#running a business is actually very hard and not something a child could do

[troius]

He’s being a bit of a jerk about it, but I do appreciate that Jackie and Yukio realize that what Xcution had was a real bond, even if they were employing it for nefarious purposes. They’re all each other have, you know? So it’s nice to see that neither of them are going to give that up, even if they may have to give up the “supernaturally powered gang” line of work.

[alotofpockets]

Mini mate | Katie McCabe

Pairing: Katie McCabe x Reader

Summary: Katie meets your kid for the first time, and they have an instant connection.

A/n: Part of the Mini Mate Universe

Masterlist | Woso masterlist | Words: 2.5k

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You were falling for Katie more and more after every date you had been on together. Besides her busy schedule, and your life with a toddler, you have managed to go on quite a few dates over the past two months. When you told her you had a child, and wanted to take things slow, she understood and respected that right away. Overall Katie had been great, and you loved the time you got to spend together.

Today you were out for lunch with your now girlfriend of a week, while your next door neighbour watched your son. Being a single mother, without any support from your family was hard in the beginning, but when Linda from next door had found out you were raising your boy alone, she had offered to watch him as often as she could. She was retired, and loved children. You had found a quick friend in the older woman, and honestly she was a lifesaver. 

You were a couple bites into your lunch when your phone rang, you looked down at the screen and saw your neighbour's name on the screen. “I’m sorry, I have to take this. It could be about Jake.” Katie nods, “Yeah, of course.” You pick up the call, “Hi Linda, is everything okay?” On the other side of the line Linda responds, “Yes dear, little Jakey is doing just fine, don’t you worry. It’s just that I am afraid that I have double booked myself sweetheart, I have to be somewhere in half an hour, and I’m afraid I can’t take him with me.” You relax your shoulders when you realise that your son is alright. “Alright, I will be right there then. Thank you for calling.” Katie had already flagged down a waiter to pack your food as doggy bags. “My neighbour got something mixed up, so I have to go pick up Jake. I’m sorry for having to cut our date short.” She shook her head in response, “Don’t worry about it, darling. The waiter is just bagging up our food, and then I’ll drive you home, okay?” 

On the way home you were thinking how kind, and understanding Katie had been, something you weren’t all that used to. Your heart only warmed at the way she had treated you, which got you thinking. “How would you feel about meeting Jake?” You asked when you were almost back to your place. “I would love to meet him, but only if you’re ready for me to. There is no rush on my end.” Her answer made you smile, she was always making sure you were okay. “Yeah, I am.” 

Katie parks the car, and the two of you walk into your home. After putting away your lunch in the fridge you walk up to Katie. “Do you mind waiting here for a moment, while I pick him up? I want to give him a little heads up that someone else will be at home.” Again Katie was very understanding, and told you it was all good. So, you head next door. “Hi sweetheart.” Linda greets you when she opens the door. “Again, I am so sorry. I hope I didn’t ruin your date with the lovely lady.” You shake your head at the woman, “No need to apologise, I promise. And the lovely lady is actually sitting on the couch, waiting to meet Jake.” Linda brings you in for a hug, “Oh dear, I am so happy for you.” Linda had been a close friend of yours over the years, and had heard all about your growing liking of the woman you had been dating. 

Once Linda lets go of you, you hear little footsteps running your way. “Mommy.” The boy says full of excitement, he keeps running and jumps into your arms. “Hi kiddo, I missed you.” You pepper his cheeks with kisses. A car horn sounds outside, “Sorry honey, I have to leave, can you close up when you leave?” You nod, “Thank you, Linda. Have a good day!” 

You put Jake down, and start walking around to gather his stuff. “Did you have fun with Linda?” He nodded his head excitedly, he had been doing that a lot recently, and you loved his new adorable habit. “I play twains!” You sit him down on the couch, to put his shoes on. “That’s great baby, I’m glad you had fun.” You placed a kiss on his forehead once both his shoes were on. “There is someone waiting at home that I would love for you to meet. Are you ready to go?” He nodded again. “Okay, let's go then.” 

With Jake's hand in yours, you enter your home. Having Katie meet Jake was a big deal, and you were slightly nervous. You really liked Katie, and her and Jake getting along was very important to you. 

Katie was sitting on the couch, and waved to Jake who was shyly hiding behind your leg. “Hi buddy, my name is Katie.” Her kind smile, and soft voice made Jake move out from behind you. “Hi Kawie” Your heart melted at the way he pronounced her name. Jake let go of your hand and walked towards Katie, holding his bunny up to her. “What a cute bunny you have there, buddy. What's your bunny's name?” He hugged the bunny to his chest again, “Benny.” Katie smiled, “Benny the bunny, I like that.” 

The boy yawned, and started rubbing his eyes. “Hey kiddo, it's nap time. Can you pick out a book?” Your home was full of books for the toddler, and you loved giving him the freedom of choosing which story you would read before bed. He came back with a book in one hand and his bunny in the other, and walked straight up to Katie. “This one pwease.” Your fears of the two not getting along instantly fade away, when you see him reach up his arms for Katie to pick him up. She sat him on his lap and started reading the book to him, pointing at all the animals the book talked about. You snapped a quick picture, while watching the heartwarming scene in front of you.

When you came back downstairs after putting Jake down, Katie had plated your packed lunches from the restaurant, and had set the table. “You are amazing,” You say when her eyes meet yours. “and you were so great with him.” A tear escaped your, and you quickly wiped it away, but Katie had noticed. “Come here, darling.” She brings you in for a hug, and rubs her hand over your back soothingly. “I'm sorry, I've just been so worried about the two of you not getting along, and seeing him just walk up to you with his book, that meant so much.” She smiles and moves you so she can look at you. “Don't you ever apologise for that. You are a great mom, and I am so grateful that you wanted me to meet him.”

While Jake was down for his nap, you and Katie settled on the couch, cuddled up together while watching some TV. That was until you heard Jake start talking over the babyphone, letting you know that he woke up from his nap. You place a kiss on Katie’s lips before you get up. “I'll be right back.” 

“Kawieee” Your son runs to her the moment he notices that she is still there. She picks him up and twirls him around, “Hi my mini mate, did you have a good nap?” He does his excited nodding, as a response, and giggles when Katie tickles his belly. 

“Mini mate?” You ask once she has put him in his highchair for his post nap snack. “Yeah I call all my friend's mate, so he's my mini mate.” You laugh, “It's cute. I like it.”

Katie came over more often after that, the bond between the two of them only started to grow, and you couldn't help but fall in love with Katie over the next few weeks. Katie would be staying the night for the first time, you had stayed the night at her place before, but never at your place with Jake at home too. Jake was actually over the moon that Katie would be able to read his nighttime story, and help tuck him in. 

Once you got back downstairs you plopped down on the couch. Katie had gotten Jake a small Arsenal ball, and the three of you had been kicking it around in the backyard for a good part of the afternoon, so you were pretty tired. “You know how I was so worried for the two of you not to get along?” Katie moves her fingers through your hair and hums. “Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. He really loves you, you know?” She nods, noticing that you weren't done with what you were wanting to say. “I do too. Love you, I mean.” You were getting nervous, and messing up what you wanted to say, so you started again. “I love you Katie.” She smiles and moves her hand to your cheek. “I love you too y/n.” She pulls you in closer and kisses you. The kiss was soft, but at the same time it was filled with passion. 

A few weeks later you found yourself in the stands at Meadow Park along with Jake and Linda, cheering on Katie for the first time. Before the match started Katie had found you in the crowd and waved in your direction. Jake started excitedly waving back once you pointed her out.

You had watched Katie play on TV a couple of times since you had started dating, but never before had you experienced the game in such an environment. The crowd cheered and sang chants the whole time, it was truly amazing how much support the team got.

Arsenal won the match, and after she finished signing jerseys and posters, and taking pictures with fans, she made her way over to you. “You played so well. Good job captaining the team!” She brought you into a hug. “Thank you baby.” She hugged Jake next, and lastly she greeted Linda with a hug as well. “Kawie.” Jake said, making grabby hands towards her. She takes him from where you were holding him on the railing, “Did you and Benny like the football match?” Jake hugs Benny tight to his chest, “Yesss.” He adorably drags out the ‘s’. 

“Katie!” Is being called from behind her, “Katie, can you come here for a moment?” Katie sends her teammate a thumbs up, letting her know that she would be right there. “Duty calls.” She tries to hand Jake back to you, but he holds on tight. “Mini mate, I have to go for a bit, but I promise I will be right back.” She tries again, but to no avail. “Me with Kawie.” Katie looks up to you, “Do you mind if I take him with me on the pitch?” You shake your head, “Go for it. Jakey, listen very well to Katie, okay?’ You ruffle his hair before you let them go, and start your conversation with Linda back up. “You found a good one, honey, I can see how much she loves the both of you just from her eyes.” You blush at her words, she had always been very truthful with her words, even when they weren’t what you wanted to hear, so hearing her say that meant a lot. 

The team was waiting for Katie to do their post match team huddle to recap on the match through the eyes of Jonas. Once Katie joined, Jonas started talking right away, so no one had time to question Katie joining the huddle with a kid on her hip. At the end of the speech, Katie was the one to announce, “Team on three.” After which everyone put their hands in the middle, Jake wanted to join and put his hand on top of the rest of the girls. “Team!” The group said before moving out again. Though, some of the girls stick around. Katie was tickling Jake’s belly, pulling loud giggles from the toddler's mouth. “Who is this little guy?” Viv asked, tickling the boy’s belly as well. “This is my mini mate. Can you tell Viv your name, buddy?” The boy was loving all the attention. “Jake.” Katie smiles and holds her hand up to give him a high five, “Good job, buddy.” She then moves her focus back to her teammates surrounding her, “He’s my girlfriend's kid.” This piqued the interest of her teammates even more. “Your girlfriend is here?” Beth asked, and Vic quickly followed with, “Can we meet her?”

You watched from the stands as Katie was twirling Jake around, and walking back towards you with a few of her teammates. “Hi darling, they wanted to come meet you. This is Viv, Beth, and Vic.” She introduced them one by one. “It’s very nice to meet you, and good game by the way.” Katie sets Jake down on the ground, and starts softly kicking a ball to him, like you had done together in the backyard. He was loving all the attention he was getting from the girls, while you were getting to know Katie’s teammates. 

Katie had often talked about her teammates being like family, and the way they were interacting with your son, made you see that right away. You looked at the group of girls playing with him, and the big smile on his face, and in that moment you realised that your little family was going to be expanding over the next couple of months, in the form of lots of aunties. 

Jake was happily running around with Beth and Viv, a few steps away from you, when Katie joined you, both keeping an eye on the little boy. “What are you thinking, darling?” She says while wrapping her arm around your shoulder. “Just that I love you, and seeing him happy means the world to me.” You both smile at the giggling toddler. “I love you too. Beth and Viv asked if the three of us would like to join them for dinner tonight.” Katie turns to Linda, “You were invited too, of course, I just know you already have plans tonight.” Linda waves her off, “Don’t worry about me, honey, you kids have fun.” 

Katie kisses you before she heads down to the locker rooms, “I’ll see at the car.” You walk out of the stadium with Jake on your hip and Linda by your side. “Did you have fun, little Jakey?” Linda asks. His excited nods once again making an appearance. “Kawie and Beffy and Vivi play ball.” His pronunciation of their names brings a smile to your face. “Guess what kiddo, we’re going to see them later too.” His eyes widen before he hugs his body closer to yours, which you took as a sign that he was excited for it too.

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[idlerin]

love sick — 08. we can be friends

romance 101; ideal partner #9 — someone i feel safe around

email from yesterday evening

you didn’t want to think terushima was a bad person, exactly.

semi and atsumu would look at you judgingly if you ever said that out loud in front of them, but it was the truth. terushima lacked self-awareness, he was a do or die person, which meant he acted before he thought. which wasn’t good at all, for him or anyone else he decided to bother, and he needed serious correcting, but that should’ve been the job of the people who raised him. he was the textbook definition of man-child.

“babe!” terushima exclaimed, looking genuinely happy to see you. looking over his shoulder, his dyed blonde hair reminds you of atsumu in this moment, who you spot laughing maniacally with jai—clearly too occupied to notice your little situation.

you decide to accept your fate and look up at terushima, “oh, hi,” you greet back awkwardly. you were restless, gaze focusing on your peripheral vision and hoping to spot the person you were looking for so you could grab him and go back to his team.

“I knew i’d find you here,” terushima grinned, proud of himself, “you’re not usually at places like these but i figured since you’re dating that suna dude you’d be here, and i was right!”

“ah yeah,” you nodded, stepping back to hopefully avoid the conversation entirely, “nice running into you—” not, “but i was actually on my way to look for—,” you were cut off before you could say rin.

“your boyfriend?” terushima smirked, it was weird in a way as if he knew something you didn’t, “saw him outside with some chick, I told you babe, he’s no good.”

your mouth hung in slight, you don’t recall suna saying he was seeing someone. in fact, the reason he started this with you was because he was trying to get away from people fawning over him. that didn’t make any sense, so it was probably just someone suna knew and terushima was taking it the wrong way. you guessed that was probably why suna took so long, he could’ve at least texted you.

you shake away the thought and focus on terushima obviously trying very hard to bad-mouth rin, brows furrowing, “that’s probably just his friend.”

“they didn’t look friendly,” terushima clicked his tongue, “i’m telling you, he’s being a bad boyfriend.”

“i’d rather talk to rin about it,” you offered him a small smile, you watched as his expression turned sour.

“why can’t you just believe me?” he practically whines.

your smile becomes strained, “i think i’ll just go and look for rin now,” you try to sidestep him but terushima grabs your wrist.

“talk to me more for a bit,” terushima says, gaze heavily focused on you “he’s still busy out there.” “i told you,” tone hardening, eyeing your wrist he held onto tightly, “i’d rather check on him and ask now,” you attempt to tug your wrist away from his grip.

in the middle of successfully doing so, you bump into someone. you were about to apologize but then this person spoke over you, “i was looking for you, sweets,” your eyes widened for a bit realizing it was the person you’d been looking for, of course he decided to show up now, you think how cliché and typical it was.

you look up at him, his jaw set just as he wraps an arm around your waist, “who’s this?” it took a second before realizing he was talking about terushima who was still in front of you both.

“i’m terushima, [name]’s friend,” terushima nods at him, answering for himself and giving suna a big fake smile.

“does she know that?” suna mumbles, something only you heard, making your lips twitch. his hand on your waist pulling you closer towards him.

“what?” terushima asked before shaking his head, “whatever man, if you don’t mind, she and i were talking.”

“i mind,” suna says, looking bored of this already, “we’re going.”

terushima looked dumbfounded, clearly not used to suna’s straightforwardness. terushima couldn’t utter another word before suna was already pushing you forward and away from him.

suna leans down, whispering in your ear, “thought you had no crazy ex?”

“i don’t,” you sigh, troubled, “he just… bothers me.”

suna didn’t take that very well, “and you don’t do anything?” he looked down at your wrist pointedly.

“it’s fine,” you say instead, smiling to placate him, “thank you, though.”

suna bites his inner cheek, ultimately deciding to leave the topic online, “i didn’t get to get your water, i was…” he was looking for the right word, “preoccupied.”

“terushima told me he saw you with someone outside,” you confess, looking at him to see any signs of anything, suna was still really hard to read, “he was saying it as if you were ‘cheating’ on me,” you whispered this part, “it would be bad if he tattled, but i don’t think he will.”

“how are you so sure?” suna doesn’t deny what terushima saw.

“he’s trying to make it up to me somewhat,” you offer that same old small smile of yours, “he wouldn’t intentionally do something that might damage my reputation or something after he uh did it before.”

“alright,” suna chooses not to question you further about terushima which you were thankful for, “can we leave now?”

“it hasn’t been an hour yet,” you check your phone, it’s only been around forty minutes.

“do you want to stay for longer?” suna moves you away from a drunk person passing by, still holding your waist.

“not really,” you say, it didn’t seem like suna was in the mood to be here too and you think you’ve won over his teammates already and showed off your relationship enough.

“we can go and get some yakitori, it’ll make up for your water,” suna offers, to your surprise. you thought he’d just want to drop you off and be alone.

“sure,” you agree, albeit still a little confused with the way he’s been acting all night.

suna nodded before leading you back to his teammates, saying your goodbyes. they didn’t question you leaving early, maybe suna has a habit of doing that? you explicitly tell atsumu to not injure himself going home. suna interrupted saying that bad weeds never die so you didn’t have to worry. it didn’t take long before the both of you were back in his car.

“i wasn’t ‘cheating’ by the way,” suna says after he settles in, starting the engine.

you arrange your bag on your lap nicely, “i didn’t think you were, rinnie bear.”

suna shakes his head, “at least you know i’m loyal.”

“what can i say? i know how to choose them right,” you shrug, grinning. this, this was easy, pretending like everything was completely fine. you were worried about his mood, the mystery person he talked to for twenty or so minutes, and him in general but you had no right to force your questions on him.

you haven’t known suna for long but you guessed he wouldn’t take it kindly if you asked about things that were none of your business. you didn’t know what was happening to suna, but you’d wait for him to reach out to you first. these past several days have made you kind of friends, after all.

masterlist — previous | next

❥ fun facts !

[name] forced her friends to be on locket and airbuds with her.

sakusa was also decidedly not at the party because he was catching up on some papers (good excuse to not go).

atsumu doesn’t really drink frequently (just when he knows there’s no important tournaments upcoming bc he’s locked in on volley)

you can send your love stories or woes at letterwithlove.name@gmail.com and receive a reply :)

how to send a letter?

email letterwithlove.name@gmail.com and receive a reply from [name]

you can choose to have your email featured in the story or not and will still receive a reply! — for those who wish to have their emails featured simply leave the subject as is — for those who DO NOT wish to have their emails featured put the subject in [brackets like this]

if you ever choose to have your email thread featured, i will change your gmail for privacy in actual posting! you can choose the name to sign off with :3

this is in no way a professional thing, it's for fun so you guys can send in a made up story or something based on real life stuff but i will always respond seriously as “reader” and the best way i can :)

love sick ! a suna rintarou social media au

synopsis. cupid! calling cupid! as the resident matchmaker slash hopeless romantic of tokyo university, you are the person people look for to get love advice or to set them up with the love of their lives. when suna rintarou comes to you asking for the opposite, to help fend people away from trying to get with him, to the extremes of even asking to fake date you, you couldn't refuse! mostly because you did owe him since he was on the receiving end of a bunch of your clients’ unsuccessful love efforts (hey, you do warn them your matchmaking only has a 62.3% success rate).

a/n — partially doing the email thing bc its getting hard to think of scenarios PLEEK JEDOEKDJ i mean i still can… i base them off irl or books ANYWAYS ill try to grind as many chaps as i can before school starts (keyword: try) bc like i am brewing smth up also also will close the taglist soon!!

taglist is OPEN ! + (1/3) @yas-mjm @agirlwholovesalot @yenqa @fairywriter-oracle @noideawhothatis @alienvarmint @renardiererin @cheezitwh0re @yaboiithewreck @zephestia @nicerthanu @wolffmaiden @2baddies-1porsche @bluegrey02 @qualitygiantshoepsychic @lylovw @fo-love @cloudsvna @haruskatana @apinu @coyloves @rockleeisbaeeee @geombyu @girlkissersco @reveusecherie @mwhahahalasagna @megumiif @erenjvegerrr @thechaosoflonging @rintarousgirl @ris-krispie @kamikokii @complexivelovely @justabreadslice @hearts4faey @yuzurins @eleanorheartschishiya @hearts4itoshi @justsomeonewhoyoudontknow @rijhi @sleepystrwbrryy @snail-squasher @seiamor @wave2love @le000xxgrd @iuspired @theidontknowmehn @linmabbe @rntrsuna @tenaciouswritersheep

if i can not tag you, please change your mention settings to “everyone” thank you!

[th30sstuff]

Since you guys(2 people) liked that and I'm a validation seeker

OBEY ME TICKLISH RANKING FROM MOST TO LEAST

#1 Luke

He's a child, I feel like if you try you can tickle even his shoulders, he's extremely ticklish and is the kind of kid that falls on the floor and starts rolling around trying to escape.

#2 Satan

Just like Luke but not so extreme, grown ass man would start kicking giggling, he would try to threat whoever is doing this at first but if you don't feel intimidated and keeps going is not going to take long before he's either begging for mercy or in his demon form depending on how much he cares for your health

#3 Asmodeus

Fucking look at him.

#4 Mammon

Probably just ticklish at very specific spots but once you find them he melts completely, probably lasts the least before he's yelling between giggles for you to stop and run to the bathroom immediately before he pisses himself

#5 Simeon

He's canonically ticklish because season 4 but I think if he was actually THAT ticklish he wouldn't wear THOSE OUTFITS?!?!? COME ON THOSE ARE MADE FOR TICKLING!!! Also, I think he's good controlling his laughter in this situation.

#6 Levi

He's hard to tickle specially because he stops it quickly when you see it coming, the thing is, you have to do it when he least expects it l8ke when he's playing a game because HE WON'T TRY TO STOP YOU!!! HE JUST STOPS WORKING AND HAS NO IDEA WHAT TO DO

#7 Beel and Belphie

They are the same amount of ticklish, it's not THAT BAD but they are still ticklish.

Beel probably thinks it's nice when people do it because I feel like because both are the youngests they are constantly tickled by their brothers so Beel sees it as affectionate.

Belphie on the other hand probably would be "haha ok" in a second and suddenly he flips a switch and is pushing you away from him with a pout.(WAKE HIM UP WITH TICKLES!!!!)

#8 Lucifer

I DIDN'T WANT HIM TO BE THE LEAST OF THE BROTHERS BUT😭

Still ticklish but just like Levi he would stop by grabbing the wrist of whoever is trying's wrist and glaring with a stern "Don't."

BUT JUST LIKE LEVI, get him when he least expects it, when he's refusing to leave his office for the third meal in a row, when you're cuddling, WAKE HIM UP WITH TICKLES!! I need this tired grown as man ruined trying to save his pride while he obviously can't.

He'd probably scold you with empty words because he's too embarrassed to think but just give him a few kisses or ego strokes and he's sighing exasperated because what else is he going to do anyways, it's not like he can stay mad forever about something like this.

#9 Solomon

Bro is not ticklish, like he feels something if you try but he's not giggling and pissing his pants, he'd probably chuckle a little at the attempt anyways.

#10 Diavolo

Ok so hear me out,

In my head, the royal family has genetically terrible instincts.

But Diavolo is so fucking playful affection deprived that he'd be EUPHORIC that you'd try to tickle him like "OMG ARE WE THAT CLOSE OF FRIENDS??? THAT'S SO SWEET" and would start laughing specially because of it. (Do it right after a meeting and watch the entire council, I mean the brothers, stare at you with terror because WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU)

#11 Barbatos

Don't try, it's just going to be awkward, he'll stare at your soul while not changing his expression at all.

He'd be confused at first, then notice what's happening and around after ten seconds he'd just politely "Could you please stop? I'm quite busy."

PS: I HAD NO IDEA WHERE TO PUT THE UNDATABLES I AM SO SORRY, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE YOUR HCS ABOUT THEM

[bibibbon]

MHA and the bystander effect (long post)

MHA's society suffers heavily from the bystander effect.

I wish that this plot point was further explored and this could of been where we actually take all mights character somewhere and not waste him on the whole iron might bs.

It can be argued that we first see this as early as the first chapter where we have people simply standing there watching a hero take down a villain. In all retrospect when I see this I genuinely think of some kind of performance, the hero is a glorified soldier that has to elegantly perform their duty while ensuring the safety of lives and entertaining them.

We then have the attack with bakugo and the sludge villain. People again are standing there watching another performance go down except here the heroes don't know what to do and it can be argued that they aren't trying hard enough at all. The heroes look at the situation, say they don't have any compatible quirk that helps the situation and simply stand in the sidelines waiting for someone to come and help that's after the manh failed attempts. Now this absolutely wouldn't work considering the victim in this circumstance was getting choked to death and him struggling even more literally caused a fire and property damage. I think it's interesting how no one thought of simply aiming at the sludge villains eyes (his obvious weak spot) and it was izuku in his panic that actually helped save Katsuki and gave all might the strength and confidence to step up and do something. What's even more interesting is that at that moment all might like the other bystanders was also contributing to the bystander effect simply standing there distanced from the fight and involved in it at the same time.

The third time we see this is during the UA entrance exams. Everyone is focused on getting points and destroying robots not really paying attention to their surroundings. After releasing the zero pointer everyone priorities themselves and starts to run with no one sparing ochako (who is injured) an eye and offering to help her. Rather the unconscious thoughts are that someone else will help her and it's full of people trying to prioritise themselves as this is also an exam. Izuku also priorities himself and tries to get away until he sees ochako and this is the second time where he recklessly runs into danger.

I think what's really interesting is that nedzu made this the point of the test which is something that iida says to izuku when they meet again. Iida points out that saving peoples lives and helping them is indeed the point of the test and heroism yet the test is very much structured in a way where you need to destroy to save and you need to prioritise yourself which can be the test just being a microcosm for the real hero society.

We mainly and clearly see the bystander effect in action when it comes to shigaraki tomuras backstory. It can be argued that this is one of the major reasons what drives shigaraki to villainy. Throughout tenko's backstory people see him suffer yet they don't help him physically at all or are quite late to do so. This starts from his father's punishments to him aimlessly roaming the streets scared and alone just for all for one to come along and offer a hand to him. A villain ends up helping a child instead of the people who are supposed to do so (Iam ignoring the contents of chapter 420 that revealed that AFO was behind this all along)

Tenko's backstory also emphasises just how much society is dependent on heroes that they think they aren't responsible for anything and any remains of social responsibility are rather diminished as people are busy and turn a blind eye to an obviously scared kid who is suffering.

Heck we even have momo a class 1A member acknowledge that the bystander effect is a very big thing within hero society yet no one does much to reduce this. It seems that hero society actually makes it somewhat of a taboo to even intervene in situations and help people when you aren't a hero which is why labels such as vigilantes exists. This could be linked to what we find out what happens to lady nagant and how she was in charge of killing vigilantes or anyone who opposed the government.

You can say that the government uses heroes (like hawks and lady nagant) as a way to control citizens but this turns out to be a double edged sword for them as time goes on and all mights notorious reign of 'peace' falls the people start to wake up you can say.

Hero society especially with the rise of all might and the all might era has created a society that is rampant in the bystander effect and a society that relies, worships and glorifies heroes to a toxic extreme. Obviously this has negatively effected everyone in different ways. It's not only civilians that suffer but also the heroes who are put into extreme situations and have to live up to incredibly toxic and high standards while also appealing to the public. I think a great example of this is all might who is a character who suffered from the system yet upheld and was somewhat responsible for creating it.

After the war arc we see the hero society system crumble away and we see the complacent bystander effect fade away and get people become distrustful or heroes and anyone around them. During this arc we also see the once glorified and worshipped all might statue become vandalised and people abandoning any hope of the hero system or hero society in general. Chaos and panic are rampant and people have lost hope as the system dissolves.

In conclusion, if horikoshi actually handled this theme of bystander effect in hero society properly then we could of gotten a compelling story where villains or victims that suffer from it are saved. Hori could of also used this to show how flawed hero society is and how corrupt the hero public safety commission is as well.

Add on

Horikoshi during the vigilante arc also has civilians realise their compliance in all of this and how the hero system set them up in a way which they can relax and watch without having to do anything as society crumbles. It's such a shame that horikoshi takes this and basically diminishes any proper hope by making the ending of the second war arc a disaster.

[martyfive]

i didn’t know what the legend of zelda was when breath of the wild came out. i was probably in a middle of something very important at the moment, alright? something like sitting on a subway train on my way home. or like being in a middle of another family scandal. or failing another attempt of becoming someone i never wanted to be. busy stuff. i never even heard of the name zelda unless we were talking about zelda fitzgerald. i was nineteen and i wasn’t fucking around.

moreover, i didn’t know what zelda was about even when i bought breath of the wild itself.

what i always knew for sure is that i had never been and never would be a princess. every time i was told during our family dinners that those like me were never meant to be married to a handsome rich prince to live happily ever after, i was trying to find comfort in the vocally unannounced title of a friendly local knight in the shining armour bestowed upon me. the one who was there to shine and save and protect those in need. the one who wasn’t supposed to care about their appearances, being securely hidden behind a chain mail and metal shell that still never saved from bruises. a knight with a bear trap instead of a helmet. born to be the best and somehow failing every day. almost like a dream come true. not my own dream, but a dream nonetheless.

the life in our kingdom was a total disaster and i was a wreck of a knight.

by the time i escaped i had been depressed for approximately twelve years. i left everything i knew behind and moved to another country. i actually married my prince to make the paperwork easier for both of us. i found myself roaming in the wilderness i knew nothing about. i tried to take the bear trap off but every time i attempted to free myself from it it was hard to breathe through the neck that was losing its familiar balance. i didn’t know how to be an adult. i didn’t even know how to be a child. i wanted to learn, but i didn’t know where to start.

“what do you want for your birthday?” my prince asked me.

i didn’t feel like i deserved gifts. i did not achieve anything to receive them. the knight was technically laid off duty and the salary once paid in clothes and food was still haunting me. and i needed something else. we also needed something else to bond over except for our childhood bruises.

so i received nintendo switch for my birthday in a year i almost broke my neck trying to forcefully remove my fancy helmet as soon as i realised i couldn’t walk around like this anymore.

“games could be a part of a therapy,” the lady that was helping me with my breathing exercises said while i was pouring my blood trauma on the carpet in her office, “but they’re not gonna remove this bear trap of yours, you know?”

i knew that. i also knew i didn’t really want to live, trapped or not. so it made sense to me to start living my new life from the very beginning — to start from trying to be a child i barely ever was — and to try and learn how to be an adult like most healthy children did. meaning, to give myself time. to make choices i was robbed of. mistakes too, if necessary. to take a breath before heading off to run a marathon i never foresaw.

so yeah, i didn’t really know what the legend of zelda was when i bought breath of the wild. i only knew zelda was a princess i had never been and never would be. what i knew for sure is that the main character named link was supposed to save her.

and that he was her knight.

the whole thing sounded like a sick joke, but i was determined to know what the fuss was all about. looking back a couple years later, i’ve been wondering how it was even possible for me to stumble upon this exact game when i needed it that much.

while on my journey across the kingdom i wasn’t familiar with, with my own land shaded by the war and destruction, with no recollection of who i was and who i was to become, with a trapped in a castle tired princess named zelda, with the only light shining on the horizon gloomed by the darkness, i felt bad for link. what did he ever do to deserve all of this? i thought. why is this his burden to carry? is this normal for a character to stay silent before the impossible challenge he was supposedly destined to face and just… move forward no matter what?

i didn’t even know at the time how the zelda universe worked. that the event of link saving the world was something that threaded through the kingdom’s history like a football cup everyone was expecting to inconsistently happen once in a while. there was only this link and his own crazy challenges for me, and his destiny felt like a weight on the neck i, personally, being a broken knight i was at the time, wouldn’t be able to drag to the end.

but i had to.

i ran through the green fields from one destroyed town to the other and thought of link’s footsteps echoing in me as if every abandoned ruin was a part of my own depression i was supposed to face. every location had a name and each felt like it was important for someone who lived here a hundred years ago before the war took everything from them. the names meant nothing neither for me, nor for link and his amnesia, but for someone who wasn’t there anymore it was everything. and i had to accept it. there still was something to save. i had to look the destruction and what was left of the kingdom in the eyes and find a way to save what i can so the future would have a solid foundation they could build upon.

zelda couldn’t have saved the kingdom by herself. she had been trapped in that castle for a hundred years and she needed help of her knight. the task no single person deserved to condemn their soul with. i had no particular feelings about zelda herself, but it was a kingdom worth saving and there was only one knight that could do that. somehow, it had to be me.

so i visited every corner of the land and found everything there was to uncover, talked to everyone i could, solved everything there was to think of and turned up all the stones to find all the koroks. i just had to.

a couple months later i defeated the calamity and finally saved zelda. i took a breath and i let it out. and after that i felt better and empty once again. but it was something else this time.

it was the foundation. it was bare, but at least it was there.

i came a long way since finishing breath of the wild. i learned a new language. i grew up. i gave up my antidepressants to try and live without them. we moved from one city to the other. i got a dog that made me go outside and laugh every day. i started to make money. i started eating healthier. i started talking to people more. i took the responsibility. one by one, i pried the screws of the bear trap on my neck. it was still there, but it became easier for me to breathe. i realised that the kingdom i was raised in was never meant to be the only thing to define me. i was building my own on the ruins of what withstood. there was no other way to survive. and i just had to.

waking up as link once again years later and looking out to see the skies of tears of the kingdom, i cried. i felt like i met an old friend that was once everything to me and who i lost contact with for years, and then finally hugged them again. it was like finding myself a couple years later from where i was left dealing with my own shit and realising that my journey was worth it.

the ruins were still there, you see? but now we had so much else! there was another civilisation hidden in the clouds in the sky! and the whole another biome underground! giant temples to get confused about while looking at the map! there were new people to meet! new cataclysms to endure! new puzzles to solve! new koroks to find! damn, what a mess. i couldn’t wait to be a part of it!

and, of course, there was zelda to be saved.

zelda, who spent thousands of years in a form of a dragon waiting for her knight to take the previously shattered master sword she healed and to kill ganondorf. zelda, who was supposed to forget everything that made her human, but still was fighting for the light in the end. zelda, who was robbed of her life by the choice she made to protect those she loved, and who was blessed with another chance in the end. even a thousand years curse was finite. somehow, i found myself in love a princess i was never meant to become.

and it felt right.

and when link caught zelda falling from the sky over hyrule, i realised that the kingdom i was building with my own hands would always be there. and it was only my destiny to get to the rotten roots hidden underground in the darkness where no life was meant to exist but was flourishing in it’s own way instead, and to remove the sickness from it. to heal and to be healed.

and then i took my bear trap helmet off and smouldered it into a crown.

maybe i was never meant to be a princess. but in the kingdom that i built on my own, with all of its countless layers and clouds in the sky, with its ruins and old stones, with its depths and lurking horrors, with its riddles and joy, traps and secrets, songs and laughter, disasters and questions, dragons and princesses, with all the troubles and their resolutions…

there, i was only meant to be the king.

20/6/2024

[jennay]

Let me take care of you

Request: I don't know if you know, but Noah kind of lost his voice during a concert(?) when you can, can you write that the reader flew out to take care of him or just to be there with him? :c ♥️ You choose whether they're friends or in a relationship, whatever you feel. Don't overwhelm yourself, precious; we love you more♥️♥️

No warnings

An: sorry I put a friends to lovers trope. 😅 thank you for this request. I loved it.

Words 2800ish

Noah Sebastian x reader

Noah Master list

You had always been terrified of heights. The mere thought of being high up in the air made your palms sweat and your stomach churn.

So, how you boarded a plane and flew for more than half a minute was a mystery to you. But you did it for Noah, your best friend, who was going through a rough patch. Your sneaky self conspired with the other three men to visit without Noah knowing.

He'd lost his voice and had to cancel several shows, which made him feel guilty and depressed.

He kept blaming himself for not taking better care of his health even though the others assured him that it was not his fault and that he would recover soon.

You had booked a car online, but when you got to the rental center, you faced an unexpected problem. The vehicle you had reserved was unavailable, and the counter clerk seemed clueless about what to do. He asked you to wait in the lobby while he talked to his manager, promising to sort things out as soon as possible. You felt your blood boil with frustration. You hated waiting - especially when you had paid for something in advance. You glared at the clerk as he walked away, wishing you could zap him with your eyes. You grabbed your phone and dialed Noah's number, hoping to check on him. You waited for him to pick up but heard a different voice on the other end instead.

"Hello, this is Noah's assistant. How can I direct your call?" It was Jolly; his thick accent and cheerful tone always made you smile.

"Hey, Jolly. It's me." You chuckled. "Is Noah paying you well? You seem to be working very hard lately."

He laughs back, "He doesn't pay me shit! I'm just that good of a friend."

"Well, speaking of the devil, where is he?" You ask.

"Sleeping... I saw it was you so I answered for him. Are you here yet?" He whispers, and you hear the sound of a door closing. "Sorry, that was loud. I don't want to blow it. Must escape into the other room." He says, giggling like a child.

"I'm in the same state…city even, but there seems to be some fucking confusion with the car I rented, and it's taking everything in me not to lose my shit right now," you say with a sigh. "Why is this happening?"

You run your hand down your face, feeling lost and not knowing what to do. "Ah, the classic 'I rented a car, and now I'm stuck' situation. You know what they say: 'Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.'" He quips, "Do you need someone to come get you, or are you going to wait it out?"

"OK, well, nobody says that except you. I'm gonna wait. I hate not having my own way around." You pause when you hear your name called at the front desk.

He laughs, "No, I'm pretty sure that's how it's said, y/n. My English is good."

You roll your eyes, letting out a small giggle. "I gotta go. I'll call you when I get to the hotel. Like, I'll actually call your phone."

"See you soon. OK, this is the part where I say goodbye, right?" He laughs.

"Yes, goodbye!" You click end and start toward the desk, wondering how you ended up with the strangest people being some of your closest friends.

After a long, exhausting drive, you finally arrived at the hotel's parking lot. You took out your cell phone and called Jolly, hoping he would come down and help you with your luggage.

You waited and waited and waited…

"I'm coming." He said abruptly and hung up.

You stared at your phone in disbelief. What was that? Did he just cut you off without even saying goodbye? What if you had something important to tell him?

You got out of the car, putting on your sunglasses. You grabbed your backpack from the back seat and closed the car door, leaning against it as you waited for Jolly to show up.

You started to doubt your decision to come here; if Noah was sick, would he appreciate your surprise visit? You shook your head; of course, he would.

You feel excited when you see the tall Swede walking towards you with a goofy smile; he opens his arms wide, and you run to him, hugging him tightly.

"You made it!" He exclaimed.

You pulled away, grinning, "Barely. I think I only cried once on the plane, so that's an improvement, " you joke while adjusting your bag. "Lead the way," you say, gesturing to the door.

"Someone's eager," he teased, opening the door. "I'm excited to see everyone. I miss you guys so much," you said with exaggerated emotion.

He followed behind you as you sprinted up the stairs. "Oh, come on. Don't lie to me. You're dying to see Noah... Just admit it," he said, poking fun at you.

You stopped in the hallway, making him bump into you. You turned to face him, poking his chest and giving him a fierce glare, "Shut your mouth!"

He laughs, gently grabbing your shoulders, keeping you at bay. "Alright, pitbull, calm down!"

You shake your head and continue to walk, "Sorry." You mumble. "It's just, nobody needs to know that. I honestly didn't even want to tell you." You take a deep breath when you feel his arm lazily drape over your shoulder.

"Maybe it's time to tell him instead of telling me." He looks down at you, waiting for a response.

"Hear me out... I can just not say anything and keep my friendship intact," you say.

Jolly's arm drops from your shoulders as he points to the door. He grabs his key and unlocks the door, pushing you in first.

"This place is huge," you say as you peek around. You'd barely entered the kitchen and already felt lost.

"Down the hall doors on the left. Beware, the other two are lurking and waiting for your arrival," he warns.

As he's warning you, you hear a sudden commotion from around the corner. Two figures emerge, dart guns in their hands, and they laugh maniacally as they start shooting at you. You barely have time to react before the first dart hits you in the face. You instinctively raise your arms to shield yourself from the barrage of incoming darts.

"Fucking assholes!" You yell out in frustration, trying to catch your breath as you choke on your laughter. You quickly scan your surroundings for cover and spot Jolly nearby. You run towards him and hide behind him, hoping that he'll provide some protection from the incoming fire.

Jolly groans as he gets pelted with the soft bullets but doesn't move. You peek from behind him and see that the men are still laughing and shooting at you.

From behind them, you hear a door creak open and feet scruffing against the floor.

"What the fuck is going on?" you hear Noah's hoarse voice ask.

You poke your head around Jolly's torso, and your eyes land on Noah. You smile with excitement, feeling your stomach flip.

You run past Nicholas and Folio, flipping them off in the process and laughing hysterically as you jump into Noah's arms. As you cling to him, you can feel his body tense up in surprise. He looks down at you with wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape, as if he can't believe what happened. You can tell he hasn't processed that you're there yet.

"What the…where did you? You're here," he manages to stutter out. His body relaxes, and he squeezes you gently, engulfing you in his tattooed arms. "What are you doing here?"

You pull back, still latched in his arms, as you look up at him. "Surprising you, dummy. Did it work?"

"What do you think?" His brown irises glow while he gazes down on you. "I'm surprised, but why? You had the whole tour, and you chose now? We're almost done." He says, chuckling. "Wait, did you get on a plane?"

You push out of his grasp, brushing your shirt down. "I heard you weren't feeling well…and yes, I did get on a plane."

"She only cried once," Jolly pipes in. "She's growing up so fast."

You shake your head, "...and then these two assholes tried to kill me." You glare at them. "You didn't even say hi! You just started blasting, and I find that rude. Could at least greet a girl." You turn your back to them, swinging around to face Noah. "Anyway, I'm here."

He looks back at you with tired eyes, "Well, as much as I love seeing you. I'm supposed to be on vocal rest. I'm going back to my room."

You stand there confused as he starts to walk away from you.

"Are you coming?" He asks, stopping before his door.

"Wait, you were inviting me?" You chuckle, "I'm comin'." You dash down the corridor and join Noah in his room. The room is plunged into darkness by the black-out blinds. You grin as he snuggles up on the bed, pulls the covers over him, and switches on the tiny TV on the desk at the foot of the bed.

"I had to make it dark." He explains, noticing your curious gaze, "I'm fooling myself into thinking nothing exciting is happening."

You roll your eyes playfully, "Nothing exciting is happening. This is a hotel." You tease, sliding under the covers next to him.

Noah gives you a sly smirk as he slides closer to you, resting his head on your chest. You wrap your arm around his shoulder, gently moving it up his neck and into his hair, where your fingers weave through, making him melt under your touch.

"I know you're not supposed to be talking, but I was curious how you feel about this. How are you coping?"

He lets out a sigh, showing his frustration. "I hate having to cancel shows, you know? It sucks knowing people were looking forward to seeing us maybe for months, and then we can't even show up." He buries his face in your neck, groaning, "I can talk, by the way, just not loudly."

You feel his hot breath against your skin, causing goose bumps down your arms. You wonder if this was the right time to tell him the truth.

You mentally shake the thoughts from your mind; now was probably not the right time. You didn't know if there ever would be a time when you'd feel brave enough. "I get that. As much as you hate hearing it, you're only human, Noah. Shit happens, and I'm sure they'll understand. They would want you to get better instead of ruining your voice," you remind him.

You feel his arm drape around your waist as he says, "I'm happy you're here. It makes things a little more manageable."

You hear his breathing slow down, and his soft snore comes from him. You let him rest and grab your phone, careful not to wake him up. You take a quick picture of your situation and send it to Jolly.

Help

Did you tell him?

NO.

Wake him up?

I can't. It's a rule. It's rude to move if someone is sleeping on you.

That only applies to cats, and Noah's not a cat.

You laugh and text back: Are we sure?

You put your phone down beside you and close your eyes, feeling the need for a nap after your long trip, and then you'd talk to Noah, maybe.

You stir in your sleep, feeling soft touches through your hair; you cuddle closer to the person's chest, feeling arms around you keep you safe and warm. Your eyes flutter open softly, and you are greeted with Noah's neck tattoo. You lean your head back, your nose grazing Noah's chin. "Hi," you groggily say.

"Hi, sleepy head." You snuggle your face back into his chest, not wanting to end the moment. You felt secure and calm, like you could stay this way forever. Until you hear the door fling open, you don't raise your head to look afraid you might get pelted in the face with another dart.

"You did it!" Jolly squeals when he sees you wrapped up in Noah's body. "I'm claiming best man at the wedding!"

Noah's eyes widen in confusion, and he looks at Jolly with a puzzled expression. "What wedding?" He asks nervously.

Jolly stares at you wide-eyed and yells, "Ah Fuck!" before leaving the room and shutting the door quickly.

You smack your hand over your eyes, wishing you could just disappear. Your cheeks burn with embarrassment, and you contemplate getting up, walking to the front, getting on a plane, and never showing your face again.

Suddenly, Noah lightly pushes your shoulder and playfully smiles at you. "That was weird," he says. "Are you OK?" His eyes grow with concern as he realizes the color hasn't returned to your face.

You take in a deep breath and close your eyes. Your heart races with anticipation, and you feel sick to your stomach. But you quickly regain focus and open your eyes. "Is it THAT weird?" Noah's head tilts, eyebrows furrow together, and his voice laced with curiosity, "What do you mean?"

"The voice in my head is screaming not to tell you because I'm so fucking afraid of losing you, but I know…" you pause, trying to catch your breath. "I love you, Noah, but not just in a hey, I want to be your friend kind of way. It's been eating at me for a while now. I made the mistake of telling Jolly; that's why he said what he did."

Noah's mouth drops with surprise, and slowly, a smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. "I know," he says softly. He presses his lips together, not sure what else to say. He wasn't completely oblivious. "That's it?" You nervously bite the inside of your cheek.

"Y/n, why do you think I treat you like I do? I knew there was something more, but I didn't want to push this on you. I'm gone a lot, and I can't always give you what you want and what you need." He reaches out, holding both of your hands with his.

"If you want to give me a shot, I'm ready, but don't want to disappoint you." He flashes his infamous smile at you. "I want to try. At least then when people ask if you're my girlfriend, I won't have to correct them." He nervously laughs, "Are you ready?"

You smirk and sit up on your knees, bringing your hands to his face and pressing your lips against his. You lean back, gazing into his eyes, a permanent smile plastered on your face. "Yes, I'm fucking ready!"

You hear Jolly's voice yell from the hallway. "The wedding's back on!"

You chuckle, and Noah pulls you into his lap, kissing your temple. "He really wasn't the best one to tell."

You shrug your shoulders, "It wasn't that bad…he did kinda make this happen…"

Noah looks at the door hearing someone lean against it; chuckling while throwing his legs over the side of the bed and making his way to the door. He quickly opens the door to reveal Jolly practically falling on his face.

"Dude…" Noah laughs. "What the fuck."

Jolly apologizes, "Sorry, sorry. I'm nosy, you know plus had to make sure little miss wasn't getting her heartbroken." He pauses and smiles at you.

"Well," you say with a grin, "I guess we can't blame him for being curious about our love life. After all, it's not every day that he gets to witness such a steamy romance." You wink at Noah.

Noah rolls his eyes playfully and pulls you closer. "Yeah, Jolly," he says with a smirk, "you're just jealous that you're not getting any action."

Jolly laughs and shakes his head. "You two are something else."

Tags:

@thisbicc @yumikitten @lma1986 @chemicallady

[e-nonsense]

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗟'𝗦 𝗞𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗡 - 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵. 𝘻𝘦𝘳𝘰

prev / next | masterlist

pairing. batfam x batsis!reader + platonic!matt murdock x batsis!reader

warnings. swearing, child neglect, mentions of an accident that makes you blind, canon/typical violence, nothing goes with comics

series masterlist

You got to Gotham city when you were five, you didn't want to go but you had no choice your mother was dead, and had left you in the care of your father.

But even at five years old your father had no time for you. Always busy with the public, or with Batman.

At the time Dick was fifteen, he had no reason to care for a little sister, but Jason. Oh Jason Todd, to you he was an angel.

Your big brother who at eight years old you deemed cooler than Dick Grayson.

Everyday after patrol, he'd come up and check on you, tell you a story usually a more child friendly version of his missions.

You kept him grounded, you made all his anger go away, an anger you blamed Bruce for because when you two first met he wasn't angry he was a happy kid. Everytime you called his name, the soft mutter of "Jay" would knock some sense into him.

But after the accident, the one you went blind, you were nine nearly ten and Jason would stay fifteen, in that year you had lost two things.

Your sight, and your big brother.

You were often met with pity than concern because of it. Everyone always asking if you were alright, but never truly caring about the answer.

You heard about the headlines when it happened, "Y/n Wayne, gone blind" or "Gotham's little princess now Gotham's latest victim"

It's not like they actually cared, no of course not they only gave a shit about the publicity they'd get from selling stories like this.

You were only nine years old, you'd think five years would be enough to adjust.

Apparently not..

"Miss Wayne" you heard a gentle knocking at the door of your father's office- well it's your office now. Bruce signed Wayne Industries off to you, because it would make everyone's lives easier if you (someone they deemed quite useless) were actually doing something important, it gave them more vigilante time. Besides you finished school already, you were a smart kid, always top of your class you managed to skip a couple of grades and graduate early like super early.

You were a disappointed when nobody but Alfred turned up, then again you'd stopped caring about that a while ago. Jason - your beloved zombie brother - wouldn't stop apologising, and he took you for ice-cream and hung out with you for the rest of the night as an apology. You couldn't stay mad at him.

"Yes?" you'd been running the company for a few weeks, Alfred was usually helping you. Reading out things that weren't in braille, but since the first thing you did when you got Wayne Industries was buy braille embossers mainly 'cause you knew Alfred would always be there to help you with everything.

"Sorry to disturb you Miss, but y'know that guy that you fired last week?"

"Yeah, the one that was caught uh- having sex in the storage room right?"

"The very same Miss" if you could see right now Tani's face would be littered with pink on her cheeks, "He wants to sue"

"And?" you groaned, that came out harsher that you intended, you could sense that she understood.

"Well he's got a pretty compelling case against the company. When your father owned it that is, very incriminating"

"shit" you muttered under your breath, mentally thanking any godly being out their that Alfred wasn't there to hear you.

"how hard is it to get a good lawyer?"

"No" Matt's voice was firm, he didn't want to take the case and nobody could make him.

"no what do you mean, no" Foggy didn't get it, I mean he sort of did but you were offering a nice pay- like more than what's in their pay grade- but it had nothing to do with criminal law, sort of.

"I don't want to do it Foggy, it has nothing to do with my job or qualifications"

"I'm going to do it then"

"No" Foggy wasn't even listening, he had already walked out of the room and went to reply to the email your secretary had sent to him and various other lawyers.

Foggy stepped up to Tani's desk- Matt beside him- and smiled, eying to the elevator that led all the way up to your office, two security guards on each side. You had put them there for Tani because when she didn't let people up they'd harass her.

"Hi, we're here to see Miss Wayne" Foggy's voice only slightly louder than the crappy music in the background. Tani looked up, "name?"

"Nelson, Foggy Nelson"

For the first time since they arrived Matt talked, but only to utter his name.

"Through the elevator please"

They walked as silently as possible, neither in the mood to talk to one another. Once they were inside and going up Matt was talking.

"Y'know kid’s probably just gonna be another spoilt rich kid, who's daddy running the business behind their back because they can't do shit"

Foggy only let out a sigh, and walked through the elevator doors when he saw it open, only to reveal another door, one he assumed led to your office.

He was shocked to hear laughter coming from inside the room, what ever happened to professionalism?

"Alfie, I swear this guy was high-"

Matt heard a this 'Alfie' guy chuckle "Miss Wayne you can't say that about them, they're lawyers that came hear to help you"

"I know I know, but you should've seen them" you exaggerated the word seen and it made Alfred laugh.

But the laughter stopped when Foggy knocked on the door and Alfred cleared his through smiling while gesturing for them to come in.

"Oh my god, she's blind Matt" Foggy whispered, as he watched you move from leaning on the desk and stood up straight.

"Sorry I'd shake your hand but I'm not exactly sure where you are"

Matt smiled at that "Don't worry 'bout it, 'cause I don't know where you are either"

"He's blind" Foggy not so discreetly whispered to you.

"I can see that" you whispered back with a chuckle, you cleared you throat "now onto business then?"

"Of course"

Okay maybe Matt was a little wrong about you, alright very wrong about you. You were nothing like he imagined, but then again he hadn't put much thought to what you might be like.

He could tell that you could handle yourself, and that impressed him a lot. He could also tell that you were still grasping the ropes of being blind.

And well he wanted to help you, to train you. He thought it was funny, him training someone but he wanted to try. Maybe you could be the next Daredevil.... scratch that he didn't want that for you.

Now how is someone supposed to reveal a secret identity to a complete stranger?

ᴛᴀɢ/ꜱ: @fandxmslxt69 @jaguarthecat @bxdbxtxh15 @byebyeeye @8-29pm

© e-nonsense. do no copy/steal/translate. do it and I’ll bite your toes off

[diamondcitydarlin]

'time for round two of making teenagers uncomfortable on the internet'

Listen. No one is shipping beetlebabes for the sole purpose of 'making teenagers uncomfortable on the internet'. Unless the adults in question are your parents/guardians, none of them are responsible for the stuff you might see while being 'on the internet'. None of them are responsible for your discomfort from what you might see. None of them are obligated to stop having fun in their own fandom spaces simply because a teenager exists 'on the internet' who doesn't like it (who is also perfectly capable of staying out of places they don't want to see, I PRESUME) no more than adults at a bar are obligated to not drink because there are people under the age who can't (fittingly, most bars in the US don't admit people under the age at all). You know who is responsible? Depending on your age of teenagedom, it's either to some extent your parents/guardians, but also you. Yeah, sweetie, you. I've been on the internet since the late 90's when I was NINE and I'm here to tell you right now that learning how to cultivate your own experience online is an extremely important tool. If you don't learn now how to keep your nose out of things that you don't like, you're going to have a very hard time filled with round-about arguments and constant drama and maybe worse when you could just be having fun with the things you do like and ignoring the stuff you don't. You see, my sweet summer child, feeling 'discomfort' about something benign does not inherently give you the right to shit all over whatever it is that made you uncomfortable or make up insinuations about the consenting adults participating in it. Unless there are people dropping shipping art into your inbox against your will or something (there aren't) it actually is none of your business at all, and doesn't concern you in the least. Like my goodness, you kids have ALL kinds of protections you can use to weed out things you don't want to see that we didn't have back when I was a 'teenager on the internet', blocking, blacklisting, browser extensions that can help with that, etc, and yet somehow we seem to have better understood back then how to mind our own business and stay out of fandom spaces we didn't want to be in. Nowadays all I see are children running into the devil's sacrament uninvited and claiming to be personally affected by said sacrament when all of us are wondering what the fuck they're doing there in the first place when there are clear signs denoting what sacrament this is. You don't have to see the movie, you don't have to see shipping content, you don't have to be 'exposed' to any of this at all; in this day and age, you choose to be, which makes any discomfort you feel as a result of that your own responsibility. The only person making 'teenagers uncomfortable on the internet' in this specific instance are the teens themselves.

And again, a little crash course in history here since the education system probably failed you, but using simply the existence of children as an excuse for why adults can't do consenting adult activities with each other has historically been used as a way to demonize and weaponize violence against marginalized groups. Yall are literally just stealing pages from homophobic/misogynistic/racist/transphobic conservative playbooks. That may not be your ultimate goal in coming after fandom spaces, but it's where that kind of behavior and thinking always ends up in the end. If you think alt-right entities won't harness that sense of youthful moral outrage for their own ends then I have a bridge to sell you.

Anyway, point being, no random adult on the internet or IRL is responsible for you. Random adults on the internet or IRL are not your parents/guardians. They have no obligation to eschew their own interests just because kids are wandering into places where they shouldn't. I honestly worry for any child on the internet who thinks this way, because there are absolutely predators out there that will abuse this sense of 'every adult is responsible for my comfort'. They aren't, and I'm sorry the adults in your life that actually are responsible for you failed you so much as to not teach you otherwise. Unlearn this now before you get hurt, please.

[a-dumb-sarcastic-bisexual]

These Nimona headcanons are dedicated to the people who keep asking me how I come up with them (short answer: I have no fucking clue)

While Ambrosius is the one to keep the house clean Bal is the only reason their schedules are even somewhat put together 

This man has multiple calendars one physical calendar in their living room

A digital one for just him that’s dedicated to things that he knows the duo would be bored by 

And a digital calendar for the trio themselves which is his pride and fucking joy 

His baby a digital miracle and what he genuinely considers to be his magnum opus 

Because Ambrosius and Nimona are the hardest people to organize schedules with

Every conversation with them would go something like this “Hey what are you doing next week” “Oh I’m going to work” “Okay do you know what time you have to head in” *shrugs* “Do you know if you have days off” *shrugs again* “do you even know what days you’re going in” *shrugs one last time*

And then Bal would have to walk away because he was really to commit a crime 

No one knows how he actually got their schedules 

Nimona doesn’t know how Bal scheduled plans for them when he didn’t have their friend's contact info

It scares Ambrosius how Bal’s able to fit is incredibly hectic days in nice neat color coordinated boxes 

The duo doesn’t ask questions and they don’t fuck with the schedule 

They just follow it cause it’s always right 

Which is kind of horrifying 

There is one chore in the house that not even the resident clean freak (my baby golden boy) likes 

And that’s washing the dishes 

Not a singular person in that house will ever do the dishes without complaining even a little bit 

They always take turns and it’s always a lose-lose situation 

Because even though there’s this feeling of “dodged that bullet today” they’re also a little guilty because they know the person doing it hates it just as much 

They bought dish gloves because that slightly helped the problem 

But those things tear like it’s no one’s business which is the fucking worst 

One time Bal walked into the kitchen to see Ambrosius crying over the dishes 

He asked what’s wrong and all he had to say was “glove” 

And Bal knew what he meant because Ambrosius swears that having wet rubber rub up against your skin is almost as bad as touching the bare dishes 

Every time Ambrosius or Bal have to leave for more than a couple of days the other will joke that they're a single father 

Anytime someone checks in on them they’ll say something like “The life of a single parent is hard but fulfilling” 

This basically just translates to them missing their spouse so could someone please bring them back as soon as possible 

Nimona always jokes they’re a child of divorce when the boys make that joke 

The jokes range from “Being a child of divorce is so stressful” to “Good riddance I never liked him anyway” 

Mind you those remarks come after Nimona hung off their legs as they walked out the door 

One time when Bal went on a solo trip Nimona asked Ambrosius to go to the park with him 

He didn’t question it just packed up the car and drove them to the nearest park

And he swears he only took his eyes off Nimona for a minute and when he turned back around he saw a group of sad-looking kids and adults crowding around a kid 

And he instantly knew where he went 

He watched in horror as Nimona pointed up to the sky and said “Dad!” a mom asked with a sad voice “Is your dad a pilot sweety?” to which Nimona responded with “No but Papa says he’s in the sky somewhere which is why he never visits” 

He just scooped her up apologizing while making a run for the car 

A lot of parents were very concerned about why the kingdom’s golden boy just snatched a random child they’d never seen before and will never see again

And they genuinely debate on calling the knights while Ambrosius fireman carries this cackling child away

They do and Ambrosius has to have a very awkward conversation with his old coworkers

[bethanydelleman]

I'm listening to Emma as my falling-asleep audiobook right now and I'm thinking a lot about Harriet. The movie adaptations very often have her remaining friends with Emma after the end, but the book says their relationship sank into mere acquaintances after that. Is that a personality thing, do you think, or is it a class thing? And why the difference in the adaptations? I have my own thoughts but I'd like to hear yours.

It is definitely a class thing.

I think one of the reasons Emma can be unpalatable to modern audiences is because it ends with a restoration of a social order that we find repulsive today. How is it fair that Jane Fairfax, born as lower gentry, gets to marry into Enscombe but Harriet Smith, the natural daughter of a tradesman, 'deserves' only Robert Martin and is basically ejected from membership in Highbury's gentry class? And that's a good thing? The adaptations maintain the Emma and Harriet friendship because the way the book ends really appalls a lot of modern readers.

(Also, never really talking about the age difference between Emma and Knightley was a great choice in Emma 2020 because that is not people's favourite either.)

I think the most charitable way to look at it is that Harriet always wanted Robert Martin. She loved staying there over the summer, the family was extremely kind and loving towards her, and her status as a natural child would be largely ignored. Emma's interference gave her ideas above her station... ug, veering into territory I don't love again... but then again, could Harriet have ever succeeded at marrying into the gentry? Probably not on Emma's sponsorship.

There are only two characters that a member of the gentry tries to move from "middle class" (I know it's not really the middle class) to gentry, George Wickham and Harriet Smith. Both attempts are disasters. Captain Wentworth, Fanny/William Price, and Jane Fairfax are all born into the lower gentry and they climb higher, which seems to be fine. There are a bunch of characters who go from extremely wealthy trade to gentry, the Jennings (Mrs. Jennings, Lady Middleton, and Charlotte Palmer) and the Bingleys. They seem to be fine, Charles Bingley at least is portrayed positively.

I don't know what the message is there. The Gardiners are presented as gentleman-like but have no apparent intentions of jumping class. Does that make them good? As someone raised in Canada whose worldview is rooted in The American Dream Lite, it's hard for me to appreciate the upholding of a classist system. Jane Austen herself was clinging to gentry status by her fingernails, so why does she write a novel that glorifies almost everyone staying exactly where birth placed them? Jane Fairfax can improve herself and be worthy of a rich marriage but not Harriet? I guess Harriet never improves herself much though, but she hasn't had the same opportunities as Jane F...

But then the very next novel, Persuasion, seems very anti-classist!

Something about hubris...

I actually feel sorry for Emma at the end of the book. She got a husband, sure, but she loses a friend. She has Mrs. Weston still, but she'll be busy with her baby, she loses Harriet, Jane Fairfax is gone (again), and she's still stuck in Highbury, which has become worse because Mrs. Elton is there now. She just remains as much trapped and limited as she was before...

Anyway, that is my long and rambling answer. I'm not very happy with the ending of Emma. If someone who does like it wants to defend, you are more than welcome.

(I do think there might be something to like, this is how the class system could work well if everyone actually did their jobs. Knightley is the perfect, model landlord. Cares for the poor, lives at his estate, involved in running it etc. Emma does her duty to the poor, everyone seems to do well under their United management)

[slaymitchabernathy]

All in the Timing

It's later that day when Coriolanus is walking down the busy Capitol streets. Everyone is out shopping for last-minute gifts and he can't help but look into a few shop windows, admiring the pretty dresses and bags that are on display for the women. He wonders what it would be like to purchase something like that for his wife, for someone he loves. 

He's passing by the door to one of the shops when someone bumps into him.

"Oh, pardon me, I didn't look where I was going." 

Coriolanus almost falls over when he hears the soft, familiar voice that belongs to one woman and one woman only. 

He looks down to find Soarynn Nightingale looking up at him, her blue-gray eyes wide in surprise. She's bundled up in a cream-colored coat today, with her hair pulled into a bun, showing off her beautiful complexion. 

"No need to apologize, you're a rather enjoyable person to keep running into," he says, making her blush. 

"Well, it seems to be a recurring issue where we're both concerned." 

Coriolanus grins and looks down at the large bags she's holding, filled to the brim with clothes no doubt, "Allow me to carry those for you." 

Soarynn looks conflicted for a moment, as if she doesn't quite trust him and she'd have every right to not trust him. He's still a stranger. 

"Alright," she finally decides, handing over the bags, "you're very kind to offer up your services." Coriolanus chuckles as they begin walking down the sidewalk, side by side but not hand in hand. 

The scent of vanilla overwhelms him and he can only guess that it's her signature scent. It's as sweet as she is. 

"Busy day today?" He asks, lifting up the bags. Soarynn nods, fixing the collar of her coat before answering, "Last minute shopping for the company's holiday party." 

Well, it looks like he didn't need to pay Festus to fall onto the floor and act as if he was dying. 

Coriolanus pretends to be surprised, "Oh, you're going as well? Perhaps we'll see each other then." 

Soarynn raises her eyebrows, shyly looking up at him, "Maybe we will. Although Ceraphina won't be there, she's stuck with the nanny for the night." 

Coriolanus can imagine that Ceraphina's not too happy about being stuck at him instead of being the center of attention. "Is she at home right now?" He asks, trying to remember if she's old enough to be attending school yet.

Soarynn shakes her head and nods for him to take a right, "No, she's at school. I'm actually headed there now to pick her up."

"Which school is she attending?"

"The Academy." 

That sounds about right. Coriolanus attended the Academy, along with every upper-class child in the Capitol. To sport the Academy rouge is a sign of wealth. It's no surprise that Ceraphina is attending as well. 

"I do hope it's not too out of your way," Soarynn adds, eyeing the bags as if she might take them back and send him on his way. Coriolanus quickly shakes his head and offers her a reassuring smile, "Not at all, I'm headed downtown to meet a friend for a late lunch." 

Soarynn hums, chewing on her lip before asking a question, "Is it your friend I saw with you that night at the Grand Oak?" 

He didn't know she remembered Fetus but it seems that Soarynn Nightingale is more perceptive than he thought. "Yes," he confirms, the Academy building coming into view, "Festus can never turn down a free meal." Soarynn chuckles, reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out a silver compact with a rose engraved on it, "A free meal is a hard thing to decline."

They come to a stop at the crosswalk, traffic zooming by them and Coriolanus takes a moment to watch Soarynn as she inspects her reflection in the compact mirror. She looks stunning. He wonders what other people think of them right now.Do they see a young couple on their way to pick up their child from school?

Ceraphina could certainly pass as his daughter, with her blonde hair and blue eyes. 

"That's a lovely compact," he says, "my mother used to have one just like it." 

Soarynn snaps it shut, giving him a better view of the rose, "Thank you. It was a birthday gift from my father. Was your mother fond of roses? I think I heard something about the Snow family and their roses."

Coriolanus nods, making sure to block any traffic from hitting her as they cross the street, "Yes, my grandmother used to grow roses on the roof of our penthouse apartment. They fetched a pretty price before the war. Now I just tend to them as needed." 

Soarynn sighs, staring up at the blue sky, "Ceraphina would love something like that. She's always running around in the backyard, rain or shine." 

There's lots of commotion surrounding the Academy, older children walking home by themselves and younger children running to hug their parents after a long day of school. "Does she have much longer until the holiday break?" 

Soarynn shakes her head while scanning the sea of students, all dressed identically to one another. "No, this is her last week when then they're all off until January." 

Coriolanus begins looking for Ceraphina too, trying to pick out her blonde head of hair. It's hard when all the girls wear the same skirt and button-up shirt but he finally spots her at the top of the steps. "There she is," he points, crouching down so Soarynn can follow his line of sight. She leans into him without hesitation, lighting up when she spots her daughter. 

Ceraphina is quick to spot them too, a big smile on her face when she sees Coriolanus, "Fancy seeing you here," she says, throwing her arms around her mother's legs. Coriolanus smiles, watching Soarynn crouch down to properly hug her daughter, she's so gentle, brushing her hair out of her face, asking how her day was. 

"It seems that the stars aligned today," he replies, "I just happened to bump into your mother." 

Ceraphina eyes her mother for a moment, a small smile on her face, "Sounds like a love story to me Mommy." Soarynn scoffs, her entire face turning a bright shade of pink, "Oh hush. This is nothing like the fairy tales I read to you. Now say goodbye to Mr. Snow so we can go home." 

Coriolanus frowns, just a minute ago Soarynn was warming up to him and now she's shoving him away. Ceraphina pouts but Soarynn is firm in her decision, "I can call my driver if you two need a ride home," Coriolanus offers, handing over the bags to Soarynn. Ceraphina peers inside, gasping when she sees what's inside, "No need, we have our car waiting for us over there," Soarynn says, pointing near the the other end of the steps. 

They do in fact have a car waiting for them and Coriolanus can only nod, out of tricks and offers. "Well, it was lovely seeing you ladies again." 

Ceraphina smiles up at him, looking so cute in her tiny uniform, "Are you gonna see us again soon?" 

Coriolanus gives her a wink, "I'll try my best." 

Ceraphina giggles, looking up at her mother who doesn't look too impressed, "Have a good afternoon Mr. Snow," she says, taking Ceraphina's hand, "and thank you for carrying my bags." 

He gives her a short bow at the waist, only furthering Ceraphina's giggles, "It was my pleasure Ms. Nightingale." 

He watches them go, making sure they're tucked away in the safety of their car before he begins his own journey. He tries to think about anything else, about work, about his friends, but he keeps thinking about Soarynn. 

Running into her again has to be fate. He's just got to take that chance. 

꧁ ꧂

"Oh Coryo, you look so handsome." 

Coriolanus grins at Persephone's words as he climbs the last few steps leading up to Heavensbee Hall. Festus and Persephone make an attractive pair for tonight's party, both dressed in dark greens that compliment their complexions. 

Festus wraps his arm around his wife, giving her a playful smile, "Keep your eyes on me tonight darling, Coriolanus is on the hunt for his future wife." 

Persephone gasps, her eyes going wide with excitement, "Really?! Oh, how exciting! Who is she? Do I know her?" 

Coriolanus shakes his head, following the couple into the building that has been decorated to the fullest for the holidays with drapes and garlands, twinkling lights, and bows. "I'm not hunting for anything," he reminds Festus, "I'm simply doing some recon." 

Festus snorts, grabbing two glasses of champagne from a nearby waiter, "Well I've never seen someone put in so much work for 'recon' but maybe it's just your ambition talking." 

Coriolanus feels a bit caught but he won't feel ashamed for how much effort he's put into this. He cleaned up exceptionally well for tonight, making sure his curls were perfectly styled, his face freshly shaven and his suit brand new. He looks important and he feels important. 

He's a man on a mission. 

He scans the room, desperate to seek out one individual and his eyes finally land on her. Soarynn Nightingale is an absolute vision tonight, dressed in a long red dress, form-fitting in all the right places, and strapless on top of that. Her blonde hair cascades down her back, perfectly curled. 

She's standing with her father who's speaking with several other men, probably talking business. Even though tonight is supposed to be relaxed, men can't help but talk about work. 

"I'll be back," he mumbles to his friends, his legs taking him across the floor for him. Many people are already dancing while the orchestra plays a happy tune and he's got to find out if Soarynn can dance. 

She looks bored out of her mind right now, idly standing by her father's side. Her eyes meet his for a moment and she visibly lights up which gives him the green light to approach her. If he weren't interested in her then he'd greet her father and the other men first, but they all disappear from view when he sees her.

"I must say, you look absolutely beautiful tonight," he tells her, gently taking her hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it. He's not holding back on that famous Snow charm tonight. 

Soarynn grins, looking him up and down before giving him an approving nod, "I must say, you clean up nicely Mr. Snow." His last name rolls off her tongue so effortlessly and he longs to give it to her. 

Coriolanus smiles down at her, admiring how long her lashes are, how soft her lips look, and how good she smells. "I had to clean up once I knew you'd be here," he replies smoothly, "and your father too," he adds, reaching his hand out to Glen. 

Soarynn's father seems more than pleased at their interaction and gives his hand a firm shake, "No need to impress me Coriolanus, I'm far less high maintenance than my daughter is." They all chuckle when Soarynn gives her father a playful shove, "One can never be too careful," Coriolanus decides. 

Glen turns to the other men he was speaking to, all men who look very important which means they probably write lots of paychecks. "Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Coriolanus Snow, he works at the firm." 

Coriolanus hadn't planned on being introduced to the higher-ups but he's more than glad to leave a lasting impression, "A pleasure to meet all of you," he says, nodding at each man. 

"You're Crassus Snow's boy aren't you?" One of them asks, sporting a very large mustache. Coriolanus nods, "Yes sir, I'm doing my best to follow in his footsteps." 

"Well I'd say you're doing more than that," Glen tells him, giving his shoulder a pat. 

Coriolanus looks back down at Soarynn for a moment, not wanting to ignore her and she's already looking up at him, and she looks...impressed. 

"Thank you, sir," Coriolanus says, not willing to let such a compliment go to waste. His whole life he's been trying to live up to the Snow name. Glen eyes his daughter for a second, a small smile growing on his face, "Yes. Well, don't let us stop you two from enjoying your night." 

Soarynn's eyes slightly widen but Coriolanus won't let this moment go to waste, "Do you dance?" He asks her, hoping she'll say yes. 

She brushes her hair behind her ears, giving him a small nod, "I do." 

"Allow me the honor to dance with you then?" 

Soarynn looks at her father, almost as if waiting for permission but all she gets in return is an amused look from Glen, "Alright," she finally says. 

Coriolanus offers her his hand and she takes it, instantly warming his skin. It's just his luck that the orchestra strikes up a lively tune, allowing them to fall into a waltz. Coriolanus slips one hand around her waist, guiding them through the steps and she keeps up with him tremendously well. 

Soarynn giggles when he spins her around and it's music to his ears. He wants to make her giggle all the time. 

It feels so right to have her in his arms, by his side, safe and sound. He doesn't know what Soarynn is looking for, but he'd take such good care of her and Ceraphina. 

Once the music comes to an end they're both out of breath and he's ready for a drink. "Would you like something to drink?" He asks, sliding his hand down to the small of her waist. Soarynn doesn't even blink at that movement, simply nodding, "Yes, dancing always leaves me parched." 

They both walk over to the bar where Coriolanus orders bourbon for him and champagne for Soarynn. "You don't like bourbon?" He asks, wondering if she has a preference. Soarynn shakes her head, "I'm partial to anything sweet, and bourbon is not sweet." Coriolanus chuckles, handing her the glass of bubbly champagne, "You just haven't been drinking the right bourbon. I'll have to show you my collection." 

Soarynn takes a sip of her champagne, humming contentedly, "Why am I not surprised that you have a collection?" 

Coriolanus takes his glass from the bartender, thanking the man before turning back to Soarynn, "It's actually a rite of passage for a man to start some collection of alcohol. Festus collects wine, and I collect bourbon. I bet your father has quite the collection at home." 

Soarynn rolls her eyes, taking another sip. The drink must be loosening her up because she's much more comfortable around him now, almost leaning into his touch, "My father has collections for everything. Books, photographs, drinks. It never ends."

 

Coriolanus wonders where they live, he's never seen them on the Corso and that's where all the rich families live. "What street are you on?"

"Cornelia Street." 

Coriolanus almost chokes on his drink, she's only a block away and he never knew it. Cornelia Street is known for its gorgeous townhouses with private backyards and spacious rooms. Most Capitolites live in apartments but the few who can afford it live in townhouses. It's not surprising that Glen Nightingale resides on such a prominent street. 

"I'm on the Corso," he tells her. Soarynn grins, tilting her head, "Really? I would've never thought," she teases. 

More and more people spill into the Hall, the party getting even louder making it more difficult to hear her, "Do you want to go somewhere more quiet?" He asks, hoping for a more intimate space to talk. Soarynn furrows her brows and glances over at her father who's wrapped up in several conversations. 

Coriolanus leans down so that his lips are right next to her ear, "You're in good hands I promise." 

Soarynn bites her lip, weighing her options in her head before she finally nods, "Alright." 

꧁ ꧂

The air is cold but it feels wonderful after being cooped up in a room with so many people. Soarynn sighs, tilting her head back as they walk out onto the balcony, "Much better than inside," she decides, looking at him from over her shoulder. 

Coriolanus smiles, admiring her dress again, how it's the perfect shade of red, how it's just the right length. It's only missing a rose or two. Her shoulders are already covered in goosebumps so he doesn't hesitate to shrug off his suit jacket, "Here, don't want you to catch a cold out here." 

Soarynn looks so genuinely surprised when he covers her shoulder with his jacket, and it makes him wonder if Felix ever offered her his coat. He barely spoke to Felix but he does recall him mentioning a girl he was courting every once in a while. It sounded like a business agreement more than a relationship to Coriolanus who was happy being free as a bird. 

"Thank you," she says softly. 

They both stare out into the open sky for a while, enjoying the silence. "You know I almost didn't come tonight," she says, breaking the silence. Coriolanus looks down at her, but she keeps staring straight ahead, "Why not?"

Soarynn shrugs, "Not really my scene. My father practically bribed me into agreeing to come in the first place. I always feel terrible when I have to leave Ceraphina behind." 

Coriolanus can't recall a single time when Soarynn hasn't been without Ceraphina since he met them. "You two are inseparable," he decides, "she's very lucky to have you." 

Soarynn softly chuckles, shaking her head, "I'm the lucky one. She's my biggest blessing, I don't know what I'd do or where I'd be without her." 

Coriolanus wants to ask her about Felix, about the accident and how it all happened but...he doesn't. He prefers her company over finding out her secrets. 

"She's very close with you," he observes, "and she looks just like you."

Soarynn nods, picking at her cuticles, "Well she doesn't really have a choice." 

Coriolanus swallows, leaning against the balcony railing so that they're almost at eye level, "Her father isn't around anymore?" He carefully asks, not wanting to pry but if she's willing to talk about it, he's more than happy to listen. He has a feeling that she doesn't have a lot of people to talk to about all of this.

"Her father is dead." 

Coriolanus watches her face carefully for any signs of tears but he finds none, only the hardened face of an independent woman who's raised an amazing little girl on her own. "He died before Ceraphina was born," Soarynn continues, picking at her skin even more and Coriolanus reaches out to take her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. 

For a second he worries that he crossed the line but Soarynn only squeezes his hand tighter, "It was a car crash, no one saw it coming. Especially not me since I was newly pregnant. I didn't even go to the funeral which only led his parents to hate me even more." 

Coriolanus rubs his thumb across the back of her hand, back and forth, "Her father was Felix Ravenstill wasn't he?" 

Soarynn nods, her eyes trained on their intertwined hands, "His mother called me a slut when we found out I was pregnant, even though it was her son who pressured me into having sex with him, no protection of course because he's always been so good at pulling out. Turns out he wasn't." Soarynn gives him a bitter smile and Coriolanus can feel his heart break for her. 

"You didn't deserve that," he tells her, "he shouldn't have pressured you and she had no right calling you a slut." 

Soarynn sighs, her shoulders sagging, "Doesn't matter. Felix is dead, he honestly got off easier than I did. I was terrified to tell my father but he's been my biggest supporter, making sure Ceraphina and I have everything we could ever need. He thought Felix would take care of me but he always wanted to just help himself and fuck around without getting in trouble." 

Coriolanus wishes Felix were still here so he could give him a piece of his mind. How could he hurt a girl as sweet as Soarynn?

"Felix was selfish," Coriolanus says slowly, not wanting to say the wrong thing about a very sensitive topic, "but he left you with something irreplaceable. Something that only you could make because when I look at Ceraphina, it's like I'm looking at you Soarynn."

She sniffles, quickly wiping away a stray tear from her cheek, "You don't even know me. You don't even know me and yet my daughter keeps asking about you and I find myself feeling completely safe in your presence."

Her words make his heart beat faster, it almost breaks out of his chest. "Well you two make it easy," he jokes, "you're both so sweet, and it's hard not to fall in love with Ceraphina's personality."

Soarynn laughs, nodding along with him, "I don't know where she came from," she admits, "I feel like she's nothing like me sometimes. So sweet and outgoing, so confident and brave. She's got a million friends at school and I don't have a single one right now. Without her, I would've never found you."

Coriolanus gently cups her face with his hand, her words striking something within him that he never knew existed. Soarynn looks up at him and he can see so many things in her dazzling eyes.

Uncertainty, nervousness, hopefulness, and maybe, just maybe some love.

"I think I've been looking for you my entire life," he admits, "and if you'll let me, I'd like to be there for you, be by your side, support you and every dream you've ever had. Let me take care of you Soarynn, I promise I'll be a better man than Felix."

Soarynn draws in a shaky breath like she doesn't believe him, "I have a daughter," she reminds him, "you won't get one without the other. Where I go, Ceraphina goes as well. That's probably why I haven't had much luck in finding a partner," she mumbles the last part but he won't have any of it.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he assures her, "I plan on taking care of both of you and if I ever falter, you have permission to drag me and my name through the streets."

Soarynn's lips turn up into a soft smile, "I don't understand where you came from. It feels like this happened out of nowhere and I'm still waiting for an explanation."

Coriolanus rests his forehead against hers, leaving them mere inches apart.

"It's all in the timing."

| Part 2. | Final Part |

| tumblr oneshot/drabble |

[yellowcry]

Isabela headcanons

 

Isabela Belén Rojas Madrigal. Born 7th of August 1928

 

Childhood

Was the golden child since her birth. Obviously, she wasn't forced into perfection since day one, but still was favourised for being the first grandchild.

Isabela said her first word when being babysat by Pepa and Bruno. Pepa called her brother "dumb". Isabela had repeated. (Can you tell me Pepa wasn't crying from how proud she was?)

Extremely stubborn. You couldn't make her stop if she wanted to do something. No matter how many candy you'd give her.

Used "I'm older so you should listen to me" card all the time. Especially when it came to her sisters.

Friendly teased Luisa for being younger. It didn't happen with Mirabel much because Isabela was busy exploring her cool new gift when she was born.

Was fascinated with flowers. Enjoyed making flower crowns even before getting her gift.

She was slowly rising in perfection even before Mirabel's ceremony. But it wasn't very obvious. Failed ceremony just made the process way faster.

 

Adult years (pre-movie)

 

Enjoyed reading about various plants. Could easily give advice about any plant. Did anyone used it? No

Actually pretty good in sport. Had won several award in school, mostly for gymnastics. Probably the second most sportive Madrigal after Luisa.

Made flower crowns manually in her room as a way to distract herself and calm down when she was overwhelmed.

Started to date Mariano because she didn't want to upset him or Abuela. Mariamo was the one to confess his feelings (ableit to his Abuela), Alma didn't set them up.

Had thoughts of running away several times to escape perfectionism and always felt guilty for it.

Started to have gray hair at the age of seventeen. Always styled her hair the way when it would be hidden. As Isabela thought it wasn't perfect

If she has to go on a date with Mariano, she'll try to get them to the meadow. There Isabela could at least withness a beautiful nature.

Disliked Mirabel because felt that her sister wad getting everything without an effort. And was jealous of the fact that their parents were closer to Mirabel. Isabela didn't realize the full extent of how her actions hurt Mirabel too.

Had nearly no relationship with Luisa, taking how busy they both were.

If anyone dared to misgender Dolores, even prior WECID, they would wake to see their house wrapped in roses. Thorns work just as good as cacti.

Post-movie

Changes her dress every odd day. Coloring it, cutting, whatever she can think off. Girl knows no consistence. Her favourite colour also changes constantly. Today it's sky blue, tomorrow will be green and yesterday it was gray.

Same goes for her hair. She regularly paints it. And don't forget glimmering silver! She doesn't hide it anymore.

Julieta cried when she saw Isabela having gray hair. Because it made her realize just how much she had grown up

Experiments with herself all the time. How else should she find herself?

It took her a while to get comfortable with showing her true self to people outside of the family. Sometimes she still wonders if others actually like her.

Grows avocado around just to add it to her food. She's allergic to avocado.

Adds milk to people's coffee just for the sake of it. Only drinks café con leche with an extreme amount of sugar.

The biggest drama queen you could meet.

The favourite niece to both Bruno and Pepa.

The most talkative and outgoing out of her sisters, won't shut up if you say a word about plants and will spend hours talking on it.

Protective. Will join Luisa on fighting whoever had insulted their sister/cousins. If not fight all by herself of course. 

Relationship.

Alma: Has a bit hard time with her post-movie. Doesn't hate her grandmother and probably still close to her, but does have troubles with expressing herself to her for the first few years. Eventually gets over it and starts to show her messy side in all its beauty.

Pepa: They are very similar. Isabela adores her Tía. Pepa probably often joins to gossip with Isabela and Dolores. Both are emotional and very dramatic. Pepa also helps Isabela with expressing her emotions via plants with her gift. Same way the weather express her emotions. .

Bruno: Isabela likes her Tío. But feels awkward around him for the time being. The last time she saw him was when she was eleven. And he was barely socialising even back then.. She likes him. And Bruno seems to understand her pretty well, as he was the favourite back in his youth too. She probably the first one ut of grandkids to be comfortable around him.

Julieta: Likes her mother, but they aren't overall close. Isabela is an adult, and way more active and crazy than calm and responsible Julieta.

Agustín: Closer to her dad, expessially as she doesn't smell like flowers all the time anymore. But the thing of being an adult is still in work. It's easier to open up to her Tíos rather than to her parents.

Félix: Cool but pretty distant. 

Dolores: Best friend since childhood™, gossip about everything. Isabela was the first person Dolores had confessed her feelings for Mariano after the engagement failed. Attached to the hip and together almost all the time. They were close even when both still were involved into the whole thing with Mariano.

Luisa: Grew closer as both became free from expectations. They like to tease eachother and playfully fight (which is usually Isabela trying to hit Luisa and Luisa blocking her). Isabela uses her muscles as a pillow whenever she wants. Luisa pays the favour by using Isabela as an armrest.

Camilo: Arguing and competitive relationship. Both are active for the sake of being messy. Probably will fight eachother just for the sake of it. Isabela was very jealous of Camilo and found him annoying pre-movie (even more than Mirabel). She still thinks Camilo is annoying but enjoys messing with him.

Mirabel: Now both are pretty cool. They still argue from time to time, but it's never even half as bad as it used to be. Mirabel encourages Isabela from time to time, and Isabela looks after her sister especially when Luisa's not around. Both try to make it up for all the problems in their relationship

Antonío: Wasn't close to him before, giving an age gap. Now adore spending time together as two the most passionate about nature. Isabela often takes Antonío out to show him wild outskirts where he can see many animals

Nicknames:

Isa (by Mirabel, Luisa, Dolores, Agustín and Felíx)

Bela (By Dolores, Luisa, Camilo, Julieta, Pepa, Alma and Bruno)

Hermanita (By Luisa when Isabela annoys her. Or when she wants to annoy Isabela)

Señorita Perfecta. (Mirabel when Isabela annoys her. Other grandkids as a joke. Isabela herself when she refers to her old self)

Mi Flor (Alma, rarely her parents)

[klbwriting]

Surface Tension

Chapter 7 - There's No Music Anymore

Fandom: Aquaman

Pairing: Ormxfemale!Reader

Warnings: some violence, light assault

Summary: Somehow things get worse

Notes: Just for some levity, because these chapters made me sad, Patrick Wilson just has a shit ton of shirtless/naked GIFS, like the man hates clothes and I for one, understand, good for him, but it makes it very hard to find GIFs of sadness, comments/critiques appreciated!

Taglist: @hyperagitatedcydonian13 @gabrieleskywalker @philiasoul @duchcess

They finally stopped swimming once they hit actual deep water. Hendrix gripped one of Y/N’s arms while an Atlantian soldier gripped the other. They met up with two more soldiers and Queen Atlanna. She looked surprised at first but then mirrored her face to look at Hendrix confused. He held out Y/N as if he were offering the queen a crown.

“What are you doing with this person?” Atlanna asked, pretending she had never seen the girl before. She didn’t want to explain why she would know Y/N. Orm was still in hiding and this complication wasn’t something she wanted to lead back to him.

“This is Y/N Velix, bastard child of former councilwoman Roux Velix, she was the perpetrator of the attempted assassination of King Orm on his coronation day,” he said, smiling wide with pride. Finally, he could push the suspicion in the kingdom off himself, offer her up as the sacrifice for that day. Make way for the king to trust him and eventually he would kill him and ascend the throne himself.

“This is the woman who shot the pulsar at him?” Atlanna asked, shocked. She had obviously been exiled during that time, but she had heard about the coronation, had seen the footage that Hendrix had found of that day. But she had also seen how Y/N looked at Orm in that café. Whatever thoughts of killing him she had had then she did not have now. Right now, she looked devastated, shaking her head while fighting against Hendrix specifically, not the other guard. She didn’t want Hendrix to touch her.

“Yes, she was with the terrorist group know as Atlantis for All that I infiltrated. I heard their plan, and she was the leader,” he said. Then he smiled even more. “And I thought I saw someone we all thought dead my queen, another criminal on the run. Who was that man terrorist? Tell me his name and you perhaps will have mercy.” Y/N froze and looked at him. Atlanna’s jaw twitched, knowing that he was speaking of Orm. He was still assumed dead during the Black Trident attack, and they needed to keep it that way. Y/N could ruin it all and save herself right now.

“I don’t know who you think he is but he’s just a surface dweller, nothing important, you won’t see him again,” she said. Hendrix glared and slapped her. “Tell the truth trash!” he yelled. She turned her face to look at him, now past fear and into anger.

“He’s a surface dweller, he left, he won’t be coming back to me,” she said, enunciating as if he were a toddler. Hendrix snarled, taking his hand off her to wind up for a better hit. Y/N took the opportunity and swam at Atlanna, pretending to be trying to run. She collided with the queen, who held onto to her. She leaned close so only Atlanna would hear. “Tell him I’m sorry, please.” She was yanked back by the other guards and Hendrix hit her in the back of the head with a weapon, knocking her unconscious.

“She is lying, I’m sure of it, let me go investigate further,” Hendrix demanded. Atlanna held up a hand to silence him. He hated that she still held any power, he should have been king, and he was still listening to the surface loving whore.

“I will investigate. If who you say is up there then I can get him to come quietly. We have just revealed ourselves to the surface, we don’t want him to start a war with them trying to fight you off,” she said. Her word was final. Hendrix glared but nodded to the soldiers who moved with him to take Y/N back to Atlantis and to a cell.

Orm had arrived at Tom’s to find Atlanna off on business in Atlantis and Arthur on his way to him. In the meantime, he sat in AJ’s room, playing with the little one. He didn’t realize until his nephew came over and hugged him that he was crying. He’d never cried before, it felt like the tension he had been holding released. He gripped AJ close, but not tight and let him go when he heard someone come in the room.

“Hey little brother, what’s going on?” Arthur asked, picking up his son who ran to him. Orm got up, wiping his face quickly before turning. He could see Arthur knew, his eyes were red, and he looked a mess.

“Y/N…she um, she was lying to me the whole time,” he said finally.

“What? Was she married or something?” Arthur asked. Orm let out an annoyed breath. That he could have dealt with, better than this at least. Better her be married to someone else then her be not only Atlantian but accused of an assassination attempt against him.

“No Arthur, she isn’t married, but she’s Atlantian,” he said. Arthur looked more confused.

“What’s the problem then? You weren’t exactly honest about being from Atlantis yourself,” he said.

“No, but she knew who I was, anyone from Atlantis would. She knew who I was, and she didn’t tell me who she was. What she did, or what she tried to do…or stop doing…” he trailed off, thoughts muddling together.

“Ok, let's get a beer, I’m going to need a drink for this,” Arthur said, setting AJ down again and leading Orm to the kitchen. They got some beers and went to sit on the dock. “Tell me everything that happened.”

“We spent the night together…”

“My man, finally getting some action,” Arthur said, unable to stop himself. Orm glared at him, silencing his brother with one look.

“We spent the night together and this morning her friend came over. She was angry, I’m guessing another Atlantian, someone who almost lost her husband when I sent that tidal wave to the coast 5 years ago. She was saying how Y/N was a traitor to their cause pretty much,” he explained.

“Their cause?” Arthur asked. He had heard stories about different rebellions during the time Orvax, especially after it was discovered he had engineered and released the sickness that had killed so many in the lower city, but only one of them had really made any noise, Atlantis for All, after they attempted to assassinate Orm.

“She was part of Atlantis for All, she told them the parade route for my coronation, but according to her I was never supposed to be attacked. It was supposed to be a cracker that exploded over them, making me pay attention,” he said. Arthur thought for a moment. “I don’t know what to believe. She said they only wanted to help the people in the lower city. Her father was from there, she was raised there until he died. She’s a councilwoman’s bastard. Arthur, I’m so confused. I’ve never felt like this before, like everything hurts.” For the first time Orm leaned into Arthur for comfort, letting his brother hug him tight as they sat there.

“I brought the footage you asked for,” Arthur said. “I had some of the tech people clean it up as much as could be done. No one’s watched it yet, let’s find out if your lady is telling the truth. If she is, go back to her, talk it out. You were once a genocidal maniac wanting to destroy the surface, if you can change, maybe she has too. If she’s lying and she did try to kill you, well I’m going to take her back to Atlantis myself.” Orm shook his head.

“No, you’re not. If she did try to kill me, I’ll leave, but I don’t want anything done to her. She isn’t that person anymore,” he said. Arthur nodded and held up the holodisk, turning it on. Orm was taken back to that day. He was terrified, so scared of being a disappointment to his father, or worse, becoming his father. He had been able to put on a face, but that crown was so heavy that day, watching the footage now he could see how tired he was already, shoulders sagging just a little under the weight of expectation he was supposed to live up to.

The footage was shot from the side, almost behind the Atlantis for All protest. He heard her voice again, heart tearing in his chest at the sound of it. The song was an old one, about taking care of those around you, being a better person. It broke his heart to hear her, to know she had been right there, so close to him, and he never knew. Then he could see the person next to her putting up the energy pulsar. With the footage cleared up you could see the paint and tubing that disguised it as a cracker, only the soft lighting was giving it away. She hadn’t touched it, but he saw her turn, stare for a moment before shock came to her face. She didn’t know. She grabbed it and tried to yank it up, away from Orm, but the other person, whose face was shielded by the camera angle, yanked it back. It went off and just missed him. He turned off the video and put his head in his hands.

“She was telling the truth, she saved my life,” he said softly, tears coming again. Would they ever stop? Arthur stood, helping him up. He turned his brother’s face to him and held it.

“Go back to her, talk about it, talk about everything,” Arthur said. “Tell her you love her. You’re both different now.” Orm nodded. “Actually, come on, I’ll drive you back.”

The men arrived to find Atlanna on the porch waiting. They looked confused as they approached. She looked sullen and angry.

“Did that woman try to kill you?” she demanded of Orm. Orm’s eyes widened. How did she know about Y/N? If she knew who else did? He looked at her house as Arthur explained the footage and what they had found. Orm didn’t listen. He ran to the house, breaking inside and running from room to room, yelling for her. He was just opening the backdoor when Atlanna put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hendrix found her, he took her back to Atlantis for trial, she’s been accused of treason. They are asking for her execution.”

Orm fell to his knees, punching the ground once before screaming.

[strlitetheatre]

MARK CHASITY THOUGHTS !!

thank you @biscuits-spooky-diner [ sorry for the tag again lol ] for reminding me w ur reblog i went fucking bananas w this LMAO

a lot of these are heavily headcanon-centric and i wanna preface that before i get into it bc i know some people may not agree!! thats fine!! i just like thinking these silly lil things

thoughts below the cut because its a Lot and i may add to this but idk?? shrugs we'll see

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starting off strong, i really am a sucker for the 'two [ or more ] characters that one actor/actress plays are related on some level' concept and i believe mark and duke are cousins bc CAN U IMAGINEE

theyre cousins on their moms sides but their moms dont really get along due to differing views and ways of parenting, but mark and duke are pretty close. theyre each others favourite cousin

━◦○◦━◦○◦━

mark and karen are both gay in opposite directions but they were very close friends growing up due to overlapping social groups (their parents, church groups, most likely abstinence camp goers, etc), and because of their respective families and being unable to be true to themselves, they got married and had grace very early after they graduated highschool

mark loves karen very much, but purely platonically. he is the type to tease her, sometimes poke fun at her, and he respects her immensely! they both work insanely well as a duo, and they hold down the fort of their picket fence home extremely well, but they are not in love

he n karen live a very domestic life, they can even be pretty physically affectionate at times [ hugs, cuddling, kisses to the head, cheeks, hands even ] and share quick 'i love you's before separating for the day, but something about it was always just slightly askew from romantic love and affection

━◦○◦━◦○◦━

circling back to highschool, mark and ted definitely had a secret on-again-off-again relationship for at least a few months to a year.

they inevitably fell out because ted was sick and tired of being kept as a secret [ i have so so many thoughts about the spankoffskis too dont get me started on that tho ] and ended up giving mark an ultimatum: either choose to stay with ted and become public, or choose his family and run away from himself

i think its clear which mark chose. they dont talk much anymore

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his middle name is anthony :33 no reason for this i just think it fits. mark anthony chasity :3333

he is a very sensitive man! growing up was extremely hard for him between an overbearing and coddling mother, and a hardassed and pushy father, and being heavily sheltered on top of it all

he wasnt shown a lot of genuine love and affection growing up (his mother would lovebomb him, his father didnt believe he needed it, and they were both pretty strict considering he was their only child) and he tries to do better with grace but still ends up unintentionally repeating cycles out of wanting to keep her 'safe'

he truly does love his daughter, he loves grace s o fucking much, but he n karen didnt have many positive role models to base themselves off of parenting-wise, therefore carrying a lot of fabricated truth into their relationships both separately and together with grace

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mark has an architecture degree and he would love to be an actual architect but alas. realty was what he could get into

hes the one in charge of most of the chasity homes interior decoration! he has an eye for colours n specifically he really enjoys pastels, but his favourite colour overall is actually green

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MARK CHASITY IS THE MARK FROM WORKIN BOYS [ getting forcefully pulled off stage, gripping the mic ] PLEASE P[LEASE JUSR HEAR ME OUT

before mark began working in realty, he worked at a bank. golden parachutes bank [ 'golden parachutes' is something mentioned in show stoppin number w like no context?? this concept is my gfs idea tho ] [ **I WAS INFORMED ITS A BUSINESS TERM but atp i feel like hatchetfield Would have a bank named after a business term lmfao ]

mark met greg through duke when he was about 20 or so [ I ALSO FIRMLYY BELIEVE THE GREG FROM WORKIN BOYS IS MAXS DAD BUT MY JÄGERMAN FAMILY TREE IS A WHOOOLEE OTHER CAN OF WORMS ], began seeing him, and greg was the one to bring mark into the polycule around 23-24

all of them worked at the bank! henry hidgens was one of the younger executives there

HIS N HENRYS DYNAMIC SPECIFICALLY was never sexual i believe, but it wasnt healthy overall because there was a power imbalance between them, and i also believe mark wouldve been one of the younger men in the polycule

henry and mark had a very 'wolf and lamb' dynamic, mark being perceived and treated as 'innocent' due to how he carries himself and how he was raised, and henry sometimes doing specific things to intimidate and even scare mark

all in all things do not go well. yeah. i am Not gonna get too deep into that bc it delves into pure indulgent au headcanon bullshit [ this entire post rlly lol ] but to shorten it: i believe mark to be a sole survivor of the workin boys incident in some aus and after the deaths of the boys he quits the banking job n goes into realty god bles

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coughs. anyway. he really likes historical art and i believe mark n grace are so similar in how theyre both So abnormal about historical things [ graces general interest and infatuation w the waylon place and its history that she basically infodumps about in npmd ]

he would infodump about historical pieces and their stories to anyone that would listen, which is usually his wife or daughter

SPEAKING of historical art n bringing back his architecture degree, when grace was around 10 mark built her an exactly-to-scale miniature replica of the waylon place as a dollhouse, down to the scaffolding, lighting, wall decor, etc

it took him years and was a complete surprise. it is his favourite and most pride-inducing project to date, even more bc it was for his baby

[trashmouth-richie]

Modern Eddie x fem!reader —miniseries

Summary: you’re new to Hawkins working as an apprentice at the local tattoo shop and part time at the hospital in administration. You agree to a date with a cute guy at work.

W.C 2.5k

Warnings: NO MINORS 🔞 assault, sexual assault, eventual smut.

PART: 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |

“Well bye,” you say half heartedly as you turn to unlock the door to your apartment, fumbling with the key ring as you hurriedly try your stubborn key again in the lock.

“Yeah thanks for paying for dinner, and the movie, sorry I forgot my wallet and my ex gets half of my check for stupid child support.” Jason chides, running a hand through his hair looking at his phone and swiping right on the black glass.

You normally don’t do dates, between working long hours at the tattoo parlor as an apprentice, and part time as a secretary at the hospital, you were busy. But when Jason, the cute Physical Therapist, who wore too much cologne and too much hair gel asked you out on Wednesday to a movie and dinner, you accepted just for something to do. You expected a somewhat decent movie, and maybe dinner at Enzo’s. But what you got was a slasher flick, and dinner was at the newest sports bar, clad with stripper poles and every douche Hawkins could offer. You could get past the scary movie, you liked horror films, preferred them even, but it was the unwanted touch of Jason’s heavy hand on your thigh riding up your skirt that had you start questioning what was happening.

Dinner wasn’t any better, you had already paid for the movie which, fine— you didn’t mind splitting the cost of a first date, but when the bill came after dinner—burgers and cheese balls—and Jason didn’t shift his weight around on the stool to retrieve his wallet, you knew then and there that he had no intentions of actually paying for anything tonight. You listened for two hours about the highs and lows of Jason’s life. From his high school basketball career to marrying his high school girlfriend in college, to her getting knocked up, to him leaving her because she didn’t pay enough attention to him, you had had more than enough for one night.

You thought he would get the hint when you rolled your eyes at everything he had said, you were also only replying with “uh-huh”. Either he was that damn dense or just very unaware that you were not interested in what he was saying, he kept rambling on. You finally grabbed your purse and started heading out the door when he noticed you were gone and fell instep behind you.

The ride home led to even more of a nightmare, instead of bringing you back to your apartment, Jason had driven you to a secluded part of woods surrounding Lover’s Lake. His hands were on you faster than sweat on a sumo wrestler's top lip. He was forcing his mouth on your neck, breath laced with the dizzying smell of too many Jack and Cokes. His hands pulling your hair to get you closer to him but not in a sexy way. You finally managed to tell him that you had to get home to call your police chief dad to check in. It was a lie, the first one you could think of to get Jason’s hands off of you. Your dad wasn’t even a cop but Jason didn’t know that. When he put his truck in park you all but ran to your door. Which led you to this moment right now.

The key finally clicks into the lock and your hand is on the knob turning it sharply when your back is shoved up hard against the concrete wall that makes up the newer construction of your apartment building.

“Where are you running off to honey?” Jason growls, rubbing his hand against your cheek, grabbing your chin and thrusting it up to him, “I know your little story about calling your dad is bullshit, so why are you lying?”

The threatening look in his eyes is scary, he looks deranged, angry that you had turned him down.

“I'm— I’m not lying” your wavering voice giving you away. Your entire body is frozen, ice cold in the bitter October air. “I just want to go inside, by myself.” You were clear with what you wanted, to be left alone.

Jason moves his hips into you as he yanks your hands to your sides pinning you against the wall. “I bet that pretty mouth would look good wrapped around my cock.” Before you can react Jason has you flipped around so your chest is pressed against the cool wall, cheek rubbing roughly onto the stone leaving a rash. His breath is hot against your ear, “Don’t deny that you want this.” Panic settles in your chest and riddles throughout your body. Realization of what is going on finally hits you. He’s not going to stop.

“Jason, no! No! Let me go!” You wiggle your body beneath him and fight like hell to get away from his grip.

Jason grips your skirt and jerks it upward. “Just relax honey, Jason’s got you now.” Tears sting your eyes at the sickening feeling of his hands groping your thighs.

The roar of a motorcycle engine whirls in your ears and screeches to a stop. Jason is continuing his assault on your body, ripping your tights with one hand the other gripping both of your hands behind your back. You were helpless against him. He was stronger and taller, and you were about to fall victim to him and probably not even the first one. “No! Get off! Jason, leave me alone!”

“Shut the fuck up!” Jason shouts above your head. The sound of his zipper being undone rings like satanic bells in your ears.

“Hey!” A loud voice bellers out, you hear heavy boots running towards you as Jason’s head is smashed into the concrete above you. Blood from his nose drips onto your forehead as he is suddenly grabbed like a rag doll and thrown off of you. “If I see you here again I’ll fucking kill you! Get outta here!”

You slide down against the concrete and hold your knees to your chest, sobs rack your body as you shake uncontrollably.

“A-Are okay? Did he hurt you?” The once booming voice of the man who saved you is now gentle, coaxing a reply as you hear him lower down squatting to your level. The sound of chains jingling and keys being shoved into leather, are muffled against your crying. “It’s okay, he’s gone, I promise, let me help you inside.”

Still afraid to look up, you open your eyes and see large hands reaching out to you. You had seen the rings before, but couldn’t place them. Your eyes lift slowly as you see the concerned gaze plastered on the face of one of Pete’s clients. You didn’t know his name, but that face haunted your dreams.

He was in the shop almost weekly whether he was shooting the shit with Pete or adding to the sleeves he had on both arms, he was a frequent flier. Always smiling that big beautiful toothy grin, his wild hair shaking when he laughed at Pete’s ridiculous jokes. He was handsome beyond belief, but after training with Pete one day and watching in awe at his slightly muscular chest, you saw a woman’s name tattooed above his heart, “Chrissy”.

His eyes are warm and inviting as he stares curiously into yours. You place your hands into his and he pulls you up gently. Finding your keys on the ground and opening your door, he helps you inside. Avoiding touching you in fear of triggering you, he keeps his distance, arms hovering above you as if you’d fall backwards at any second. “Is there uh, anyone I should call? Cops? A friend, your parents?” You walk achingly to your bathroom and shut the door quietly, throwing your purse onto the counter and looking into the mirror, a shell of yourself looking back.

“No” you mutter out weakly as you start the shower water. You hurriedly undress and throw your clothes into a pile, later to be thrown away. All you need right now is to get the feeling of Jason’s hands off of you. The water in the shower is scalding, damn near intolerable. You step into the burning abyss and let the water trickle down your face, blending in with the tears. How could you be so stupid to go on a date with him? If you would have said no you could have avoided this entire situation. But being new to Hawkins, you thought it could be fun to meet someone new, maybe even snag a boyfriend. How fucking dumb could you be? You reach around your shower for the pumice stone and scrub your skin harshly, everywhere he had touched you. You scrubbed until your skin was raw, the epidermis scrubbed and scraped until a new baby layer of skin started to appear, like a snake molting.

A soft knock on the bathroom door has you jumping out of your raw skin making you scream.

“Sorry! I’m sorry! I was just checking to see if you’re okay! I’ve seen you at Ace of Spades, you’re Pete’s apprentice right? I’m Eddie if you didn’t know.”

You tell him your name as you turn the water off and step out of the shower on your plush pink bath rug. As you grab your robe off of its hook you notice your wrists have bruises on them from the way Jason held your hands in his tightened threatening grip. You wipe the tears from your eyes and wrap the oversized terry cloth robe against your body. The warm robe gathers you into a hug holding you tightly. You’re exhausted. Mentally and physically.

Opening the door to the large bathroom you are met by Eddie sitting on the floor adjacent to the door. Large hands hanging over his knees as his wrists sit atop them. He stands up and gives you some space.

“I uh— I noticed you have boxes in your living room, are you new to Hawkins?”

“I moved to Hawkins last year after accepting the apprenticeship, but I’m newer to this building.” You say eyes casted downward.

“Me too, uhh new to the building, well it was built last year and I somehow got in so yeah that’s what I mean, I’m —I live here too, across the hall actually.” Eddie says hands motioning to the door, “108.” The apartment building had 8 apartments to one level, they were all outside entry meaning your front door led to the outside. The aroma of French vanilla coffee tingles your nose as you walk out of the bathroom.

“Did you make coffee?” You ask sitting down on the couch.

“Yeah, I did— figured you might want some after, uh- everything.” Eddie says scratching the back of his neck.

He walks into your kitchen and hands you the Beauty and the Beast “Chip” mug you had gotten as a birthday present a few years ago from your parents. “I found some creamer and figured you used it”.

“Thanks” you whisper, clutching the mug with both hands. “for everything.”

“Anytime,” he’s leaning back on your counter facing the living room with his legs crossed as he takes a sip of his own coffee, “since you’re not from Hawkins I should warn you of the creeps around here… Jason is at the top of that list.”

“I wonder why, he seems great.” you deadpan.

Eddie lets out a small laugh and so do you, finding it easier to laugh through the pain than wallowing in it.

You’re about to ask Eddie to come sit with you when his phone rings. “Sorry I gotta take this, hang on.”

You smile and nod slightly to him. You make your way to your bedroom and change into some pajamas, and run a brush through your hair. As you come back to the living room you don’t mean to overhear Eddie’s conversation.

“Yeah I’ll stop by and check it out. Alright, yup, bye” Eddie pockets his phone and looks over to you, giving you a small smile. You slide onto the couch and bundle up in a blanket. You motion for Eddie to sit down and he chooses to throw a black denim clad thigh over the arm of the couch. “Do you want to talk about it? I maybe a shitty barista but I am a good listener.”

You’re twirling small designs into your knees on top of the blankets. You barely know Eddie but he was illuminating such a calm and caring presence that made you feel safe with him being around. “I just— I thought that I could go on this date and possibly meet some new people, I only know a handful of people in Hawkins. I should have known when the girls at the hospital rolled their eyes when he asked me out.” You let out a sigh and throw your head into your knees, “I just didn’t think it would end like— this.”

You cry silently into your knees for awhile until you feel the weight of the couch cushions sag. Eddie is sitting on the couch by your feet, he rubs the top of them reassuringly. “Don’t worry about Jason, I’m gonna stop down to the sheriff's office tomorrow and tell them what I saw. These apartment buildings have security cameras so it will be on there, I’m gonna talk to our building manager and get copies to bring with me.”

You wipe your eyes on the blanket and look at him, “you don’t have to do that.” You say letting out an exasperated breath.

“I know, but I’m going too, that motherfucker is going to pay, it’s like he’s only gotten worse throughout the years.”

“Some people never change.”

“You got that right… so tell me about yoursel—”

Eddie's phone rings again. He begrudgingly takes it out of his pocket and mutters some explicits to himself, “just a sec,” he says as he stands up from the couch walking into the kitchen.

“Hello, yeah, I said I’d look at it later… well fuck I can’t just drop whatever I’m do—.. what does it matter? Fine. Alright fine.”

Eddie shoves his phone into his leather jacket pocket and comes back over to you. “Listen, I uh.. I gotta go. My —friend needs my help with their car. If you need anything I’m just right across the way there. Are you going to be okay tonight?”

His big eyes go wide as he looks into yours. You could melt in that chocolate fountain of Willy Wonka bliss that are his eyes. “Yeah, thanks again for everything— I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t here.”

Eddie hides his face with his hair at the small compliment. “I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

“I’ll let you know what happens after the sheriff office stop tomorrow okay? Remember, I’m just over there, stop by anytime.”

He throws you a wink and a short little wave as he exits your apartment.

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@boomhauer @munson-blurbs