have just set his fists on fire and ended it, but he seemed to be enjoying it. Silence followed momentarily. Cole nudged you with his shoulder, and you wobbled purposely as if it had been more than a nudge.

“Are you and Liu…?” He nodded toward Liu knowingly and you snapped your gaze away from the fight.

“No,” you said probably far too haughtily. This was feeling inappropriately personal again. Then again, you had just been kind of ogling Liu Kang. You thought you’d been discreet.

“Sorry to assume.” Cole laughed and leaned back on the bench. “Are you sure though?”

“I feel like if anyone’s sure then it’s me.”

“It’s just… I couldn’t sleep last night so I came down to the lobby to ask for more pillows. It was around closing time at the bar. I’d been thinking about getting a drink to put me to sleep and…” Ah, damn. “I spotted you and Liu in the bar. Tried to wave but you were pretty focused on each other.”

“Yeah.” There was a chance he hadn’t seen too much, and you weren’t going to admit to anything without needing to. “We’ve been arguing so we were trying to bury the hatchet and grieve.”

“That would do it.” Cole was bad at trying to hide his amusement. It was kind of charming. “It didn’t look like arguing. Or grieving.” Oh, good. Of course he’d seen them. Why wouldn’t he have? You sighed heavily. “Is there something we should know?”

“It’s personal. It doesn’t have anything to do with anyone else.”

“If we end up in trouble then it might not be so personal anymore. You’d be surprised what people do when things are complicated like that in a panicked situation.”

“No offense, Cole, but Liu and I are good at panicked situation. Also, it’s none of your business.” You were embarrassed and it was showing, and you hated it. Cole laughed. Sometimes you were just as bad as Liu was at hiding your frustration.

“I’m not judging you, Y/N.”

“It’s nothing, Cole.” God, it was so not nothing, but you didn’t want to talk about it with Liu nonetheless with Cole or anyone else for that matter. It was awkward.

“I’m choosing not to believe you.”

“Fine. But it’s nothing.”

“What’s nothing?” Jax sat on the other side of Cole. Cole pointed to you, and you spoke with wide eyes.

“It’s really nothing. Where did Sonya go? I didn’t see her leave.” You couldn’t change the subject fast enough and Cole made no attempt to hide his laughter.

“Oh, she’s avoiding this creep but she’s still around.” Jax gestured to Johnny Cage who was dusting himself off after being knocked to the floor by Liu.

“Creep is a harsh word.” You chuckled then considered it. “I suppose he is hitting on her a lot, but… I think he’s kind of funny.” Cole and Jax didn’t seem to agree. “He’s harmless. Like… a poodle.” Cole stifled a laugh. “Has the ability to be tough but look at him.”

“He’s an entitled ass.”

“You’re right, Jax. He is.” Your intentions were sometimes lost in English. “I didn’t mean to suggest he wasn’t.” Cole and Jax continued the conversation, but you turned back to the fight. Just in time too, it seemed. You smacked Cole’s arm and diverted his attention back to the fight.

Liu took a step back and the fiery energy swelled around him. He clasped his hands together then drew them apart with controlled strength. He was finally going to do more than give Johnny a run for his money. Fire burst between his palms and he stretched it before him before turning and tossing the fireballs. Johnny rolled out of the way with a girlish shriek.

“Whoa! Whoa, hey!” Johnny crouched to look at the scorch marks that the fire had left behind on the court. “Was that real? That was real fire! How’d you do that?” With some excitement, Johnny approached Liu who summoned the fire again in his palms and then stepped back in a threatening stance that made Johnny stop short. “What kind of special effects thing is that? Special gloves? Looks like your real hands… what movie were you guys pitching again?”

“We are not pitching a film.” Liu wasn’t even short of breath. He hadn’t even broken a sweat and he allowed the fire to blaze in his palms. “Those of us with the marking are gifted arcana to help us fight to protect our home. This is mine.”

“Oh, come on, just tell me how you’re doing it without burning your hands.” Johnny smirked. Then he yelped as Liu threatened to throw the fire at him again. “I really won’t tell anyone! I’ll sign an NDA and everything. Just tell me how you do it.”

“This is absurd.” You shook out your hands and then cracked your knuckles. Enough was enough. You were going to help convince Johnny Cage. Cole perked up.

“I was hoping you would.”

You rubbed your hands together and then with a swift gesture of your wrist, you drew Johnny Cage so that he was standing before Liu who took a step back in surprise and threw you a glance. You were shocked by the effort it took. Keeping these drawings up was definitely one of your more complex skills but it didn’t usually make you feel the way it was making you feel now. You hadn’t been this exhausted by your arcana since you’d first learned how to use it. It was probably the lack of sleep. You were grateful that it hadn’t slowed you down, but you’d lost your posture. Cole offered you an arm and you took it.

Liu stepped back to allow your drawing to take his place, releasing his fire without so much as a puff of smoke. His hands and forearms were covered in soot. You mimicked the stance that you’d seen Johnny use in that terrible movie from the night before. The actor was taken so off guard that he was quiet and focused on the copy of him that you willed toward him.

He ducked and dodged and with surprising speed and accuracy, he knocked the ink back and it fell to pieces. You shuddered and hunched forward but Cole helped keep you upright. Jax sat on the other side of you to do the same. This was embarrassing. You could usually keep up a drawing while you fought. Today you could barely sit upright. You redrew the ink copy behind him, and it knocked him swiftly to the ground. You had to use moves you knew better than Johnny. A mixture of Kung Lao and you.

Johnny blocked and stepped back nervously and was trying to reason with the ink copy, but your ears were ringing, so you didn’t hear what he was saying. Judging by the joy on Cole’s face, it had to have been funny. You knocked him to the ground with a sweeping kick and when he rolled onto his back, you manipulated the ink into Sonya and allowed it to pin him to the ground and press a shadowy blade to his throat. Johnny threw up his hands on either side of him in surrender.

“Okay! Okay. Just…” He drifted off, at a loss for words. You shook off Cole and Jax then stood but both men stood with you. You had to have been pale or look unsteady, but you were okay. “What the fuck?” Johnny poked at the ink form of Sonya’s shoulder, and it stained his hand.

“I assure you that no special or practical effects could mimic my arcana in the moment.” You stepped closer and bowed your head politely with a smile. “Now, will you listen to us Mr. Cage? Or should I kick your ass with a copy of you again?”

“What is it?” Johnny tried to wipe the ink off with his other hand.

“The lady’s right. Are you ready to listen? Or are we going to have to pound you to the ground and drag you kicking and screaming?” Jax threatened. Cole stood next to you, hand behind you just in case you fell. You threw him a look and he shrugged. Johnny was looking like you’d stolen his cookies and then eaten them right in front of him.

“Or we can abandon you and wait for someone to kill you and take the mark.” Liu stood next to you.

“Wait, what? Take my mark?” Johnny lifted his shirt as if to search for his mark and then sighed with relief. You released the drawing and were grateful that Cole held you upright again. Jax offered Johnny a hand and began to explain, at length, how he’d gotten his mark. Johnny was looking far more apprehensive and doe-eyed now that he’d realized this could be real and not just a movie pitch.

“You good?”

“I’m fine. Thank you.” You smiled graciously at Cole then gestured to the benches. You patted his shoulder and then took a seat back on the bench. You’d done your part. Liu Kang took the seat next to you when it appeared he was no longer needed.

“Someone can just take it? Just like that?” Johnny was back on his feet and sounding horrified. You tuned him out while Jax continued to work.

“You’re gray again.” Liu didn’t usually speak to you in English. It was charming.

“Am I? It doesn’t usually drain me like that. I’m tired is all. That’s probably it.”

“I’m worried, Y/N. You should…”

“If you’re going to say that I need to take it easy then I’m going to smack you right on the mouth, Liu. I know my limits.”

Cole chuckled from ahead of you and then cleared his throat and muttered an apology. Liu turned his gaze from yours, but you could see the slightest smile on his lips. Charming again. Dammit.

“Fine!” Johnny Cage adjusted his jacket, shouting loud enough to get your attention. “I’m… I have to go. This has been very interesting but… I’ve got meetings and people to see and…”

“Don’t you make excuses, you little shit.” Jax threatened.

“No, really. I’m already way past my time with you guys. This was supposed to be coffee with a pretty lady. I have a meeting with my agent. I told Sonya that I was squeezing her in, and I meant it.”

“No way, you lost. We had a deal.” Cole argued.

“This is a lot to absorb. Give me a day to think about it!”

“Why should we trust you?”

“Give him a day.” Liu approached them with his hands folded together neatly behind his back. You couldn’t help but smile. He was much more himself today than he’d been in a long time. You could have cried. “Like he said. This is a great deal to understand. But I won. You will meet with us again tomorrow when you have had your day.”

“Technically? She won.” Johnny gestured to you and you offered a friendly wave.

“I did. So, please, do what Liu asks or I will haunt you with replicas of yourself.” You threatened with a smile. Cole was trying not to laugh again. Johnny approached you with his shoulders slumped and sighed. You offered him your phone. “Put in your number. You can tell us where to meet you tomorrow when you’re ready. If you put in a fake number, you will be sorry.”

“I bought you tea.” He pouted. You laughed. He really was harmless. Johnny beamed as if happy to have made you laugh. He fiddled with your phone and handed it back to you. You sent a message to the number, and he responded from his phone seconds later. “I’ll text you where to meet me tomorrow.”

“If you’re dicking us around, I swear…” Jax threatened.

“I have faith that he’s going to do as he said he would.” You decided to offer him patience. Besides, if he did blow them off then you were going with Plan B which was kidnapping.

“I will. Thank you. I’ve… got to run.” Johnny was talking on his phone before he’d even left the room. He was a movie star, after all.

“I guess we go then?” Cole looked like he had much more to say about what had happened but also like he was trying not to burst into laughter. You thought the situation was comical too.

“Where’s Sonya? I don’t want to abandon her here.” You stood and searched the room.

“Outside. I told her what’s up. She’ll meet us out there.” Jax patted you on the shoulder. “Give me that motherfucker’s number before we leave. Just in case.”

“Happy to.” You offered Jax your phone. You made your way out of the gym, and you watched the others walk outside. You stopped in the hall to catch your breath. Damn. That had left you winded. Why? You needed a nap, at the very least. Once outside you met up with Sonya then walked down the block out of sight of the gym.

“Why are we catering to this guy?” Sonya snapped in a haughty whisper once you’d filled her in on what had happened.

“I still think we should just knock him out and drag him to China. He needs proof and he’ll get it there whether he likes it or not.” You shrugged, stepping a bit away from the others so you could lean against the brick wall of the storefront behind you.

“That’s kidnapping.” Sonya dismissed your idea.

“…so was what you did to Kano.” Cole argued.

“This is different. He’s a celebrity. Kano was a murderer and a criminal.” Jax defended Sonya. Their friendship was adorable. They always backed each other up.

“I’m not worried about committing a crime.” You shrugged. Cole laughed again but then cleared his throat when no one else did.

“Sorry. She’s funny.”

“I have a feeling he’s going to come with us. He’s just stuck up his own ass.”

“And this really is a lot to comprehend.” Liu was trying to diffuse the situation rather than stoke the fire which was nice. “He’s frustrating, but we’ve dealt with much worse than him. Give him his day. If he doesn’t pull through, then we’ll figure it out from there. No crimes necessary.” He looked to you as if to warn you.

“You’re no fun.”

“I guess you’re right. Give him his day. I hate it but what else can we do?” Sonya looked to you disapprovingly and then smiled. “Besides kidnapping.”

“That’s still my backup plan.” You folded your arms under your chest. “This has given me a headache. Are we done?”

“Just about, I guess.” Jax adjusted his footing uncomfortably. Liu came to lean next to you against the wall. The others were making plans on where to meet up if Johnny contacted you. They were also talking about dinner which you were not thinking about yet.

“You’re still gray.” Liu was back to Chinese. He probably didn’t want to be overheard.

“I’m tired, that’s all. I promise.” You made a sound of disgust as he picked up your wrist to check your pulse. Cole was giving you a look, a look as if to throw your words of it being ‘nothing’ with Liu back in your face. You stuck your tongue out at him and he laughed. Then you swatted Liu’s hand away. “I’m fine. Stop.”

“Alright. That’s it then. Y/N, if you hear from him let me know. I put my number in your phone.” Jax pointed at you.

“Happy to.” You nodded down the street. “What do we do until then?”

“No matter what happens we meet up at nine in the lobby. If he hasn’t contacted us, we figure it out from there. I’ve got a few ideas.” Jax smirked.

“I guess for now we can just keep enjoying Hollywood.” Cole chuckled. It sounded like they wanted to go sightseeing again and you would pass. They could do whatever they wanted but you were going to get some rest.

Next Chapter >>

[asphodel-storm]

So. If Cobra Kai were DC.

First off, the man who is the source of most problems, John Kreese:

Kreese’s mentor was an agent of the League of Shadows/Assassins planted within the military. Kreese was invited to take his place after his death. He trained with Ra’s al Ghul after the war and then left to found Cobra Kai as a covert recruitment operation for the League (not every Cobra alum became an assassin, only the ones Kreese saw that potential in). Johnny was on the path to recruitment and it was the loss against Daniel and resulting fallout that changed that. Kreese has been on League business every time he’s been ‘dead’. 

Mr. Miyagi:

Mr. Miyagi was a Green Lantern. The ring chose him a while after he received his medal of honor and he was protecting the universe secretly during the Karate Kid movies. When Daniel overcomes his fear in TKK 3, Miyagi retires and the ring chooses Daniel.

Daniel LaRusso:

Daniel was a Green Lantern for years (a secret from everyone except Amanda and Miyagi), but the lantern’s power never replaced karate for him because karate is part of the balance that allows him to use the ring in the first place. The ring started to reject him during the period where his resentment of Johnny was overpowering his will (season 1-ish). It chose him again when he got a handle on that, but by then he had already turned his attention to teaching and empowering young people. He gave it up and it chose his daughter after she overcame her own fear at the end of season 3.

Samantha LaRusso

Samantha LaRusso was chosen by a Green Lantern ring after overcoming her fear and facing Tory at the end of season 3. She enters season 4 as a newly minted super hero. 

Tory Nichols 

Tory witnesses Sam as a Green Lantern early on. She has a lot of anger inside of her and seeing her rival - the girl who in her opinion was handed everything in life - chosen by cosmic power pushes her over the edge. Kreese encourages and feeds this anger, of course, though he does it with the intention of making Tory a better assassin. When a Red Lantern power ring chooses her that’s honestly a bonus. 

Johnny Lawrence 

Johnny was nearly recruited to the League of Assassins as a teenager - he would have been shipped off to official league training after highschool if he hadn’t lost to Daniel (and, likely, if Kreese hadn’t impulsively burned that bridge before remembering the larger plan). Instead, he was approached by the representative of an anonymous east coast billionaire after high school and paid to use his connection to the ‘late’ John Kreese  - and pre-assassin training - to infiltrate and sabotage some activities the League of Shadows had going in the Valley. He never learned the full extent of what the League was or his or Kreese’s connections to it during this time (like, he probably could have if he’d tried, but he’s Johnny). He was inconsistent at best in his vigilantism after that, putting on a mask and patrolling more when he needed an outlet than based on the needs of the community. He was briefly the ‘Batman of the Valley’ when Batman first franchised out into Batman Inc. He’d given that up for years by the time he met Miguel, but dusts off his cape when he learns of new League operations in the Valley in season 4 (likely being run by Terry Silver). 

His ‘cape’ is actually a red leather bodysuit. He definitely calls himself something like DeathFist or DeathFang or whatever in the long tradition of people in red bodysuits being called stuff like that (DeadShot, DeathStroke, etc.). 

Miguel Diaz

Miguel will hit the streets patrolling with his mentor, but the transition to vigilantism also hits him at a time when he’s realized he probably shouldn’t have Johnny on such a pedestal so he’ll also use the opportunity to strike out alone or with friends. The transition also comes at a time when Miguel has noticed certain changes about himself he can’t explain - like how he destroyed Demetri’s tv with lasers that shot out of his eyes when he got a bit too competitive about Mario Cart.

Yeah, the bad man Carmen moved them to escape was not connected to organized crime. He wasn’t Terry Silver. He was General freaking Zod. Why does General Zod live in Ecuador? He’s building up forces there. Anyways, Miguel is half Kryptonian and just awakening to his powers since his body has been healing from the school fight. The injury was a kind of catalyst and as he heals he’s also becoming invulnerable. So much for his rivalry with Robby, right? Nope, that’s still on. 

Robby Keene

Kreese thinks a mistake he made with Johnny was not bringing him into the fold sooner and getting him excited about the prospect of the League of Shadows. He knows very well that Robby will march out of Cobra Kai forever if he mentions anything about assassins before he’s ‘ready’, but he does start letting him know about the secret society of warriors and introduce him to some alumni who are with the league now. Maybe show off some missions where they actually intervened for good. Essentially, he makes him feel like he could be part of something - something that feels like family - which is bigger than himself (which is already an established part of his schtick). 

As part of this pre-assassin buttering up, Kreese procures something special for Robby - gloves laced with kryptonite. He told him it would only level the playing field between him and Miguel, but it is enough to weaken Miguel enough to be killed. The plan is for Robby to go in thinking ‘Miguel is pretty much indestructible even with these gloves’ so he goes all out and kills him and then while he’s dealing with the trauma of having killed him Kreese can pull him fully into the League. While the plan won’t work, the path to it will see Robby getting a lot more weapons/assassin-specific training than Johnny did.

He will eventually take over Johnny’s suit and code name.

Eli ‘Hawk’ Moskowitz

Kreese’s plan for Robby is a more elaborate and thought out version of his original plan for Hawk. Hawk was never really a top priority for Kreese, but he spiraled so nicely that it seemed he could be plucked off into assassin-dom early. He saw Tory and Robby as better prospects than Hawk for long term use in the valley in part because he expected to have Hawk shipped off to train under Lady Shiva by now. He just had to rip the murder bandaid, and the plan was to push him until he killed Demetri. 

Because Hawk was on the fast track, and because he was so good at convincing himself he didn’t care what he’d done to Demetri’s arm, Kreese actually already let him in on the true nature of Cobra Kai. He didn’t know for long before leaving and its not like he had any strategically vital info, but he knows enough to make him a loose end. Kreese sends the Cobras (minus Robby, but possibly including a Tory who isn’t quite used to her new power yet) after him. Hawk is murdered. And isn’t that a waste? 

Kreese set it up, but when the likes of Tory and Robby almost leave over it he pins it on Kyler ‘going overboard’ and says it’s fine, they can save him. Hawk gets thrown in a Lazarus Pit and rises confused and angry. Under the grips of Pit Madness he temporarily forgets a lot (like leaving Cobra Kai and reconciling with Demetri and Miguel, but also things like his parents. Kid is a very angry blank slate.) and since most people think he’s dead its pretty easy to send him to the League. He’ll turn up again a few months later, when the League sends a squad to secure their interests in the valley. He breaks off when he can’t quite kill Demetri in a fight, but he doesn’t remember why and roams around the valley causing trouble or helping out as he sees fit until Demetri can get through to him (Demetri’s eternal struggle). 

He doesn’t call himself Red Hood, but you get the gist. Hawk is already a code name. 

Demetri [Insert Surname]

Got Eli back only to lose him for good. He thought. Until Not-Red Hood shows up and causes problems. But the slippery assassin keeps getting away before he can really talk to him! Miguel is steadily developing Super Powers and wants to help, but things are also heating up over in the Main Conflict and Demetri is left chasing Hawk alone a lot of the time. 

Maybe it’s that determination that causes his latent metagene to activate. 

Demetri only ever thought super speed was the second best superpower, but he rethinks that after he has it. In hindsight, his smart ass does fit the speedster profile and Eli definitely can’t get away now! 

His lightning when he runs is blue.

And yep, that’s all for now. I’ll never write a fic for this ‘verse it’s just fun to think about. More so about how after the San Fernando branch of the League of Shadows is destroyed the kids can all make up and form a cool super team. Also, if I were to write fic, it would be Demeli. As I'm sure anyone I've interacted with in this fandom knows.

[your-turn-to-role]

If you were to put the M9 in order of how feral they are, what would that look like?

i can absolutely do that!

it's also worth mentioning here that ages back one of my friends asked me to rank the cr characters (both m9 and vm) by how likely they were to eat a pickle out of a pond? (i may post that later if people are interested bc it was fun to write) (edit: posted!)

and i feel like this list is gonna end up being similar, but not entirely, because while fjord would absolutely do that under the right circumstances, he is, as established by freckledmccree, Not Feral. but here we go:

1 - nott

we have a clear winner, and it's love of my life feral child mrs veth brenatto. becoming a goblin didn't make her more feral, it just gave her an excuse to stop being beholden to social rules, and dear god did she take it. i'm honestly struggling to cite specific moments here because just, everything she does, has such strong feral energies?? (though i mean, fluffernutter. that's all that needs saying really). but like??? is an accomplished alchemist and uses it to make exploding crossbow bolts? will threaten to kill anyone as a joke just because she feels like it? very few people get its a joke because when nott the brave runs screaming at you you get out of the fucking way?? stole a gun?? used it to shoot her friend to win a race up a tree?? i can keep going. she's so weird and so wonderful and absolutely feral and i adore her

2 - caleb

now, you'd think given that caleb is perfectly capable of acting with dignity and professionalism would make him rank lower on this list. but no. caleb is perfectly capable of acting with dignity and professionalism and chooses to be feral. and the mere act of making that decision immediately boosts his feral points by like a mile. no amount of loyalty or adherence to literally any system, political structure, or set of social rules? turns into a giant ape in combat? has, multiple times, chosen to cover himself in dirt? liam in this outfit???

this is a Feral Wizard.

3 - yasha

now, definite points for a childhood/adolescence spent wandering the wastelands the gods abandoned (literally), fighting other kids and eating giant spiders. yasha is like the textbook definition of feral. but also like... she's soft. you want to give her a hug. she's still intimidating as fuck, but unlike caleb and nott she's not trying to be feral. she's just out here doing her own gay thing. i love her.

4 - jester

now, jester does not have a feral appearance, so i was on the fence for a bit as to where on the list to put her. feral constitutes a certain amount of not caring what you look like or what people think of you, and jester definitely wants to be pretty and wants to be seen as pretty and has quite a few walls in place when it comes to letting people realise she can have negative emotions. her background as a rich lonely kid is also far from feral.

however. have you met her. jester lavorre is on the surface as far from feral as it is possible to be, and then you hear her talk. honestly, growing up alone with only an archfey for company pushes anyone up the feral scale. see also: going round tattooing members of an enemy ship without their permission just 'cause. the pranks. the destruction. the sending spells. jester lavorre is what happens when feral decides to be fucking aesthetic. also she literally made a god so like, no power on this earth can stop her.

5 - beau

beau, like caleb, grew up extremely Not Feral and then actively chose to cultivate the feral within. her introduction literally describes her as "looks like she put on makeup maybe two days ago, and was like 'yeah, it's still fine'". disaster lesbian. Will Fight Anyone And Anything. however, she's more rebellious than she is specifically feral. never stopped giving a fuck about her image or her principles, she's got the underlying feralness of any punk but she's a bit too put together to rank any higher on this list.

6 - caduceus

caduceus is incredibly calm and patient and at least a little bit prim and proper but also like... the dude grew up in a cursed forest talking to plants and bugs and probably eating weird mushrooms. he has no respect for the laws of any society mostly because he doesn't realise they exist and he's SO valid. i also think the fact that we mostly see him with the m9 doesn't do justice to his actual feralness bc like... caduceus gets ten times more feral with his siblings. cad amongst the clays is way higher on this list. but cad in the mighty nein is mostly just here to be chill. god knows they need someone to be.

7 - fjord

the reason for this post. fjord is the opposite of feral. since freckledmccree brought up the subject, i'll also link this thread, if you want a lot of elaboration on this. but for real, fjord is incapable of being feral if you held a sword to his throat, which incidentally is probably the closest to feral he's ever gotten, back in episode 13. but like... the boy has so many internal rules. so many. he had a panic attack over a hat. someone give him a hug and tell him it's okay to just like, do things. he doesn't need 15 separate completely watertight reasons why.

(also we don’t know molly quite as well as the others since he was only in 26 episodes, but he’s pretty damn feral too. somewhere between yasha and jester i think)

(vox machina)

[lovetenya]

𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰

pairing: tenya iida x gn! reader

warnings: angst. anxiety. paranoia. self doubt. unkind words. non-explicit mentions of physical pain & scarring. implied death, but i don’t elaborate. lying. worrying.

word count: about 1.8k

author’s note: nobody writes any iida angst, (barely anyone writes for him at all) and as a vehement lover of angst, i thought i’d fill that gap. i love tenya, i really do, but i love to think about him in this way just as much as i love to believe he’d be the perfect other half. nobody is perfect, not even ingenium.

loving tenya iida is yellow.

it’s the color of the petals on the soft yellow daisy bouquet that he surprised you with on the night of your first anniversary. although it wasn’t a last minute purchase (how could he forget the best day of his life?), he still wasn’t exactly sure what to get. 

what kind of object can symbolize a love so encapsulating?, he thought. there is no tangible item that could possibly show how i feel.

he picked up the familiar flowers from a shop on the corner that the two of you had walked past before on a date. it was one of the first ones, and you pressed your face against the glass to get a better look at the delicate flowers inside.

he caught himself in his romantics when he thought that none of them were prettier than you. nothing was or ever would be better than this moment, where you were on your tip toes in an attempt to see more flowers. that day, he insisted on buying you a small bouquet of yellow daisies, and thought it would be sweet to indulge and revisit the memory.

the week before your anniversary, he made you promise not to execute any elaborate celebratory plans.

“honey, you know that I’d rather do nothing with you than anything with anyone else,” he said. and he was serious. he would rather sit together on the couch half-listening to a documentary (because you can’t keep your eyes off each other) than go out to dinner, where he couldn’t let down his guard. 

although he liked to think that his work made the world a safer place, he couldn’t help but feel paranoid whenever you were out in public. how could he be sure that someone in the restaurant didn’t want him dead? how could he be sure that they wouldn’t kidnap and kill you just to make him suffer? if he couldn’t be sure, was it worth the risk?

he’s an iida, after all. with their striking looks and long hero legacy, it’s not exactly easy to blend in in a world whose wellbeing depends on your greatness and ability. there’s a great sense of pride in coming from a long lines of heroes, and his parents were much less than thrilled to receive the phone call that tenya was in the hospital following the incident that rendered his arm “useless”. they weren’t happy to see that he chose to leave his arm that way as a reminder of his dedication. 

when they figured he was out of earshot, they asked questions.

did the doctors check for any mental ailments?

will he ever be able to use his arm again?

why didn’t they amputate? 

what kind of hero accepts a physical wound and doesn’t try to heal?

what kind of hero goes after a villain on their own?

are you sure he’s cut out to be a hero? 

tenya isn’t proud of the publicity his family got following the incident including a certain self-proclaimed hero killer. he isn’t proud of the wary stares he gets from his classmates. he isn’t proud of the violence he’s been forced to commit. he isn’t proud of any of it, really, but he doesn’t regret his actions; not for a second, not even when he’s painstakingly rubbing scar balm into his shoulder, hoping that at least the scars would fade.

the pain, which seeped deep into his muscles and pricked at his bones, was more than just a cosmetic concern. he couldn’t care less about a scar, but with his limited movement capabilities, he knew he’d never be able to teach his sons to throw. the doctors didn’t have to tell him that. but, of course, they did. he knew what it all meant. he saw through their sugarcoating and attempts at softening the blow. they should’ve known better.

although he’s now your tenya, he was a hero first. 

before there was you, there was responsibility. before there was love and devotion, there were hero duties and combat instincts. they’re ingrained into his mind, refusing to be ignored. even when things seem fine, he can’t help but make sure. he couldn’t live with himself if his laziness were to cause someone else’s pain. that isn’t what heroes do. when you’re in public, he’s constantly scanning the room and won’t sit with his back to a door or window, because he needs to be able to see who’s coming and going. he has to make sure that everything is fine. he has to make sure everyone is safe, and everything is put-together. 

he has to be strong, because there are thousands of people counting on him. he has to be strong, because evil doesn’t rest. he has to be strong, because... if not him, then who?

--

the day of your anniversary, you texted tenya while he was at work.

you: i hope you have a great day, my love! i can’t wait until you get home so we can celebrate! <3!!

tenya: I can’t wait either! I love you very much, sweetheart. See you later.

--

he came home with his arms full of the bouquet of flowers, and almost teared up at the sight of the dinner you had set up for the two of you. you always considered every worry, every caution, every gut feeling of his, and he appreciated that more than he’d ever be able to express. no words did it justice. 

you’re more than his other half, you’re his everything. you’re everything he needs, everything he can’t be, and more.

you surprised him with an at-home dinner date, where it was perfectly safe and calm, and there were no people hiding in the shadows. music softly played in the background, and the daisies looked perfect on the table.

it’s okay, tenya, you reminded him. you’re home now. 

--

yellow is tenya’s birthday present, or the envelope holding it at least. 

there are only so many thoughtful gifts you can give before the inspiration simply runs out, and you have to go bigger. you have to look forward, and think of what will really leave a mark on someone’s life. you only have so many chances to get it right. 

one year, for his birthday, you got him the deed to a recently-discovered star and named it after him. a star for your star. your guide in the dark. your light in unimaginable darkness. your ever-present warmth.

--

many years later, when tenya is long gone, his star sparkles a little brighter.

through the telescope, he seems to be waving hello.

--

golden yellow is the promise ring that you have no idea how tenya afforded.

you insist he take it back and that neither of you are ready for the commitment, but he refuses, of course.he’s never been more ready for something in his life. he tells you,

“i got it for you because you’re worth it.

every day with you is worth it.

i never want to spent another day of my life without promising to love you every second of every day.

every time you wear this ring, you’ll be reminded of how much i love you.

i saved for months, anticipating this very moment when i’d get to promise myself to you forever. 

i promise, you deserve it.

you deserve everything, and i can’t wait to give it to you.” 

and you did deserve it. and you deserve him, in all of his glory. forever.

--

the harsh bruises littering his chiseled body are yellow at first. they turn purple, eventually, before they fade away completely. their sting, however, is more than just the pain of broken blood vessels. they’re a concrete reminder that tenya isn’t untouchable. he isn’t invincible. he’s human, and he bleeds red.

the bruises come when his instincts send him in the wrong direction, when he dodged too late, or when he couldn’t seem to land a kick. he tells you that they’re from when he “tripped going down the stairs” or when izuku “accidentally punched him too hard during a training session.” (lies.)

yellow is the embarrassment you feel when you confront izuku, pleading with him to be more careful with tenya, and he tells you that he couldn’t have possibly caused those bruises, because hasn’t seen iida outside of class in weeks. nobody has. he’s been training more than usual, and hasn’t been at group dinners.

yellow is the sickness and guilt you feel at the realization, because you recently teased iida for not getting his homework done. he smiled weakly, pretending like it was just a foolish slip-up. it was so unlike him, you couldn’t help but poke a little fun.

“ooooh!!! class representative iida tenya, professional stick in the mud, didnt complete his populations analysis essay on time??? somebody call the news outlets!!! or an ambulance, because i think i might die from shock!!!”

he couldn’t blame you for your ignorance, because he liked that you didn’t know. you didn’t know how tired he was. you didn’t know how hard he was pushing himself. you didn’t know how hard he was working. you didn’t know how close he was to breaking. nobody did, and he liked it that way. nobody wants to see their leader falter, or hesitate, or fail, so he didn’t let them.

while he didn’t like to make you wait, he especially didn’t like to make you worry, and he figured the best way to do that was to keep it all in. he was supposed to be an upstanding hero, worthy of admiration and inspiring greatness in all, but at the end of the day, your opinion of him mattered the most.

in his mind, he was supposed to be your hero. and he tried, with every fiber of his being, to be your everything.

he was supposed to keep you safe, not keep you up at night, wondering if this morning was the last time you’d get to kiss him goodbye. he’s supposed to come home to you, and he promised, even though he couldn’t be sure, that he would. he didn’t want to lie about that.

his lies are yellow. they’re made with hope of protecting you, with keeping you safe from the evil swirling through the world. 

what you don’t know can’t hurt you, right?

...right? 

they’re made with intentions filled with sunshine and his golden gaze when you’re supposed to be studying, but the temptation is too strong. 

his intentions are filled with the colored pencils scattered on the floor of his dorm room from when you sketched each other for the first time. 

they’re filled with honey coated love, first sweet and satisfying, but eventually leaving you with a sore throat. they leave you feeling his love, but also his lies. 

and through it all, you still love him, maybe even to a fault.

even when he’s yellow.