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wallwriterstuff · 1 month

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Part 3: Dirty Laundry ||Fosterdad!John Price x Teen!Simon Riley||

Warnings: Mentions of child neglect and abuse. Mentions of police investigations. Mentions of the foster care system. Explicit description of PTSD and childhood trauma.

Words: 3118

Summary: Sometimes, trauma bleeds through the well crafted exterior of even the toughest souls. It festers and rots a person from the inside out, staining everything it touches, and Simon can't quite clean the stains in time before John finds them.

<- Previous Part: The Yes Basket Part 4: Paint Over The Cracks ->

It’s warm.

Too warm.

Constricting.

An arm around his throat and the cold metal of a barrel pressed to his temple.

The pressure’s what wakes him, and John quietly curses at Riley, who has managed to sneak in and drape himself atop him, creating the pressure that’s disturbed his sleep. The German Shepherd whines and John sighs, scratching behind his ear lightly.

“You to eh boy? Never can shake ‘em…” he murmured. For a moment, John stares at the ceiling, trying to shake off the lingering adrenaline of the moment and breathe through the heaviness so many old ghosts leave behind. They put more pressure on his chest than Riley’s furry form ever could. It takes Price a long moment to realise that the rumbling he can hear isn’t actually his mind playing tricks on him. There’s no APC’s here rattling across dessert sands or cargo planes building up to take off. What this quiet suburban neighbourhood does have, though, is a laundry room in each house. A laundry room that sits right beneath his bedroom and vibrates the floorboards.

With a grunt, John heaves himself upright and reaches for his prosthetic. Riley waits patiently, head tilted and tail wagging slowly like a pendulum. With his leg on, John gives it a quick test as he pushes to stand, grunts at the initial phantom pain he can never quite get rid of, and then begins to hobble his way downstairs, clicking on lights as he goes. He hits the bottom step of the stairs, hand running over his face to stifle a yawn as he heads through the kitchen and into the laundry room just behind. The washing machine door is open, the glass is wet, and the smell of soap wafting strongly off of the lingering bubbles suggested that whoever had used it had used one too many pods. It’s the dryer that’s making the rumbling noise as it tumbles about what appears to be a sheet. John frowns, squinting in confusion, and then he sighs.

“You’re not in trouble Simon, come on out.” He can’t see the boy anywhere and he moves like a ghost, he may have already snuck back to bed for all he knows, but he’s the only other person in the house who could be doing a wash at…

Fucking Christ, it’s 3AM John internally groans at the time and makes sure to take a good look around the laundry room and the kitchen before he slowly ambles back upstairs. Simon’s door is closed, of course and John pauses briefly on the other side of the wood as he tries to figure out what’s happened. Maybe the boys finally decided to wash some of the things in that binbag? John hadn’t pushed it, but he’d been a bit more vocal about good hygiene this week since Simon hadn’t changed his clothes in the 3 weeks he’d been living with him. Had that unnerved him? Pushed him to clean the clothes himself? Was it that whatever fascination with cleaning himself Simon had had now transferred to cleaning his possessions to? John knocked at the sound of shuffling behind the door, his brows furrowed. The shuffling immediately stopped. The only sounds John could hear being the faint rush of traffic along the road as Old Mike came home from a late shift again, the creaking of expanding and contracting pipes of his house, and the loaded silence of a boy who didn’t want to be caught doing what he shouldn’t.

John knocked again.

Simon barely cracked the door the second time, glacial eyes darting rapidly over John’s face, watching even more astutely than usual. They were rough as tree bark as they scraped over his soul and John had to wander what had the boy’s hackles raised.

“You need any help with your laundry, Simon?” he asked. The non-judgemental offer was left hanging in the air between them, and John let the boy scrutinise him and his intentions from head to toe.

“No.” Simon’s answer is as blunt as ever, but there’s a slightly terse edge to his voice that’s new, an underlying tension in his tone that set John’s bullshit buzzer whirring. John sighed, rubbed at his eyes and sniffed a bit to clear the early morning grogginess from his sinuses, then paused. The stench from Simon’s room was near revolting and he couldn’t stop the way his nose wrinkled.

“Jesus kid, let me in.” John said with a frown.

“No!” Simon was adamant now, lips twisting into half a snarl as he bared his teeth and puffed his chest, doing his best impression of a predator even as his eyes showed he was really feeling like prey. John looked him over for a moment, keeping his prosthetic in the doorway so that Simon couldn’t close the door on him, or at least, couldn’t hurt him if he tried to force it shut.

“Simon-“

“I have a right to privacy.” Simon had never spoken so much in all the time he’d been with him. John nodded his head slowly, taking a steadying breath and keeping his expression calm and neutral, even as his heart waged war in his chest.

“You do have a right to privacy, and you have a-“

“Then fuck off old man.” John doesn’t flinch in the face of the acid Simon spits. The boy’s shaking, and it isn’t from rage. He’s seen plenty of angry children, seen plenty of hurt and scared ones to. He won’t meet fire with fire and burn his house down.

“You also have a right to an adequate standard of living and to experience the best possible health,” John continued calmly, “And you have a right to ensure that I, as an adult in your life, makes decisions in your best interest. Now you’re a smart lad; if you were me, smelling what I can smell right now, would you say I’m acting in your best interest if I just go back to bed?” he let’s the question hang in the air for as long as needed, watches Simon grapple with the logic of his answer and his own fear. The smell takes him back to times he’s been stuck behind enemy lines in the black, moving through shantytowns where people don’t have the means to keep clean or rescuing PoWs from dank cells with no drainage or ventilation. It’s the smell of the hopeless and the damned. Except, Simon is neither, not in his house, John won’t let him be.

“I – I can clean it. I’m cleaning it.” He’s still trying to rationalise, still trying to find a way out. John doesn’t want him to feel cornered but for the sake of the boy’s health he can’t let this one go. He knows the smell now, can pick apart what’s the stench of old neglect in the binbag and the odour of current trauma. He understands why Simon’s been showering so much now, realises that this must have been going on for weeks before he noticed. He keeps his voice gentle, not accusing in anyway, doesn’t even force eye contact. He needs to praise the effort, prove he’s working with him, not against him.

“You’re doing a great job, the sheets’ll be dry soon…but maybe I can help you swap the mattress out so they can go back on a clean bed, yeah?” John’s suggestion is met with stone cold silence that drags for an infinite stretch of time. Simon’s not even able to look at him, and John can understand why. The boy prides himself on control so losing control of his bladder is more than embarrassing, and the way he’s acting makes John suspects it was a punishable offence in his former home. He’s never seen the boy be anything other than pale, but his cheeks are burning a fierce shade of pink now as he struggles to breathe properly. John’s not sure if it’s panic, the smell, or a mix of both, but Simon’s so beyond rational thought that he almost falls into a stupor as he stumbles back to let him in.

There’s a wash basin on the floor from the kitchen, Fairy Liquid sitting nearby to and even a bottle of lemon juice. Simon’s got a phone open to a cleaning article and sploshes of soapy water all over the hardwood as he’s desperately tried to scrub his mattress clean. John feels a deep swelling of sympathy, staring in mute horror at the soaked and stained mattress, eyes trailing to the open window fluttering curtains in the breeze like white flags. Simon can’t talk, but his body is coiled to spring like a rattle snake, one wrong move pulling the trigger to a gun he can’t control. They’re at the edge of a precipice now, and one small nudge could rob Simon of all rational thought and send him into a full on meltdown. John’s not just in his space but he’s bearing witness to a weakness, one he could exploit. He needs to prove he won’t. Simon won’t believe any of the evidence he lays out before him for a long time either way, but John knows he has to start somewhere.

“I say we move you into the spare room tonight, get a proper night’s sleep, and tomorrow we’ll deal with the mattress.” John’s suggestion is quiet, soft. Simon can’t seem to lift his gaze from the floor, finding the knots in the wood to be the most interesting thing in the room. The smell of stale urine is assaulting John’s nose, burning the nasal cavity, and his stomach twists to know Simon’s been sleeping in all this mess right under his nose for perhaps the entirety of the time he’s lived here. Seeing no response is incoming, John goes to one knee, makes himself small, tries to meet Simon’s gaze from below. The boy doesn’t shut his eyes, no he’d rather have a chance at seeing whatever’s coming John thinks, but he does turn his head immediately to keep avoiding John’s eyes.

“Simon, I’m not angry. Look at my face. Do I look upset? It’s okay, lad. It happens.” John thinks better of reaching for him. Simon still doesn’t respond. “What’s going to happen now, is that we’re going to get you fresh sheets, and move you into the room just across from mine. You can sleep in a clean bed, and tomorrow morning-“

“I’ll just piss it again.” The boy’s voice shakes, as if the confession takes physical effort to squeeze its way out of his throat. John is quiet for a moment, keeps his voice non-judgemental. The atmosphere in the room is charged and he feels like one small spark could ignite the gasoline he’s swimming in. Everything smells and burns and John’s angry, so, so furious, that somebody has broken this boy so badly. He can’t let Simon see that anger though, he’ll think it’s directed at him.

“This happens more than once in a night?” John asks. Simon clenches and unclenches his fists, manages a jerky nod.

“S-sometimes.” He stutters. John gives another slow nod.

“There’s things we can buy to help.” He promises softly.

“I’m not wearing fucking nappies.” Simon wipes furiously at his eyes, the embarrassment and anger leaking through his eyes as it overwhelms him. It’s the proof that’s upset him so much, John thinks. He can no longer hide the physical evidence that things are not okay, were never okay, and he can’t hold the demons at bay all the time, however much he gives the impression he can. The boy with eyes that would make Satan shiver can only do so much, hold on for so long, before he to drowns in the hellfire of his life. Simon likes to make a show of dealing with it, pretending things are fine, but John’s bore witness to the fact it’s not, and that’s set off all of Simon’s alarms. How long had he had to pretend to keep Tommy safe? His mother too maybe. Had Simon always fell into the role of protector perhaps? Keep anyone from suspecting things were going wrong, keep the family together. But they’re already broken up, aren’t they? John shakes the thoughts off, it’s best not to rationalise someone else’s trauma, especially with only half the story.

John shakes his head, “Of course not. There’s pads we can put on top of the mattress, you just throw them away and put a fresh one on if you need to. Some brands do pants and underwear liners. We can buy some waterproof mattress covers to. It’s something we can mention to the doctor, when we go to see them, there’s tablets they can prescribe. We have options to try alright?” John waits with baited breath to see if Simon will take any of the options available, will help him choose, work together with him as opposed to try and go it alone. Simon doesn’t say anything; he’s so busy trying to get a grip of himself and his emotions he can’t form any sort of answer it seems. John can’t imagine being in his shoes, how mortifying it must be for a man whose essentially a stranger to bear witness to this moment, a moment he strongly suspects he’s been punished for a lot which has only contributed to Simon’s desperation to hide this side effect of the trauma he’s experienced.

He seems to work on autopilot when he helps John to make up a fresh bed, flinching from him if he accidentally gets within touching distance. He isn’t surprised when Simon goes back to the binbag, but instead of bringing the whole thing, he rummages through it to find only one item. The hoodie is definitely far too small for him, a horrific bottle green colour that makes his already pale skin look sickly in comparison. It smells of that lingering scent of cigarettes still, even has some burn holes in it. John doesn’t comment on it and lets Simon keep the comfort item close. He gives him one last chance to confide in him before he leaves to go back to his own room.

“You need anything else before you turn in?” his offer is met by an immediate headshake, and John knows instinctually that Simon’s at his limit, that the kindness John has met him with tonight is going to keep the boy awake and shaking until sun rise can chase away the memory of it. “Alright then, try get some sleep yeah?” John gives him a slight nod as he shuts the door behind him and walks back to his room. He shuts the door behind him and goes through the motions of taking off his leg, but he can’t bring himself to get into bed somehow. He rests his head in his hands and takes a deep, steadying breath, finally letting his own tears fall as he grieves on the boy’s behalf.

Nobody ever said his job was easy.

His heart hurts and he’s filled with such a visceral rage it makes his teeth grind. To have traumatised a boy so thoroughly he can’t stop himself from wetting the bed at four-fucking-teen is more than criminal - John’s hunted people down for less before. Simon doesn’t need his anger though. He needs consistency, calm, support, and care. John inhales deeply and exhales in a rush, trying to force out all the negative emotions he’s feeling so that Simon get’s nothing but his best when he sees him tomorrow.

Simon deserves his best.

It only keeps getting worse.

Simon’s throwing a tennis ball for Riley in the backyard. He hasn’t spoken to him since last night and when John answers the phone he’s tired, beyond tired. He doubted either of them slept anymore after their 3AM meet up.

“Kate…give me good news.” He sighs.

“Alright. We’ve got him signed up at your GP and they’ve given you one of tomorrow’s emergency appointments. 10:20AM.” Kate Laswell delivers the news perfunctorily, with almost too much nonchalance. John knows better than to believe that’s the end of it.

“There’s a but coming, isn’t there?” he asks. Kate is too quiet for a long moment and John readjusts his position, pressing the phone between his shoulder and ear so he can go back to spreading mustard on his sandwich.

“He can’t see Tom.” Kate’s voice feels like a falling gavel in a courtroom. Simon’s not spoken of his brother much, but John gets the impression that it wasn’t his own hoodie he was clutching for comfort last night. He knows deep in his bones that this news won’t go over well with Simon.

“Can I at least give him a reason why? How the fuck do you want me to explain that to him?” John asks finally, voice a little bit clipped.

“You can’t. The thing’s Tom’s disclosed are vile, John. There’s a police investigation and all sorts opening, so right now, no visits. I’ve got to arrange a time and a date with you for the police to come interview Simon. Frankly, if what the kid’s been saying is true, it’ll do Simon better to not have contact with him at all.” Kate sounds just as tired as he feels and he can almost imagine the woman sitting in her office, rubbing her forehead to chase off a pounding headache. John puts down the knife in his hand and shifts it to his phone, gripping it tight and pushing it harder against his ear like he might catch a whisper of better news if he just holds it close enough.

“Kate I need something go off of here. The kids pissing the bed and got more bruises than a prisoner of war. What am I dealing with here?” he asks, frustration colouring his tone.

“Trauma, John. You’re dealing with trauma. It’s nothing new. All the kids coming to you are traumatised. This one just needs to be handled with more care than most. If you can’t handle that let me know and I’ll remove him now.” Her tone rings with finality and John flinches, feeling like he’s been sucker punched.

“No,” he speaks through gritted teeth, “He’s had enough upheaval…I’ll figure out a way to tell him if he asks. Thanks for sorting the doc’s.”

“You’re welcome. Anything else?”

“No.” John grunts out a reply before he can say something he might regret.

“Great. I’ll be in touch to arrange a time to visit Simon.” She hangs up without a goodbye, again, and once more John is left stumbling in the dark for a way to help Simon. He’s starting to feel like the only one in the world who wants to.

#call of duty #captain john price #cod modern warfare #foster carer john price #simon 'ghost' riley #teen!ghost #fosterdad!john price x teen!ghost #cod mw #cod mw price #cod mw ghost #foster carer au #tw childhood trauma #tw trauma #I told you simon had to get sadder #I promise the next part will be nicer #more happy #as happy as a traumatised teen and his foster dad can be anyway

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krikeymate · 1 year

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Foster this love au

In the beginning Tara would do these little tests on Sam just to understand what kind of a person Sam is and watch how she’d react to things to decide if she was trustworthy according to Tara or not.

Tara was still pretty nervous about being in a new environment with practically a stranger so all these tests were pretty low stakes since she was kinda scared.

Not being used to calmness and kindness, Tara is shocked to see Sam not getting mad at her or yelling for things like leaving the remote on the floor, not finishing her plate, and etc

“Maybe Sam is safe. Maybe I don’t need to hide.”

Tbh I can’t think of specific tests but I just thought of this concept that kids actually do to test boundaries

It takes 3 days for the woman-who-is-not-her-mother to notice she sleeps under the bed instead of in it. Tara prepares herself for the yelling, for being dragged out and shaken, for the punishment.

Instead, she just goes "huh," and looks at her, on her hands and knees with her head bowed to peer under the bed. "That doesn't seem very comfortable, you good down there?" Tara doesn't respond, curled tight into a ball and pressed against the corner of the room. The woman sits up and Tara thinks she might leave. Maybe she'll call the soshul worker and tell her that Tara's too weird and she doesn't want her anymore.

She doesn't leave. Her face reappears as she lies down on the floor, and pushes something under the bed. "If you're gonna hide down there, maybe you should have something a little softer to lie on, hm." Sam doesn't wait for Tara to take the pillow and blanket, she gets back on her feet and leaves her be.

Tara stays in that room for the first week. It was a week longer than she expected to be here. She had already been passed between 4 different carers and a home between meeting Sam and leaving with her. They told her she was being difficult and she had to stop and be normal and get over it, that she was safe now and that she was too old to be acting as she was. Nobody explained what any of that meant. They would only get mad when she asked.

Sam doesn't get mad, or demand that she leaves the room, and Tara begins to explore on her own. She would watch her, waiting. Waiting for that moment she gets angry, when she turns back into her mother, but it never comes. By the time they move, a month later, Tara's beginning to think she might not be like her mother at all.

Tara has her own bed now, in her own room, which Sam promises is all her own and she can do what she likes with. Tara still sneaks into Sam's room that first night while Sam's in the kitchen and crawls under her new bed. She's shaking as she does it, so sure that this will be the moment things change.

When the door bangs open later that night, she knows this is it. It feels like a relief for it to finally happen.

But Sam just drops to the floor, she catches her eyes and laughs, resting her face on the carpet for a moment. "Shit kid, you had me worried. Thought you'd ran off or something." Sam doesn't sound mad, and Tara doesn't know what this means. "Thought I told you to be comfy if you're gonna hide under there?" She just hands her her own pillow and blanket once again, even though Tara has her own in her own room, and crawls into her bed. "G'night kid."

Tara's scared to push Sam, she knows by now this is the best place she's ever been, but she's more scared that she doesn't know where the boundary lies. She wants to see it coming, needs to see it coming.

So, Tara continues to be difficult, in little ways.

Sometimes she won't eat her food. Sam just covers it up and makes sure Tara knows where it is and that she knows how to use the microwave to heat it up later, in case she gets hungry. She makes sure to mention that Tara can eat it at any time, even if it's the middle of the night. "You should always eat when you're hungry," Sam tells her. Tara wonders if Sam always eats when she's hungry, Sam never seems hungry.

Reaching out to Sam's fallen hand felt so risky. It took her weeks to build up the courage to do so again.

The first time Tara breaks something is an accident. It has her frozen, unable to move, she can't even breathe. It leaves Tara terrified, knowing she can't run, can't protect herself. But Sam just picks her up and moves her to the couch. She speaks to her softly and checks over her hands, her legs, her feet, making sure there are no cuts from the shattered glass. It's not the last time Tara breaks something, some of them deliberately, desperate for reassurance, to know. Sam reacts the same every time, with patience and gentle hands. Even the time Tara is mad, when she stares Sam straight in the eyes and flings the glass to the floor. Sam had looked so shocked, and there was a moment where Tara was sure Sam would hit her as she rushed towards her. But she just picked her up and moved her out the way, frowned as she ran her fingers over her skin and said "don't do that! You could have hurt yourself." She doesn't mention the broken glass, or how it was Tara's fault, or how she was bad.

It only makes her want to do it again, craving the comfort that knowing Sam won't get angry brings.

#/mp #ask box #Scream #Tara Carpenter #Sam Carpenter #AU: foster this love make me whole again #I already had this thought so I'm so glad to hear the readers are thinking the same things

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naavispider · 10 months

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Hey, I remembered how you once wrote that you can see Lyle as the girl's dad and I wonder if you have any hc what would happen if in modern au he had a daughter let's consider a 6-year-old daughter who would be brought up among all military uncles and aunts and would have Quaritch as a godparent. Maybe you could write a one-shot of what her meeting with Spider looked like? He could see what his life might have been like if he had never been taken from his father.

Hi! I can't believe anyone remembered that! This is the post you're referring to. Here are some headcanons about the daughter meeting Spider:

Wainfleet's daughter is called Sophia, and she is about 7 when Spider is 16. Wainfleet is still with her mom (Helena) though they are very on again, off again. Both of them always put Sophia first though, even when they're in a 'i need space' phase of their relationship. Everyone (the squad) knows that they're each other's soulmate (for want of a better word) and it's just Wainfleet and Helena who don't see it.

Sophia was raised mostly by her mom while Wainfleet was away on active duty, which was relatively often. However, whenever Wainfleet got back Helena would always allow Wainfleet to have pretty much unlimited access to her, even when they were fighting. When they weren't 'off again', things were great. Wainfleet would come home and they'd be a happy family. He'd bring his mates round, including all of the squad, and Sophia would get to know them and grow fond of them all, especially when they always brought toys and candy for her.

All of the squad pretty much see Sophia as their niece, and treat her like such. Wainfleet (and Helena) know that if anything happened to both of them, Sophia wouldn't be short for carers.

When Spider first meets Sophia it’s when Quaritch took him round to Wainfleet’s house. Maybe after Quaritch gains custody, or maybe when he gets suspicious the police have hacked Spider’s laptop. Sophia isn’t as shy as other kids her age when meeting new people, because of how often she’s been around Lyle’s work life, so when she sees Uncle Quaritch and a strange teenager walk in she rushes over to Quaritch to hug him. Spider is so confused by this - it seems a huge juxtaposition seeing this huge, tough marine being a gentle with a seven year old girl.

“Hey princess,” Quaritch would mumble into her, and then she’d turn and boldly say hi to Spider.

“Er, hi,” Spider replies.

Quaritch introduces his niece and Wainfleet watches on, not needing to verbalise his protectiveness over his daughter. They make their way to a back room to look at the laptop, and Helena follows them tentatively.

Spider’s never had a sibling, but he imagines Sophia is a perfect example of what it would be like. At first she waits by the door, not afraid to be seen eavesdropping, and then she just gains in confidence until she comes in unashamedly and starts making conversation with a slightly weirded out Spider.

“What’s your name?”

“Spider.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s what people call me.”

“My name’s Sophia. I’ve never seen you before.”

Spider doesn’t know what to say to that, he finds talking to Sophia similar to talking to Tuk, but he was far more wary of her than his foster sister. She’d clearly been raised in a military family and had no idea of the things her father and ‘uncles’ did when they were away.

#that’s all I have for now!#I’d need to flesh it out properly #lyle wainfleet #spider socorro #avatar modern au #my stuff #ask #atwow

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noxexistant · 1 year

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i now have thoughts about (modern au) delanceys and photos. they don’t really have many taken of them - parents take photos, and they don’t have those. it’s usually just the classic awkward foster carer or social worker photos, making the boys stand there beside each other and smile while they’re on stupid day trips or doing stupid tasks like baking or painting.

oscar doesn’t smile. what the hell does he have to smile about? because someone who’s paid to pretend to care about him is telling him to? just to prove that they’re doing their job of pretending to care? he glares instead, right into the camera, and he’ll walk away if whoever’s taking the photo gets too insistent, so almost every photo of him has that same expression. he hates having photos taken of him anyway - he hates his face, his dad’s face.

morris smiles. that’s what you’re supposed to do in photos, he knows. he’s been told. and he does as he’s told, when the person behind the camera orders “smile!” and holds it up, obscuring their face behind the lens. he’ll cling to oscar’s side or throw an arm around him, just like he used to do when they were little kids in photos, and he’ll smile. an expression only oscar recognises as totally strained and false - morris doesn’t really smile like that, but he doesn’t really smile at anyone but oscar. his face scrunches up when he really smiles, and he shows his teeth, and his eyes squint almost closed. it’s nothing compared to how he smiles in photos, so oscar hates that too.

when pictures of them get put up in the foster home, oscar’ll pull them down and tear them to shreds. only sometimes stopping to save morris’ half of the photo, to keep for himself tucked away somewhere, but otherwise destroying all evidence. until, at least, he sees the first candid picture of them - taken during some stupid task, baking or making art or on the beach, but taken without any attention brought to the camera or orders of “smile!”. neither of them are looking at the camera. morris is looking at the task at hand, face all scrunched up in his real smile, and oscar’s not glaring. he’s looking at morris, and he’s smiling too, soft and tender.

he still doesn’t let the picture stay up. he pulls it down and leaves the empty space where it was, a gap on the wall filled with all the other kids. but he doesn’t tear that one up - he keeps it, whole, for himself and morris. it’s the first thing he ever puts up on their bedroom wall, after countless years of so much moving and leaving that he’s reluctant to even unpack their clothes when they enter a new facility.

morris smiles when he sees it. “it’s us!” he says, and rushes up on oscar’s bed to get a better look. “you’re smilin’.” morris is beaming, the same expression as in the photo. the expression that’s always just for oscar. so, when he turns back to look at oscar, oscar manages to smile back at him. and, when they inevitably leave that facility too, he tucks the photo safe in his ratty little rucksack of belongings, and puts it up in their next bedroom too.

#[slaps roof of characters without parents] these bad boys can fit so much projection in em #newsies #oscar delancey #morris delancey #my writing

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tinytinybumblebee · 2 years

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Mod!AU where stede is the equivalent of a foster parent for littles who need a safe and stable home, which is how he meets most the crew, as well as angriest baby in the world Izzy

Awww oh my goodness ;w; ♡♡♡

Stede likes being a safe place for tiny ones who need a place to stay at- as unconventional and bizarre this man can be, he does have a nurturing side of him that swells when he meets tiny ones who are in desperate need to some loving coddling and positive attention!💖

The Revenge is the tounge in cheek nickname given for Bonnet's residents- Revenge being the revenge for the tiny ones who have not had the best experiences in the past, Stede wants to help the tiny ones that come to him with gentleness, showing them proper love/care, helping them find carers and that kinda stuff💖

Izzy, oh goodness, he came to Stede in the dead of night one-night, just absolutely in need of some tlc- which, certainly took a good long while as Izzy is an angry/fussy babie

This is actually how Stede and Ed meet in this AU!

Ed actually is the one who comes to Stede because word around the grapevine was Stede was this super man of tiny care and Ed knew Izzy (his little sib/baby boy, Ed is both a tiny one and carer so, it flops between those!) may need some extra help ;w;

#agere #age regression #fandom agere #sfw #mailbox #ofmd #izzy hands #stede bonnet #edward teach

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himbos-hotline · 1 year

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Hello, congrats on the 1k celebration! 💚I‘d love to hear about ‚What baking can do‘, if Hanger runs a bakery, do you already know what other people in the AU might be doing?

💚 and one of my AUs/WIPs and some questions and I will answer them! It might help untangle the knots from my brain.

follower celebration // list of wips // requesting rules // askbox

Surprisingly yeah! The Bakery AU is one that my brain has really hyperfixated on. My big sibling and I jsut need to name all the places like offically before we actually start writing. Some places already have names.

Hangman, Matt and Nick: They work at the bakery- the Bucks like working and cooking and does Hangy. Hangy technically runs the building/ other worky stuff

Nathaniel Pacatto [OC] Runs a petstore

Jay, HOOK: Jay and Hook work otgether in the record store that Jay buys called Blackthorn records

Kenny, Kota: Kenny has no big boy job but he's a streamer and frequents the bakery a lot to support his friends. Kota also doesn't have a big boy job but that may change.

Wheeler Yuta: He owns a flowershop

Adam Cole [baybay]: Runs one of those like health food stores and is grumpy about new people buying up the lots and taking away buisness

Danhausen: Runs a kinda spooky antique shop that always seems to have people in but nobody buys anything yet somehow it stays in buisness

William Regal: Has owned and run an old bookstore in the town for as long as people can remember. One of those like really pretty ones that smell dusty but that comforting sort of dusty. Has a house nearby his bookstore.

Claudio, RJ City: The old married couple that run an italian restraunt together. RJ used to be a social worker and is the one who formalised the adoption between Jay and Regal

Excalibur, Mox, Kris Stratlander: He runs a gym and yes he still wears his mask because the idea of him not having a mask just means he's not excalibur Mox works there and he runs self defense classes also grew up in foster care so him and Jay know each other and like are BEST FRIENDS Kris also works their and teaches a womans exercise class as well as a kickboxing class

Eddie Kingston, Ruby Soho: The two of them are adopted siblings [Ruby changed her name] and they work in their familys garage wheer they mend cars. It belongs to eddie now

Aubrey Edwards: She runs a bar. Like the best bartender who takes no shit what so ever.Hangman frequents there a lot

Taz: He runs his own radio show called 'radio Taz'

Dr Britt DMD: Shes a dentist, it terrifies me but its lore.

MJF: He sings in Aubreys bar because it has like a karaoke stage but hes the total centre of attention

Evil Uno/ the rest of the dark order: Uno is a foster carer Stu is helper/partner/ dont question it what are you a cop? The rest of the dark order

Jungle Boy: He works in a museam and has luchasauras as a teaching mechnism as like a stuffie. However its implided that he is alive.

#the bakery au #i have no idea who to tag this with

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aftgficrec · 2 years

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Staff Recs - Foxes give back

For the month of May 2022 we’ve decided to look into fics that show the Foxes in a giving mood, be that as social workers, lawyers, volunteers, foster carers or taking part in fundraising events. We hope you enjoy these fics with their display of generosity and social conscience! - AFTG Fic Rec Fam

Previously recommended:

Andreil fostering/adopting here (includes ‘Blame It On My Youth’, since updated)

(K)andreil fostering here

‘Meow Meow Lullaby’ here

‘Bleeding Hearts’ here

‘where the heart is’ series, ‘Forming a Family; Forging a Future’ and ‘We Are Survivors’ here

‘Whisker Me Away’ here

‘Better Than His Word’ here

‘All I really wanna do is love you’ here

‘Stay Home With Me’ here

‘Spell it Out’ here

‘Something Good’ and ‘...(The Happy Paws Remix)’ here

‘N for nebulous’ here (complete)

Two worlds collide by pandaseek [Rated T, 30345 words, incomplete, last updated Nov 2021]

A waiter showed another couple to the table beside them; Neil was grateful that the interruption seemed to remind his date to lower her voice with the tables being so close. He looked up when the man diagonally from him failed to sit when his date did. The blond man from the bar stood behind the seat staring openly at Neil and ignoring his dates nervous gesture to sit. Up close, he was far shorter than Neil had given him credit for across the bar. Well-groomed and confident enough to draw the attention of everyone in the room. Neil deliberately averted his gaze, hoping the guy would understand that he had no intention of dealing with people ogling at his scars.

Miranda went quiet watching the man out of the corner of her eyes, uncomfortable with the obvious attention that he was paying them. The man sat down but didn’t stop his staring as his date tried to reclaim his attention. Neil tried to shake it off, but his limited patience was already being pushed.

“Do I know you?” Neil snapped at him when he could no longer bite his tongue.

The blonde looked him in the eyes blandly, unimpressed with his outburst. “I don’t know, do you?”

tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: implied/referenced abuse, tw: involuntary outing, tw: homophobia

sway by PoolToast22 [Rated G, 3991 words, complete, 2021]

Jeremy Knox had a handful of things. Firstly, he had a fake boyfriend. Part of a ploy to make the USC Exy fundraising dance sell tickets after a mistimed break-up. Secondly, he had a crush. On said fake boyfriend. Lastly, he had two hours to get ready to pretend to be entirely neutral and professional to his fake boyfriend/teammate so he won’t guess just how okay he is with this whole situation.

---

AKA an AU where Jean can dance, Jeremy can't- and that just won't stand.

Rainy Day Daydream by rooftopkisses [Rated G, 2538 words, complete, 2020]

Andrew works at the Palmetto Animal Rescue. Neil often volunteers to read to the Cats.

This is the origin story of how Neil and Andrew get Sir and King.

Visiting Hours by fuzzballsheltiepants [Rated G, 2179 words, complete, 2018]

Neil and Andrew visit Dan and Matt in the hospital. Sweet mayhem ensues.

tw: scars

Let Nothing You Dismay by imagined_melody [Rated G, 1717 words, complete, 2018]

The thing about Andrew is, he hates hospitals.

A pro-team publicity visit to the children's hospital hits Andrew closer to home than he expects. (Written for the 2018 AFTG Holiday/Winter Fanzine.)

Breakfast with Champions by belncaz [Rated T, 1531 words, complete, 2017]

Wymack signs the Foxes up for a charity breakfast for kids. Things don’t go quite to plan, until they do - pretty much how the Foxes roll with anything.

It's Always You by justdk [Rated T, 6985 words, incomplete, last updated Aug 2017]

Part 1 of the It's Always You series; part 5 previously rec'd here

In which Neil Josten, rising high school senior, participates in a car wash fundraiser and meets the infamous Andrew Minyard.

The Morning AUs - A Compilation by scribbleb_red [Rated T/M/E, Collection, last updated May 2021]

Chapter 50: The Ultramarathon AU [T, 2531 Words]

Neil has been training for the Wadi Rum Ultramarathon for almost a year. It's a charity race, raising money for families escaping domestic violence. But injury means Andrew is the one who has to do most of the hard work.

Afterthoughts by wesawbears [Rated T, collection, complete, 2017]

Chapter 73: Kevin- Retirement [465 Words]

When Kevin imagined his future, Exy was predictably a prominent feature. He imagined playing well into his 40s- not out of arrogance, necessarily, but because the idea of not playing was simply incomprehensible.

together by badacts [Rated T, collection, complete, 2017, locked]

Chapter 9: Philanthropy [1717 Words]

Prompt: I was wondering if you could write some andreil angst/comfort (since its your forte) about Neil sneaking around and Andrew assuming maybe he's cheating (or the non-relationship

Andreil later in life by @haletostilinski [tumblr, 2016]

Neil plays professional Exy for as long as he can, until he’s like 38, 39 years old, maybe he even pushes it to 40, just one more year, and maybe he gets injured because of it

tw: implied/referenced child abuse

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quillerqueen · 2 years

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Not a Universe Goes By (8/31)

(a series of fic(let)s for The Ted Lasso AU-gust challenge)

#8: Adoptive Family

Vera comes to them one chilly Christmas Eve, just before midnight.

They've only had an hour's notice, and they've spent it feverishly assembling the travel cot (Ted) and nervously pacing up and down the length of the hallway, crumpling and smoothing out a soft fleece blanket (Rebecca).

It’s love at first sight.

When the social worker places the fussy, whimpering toddler in Rebecca’s arms, affection swells within her like a tidal wave, ready to wipe out the world in a protective rage. Tears burn at the back of her eyes as she wipes them off chubby little cheeks with a careful thumb. Rebecca coos and croons until Vera settles, tired brown eyes blinking up at Rebecca before she rubs at them with a tiny first, drops her cheek to Rebecca’s shoulder, and dozes off.

"It's only been a day and a half, Ted," she sobs on the bathroom floor, clutching Vera’s new favourite blanket, "and I don't know how I am ever going to say goodbye."

They do. Such is the role of emergency foster carers, to step in for a few hours to a couple of days, provide refuge to a child in need, then part ways when it’s safe again for them to return home. So they do, even though a chunk of their hearts leaves with the little one.

And then they do it again.

And again.

Until one day they don't. The travel cot is replaced by a toddler bed, the sunshine yellow nursery walls welcome a host of hand-painted birds and butterflies to watch over the little enthusiast, and Vera’s toothy grin is almost permanently glued to her radiant little face. She’s the one to wipe clumsily at Ted and Rebecca’s tears of joy when the final paperwork is signed.

"Happy adoption day, sweet girl."

#ted lasso august 2022 #ted lasso fanfic #rebecca welton fanfic #tedbecca fanfic #ted lasso #rebecca welton #ted x rebecca #tedbecca #bee writes fanfic #triple drabble #and not a single em-dash in sight *gasp*#mummy rebecca has me in a chokehold :')

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faithhopeloveandtherapy · 2 years

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Has any of the social workers talked about the sorts of people who would be interested in adopting your fosters in their experience? Here in Aus so many kids with disabilities get foster placements with extended family or they end up in a home with 1:1 paid carers until they're old enough for group homes. I feel like by virtue of following you I'm invested in all the babes not ending up like that. I hope this visit with prospective adoptive parents went well

The babies will not be going to extended family. They will almost certainly be adopted by unrelated families who want to adopt for varying reasons (generally either they can’t have their own birth children or they have decided to extend their family/ provide a permanent home for children who need one). I haven’t heard yet how the visit with the potential adopters went, but I feel quite positive about them and I really hope it works out.

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smequa · 28 days

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Why Using Buccal Training For Epilepsy Is Important?

Understanding Care Mandatory Training

Understanding care training requirements in the UK is essential for all domiciliary carers. Statutory and mandatory courses cover key subjects to ensure staff members and clients remain safe.

Health and safety training courses cover crucial protocols like risk evaluation, manual handling, fire safety, safeguarding training for care workers to detect abuse as well as local reporting procedures, medication administration training is also a necessity for domiciliary care providers.

Online buccal training for epilepsy wrap training

Buccal training for epilepsy (epilepsy medication administration training) assists healthcare professionals and caregivers to provide effective and safe care to individuals experiencing seizures. The training offers valuable skills that can reduce anxiety and stress as well as enhance quality of life for people living with epilepsy.

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As it can be challenging to teach how to administer buccal midazolam successfully without human volunteers, this handheld airway trainer makes training simple and straightforward. With its adjustable jaw, teeth, and tongue features, this device serves as an effective demonstration for how to administer drug therapy into cheek during seizure attacks or other emergency situations.

Paediatric first aid online

Paediatric first aid online training is essential for anyone working with children or infants, including nurses, nannies, au pairs, teachers and parents. This course can save lives when injuries such as choking or cardiac arrest occur and will benefit any profession working directly with children - such as teachers. This course may also benefit their own parents!

This online care mandatory training course covers first aid and CPR for infants and children, as well as using an adrenaline auto-injector in case of an allergic reaction. This course is perfect for teachers, childcare providers, camp counselors, school bus drivers and foster parents. Certification lasts for two years and fulfills OSHA regulations.

CPR AED for the child & infant

CPR and AED training is essential for all care workers, particularly when caring for infants who are more prone to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). According to the pediatric Chain of Survival guidelines, high-quality CPR should begin immediately rather than waiting until either there is a pulse found or breathing resumes.

Before commencing CPR, ensure the area is free of obstructions and dry. Remove any bulky clothing, place the infant on their back, tap their back several times while speaking loudly to see if they respond; if not, call 911/EMS immediately for assistance.

The Heart saver Pediatric First Aid CPR AED course equips participants to recognize and care for illnesses or injuries in children and infants until professional assistance arrives. Based on current resuscitation science and guidance from the American Heart Association, this course also features hands-on skills sessions as well as teaching how to use an AED.

vimeo

Adult & paediatric first aid

Care workers must complete mandatory training. This may include courses to teach them how to care for elderly individuals as well as how to treat children and infants properly.

These courses cover topics such as first aid, basic life support and infection control for carers. Furthermore, these training programs aim to teach them about providing dignity-in-care while honoring the privacy of those they are caring for.

Paediatric first aid courses are often required for individuals working in industries related to children in the UK, such as nursery staff, child-minders and teachers. Paediatric first aid differs from standard first aid in that its focus lies on treating injuries and illnesses that affect infants and children - such as febrile convulsions, head injuries or choking incidents in young children.

#Vimeo

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easycaredisabilities · 5 months

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Discover How Our NDIS Respite Care Services Can Support Your Needs

At Easy Care, located in the heart of Adelaide, AU, we understand the unique challenges and demands faced by individuals with disabilities and their families. Our commitment to providing top-tier NDIS respite care services is unwavering, as we strive to offer a supportive and nurturing environment for our clients.

Empowering Independence: Personalised Respite Care Solutions

Our approach to respite care is deeply rooted in the philosophy of empowerment and independence. We believe that each individual has unique needs and preferences, which is why our services are tailored to cater to each client's specific requirements. Whether it’s short-term relief for carers or longer-term support, our team is adept at creating an environment where clients feel safe, respected, and valued.

Comprehensive Support Services: More Than Just Care

At Easy Care, we go beyond the traditional scope of respite care. Our comprehensive support services include:

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The cornerstone of our respite care service is the creation of a safe and nurturing environment. We prioritise:

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Building Strong Community Ties: Involvement and Outreach

Our commitment to care extends beyond our immediate services. We believe in building strong community ties through:

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At Easy Care, we are constantly striving to improve and innovate our services. We engage in:

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Choosing Easy Care means opting for a partner who understands the intricacies of NDIS respite care. We offer:

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At Easy Care, we are dedicated to providing exceptional respite care services that not only meet but exceed the expectations of our clients and their families. Our approach is holistic, compassionate, and tailored to the unique needs of each individual. If you are seeking a partner in care that prioritises empowerment, innovation, and excellence, look no further than Easy Care in Adelaide, AU.

#ndis provider #ndis #ndis services #disability #disability support #ndis provider adelaide #ndis respite care #ndis provider prospect

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everybody-loves-purdy · 2 years

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Human!Raven and Oak au- what if Raven was taken in by Oak when he was younger, so he lived with him, Freckle and Birch? (That and probably they all went to Oak’s workplace/company (TC) at some point).

That’s a good idea! I’m thinking maybe Oak could have wanted his company to look good so he personally fostered a “promising youth” from a children’s home to be an apprentice at his company or something? (That way Raven wouldn’t have any other family he could go to for support?). Also that way it would mean that Raven would be dependent on Oak and therefore more prone to manipulation.

In this AU maybe Oatspeckle could have been a previous foster carer that passed away or one of his care workers at the children’s home?

#anonymous #au #raven and oak au #purdys au

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krikeymate · 1 year

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Foster this love au

Sam has always one way or another has been in Tara’s life. The very first time they met, Tara was wearing sam’s old sweatshirt and most of Tara’s packed clothes were Sam’s old and oversized clothes that Tara would practically drown in.

Sam’s old and worn jacket has kept Tara warm for years. Sam’s old toys kept Tara entertained when no one even bothered with her or she had to distract herself when things got bad (and Tara didn’t have any new toys). Sam’s old plush toys helped Tara go to sleep.

Sam may have not known Tara then, but she has always protected her, even a little bit.

It's true but you didn't need to say it like that! 😭

There are even pictures of this other girl around the house, never taken down. Tara doesn't know who she is, but she knows she's not here and she hopes she's somewhere else, safe and happy and protected.

Sam takes Tara home and realises that everything this girl owns was once hers, there's nothing new there, nothing that belonged solely to Tara, and it hurts. This girl was just a replacement for Sam. Her chest aches for Tara, for herself, for the reminder that her mother was never going to be the woman she wanted her to be.

She tries to buy Tara new things, but the girl doesn't want them. She likes her old things best. Even though the clothes are too big and they're worn and clearly not well looked after. Even though she's playing with a toy Sam remembers breaking at 7 years old, when she'd had a tantrum and thrown it down the stairs.

It makes Sam think, and she goes searching for an old suitcase, thrown in the back of a cupboard somewhere never to be opened again. The last reminder of a childhood of being carted around from foster carer to home to carer, unable to settle, too difficult to keep. Inside are clothes that no longer fit, toys offered as welcome gifts and never played with, paperwork and photographs, and an assortment of things she had collected over the years. Including a stolen pack of cigarettes, she finds, shoved down a rip in the lining.

Huh, Sam thinks, as she dresses Tara in what used to be her favourite jacket and cap as a teenager, guess she really is a little me after all. She holds the photograph up at the sight before her and sees the resemblance. She fishes her phone out to take a picture of her own. They share the same eyes, the same sullen and distrusting expression. Tara's smaller, but her posture is all Sam, hunched shoulders and fidgeting hands and wide stance ready to run. She'll convince Tara to let her buy things for herself eventually, but for now she's happy to let her hide in Sam's image, be her shadow, until she's ready to step out from it.

#/mp #ask box #Scream #Sam Carpenter #Tara Carpenter #AU: foster this love make me whole again

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thedragonnerd · 3 years

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Rayaari headcanon - growing up in the foster system AU

(inspired by this lovely anon)

Raya is placed in a group home when she is five. She can't really remember her parents, or anything about the accident that led to her being placed at the orphanage, but she carries the scars on her face for the rest of her life - reminders of how her life changed so dramatically at such a young age.

She also can't actually remember meeting Namaari. Later, when she searches her memories, they are always simply 'Raya-and-Namaari', a rambunctious duo who do everything together.

Namaari lost part of her left arm in an accident, and carrying such serious scars at a young age is perhaps why they feel they are kindred spirits. However it happens, they are inseparable from the moment they are both placed at the orphanage. And if any of the other children try to tease either of them about their respective scars, the other will happily begin an argument, resulting in actual fist fights so often that they receive endless 'time out's from their carers.

Whenever Raya suffers from a nightmare, Namaari will shuffle out of bed, crawling instead under the covers beside Raya and whispering a quiet 'there, there' as she pats Raya's shoulder.

No child in the orphanage has many personal belongings, or a sense of 'owning' much. Therefore, at any available opportunity, there is jealous hoarding whenever books, toys or sweet treats are gifted. Raya will secretly save her sweets however, and happily share with Namaari, since she knows how much her friend loves sugary food.

When they are seven, they braid together bracelets out of string, and tie them around each other's wrist. 'Friends forever?' Raya asks, and Namaari solemnly shakes her hand. They agree to never remove the bracelets, as a sign of their vow of friendship.

When they are eight, they are moved to a foster home in order to have better care. Virana is a strict parental figure, but she loves all of the children in her home fiercely, no matter where they have come from, and how long they stay with her. Namaari and Raya never even considered there would be a possibility that they would be separated, so they go to their new home happily enough. Virana already has a couple of older children living with her, including a teenager called Sisu, who at first Raya assumes is a Cool Older Teen, but in the end is a dork who loves playing make-believe with them.

Raya has her very first real birthday party at Virana's house, celebrating her ninth birthday in style. She receives a beautiful dragon pendant from Namaari, who had dragged Virana around several stores before finding the perfect gift, and Raya wears it with pride. It's the first time she owns anything that is not just sentimental in value, but actually cost something significant.

A couple of months later, Raya is adopted. Her adoptive parents seem like nice people, especially Benja, her potential new father figure, and so at first she is excited. They bring her presents and seem happy to spend time with her, listening to whatever she wants to talk to them about, and showing her pictures of a boy called Boun who is apparently their biological son.

But when it comes time to actually join her adoptive parents, she has to be dragged out of the house almost kicking and screaming when it hits her that she will truly be separated from Namaari.

Virana holds onto Namaari's hand tightly as Raya gets loaded into the car. As it begins to pull away, Raya's tearful small face peering through the rear window, Namaari breaks free, running after the car desperately until it pulls into the distance.

Benja feels awful as he hears Raya's sobs from the backseat of the car; he had discussed with his wife about adopting two children, but they truly can only support one, considering they have another very young child at home already.

Raya is determined to hate her new house, and her new 'parents', angry at how they've brought her to a city miles away from Namaari. But they are genuinely good people who want to create a place for her in the family, and over the months she softens towards them.

A year later, she is forced to untie the friendship bracelet Namaari had made for her, as it is becoming too tight around her wrist thanks to a recent growth spurt. Benja finds her crying over the bracelet in the bathroom. 'Come with me, Dewdrop,' he says, gathering her up. They find an extra piece of ribbon to tie at both ends of the string braid, making a bracelet that can now be adjusted as Raya grows. Afterwards, Raya says 'I love you' to Benja for the first time.

Over the years, Raya tries to find Namaari again. But Namaari had no surname that she knew, and Raya cannot recall Virana's last name either. Her parents only dealt with the agency, so even with them all trying, their searches come up empty. Raya feels more despondent each time they fail to find Namaari, and at some point says to her family that perhaps she should give up looking, considering it always ends in heartbreak.

As he grows up, Boun sees how difficult this perpetual failure is for his older sister, and unbeknownst to Raya, continues his searching online, scouring social media platforms endlessly.

Two days before her nineteenth birthday, Raya receives a text from Boun asking her to meet him for coffee. When she arrives at the cafe, he meets her at the entrance, and before she can ask him what is going on, he points to a table in the far corner of the room, and then slips out the door behind her.

Sat in the corner is a beautiful young woman, with stylish and shiny dark hair, and a metallic-looking prosthetic arm resting on the tabletop. As Raya approaches, the woman tucks her hair behind her ear nervously, and Raya can see a slightly frayed braided piece of string wrapped around the woman's finger as a ring, in sharp contrast to the beautifully designed earrings being worn.

''Maari?' she asks, hardly daring to believe. Namaari's head shoots up, and their gaze meets for the first time in almost a decade. 'Raya?' she asks in return, and then they are hugging tightly.

#rayaari #raya and the last dragon #raya and namaari #ratld #raya #namaari #raymaari #raya ends up connecting with virana and sisu again also #namaari was never adopted but actually stayed with virana #sisu also continued to stay there when she hit eighteen #virana would never make them leave #this one was lovely to write #found family is just *chef's kiss*#i had foster siblings when i was a kid #all the headcanons #raya/namaari #raya x namaari #sisu #virana

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fridjitzu · 3 years

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As mentioned in my previous post, here's some thoughts wrt my Bobby-centric psychonauts au:

Aight, so with regards to why Bobby is allowed to stay with Loboto instead of just being sent off to a foster home or something... Basically, my take on the dynamic between Bobby and Loboto is apparently rare in that Bobby legit cares a whole lot about his insane dentist dad, and feels some level of guilt about the fact that his teeth basically added a new, teeth-riddled aesthetic layer over the Mental Issues Lasagna that Loboto has going on under that shower cap. He's been basically acting as his dad's carer in some aspects, keeping him from taking risks that might get him arrested or committed again (and the last couple of break-outs he helped him with only succeeded due to dumb luck, so let's not try that again).

(I've been told that kids who end up parentified often end up with insecurities and other issues*, which probably at least explains why Bobby is Like That despite having a positive relationship with his father. That said, Loboto's prior lack of a moral compass wasn't the best influence at times. The whole Turtle Soup thing is absolutely something Bobby would have joined in on, assuming it wasn't his idea in the first place.)

Back on the topic of keeping Loboto out of trouble and under the radar of the psychonauts (or at least TRYING to - he didn't expect Oleander to hire his dad for world domination, and as for the gristol thing... HOO BOY that's a whole other can of fish eggs to unpack), it turns out that he's gotten very good at dismantling/neutralising foreign constructs and implants in his dad's mind over the years, because psychic criminals sometimes try to reign loboto's weird ass in when hiring him, and as far as Bobby is concerned his dad's mind is fucky enough already - and it's something Loboto is happy to let Bobby do for him! That's why he sent him to camp - so he can learn to use those unnatural brain powers for good things!**

Most of the stuff is easy to get rid of once he figures out how, but when Bobby tries to clear out the hypnotic conditioning that Gristol put in there, it turns out way more advanced than his self-taught ass can handle - but he does enough that it impresses sasha and ford, even if it was made a LOT easier by the fact that Loboto was actively trying to squeasel his way around the conditioning as much as he could bear in order to help his son tidy up a bit in there.*** I figure mental constructs and directly altering existing mental constructs is a pretty impressive technique, but generally it's good practice to be able to "show your work", for lack of a better term when learning to do this stuff, which Bobby absolutely cannot do. But he clearly has some latent talent with the skill! Let's see if the junior agents can train him enough that we can justify putting him in the intern program, since he's only a year or two away from aging out of Whispering Rock....

(And then Bobby and Norma got into a fight, because sometimes bullies are like betta fish and they just immediately want to fight each other.****)

Plus, having someone around loboto will listen to and not escape from is helpful, and it won't be a full time thing like it was when the two of them were living without outside assistance from trained psychics!*****

(Hollis might have had some concerns to raise, but this all starts the day after the end of Psychonauts 2, and thus she's too busy taking her well deserved vacation to be involved at this point.)

*see also: Dion, although that's due to a different type of parentification.

**Loboto TRIES to be supportive and accepting, but he's got a lot of internalized psiphobia his parents drilled into him that sometimes comes out in the way he talks about this stuff, which has definitely unintentionally given Bobby a "oh no I'm a circus freak" complex.

***While in there, Bobby noticed the ship's compass is back. First Mate Loboto tells him some boy with goggles found it... Bobby had been looking for that fucking thing ever since he was aware it was missing. He's finding it real hard to be angry at Raz these days...

****they don't STAY hostile to each other, but: Initially, norma suspects Bobby of just being his dad's horrible little minion up to no good (which, like... you can admittedly kinda see where she'd get the idea, neither of them ping as particularly trustworthy or law-abiding), and it takes a few misunderstandings and briefly assuming that locking Bobby in a psychoisolation chamber to get him out of the way for fifteen minutes won't hurt him (she is pretty mortified when she finds out how much it messes him up, in her defense!) before they get to the point of Real Talk.

*****For a couple of years, Bobby thought Oleander might wanna get involved to help, since he was in contact with Loboto in order to sign Bobby up for camp. At the moment, though, he now thinks Oleander was just scoping out his dad as a potential world domination buddy... sure, it wasn't just that between the two of them *coughlobotolycough*, but since Oleander also kidnapped Bobby's crush, stole his brain, messed up camp, tried to take over the world, let Raz win in basic braining, and upturned his entire life by getting Loboto a spot on the psychonauts' most wanted list, I feel like Bobby still deserves to get to go off on Morry a little for getting his father involved, as a treat.

#psychonauts #psychonauts 2 #bobby zilch #dr loboto #I GOT A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS AU PLEASE DO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT IT #the au needs a name but the only good one i have rn is a bit of a spoiler lol #long post

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