#it's funny because in my other big fandom I'm known for an AU where I gave all the main characters kids

[watcheraurora]

First Flight

New installment of the Unintentionally-Adopted-a-Kid AU! Direct continuation of "But For This? Absolutely" (<- Part 1) 5.2k words (almost exactly!)

(Part 3)

—

Jimmy woke up to a cold bed. Which was weird because Tango's Blaze blood kept the bed almost uncomfortably warm all night. He rubbed his eyes. There was gold light beyond his closed eyelids, but it wasn't the weak gold of dawn—at least, he didn't think it was. He hadn't felt like he'd had a whole night sleep.

He peeled his eyes open after rubbing the sleep out of them.

Through the windows and balcony door, the light flickered chaotically.

Jimmy bolted up, flung the covers off, ignored Revenge's yowl of protest, and leapt toward the balcony with half-extended wings to keep him slightly aloft. If the ranch was on fire he'd have to grab Skye and Revenge and get out. Tango could walk through fire without getting burnt but he'd need to find him too—

He froze when he saw the source of the flame.

The outpost. Across the wheat fields and animal pens. Across the gorge. The pillar of cobblestone and dark oak inhabited by Illagers.

The whole thing was on fire. Jimmy could feel its heat from the balcony.

He stared with a dropped jaw.

The outpost was far enough away that the burning Illagers running around were tiny, barely visible.

Something bright and blazing swooped in circles around the outpost, little meteors of light shooting from it and hitting the outpost, expanding the flames.

"Tango..." Jimmy breathed.

He climbed up onto the balcony railing, just in his pyjama shorts and no shirt. His wings loosened behind him, tilting like he was going to takeoff. He glanced back over his shoulder into the master bedroom. Revenge was pouting on Tango's side of the bed, grumpy that he'd been woken up by Jimmy's movement.

For the first night in a while, they'd left their bedroom door slightly open to listen for Skye.

He crept back inside, tiptoeing to Skye's new room. He peered in through the tiny gap in the slightly-ajar door.

She was asleep, her ravager plushie clutched in one arm. Lying on her side to keep her wing from further injury. The other side from the one she'd been lying on when Jimmy tucked her in, but she seemed to still be tucked into the blankets.

Tango.

Jimmy's heart melted.

He snuck back, away from the door, and back into the master bedroom. "Keep an eye on her for me, Rev," he whispered to Revenge. Who Mrrped grumpily in response.

Jimmy went back to the balcony, hopping the railing, and hurled himself into the air. His wings beat at the smokey atmosphere and carried him high up until he could dive straight for the outpost, wings tucked in like a bird of prey hunting a target.

"Tango!" he shouted as he plummeted.

His soulmate pulled up short, hovering in the air, Blaze Rods orbiting his head rapidly.

Jimmy twisted and flared his wings, braking. Canary wings couldn't hover like hummingbird wings. He wasn't built for it. So he flapped as slow as he could in a circle around Tango, reaching out and resting his hands on Tango's burning hot shoulders. Tango rotated in place, synced with Jimmy's moving.

"Tango," Jimmy pleaded. "Tango, you have to stop."

Tango's breathing was heavy and his red eyes were glowing, not just reflecting the flames. His jaw was set and his teeth were bared. Illagers were screaming. Jimmy tried to ignore it.

"Tango, look at me. Please," Jimmy pleaded. He waited, flying in slow circles until Tango's gaze fixed on him. "You have to focus. We need to leave. Come on." He slid one hand down from Tango's shoulder to take his hand. His skin was even hotter without his shirt to block the heat—but something in their SoulBond helped Jimmy not get burned from it.

He twisted and shot back toward the ranch house with a beat of his wings. Tango kept up easily, leaving a trail of firelight in their wake.

Instead of landing on the balcony, Jimmy touched down on the rooftop and sat down. He tugged on Tango's hand until the latter sat too. But Jimmy kept tugging.

Tango shook his head. "If I sit in your lap, I'll burn you," he protested softly, reaching a hand up to run it through his hair. It was still flickering bright and fast. A bonfire trying to turn into a wild forest fire.

Jimmy tugged again, insistently.

Until Tango relented and crawled onto Jimmy's lap. "What happened, Tango?" he asked gently, rubbing Tango's arm.

"I... I woke up because Skye was crying. Her grief hit her, I think. I hugged her until she cried herself to sleep. I barely even said anything. I didn't know what to say. And it just hit me how wrong it was for the Illagers to keep a child in a cage and... and I saw red. You know how I am. I had to... I had to..." His red eyes flared with light. "She didn't deserve that. And they didn't deserve to get away with it."

Jimmy took a breath and sighed. "I can't condone what you did. But I do agree with why you did it." He ran one hand up and down Tango's arm.

Tango's hair simmered down to a manageable level and he snuggled himself under Jimmy's chin, closing his eyes. Jimmy held him close, resting his chin in Tango's warm hair. The soft flames licked at his jaw and cheeks, but wouldn't burn him anymore.

They stayed like that as they watched the outpost burn. The cobblestone left behind and the wood absolutely gutted. Dawn was minutes away by the time the biggest flames were truly dying down.

"Grian and Scar are going to be furious," Jimmy mused. "They rather liked the outpost."

"They can deal," Tango growled.

"Whatever happened to rebuilding the ward around the ranch so they couldn't disturb us?"

"This required less magic."

The sun broke over the horizon, just the first peak of its shape. Jimmy sighed again. "Come on. Go catch a little nap while I get breakfast started. We've got a big day of work ahead of us and a new mouth to feed. We better make sure we're prepared."

Tango burrowed deeper into Jimmy's chest. "No nap. Just cuddles."

Jimmy snickered. "I need to go get breakfast started. At least for the little one."

Tango groaned in complaint. "Fiiiiine."

Jimmy laughed softly, scooped Tango up, and fluttered them both down onto the balcony.

Revenge was still asleep on Tango's side of the bed, so Jimmy set Tango down on his own side and slipped out of the master bedroom. He checked on Skye—also still asleep—and headed downstairs.

—

Weeks passed. The Illagers moved on, finding another place somewhere far away to build a new outpost. Ranch work never really stopped, but Jimmy and Tango always took time out of every day to make sure Skye was well cared for. Jimmy worked her up to strengthening the muscles in her broken wing as it healed. Tango taught her how to read and do tiny magic tricks like sparks—with the rule that she wasn't allowed to practice fire magic in the house or the wheat field.

They didn't go into the nearest town often, but supplies sometimes needed to be fetched when they were running low. Every time Jimmy went into town, he took Skye. Just to acclimate her to being around people again. She seemed to handle it well. He bought her a handful of toys so she wouldn't be so bored at the ranch, and took time to whisper to other grownups about whether they knew anything about her parents or guardians. White hair and wings like hers were distinct and genetic. But no one ever seemed to know. Not even Grian, who seemed to always have his fingers in every pie in town.

Usually on the long walk back to the ranch, Jimmy would have her practice her wing strengthening exercises, helping her build up. Often he'd carry her and whatever they'd bought that day most of the way. But he always managed.

Before any of them knew it, Skye had been living on the ranch for six weeks. And according to Tango and his magic, her wing was fully healed and ready to remove the splint for more than just cleaning and preening the feathers. He'd been using his tiny healing spells to assist her natural healing along, since he couldn't do it all in one go.

"Hold still, kiddo," Jimmy said soothingly as he circled around to her back. But he knew better. In typical Avian fashion, she was twitchy and fidgety. He was too. He could remove the splint even with her movements as long as he was careful and gentle.

They both did their best. Skye to stay still, Jimmy to undo the string and sticks that made up the splint. Tango did his best to distract Skye so she held still by doing magic tricks—having discovered Skye was particularly partial to the way he made little candle flames change colors.

As the splint fell away, Jimmy felt his heart twist a little. The wing was atrophied, despite him helping her with exercises to build its strength back up. He sighed.

"Is it bad?" Skye asked quietly.

"Oh, sweetheart. No," he replied warmly.

"Why'd you make that noise then?"

"Just because the muscles still need a lot of work before you'll be able to fly. I'm just sad because I wanted to teach you to fly once the splint came off, but your wing isn't ready yet. And that's fine! We'll keep working on it, yeah?"

"Okay." Skye nodded, small and timid.

Tango tripped forward and crouched down to be on her eye level. "Don't worry, Skye," he said. "Jimmy's good at this. He'll have your wing ready to fly in no time. And he's gonna be the best teacher ever."

"Really?"

Jimmy rubbed the back of his neck, ready to try to set more realistic expectations, but Tango cut him off. "Really-really. I've never seen someone fly as pretty as he does. And he's really sweet and nice and paaatient. Especially with me. So he's gonna be a great flying teacher! And you're such a smart girl—you're gonna learn how to fly so fast." He ruffled her hair.

Skye giggled.

"Are you ready to start making your wing stronger, sweetheart?" Jimmy asked, kneeling beside Tango in front of her.

She nodded enthusiastically.

"Yay! Just follow after me, okay?" Jimmy asked.

Tango got to his feet as Jimmy stretched his wings, moving out of the way. Despite Skye's youth and small size, her wings were big too. Avian wings tended to take up a lot of room when they were unfurled. And Jimmy was so tall that his wings were enormous. So Tango figured it was best to just stay out of their way.

—

Every single day, Skye and Jimmy practiced the exercises. Every day, Skye could do them a little bit longer. Jimmy would even hold her back lightly against his chest and take off flying so that her wings could get stronger from the pressure of wind beneath them. They spent an hour or two every single day building her strength. And when Jimmy needed a rest or a break but Skye was still energetic, Tango would take over with magic lessons.

As time went on, it was hard to remember or even imagine life without her at the ranch. She chased Revenge and played in the wheat and really loved Tango using magic for little fireworks. She smiled big and hugged bigger. A lot of her fears and grief slowly ebbed away.

A few months of exercise every day after her splint came off, Jimmy deemed her ready to fly on her own.

The day before that, he sent for Grian.

Tango could fly as well, of course, but he didn't have wings. And Jimmy insisted that two adult Avians teaching a child to fly was probably for the best. Tango would fly below in case she started to fall so he could catch her, but Jimmy and Grian would be her primary instructors.

Or rather, Jimmy would. Grian's reply to Jimmy's request more or less said if Jimmy would teach, Grian would be there for support.

Which was fine with both Jimmy and Tango.

Jimmy woke bright and early. Moments before dawn. He slipped out of bed—Tango was still asleep—and changed from pyjamas to everyday clothes. He chose a T-shirt instead of a tank top so he could fly without an overshirt on without burning his shoulders. His jeans slid on next.

Tango groaned from the bed.

Jimmy turned.

Tango had rolled to be able to see Jimmy, one arm behind his head, propping it up.

"What?" Jimmy asked, voice shaking in a laugh on the word.

"It's always criminal for you to cover up," Tango said, voice slurred from sleep.

"You couldn't even see anythin'. My wings were in the way."

Tango shrugged. "Still criminal," he said.

Jimmy chuckled, shaking his head to tame his hair and then raking his fingers through it. Tango's red eyes tracked the movements as his tongue poked between his sharp teeth. "Careful," he said. "She's got really keen ears."

"She's young and wouldn't pay that much attention." Tango shrugged. He swung out of bed and approached, folding himself into Jimmy's arms. His skin was unbelievably, comfortably warm. "Why are you dreeeeessed?" Tango complained into Jimmy's chest.

"Because today's the day I teach our girl how to fly."

His wings went stiff as he straightened his spine.

"What is it?" Tango muttered, face still buried in the soft fabric of Jimmy's shirt.

"Nothing, it's just... She is, isn't she?"

"She's what?"

"She's our girl. Not just a... guest."

Tango finally leaned back, a thoughtful quirk to his brow. "Yeah. I guess she is, at this point. No one in town knows anything about her parents. And by her story, it's more likely that they're dead. I doubt they escaped."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?!" The thoughtful look on Tango's face vanished, turning confused and shocked.

"You said you didn't want kids. And we've gone and taken in a six-year-old orphaned Avian."

Tango sighed and rested his cheek against Jimmy's shoulder. "You have nothing to be sorry for, rancher," he said softly. "Life has twists and turns that we never see coming. I didn't want kids. I was happy to just spend my life with you and our friends. But now that she's been here for so long and we've made space in our life and our home for her, she's just part of it. This place wouldn't be complete without her anymore." He sighed as Jimmy ran his hand through Tango's hair. "And I'm happy with that. Gosh—I can't even put into words how much I love watching you interact with her. You're such a good dad."

Jimmy's wings twitched. He hadn't even thought of himself as a dad. "Thanks," he said quietly.

Tango sucked in a deep, reluctant breath. "Time to get ready so the lessons can commence?"

"Time to get ready to get chores done before lessons can commence," Jimmy replied.

"Oh, right. Silly of me." Tango backed up toward the bed, away from the wardrobe. Before catching Jimmy by the shoulders and pulling him back down onto the bed. Jimmy managed to suppress a startled squawk. He always forgot how strong Tango's slight frame was.

"Wait—Tango—I just got dressed—" Jimmy protested as Tango crawled up the bed so their heads were even.

Tango smirked, teeth glinting in the light of his fire hair. "And you can get dressed again in a little bit," he whispered. "When I built her room, I double-lined the walls so we could make noise without disturbing her."

The door to their bedroom clicked shut quietly with Tango's red magic swirling around it. A sound dampening spell.

Jimmy smiled. "If you insist," he said.

Tango hesitated. "If you really don't want to, we don't have to. I just—"

"No, no. I've changed my mind. Get down here and kiss me."

Tango's lopsided grin grew wider. "Don't have to tell me twice," he said lowly.

—

"Right. Are we getting started?" Grian asked, looking a bit impatient. He stood on the front path with his hands on his hips and his parrot wings fluffed up behind him.

Tango looked normal as he exited the ranch house with Skye on his shoulders, but Jimmy was rapidly trying to straighten out his shirt and jeans. Grian's dark eyes flicked between the two of them, bounced an eyebrow, and looked toward the sky while Jimmy fought off a blush.

"Yep-yep," Tango said, hauling Skye off his shoulders while she giggled. He set her down on the ground.

Grian knelt to be at her eye-level. "You're Skye, right?" he asked.

She nodded, her white hair in its pigtail braids taking on a warm gold sheen in the sunlight.

"I'm Grian." He smiled gently. "I'm Jimmy's, er, brother." He wasn't, but it was easier for her to understand that. "I'm going to help him teach you how to fly." He ruffled his own wings. Skye peeked at them and gave him a timid smile.

"Alright!" Jimmy exclaimed, clapping and rubbing his hands together. "Shall we get this going?" He smiled at Skye and knelt down. "Ready to fly, sweetheart?"

She nodded.

"Tim, our wings are too long. We can't hold her hands for this," Grian said.

"I know. I'm going to hold her to my chest. And slowly loosen up. You and Tango will keep an eye on her from below in case she starts to fall. I'll hold onto her from above."

"Better than how Jimmy learned," Tango muttered under his breath sarcastically.

Grian had essentially pushed Jimmy off a cliff to teach him how to fly.

Jimmy held Skye's hand. It was shaking a little. "Okay, kiddo. We're going to teach you how to fly first, then how to land, and then how to take off. And it's not going to be easy. And it might take a while. But you're such a strong, smart girl that I know you're going to be okay."

Skye nodded.

"You wanna hand Mr. Snuffles to Tango?" Jimmy asked.

Skye looked down at the ravager plushie in her arm, up at Tango, back at the plushie, and then held it out.

"I'll keep him nice and safe for you, Skye," Tango reassured her. She nodded.

"Okay." Jimmy stood up. "Come stand on my feet and spread your wings like we've been doing for the last couple months."

Skye went over and did as instructed. Jimmy bent down and put his arms around her middle, minding her wings to not crush the feathers but holding her tight.

"Grian?" Jimmy invited.

Grian turned around, bent his knees, snapped out his wings, and flapped them down, hurling himself into the sky.

Skye's deep blue eyes widened as she watched. "Wooow!"

"You'll get there too, Skye. I promise," Jimmy said. "Now hold on tight."

She grabbed onto his arms with her little hands. He hoisted her up against his chest and ran down the path, his wings and hers gathering air beneath them.

Jimmy swept his wings down. The downdraft sent wheat in the field rolling away as he launched.

Skye squealed. Usually on takeoff, her wings were furled and Jimmy held her protectively. This was the first time her wings had been extended for takeoff. Jimmy smiled. She seemed okay—excited, even—which was good.

"See how my wings are moving?" Jimmy called over the wind. She nodded. "Try to move yours the same way!"

Grian swooped around the two of them. Tango flew along below, a soft trail of fire left behind him.

Skye moved her wings, face scrunched as she tried to copy how Jimmy flapped. Grian angled and came to rest in formation just below one of Jimmy's wings. Which prevented Jimmy from flapping if he didn't want to smack Grian, but he could glide for a bit. "You can't just move your wings up and down," Grian instructed. "You have to push the air with them."

Jimmy peered around Skye to check her facial expression. She looked confused.

He squeezed her around the middle. "Remember when you climbed onto the kitchen counter yesterday? And you beat your wings down to help boost you up?"

She nodded.

"That's what he's talking about. We've got instincts for flying—for how to flap our wings. You gotta listen to those too."

She nodded again. This time when she flapped, there was real intention behind the power of the movement.

"Yes! That's it!" Jimmy praised.

She squealed. "I felt something!"

"That's the wind in your feathers, for real!"

She beamed at Grian, then twisted to look at Jimmy. "Am I flying?"

"Not yet! You have to keep doing that in order to stay in the air."

"But you're not?"

"No. I'm gliding. And that takes just as much strength to hold your wings against the wind like this. But if Grian would move—" the comment was directed in Grian's direction, "—I'd be able to flap and get higher up."

Grian twisted his head and stuck his tongue out. Jimmy did the same. Skye laughed.

But Grian took the hint and dipped one wing, sweeping away from the path of Jimmy's wings and then churning the air hard and shooting higher.

Jimmy flapped much softer, gaining altitude slowly. "Follow what I do, Skye," he instructed. "Feel the wind beneath your feathers!"

She flapped in sync with him, gasping each time the wind filled her wings like sails. They climbed higher, nearing the clouds.

"Alright. I'm going to loosen my hold around you. But I won't let go. I just want you to feel what it's like to keep yourself aloft on your own," Jimmy said. Skye's eyes widened. "You'll be okay. I won't let you fall. I'll still hold on to you."

He adjusted his grip so he was no longer using his arms to keep her against his chest. Instead, he wrapped his hands around her ribs and extended his arms a little so her wings were no longer touching him.

Skye screamed.

Tango's fire burned brighter and he shot up to them. "What's going on?" he called.

"She's flying on her own, sorta!" Jimmy shouted back. "I'm holding on so she doesn't fall, but she's keeping herself up!"

Tango nodded and slowly lowered to be about halfway between the trio of Avians and the ground.

Skye had stopped screaming and started concentrating. Jimmy could feel in the way she frantically flapped that she actually was keeping herself aloft. His grip was loose enough that he wasn't actually maintaining her, more meant to tighten if she started to fall. He kept his own flapping minimal. The size and power of his wings compared to hers meant one wingbeat from him would send him another ten feet up in the air while she only gained maybe two. And he didn't want to drag her around. So he did barely enough to keep himself consistent above her.

Grian noticed. He swooped and came to a glide directly above Jimmy. "Pass her to me," Grian called. "My wings are smaller."

Jimmy's face blanched.

"Tim, I won't let her fall. I promise," Grian said.

Jimmy sucked in a sharp breath. "Skye!" he called, gathering her close to him again. "Tuck in your wings. I'm passing you to Grian."

Her wings furled closer to her back. Grian held his arms out, hands splayed to take her.

Jimmy hated lateral passing of anything in the air, but given it was Skye—he was terrified. He kissed her hair, snapped his wings inward, and rolled so his back was facing the ground. Immediately he started to plummet. Skye's braids dangling above them. She screamed again.

Grian swooped and snatched her out of Jimmy's arms, tucking her against his soft red jumper.

Jimmy flipped back around and snapped his wings out, letting them fill with air and stop his descent. With a whoop, he rocketed skyward, tucking his wings halfway in a spin.

Grian assumed the same position with Skye that Jimmy had done once she got her wings sorted out, holding her by the ribs.

"Watch how he flies," Grian said to her, his own dark eyes tracking Jimmy as his smaller parrot wings swept through the air in perfect sync with Skye's. "See how he doesn't think about it too much? We have to let the wind take us. Tango can fly in a different way. The wind doesn't really affect him. But for us, the wind is everything. We have to ride it. Let it guide us."

"Tango said Jimmy flies pretty," Skye said to Grian. Her voice was quiet over the wind, but Grian could hear her.

That made him actually smile. "He does," Grian agreed. "See how big his wings are?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded.

"That's because he's tall. Big and strong. His wings have to be really big to get him off the ground. And despite that, he's still really good at moving in the air. Look at the way he spins. He doesn't need to, he just likes the feeling." Grian's grip on Skye loosened a little more. "Close your eyes, Skye. Just for a few seconds. I've got you. Feel the wind in your wings. Feel how it moves through your hair and flutters your shirt. Focus on just the wind. Hold your wings nice and strong. Flap up and down. That's it. You're doing great. Breathe, kiddo."

Grian let her go, but kept his hands hovering inches from her to snatch her if she started to dip.

"Open your eyes, Skye," Grian said.

She opened them again, not seeming to notice he wasn't holding onto her anymore. Far, far below, the ranch had been left far, far behind. The burnt husk of the outpost was a speck on the horizon behind them.

And Skye was flying on her own. Completely.

Grian knew Jimmy. His heart was so full of love and care—and fear of losing those he cared about. He never would have released his hold on Skye.

But Grian knew she had to spread her wings and fly on her own. It was the only way to really learn for an Avian child. So he'd had to take over. And give Jimmy just enough time to see him holding onto her that he'd trust Grian enough to look away long enough to show off. Tango was also correct: Jimmy did fly pretty. Enormous gold-yellow feathers shimmery in the sunlight—he flew like a dance.

Jimmy's flight feathers had matured late. He hadn't learned to fly until he was maybe twice as old as Skye. He hadn't learned how to fly the traditional way, since he'd been strong enough to do everything on his own from the get-go. And he still flew like he'd never learned to take it for granted.

But Grian had been young. And he remembered learning with his dad letting go of him midair. His own flying was far more practical and less pretty.

Still, watching Jimmy fly was always fun. He took such joy in it.

Grian's eyes snapped to Skye's wings the moment he saw their flapping weaken. He scooped her ribs back into his hands and brought her a little closer to him. "Getting tired?"

She nodded.

"Alright," he said. "I'll teach you how to land. You're going to want to hit the ground running, okay? It'll hurt your knees less until you learn more advanced techniques."

She nodded.

Grian held her tighter, but still let her glide, as he beat the air and pulled up alongside Jimmy. "Tim! Landing time!"

Jimmy looked at Skye's glittering white wings, then Grian's eyes, then nodded. "I'll tell Tango." He twisted into a sharp dive, wings held close.

Grian talked Skye through angling her wings to start descending. The loose hairs that had escaped her pigtail braids were snapping with the wind as they turned back toward the ranch and started a long, slow descent. Tango stayed below them, but Jimmy shot up to brush wingtips with Grian the whole way down.

They took the descent angle so shallow that they were nearly over the gorge between the ranch and the outpost when the ground seemed near enough to touch.

Grian helped Skye slow down by angling her wings upward to fill with air and brake before gently running into their landing together. Jimmy dropped out of the sky and landed before just running after them down the path.

Tango swooped overhead and dropped to the ground in front of Grian and Skye. She squealed and ran at Tango, Grian letting her go, and threw her arms around him. "I did it! Did you see me? I did it! I flew!" she exclaimed, her wings fluttering behind her, half-furled, as Tango held onto her.

"I saw, I saw! You did so good!" Tango replied.

Jimmy stopped right next to Grian, wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Thank you," he said softly.

Grian smiled. "Of course."

Jimmy's hold tightened. "If you ever let go of her again—"

Grian laughed, not surprised that Jimmy had noticed after all. "You'll what?" he challenged. "She needed it, and she was fine. She was safe. I'd never let her fall." His own wings twitched. "You learnt late, Tim. I learnt when I was her age. I knew she'd be fine. Avian children all have to learn to fly on their own eventually. Our parents aren't always there to hold onto us."

Jimmy glowered, but there was a softness to his eyes. "I know. She's just... she's so precious."

"And because she is, I'd never let her fall."

Jimmy gave Grian a proper hug. "Thank you."

"Sure. Now I've got to get back before Scar burns down the Keep." Grian hugged Jimmy back, and broke out of the embrace. "Skye? I'm going to go. Can I have a hug goodbye? It's okay if no."

But Skye let go of Tango and ran at Grian, her wings flaring out to give her a little boost to jump into his arms. He laughed and held her tight.

"You did so good today," he said softly into her hair. "Tango and Jimmy are very proud of you. And so am I."

She smiled. "Thank you!"

He ruffled her hair. "Get some rest so you can keep learning tomorrow." He let her go and backed up a few paces. "Don't have too much fun without me!" His wings snapped out and he launched skyward, disappearing over the horizon.

Jimmy scooped Skye up, cradling her to his chest. "You did it!" he said. She squealed. "You flew! You're such a big girl!"

She giggled. "Did I do good?"

"You did great!"

Tango laughed. "Shall we head inside and get something to eat to celebrate? I might make a cake."

Skye gasped. "Cake? Please? Please? Pretty pleeease?"

Tango kissed Skye's hair. "Yep!"

"Yay!"

The three of them went inside the ranch house, laughing the whole way.

[kipkoh]

please ramble about your ao3 fics!

Not sure if you had a specific fic or topic in mind, but I'm just gonna talk about Effortlessly My Baby since it's my most popular one.

When I get writer's block, I like to take a step back from my current project for a day or two to recoup, and during this time, sometimes I like to write something else entirely to keep up the creativeness. I was working on another longfic as my main project when I started writing Effortlessly My Baby on the side, just as something to do when I got stuck. So, in a way, we can thank my writer's block for EMB.

At some point I'd written so much of it that I just decided to start posting it, because why not? It might have been a side project, but I was still proud of it. At this point in time, I was still not super immersed into the TOH fandom, so I had no idea how big the Dadrius side was initially, and so I was not expecting my fic to get a lot of readers. To my surprise, it did, and I can never express how thankful I am for all the positive reception it received. It even quickly got to the point where EMB was getting far more traction than my main fic. New chapters of my main fic would rarely get any interaction but every new chapter of EMB brought in even more comments and kudos. Writer's aren't lying when they say comments help with motivation. Writing the fic would have been fun for me regardless, but it was made even more fun by the fact so many people were talking with me about it and I got to interact with so many Dadrius fans at once. Eventually, my focus shifted from my other fic to EMB, because why wouldn't it? The praise made me feel good, but not only that, I was giving something to people that brought them a lot of joy and comfort. The fic was originally around 25-30 chapters but because so many people ended up liking it, I ended up with the motivation to squeeze even more chapters into it, making it what it is now.

Anyway, on to the fic itself.

I was always a big fan of Darius and Dadrius, even before I immersed myself in fandom. It was inevitable I'd write about it eventually. The only surprising part is that it wasn't the first type of fic I posted.

The AU itself was something that kinda rotated around in my brain for like a solid year before I actually wrote it down. I wondered what their dynamic in canon would have been like if they'd known each other for longer than a few months. It's unknown how long they've known each other in canon, but I was running off the assumption that it hasn't been that long. Even if they knew of each other, I don't think there wasn't much, if any, non work related interaction before Hunter became Coven Head. It would make sense if Belos was keeping him isolated, after all.

Hunter's isolation was kind of the driving point for the overarching plot. He surely didn't enjoy not being allowed to make friends, and so a lonely kid with a desperate need for socialization with someone other than his emotionally distant uncle would be the perfect set up for a story about found family. Hunter needed someone in his life who actually cared about him, and Darius needed someone who could make him realize he wanted to love again after the death of his mentor.

The "mute" nephew idea was mostly because I thought it would lead to funny misinterpretations on Darius' part, but it also does have more significance. Hunter basically has two sides of himself under Belos: Nephew and Golden Guard. With Belos, he only knows how to be one or the other. Hunter wants to be taken seriously as Golden Guard as is worried he won't be if people knew who he was. (Nvm that it doesn't work.) He'd just be a nepotism kid to everyone. So, he never takes off the mask as Golden Guard and never speaks as Hunter so no one can recognize his voice. This means, however, that no matter who he is in the moment, he can never fully be himself. No matter what, he's lost some aspect of his identity.

After meeting Darius, Hunter's priorities get flipped. Darius already hates the Golden Guard, so now Hunter's goal is to make sure Darius doesn't find out Hunter is the Golden Guard. With everyone else, he was craving a sense of authority, but Darius ended up giving him a taste of what it was like to have a friend, and he was more terrified of losing that.

On Darius' side, I wanted to write about a man who lost someone he loved and in response, chose to give up. His mentor's death made him into a repressed shell of a man who was too scared to get close to anyone new ever again. Then, he meets a random kid who won't leave him alone and ends up worming his way into his cold, dead heart enough to slowly warm it back up without Darius even realizing until it was too late. The thing is, it didn't even take all that much for Hunter to do that. I like to think Darius likes to act tough and nonchalant a lot of the time, but he's inherently a very soft and caring person, even if he doesn't want to be at first.

The fic (and my writing skills) are far from perfect but despite that, Effortlessly My Baby is always going to have a special place in my heart. I was very sad to have to end it but at the same time, every story needs to end eventually. I can't just keep them going forever. I'm always grateful to everyone who read it and I hope it brings people joy for years to come.

[muttthecowcatridesagain]

My GOAT fanfic rec list

I was going through my bookmarks the other day and decided to make a greatest of all time fanfic rec list (at least in my opinion). These are IN ORDER - or at least I tried. They're all great so it's hard to choose. I want to bookbind all of these one day

Starburst by dracoangelic and GingerD - Stardew Valley, Shane/Farmer - Literally the best fanfic I've ever read!!! The author's OC is one of the main characters and is so well done! The world is expanded in the best way. The ending is perfect. I can't say enough!!!

Dresden by hedera_helix - attack on Titan, Eruri - Historical/WW2 AU - The 2nd best fanfic I've ever read and the best historical au. The setting fits so well with the characters. The grief of the war and of being queer during that time period. There's so much here

Victor Effing Nikiforov by shysweetthing - Yuri on Ice, Victuuri - My favorite YOI fic and the best oneshot! It's cute, funny and has a great plot twist!! Love

This is Not a Courtship by midnightsnapdragon - MDZS, Xicheng, unfinished - WOW this is a recent fic but there's so much sexual/emotional tension that builds up so gradually and is SO well done

Les Mignardises by idiopathology - Detroit Become Human, Reed900 - best chef au, I LOVE this fic, I love food and I love reading about characters who love food. The best chef/restaurant AU that I've ever read

Eighteen Wheels on an Uphill Climb by blackeyedblonde - Detroit Become Human, Hankcon, Trucker AU - once again an au that fits perfectly with the characters! as someone from the us south, this fic is nostalgic and fun. A calming read with a sweet ending

Beneath Your Bones by cloudsmachinations - Thor Series, Thorki - I'm surprised it's taken a thorki fic this long to show up on my list but like I said many tough decisions were made. This fic is SO GOOD. I won't call it a soulmate au, because it's not, it's a host? au I guess but so well done. LOVE and my favorite thorki fic

Beside the Dancing Sea by lily_winterwood - Yuri on Ice, Victuuri, selkie au - wow my favorite mermaid/selkie fic of all time and a yoi classic, unfortunately it seems it got deleted from ao3 and is in the process of being uploaded again

On My Love by RikoJasmine - Yuri on Ice, Victuuri, unfinished - there's not many unfinished fics that made the list but - this one deserves to be here. A "back in time" AU that's famous in the YOI fandom. It's SO SWEET and definitely worth the read.

Unwritten by kaizuka - Yuri on Ice, Victuuri, Soulmate AU - my favorite soulmate AU of all time and a YOI classic. I'm pretty sure it was the first yoi fic I ever read. It's so good, sweet and fits perfectly with the series

Stormbreaker by ladylapislazuli - Thor Series, Thorki, unfinished - another "back in time" AU, Wow where do I begin, this fic is so well written and famous in the thorki fandom, the last and most recent chapter is my favorite, it hits so many emotions, shows so much character growth, Thor faces a lot of feelings about his family, unfinished but the feelings it expresses are worth the read

Until My Feet Bleed and My Heart Aches by Reiya - Yuri on Ice, Victuuri, Enemies to Lovers AU - I think this is the single most well known yoi fic and for good reason, a slow burn enemies to lovers Victuuri AU, it's just so good

Not in Peace and Not in War by justrae2010 - Yuri on Ice, Victuuri, Historical/War AU - my 2nd favorite historical AU ever. The first chapter was originally written as a stand alone for a big bang and the writing in that alone is amazing!!

Animals by stereobone - Attack on Titan, Eruri, Prison AU - my favorite prison AU of all time, it fits so well with eruri and the burn is slow

The act of just being here by Euphorion - SVSSS, Bingqiu - a post canon fic, WOW I LOVE this fic, Shen Yuan having more character growth and letting himself love more, it's perfect, the writing is amazing!

What Gangsters Do by tristinai - Detroit Become Human, Reed900, gangster AU - this is a oneshot that's part of a larger series, however this particular fic is SO WELL Done, Nines goes from hating Gavin to loving him within a few paragraphs and just wow, that's writing goals right there

Just in it for the game by grim_lupine - Thor Series, Thorki, fake relationship AU - I LOVE this fic, it's hilarious, a post Ragnarok fic that's funny and sweet

A Matter of Cats by cato_universe - Detroit Become Human, Reed900 - this is a Nines centric fic and I LOVE it, such a comfort read, libraries, cats, and love

How long we were fooled by Ark - Thor Series, Thorki - famous thorki fic that looks at their relationship throughout the series and at thor's lightening powers, LOVE

Retrograde by bughnrahk - Detroit Become Human, Hankcon, failed revolution end - wow I LOVE this fic, it's so fast paced and thrilling

The Rules for Lovers by ADreamingSongbird - Yuri on Ice, Victuuri, royalty AU - another classic yoi fic and one of my favorite royalty fics

Resplendent - Yuri on Ice, Victuuri, Hades and Persephone AU - this fic has been taken down but I still had to rec it, it's beautiful

No Ordinary Love by TheFlashFic - Marvel Captain America, Sambucky, Hanahaki AU - this is the best Hanahaki AU I've ever read, so well done

and this fire in my veins by citruspromenade - TGCF, fengqing - a fuck or die AU except not really and it's hilarious!! I LOVE this fic so much

a glide in your step by Yuu_chi - Yuri on Ice, Victuuri - another yoi classic, one of the sweetest fics ever

The Word Freedom by HopeaLumi - Attack on Titan, Eruri, teacher AU - the best teacher AU ever, based on the janitor!Levi teacher!erwin shorts

The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch by aubreyli - MDZS, Wangxian - wow it's taken me this long to rec a wangxian fic! This story is adorable, featuring the juniors and wangxian from the webseries picking up their romance

Soft Shocks by stereobone - Thor Series, Thorki, fake relationship AU - my favorite fake marriage au ever, thor and loki are so in character and the ending is so sweet

Take the Long Way Home by cavaleira - Thor Series, Thorki - a traveling? au, a comfort read and another thorki classic

And that's all of them!  Do you have any GOAT fanfic recs?

[keeperthemultiversemom]

Is it normal that I really see Keeper as a real mother figure now? She feels so warm and safe! I just wanna hug her a lot!! 😭

Boop ! Creator answering for once !

Aaah this is gonna be long ! Sorry in advance

This is a funny ask to me, because well, that's somewhat the intent on Keeper !

I wanna talk about it a little actually, I think I mentionned it before, but my main inspiration behind Keeper was... Seeing the world in total chaos and all the edgy AUs

We are in an era where everything is just worse case scenarios, one after the other, all the time

It's exhausting

Add to that the high number of edgy aus that where born in the past few month

So much violence ! So much angst ! So much sadness !

I wanted to make a character to "restore the balance"

Provide pure comfort (at least out of the Out of Bound storyline, get your mug of tears ready for that)

Something that make people feel like they have somewhere to go mentally to rest. You can imagine yourself right there, in Keeper's space ! And Keeper will be there taking care of you ! Giving you hugs !

It's totally okay to see her as a mom or a friend or that nice little old lady neighbours that gives you cookies sometimes

She's a big giant ball of fluff ! And it makes me happy to know that some find comfort in this AU

Even if in the end my AU won't be that well known by everyone, providing comfort to the mind what the intent of Keeper, she's the Multiverse Mom and you are all her Little Ones !

My my, I talk a lot, but I don't get to extend my thoughts that much about her haha, because of the twitter limit yk

Tho, while I'm here, I'd like to remind that this is simply an AU, and the original concept of Poppy still belongs to Clown !

I am just having fun giving a source of comfort to the fandom... I often use my friends characters in the asks, such as Messenger, Courier, Scripter, Filantes to help tell the little stories

So this is also a little reminder that only Keeper, Nyxie and Triskell belong to me !! Only those three ! ( And the fourth character that is coming soon of course ~ )

Thank you thank you for reading it all ! Have some doodles for your troubles

[domoroks]

I'm sorry to bother you but I have to say I find Dib's treatment in the show/comics flat out uncomfortable a lot of the time. It feels like his whole role is to get treated like shit and fail at everything and it's not funny to me.

Also the opening of the comics pissed me off, it's basically mocking Dib for being fat and gross, I genuinely don't get why people praise it. There's also issue 5. It made me hate Gaz, it seems she never gets called out for her selfish and cruel behavior.

all in all the treatment for dib is ridiculous in my humble opinion. Of course- if you find it funny i’m not going to pull you apart for it, but his treatment does make me sad, mostly because there’s no bigger picture taken out of it for the show, movie or comics. Any younger children that might’ve been able to see the show, movie, or the comics might actually be bummed tf out because of there being no takeaway lesson- which also makes me sad LMAOO.

I see where you’re coming from!! it makes me upset too. The way all the characters are treated makes me so upset like on an emotional level- but that’s unfortunately how their universe works :((. not defending it or anything you know. Nick canceling the show really ruined any progress we would’ve / could’ve seen in the characters- and when they revived the movie and the comics came out you didn’t get to see much character development either- which- for me- a person who love’s character development- FINDS VERYY SAD. The creator states a couple of times though that the characters can’t really change- which upsets tf outa me. (that’s why my hcs are so heavy for Invader Zim actually.) ((it’s like parenting a thing you enjoy it’s genuinely insane.))

Gaz is mostly mean due to the fact her dad is never around- and Dib seems to be just too much for her. Also- the way her ‘mother’ (if they even ever had one) is never brought up. Though the way Gaz acts has always been pointed out ESPECIALLY by parents who viewed the show when it aired- they complained about her hate for her brother. Another instance of issues not getting to be solved with the time and creation of the show / comics- yet again sad. I’d also argue that the fandom played a big part in Jhonen’s dislike for his own creation. If you’ve known Invader Zim for long enough- the fandom is HORRIFYING. not to drag *it* in again but Zadr / humanxirken shippers tanked the fandom because it’s either a super toxic ship or literally p3d0ph1ll1a. (had to censor the word sorry.)

The fandom also has incest. which is disgusting beyond belief. I’ve only been a fan of the show for about 4 years now- but despite me posting my art for it, i don’t talk about it much with strangers because of it. All of the stuff that’s happened in the fandom drive Jhonen to literally end the comics with a groundhog day. I HATE GROUNDHOG DAYS. YOUR DISLIKE IS VERY JUSTIFIED!!

A bit of a tangent here but I have my whole AU with a more found family. Zim realizes his tallest dont care about him, Dib gets respected more, Gaz becomes a bit less harsh and Membrane fixes his fucking parenting issues. I understand Zim’s an old man but bro just joins the Membrane family and becomes a brother to Dib because he can. That’s just my coping mechanism for the show/movie/comics LMAO. like I said though your opinion is justified!! I don’t get to talk about it ever but the way every character’s treated and handled is honestly kinda sucky and maybe I just have high empathy and don’t like seeing others upset but i genuinely want the best for these little imaginary guys. I want them to be ok.

[not-so-mundane-after-all]

Touching | 8. shielding the other one with their body, Dick & Rachel - for @wonderbatwayne

Fandom: DC Titans

Title: Safe Haven

Series: Physical Affection - Tumblr Prompts

Pairings/Relationships: Dick Grayson & Rachel Roth

Summary: "The answer is simple, Grayson. Five years ago in this very place you took what's mine away from me. Now I'm taking what's yours."

2x07 AU

Check out the prompt list | REQUESTS OPEN

____________________________________________

Safe Haven

You really wanna be back here?

Dick tried to ignore his father's voice as he marched between the rows of wooden benches.

"Where is he?"

Deathstoke led him to this church - to the place where everything went down five years ago. But now it was empty.

Bruce showed up in front of him, blocking his way.

He's feeding on your guilt. Like a spider. He's lured you away from where you need to be… who you need to protect.

"He killed my friend," Dick argued.  "Nearly killed Jason. He has to be stopped."

Very heroic of you. Except… you don't give a shit.

He scoffed, shaking his head. "You don't know."

But I do, Bruce said as he walked up to him. I know everything. That's why you brought me. Just like I know why you keep sneaking off on these solo runs, just like you did five years ago. You have blood on your hands. 

"Not just me."

But you have more, son. Blood only you and Slade know about. You're afraid of the dark. Always have been. Even as a little boy. The great chasm of silence. The coldness of isolation. You're afraid if the others know your secret they'll leave you and you'll be alone, again. And they may. 

His heart sped up in his chest, his mind forgot how to breathe for a monent.

"They don't need to know," he said finally. "What difference does it make? It's done, it's in the past. It's behind me."

But it's not. It's got to come out.

"God damn it!" he shouted, feeling his nerves snapping. He was really getting tired of all this bullshit. "Can you leave me alone?"

You know how to get rid of me. You've known the whole time.

Tears started burning behind his eyes.

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

Of course you do, son. You always have. You just have to tell the truth.

But he couldn't. It was too much. It would destroy him, destroy everything he had with his team.

"It's too hard." he whispered, dropping his head in shame. It was getting harder to keep tears at bay.

His father reached out and gently brushed his fingers down Dick's cheek. Even if he was only a prodcut of Dick's own fucked up mind the touch felt very real and it brought some sort of comfort to him. 

His gaze then fell on the altar and he froze, noticing something he hadn't before. Bruce stepped out of his way when he moved and walked up the stairs to a heavy wooden table. Upon one look at the display it showed his blood ran cold.

At least a dozen pictures were scattered among lit candles and each one of them showed Rachel. Sitting on a couch with Gar, both laughing. Talking with Kory. Eating breakfast in the kitchen with Hank, Dawn and Donna around. He saw himself in those photos too - training with her in one, walking with her on the street in the other, with coffee cups in their hands and his arm wrapped around her shoulders. But in most of these pictures she was alone, usually somewhere around the Tower, in her bedroom or the kitchen and it was clear all the shots were taken without her or any of them knowing. 

At the very centre of the table was a small black box. 

With a shaking hand and a heart hammering in his chest Dick reached for it and slowly lifted the lid. On a white satin pillow meant to hold some kind of jewelry lay a lock of dark blue hair, coated in crimson blood.

Dick's knees almost gave out under him, sending him on the floor.

"No."

He left those for you, Bruce said behind him. He turned to his father for a moment, his face twisting in shock and confusion, but quickly came back to the display, hoping it disappeared when he wasn't looking. Because it couldn't be real, just like this Bruce wasn't real. It couldn't be happening. But the pictures were still there, as well as the box and the candle flames were still burning. 

Go home, Dick, his father's voice rang in his ears. It seems like one way or another, the monster's been in the Tower all along. 

He couldn't take it anymore. The mix of fear, fury, worry, confusion and dozens of other conflicted emotions he couldn't name was about to explode, ripping him apart from within. He smashed his hand on the table sending all the pictures and candles flying, tossed it all on the floor in blinding rage and whipped around, ready to run out of the church. He needed to get back to the Tower, to find Rachel. Maybe this was all some kind of a sick joke, maybe Slade is bluffing, playing mind games on him to keep him on edge. Maybe it's all one big-

"Well, look who finally made it."

Dick stopped to a halt, his breath hitching in his throat. The front door to the church was open, revealing no other than Deathstroke standing in the door frame with his blade pressed to Rachel's neck. She was almost limp in his hold, barely awake but conscious enough to be standing on her feet. Her head was swaying dangerously like she's in a haze, the side of her face covered in blood oozing from a split on her temple. 

"Dick…" she muttered, her voice weak and faint as a whisper in the wind carried out in the acoustics of the place and his heart jumped to his throat. He instinctively moved, wanting to rush to her but Slade stopped him, tightening his grip on her and pressing the blade harder to her skin. A drop of blood trickled down the shiny steel and Rachel instantly stilled.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." the masked man said slowly, a clear warning in his deep voice.

Dick sucked in a sharp breath, his nostrils flaring. "What did you do to her?"

"Not much. Yet." he slowly tilted his head to the side. "I just gave her something to neutralize her powers. A small gift from this little group that eloquently calls themselves… The Organization?"

Dick felt his fists clenching so tight his knuckles must have turned white. He was trembling but unable to move. His eyes were locked on Rachel's pale face as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Questions were piling up under his skull, starting with how did this happen but there was no time for getting answers, first and foremost he needed to protect Rachel.

"I hope you enjoyed our little game." Slade continued, pushing Rachel onward so he could walk deeper into the church. She staggered on wobbly feet but he didn't let her fall. He wasn't gentle in holding her up either and hearing her grunt made Dick grit his teeth. "You must have had a nice ride around the city, following false leads and fake clues. Gave me enough time to get to this one while the others were busy jumping to each other's throats."

He risked one step forward, glaring at the face hidden behind the mask.

"What do you want from her?" he asked instead of giving Slade satisfaction by reacting to his words. "It's me you're after and I'm here. So let her go and let's get this over with. Rachel has nothing to do with this."

Slade let out a gurgling laugh and shook his head which only infuriated Dick more. His blade twitched in his hand and Rachel flinched, her face twisted in pain.

"Oh don't you see? She has everything to do with this." His masked face got uncomfortably close to Rachel's face and she turned her head away, cringing in fear and whimpering. Dick barely could hold himself back from lunging at Slade. "Poor kid. Snatched from the street, taken under the caring but broken wings of The Fallen Grayson just to be let down and end up dead. Funny how history loves to repeat itself but twists the ending at the last moment."

His arm gripped her tighter and Rachel's body tensed like a string that's about to snap. Her breath quickened and pupils widened up in terror. Their eyes met for the first time and Dick's heart broke seeing how scared she was, how she was silently begging him to save her.

"Rachel!"

"The answer is simple, Grayson." Slade hissed, fixing his grip on his sword and shifting the blade so the cold steel was now touching Rachel's cheek. "Five years ago in this very place you took what's mine away from me." He moved the blade slowly, making a shallow cut on her face and Rachel whimpered in pain. "Now I'm taking what's yours."

And he pulled the sword down.

"DON'T!" 

Slade stopped with the sword pressed to her carotid artery and looked at Dick who was aiming at him with the gun he was holding in his hand this whole time. His finger stilled on the trigger, grip so tight his knuckles bleached but his arm - no, his entire body - was shaking. His breath became shallow and rapid, heart trying desperately to break out of its cage.

"DON'T HURT HER!" he shouted and risked taking a few steps closer. He must have looked like a madman and he wouldn't be one bit surprised because that's exactly what he felt right now - madness. "Don't you fucking touch her or I SWEAR TO GOD-"

Deathstroke scoffed.

"We both know you're not gonna shoot." he said in a tone so light like they were discussing weather or something equally trivial. 

Dick brought his other hand up to steady his grip on the weapon but in his current state it did him no good.

"Watch me."

"Are you willing to risk your precious little girl's life, like you did with Jericho? Or have you learned from your mistakes by now?"

"Don't listen to him, Dick!" Rachel suddenly spoke. Her voice was strong and she was staring at him with terrified but focused eyes. Dick let himself quietly sigh in relief. Whatever drug Slade had given her must be wearing off.

"Shut up." the assassin growled in her face, threatening her with his weapon again. She eyed the sword and gulped down hard but remained silent.

Dick took another step closer.

"Rach, look at me." he asked gently, for a moment not caring about how Slade might react. Risky move but he needed to talk to her. She did as he told her and their eyes met. "Listen, you're gonna be okay. I promise."

"Oh, isn't it adorable." Slade scoffed again, shaking his head. Dick was almost sure the man was rolling his eyes under that hideous mask. "I see you've learned nothing. Even after all this time you lie in their faces that they're gonna be safe with you. It's pathetic."

Neither of them were listening to his little tirade. While Slade was talking they were having their own silent conversation. Rachel held Dick's gaze to make sure she had his attention, then pointed her eyes at the elbow of the arm Slade was holding her with. Then her eyes went back to Dick and she mouthed one short word.

Shoot.

He shook his head, feeling a bile of fear forming in his throat. It was a huge risk. An inch to his right and the bullet could pierce Rachel's chest. All it takes is for Slade to move or Dick's arm to tremble. He couldn't do it. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if the bullet went the wrong way.

But her eyes were full of faith and confidence when she was looking at him. A small smile appeared on her lips. She knew he was hesitating because of her and tried to encourage him as well as she could without Slade noticing. He could read what she was trying to tell him in her face.

I know you won't hurt me.

He would never. He'd rather die the most painful death than be the reason a single hair falls off her head.

He pulled the trigger.

Deathstroke's armor clinked when the bullet made contact with his elbow. It didn't do any damage, but that wasn't the point. Slade cried out, more surprised than hurt because he didn't think Dick would actually fire that gun, but the impact made him release Rachel from his hold. She was still swaying on unsteady feet but she instantly lunged herself to the side, hiding between the rows of benches and getting out of the way.

Good girl.

In the meantime a fight broke out between two men. Dick charged at Slade, fueled by hot rage burning inside of him. He didn't have his Robin suit anymore or any of his gadgets but his body was a weapon in itself due to years of training and experience. He was throwing kicks and punches, dodging and turning and moving. Slade threw away his sword and sent him falling on his back with one strong kick to his chest, but despite the hit pushing all air out his lungs Dick managed to quickly jump back to his feet. They danced around each other like it's a choreography learned a long time ago and the moves are now coming back to them with clarity after years of not using them. Every move of the assassin was full of precision and technicality, cold, strong and perfectly aimed while Dick filled his every action with images of those he was fighting for. He thought of Garth falling to the ground with bullet in his chest while connecting his foot with Slade's jaw, sending his head to the side. He thought of Jason hanging on one hand from one of the tallest buildings in the city with terror in his wide eyes as he punched Slade in the diaphragm so hard the skin on his knuckles split and started bleeding. He thought of Jericho bleeding out on the floor of this church when he jumped on the benches and swiftly moved to find himself behind Slade's back. And he thought of Rachel, pale as ghost and terrified, with blood trickling down her face when he round kicked Slade in the back, sending him to his knees.

"So emotional." the man grunted and straightened up. He reached for his baton and with one push of a button turned it into a spear. "So… attached."

Dick roared like an angry lion and attacked again.

This time Deathstroke got the upper hand, pushing Dick back towards the altar. Blocking the spear wasn't easy without any weapon in his hand and soon he was covered with smaller and bigger cuts. He fell on his back at the stairs, hitting the back of his head so hard his sight became foggy but he still managed to use his legs to cut Slade from his feet. However, the man didn't lose his balance, only jumped out of the way and pushed his heavy boot to Dick's chest, then pressed the blunt end of the spear to his Adam's apple.

"You were right," Deathstroke breathed out, turning the spear around. Dick heard his voice as if coming from underwater. His mask was a blur of color. "Let's get this over with." Then he raised his arm and stabbed.

But the blade never made it to Dick's chest.

First he saw a shadow looming over him and when his sight cleared he recognized the head of blue curly hair. He lifted himself on his elbows watching in horror while his heart screamed in agony.

No. Not again.

Please, not again.

Rachel pushed herself between him and Slade and shielded him with her own body, just like Jericho did five years ago.

She slowly looked down at the blade sticking out from her chest before Deathstroke harshly pulled it out. Her hands covered the wound, her fingers instantly turning red and then she swayed, about to fall down.

"Rachel, no!" Dick cried out and caught her, laying her down on his chest. A sob wrecked his body when he saw the waterfall of blood coating the front of her black sweater, making the warm wool stick to her body. He pressed his hand to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding while she looked up at him with those big blue eyes and he felt tears falling down his cheeks. "Oh God, Rachel. What did you do?"

"I had to- s-save you-" she choked out, a drop of blood trickling down from the corner of her mouth. She covered his hand with her own and squeezed it tight. "I cou-couldn't let you- d-die."

In the meantime Slade stepped back and hid his weapon. He was watching the scene in front of him unfold, still as a statue.

"Now you know how it feels," he said, aiming his words at Dick, who lifted his tear-stained face to glare at the man, "to have your own child bleeding out in your arms. Death would've been a mercy for you, Grayson. This… this is a lesson you will never forget."

"I will fucking kill you." Dick snarled at him, gritting his teeth. "I'm gonna hunt you down, you hear me?!"

Deathstoke chuckled and turned his back to him.

"Good luck with that." he threw over his shoulder then headed out of the church, leaving the other two alone.

Dick made some sort of a sound. A noise that he himself couldn't even describe. It sounded as if something had brutally ripped his chest open and tore out of it. He roared like an animal, venting his despair and anger.

"Dick..." a soft whisper pierced through to his consciousness, drawing his attention. "It's okay."

Another sob shook his body.

"Rachel… Rachel, my Rachel." he whispered, hugging her and frantically brushing the hair wet with blood and sweat away from her pale face.

So much blood. He was completely covered in it now, it soaked through his clothes and bit into his skin.

"It's not okay." he shook his head. "I'm supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around."

She managed to smile at him.

"We're supposed to… save each other… remember?"

"Not like this." he said, his voice breaking. "Never like this."

She squeezed his hand again. Their fingers, slick from her blood, entwined together tightly.

"You were my… save haven."

He froze, his heart hammering in his chest. Then the meaning behind her words hit him like a speeding train and he held her tighter.

"No. Don't say that." he ordered desperately. "This is not a goodbye, you hear me? You're not going anywhere."

"Dick-"

"No! Help me." he croaked, pressing their clasped hands against her bleeding heart. "Use your powers. Take my energy, absorb it."

She coughed, spitting blood. They were running out of time.

"I can't- h-heal myself."

"Yes, you can. You have to."

But she didn't seem to hear him. Her eyelids closed slowly and her head fell on his arm.

"Rachel?" Dick's voice grew louder, breaking and rising like waves away at sea. "Rachel, my baby, please, honey, open your eyes, it's me, Dick, I'm here with you, I'll always be here, please, please…"

He leaned down and pressed their foreheads together, letting out a painful cry. He howled like a wolf, his shoulders trembling, heavy tears splashing on her round cheeks. It was his fault. All of it was his fault. A part if him knew it would end like this the monent he met her. But his love was too strong and he ignored the warning. Now she was paying the price. 

"Don't go, Rach." he begged, his voice shattered. "Don't leave me alone in a world without you in it."

He closed his eyes and squeezed her hand with such force that he felt her knuckles grinding in his grip.

Rachel, please come back. We can do this. You saved my life in more ways than you can imagine. Nothing is impossible for us. I love you, okay? I love you and please come back to me.

He reached deep into his memories. Rachel at the police station in Detroit looks up and stares at him as if she saw a ghost; Rachel, curled up in the bathtub of that crappy motel, surrounded by scraps of paper with crosses drawn on it, throws herself into his arms crying; Rachel leans over him in the asylum and reminds him of his promise to never to leave her; Rachel comes out of the fog with her head held high proudly after defeating Trigon; her smile and eyes wide open when she saw the inside of the Tower for the first time. And many, many other memories he will cherish for the rest of his life.

Heal, he begged because there was nothing else left to do. Take my life, take it all. Heal.

Something changed. Rachel's hand in his hold started getting warmer. He lifted his head slightly, blinking away tears and gasped at the sight of a bright purple glow seeping through his fingers. He watched in complete awe as the wound on her chest slowly started closing until there was nothing left beside a thin pink line that was already fading as well. The color came back to her face and she took a gulp of air, almost choking on it. Then she sat up, her eyes opened wide and she pressed her hands to her chest but to no use because there was nothing there, only drying blood on her clothes. She looked down at herself then back at him.

"How?"

He smiled at her and scooted closer. 

"I told you you can heal yourself."

Her brows furrowed in confusion but then understanding flooded her face and she smiled back.

"It wasn't just me… it was you, Dick. You willed me back to life and… and my powers listened." she grabbed his hands in hers. "I didn't heal myself, you healed me."

Still holding her other hand he reached out to cup her face. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes.

"All I knew was that I couldn't lose my safe haven." he whispered softly and that's all it took for her to fall into his arms.

She clung to his shirt, buried her face in the curve of his neck and started sobbing. He tightened his arms around her, pulling her on his lap and started rocking her gently. He loved how warm and familiar she felt in his hold, how solid and safe she was. He pressed a loving, desperate kiss on the crown of her head, inhaling the scent of her hair.

"I love you so much." he mumbled into her skin. Rachel shivered and hugged him tighter.

"I love you, too."

Dick leaned away and took her face in his hands, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Let's get outta here, huh? We need to get you cleaned up."

She glanced at the blood on her clothes, then moved her gaze to his own bloody shirt and jacket.

"You don't look exactly better, you know?"

He chuckled and kissed her forehead, thanking God she was still here.

"Yeah, it was my favorite jacket. Now I have to burn it." they both laughed, happy to relax and lighten up, but looking at her face made him worried again. "You sure you're okay?"

Instead of answering Rachel stood up on her own and reached a hand out to him.

"Definitely."

He took it gratefully and got up to his feet, then immediately pulled her closer, crushing her to him.

"I am never letting you go again." he said, his voice hoarse and heavy from emotion. 

Rachel melted into him and took a deep breath.

"Please, don't."

Over her head he noticed Bruce standing by the church's door. His father smiled proudly at him and nodded, then slowly turned around and walked out, disappearing in the light of day.

[wetookanoath]

Ok but let's talk about the role reversal we are seeing in the way the boys act. I'm not saying Shane is going "full no homo" like Ryan was before! But he is the one who is building the metaphorical pillow wall between them now like Ryan used to do when he was like "we just touched, that was weird". And Ryan's reaction is like Shane's back then: touching him more, complimenting him, etc. What do you think?

I think you put that so well, “the metaphorical pillow wall between them” that I’m just here thinking, DAMN. We haven’t seen them share a bed in… now literal years, so I wonder if they still build the wall when/if they share hotel rooms or if they are in the point in which it doesn’t fucking matter.

Back in the day, the pillow wall was a huge thing for us shippers lol. The nostalgia is real.

So now, I’ve seen a lot of interpretations of why Shane may be doing this and Iove every and each one of them. One because I love angst, and second because it shows just how bast and creative this fandom is, that we can make one hundred headcanons and AUs out of one single thing we saw. Beautiful.

That being said, Ryan is now someone who has become more open with his feelings, who has let go of many traits that were part of the toxic masculinity thingy we all know and hate. I think he has freed himself of that fear he grew up with of being seen certain way if he shows himself open, real and unashamed.

He can enjoy friendship just fine, he loves being with Shane and has his bits with him. The touching is kinda new, but it also allowes him to see something he never saw before: he likes touching him. Was this why he used to react the way he did? Was he scared of how he feels every time Shane looks at him that way, talks to him so gentle and sometimes so firm, it makes his tummy feel funny?

Slowly, as 2018 went by, he realized he actually liked Shane. He already knew he was into guys, that’s not new,he has known since he was 13 and in love for the first time, and cried like never before when he was so scared of rejection, he lied to his mom by saying he was crying because the girl he liked didn’t like him back.

But this thing of liking a friend that way, that goes beyond him. Usually, he meets someone and he likes them for dating or for a friend. Shane is the first person he has grown to like that way. And that’s when it hits him: he has grown to love him.

It’s a shock at first and he actually reacts without noticing by putting distance between them. He doesn’t talk or sees Shane as much during the winter of that year and the following months, but metls the second they are together, wants to take pictures of him and can’t help but smile every single time Shane opens his mouth.

The problem is, Ryan didn’t know this, but by doing this he kind of gave Shane the wrong idea. Shane, who has been in love with Ryan for so long it just feels like part of him, part of his personality, to be in love with his friend. Shane who suffers in silence because he is not that good at expressing his feelings and talking about them, who bottles up everything, who will smile and stay silent even in the face of nightmares.

So at first, Shane tries to stay calm and give Ryan space. But soon he panics, thinking that maybe his friend has realized Shane’s feelings and is trying to gently get him down. His solution? Remind Ryan that they are friends. Because they are! Whatever romantic shit Shane dreams of doesn’t change the fact that Ryan is his friend, his pal, his buddy, his best friend.

He wants him in his life, would probably feel pretty empty without him, and the thought worries Shane so much he doesn’t even realize how much he is overdoing it, the remark every change he gets. And without knowing, he has sent Ryan the wrong damn signal, too. He has said to him, without knowing, this is all we are ever going to be, I don’t see you that way.

It’s all wrong and none of them know it, and yet they keep flirting and acting like if they are already a couple to the point people believe they are and are just not saying anything. And it’s like if everyone has agreed on giving them their privacy and the universe is just making a huge fucking Shakespearean joke out of them by nobody saying anything in spite of what they see, what they heard, what they feel.

And maybe one day, when Ryan is getting more impatient and little bit drunk, he asks the big guy, “Why are you friendzoning me so hard? Did I do something that made you uncomfortable? You keep sending me these vibes, like if you like me that way… but then you say we are friends, and we are friends, and we are friends.”

“What?”

“Look, I know we are friends. I get it, you don’t see me that way, but honestly… It kinda sucks, it hurts. I got the message, you don’t want me that way, it’s fine–”

The only way Shane gets out his shock is by seeing drunk Ryan, who is always so emotional, has started to kind of cry. And before tears can get down his eyes, Shane cradles his face in his hands and kisses him because wow, they have been stupid, have they?

If only they wouldn’t be so stubborn and blind, if only one of them could had talked, make a move, goddammit they could have been together two fucking years ago.

“You know how confusing this is right now?” Ryan asks after, he is blushing but smirking that fucking way that means he is getting away with something. Shane loves that smirk, that expression on him. It’s gorgeous.

“Sure is not, means we aren’t friends anymore because I’m fucking you in,” he looks at his wrist where he doesn’t really read his watch, “about five minutes when we recover from the shock. Then give me around twenty or thirty for foreplay and prep. More if you let me.”

Ryan laughs and wraps his arms around Shane’s neck while they are still in a very public place. He knows it’s gonna take them longer to get to one of their places, but fuck that noice, he is having this, finally, he is allowed to kiss Shane and so he does.

“This was the most confusing season.” Ryan murmurs against Shane’s chest in the afterglow of their love making. Shane chuckles as he cuddles him closer.

“And our gayest!” He says happily, making Shane smile. “You think we can get worse and annoy our viewers?”

“Absolutely, you better stop friendzoning me in front of the cameras and start following my kinky bits.”

“Baby boy needs to be put in his place, I see…”

“Oh my god. I take it back…” He says, but his eyes say a whole other story that makes Shane smile, bitting his bottom lip. This is gonna be fun. “They are gonna hate us.”

“Whatever, daddy’s gonna fuck you again in about two minutes.”

“OH MY GOD!”

[theladylovingcrow]

New Places, Friendly Faces Part 2 (Sanny)

Author (As known on Various sites): Lady Lover- Rockfic, Luluthechoosingcrow - AO3, theladylovingcrow - Deviantart and Wattpad, @sammy_bluebells - Instagram, @imacrowcawcaw - main Tumblr, @theladylovingcrow - writing/art Tumblr, @insannywestan - Sanny shipping Tumblr

Fandom: Greta Van Fleet

Pairing: Sam Kiszka/Danny Wagner (Sanny), lil bit of Danny/Ronnie but he's quickly swept away with Sam

Length: about 2.7k

Warnings/Tags: Alternate Universe, Diner AU, No band AU, fluff, some angst, awkwardness, first dates, hand holding, flirting, Sanny

Summary: Danny was nervous; he had been building up the courage for weeks to arrange a date, and now.... He wasn't quite sure what to think of the situation he found himself in. The night certainly wasn't going as he had expected it to - and his emotions had never ridden a roller coaster this fast. Hell, the beautiful angel holding his hand wasn't even the one he had arranged to meet 2 hours ago.

Author's Notes: Here's the next part, it picks up right where the last left off! I'm hoping that I can update on a weekly basis - every Monday - but I'm not sure if I'll be able to punch out the next part quick enough, since I'm having a hectic week back home with all of my family. But I'll try!

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

"Hey, I've got your pie. Mind if I sit and eat mine with you?"

Danny was startled into full consciousness again by that slightly raspy, warm voice he had been imagining calling his name. He looked up, wide eyed and probably gaping like a love struck fool at the super smart supermodel himself standing over his booth, a plate of pie in each hand.

He must have taken Danny's silence, or maybe the awed stare, as assent, because Sam sat down opposite him and set one of the plates of pie in front of Danny.

He cautiously picked up his fork and speared a bite of pastry, keeping a wary eye on Sam while doing so. Daydreaming about holding someone's hand and actually having them sit - uninvited, he might add - across from you were two very different things. Who knew what Sam was actually like, or what Danny would let slip out of his mouth if he got too comfortable?

Sam was already digging into his slice, gathering up a big forkful of flaky crusts and filling to shove into his mouth. Danny was honestly a little worried: he ate like he hadn't seen food in days, and he kind of looked it, too.

"Mmph, man, Stephen makes the best damn pie I've ever had. Just don't tell my grandma I said that," Sam confided in him with a wink, making Danny turn red. God, when had he *ever* been this flustered around someone? He wasn't making a very good impression sitting there mute and acting stupid, he was sure.

"Uhh, Sam... why did you come sit with me?"

Sam looked up at him, his brow quirked.

"How do you know my name? Are you one of Jake's friends?"

'Shit!'

"No, I heard it earlier from-" he was about to say Beiber, but luckily stopped himself, "From one of your brothers, the one with the straight hair. Which one is Jake?"

"Oh, that's him, and Josh is on his left, talking to Kyle. Micah and Jeremy are the ones having a fight with the butter knives by the way, they're the twins' best friends. Huh, I really thought you knew them, you look like the kind of guy that hangs out with us."

Danny wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. He figured it would be best to stay silent and let Sam continue talking, lest he embarrass himself somehow.

"What are you- God, I seriously can't get enough of this pie. What are you doing here all by yourself? Trying to get away from your chores or something?" Sam asked, mouth full.

"What? No," Danny said, brow furrowing a bit. He was a good boy, he always did his chores - the least he could do to help his mom out, really.

"Hmm, maybe you're running away? No, I got it! You're actually a health inspector disguised as a regular customer, and you're gonna crack down on the roaches in the kitchen!"

Danny shook his head, reluctantly enjoying the little guessing game Sam had decided to start playing - he wouldn't want the real reason to come out. Or would he? Would that give him a shot with Sam?

'Get real, he's too pretty for you. And he's probably straight, and thinks you're straight, too.'

"Sam! You KNOW there are no roaches here, stop trying to scare away my customers!"

Ronnie came up, smacking him on the back of the head with her hand and smiling at Danny, as if to say 'Don't mind him.'

Danny smiled shyly back at her, commenting on how good the pie was. In truth, he hadn't even taken the single bite he'd put on his fork yet, but it was somehow less awkward to talk to her than to look at Sam.

She said she was glad he was enjoying it and went back to the kitchen to fetch him more coffee. He watched her go, wanting to ask her to stay but knowing that would be incredibly weird; Sam just made him so nervous, he would have felt better with Ronnie's calm demeanor and sweet smile there to help him breath.

"Oh! You're here for Ronnie!" Sam whispered, looking enlightened and possibly a little crestfallen (but Danny was pretty sure that was just wishful thinking).

"No, no, I'm not. She's just nice that's, all. I'm not after her, man," Danny said.

Even though he did find Ronnie very attractive - and he could admit he had a desire to spend more time with her - he wasn't staying solely because of her, and he certainly didn't want Sam to get upset with the thought that Danny was trying to hit it with his sister.

"Dude, it's alright, I'm not gonna kick your ass or anything. Unless you hurt her..." Sam trailed off, looking suddenly so menacing that Danny was actually a bit afraid.

"I- I'm really not."

It looks like Danny's mouth had chosen trying his luck with Sam over Ronnie and, honestly, he wasn't upset by that. Sam was absolutely gorgeous and incredibly interesting: bold, humorous, intelligent, pretty, everything that Danny ever wanted. If only Danny was in his ballpark.

"Oh, c'mon! You're just sitting here by yourself, obviously waiting for someone. And Ronnie's been smiling at you so much, always coming over to your table. Her shift's over in half an hour, where are you taking her?"

'Fuck! He's really not getting it!'

"Ronnie is beautiful, but I'm not here for her. I'm- I *was* on a date, but I'm pretty sure she stood me up, and now I'm only still here because you are."

Danny's face was bright red and probably kind of sweaty, he could tell by his reflection in the spoon on the table. He couldn't bear to look Sam in the face, instead choosing to focus on his slice of pie oozing cinnamon-apple filling onto the plate.

Ronnie came back and filled up his cup, setting down a few more pods of creamer next to it. Maybe she sensed the tension, because she didn't say anything to him, and Danny didn't offer any more than a small smile this time. Now that he had made up his mind about which sibling to go for, he felt a tad awkward around her - but, then again, Sam was making him feel pretty funny, too.

Sam had been silent since his admittance, and it was making Danny nervous as fuck. He opened a creamer and dumped it into his mug, stirring it and taking a testing sip, then finally trying a bite of the pie.

'God, Sam was right - this pie was *good*.'

And fuck, did he not want this to be the last time he could have pie with Sam. As much as the guy was making Danny feel like he was about to give a public speech - and Danny could not stress enough how nervous he was - he was desperate to not let this be the end of their short lived interaction.

'It's been, what? 15 minutes since he came in, 5 since he sat down, and 2 since I started ignoring him - pathetic. If I want any chance at getting a date, this isn't the way to do it.'

Danny had made up his mind: he was going to look up, make it very clear that he meant what he had said, and ask Sam if he was interested in going to a different diner with him, when Sam spoke up.

"I'm sorry that your date stood you up, but I'm glad you're still here. I was honestly gonna leave the guys and go home, but then I saw you in the window and I decided to come in; so, I guess, you could say I'm still here because of you, too."

"I- really?"

'What?!' Danny couldn't keep the grin off of his face. Sam was here for him, because he had seen him in the window, had specifically come in because Danny looked... fuck, what could he have possibly looked other than hopeless and awkward? The grin quickly morphed into a frown.

"I don't need the pity. I appreciate that you're trying to keep me company, but I should probably just go home, I've been here long enough."

Danny got up and started putting his coat on, leaving behind his nearly uneaten pie and cup of Joe. All he knew was that he had to get out of this humiliating situation and never, ever, see this beautiful, amazing asshole ever again.

Sam sighed and caught his arm, wrapping a surprisingly strong hand around Danny's wrist. Danny froze where he was, stopped in his tracks with half a coat on for the second time this night by Sam.

"I don't feel pity for you. I can emphasize with being dumped or stood up-" Danny snorted because, really, who the fuck would pass on a date with Sam? "But I came over here because I thought you looked like an interesting person to talk to and you're honestly super hot."

He had no clue what to say to that so he didn't do anything, just stood there, unmoving, with his limp hand still in Sam's.

Suddenly, Sam breathed out harshly and stood up, too.

"Fuck, I'm sorry if I read this wrong, or gave you the wrong impression, or something. You clearly don't want me hanging onto you. Sorry, I'll go now," he said, hurriedly dropping Danny's wrist and starting to walk away.

"Sam!" Danny called, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

Sam stopped but didn't turn. Beyond him, Danny could see that they had drawn the attention of Sam's brothers and friends, all of them turned to look at them having a little fight - and his traitorous brain immediately referred to it as a lover's spat - in the middle of the restaurant.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so defensive. I don't mind having you sit with me at all, so, please, come back and sit down with me."

They both slowly sat down again, Danny setting his coat to the side on the booth's leather bench. Sam balled up a napkin and Danny took a bite of pie, neither of them sure of what to say next, it seemed.

Finally, Danny figured he'd better elaborate a bit more. "'M sorry I accused you of pitying me, I just- I just don't know what else you could see other than some nerdy, lonely guy sitting in a booth by himself and watching your sister."

"Hey, I thought you said you weren't going after Ronnie," Sam immediately looked up and smiled at him, making Danny's heart flutter. He shrugged, conveying a non-verbal agreeance and admittance all at once.

"It's alright," Sam told him softly, causing Danny's breath to catch when he saw a slim hand tuck a strand of hair behind Sam's ear - possibly a sign if Sam's own nerves? "I honestly don't know why you've been putting up with me planting myself at your table and talking over you, so it's all good."

Danny wanted to protest, but Sam kept talking (perhaps there was some truth to what he had said). It seemed like, now that he had started, Sam wanted to get out all of whatever he had to say. Danny was perfectly okay with that.

"As I said, I saw you in the window when we were walking up and I just couldn't believe how attractive you were. Like, you're fucking gorgeous, and I just wanted to talk to you so bad and see what you were like. I may have intercepted Ronnie's pie delivery so I could have a reason to come up to you," Sam admitted.

Danny laughed, all of the air rushing out of him in a bout of relieved giggles. He took another bite of pie, making Sam beam back at him, showing he understood Danny's appreciation, of both the gesture and the food.

"Wow, I can't believe *you* find *me* attractive, but I'm not going to debate you on that. And I feel the same, man - like, have you seen yourself? As soon as you walked in, I was just completely in awe of you."

Sam was blushing now, too, and that made Danny's heart thump extra hard, a base drum pounding from his chest. He was grinning at Sam, and Sam was smiling back at him, both of them red and squirming in their seats but refusing to look away.

Danny saw Sam's hand reaching towards his on the table. His heart quickened and he held very still, as if trying not to frighten a scared animal by moving.

Sam's fingers found him, lightly running over the back of his hand and down to his knuckles. Danny let him explore for a time, then turned his hand over to *hold hands with Sam holy shit.*

A loud cheer of hoots and whistles sounded from across the diner. Danny looked up, startled, and Sam turned around in his seat, looking over at his table where all the other boys were apparently celebrating.

The curly haired twin - Josh, he was pretty sure (he hadn't paid overly much attention, focusing instead on Sam) - gave him a big grin and a thumbs up that could have been directed at him or Sam, he wasn't sure. Jake was the one whistling and howling, giving an almost predatory grin at Danny. Their other friends weren't as overt, but they certainly seemed happy that Sam had made up with the random guy in their sister's diner.

It made him a bit uncomfortable, but Danny was glad that Sam's siblings were okay with this - apparently they knew Sam was, in fact, into guys. Danny hoped that his family would be just as receptive, if he got that far with Sam.

'God, I hope I do.'

Sam was looking like he wasn't sure whether he should scold them or go over and high five Jake, but he didn't let go of Danny's hand. Danny found it endearing how happy he was, and how happy they all were, that Sam was over here with him - it made him feel good, like he was actually wanted and desired (in both platonic and romantic ways).

"They kinda convinced me to bring you the pie. Jake's been rooting for me to get a boyfriend for a while now, and he said you're perfect. I think I agree with him."

His blush, if somehow possible, got even darker. Sam was so hot, and such a nice person, it seemed - and he thought Danny was boyfriend material?! Danny's brain was having a riot on every single neurotransmitter simultaneously.

He had no clue how to eloquently respond to that in a way the conveyed his absolute joy, so he just stuck with a simple, "I agree too, I'd love to be your boyfriend."

Sam tightened his grip on Danny's hand, and Danny could feel how clammy his palms were. The knowledge that Sam was just as nervous, attracted, and happy as he was - it was blowing his mind.

Ronnie came over with his bill for the coffee and set it down right next to their linked fingers. She was beaming, looking back and forth between their hands and faces, clearly also in on the plot to get him and Danny together.

'*What the hell*, I don't even know any of these people.'

'Whatever, I don't care. SAM IS HOLDING MY HAND AND HE THINKS I'M HOT!'

"Rons, are you kicking us out?" Sam asked, gasping for dramatic affect, when he saw the bill.

'Shit, he's sassy, too.' Danny wasn't sure how he was going to handle such a personality-strong beauty, but fuck was he going to try.

"No, Sammy, you can take my car tonight and I'll ride home with Jakey and Josh." Ronnie replied, dropping a sey of keys onto the table. "But, if you have sex in there, *I am going to murder you*."

"No worries, I've got some standards. I mean, not that I don't want to or anything, but..." Sam trailed off, looking at Danny. He was going for provocative but it was mostly awkward; Danny bit his lip to stifle his laughter.

"Right... well, I'm officially off duty once I ring you up, so why don't you two get out of here and have some fun."

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

@satans-helper

@okietrish

@lazingonsunday

@bigthighsandstupidguys

@karrotkate

@oblvions

@lantern-inthenight

@mountainofthesunn

@ryetheruler

[hippyexd]

Collection of my stories: Explained

Here is the post that nobody cares about but I'll share it because I just want the world to know.

1. Demon Academy.

I've posted some things about it already, it's a comic I started in 2014 originally in hungarian. I'm not quite happy with the way I started it, but I've built an interesting world, and I adore the characters, it's one of my best work that I'm very proud of. I drew 260 pages in total (book 1 and book 2) and I intend to pick up the story again sometime soon, when I get over exam season.

2. Runner

A medieval-themed fantasy story that I eventually want to make into a cartoon series. It's a bit cliché, but the characters are fun, and it has a lot of potential for epic music. I basically came up with the entire plot while listening to fantasy music mixes. Fun times. I've only got some character drawigs, and I just recently managed to finally have eneryone's finalized version. I also have a side story/shared universe thing planned for it.

3. Xyber-no

A post-apocalyptic cyberpunk futuristic action horror cartoon series idea. I've got the characters done already, and plans for like 2 seasons worth of content, I'm just lazy to edit the 1st ep's script. It's not even 20 minutes long. Honestly I'm just anxious to touch it. Got most of my ideas while listening to Neffex songs.

4. Racer

I watched Initial-D, and way back I had a roleplay about a car racer dude, and these two motivated me to write this story. It's not really a novel, it resembles more to a script but it's not actually a script. It was mainly dialogue practice, to make the characters feel more fun. I just finished the rewrite like a week ago, I think it turned out pretty great. Planning on adding a part 2 or a season 2 or something like that, but again, too lazy to actually touch it. It's fun to re-read though.

5. Singer

I'm currently working on this story, because when I'm bored, I write. And when is the best time to be bored? Exam season. Hell yeah. Anyway, it's about a suicidal dude falling in love with a singer (also dude, I love my gay kids okay) and then they figure out their shit. Good story to fit in as much angst as possible, with a few lovely fluff parts.

6. ZR series

Most of my followers came from the ZR community, so y'all know what this one is. But in case not, it's a comic series portraying my reactions to various moments that happen in Zombies, Run!, a really fun and creative workout app. The comic is on hold right now because I've already got too much shit to do til christmas. (Such as the Fellow Five drawing I promised. It's not forgotten, I just don't have time!! XD)

7. Demon and Vampire

Basically an over the top gay fluff love story with a little angst. It's pretty cool, sometimes it's boring, it's full of clichés and stuff, but I read it like 6 times and usually I hate my own writing, but there are parts that I just genuinely love in it. Fun stuff.

8. Psychoville

I've written the first 10 pages in like 30 different versions, because I'm unable to nail it. The main character is the daughter of Satan, who's name is ironically Angel, and she lives in a small town called Psychoville in the desert in Nevada, next to Searchlight, Nevada. As the name implies, she lives with 9 (or 8, I forgot) psychopaths, killers, mass murderers, insane mentally ill people who love each other to bits (and sometimes cut each other to bits) until she gets the task to investigate something for her father away from her home. Got a lot of inspiration from Welcome to Night Vale, and that lawless town in Kansas, I think? The yes theory made a video on it on yt, it's pretty dope.

9. Hollywood Undead Hungarian Fanfiction

It's just what it is. A fanfic of the boiz going on tour, getting in trouble, drinking and so on. No romance (bc that's gross and I couldn't find any fanfic that was not in some shape or form a ship fanfic). Da Kurlzz was still in the band when I wrote it. I was like 12. I just wanted to have fun. The chapters are 2 pages long in total. But the hungarian fans liked it, was trending a bunch of times on wattpad and it has a lot of reads. Despite being horribly shitty, I'm proud of it, and it has a lot of really fun parts and jokes.

10. Wrong Number

I almost forgot about this gem, but this was my first finished english story. It's almost entirely written in sms text format, it's progressig a bit too quickly, but at the time I was having a lot of fun with it, and that's all that matters. It has some really funny lines I came up with, I like re-reading it just for that. But also, it was a fun way to get around having to write long paragraphs lol. I just wanted to have fun with it. Heavily inspired by the Call me Beep me klance fanfic.

11. Milky Boiz

Context: my friend and I, at 2am, were thinking about what our ship name would be, but I kept typing "mmmmmilky" in the chat, that turned into milky boiz, and she said, that if we were guys, that would be our ship name. This gave us an idea for a webcomic, which we didn't actually progress with yet, but we do have an insta page where we already posted some of our boiz, you can find it under the name of @ink.stars , go pay a visit, it's my art and my friend's, and she is a wonderful artist and a lovely person and I love her to bits.

12. Night Vale Steampunk AU

It's pretty much dead, but while I was really actively part of the Night Vale fandom, I started a Steampunk AU. It was fun, it got like 4 chapters or something and big plans, but the characters were not in character, and it lost the Night Vale vibe, so I just let it go.

13. Cop Comic

Also a dead project of mine, but I still like it. It was inspired by a moment on one of our high school class trips. The characters were based on me and my friends, but the resemblence stops at hair color, that's all. Mabye not even that. Anyway it's what it is: cops dealing with crime and their personal problems. I wish I had known Brooklyn Nine Nine back then, would have been a great help.

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

So, there you have it, all my favourite finished and unfinished works/ideas, just so you know if in the future I reference one (planning to post more Runner, DA and Xyber-no content along with the ZR comic)

[evesbeve]

Exactly one year ago, I posted my first Ninjago fanfiction on Tumblr

(Yes, this is one of these big and personal posts, but bear with me for a second ^w^)

I've already talked about how much Ninjago means to me, and what a positive impact it has had on my life, but to celebrate a year into this fandom, I'd like to focus on its community here on Tumblr.

I've always been into Ninjago. In fact, I started watching it back in 2011, when it first came out!

Later on, I discovered fanfiction. It was like a dream come true, to read original stories about my favorite ninja, and to write them myself too! Eventually I began posting them, and I must say... They weren't good XD

But hey, I loved writing them! So I did just that - I kept writing and writing, until... Well, I grew out of Ninjago when I reached 7th grade.

But last year, I decided to rewatch the entire series during Christmas break. It was like falling in love with my favorite ninja all over again.

And who would have thought there would be an active fanbase here on Tumblr?

I remember scrolling down the tag and smiling at every single artwork and piece of fanfic (+ memes, of course. Who can forget about memes?) that I found.

(And bruh, discovering bruiseshipping? Holy FSM, that was truly a Christmas miracle.)

On December 28th of 2017, I made my first Ninjago Vocal Cover.

undefined

The feedback I got was incredible. I had never, ever received such positive comments before, and the encouragement to do more helped me get out of the bad mental state I was in.

So I got writing again.

If I was going to post Ninjago, I was going to post Pixane.

So I did do that, and on January 1st of 2018, I posted my first Ninjago fanfiction in years.

Did I post it as soon as I finished it? Yes!

Had I beta-ed it? ... No...?

It was still a huge step for me though! Once that story was up, I was on freaking fire.

To make you understand, I published a total of 30 Ninjago related stories (and that was just the stuff I made public!)

I have never produced this much content before!

If that wasn't enough, I picked up my YouTube channel again, occasionally made some art, and heck, somehow I got motivated to clean up my room to make space for LEGOs.

I even had the pleasure of hosting a collaborative project with around 30 people! (Yes, the new one is on the way, we're all still working on it :D)

undefined

Suddenly I was motivated to do stuff, I wasn't sad all the time, I made new friends!

All that is because of YOU.

I'm just a random girl from Greece that happens to like a bunch of LEGO ninja. Yet, you've treated me with so much kindness, and made me feel like so much more than that.

I'm not oblivious to the fact that I am known inside this fanbase. I just want to make sure you know that you made my voice loud.

And for that, I am greatful.

I am greatful for the joy you've given me, and the memories I was able to make because of you.

I've always wanted this blog to be a place of positivity. It makes me so incredibly happy that you can seek to it to get away from everything else, that it makes you happy.

This blog, is our blog.

So I'd like to take a moment to personally thank a few people from this community that played an important role in my life in 2018. If you don't want to go through a big thank you list, that is totally understandable, so I'll put it under the cut. To those of you who are leaving this post now,

Happy New Year!

Before I start, I'd like to say that it would be impossible to include every single person I know into one post. If you're not in here but you're still relatively active, chances are I don't know you personally (but I have probably noticed you!) OR I accidentally forgot to include you, in which case I'M SO SORRY, AAAA!

Without any further ado!

Thank you @diamantdrache, for drawing me like three times without me even asking, holy crap ;w; You're so amazing dude, I'm always happy to see you around. Keep being awesome!

Thank you to @strawberryhipster and @kunoichi-of-fangirling for always screaming with me about Pixane!

Thank you @i-am-the-bluejay for making me laugh through your amazing bruise fanfics! They never failed to cheer me up :D

A special thanks to @parachutingkitten, for, gosh, everything. Discovered your fanfics during a very hard time, and trying to solve the mystery behind them kept me going. You're so kind and sweet to me all the time, and I'm so happy we ran into each other!

Huge thanks to @volzorra for dropping by my inbox to tell me the randomest of things! I adore everything you do, keep it up!! :D

Thanks to @panwitha-plan, @purplerose244, @monstriframinerva and @ninjago-rewritten for making me giggle whenever you pop up in my feed and notifications! You guys rock 💜

A big one to @ninjakitten1699 for coming up with such amazing scenarios featuring the one true mastermind of Ninjago - Dr. Kitty Saunders! Not only that, but somehow you always remember what stuff I like, and tag me in funny posts (and angst bc I live for that) and making my day! Thank you so much for everything!

Thank you @coco-jaguar for being a mom to all of us in the fandom, and organising such cool events like the Secret Santa!

Thanks to @loud-quiet-and-fragile for going through 100 of my posts at once and commenting at every single one! You're just so fun to be around, and my mood instantly improves when I see you!

You knew it was coming, @nightlybirdie! Thank you, for always responding to my yelling about your art, and for yelling on my content as well! You're one of the sweetest people I know, I'm seriously so happy we met!

Thank you to @kara-is-so-ninja!! For not only having such an amazing AU, but for spreading joy everywhere you go! I admire your work so freaking much, but I admire you as a person even more. Thank you for always putting a smile on my face 💜

Thank you @ninjagojed, for being so easy and fun to talk to! I enjoy your company to death!

HUGE THANKS TO MY WONDERFUL DAUGHTER @lindsey-chr-not-found!! I've known you for so long and, its amazing we found each other again! Thanks for screaming to me about our ideas, and, well, for letting me adopt you XD

A big thanks to @echojulien for being such a supportive friend, and always there when I'm in need of our boy Echo!! :D

This is where it starts to get really difficult to fit things into a single paragraph...

To @hottchoco, who is basically one of the reasons I started shipping bruise in the first place, thank you for opening my eyes. Thank you for being that one person that is somehow into all of my fandoms at once, and screaming to me in random about them. Thank you for, even though we have different tastes sometimes, being respectful no matter what. Thank you, for being my shoulder to cry on when I need it. Thanks for everything dude :D 💜

Thank you @spinharmony, for creating a server where I made such amazing friends, and for BEING one of those amazing friends. It's so easy to talk to you about anything. You're always there, whether it's screaming about our misunderstood favorite characters, or talking about our problems. Thank you so much for just being there. I am so lucky to be able to call you my friend 💜

Thank you @hollsheadcanons!! You were one of the first people I met in this fandom, and definitely someone I was comfortable with since day one. We spend so much time just meming and yelling, that I literally feel like there's nothing to be afraid of when I'm with you. You make all my problems disappear, but you're also here to comfort me when I'm in need of hugs. Words are not enough to describe how much you mean to me. You're one of my best friends in the entire world, and for that, I thank you. Love you so much Holls!!💜

And finally, @clumsinessinperson and @ninjagoruinedmylife. You two, it feels wrong to talk about you separatedly because we're always together! I don't even know where to begin with you guys, I just love you so freaking much. No matter how upset I am, you always lift me up. You're so understanding of how I feel, and I know I can always count on you for anything. I just can't believe how close we are, and how many things we've created and been through together. I want you to know that you mean the world to me, and I love you so much. Thank you for being my friends. I love you 💜

To everyone reading this, regardless of being in my list or not, thank you so much for being part of my year, and for being part of my life. Thank you for everything 💜

[nyxelestia]

I think I'm going to merge two of my AUs into one: "Everyone Has a Story" and "Winter Wolves.

My most popular series is Winter Wolves. But, believe or not, that wasn't originally the AU I prioritized the most. No, my most valued AU was Everyone Has a Story - a rewrite of the show as I wish it'd gone, with a lot more attention to character development and less fridging.

The thing is, a lot of the Teen Wolf worldbuilding of Winter Wolves is just stuff I originally thought up of for Everyone Has a Story, adapted to a world with the MCU in it. I actually still have twice as many notes for Everyone Has a Story than I do Winter Wolves! I did a tremendous amount of supernatural worldbuilding for the Everyone Has a Story series, but at the rate I'm going, it'll be literal decades before I get to use them in EHAS, and meanwhile, I keep using those ideas for Winter Wolves.

I detail some of the reasoning for it under the cut, but tl;dr version is that the plots would combine really well, and it would give a lot of story to some characters in Winter Wolves that I didn't originally have as much planned for. Granted, a lot of EHAS story would get lost when combined with WW, but honestly, that AU wasn't that popular, anyway, so I wouldn't call it a huge loss.

Plot(s)

The general plots of Everyone Has a Story and Winter Wolves are the same - in that neither of them were contingent on a dramatic change of the plot of Teen Wolf. For both of them, I was going to follow the plot of Teen Wolf while changing it for the purposes of that AU (though both would also diverge further away from canon as time went on).

And ironically, while I'd originally planned for them to both go completely off the canon rails by Seasons 5 and 6 (since most of this was getting planned back during and after Season 4). But Season 6B has actually ended up playing right into the themes I have planned for both those series. *shrugs* Go figure.

Honestly, a lot of my "season"/Teen Wolf plot rewrites for Winter Wolves are watered down versions of what I'd planned for Everyone Has a Story (mostly watered down for breadth/space in the story, rather than depth/complexity).

I'm thinking of sort of abruptly ending the Everyone Has a Story "series' where it is, and instead re-establishing "Everyone Has a Story" as a fic/sub-series within Winter Wolves. The "plot' of Everyone Has a Story would get cut out, focusing primarily - almost exclusively - on character development. The "actual" plot would be Talking Cure, and Everyone Has a Story would be wrapped around that.

I think it says something that it would take very little retconning and editing of Everyone Has a Story, as it currently is, to make it "compliant" with Winter Wolves.

I feel like this would also be easier on readers. Partially because if I kept them as two separate stories, then reading them would get repetitive. But also because, weaving them into one story would make updating them easier.

Character Development

This would involve a lot of greatly expanded and nuanced expansions of characters who I didn't have much planned for in Winter Wolves. Jackson and Danny would take a much more prominent role, especially. Danny's story from EHAS involved, among other things, a sexual assault subplot that was gonna go to some pretty dark places, which could either match up perfectly with the hints of a Rising Tide background for his WW story, or completely work against it. Not sure, yet.

Though this merger would probably mean cutting out a pretty funny abortion subplot. I mean, hopefully I'll find a way to work it into the merger, but I'm not exactly counting on it, either...

The downside is that that I'm probably going to lose Cora. She was barely in EHAS, and not in WW at all. Since I'm keeping Erica alive, I was going to 'keep' her dead/not miraculously bring her back to life for just a few episodes and then pretend it never happened. *side-eyes Teen Wolf* But her plot from EHAS was already incongruent with the story as it was (I wasn't too happy with it), and 'keeping' her dead works out a lot better for Derek's story and the worldbuilding in general. Kinda sorry, but I don't want to include a character just for the sake of it when I don't have much of a story planned for her.

The other confounding factor will be the twins, especially Aiden. I guess I'll wait and see what happens to Ethan in 6B to be sure, but Aiden's EHAS story and WW story don't mesh together very well, or even outright contradict each other, even though they ironically end the same way. Ethan's EHAS story will either fall on one extreme of really not working well with the Winter Wolves universe, or will work really well with it.

The downside is that some characters' stories would be pretty fundamentally incompatible. In particular, Everyone Has a Story was originally built around Scott, Stiles, and Allison as a "core" of the AU, so their stories would get subsumed to Winter Wolves, and most of my EHAS plans for them would be lost.

Gender and Sexuality

I guess I also have mixed feelings about the taking the greater role of gender and sexuality from EHAS and introducing it to Winter Wolves. But overall, I think it would be a good move. All too often, trans characters and queer characters (outside of gay white males/queer fetishization) tend to not be included in fanfic that much, or they appears predominantly in fanfic that is about someone being trans or non-binary or a asexual or whatever.

A big theme of EHAS is that, being teenagers, a lot of the characters are sometimes exploring their gender or sexuality - but at the same time, it always takes a backseat in the story, not because their identities aren't important, but because life-and-death supernatural shenanigans are the main focus. Trans and non-binary and queer characters can have stories that aren't about their identities just as much as straight/heternormative characters do in mainstream media and cis-slash/gay ones do in fandom.

I like the idea of furthering this with Winter Wolves - i.e. teenagers exploring gender and sexuality in the context of not just supernatural drama, but the politics and chaos of the MCU as well. I just don't want those stories to get too marginalized or underwritten, either. This will be a pretty tricky balance to maintain.

Jackson's is going to be the most confounding. His plot was heavily dependent on Season 3, and involved him coming to terms with his asexuality (and still working out a relationship with Lydia who had to come to terms with being aromantic, yet still having quite a libido). In Winter Wolves, though, he's not going to be around for Season 3. I hope I can work it into Season 4. I enjoyed this arc specifically because they were portrayed as highly sexual or romantic in the first two seasons. While not true for everyone, some aces and aros "overcompensat" for their lack of the attraction in their youth, so I wanted to explore these characters from that angle.

Kind of a mixed bag on a trans arc. The only real story I had planned for Cora, herself, was about her being trans. But as I mentioned, a big part of EHAS was that while exploration of sexualities and gender identities was a huge part of the characters' stories, it wasn't the center or entirety of their stories - but I didn't have much of an arc for Cora. I don't want to keep a character around just for the hell of it, or tokenize a trans characer. On the flip side, while I do have a story planned for Hayden, it's a little shallow - mostly just because I was waiting to see how her story would end (I hadn't known until 6B started that she wouldn't be in it), so I hadn't gotten around to it, yet. For a variety of reasons, her being trans would actually work pretty well with the story, and this way, I wouldn't just have a 'token trans character', and could have a pretty solid story about Hayden being a trans girl that isn't contingent on her being trans. (Not to mention that while Hayden's story isn't dependent on Liam, her having a trans arc would actually play well into Liam's arc.)

I've got mixed feelings on how I'm going to include Stiles' story. He's pretty firmly bisexual and that's never really a question for him. But in EHAS, a pretty dark consequence of the nogitsune so thoroughly mind-raping him is that Stiles basically loses his sense of bodily autonomy, which leads to some pretty unhealthy sexual practices and attitudes towards his own body. It fit well with the themes and structure of EHAS, but I'm not sure how well it would work in Winter Wolves, which is a lot more plot-oriented than EHAS, and in which Stiles' arc is a lot more specific to his mental state, rather than his 'relationship with his body' so to speak. Not sure how well I can keep both of these balanced, but I think I can work something out. The downside is that this subplot for Stiles in EHAS was also heavily dependent on Derek, whereas right around the time it's happening is right around when Derek leaves Beacon Hills for a bit in Winter Wolves. (Don't worry, he comes back, and a lot sooner than in canon!)

Gonna be interesting to try to work demisexual!Scott into Winter Wolves, though. His love life in Winter Wolves is, in style, kind of a mish-mash of Bucky's and Steve's comic-book love lives, so it'll be simultaneously very easy and very difficult to rework that around demisexuality.

For most of the other characters, though, my plans for them in EHAS should work out nicely with WW.

Politics

I guess one downside is I'll lose a specific element of worldbuilding with this merger - supernatural politics.

A huge element of the worldbuilding, and the "expansion" of the plot, from EHAS, involved some nuanced supernatural politics...especially a somewhat more realistic take. I've seen a lot of urban fantasy politics, including in Teen Wolf fanfics, that read an awful lot like high fantasy politics jam-packed into a contemporary environment. It's a bit like fitting a square peg into a round hole. I wanted to take on what supernatural politics would look like in the modern world.

But the MCU already has so much politics as it is, that while I could "start" the political storylines from EHAS in Winter Wolves, the reality is most of them would get subsumed pretty fast by the superhuman politics of Winter Wolves/the MCU.

That said, I'll definitely preserve one of those 'political' subplots: the Hunters. Specifically, when Allison changes the Code, she fucking changes the code. While the Argents aren't the only Hunting family, they are the most prominent and longest-lasting, and the leader of the Argent family is often an implicit leader of Hunters as a whole. But that doesn't mean they are the leader, and Allison still has a bit of an uphill battle in effecting real, systemic change. At the same time, Hunters aren't a monolith - even as a lot of people oppose the changes she's trying to make, many Hunters support it, and have been quietly shifting in that direction for a while, anyway. This merges quite nicely with what I have planned for Winter Wolves.

Similar deal with Scott. While not at all a leader like Allison is, being a True Alpha does give Scott some unique abilities even for an alpha, and does get him a lot of attention and a certain amount of wary respect among werewolves, and supernatural creatures in general. He does have to deal with that a lot, which I can carry over from EHAS to WW - though WW actually turns this up to 11, which means the actual, original EHAS story of him dealing with it will likely go out the window.

Stiles' political subplot also goes out the window, but mostly because magic takes a greatly reduced role in WW compared to EHAS. In WW, I'm taking a very scientific bent on the supernatural (as anyone who watches Thor or Agents of SHIELD has likely already started to suspect), whereas in EHAS is was still much closer to the 'fantasy' part of Urban Fantasy. On top of that, Stiles already has a superhero-related political arc in WW, one which is pretty incompatible with his supernatural/magic political arc from EHAS.