#this post is made for me and the three people who care

[cashmoneyyysstuff]

edit cus tumblr tweaked out n posted the unfinished draft smh.

sitting in the bus with your fifteen minute now ex boyfriend was not something you expected to happen when you’d gotten ready for your date this morning.

you’re sitting as far away from his as possible, or at least as far as he’ll let you go. because of course shouto todoroki just couldn’t let you have one moment without flashing you his sweet little puppy eyes and kissable little pouted lips, three seats away from you.

your face is practically smushed against the window, intently keeping your eyes fixed on the green grass turning dark with rain while you try to keep your eyes dry. you wonder if it’s your fault, if you did something.

more people start coming in, trying to find shelter from the rain. the more people come in the louder it gets, they’re so loud, he’s so loud. he isn’t doing anything but staring at you, but it’s so intense it almost sounds loud. you feel it in the beat of your ears and the beat of your heart, you focus on the rain droplets bouncing off the pavement outside to desperately keep from crying.

you know shouto doesn’t have to take the bus, his dad could probably get someone to pick him up, he’d only made it a habit of taking the bus with you so you could spend more time together. you think maybe he shouldn’t have, it’s his fault, he spent more time with you then he should’ve and somehow that brought him to sit you down on a random park bench, grip on your hand still firm as he told you he thinks it’d be better if you didn’t see each other anymore.

as if you could just stop seeing him, fucking idiot. you’re in the same class, have the same friends, you see him in your favorite manga and the website you read your early leaks on that you shared with him, you see him in your notes because he’d write them down for you when you were sick to bring them to your dorm, you see him in your favorite snacks because you make it a habit of having him guess the flavor of the skittles you’re sharing.

seriously, what a moron. who does he think he is, the love of your life ?!

well, you sure thought he was.

you can’t bear it anymore, this feels like actual torture and you could honestly give less of a shit about how dramatic you sounded. this is unbearable, it’s suffocating feeling those deep colored eyes constantly on you, reaching out and begging and pleading for something you cannot and will not give more of to him.

this isn’t your stop, but it’s close. you can walk the rest of the way. screw the rain and screw him.

you quietly apologize to the people you’re pushing past, though they can barely hear you as you try to keep your wobbly voice even. when you pass by a group of people the start hissing and murmuring behind you and you think you weren’t being loud enough until you realize that of course he’d followed you off as soon as you got off. ever uncaring of the people around him except you know that’s not true. you know shouto cares, he’s kind, but you thought he cared about you and he apparently didn’t, so you trudge forwards with teeth clenched and hands tightened into fists. to desperately keep from crying.

why does he care so much, why did he follow you in the bus and now out of it ? couldn’t he just let you be alone ?? he’s the one who broke it off.

but you’re sure you’re the one who did something, how could he have ? your shouto’s perfect, the sweetest boy in the whole word. teeth clenched tighter and tighter, to keep from crying.

he calls for you, and then again louder over the rain, he won’t let you drown him out. of course he won’t. not when he calls for you again, a cool hand wrapping around your wrist this time. you want to melt despite the chill, but instead you boil ripping your hand out of his grip.

“just go home ! why’d you follow me out here ?!” his eyes are wide and so sad, you’d never raised your voice at him before even during your rare arguments.

“this isn’t your stop..” he tries to reason, voice quietly drifting through the air, the rain hits the pavement and his hair is getting wetter. he’s so handsome, he always is. you want to kiss him and you hate yourself for it.

“yeah, i noticed that too. did that on purpose if you couldn’t tell, which you obviously didn’t.” you’re being mean, you’re spitting everything at him to get him to just fuck off. but of course he won’t, because your shouto is kind. and he reaches out for you again only for you to back away from him.

“i’m sorry.”

“just leave me alone ! why can’t you just leave me alone ?!” you ask him and yourself and anyone who’s listening. you sob when he slowly, ever so softly wraps his arms around you and you push at him and push and push and push him away but he never backs off, he never leaves you alone. not when he’s everywhere. with the smell of his cologne and the softness of his lips on your forehead and the softness of his clothes as he pleads, he’s so sorry he says. but you don’t know why. he’s the one who broke it off right ?

“is it me ?” you whimper, he immediately shushes you but you continue “was it something i did ?”

“no, no it’s not you—it could never be you, love.” his voice is even, or it’s trying to be, you can tell he’s having a hard time with how tightly he’s holding onto you. like you won’t hear him out if he doesn’t keep you close, it’s funny because you’d hear him out even if he was trying to convince you the earth was shaped like a rectangle, hilarious even.

your heart bleeds for him, despite it being his fault your heart is hurting in the first place.

"it's just…better that way" is what he'd managed to spit out. "but listen—look at me." he grabs your cheeks, pulling your face up to look into his unwavering pretty bicolored eyes. he presses the sweetest, gentlest kiss to your lips, you don't think anyone would love you enough to kiss you like this ever again, and the tears keep flowing because you don't think you'd want to be loved like this by anyone other than him. and it makes you press back against him when he kisses you again, and again

" i love you, i do. and it's not you." he reaffirms again, because he knows you're thinking about it

"it isn't you. i love you, angel." he babbles over and over against your lips. "you know i love you, yeah ?" and you want to say you don't, but the shine in his wet eyes tells you everything you already knew, and you kiss him again, and again. his hands, cooling and so invitingly warm still firm against your cheeks.

[twinsunstars]

Thank You, Mother's Day - a small Bad Batch fic

Sypnosis: Omega learns what Mother's Day is, and she's got a few ideas, while Eva, Jax, Sami, and Baryn prepare something for Emerie.

Oh my gosh, Mother's Day is almost over for me where I am in like less than an hour, but I started working on this all day after putting up this post this morning and just finished it quickly (I was so inspired by my own thoughts lol). I hope you guys like it, and Happy Mother's Day!

also up on ao3! read under cut if you want to read it on here instead!

The galaxy had many unique holidays shared around many planets. Life Day, Harvest Day, and the Festival of Light were a few that were more commonly known. One holiday had grown very popular recently as it was coming up soon, as many people on Pabu were getting ready to celebrate it with their loved one.

Mother’s Day. 

When Omega first learned about the holiday from Lyana, she was curious to hear more. Lyana barely remembered celebrating Mother’s Day with her own mother, who had unfortunately passed away from a heavy illness when she was three. Lyana showed Omega a few holophotos she had left of her mother, reminiscing in the memories.

Omega listened closely when Lyana described what a mother was upon her asking. A kind, caring, nurturing, and strong female who always watches out for her family, making sure her kids are safe and healthy.

Nala Se had taken care of Omega ever since she was born, though Omega wasn’t sure about any of those motherly characteristics matching her. All she did to Omega was run tests and make sure she was staying healthy for her own purposes. 

While Lyana described what a mother was, she added, “But you know, mothers don’t quite have to just be female. My dad is like my mom too, and he does everything he can to keep me safe.”

Omega thought about that. Her brothers matched those characteristics way more, always there to make sure she was safe and cared for her wellbeing.

The brother who did this the most was Echo. He always broke up Hunter and Crosshair’s fights before they escalated to violence, helped Omega sew Lula back up whenever Lula got a hole in her fabric or one of her ears ripped, made sure Wrecker wasn’t overeating and wasn’t eating anything that would make him sick, and always tried to get Crosshair to eat something. 

“Lyana,” Omega began, thinking about an idea. “What if I do something for Echo? He’s always taking care of all of us, and he’s my brother but Hunter and Crosshair like joking that he’s the mom.” She would always hear things like “Listen to your mom” or “Okay, Mother” whenever Echo was around, but Omega never got the chance to sit down with her brothers and ask what that meant. 

“That sounds like a wonderful idea!” Lyana said. Lyana was already planning to do something for her father and having Auntie Phee help; ever since her mother had passed away he was fulfilling that role, and even if it wasn’t Father’s Day she wanted to have her dad feel appreciated. 

Omega began brainstorming ideas, asking Lyana what people usually do on this day. Gifting flowers, making a heartfelt message card, giving them gifts and letting them know how much you appreciate them. She had to share this with her brothers. 

***

“Mother’s Day for Echo?”

Omega nodded with excitement, deciding to talk with her brothers about her ideas during their time out fishing today and telling them what the holiday is. “Lyana told me about it, and you all always call Echo the mom.” 

“He certainly does act like a mother,” Crosshair scoffed, chewing on his toothpick and holding the fishing rod with his one hand. Batcher leaned over the ship, keeping an eye out for any fish. 

“Yeah, we always joke about it,” Wrecker chuckled. “But would it be right? Echo’s not actually a mother.”

“Lyana said someone close to you who acts like a mother doesn’t actually have to really be a mother to be celebrated on this day. She’s going to celebrate her dad. I feel like we should do the same for Echo, and he’s coming back for a visit on that day. It’ll be fun!”

Omega hopped up and down, trying to convince her brothers to agree. Omega had a point; Echo always took the most care of them and made sure they were keeping things neat, clean and tidy. Wrecker and Crosshair exchanged a look, and then looked over at Hunter, who was lost in thought. 

“We… could give it a try,” Hunter began. “Echo has been doing a lot lately with Rex. He does need a break.”

Hunter also didn’t want to say no to Omega. She looked so determined to appreciate Echo, he had to give her a chance to experience a Mother’s Day celebration like natural-borns do. 

Omega squealed, telling her brothers the plan. 

***

“Do you think we should do something for Dr. Karr?” 

Eva, Jax, Sami, and Baryn resided under the tree in central Pabu, relaxing after chasing around the moonyos and playing a lot of games to keep Baryn entertained, who was now sleeping soundly in Sami’s arms. 

The kids still resided on the island for their safety, waiting for their chances to go back home once the older adults found a safe way for them to get back to their families. The tricky part was finding Baryn’s family, but the kids had hope that he would get to be reunited with his mother. 

Everyone was talking about Mother’s Day during their stroll in the market, putting up sales and handing out flowers and chocolates. None of the kids had been away from their family on Mother’s Day until now. They missed their mothers much more, longing for their warm hugs. 

Eva suggested giving Dr. Karr a Mother’s Day gift to fill that void of longing to appreciate their mothers. Dr. Karr had been the nicest to Eva, and she felt like appreciating her. She had been away from the island for a while, so Eva was excited to see her again. 

Jax tilted his head, confused. “She’s not our mother though.”

Sami replied, “But she helped us escape and kept us safe. Mothers try to keep their kids safe.” 

The memory replayed in her head of when her mother tried to keep her away from the strange man who was trying to take Sami away. Everything else was a blur after that. She laid her chin on Baryn’s head gently, trying not to cry. 

Eva nodded. “I have a friend who always celebrates her dad for Mother’s Day. Dr. Karr has been so nice, and Omega said she’ll be coming on that day to visit.”

Sami thought for a moment. “Should we ask Omega? She could give us advice. Dr. Karr is her sister.”

“I think she’s near the docks right now. Dr. Karr did try to protect us Maybe it could be fun,” said Jax. He missed his mom a lot, as he would always make drawings and pick flowers for her.

Eva knew how he felt. Eva missed her mother and father so much, and she prayed it was only a matter of short time before getting to be reunited with her again. Dr. Karr had given her the hay doll Eva grew to love so much, reminding her of the small plush dolls her mother would buy for her to feel happy and safe.

“Let’s go find her.”

***

“That… sounds really nice, Omega.” 

Omega had commed Emerie to talk about Mother’s Day for Echo, sitting in a corner near the docks on Pabu. She was really excited, and Echo was bringing Emerie along too during his annual visit. Omega wanted her to be a part of her plan. 

Emerie found this Mother’s Day interesting. Just like every other clone, she never had a mother, nor any parents. Nala Se may have taken care of her for a short period of time, but she wasn’t quite someone who you would call caring and nurturing. Hemlock may have raised her after taking her in, but he didn’t fit any of those categories either at all.

“I knew you would like it!” Omega said. She was about to tell Emerie more, but she heard an outside voice calling her name. 

“Sorry, Omega,” Emerie turned with a frown. “I have to go take care of something. But I promise to keep it secret.”

Omega smiled. “It’s okay. We can go over the plan later.”

Emerie gave her sister a nod. “Be safe, Omega.” 

The call ended, and Omega tucked in her holo-comm into her pocket. She turned to see Eva, Jax, and Sami coming over. Baryn was awake, snuggling with his toy. 

Omega noticed Eva had a nervous look on her face. “Hi! You guys doing okay?”

The kids nodded. Eva held her hands together behind her back. “We wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure, what is it?” Omega gave the young ones her full attention, feeling a little concerned. 

“Well… everyone says Mother’s Day is coming. Our moms aren’t here, but we felt like giving a gift to Dr. Karr.”

“She’s been nice to us, it’s the least we could do,” Sami added. 

Omega’s eyes widened. “That sounds fantastic! I’m going to do something for one of my brothers, and Emerie is going to help. She’ll love your surprise!”

Eva smiled. “You really think so?”

Omega nodded. “Emerie never had a mother either, but I know she will love your gift.”

The kids were happy that Omega liked their idea. Now they just had to think of the perfect gift. 

***

It was perfect timing. Mother’s Day was today. Omega had been wide awake since the sun rose, awaiting Echo and Emerie’s arrival. She had her brothers help her paint banners, pick flowers, and cook some food. She had drawn a picture of her and her family together for Echo to keep with him, and she had Lyana help her frame it. 

Omega had gotten Mox, Stak, and Deke to join in, who were helping the Batch set the table. They had decided to make handmade bracelets for Echo to have on his missions, adding touches to his new painted armor. 

Lyana came over, informing Omega that the ship was arriving. Omega ran out, Hunter exclaiming to tell her to be careful. Batcher followed her, wanting to see Echo and Emerie. 

The ship landed, and Omega ran to Echo, leaping into his arms. 

“Whoa, good to see you again too kid!” Echo returned the hug, carefully setting Omega down. Omega gave Emerie a hug next, as Emerie knelt down to give her sister a tight one. Omega was still getting used to seeing Emerie without those rose-tinted glasses, but she looked pretty either way. 

Batcher nuzzled herself on Echo’s legs. Echo smiled, giving her some pets. She came over to Emerie, who slightly flinched. Batcher tilted her head and sat down calmly, allowing Emerie to come near her when she felt comfortable.

Emerie was still getting used to Batcher, as she would always see the lurca hounds as these vicious creatures who could easily rip one’s throats with their claws. But there was nothing to worry about with Batcher; she wasn’t one of them anymore. Emerie slowly reached her hand out, gently petting Batcher’s head. She smiled, enjoying the feeling. 

“Dr. Karr!” Emerie heard little voices call her name, looking over to see Eva and Jax running towards her. Sami walked over with Baryn in her arms; the baby never wanted to leave her gentle hold. Emerie stayed down on her knees to receive a hug from each of them. 

“Hello, Eva, Jax, Sami. Baryn.” Emerie smiled and scrunched her nose at Baryn, who giggled, happy to see her. “You all can call me Emerie. You don’t have to keep calling me Dr. Karr.”

“Okay. Emerie,” Eva responded, getting the feel of calling Emerie by her first name.

Echo looked around. There was no sight of the Batch. “Where are the others?”

Omega smiled. “Getting ready.”

Echo raised an eyebrow. “Ready for what?”

Omega grabbed Echo’s hand, pulling him to go with her. “Come with me. You’ve got to see this!”

Echo laughed, following his sister to where she wanted him to go. Emerie began to follow Omega, turning to the kids. “Coming?”

Eva replied, “In a bit. We’ll  be there.” Emerie nodded, following Echo and Omega.

“Let’s go prepare her gift,” Jax whispered. The kids nodded, heading off to get Emerie’s Mother’s Day gift. 

***

Omega excitedly led Echo to her family’s new home on Pabu. Echo noticed her being more energetic than usual, wondering where this girl had in store for him. They reached the door, but Omega stopped before opening it. 

“Could you close your eyes?”

Echo scrunched his eyebrows, starting to grow suspicious of what was behind those doors. He hoped it wasn’t one of their pranks they convinced Omega to do with them. Last time he had a whole mishap with his scomp arm and sticky string.

“Please?” Omega held her hands together. As much as he was worried, Echo couldn’t say no to his favorite girl. He shut his eyes, feeling Omega take his hand again and heard the door open. Emerie opened the door so Omega could lead Echo in.

Echo slowly walked, trusting Omega to take him safely. He felt Omega stop walking as he stopped as well. 

“Okay, open.”

Echo swallowed, ready to face anything that was thrown onto his face. He opened his eyes, and all he saw were his brothers, standing together with smiles on their faces. There was a whole table set with food and flowers carefully arranged. A painted banner was hung above on the walls with the words colorfully written in Aurebesh: “Happy Mother’s Day.”

Echo was about to ask what Mother’s Day was, but Omega began, “Everyone may joke that you’re our mom, but in a way you really are. You take so much care of us, and we wanted to thank you for it. Happy Mother’s Day, Echo!”

“Yeah, happy Mother’s Day, Echo!” Wrecker exclaimed, happy to celebrate. Hunter and Crosshair couldn’t help smiling at their older brother. Mox, Stak and Deke came over to Echo, handing him the bracelets they made. 

“For your new armor. It’ll add some color,” Mox said. 

Echo smiled, grateful for all of this. 

Omega walked over to the table, reaching for a frame. She handed Echo the frame, who got to see her drawn picture of him and Omega standing together, the rest in the picture as well along with Emerie. “I drew this for you to have wherever you go, so you have a picture of us for you to look at whenever you miss us on your missions.”

Echo knelt down, holding the frame. He loved it so much, and the picture being drawn by his little sister was the best thing for him. “Thank you, Omega.”

He pulled her into a hug, which Omega returned warmly. Wrecker joined in, and so did Hunter. Wrecker dragged Crosshair into the hug, which he actually enjoyed.

Emerie came over to Echo, holding an untied bracelet. “Senator Chuchi told me about these bracelets that are shared between brothers and sisters. I wanted to make you one as a gift. It’ll bring you good luck.”

Echo looked at the delicate bracelet in Emerie’s hand. He reached out his arm, allowing Emerie to put on the bracelet for him. Emerie smiled, tying the bracelet onto his wrist next to the bracelets the young triplets gave him. Echo loved his gifts, and he was happy that his family decided to do this for him. 

“You should eat, you’ve probably had a long journey,” Hunter suggested. 

“The cake is delicious! Your favorite berry is in it,” Wrecker said. 

Echo nodded, following his brothers and sister to the table. 

Emerie was ready to follow Echo, but she heard Eva’s voice behind her. The kids stood together shyly, and Emerie noticed a red box in Eva’s hands. 

“We… thought of making something for you for Mother’s Day,” Jax said. 

“For helping keep us safe,” Sami added. 

Eva reached out the box. Emerie was shocked. She wasn’t expecting to get anything for Mother’s Day. She didn’t feel she really fit the qualities of a mother. 

Emerie knelt down, taking the box gently from Eva’s small hands. She opened it carefully, revealing a beautiful woven necklace.

“Did you all make this?” Emerie asked. The kids nodded. 

“It was Sami’s idea,” said Eva. “You can wear that on your adventures, and when we go back to our families, you can have that to remember us by.”

Emerie held the necklace, fond of the design. The colors of gold, maroon, and dark blue were so beautifully woven together. She had never received a gift as precious as this. 

"I have some flowers for you too," Jax said, handing her a bunch of colorful flowers he found around Pabu. Emerie took the flowers gently.

“Do you like it?” Sami asked. 

Emerie smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. “It’s beautiful. It’s perfect. Thank you." 

The kids smiled, coming in for another hug. Baryn cooed as Emerie set a hand on his head. She felt grateful to be loved by these children. 

“Emerie, come eat!” Omega called. 

“Come join,” Emerie said to the kids. She stood up, holding Eva and Jax’s hands. She helped Sami set up Baryn so he could eat something good for him. 

The family was happy to be together like this, just like other normal families in the galaxy spending a holiday together. Echo had listened to Omega explain Mother's Day to him and often looked over at his bracelets, loving his gifts. Emerie had Eva put the necklace on her carefully, loving to wear it. 

Mother’s Day had become a new special holiday for them in their hearts, and Omega was ready to celebrate it every year, just like this.

[formula1blog]

Continue the legacy Pt 1

Leclerc son x Verstappen daughter

masterlist

WC: 1,5 K

A/N: First Chapter. I promise that it gets better with time as we still have to come to the better part. This is some background information. Please let me know what you think. <3

2028

As Max crosses the finish line in first place, a wave of euphoria washes over the entire Red Bull garage. The sound of cheers and applause echoes through the pit lane, with crew members rushing to congratulate the newly crowned five-time world champion. GP's voice comes through Max's earphones, "Max Verstappen, you are a five-time world champion! What a phenomenal achievement!" 

As Max drives around the track, he takes a moment to soak in the adoration of his team and the crowd. He looks around at the sea of faces, taking in the sheer joy and elation that are palpable in the air. "Thank you all for this great season," he says, his voice filled with gratitude. "The car was incredible, and each and every one of you has worked tirelessly to get us to this point. I'm so grateful to have had such an amazing team behind me."

As he continues to speak, his emotions become more raw and heartfelt. "Since the start of this season, I've felt like I've been on top of the world. The team has been so supportive and kind to me, and it means the world to me. This is an incredible way to end my career, and I'm so grateful to have been able to share it with all of you." The team erupts in applause once again.

Max parks his car at Parc ferme behind the number 1 board. Next to him were Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, the two of his friends and newly world champions themselves. Standing on top of his car with five fingers in the air before running towards his team and launching himself on them. His mechanics ruffle his hair and give him pats on his back. 

Later on the podium, he stands on the top step, his face looking into the crowd. He sees his wife and daughters smiling up at him with proud faces. Well, Sofie wasn't really showing emotion because she was only a couple of months old, but Penelope was clapping with joy. For the last time, the Dutch anthem would be played for him.

As the Austrian anthem ended and the trophies were given to the three drives, champagne was flying around the place. Lando and Charles have made it their mission to shower the Dutch in the sticky liquid and celebrate his last podium. 

"Congratulations, mate." Charles pats his friend on the back before setting his champagne bottle down. 

"We are grateful that you let us win these last three years." Lando adds. 

"No problem. Sharing is caring." Max jokes and the other two drivers laugh in response.

As they settle in for the post-race interview, the three drivers are seated comfortably in front of a backdrop of gleaming trophies and team logos. Max sits in the middle, flanked by Charles to his left and Lando to his right. 

"Max, congrats on your fifth world champion and probably your last one as you retire from racing. Can I ask what your reason for your decision was?" 

"Firstly, thank you for your congrats. My decision to retire came from myself. At the beginning of this year, my daughter was born and I love to be able to spend time with her and the rest of my family. With racing, you are always all over the world and training and I don't think I can live with the fact that I am not home enough." The other people in the room listen intently, their faces sympathetic. On the sidelines, Max's family had been watching the interview, but his youngest daughter, who had been quietly observing from her mother's lap, suddenly began to cry. Her mother quickly whisked her away to a private area, trying to comfort the distressed child. 

"Charles, you're a father too, do you have any plans on retiring soon?" the interviewer asks, turning to the Ferrari driver.

Charles picks up his microphone and thinks a bit before speaking. "At this moment not. Of course, I have some years of racing behind me, so time will tell when I quit. Jules is a year and a half right now and I try to be there as much as I can." The man on the other side nods and thanks them both for their answers. 

"I don't really have plans on retiring. Thank you for asking," Lando jokes in a lighthearted tone, trying to lighten the mood. "Just being an uncle for now," Charles adds with a chuckle. Max laughs along with him, grateful for the distraction from his own emotional revelation.

Another person stands up to ask a question. "Max, is there already a person who is going to take your seat?"

"I don't think that is my place to tell. Just wait for the announcement." He sounds a bit annoyed at the end of his answer and the person just nods and doesn't ask any further. 

"Lando, you were champions last year, do you think you will be again with Max leaving?"

"Max is a great driver, it is no surprise he wins."

"I think that is a negative way to ask this question."

The interview went on some more, asking about the race and plans for the summer break. Max felt a bit sad knowing that this was his last time. but thoughts about his family made him know that it was the right decision.

"As the last question, Would you support it if your child chose to be a racing driver?" The three friends look between them to pick out who would answer first and Max just nods. 

"Of course. If Penelope or Sofie want to start racing, I can help them both. I take P karting sometimes with her father and she always likes it. I don't know if she wants to do it professionally, and time will tell for Sofie."

After Max puts his mic down, Lando starts. "I don't have a child now, but of course I will. Dreams are made to come true, and I support them in all of their decisions. If it is racing or not."

"As Lando said, dreams are made to be true. If Jules wants to do karting, I take him karting." They wrap up the interview and leave the room.

▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ ▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄

Later, when Max is back home in Monaco, he enters the apartment with Sofie in his arm. "Home sweet home." He places a kiss on her forehead and puts her in the crib next to the couch.

"Can we have pizza for dinner?' Penelope asks as she goes to sit on the couch. Max looks at his wife for approval and she smiles and responds. 

"Of course we can. What kind do you want?" Just when P wants to answer, her sister starts to cry and move around in her crib. 

Later, when Max is back home in Monaco, he enters the apartment with Sofie in his arm, relieved to be back after the busy season. The familiar sight of their living room brings a sense of comfort as he softly whispers, "Home sweet home," planting a loving kiss on Sofie's forehead before carefully laying her down in the crib next to the couch.

Penelope eagerly plops down on the couch and asks, "Can we have pizza for dinner?" Max glances at his wife, a grin tugging at his lips, seeking her approval. Kelly replies, "Of course we can. What kind do you want?" Penelope's eyes light up with excitement as she begins to rattle off her favorite toppings.

However, the rattle is interrupted by the little girl, who starts to cry and wriggle in her crib. Max and Kelly exchange a knowing glance, immediately springing into action to tend to their baby girl's needs. Max gently scoops her up, cradling her in his arms as he softly hums a soothing tune while Kelly prepares a bottle. The apartment is filled with the soft murmur of comforting words and the gentle rustle of a diaper change.

As the night progresses, the family gathers around the dining table, with different kinds of pizza laid out before them. Sofie, now content and snug in her high chair, beams up at her family, her innocent giggles adding to the joyous ambiance.

"My mom wants to know if we are coming for Christmas." Max points out between his bites. 

"I want to see Luka and Lio," P says.

"We can spend Christmas in the Netherlands and the New Year with my family." Kelly says. Max nods and lets his mother know that they will be there. 

After dinner, Penelope starts to get ready for bed after an exhausting day. Max and Kelly take a seat on their couch, ready to watch a movie, before heading off to bed. Sofie had been put in the crib in the master bedroom to not get interrupted from her sleep. The two cats jump on top of the couch and nestle against their dad as he gives them pats over their heads. The night went on and the couple drifted of to sleep on the couch

In the apartment not far from theirs, Charles enters his own. His wife quickly walks up and kisses him, their dog follows behind her. "Bonsoir, chérie. " Charles kisses the top of Alex head and kneels down to pet Leo.

"Jules is sleeping, I was just waiting for you." He smiles and walks over to the baby room. Jules was sleeping in a little Ferrari sleeping suit. Charles walks over and presses a soft kiss on his head, careful not to wake him up.

"Lets get to bed."

[chubs-deuce]

Your art style is so satisfying!! I love the way you render faces!

When did you come up with the concept of Dawn?? Did you have different ideas of a charlastor fanchild before her?

sjlsdkfj thank you so much!!! ;A;

And I think I should give some insight about some of the meta context for Dawn to anyone who wasn't there for it before we go in-depth with my design choices lmfao

I received an ask about what I think a charlastor fankid would look like back in march and was basically all "yeahhh nooo I don't care about fankids so it's unlikely I'll dabble in that concept, at least I don't currently have plans for it" and it's true! I genuinely don't normally enjoy fankid stories (I have severe tokophobia and too many of these types of stories include pregnancy as a thoroughly explored topic)

However...

I ended up intrigued by the idea of the challenge that combining two characters into a completely new character presented anyways, so I ended up trying my hand at designing one after all.

This meant that when I sat down to design her, I had genuinely no prior ideas, since I didn't really think about the concept before!

I have however seen other people's fankids floating around in the past, so I had a bit of an idea of what other people designed theirs like.

And this is by no means an insult to any of them and their lovely work, but I just didn't really vibe with a lot of them, since many just kind of amount to looking like recolors of one or the other character with maybe bonus deer ears and antlers - and that works fine!!! It's a very servicable strategy!!! I just personally wanted to not fall into that same vein with my design since I personally don't vibe with that approach much, so I actually tried really hard to make Dawn look like her own character while also giving her a balanced mix of visual cues from both of her parents :'D

in-depth elaboration on my design choices under the cut! ⬇️

I for example looked at Alastor's and Charlie's ears (at least how I draw them in my art) and thus gave her ears that looked like a mix between both - more animalistic, like Alastor's, with similar coloring (except inverted), but placed on her head more like Charlie's. I also wanted it to vaguely look like goat ears when at a resting/lower position like this and more like deer ears when perked up.

Her hair is also cross between both - colors are from both, the fringe is a mix of both (in shape and how it sits on her head and around her face more like Alastor, in terms of texture and length more like Charlie).

She has a lot of Alastor's facial features in her, though her chin is a bit more rounded, her nose smaller and her mouth a bit more like Charlie's as well.

Even her colors are a more or less even combination of both characters! Here's my color palettes for all three of them and which colors I doubled from who:

I should also note that I had her adult design down first before I even started drawing her as a kid, though I think that actually added a lot to making her feel more realistic surprisingly enough?

Since I already had her key features down, that left me with a lot of room to toy around with other design aspects, and somehow kid-ifying an adult character is much more intuitive to me than designing an adult version of a kid character :o

I don't have a linear timeline order or something to any of my posts about her, but from left to right in this array of drawings I've made of her as a child her age ranges from a few months old to like? 8-9-ish?

There's no fixed outfit for her as a kid, though her adult design does feature one more specific outfit:

I wanted her clothes to reflect that she looks up to her parents quite a lot, so I gave her somewhat old fashioned looking pinstriped dress pants - the colors are taken from Alastor's pants, though inverted with added pinstripes for flavor - and once I sketched out the pockets I knew I wanted them to faintly remind of the inside of an apple, so I added white and yellow to it :D

Her blouse is meant to be a bit more flowy - less restricting than Charlie's blazer, but equally elegant.

And because her design is already red-heavy enough, I balanced it out with making the shirt dark, the shoes black/white and the bow around her neck yellow!

I think that's about everything I can say about my thought process behind her design haha

Thank you for giving me an excuse to talk about it, I hope it wasn't too rambly!!! If you read through the whole thing you get a cookie lmao

[depressedraisin]

assigning every song from the car a leonard cohen record

purely based on vibes and overthinking

There'd Better Be A Mirrorball - You Want It Darker (2016)

(soul-y, sometimes cinematic orchestral elements, themes of bidding farewells and reminiscing over the past. it's also cohen's last record, released a few days before he passed away)

I Ain't Quite Where I Think I Am - I'm Your Man (1988)

(funky jazzy sounds, lots of synths in the production and a general vibe of wry humour and playfulness in the songwriting)

Sculptures Of Anything Goes - Death of A Ladies' Man (1977)

(probably not the most obvious match but the way the soundscape is built in sculptures is very reminiscent, to me, of the infamous 'wall of sound' in this album. also i think upon first listen the song feels as puzzling as cohen's new sound might've felt to his audiences)

Jet Skis On The Moat - Various Positions (1984)

(cohen had started experimenting with more synths and modern elements in his music with this album and i get a feel of smooth jazz/lounge from the songs. very jet skis imo. also alex's use of abstract, surreal imagery might've reached a peak with this song - which should firmly place him in the "successors to cohen's mantle" line)

Body Paint - Various Positions (1984)

ehhhh not happy with this choice but can't think of anything better. let's say i want body paint to become as iconic as hallelujah so that's why

The Car - Songs of Love and Hate (1971)

the album is very classic spanish guitar heavy folk rock and extremely bleak and gloomy in vibes. the acoustic version of the car could fit right in. also im pretty sure this is alex's fav cohen record. he got the shirt and the references and all that

Big Ideas - Recent Songs (1979) and New Skin For The Old Ceremony (1974)

this one was a tricky one to place. both these albums have some piano and some strings, but are less layered and sparser in sound than big ideas. but the vibes match don't ask me why

Hello You - I'm Your Man (1988)

you know why i already told you

Mr. Schwartz - Songs From A Room (1969)

very sad. very very sad. very folk Rocky guitary too but not as much as songs of love and hate

Perfect Sense - Death of A Ladies' Man (1977)

this song is sooooooooo death of a ladies man like the way the string lines interact with the lyrics and the heavy orchestration and the grandiose soundscape. there's a reason why id die for this song

[postergadorart]

"No matter where I go to offer aid, Link remains at my side"

ever since i read that in game all i could picture was this

[gildedmuse]

So, I just know all of Tumblr was wondering, "hey, you remember that really weird ZoLaw fan with the annoyingly overly stylized post? I wonder if she's seen this and if she has any theories or thoughts, an observation or two?"

Well, allow me to set your wandering mind at ease, fictional Tumblr fan. The answer is: No. No, I really don't.

I have like three hundred.

[I also spent time just trying to track down as many translations as possible. Is Tera A Criminal's Daughter or The Daughter Of Thieving Bandits! These are CLEARLY separate things and can ENTIRELY change how her utter nonpresence in Zoro's life shaped him! Though I can take comfort in knowing that, regardless of what kind of crimes her father was committing they were more important than anything his daughter ever did in her entire life.]

And, hey, as might as well jump right into that whole mess.

1. Wait, Zoro's mom is dead? Thank goodness, I was worried Oda forgot one!

(AKA: Stop. Murdering. Moms.)

I'll go first, I don't mind saying when I was wrong. True, in the past I may have suggested that the vast majority of female characters in One Piece come off as ever so slightly, "leaning into sexist tropes with unadulterated joy; it's the misogynistic tropes equivalent of a child running naked through a grocery store. It's right there, everyone sees it, yet people shut up and continue shopping in part because, well, these days you just expect most people to cover that junk! What would you even say? And if you DO speak up and call out the inappropriate, be prepared for blank stares and tantrums; but THEY don't mind! THEY don't think it's wrong! You're just being mean!"

More or less a direct quote.

However, I see now that I rushed to judgement and the reality of the situation is far more nuanced. With that in mind, I was just wondering if someone could help answer some of the questions I have.

Like: Why does Oda believe that it's illegal for (maternal) female characters to survive other character's backstories?

More importantly, why hasn't someone just reached out to explain the misconception!? It can't be that difficult. If nothing else, just have a lawyer or judge or other expert in censorship on hand. Or is the one of those cases where back in highschool his friends made something up and then kept pretending it was real to see if he'd believe you and not only did he fall for it, it took over 20 years before he learned that, what, no that's not illegal. That would be crazy if it were an actual law. Cause you know, after the first 10 years I think yeah you have to just lean into it. Pretend it's a creative decision on your part and definitely not because you were terrified of being sentenced to a slow and humiliating public death.

Just to be clear that's definitely what's up, right? I mean, I'm struggling to think of another reason....able excuse why a story that I really enjoy keeps playing the same old sexist tropes cards again and again to the point of absurdity. It would just help if I had a valid excus- explanation. I almost mistyped the word explanation.

....

....

So I imagine it went like.

"That's the third mangaka they've had to Publically Execute this week!"

"They've started taking this law way more serious lately."

"This one really deserved it though! I heard his main character has a mother in her late forties!"

"That does seem old to have your first child."

"No, he's the middle of three and 22 years old. The story even has flashbacks of defining moments in his childhood and never once did she try to sacrifice herself for him, get murdered by his enemies, or die in meaningless unrelated accidents."

"Damn, that's cold to be there for all the protagonist core moments and not die and help him develop and grow a character? They must have a very antagonistic relationship. Is she actually the villain."

"Not that we know, and when they asked about this being a possible plot twist since - obviously if she's evil no laws are being broken."

"Well, of course, that's the whole reason Statue 2-dash-57 exists; if creators can show they have consistently been building up to a surprise twist then the female character in question can continue to live so long as she continues to be unrepentant and unlikable until the resolution of her arch by the protagonist."

"That's the thing! Under oath not only did man present no evidence to support her identity as a secret villain, he went on the record stating he wanted to depict their relationship as one of a normal modern 20 year old and his mother."

"That can't be true! What publishing company would even print that!?"

"It gets worse. I told you he was a middle child? Well, according to those who've read the actual manga, his younger sister was really sick as a child."

"Oh, well, at least-"

"It was just a fish allergy. She's perfectly fine."

"Sometimes I feel this law is unnecessarily harsh but.... Then you hear stories like that, and you realize that some people really are monsters."

[themagicalmysticalboy]

.

[sibelin]

alright i need a break, see ya

[hopecountyisforlovers]

part of me kinda wants a fresh start on tumblr and part of me just wants to. not use tumblr

[eluminium]

i swear to all that is wicked and sullied in the world if i read another fic thats labeled “Boatem Centric” but the fic is basically just Grian, Scar and Mumbo I am going to start spite writing “Boatem Centric” fics that are JUST about Pearl and Impulse because they deserve better then this-

[neverendingford]

.

[alliepsmithh]

israel posted a video of them giving water bottles to palestinians on a beach, then destroyed their luggage and shot at them after they stopped recording.

israel posted a photo of one of their soldiers "assisting" with an elderly man, then they shot him twice in the back and killed him.

in 2015, the idf posted pr photos of an israeli soldier giving water to an elderly palestinian woman, only for them to execute her after the photo was taken.

in 2005, an idf soldier emptied his rifle into a 13-year-old palestinian schoolgirl. he said he would have done the same thing if she was 3-years-old. he was acquitted of all charged.

israel claimed that hamas beheaded 40 israeli babies and then a month later cut off power to a palestinian hospital where premature babies were on incubators.

israel bombed a group of children collecting rainwater.

israel shot and killed two palestinian children playing with their scooter.

israel shot a hard of hearing girl in the face with a stun grenade and broke her jaw.

israel is using bombs with blades that are designed to cause maximum damage to the person in range.

israel forced medical workers at al-Nasr medical center to leave babies in incubators in order to evacuate the hospital they were bombing.

israel turned off power to hospitals in palestine, forcing nurses and doctors to use their phone flashlights when treating patients.

israel raised their flag over Al Shifa hospital.

israel has blown up the chambers of the palestinian legislative council.

israel targeted a "suspicious vehicle containing several terrorists”, meanwhile the only people in the car were three girls, ages 10, 12, and 14, their grandmother, and their mother. the only survivor was the three girls' mother.

israel planted a copy of mein kampf in a children's bedroom in a gazan house they claim hamas was hiding in.

israel poured fake blood onto the floor of an israeli child's bedroom and claimed hamas killed them.

israeli soldiers posted a video of them dancing on gazan graves.

israel posted a video showing a calendar in a palestinian children's hospital was a hamas guard list because it was written in arabic.

israel was using white phosphorus on hospitals.

israel bombed a refugee camp.

israel has burned olive trees in palestine.

israel has put cement into the water supply of palestine.

israel claimed that they found tunnels under Al Shifa hospital, only for it to be exposed that those tunnels are actually in sweden.

israel built a bunker and command room under Al Shifa hospital in 1983, only for them to now say that they are hamas tunnels.

israeli police arrested an israeli high school teacher, who posted on facebook expressing sympathy with palestinian civilians who have been killed.

israeli soldiers filmed themselves throwing a stun grenade into a palestinian mosque.

we are witnessing a genocide in real time framed under the guise of stopping hamas. israel has been terrorizing palestine for as long as israel has existed, but their access to technology and social media has made it much easier to fool people into supporting them.

meanwhile, noah schnapp is posting that zionism is sexy and celebrities are standing with israel. just absolutely twisted shit.

edit: for those who would like sources, my twitter is alliiesmith. i have retweeted everything i’ve mentioned. i apologize for not providing this sooner

edit 2: i’ve had some people in the replies and reposts pointing out that linking my twitter seems like promotion. i just wanted to clear up that that was not my intention. i’ve been retweeting resources and news much faster than i’m able to add to this post, and i thought that my twitter profile could be something of a hub for information. i don’t care if you follow me, but i think scrolling through and seeing what i’ve retweeted could be helpful.

[primofate]

Genshin Angst Headcanons - Why the two of you broke up

Note: Had an unexpected free day! I haven't written in a while, please excuse the mistakes, if any.

Disclaimer at the end of the post

Warning: Some are pretty predictable. Each of them have their own issues, lore wise, so some are lore heavy. You might not agree with some of them, but its how I see it, so to each their own. Let me know what you think! Some are quite angsty. Some scenes it's you breaking up with him and some are vice versa. Didn't feel like writing Razor, Venti and Xingqiu.

Characters: Aether, Albedo, Alhaitham, Ayato, Baizhu, Bennett, Chongyun, Cyno, Dainsleif, Diluc, Gorou, Heizou, Itto, Kaeya, Kaveh, Kazuha, Lyney, Neuvillette, Scaramouche, Tartaglia, Thoma, Tighnari, Xiao, Zhongli, gn!reader

Personal Favourites in this work: Lyney, Itto, Kazuha

Aether

Sister issues. Enough said.

He realized he didn't have enough time to spare romancing with someone.

Somewhere along the way he felt guilt that he was enjoying his time with you while his sister went through some sort of villain origin story that seemingly turned her bad.

Top off all the adventuring, searching, solving problems for other people that he did...Where did that leave you, exactly?

"...I'm sorry, Y/N... I just... I don't think this is the right time for me to be together with you,"

Albedo

Contrary to popular belief it wouldn't be his lack of time or extreme focus on his alchemical experiments that would break the two of you up. He knows how to manage his time.

It was the RESULTS of experiments and his research that would put him away from you.

The possibility that HE or his world, was way too dangerous for you.

How many "Albedos" did Rhinedottir really create? Was there more than three? Perhaps four, five? And what happens when you come face to face with another Albedo?

"I'm afraid...There are far too many dangers surrounding myself... There are answers that I can't find...and perhaps that's the reason why my answer is to part ways with you,"

Alhaitham

Too much of a nonchalant attitude.

He expressed some kind of interest in you...but it's like... once in a blue moon. 95% of the time you're not sure if he's really into you. It almost seems like he's more into that book he reads all the time.

Simply just not good at expressing himself. Like, at all. Hides behind a "whatever works" and "I don't care about what other people think of me" attitude, unfortunately that seems to include you.

Is so straightforward that sometimes it hurts, but he's really just telling the truth through logical analysis.

will act like the breakup didn't hurt nor affect him at all. In turn it hurts you instead.

"I see. So you've had enough of me... And you only spoke up now? Pointing it out earlier could've diverted us from this path...If that's how you feel already I suggest that we stop seeing each other,"

"That's it? You're not even going to try and work it out with me?"

"What's there to work out? You've made yourself clear. You're not satisfied with the way I treat you, and I'm afraid I'm not going to change the way I act just for your pleasure... It'd be more meaningful for you to find someone who fits your criterias,"

Ayato

entering a relationship with a noble was not as easy as one thought.

It's not just about being together forever and feeling lucky because Ayato is rich and your whole life is set, it's also the not fitting in, the etiquette, the whispers from townfolk that you were too ordinary for him, the work that you needed to do if you were to become his wife.

All that was not really a big problem for you, but Ayato seemed not to know of your struggles, he was extremely busy, and when he wasn't, he seemed to think that everything was well and fine, since you were getting all your basic needs met and even more.

"...So I'm sorry, Ayato. This is just... All too much for me. I'm sorry,"

"...I understand. Forgive me, it seems that I've overlooked a lot of things...Perhaps it is as you say, that it'd be better for us to grow apart rather than grow together,"

Baizhu

because he is a ticking time bomb, no matter which way he looked it's not going to end well for both of you.

He either dies early or lives forever. In both scenarios he anticipates that the two of you are just going to be in a world of hurt.

Besides, he didn't mean to get so attached to someone in the first place, he knew his quest for immortality was long and arduous. You didn't deserve to walk that difficult road too.

While breaking up, will conceal the fact that he's only thinking of you and will possibly hurt you in the process.

"I'm sorry, but it's for the best. I ask that you continue going forward without me, there's no space for you in my... ideal future,"

Bennett

We all know it...it's his bad luck. However, it wasn't YOU who had a problem with it, it was HIM.

You understood that his bad luck was just some extended part of him, plus it's not like it was always bad, there were a lot of good times too. Plenty!

But the guilt ate him up whenever the two of you were stuck in a seemingly impossible scenario and predicament, brought on by his luck. He just had enough of it one day.

"I...I can't keep doing this to you every day! It's not fair..."

will be on the brink of tears before he even starts.

"Maybe it's better if you find someone else to adventure with, Y/N, sorry...!"

runs away before you can even get a word in.

Chongyun

Thinks he's not good enough in every aspect. It's really, seriously not about you. He thinks he's lacking in everything. Strength, maturity, experience, confidence.

So badly wants to stay with you but feels like he's not good enough and thinks that you're better off with someone else.

"D-Don't misunderstand... It's not because I don't like you anymore... I just...Please find someone else!"

Cyno

his bad jokes and TCG addiction. just kidding, you're not that shallow.

A lot of people are intimidated by him being the General Mahamatra because he gives importance to justice. While you, who had seen a bit more of him than other people had, it seemed more of an obsession to uphold the Akademiya's law and integrity.

This was not a big problem to you, you liked how he was serious at work.

Until one day when you were accused of plagiarising one of your papers and Cyno was the one sent to give you a first offense warning. The Akademiya knew of your relationship, that's probably why they sent him, to make it harder on the two of you.

Cyno didn't listen to your explanations on how it was an honest mistake, he still gave you the warning that you "deserved"

From then on it had just been different between the two of you, so it was really a mutual breakup. Or so you thought.

"...After that, I just realized that maybe this isn't the right time for us... We're both working for the Akademiya, we both take our jobs seriously...Unfortunately that seems to just be getting in the way of us...I think it's best if we stop seeing each other,"

"...I see." he pauses for a minute, as if tossing your words in his mind. "I...agree. Parting ways would certainly make work easier for both of us...it's the professional thing to do,"

Dainsleif

Has not moved on from his past.

Sure, everyone has their own baggage to carry, their own history to live through...but Dainsleif has heavier things than that. He seemed to wake up every day thinking of Khaenri'ah and the days long past. Was it regret? Nostalgia? Loneliness? You didn't know. You just knew that he wasn't really completely THERE with you in the present. Part of him still lived in the past.

When you explained that you felt like the two of you were not moving forward together and that it seemed like he wanted to go back to the past instead, he got offended.

"...My past is something that I carry forever, you'd claimed that you understood that," he starts.

"I do! But carrying it with you and letting it drag you backwards are two different things!"

He falters for a moment, only to leave you with his last words before turning away from you forever: "You will never understand, the weight that I carry,"

Diluc

is too guarded. You'd been friends for a long, long, long, long time before he decided he could let you in enough and be more intimate with you.

Even then everything was going at a snail's pace, though you were extremely patient with him.

The biggest problem with Diluc was that the two of you would progress one day, take a step forward, and then the next day it was like the two of you took two steps back.

Example: The two of you went out for a simple stargazing excursion late one night, it was nice and he had been incredibly affectionate. The next day he had trouble even meeting your gaze, and disappeared to do his work. It was also a little awkward during dinnertime. This scenario had happened more than once.

Hint: the closer he got to you the more afraid he became, thinking that he would one day lose you too.

"I...I can't. I love you but I...I've waited far too long. I'm sorry. I'm tired of this endless chase for you!"

He couldn't even say a thing. He'd wanted to ask you to stay, to wait for him a little longer, but he already knew how incredibly selfish that would have been. Instead, he grimaced, and looked away from your gaze, trying to find something worthwhile to say. There was only silence for a few moments.

"Goodbye Diluc," that's when you turned away.

Gorou

worships Kokomi too much and your insecurities just kept circling around in your head.

You know its his job. You know he isn't like that but the problem was YOU and not him.

Simply said you let your insecurity eat up the relationship between the two of you.

You couldn't bring yourself to say that you were jealous of the way he admired Kokomi so you broke up with him with another reason in tow.

Unfortunately, you're not a very good liar face to face so you did a butthole move and actually broke up with him through a letter. You just couldn't face him and tell him why.

All you mentioned in the letter was that you needed time to think and be away from him, and told him not to worry because it was your problem, not his.

Poor Gorou reread that letter over and over, trying to understand what went wrong.

Heizou

is just a natural flirt. You're not sure if he's doing it on purpose or not and you're not sure if he's even aware he's like that.

Anyway you'd seen him getting overly friendly (just another word for flirting) with a few other people a couple of times. You didn't let it get to you the first, fourth or even eighth time but you realized that he KNOWS that you're watching him do that.

So you confront him about it, but he claims that it's just his way of gathering information from others. People like to hear good things and some people are more susceptible to flirtatious comments so he resorts to that for his investigation sometimes.

You didn't really completely buy it and even if you did, it's not like this was healthy for your relationship. You just couldn't make yourself comfortable with it.

*You just chalked it up to the two of you being incompatible.

"I'm just not comfortable with that...I don't think I have to say sorry for how I feel but...I'm sorry anyway because I know you're just doing your job... It's probably best if we part ways here..."

"Is there any way to change your mind?" he genuinely asks.

You only give a lopsided smile. "You're a detective, I think you already know the answer to that,"

Yet he didn't stop you from walking away.

Itto

Kept breaking promises because he was too airheaded or too occupied doing something "stupid" with the kids or with his gang.

Pretty soon it just felt like you were an afterthought while everyone else in his life took precedent.

Got a ramen date? Oops, sorry! Got caught up looking for a strong onikabuto in the forest!

Needed his help to move some things? Gah, he was vandalising the bulletin boards, so he's running a bit late!

What's more you didn't actually mind that carefree, airheaded side of him...but it really got to you when he couldn't even seem to make you a priority. Not once.

He only realized that when he came running, late again, and stood face to face with a crying you.

"Hey sorry Y/N, I was just--...Why are you crying?!" is completely dumbfounded and clueless, mostly because when he came late, you had always shrugged it off with a smile on your face, or so he thought. This time you had a completely different reaction.

"I hate you...*hic* I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"

Shocked beyond belief. It wasn't like you to just blow up like that, but he couldn't do anything except watch you turn and run away from him after that exclamation.

Kaeya

Sometimes you're not sure if he takes you seriously.

Recently, he's not where he says he is, you don't know why he doesn't just tell you where he is.

He said he'd be working late, but then you find out he's at Angel's Share.

He said he'll be at Angel's Share, but then you catch word from Jean that he's out on a late mission.

He said he's escorting a caravan to Mondstadt but he's actually on assignment in Liyue.

It came to the point where you altogether just stopped looking for him cause half of the time you couldn't find him. It's like he's avoiding you or something, which, actually, seems just about right since he's been so busy with "work"

It reached a breaking point when, for a week, you were unable to bring him the lunch you prepared...because he was not where he said he was going to be. It was starting to get annoying.

"I don't understand why you're lying to me! Why do you have to tell me you'll be at Angel's Share this afternoon when you're not? Do you realize you make me walk all the way there only to come all the way back with nothing achieved?"

"I'm sorry snowflake, that wasn't my intention," though he still chuckles despite knowing full well that you were about to turn away.

"You know what, let me know when you're ready to stop making jokes. Until then, don't bother contacting me,"

He just didn't expect you to actually walk away from him.

Kaveh

Entertains everyone and anyone. Naturally kind at heart, will stop for anyone in trouble...even that flirtatious man/woman who is clearly just pining for his attention.

No he doesn't quite realize this.

The same person had asked for his help at least 4 times now and all 4 times he had been happy to offer a helping hand.

The last straw was when he was invited into the stranger's house, they had apparently needed someone to help them move and re-arrange furniture and he did, working till almost dinner time.

You'd caught him right by the person's door, because Kaveh was actually honest and told you he'd be helping them today, but the person was clearly eyeing Kaveh rather flirtatiously.

"Come again next time," you heard the person say rather happily. Kaveh only replies with "If I have nothing else to do, I suppose,"

"Kaveh, they're coming onto you and you keep letting it happen!"

"I'm not certain what you're talking about...They just needed some help around their house, nothing suspicious happened at all. Even if there was, I won't let anything happen between me and a stranger!"

"Then STOP helping them!"

"There isn't anything wrong with lending a hand...It was a quick move of things, that's all,"

"How would YOU feel if I just went into someone's house and kept helping them "move" things?"

"...I would think that's nice of you,"

You actually threw your hands up. "Oh, forget it! You know what, for someone who LOVES helping others, you're not doing such a great job of helping ME," then walked away and never came back. "Good riddance,"

Kazuha

He's a wandering samurai. You knew what you were getting into but you didn't expect dating him to be so hard.

He was gone for weeks on end, and you were not getting on that boat with him. In essence the two of you were just not ready to follow each other to the end's of the Earth, and that was fair. The two of you were young.

Kazuha kind of saw it coming, whenever he visited you, you seemed less spirited and he had an inkling as to why. The time apart was just too much for you.

It was a rather clean break actually. A real mutual breakup that the two of you agreed on.

"...You could say it's just not the right time for us," you even managed to laugh under your breath and he did the same, though it was barely audible.

"...Mm. There are matters that you need to attend to here...and there are things that I need to do out there," he slowly stood up from his sitting position next to you and still gazed at you rather lovingly. "...Perhaps, in another world, you and I are bound together,"

You gazed back forlornly, "...Just not in this one, it looks like,"

Lyney

because he will always choose his siblings over you. Always.

Though that's not a bad thing because you also think that family is important...somewhere along the way you realized that family is the ONLY thing he had and saw.

Example: Lynette and you had gotten ill at the same time one winter morning. Perhaps it was the cold that was passing around Fontaine. Lyney had been so worried about Lynette, that he seemed to have forgotten about you for the next few days. In fact, Lyney didn't even realize that you caught the cold too. You had only heard from Freminet, who you happened to cross paths with, that Lynette was also ill.

You thought that incident was the end of it, but really it seemed that whenever Lyney wanted to hang out with you, Lynette had to be there too. You tried to understand...after all there's still that mystery of disappearing women in Fontaine.

The breakup was induced when Lyney completely forgot about your birthday, because Freminet's was around the same time as yours. You helped Lyney prepare everything for Freminet, and said nothing about your own.

You realized that there was nothing wrong with choosing family over everything else...but the problem here was that Lyney didn't even have space for you in the first place.

So you left without saying anything. You figured he'd get over it quick. You had even gone so far as to move away from the main city of Fontaine and out into another island, because what would you say if he found you? That you were jealous of his siblings? You weren't going to ruin a family like that and it wasn't right to make him choose...so you just left without a word.

Neuvillette

Had a whole brainrot for this man:

Part 1

Part 2

Scaramouche

surprisingly it's not his anger issues.

It's the way he wouldn't acknowledge your relationship. You wonder how you even got into one with him.

There's no public show of affection, but even behind closed doors it rarely happened.

You knew that he was going to be like that, and so you didn't mind it all that much.

It was getting a bit much though when, out in public, he would walk further in front of you and refused to walk next to you. When he pretended like he didn't even know you. When he didn't stop to help you even when another man had shown interest in you, bordering on uncomfortable.

The more time passed the more you simply felt unloved...but for some reason you still blamed yourself.

"...I...don't know. Maybe you find me undesirable, or just...unappealing. Maybe you're embarrassed of me or...or..." maybe you just didn't care in the first place, you thought to yourself.

There was a long silence. Of you turning your gaze away, of him still piercing into yours. And then...

"Tsk...don't waste my time...Leave if you want to leave, door's open,"

Tartaglia

This one is simple. It's his obsession for fighting plus his complete disregard for himself. It's a constant heart attack for you. At some point the anxiety is just too much for you to handle.

Imagine living every day just wondering if he's safe at the same time knowing that he just loves to look for trouble.

The foul legacy that you know of, he uses it with disregard as well, despite knowing that it wasn't good for him.

And there are even days where you know he was heavily wounded but didn't go to you, in an attempt to shield you from worry.

It's a constant battle trying to stay sane and unworried, until one day it all just becomes too much.

"...Nothing I say will change anything, Tartaglia. This is who you are...This is who you need to be..." you whisper while bandaging his knuckles. He lets out a short hum.

It was silent all up until you finished with his hand, you squeeze it gently. "...I love you but...I can't keep doing this to myself, I'm tired...more so than I have ever been before,"

He lets your hand slip away from his knuckles, and that was the last he saw of you.

Thoma

This one is also simple. He was always taking care of others and running errands for others that he sometimes just couldn't catch a break.

Just a classic case of not enough time for you since he had a job to do for the Kamisato Clan.

He knows it, and feels awful about it. So he's the one who makes the move.

"It hurts that I can't give you what you deserve, Y/N. This isn't it... You deserve more than this but I can't give you that and I'm sorry. Please look for the love that you deserve,"

Tighnari

Remembers everything. Can be critical of things you've done, specially if he thinks there's a better way to do it.

Simply said you just feel stupid in front of him sometimes.

He doesn't mean to, but he sometimes forgets to appreciate or give praise to the things that you do well and even if he does, it tends to be short lived compared to his constructive criticisms.

Pretty soon you felt like he only looks at the bad things you do, and never the good. Though he was really only trying to teach and guide you as an equal.

He in fact feels that you are one of the few people who can keep up educational conversations with him.

The problem is he kind of forgets that you're his lover, and that you would enjoy his praise and affection from time to time.

"Do you... Do you ever have anything nice to say other than 'good work' or 'great observation'?" the words were out of your mouth before you could hold yourself back. Sometimes it was tiring to feel like you weren't good enough.

There's a flash of surprise that crosses Tighnari's expression for a split second, before he recovers. "...Had I not been praising your work enough lately? My apologies... It has a lot of merits, I just thought that you wanted my opinion on how to make it better,"

You opened your mouth to say something, but closed it again right after to ponder on his words. Somehow even that had managed to make you feel embarrassed. It was here you knew that the problem also lied within yourself.

"...Sorry, Tighnari...I think I'll need some time alone,"

He obliges quickly and asks. "That's reasonable. When would you like me to come back?"

"...Let me rephrase that... I need some time away. From us."

Xiao

Unfortunately there's a lot of things wrong here... his lack of affection. His aloof personality. His dedication to his yaksha duties. Despite that he does actually try to be gentlemanly or respectful of you.

The worst of it is that he didn't know how to be in a relationship, in other words he just wasn't ready for one, or perhaps he would never be ready for one.

He didn't understand that humans craved companionship and sometimes touch. He didn't understand that meant having to favour you over others, sometimes even putting you first over his yaksha duties.

Worst of it all was when he shut himself off from you, sometimes for days on end, when his karmic debt was too high. He only really did it to protect you, but never realized how isolated that made you feel.

When you confronted him about it, he felt attacked. Hiding away was the only way he knew how to cope...why couldn't you understand that?

"Let me help you, Xiao,"

"I don't need your help!" his tone would make you wince and just like that he disappears into a billow of smoke.

You never returned to Wangshu Inn after that. If he couldn't let you in, there was no use trying to knock on his heart. Xiao being Xiao, never sought you ought again either.

Zhongli

He had experienced so many things and you had listened to many a tales from him.

This is what caused you to realize that you hadn't even experienced life at all, and yet here you were willing to tie yourself down to him.

It just didn't feel like it added up. Here he was with all this knowledge of the world and here you were who had never even stepped outside of Liyue. By no means were you stupid, but you felt that you could be better not only for him, but for yourself if you learned more.

There was just such a huge gap in life experiences, and though you never expected to get to his level (he was a God who had lived for a long time, you would never catch up to him) you at least wanted to see what was out there with your own eyes instead of through his stories.

He understood that wholeheartedly, and had no qualms in letting you go.

"You will always have a place with me, Y/N. No amount of lifetimes will change that,"

I’ve published The Ruthless Prince (Reader x Scaramouche) on paperback. Click here.

Consider supporting me to read some exclusive fics:

Ko-Fi

buymeacoffee

Here's the Masterlist

Disclaimer: Relationships will always have some sort of problem along the way, maybe big, maybe small but I just want to reiterate that breaking up is not always the solution. Communicating is very important. So to those of you who like taking fanfiction too seriously, let it be known that this is just a work of fiction. I don't actually suggest breaking up with someone as soon as there is the slight indication of a problem (Just saw someone commenting on a similar themed post for Haikyuu that this wouldn't happen in the real world if both parties were mature... I mean, sure, but, idk, you must be fun in parties... it's called fiction for a reason...)

[annabelle--cane]

this is a difficult thing to have conversations about because it provokes really strong reactions in people for completely valid and understandable reasons, so please feel free to hit da bricks on this post whenever you want, but I do want to try and analyse the jonmartin slaps. we get three across 160, 169, and 172, and a line addressing it in 173, and then it never happens or comes up again. none of them come out of nowhere, and they mostly fly under the radar until 173 because they all broadly fit the "slapping someone out of a trance in an emergency" trope, but each of them slowly decreases in urgency.

the first time, the apocalypse starts up and martin comes back to find a passed out jon, can't wake him by making noise, and strikes him in a panic. this makes sense, this is a man who has entered a supernatural coma before and martin had no idea what was going on, so of course he'd jump to something desperate.

the second time, they're in a burning building, jude arrives while jon is still mid-statement, and when making noise doesn't work martin slaps him out of it. this makes sense, they were there for jude and if jon didn't come back to himself then she likely would have hurt them, though martin knew that her powers against them were limited.

the third time, jon is getting pulled into into a repeating statement instead of coming out on his own like usual, so martin speaks once or twice to try and get his attention, and then slaps him out of it. this... again, it makes sense, jon was getting trapped, but there was no immediate peril like before, martin just got freaked out and wanted to leave quickly. he seems to get that it was harsh because he apologizes for it, but they don't linger at all, martin just starts in on them having to leave immediately.

the last time it's mentioned is when they're on night street, during what is one of their most intense arguments. jon tries to talk about the suffering of the children there for longer than he needs to in order to make a point, martin cuts him off, and he pointedly says, "thank you for not hitting me this time." it never happens or is brought up again.

to our knowledge, jon doesn't say anything about the slapping until 173. he's not a guy who's known for speaking up when things upset him, he was amiably working with daisy within about a week of her trying to kill him, so it makes sense that he would just sit with this comparatively more minor thing. however, I do think it's relevant to note that, at this point in their relationship, martin will sometimes voice his feelings and boundaries (not listening to statements, not consenting to mind reading, worrying when jon expresses discomfort with his body), while jon doesn't. from the couple of times he does talk about his feelings this season, I think that tendency comes a few places: he has a hard time being aware of his emotions at all, he doesn't know how to evaluate his emotions' importance in comparison to others', he assumes his emotions are obvious and thus people already act with full knowledge of them, and the topic is just hard to make himself talk about. from what he says in 173, I think the slaps bothered him the entire time, but he made himself be fine with it until he was upset with martin for unrelated reasons and finally let it out.

as for martin's side, I do not think the slaps came from any kind of suppressed desire to hurt or wield power over jon. we've seen him when he's angry at jon, this isn't how he acts, he gets shouty and indignant but never violent. I'd even go as far as to say he doesn't do it in 173 because he's genuinely upset at jon and the situation they're in, and it would never occur to him to deliberately inflict pain on someone he cares about to assert control over them. the connecting line between all of them is fear from something that he wants jon to help him handle. the apocalypse starts, he is stuck inside one of his worst nightmares, and he's paranoid that the web took control of him. he's someone who is "always following, never leading" (170), and he gets tunnel vision when something scares him and his "leader" isn't there.

jon did need to be pulled out of all three of those situations, and words proved insufficient, and maybe a quick jolt of pain was the only thing that could have worked, but martin doesn't seem to consider what that would feel like from jon's pov. in my experience of relationships, if there's ever an unavoidable emergency where you do actually need to cross a line that you never would otherwise, you talk about it afterwards. you do a debrief where you say "I'm really sorry about that, I didn't see another way, I'll try and be better prepared next time." they do this for problems they have later on (177, 198), but martin doesn't do that here. jon's point-of-view just doesn't seem to occur to him. when jon expresses discomfort, he drops the tactic without a word; later, when he needs to anchor jon in the panopticon, he talks him through it before it can get too far. so, it's not about a lack of care for jon's feelings.

I think it comes down to a few things: a) his occasional tendency to treat people as a means to an ends and not think about their perspective. he's so glued to putting others first most of the time that when he stops, he can't find a middle ground and forgets that other people can have feelings about his actions. b) his problems with conceiving of himself as a person of any importance who is capable of doing anything, especially of doing harm. as a concept, "hurting jon" is the thing he would least like to do in the whole world, it is his nightmare scenario and literally the culminating moment of his tragedy. he finds it almost unthinkable, so the idea that he does it casually when he's scared doesn't cross his mind. one of his central worries at this point is that jon is now so powerful that he no longer needs martin, how could he hurt someone like that? he's not anywhere near a comparable level of importance, it's not like he has his own domain that he's not aware of because jon told him about it and he immediately rejected the information. he's powerless and could never bring himself to hurt the man he loves.

I just. think it's an interesting microcosm of some of the lows of their relationship. once the problem is discovered martin instantly takes the note and doesn't put it on jon to explain himself further or assuage his guilt, they are willing and able to adapt, but it still comes from some of their bedrock flaws. martin doesn't understand that he can hurt people, and jon has such an inflated understanding of his capacity to hurt people that it sabotages his self-worth and his ability to respond to pain and displeasure.

[starry-bi-sky]

i've mentioned in a few past posts about an au where Danny is a variant of Jason Todd. I haven't made a post about it yet because I need a good rhythm flowing however i've been listening to Gladiator by Jann and I have been having thoughts.

but first, let me set the au:

Danny Fenton is Jason Todd, or at least, a variant of him. A him from a universe separate to the major Batman timeline - but still Jason Todd, down to the structure of his face and his name itself. The only thing that changes, is who picks him up - and, that he follows old Batman canon, and was an orphan. Jason Todd steals the tires off the batmobile and wallops Batman with his tirejack, and then runs off. Shortly after, he gets picked up by the Fentons.

(Customary line break,,,, word count check: 5k)

And his name changes from Jason Todd to Danny Fenton. He doesn't care much for the new name change, it stems from his mute refusal to share his name to the people that picked him up; an attempt to make him untraceable should he get away from them, and to keep something of his to himself. So they name him something new. He grows to like it enough as he acclimates to his new family.

(He hangs onto the name Jason Todd like a secret - he may be 'Danny Fenton' now, but he'll never forget his time on Gotham's streets. He'll always be Jason Todd.)

(Jazz is the only one who he tells his name to in the family - she affectionately calls him Jay whenever she wants.)

He becomes friends with Sam and Tucker and deals with Dash and his bullying. And when Danny steps in during a fight between Dash and another student, Dash gives him a bleeding nose and mockingly says, "Do you think you're Robin just because you're from Gotham, Fenton?"

Jason looks him in the eyes and he bares his teeth, "Why not?" he asks, spitting blood, "being Robin gives me magic."

The nickname sticks. It's supposed to be an insult; Daniel Fenton is not Robin, he'll never be Robin. Not now, not in a million years. Jason Todd has always wanted to be Robin, so he takes the insult and wears it proudly. He buys a school varsity jacket and painstakingly undos the stitching of all the school's motif on it. On the breast of it, he embroiders in a black circle with the Boy Wonder "R" on it instead. It's not good stitching, but the next day Danny wears it down to breakfast and into school.

In normal au canon, Daniel Jason Todd-Fenton (its a mouthful, just call him Danny) only meets the Waynes after he becomes Phantom - an event that leans more towards Daniel Fenton's accident than Jason Todd's death, but traumatizes him all the same. (Is it too much to want to be mourned? His best friends like to deny that he died - and Danny - Jason? - wishes they wouldn't, even if he did come back.)

(The accident embitters him, even more when his parents don't seem to pick up on it. He stops calling himself Danny Fenton - he's always been Jason Todd. It shows itself in his ghostly form. He doesn't want to wear the thing he died in, not in something that belongs to the Fentons, and his suit reflects that.)

In this timeline, Daniel Jason Todd-Fenton, aged 13, meets Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne after a mishap with magic on the other end of the reality sends the three of them careening through time and space, and spat back out on the other end, in a world not their own. And together.

Danny is paired with a very confused Bruce Wayne and Richard Grayson. Luckily, there's a few heroes there to help them. Danny can hardly comprehend the idea that he's in another universe - he doesn't know why Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne are seemingly handling it well.

On their way to a secondary base with the heroes, Danny turns to Bruce Wayne and asks, "So, is it part of rich-person training that you're just totally chill with being sent into another universe, or are you just weird?"

Bruce Wayne huffs at him, rather than get offended, and he smiles that dumb lopsided billionaire smile that Danny's seen on every vogue magazine he's been in. "I'm not so worried with these skilled heroes here to help us get home."

Danny silently concludes that he's just weird. At least Dick Grayson is biting back a smile behind him. "Riiiight..." He says, dragging the vowel out dryly.

When they get to that secondary location -- a safehouse that one of the heroes had set up -- the three of them are sat in a living room-like room while one hero, Zatanna, goes and calls someone from the Justice League. The other two heroes stay with the three of them.

Within a few hours, Danny is face to face with Batman - someone who he hasn't seen since he whacked him in the stomach with a tire iron - and Nightwing. For a moment, Danny swears that the both of them look almost spooked by him.

Batman stares at him for a moment when he enters, and then he goes to speak with Bruce Wayne. Danny doesn't care enough to hear what they're talking about, he pulls out his phone as Nightwing goes to speak with Dick Grayson.

"Are you a fan of Robin, little man?" Someone says, and when Danny looks up he locks eyes with Dick Grayson -- who is leaning around Nightwing to talk to him, the both of them are smiling. And considering who Nightwing was, Danny finds himself turning pink to the ears.

But he will not hide his jacket. He forces a grin through his embarrassment, "Hell yeah, man, Robin's cool." He says, and pushes his arms down to pull out the hem of his letterman, showing off the emblem. "I made it m'self out of a school varsity after the A-Listers started callin' me Robin."

"A-Listers?"

"Popular kids," Danny corrects, loosing his hold on the hem and brushing invisible wrinkles out of the embroidery. "They didn't like that I kept stepping in when they were bullying. Dash asked me if i thought I was Robin because I was from Gotham."

Dick Grayson looks intrigued -- and concerned, and he leans forward onto his knees and raises an eyebrow. "What did you say?"

And Danny grins a shark-like thing, straightening back his shoulders with a burning sort of smug pride and all the sharpness of broken glass left in Crime Alley. "I told him being Robin gave me magic, and then I punched him."

Dick Grayson's smile widens, splitting into showing teeth as he leans back into his seat. Danny isn't sure why he's so delighted - but Nightwing looks incredibly amused, and he suddenly remembers that the Robin himself was there in front of him.

Danny's face burns anew and his arms fold themselves in front of him once again.

"I don't think I ever caught your name, Robin." Dick Grayson goes, his voice thick with laughter, and Nightwing steps off to the side as Batman and Bruce Wayne walk over to join them both. They're just close enough that Danny can see Bruce Wayne raise an eyebrow at them both.

"It's Jason." Danny says before he can think about it, and barely stops himself from frowning at himself for the slip. He amends himself, glancing over at Batman and Bruce as they get closer. "But everyone calls me Danny."

Dick Grayson's head recoils slightly, and he looks a little surprised. "Why Danny?" He asks.

"Why Dick?" He shoots back, and Bruce and Dick both smile at him, with Dick Grayson shrugging with an expression that looks like 'you've got a point.'

In the end, the three of them - yes, three - get sent to this world's Wayne Manor, and Danny is bewildered by that decision to include himself -- he's not a Wayne. Why not just send him to the Fentons?

Batman tells him that the Fentons don't exist in this world, and Danny falls silent. "Oh." He says quietly, a pit growing in his stomach with an ill-kind of dread. He can't keep Batman's gaze, looking away with unease.

No Fentons in this world. No Fentons. Where was he then, in the grand scheme of things? Where was he in this world? What happened to Jason Todd? Was he even alive? He can't keep the worry off his face, and he jumps when a hand lands on his shoulder. When he looks up, Dick Grayson squeezes him gently.

Dick Grayson is steadily beginning to remind him of his sister.

-

They end up driving back in the Batmobile. It's such a shock to Danny that he momentarily forgets the lack of Fentons. He makes a laugh sound, actually, and immediately he covers his hand with his mouth and stares at the car -- tank? with his teeth sunk into his lower lip.

"Jason?" Dick says, and hearing his name being spoken feels like someone touched him with a livewire. It's weird, it's foreign - he hates, in some way, that it's foreign - and it's so nice. Yes, that's me.

He drops his hand immediately. "Sorry." He says, realizing he'd stopped in his tracks, "I -uh, was just surprised."

"It's not every day someone sees the Batmobile." Dick agrees. Nightwing has his back to them but Danny swears he sees his shoulders shaking a little.

"Yeah," Danny nods slowly, dragging his eyes over the batmobile as Batman opens the driver's side and gets in. He thinks for a moment, of what he should say next - whether to admit that he's seen it before, or to pretend that he's seeing it for the first time. Snd as Nightwing opens the door for him, Bruce, and Dick, he chooses the funnier option; "The last time I saw it, I was stealing its tires."

To his surprise and unsurprise, Danny only gets two pairs of eyes on him. Nightwing gets into the passenger seat as both Bruce and Dick turn their gaze onto him; Dick's eyes big like they were going to bulge out of his head.

"You what!?"

So Danny tells an amazed Dick Grayson that he hit Batman with a tire iron after he stole his tires - something he is very proud about and also incredibly embarrassed about when he retells what happened in the backseat of the batmobile, with Batman and Nightwing listening in from the front seat.

(Bruce Wayne doesn't ever tell Dick shit, he's going to lord this over Bruce's head the moment they are alone.)

"Please tell me this didn't happen in this world." Danny groans behind his palms as he sinks into his seat. Dick Grayson is killing himself laughing on his left, and he saw Bruce Wayne stifling a smile before he obscured his vision with his hands.

Much to his luck, its Batman himself who speaks next, (Danny was being mostly rhetorical). "It did." He says, and his voice sounds like the rumble of the earth before a stampede. It will never not throw Danny off every time he hears it. "It takes quite a lot of spunk to steal the tires off the batmobile."

He can't believe it. Batman is making fun of him. Fucking, Batman.

He wants to die with embarrassment. He groans even louder as Dick Grayson's laughter crescendoes. Danny risks a peak through his fingers, he doesn't know whether to regret it or not because he can just barely see Batman smirk very faintly from his position in the middle.

(His world axis tilts five degree leftways seeing it; like someone dunked a bucket of ice water on him.)

"He ended up being adopted by the Bruce Wayne of this world."

Danny's hands drop with his jaw into his lap. Dick Grayson on his left chokes on his laughter and careens into a coughing fit. Bruce Wayne on his right chokes on air, and quickly recovers himself with a cough behind a closed fist.

"What?" Danny croaks.

-

Apparently, Bruce Wayne's family is much larger in this world than it is in his. Danny can barely wrap his head around the idea that he ends up adopted by the man, but now he has to learn that Wayne had several children in this world?

He's still not wrapped his head around it when the three of them wind up at Wayne Manor, finally, or even when he's standing in front of him himself. For his effort, Bruce Wayne does a good job at looking unruffled by it.

God, he's weird. Danny's starting to quite like it, actually. How human of him.

He still can't wrap his head around it when he meets the rest of Bruce Wayne's children, all of whom are already aware of the three of them. Danny thinks that someone from the Justice League might've alerted them before they got here.

It makes sense, he supposes.

It helps that they are just as weirded out as he is. A boy named Tim Drake sees him for the first time and blurts out; "Oh wow, you're tiny." In a tone like he's just seen a two-headed snake burst out of the ground.

Danny is still offended. He's still growing. It's not his fault he spent twelve years of his life malnourished. "I'm gonna be taller than you," he tells him seriously, "and when I do I'm gonna kick your ass."

Tim snorts at him.

The other Bruce Wayne -- Mr. Wayne's -- youngest looks at him up and down with a face of carefully controlled judgement. His name is Damian, he's Bruce Wayne's only biological son. Danny can't believe that there's only one.

If anything, Bruce Wayne himself looks surprised too.

"Todd, yes?" Damian says, his green eyes narrowed at him.

Danny feels like the specimen under his parents' microscope, he feels like he's standing on a platform that's being slowly spun by scientists. He looks over at Bruce Wayne in confusion, and then back at Damian. "I- yes?"

Damian Wayne nods, and then leaves.

Danny does not once see himself. That is unsettling in and of itself - surely Jason Todd would have been told about another version of himself in this world, wouldn't he? How old is he here? An adult, probably. Danny doesn't know if he wants to see him. What does he look like when he's grown up? He pulls his Robin jacket around him a little tighter, like a cocoon, like a shield.

"It's weird to hear them call me Jason Todd." He says aloud to himself, and it leaves a weight behind in his chest that shouldn't hurt the way it does. It shouldn't be weird to be called your name. It shouldn't cobweb up your throat to hear your name being said. It was his name. It was his.

-

Danny acclimates to the manor slowly. The house is big, massive. He's never been in a house so large before, he feels like a stray cat being taken in for the first time, again. He and Bruce and Dick Grayson are all given their own separate rooms - one of many inside this mansion - and the sheer size of his bedroom is bigger than his living room and kitchen combined.

it's daunting. Danny sits outside on the balcony and stares at the stars he can see - Wayne Manor is far enough away from Gotham that its light pollution doesn't obscure the sky here like it did in the heart of it.

Danny finds the constellations he can find and wishes he had his books with him. He finds the library the next day and buries himself in the back, curling up into a comfy armchair next and inhaling each book he can get his hands on.

Tim Drake wanders past him at some point, Danny would have missed him if it weren't for the fact that Drake stared at him strangely when he saw him. He walks away when he realizes Danny was staring back.

It's a rinse and repeat for the next few days. Danny doesn't go to meals, he sneaks food from the kitchen afterwards, and then buries himself in hundreds of books in the library.

Dick Grayson, the one from his world, goes and finds him three days later. Danny's eyes hurt with strain by then, but he is furiously halfway through a Jane Austen novel when Dick sits down across from him.

"Have you been here all day?" Dick asks, he drapes himself across the side of his chair, contorting himself into a position that Danny doesn't think is comfortable when he looks up at him.

Not that he looks up at him long - he hums absently and goes back to reading. Frowning when he realizes he lost his place on the page.

Dick Grayson raises an eyebrow, "Have you at least eaten anything?"

Danny hums. No, he hasn't, and he hadn't thought about eating all day. Until now that is, his frown ever deepening as his stomach pangs with a deep hunger.

"That's not healthy."

"Mhm."

"Are you going to eat something?"

"Mhhh."

And this gets Dick to frown. He straightens himself up, propping onto his elbows to stare at Danny. "Jason." He says strongly. And it's that that gets Danny to finally look up from his page, jumping like he'd again been poked with a live wire as he stares at Dick with wide eyes.

"Yes?"

"Put the book down." Dick orders, gesturing towards the side table next to Danny with a nod. "And come eat something." There's very little room for argument in his voice, he sounds like Jazz when she's trying to parent him, but instead he actually sounds authoritative. Not bossy.

Danny still frowns at him. "You're not the boss of me." He says, sinking back into his chair with a thumb bookmarking his page.

Dick gives him a look and makes a decisive noise, swaggling his head side to side while he does. "I'm pretty sure that for as long as we're here, me and B actually are the boss of you."

He's never really liked authority figures, not ones that tried to boss him around, that is. Danny doubles down, his lips curling into a shadow of a scowl. "Just because you're my brother in another world doesn't mean you can act like it."

"That's not what I mean and you know it."

"I don't want to go eat."

"It's not good for you to skip meals."

"Quit talking like Jazz."

"Danny."

Danny sinks his teeth into his lip and scowls darkly at him, shrinking into the back of his armchair in hopes that it'll swallow him whole. The idea of going into that large fucking dining room fills him with a dread that makes him completely forget his appetite.

"Your fucking- dining room is- it's too big." He grits out, finally closing his book and hugging it tightly to his chest.

Dick blinks at him. "What?"

"You heard me! It's too big. This whole place is too big. It's- what do you even do with this much space? I don't know how this- other me ever lived here."

Dick Grayson surprises him, and his expression softens. "Oh," he says, "I get it."

"You do?" The tension bleeds slowly out of Danny's shoulders

"Yeah, I felt the same way when I first moved in with Bruce. I lived with the circus for most of my life, but I slept in a trailer." He says. And he talks more.

The end result of their conversation ends with Dick Grayson offering to let Danny sit across or next to him during mealtimes, and that he can talk to him if he starts getting uneasy. But he can't keep skipping meals - it was making them all worried.

Danny agrees, and Dick takes him down to the kitchens for food.

"They look at me weirdly too." He grumbles as they leave the library, Danny's book returned to the shelf where it belonged. When Dick looks at him curiously, he scrunches his nose up. "The - your other siblings. They look at me like I'm- I'm someone else. S'weird."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Dick asks, "You are someone else."

Dany shrugs, staring at the ground with a heavy frown. "I don't know."

-

Danny seeks out Dick more after that. And vice versa. Dick reminds Danny of Jazz, and he latches onto the familiarity like a leech. If Dick is bothered by it, he doesn't show it, whether he's talking to his other world's self, to the Bruce's, or to one of the other Wayne kids.

Damian Wayne seems particularly keen to seek him out, Danny finds. He thinks it means that they're close in this world, and that Damian wants to see more of what a young Dick is like. That's what he would do, at least.

He takes up on Dick's offer of seating near him during dinner, and finds an open spot across from him. Unless he has something to show him, then he sits next to him.

("You can call me Jason." He tells him one day when they're in the Wayne's massive, fuck-off gym and they're both climbing over the jungle gym. Dick's showing him how to be more flexible. It's the most Danny's worked out ever, he likes the burn it gives him.

Dick looks at him in surprise, "Really?" he's doing a handstand on the bars and Danny's more than a little jealous at his balance.

"Yeah, dipshit," he says, rolling his eyes, "I'll even let you call me Jay, it's my nickname."

Dick happily takes him up on that offer, and much to Danny's embarrassment, starts calling him Jaybird. All because of his stupid Robin jacket.)

Danny has yet to meet his other self still, it's scaring him a little. Where was he? And matter of fact, how long until he could go back to his home dimension? The three of them hadn't gotten any updates since they arrived.

Speaking of, he was starting to talk to Bruce more, it was just... strange. Even stranger than talking to Dick. Bruce Wayne in another life would have been his adoptive father, Danny can't wrap his head around it for the life of him.

Whatever did Bruce Wayne see in Jason Todd that made him worth adopting? He's too afraid of the answer to ask. They start talking more after they run into each other late at night. Danny had been hit with a bout of insomnia and was going to the library.

He ran into Bruce on the way. He was just.. staring, out the window, with a faraway look in his eye. He didn't even look startled to see Danny standing there.

Danny asks him if he wants to go to the library with him. It was out of panic. He isn't expecting Bruce Wayne to agree, and they walk there in suffocating silence. Danny keeps looking at him from the corner of his eye.

("You're staring?" Bruce doesn't sound upset, Danny jumps anyway.

"Yeah, sorry." his voice sounds stilted, "it's just..." his jaw wires itself shut for a spell, "...you looked like you were about to disappear."

"Ah.")

When they reach the library, Danny leads Bruce Wayne into the science section and takes out books upon books about stars. He leads him over to the armchair and fire and they both sit down on the ground.

"When I lived in Gotham I would stargaze." Danny says, it's the first thing he can think of. Bruce Wayne looks at him quizzically. "Well, I would try to. The sky's too polluted for that. Mostly I would just watch the skyline and try and spot Batman and Robin, was the same thing."

That cracks a smile out of Bruce. It's a small one, barely there. "I hardly think the two are comparable."

Danny is still serious. "Not to me."

He goes on, talking about how after he was adopted he got his hands on every star book he could find. He loves english and he loves to read, but something about the stars drew him in like a song. He rambles about every star fact he knows with Bruce Wayne.

Bruce Wayne surprises him by telling him facts he didn't know. Danny soaks it up like a sponge, listening intently to him speak. And when they run out of star books to talk about, Danny tells Bruce that it was his turn to find something for them to talk about.

Bruce Wayne smiles again at him, a sly little thing like Danny's challenged him, and gets up. He comes back with a stack of film books, and they spend the next few hours going through them. Bruce Wayne rattles off every single movie fun fact he knows, and there is so much that he knows.

Danny is in awe, and moves to press against Bruce's side to see the stuff he points at in his books.

"You're smarter than people give you credit for." He says at some point, when his eyes hurt from being open for too long and his head leans against Bruce's arm for support. It follows with a jaw-cracking yawn that he tries and fails to stifle.

"Thank you, Danny." Bruce says, his voice soft and soothing and not helping with Danny's weighing exhaustion. His eyes drift, and then jerk open. "Do you want to go back to your room? You look tired, chum."

He bites back a smile at the nickname, and fails to keep it bitten. "No, no, I'm awake." He mumbles, shaking his head slowly. "I wanna hear-" he yawns again, "-hear you talking."

Danny swears he can hear the smile in Bruce's voice as he speaks; "Alright. Now, where was I?"

In the end, Danny falls asleep on the floor of the library next to Bruce Wayne. He doesn't even realize it until he wakes up the next morning. But it's not to worry, Bruce Wayne fell asleep too, an arm thrown around Danny protectively like he was his own kid.

This becomes a thing for them soon enough. When neither of them can sleep, they go to the library and talk and talk about whatever comes to mind.

There comes the dreaded night after they've finished whatever book they were looking at when Bruce, the little shit, turns to Danny and goes; "You never mentioned what happened after you hit Batman with a tire iron."

Danny groans, big and dramatic, burying his head in his arms, and ignores the low chuckle. "I thought he was gonna chase me down for sure." He complains, his voice muffled by his arms.

"Why did you hit him with a tire iron?"

The look Bruce gets is one of pure disbelief. "If Mothman suddenly showed up behind you while you were taking the wheels off his ride, you'd hit him too!"

"Last time I checked, Mothman isn't real." Bruce told him amusedly, and Danny flops over onto his back to stare him down. His arms sprawl out like a starfish, intentionally hitting Bruce in the shoulder.

"You don't know that, Batman's a cryptid and he's real."

Bruce roars with laughter, and Danny preens like a bird.

That next morning when Bruce passes by him for breakfast, he reaches over and ruffles his hair. It's the same thing he does for Dick every morning. It's the first of many, and it gets many stares from the surrounding family.

Bruce has a newspaper tucked under his arm, and when he sits down Danny stands up and skedaddles over to him, leaning over the side of his chair to peer at the paper.

"Any cryptids spotted, Buzz?" He asks, getting a startled laugh out of Bruce, who looks up at him.

"Buzz?"

"Well, yeah," and Danny states it as matter-of-fact. He gestures his head at Dick Grayson. "Dick calls you 'B', and B is for bees, and I can't just call you Bees, that's dumb. So; Buzz."

He grins triumphantly when Bruce laughs quietly, his shoulders shaking imperceptibly. "I know," he tilts his head up proudly, "I'm a genius."

Now he's actually laughing, dropping his head into one of his hands and trying to quiet himself as much as possible. Danny is positively beaming, ignoring the stares of the other Waynes as he flounces back to his seat just as the other Mister Wayne enters the room.

-

When Jason Daniel Fenton Todd meets Jason Todd for the first time, they both just stare at each other.

Danny recognizes himself immediately in the library, and he freezes up. His tongue ties to the roof of his mouth, and he's unsure of what to say.

He doesn't need to say anything at all, because when Jason Todd looks up and they lock eyes, they both just stare. And stare. Jason Todd is a large, hulk of a man, built like a brick shithouse, with a tired, traumatized look in his eyes and a white streak in his black curls. The same black curls that Danny himself has.

He has no idea what to say. Or if he should turn back around and leave.

Jason Todd sighs at him, "I know they told me you and another world's Bruce and Dickie were here," he says, but it sounds like he's talking to himself. Even moreso when he mutters half-heartedly, "-but I was hoping I wouldn't run into you."

Danny feels small next to him. He doesn't know why. "Sorry." He says lamely, his one foot skips back, "I can leave if you want." It's unlike him to be meek, he thinks. Not after years of Gotham living and dealing with the likes of Dash and his Jerk Jocks.

But this also isn't the streets, and this isn't other kids being dicks. Jason Todd shakes his head, and gestures with one large arm for Danny to come over. "You don't need to do that, you were coming to read, right?"

He nods, and tentatively makes his way over. When Jason looks at him, he sees him cast his eyes over his Robin jacket - he wears it everyday. Danny sees him narrow his eyes, just slightly. But he says nothing.

It's... a strange conversation. Interaction. Jason Todd doesn't talk to him much, and if he does it's stilted and awkward, like he doesn't know how to treat him. Like he's holding him at arm's length.

Jason's getting tired of being treated like a ghost.

They talk about their books. They compare lives. Jason Todd was picked up a few days after he stole the wheels of the batmobile. He wasn't an orphan, he lived with his mom and his stepdad before he lived with Bruce. They both like to read, only Danny has an interest in the stars.

("What do your adoptive parents do?" Jason Todd asks him, one arm slung over the back of the armchair, he looks relaxed. He looks tense. Danny feels like he's back in Crime Alley again.

"They're 'ectologists'." He says, making air quotes over the word. He rolls his eyes, "Ghost hunters. They study the dead and all things afterlife."

Jason Todd makes a dry laugh huff, a sarcastic half-smile on his face. He doesn't explain why he does, Danny doesn't ask why. It doesn't seem like his business.)

Danny wants to ask him where he got that white streak in his hair. It doesn't feel right. It feels like his parents' lab, and that isn't right. Nothing ever feels like his parents' lab.

Jason Todd leaves first after giving him a few book recommendations. Danny isn't sure how to rate the experience. Being in Jason Todd's presence was like standing in a liminal space. An empty parking lot at night. When he leaves it feels like much the same thing.

He struggles to read his books afterwards, unable to shake the feeling of being haunted.